We had a compass, certainly, which
might be useful enough on a desert or a prairie, but in a jungle country
it was of little value.
Just as we were in the greatest despair, and we were gazing wistfully in
the direction which the needle pointed out as the position of the
'Park,' now separated from us by an untravelled district of an unknown
distance, we saw two figures with bows and arrows coming from the
jungle. One of these creatures bolted back again into the bushes the
moment he perceived us; the other one had a fish in his hand, of about
four pounds weight, which he had shot with his bow and arrow; while he
was hesitating whether he should run or stand still, we caught him.
Of all the ugly little devils I ever saw, he was superlative. He
squinted terribly; his hair was greyish and matted with filth; he was
certainly not more than four feet and a half high, and he carried a bow
two feet longer than himself. He could speak no language but his own,
which throughout the Veddah country is much the same, intermixed with so
many words resembling Cingalese that a native can generally understand
their meaning. By proper management, and some little presents of rice
and tobacco, we got the animal into a good humour, and we gathered the
following in formation.
He knew nothing of any place except the northern portion of the Veddah
country.
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