Sketches of the Natural History of Ceylon

by Sir James Emerson Tennent

• Daldorf's account of climbing fish, [350].
  • his story doubted, [350].
• Darwin, burying-place of llamas and goats, [236] n.
  • on the coleoptera of Brazil, [405].
• Davy, Dr. John, describes the reptiles of
  • Ceylon, [3].
  • stimulates study of natural history, [3].
  • operation on a diseased elephant, [224].
• Dawson, Captain, story of an elephant, [107].
• Deafness frequent in elephants, [98].
• Death's-head moth, [427].
• Decoy elephants, [157].
• Decapoda brachyura, [486].
  • anomura, [486].
  • macrura, [486].
• Deer, [57].
  • meminna, [58].
  • Ceylon elk, [59].
  • milk-white, [59] n.
• Demon-worship, anecdote of, [408].
• Denham, error as to height of elephants, [99].
• Devil-bird, [246]. See Owls.
  • Mr. Mitford's account of, [247] n.
• Diard, M., sends home an elephant for dissection, [123] n.
• Dicuil on the elephant, [103].
• Diptera, [434].
• Dogs, [33].
  • device of, to escape fleas, [433]. [434].
  • dog-tax, [33].
  • republican instincts, [34].
  • disliked by elephants, [82]. [84].
• Donne, on the elephant, [105].
• Doras, fish of Guiana, [347].
• Dragon-flies, [411]. See Insects.
• Dugong, [68]. [69].
  • abundant at Manaar, [69].
  • origin of the fable of the mermaid, [69].
• Dutch belief in the mermaid, [70].

• Eagles, [245]. See Birds.
• Edentata, [46]. [74].
• Edrisi, the Arabian geographer, his account of musk, [32] n.
• Eels, [337]. [347] n.
• Eginhard, life of Charlemagne, [103].
• Elephant, [64]. [75].
  • Sumatran species, [64].
  • points of distinction, [65].
  • those of Ceylon extolled, [209].
  • elephants on Adam's Peak, [109].
  • numbers in Ceylon, [76].
  • [Greek: Elephas], derivation of the word, [76] n.
  • antiquity of the trade in, [77].
  • numbers diminishing, [77].
  • mode of poisoning, [77] n.
  • tusks and their uses, [78].
  • disposition gentle, [81].
  • accidents from, [81].
  • antipathy to other animals, [82]; to the horse, [83].
  • jealousy of each other, [86].
  • mode of attacking man, [87].
  • anecdote of a tame elephant, [89].
  • African elephant differs from that of Ceylon, [64].
  • skin, [91].
  • white elephant, [92].
  • love of shade, [94].
  • water, not heat, essential to them, [94].
  • sight limited—smell acute, [95].
  • anatomy of the brain, [95].
  • power of smell, [96].
  • sounds uttered by, [96].
  • subject to deafness, [98].
  • exaggeration as to size, [98].
  • source of this mistake, [98] n.
  • stealthy motions, [100].
  • error as to the elephant's want of joints, [100].
  • probable origin of this mistake, [106].
  • mode of lying down, [107].
  • ability to climb acclivities, [108].
  • mode of descending a mountain, [110].
  • a herd is a family, [111].
  • attachment to young, [112].
  • young suckled by all the females in a herd, [113].
  • theory of this, according to White, [113] n.
  • a rogue, what, [114].
  • savage attacks of rogues, [116].
  • character of the rogues, [116]. [147].
  • habits of the herd, [117].
  • anecdote of, [118].
  • elephant's mode of drinking, [120].
  • their method of swimming, [121].
  • wells sunk by, [122].
  • receptacle in the stomach, [122].
  • stomach, anatomy of, [124].
  • food of the elephant, [129].
  • instinct in search of food, [130].
  • dread of fences, [131].
  • their caution exaggerated, [132].
  • spirit of curiosity in elephants, [132].
  • anecdote of Col. Hardy, [132]. [133].
  • sagacity in freedom over-estimated, [134].
  • leave the forests during thunder, [134].
  • cunning, feign death, [135].
  • stories of encounters with wild elephants, [136].
  • sporting, numbers shot, [142].
  • butchery by expert shots, [142] n.
  • fatal spots in the head, [144]. [145].
  • peculiar actions of elephants, [148].
  • love of retirement, [149].
  • elephant-trackers, [150].
  • herd charging, [151].
  • carcase useless, [153].
  • remarkable recovery from a wound, [154]. See Lieut. Fretz.
  • mode of taking in India, [157]-162.
  • height measured by the circumference of the foot, [159].
  • mode of shipping elephants at Manaar, [162].
  • mode of shipping elephants at Galle, in 1701, [163] n.
  • keddah for taking elephants in Bengal, [164].
  • a corral (kraal) described, [165]. [166].
  • derivation of the word corral, [165] n.
  • corral, its construction, [167]. [172].
  • corral, driving in the elephants, [173].
  • the capture, [177].
  • mode of securing, [181].
  • the "cooroowe," or noosers, [181].
  • tame elephants, their conduct, [182]. [191].
  • captives, their resistance and demeanour, [184].
  • dread of white rods, [186].
  • their contortions, [190].
  • a young one, [206].
  • conduct in captivity, [207].
  • mode of training, [211].
  • their employment in ancient warfare, [207].
  • superiority of Ceylon, a fallacy, [209].
  • elephant driver's crook (hendoo), [212].
  • hairy elephants in Ceylon, [215] n.
• Elephants, capricious disposition of, [215].
  • first labour intrusted to them, [217].
  • his comprehension of his duties, [218].
  • exaggeration of his strength in uprooting trees, [218] n.
  • Mahouts and their duties, [221].
  • Their cry of urre!, [222] n.
  • elephant's sense of musical notes, [223].
  • its endurance of pain, [224].
  • diseases in captivity, [225].
  • subject to tooth-ache, [227].
  • questionable economy of keeping trained elephants for labour, [229].
  • their cost, [230].
  • their food, [230] n.
  • fallacy of their alleged reluctance to breed in captivity, [231].
  • duration of life in the elephant, [232].
  • theory of M. Fleurens, [232].
  • instances of very old elephants in Ceylon, [233].
  • dead elephant never found, [234].
  • Sinbad's story, [236].
  • passage from Ælian regarding the, [237].
• Elk, [59]. See Deer; Mammalia.
• Emydosauri, [321].
• Emys trijuga, [290].
• Englishman, anonymous, his story of a fight between elephants and horses, [84].

