It has been shown that the very existence of the population
depended upon the supply of water, and that supply was obtained
from the neighborhood of Newera Ellia. Therefore, a king in
possession of Newera Ellia had the most complete command over his
subjects; he could either give or withhold the supply of water at
his pleasure, by allowing its free exit or by altering its
course.
Thus, during rebellion, he could starve his people into
submission, or lay waste the land in time of foreign invasion. I
have seen in an impregnable position the traces of an ancient
fort, evidently erected to defend the pass to the main
water-course from the low country.
This gives us a faint clue to the probable cause of the
disappearance of the nation.
In time of war or intestine commotion, the water may have been
cut off from the low country, and the exterminating effects of
famine may have laid the whole land desolate. It is, therefore,
no longer a matter of astonishment that the present plain of
Newera Ellia should have received its appellation of the "Royal
Plain." In those days there was no very secure tenure to the
throne, and by force alone could a king retain it. The more
bloodthirsty and barbarous the tyrant, the more was he dreaded by
the awe-stricken and trembling population. The power of such a
weapon of annihilation as the command of the waters may be easily
conceived as it invested a king with almost divine authority in
the eyes of his subjects.
Now there is little doubt that the existence of precious gems at
Newera Ellia may have been accidentally discovered in digging the
numerous water-courses in the vicinity; there is, however, no
doubt that at some former period the east end of the plain,
called the "Vale of Rubies," constituted the royal "diggings."
That the king of Kandy did not reside at Newera Ellia there is
little wonder, as a monarch delighting in a temperature of 85
Fahrenheit would have regarded the climate of a mean temperature
of 60 Fahrenheit as we should that of Nova Zembla.
We may take it for granted, therefore, that when the king came to
Newera Ellia his visit had some object, and we presume that he
came to look at the condition of his water-courses and to
superintend the digging for precious stones; in the same manner
that Ceylon governors of past years visited Arippo during the
pearlfishing.
The "diggings" of the kings of Kandy must have been conducted on
a most extensive scale. Not only has the Vale of Rubies been
regularly turned up for many acres, but all the numerous plains
in the vicinity are full of pits, some of very large size and of
a depth varying from three to seventeen feet. The Newera Ellia
Plain, the Moonstone Plain, the Kondapallé Plain, the Elk Plains,
the Totapella Plains, the Horton Plains, the Bopatalava Plains,
the Augara Plains (translated "the Diggings"), and many others
extending over a surface of thirty miles, are all more or less
studded by deep pits formed by the ancient searchers for gems,
which in those days were a royal monopoly.
It is not to be supposed that the search for gems would have been
thus persevered in unless it was found to be remunerative; but it
is a curious fact that no Englishmen are ever to be seen at work
at this employment. The natives would still continue the search,
were they permitted, upon the "Vale of Rubies;" but I warned
them off on purchasing the land; and I have several good
specimens of gems which I have discovered by digging two feet
beneath the surface.
The surface soil being of a light, peaty quality, the stones,
from their greater gravity, lie beneath, mixed with a rounded
quartz gravel, which in ages past must have been subjected to the
action of running water. This quartz gravel, with its mixture of
gems, rests upon a stiff white pipe-clay.
In this stratum of gravel an infinite number of small, and for
the most part worthless, specimens of gems are found, consisting
of sapphire, ruby, emerald, jacinth, tourmaline, chrysoberyl,
zircon, cat's-eye, "moonstone," and "star-stone." Occasionally a
stone of value rewards the patient digger; but, unless he
thoroughly understands it, he is apt to pass over the gems of
most value as pieces of ironstone.
The mineralogy of Ceylon has hitherto been little understood. It
has often been suggested as the "Ophir" of the time of Solomon,
and doubtless, from its production of gems, it might deserve the
name.
It has hitherto been the opinion of most writers on Ceylon that
the precious metals do not exist in the island; and Dr. Davy in
his work makes an unqualified assertion to that effect. But from
the discoveries recently made, I am of opinion that it exists in
very large quantities in the mountainous districts of the island.
It is amusing to see the positive assertions of a clever man
upset by a few uneducated sailors.
A few men of the latter class, who had been at the gold diggings
both in California and Australia, happened to engage in a ship
bound for Colombo. Upon arrival they obtained leave from the
captain for a stroll on shore, and they took the road toward
Kandy, and when about half-way it struck them, from the
appearance of the rocks in the uneven bed of a river, called the
Maha Oya, "that gold must exist in its sands." They had no
geological reason for this opinion; but the river happened to be
very like those in California in which they had been accustomed
to find gold. They accordingly set to work with a tin pan to
wash the sand, and to the astonishment of every one in Ceylon,
and to the utter confusion of Dr. Davy's opinions, they actually
discovered gold!
