New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1860-02-20
ANIMAL AND INSECT LIFE IN cEYLoN
BATS, BEARS, ETC.

BATS, BEARS, ETC.
The swarm Of life in Ceylon includes multitude
Of bats, who form one Of the features Of the even
ing landscape. OF many forms and sizes, they
abound in every available cave, gallery, bungalow
roof, or other place of shelter. They hang to the
trees. At sunset out they fly and chase the moths,
even about the lamps upon the dinner-taDle. One
bat has growth like leaf at the end of its nose.
One glossy black little bat, not much larger than
the umblebee, will alight on the dnner-cloth and
show no great terror at being caught under a wine
glass. 5a
In the depths Of the forest, the most formidable
fellow is the bear, who digs for roots, feeds the
ants, and accounts nothing daintier than honey A
bear, found by traveller growing over his break
fast IN the early dawn, was seated on lofty
branch, thrusting portions of red ants nest into
his mouth with one paw, whilst with the other he
endeavored to clear his eyebrows and lips of the
angry inmates, by whom he also was bitten. In
time Of great drought bears slip into wells, and,
unable TO climb back, brighten away the women
who resort to the wells for water The bear is, in
Ceyion, solitary and retiring beast, using his i'm
mensc strength against man, only in self-defense
then he endeavors to fell his assaiant BY blow
upon the head, and, when he has him PROSTATE,
makes his attack first upon the eyes. The bears
also attack fearlessly the rude dwellings Of the
Veddahs, for the honey forming the chief store of
these poor people. The pos.-offce runners, who
always travel by night, carry torches, that the
bears who see them coming may avoid their path.
The only sort of tiger in Ceylon il a leopard, or
CueeEu WHO Isl III iaCU, bne true panLer, ana lie Is
much less feared by man than the bear. There il
variety Of him, sometimes met with, that is moi
spotted, but altogether black. He haunts the pas.
ture land in quest of deer and cattle. There is a
belief among the people that when leopard has
brought to the ground q bullock, he will net return
to feed upon it if 1T fall in dying 50 that the right
side is undermost. The Ceylon leopard is hunted
trapped, or eaughtin cage baited with kid He
is strongly attracted by the smell of small Pox.
This disease, as the natives shrink from vaccina-
he will Ruda
temporary smallpox hospitals are made in the
jungle, and to these the eopards are so certainly
allured that special heed of them is necessary.
OF the jaekals, there is native superstition at
tached to q small horn called Narri-combo, which
sometimes grows on the head, hidden by a tuft of
hair Singhaese and Tamils alike hold this jackals
horn to be taiisman, which commands for its
owner the fulfilment Of all wishes, and which, il
lost, invariably finds itself again for him. On the
other hand, the European superstition concerning
the ichneumon, that it uses plants as an anti
dote to the bites Of the serpenta upon which It
preys, is here rejected.
FISHES OF cEYLoN.
A strange variety Of fishes occupy the waters OF
Ceylon. Six hundred different kinds have been
found near Colombo only; there are mot two hun
dred and fifty in all British waters. Sharks are
taken for the sake of their oil. There are flaming
many-colored fishes, that obtain for themselves
such glitterng names as the fire-iish the flower
fish.
Among the fresh water fishes, which abound so
much that every little plash Of water, though but
ankle deep, has fish in 1t, we find some of the chief
maryels of life upon the island. Reservoirs and
tanks are twice year evaporated to such dryness
the clay gapes into hard clefts. Rain comes with
the change of the monsoon, and in q few days ma
tives are fishing in these tanks-not for small fry,
but full-grown fishes. This is 30 unaccountable,
that men have even supposed such fish to have
rained from the clouds. Very small fishes perhaps
have sometimes been carried up and dropped again
out of the Clouds Again, it is taught by Mr.. Var
rel that these fishes reappear by reason Of the pre-
ton other difficulties, this theory would not account
for the appearance of pond Of fullgrown fishes
in day two after the fall of rain. The truth ID,
that in Ceylon, and elsewhere, certain fishes have
the power Of journeying over land in search Of wa
ter, or, when water fails, of burying themselves,
and becoming torpid until its return.
Both of these habits of certain Indian fishes were
learnt by the Greeks accompanying Alexander,
and are recorded in the works of Aristotle and his
pupil Theophrastus. The Romans ridculed the
notion. Now" said Seneca when quoting Theo-
phrastus, 1--WE must go fish with hatchet instead
of hook Nevertheless, here is true fact.
The doras of Guiana have been seen travelling over
land during the dry season, in such numbers that
the negroes have filed baskets with them. Sale.
goix, in his account Of Siam, names three species
of fish which traverse the damp grass; and Sir
John Bowring, when ascending and descending the
river to Bankok, was amused with the new sight Of
and disappearing in the Jungle All these fishes
are OF q kind with heads constructed, that they
carry with them water enough to keep their gill,
damp. In Geylon, the chief traveller of this sor
is a kind of perch six inches long. It general,
travels by night through the dew, but In its fis
tress it is sometimes compelled to travel by day
and Mr. +. IL Layard on one occasion encounters,
a number of them travelling along hot and dust
gravel road under the midday sum- Mr.. Morris
Government agent of Trinconialee tells Ms how. o
the drying up OF tanks, the fish crowd into the III
tie pools, and roll by thousands in the gruely mni
The same witness has seen them crawling by huI
dreds from the pools as they go on driving an
working over half mile of hard SOIL indented Is
the footprints Of cattle, many of them falling mi
cracks, where they become the prey of kites an
crows. The perch, before mentioned. has eve
earned, on the Goromandei coast, the name
climbing perch. because it has been seen workin
Its way. mp the stems of palm-trees. Probabl
any such feat was attempted only by an accden
The fish can have nothing TO look for in tree. al
once up would not be able to climb down apai
No tree climbing by fishes has been seen in Ceyo
Burying fishes in Geyion sink into the mud. ar
wait the change OF the monsoon Natives hny
been seen digging them out of stiff clay with Ii
spade Excessive heat in the tropcs answers
the excess of cold elsewhere, in checking veget
ton and compelling many animals TO hide then
selves, and sleep away the barren time.
BLooD-suoKERs, cESTIPEpRs, srIpKRs, RrG.
We may sum up the animal wealth of this pari
disc, with o word for the mvriads of blood.suekin
landleeches that fasten upon the legs of traveller