Across India; Or, Live Boys in the Far East

by Oliver Optic

  CHAPTER XXXVII

  THE FAREWELL TO CEYLON AND INDIA

  If the tourists had been in a safe place they would have been glad to see acyclone on the shore of Madras, on Napier bridge for instance; and it wouldhave been a grand spectacle to observe the great billows rolling in on thebeach, breaking at a distance of a thousand feet from the land. But theyhad all seen great waves, and they were not anxious to see them here. Ather ordinary speed, the Guardian-Mother would arrive at Colombo at oneo'clock the next day. The weather was fine, and the passengers assembled inConference Hall to talk with the three experts on board about the variousplaces they had visited in India.

  Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava were full of information, which they adornedwith stories from history and mythology. The good people from Von BlonkPark were sorry they had not seen the Temple and Car of Juggernaut, thoughthey had been fully described to them. They had visited the missions inBombay, Calcutta, and Madras, as well as wherever they had found themelsewhere. They were much interested in them, and regretted that they hadnot been able to devote more time to them.

  The next forenoon, with the northern shore of Ceylon in sight from thedeck, Lord Tremlyn went upon the rostrum, with the map of the island, and aportion of the main shore included, on the frame. Though the ship was inten degrees of north latitude, the weather was delightful and the sea wassmooth. The thermometer stood at 70 deg., and the ladies declared that thetemperature was just right.

  "You know the location of the island on the southeast of India, and ittakes in about four degrees of latitude and two of longitude, without goinginto the matter too finely, with an area of twenty-four thousand sevenhundred and two square miles; about the size of your State of WestVirginia, I find, or as large as three or four of your New England States.Perhaps the most lovely scenery in the whole world is to be found in thisisland. The Greeks and Romans visited it, and it is mentioned in 'TheArabian Nights,' under the name of Serendib.

  "The mountains are near the southern part, and the highest one is MountPedrotallagalla,--don't forget the name, my young friends,--eight thousandtwo hundred and sixty feet high. In your visit to Ceylon you will go toCandy, which will please those with a sweet tooth better than Kandy, as itis often spelled. Many precious stones are found in Ceylon; and the pearlfishery is a very important source of wealth, though its value is variablein different years. In six years only out of the last thirty have thefisheries been productive, and in the other twenty-four they yielded hardlyanything. In those six years, the largest yield, in 1881, was not quitesixty thousand pounds, while the smallest noted was ten thousand pounds.

  "The fisheries are under government regulation. An official announces whenthe work is permitted, and then it lasts only from four to six weeks.Thirteen men and ten divers are generally the crew of each boat, five ofthe latter going down into the water while the other five rest. Each diverhas a stone, weighing forty pounds, attached to a line long enough to reachthe bottom, with a loop near the weight, into which he puts his foot. Thewater varies in depth from fifty-four to seventy-eight feet. They workquickly; for a minute is the usual time they remain in the water, thoughsome can stand it twenty seconds longer.

  "One would suppose that the sharks, which abound in these waters, wouldmake it dangerous business; but very few accidents occur, for the commotionabout the boats seems to scare them away. When the diver gives the signalhe is hauled up, with his bag of oysters, as rapidly as possible. But theladies know more about pearls than I do, and I will say no more about them.

  "There are many rivers in Ceylon, rising in the high land, and flowing intothe sea; but none of them are as long as the Mississippi. The climate ofthe island is simply magnificent; the average heat in Colombo on the highlands never exceeds 70 deg.. I shall permit you to describe the flowers afteryou have seen them; but the vegetation generally of the island isexceedingly luxuriant. In regard to animals, the tiger does not reside inCeylon. The elephant, generally without any tusks, is the chief ruler inthe forests here. The bear and the leopard are found. There is no end ofmonkeys. There are sixteen kinds of bats here, and all your base-ball clubscould be supplied from the stock; and there is a flying fox, which mightamuse you if you could catch one. He is a sort of bat; and the more of themyou shoot, the better the farmer will be pleased, for they feed on hisfruit. Plenty of birds of all sorts are found in the island. The crocodileis the biggest reptile found in Ceylon."

