, 1888-07-06
PEOPLE IN CEYLON.
EXTRACTS FROM A LETTER BY Ex-
MAYOR HARRISON.

Upon the Isle Cinnamon Gardens.
Native BnAt-A ComeIy PeopIe-John
Bull and the Bullock Cart.
Ceylou has several distinct races living
upon it. Long before history began to be
written it had prosperous people, and contin-
ued 50 for ages. It has old cities, deserted
ages ago. and great tanks for gathering and
holding water for irrigation purposes, which
show that portions Of the island, now wild.
and waste, were once teeming with popula-
ton The ruins and the tanks are all that is
left as a record of the people who built them.
Even the descendants OF these people have
dwindled down to a little over 1000 and are
wild savages, stunning civilized men. The
Singaiese, who have Persian and Arab blood
i'll them, are rather fair, delicate in form and
organization expert manipulators in jewelry
aud other nice work-all Buddhists, and
number less than 1000, 900. They were,
many generations ago, overrun by Tamils-
vigorous, hardy, nearly black men from
southern India-who today Number about
two-thirds of a million, and are the hard
workers and Hindoo in religion. The mixed
blood-called Eurasians and Burghers-are
the descendants of the Portuguese. who held
the island for nearly u century and IA half,
and OF the Dutch, who controlled for "a cen.
tury and a third, and numbers less than 60.
600 These, with many Singalese, are Catho-
lies mostly. Other peoples swell the popula-
ton to 100000, and are governed by less
than 5000 Europeans. These latter are
planters and officials, Eurasians and full
natives have cinnamon gardens.
by the way, this plant wheh cultivated is
kept down to a small shrub not over eight
feet high. In the forest it grows to a pretty
tree and as large, say. as the pear. A garden
Is very pretty, the foliage being very glossy
and of Light, cheerful green. The bark on
the green stem, while spicy, has not the pun
gency OF the cured article. The sun in cur
ing seems to bring it out | will here state
that the growing tea leaf has no more flavor
than an ordinary ~tasteless weed, and gives no
promises to the uninitiated of that wonderful
quality which makes 1t the sweetest friend
aud kindliest solacs of so many countless
millions of human beings. 1t has not its
properties brought out by sun heat, but by
fire. A few of the fine brands in China are
sun cured, but do not reach the general
markets, being confined to the larders of very
rich Celestial connoisseurs Cinnamon and
rice cultivation is confined 10 the low, hot
lands OF the island, aud is in the hands
GENERALLY OF the old Singalese population.
They and the Tamils are the fishermen
A NATIVE BOAT.
The native boat il q queer thing-a log of
NCO2 " ~ W lWontN letL long, TURNED
upward at each end, is dug out into shallow
trough, rarely over a foot wide. On ton Of
this the boat is carried with boards to a
length twice as great as the solid keel below,
and say two or 50 feet high, but no wider.
FROM this craft springs two bent poles to a
light log of wood from six TO ten feet off.
This out rigger makes the queer catamaran.
ono OF the safest small boats which run ont
into the sea The native sits with one foot
in and one outside OF the narrow trough, and
rows or sails far out on the deep. and can
brave n storm the ordinary long boat could
not survive. They are rowed rapidly and
sail eight to twelve knots an hour. Two
small platforms, say four feet square. are
built on top. On this the boatman carries
his freight and the fisherman his nets. | am
told the fisherman frequently goes out forty
miles to sea.
All along the coast tho natives are semi
amphibious. A number Of half grown BOYS
surround steamers coming and going on
queer little RATS built Of three buoyant sticks
ten to twelve feet long and lashed together.
Upon this the half naked fellows sit ON their
legs aud paddle very rapidly. So expert are
they at diving that a silver coin, thrown
thirty to fifty feet of, never reaches the bot
tom bsfors it is caught. Passengers get sew
eral of these boats around in a semicircle
from the steamer, then drop a small coin
Close To the ship. The boys spring toward it
and swim up to the point, then go headlong
below, squirming like frogs, after the shin
ing metal They will even get u copper, IL
not very far of. But they like the white
ness Of the purer metal. These bows are all
quite dark, but the bottoms OF their feet are
almost white. Whyl
The Singalese are "A comely looking race.
with features quite eifeudnate In their deli
Carv This nDfsaa n nca 4. fnrfba- .,..a.ad
by their long hair, tied in e knot at the back
OF tue head and held smooth by a light tor
toise comb, such as young girls at home wore
when | was young. dress is the universal
band of cloth, here left to fall like a skirt; u
jacket Is worn in the oities-in the country
and villages only a cotton cloth is thrown
over the shoulders. The women have, to "A
great extent, adopted . semi European COS
tune. At least those | saw had,
THE CART.
The Tamil population dress US the southern
Indian does. By the way, the tea and coffee
estates are worked and the heavy labor about
cities Is done by coolies brought annually
from the coast of southern India, from Nal
sbar to Madras. This region furnishes coolie
labor west Of Singapore, as the Chinese do
east thereof.
This leads me to speak of another mode of
conveyance here and in India-the bullock
cart, The Indian bullocks all have the hump,
but in other respects they vary in form and
appearance as much as the different breeds of
our cattle-in some localities very tall and
long horned. ! have seen a yoke over six
teen hands high, and | have seen horns over
three feet in length. These horns in whole
districts point up and toward each other.
In some localities they spread and often bend
downward In Burmah the OF Is fair sized,
but his horns are very short. In Ceylon he
Is very small, compactly built, and.has little
nubs for horns He is very pretty and very
quick in motion At Kalutara, near the
south end OF the island, three of US rode In
q little cart drawn by a bullock forty.one
inches higtrand not much longer from his
front 70 the root of his tail. The brave little
fellow trotted at a gait Of say six or seven
miles an hour When, after a steady pull,
he felt tired, he would give a quick back mo
tion, as much as to say hold ON.
He is an admirable beast for villages. He
requires no harness. His little yoke is fast
sned to the ends OF the shafts; drop 1t over
his neck, and tie a cord to keep him from
throwing it of, and he Is ready. But the
Engishman rarely deigns to use him. What
compound John Bull is He loves liberty,