The station then consisted of about twenty private residences,
the barracks and officers' quarters, the resthouse and the
bazaar; the latter containing about two hundred native
inhabitants.
Bounded upon all sides but the east by high mountains, the plain
of Newera Ellia lay like a level valley of about two miles in
length by half a mile in width, bordered by undulating grassy
knolls at the foot of the mountains. Upon these spots of
elevated ground most of the dwellings were situated, commanding a
view of the plain, with the river winding through its centre. The
mountains were clothed from the base to the summit with dense
forests, containing excellent timber for building purposes. Good
building-stone was procurable everywhere; limestone at a distance
of five miles.
The whole of the adjacent country was a repetition Of the Newera
Ellia plain with slight variations, comprising a vast extent of
alternate swampy plains and dense forests.
Why should this place lie idle? Why should this great tract of
country in such a lovely climate be untenanted and uncultivated?
How often I have stood upon the hills and asked myself this
question when gazing over the wide extent of undulating forest
and plain!
