Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1906-10-18

Newara Eliya are specially of he
place. They ran with us u or IA
miles one afternoon; they ran with
US round the Moon plains where
moonstones are found; they ran with
us down the steep, sharply curving
mountain road to the junction station
four miles in half an hour. Which,
the road is very steep two coolies go
with a 'rickshaw, one to hold it back
little on the descents and to push it
uphill while the other pulls. So sure
footed are they that an ACCIDENT is
said to be almost unknown.
AS have already said, the railway
has invaded Ceylon and the days of
adventure are over, but coach still
runs to Dambulla, and to Dambulla
We determined to go. We took
train to Natalie, a pretty village,
where good deal of native life may
be seen, and at a short distance
small Buddhist temple, where there
is sacred box tree and the imprint
of Buddha's foot in a rock. There is
good "rest-house" in Natalie,
species of simple house of entertain
ment, under government control, IN
which the cook made the most delici-
Gus omelet souffle l have ever tast-
ed. The drive to Dambulla was de-
lightful, for part of the way the
branches formed an arch across the
Tho orr IF native nhildrn,,
who stood watching us when we stop
ped to change horses were enchant-
ingly picturesque, and one youthful
observer, holding blanket over his
head like an umbrella, during sud-
den shower, was as beautiful as a
young Bacchus. The rain ceased IN
the afternoon long enough for us To
visit the rock temples, the most re-
markable of their kind in Ceylon.
They are five in number, natural
caves with statues and affairs carved
out of the solid rock. One temple
contains 81 statues of Buddha, seated
in contemplation; another Sc. In each
there is an enormous reclining figure
VI lut IlidSltl, ~ W ~ lCCl lOiSss az
cording to the available space. On
the affairs are offerings of stemless
lotus and other flowers laid in pat
terms, and a plant which looks like an
unripe ear of wheat, and which re.
tains it's freshness for weeks and
months. The walls and ceilings are
painted with various designs and
figures of priests, but it is all more
curious than beautiful or impressive.
Some gentlemen who were securing
the country in an automobile arrived
at night at the "rest-house," and re-
ported the road to Sigivi, whittier we
had intended going to visit the re-
mains of a wonderful palace-fortress,
as almost impossible, and as it
rained in torrents that night and the
next morning, we were obliged to
abandon the rest of our excursion, in
Guiding much-desired ride in bull
lock cart. Fate partly compensated
us by giving us two perfect days for
the visit to Anradhapura, the sacred
city of Ceylon, which covered orig
inaily $50 square miles and was mag
nificent with temples and palaces.
Numerous dagobas still exist--bell-
shaped structures erected over some
relic or the ashes of the illustrious
dead Some of these are several hun
bred feet high. Where the jungle is
cleared away one comes upon the
thresholds of dwellings and semicir
cular so-called "moonstones," with
carvings of flowers and animals, and
on either side of the thresholds are
upright slabs with figures in alto
relieve, guardians of the thres-
holds There are also few statues
of kings, in fairly good preservation,
and forests of granite pillars, the
substructures of palaces and temples.
One of these, called the "Brazen
temple" was built on foundation of
1000 pillars, and was nine stories
high. A sacred DO tree, an off
shoot from the DO tree in southern
India, seated beneath which Buddha
attained perfection, is 1000 years old,
and still an object of generation and
pilgrimage. In the branches of the
trees which have sprung up in its
vicinity tame monkeys play, swing
ing themselves down to pick up, peel
and eat the bananas thrown them by
visitors. We also saw an occasional
monkey while driving through the
forest, also birds of paradise with
radiant plumage, a turquoise blue
kingfisher, and exquisite ruby-winged
butterflies. We drove eight miles
to Mihintale another ruined city APP
preached by over 1000 partially di.
lapidated stone steps. Here dwelt
Mahinda, the disciple of Buddha, who
first brought the Buddhist faith to
Ceylon and here his ashes repose be-
meath huge dagoba
A mile or so from the Anuradha-
rlra "rest-house" Is picturesque
little rock temple presided over by
an extremely benignant priest. When
he had shown us everything and we
had dropped some small coins into
the never-failing box, we found him
holding toward us an article shaped