Diary of Trooper Ion Llewellyn Idriess-1917-1918 - Part 8

a sulky, but of course 

on a very tiny scale,

and exceedingly light 

and rubber tyred. A

man can just sit in 

one comfortably. The

shafts are about the 

thickness of broom

handles. The whole 

affair is so evenly 

balanced and light

that the coolie just 

keeps his hands on 

the poles and runs,

it being hardly necessary

to “pull” the affair 

unless going up an 

incline. I got in 

one of these affairs, and 

set out to see Colombo.

We crossed a busy

street in which were

electric trams. It was a

bit curious to see the

inhabitants blackmen,

wearing white skirts

Then some rick shaws

passed us, bearing portly 

fearfully important 

black gentlemen, who 

looked straight over 

their rickshaw mans 

head, as if the weight fate of

the whole island rested 

alone on the stout

gentlemens  shoulders. In

twenty minutes I had 

noticed the sharp social

contrast of the place.

All the labourers of 

whom there are a great

number, are dressed 

solely in a dark rag 
tied around their middle.

The sweat glistened on
their black, muscular 

bodies. Many men were 

in the street wearing a 

skirt only. Some had

no head gear on, others

had tortoise shell combs,

a few had a peculiar 

sort of turban. Some of

the rich men wore 

European clothes. I could

not bear but help

thinking that if these

men stuck to their

native costume, they

would be a lot 

cooler and more 

comfortable. The whole 

race, as I saw them,

were small, light 

built men, the majority 

very muscular. The 

shop keepers wore half 

European dress, and 

were mostly cool looking

a goodly number being 

much stouter looking 

than their hard working

fellow men. One thing 

I immediately noticed.

All have something

to do. There is no

loafing such as is the 

rule in Egyptian

cities. The long steady

trot of the rickshaw

then carried me through

rather narrow streets, 

passed numerous 

well kept private

houses. Each house 

has its own large

garden, with its

tropical trees casting

a very grateful

shade everywhere.

How clean the whole

place is. What a 

contrast to the Egyptian

people and towns. 

I noticed now that 

the rickshaw men 

have a peculiar, loping 

trot, which they can 

keep up for a long

time. The sweat was 

pouring off my man 

so I let the poor devil

take his own pace. 

Not so the natives in

the rickshaws that 

kept passing us. I 

soon saw that the 

native in comfort

has no mercy on his 

human pony. The 

roads are all splendidly

kept, very smooth, and

there are very little

inclin in them. I hear 

that the average rickshaw

mans life if

seven years, from the 

first time he steps

between the shafts.  

After a long run, the

coolie stopped, at 

the gates of the Cinnamon 

gardens. Now at the 

back of my thick head

I had it the Cinnamon

gardens was an 

extraordinarily beautiful 

place. In one way I

was not disappointed

As I walked along

the paths, I was struck 

by the presence of
 

a very grateful

shade everywhere.

How clean the whole

place is. What a 

contrast to the Egyptian

people and towns. 

I noticed now that 

the rickshaw men 

have a peculiar, loping 

trot, which they can 

keep up for a long

time. The sweat was 

pouring off my man 

so I let the poor devil

take his own pace. 

Not so the natives in

the rickshaws that 

kept passing us. I 

soon saw that the 

native in comfort

has no mercy on his 

human pony. The 

roads are all splendidly

kept, very smooth, and

there are very little

inclin in them. I hear 

that the average rickshaw

mans life if

seven years, from the 

first time he steps

between the shafts.  

After a long run, the

coolie stopped, at 

the gates of the Cinnamon 

gardens. Now at the 

back of my thick head

I had it the Cinnamon

gardens was an 

extraordinarily beautiful 

place. In one way I

was not disappointed

As I walked along

the paths, I was struck 

by the presence of

many tropical trees 

and plants which 

brought North 

Queensland back to

me with a rush of 

pleasure. The lawyer

vines, the bean trees, 

the paw-paw trees, 

the lofty cocoa nut 

palm, again and 

again and again  I 

saw the beautiful

scrub clad ranges 

of North Queensland.  

What struck me 

too was the beautiful 

singing of many 

wild birds. But

other wise, I was 

vastly disappointed.

The gardens cannot

even compare with 

Sydney botanical

gardens, as I saw it 

seven years ago. And

the North Queensland

Scrubs, for beauty

and majesty would 

compare with it as a 

black girl to a pretty

white. But it was 

very beautiful after

these three years of 

desert. Then the

rickshaw again

through pleasant 

lanes, to the museum.  

The museum is very 

interesting, a well

built small building

as museums go, holding

curiosities of Ceylon.  

