THE ISLAND OF CEYLON. 
< 2,06 
amidst the confused and unintelligible superstitions which the 
natives have mingled with their obscure traditions. 
The ascent of the mountain is exceedingly steep and 
difficult, and in some parts near the summit the devotees 
are obliged to be assisted in climbing by ropes and chains 
fixed by hooks to the rocks. The night time is usually 
pitched upon to ascend, in order to avoid such fatiguing 
exertions during the excessive heat of the day. On the 
summit are a number of large flat rocks plentifully sup- 
plied with water. It is on one of them that the print of 
Adam’s foot is shewn. 
This mountain, which is looked upon as the original 
residence of Adam, is held in great veneration not only by 
the natives of Ceylon, but also by a variety of persons of 
different casts and persuasions throughout India. Most of 
these have particular places of worship on it to which they 
make pilgrimages at certain seasons of the year. The 
Homan Catholic priests have also taken advantage of the 
current superstitions to forward the propagation of their 
own tenets ; and a chapel which they have erected on 
the mountain is yearly frequented by vast numbers of 
black Christians of the Portugueze and Malabar race. 
It is to Adam’s Peak that the Ceylonese repair to wor- 
ship at the great Festival of Buddou. The Cinglese of the 
coasts in particular resort to it in vast multitudes. A large 
proportion of the Candians likewise attend ; but whether 
from a fear of mixing with foreigners, or from ideas of 
