_The Buffalo_.--Buffaloes abound in all parts of Ceylon, but they are only to be seen in their native wildness in the vast solitudes of the northern and eastern provinces, where rivers, lagoons, and dilapidated tanks abound. In these they delight to immerse themselves, till only their heads appear above the surface; or, enveloped in mud to protect themselves from the assaults of insects, luxuriate in the long sedges by the water margins. When the buffalo is browsing, a crow will frequently be seen stationed on his back, engaged in freeing it from the ticks and other pests which attach themselves to his leathery hide, the smooth brown surface of which, unprotected by hair, shines with an unpleasant polish in the sunlight. When in motion he throws back his clumsy head till the huge horns rest on his shoulders, and the nose is presented in a line with the eyes. When wild they are at all times uncertain in disposition, but so frequently savage that it is never quite safe to approach them, if disturbed in their pasture or alarmed from their repose in the shallow lakes. On such occasions they hurry into line, draw up in defensive array, with a few of the oldest bulls in advance; and, wheeling in circles, their horns clashing with a loud sound as they clank them together in their rapid evolutions, the herd betakes itself to flight. Then forming again at a safer distance, they halt as before, elevating their nostrils, and throwing back their heads to take a cautious survey of the intruders. The sportsman rarely molests them, so huge a creature affording no worthy mark for his skill, and their wanton slaughter adding nothing to the supply of food for their assailant. In the Hambangtotte country, where the Singhalese domesticate the buffaloes, and use them to assist in the labour of the rice lands, the villagers are much annoyed by the wild ones, which mingle with the tame when sent out to the woods to pasture; and it constantly happens that a savage stranger, placing himself at the head of the tame herd, resists the attempts of the owners to drive them homewards at sunset. In the districts of Putlam and the Seven Corles, buffaloes are generally used for draught; and in carrying heavy loads of salt from the coast towards the interior, they drag a cart over roads which would defy the weaker strength of bullocks.