An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon in the East Indies. Robert KnoxЧитать онлайн книгу.
ever breed tame ones with tame ones; but to ease themselves of the trouble to bring them meat, they will ty their two fore-feet together, and put them into the Woods, where meeting with the wild ones, they conceive and go one Year with young.
The damage they do.It is their constant practice to shove down with their heads great Trees, which they love to eat, when they be too high, and they cannot otherwise reach the boughs. Wild ones will run much faster than a man, but tame ones not. The People stand in fear of them, and oftentimes are kill’d by them. They do them also great dammage in their Grounds, by Night coming into their Fields and eating up their Corn and likewise their Coker-nut-Trees, &c. So that in Towns near unto the Woods, where are plenty of them, the people are forced to watch their Corn all Night, and also their Outyards and Plantations; into which being once entred with eating and trampling they will do much harm, before they can get them out. Who oftentimes when by lighting of Torches, and hollowing, they will not go out, take their Bowes and go and shoot them, but not without some hazard, for sometimes the Elephant runs upon them and kills them. For fear of which they will not adventure unless there be Trees, about which they may dodg to defend themselves. And altho here be both Bears and Tygers in these Woods, yet they are not so fierce, as commonly to assault people; Travellers and Way-faring men go more in fear of Elephants than of any other Beasts.
Serve the King for Executing Malefactors.The King makes use of them for Executioners; they will run their Teeth through the body, and then tear it in pieces, and throw it limb from limb. They have sharp Iron with a socket with three edges, which they put on their Teeth at such times; for the Elephants that are kept have all the ends of their Teeth cut to make them grow the better, and they do grow out again.
Their Diseases.At some uncertain seasons the males have an infirmity comes on them, that they will be stark mad, so that none can rule them. Many times it so comes to pass that they with their Keepers on their backs, run raging until they throw them down and kill them: but commonly there is notice of it before, by an Oyl that will run out of their cheeks, which when that appears, immediately they chain them fast to great Trees by the Legs. For this infirmity they use no Medicine, neither is he sick: but the females are never subject to this.
The Sport they make.The Keepers of the Kings Elephants sometimes make a sport with them after this manner. They will command an Elephant to take up water, which he does, and stands with it in his Trunk, till they command him to squirt it out at some body, which he immediately will do, it may be a whole paleful together, and with such a force, that a man can hardly stand against it.
Ants of divers sorts.There are Ants of several sorts, and some worthy our remark.
First of all, there are the Coumbias, a sort of small reddish Ants like ours in England.
Secondly, the Tale-Coumbias, as small as the former but blackish. These usually live in hollow Trees or rotten Wood, and will sting most terribly.
Thirdly, the Dimbios, great red Ants. These make their nests upon the Boughs of great Trees, bringing the Leaves together in clusters, it may be as big as a mans head; in which they lay their Eggs and breed. There will be oftentimes many nests of these upon one Tree, insomuch that the people are afraid to go up to gather the Fruits lest they should be stung by them.
A fourth sort of Ants are those they call Coura-atch. They are great and black, living in the ground. Their daily practice is to bring up dirt out of the ground, making great hollow holes in the Earth, somewhat resembling Cony-Burrows; onely these are less, and run strait downwards for some way, and then turn away into divers paths under ground. In many places of the Land there are so many of these holes, that Cattle are ready to break their Legs as they go. These do not sting.
A fifth is the Coddia. This Ant is of an excellent bright black, and as large as any of the former. They dwell always in the ground; and their usual practice is, to be travelling in great multitudes, but I do not know where they are going, nor what their business is; but they pass and repass some forwards and some backwards in great hast, seemingly as full of employment as People that pass along the Streets. These Ants will bite desperately, as bad as if a man were burnt with a coal of fire. But they are of a noble nature: for they will not begin; and you may stand by them, if you do not tread upon them nor disturb them. How these Coddia’s come to sting so terribly.The reason their bite is thus terribly painful is this; Formerly these Ants went to ask a Wife of the Noya, a venomous and noble kind of Snake; and because they had such an high spirit to dare to offer to be related to such a generous creature, they had this vertue bestowed upon them, that they should sting after this manner. And if they had obtained a Wife of the Noya, they should have had the priviledg to have stung full as bad as he. This is a currant Fable among the Chingulays. Tho undoubtedly they chiefly regard the wisedom that is concealed under this, and the rest of their Fables.
These Ants a very mischievous sort.There is a sixth sort called Vaeos. These are more numerous than any of the former. All the whole Earth doth swarm with them. They are of a middle size between the greatest and the least, the hinder part white, and the head red. They eat and devour all that they can come at; as besides food, Cloth, Wood, Thatch of Houses and every thing excepting Iron and Stone. So that the people cannot set any thing upon the ground within their houses for them. They creep up the walls of their houses, and build an Arch made of dirt over themselves all the way as they climb, be it never so high. And if this Arch or Vault chance to be broken, they all, how high soever they were, come back again to mend up the breach, which being finished they proceed forwards again, eating every thing they come at in their way. This Vermin does exceedingly annoy the Chingulays, insomuch that they are continually looking upon any thing they value, to see if any of these Vaeos have been at it. Which they may easily perceive by this Case of dirt, which they cannot go up any where without building as they go. And wheresoever this is seen, no doubt the Ants are there.
The curious Buildings of the Vaeos.In places where there are no houses, and they can eat nothing belonging to the people, they will raise great Hills like Butts, some four or five or six foot high; which are so hard and strong, that it would be work enough to dig them down with Pick-Axes. The Chingulays call these Humbosses. Within they are full of hollow Vaults and Arches where they dwell and breed, and their nests are much like to Honeycombs, full of eggs and young ones. These Humbosses are built with a pure refined Clay by the ingenious builders. The people use this Clay to make their Earthen Gods of, because it is so pure and fine.
The manner of their death.This sort of creatures as they increase in multitudes, so they dy in multitudes also. For when they come to maturity they have wings, and in the Evening after the going down of the Sun, (never before) all those that are fledged and ripe, will issue forth in such vast numbers, that they do almost darken the Sky, flying to such an height, as they go out of sight, and so keep flying till they fall down dead at last upon the Earth. The Birds that tarry up late, and are not yet gone to roost, fly among them and make good Suppers of them.
The People in this Land never feed their Poultry. But they feed upon these Ants, which by scraping among the leaves and dirt they can never want; and they delight in them above Rice or any thing else. Besides all these Ants already mentioned, there are divers other distinct sorts of them.
Bees of several kinds.But we will proceed to a more beneficial Insect, the Bee. Of which there be three sorts. The first are the Meemasses, which are the right English Bees. They build in hollow Trees, or hollow holes in the ground, which the Vaeo’s have made. Into which holes the men blow with their mouths, and the Bees presently fly out. And then they put in their hands, and pull out the Combs, which they put in Pots or Vessels, and carry away. They are not afraid of their stinging in the least, nor do they arm themselves with any cloths against them.
Bees that build on Trees like Birds.The second are the Bamburo’s, larger and of a brighter colour than our English Bees. Their Honey is thin like water comparatively. They make their Combs upon limbs of Trees, open and visible to the Eye, generally of a great height. At time of year whole Towns, forty or fifty in company together will go out into the Woods, and gather this honey, and come home laden with it for their use.
The third