Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1851-06-05

j A lew days siuco wc had an opportun
| ~ Of fconvctsing with Mr. Sssbiings Jun<
who arrived from Ceylon about thrD
weeks ago il thc barquc ReRatta, brinein,
| with him the cargo Of elephants which nov
accompany Mr.. Barnum's travelling me
nagcrie. During his visit Mr.. June va
obliged to traverse the greater part Of Il,
island in his search for sufficient numbe
Of ofelcphants Of the size and quality rcquirct
for an imposing exhibition. Consequent,
he saw . great deal of the wild tropical re
gions Of the interior and Of the charactel
and customs Of the Cingalese. We givs
herewith ancutline his experience, which
ifnot quite equal to Mr.. Gordon Cumming
South African stories, still furnishes an in
tcresting chapter ofadventurc.
Mr.. June, with Mr.. Nutter, Of Boston
sailed on his elephantine expedition in July
last, and arrived at Point de Gale, sea.
port on the southwestern extremity Of Ccy-
lon, in the early part Of October. This pors
and Trincomalec, on the northeastern coast
arc the only large harbors which the island
possesses. The first object Of Messrs. june
and Nutter on landing was to procure some
elephants, either from the government au-
thorities or from the temples, which own
large numbers ofthem, and thus avoid the
necessity of catching and tanning wild am
mails. In this, however, they were disap-
pointed. The new governor had just en-
tered on his duties, and all official arrange
mcnts seemed to be in confused and un-
satisfactory state. Besides, many of the
roads In the interior had been injured by
severe rains, and greater number Of the
animals than usual was required for the
purpose of repairing them. Accordingly,
after reaching Colombo, the maritime capi-
tai of the country, which lies on the western
coast, about 60 miles north of Point de
Gale. and finding no chance of procuring
what he wanted, Mr.. June determined to
start for the city of Handy, in the interior,
and forty miles distant. An excellent car
riagc-road has been constructed between
the two places, on which mail coach
makes three trips every week. Handy,
which is large town, situated on beauti-
ful table-land 1,700 feet above the sea, and
surrounded by mountains, was the resi-
dence of the kings of Handy, the native
monarchs of the island, previous to their
overthrow by the English in 1915. Here.
again, Mr.. June was disappointed in his
hope of finding elephants for sale; and not
withstanding the rainy season had just set
in, and the undertaking was considered
hazardous in the extreme, he determined
to take to the jungles, and select ship load
from among the wild herds.
In order to understand the nature OF
such an expedition, some account Of the
topography ofthe island is necessary. The
shores Of Ceylon are generally low, al
though in the southernpart bluff and rocky.
For some distance inland, the ground is
level, and for the most part cultivated, be-
ing covered with fields of paddy "a coarse
kind of rice) and groves of cinnamon. To-
ward the centre it rises into a table-land
from 1000 to 5000 feet above the sea, and
almost entirely covered with dense and
luxuriant forests. This gradually rises in
to mountain chair, which divides the is
land from north to south, into nearly equal
parts. Adams Peak, about 80 miles south
west Of Handy, attains an altitude Of more
than 5000 fee, land has been considered the
highest Of the range. Mr.. June, however,
INFORMS US 'n'' on ms way rom nanuy 70
TOT a'l,cn' .:,, easl ol inc mCun'alns' ara ne
phical division Of the island is, singularly
enough, division of climate also-tremen-
dous floods of rain deluging one side, while
~" ."o o'ne' '''o ma.ei 10 Grle''s ~, noa,oee'
70 Pr.veh' scarc'ty. nc season shl,ts
WIN inc lncnsoon' wnich piows from the
sou'hwes. rom Aprll % september, ana
..oln ''e rr, ro'.helss .,o'n Lsovealpe. . -
lua'y Anec'ePnan'., ~, "no Prei.r 'hc ra.ny
.eason' u rane y 'n1 ,noA '1 covering
.'e 'Aoo'a.'u anu '''',s nrouno 'ile oasc oi
C. G., ,''S -. r. H. ;al.J ~ i. "''
II w W. ~. '' .:," - ~. sn. - W o''.
oc a ss;,a sla | III T 49, u .I nu"pe. c'
- ,ha , ha,'n.s ~ 70 a. ',.,,h..n III ". ,tasu ,oa
nnr,h,naa. 49, ocKasI,, r ~ i,,h;la Mn N., Js'
,,IaraJ H. H., " .a,,i.a,, ,.n, ~ H. IL %
TLe,, IT, -, Ill ~ - a.. ,-.,,aIi.1
roaj ,nd trus, ,he,ns.lves - H. ,.;la ~"
ala na,Ls laad;nr throucl ~. nn.,,l,;vo,aa
3;s,r;cts 3 frec,en,eJ hv ,2e an;nals Thasa
reg;ons are covered 9th ] crnw,b &c sbruh-
hnrv .nd sman ,rsos 80 ,b;cLIw mated ur i =, ~
oetIer y;,h y;nes III, /, ! ;wnoss;ll. -
inrce III ho,,v brongb H.r. anJ ,h.re
out of .b;s sea &c vegeta,;on rise he trunk :
or ono-nous ,re.s 9ro,v;ra ,noro fr.,ran,
:, ~ :-LL.II ac ...r1s:.
where they freo,,en,lv Earn, Forests Of ~.
~.arJ.s, - 7. h,,n,;nn s,,s.a.s !. s,,e
,ba n.,bs maJa hv the na,;ves csnno, :, !,
@ ,na,is us e,I,aua3 tn, na,,, o,'.s I'M. -. a.
maS L. To-. s n,,J liz nus. ~
The clenbants however find the ;,ngle No
obs,,cln ~ ,bc;r nroorr.s. bnt. viii, ,h.;,
bcaJs lowered. crash through n NJ fnll
sneed The noise of n herd II motion can ho
hoard ~ \ creat distance
NJ Iure baJ iii creates, success = ,ho