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 3 
 
 THE 
 
 RIFLE AND THE HOUND 
 
 IN 
 
 CEYLON.
 

 
 PANIC AMONG THE GUN BEARERS. Page 299. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 J. B. LIPPINCOTT A CO.
 
 THE 
 
 RIFLE AND THE HOUND 
 
 IN 
 
 CEYLON. 
 
 BY SIR SAMUEL W. BAKER, 
 1] 
 
 AUTHOR OF " ALBERT N'YANZA, GREAT BASIN OF THB KILK," " TUB NlUt 
 TRIBUTARIES OF ABYSSINIA," ETC 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. 
 
 1883.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE love of sport is a feeling inherent in most English- 
 men, and whether in the chase, or with the rod or gun, 
 they far excel all other nations. In fact, the definition of this 
 feeling cannot be understood by many foreigners. We are fre- 
 quently ridiculed for fox-hunting : " What for all dis people, 
 dis horses, dis many dog ? dis leetle (how you call him ?) dis 
 ' fox ' for to catch ? ha ! you eat dis creature ; he vary fat 
 and fine ? " 
 
 This is a foreigner's notion of the chase ; he hunts for the 
 pot ; and by Englishmen alone is the glorious feeling shared 
 of true, fair and manly sport The character of the nation is 
 beautifully displayed in all our rules for hunting, shooting, 
 fishing, fighting, etc. ; a feeling of fair play pervades every 
 amusement Who would shoot a hare in form ? who would 
 net a trout stream ? who would hit a man when down ? A 
 Frenchman would do all these things, and might be no bad 
 fellow after all. It would be his -way of doing it. His notion 
 would be to make use of an advantage when an opportunity 
 ! 6
 
 6 Introduction, 
 
 offered. He would think it folly to give the hare a chance of 
 running- when he could shoot her sitting ; he would make an 
 excellent dish of all the trout he could snare ; and as to hit- 
 ting his man when down, he would think it madness to allow 
 him to get up again until he had put him hors de combat 
 by jumping on him. Their notions of sporting and ours, 
 then, widely differ; they take every advantage, while we 
 give every advantage ; they delight in the certainty of kill- 
 ing, while our pleasure consists in the chance of the animal 
 escaping. 
 
 I would always encourage the love of sport in a lad ; 
 guided by its true spirit of fair play, it is a feeling that will 
 make him above doing a mean thing in every station of life, 
 and will give him real feelings of humanity. I have had great 
 experience in the characters of thorough sportsmen, and I 
 can safely say that I never saw one that was not a straight- 
 forward, honorable man, who would scorn to take a dirty ad- 
 vantage of man or animal. In fact, all real sportsmen that I 
 have met have been really tender-hearted men men who shun 
 cruelty to an animal, and who are easily moved by a tal* of 
 distress. 
 
 With these feelings sport is an amusement worthy of a 
 man, and this noble taste has been extensively developed since 
 the opportunities of traveling have of late years been so won- 
 derfully improved. The facility with which the most remote 
 regions are now reached renders a tour over some por- 
 tion of the globe a necessary adjunct to a man's educa- 
 tion, and a sportsman naturally directs his path to some
 
 Introduction. J 
 
 land where civilization has not yet banished the wild beast 
 from the soiL 
 
 Ceylon is a delightful country for the sporting tourist In 
 the high road to India and China, any length of time may be 
 spent en passant, and the voyage by the overland route is 
 nothing but a trip of a few weeks of pleasure. 
 
 This island has been always celebrated for its elephants, but 
 the other branches of sport are comparatively unknown to 
 strangers. No account has ever been written which embraces 
 all Ceylon sports : anecdotes of elephant-shooting fill the 
 pages of nearly every work on Ceylon ; but the real character 
 of the wild sports of this island has never been described, 
 because the writers have never been acquainted with each 
 separate branch of the Ceylon chase. 
 
 A residence of many years in this lovely country, where 
 the wild sports of tne island have formed a never-failing and 
 constant amusement, alone confers sufficient experience to 
 enable a person to give a faithful picture of both shooting and 
 hunting in Ceylon jungles. 
 
 In describing these sports I shall give no anecdotes of 
 others, but I shall simply recall scenes in which I myself have 
 shared, preferring even a character for egotism rather than 
 relate the statements of hearsay, for the truth of which I 
 could not vouch. This must be accepted as an excuse for the 
 unpleasant use of the first person. 
 
 There are many first-rate sportsmen in Ceylon who could 
 furnish anecdotes of individual risks and hairbreadth escapes 
 (the certain accompaniments to elephant-shooting) that would
 
 8 Introduction. 
 
 fill volumes ; but enough will be found in the few scenes 
 which I have selected from whole hecatombs of slaughter 
 to satisfy and perhaps fatigue the most patient reader. 
 
 One fact I wish to impress upon all that the coloring of 
 every description is diminished and not exaggerated, the real 
 scene being in all cases a picture, of whicn the narration is 
 but a feeble copy.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 MOT 
 
 Wild Country Dealings in the Marvelous Enchanting Mo- 
 mentsThe Wild Elephant of Ceylon " Rogues " Elephant 
 Slaughter Thick Jungles Character of the Country Varie- 
 ties of Game in Ceylon "Battery for Ceylon Sport" The 
 Elk, or " Samber Deer " Deer-coursing 13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Newera Ellia The Turn-out for Elk-hunting Elk-hunting 
 Elk turned to Bay The Boar. 33 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Minneria Lake Brush with a Bull An Awkward Vis-a-vis. 
 A Bright Thought Bull Buffalo receives his Small Change 
 What is Man ? Long Shot with the Four-ounce Charged by 
 a Herd of Buffaloes The Four-ounce does Service The 
 " Lola " A Woman killed by a Crocodile Crocodile at Bol- 
 godde Lake A Monster Crocodile Death of a Crocodile. . . 42 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Equipment for a Hunting Trip In Chase of a Herd of Ele- 
 phants Hard Work Close Quarters Six Feet from the 
 
 Muzzle A Black with a Devil 65 
 
 9
 
 IO Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PAOl 
 
 The Four-ounce Again Tidings of a Rogue Approaching a 
 Tank Rogue An Exciting Moment Ruins of Pollanarua 
 Ancient Ruins Rogues at Doolana B. charged by a Rogue 
 Planning an Attack A Check Narrow Escape Rogue- 
 stalking A Bad Rogue Dangers of Elephant-shooting The 
 Rhatamahatmeya's Tale 75 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Character of the Veddahs Description of the Veddahs A Mo- 
 nampitya Rogue Attacking the Rogue Breathless Excite- 
 ment Death of a Large Rogue Utility of the Four-ounce A 
 Curious Shot Fury of a Bull Buffalo Character of the Wild 
 Buffalo Buffalo-shooting at Minneria Lake Charge in High 
 Reeds Close of a Good Day's Sport Last Day at Minneria 
 A Large Snake An Unpleasant Bedfellow. IOI 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Capabilities of Ceylon Deer at Illepecade'we* Sagacity of a Pa- 
 riah Dog Two Deer at One Shot Deer-stalking Hamban- 
 totte Country Kattregam Festival Sitrawelle Ruins of 
 Ancient Mahagam Wiharewelle A Night Attack upon Ele- 
 phants Shooting by Moonlight Yalle" River Another Rogue 
 A Stroll before Breakfast A Curious Shot A Good Day's 
 Sport 128 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Best Hounds for Elk-hunting Smut Killbuck The Horton 
 Plains A Second Soyer The Find The Buck at Bay The 
 Bay The Death Return of Lost Dogs Comparative Speed 
 of Deer Veddah Ripped by a Boar A Melee Buck at 
 Black Pool Old Smut's Ruse Margosse Oil 153
 
 Contents. 1 1 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 PAQB 
 
 A Morning's Deer-coursing Kondawataweny Rogue at Kon- 
 dawataweny A Close Shave Preparations for Catching an 
 Elephant Catching an Elephant Taming Him Flying Shot 
 at a Buck Cave at Dimbooldene" Awkward Ground A 
 Charmed Life 178 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Another Trip to the Park A Hard Day's Work Discover a 
 Herd Death of the Herd A Furious Charge Caught at 
 Last The Consequences A Thorough Rogue Another 
 Herd in High Lemon Grass Bears A Fight between a 
 Moorman and a Bear A Musical Herd Herd Escape A 
 Plucky Bear Death of " Killbuck " Good Sport with a Herd 
 End of the Trip 176 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Excitement of Elephant-shooting An Unexpected Visitor A 
 Long Run with a Buck Hard Work Rewarded A Glorious 
 Bay End of a Hard Day's Work Bee-hunters Disasters of 
 Elk-hunting Bran Wounded " Old Smut's " Buck Boar at 
 Hackgalla Death of " Old Smut "Scenery from the Pere- 
 welle Mountains Diabolical Death of " Merriman " Scene of 
 the Murder.., ....221 
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 A JUNGLE TRIP 244 
 
 CHAPTER XIIL 
 CONCLUSION 304
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 A MELEE FRONTISPIECE 
 
 PANIC AMONG THE GUN-BEARERS VIGNKTTK TITLB. 
 
 NARROW ESCAPE J>agt 90 
 
 HOLD FAST 187 
 
 A SHOT FROM HORSEBACK 283 
 
 BANDA'S ESCAPE FROM A "ROGUE" 30; 
 
 13
 
 THE 
 
 RIFLE AND HOUND. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 COUNTRY DEALINGS IN THE MARVELOUS ENCHANT- 
 ING MOMENTS THE WILD ELEPHANT OF CEYLON " ROGUES " 
 ELEPHANT SLAUGHTER THICK JUNGLES CHARACTER OF 
 THE COUNTRY VARIETIES OF GAME IN CEYLON " BATTERY 
 FOR CEYLON SPORT" THE ELK, OR "SAMBER DEER" 
 DEER COURSING. 
 
 IT is a difficult task to describe a wild country so 
 exactly that a stranger's eye shall at once be made 
 acquainted with its sceneiy and character by the 
 description. And yet this is absolutely necessary if the 
 narration of sports in foreign countries is supposed to 
 interest those who have never had the opportunity of 
 enjoying them. The want of graphic description of 
 localities in which the events have occurred is the prin- 
 cipal cause of that tediousness which generally accom- 
 panies the steady perusal of a sporting work. You can 
 read twenty pages with interest, but a monotony soon 
 pervades it, and sport then assumes an appearance of 
 mere slaughter. 
 
 Now, the actual killing of an animal, the death itself, 
 is not sport, unless the circumstances connected with it 
 * 13
 
 14 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 are such as to create that peculiar feeling which can 
 only be expressed by the word " sport." This feeling 
 cannot exist in the heart of a butcher ; he would as 
 soon slaughter a fine buck by tying him to a post and 
 knocking him down, as he would shoot him in his wild 
 native haunts the actual moment of death, the fact of 
 killing, is his enjoyment. To a true sportsman the 
 enjoyment of a sport increases in proportion to the 
 wildness of the country. Catch a six-pound trout in a 
 quiet mill-pond in a populous manufacturing neighbor- 
 hood, with well-cultivated meadows on either side of 
 the stream, fat cattle grazing on the rich pasturage, 
 and, perhaps, actually watching you as you land your 
 fish : it may be sport. But catch a similar fish far from 
 the haunts of men, in a boiling, rocky torrent sur- 
 rounded by heathery mountains, where the shadow of 
 a rod has seldom been reflected in the stream, and you 
 cease to think the former fish worth catching ; still he 
 is the same size, showed the same courage, had the 
 same perfection of condition, and yet you cannot allow 
 that it was sport compared with this wild stream. If 
 you see no difference in the excitement, you are not a 
 sportsman ; you would as soon catch him in a washing 
 tub, and you should buy your fish when you require 
 him ; but never use a rod, or you would disgrace {he 
 hickory. 
 
 This feeling of a combination of wild country with 
 the presence of the game itself to form a real sport is 
 most keenly manifested when we turn our attention to 
 the rifle. This noble weapon is thrown away in an 
 enclosed country. The smooth-bore may and does 
 afford delightful sport upon our cultivated fields : but 
 even that pleasure is doubled when those enclosuies no
 
 Wild Country. 15 
 
 longer intervene, and the wide-spreading moors and 
 morasses of Scotland give an idea of freedom and 
 undisturbed nature. Who can compare grouse with 
 partridge shooting? Still the difference exists, not so 
 much in the character of the bird as in the features of 
 the country. It is the wild aspect of the heathery moor 
 without a bound, except the rugged outline of the 
 mountains upon the sky, that gives such a charm to the 
 grouse-shooting in Scotland, and renders the deer-stalk- 
 ing such a favorite sport among the happy few who can 
 enjoy it. 
 
 All this proves that the simple act of killing is not 
 sport; if it were, the Zoological Gardens would form 
 as fine a field to an elephant shot as the wildest Indian 
 jungle. 
 
 Man is a bloodthirsty animal, a beast of prey, 
 instinctively ; but let us hope that a true sportsman is 
 not a savage, delighting in nothing but death, but that 
 his pursuits are qualified by a love of nature, of noble 
 scenery, of all the wonderful pi'oductions which the 
 earth gives forth in ' different latitudes. He should 
 thoroughly understand the nature and habits of every 
 beast or bird that he looks upon as game. This last 
 attribute is indispensable ; without it he may kill, but 
 he is not a sportsman. 
 
 We have, therefore, come to the conclusion that the 
 character of a country influences the character of the 
 sport* The first question, therefore, that an experienced 
 man would ask at the recital of a sporting anecdote 
 would be, "What kind of country is it?" That being 
 clearly described to him, he follows you through every 
 word of your tale with a true interest, and in fact joins 
 in imagination in the chase.
 
 16 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 There is one great drawback to the publication of 
 sporting adventures they always appear to deal not a 
 little in the marvelous ; and this effect is generally 
 heightened by the use of the first person in writing, 
 which at all events may give an egotistical character to 
 a work. This, however, cannot easily be avoided if a 
 person is describing his own adventures, and he labors 
 under the disadvantage of being criticised by readers 
 who do not know him personally, and may, therefore, 
 give him credit for gross exaggeration. 
 
 It is this feeling that deters many men who have 
 passed through years of wild sports from publishing an 
 account of them. The fact of being able to laugh in 
 your sleeve at the ignorance of a reader who does not 
 credit you is but a poor compensation for being con- 
 sidered a better shot with a long bow than with a rifle. 
 Often have I pitied Gordon Gumming when I have 
 heard him talked of as a palpable Munchausen by men 
 who never fired a rifle, or saw a wild beast, except in a 
 cage ; and still these men form the greater proportion 
 of the " readers" of these works. 
 
 Men who have not seen cannot understand the gran- 
 deur of wild sports in a wild country. There is an in- 
 describable feeling of supremacy in a man who under- 
 stands his game thoroughly, when he stands upon some 
 elevated point and gazes over the wild territory of 
 savage beasts. He feels himself an invader upon the 
 solitudes of nature. The very stillness of the scene is 
 his delight. There is a mournful silence in the calm- 
 ness of the evening, when the tropical sun sinks upon 
 the horizon a conviction that man has left this region 
 undisturbed to its wild tenants. No hum of distant 
 voices, no rumbling of busy wheels, no cries of domestic
 
 Enchanting Moments. 1 7 
 
 animals meet the ear. He stands upon a wilderness, 
 pathless and untrodden by the foot of civilization, where 
 no sound is ever heard but that of the elements, when 
 the thunder rolls among the towering forests or the 
 wind howls along the plains. He gazes far, far into 
 the distance, where the blue mountains melt into an in- 
 definite haze ; he looks above him to the rocky pinnacles 
 which' spring from the level plain, their swarthy cliffs 
 glistening from the recent shower, and patches of rich 
 verdure clinging to precipices a thousand feet above 
 him. His eye stretches along the grassy plains, taking 
 at one full glance a survey of woods, and rocks, and 
 streams ; and imperceptibly his mind wanders to 
 thoughts of home, and in one moment scenes long left 
 behind are conjured up by memory, and incidents are 
 recalled which banish for a time the scene before him. 
 Lost for a moment in the enchanting power of solitude, 
 where fancy and reality combine in their most bewitch- 
 ing forms, he is suddenly roused by a distant sound 
 made doubly loud by the surrounding silence the shrill 
 trumpet of an elephant. He wakes from his reverie ; 
 the reality of the present scene is at once manifested. 
 He stands within a wilderness where the monster of 
 the forest holds dominion ; he knows not what a 
 day, not even what a moment, may bring forth ; he 
 trusts in a protecting Power and in the heavy rifle, and 
 he is shortly upon the track of the king of beasts. 
 
 The king of beasts is generally acknowledged to be 
 the " lion ;" but no one who has seen a wild elephant 
 can doubt for a moment that the title Belongs to him in 
 his own right. Lord of all created animals in might 
 and sagacity, the elephant roams through his native 
 forests. He browses upon the lofty branches, upturns 
 2* B
 
 l8 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 young trees from sheer malice, and from plain to forest 
 he stalks majestically at break of day, " monarch of all 
 he surveys." 
 
 A person who has never seen a wild elephant can 
 form no idea of his real character, either mentally or 
 physically. The unwieldy and sleepy-looking beast, 
 who, penned up in his cage at a menagerie, receives a 
 sixpence in his trunk, and turns around with difficulty 
 to deposit it in a box ; whose mental powers seem to 
 be concentrated in the idea of receiving buns tossed 
 into a gaping mouth by children's hands, this very 
 beast may have come from a warlike stock. His sire 
 may have been the terror of a district, a pitiless high- 
 wayman, whose oul thirsted for blood ; who, lying in 
 wait in some thick bush, would rush upon the unwary 
 passer-by, and know no pleasure greater than the act of 
 crushing his victim to a shapeless mass beneath his feet. 
 How little does his tame sleepy son resemble him ! 
 Instead of browsing on the rank vegetation of wild 
 pasturage, he devours plum-buns ; instead of bathing 
 his giant form in the deep rivers and lakes of his native 
 land, he steps into a stone-lined basin to bathe before 
 the eyes of a pleased multitude, the whole of whom 
 form their opinion of elephants in general from the 
 broken-spirited monster that they see before them. 
 
 I have even heard people exclaim, upon hearing 
 anecdotes of elephant-hunting, " Poor things ! " 
 
 Poor things, indeed ! I should like to see the very 
 person who thus expresses his pity going at his best 
 pace with a savage elephant after him : give him a 
 lawn to run upon if he likes, and see the elephant gain- 
 ing- a foot in every yard of the chase, fire in his eye, 
 fury in his headlong charge ; and would not the flying
 
 The Wild Elephant of Ceylon. 19 
 
 gentleman who lately exclaimed "Poor thing!" be 
 thankful to the lucky bullet that would save him from 
 destruction ? 
 
 There are no animals more misunderstood than 
 elephants ; they are naturally savage, wary and 
 revengeful, displaying as great courage when in their 
 wild state as any animal known. The fact of their 
 great natural sagacity renders them the more dangerous 
 as foes. Even when tamed there are many that are not 
 safe for a stranger to approach, and they are then only 
 .kept in awe by the sharp driving hook of the mohout. 
 
 In their domesticated state I have seen them perform 
 wonders of sagacity and strength ; but I have nothing 
 to do with tame elephants ; there are whole books 
 written upon the subject, although the habits of an 
 elephant can be described in a fejw words. 
 
 All wild animals in a tropical country avoid the sun. 
 They wander forth to feed upon the plains in the 
 evening and during the night, and they return to the 
 jungle shortly after sunrise. 
 
 Elephants have the same habits. In those parts of 
 the country where such pasturage abounds as bamboo, 
 lemon grass, sedges on the banks of rivers, lakes and 
 swamps, elephants are 'sure to be found at such sea- 
 sons as are most propitious for the growth of these 
 plants. When the dry weather destroys this supply of 
 food in one district, they migrate to another part of the 
 country. 
 
 They come forth to feed about 4 p. M., and they inva- 
 riably retire to the thickest and most thorny jungle in 
 the neighborhood of their feeding-place by 7 A.M. In 
 these impenetrable haunts they consider themselves 
 secure from aggression.
 
 2O The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 The period of gestation with an elephant is supposed 
 to be two years, and the time occupied in attaining full 
 growth is about sixteen years. The whole period of 
 life is supposed to be a hundred years, but my own 
 opinion would increase that period by fifty. 
 
 The height of elephants varies to a great degree, 
 and in all cases is very deceiving. In Ceylon an ele- 
 phant is measured at the shoulder, and nine feet at this 
 point is a very large animal, There is no doubt that 
 many elephants far exceed this, as I have shot them so 
 large that two tall men could lie at full length from the 
 point of the fore foot to the shoulder ; but this is not a 
 common size ; the average height at the shoulder would 
 be about seven feet. 
 
 Not more tlian one in three hundred has tusks ; they 
 are merely provided with short grubbers, projecting 
 generally about three inches from the upper jaw, and 
 about two inches in diameter ; these are called " tushes " 
 in Ceylon, and are of so little value that they are not 
 worth extracting from the head. They are useful to the 
 elephants in hooking on to a branch and tearing it 
 down. 
 
 Elephants are gregarious, and the average number in 
 a herd is about eight, although they frequently form 
 bodies of fifty and even eighty in one troop. Each herd 
 consists of a very large proportion of females, and they 
 are constantly met without a single bull in their num- 
 ber. I have seen some small herds formed exclusively 
 of bulls, but this is very rare. The bull is much larger 
 than the female, and is generally more savage. His 
 habits frequently induce him to prefer solitude to a gre- 
 garious life. He then becomes doubly vicious. He 
 seldom strays many miles from one locality, which he
 
 "Rogues" 21 
 
 haunts for many years. He becomes what is termed a 
 " rogue." He then waylays the natives, and in fact 
 becomes a scourge to the neighborhood, attacking the 
 inoffensive without the slightest provocation, carrying 
 destruction into the natives' paddy-fields, and perfectly 
 regardless of night fires or the usual precautions for 
 scaring wild beasts. 
 
 The daring pluck of these " rogues " is only equaled 
 by the-ir extreme cunning. Endowed with that won- 
 derful power of scent peculiar to elephants, he travels 
 in the day-time do-wn the wind ; thus nothing can fol- 
 low upon his track without his knowledge. He winds 
 his enemy as the cautious hunter advances noiselessly 
 upon his track, and he stands with ears thrown for- 
 ward, tail erect, trunk thrown high in the air, with its 
 distended tip pointed to the spot from which he winds 
 the silent but approaching danger. Perfectly motionless 
 does he stand, like a statue in ebony, the very essence 
 of attention, every nerve of scent and hearing stretched 
 to its cracking point ; not a muscle moves, not a sound 
 of a rustling branch against his rough sides ; he is a 
 mute figure of wild and fierce eagerness. Meanwhile, 
 the wary tracker stoops to the ground, and with a prac- 
 ticed eye pierces the tangled brushwood in search of his 
 colossal feet. Still farther and farther he silently creeps 
 forward, when suddenly a crash bursts through the jun- 
 gle ; the moment has arrived for the ambushed charge, 
 and the elephant is upon him. 
 
 What increases the danger is the uncertainty prevail- 
 ing in all the movements of a " rogue." You may per- 
 haps see him upon a plain or in a forest. As you 
 advance he retreats, or he may at once charge. Should 
 he retreat, you follow him ; but you may shortly dis-
 
 23 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 cover that he is leading you to some favorite haunt oi 
 thick jungle or high grass, from which, when you least 
 expect it, he will suddenly burst out in full charge upon 
 you. 
 
 Next to a " rogue" in ferocity, and even more perse- 
 vering in the pursuit of her victim, is a female elephant 
 when her young one has been killed. In such a case 
 she will generally follow up her man until either he or 
 she is killed. If any young elephants are in the herd, 
 the mothers frequently prove awkward customers. 
 
 Elephant-shooting is doubtless the most dangerous of 
 all sports if the game is invariably followed up ; but 
 there is a great difference between elephant-killing and 
 eleph&nt-Auntzng'; the latter is sport, the former is 
 slaughter. 
 
 Many persons who have killed many elephants know 
 literally nothing about the sport, and they may even leave 
 Ceylon with the idea that an elephant is not a dangerous 
 animal. There elephants are killed in this way, viz : 
 
 The party of sportsmen, say two or three, arrive at 
 a certain district. The headman is sent for from the 
 village ; he arrives. The inquiry respecting the vicinity 
 of elephants is made ; a herd is reported to be in the 
 neighborhood, and trackers and watchers are sent out 
 to find them. 
 
 In the mean time, the tent is pitched, our friends are 
 employed in unpacking the guns, and, after some hours 
 have elapsed, the trackers return : they have found the 
 herd, and the watchers are left to observe them. 
 
 The guns are loaded and the party starts. The track- 
 ers run quickly on the track until they meet one of the 
 watchers who has been sent back upon the track by the 
 other watchers to give the requisite information of the
 
 Elephant Slaughter. 23 
 
 movements of the herd since the trackers left. One 
 tracker now leads the way, and they cautiously proceed. 
 The boughs are heard slightly rustling as the unconscious 
 elephants are fanning the flies from their bodies within 
 a hundred yards of the guns. 
 
