grows the best Tobacco that is on this Land. Rice is more plenty here then most other things.

1681.

The fifth City is Digligy-neur towards the East of [p. 6.] Cande, lying in the Country of Hevahatt. Where the Digligy, the King ever since he was routed from Nellemby in the place of the Kings constant Rebellion Anno 1664. hath held his Court. The scitua- Residence. tion of this place is very Rocky and Mountainous, the Lands Barren; So that hardly a worse place could be found out in the whole Island. Yet the King chose it, partly because it lyes about the middle of his Kingdom, but chiefly for his safety; having the great Mountain Gauluda Gauluda. behind his Palace, unto which he fled for Safety in the Rebellion, being not only high, but on the top of it lye three Towns, and Corn Fields, whence he may have necessary supplies and it is so fenced with steep Cliffs, Rocks and Woods, that a few men here will be able to defend themselves against a great Army.

There are besides these already mentioned, several other Many Ruins ruinous places that do still retain the name of Cities, where of Cities. Kings have Reigned, tho now little Foot-steps remaining of them. At the North end of this Kings Dominions is one of these Ruinous Cities, called Anurodgburro where Anurodgthey say Ninety Kings have Reigned, the Spirits of whom burro. they hold now to be Saints in Glory, having merited it by making Pagoda's and Stone Pillars and Images to the honour of their Gods, whereof there are many yet remaining: which the Chingulayes count very meritorious to worship, and the next way to Heaven. Near by is a River, by which we came when we made our escape: all along which is abundance of hewed stones, some long for Pillars, some broad for paving. Over this River there have been three Stone Bridges built upon Stone Pillars, but now are fallen down; and the Countrey all desolate without Inhabitants. At this City of Anurodgburro is a Watch kept, beyond which are no more people that yield obedience to the King of Candy. This place is above Ninety miles to the Northward of the City of Candy. In these Northern the Northern Parts there are no Hills, nor but two or three Springs of Parts.

The nature of

1681.

The Port of
Portaloon:
It affords Salt.

Leawava

abundance.

Described.

running water, so that their Corn ripeneth with the help of Rain.

There is a Port in the Countrey of Portaloon lying on the West side of this Island, whence part of the Kings Countrey is supplyed with Salt and Fish: where they have some small Trade with the Dutch, who have a Fort upon the Point, to prevent Boats from coming: But the Eastern Parts being too far, and Hilly, to drive Cattel thither for Salt, Gods Providence hath provided them a place on the East side nearer them, which in their Language they call Leawava. Where the Eastwardly Winds blowing, the Sea affords Salt in beats in, and in Westwardly Winds (being then fair weather there) it becomes Salt, and that in such abundance, that they have as much as they please to fetch. This Place of Leawava is so contrived by the Providence of the Almighty Creator, that neither the Portuguez nor Dutch in all the time of their Wars could ever prevent this People from having the benefit of this Salt, which is the principal thing that they esteem in time of Trouble or War; and most of them do keep by them a store of Salt against such times. It is, as I have heard, environed with Hills on the Land side, and by Sea not convenient for Ships to ride; and very sickly, which they do impute to the power of a great God, who dwelleth near by in a Town they call Cotteragom, standing in the Road, to whom all that go to fetch Salt both small and great must give an Offering. The Name and Power of this God striketh such terror into the Chingulayes, that those who otherwise are Enemies to this King, and have served both Portuguez and Dutch against him, yet would never assist either to make Invasions this way.

[P. 7.]

Their Towns how Built.

Having said thus much concerning the Cities and other Eminent places of this Kingdom, I will now add a little concerning their Towns. The best are those that do belong to their Idols, wherein stand their Dewals or Temples. They do not care to make Streets by building their Houses together in rowes, but each man lives by himself in his own Plantation, having an hedg it may be

1681.

Many lye in
Ruins, and

and a ditch round about him to keep out Cattel. Their
Towns are always placed some distance from the High-
ways, for they care not that their Towns should be a
thorough-fair for all people, but onely for those that have
business with them. They are not very big, in some may
be Forty, in some Fifty houses, and in some above an
Hundred and in some again not above eight or ten.
And as I said before of their Cities, so I must of their
Towns, That there are many of them here and there lie
desolate, occasioned by their voluntary forsaking them,
which they often do, in case many of them fall sick, and occasion.
two or three die soon after one another: For this they
conclude to happen from the hand of the Devil. Where-
upon they all leave their Town and go to another, thinking
thereby to avoid him: Thus relinquishing both their
Houses and Lands too. Yet afterwards, when they think
the Devil hath departed the place, some will sometimes
come back and re-assume their Lands again.

