Page:An English Garner Ingatherings from Our History and Literature (Volume 1 1877).pdf/427

 many places are points built out into the river, like wharves; all of hewn stone: which I suppose have been built for kings to sit upon for pleasure; for I cannot think they ever were employed for traffic by water, the river being so full of rocks that boats could never come up into it.

The woods in all these northern parts are short and shrubbed; and so they are here by the river's side: and the lower down the river, the worse; and the grounds so also. In the evenings we used to pitch our tent, and make a great fire, both before and behind us; that the wild beasts might have notice where we lay: and we used to hear the voices of all sorts of them; but, thanks be to GOD! none ever came near to hurt us.

Yet we were the more wary of them; because once a tiger showed us a cheat. For having bought a deer (and having nothing to salt it up in) we packed it up in the hide thereof salted, and laid it under a bench in an open house, on which bench I lay that night; and STEPHEN lay just by it on the ground; and some three people more lay then in the same house; and in the said house there was a great fire; and another in the yard: yet a tiger came in the night, and carried deer and hide and all away. But we missing it; concluded that it was a thief that had done it. We called up the people that lay by us; and told them what had happened; who informed us that it was a tiger; and with a torch, they went to see which way he had gone, and presently found some of it, which he had let drop by the way. When it was day, we went further; and picked up more, which was scattered; till we came to the hide itself, which remained uneaten.

We had now travelled till Thursday afternoon, when we crossed the river called Coronda Oya [? Kannadera Oya], which was then quite dry. This parts the King's country from that of the Malabars. We saw no sign of inhabitants here. The woods began to be very full of thorns and shrubby bushes, with cliffs and broken land; so that we could not possibly go in the woods. But now the river grew better, being clear of rocks; and dry, water only standing in holes. So we marched along in the river bed upon the sand. Hereabouts are far more elephants than higher up. By day, we saw none; but by night, the river was full of them.