No. 58.— 1907.J 



NUWARA-GALA. 



145 



reaching Kokka-gala, its course lay more or less through open 

 country. This had its dangers as well as objections. In 

 an open country the road could be attacked from both sides, 

 while in the case where it followed the sides of hills the 

 hills alone afforded protection. 



In considering Nuwara-gala as an outpost, it is important 

 to bear this in mind, more especially as Kokka-gala was a high 

 point overlooking the spot where the road debouched from the 

 hills into the plains. This point too was weak from the south 

 and east, as for forty miles eastward lay a Tamil country, flat, 

 easily crossed, and backed by the sea, together with the large 

 lagoon at Batticaloa. 



Kokka-gala therefore offered one outpost, but taken in con- 

 junction with Nuwara-gala as the last outlying natural fort to 

 the east, its value became supplemented greatly, because from 

 Nuwara-gala's lofty summit the movements of hostile parties 

 or troops moving inland from Puliyantivu, or along the east 

 coast, could be all the sooner seen and watched, and the obser- 

 vations signalled across the eight miles of valley between, to 

 Kokka-gala, giving time for defenders to be placed on the road 

 I have just mentioned at its place of extreme weakness. An 

 enemy advancing from, say, Batticaloa could be watched for 

 some days from Nuwara-gala, and their movements signalled 

 to Kokka-gala, and at once the outlet of the road could be 

 guarded, and in all probability the base of the supply — Tissa — 

 speedily communicated with ; but so far this may be considered 

 as pure theory in the absence of further support by internal 

 evidence. 



This I propose to describe more fully. Returning once 

 more to our cave near the western summit of Nuwara-gala, we 

 proceeded to follow the rising path. This now gets on to 

 pretty nearly flat rock, and I found that in one place, in full 

 command of a perfect view of Kokka-gala, there was a circular 

 hole of about 7| inches in diameter drilled into the solid rock 

 itself. I take it that this afforded a socket for a mast or 

 signal post of some kind, possibly a beacon. 