Chap. III.

Of their Corn, with their manner of

Husbandry.

forsaken; and

upon what

Aving discoursed hitherto of the Countrey, The Products method will require that I proceed now to and Comthe Products of it; Viz. their Fruits, modities of the Countrey. Plants, Beasts, Birds, and other Creatures, Minerals, Commodities, &c. whereof I must declare once for all, That I do not pretend to write an Exact and Perfect Treatise, my time and leisure not permitting me so to do; but only to give a Relation of some of the chief of these things, and as it were a tast of them, according as they occur to my Memory while I am writing. I shall first begin with their Corn, as being the Staff of their Countrey.

They have divers sorts of Corn, tho all different from Corn of divers ours. And here I shall first speak of their Rice, the Choice sorts.

Rice.

1681.

[p. 8.]

Grows in Water. Their Ingenuity in watering their

Corn Lands.

and Flower of all their Corn, and then concerning the other inferior kinds among them.

same.

In

Of Rice they have several sorts, and called by several names according to the different times of their ripening: However in tast little disagreeing from one another. Some will require seven Months before it come to maturity, called Mauvi; some six, Hauteal; others will ripen in five, Honorowal; others in four, Henit; and others in three, Aulfancol: The price of all these is one and the That which is soonest ripe, is most savoury to the tast; but yieldeth the least increase. It may be asked then, why any other sort of Rice is sown, but that which is longest a Ripening, seeing it brings in most Profit? answer to this, you must know, That all these sorts of Rice do absolutely require Water to grow in, all the while they stand; so that the Inhabitants take great pains in procuring and saving water for their Grounds, and in making Conveyances of Water from their Rivers and Ponds into their Lands, which they are very ingenious in; also in levelling their Corn Lands, which must be as smooth as a Bowling-Green, that the Water may cover all over. Neither are their steep and Hilly Lands uncapable of being thus overflown with Water. For the doing of which they use this Art. They level these Hills into narrow Allies, some three, some eight foot wide one beneath another, according to the steepness of the Hills, working and digging them in that fashion that they lye smooth and flat, like so many Stairs up the Hills one above another. Waters at the top of the Hills falling downwards are let into these Allies, and so successively by running out of one into another, water all; first the higher Lands, and then the lower. The highest Allies having such a quantity of Water as may suffice to cover them, the rest runs over unto the next, and that having its proportion, unto the next, and so by degrees it falls into all these hanging parcels of Ground. These Waters last sometimes a longer, and sometimes a shorter Season. Now the Rice they sow is according as they foresee their stock of Water will last.

The

1681.

Why they do not alwayes kind of Rice.

sow the best

It will sometimes last them two or three, or four or five Months, more or less; the Rice therefore they chuse to cast into the Ground, is of that sort that may answer the duration of the Water. For all their Crop would be spoilt if the Water should fail them before their Corn grew ripe. If they foresee their Water will hold out long, then they sow the best and most profitable Rice, viz. that which is longest a ripening; but if it will not, they must be content to sow of the worser sorts; that is, those that are sooner ripe. Again, they are forced sometimes to sow this younger Rice, for the preventing the damage it might otherwise meet with, if it should stand longer. For their Fields are all in common, which after they have sown, they enclose till Harvest; But as soon as the Corn first sown becomes ripe, when the Owner has reaped it, it is lawful for him to break down his Fences, and let in his Cattle for grazing; which would prove a great mischief to that Corn that required to stand a Month or two longer. Therefore if they are constrained to sow later than the rest, either through want or sloth, or some other Impediment, yet they make use of that kind of Rice that will become ripe, equal with that first sown. And so they all They sow at observe one time of reaping to prevent their Corn being different trampled down or eaten up by the Cattle. Thus they time times, but their Corn to their Harvest; some sowing sooner, some later, but all reaping together, unless they be Fields that are enclosed by themselves; and peculiar to one Man. Where there are no Springs or Rivers to furnish them Their Artifi with Water, as it is in the Northern Parts, where there cial Pools. are but two or three Springs, they supply this defect by saving of rain Water; which they do, by casting up great Banks in convenient places to stop and contain the Rains that fall, and so save it till they have occasion to let it out into their Fields: They are made rounding like a Cor Half-Moon, every Town has one of these Ponds, which if they can but get filled with Water, they count their Corn is as good as in the Barn. It was no small work [p. 9.] to the ancient Inhabitants to make all these Banks, of which

reap together.