 The jungle is open and good, interspersed with plots 
 of rank grass ; and quietly following the head tracker^ 
 into whose hands our friends have committed them- 
 selves, they follow like hounds under the control of a 
 huntsman. The tracker is a famous fellow, and he 
 brings up his employers in a masterly manner within 
 ten paces of the still unconscious elephants. He now 
 retreats quietly behind the guns, and the sport begins. 
 A cloud of smoke from a regular volley, a crash through 
 the splintering branches as the panic-stricken herd rush 
 from the scene of conflict, and it is all over. X. has 
 killed two, Y. has killed one and Z. knocked down 
 one, but he got up again and got away ; total, three 
 bagged. Our friends now return to the tent, and, after 
 perhaps a month of this kind of shooting, they arrive 
 at their original headquai'ters, having bagged perhaps 
 twenty elephants. They give their opinion upon 
 elephant-shooting, and declare it to be capital sport, 
 but there is no danger in it, as the elephants invariably 
 run away. 
 
 Let us imagine ourselves in the position of the half, 
 asleep and unsuspecting herd. We are lying down in' 
 a doze during the heat of the day, and our senses are 
 half benumbed by a sense of sleep. We are beneath 
 the shade of a large tree, and we do not dream that 
 danger is near us. 
 
 A frightful scream suddenly scatters our wandering 
 senses. It is a rogue elephant upon us ! It was the
 
 24 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 scream of his trumpet that we heard ! and he is right 
 among us. How we should bolt ! How we should 
 run at the first start until we could get a gun ! But let 
 him continue this pursuit, and how long would he be 
 without a ball in his head? 
 
 It is precisely the same in attacking a herd of elephants 
 or any other animals unaware ; they are taken by sur- 
 prise, and are for the moment panic-stricken. But let 
 our friends X., Y., Z., who have just bagged three 
 elephants so easily, continue the pursuit, hunt the re- 
 maining portion of the herd down till one by one they 
 have nearly all fallen to the bullet X., Y., Z., will have 
 had enough of it ; they will be blinded by perspiration, 
 torn by countless thorns, as they have rushed through 
 the jungles determined not to lose sight of their game, 
 soaked to the skin as they have waded through inter- 
 vening streams, and will entirely have altered their 
 opinion as to elephants invariably running away, as 
 they will very probably have seen one turn sharp around 
 from the retreating herd, and charge straight into them 
 when they least expected it. At any rate, after a hunt 
 of this kind they can form some opinion of the excite- 
 ment of the true sport. 
 
 The first attack upon a herd by a couple of first-rate 
 elephant-shots frequently ends the contest in a few 
 seconds by the death of every elephant. I have fre- 
 ' quently seen a small herd x of five or six elephants 
 annihilated in as many seconds after a well-planned 
 approach in thick jungle, when they have been dis- 
 covered standing in a crowd and presenting favorable 
 shots.. In such an instance the sport is so soon concluded 
 that the only excitement consists in the cautious advance 
 to the attack through bad jungle.
 
 Character of the Country 25 
 
 As a rule, the pursuit of elephants through bad, 
 thorny jungles should if possible be avoided : the 
 danger is in many cases extreme, although the greater 
 portion of the herd may at other times be perhaps 
 easily killed. There is no certainty in a shot. An 
 elephant may be discerned by the eye- looming in an 
 apparent mist formed by the countless intervening 
 twigs and branches which veil him. like a screen of 
 network. To reach the fatal spot the ball must pass 
 through perhaps fifty little twigs, one of which, if struck 
 obliquely, turns the bullet, and there is no answering for 
 the consequence. There are no rules, however, .without 
 exceptions, and in some instances the following of the 
 game through the thickest jungle can hardly be avoided. 
 
 The character of the country in Ceylon is generally 
 very unfavorable to sport of all kinds. The length of 
 the island is about two hundred and eighty miles, by 
 one hundred and fifty in width ; the greater portion of 
 this surface is covered with impenetrable jungles, which 
 form secure coverts for countless animals. 
 
 The centre of the island is mountainous, torrents 
 from which form the sources of the numerous rivers by 
 which Ceylon is so well watered. The low country is 
 flat. The soil throughout the island is generally poor 
 ind sandy. 
 
 This being the- character of the country, and vast 
 forests rendered impenetrable by tangled underwood 
 forming the principal features of the landscape, a 
 person arriving at Ceylon for the purpose of enjoying 
 its wild sports would feel an inexpressible disappoint- 
 ment. 
 
 Instead of mounting a good horse, as he" might have 
 fondly anticipated, and at once speeding over trackless 
 3
 
 26 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 plains till so far from human habitations that the terri- 
 tories of beasts commence, he finds himself walled in 
 by jungle on either side of the highway. In vain he 
 asks for information. He finds the neighborhood of 
 Galle, his first landing-place, densely populated : he 
 gets into the coach for Colombo. Seventy miles of 
 close population and groves of cocoa-nut trees are 
 passed, and he reaches the capital. This is worse and 
 worse he has seen no signs of wild country during 
 his long journey, and Colombo appears to be the height 
 of civilization. He books his place for Kandy ; he 
 knows that is in the very centre of Ceylon there surely 
 must be sport there, he thinks. 
 
 The morning gun fires from the Colombo fort at 5 
 A.M., and the coach starts. Miles are passed, and still 
 the country is thickly populated paddy cultivation in 
 all the flats and hollows, and even the sides of the hills 
 are carefully terraced out in a laborious system of agri- 
 cultui-e. There can be no shooting here ! 
 
 Sixty miles are passed ; the top of the Kaduganava 
 Pass is reached, eighteen hundred feet above the sea 
 level, the road walled with jungle on either side. From 
 the summit of this pass our newly-arrived sportsman 
 gazes with despair. Far as the eye can reach over a 
 vast extent of country, mountain and valley, hill and 
 dale, without one open spot, are clothed alike in one 
 dark screen of impervious forest. 
 
 He reaches Kandy, a civilized town surrounded b) 
 hills of jungle that interminable jungle ! and atKand^ 
 he may remain, or, better still, return again to England^ 
 unless he can get some, well-known Ceylon sportsman 
 to pilot him through the apparently pathless forests, and 
 in fact to " show him sport." This is not easily effected.
 
 Varieties of Game in Cejlon. 27 
 
 Men who understand the sport are not over fond of 
 acting " chaperon" to a young hand, as a novice must 
 always detract from the sport in some degree. In ad- 
 dition to this, many persons do not exactly know them- 
 selves ; and, although the idea of shooting elephants 
 appears very attractive at a distance, the pleasure some- 
 what abates when the sportsman is forced to seek for 
 safety in a swift pair of heels. 
 
 I shall now proceed to give a description of the 
 various sports in Ceylon a task for which the con- 
 stant practice of many years has afforded ample inci- 
 dent. 
 
 The game of Ceylon consists of elephants, buffaloes, 
 elk, spotted deer, red or the paddy-field deer,* mouse 
 deer, hogs, bears, leopards, hares, black partridge, red- 
 legged partridge, pea-fowl, jungle-fowl, quail, snipe, 
 ducks, widgeon, teal, golden and several kinds of plover, 
 a great variety of pigeons, and among the class of ver- 
 min are innumerable snakes, etc., and the crocodile. 
 
 The acknowledged sports of Ceylon are elephant- 
 shooting, buffalo-shooting, deer-shooting, elk-hunting, 
 and deer-coursing : the two latter can only be enjoyed 
 by a resident in the island, as of course the sport is depen- 
 dent upon a pack of fine hounds. Although the wild 
 boar is constantly killed, I do not reckon him among 
 the sports of the country, as he is never sought for, 
 death and destruction to the hounds generally being at- 
 tendant upon his capture. The bear and leopard also 
 do not form separate sports ; they are merely killed 
 when met with. 
 
 In giving an account of each kind of sport. I shall 
 explain the habits of each animal and the features of 
 *A small species of deer found in the island.
 
 aS The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 the country wherein every incident occurs, Ceylon 
 scenery being so diversified that no general description 
 could give a correct idea of Ceylon sports. 
 
 The guns are the first consideration. After the first 
 year of my experience 1 had four rifles made to order, 
 which have proved themselves perfect weapons in all 
 respects, and exactly adapted for heavy game. They are 
 double-barreled, No. 10 bores, and of such power in 
 metal that they weigh fifteen pounds each. I consider 
 them perfection ; but should others considef them too 
 heavy, a pound taken from the weight of the barrels 
 would make a perceptible difference. I would in all 
 cases strongly deprecate the two-grooved rifle for wild 
 sports, on account of the difficulty in loading quickly. 
 A No. 10 twelve-grooved rifle will carry a conical ball 
 of two ounces and a half, and can be loaded as quickly 
 as a smooth-bore. Some persons prefer the latter to 
 rifles for elephant-shooting, but I cannot myself under- 
 stand why a decidedly imperfect weapon should be 
 used when the rifle offers such superior advantages. At 
 twenty and even thirty paces a good smooth-bore will 
 carry a ball with nearly the same precision as a rifle ; 
 but in a country full of various large game, there is no 
 certainty, when the ball is rammed down, at what ob- 
 ject it is to be aimed. A buffalo or deer may cross 
 the path at a hundred yards, and the smooth-bore is 
 useless ; on the other hand, the rifle is always ready 
 for whatever may appear. 
 
 My battery consists of one four-ounce rifle (a single 
 barrel) weighing twenty-one pounds, one long two- 
 ounce rifle (single barrel) weighing sixteen pounds, 
 and four double-barreled rifles, No. 10, weighing each
 
 The Elk, or " Saml&r Deer." 29 
 
 fifteen pounds. Smooth bores I count for nothing, 
 although I have frequently used them. 
 
 So much for guns. It may therefore be summed up 
 that the proper battery for Ceylon shooting would be 
 four large-bored double-barreled rifles, say from No. 
 10 to No. 12 in size, but all to be the same bore, so as 
 prevent confusion in loading. Persons may suit their 
 own fancy as to the weight of their guns, bearing in 
 mind that single barrels are very useless things. 
 
 Next to the " Rifle " in the order of description comes 
 the " Hound. " 
 
 The " elk " is his acknowledged game, and an ac- 
 count of this animal's size and strength will prove the 
 necessity of a superior breed of hound.. 
 
 The "elk" is a Ceylon blunder and a misnomer. 
 The animal thus called is a " samber deer," well known 
 in India as the largest of all Asiatic deer. 
 
 A buck in his prime will stand fourteen hands high 
 at the shoulder, and will weigh 600 pounds, live weight. 
 He is in color dark brown, with a fine mane of coarse, 
 bristly hair of six inches in length : the rest of his body 
 is covered with the same coarse hair of about two 
 inches in length. I have a pair of antlers in my 
 possession that are thirteen inches round the burr, and 
 the same size beneath the first branch, and three feet 
 four inches in length ; this, however, is a very unusual 
 size. 
 
 The elk has seldom more than six points to his antlers. 
 The low-country elk are much larger than those on the 
 highlands ; the latter are seldom more than from twelve 
 to thirteen hands high ; and of course their weight is 
 proportionate, that of a buck in condition being about 
 400 pounds when gralloched. I have killed them mucfi
 
 30 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 heavier than this on the mountains, but I have given 
 about the average weight. 
 
 The habits of this animal are purely nocturnal. He 
 commences his wanderings at sunset, and retires to the 
 forest at break of day. He is seldom found in greater 
 numbers than two or three together, and is generally 
 alone. When brought to bay he fights to the last, and 
 charges man and hound indiscriminately, a choice hound 
 killed being often the price of victory. 
 
 The country in which he is hunted is in the mountain- 
 ous districts of Ceylon. Situated at an elevation of 6300 
 feet above the sea is Newera Ellia, the sanatorium' of 
 the island. Here I have kept a pack and hunted elk 
 for some years, the delightful coolness of the tempera- 
 ture (seldom above 66 Fahr.) rendering the sport 
 doubly enjoyable. The principal .features of this 
 country being a series of wild marsh, plains, forests, tor- 
 rents, mountains and precipices, a peculiar hound is re- 
 quired for the sport. 
 
 A pack of thorough-bred fox hounds would never 
 answer. They would pick up a cold scent and open 
 upon it before they were within a mile of their game. 
 Roused from his morning nap, the buck would snuff* 
 the breeze, and to the distant music give an attentive 
 ear, then shake the dew from his rough hide, and away 
 over rocks and torrents, down the steep mountain sides, 
 through pathless forests ; and woe then to the pack of 
 thorough-breds, whose persevering notes would soon be 
 echoed by the rocky steeps, far, far away from any 
 chance of return, lost in the trackless jungles and 
 ravines many miles from kennel, a prey to leopards 
 and starvation ! I have proved this by experience, 
 having brought a pack of splendid hounds from
 
 Deer- Coursing. 31 
 
 England, only one of which survived a few months' 
 hunting. 
 
 The hound required for elk-hunting is a cross between 
 the fox-hound and blood-hound, of great size and 
 courage, with as powerful a voice as possible. He 
 should be trained to this sport from a puppy, and his 
 natural sagacity soon teaches him not to open unless 
 upon a hot scent, or about two hundred yards from his 
 game ; thus the elk is not disturbed until the hound is 
 at full speed upon his scent, and he seldom gets a long 
 start. Fifteen couple of such hounds in full cry put 
 him at his best pace, which is always tried to the utter- 
 most by a couple or two of fast and pitiless lurchers 
 who run ahead of the pack, the object being to press 
 him at first starting, so as to blow him at the very com- 
 mencement : this is easily effected, as he is full of food, 
 and it is his nature always to take off straight up the 
 hill when first disturbed. When blown he strikes down 
 hill, and makes at great speed for the largest and deep- 
 est stream ; in this he turns to bay, and tries the mettle 
 of the finest hounds. 
 
 The great enemy to a pack is the leopard. He 
 pounces from the branch of a tree upon a stray hound, 
 and soon finishes him, unless of great size and courage, 
 in which case the cowardly brute is soon beaten off. 
 This forms another reason for the choice of large 
 hounds. 
 
 The next sport is the " deer-coursing." This is one 
 of the most delightful kinds of sport iif Ceylon. The 
 game is the axis or spotted deer, and the open plains 
 in many parts of the low country afford splendid ground 
 for both grayhound and horse. 
 
 The buck is about two hundred and fifty pounds live
 
 3* The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 weight, of wonderful speed and great courage, armed 
 with long and graceful antlers as sharp as needles. He 
 will suddenly turn to bay upon the hard ground, and 
 charge his pursuers, and is more dangerous to the gray- 
 hounds than the elk, from his wonderful activity, and 
 from the fact that he is coursed by only a pair of gray- 
 hounds, instead of being hunted by a pack. 
 
 Pure grayhounds of great size and courage are best 
 adapted for this sport. They cannot afford to lose 
 speed by a cross with slower hounds.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 NKWERA ELLIA THE TURN-OUT FOR ELK-HUNTING ELK-HUNT- 
 ING ELK TURNED TO BAY THE BOAR. 
 
 \ T THERE shall I begin ? This is a momentous ques- 
 V V tion, when, upon glancing back upon past years, 
 a thousand incidents jostle each other for precedence. 
 How shall I describe them ? This, again, is easier asked 
 than answered. A journal is a dry description, min- 
 gling the uninteresting with the brightest moments of 
 sport. No, I will not write a journal ; it would be end- 
 less and boring. I shall begin with the present as it is, 
 and call up the past as I think proper. 
 
 Here, then, I am in my private sanctum, my rifles 
 all arranged in their respective stands above the chimney- 
 piece, the stags' horns round walls hung with horn- 
 cases, powder-flasks and the various weapons of the 
 chase. Even as I write the hounds are yelling in the 
 kennel. 
 
 The thermometer is at 62 Fahr., and it is midday. 
 It never exceeds 7 2 m the hottest weather, and 
 sometimes falls below freezing-point at night. The sky 
 is spotless and the air calm. The fragrance of mignon- 
 ettes, and a hundred flowers that recall England, 
 fills the air. Green fields of grass and clover, neatly 
 fenced, surround a comfortable house and grounds. 
 Well-fed cattle of the choicest breeds and English sheep 
 
 are grazing in the paddocks. Well-made roads and 
 
 33
 
 34 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 gravel walks run through the estate. But a few years 
 past, and this was all wilderness. 
 
 Dense forest reigned where now not even the stump 
 of a tree is standing ; the wind howled over hill and 
 valley, the dank moss hung from the scathed branches, 
 the deep morass filled the hollows; but all is changed 
 by the hand of civilization and industry. The dense 
 forests and rough plains, which still form the boundaries 
 3f the cultivated land, only add to the beauty. The 
 lonkeys and parrots are even now chattering among 
 he branches, and occasionally the elephant in his 
 ~.:<ghtly wanderings frespasses upon the fields, uncon- 
 scious of the oasis within his territory of savage nature. 
 
 The still, starlight night is awakened by the harsh 
 bark of the elk ; the lofty mountains, gray with the sil- 
 very moonlight, echo back the sound ; and the wakeful 
 hounds answer the well-known cry by a prolonged and 
 savage yell. 
 
 This is " Newera Ellia," the sanatorium of Ceylon, 
 the most perfect climate of the world. It now boasts 
 of a handsome church, a public reading-room, a large 
 hotel, the barracks and about twenty private residences. 
 
 The adjacent country, of comparatively table land, 
 occupies an extent of some thirty miles in length, vary- 
 ing in altitude from 6200 to 7000 feet, forming a base 
 for the highest peaks in Ceylon, which raise to nearly 
 t)ooo feet. 
 
 Alternate large plains, separated by belts of forest, 
 rapid rivers, waterfalls, precipices and panoramic view* 
 of boundless extent, form the features of this country, 
 which, combined with the sports of the place, render a 
 residence at Newera Ellia a life of health, luxury and 
 independence.
 
 Ne-wera JSllia. > 35 
 
 The high road from Colombo passes over the moun- 
 tains through Newera Ellia to Badulla, from which lat- 
 ter place there is a bridle-road, through the best shoot- 
 ing districts in Ceylon, to the seaport town of Battica- 
 loa, and from thence to Trincomalee. The relative dis- 
 tances of Newera Ellia are, from Galle, 185 miles ; 
 from Colombo, 115 miles; from Kandy, 47 miles; 
 from Badulla, 36 miles ; from Batticaloa, 148 miles. 
 Were it not for the poverty of the soil, Newera Ellia 
 would long ago have become a place of great import- 
 ance, as the climate is favorable to the cultivation of all 
 English produce ; but an absence of lime in the soil, 
 and the cost of applying it artificially, prohibit the cul- 
 tivation of all grain, and restrict the produce of the 
 land to potatoes and other vegetables. Nevertheless, 
 many small settlers earn a good subsistence, although 
 this has latterly been rendered precarious by the appear- 
 ance of the well-known potato disease. 
 
 Newera Ellia has always been a favorite place of re- 
 sort during the fashionable months, from the commence- 
 ment of January to the middle of May. At that time 
 the rainy season commences, and visitors rapidly disap- 
 pear. 
 
 All strangers remark the scanty accommodation 
 afforded to the numerous visitors. To see the number 
 of people riding and walking round the Newera Ellia 
 plain, it appeal's a marvel how they can be housed in 
 the few dwellings that exist. There is an endless sup- 
 ply of fine timber in the forests, and powerful saw-mills 
 are already erected ; but the island is, like its soil, 
 " poor." Its main staple, " coffee," does not pay suf- 
 ficiently to enable the proprietors of estates to indulge 
 in the luxury of a house at Newera Ellia. Like many
 
 36 The Rifle and Hottnd in Ceylon. 
 
 watering-places in England, it is overcrowded at 
 one season and deserted at another, the only perma- 
 nent residents being comprised in the commandant, the 
 officer in command of the detachment of troops, the 
 government agent, the doctor, the clergyman and our 
 own family. 
 
 Dull enough ! some persons may exclaim ; and so it 
 would be to any but a sportsman : but the jungles teem 
 with large game, and Newera Ellia is in a central posi- 
 tion, as the best sporting country is only three days' 
 journey, or one hundred miles, distant. Thus, at any 
 time, the guns may be packed up, and, with tents and 
 baggage sent on some days in advance, a fortnight's or 
 a month's war may be carried on against the elephants 
 without much trouble. 
 
 The turn-out for elk-hunting during the fashionable 
 season at Newera Ellia is sometimes peculiarly exciting. 
 The air is keen and frosty, the plains snow-white with 
 the crisp hoar frost, and even at the early hour of 6 A.M. 
 parties of ladies may be seen urging their horses round 
 the plain on their way to the appointed meet. Here 
 we are waiting with the anxious pack, perhaps bless- 
 ing some of our more sleepy friends for not turning out 
 a little earlier. Party after party arrives, including 
 many of the fair sex, and the rosy tips to all counten- 
 ances attest the quality of the cold even in Ceylon. 
 
 There is something peculiarly inspiriting in' the early 
 hour of sunrise upon these mountains an indescribable 
 lightness in the atmosphere, owing to the great eleva- 
 tion, which takes a wonderful effect upon the spirits. 
 The horses and the hounds feel its influence in an 
 equal degree ; the former, who are perhaps of sober 
 character in the hot climate, now champ the bit and
 
 Elk-Hunting. 37 
 
 paw the ground : their owners hardly know them by 
 the change. 
 
 We have frequently mustered as many as thirty horses 
 at a meet ; but on these occasions a picked spot is chosen 
 where the sport may be easily witnessed by those who 
 are unaccustomed to it. The horses may, in these in- 
 stances, be available, but as a rule they are perfectly 
 useless in elk-hunting, as the plains are so boggy that 
 they would be hock-deep every quarter of a mile. 
 Thus no. person can thoroughly enjoy elk-hunting who 
 is not well accustomed to it, as it is a sport conducted 
 entirely on foot, and the thinness of the air in this ele- 
 vated region is very trying to the lungs in hard exercise. 
 Thoroughly sound in wind and limb, with no super- 
 fluous flesh, must be the man who would follow the 
 hounds in this wild country through jungles, rivers, 
 plains and deep ravines, sometimes from sunrise to sun- 
 set without tasting food since the previous evening, with 
 the exception of a cup of coffee and piece of toast before 
 starting. It is trying work, but it is a noble sport: no 
 weapon but the hunting-knife ; no certainty as to the 
 character of the game that may be found ; it may be 
 either an elk, or a boar, or a leopard, and yet the knift 
 and the good hounds are all that can be trusted in. 
 
 It is a glorious sport certainly to a man who thoroughly 
 understands it ; the voice of every hound familiar to his 
 ear, the particular kind of game that is found is at once 
 known to him long before he is in view by the style of 
 the hunting. If an elk is found, the hounds follow with 
 a burst straight as a line, and at a killing pace, directly 
 up the hill, till he at length turns and bends his head- 
 long course for some stronghold in a deep river to bay. 
 Listening to the hounds till certain of their course, a 
 i
 
 38 The Rifle and Hotind in Ceylon, 
 
 thorough knowledge of the countiy at once tells the 
 huntsman of their destination, and away he goes. 
 
 He tightens his belt by a hole, and steadily he starts 
 at a long, swinging trot, having made up his mind for 
 a day of it. Over hills and valleys, through tangled 
 and pathless foi'ests, but all well known to him, steady 
 he goes at the same pace on the level, easy through the 
 bogs and up the hills, extra steam down hill, and stop- 
 ping for a moment to listen for the hounds on every 
 elevated spot. At length he hears them ! No, it was 
 a bird. Again he fancies that he hears a distant sound 
 was it the wind ? No ; there it is it is old Smut's 
 voice he is at bay ! Yoick to him ! he shouts till his 
 lungs are wellnigh cracked, and through thorns and 
 jungles, bogs and ravines, he rushes toward the wel- 
 come sound. Thick-tangled bushes armed with a 
 thousand hooked thorns suddenly arrest his course ; it 
 is the thick fringe of underwood that borders every 
 forest ; the open plain is within a few yards of him. 
 The hounds in a mad chorus are at bay, and the 
 woods ring again with the cheering sound. Nothing 
 can stop him now thorns, or clothes, or flesh must 
 go something must give way as he bursts through 
 them and stands upon the plain. 
 
 There they are in that deep pool formed by the river 
 as it sweeps round the rock. A buck ! a noble fellow ! 
 Now he charges at the hounds, and strikes the foremos'; 
 beneath the water with his fore-feet ; up they come 
 again to the surface they hear their master's well- 
 -known shout they look round and see his welcome 
 figure on the steep bank. Another moment, a tre- 
 mendous splash, and he is among his hounds, and ail 
 are swimming toward their noble game. At them he
 
 Elk tzirned to Bay. 39 
 
 comes with a fierce rush. Avoid him as you best can, 
 ye hunters, man and hounds ! 
 
