s a daisy. The morning was delightfully cloudy, but free from
rain; and we cantered on to Innamalow, five miles from Dambool. Here we
procured a guide to Minneria; and turning off from the main road into
a narrow jungle path, we rode for twenty miles through dense jungle.
Passing the rock of Sigiri, which was formerly used as a fort by the
ancient inhabitants of the country, we gradually entered better jungle,
and at length we emerged upon the beautiful plains of Minneria. I had
ordered Wallace to pitch the encampment in the exact spot which I had
frequently occupied some years ago. I therefore knew the rendezvous, and
directed my course accordingly.

What a change had taken place! A continuous drought had reduced the lake
from its original size of twenty-two miles in circumference to a mere
pool of about four miles in circuit; this was all that remained of the
noble sheet of water around which I had formerly enjoyed so much sport.
From the rich bed of the dry lake sprang a fine silky grass of about
two feet in height, forming a level plain of velvet green far as the
eye could reach. The turf was firm and elastic; the four o'clock sun had
laid aside the fiercest of his rays, and threw a gentle glow over the
scene, which reminded me of an English midsummer evening. There is so
little ground in Ceylon upon which a horse can gallop without the risks
of holes, bogs, and rocks that we could not resist a canter upon such
fine turf; and although the horses had made a long journey already,
they seemed to enjoy a more rapid pace when they felt the inviting
sward beneath their feet. Although every inch of this country had
been familiar to me, I felt some difficulty in finding the way to the
appointed spot, the scene was so changed by the disappearance of the
water.

There were fresh elephants' tracks in many parts of the plain, and I was
just anticipating good sport for the next day, when we suddenly heard
an elephant trumpet in the open forest, which we were skirting. The next
instant I saw eight elephants among the large trees which bordered the
forest. For the moment I thought it was a herd, but I almost immediately
noticed the constrained and unnatural positions in which they were
standing. They were all tied to different trees by the legs, and upon
approaching the spot, we found an encampment of Arabs and Moormen who
had been noosing elephants for sale. We at once saw that the country was
disturbed, as these people had been