• Falconer, Dr., height of Indian elephant, [99] n.
• Falkland Islands, peculiarity in the cattle there, [372] n.
• Fauna of Ceylon, not common to India, [Introd]., [62].
  • peculiar and independent, [Introd]., [62].
  • have received insufficient attention, [3].
  • first study due to Dr. Davy, [3].
  • subsequent, due to Templeton, Layard, and Kelaart, [3]. [4].
• Fishes of Ceylon, little known, [323].
  • seir fish, and others for table, [324].
  • abundance of perch, soles, and sardines, [324].
  • explanation of Odoric's statement, [324] n.
  • sardines, said to be poisonous, [324].
  • shark, and sawfish, [325].
  • sawfish, [325].
  • ray, [326].
  • swordfish, [328].
  • cheironectes of Ælian, [331].
  • fishes of rare forms, and of beautiful colours, [332].
  • fresh-water fishes, their peculiarities, [335].
  • fresh-water, little known, ib.; reason, [335] n.
  • eels, [337].
  • reappearance of fishes after the dry season, [340].
• Fishes, similar mysterious re-appearances elsewhere, [342] n.
  • method of taking them by hand, [340].
  • a fish decoy, [342].
  • fish filling from clouds, [342] n., [362].
  • buried alive in mud, [347].
  • Mr. Yarrell's theory controverted, [344].
  • travelling overland, [345].
  • the fact was known to the Greeks and Romans, [345].
  • instances in Guiana and Siam, [347].
  • faculty of all migratory fish for discovering water, [347] n.
  • on dry land in Ceylon, [348].
  • fish ascending trees, [349].
  • excerpt from letter by Mr. Morris, [348] n.
  • Anabas scandens, [349]. [350].
  • Daldorf's statement, anticipated by Abou-zeyd, [350] n.
  • accidents when fishing, [351] n.
  • burying fishes and travelling fish, [351].
  • occurrence of similar fish in Abyssinia and elsewhere, [352].
  • statement of the patriarch Mendes, [353] n.
  • knowledge of habits of Melania employed judicially by E.L. Layard, [355]n.
  • illustrations of æstivating fish and animals, [356].
  • æstivating shell-fish and water-beetlea, [351].
  • fish in hot water, [358].
  • list of Ceylon fishes, [359].
  • Professor Huxley's memorandum on the fishes of Ceylon, [364].
  • Dr. Gray's memorandum, [366].
  • Note on the Bora-chung, [367].
• Fishing, native mode of, [340].
• Fish insect, [475].
• Flamingoes, [261]. See Birds.
• Fleas, [433]. See Insects.
• Fleurens, on the duration of life in the elephant, [232].
• Flies, their instinct in discovering carrion, [196] n.
  • mosquitoes, the plague of, [434].
• Flowers, fondness of monkeys for, [7].
• Flying Fox. Pteropus Edwardsii, [14]. See Mammalia.
  • its sizes, [14].
  • skeleton of, [15].
  • food, [16].
  • habits, [16].
  • numbers, [16].
  • strange attitudes, [17].
  • food and habits, [18].
  • drinking toddy, [18].
• Flying squirrels, [41].
• Fresh-water fishes, [335].
• Fretz, Lieut., his singular wound, [154].
• Frogs, [318].
  • tree frogs, [319]. [320].