 Down the river the buck now swims, sometimes gal- 
 loping over the shallows, sometimes wading shoulder- 
 deep, sometimes swimming through the deep pools. 
 Now he dashes down the fierce rapids and leaps the 
 opposing rocks between which the torrent rushes at a 
 frightful pace. . The hounds are after him ; the roaring 
 of the water joins in their wild chorus ; the loud holloa 
 of the huntsman is heard above every sound as he 
 cheers the pack on. He runs along the bank of the 
 river, and again the enraged buck turns to bay. He 
 has this time taken a strong position : he stands in a 
 swift rapid about two feet deep ; his thin legs cleave 
 the stream as it rushes past, and every hound is swept 
 away as he attempts to stem the current. He is a 
 perfect picture : his nostrils are distended, his mane is 
 bristled up, his eyes flash, and he adds his loud bark 
 of defiance to the din around him. The hounds can- 
 not touch him. Now for the huntsman's part : he calls 
 the stanchest seizers to his side, gives them a cheer on 
 and steps into the torrent, knife in hand. Quick as 
 lightning the buck springs to the attack ; but he has 
 exposed himself, and at that moment the tall lurchers 
 are upon his ears ; the huntsman leaps upon one side 
 and plunges the knife behind his shoulder. A tre- 
 mendous struggle takes place the whole pack is upon 
 him ; still his dying efforts almost free him from their 
 hold : a mass of spray envelops the whole scene. 
 Suddenly he falls he dies it is all over. The hounds 
 are called off, and are carefully examined for wounds. 
 
 The huntsman is now perhaps some miles from home ; 
 he, therefore, cuts a long pole, and tying a large bunch
 
 40 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 of grass to one end, he sticks the other end into the 
 ground close to the river's edge where the elk is lying. 
 This marks the spot. He calls his hounds together 
 and returns homeward, and afterward sends men tc 
 cut the buck up and bring him home. Elk venison is 
 very good, but is at all times more like beef than En- 
 glish venison. 
 
 The foregoing may be considered a general descrip- 
 tion of elk-hunting, although the incidents of the sport 
 necessarily vary considerably. 
 
 The boar is our dangerous adversary, and he is easily 
 known by the character of the run. The hounds seldom 
 open with such a bur^t upon the scent as they do with 
 an elk. The run is much slower ; he runs down this 
 ravine and up that, never going straight away, and he 
 generally comes to bay after a run of ten minutes' 
 duration. 
 
 A boar always chooses the very thickest part of the 
 jungle as his position for a bay, and from this he makes 
 continual rushes at the hounds. 
 
 The huntsman approaches the scene of the combat, 
 breaking his way with difficulty through the tangled 
 jungle, until within about twenty yards of the bay. 
 He now cheers the hounds on to the attack, and if 
 they are worthy of their name, they instantly rush into 
 the boar regardless of wounds. The huntsman is aware 
 of the seizure by the grunting of the boar and the tre- 
 mendous confusion in the thick jungle ; he immediately 
 rushes to the assistance of the pack, knife in hand. 
 
 A scene of real warfare meets his view gaping 
 wounds upon his best hounds, the boar rushing through 
 the jungle covered with dogs, and he himself becomes 
 the immediate object of his fury when observed.
 
 The Boar. 41 
 
 No time is to be lost. Keeping behind the boar if 
 possible, he rushes to the bloody conflict, and drives 
 the hunting-knife between the shoulders in the en- 
 deavor to divide the spine. Should he happily effect 
 this, the boar falls stone dead ; but if not, he repeats 
 the thrust, keeping a good lookout for the animal's 
 tusks. 
 
 If the dogs were of not sufficient courage to rush in 
 and seize the boar when halloaed on, no man could ap- 
 proach him in a thick jungle with only a hunting-knife, 
 as he would in all probability have his insides ripped 
 out at the first charge. The animal is wonderfully active 
 and ferocious, and of immense power, constantly 
 weighing 4 cwt. 
 
 The end of nearly every good seizer is being killed 
 by a boar. The better the dog the more likely he is to 
 be killed, as he will be the first to lead the attack, and 
 in thick jungle he has no chance of escaping from a 
 wound. 
 4*
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 MINNERIA LAKE BRUSH WITH A BULL AN AWKWARD VIS- 
 A-VIS A BRIGHT THOUGHT BULL BUFFALO RECEIVES HIS 
 SMALL CHANGE WHAT is MAN ? LONG SHOT WITH THE 
 FOUR-OUNCE CHARGED BY A HERD OF BUFFALOES THE 
 FOUR-OUNCE DOES SERVICE THE "LOLA" A WOMAN 
 KILLED BY A CROCODILE CROCODILE AT BOLGODDE LAKE 
 A MONSTER CROCODILE DEATH OF A CROCODILE. 
 
 r I "*HE foregoing description may serve as an intro- 
 J_ duction to the hill-sports of Ceylon. One animal, 
 however, yet remains to be described, who surpasses all 
 others in dogged ferocity when once aroused. This is 
 the " buffalo." 
 
 The haunts of this animal are in the hottest parts of 
 Ceylon. In the neighborhood of lakes, swamps and 
 extensive plains the Buffalo exists in large herds ; wal- 
 lowing in the soft mire, and passing two-thirds of his 
 time in the water itself, he may be almost termed 
 amphibious. 
 
 He is about the size of a large ex, of immense bone 
 and strength, very active, and his hide is almost free 
 from hair, giving a disgusting appearance to his India- 
 rubber-like skin. He carries his hea"d in a peculiar 
 manner, the horns thrown back, and his nose projecting 
 on a level with his forehead, thus securing himself from 
 a front shot in a fatal part. This renders him a dan* 
 42
 
 Minneria Lake. 43 
 
 gerous enemy, as he will receive any number of balls 
 from a small gun in the throat and chest without evin- 
 cing the least symptom of distress. The shoulder is the 
 acknowledged point to aim at, but from his disposition 
 to face the guns this is a difficult shot to obtain. Should 
 he succeed in catching his antagonist, his fury knows nc 
 bounds, and he gores his victim to death, trampling and 
 kneeling upon him till he is satisfied that life is extinct. 
 
 This sport would not be very dangerous in the forests, 
 where the buffalo could be easily stalked, and where 
 escape would also be rendered less difficult in case of 
 accident ; but as he is generally met with upon the open 
 plains free from a single tree, he must be killed when 
 once brought to bay, or he will soon exhibit his qualifi- 
 cations for mischief. There is a degree of uncertainty in 
 their character, which much increases the danger of the 
 pursuit. A buffalo may retreat at first sight with every 
 symptom of cowardice, and thus induce a too eager 
 pursuit, when he will suddenly become the assailant. 
 I cannot explain their character better than by describing 
 the first wild buffaloes that I ever saw. 
 
 I had not been long in Ceylon, but having arrived in 
 the island for the sake of its wild sports, I had not been 
 idle, and I had already made a considerable bag of large 
 game. Like most novices, however, I was guilty of 
 one great fault. I despised the game, and gave no 
 heed to the many tales of danger and hairbreadth 
 escapes which attended the pursuit of wild animals. 
 This carelessness on my part arose from my first debut, 
 having been extremely lucky ; most shots had told well, 
 and the animal had been killed with such apparent 
 ease that I had learnt to place an implicit reliance 
 in the rifle. The real fact was, that I was like many
 
 44 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 others; I had slaughtered a number of animals without 
 understanding their habits, and I was perfectly ignorant 
 of the sport. This is now many years ago, and it was 
 then my first visit to the island. Some places that were 
 good spots for shooting in those days have since that 
 time been much disturbed, and are now no longer at- 
 tractive to my eyes. One of these places is Minneria 
 Lake. 
 
 I was on a shooting trip accompanied by my brother, 
 whom I will designate as B. We had passed a toil- 
 some day in pushing and dragging our ponies for twenty 
 miles along a narrow path through thick jungle, which 
 half a dozen natives in advance were opening before us 
 with ,bill-hooks. This had at one time been a good 
 path, but was then overgrown. It is now an acknow- 
 ledged bridle-road. 
 
 At 4 P.M., and eighty miles from Kandy, we emerged 
 from the jungle, and the view of Minneria Lake burst 
 upon us, fully repaying us for our day's march. It was 
 a lovely afternoon. 'The waters of the lake, which is 
 twenty miles in circumference, were burnished by the 
 setting sun. The surrounding plains were as green as 
 an English meadow, and beautiful forest trees bordered 
 the extreme boundaries of the plains like giant warders 
 of the adjoining- jungle. Long promontories densely 
 wooded stretched far into the waters of the lake, form- 
 ing sheltered nooks and bays teeming with wild fowl. 
 The deer browsed in herds on the wide extent of plain, 
 or lay beneath the shade of the spreading branches. Every 
 feature of lovely scenery was here presented. In some 
 spots groves of trees grew to the very water's edge ; in 
 others the wide plains, free from a single stem or bush, 
 stretched for miles along the edge of the lake ; thickly
 
 Minneria Lake. 45 
 
 wooded hills bordered the extreme end of its waters, 
 and distant blue mountains mingled their dim summits 
 with the clouds. 
 
 It was a lovely scene, which we enjoyed in silence, 
 while our ponies feasted upon the rich grass. 
 
 The village of Minneria was three miles farther on, 
 and our coolies, servants and baggage were all far 
 behind us. We had, therefore, no rifles or guns at 
 hand, except a couple of shot-guns, which were carried 
 by our horsekeepers : for these we had a few balls. 
 
 For about half an hour we waited in the impatient 
 expectation of the arrival of our servants with the rifles. 
 
 The afternoon was wearing away, and they did not 
 appear. We could wait no longer, but determined to 
 take a stroll and examine the country. We therefore 
 left our horses and proceeded. 
 
 The grass was most verdant, about the height of a 
 field fit for the scythe in England, but not so thick. 
 From this the snipe arose at every twenty or thirty 
 paces, although the ground was perfectly dry. Crossing 
 a lai'ge meadow, and skirting the banks of the lake, from 
 which the ducks and teal rose in large flocks, we entered 
 a long neck of jungle which stretched far into the lake. 
 This was not above two hundred paces in width, and 
 we soon emerged upon an extensive plain bordered by 
 fine forest, the waters of the lake stretching far away 
 upon our left, like a sheet of gold. A few large rocks 
 rose above the surface near the shore ; these were cov- 
 ered with various kinds of wild-fowl. The principal 
 tenants of the plain were wild buffaloes. 
 
 A herd of about a hundred were lying in a swampy 
 hollow about a quarter of a mile from us. Several sin- 
 gle bulls were dotted about the green surface of the
 
 46 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 level plain, and on the opposite shores of the lake were 
 many dark patches undistinguishable in the distance ; 
 these were in reality herds of buffaloes. There was 
 not a sound in the wide expanse before us, except the 
 harsh cry of the water-fowl that our presence had 
 already disturbed not a breath of air moved the leaves 
 of the trees which shaded us and the whole scene 
 was that of undisturbed nature. The sun had now sunk 
 low upon the horizon, and the air was comparatively 
 cool. The multitude of buffaloes enchanted us, and 
 with our two light double-barrels we advanced to the 
 attack of the herd before us. 
 
 We had not left the obscurity of the forest many sec- 
 onds before we were observed. The herd started. up 
 from their muddy bed and gazed at us with astonish- 
 ment. It was a fair open plain of some thousand acres, 
 bounded by the forest which we had just quitted on the 
 one side, and by the lake on the other ; thus there was 
 no cover for our advance, and all we could do was to 
 push on. 
 
 As we approached the herd they ranged up in a com- 
 Dact bod} ; , presenting a very regular line in front. 
 From this line seven large bulls stepped forth, and from 
 their vicious appearance seemed disposed to show fight. 
 In the mean time we were running up, and were soon 
 within thirty paces of them. At this distance the main 
 body of the herd suddenly wheeled round and thundered 
 across the plain in full retreat. One of the bulls at the 
 same moment charged straight at us, but when within 
 twenty paces of the guns he turned to one side and 
 instantly received two balls in the shoulder, B. and I 
 having fired at the same moment. As luck would have 
 it, his blade-bone was thus broken, and he fell upon his
 
 Brush 'with a BtdL 47 
 
 knees, but recovering himself in an instant he retreated 
 on three legs to the water. 
 
 We now received assistance from an unexpected 
 quarter. One of the large bulls, his companions, 
 charged after him with great fury, and soon overtaking 
 the wounded beast, he struck him full in the side, throw- 
 ing him over with a great shock on the muddy border 
 of the lake. Here the wounded animal lay unable to 
 rise, and his conqueror commenced a slow retreat across 
 the plain. 
 
 Leaving B. to extinguish the wounded buffalo, I gave 
 chase to the retreating bull. At an easy canter he 
 would gain a hundred paces, and then turning, he 
 would face me ; throwing his nose up, and turning his 
 head to one side with a short grunt, he would advance 
 quickly for a few paces, and then again retreat as I 
 continued to approach. 
 
 In this manner he led me a chase of about a mile 
 along, the banks of the lake, but he appeared deter- 
 mined not to bring the fight to an issue at close quarters. 
 Cursing his cowardice, I fired a long shot at him, and 
 reloading with my last spare ball, I continued the chase, 
 led on by ignorance and excitement. 
 
 The lake in one part stretched in a narrow creek into 
 the plain, and the bull now directed his course into the 
 angle formed by this turn. I thought that I had him in 
 a corner, and, redoubling my exertions, I gained upon 
 him considerably. He retreated slowly to the very 
 edge of the creek, and I had gained so fast upon him 
 that I was not thirty paces distant when he plunged into 
 the water and commenced swimming across the creek. 
 This was not more than sixty yards in breadth, and I 
 knew that I could now bring him to action.
 
 48 The Rijle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 Running round the borders of the creek as fast as I 
 could, I arrived at the opposite side on his intended 
 landing-place just as his black form reared from the 
 deep water and gained the shallows, into which I had 
 waded knee-deep to meet him. I now experienced 
 that pleasure as he stood sullenly eyeing me within 
 fifteen paces. Poor stupid fellow ! I would willingly, 
 in my ignorance, have betted ten to one upon the shot, 
 so certain was I of his death in another instant. 
 
 I took a quick but steady aim at his chest, at the 
 point of connection with the throat. The smoke of the 
 barrel passed to one side ; there he stood he had not 
 flinched ; he literally had not moved a muscle. The 
 only change that had taken place was in his eye ; this, 
 which had hitherto been merely sullen, was now beam- 
 ing with fury ; but his form was as motionless as a 
 statue. A stream of blood poured from a wound 
 within an inch of the spot at which I had aimed ; had 
 it not been for this fact, I should not have believed him 
 struck. 
 
 Annoyed at the failure of the shot, I tried him with 
 the left-hand barrel at the same hole. The report of 
 the gun echoed over the lake, but there he stood as 
 though he bore a charmed life ; an increased flow of 
 blood from the wound and additional lustre in his eye 
 were the only signs of his being struck. 
 
 I was now unloaded, and had not a single ball re- 
 maining. It was now his turn. I dared not turn to 
 retreat, as I knew he would immediately charge, and 
 we stared each other out of countenance. 
 
 With a short grunt he suddenly sprung forward, but 
 fortunately, as I did not move, he halted : he had, how- 
 ever, decreased his distance, and we now gazed at each
 
 A Bright Thought. 49 
 
 other within ten paces. I began to think buffalo-shoot- 
 ing somewhat dangerous, and I would have given 
 something to have been a mile away, but ten times as 
 much to have had my four-ounce rifle in my hand. 
 Oh how I longed for that rifle in this moment of sus- 
 pense ! Unloaded, without the power of defence, with 
 the absolute certainty of a charge from an overpower- 
 ing brute, my hand instinctively found the handle of 
 my hunting-knife, a useless weapon against such a foe. 
 
 Knowing that B. was not aware of my situation at 
 the distance which separated us (about a mile), with- 
 out taking my eyes from the figure before me I raised 
 my hand to my mouth and gave a long and loud whistle ; 
 this was a signal that I knew would be soon answered 
 if heard. 
 
 With a stealthy step and another short grunt, the 
 bull again advanced a couple of paces toward me. 
 He seemed aware of my helplessness, and he was the 
 picture of rage and fury, pawing the water and stamp- 
 ing violently with his fore-feet. 
 
 This was very pleasant ! I gave myself up for lost, 
 but putting as fierce an expression into my features as 
 I could possibly assume, I stared hopelessly at my mad- 
 dened antagonist. 
 
 Suddenly a bright thought flashed through my mind. 
 Without taking my eyes off the animal before me, I put 
 a double charge of powder down the right-hand barrel, 
 and, tearing off a piece of my shirt, I took all the money 
 from my pouch, three shillings in sixpenny pieces, and 
 two anna pieces, which I luckily had with me in this 
 small coin for paying coolies. Quickly making them 
 into a rouleau with the piece of rag, I rammed them 
 down the barrel, and they were hardly well home 
 6 D
 
 50 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon 
 
 before the bull again sprang forward. So quick was 
 it that I had no time to replace the ramrod, and I 
 threw it in the water, bringing my gun on full cock in 
 the same instant. However, he again halted, being 
 now within about seven paces from me, and we again 
 gazed fixedly at each other, but with altered feelings on 
 my part. I had faced him hopelessly with an empty 
 gun for more than a quarter of an hour, which seemed 
 a century. I now had a charge in my gun, which I 
 knew if reserved till he was within a foot of the muzzle 
 would certainly floor him, and I awaited his onset with 
 comparative carelessness, still keeping my eyes opposed 
 to his gaze. 
 
 At this moment I heard a splashing in the water be- 
 hind me, accompanied by the hard breathing of some- 
 thing evidently disti'essed. The next moment I heard 
 B.'s voice. He could hardly speak for want of breath, 
 having run the whole way to my rescue, but I could 
 understand that he had only one barrel loaded and no 
 bullets left. I dared not turn my face from the buffalo, 
 but I cautioned B. to reserve his fire till the bull should 
 be close into me, and then to aim at the head. 
 
 The words were hardly uttered, when, with the con- 
 centrated rage of the last twenty minutes, he rushed 
 straight at me. It was the work of an instant. B. 
 fired without effect. The horns were lowered, their 
 points were on either side of me, and the muzzle of the 
 gun barely touched his forehead when I pulled the 
 trigger, and three shillings' worth of small change 
 rattled into his hard head. Down he went, and rolled 
 over with the suddenly checked momentum of his 
 charge. Away went B. and I as fast as our heels 
 would carry us, through the water and over the plain,
 
 What ts Man? 51 
 
 knowing that he was not dead but only stunned. 
 There was a large fallen tree about half a mile from 
 us, whose whitened branches rising high above the 
 ground offered a tempting asylum. To this we directed 
 our flying steps, and after a run of a hundred yards, we 
 turned and looked behind us. He had regained his 
 feet and was following us slowly. We now experi- 
 enced the difference of feeling between hunting and 
 being hunted, and fine sport we must have afforded 
 him. 
 
 On he came, but fortunately so stunned by the col- 
 lision with her. Majesty's features upon the coin which 
 he had dared to oppose that he could only reel forward 
 at a slow canter. By degrees even this pace slackened, 
 and he fell. We were only too glad to be able to re- 
 duce our speed likewise, but we had no sooner stopped 
 to breathe than he was again up and after us. At 
 length, however, we gained the tree and we beheld 
 him with satisfaction stretched powerless upon the 
 ground, but not dead, within two hundred yards of us. 
 
 We retreated under cover of the forest to the spot at 
 which we had left the horses, fortunately meeting no 
 opposition from wild animals, and we shortly arrived 
 at the village at which we took up our quarters, vowing 
 vengeance on the following morning for the defeat that 
 we had sustained. 
 
 A man is a poor defenceless wretch if left to defend 
 himself against wild animals with the simple natural 
 weapon of arms, legs and teeth. A tom-cat would 
 almost be a match for him. He has legs which will 
 neither serve him for pursuit or escape if he is forced 
 to trust only in his speed. He has strength of limb, 
 which is useless without some artificial weapon. He
 
 $2 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 is an animal, who, without the power of reason, could 
 not even exist in a wild state ; his brain alone gives 
 him the strength to support his title of a lord of the 
 creation. 
 
 Nevertheless, a lord of the creation does not appear 
 in much majesty when running for his life from an in- 
 furiated buffalo the assumed title sits uneasily upon 
 him when, with scarcely a breath left in his body, he 
 struggles along till he is ready to drop with fatigue, ex- 
 pecting to be overtaken at every step. We must cer- 
 tainly have exhibited poor specimens of the boasted 
 sway of man over the brute creation could a stranger 
 have witnessed our flight on this occasion. 
 
 The next morning we were up at day-break, and we 
 returned to the battle-field of the previous evening in 
 the full expectation of seeing our wounded antagonist 
 lying dead where we had left him. In this we were 
 disappointed he was gone, and we never saw him 
 again. 
 
 I now had my long two-ounce and my four-ounce 
 rifles with me, and I was fully prepared for a deep re- 
 venge for the disgrace of yesterday. 
 
 The morning was clear but cloudy ; a heavy thunder- 
 storm during the night had cooled the air, and the 
 whole plain was glistening with bright drops ; the pea- 
 cocks were shrieking from the tree-tops and spreading 
 their gaudy plumage to the cool breeze ; and the whole 
 face of nature seemed refreshed. We felt the same in- 
 vigorating spirit, and we took a long survey of the 
 many herds of buffaloes upon the plain before we could 
 determine which we should first attack. 
 
 A large single bull, who had been lying in a swampy 
 hollow unobserved by us, suddenly sprang up at about
 
 Long Shot with the Four-ounce. 53 
 
 three hundred yards distance and slowly cantered off. 
 I tried the long two-ounce rifle at him, but, taking too 
 great an elevation, I fired over him. The report, how- 
 ever, had the effect of turning him, and, instead of re- 
 treating, he wheeled round and attempted to pass 
 between the guns and the banks of the lake. We were 
 about three hundred yards from the water's edge, and 
 he was soon passing us at full gallop at right-angles 
 about mid-way or a hundred and fifty yards distant. 
 
 I had twelve drachms of powder in the four-ounce 
 rifle, and I took a flying shot at his shoulder. No 
 visible effect was produced, and the ball ricochetted 
 completely across the broad surface of the lake (which 
 was no more than a mile wide at this part) in con- 
 tinuous splashes. The gun-bearers said I had fired 
 behind him, but I had distinctly heard the peculiar 
 " fut" which a ball makes upon striking an animal, and 
 although the passage of the ball across the lake ap- 
 peared remarkable, nevertheless I felt positive that it 
 had first passed through some portion of the animal. 
 
 Away the bull sped over the plain at unabated speed 
 for about two hundred paces, when he suddenly turned 
 and charged toward the guns. On he came for about 
 a hundred yards, but evidently slackening his speed at 
 every stride. At length he stopped altogether. His 
 mouth was wide open, and I could now distinguish a 
 mass of bloody foam upon his lips and nostrils the ball 
 had in reality passed through his lungs, and, making its 
 exit from the opposite shoulder, it had even then flown 
 across the lake. This was the proof of the effect of 
 the twelve drachms of powder. 
 
 Having reloaded, I now advanced toward him, and 
 soon arrived within fifty paces. He was the facsimile
 
 54 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 of the bull that had chased us on the previous day 
 the same picture of fury and determination ; and, 
 crouching low, he advanced a few paces, keeping his 
 eyes fixed upon us as though we were already his own. 
 
 A short cough, accompanied by a rush of blood from 
 his mouth, seemed to cause him great uneasiness, and 
 he halted. 
 
 Again we advanced till within twenty paces of 
 him. I would not fire, as I saw that he already had 
 enough, and I wished to see how long he could support 
 a wound through the lungs, as my safety in buffalo- 
 shooting might in future depend upon this knowledge. 
 
 The fury of his spirit seemed to war with death, and, 
 although reeling with weakness and suffocation, he 
 again attempted to come on. It was his last effort ; his 
 eyes rolled convulsively, he gave a short grunt of impo- 
 tent rage, and the next moment he fell upon his back, 
 with his heels in the air ; he was stone dead and game 
 to the last moment. 
 
 I had thus commenced a revenge for the insult of yes- 
 terday ; I had proved the wonderful power of the four- 
 ounce rifle a weapon destined to make great havoc 
 amongst the heavy game of Ceylon. 
 
 Upon turning from the carcass before us, we observed 
 to our surprise that a large herd of buffaloes, that were 
 at a great distance when we had commenced the attack 
 upon the bull, had now approached to within a few hun- 
 dred yards, and were standing in a dense mass, atten- 
 tively watching us. Without any delay we advanced 
 toward them, and, upon arriving within about a hun- 
 dred paces, we observed that the herd was headed by 
 two large bulls, one of which was the largest that I had 
 ever seen. The whole herd was bellowing and paw-
 
 Charged by a Herd of Bttffaloes. 55 
 
 ing the ground. They had winded the blood of the 
 dead bull and appeared perfectly maddened. 
 
