All our hams and preserved meats were gone, and
we only had one meal on that day.
Nov. 27.--Our horses had eaten nothing but grass for many days; this,
however, was excellent, and old Jack looked fat, and was as hardy as
ever. We now discharged our Veddah guides, and took on others from
Oomanoo. These men told us that we were only four miles from the
Batticaloa road, and with great glee we started at break of day,
determined to breakfast on arrival at the road.
The old adage of 'Many a slip `twixt the cup and the lip' was here fully
exemplified. Four miles! We rode twenty-five miles without drawing the
rein once! and at length we then did reach the road; that is to say, a
narrow track of grass, which is the track to Batticaloa for which we had
been steering during our journey. A native but in this wilderness
rendered the place worthy of a name; it is therefore known upon the
Government maps as 'Pyeley.'
From this place we were directed on to 'Curhellulai,' a village
represented to us as a small London, abounding with every luxury. We
obtained a guide and started, as they assured us it was only two miles
distant.
After riding three miles through a country of open glades and thick
jungle, the same guide who had at first told us it was two miles from
'Pyeley,' now said it was only 'three miles farther on.' We knew these
fellows' ideas of distance too well to proceed any farther. We had
quitted the Batticaloa track, and we immediately dismounted, unsaddled,
and turned the horses loose upon the grass.
Having had only one meal the day before, and no breakfast this morning,
we looked forward with impatience to the arrival of the coolies,
although I confess I did not expect them, as they were too weak from
want of food to travel far. They had only half a meal the day before,
and nothing at all the day before that.
We had halted in a grassy glade surrounded by thick jungle. There were
numerous fresh tracks of deer and elk, but the animals themselves would
not show.
As evening approached, we collected a quantity of dead timber and
lighted a good fire, before which we piled the rifles, three and three,
about ten feet apart. Across these we laid a pole, and then piled
branches from the ground to the pole in a horizontal position. This made
a shed to protect us from the dew, and, with our saddles for pillows, we
all lay down together and slept soundly till morning.
Nov. 28.--We woke hungry, and accordingly tightened our belts by two or
three holes. V. Baker had to be in Kandy by the evening of the 30th, and
he was now determined to push on. His pony had thrown all his shoes, and
had eaten nothing but grass for many days.