• Galle, elephants shipped in 1701, [163] n.
• Gallinæ, [259].
• Galloperdix bicalcaratus, [259].
• Gallwey, Capt. P.P., great number of elephants shot by him, [142].
• Game birds, [265].
• Gardner, Dr., his account of the coffee bug, [436]-441.
• Gaur, [49] See Mammalia.
  • Knox's account of the gaur, [49].
• Geckoes, [281].
• Gemma Frisius, [68].
• Genette, [32].
• Geology of Ceylon, errors as to, [60].
  • previous accounts, [61].
  • traditions of ancient submersion, [61]. [67].
  • Ceylon has a fauna distinct from India, [62].
• "Golden Meadows," [211] n. See Massoude.
• Golunda rat, [43].
• Goondah, [114]. See Rogue.
• Gooneratne, Mr., [Introd].
  • his story of the jackal, [35].
• Gordon Cumming, his butchery of elephants in Africa, [146] n.
• Gowra-ellia, [49].
• Grallæ, [260].
• Gray, Dr. J.E., Brit. Mus., [Introd].
  • notice of Ceylon fishes, [366].
• Great fire-fish, [332].
• Guinea worm, [397].
• Günther, Dr. A., on Ceylon reptiles, [275] n., [304].
• Gwillim's Heraldry, error as to elephants, [105] n.

• Hambangtotte, elephants of, [99].
• Hardy, Col, anecdote of, when chased by an elephant, [133].
• Hardy, Rev. Spence, describes a white monkey, [8].
• Haroun Alraschid, sends an elephant to Charlemagne, [103].
• Harrison, Dr., [95].
  • his anatomy of the elephant, [123] n., [126].
  • his account of elephant's head, [142].
  • of the elephant's ear, [223].
• Hastisilpe, a work on elephants, [87] n., [91].
• Hawking, [246].
• Hawks. See Birds, [246].
• Hedge-hog, [46].
• Helix hæmastoma, its colouring, [372].
• Hemiptera, [433]. [462].
• Hendoo, crook for driving elephants, [212].
• Herd, a, of elephants, is a family, [111].
  • its mode of electing a leader, [117].
• Herodotus, on mosquitoes, [435].
  • antipathy of the elephant to the camel, [83] n.
• Herpestes, [38].
• Herport, Albrecht, his work on India, [71] n.
• Hesperidæ, [426].
• Hill, Sir John, error as to elephants, [98].
• Hippopotamus rogues, [115] n.
• Histiophorus, [330]. See Sword-fish.
• Holland, Dr., his theory as to the formation of tusks, [89] n.
• Holothurin, sea-slug and Trepang, [396].
• Home, Sir Everard, on the elephant's stomach, [124].
  • error as to the elephant's ear, [223].
• Home, Randal, error as to elephant, [105] n.
• Homoptera, [462]. [463].
• Honey-comb, great size of, [418].
• Hooker, Dr. J.D., on the elephants of the Himalaya, [110] n.
  • error as to white ants' nests, [413].
  • on ticks in Nepal, [471] n., [472].
• Hora, [115]. See Rogue.
• Horace, alludes to a white elephant, [92] n.
• Hornbill, Buceros, [242]. [243].
• Horse, alleged antipathy to the elephant, [83].
  • to the camel, [83] n.
  • story of, and an elephant, [89].
  • horses taught to fight with elephants, [84].
• Hotambeya, [40]. See Mongoos.
• Hot-water fishes, [358].
• Hunt, mode of conducting an elephant-hunt, [157].
• Hunter, Dr. John, his theory of æstivation, [356].
• Hurra! 223 n.
• Huxley, Prof., [Introd].
  • his memorandum on the fishes of Ceylon, [364].
• Hydrophobia in jackals, [36].
• Hymenoptera, [416].

