Trincomalee Is The Great
Depot For This Trade, Which Is Carried On To A Large Extent,
Together With That Of Sharks' Fins, The Latter Being Used By The
Chinese For The Same Purpose As The Biche De Mer.
Trincomalee
affords many facilities for this trade, as the slugs are found in
large quantities on the spot, and the finest harbor of the East
is alive with sharks.
Few things surpass the tropical beauty of
this harbor; lying completely land-locked, it seems like a glassy
lake surrounded by hills covered with the waving foliage of
groves of cocoa-nut trees and palms of great variety. The white
bungalows with their red-tiled roofs, are dotted about along the
shore, and two or three men-of-war are usually resting at their
ease in this calm retreat. So deep is the water that the harbor
forms a perfect dock, as the largest vessel can lie so close to
the shore that her yards overhang it, which enables stores and
cargo to be shipped with great facility.
The fort stands upon a projecting point of land, which rises to
about seventy feet above the level of the galle face (the
race-course) which faces it. Thus it commands the land approach
across this flat plain on one side and the sea on the other.
This same fort is one of the hottest corners of Ceylon, and forms
a desirable residence for those who delight in a temperature of
from 90 degrees to 140 degrees in the shade. Bathing is the
great enjoyment, but the pleasure in such a country is destroyed
by the knowledge that sharks are looking out for you in the sea,
and crocodiles in the rivers and tanks; thus a man is nothing
more than an exciting live-bait when he once quits terra firma.
Accidents necessarily must happen, but they are not so frequent
as persons would suppose from the great number of carnivorous
monsters that exist. Still, I am convinced that a white man
would run greater risk than a black; he is a more enticing bait,
being bright and easily distinguished in the water. Thus in
places where the natives are in the habit of bathing with
impunity it would be most dangerous for a white man to enter.
There was a lamentable instance of this some few years ago at
Trincomalee. In a sheltered nook among the rocks below the fort,
where the natives were always in the habit of bathing, a party of
soldiers of the regiment then in garrison went down one sultry
afternoon for a swim. It was a lovely spot for bathing; the
water was blue, clear and calm, as the reef that stretched far
out to sea served as a breakwater to the heavy surf, and
preserved the inner water as smooth as a lake. Here were a fine
lot of English soldiers stripped to bathe; and although the ruddy
hue of British health had long since departed in the languid
climate of the East, nevertheless their spirits were as high as
those of Englishmen usually are, no matter where or under what
circumstances.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 151 of 173
Words from 77622 to 78145
of 89475
