."No. 39. — 1891.] ACCOUNT OF CEYLON. 



271 



wounded. As the Hollanders had taken the offensive, the 

 Saude did not care to act only on the defensive. He there- 

 fore came out of the forest, and closing round our people, 

 attacked them with such energy that he cut off the head of 

 Mr. von der Stalt, who had been carried in a palanquin or litter, 

 clad in red scarlet. Of our men, who had numbered 150, 

 they got 103 heads. The rest fled into the jungle and hid 

 themselves as best they could.* 



When the King, who had been near, heard of the onslaught 

 he hurried to the spot, and although he was told that his men 

 had been forced to fight, he showed displeasure. At once 

 he ordered drums to be beaten and proclamation to be made 

 that none of the Hollanders who had fled into the jungle 

 were to be killed, but they were to be brought alive 

 before him ; that he would treat them well ; and that he 

 would swear by his God that he was innocent of the blood- 

 shed. He then gave directions to have the head of Mr. von 

 der Stalt put into a silver bowl, and covered with white cloth, 

 and sent it by one of the prisoners to their Captain in the 

 great camp, to say that this was the head of Mr. von der 

 Stalt, and that the King would see his body as well as the 

 other 103 bodies decently buried. But at the same time the 

 King sent word, that if after three days the Captain was still 

 in the field, or in his country, he would come with 100,000 

 men and take him with all his followers. The Captain sent 

 for the head, had it buried near the camp, and three volleys 

 fired over it : but as he had no orders from the Governor 

 at S. Galle to leave the place, he was unwilling to move 

 without instructions. 



Thereupon the King of Candi, with a force of 100,000 

 men, besieged him, and during the night erected such works 

 that he could fire into the camp and none of our soldiers 

 could show themselves. 



* For J. von der Behr's account of this occurrence, see Ceylon Literary 

 Register, vol. VI., p. 99. Jiirgen Andersen also relates the affair. All 

 these accounts differ in details. 