• Ianthina, [370].
• Ichneumon, [39]. See Mongoos.
• Iguana, [271]. See Reptiles.
• Infusoria, Red, in the Ceylon seas, [400].
• Insects of Ceylon, [403].
  • their profusion and beauty, [403].
  • hitherto imperfectly described, [404].
  • coleoptera, [405].
  • Beetles, scavengers, [405].
  • coco-nut beetle, tortoise beetle, [407].
  • tortoise beetle, [408].
  • Orthoptera, [408].
  • the soothsayer, leaf-insect, [410].
  • Neuroptera, [411].
  • dragon-flies, [411].
  • ant-lion, [411].
  • white ant, termites, [411].
• Insects, Hymenoptera, mason-wasp, [416].
  • wasps, bees, wasps' nest, [418].
  • carpenter bee, [418].
  • ants, [420].
  • value of scavenger ants to conchologists, [421].
  • dimiya or red ant, [422].
  • introduced to destroy coffee-bug, [423].
  • Lepidoptera, butterflies, [424].
  • lycænidæ, hesperidæ, [426].
  • acherontia sathanas, [427].
  • moths, silk-worm, [427].
  • stinging caterpillars, [429].
  • oiketicus, [430].
  • Homoptera, cicada, the "knife-grinder," [432].
  • Flata, [433].
  • Aphaniptera—fleas, [433].
  • Diptera—mosquitoes, [434].
  • Coffee bug, [436]-441.
  • Mr. Walker's memorandum on Ceylon insects, [442].
  • list, [447].
• Ivory, annual consumption, [78] n.
  • superiority of Chinese, ib.

• Jackal, [35].
  • its cunning, [35].
  • probably the "fox" of Scripture, [35].
  • its sagacity in hunting, [36].
  • subject to hydrophobia, [36].
  • jackal's horn, the narric comboo, [37].
  • superstitions connected with, [37].
• Jackdaw, fable of, [244]. See Avitchia.
• Jardine, Sir W., error as to elephants shedding their tusks, [79] n.
• Jay, the mountain, [252]. See Cissa.
• Joinville, on the parasite of the bat, [20].
• Julus, [477].
• Jungle fowl, [259]. See Birds.
• Juvenal's allusion to fishes on land, [346].

• Kabragoya, [272]. [273]. See Iguana.
  • Kabara-tel, poison, [274].
  • Kanats in Persia, [339] n.
• Keddah, for taking elephants, [164].
• Kelaart, Dr., work on the Zoology of Ceylon, [4].
  • examination of the Radiata, [395].
  • discoveries as to the pearl oyster, [375].
• Kingfisher, [249]. See Birds.
• Kinnis, Dr., cultivates zoology, [4].
• Kite, on Egyptian sculpture, [246] n.
• Knife-grinder, [432]. See Cicada.
• Knox, R., account of Ceylon fauna, [Introd].
  • his description of the Wanderoo, [5].
  • of elephants executing criminals, [87].
  • of the mode of catching elephants, [157].
• Knox, his description of natives fishing, [340].
• [Greek: Kochlious], [371].
• Kombook tree, its bark, [170].
• Korahl, [165]. See Kraal and Corral.
  • derivation of the word, [165] n.
• Kornegalle, beauty of the place, [167].
• Kottiar, immense oysters, [371] n. See Cottiar.
• Kraal, [165]. See Corral and Korahl.
• Krank-bezoeker, [71] n.

• Layard, E.A., his knowledge of Ceylon zoology, [4].
  • his collections of Ceylon birds, [241].
  • story of fish on dry land, [318].
  • anecdote of burying molluscs, [355].
• Leaf insect. 408-410. See Insects.
• Leaping fish, [332]. See Salarias alticus.
• Lecanium Caffeæ, [436].
• Leeches, [479]. See Annelidæ.
  • land leech, [479].
  • medicinal leech, [483].
  • cattle leech, [344].
• Leopard, [25].
  • in Ceylon confounded with the cheetah, [26].
  • superstitions regarding, [26].
  • anecdotes of their ferocity, [27].
  • attracted by the small-pox, [28].
  • story of Major Skinner, [29].
  • monkeys killed by leopards, [31].
• Lepidoptera, [424].
• Lepisma, the fish insect, [474].
• Lima, General de, his account of the weight of elephants' tusks at
  • Mozambique, [79] n.
• Livingstone's account of the "rogue" hippopotamus, [115] n.
• Llama of the Andes, its stomach, [128] n.
• Livy, account of fishes on dry land, [346].
• Lizards, [271]. See Reptiles.
• Lophobranchi, [362].
• Loris, [12]. See Mammalia.
  • two varieties in Ceylon, [12].
  • torture inflicted on it, [13].
• Lucan, description of the ichneumon, [39].
• Lycænidæ, [426].
• Lyre-headed lizard, [277].

