The few converts that have been made are chiefly Roman Catholics,
as among the confusion arising from our multitudinous sects and
schisms the native is naturally bewildered. What with High
Church, Low Church, Baptists, Wesleyans, Presbyterians, etc.,
etc., etc., the ignorant native is perfectly aghast at the
variety of choice.
With the members of our Church in such a dislocated state,
progression cannot be expected by simple attempts at conversion;
even were the natives willing to embrace the true faith, they
would have great difficulty in finding it amidst the crowd of
adverse opinions. Without probing more deeply into these social
wounds, I must take leave of the missionary labors in Ceylon,
trusting that ere long the eyes of the government will be fixed
upon the true light to guide the prosperity of the island by
framing an ordinance for the liberal education of the people.
CHAPTER XII. The Pearl Fishery - Desolation of the Coast -
Harbor of Trincomalee - Fatal Attack by a Shark - Ferocious
Crocodiles - Salt Monopoly - Salt Lakes - Method of Collection -
Neglect of Ceylon Hides - Fish and Fishing - Primitive Tackle -
Oysters and Penknives - A Night Bivouac for a Novice - No Dinner,
but a Good Fire - Wild Yams and Consequences -The Elephants' Duel
- A Hunting Hermitage - Bluebeard's last Hunt - The Leopard -
Bluebeard's Death - Leopard Shot.
While fresh from the subject of government mismanagement, let us
turn our eyes in the direction of one of those natural resources
of wealth for which Ceylon has ever been renowned - the "pearl
fishery." This was the goose which laid the golden egg, and Sir
W. Horton, when governor of Ceylon, was the man who killed the
goose.
Here was another fatal instance of the effects of a five years'
term of governorship.
It was the last year of his term, and he wished to prove to the
Colonial Office that "his talent" had not been laid up in a
napkin, but that he bad left the colony with an excess of income
over expenditure. To obtain this income he fished up all the
oysters, ruined the fishery in consequence; and from that day to
the present time it has been unproductive.
This is a serious loss of income to the colony, and great doubts
are entertained as to the probability, of the oyster-banks ever
recovering their fertility.
Nothing can exceed the desolation of the coast in the
neighborhood of the pearl-banks. For many miles the shore is a
barren waste of low sandy ground, covered for the most part with
scrubby, thorny jungle, diversified by glades of stunted herbage.
Not a hill is to be seen as far as the eye can reach. The tracks
of all kind of game abound on the sandy path, with occasionally
those of a naked foot, but seldom does a shoe imprint its
civilized mark upon these lonely shores.
The whole of this district is one of the best in Ceylon for
deer-shooting, which is a proof of its want of inhabitants. This
has always been the case, even in the prosperous days of the
pearl fishery. So utterly worthless is the soil, that it remains
in a state of nature, and its distance from Colombo (one hundred
and fifty miles) keeps it in entire seclusion.
It is a difficult to conceive that any source of wealth should
exist in such a locality. When standing on the parched sand,
with the burning sun shining in pitiless might upon all around,
the meagre grass burnt to a mere straw, the tangled bushes
denuded of all verdure save a few shriveled leaves, the very
insects seeking shelter from the rays, there is not a tree to
throw a shadow, but a dancing haze of molten air hovers upon the
ground, and the sea like a mirror reflects a glare, which makes
the heat intolerable. And yet beneath the wave on this wild and
desolate spot glitter those baubles that minister to man's
vanity; and, as though in mockery of such pursuits, I have seen
the bleached skulls of bygone pearl-seekers lying upon the sand,
where they have rotted in view of the coveted treasures.
There is an appearance of ruin connected with everything in the
neighborhood. Even in the good old times this coast was simply
visited during the period for fishing. Temporary huts were
erected for thousands of natives, who thronged to Ceylon from all
parts of the East for the fascinating speculations of the pearl
fishery. No sooner was the season over than every individual
disappeared; the wind swept away the huts of sticks and leaves;
and the only vestiges remaining of the recent population were the
government stores and house at Arripo, like the bones of the
carcase after the vultures had feasted and departed. All
relapsed at once into its usual state of desolation.
The government house was at one time a building of some little
pretension, and from its style it bore the name of the "Doric."
It is now, like everything else, in a state of lamentable decay.
The honeycombed eighteen pounder, which was the signal gun of
former years, is choked with drifting sand, and the air of misery
about the place is indescribable.
Now that the diving helmet has rendered subaqueous discoveries,
so easy, I am surprised that a government survey has not been
made of the whole north-west coast of Ceylon. It seems
reasonable to suppose that the pearl oyster should inhabit depths
which excluded the simple diver of former days, and that our
modern improvements might discover treasures in the neighborhood
of the old pearl-beds of which we are now in ignorance. The best
divers, without doubt, could never much exceed a minute in
submersion. I believe the accounts of their performances
generally to have been much exaggerated.