 We continued to advance, and we were within about 
 ninety paces of them when suddenly the whole herd 
 of about two hundred buffaloes, headed by the two bulls 
 before noticed, dashed straight toward us at full gallop. 
 So simultaneous was the, onset that it resembled a sud- 
 den charge of cavalry, and the ground vibrated beneath 
 their heavy hoofs. Their tails were thrown high above 
 their backs, and the mad and overpowering phalanx of 
 heads and horns came rushing forward as though to 
 sweep us at once from the face of the earth. 
 
 There was not an instant to be lost ; already but a 
 short space intervened between us and apparently cer- 
 tain destruction. Our gun-bearers were almost in the 
 act of flight ; but catching hold of the man who carried 
 the long two-ounce rifle, and keeping him by my side, 
 I awaited the irresistible onset with the four-ounce. 
 
 The largest of the bulls was some yards in advance, 
 closely followed by his companion, and the herd in 'a 
 compact mass came thundering down at their heels. 
 Only fifty yards separated us ; we literally felt among 
 them, and already experienced a sense of being over- 
 run. I did not look at the herd, but I kept my eye upon 
 the big bull leader. On they flew, and were within 
 thirty paces of us when I took a steady shot with the 
 four-ounce, and the leading bull plunged headforemost 
 in the turf, turning a complete summersault. Snatching 
 the two-ounce from the petrified gun-bearer, I had just 
 time for a shot as the second bull was within fifteen 
 paces, and at the flash of the rifle his horns ploughed 
 up the turf, and he lay almost at our feet. That lucky 
 shot turned the whole herd. When certain destruction
 
 56 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 threatened us, they suddenly wheeled to their left when 
 within twenty paces of the guns, and left us astonished 
 victors of the field. We poured an ineffectual volley 
 into the retreating herd from the light guns as they gal- 
 loped off in full retreat, and reloaded as quickly as 
 possible, as the two bulls, although floored, were still 
 alive. They were ; however, completely powerless, arid 
 a double-barreled gun gave each the coup de grace by a 
 ball in the forehead. Both rifle shots had struck at the 
 point of junction of the throat and chest, and the four- 
 ounce ball had passed out of the hind quarter. Our 
 friend of yesterday, although hit in precisely the same 
 spot, had laughed at the light guns. 
 
 Although I have since killed about two hundred wild 
 buffaloes I have never witnessed another charge by a 
 herd. This was an extraordinary occurrence, and for- 
 tunately stands alone in buffalo-shooting. Were it not 
 for the two heavy rifles our career might have ter- 
 minated in an unpleasant manner. As I before men- 
 tioned, this part of the country was seldom or ever 
 disturbed at the time of which I write, and the buffaloes 
 were immensely numerous and particularly savage, 
 nearly always turning to bay and showing good sport 
 when attacked. 
 
 Having cut out the tongues from the two bulls, we 
 turned homeward to breakfast. Skirting along the 
 edge of the lake, which abounded with small creeks, 
 occasioning us many circuits, we came suddenly upon 
 a single bull, who, springing from his lair of mud and 
 high grass, plunged into a creek, and, swimming across, 
 exposed himself to a dead shot as he landed on the op- 
 posite bank about a hundred paces from us. The four- 
 ounce struck him in the hind quarters and broke the
 
 Cow Buffaloes. 57 
 
 hip joint, and, continuing its course along his body, it 
 pierced his lungs and lodged in the skin of the throat. 
 The bull immediately fell, but regaining his feet he 
 took to the water and swam to a small island of high 
 grass about thirty yards from the shore. Upon gaining 
 this he turned and faced us, but in a few seconds he fell 
 unable to rise, and received a merciful shot in the head, 
 which despatched him. 
 
 We were just leaving the border of the lake on our 
 way to the village when two cow buffaloes sprung 
 up from one of the numerous inlets and retreated at 
 full gallop toward the jungle, offering a splendid side 
 shot at about a hundred paces. The leading cow 
 plunged headforemost into the grass as the four-ounce 
 struck her through both shoulders. She was a fine 
 young cow, and we cut some steaks from her in case 
 we should find a scarcity of provisions at Minneria, 
 and, quitting the shores of the lake, we started for 
 breakfast. 
 
 It was only 8 A.M. when we arrived. I had bagged 
 five buffaloes, four of which were fine bulls. Our re- 
 venge was complete, and I had proved that the four- 
 ounce was perfectly irresistible if held straight with the 
 heavy charge of twelve drachms of powder. Since 
 that time I have frequently used sixteen drachms (one 
 ounce) of powder to the charge, but the recoil is then 
 very severe, although the effect upon an animal with a 
 four-ounce steel-tipped conical ball is tremendous. 
 
 On our return to the village of Minneria we found a 
 famous breakfast, for which a bath in the neighboring 
 brook increased an appetite already sharpened by the 
 morning exercise. The buffalo steaks were coarse and 
 bad, as tough as leather, and certainly should never be
 
 58 The Rifle and Hoiind in Ceylon. 
 
 eaten if better food can be obtained. The tongues are 
 very rich, but require salting. 
 
 In those days Minneria was not spoiled by visitors, 
 and supplies were accordingly at a cheap rate large 
 fowls at one penny each, milk at any price that you 
 chose to give for it. This is now much changed, and 
 the only thing that is still ridiculously cheap is^ fish. 
 
 Give a man sixpence to catch you as many as he can 
 in the morning, and he forthwith starts on his pisca- 
 torial errand with a large basket, cone shaped, of two 
 feet diameter at the bottom and about eight inches at 
 the top. This basket is open at both ends and is about 
 two feet in length. 
 
 The fish that is most sought after is the " lola." He 
 is a ravenous fellow, in appearance between a trout and 
 a carp, having the habits of the former, but the clumsy 
 shoulders of the latter. He averages about three 
 pounds, although he is often caught of nine or ten 
 pounds weight. Delighting in the shallows, he lies 
 among the weeds at the bottom, to which he always 
 retreats when disturbed. Aware of his habits, the 
 fisherman walks knee deep in the water, and at every 
 step he plunges the broad end of the basket quickly to 
 the bottom. He immediately feels the fish strike against 
 the sides, and putting his hand down through the aper- 
 ture in the top of the basket he captures him and de- 
 posits him in a basket slung on his back. 
 
 These " lola" are delicious eating, being very like an 
 eel in flavor, and I have known one man catch forty in 
 a morning with no other apparatus than this basket. 
 
 Minneria Lake, like all others in Ceylon, swarms 
 with crocodiles of a very large size. Early in the 
 morning and late in the evening they may be seen lying
 
 The Crocodile. 59 
 
 upon the banks like logs of trees. I have frequently 
 remarked that a buffalo, shot within a few yards of the 
 lake, has invariably disappeared during the night, 
 leaving an undoubted track where he has been dragged 
 to the water by the crocodiles. These brutes frequently 
 attack the natives when fishing or bathing, but I have 
 never heard of their pursuing any person upon dry 
 land. 
 
 I remember an accident having occurred at Madampi, 
 on the west coast of Ceylon, about seven years ago, the 
 day before I passed through the village. A number of 
 women were employed in cutting rushes for mat-mak- 
 ing, and were about mid-deep in the water. The horny 
 tail of a large crocodile was suddenly seen above the 
 water among the group of women, and in another in- 
 stant one of them was seized by the thigh and dragged 
 toward the deeper part of the stream. In vain the ter- 
 rified creature shrieked for assistance ; the horror-stricken 
 group had rushed to the shore, and a crowd of spectators 
 on the bank offered no aid beyond their cries. It was 
 some distance before the water deepened, and the un- 
 fortunate creature was dragged for many yards, some- 
 times beneath the water, sometimes above the surface, 
 rending the air with her screams, until at length the 
 deep water hid her from their view. She was never 
 again seen. 
 
 Some of these vermin grow to a very large size, at- 
 taining the length of twenty feet and eight feet in girth, 
 but the common size is fourteen feet. They move 
 slowly upon land, but are wonderfully fast and active 
 in the water. They commonly lie in wait for their 
 prey under some hollow bank in a deep pool, and when 
 the unsuspecting- deer or even buffalo stoops his head
 
 60 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 to drink he is suddenly seized by the nose and dragged 
 beneath the water. Here he is speedily drowned and 
 consumed at leisure. 
 
 The two lower and front teeth of a crocodile project 
 through the upper jaw, and their .white points attract 
 immediate notice as they protrude through the brown 
 scales on the upper lip. When the mouth is closed the 
 jaws are thus absolutely locked together. 
 
 It is a common opinion that the scales on the back 
 of a crocodile will turn a ball ; this is a vulgar error. 
 The scales are very tough and hard, but a ball from a 
 common fowling-piece will pass right through the body. 
 I have even seen a hunting-knife driven at one blow deep 
 into the hardest part of the back ; and this was a croc- 
 odile of a large size, about fourteen feet long, that I 
 shot at a place called Bolgodde", twenty-two miles from 
 Colombo. 
 
 A man had been setting nets for fish and was in the 
 act of swimming to the shore, when he was seized and 
 drowned by a crocodile. The next morning two buf- 
 faloes were dragged into the water close to the spot, 
 and it was supposed that these murders were committed 
 by the same crocodile. I was at Colombo at the time, 
 and hearing of the accident, I rode off to Bolgodde to 
 try my hand at catching him. 
 
 Bolgodde" is a very large lake of many miles in cir- 
 cumference, abounding with crocodiles, widgeon, teal 
 and ducks. 
 
 On arrival that evening, the moodeliar (headman) 
 pointed out the spot where the man had been destroyed 
 and where the buffaloes had been dragged in by the 
 crocodile. One buffalo had been entirely devoured, 
 but the other had merely lost his head, and his carcase
 
 Crocodile at Bolgodde Lake. 61 
 
 - 
 
 was floating in a horrible state of decomposition near 
 
 the bank. It was nearly dark, so I engaged a small 
 canoe to be in readiness by break of day. 
 
 Just as the light streaked the horizon I stepped into 
 the canoe. This required some caution, as it was the 
 smallest thing that can be conceived to support two 
 persons. It consisted of the hollow trunk of a tree six 
 feet in length and about one foot in diameter. A small 
 outrigger prevented it from upsetting, but it was not an 
 inch from the surface of the water when I took my 
 narrow seat, and the native in the stern paddled care- 
 fully toward the carcase of the buffalo. 
 
 Upon approaching within a hundred yards of the 
 floating carcase, I counted five forms within a few yards 
 of the flesh. These objects were not above nine inches 
 square and appeared like detached pieces of rough 
 bark. I knew them to be the foreheads of different 
 crocodiles, and presently one moved toward the half- 
 consumed buffalo. His long head and shoulders pro- 
 jected from the water as he attempted to fix his fore- 
 claws into the putrid flesh ; this, however, rolled over 
 toward him, and prevented him from getting a hold ; 
 but the gaping jaws nevei'theless made a wide breach 
 in the buffalo's flank. I was now within thirty yards 
 of them, and, being observed, they all dived immediately 
 to the bottom. 
 
 The carcase was lying within a few yards of the 
 bank, where the water was extremely deep and clear. 
 Several large trees grew close to the edge and formed 
 a gODd hiding-place ; I therefore landed, and, sending 
 the canoe to a distance, I watched the water. 
 
 I had not been five minutes in this position before I 
 saw in the water at my feet, in a deep hole close to the 
 6
 
 62 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 bank, the immense form of a crocodile as he was slowly 
 rising from his hiding-place to the surface. He ap- 
 peared to be about eighteen feet long, and he projected 
 his horny head from the surface, bubbled, and then 
 floated with only his forehead and large eyes above the 
 water. He was a horrible-looking monster, and from 
 his size I hoped he was the villain that had committed 
 the late depredations. He was within three yards of 
 me ; and, although I stood upon the bank, his great 
 round eyes gazed at me without a symptom of fear. 
 The next moment I put a two-ounce ball exactly 
 between them and killed him stone dead. He gave a 
 convulsive slap with his tail, which made the water 
 foam, and, turning upon his back, he gradually sunk, 
 till at length I could only distinguish the long line of 
 his white belly twenty feet below me. 
 
 Not having any apparatus for bringing him to the 
 surface, I again took to the canoe, as a light breeze 
 that had sprung up was gradually moving the carcass 
 of the buffalo away. This I slowly followed until it at 
 length rested in a wide belt of rushes which grew upon 
 the shallows near the shore. I pushed the canoe into 
 the rushes within four yards of the carcass, keeping to 
 windward to avoid the sickening smell. 
 
 I had not been long in this position before the body 
 suddenly rolled over as though attacked by something 
 underneath the water, and the next moment the tall reeds 
 brushed against the sides of the canoe, being violently agi- 
 tated in a long line, evidently by a crocodile at the bottom. 
 
 The native in the stern grew as pale as a black can 
 turn with fright, and instantly began to paddle the canoe 
 away. This, however, I soon replaced in its former 
 position, and then took his paddle away to prevent fur-
 
 Death of a Crocodile. 63 
 
 ther accidents. There sat the captain of the fragile 
 vessel in the most abject state of terror. We were close 
 to the shore, and the water was not more than three 
 feet deep, and yet he dared not jump out of the canoe, 
 as the rushes were again brushing against its sides, 
 being moved by the hidden beast at the bottom. There 
 was no help for him, so, after vainly imploring me to 
 shove the canoe into deep water, he at length sat still. 
 
 In a few minutes the body of the buffalo again moved, 
 and the head and shoulders of a crocodile appeared 
 above water and took a bite of some pounds of flesh. 
 I could not get a shot at the head from his peculiar 
 position, but I put a ball through his shoulders, and 
 immediately shoved the canoe astern. Had I not done 
 this we should most likely have been upset, as the 
 wounded brute began to lash out with his tail in all 
 directions, till he at length retired to the bottom among 
 the rushes. Here I could easily track him, as he slowly 
 moved along, by the movement of the reeds. Giving 
 the native^the paddle, I now by threats induced him to 
 keep the canoe over the very spot where . the rushes 
 were moving, and we slowly followed on the track, 
 while I kept watch in the bow of the canoe with a rifle. 
 
 Suddenly the movement in the rushes ceased and the 
 canoe stopped accordingly. I leaned slightly over the 
 side to look into the water, when up came a large air- 
 bubble, and directly afterward an apparition in the 
 shape of some fifteen pounds of putrid flesh. The 
 stench was frightful, but I knew my friend must be 
 very bad down below to disgorge so sweet a morsel. I 
 therefore took the paddle and poked for him ; the water 
 being shallow 1 felt him immediately. Again the rushes 
 moved ; I felt the paddle twist as his scaly back glided
 
 64 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 under it, and a pair of gaping jaws appeared above the 
 water wide open and within two feet of the canoe. 
 The next moment his head appeared, and the two-ounce 
 ball shattered his brain. He sunk to the bottom, the 
 rushes moved slightly and were then still. 
 
 I now put the canoe ashore, and cutting a strong stick 
 with a crook at one end, I again put out to the spot and 
 dragged for him. He was quite dead ; and catching 
 him under the fore-leg, I soon brought him gently to 
 the surface of the water. I now made fast a line to his 
 fore-leg, and we towed him slowly to the village, the 
 canoe being level with the water's edge. 
 
 His weight in the water was a mere trifle, but on 
 arrival at the village on the banks of the lake, the vil- 
 lagers turned out with great glee and fastened ropes to 
 different parts of his body to drag him out. This opera- 
 tion employed about twenty men. The beast was about 
 fourteen feet long ; and he was no sooner on shore than 
 the natives cut him to pieces with axes and threw the 
 sections into the lake to be devoured by his own species. 
 This was a savage kind of revenge, which appeared to 
 afford them great satisfaction. 
 
 Taking a large canpe, I paddled along the shores of 
 the lake with a short gun, and made a good bag of 
 ducks and teal, and returned to breakfast The fatness 
 and flavor of the wild ducks in Ceylon are quite equal to 
 the best in England.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 EQUIPMENT FOR A HUNTING TRIP IN CHASE OF A HERD OF 
 BUFFALOES HARD WORK CLOSE QUARTERS Six FEET 
 FROM THE MUZZLE A BLACK WITH A DEVIL. 
 
 **" I ^HERE is one thing necessary to the enjoyment of 
 JL sport in Ceylon, and without which no amount 
 of game can afford thorough pleasure ; this is personal 
 comfort. Unlike a temperate climate, where mere 
 attendance becomes a luxury, the pursuit of game in a 
 tropical country is attended with immense fatigue and 
 exhaustion. The intense heat of the sun, the dense 
 and suffocating exhalations from swampy districts, the 
 constant and irritating attacks from insects, all form 
 drawbacks to sport that can only be lessened by excel- 
 lent servants and by the most perfect arrangements for 
 shelter and supplies. I have tried all methods of trav- 
 eling, and I generally manage to combine good sport 
 with every comfort and convenience. 
 
 A good tent, perfectly waterproof and of so light a 
 construction as to travel with only two bearers, is abso- 
 lutely indispensable. My tent is on the principle of an 
 umbrella, fifteen feet in diameter, and will house three 
 persons comfortably. A round table fits in two halves 
 round the tent-pole ; three folding chairs have ample 
 space ; three beds can be arranged round the tent 
 walls ; the boxes of clothes, etc., stow under the beds ; 
 6* E 65
 
 b6 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 and a dressing-table and gun-rack complete the furni 
 ture. 
 
 Next in importance to the tent is a good canteen. 
 Mine is made of japanned block tin, and contains in 
 close-fitting compartments an entire dinner and' break- 
 fast service for three persons, including everything that 
 can be required in an ordinary establishment. This is 
 slung upon a bamboo, carried by two coolies. 
 
 Clothes must always be packed in tin boxes, or the 
 whole case will most likely be devoured by white 
 ants. 
 
 Cooking utensils must be carried in abundance, 
 together with a lantern, an axe, a bill-hook, a tinder- 
 box, matches, candles, oil, tea, coffee, sugar, biscuits, 
 wine, brandy, sauces, etc., a few hams, some tins of 
 preserved meats and soups, and a few bottles of curacoa, 
 a glass of which, in the early dawn after a cup of hot 
 coffee and a biscuit, is a fine preparation for a day's 
 work. 
 
 I once tried the rough system of traveling, and 
 started off with nothing but my guns, clothes, a box of 
 biscuits and a few bottles of brandy no bed, no pil- 
 low, no tent or chairs or table, but, as my distressed 
 servant said, " no nothing." This was many years ago, 
 when the excitement of wild sports was sufficient to 
 laugh at discomfort. I literally depended upon my gun 
 for food, and my cooking utensils consisted of one 
 saucepan and a gridiron, a " stew" and a "fry" being 
 all that I looked forward to in the way of gourmandism. 
 Sleeping on the bare ground in native huts, dining cross- 
 legged upon mother earth, with a large leaf as a substi- 
 tute for a plate, a cocoa-nut shell for a glass, my hunt- 
 ing-knife comprising all my cutlery, I thus passed
 
 In Chase of Elephants. 67 
 
 through a large district of wild country, accompanied 
 by B., and I never had more exciting sport. 
 
 It was on this occasion that I had a memorable hunt 
 in the neighborhood of Norlande, within thirty miles 
 of Kandy. It was our first day's stage, and, upon our 
 arrival, at about 2 p. M., we left our guns at the post- 
 holder's hut, while we proceeded to the river to bathe. 
 
 We were hardly dressed before a native came 'run 
 ning to tell us that several elephants were devouring 
 his crop of korrakan a grain something like clover- 
 seed, upon which the people in this part almost entirely 
 subsist. 
 
 Without a moment's delay we sent for the guns. 
 The post-holder was a good tracker, and a few minutes 
 of sharp walking through a path bordered on either 
 side by dense thorny jungle brought us to a che"na jun- 
 gle ground or cultivated field. The different watch- 
 houses erected in the large trees were full of people, 
 who were shrieking and yelling at the top of their 
 voices, having just succeeded in scaring the elephants 
 into the jungle. 
 
 The whole of the country in this neighborhood has, 
 in successive ages, been cleared and cultivated : the for- 
 est has been felled. The poverty of the soil yields only 
 one ci'op, and the lately cleared field is again restored to 
 nature. Dense thorny jungle immediately springs up, 
 which a man cannot penetrate without being torn to 
 pieces by the briars. This is called chena jungle, and 
 is always the favorite resort of elephants and all wild 
 animals, the impervious character of the bush forming 
 a secure retreat. 
 
 From these haunts the elephants commit nocturnal 
 descents upon the crops of the natives. The korrakan
 
 68 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 is a sweet grass, growing about two feet high, and so 
 partial are the elephants to this food that they will in- 
 vade the isolated field even during the day-time. Driven 
 out by shouts and by shots fired by the natives from 
 their secure watch-houses, they will retreat to their 
 cover, but in a few minutes they will reappear from 
 another part of the jungle and again commence their 
 depredations. 
 
 The havoc committed by a large herd of elephants 
 can well be imagined. 
 
 In this instance there were only three elephants a 
 large bull with a mother and her young one, or what we 
 call a " poonchy." On entering the korrakan field we 
 distinctly heard them breaking the boughs at no great 
 distance. We waited for some time to see if they 
 would return to the field ; but they apparently were 
 aware of some impending danger, as they did not move 
 from their strong position. This was a cunning family 
 of elephants, as they had retreated " down wind," and 
 the jungle being so thick that we could with difficulty 
 follow even upon their track made it very doubtful 
 whether we should kill them. 
 
 We cautiously entered. It was one mass of thorns, 
 and we were shortly compelled to crawl upon our 
 hands and knees. This was arduous work, as we had 
 great difficulty in carrying the guns so as to avoid the 
 slightest noise. I was leading the way, and could dis- 
 tinctly hear the rustling of the leaves as the elephants 
 moved their ears. We were now within a few feet of 
 them, but not an inch of their bodies could be seen, so 
 effectually were they hidden by the thick jungle. Sud- 
 denly we heard the prolonged wh-r-r, wh-r-r-r-r-r, as 
 "one of *Vie elephants winded us ; the shrill trumpet
 
 A Chase under Difficulties. 69 
 
 sounded in another direction, and the crash through the 
 jungle took place which nothing but an elephant can 
 produce. In such dense jungle, where the elephants 
 are invisible, this crash is most exciting if close at hand, 
 as in the present instance. It is at the first burst impos- 
 sible to tell whether the elephant is coming at you or 
 rushing away. In either case it is extremely dangerous, 
 as these chena jungles are almost devoid of trees ; thus 
 there is no cover of sufficient strength to protect a man 
 should he attempt to jump on one side, and he may even 
 be run over bv accident. 
 
 A few moments assured us of their retreat, and we 
 instantly followed upon their track, running at full 
 speed along the lane which they had crushed in their 
 headlong flight. This was no easy matter ; the jungle 
 itself was certainly broken down, but innumerable 
 hooked thorns hanging from rope-like creepers which 
 had been torn down by the rush of the elephants, 
 caught us upon every side. In a few minutes our 
 clothes were in rags, and we were bleeding from count- 
 less scratches ; but we continued the chase as fast as we 
 could run upon the track. The prickly cactus which 
 abounds in these jungles and grows to the height of 
 twenty feet, in some places checked us for a few mo- 
 ments, being crushed into a heap by the horny-footed 
 beasts before us. These obstacles overcome, we again 
 pushed on at a rapid pace, occasionally listening for a 
 sound of the retreating game. 
 
 We now observed that the herd had separated ; the 
 bull had gone off in one direction and the female with 
 her half-grown poonchy in another. Following the lat- 
 ter, we again pushed on at a quick run, as the elephants 
 had evidently gone off at a great pace and were fa? in
 
 70 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 advance. For about half an hour we had continued 
 the pursuit at the same speed, when we suddenly heard 
 the warning wh-r-r-r-r as the elephants winded us at a 
 distance of 200 yards, and the crash instantly following 
 this sound told us too plainly that the game was fear- 
 fully on the alert, and gave us little hopes of overtaking 
 them, as they were traveling directly down wind. 
 
 Speed was our only chance, and again we rushed 
 forward in hot pursuit through the tangled briars, which 
 yielded to our weight, although we were almost strip- 
 ped of clothes. Another half hour passed, and we had 
 heard no further signs of the game. We stopped to 
 breathe, and we listened attentively for the slightest 
 sound. A sudden crash in the jungle at a great dis- 
 tance assured us that we were once more discovered. 
 The chase seemed hopeless ; the heat was most oppress- 
 ive ; and we had been running for the last hour at a 
 killing pace through a most distressing country. Once 
 more, however, we started off, determined to keep up 
 the pursuit as long as daylight would permit. It was 
 now 5 P. M., and we had one hour left before darkness 
 would set in. The wind had entirely ceased, leaving a 
 perfect calm ; the air was thick and heavy, and the 
 heat was thus rendered doubly fatiguing. We noticed, 
 however, that the track of the elephants had doubled 
 back instead of continuing in the direct line that we had 
 followed so long. This gave us hope, as the elephants 
 no longer had the advantage of the wind, and we 
 pushed on as fast as we could go. 
 