There are the many 

curious weapons of 

the native princes and 

their followers, their 

different dresses of 

state, their ornaments, 

their grotesque idols 

and devils, some

monstrous fishes, 

many beautiful birds

and animals. There 

is a cast of a man

and woman, the 

aboriginals of the 

island. They are a 

wild looking pair

of beggars, the man 

with a bow and 

arrow in his hand

and the wild eyed 

woman with a lump

of honey in hers, and

running down her 

lips. I suppose

kissing is a practice

uncommon among them.  

I believe the race is

fast becoming extinct
This museum teaches a man 

that the natives of this 

island had go in them.

Then the rickshaw man

trotted me to a buddist

temple. Inside were three

x large figures of Budda

and many smaller ones. 

Buddas face is a

rather nice, half smiling

face, very different from 

the wid  hideous devils

in the museum. If Budda

were in the flesh, and a 

friend of mine I should

have no hesitation in

stinging him for a

fiver. In one of the 

temple rooms was a 

life size painting of 

the chief priest of Buddha.

A very tough old 

nut he looked, too. I 

would not think of

asking him for a

fiver, by Caesar, no.  

On the altars before

Buddha were strewn 

the petals of a pretty

white flower, which

wafted through the 

rooms a very pleasing 

scent. On tables were 

many buddhist manuscript,

made out of thin

strips of bamboo, or so

it appeared to me. In

the garden, as I came

out, Later on in the

afternoon I passed the

place, and in the 

garden of the temple 

were walking many

yellow robed students

of buddha, some with

their heads quite shaved.  

Perhaps these latter were

confirmed priests. Most 

of them merely had their

heads very close cropped.  

In lots of carvings

about this place, is the

cobra snake. His carvings

are everywhere. Most of 

the devils in the museum 

think it essential to have 

half a dozen of the flat

headed reptiles as a

head dress. Feeling now

exceedingly hot and

infernally thirsty, I

ordered the rickshaw 

man to take me to the

Bristol hotel, about two

miles away with all

speed. I had gotten a 

most damnable, or 

rather pleasantly over

powering thirst. We 

pulled up at dinner 

time in front of the

imposing hotel. I paid

the rickshaw man well, 

so well that with some

muttered word of thanks

he had picked up the

rickshaw and whizzed

around the corner of 

the hotel before I'd 

entered the door. I

suppose the poor devil 

was afraid I might 

change my mind and

take some of the

money back. I sat 

down to a small dinner 

table. The first two 

shandies did not hit

the walls. The third was very

pleasant. I noticed how 

cool it was. I looked

up the menu card and 

ordered dinner. It 

wasn't a bad dinner, 

but many times the

same meal has cost 

me a shilling, b  at

in Sydney and Brisbane

restaurants. Here it 

cost two hundred and

fifty cents, about half 

a crown. The drinks 

cost me one rupee each

 ¼. All these foreign

mixtures of money are

a damn nuisance, but 

Egypt had taught us the
down lesson of learning 

the money values of a 

country quick and lively. 

So the quick witted natives

of Colombo found our

miraculously acquired

knowledge of their money

values somewhat 

embarrassing.

After dinner I strolled

around the streets of this

pleasant looking town

for half an hour, and

noticed that the poorer

working men seemed to

dine from a green leaf 

and a species of nut.  

I passed a few women,

but they weren't worth 

looking at. Then into

another rickshaw, and

an argument with the

horse, who could not

understand why I did 

not want to go to the

gardens, the museum and 

the temple. So for two 

hours we I was trotted 

along through pl and walked,

as the sweating rickshaw 

man wished, along narrow

well made roads, hemmed

in by lofty trees past 

many pretty foliage

hidden houses. Through

the native quarters, with

their little square room,

open to all the world 

shops, their inmates 

squatting on the floor

very busy bargaining 

past the barber shops, 

where the barber

and his victim both

squat down to their work.

Then into the native 

markets, with its stalls 

of many kinds of tropical 

fruits, the babble of many 

arguing native voices, 

through the fish markets,

and finally the meat 

markets. Here were Ceylon

crows, sitting upon the

beams on which the meat

was hung, their inquisite 

heads looking downwards, 

their sharp eyes watching

for any scrap of meat 

that might fall from

the native butchers 

chopper. Then on through

the streets again.

What I felt most

sorry for were the

tiny bullocks that pull 

the waggon loads about

Colombo. These bullocks 

are only the size of a 

fairly grown calf. They 

are possessed of a 

hump above the shoulder

and patient little black 
eyes. Sometimes there are

one to a native cart, 

sometimes two. These

waggons are covered

over with rushes, after

the style of the canvas

over a Cape cart. The 

waggons are nearly

always heavily loaded.  

It was now getting 

towards evening, and

some of the elite of

Colombo were coming 

out for a cooling