A Few
Days After, No Less Than 18,000 Pilgrims Congregated At Kattregam.
I was at this time shooting with my friend, Mr. H. Walters, then of the
15th Regiment.
We waded up the bed of the river for about a mile, and
then pitched the tent under some fine trees in the open forest. Several
wild buffaloes were drinking in the river within a short distance of us;
but thinking this a likely spot for elephants, we determined not to
disturb the neighbourhood by firing a shot until we had first explored
the country. After a walk of a couple of hours through fine open forest
and small bushy plains, we came to the conclusion that there were very
few elephants in the country, and we devoted ourselves to other game.
After a day or two spent in killing deer, a few wild buffaloes, and only
one elephant, I felt convinced that we should never find the latter, in
the dry state of the country, unless by watching at some tank at night.
We therefore moved our encampment inland about twenty-five miles from
Yalle. Here there is a large tank, which I concluded would be the resort
of elephants.
A long day's journey through a burning sun brought us to Sitrawelle.
This is a small village, about six miles inward from the sea-coast
village of Kesinde. Here the natives brought us plantains and buffalo
milk, while we took shelter from the sun under a splendid tamarind tree.
Opposite to this was a 'bo'-tree; *(very similar to the banian-tree)
this grew to an extraordinary size; the wide spreading branches covered
about half an acre of ground, and the trunk measured upwards of forty
feet in circumference.
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