 It was about half an hour before dusk, and our 
 patience and hopes were alike exhausted when we 
 suddenly once more heard the wh-r-r-r of the elephants 
 winding us within a hundred yards. It was our last
 
 Close Quarters. fi 
 
 chance, and with redoubled speed we rushed after 
 them. 
 
 Suddenly we broke from the high jungle in which we 
 had been for the last two hours, and we found ourselves 
 in a chena jungle of two years' growth, about five feet 
 high, but so thick and thorny that it resembled one 
 vast blackthorn hedge, through which no man could 
 move except in the track of the retreating elephants. 
 
 To my delight, on entering this low jungle I saw the 
 female at about forty yards' distance, making off at a 
 great pace. I had a light double-barreled gun in my 
 hand, and, in the hopes of checking her pace, I fired a 
 flying shot at her ear. She had been hunted so long 
 that she was well inclined to fight, and she immediately 
 slackened her speed so much that in a few instants I 
 was at her tail, so close that I could have slapped her. 
 Still she ploughed her way through the thick thorns, 
 and, not being able to pass her owing to the barrier of 
 jungle, I could only follow close at her heels and take 
 my chance of a shot. At length, losing all patience, 
 I fired my remaining barrel under her tail, giving 
 it an upward direction in the hope of disabling her 
 spine. 
 
 A cloud of smoke hung over me for a second, and, 
 throwing my empty gun on one side, I put my hand 
 behind me for a spare gun. I felt the welcome barrel 
 pushed into my hand at the same moment that I saw 
 the infuriated head of the elephant with ears cocked 
 chai'ging through the smoke. It was the work of an 
 instant. I had just time to cock the two-ounce rifle and 
 take a steady aim. The next moment we were in a 
 cloud of smoke, but as I fired I felt certain of her. The 
 smoke cleared from the thick bushes, and she lay dead
 
 72 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 at six feet from the spot where I stood. The ball was 
 in the centre of her forehead, and B., who had fired 
 over my shoulder so instantaneously with me that I 
 was not aware of it, had placed his ball within three 
 inches of mine. Had she been missed I should have 
 fired my last shot. 
 
 This had been a glorious hunt; many miles had 
 been gone over, but by great luck, when the wind 
 dropped and the elephant altered her course, she had 
 been making a circuit for the very field of korrakan at 
 which we had first found her. We were thus not more 
 than three miles from our resting-place, and the trackers, 
 who know every inch of the country, soon brought us 
 to the main road. 
 
 The poonchy and the bull elephant, having both 
 separated from the female, escaped. 
 
 One great cause of danger in shooting in thick jun- 
 gles is the obscurity occasioned by the smoke of the 
 first barrel ; this cannot escape from the surrounding 
 bushes for some time, and effectually' prevents a cer- 
 tain aim with the remaining barrel. In wet weather 
 this is much increased. 
 
 For my own part I dislike shooting in thick jungles, 
 and I very seldom do so. It is extremely dangerous, 
 and is like shooting in the dark ; you never see the 
 game until you can almost touch it, and the labor and 
 pain of following up elephants through thorny jungle 
 is beyond description. 
 
 On our return to the post-holder's hut we dined and 
 prepared for sleep. It was a calm night, and not a 
 sound disturbed the stillness of the air. The tired 
 coolies and servants were fast asleep, the lamp burnt 
 dimly, being scantily fed with oil, and we were in the
 
 A Black 'with a Devil. 73 
 
 act of lying down to rest when a frightful scream made 
 us spring to our feet. There was something so un- 
 earthly in the yell that we could hardly believe it hu- 
 man. The next moment a figure bounded into the 
 little room that we occupied. It was a black, stark 
 naked. His tongue, half bitten through, protruded 
 from his mouth ; his bloodshot eyes, with a ghastly 
 stare, were straining from their sockets, and he stood 
 gazing at us with his arms extended wide apart. 
 Another horrible scream burst from him, and he fell 
 flat upon his back. 
 
 The post-holder and a whole crowd of awakened 
 coolies now assembled, and they all at once declared 
 that the man had a devil. The fact is, he had a fit of 
 epilepsy, and his convulsions were terrible. Without 
 moving a limb he flapped here and there like a salmon 
 when just landed. I had nothing with me that would 
 relieve him, and I therefore left him to the hands of 
 the post-holder, who prided himself upon his skill in 
 exorcising devils. All his incantations produced no 
 effect, and the unfortunate patient suddenly sprung to 
 his feet and rushed madly into the thorny jungle. In 
 this we heard him crashing through like a wild beast, 
 and I do not know to this day whether he was ever 
 heard of afterward. 
 
 The Cingalese have a thorough belief in the presence 
 of devils ; one sect are actually " devil-iuorsfa'pers," 
 but the greater portion of the natives are Bhuddists. 
 Among this nation the missionaries make very slow 
 progress. There is no character to work upon in the 
 Cingalese : they are faithless, cunning, treacherous 
 and abject cowards ; superstitious in the extreme, and 
 yet unbelieving in any one God. A converted Bhud- 
 
 r
 
 74 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 dist will address his prayers to our God if he thinks he 
 can obtain any temporal benefit by so doing ; but, if 
 not, he would be just as likely to pray to Bhudda or to 
 the devil. 
 
 I once saw a sample of heathen conversion in Cey- 
 lon that was enough to dishearten a missionary. A 
 Roman Catholic chapel had been erected in a wild part 
 of the country by some zealous missionary, who prided 
 himself upon the number of his converts. He left his 
 chapel during a few weeks' absence in some other dis- 
 trict, during which time his converts paid their devo- 
 tion to the Christian altar. They had made a few little 
 additions to the ornaments of the altar, which must 
 have astonished the priest on his return. 
 
 There was an image of our Saviour and the Virgin : 
 this was all according to custom. But there were also 
 '" three images of Bhudda" a colored plaster-of-paris 
 image of the hieen and Prince Albert upon the altar, 
 and a very questionable penny print in vivid colors 
 hanging over the altar, entitled the " Stolen Kiss." So 
 much for the conversion of the heathen in Ceylon. The 
 attempt should only be made in the schools, where the 
 children may be brought up as Christians ; but the idea 
 of converting the grown-up heathen is a fallacy.
 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE FOUR-OUNCE AGAIN TIDINGS OF A ROGUE APPROACHING 
 A TANK ROGUE AN EXCITING MOMENT RUINS OF POLLAN- 
 ARUA ANCIENT RUINS ROGUES AT DOOLANA B. CHARGED 
 BY A ROGUE PLANNING AN ATTACK A CHECK NAR- 
 ROW ESCAPE ROGUE-STALKING A BAD ROGUE DANGERS 
 OF ELEPHANT-SHOOTING THE RHATAMAHATMEYA'S TALE. 
 
 A BROKEN nipple in my long two-ounce rifle 
 took me to Trincomalee, about seventy miles out 
 of my proposed route. Here I had it punched out 
 and replaced with a new one, which I fortunately had 
 with me. No one who has not experienced the loss 
 can imagine the disgust occasioned by an accident to a 
 favorite rifle in a wild country. A spare nipple and 
 mainspring for each barrel and lock should always be 
 taken on a shooting trip. 
 
 In passing by Kandelly on my return from Trincoma- 
 lee, I paid a second visit to the lake. This is very simi- 
 lar to that of Minneria ; but the shooting at that time 
 was destroyed from the same cause which has since 
 ruined Minneria " too many guns." The buffaloes 
 were not worthy of the name ; I could not make one 
 show fight, nor could I even get within three hundred 
 yards of them. I returned from the plain with disgust ; 
 but just as I was quitting the shores of the lake I no- 
 ticed three buffaloes in the shallows about knee-deep in 
 
 75
 
 76 The Rifle and Plound in Ceylon. 
 
 the water, nearly half a mile from me. They did not 
 look bigger than dogs, the distance was so great. 
 
 There is nothing like a sheet of water for trying a 
 rifle ; the splash of the ball shows with such distinct- 
 ness the accuracy or the defect in the shooting. It was 
 necessary that I should fire my guns off in oi'der to 
 clean them that evening : I therefore tried their power 
 at this immense distance. 
 
 The long two-ounce fell short, but in a good line. I 
 took a rest upon a man's shoulder with the four-ounce 
 rifle, and, putting up the last sight, I aimed at the lead- 
 ing buffalo, who was walking through the water paral- 
 lel with us. I aimed at the outline of the throat, to 
 allow for his pace at this great distance. The recoil of 
 the rifle cut the man's ear open, as there were sixteen 
 drachms of powder in this charge. 
 
 We watched the smooth surface of the water as the 
 invisible messenger whistled over the lake. Certainly 
 three seconds elapsed before we saw the slightest effect. 
 At the expiration of that time the buffalo fell suddenly 
 in a sitting position, and there he remained fixed : many 
 seconds after a dull sound returned to our ears ; it was 
 the " futt" of the ball, which had positively struck him 
 at this immense range. What the distance was I can- 
 not say ; it may have been 600 yards, or 800, or more. 
 It was shallow water the whole way : we therefore 
 mounted our horses and rode up to him. Upon reach- 
 ing him, I gave him a settling ball in the head, and we 
 examined him. The heavy ball had passed completely 
 through his hips, crushing both joints, and, of course, 
 rendering him powerless at once. 
 
 The shore appeared full half a mile from us on our 
 return, and I could hardly credit my own eyes, the dis-
 
 The Four-ounce again. ff 
 
 tance was so immense, and yet the ball had passed clean 
 through the animal's body. 
 
 It was of course a chance shot, and, even with this 
 acknowledgment, it must appear rather like the " mar- 
 vellous" to a stranger ; that is my misfortune, not my 
 fault. I certainly never made such a shot before or 
 since ; it was a sheer lucky hit, say at 600 yards ; and 
 the wonderful power of the rifle was thus displayed in 
 the ball perforating the large body of the buffalo at this 
 range. This shot was made with a round ball, not a 
 cone. The round belted ball for this heavy two-grooved 
 rifle weighs three ounces. The conical ball weighs a 
 little more than four ounces. 
 
 While describing the long shots performed by this 
 particular rifle, I cannot help recounting a curious 
 chance with a large rogue elephant in Topari tank. 
 This tank or lake is, like most others in Ceylon, the 
 result of immense labor in past ages. Valleys were 
 closed in by immense dams of solid masonry, which, 
 checking the course of the rivers, formed lakes of many 
 miles in extent. These were used as reservoirs for the 
 water required for the irrigation of rice lands. The 
 population who effected these extensive works have 
 long since passed away ; their fate is involved in mys- 
 tery. The records of their ancient cities still exist, but 
 we have no account of their destruction. The ruins of 
 one of these cities, Pollanarua, are within half a mile 
 of the village of Topari, and the waters of the adjacent 
 lake are still confined by a dam of two miles in length, 
 composed of solid masonry. When the lake is full it 
 is about eight miles in circumference. 
 
 I had only just arrived at the village, and my horse- 
 keeper had taken the horse to drink at the lake, when 
 7*
 
 78 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 he sudde'nly came running back to say that a rogue 
 elephant was bathing himself on the opposite shore, at 
 about two miles' distance. 
 
 I immediately took my guns and went after him. 
 My path lay along the top of the great dam, which 
 formed a causeway covered with jungle. This cause- 
 way was about sixty feet in breadth and two miles in 
 length : the lake washed its base about twenty feet 
 below the summit. The opposite shore was a fine 
 plain, bordered by open forest, and the lake spread into 
 the grassy surface in wide 'and irregular bays. 
 
 I continued my course along the causeway at a fast 
 walk, and on arriving at the extremity of the lake I 
 noticed that the ancient dam continued for a much 
 greater distance. This, together with the great height 
 of the masonry from the level of the water, proved 
 that the dimensions of the lake had formerly been of 
 much greater extent. 
 
 Descending by the rugged stones which formed the 
 dam wall, I reached the plain, and, keeping close to 
 the water's edge, I rounded a large neck of land 
 covered with trees, which projected for some distance 
 into the lake. I knew, by the position of the elephant 
 when I first saw him, that he was not far beyond this 
 promontory, and I carefully advanced through the open 
 forest, hoping that I might meet him there on his exit 
 from his bath. In this I was mistaken, for on passing 
 through this little belt of trees I saw the elephant still 
 in the lake, belly deep, about three hundred paces from 
 me. He was full a hundred and twenty yards from the 
 shore, and I was puzzled how to act. He was an im- 
 mense brute, being a fine specimen of a tank " rogue." 
 This class are generally the worst description of rogue
 
 Approaching a Tank Rogue. 79 
 
 elephants, who seldom move far from the lakes, but 
 infest the shores of the tanks for many years. Being 
 quite alone with the exception of two worthless gun- 
 bearers, the plan of attack required some consideration. 
 
 The belt of trees in which I stood was the nearest 
 piece of cover to the elephant, the main jungle being 
 about a quarter of a mile from the shore of the lake. 
 In the event of a retreat being necessary, this cover 
 would therefore be my point. There was a large 
 tamarind tree growing alone upon the plain about a 
 hundred and fifty paces from the water's edge, exactly 
 in a line with the position of the elephant. The mud 
 plastered to a great height upon the stem showed this 
 to be his favorite rubbing-post after bathing. 
 
 Having determined upon my plan of attack, I took 
 the guns from the gun-bearers and sent the men up the 
 tree, as I knew they would run away in the event of 
 danger, and would most probably take the guns with 
 them in their flight. Having thus secured the guns, I 
 placed the long two-ounce against a large and con- 
 spicuous tree that grew upon the extreme edge of the 
 forest, and I cautiously advanced over the open plain 
 with my two remaining guns, one of which I deposited 
 against the stem of the single tamarind tree. I had. 
 thus two points for a defensive retreat, should it be ne- 
 cessary. 
 
 I had experienced considerable difficulty in attaining 
 my position at the tamarind tree without being observed 
 by the elephant ; fortunately, I had both the wind and 
 the sun favorable, the latter shining from my back full 
 into the lake. 
 
 The elephant was standing with his back to the shore 
 exactly in a line with me, and he was swinging his
 
 80 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 great head from side to side and flapping his ears in 
 the enjoyment of his bath. I left the tree with my four- 
 ounce rifle, and, keeping in a direct line for his hind- 
 quarters, I walked toward him. The grass was soft 
 and short ; I could therefore approach without the 
 slightest noise : the only danger in being discovered 
 was in the chance that I might be seen as he swung his 
 head continually on either side. This I avoided by 
 altering my course as I saw his head in the act of 
 coming round, and I soon stood on the edge of the lake 
 exactly behind him, at about a hundred and twenty 
 yards. He was a noble-looking fellow, every inch a 
 rogue, his head almost white with numerous flesh- 
 colored spots. These give a savage and disgusting 
 appearance to an elephant, and altogether he looked a 
 formidable opponent. I had intended to shout on 
 arriving at my present position, and then to wait, for 
 the front shot as he charged ; but on looking back to 
 the tamarind tree and my proposed course for retreat, 
 the distance appeared so great, rendered still more diffi- 
 cult by a gradual ascent, that I felt it would be impos- 
 sible to escape if my chance lay in running. I hardly 
 knew what to do ; I had evidently caught a " Tartar." 
 His head was perpetually swinging to and fro, and 
 I was of course accordingly altering my position to 
 avoid his eye. At one of these half turns he flapped 
 his right ear just as his head came round, and I ob- 
 served a perfectly white mark, the size of a saucer, be- 
 hind the ear, in the exact spot for a fatal shot. I at 
 once determined to try it, even at this distance ; at all 
 events if it failed and he should charge, I had a fair 
 start, and by getting the spare gun from the tamarind- 
 tree I could make a defence at the cover.
 
 Astonishing the Natives. 81 
 
 His attention was completely absorbed in a luxu- 
 rious repast upon a bed of the succulent lotus. He 
 tore up bunches of the broad leaves and snaky stalks, 
 and, washing them carefully with his trunk, he crushed 
 the juicy stems, stuffing the tangled mass into his 
 mouth as a savage would eat macaroni. Round 
 swung his head once more, the ear flapped, the mark 
 was exposed, but the ear again concealed it just as I 
 had raised the rifle. This happened several times, but 
 I waited patiently for a good chance, being prepared 
 for a run the moment after firing. 
 
 Once more his head swung toward me ; the sun 
 shone full upon him, and I raised the rifle to be ready 
 for him if he gave me the chance. His ear flapped 
 forward just as his head was at a proper angle for a 
 shot. The mark shone brightly along the sights of the 
 rifle as I took a steady aim, and the answer to the re- 
 port of the gun was a dull splash. 
 
 He had sunk upon his knees stone dead. I could 
 hardly believe my eyes. The sight of so large an ani- 
 mal being killed at such a distance by one shot had an 
 extraordinary effect. I heard a heathenish scream of 
 joy behind me, and upon turning round I perceived 
 the now courageous gun-bearers running toward me 
 at their best pace. They were two of the Topari 
 villagers, and had been perfectly aghast at the idea of 
 one person, 'with only one single-barreled rifle, attack- 
 ing a tank rogue in the open plain. The sequel had 
 turned their fear into astonishment. They now had the 
 laugh at me, however, as they swam fearlessly up to 
 the dead elephant to cut off his tail, which I would not 
 have done for any reward, for fear of crocodiles, which 
 abound in the tank. The ball had struck the white 
 
 F
 
 82 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 mark exactly in the centre, which pleased these natives 
 exceedingly, and they returned in safety with the tail. 
 
 I have frequently tried these long shots since, but I 
 never succeeded again except once, and that was not 
 satisfactory, as the elephant did not die upon the spot, 
 but was found by the natives on the following day. 
 
 On my return to the village I took a short gun and 
 strolled along the banks of the lake. The snipe were 
 innumerable, and I killed them till my head ached with 
 the constant recoil of the gun -in addition to the heat. 
 I also killed several couple of ducks and teal in addi- 
 tion to tw'enty-eight couple of snipe. This was the Para- 
 dise for sport at the time of which I write. It had 
 never been disturbed : but it has since shared the fate 
 of many other places. 
 
 The open forest in the vicinity of the lake abounded 
 with deer. Grassy glades beneath the shady trees give 
 a park-like appearance to the scene, and afford a de- 
 lightful resort for the deer. 
 
 In strolling through these shady glades, you suddenly 
 arrive among the ruins of ancient Pollanarua. The 
 palaces are crumbled into shapeless mounds of bricks. 
 Massive pillars, formed of a single stone some twelve 
 feet high, stand in upright rows throughout the jungle 
 here and there over an extent of miles of country. The 
 buildings which they once supported have long since 
 fallen, and the pillars now stand like tombstones over 
 vanished magnificence. Some buildings are still stand- 
 ing ; among these are two dagobas, huge monuments 
 of bricks, formerly covered with white cement and 
 elaborately decorated with different devices. These are 
 shaped like an egg which has been cut nearly in half 
 and then placed upon its base ; but the cement has per-
 
 Ruins of Pottanarua. . 83 
 
 ished, and they are mounds of jungle and rank grass, 
 which has overgrown them, although the large dagoba 
 is upwards of a hundred feet high. 
 
 A curious temple, formed on the imperishable prin- 
 ciple of excavating in the solid rock, is in perfect preser- 
 vation, and is still used by the natives as a place of 
 worship : this is presided over by a priest. Three large 
 images of Bhudda, carved out of solid rock, occupy 
 the positions in which he is always represented ; that 
 in the recumbent posture is fifty-six feet long, cut from 
 one solid stone. 
 
 I was strolling through these ruins when I suddenly 
 saw a spotted doe feeding among the upright pillars 
 before mentioned. I was within twenty yards of her 
 before she was aware of my vicinity, and I bagged her 
 by a shot with a double-barreled gun. At the report of 
 the gun a herd of about thirty deer, which were con- 
 cealed among the ruins, rushed close by me, and I 
 bagged another doe \vith the remaining barrel. 
 
 The whole of this country must at one time have been 
 densely populated ; perhaps this very density may have 
 produced pestilence, which swept away the inhabitants. 
 The city has been in ruins for about 600 years, and was 
 founded abo'ut 300 years before Christ. Some idea of 
 the former extent of the Ceylon antiquities maybe 
 formed from the present size of the ruins. Those of 
 Anarajapoora are 16 miles square, comprising a surface 
 of 256 square miles. Those of Pollanarua are much 
 smaller, but they are nevertheless of great extent. 
 
 The inhabitants of the present village of Topari are 
 a poor squalid race ; and if they are descended in a 
 direct line from the ancient occupants of the city, they 
 are as much degenerated in character and habits as the
 
 84 The Rifle ana Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 city itself is ruined in architecture. Few countries can 
 be more thinly populated than Ceylon, and yet we have 
 these numerous proofs of a powerful nation having 
 once existed. Wherever these lakes or tanks exist in 
 the present day, a populous country once flourished. In 
 all countries which are subject to months of drought a 
 supply of water is the first consideration, or cultivation 
 must cease. This was the object in forming the tanks, 
 which are especially numerous throughout the Tam- 
 bancadua district. These tank countries afford a great 
 diversity of sport, as they all abound with wild-fowl 
 and with snipe in their season (from November to 
 May). During the time of drought they are always 
 the resort of every kind of wild animal, who are forced 
 to the neighborhood for a supply of water. 
 
 The next tank to Topari is that of Doolana ; this is 
 eight miles from the former, and is of about the same 
 extent. In this district there are no less than eight of 
 these large lakes. Their attractions to rogue elephants 
 having been explained, it may be readily understood 
 that these gentry abound throughout the district. I 
 shall, therefore, select a few incidents which have hap- 
 pened to me in these localities, which will afford 
 excellent illustrations of the habits of " rogues." 
 
 Having arrived at Doolana, on the 5th April, 1847, 
 with excellent Moormen trackers, who were elephant- 
 catchers by profession, I started for a day's sport in 
 company with my brother B. This particular portion 
 of the district is inhabited entirely by Moormen. They 
 are a fine race of people, far superior to the Cingalese. 
 They are supposed to be descended from Arabian origin, 
 and they hold the Mohammedan religion. The Rhata- 
 mahatmeya, or head man of the district, resides at
 
 " Rogues" Again. 85 
 
 Doolana, and he had received us in a most hospitable 
 manner. We therefore started direct from his house. 
 
 Passing through a belt of low, thick jungle, exactly 
 in front of the village, we entered upon the plain which 
 formed the border of the tank. This lake is about 
 three miles in length, but is not more than a mile in 
 width in its widest part, and in some places is very 
 much less. The opposite side of the tank is fine, open 
 forest, which grows to the water-edge, and is in some 
 parts flooded during the wet season. At this time the 
 soil was deep and muddy. 
 
 This was not a place visited by sportsmen at that 
 period ; and upon arriving at the margin of the lake, 
 an exciting view presented itself. Scattered over the 
 extent of the lake, were " thirteen rogue elephants ;" 
 one was not a quarter of a mile from us ; another was 
 so far off he could hardly be distinguished ; another 
 was close to the opposite jungle ; and they were, in 
 fact, all singlp elephants. There was an exception to 
 this, however, in one. pair of elephants, who stood in 
 the very centre of the tank, side by side ; they were as 
 black as ebony, and although in view with many 
 brother rogues, they appeared giants even among giants. 
 The Moormen immediately informed us that they were 
 a notorious pair, who always associated together, and 
 were the dread of the. neighborhood. There were 
 many tales of their ferocity and daring, which at the 
 time we gave little heed to. 
 
 Crossing the tank in a large canoe, we arrived in the 
 open forest upon the opposite shore. It was a mass of 
 elephant tracks, which sunk deep in the soft earth. 
 1 hey were all so fresh and so confused that tracking 
 Was verv difficult. However, we at length fixed upon 
 8
 
 86 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 the tracks of a pair of elephants, and followed them 
 up. This was a work of considerable time, but the 
 distant cracking of a bough at length attracted us to 
 their position, and we shortly came up with them, just 
 as they had winded us and were^moving off. I fired 
 an ineffectual shot at the temple of one, which separated 
 him from the other, after whom we started in chase at 
 full speed. Full speed soon ended in a stand-still in 
 such ground ; it was deep, stiff clay, in which we sunk 
 over our ankles at every step, and varied our struggles 
 by occasionally flying sprawling over the slippery roots 
 of the trees. 
 
 The elephants ran clean away fpem us, and the 
 elephant-catchers, who knew nothing of the rules for 
 carrying spare guns, entering into the excitement of 
 the chase, and, free from the impediments of shoes, ran 
 lightly along the muddy ground, and \vere soon out of 
 sight as well as the elephants. Still we struggled on, 
 when, presently we heard a shout and then a shot ; 
 then another shout ; then the trumpet of an elephant. 
 Shot after shot then followed with a chorus of shouts ; 
 they "were actually firing all our spare guns ! ., 
 
 In a few moments we were up with them. In a 
 beautifully open piece of forest, upon good hard ground, 
 these fellows were having a regular battle with the 
 rogue. He was charging them with the greatest fury, 
 but he no sooner selected one man for his object than 
 these active fellows diverted his rage by firing into his 
 hind-quarters and yelling at him. At this, he would 
 immediately turn and charge another man, when he would 
 again be assailed as before. When we arrived, he imme- 
 diately selected B., and came straight at him, but offered 
 9. beautiful shot in doing so, and B. dropped him dead.
 