• Macabbees iii. Book, allusion to elephants, [87] n., [211] n.
• Macacus monkey, [5].
• Machlis described by Cæsar, [101].
• Macready, Major, account of a noise made by elephants, [97].
  • his opinion as to the vulnerable point in the elephant's head. [145] n.
• Mahawanso, mentions a white elephant, [93].
• Mahout, an elephant driver, [181]. See Ponnekella.
• Mahout, alleged short life, [222].
• Malacopterygii abdominales, [362].
  • sub-branchiati, [362].
  • apoda, [362].
• Mammalia, [3].
  • Monkeys, [5].
  • Rilawa, [5].
  • Wanderoo, [6].
  • error as to the Ceylon Wanderoo, [6] n.
  • Wanderoo, mode of flight among trees, [9].
  • monkeys never found dead, [11].
  • Loris, [12].
  • tortures inflicted on it, [13].
  • Bat, flying fox, [14].
  • skeleton of, [14].
  • attracted by toddy to the coco-nut palms, [18].
  • horse-shoe bat, [18].
  • parasite of the bat, Nycteribia, [20]. [21].
  • bears, [22].
  • bears dreaded in Ceylon, [24].
  • leopards, [25].
  • attracted by the odour of small pox, [28].
  • anecdote of a leopard, [29].
  • lesser felines, [32].
  • dogs, Pariah, [34].
  • jackal, [34].
  • the jackal's horn, [36].
  • Mongoos, [37].
  • assaults of Mongoos on the serpent, [38].
  • squirrels, [41].
  • the flying squirrel, [41].
  • rats, the rat snake, [42].
  • coffee rat, [43]. [44].
  • bandicoot, [44]. [45].
  • porcupine, [45].
  • pengolin, [46]-48.
  • the gaur, [49].
  • the ox, [50].
  • anecdote of, [51].
  • draft oxen, [51]-53.
  • the buffalo, [54].
  • sporting buffaloes, [55].
  • peculiarity of the buffalo's foot, [56].
  • deer, [57].
  • meminna, [57]. [58].
  • Ceylon elk, [59].
  • wild boar, [59].
  • elephant, [69]. [75].
  • whale and dugong, [68]. [69].
  • peculiarities of Ceylon mammalia, [73].
  • list of, [73].
• Manaar, mermaid taken at, [69].
  • elephants shipped at, [162].
  • pearl fishery, [373].
• Manis. See Pengolin, [46].
• Mantis, [410].
• Massoudi, on the use of elephants in war, [211] n.
  • his account of pearl-diving, [377] n.
• Mastacembelus, [338]. See Eels.
• Megasthenes' account of the mermaid, [69].
• Mehemet Ali, story of, [34].
• Melania Paludina, its habit of burying itself, [355].
  • its hybernation, [355].
• Melania, story of a law suit decided by, [355] n.
• Meleagrina, [373] n. See Pearl fishery.
• Meminna deer, [58].
• Mercator, [68].
• Mercer, Mr., his story of an elephant fight, [86].
• Mermaid, [68]. See Dugong.
• Mermaids, at Manaar, [69].
  • at Amboina, [70].
  • at Booro, [71].
  • at Edam, [72].
• Millipeds, Julus, [477].
• Mites, [472].
• Mollusca. See Shells.
• Molyneux, on the anatomy of the elephant, [122] n.
• Mongoos, [38]. See Ichneumon.
  • species at Neuera-ellia, Herpestes Vitticollis, [38].
  • story of its antidote against the bite of serpents, [39].
  • its mode of killing snakes, [39].
• Monkeys, [5].
  • never found dead, [11].
  • a white monkey, [8].
• Moors of Galle, make ornaments of the elephant's teeth, [153].
• Moors, as caravan drivers, [53].
• Moose deer, [58]. See Meminna.
• Morris, Mr., account of fishes on land, [348].
• Mosquitoes, their cunning, [434].
  • Herodotus, account of, [436].
  • probably the plague of flies, [434] n.
• Moths, [427]. See Insects.
• Munster, Sebastian, [68].
• Musical fishes, [380].
  • account of, at Batticaloa, [380].
  • similar phenomena at other places, [383] n.
  • fishes known to utter sounds, [384].
  • Tritonia arborescens, [385].
• Musk, [32].
• Mygale, spider, [465].
• Myriapods, [472].