  "But the snakes, your lordship?" suggested Felix.

  "There are a few poisonous snakes; and the two worst are the cobra and theticpolonga, the latter a sort of viper; and the former is an old friend ofyours, Mr. McGavonty. The people are called Singhalese, but more generallyCingalese, and are believed to be the descendants of immigrants from theregion of the Ganges. There are other races here, as the Malabars. Thereligion of Ceylon is the Buddhist, and it has a very strong hold upon thenatives here as well as in Burma.

  "Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, is said to have visited Ceylon threetimes, and to have preached his doctrines here. His sacred footstep onAdam's Peak, 7,420 feet high, the second highest elevation in the island,is still adored by the people. But the most sacred relic here is the toothof Gautama, kept in an elegant shrine and carefully guarded at Candy. Butit is said to be well known that the Portuguese destroyed the original; andthe substitute is a discolored bit of ivory, without the least resemblanceto a human tooth. There are many temples, sacred caverns, some of themsculptured like those near Bombay.

  "There is something like ancient history in connection with Ceylon, datingback to 543 B.C.; but it would be hardly edifying to follow it. It has alsoa Portuguese, a Dutch, and a British period; and it was finally annexed tothe British crown by the Treaty of Amiens, in 1802.

  "Thirty years ago coffee was the principal commercial production of theisland; but a kind of fungus attacked the leaves of the trees, and withinten years the planters were obliged to abandon its cultivation to a greatextent, though it is still raised. Cacao, which is the name of thechocolate-tree, while cocoa is the name of the product, is cultivated to aconsiderable extent; so are cinchona, cardamoms, and various spices; thoughBishop Heber's lines--

  'What though the spicy breezes Blow soft o'er Ceylon's isle,'

  are not applicable to the island as formerly.

  "It has become evident in very recent years that Ceylon might become agreat tea-growing region, and the planters are now largely engaged in itsculture. A dozen years ago only 3,515 pounds were raised; ten years laterover 12,000,000 pounds of tea was the crop; and this year it is stillgreater. The population in 1891 was 3,008,466. It has a governor, who ruleswith an executive council of five, of which the officer in command of thetroops is one."

  "Can your lordship tell me the salary of the governor-general of India?"asked Captain Ringgold.

  "I figured it up at one time in your money, and forgot to mention it. If Iremember rightly, it was $125,400; and that of the governor of Ceylon is$20,000," replied Lord Tremlyn. "The former gets two and a half times thesalary of your President. I have nothing more to say of the island, butafter a concert by the band, Sir Modava will tell you something about theprincipal towns;" and as he retired the audience separated, for it was tobe a promenade concert.

  "I was asked just now by Mrs. Blossom about missions here in Ceylon," saidthe Hindu gentleman as he took the stand. "The English Baptists sentmissionaries here eighty years ago; the Methodists a year later; theAmericans three years later; and the Church of England five years after. Agreat deal of Christian teaching has been done in Ceylon, though I am notable just now to give you statistically the results of missionary work; butit has included the establishment of schools, female seminaries, and evencollegiate institutions, carried on by the missionaries, outside of thegovernment system of education.

  "Point de Galle, at the south-western extremity of the island, is a town offorty-seven thousand inhabitants, and has a good harb
or in a sheltered bay.It was formerly the principal coaling and shipping station in this part ofIndia; but all this has gone to Colombo. The Orient line of steamers, whoseprincipal business is with Australia, sends some of its ships here; andmost steamers of the Peninsular and Oriental line, called the 'P. & O.' forshort, touch here. A great deal of freight had to be reshipped at Point deGalle for various ports of India.

  "The name was given to the place by the Portuguese, and its meaning isdoubtful. _Galles_ is the French of Wales, and _La NouvelleGalles_ is New South Wales; without the final _s_, the word meansan oak-apple, in French. As I heard one of the 'Big Four' say this morning,'You pay your money and take your choice,' as to the signification of theword. At any rate, the importance of the place is gone, and Colombo hascaptured its business and its prominence.