 Planning an Attack. 87 
 
 The firing had disturbed a herd of elephants from 
 the forest, and they had swam the large river in the 
 neighborhood, which was at that time so swollen that 
 we could not cross it. We, therefore, struck off to the 
 edge of the forest where the waters of the lake washed 
 the roots of the trees, and from this point we had a fine 
 view of the greater portion of the lake. 
 
 All the rogues that we had at first counted had retired 
 to their several entrances in the forest, except the pair of 
 desperadoes already mentioned they knew no fear and 
 had not heeded the shots fired. They were tempting 
 baits, and we determined to get them if possible. 
 These two villains were standing belly-deep in the 
 water, about a quarter of a mile from the shore ; and 
 the question was,'" How were we to get near them !" 
 Having observed that the other rogues had retreated to 
 the forest at the noise of the firing, it struck me that 
 *ve might by some ruse induce these two champions to 
 follow their example, and, by meeting them on their 
 jntrance, we might bring them to action. 
 
 Not far upon our left, a long shallow bank, covered 
 with reeds, stretched far into the tank. By wading 
 knee-deep along this shoal, a man might approach to 
 within two hundred paces of the elephants, and would 
 be nearly abreast of them. I, therefore, gave a man a 
 gun, and instructed him to advance to the extreme end 
 of the shallows, taking care to conceal himself in the 
 rushes, and when at the nearest point he was to fire at 
 the elephants. This, I hoped, would drive them to the 
 jungle, where we should endeavor to meet them. 
 
 The Moorman entrusted upon this mission was a 
 plucky fellow, and he started off, taking a double gun 
 and a few charges of powder and ball. The elephant-
 
 88 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 catchers were delighted with the idea, and we patiently 
 awaited the result. About a quarter of an hour passed 
 away, when we suddenly saw a puff of white smoke 
 spring from the green rushes at the point of the sand- 
 bank. A few moments after we heard the report of 
 the gun, and we saw the ball splash in the water close 
 to the elephants. They immediately cocked their ears, 
 and throwing their trunks high in the air, they en- 
 deavored to wind the enemy ; but they did not move, 
 and they shortly again commenced feeding upon the 
 water-lilies. Another shot from the same place once 
 more disturbed them, and, while they winded the un- 
 seen enemy, two more shots in quick succession from 
 the old quarter decided their opinion, and they stalked 
 proudly through the water toward the shore. 
 
 Our satisfaction was great, but the delight of the ele- 
 phant-catchers knew no bounds. Away they started 
 along the shores of the lake, hopping from root to root, 
 skipping through the mud, which was more than a foot 
 deep, their light forms hardly sinking in the tough surface. 
 A nine-stone man certainly has an advantage over one 
 of twelve in this ground ; added to this, I was carrying 
 the long two-ounce rifle of sixteen pounds, which, with 
 ammunition, etc., made up about thirteen and a half 
 stone, in deep stiff clay. I was literally half-way up 
 the calf of my leg in mud at every step, while these 
 light, naked fellows tripped like snipe over the sodden 
 ground. Vainly I called upon them to go easily ; their 
 moment of excitement was at its full pitch, and they 
 were soon out of sight among the trees and underwood, 
 taking all the spare guns, except the four-ounce rifle, 
 which, weighing twenty-one pounds, effectually pre- 
 vented the bearer from leaving us behind.
 
 A Check 89 
 
 What added materially to the annoyance of losing 
 the spare guns was the thoughtless character of the 
 advance. I felt sure that these fellows would outrun 
 the position of the eleptiants, which, if they had con- 
 tinued in a direct route, should have entered the jungle 
 within three hundred yards of our first station. 
 
 We had slipped, and plunged, and struggled over 
 this distance, when we suddenly were checked in our 
 advance. We had entered a small plot of deep mud 
 and rank grass, surrounded upon all sides by dense rat- 
 tan jungle. The stuff is one woven mass of hooked 
 thorns : long tendrils, armed in the same manner, al- 
 though not thicker than a whip-cord, wind themselves 
 round the parent canes and form a jungle which even 
 elephants dislike to enter. To man, these jungles are 
 perfectly impervious. 
 
 Half-way to our knees in mud, we stood in this small 
 open space of about thirty feet by twenty. Around us 
 was an opaque screen of this impenetrable jungle ; the 
 lake lay about fifty yards upon our left, behind the thick 
 rattan. The gun-bearers were gone ahead somewhere, 
 and were far in advance. We were at a stand-still. 
 Leaning upon my long rifle, I stood within four feet 
 of the wall of jungle which divided us from the lake. 
 I said to B., " The trackers are all wrong, and have 
 gone too far. I am convinced that the elephants must 
 have entered somewhere near this place." 
 
 Little did I think that at that very moment they were 
 within a few feet of us. B. was standing behind me 
 on the opposite side of the small open, or about seven 
 yards from the jungle. 
 
 I suddenly heard a deep guttural sound in the thick 
 rattan within four feet of me ; in the same instant the 
 8*
 
 90 The Rijle and Hotmd in Ceylon. 
 
 whole tangled fabric bent over me, and bursting asundei 
 showed the furious head of an elephant with uplifted 
 trunk in full charge upon me. 
 
 I had barely time to cock my rifle, and the barrel 
 almost touched him as I fired. I knew it was in vain, 
 as his trunk was raised. B. fired his right-hand barrel 
 at the same moment without effect from the same cause,, 
 I jumped on one side and attempted to spring through 
 the deep mud : it was of no use, the long grass en- 
 tangled my feet, and in another instant I lay sprawling 
 in the enraged elephant's path within a foot of him. 
 In that moment of suspense I expected to hear the 
 crack of my own bones as his massive foot would be 
 upon me. It was an atom of time. I heard the crack 
 of a gun ; it was B.'s last barrel. I felt a spongy weight 
 strike my heel, and, turning quickly heels over head, I 
 rolled a few paces and regained my feet. That last 
 shot had floored him just as he was upon me ; the end 
 of his trunk had fallen upon my heel. Still he was not 
 ' dead, but he struck at me with his trunk as I passed round 
 his head to give him a finisher with the four-ounce rifle, 
 which I had snatched from our solitary gun-bearer. 
 
 My back was touching the jungle from which the 
 rogue had just charged, and I was almost in the act of 
 firing through the temple of the still struggling elephant 
 when I heard a tremendous crash in the jungle behind 
 me similar to the first, and the savage scream of an 
 elephant. I saw the ponderous fore-leg cleave its way 
 through the jungle directly upon me. I threw my 
 whole weight back against the thick rattans to avoid 
 him, and the next moment his foot was planted within 
 an inch of mine. His lofty head was passing over me 
 in full charge at B., who was unloaded, when, holding
 
 NARROW ESCAPE. 
 
 Page 90.
 
 A Narrow Escape. 91 
 
 the four-ounce rifle perpendicularly, I fired exactly 
 under his throat. I thought he would fall upon me 
 and crush me, but this shot was the only chance, as B. 
 was perfectly helpless. 
 
 A dense cloud of smoke from the heavy charge of 
 powder for the moment obscured everything. I had 
 jumped out of the way the instant after firing. The 
 elephant did not fall, but he had his death wound : the 
 ball had severed his jugular, and the blood poured 
 from the wound. He stopped, but collecting his 
 stunned energies he still blundered forward toward B. 
 He, however, avoided him by running to one side, and 
 the wounded brute staggered on through the jungle. 
 We now loaded the guns ; the first rogue was quite 
 dead, and we followed in pursuit of rogue number two. 
 We heard distant shots, and upon arriving at the spot 
 we found the gun-bearers. They had heard the 
 wounded elephant crushing through the jungle, and 
 they had given him a volley just as he was crossing the 
 river over which the herd had escaped in the morning. 
 They described the elephant as perfectly helpless from 
 his wound, and they imagined that he had fallen in the 
 thick bushes on the opposite bank of the river. As I 
 before mentioned we could not cross the river on 
 account of the torrent, but in a few days it subsided, 
 and the elephant was found lying dead in the spot 
 where they supposed he had fallen. 
 
 Thus happily ended the destruction of this notable 
 pair ; they had proved themselves all that we had heard 
 of them, and by their cunning dodge of hiding in the 
 thick jungle they had nearly made sure of us. We 
 had killed three rogues that morning, and we returned 
 to our quarters well satisfied.
 
 92 'The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 Since that period I have somewhat thinned the 
 number of rogues in this neighborhood. I had a careful 
 and almost certain plan of shooting them. Quite alone, 
 with the exception of two faithful gun-bearers, I used 
 to wait at the edge f the jungle at their feeding time, 
 and watch their exit from the forest. The most cautious 
 stalking then generally enabled me to get a fatal shot 
 before my presence was discovered. This is the proper 
 way to succeed with rogue elephants, although of 
 course it is attended with considerable danger. I was 
 once very nearly caught near this spot, where the 
 elephants are always particularly savage. The lake 
 was then much diminished in size by dry weather, and 
 the water had retired for about a hundred yards from 
 the edge of the forest, leaving a deep bed of mud 
 covered with slime and decayed vegetable matter. This 
 slime had hardened in the sun and formed a cake over 
 the soft mud beneath. -Upon this treacherous surface a 
 man could walk with great care. Should the thin 
 covering break through he would be immediately waist- 
 deep in the soft mud. To plod through this was the 
 elephant's delight. Smearing a thick coat of the black 
 mud over their whole bodies, they formed a defensive 
 armor against the attacks of musquitoes, which are the 
 greatest tormenters that an elephant has to contend 
 with. 
 
 I was watching the edge of the forest one afternoon 
 at about four o'clock, when I noticed the massive form 
 of one of these tank rogues stalk majestically from the 
 jungle and proceed through the deep mud toward 
 the lake. I had the wind, and I commenced stalking 
 him. 
 
 Advancing with my two gun-bearers in single file, I
 
 A Bad Rogue. 93 
 
 crept carefully from tree to tree along the edge of the 
 forest for about a quarter of a mile, until I arrived at 
 the very spot at which he had made his exit from the 
 jungle. 
 
 I was now within eighty yards of him as he stood with 
 his head toward the lake, and his hind-quarters exactly 
 facing me. His deep tracks in the mud were about five 
 feet apart, so great was his stride and length of limb, 
 and, although the soft bog was at least three and a half 
 feet deep, his belly was full two feet above the surface. 
 He was a fine fellow, and, with intense caution, I 
 advanced toward him over the trembling surface of 
 baked slime. His tracks had nearly filled with water, 
 and looked like little wells. The bog waved as I 
 walked carefully over it, and I stopped once or twice, * 
 hesitating whether I should continue : I feared the 
 crusty surface would not support me, as the nearer I 
 approached the water's edge the weaker the coating 
 of slime became, not having been exposed for so long 
 a time to the sun as that at a greater distance. 
 
 He was making so much noise in splashing the mud 
 over his body that I had a fine chance for getting up to 
 him. I could not stand the temptation, and I crept up 
 as fast as I could. 
 
 I got within eight paces of him unperceived ; the 
 mud that he threw over his back spattered round me as 
 it fell. 1 was carrying a light double-barreled gun, but 
 I now reached back my hand to exchange it for my 
 four-ounce rifle. Little did I expect the sudden effect 
 produced by the additional weight of the heavy weapon. 
 The treacherous surface suddenly gave way, and in an 
 instant I was waist deep in mud. The noise that I had 
 made in falling had at once aroused the elephant, and,
 
 94 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 true to his character of a rogue, he immediately advanced 
 with a shrill trumpet toward me. His ears were cocked, 
 and his tail was well up ; but, instead of charging, as 
 rogues generally do, with his head thrown rather back 
 and held high, which renders a front shot very uncertain, 
 he rather lowered his head, and splashed toward me 
 through the mud, apparently despising my diminutive 
 appearance. 
 
 I thought it was all up with me this time : I was im- 
 movable in my bed of mud, and, instead of the clean 
 brown barrel that I could usually trust to in an extrem- 
 ity, I raised a mass of mud to my shoulder, which en- 
 cased my rifle like a flannel bag. I fully expected it to 
 imiss fire ; no sights were visible, and I had to guess the 
 aim with the advancing elephant within five yards of 
 me. Hopelessly I pulled the slippery trigger. The 
 rifle did not even hang fire, and the rogue fell into the 
 deep bed of mu4 stone dead. If the rifle had missed 
 fire, I must have been killed, as escape would have been 
 impossible. It was with great difficulty that I was ex- 
 tricated from my muddy position by the joint exertions 
 of myself and gun-bearers. 
 
 Elephants, buffaloes and hogs are equally fond of 
 wallowing in the mud. A buffalo will gallop through 
 a swamp, hock deep, in which a horse would be utterly 
 powerless, even without a rider. Elephants can also 
 make wonderful progress through deep mud, the forma- 
 tion of the hind legs with kwees instead of hocks giving 
 them an increased facility for moving through heavy 
 ground. 
 
 The great risk in attacking rogue elephants consists 
 in the impracticability of quick movements upon such 
 ground as they generally frequent. The speed and
 
 Dangers of Elephant-shooting. 95 
 
 activity of a man, although considerable upon a smooth 
 surface, is as nothing upon rough, stumpy grass wilds, 
 where even walking is laborious. What is compara- 
 tively level to an elephant's foot is as a ploughed field to 
 that of a man. This renders escape from pursuit next 
 to impossible, unless some welcome tree should be near, 
 round which the hunter could dodge, and even then he 
 stands but a poor chance, unless assistance is at hand. 
 I have never seen any one who could run at full sf>eed 
 in rough ground without falling, if pursued. Large 
 stones, tufts of rank grass, holes, fallen boughs, gullies, 
 are all impediments to rapid locomotion when the pur- 
 sued is forced to be constantly looking back to watch 
 the progress of his foe, and to be the judge of his own 
 race. 
 
 There is a great art in running away. It requires the 
 perfection of coolness and presence of mind, without 
 which a man is most likely to run into.. the very danger 
 that he is trying to avoid. This was the cause of Major 
 Haddock's death in Ceylon some years ago. He had 
 attacked a " rogue," and, being immediately charged, 
 he failed to stop him, although he gave him both bar- 
 rels. Being. forced to run, he went off at full speed, 
 and turning quickly round a tree, he hoped the elephant 
 would pass him. Unfortunately, he did not look 
 behind him before he turned, and the elephant passed 
 round the opposite side of the tree, and, of co/tirse, met 
 him face to face. He was instantly trampled to death. 
 
 Mr. Wallet was also killed by a rogue elephant : this 
 animal was shot a few days afterward, after a spirited 
 contest, by Captain Galway and Ensign Scroggs, both 
 of whom were very nearly caught in the encounter. A 
 gentleman of the name of Keane was added to the list
 
 96 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 of victims a few years ago. He had fired without effect, 
 and was almost immediately overtaken by the elephant 
 and crushed to death. The most extraordinary tale that 
 I have ever heard of rogue elephants in Ceylon, was 
 to^d me by the Rhatamahatmeya of Doolana, who was 
 present at the scene when a lad. I do not profess to 
 credit it entirely ; but I will give it in his own words, 
 and, to avoid the onus of an improbable story, I will 
 entitle it the " Rhatamahatmeya's Tale." In justice to 
 him, I must acknowledge that his account was corrob- 
 orated by all the old men of the village. 
 
 THE RHATAMAHATMEYA'S TALE. 
 
 " There was a notorious rogue elephant at Doolana 
 about thirty years ago, whose ferocity was so extreme 
 that he took complete possession of a certain part of 
 the country adjoining the lake. He had killed eight or 
 nine persons, and his whole object in existence ap- 
 peared to be the waylaying and destruction of the 
 natives. He was of enormous size, and was well 
 known by a peculiar flesh-colored forehead. 
 
 " In those days there were no fire-arms in this part 
 of the country ; therefore there was no protection for 
 either life or property from this monster, who would 
 invade the paddy-fields at night, and actually pull down 
 the watch-houses, regardless of the blazing fires which 
 are lighted on the hearth of sand on the summit; these 
 he used to scatter about and extinguish. He had killed 
 several natives in this manner, involving them in the 
 common ruin with their watch-houses. The terror 
 created by this elephant was so extreme that the na- 
 tives deserted the neighborhood that he infested. 
 
 " At length many months passed away without his
 
 The Rhatamahatmcycts Tale. 97 
 
 being either seen or heard of: the people began to hope 
 that he had died from the effect of poisoned arrows, 
 which had frequenly been shot at him from the watch- 
 houses in high trees ; and, by degrees, the terror of 
 his name had lost its power, and he ceased to be 
 thought of. 
 
 " It was in the cool of the evening, about an hour 
 before sunset, that about twenty of the women from the 
 village were upon the grassy borders of the lake, en- 
 gaged in sorting and tying into bundles the rushes 
 which they had been gathering during the day for 
 making mats. They were on the point of starting 
 homeward with their loads, when the sudden trumpet 
 of an elephant was heai'd, and to their horror they saw 
 the well known rogue, with the unmistakable mark 
 upon his forehead, coming down in full charge upon 
 them. The ground was perfectly open ; there were no 
 trees for some hundred yards, except the jungle from 
 which he W3S advancing at a frightful speed. An in- 
 discriminate flight of course took place, and a race of 
 terror commenced. In a few seconds the monster was 
 among theii, and, seizing a young girl in his trunk, he 
 held her high in the air, and halted, as though uncer- 
 tain how to dispose of his helpless victim. The girl, 
 meanwhile, was vainly shrieking for assistance, and 
 the petrified troop of women, having gained the shelter 
 of some jungle, gazed panic-stricken upon the impend- 
 ing fate of their companion. 
 
 " To their horror the elephant slowly lowered her in 
 his trunk till near the ground, when he gradually again 
 raised her, and, bringing her head into his mouth, a 
 report was heard like the crack of a whip it was the 
 sudden crushing of her skull. Tearing the head off by 
 
 9 a
 
 98 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 the neck, he devoured it; and, placing his fore-foot 
 upon the body, he tore the arms and legs from their 
 sockets with his trunk, and devoured every portion of 
 her. 
 
 " The women rushed to the village with the news of 
 this unnatural carnage. 
 
 " Doolana and the neighborhood has always been 
 famous for its elephant-hunters, and the husband of 
 this unfortunate girl was one of the most aptive in their 
 pursuit. The animals are caught in this country and 
 sold to the Arabs, for the use of the Indian govern- 
 ment. 
 
 " The news of this bloody deed flew from village to 
 village ; war to the knife was declared against the per- 
 petrator, and preparations were accordingly made. 
 
 " Since the murder of this girl he had taken up his 
 abode in a small isolated jungle adjoining, surrounded 
 by a small open,, plain of fine soft grass, upon a level, 
 sandy soil. 
 
 " A few days after this act, a hundred men assembled 
 at Doolana, determined upon his destruction. They 
 were all picked elephant-hunters Moormen ; active 
 and sinewy fellows, accustomed to danger from their 
 childhood. Some were armed with axes, sharpened 
 to the keenest edge, some with long spears, and others 
 with regular elephant ropes, formed of the thongs of 
 raw deer's hide, beautifully twisted. Each division of 
 men had a separate duty allotted. 
 
 " They marched toward the small jungle in which 
 the rogue was known to be ; but he anticipated their 
 wishes, and before they were within a hundred paces 
 of his lair, he charged furiously out. The conflict 
 began in good earnest. The spearmen were in ad-
 
 The Rhatamahatmeyc? s Tale. 99 
 
 vance, and the axemen were divided into two parties, 
 one on either flank, with an equal number of ropemen. 
 The instant that he charged, the whole body of men 
 ran forward at full speed to meet him ; still he con- 
 tinued his furious onset, undismayed by the yells of a 
 hundred men. The spearmen halted when within 
 twenty yards, then turned and fled ; this had been 
 agreed upon beforehand. The elephant passed the 
 two flanks of axemen in pursuit of the flying enemy ; 
 the axemen immediately closed in behind him, led by 
 the husband of the murdered girl. By a well-directed 
 blow upon the hind leg, full of revenge, this active fel- 
 low divided the sinew in the first joint above the foot. 
 That instant the elephant fell upon his knees, but re- 
 covered himself direct!}', and endeavored to turn upon 
 his pursuers ; a dozen axes flashed in the sun-beams, 
 as the strokes were aimed at the other hind leg. It 
 was the work of an instant: the massive limb bent 
 powerless under him, and he fell in a sitting posture 
 uttterly helpless, but roaring with mad and impo- 
 tent fury. The ropemen now threw nooses over his 
 trunk and head ; his struggles, although tremendous, 
 were in vain ; fifty men, hanging their weight upon 
 several ropes attached to his trunk, rendered that 
 dreaded weapon powerless. The sharp lances were 
 repeatedly driven into his side, and several of the 
 boldest hunters climbing up the steep ascent of his 
 back, an axe was seen to fall swiftly and repeatedly 
 upon his spine, on the nape of his tough neck. The 
 giant form suddenly sunk ; the spine was divided, and 
 the avenging blow was dealt by the husband of his late 
 victim. The destroyer was no more. The victory was 
 gained without the loss of a man."
 
 IOO The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 The natives said that this elephant was mad ; if so, 
 it may account in some measure for the unheard-of oc- 
 currence of an elephant devouring flesh. Both ele- 
 phants and buffaloes attack man from malice alone, 
 without the slightest idea of making a meal of him. 
 This portion of the headman's story I cannot possibly 
 believe, although he swears to it. The elephant may, 
 perhaps, have cracked her head and torn his victim to 
 pieces in the manner described, but the actual " eating" 
 is incredible.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 CHARACTER OF THE VEDDAHS DESCRIPTION OF THE VEDDAHS 
 A MONAMPITYA ROGUE ATTACKING THE ROGUE BREATH- 
 LESS EXCITEMENT DEATH OF A LARGE ROGUE UTILITY OF 
 THE FOUR-OUNCE A CURIOUS SHOT FURY OF A BULL BUF- 
 FALOCHARACTER OF THE WILD BUFFALO BUFFALO SHOOT- 
 ING AT MINNERIA LAKE CHARGE IN HIGH REEDS CLOSE 
 OF A GOOD DAY'S SPORT LAST DAY AT MINNERIA A 
 LARGE SNAKE AN UNPLEASANT 'BEDFELLOW. 
 
 DOOLANA is upon the very verge of the most 
 northern point of the Veddah country, the 
 whole of which wild district is the finest part of Cey- 
 lon for sport. Even to this day few Europeans have 
 hunted these secluded wilds. The wandering Veddah, 
 with his bow, and arrows, is occasionally seen roaming 
 through his wilderness in search of deer, but the report 
 of a native's gun is never heard ; the game is therefore 
 comparatively undisturbed. I have visited every por- 
 tion of this fine sporting country, and since I have ac- 
 quired the thorough knowledge of its attractions, I have 
 made up my mind never to shoot anywhere but there. 
 The country is more open than in most parts of Ceylon, 
 and the perfect wildness of the whole district is an ad- 
 ditional charm. 
 
 The dimensions of the Veddah country are about 
 eighty miles from north to south, by forty in width. 
 A fine mountain, known as the " Gunner's Coin," is 
 
 101
 
 IO2 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 an unmistakable landmark upon the northern boundary. 
 From this point a person may ride for forty miles with- 
 out seeing a sign of a habitation ; the whole country is 
 perfectly uncivilized, and its scanty occupants, the- 
 ' Veddahs," wander about like animals, without either 
 home, laws or religion. 
 
 I have frequently read absurd descriptions of their 
 manners and customs, which musj; evidently have been 
 gathered from hearsay, and not from a knowledge oi 
 the people. It is a commonly believed report that the 
 Veddahs "live in the trees" and a stranger imme- 
 diately confuses them with rooks and monkeys. Who- 
 ever first saw Veddah huts in the trees would have 
 discovered, upon inquiry, that they were temporary 
 watch-houses, from which they guard a little plot of 
 korrakan from the attacks of elephants and other wild 
 beasts. Far from living' in the trees, they live no- 
 where ; they wander over the face of their beautiful 
 country, and migrate to different parts at different sea- 
 sons, with the game which they are always pursuing. 
 The seasons 'in Ceylon vary in an extraordinary man- 
 ner, considering the small size of the island. The wet 
 season, in one district, is the dry season in another, and 
 vice versd. Wherever the dry weather prevails, the 
 pasturage is dried up ; the brooks and pools are mere 
 sandy gullies and pits. The Veddahs watch at some 
 solitary hole which still contains a little water, and to 
 this the deer and every species of Ceylon game resort. 
 Here his broad-headed arrow finds a supply. He dries 
 the meat in long strips in the sun, and cleaning out some 
 hollow tree, he packs away his savory mass of sun-cooked 
 flesh, and fills' up the reservoir with wild honey ; he then 
 stops up the aperture with clay.
 
