, the Admiral established his
point.

CHAPTER XX.

CEYLONESE CANOES--PERUVIAN BALSAS--THE FLOATING WINDLASS OF THE
COROMANDEL FISHERMEN.

The canoes of Ceylon, as far as I remember, are not described by any
writer, nor have I met with any professional men who are aware of
their peculiar construction, and of the advantages of the extremely
elegant principle upon which they are contrived, though capable, I am
persuaded, of being applied to various purposes of navigation.

Among the lesser circumstances which appear to form characteristic
points of distinction between country and country may be mentioned the
head-dress of the men, and the form and rig of their boats. An
endless variety of turbans, sheep-skin caps, and conical bonnets,
distinguish the Asiatics from the "Toppee Wallas" or hat-wearers of
Europe; and a still greater variety exists amongst the boats of
different nations. My purpose, just now, however, is to speak of boats
and canoes alone; and it is really most curious to observe, that their
size, form, cut of sails, description of oar and rudder, length of
mast and so on, are not always entirely regulated by the peculiar
climate of the locality, but made to depend on a caprice which it is
difficult to account for. The boats of some countries are so extremely
unstable, and altogether without bearings, that the smallest weight on
one side more than on the other upsets them. This applies to the
canoes of the North American Indian, which require considerable
practice, even in the smoothest water, to keep them upright; and yet
the Indians cross immense lakes in them, although the surface of those
vast sheets of fresh water is often as rough as that of any salt sea.
The waves, it is true, are not so long and high; but they are very
awkward to deal with, from their abruptness, and the rapidity with
which they get up when a breeze sets in.

On those parts of the coast of the United States where the seasons are
alternately very fine and very rough, our ingenious friends, the
Americans, have contrived a set of pilot-boats, which are the delight
of every sailor. This description of vessel, as the name implies, must
always be at sea, as it is impossible to tell when her services may be
required by ships steering in for the harbour's mouth. Accordingly,
the Baltimore clippers and the New York pilots defy the elements in a
style which it requires a long apprenticeship to the difficulties and
discomforts of a