a
KILLING GAME AT THE INUNDATION OF AN ISLAND.
T h e rains, like oilier cliaiiges of season, vary as lo the date of tiieir comraeneemenl.;
liiit for the most par t they set in behveeii the lOlh and 15th of
J u n e . They liave been known to be a month earher or later; such deviations
however are very raro. When late, they occasion an iulerval of the most obnoxious
sul try lieat, peculiarly distressing to tlie feelings, and teeming wi t h dest
r u c t i o n , botii to health and vegetation. Their co nun en cernen I is for the most
p a r t gradual and gentle, resembling our spring showers. Souietiiues they Iiave
b e g u n with violent storms, and such heavy falls of water, as might give the
h i n t to Noah, were he living, of the expediency of embarking. I have known
t h e rains to subside with tlie first week in September: wiiich is, liowcver, a
g r e a t misfortune, as tlie solar heats, the equinox not heing past, burn up the
r i c e crops, and occasion the verdure to disappear. The eflects on the luimaa
c o n s t i t u t i o n are not more favourahlu; in such seasons many persons are carried
oil" suddenly. Although the rains have occasionallv continued until the first
week in Novcnd)cr, such instances, liowever, are rare; when it so happens, a
good crop may be expected, and a fine winter invariably follows. But as an
average we may look to the lOth of October for their cessation.
Rice, whi c h will not grow but in the water, is sown on the hanks of^'ceA-, &c.
o r on the borders of rivei-s, in the luutl. during the month of iMay. Too nuich
seed can scarcely ])e used : the plants come up so thick as almost to bear up a
uian on their points : they resemble a beautiful green carpet. Wiien the low
g r o u n d s have been well irrigated, by the first showers, they are ploughed;
though at limes that operat ion has previousl y taken place ; and the ricc, which is
taken up from the seed beds lo be transplanted in the fields, now ])ecomcs so
v e r y heavy, tliaL tlio sellers wade up to tiieir knees in slime, as tliey set tlie
p l a n t s at about six or eiglit inoiies ilistance each way. This is ilone with their
hands, no tools being necessary.
T h e riee gi-ows amazingly fast ; in fact, it is not easy to drown it. The
g r e a t rivers often rise twelve or fonrleen leet in tiveiity-foiir honrs, yet strange
t o behold ! the rice increases with etjnal liaste, and still disjilays its line
g r e en top above the flood. 1 have often pulled up riee straw eighteen and
t w e n t y feet long, from places vvhicb a week before were nearly dry. I was
f o r a long time puzzled by this curious circumstance, but my wouder ceased
when T examine d the plant. Each joint of the straw is to a certain degree
p e r f e c t from the lime that the rice is a foot high, and as (he water rises, exclusive
of the growth of each joint in itself, the whole of the several lubes or
j o i n t s draw forth in a inaiiiier similar to the insertions of a pocket telescope.
A f t e r a certain lime ihe straw beeomcs hard, and contraeting, form a callus,
much the same as the joint in wheat or other straws. If a very high flood
come, the rice floats, and is lost ; as the lubes in such case slip out allogether.
I cannot say iu what depth of water rice will grow; but if the rise he not
very rapid, J conceive its increase would bear a suitable proportion even to the
d e p t h of forty or fifty feet. We may suppose that in some places it mnst be of
1.3]
t h a t length, when vessels of considerable burthen can sail Ihrongh it for a
whole day without touching the ground.
When the riee is ripe it i.s general l y gathered in boats throughout the lower
c o u n t r y , else it must be left till the water ivithdraws, when it is cut in ihe u.sual
way. The leiigtli of the straw, in its prostrale |)osition, forms an admirable
asylum for game. Snipes are found in thou.sands, as are in some parts wild hogs
l i n t riding over it is veiy dangerous; many a horse being throw,,
spite of the utmost precaution. Such situations breed very large ,n„s<p,ito8,
which bite with extreme severity.
T h e villages throughout the low couiitry, which is subject to annual inundation,
a,-e invariably built upon eminences or knobs of "land ; of which many
a p p e a r to be artidcial. Ncverlheless in some very extraordinary sea.sons, towns
are swept away. This, however, is not so alarming an event as might al firsl be
supposed. Such places as are coiisiilcrcd of iusufficient height, arc farther
secured by building Ihe houses on stakes or piles, over ivhich the floors, rotnposed
of ba,nhoo laths and mats are laid, perhaps live or six feel fro,,, ihe
g r o u n d . The openings below are s„nieie„l, on one hand, to let Ihe water pass
f r e e l y ; which it docs al a .slow rate, .seldom exceeding a mile in the hour ; while,
b y means of a few a.iditioual baltens during iho drysea.son, a convenieiil enclosure
is formed for kec],ing calves. Sic. As long as Ihe waters arc up, the cattle
of each village a, c kept in boats, c-oivdcd as thick as Ihcir prows can be brought
t o g e t h e r all arounil llie insulated village; and green fodder is daily procured
b y ,i,cans o f long ivoodeu forks pnshcil down in the water near to Ihe hotloiii,
whcnee they come up well laden %villi a remarkabl y sweel kind of bent gras.s
p r o v i d e n t i a l l y abounding al this juncture, and remarkably fattening lo every
species of cattle, &e. Few horses arc kept except for riding; all the labours of
h u s h a i i d r y being per formed by oxen, which arc in general use both for draught
and carriage.
T h e innumerabl e islands to be seen, in the great rivers, all derive their origin
from the same cause. There can be no doubt but they were in the first instance
formed by the great body of sand, lloatod by the violence of the cur rent s during
t h e rams. The smallest object sulliccs for the coinnicncement of a new island;
p e r h a p s a hramble, carried down hy the stream, lights on a shallow pari ; or'
whe,i the waters subside, is casually le/'l on a spot which afterwards becomes
dry, or from which it is not again propelleil. This secns lo be a rallying point
for all small rnhhish which, during the hot season, obstruct the sands, and by
the next rains w-ill have gi-eatly accuniulated. In the course of a few years
its extent is so far increased as lo render it an object of the husbandman' s attention;
when it is cultivated, and produces hue crops. By degrees it rises ahove
the water' s ulmost level, and villages make their appearance. But it should not be
forgotten, that such formations do not always display sufficient sliihility ; they
sometimes vanish iu the course of a few days or hours. This is general l y occasioned
hy some accident ahove, such as a headland giving way, and eausin«'
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