 Character of the Veddahs. 103 
 
 The last drop of water evaporates, the deer leave the 
 country and migrate into other parts where mountains 
 attract the rain and the pasturage is abundant. The 
 Veddah burns the parched grass wherever he passes, 
 and the country is soon a blackened surface not a blade 
 of pasture remains ; but the act of burning ensures a 
 sweet supply shortly after the rains commence, to which 
 the game and the Veddahs will then return. In the 
 mean time he follows the game to other districts, living 
 in caves where they happen to abound or making a 
 temporary hut with grass and sticks. 
 
 Every deer-path, every rock, every peculiar feature 
 in the country, every pool of water, is known to these 
 hunting Veddahs ; they are consequently the best assist- 
 ants in the world in elephant-hunting. They will run 
 at top speed over hard ground upon an elephant's track 
 \vhich is barely discernible even to the practiced eye of 
 a white man. Fortunately, the number of these people 
 is very trifling or the game would be scarce. They 
 hunt like the leopard ; noiselessly stalking till with- 
 in ten paces of their game, they let the broad arrow 
 fly. At this distance who could miss? Should the 
 game be simply wounded, it is quite enough ; they 
 never lose him, but hunt him up, like hounds, upon a 
 blood track. 
 
 Nevertheless, they are very bad shots with the bow 
 and arrow, and they never can improve while they re- 
 strict their practice to such short ranges. 
 
 I have often tried them at a mark at sixty yards, and, 
 although a very bad hand with a bow myself, I have 
 invariably beaten them with their own weapons. These 
 bows are six feet long, made of a light, supple wood, 
 and the strings are made of the fibrous bark of a tree,
 
 104 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 greased and twisted. The arrows are three feet long, 
 formed of the same wood as the bows. The blades are 
 themselves seven inches of this length, and are flat, 
 like the blade of a dinner-knife brought to a point. 
 Three short feathers from the peacock's wing are 
 roughly lashed to the other end of the arrow. 
 
 The Veddah in person is extremely ugly ; short, but 
 sinewy, his long, uncombed locks fall to his waist, look- 
 ing more like a horse's tail than human hair. He des- 
 pises money, but is thankful for a knife, a hatchet or a 
 gaudy-colored cloth, or brass pot for cooking. 
 
 The women are horribly ugly, and are almost entirely 
 naked. They have no matrimonial regulations, and 
 the children are squalid and miserable. Still these peo- 
 ple are perfectly happy, and would prefer their present 
 wandering life to the most luxurious restraint. Speak- 
 ing a language of their own, with habits akin to those 
 of wild animals, they keep entirely apart from the Cin- 
 galese. They barter deer-horns and bees'-wax with the 
 traveling Moormen peddlers in exchange for their trifling 
 requirements. If they have food, they eat it ; if they 
 have none, they go without until by some chance they 
 procure it. In the mean time, they chew the bark of 
 various trees, and search for berries, while they wend 
 their way for many miles to some remembered store of 
 deer's flesh and honey, laid by in a hollow tree. 
 
 The first time that I ever saw a Veddah was in the 
 north of the country. A rogue elephant was bathing 
 in . little pool of deep mud and water near the tank of 
 Monampitya, about six miles from the " Gunner's Coin." 
 This Veddah had killed a wild pig, and was smoking 
 the flesh within a few yards of the spot, when he sud- 
 denly heard the elephant splashing in the water. My
 
 A Monampitya Rogue. 105 
 
 tent was pitched within a mile of the place, and he 
 accordingly brought me the intelligence. 
 
 Upon, arrival at the pool I found the elephant so deep 
 in the mud that he could barely move. His hindquar- 
 ters were toward me ; and the pool not being more than 
 thirty yards in diameter and sui'rounded by impene- 
 trable rattan jungle on all sides but one small opening, 
 in which I stood, I was obliged to clap my hands to 
 attract his attention. This had the desired effect; he 
 turned slowly round, and I shot him immediately. This 
 was one of the Monampitya tank rogues, but in his 
 muddy position he had no chance. 
 
 The largest elephant that I have ever seen was in 
 this neighborhood. I had arrived one afternoon at 
 about five o'clock in a fine plain, about twelve miles 
 from Monampitya, where the presence of a beautiful 
 lake and high grass promised an abundance of game. 
 It was a most secluded spot, and my tent and coolies 
 being well up with my horse, I fixed upon a shady 
 nook for the tent, and I strolled out to look for the tracks 
 while it was being pitched. 
 
 A long promontory stretched some hundred yards 
 into the lake, exactly opposite the spot I had fixed upon 
 for the encampment, and, knowing that elephants when 
 bathing generally land upon the nearest shore, I walked 
 out toward the point of this projecting neck of land. 
 
 The weather was very dry, and the ground was a 
 mass of little pitfalls, about two feet deep, which had 
 been made by the feet of the elephants in the wet 
 weather, when this spot was soft mud and evidently 
 the favorite resort of the heavy game. The ground 
 was now baked by the sun as hard as though it were 
 frozen, and the numerous deep ruts made walking very
 
 106 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 difficult. Several large trees and a few bushes grew 
 upon the surface, but for the most part it was covered 
 by a short though luxuriant grass. One large tree grew 
 within fifty yards of the extreme. point of the promon- 
 tory, and another of the same kind grew at an equal 
 distance from it, but nearer to the main land. Upon 
 both these trees was a coat of thick mud not many 
 hours old. The bark was rubbed completely away, 
 and this appeared to have been used for years as a 
 favorite rubbing-post by some immense elephant. The 
 mud reached full twelve feet up the trunk of the tree, 
 and* there were old marks far above this which had 
 been scored by his tushes. There w t as no doubt that 
 one of these tank rogues of extraordinary size had 
 frequented this spot for years, and still continued to do 
 so, the mud upon the tree being still soft, as'though it 
 had been left there that morning. I already coveted 
 him, and having my telescope with me, I took a 
 minute survey of the opposite shore, which was about 
 half a mile distant and was lined with fine open forest 
 to the water's edge. Nothing was visible. I examined 
 the other side of the lake with the same want of success. 
 Although it was such a quiet spot, with beautiful grass 
 and water, there was not a single head of game to be 
 seen. Again I scrutinized the opposite shore. The 
 glass was no sooner raised to my eye than I started at 
 the unexpected apparition. There was no mistaking 
 him ; he had appeared as though by magic an ele- 
 phant of the most extraordinary size that I have ever 
 seen. He was not still for an instant, but was stalking 
 quickly up and down the edge of the lake as though in 
 great agitation. This restlessness is one of the chief 
 characteristics of a bad rogue. I watched him for a
 
 Attacking the Rogue. 107 
 
 few minutes, until he at length took to the water, and 
 after blowing several streams over his shoulders, he ad- 
 vanced to the middle of the tank, where he commenced 
 feeding upon the lotus leaves and sedges. 
 
 It was a calm afternoon, and not a breath of air was 
 stirring ; and fearing lest the noise of the coolies, who 
 were arranging the encampment, should disturb him I 
 hastened back. I soon restored quiet, and ordering the 
 horses to be led into the jungle lest he should discover 
 them, I made the people conceal themselves ; and taking 
 my two Moormen gun-bearers, who were trusty fellows 
 that I had frequently shot with, I crept cautiously back 
 to my former position, and took my station behind the 
 large tree farthest from the point which commanded 
 the favorite rubbing-post and within fifty yards of it. 
 From this place I attentively watched his movements. 
 He was wandering about in the water, alternately feed- 
 ing and bathing ; and there was a peculiar devilry in 
 his movements that marked him as a rogue of the first 
 class. He at length made up his mind to cross the 
 tank, and he advanced at quick strides through the 
 water straight for the point upon which I hoped to meet 
 him. 
 
 This was an exciting moment. I had no companion, 
 but depended upon my own gun, and the rutty nature 
 of the ground precluded any quick movements. The 
 watching of the game is the intense excitement of 
 elephant-shooting a feeling which only lasts until the 
 animal is within shot, when it stMdenly vanishes and 
 gives place to perfect calmness. At this time I could 
 distinctly hear the beating of my own heart, and my 
 two gun-bearers, who did not know what fear was, 
 were literally trembling with excitement.
 
 Io8 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 He was certainly a king of beasts, and proudly he 
 advanced toward the point. Suddenly he disappeared ; 
 nothing could be seen but his trunk above the water as 
 he waded through the deep channel for a few yards, 
 and then reared his majestic form dripping from the 
 lake. He stood upon the " point." I never saw so 
 grand an animal ; it seemed as though no single ball 
 could kill him ; and although his head and carcase 
 were enormous, still his length of leg appeared dis- 
 proportionately great. With quick, springy paces he 
 advanced directly for his favorite tree and began his 
 process of rubbing, perfectly unaware of the hidden foes 
 so near him. 
 
 Having finished his rubbing, he tore up several 
 bunches of grass, but without eating them, he threw 
 them pettishly over his back, and tossed some from side 
 to side. I was in momentary dread lest a horse should 
 neigh and disturb him, as they were within two hun- 
 dred paces of where he stood. Everything was, how- 
 ever, quiet in that direction, where the hiding coolies 
 were watching the impending event with breathless 
 interest. 
 
 Having amused himself for some moments by kick- 
 ing up the turf and dirt and throwing the sand over his 
 back, he took it into his head to visit the main shore, 
 and for this purpose he strode quickly in the direction 
 of the encampment. I moved round the tree to secrete 
 myself as he advanced. He was soon exactly at right 
 angles with me as lie was passing the tree, when he 
 suddenly stopped : his whole demeanor changed in an 
 instant ; his ears cocked, his eyes gleamed, his tail on 
 end and his trunk raised high in the air, he turned the 
 distended tip toward the tree from behind which I was
 
 Death of a Large Rogue. 109 
 
 watching him. He was perfectly motionless and silent 
 in this attitude for some moments. He was thirty yards 
 from me, as I supposed at the time, and I reserved my 
 fire, having the four-ounce rifle ready. Suddenly, with 
 his trunk still raised, his long legs swung forward 
 toward me. There was no time to lose ; I was discov- 
 ered, and a front shot would be useless with his trunk 
 in that position. Just as his head was in the act of 
 turning toward me I took a steady shot at his temple. 
 He sunk' gently upon his knees, and never afterward 
 moved a muscle. His eyes were open, and so bright 
 that I pushed my finger in them to assure myself that 
 life was perfectly extinct. He was exactly thirty-two 
 paces from the rifle, and the ball had passed in at one 
 temple and out at the other. His height may be imag- 
 ined from this rough method of measuring. A gun- 
 bearer climbed upon his back as the elephant lay upon 
 all-fours, and holding a long stick across his spine at 
 right angles, I could just touch it with the points of my 
 ringers by reaching to my utmost height. Thus, as he 
 lay, his back was seven feet two inches, perpendicular 
 height, from the ground. This would make his height 
 when erect about twelve feet on the spine an enormous 
 height for an elephant, as twelve feet on the top of the 
 back is about equal to eleven feet six inches at the 
 shoulder. If I had not fortunately killed this elephant 
 at the first shot, I should have had enough to do to take 
 care of myself, as he was one of the most vicious-look- 
 ing brutes that I ever saw, and he was in the very act 
 of charging when I shot him. 
 
 With these elephants the four-ounce rifle is an invalu- 
 able weapon ; even if the animal is not struck in the 
 mortal spot, the force of the blow upon the head is so 
 
 10
 
 1 io The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 great that it will generally bring him upon his knees, or 
 at least stop him. It has failed once or twice in this, 
 but not often ; .and upon those occasions I had loaded 
 with the conical ball. This, although it will penetrate 
 much farther thrpugh a thick substance than a round 
 ball, is not so effective in elephant-shooting as the latter. 
 The reason is plain enough. No shot in the head will 
 kill an elephant dead, unless it passes through the 
 brain ; an ounce ball will effect this as well as a six- 
 pound shot ; but there are many cases where the brain 
 cannot be touched, by a peculiar method of carrying 
 the head and trunk in charging, etc. ; a power is thep 
 required that by the concussion will knock him down, 
 or turn him ; this power is greater in the round ball 
 than in the conical, as a larger surface is suddenly 
 struck. The effect is similar to a man being run through 
 the arm with a rapier or thrust at with a poker the 
 rapier will pass through him almost without his know- 
 ledge, but the poker will knock him down. Thus the 
 pointed conical ball will, perhaps, pass through an ele- 
 phant's forehead and penetrate as far as his shoulders, 
 but it will produce no immediate effect. For buffalo- 
 shooting, the conical ball is preferable, as with the 
 heavy charge of powder that I use it will pass com- 
 pletely through him from end to end. A four-ounce 
 ball, raking an animal from stem to stern, must settle 
 him at once. This is a desirable thing to accomplish 
 with wild buffaloes, as they may frequently prove awk- 
 ward customers, even after receiving several mortal 
 wounds from light guns. 
 
 The four-ounce conical ball should be an excellent 
 weapon for African shooting, where the usual shot at 
 an elephant is at the shoulder. This shot would never
 
 Utility of the Four-ounce. 1 1 1 
 
 answer in Ceylon : the country is not sufficiently open 
 to watch the effects produced upon the animal, and al- 
 v though he tnay have a mortal wound, he carries it away 
 with him and is not bagged. I have frequently tried 
 this shot; and, although I have seen the -elephants go 
 away with ears and trunk drooping, still I have never 
 bagged more than one by any but the head-shot. This 
 fellow was a small " tusker," who formed one of a herd 
 in thick thorny jungle. There were several rocks in 
 this low jungle which overtopped the highest bushes ; 
 and having taken my station upon one of these, I got a 
 Downward shot between the shoulders at the tusker, 
 and dropped him immediately as the herd passed be- 
 neath. The jungle was so thick that I could not see 
 his head, or, of course, I should have chosen the usual 
 shot. This shot was not a fair criterion for the shoulder, 
 as I happened to be in a position that enabled me to 
 fire down upon him, and the ball most likely 'passed 
 completely through him. 
 
 I remember a curious and unexpected shot that I 
 once made with the four-ounce rifle, which illustrates 
 its immense power. I was shooting at Minneria, and 
 was returning to the tent in the afternoon, having had 
 a great day's sport with buffaloes, when I saw a large 
 herd in the distance, ranged up together, and gazing 
 intently at some object near them. Being on horse- 
 back, I rode up to them, carrying my heavy rifle ; and, 
 upon a near approach, I discovered two large bulls 
 fighting fnriously. This combat was exciting the at- 
 tention of the herd, who retreated upon my approach. 
 The two bulls were so engaged in their duel that they 
 did not notice me until I was within fifty yards of them. 
 First one, then the other, was borne to the ground,
 
 112 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 when presently their horns became locked together, as 
 though arm in arm. The more they tugged to separate 
 themselves, the tighter they held together, and at length 
 they ranged side by side. Taking a shot at the shoulder 
 of the nearest bull, they both fell suddenly to the ground. 
 The fall unlocked their horns, and one bull, recovering 
 his legs, retreated at a slow pace and dead lame. The 
 nearest bull was killed ; and mounting my horse, I gal- 
 loped after the wounded buffalo. The chase did not 
 last long. Upon arriving within fifty yards of his 
 flank, I noticed the blood streaming from his mouth, 
 and he presently rolled over and died. The ball, hav- 
 ing passed through his antagonist, had entered his 
 shoulder, and, smashing the shoulder-blade, had passed 
 through the body, lodging in the tough hide upon his 
 opposite side, from which I extracted it by simply 
 cutting the skin which covered it. 
 
 I have frequently seen the bull buffaloes fight each 
 other with great fury. Upon these occasions they are 
 generally the most dangerous, all their natural ferocity 
 being increased by the heat of the combat. I was once 
 in pursuit of an elephant which led me across the plain 
 at Minneria, when I suddenly observed a large bull 
 buffalo making toward me, as though to cut me oft" in 
 the very direction in which I was advancing. Upon 
 his near approach, I noticed numerous bloody cuts and 
 scratches upon his neck and shoulders, which were 
 evidently only just made by the horns of some bull 
 with whom he had been fighting. Not wishing to fire, 
 lest I should alarm the elephant, I endeavored to avoid 
 him, but this was no easy task. He advanced to 
 within fifty paces of me, and ploughing up the ground 
 with his horns and roaring, he seemed determined to
 
 Fury of a Bull Buffalo. 113 
 
 make an attack. However, I managed to pass him at 
 length, being determined to pay him off on my return, 
 if he were still in the same spot. 
 
 On arriving near the position of the elephant, I saw 
 at once that it was impossible to get him : he was 
 standing in a .deep morass of great extent, backed by 
 thick jungles, and I could not approach nearer than a 
 hundred and fifty paces. After trying several ruses to 
 induce him to quit his mud-bath and come on, I found 
 it was of no use ; he was not disposed to be a fighter, 
 as he saw my strong position upon some open rising 
 ground among some large* trees. I therefore took a 
 rest upon the branch of a tree, and gave him a shot 
 from the four-ounce rifle through the shoulder. This 
 sent him to the thick jungle with ears and trunk droop- 
 ing, but produced no other effect. I therefore returned 
 toward the tent, fully expecting to meet my old enemy, 
 the bull, whom I had left master of the field. In this 
 I was not disappointed ; he was standing within a 
 few yards of the same spot, and, upon seeing me, he 
 immediately advanced, having a very poor opinion 
 of an enemy who had retreated from him an hour 
 previous. 
 
 Instead of charging at a rapid pace, he trotted slowly 
 up, and I gave him the four-ounce when within fifty 
 yards. This knocked him over ; but, to my astonish- 
 ment, he recovered himself instantly and galloped 
 toward me. Again he stopped within twenty yards of 
 me, and it was fortunate for me that he did ; for a 
 servant who was carrying my long two-ounce rifle had, 
 in his excitement, cocked it and actually set the hair- 
 trigger. This he managed to touch as he handed it to 
 me, and it exploded close to my head. I had only a 
 10 H
 
 1 14 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 light double-gun loaded, and the buffalo was evidently 
 prepared to charge in a few seconds. 
 
 To my great satisfaction, I saw the bloody foam 
 gathering upon his lips, and I knew that he was struck 
 through the lungs ; but, nevertheless, the distance was 
 so short between us that he could reach me in two or 
 three bounds. Keeping my Moorman with the light 
 gun close, to me in readiness, I began to load my two 
 big rifles. In the mean time the bull was advancing 
 step by step with an expression of determined malice, 
 and my Cingalese servant, in an abject state of fright, 
 was imploring me to run -simply as an excuse for his 
 own flight. " Buffalo's coming, sar ! Master, run 
 plenty, quick ! Buffalo's coming, sar ! Master, get big 
 tree !" I could not turn to silence the fellow, but 1 
 caught him a fine backward kick upon the shins with 
 my heel, which stopped him, and in a few seconds I 
 was loaded and the four-ounce was in my hand. The 
 bull, at this time, was not fifteen yards from me ; but, 
 just as I was going to fire, I saw him reel to one side ; 
 and in another moment he rolled upon his back, a 
 dead buffalo, although I had not fired after my first 
 shot. The ball, having entered his chest, was sticking 
 in the skin of his haunch, having passed through his 
 lungs. His wonderful pluck had kept him upon his 
 legs until life was extinct. 
 
 I am almost tired of recounting so many instances of 
 the courage of these beasts. When I look back to 
 those scenes, so many ghosts of victims rise up before 
 me that, were I to relate one-half their histories, it 
 would fill a volume, The object m describing these 
 encounters is to show the style of animal that the 
 buffalo is in his natural state. I could relate a hundred
 
 Character of the Wild Buffalo. 115 
 
 instances where they have died like curs, and have 
 afforded no more sport than tame cows ; but I merely 
 enumerate those scenes worth relating that I have 
 witnessed. This will show that the character of a wild 
 buffalo can never be depended upon ; and if the pursuit 
 is followed up as a sport by itself, the nature of the 
 animal cannot be judged by the individual behavior of 
 any particular beast. Some will fight and some will 
 fly, and no one can tell which will take place : it is at 
 the option of the beast. Caution and good shooting, 
 combined with heavy rifles, are necessary. Without 
 heavy metal, the sport would be superlatively dangerous 
 if regularly followed up. Many persons kill a wild 
 buffalo every now and then ; but I have never met with 
 a single sportsman in Ceylon who has devoted himself 
 to the pursuit as a separate sport. Unless this is done, 
 the real character of buffaloes in general must remain 
 unknown. It may, however, be considered as a rule 
 with few exceptions that the buffaloes seldom com- 
 mence the attack unless pursued. Their instinct at 
 once tells them whether the man advancing toward 
 them over the plain comes as an enemy. They may 
 then attack ; but if unmolested they will generally 
 retreat, and, ' like all men of true courage, they will 
 never seek a quarrel, and never give in when it is forced 
 upon them. Many descriptions of my encounters with 
 these animals may appear to militate against this theory, 
 but they are the exceptions that I have met with : the 
 fierce look of defiance and the quick tossing of the 
 head may appear to portend a charge ; but the animals 
 are generally satisfied with this demonstration, and 
 retreat. 
 
 Attack the single bulls and follow them up, and they
 
 It6 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 will soon show their real character. Heavy rifles then 
 make a good sport of what would otherwise be a chance 
 often to one against the man. It must be remembered 
 that the attack is generally upon an extensive plain, 
 without a single sheltering tree ; escape by speed is 
 therefore impossible, and even a horse must be a good 
 one or a buffalo will catch him. 
 
 Without wading through the many scenes of carnage 
 that I have witnessed in this branch of sport, I will sum 
 up the account of buffalo-shooting by a description of 
 one day's work at Minneria. 
 
 The tent was pitched in a secluded spot beneath some 
 shady trees, through which no ray of sun could pene- 
 trate ; the open forest surrounded it on all sides, but 
 through the vistas of dark stems the beautiful green 
 plain and glassy lake could be seen stretching into an 
 undefined distance. The blue hills, apparently spring- 
 ing from the bosom of the lake, lined the horizon, and 
 the shadowy forms of the Kandian mountains mingled 
 indistinctly with the distant clouds. From this spot, 
 with a good telescope, I could watch the greater part of 
 the plain, which was at this time enlivened by the nu- 
 merous herds of wild buffaloes scattered over the sur- 
 face. A large bull was standing alone about half a mile 
 from the tent, and I thought him a fine beast to begin 
 with. 
 
 I started with two well-known and trusty gun-bearers. 
 This bull apparently did not wish to fight, and when 
 at nearly four hundred yards distance he turned and 
 galloped off. I put up all the sights of the long two- 
 ounce rifle, and for an instant he dropped to the shot at 
 this distance, but recovering immediately he turned 
 round, and, although upon only three legs, he charged to-
 
 Buffalo-shooting at Minneria Lake. 1 17 
 
 ward me. At this distance I should have had ample time 
 to reload before he could have come near me, so I took 
 a quiet shot at him with my four-ounce rifle. A second 
 passed and he pitched upon his head and lay upon the 
 ground, struggling in vain to rise. This was an im- 
 mensely long shot to produce so immediate an effect ; so 
 reloading quickly I stepped the distance. I measured 
 three hundred and fifty-two paces, and I then stood 
 within ten yards of him, as he still lay upon the ground, 
 endeavoring vainly to rush at me. A ball in his head 
 settled him. The first shot had broken his hind leg 
 and the shot with the big rifle had hit him on the nose, 
 and, tearing away the upper jaw, it had passed along 
 his neck and escaped from behind his shoulder. This 
 was a great chance to hit him so exactly at such a 
 range. His skull is now in England, exhibiting the 
 terrific effect of the heavy ball. 
 
 I had made up my mind for a long day's work, and 
 I therefore mounted my horse and rode over the plain. 
 The buffaloes were very wild, as I had been shooting 
 here for some days, and there were no less than forty- 
 two carcases scattered about the plain in different 
 directions. I fired several ineffectual shots at immense 
 ranges ; at length I even fired at random into a large 
 herd, which seemed determined to take to the jungle. 
 After they had galloped for a quarter of a mile, a cow 
 dropped to the rear and presently fell. Upon riding up 
 to her I found her in the last gasp ; the random shot 
 had struck her behind the shoulder, and I finished her 
 by a ball in the head. One of the bulls from this* herd 
 had separated from the troop, and had taken to the 
 lake ; he had waded out for about four hundred y*rds, 
 and was standing shoulder deep. This was a fiiv tar-
 
 n8 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 get ; a black spot upon the bright surface of the lake, 
 although there was not more than eighteen inches of 
 his body above the water. I rode to the very edge of 
 the lake, and then dismounting, I took a rest upon my 
 saddle. My horse, being well accustomed to this work, 
 stood like a statue, but the ball dapped in the water just 
 beyond the mark. The buffalo did not move an inch 
 until the third shot. This hit him, and he swam still 
 farther off; but he soon got his footing, and again gave 
 a fair mark as before. I missed him again, having 
 fired a little over him. The fifth shot brought luck and 
 sank him. I do not know where he was hit, as of 
 course I could not get to him ; but most likely it was in 
 the spine, as so small a portion of his body was above 
 water. 
 
