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                          THE PEARL OF INDIA


                                  BY

                          MATURIN M. BALLOU



              From India and the Golden Chersonese,
              And utmost Indian Isle Taprobanes.

                                              MILTON



                            SECOND EDITION




                         BOSTON AND NEW YORK

                    HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY

                    The Riverside Press, Cambridge

                                 1895




                           Copyright, 1894,

                        BY MATURIN M. BALLOU.

       *       *       *       *       *




PREFACE.


That many readers evince a growing satisfaction in contemplating
foreign lands through the eyes of experienced travelers, the favor
shown to previous books by the author of these pages abundantly
testifies. Mutual profit is therefore the outcome of such a work; both
the author and reader are gratified.

It is a pleasure to depict scenes which have afforded so much
gratification to the writer, for enjoyment is redoubled by being
shared,--"joy was born a twin." The undersigned has often been asked
both personally and by letter, "Of all the places you have seen and
written about, which do you consider of the most interest, and which
do you recommend me to visit?" This is a very difficult question to
answer, because individual tastes differ so widely. It is safe to say
no point presents more varied attractions to the observant traveler,
more thoroughly and picturesquely exhibits equatorial life, or
addresses itself more directly to the delicate appreciation of the
artist, botanist, antiquarian, general scientist, and sportsman, than
does Ceylon, gem of the Orient. There are few attractive places in the
East which are so accessible, or which may be said to offer more
reasonable assurance of safety and good health to the stranger, than
this fabled isle of Arabian story. The climate is equable and most
delightful; though the temperature is exceptionally high, it is, in
fact, perpetual summer, varied only by the rains of the monsoon months
of May and June, October and November. The tropical heat near the
coast is trying to northern visitors, but one can always find a
refuge, within a day's journey, up in the hills of the central
province, where it is so cool at most seasons of the year as to render
a fire necessary after sunset. In the matter of expense, this route is
as economical as the average of land and sea travel in any direction.
The cost of living in Ceylon is quite as moderate as in Southern
Europe, and now that the island is so generally traversed by railways
and excellent government roads, there is very little hardship to be
encountered in visiting its remotest districts.

                                                   M. M. B.

       *       *       *       *       *




CONTENTS.


CHAPTER I.

Introductory.--Coming from the Eastward.--Interesting Ocean
Phenomena.--Denizens of the Sea.--Bird Travelers.--Delusive Mirage.--A
Thrilling Adventure.--Prompt Seamanship.--A Struggle for Life.--Dust
of the Sea.--A Dangerous Wreck.--Night Watches.--Sighting the Island
of Ceylon.--Adam's Peak, among the Clouds.--A Beautiful
Shore.--Steamers and Sailing Ships.--Curious Native Boats.--Singhalese
Pedlers.--A Catamaran.--Tempting of Providence.--An Author's Position     1


CHAPTER II.

A Classic Island.--Topographical Position.--Maldive Islands.--Lands rising
out of the Sea.--Size of Ceylon.--Latitude and Longitude.--A Link of a
Powerful Chain.--Important British Station.--"Mountain of the Holy
Foot."--Remarkable Mountain View.--Queer Speculations.--Insect Life in the
Island.--Acknowledged Gem of the Orient.--Wild Elephants.--In Olden
Times.--Far-Reaching Historic Connections.--Arboreal and Floral
Beauties.--Perennial Vegetation.--The Feathered Tribe                    19


CHAPTER III.

The Wearisome Tropics.--Waterspouts.--Climatic Conditions.--Length of
Days.--A Land Rich in Prehistoric Monuments.--History and Fable.--Last
King of Ceylon.--Ancient Ruins.--Aged Cave-Temples.--Gigantic Stone
Statue of Buddha.--French Vandals--A Native Chronicle.--Once the Seat
of a Great Empire.--System of Irrigation.--Mysterious Disappearance of
a Nation.--Ruins of a Vast City.--Departed Glory.--The Brazen
Palace.--Asiatic Extravagance.--Ruined Monument                          44


CHAPTER IV.

