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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XI* 



a native, with his short hook, told the elephant to kill the 

 condemned man, the wild beast refused, began to roar, swayed 

 his head to and fro, and would not attack the ensign. How- 

 ever, as the execution had to be carried out, the native had 

 to make the elephant angry, and to hit him behind the ears 

 with the hook until his temper was roused and he was forced 

 to run at the poor man. He ran him through with his 

 two tusks, then threw him into the air, and when he fell 

 down he quickly put his feet upon his body to shorten his 

 sufferings. Our people, as well as the heathen — ay, the 

 Emperor himself — were very much astonished, and many 

 thought that, after all, the poor man might have been wronged; 

 for if the elephant has to kill a native or heathen he is at 

 once ready for it, and requires no urging, but is himself 

 savage enough. Not all the elephants, although there are 

 many in the island of Ceilon, execute justice, but there are only 

 two which the King always keeps for the purpose. Our 

 people petitioned again to have the man buried, but the 

 same reply came back that an order given by the King was 

 for ever irrevocable ; so we had to bear it patiently. 



Once the Portuguese, 1,500 strong, defeated the Emperor, who 

 had to retreat into the mountains. They followed him up to 

 Candi, took the town, found rich booty, and enjoyed themselves 

 in shooting, eating, and drinking. The Emperor allowed them 

 to do what they liked, but in the meantime was bent upon his 

 revenge. He closed the roads in the forest quietly, and when 

 he saw that ammunition and victuals were nearly at an end, he 

 attacked them again ; and because the passage was cut off, and 

 they could neither advance nor retreat, they had to suffer 

 from hunger and thirst. When deserters came from the 

 Portuguese camp the Emperor ordered them to be asked why 

 they had deserted ; if they complained of hunger and thirst, 

 they were to receive enough to eat and to drink ; and when 

 they at last said they had had enough, their heads were to be 

 cut off immediately. When most of them had died of hunger 

 and thirst, the Emperor took a deserter, had him well fed, 

 gave him victuals for a week and a convoy of forty men 



