Chap. LI. A Defcripion of CEYLON. 825 
cure all their Diftempers with green God Almighty having provided Reme- CVC^^' 
Herbs, in the ufe whereof their Phyficians dies futable to the Diflempers of each 
^ are better vers'd ( by Experience ) than Country. 
many of our pretending Chyrurgeons i 'a 
CHAP. LI. 
Great mmber of Elephants in Ceylon: Are very fernictom , Divers Inflames 
of it. How they take the Elephants. Their Buffers^ Tygers^ Bears j Birds^ 
Fifljes^ Crocodiles and Porcupines j or Sea-hogs. 
THE Ifle of Ceylon abounds in all 
forts of four-leg'd Creatures, Birds, 
Fifhes, Stones and certain Produds of 
the Sea, of each whereof we muft fay 
fomething. 
Elephants- Among the four-leg'd Beafts the£/e- 
of Ceylon, phant challenges the firft Rank^ of thefe 
there are great numbers here^ and fo 
pernicious, that it is not fafe travelling 
without forae Soldiers with their Drums 
and Kettles, the noife whereof frightens 
thefe Creatures : They are moft dange- 
rous towards Evening when they are 
hungry j for the Coleys or Litter men often 
run away at the fight of an Elephant, 
leaving thofe they carry to fhift for them- 
felves. 
I remember that in my time, a Portu- 
guefe Reformed Minifter, nam'd John Fe- 
reira d'Almeyda^ travelling with his Wife 
from Gale to Columho, the Litter-Carriers 
( according to their Cuftora ) ran away 
at the fight of an Elephant, who 
did however not the leafl; harm, but 
laying his Trunk upon the Woman's 
Palankin or Litter, went away : But 
things of that nature happen not always 
alike. 
I obferv'd once as I was travelling from 
Manaar to Jafnapatnam, that the Ele- 
phants had done confiderable mifchief 
hereabouts, and during the rainy Seafon 
had render'd the Ways almoft unpaffable. 
We had the good fortune to efcape nar- 
rowly the danger of an Elephant who 
kiird a certain Negro, one of the Com- 
manders of the Elephant-Hunters, in a 
place we had pafs'd not long before. 
At Mature are vail Stables, where the 
wild Elephants are tam'd, and afterwards 
fold to the Moors of Bengals and Coro- 
How they mdndel. They take the Elephants near 
take and Mature in the following manner : They 
tame the f^^ abundance of large Stakes or Trunks 
Elephants. ^^^^^ ground, fo as to leave 
the Entrance wide enough, bat growing 
narrower within by degrees j in thefe 
they have certain Traps, and the wild 
Vol. IlL 
Elephants being decoy'd by the tame ones 
into thefe Enclofures, are catch'd in the 
Traps or Snares, like as we do in our de- 
coying Ponds. They are very hard to 
be tam'd, and require fometiraes four 
whole Months before they can be brought 
to lie down : All this while they muft 
be carried twice a day to fome River or 
other to fwim. This is done by putting a 
wild Elephant betwixt two tame ones, 
who take fuch care of the other, that 
they hit him from both fides with their 
yrunks, till they make him pliable, and 
at laft quite tame. 
It often happens that the young EIe» 
phants are taken in following the old 
ones. Thefe are very unlucky : I re- 
member, that one time as feveral of us 
were talking together, one of thefe 
young Elephants came flily and pufli'd 
with his back-fide againft one of our 
Company, that he was ready to fall upon 
his Nofe. 
They feed upon green Herbs and Leaves 
of Fig-trees, Coco, and other Trees j nei- 
ther do they refufe Areek and Sugan 
At a certain time of the year an Oil iffues 
out of the Heads of the old Elephants 
when they run mad, and oftentimes kill 
their Carnak or Guides. The Ceylonefe 
Elephants are accounted the largeft and 
beft in the Indies^ and, if you will believe 
the Natives, are ador'd by the other 
Elephants. 
Horfes ( great Enemies of the Ele- W^"^' 
phants) were firft brought from abroad in- 
to this Ifle. The PortUguefes having fome 
years fince fent Horfes into the Ifle de 
Facas^ they are multiply 'd to fuch a de- 
gree, that you may fee them feed in 
Herds of 5o, 70, 80, or 100. 
Of Bufflers they have a great ftore Bufflers^ 
in Ceylon \ I have feen whole Herds of 
them of 100 and more feeding in the 
Countries of Chilau and Madampe^ which 
were but indifferently peopled at that 
time. They have alfo Hedg-Hogs,Oxen, 
Cows, Bulls, Sheep, Goats, Stags, Does, 
Ooooo Elks, 