  "Colombo is the capital of Ceylon. It is about seventy miles from Point deGalle, on the south-west coast of the island. It has a population of almost127,000, which has been increased at the expense of Galle, as we generallycall it to economize our breath. It is located on a peninsula, with the seaon three sides of it, with a lake and moat on the land side. By the way,Mr. Woolridge, do you happen to remember the Italian name of ChristopherColumbus, whose discovery of America you are to celebrate at Chicago thisyear?"

  "Cristoforo Colombo," replied Morris promptly. "I read it on his monumentat Genoa last summer."

  "Quite right, my young friend; and that is where the capital of Ceylonobtained its name, which the Portuguese gave it, in honor of the greatdiscoverer, only twenty-five years after the great event of his life. Thebuildings are about the same as you will observe in all British colonialtowns, and I need not mention them. You will ride out to Lake Colombo, andvisit the cinnamon gardens there. The breakwater, which has been the makingof the city, cost L600,000; for it is an entirely safe harbor, with everyfacility for landing and embarking passengers and goods. I believe nothingis left to you but to see what his lordship and I have described."

  Sir Modava retired from the stand; and the band started into an overture,which was hardly finished before the bell for lunch sounded. Before thecollation was finished the ship had taken a pilot, and in due time theGuardian-Mother came to anchor at her last port in India proper. As theship came into the harbor she passed abreast of the Blanche, and wasgreeted with three cheers, which were promptly and vigorously returned.

  Accommodations had been bespoken by Lord Tremlyn, and early in theafternoon the party were quartered in the Elphinstone. Carriages wereobtained, and before night they had visited the principal parts of thetown, and even the cinnamon gardens, in which they were greatly interested;and some of the ladies told what it was good for, both as a spice and amedicine.

  "I suppose you know all about cinnamon, Mrs. Belgrave," said Sir Modava, asthey were looking at the trees.

  "I only know enough about it to put it in my apple-pies when I make them."

  "This island produces the finest article in the world. It is a very oldspice, mentioned in the Old Testament, though I forget the name by which itis there called," added the Indian gentleman.

  "But I did not suppose it grew on a tree; I had an idea it was a root."

  "No; it is the inner bark of the trees before you. They are from twenty tothirty feet high, and are sometimes a foot and a half through. But thecultivated plant is not allowed to grow more than ten feet high. The leavesaverage five inches long, and taste more like cloves than cinnamon. Thereare two crops a year in Ceylon, the first in March, the last in November.The bark is taken off with considerable labor and care, and when it driesit curls up as you find your stick cinnamon."

  "I used ground cinnamon," added the lady.

  "It is the same thing, passed through the mill. Cassia is another speciesof cinnamon, and its oil is often substituted for the true oil; and verylikely you buy it ground for the real thing."

  The experts explained some other plants, especially cinchona, one of themost valuable medicinal plants, from which Peruvian bark, quinine, andother drugs are made, in which the three doctors were much interested. Thecompany returned to the hotel; and after dinner the Italian band gave aconcert on the veranda, as they had done in every city where the touristsremained overnight, which called forth repeated rounds of applause from thecitizens of Colombo.

  The next morning the travellers proceeded by railroad to Kandy, which SirModava insisted was the right way to spell it. The route was mostly throughan elevated region, and when they reached the place at noon they hadattained an elevation of 1,665 feet above the sea. They remained at Kandythree days, and were sorry the commander would not allow them to staylonger, for it was the most delightful region they had yet visited. Theywere in sight of the lofty mountains of the island before mentioned.

  They found here the remains of ancient temples from one hundred and fiftyto four hundred feet high; and one of them was built to contain the shrineof Gautama's tooth, and another for his collar-bone, both of which theEnglish believe are frauds. Another was the Brazen Palace, nine storieshigh, and supported on sixteen hundred pillars. But most of the party tookno interest in these structures, they had seen so many more that werelarger, grander, and finer. They saw here the sacred Bo-tree, of which theyhad before been informed.