Oriental Dagobas.--Ancient City of Pollonarua.--Laid out like our Modern
Capitals.--Unexplored Ruins.--Elaborate Stone Carvings.--Colossal Stone
Figure.--The "Buried Cities."--The Singhalese not a Progressive
People.--Modern History of Ceylon.--Captured by the English.--The
"Resplendent Island."--Commercial Prosperity.--Increasing Foreign
Population.--Under English Rule.--Native Soldiers.--Christian Sects and
Churches.--Roman Catholic Church.--Expulsion of the Jesuits              71


CHAPTER V.

Food of the People.--Rice Cultivation.--Vast Artificial Lakes.--The
Stone Tanks of Aden.--Parched Australia.--Coffee Culture.--Severe
Reverses among Planters.--Tea Culture.--Cinchona Plantations.--Heavy
Exportation of Tea.--Cacao Culture.--A Coffee Plantation
described.--Domesticated Snakes.--The Cinnamon-Tree.--Cinnamon Gardens a
Disappointment.--Picturesque Dwellings.--Forest Lands.--The Ceylon
Jungle.--Native Cabinet Woods.--Night in a Tropical Forest.--Rhododendrons
                                                                         89


CHAPTER VI.

Arboreal King of the Forest.--The Palm Family.--Over-Generous Nature
and her Liberal Provisions.--Product of the Cocoanut-Tree.--The
Wide-Spreading Banian.--Excellent Public Roads.--Aquatic Birds and
Plants.--Native Fruit Trees.--The Mangosteen.--Spice-Bearing
Trees.--Treatment of Women.--Singhalese Rural Life.--Physical
Character of Tamil Men.--Tree Climbing.--Native Children.--Numerical
Relation of the Sexes.--Caste as respected in Ceylon.--Tattooing the
Human Body                                                              112


CHAPTER VII.

Experiences between Colombo and Point de Galle.--Dangers of Encountering
Reptiles.--Marvelous Ant Houses.--Insect Architects.--Curious Bird's
Nests.--Flamingoes at Rest.--Variety of the Crane Family.--Wild
Pea-Fowls.--Buddha's Prohibition.--Peculiar Wood-Notes.--Mingling of Fruit
and Timber Trees.--Fatal Parasitic Vines.--Stillness of the
Forest.--Superstitions of the Natives.--Snake Bites.--Railway Facilities
                                                                        131


CHAPTER VIII.

Colombo, Capital of Ceylon.--Harbor Facilities.--The
Breakwater.--Exposed to Epidemics.--Experiences on
Landing.--Hump-Backed Cattle.--Grand Oriental Hotel.--Singhalese
Waiters.--Galle Face Hotel.--An Unusual Scene.--Number of
Inhabitants.--Black Town the Native Quarters.--Domestic
Scenes.--Monkeys.--Evil Odors.--Humble Homes.--The
Banana-Tree.--Native Temples and Priestly Customs.--Vegetables and
Fruits.--Woman's Instinct.--Street Scenes in the Pettah.--Fish Market
                                                                        144


CHAPTER IX.

The English Part of Colombo.--Army Reserves.--Ceylon an Independent
Colony.--"A Paternal Despotism."--Educational Facilities.--Buddhism
versus Christianity.--Public Buildings.--The Museum.--Domestic
Dwellings.--Suburb of Colpetty.--The Lake of Colombo.--A Popular
Driveway.--A Sunset Scene.--Excursion to the Kalani Temple.--The
Jinrikisha.--Current Diseases.--Native Jugglers.--Hypnotism.--Houdin,
the French Magician, astonishes the Natives.--The Thieving Crows        166


CHAPTER X.

Birds on the Rampage.--Familiar Nuisances.--Silver-Spoon Thieves.--Doctrine
of Metempsychosis.--Various Nationalities forming the Population.--Common
Languages.--Tamils are the Wage-Earners.--The Singhalese Proper are
Agriculturists.--Queer Belief in Demons.--Propitiation!--The
Veddahs.--Attacking Wild Elephants.--Serpent Worship.--Polyandry.--Native
Singhalese Women.--Dress of Both Sexes.--Streets of Colombo on a Gala
Day.--An English Four-in-Hand.--Mount Lavonia                           186


CHAPTER XI.

The Ancient Capital of Kandy.--An Artificial Lake.--The Great River of
Ceylon.--Site of the Capital of the Central Province.--On the Way from
Colombo to Kandy.--The Tiny Musk-Deer.--The Wild Boar.--Native
Cabins.--From the Railway Car Windows.--The Lotus.--Destructive White
Ants and their Enemies.--Wild Animals.--The Mother of Twins.--A Little
Waif.--A Zigzag Railway.--An Expensive Road to build.--"Sensation
Rock" with an Evil History.--Grand Alpine Scenery                       206


CHAPTER XII.