  With great regret they left Kandy, and were soon in Colombo again. TheGuardian-Mother was announced to sail the next day early in the afternoon.The time for parting with Lord Tremlyn, Sir Modava Rao, and Dr. Ferrolanhad nearly arrived. The hosts of the party had provided a grand dinner forthe last one. The governor and a number of officials, the American consul,and others had been invited.

  Lord Tremlyn presided with Captain Ringgold on his right; and after thefine dinner had been disposed of the commander was the person called uponto respond to the first toast, "The Guardian-Mother and her Passengers."The name announced was received with the most tremendous applause, and "Forhe's a jolly good fellow!" was sung by Englishmen, assisted by theAmericans, including the ladies.

  Captain Ringgold began his speech, for which he had prepared himself, andreviewed the incidents which had occurred since the survivors of theTravancore had been taken from their perilous position. He set forth theobligations to which his passengers and himself were under to thedistinguished gentlemen who had conducted them through India. He wasfrequently interrupted by hearty applause, and his speech was as eloquentas it was sensible; and it was worthy a Senator in Congress.

  Lord Tremlyn was equally eloquent in the acknowledgment of his obligations,and those of his friends, to the noble commander and his ship's company;and possibly he was a little extravagant in some things that he said, butthat was excusable on such an occasion. The next person presented was Mr.Louis Belgrave, who declared that he represented the "Big Four," whichpuzzled the strangers, though he explained the term and where it came from.The boys had been happy all the time. They admired and loved the noblegentlemen under whose guidance they had had six weeks of the best time inall their lives. When he said what he had to say, he approached thechairman with a large and handsome frame in his hand, containing atestimonial from the passengers, attested by the autographs of all, whichhe presented to Lord Tremlyn, with the best wishes of all the signers, whohad profited so extensively from their kindness, for the health, happiness,and length of days of the trio.

  This ceremony, not set down in the programme, brought forth rapturousapplause and ringing cheers. The band played, and everybody seemed to beenjoying the happiest moment of his life. All the principal personages atthe table made speeches, of which the Indian reporters, if any werepresent, have not given in their reports. It was a remarkably joyousoccasion, and it was two o'clock in the morning when the banquet-hall wascleared.

  All the forenoon was spent in exchanging the parting greetings. Both LordTremlyn and Sir Modava invited any or all of the party who might be inIndia or in England to visit them; and the commander and Mrs. Belgrave, aswell as the others, extended similar invitations to the three gentlemen.After tiffin, when the party started for the stea
mer that was to conveythem to the two ships, it seemed as though all the citizens of Colombo,with their ladies, had gathered to assist in the parting benedictions. Themilitary band alternated with the Italian, cheers without number rent theair, and the party had all they could do to return the salutes, and answerall the kindly words spoken to them by entire strangers.

  The steamer cast off her fasts, and then the din was greater than ever. Theguests at the banquet went off to the ships, from the smoke-stacks of whichthe black smoke was pouring out, as if to emphasize the reality of thedeparture. All manner of courtesies were exchanged, but finally thepassengers were all on board of the Blanche and Guardian-Mother. A salutewas fired from the heaviest guns on both vessels, the screws began to turn,the final words were shouted, and the steamers stood to the southward.

  It required some time to digest the sights the voyagers had seen in India;but when, a few days later, the Nickobar Islands were reported off the portbow, the "Big Four" began to think and wonder what new and strange climesthey were to visit. They were inclined to believe they had seen everythingthat was worth seeing in the civilized world, and they had some decidedviews of their own in regard to the future. They were eager to engage for atime in something more stirring than gazing at palaces, churches, temples,and other wonders of the great cities; and they were not diffident in theexpression of their wishes when the commander called a meeting inConference Hall to consider what ports the Guardian-Mother should visitnext, as well as to inform the tourists in regard to the islands in theimmediate vicinity. Those who are interested in the decision of thecompany, and in the events which followed in consequence of it, arereferred to the next volume of the series: "HALF ROUND THE WORLD; OR, SOMEADVENTURES AMONG THE UNCIVILIZED."