Historical Kandy.--Importance of Good Roads.--Native
Population.--Temple of Buddha's Tooth.--The Old Palace.--Governor's
House.--Great Resort of Pilgrims.--Interior of the Temple.--The Humbug
of Relics.--Priests of the Yellow Robe.--A Sacred Bo-Tree.--Diabolical
Services in the Ancient Temple.--Regular Heathen Powwow.--Singhalese
Music.--Emulating Midnight Tomcats.--Chronic Beggary.--The Old
Parisian Woman with Wooden Legs.--A Buddhist Rock-Temple                225


CHAPTER XIII.

Ceylon the Mecca of Buddhism.--The Drives about Kandy.--Fruit of the
Cashew.--Domestic Prison of Arabi Pasha.--"Egypt for the
Egyptians."--Hillside Bungalows.--Kandy Hotels at a Discount.--The
Famous Botanical Garden of Ceylon.--India-Rubber-Trees, Bamboos, and
Flying Foxes.--Dangerous Reptiles in the Garden.--The Boa
Constrictor.--Success of Peruvian-Bark Raising.--Vicious Land
Leeches.--The Burrowing and Tormenting Tick.--Where Sugar comes from
in Ceylon                                                               241


CHAPTER XIV.

Fifty Miles into Central Ceylon.--Gorgeous Scenic Effects.--Gampola.--The
Singhalese Saratoga.--A Grand Waterfall.--Haunts of the Wild
Elephants.--Something about these Huge Beasts.--European Hunters
restricted.--An Indian Experience.--Elephants as Farm Laborers in Place of
Oxen.--Tame Elephants as Decoys.--Elephant Taming.--Highest Mountain on the
Island.--Pilgrims who ascend Adam's Peak.--Nuera-Ellia as a Sanitarium.--A
Hill Garden                                                             258


CHAPTER XV.

Port of Trincomalee.--A Remarkable Harbor.--How to get
there.--Nelson's Eulogium.--Curious and Beautiful Shells.--Pearl
Oysters.--Process of Pearl Fishing.--What are Pearls and which are
most valued?--Profit to Government.--A Remarkable Pearl.--Tippo Sahib
and Cleopatra.--The Singhalese not Sailors.--Ancient Ruins,--Hot
Springs near Trincomalee.--"Temple of a Thousand Columns."--Valuable
Supply of Ship Timber.--Salt Manufactures.--Tenacity of Life in the
Shark                                                                   272


CHAPTER XVI.

Point de Galle.--An Ancient Port, now mostly deserted.--Dangerous
Harbor.--Environs of the City a Tropical Garden.--Paradise of Ferns and
Orchids.--Neptune's Gardens.--Tides of the Ocean.--Severe
Penalties.--Floating Islands of Seaweed.--Fable, like History, repeats
itself.--Chewing the Betelnut.--An Asiatic Habit.--All Nations seek Some
Stimulant.--Soil near Galle.--Cinnamon Stones.--Diamonds.--Workers in
Tortoise-Shell.--Millions of Fruitful Palms.--Sanitary Conditions of Galle
                                                                        292


CHAPTER XVII.

Dondra Head.--"The City of the Gods."--A Vast Temple.--A Statue of Solid
Gold.--A Famous Rock-Temple.--Buddhist Monastery.--Caltura and its
Distilleries.--Edible Bird's Nests.--Basket-Making.--The
Kaluganga.--Cinnamon Gardens.--"The City of Gems."--A Magnificent
Ruby.--The True Cat's-Eye.--Vast Riches hidden in the Mountains.--Plumbago
Mining.--Iron Ore.--Kaolin.--Gem Cutting.--Native Swindlers.--Demoralizing
Effect of Gem Digging                                                   307


CHAPTER XVIII.

Circumnavigating the Island.--Batticaloa, Capital of the Eastern
Province.--Rice Culture.--Fish Shooting.--Point Pedro.--Jaffna.--Northern
Province.--Oriental Bazaars.--Milk ignored.--The Clear Sea and White, Sandy
Bottom.--American Missionaries.--A Medical Bureau.--Self-Respect a Lost
Virtue.--Snake-Temples.--Ramisseram.--Adam's Bridge.--A Huge Hindu
Temple.--Island of Manaar.--Aripo.--The Port of Negombo.--Tamil
Coolies.--Homeward Bound.--A Farewell View                              323

       *       *       *       *       *




THE PEARL OF INDIA.

CHAPTER I.

     Introductory.--Coming from the Eastward.--Interesting Ocean
     Phenomena.--Denizens of the Sea.--Bird Travelers.--Delusive
     Mirage.--A Thrilling Adventure.--Prompt Seamanship.--A
     Struggle for Life.--Dust of the Sea.--A Dangerous
     Wreck.--Night Watches.--Sighting the Island of
     Ceylon.--Adam's Peak, among the Clouds.--A Beautiful
     Shore.--Steamers and Sailing Ships.--Curious Native
     Boats.--Singhalese Pedlers.--A Catamaran.--Tempting of
     Providence.--An Author's Position.


After a pleasant sojourn in China and Japan, with Ceylon as his
objective point, the author came westward by way of the Malacca
Straits, crossing the Indian Ocean on a line of about the eighth
degree of north latitude. It is a lonely expanse of water, in
traversing which plenty of time was found for meditation. The
equatorial rains, though brief, were at times so profuse during the
voyage as to suggest the possibility of a second universal flood, and
also the advantage which might accrue from being web-footed; but the
air was mostly soft and balmy, the nights were gloriously serene and
bright. The transparency of the atmosphere magnified to dazzling
proportions the constellations which looked down so serenely upon us,
while the moon seemed to have taken a position vastly nearer to the
earth than is its wont at the north. The phosphorescent waves tossed
glowing gems, like fire-opals, about the ship's hull, while setting
our long wake ablaze with flashing light, and producing a Milky Way as
luminous as that above in the blue ether. All phosphorescent matter
requires friction to infuse it with light, and so the thoroughly
impregnated waters were churned into liquid fire by our vigorous and
swift-revolving propeller. What millions upon millions of animalcules,
and these again multiplied, must contribute to produce this aquatic
illumination. During the day, large turtles, schools of dolphins,
flying-fish, occasional water snakes, together with whole shoals of
jelly-fish, were encountered on the widespread tropical sea. At times,
myriads of the fairy-like nautilus floated past in gossamer frames,
while in savage contrast, voracious man-eating sharks followed the
ship close upon either quarter, in eager watchfulness for human prey.
How terribly significant is the upright dorsal fin of this creature,
seen just above the surface of the water, indicating the hideous,
slate-<DW52> body which glides swiftly and stealthily below!

Hovering over and about the tall masts upon untiring pinions, a score
of white-winged, graceful marine birds persistently kept us company
day after day. They joined the ship off the coast of Sumatra, as we
left the entrance to the Malacca Straits, introducing themselves at
first with noisy vehemence and piercing cries, as if to assert their
presence and purpose, a proceeding which was not again repeated. What
became of these handsome feathered creatures at night we never knew,
and it was found that the oldest seaman was equally ignorant. If they
slept upon the waves, they must have overtaken us with arrowy
swiftness at the break of day. They were undoubtedly able to do this,
as they outstripped us in speed at any moment when they chose to do
so, sailing through the air far ahead and all around the rapid,
steady-going ship. However early one came on deck, they were sure to
be in sight, glancing hither and thither upon the invisible air
currents without any apparent exertion. It was the very poetry of
motion. We came finally to look upon these tireless fellow travelers
with no small degree of interest, and should really have regretted
their absence. It is always a pleasing diversion to watch them, to
count and see that their full number is still present, and to delight
in their free and graceful movements.

During the period of their presumed nightly rest upon the heaving
bosom of the sea, our vessel must necessarily pass over a distance of
many leagues, far, far beyond the power of human sight. How marvelous,
therefore, must be the instinct which guides them unerringly to resume
our company with the earliest rays of the morning light. When, in the
arid desert, the exhausted camel sinks at last in its tracks to die,
and is finally left by the rest of the caravan, no other object is
visible in the widespread expanse, even down to the very verge of the
horizon. Scarcely is the poor creature unloaded, however, and left to
perish upon the sand, before there will appear in the far-away sky a