 I passed nearly the whole day in practicing at long 
 ranges, but with no very satisfactory effect ; several buffa- 
 loes badly wounded had reached the jungle, and my 
 shoulder was so sore from the recoil of the heavy rifle 
 during several days' shooting with the large charge of 
 powder that I was obliged to reduce the charge to six 
 drachms and give up the long shots. 
 
 It was late in the afternoon, and the heat of the 
 day had been intense. I was very hungry, not having 
 breakfasted, and I made up my mind to return to the 
 tent, which was now some eight miles distant. I was 
 riding over the plain on my way home, when I saw a 
 fine bull spring from a swampy hollow and gallop off. 
 Putting spurs to my horse, I was soon after him, carry- 
 ing the four-ounce rifle; and upon seeing himself pur- 
 sued, he took shelter in a low but dry hollow, which 
 was a mass of lofty bulrush and coarse tangled grass, 
 rising about ten feet high in an impervious mass. This
 
 Charge in High Reeds. 119 
 
 had been a pool in the wet weather, but was now dried 
 up, and was nothing but a bed of sedges and high 
 rushes. I could see nothing of the bull, although I 
 knew he was in it. The hollow was in the centre of a 
 wide plain, so I knew that the buffalo could not have 
 passed out without my seeing him, and my gun-bearers 
 having come up, I made them pelt the rushes with 
 dried clods of earth. It was of no use : he would not 
 break cover ; so I determined to ride in and hunt him 
 up. The grass was so thick and entangled with the 
 rushes that my horse could with difficulty force his way 
 through it ; and when within the dense mass of vegeta- 
 tion it towered high above my head, and was so thick 
 that I could not see a yard to my right or left. I beat 
 about to no purpose for about twenty minutes, and I 
 was on the point of giving it up when I suddenly saw 
 the tall reeds bow down just before me. I heard the 
 rush of an animal as he burst through, and I just saw 
 the broad black nose, quickly followed by the head and 
 horns, as the buffalo charged into me. The horse 
 reared to his full height as the horns almost touched 
 his chest, and I fired as well as I was able. In another 
 instant I was rolling on the ground, with my horse upon 
 me, in a cloud of smoke and confusion. 
 
 In a most unsportsmanlike manner (as persons may 
 exclaim who were not there) I hid behind my horse, 
 as he regained his legs. All was still the snorting of 
 the frightened horse was all that I could hear. I ex- 
 pected to have seen the infuriated buffalo among us. I 
 peeped over the horse's back, and, to my delight and 
 surprise, I saw the carcase of the bull lying within 
 three feet of him. His head was pierced by the ball 
 exactly between the horns, and death had been instanr
 
 I2O The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 taneous. The horse, having reared to his full height, 
 had entangled his hind legs in the grass, and he had 
 fallen backward without being touched by the buffalo, 
 although the horns were close into him. 
 
 I was rather pleased at being so well out of this 
 scrape, and I made up my mind never again to follow 
 buffaloes into high grass. Turning toward the posi- 
 tion of the tent, I rode homeward. The plain appeared 
 deserted, and I rode for three or four miles along the 
 shores of the lake without seeing a head of game. At 
 length, when within about three miles of the encamp- 
 ment, I saw a small herd, of five buffaloes and three 
 half-grown calves standing upon a narrow point of 
 muddy ground which projected for some distance into 
 the lake. 
 
 I immediately rode toward them, and upon approach- 
 ing to within sixty yards, I found they consisted of three 
 cows, two bulls and three calves. I had advanced to- 
 ward them upon the neck of land upon which they 
 stood ; there was, therefore, no retreat for them unless 
 they took to the water. They perceived this them- 
 selves, but they preferred the bolder plan of charging 
 through all opposition and then reaching the main- 
 land. After a few preliminary grunts and tosses of the 
 head, one of the bulls charged straight at me at full 
 gallop ; he was not followed by his companions, who 
 were still irresolute ; and, when within forty yards, he 
 sprung high in the air, and pitching upon his horns, he 
 floundered upon his back as the rifle-ball passed through 
 his neck and broke his spine. I immediately com- 
 menced reloading, but the ball was only half-way down 
 the barrel when the remaining bull, undismayed by 
 the fate of his companion, rushed on at full speed
 
 Buffalo-shooting at Mtnneria Lake. 1 21 
 
 Snatching the long two-ounce rifle from a gun-bearer, 
 I made a lucky shot. The ball must have passed 
 through his heart, as he fell stone dead. 
 
 The three cows remained passive spectators of the 
 death of their mates, although I was convinced by their 
 expression that they would eventually show fight. I 
 was soon reloaded, and not wishing to act simply on 
 the defensive, and thus run the risk of a simultaneous 
 onset, I fired at the throat of the most vicious of the 
 party. The two-ounce ball produced no other effect 
 than an immediate charge. She bounded toward me, 
 and, although bleeding at the mouth, the distance was 
 so short that she would have been into me had I not 
 stopped her with the four-ounce rifle, which brought 
 her to the ground when within fifteen paces ; here she 
 lay disabled, but not dead, and again I reloaded as fast 
 as possible. 
 
 The two remaining cows appeared to have taken a 
 lesson from the fate of their comrades ; and showing no 
 disposition to charge, I advanced toward them to 
 within twenty yards. One of the cows now com- 
 menced tearing the muddy ground with her horns, and 
 thus offered a certain shot, which I accordingly took, 
 and dropped her dead with a ball in the nape of the 
 neck. This was too much for the remaining buffalo ; 
 she turned to plunge into the lake, but the four-ounce 
 through her shoulder brought her down before she 
 could reach the water, into which the three calves had 
 sprung, and were swimming for the main shore. I hit 
 the last calf in the head with a double-barreled gun, 
 and he immediately sank ; and I missed another calf 
 with the left-hand barrel ; therefore two escaped. I 
 sent a man into the water to find the dead calf, which 
 11
 
 122 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 he soon did, and hauled it to the shore ; and having re- 
 loaded, I proceeded to examine the hits on the dead 
 buffaloes. It was fortunate that I had reloaded ; for I 
 had no sooner approached to within three or four yards 
 of the cow that I had left dying, when she suddenly 
 sprang to her feet and would have charged, had I not 
 killed her by a ball in the head from a light double- 
 barrel that I was then carrying. These animals had 
 shown as good sport as I had ever witnessed in buffalo- 
 shooting, but the two heavy rifles were fearful odds 
 against them, and they were added to the list of the 
 slain. It was now late in the evening, and I had had 
 a long day's work in a broiling sun. I had bagged ten 
 buffaloes, including the calf, and having cut a fillet 
 from the latter, I took a gun, loaded with shot, from 
 my horsekeeper, and gave up ball-shooting, having 
 turned my attention to a large flock of teal, which I 
 had disturbed in attacking the buffaloes. This flock I 
 had marked down in a small stream which flowed into 
 the lake. A cautious approach upon my hands and 
 knees, through the grass, brought me undiscovered to 
 the bank of the stream, where, in a small bay, it emp- 
 tied itself into the lake, and a flock of about eighty teal 
 were swimming among the water-lilies within twenty 
 yards of me. I fired one barrel on the water, and the 
 other in the air as they rose, killing five and wounding 
 a sixth, which escaped by continual diving. On my 
 way home I killed a few snipe, till at length the cessa- 
 tion of daylight put an end to all shooting. 
 
 The moon was full and shone over the lake with 
 great brilliancy ; the air was cfcol and refreshing after 
 the great heat of the day ; and the chirp of the snipe 
 and whistling sound of the wildfowl on the lake were
 
 Close of a Good Day's Sport. 123 
 
 the only noises that disturbed the wild scene around. 
 The tent-fires were blazing brightly in the forest at 
 about a mile distant ; and giving my gun to the horse- 
 keeper, I mounted and rode toward the spot. 
 
 I was within half a mile of the tent, and had just 
 turned round an angle made by the forest, when I sud- 
 denly saw the gray forms of several elephants, who had 
 just emerged from the forest, and were feeding in the 
 high grass within a hundred yards of me. I counted 
 seven, six of which were close to the edge of the jun- 
 gle, but the seventh was a large bull elephant, who had 
 advanced by himself about sixty yards into the plain. 
 I thought I could cut this fellow off, and, taking my big 
 rifle, I dismounted and crept cautiously toward him. 
 He winded me before I had gone many paces, gave a 
 shrill trumpet of alarm and started off for the jungle ; 
 the rest of the herd vanished like magic, while I ran 
 after the bull elephant at my best speed. He was too 
 quick for me, and I could not gain upon him, so, halt- 
 ing suddenly, I took a steady shot at his ear with the 
 four-ounce at about seventy yards. Down he went to 
 the shot, but I heard him roar as he lay upon the 
 ground, and I knew he would be up again in a mo- 
 ment. In the same instant, as I dropped my empty 
 rifle, a double-barreled gun was pushed into my hand, 
 and I ran up to him, just in time to catch him as he 
 was half risen. Feeling sure of him, I ran up within 
 two yards of his head and fired into his forehead. To 
 my amazement, he jumped quickly up, and with a loud 
 trumpet he rushed toward the jungle. I could just 
 keep close alongside him, as the grass was short and 
 the ground level, and being determined to get him, I 
 ran close to his shoulder, and, taking a steady shot be-
 
 12*4 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 hind the ear, I fired my remaining barrel. Judge of my 
 surprise ! it only increased his speed, and in another 
 moment he reached the jungle : he wag gone. He 
 seemed to bear a charmed life. I had taken two shots 
 within a few feet of him that I would have staked my 
 life upon. I looked at my gun. Ye gods ! I had 
 been firing snipe shot at him. It was my rascally 
 horsekeeper, who had actually handed me the shot- 
 gun, which I had received as the double-barreled ball- 
 gun that I knew was carried by a gun-bearer. How I 
 did thresh him ! If the elephant had charged instead of 
 making off, I should have been caught, to a certainty. 
 
 This day's shooting was the last day of good sport 
 that I ever had at Minneria. It was in June, 1847. 
 The next morning I moved my encampment and 
 started homeward. To my surprise I saw a rogue 
 elephant drinking in the lake, within a quarter of a 
 mile of me ; but the Fates were against his capture. I 
 stalked him as well as I could, but he winded me, and 
 came on in full charge with his trunk up. The heavy 
 rifle fortunately turned but did not kill him, and he 
 escaped in thorny jungle, through which I did not 
 choose to follow. 
 
 On my way to the main road from Trincomalee to 
 Kandy I walked on through the jungle path about a 
 mile ahead of my followers, to look out for game. 
 Upon arriving at the open country in the neighborhood 
 of Cowdellai, I got a shot at a deer at a k.lling distance. 
 She was not twenty yards off, and was Icoking at me as 
 if spell-bound. This provided me with venison for a 
 couple of days. The rapid decomposition of all things 
 in a tropical climate renders a continued supply of 
 animal food very precarious, if the produce of the rifle
 
 A Large Snake. 125 
 
 is alone to be depended upon. Venison killed on one day 
 would be uneatable on the day following, unless it were 
 half-dressed shortly after it was killed : thus the size of 
 the animal in no way contributes to the continuation of 
 the supply of food, as the meat will not keep. Even 
 snipe killed on one morning are putrid the next even- 
 ing; the quantity of game required for the subsistence 
 of one person is consequently very large. 
 
 After killing the deer I stalked a fine peacock, who 
 gave me an hour's work befoi'e I could get near him. 
 These birds are very wary and difficult to approach ; 
 but I at length got him into a large bush, surrounded 
 by open ground. A stone thrown into this dislodged 
 him, and he gave me a splendid flying shot at about 
 thirty yards. I bagged him with the two-ounce rifle, 
 but the large ball damaged him terribly. There are 
 few better birds than a Ceylon peafowl, if kept for two 
 days and then washed in vinegar : they combine the 
 flavor of the turkey and the pheasant. 
 
 I was obliged to carry the bird myself, as my two 
 gun-bearers were staggering under the weight of the 
 deer, and the spare guns were carried by my tracker. 
 We were proceeding slowly along when the tracker, 
 who was in advance, suddenly sprang back and pointed 
 to some object in the path. It was certainly enough to 
 startle any man. An enormous serpent lay coiled in 
 the path. His head was about the size of a very small 
 cocoa-nut, divided lengthways, and this was raised 
 about eighteen inches above the coil. His eyes were 
 fixed upon us, and his forked tongue played in and out 
 of his mouth with a continued hiss. Aiming at his 
 head, I fired at him with a double-barreled gun, within 
 
 four paces, and blew his head to pieces. He appeared 
 11*
 
 126 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 stone dead ; but upon pulling him by the tail, to stretch 
 him out at full length, he wreathed himself in con- 
 vulsive coils, and lashing himself out in full length, he 
 mowed down the high grass in all directions. This 
 obliged me to stand clear, as his blows were terrific, 
 and the thickest part of his body was as large as a 
 inan's thigh. I at length thought of an expedient for 
 securing him. Cutting some sharp-pointed stakes, I 
 waited till he was again quiet, when I suddenly pinned 
 his tail to the ground with my hunting-knife, and 
 thrusting the pointed stake into the hole, I drove it 
 deeply into the ground with the butt of my rifle. 
 The boa made some objection to this, and again he 
 commenced his former muscular contortions. I waited 
 till they were over, and having provided myself with 
 some tough jungle rope (a species of creeper), I once 
 more approached him, and pinning his throat to the 
 ground with a stake, I tied the rope through the in- 
 cision, and the united exertions of myself and three 
 men hauled him out perfectly straight. I then drove a 
 stake firmly through his throat and pinned him out. 
 He was fifteen feet in length, and it required our united 
 strength to tear off his skin, which shone with a variety 
 of passing colors. On losing his hide he tore away 
 from the stakes ; and although his head was shivered 
 to atoms, and he had lost three feet of his length of 
 neck by the ball having cut through this part, which 
 separated in tearing ofFthe skin, still he lashed out and 
 writhed in frightful convulsions, which continued 
 until I left him, bearing as my trophy his scaly hide. 
 These boas will kill deer, and by crushing them into a 
 sort of sausage they are enabled by degrees to swallow 
 them. There are many of these vermin in Ceylon ;
 
 An Unpleasant Bedfellow. 127 
 
 but they are seldom seen, as they generally wander 
 forth at night. There are marvelous stories of their 
 size ; and my men assured me that they had seen much 
 larger than the snake now mentioned : to me he ap- 
 peared a horrible monster. 
 
 I do not know anything so disgusting as a snake. 
 There is an instinctive feeling that the arch enemy is 
 personified when these wretches glide by you, and the 
 blood chills with horror. I took the dried skin of this 
 fellow to England ; it measures twelve feet in its dry 
 state, minus the piece that was broken from his neck, 
 making him the length before mentioned, of fifteen feet. 
 
 I have often been astonished that comparatively so 
 few accidents happen in Ceylon from snake-bites ; the 
 immense number of these vermin and the close nature 
 of the country making it a dangerous risk to the naked 
 feet of the natives. I was once lying upon a sofa in a 
 rest-house at Kandellai, when I saw a snake about four 
 feet long glide in at the open door, and, as though ac- 
 customed to a particular spot for his lodging, he at once 
 climbed upon another sofa and coiled himself under 
 the pillow. My brother had only just risen from this 
 sofa, and was sitting at the table watching the move- 
 ments of his uninvited bed-fellow. I soon poked him 
 out with a stick, and cut off his head with a hunting- 
 knife. This snake was of a very poisonous description, 
 and was evidently accustomed to lodge behind the pil- 
 low, upon which the unwary sleeper might have re- 
 ceived a fatal bite. Upon taking possession of an 
 unfrequented rest-house, the cushions of the sofas and 
 bedsteads should always be examined, as they are great 
 attractions to snakes, scorpions, centipedes and all man- 
 ner of reptiles.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 CAPABILITIES OF CEYLON DEER AT ILLEPECADEWE SAGACITY 
 OF A PARIAH DOG Two DEER AT ONE SHOT DEER-STALK- 
 ING HAMBANTOTTE COUNTRY KATTREGAM FESTIVAL 
 SlTRAWELLE RUINS OF ANCIENT MAHAGAM WlHAREWELLE 
 A NIGHT ATTACK UPON ELEPHANTS SHOOTING BY MOON- 
 LIGHT YALLE RIVER ANOTHER ROGUE A STROLL BEFORE 
 BREAKFAST A CURIOUS SHOT A GOOD DAY'S SPORT. 
 
 THERE are few countries which present a more 
 lovely appearance than Ceylon. There is a di- 
 versity in the scenery which refreshes the eye ; and 
 although the evergreen appearance might appear monot- 
 onous to some persons, still, were they residents, they 
 would observe that the color of the foliage is undergo- 
 ing a constant change by the varying tints of the leaves 
 in the different stages of their growth. These tints are 
 far more lovely than the autumnal shades of England, 
 and their brilliancy is enhanced by the idea that it is the 
 bursting of the young leaf into life, the freshness of 
 youth instead of the sere leaf of a past summer, which, 
 after gilding for a few days the beauty of the woods, 
 drops from the frozen branches and deserts them. Every 
 shade of color is seen in the Ceylon forests, as the young 
 leaves are constantly replacing those which have fallen 
 without being missed. The deepest crimson, the 
 brightest yellow and green of every shade, combine to 
 
 128
 
 Capabilities of Cc.ylon. 129 
 
 form a beautiful crest to the forest-covered surface of 
 the island. 
 
 There is no doubt, however, that there is too much 
 wood in Ceylon ; it prevents the free circulation of air, 
 and promotes dampness, malaria, and consequently 
 fevers and dysentery, the latter disease being the scourge 
 of the colony. The low country is accordingly decid- 
 edly unhealthy. 
 
 This vast mass of forest and jungle is a great impedi- 
 ment to the enjoyment of traveling. The heat in the 
 narrow paths cut through dense jungles is extreme ; and 
 after a journey of seventy or eighty miles through this 
 style of country the eye scans the wild plains and moun- 
 tains with delight. Some districts, however, are per- 
 fectly devoid of trees, and form a succession of undu- 
 lating downs of short grass. Other parts, again, al- 
 though devoid of heavy timber, are covered with dense 
 thorny jungles, especially the country adjoining the sea- 
 coast, which is generally of a uniform character round 
 the whole island, being interspersed with sandy plains 
 producing a short grass. 
 
 Much has been said by some authors of the " capa- 
 bilities" of Ceylon ; but, however enticing the descrip- 
 tion of these capabilities may have been, the proof has 
 been decidedly in opposition to the theory. Few coun- 
 tries exist with such an immense proportion of bad soil. 
 There are no minerals except iron, no limestone except 
 dolomite, no other rocks than quartz and gneiss. The 
 natural pastures are poor ; the timber of the forests is 
 the only natural production of any value, with the ex- 
 ception of cinnamon. Sugar estates do not answer, 
 and coffee requires an expensive system of cultivation 
 by frequent manuring. In fact, the soil is wretched ; 
 
 I
 
 130 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 so bad that the natives, by felling the forest and burn- 
 ing the timber upon the ground, can only produce one 
 crop of some poor grain ; the land is then exhausted, 
 and upon its consequent desertion it gives birth to an 
 impenetrable mass of low jungle, comprising every 
 thorn that can be conceived. This deserted land, 
 fallen again into the hand of Nature, forms the jungle 
 of Ceylon ; and as native cultivation has thus continued 
 for some thousand years, the immense tract of country 
 now in this impenetrable state is easily accounted for. 
 The forests vary in appearance ; some are perfectly free 
 from underwood, being composed of enormous trees, 
 whose branches effectually exclude the rays of the sun ; 
 but they generally consist of large trees, which tower 
 above a thick, and for the most part thorny, under- 
 wood, difficult to penetrate. 
 
 The features of Ceylon scenery may, therefore, be 
 divided as follows : 
 
 Natural forest, extending over the greater portion. 
 
 Thorny jungle, extending over a large portion. 
 
 Flat plains and thorny jungles, in the vicinity of the 
 coast. 
 
 Open down country, extending over a small portion 
 of the interior. 
 
 Open park country, extending over the greater por- 
 tion 'of the Veddah district. 
 
 The mountains, forming the centre of the island. 
 
 The latter are mostly covered with forest, but they 
 are beautifully varied by numberless open plains and 
 hills of grass-land at an altitude of from three to nearly 
 nine thousand feet. 
 
 If Ceylon were an open country, there would be no 
 large game, as there would be no shelter from the sun.
 
 Deer at Zllepecade'we. 131 
 
 In the beautiful open down country throughout the 
 Ouva district, there is no game larger than wild hogs, 
 red-deer, mouse-deer, hares and partridges. These 
 animals shelter themselves in the low bushes, which 
 generally consist -of the wild guavas, and occupy ibf 
 hollows between the undulations of the hills. The 
 thorny jungles conceal a mass of game of all kinds, 
 but in this retreat the animals are secure from attack. 
 In the vicinity of the coast, among the " flat plains and 
 thorny jungles," there is always excellent shooting at 
 particular seasons. The spotted deer abound through- 
 out Ceylon, especially in these parts, where they are 
 often seen in herds of a hundred together. In many 
 places they are far too numerous, as, from the want of 
 inhabitants in these parts, there are no consumers, and 
 these beautiful beasts would be shot to waste. 
 
 In the neighborhood of Paliar and Illepecadew6 on 
 the northwest coast, I have shot them till I was satiated 
 and it ceased to be sport. We had nine fine deer hang- 
 .ing up in one day, and they were putrefying faster than 
 the few inhabitants could preserve them by smoking 
 and drying them in steaks. I could have shot them in 
 any number, had I chosen to kill simply for the sake 
 of murder ; but I cannot conceive any person finding 
 an enjoyment in slaying these splendid deer to rot upon 
 the ground. 
 
 I was once shooting at Illepecad6w6, which* is a 
 lonely, miserable spot, when I met with a very saga- 
 cious and original sportsman in a most unexpected 
 manner. I was shooting with a friend, and we had 
 separated for a few hundred paces. I presently got a 
 shot at a pea-fowl, and killed her with my rifle. The 
 shot was no sooner fired, than I heard another shot in
 
 132 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 the jungle, in the direction taken by my friend. My 
 rifle was still unloaded when a spotted doe bounded 
 out of the jungle, followed by a white pariah dog in 
 full chase. Who would have dreamt of meeting with 
 & dog at this distance from a village (about four miles) ? 
 1 whistled to the- dog, and to my surprise he came to 
 me, the deer having left him out of sight in a few 
 seconds. He was a knowing-looking brute, and was 
 evidently out hunting on his own account. Just at this 
 moment my friend called to me that he had wounded 
 a buck, and that he had found the blood-track. I picked 
 a blade of grass from the spot which was tinged with 
 blood ; and holding it to the dog's nose, he eagerly fol- 
 lowed me to the track, upon which I dropped it. He 
 went off in a moment ; but, running mute, I was 
 obliged to follow ; and after a chase of a quarter of a 
 mile I lost sight of him. In following up the foot- 
 track of the wounded deer, I heard the distant barking 
 of the dog, by which I knew that he had brought the 
 buck to bay, and I was soon at the spot. The buck 
 had taken up a position in a small glade, and was 
 charging the dog furiously ; but the pariah was too know- 
 ing to court the danger, and kept well out of the way. I 
 shot the buck, and, tying a piece of jungle-rope to the 
 dog's neck, gave him to a gun-bearer to lead, as I 
 hoped he might be again useful in hunting up a 
 wourTded deer. 
 
 I had not proceeded more than half a mile, when we 
 arrived at the edge of a small sluggish stream, covered 
 in most places with rushes and water-lilies. We forded 
 this about hip-deep, but the gun-bearer who had the 
 dog could not prevail upon x our mute companion 
 to follow ; he pulled violently back and shrinked,
 
 The Sagacity of a Pariah Dog 133 
 
 and evinced every symptom of terror at the approach 
 of water. 
 
 I was now at the opposite bank, and nothing would 
 induce him to come n,ear the river, so I told the gun- 
 bearer to drag him across by force. This he accord- 
 ingly did, and the dog swam with frantic exertions 
 across the river, and managed to disengage his head 
 from the rope. The moment that he arrived on terra 
 firma he rushed up a steep bank and looked attentively 
 down into the water beneath. 
 
 We now gave him credit for his sagacity in refusing 
 to cross the dangerous passage. The reeds bowed 
 down to the right and left as a huge crocodile of about 
 eighteen feet in length moved slowly from his shallow 
 bed into a deep hole. The dog turned to the right- 
 about, and went oft* as fast as. his legs would carry him. 
 No calling or whistling would induce him to return, 
 and. I never saw him again. How he knew that a 
 crocodile was in the stream I cannot imagine. He 
 must have had a narrow escape at some former time, 
 which was a lesson that he seemed determined to 
 profit by. 
 
 Shortly after the disappearance of the dog, I sepa- 
 rated from my companion and took a different line of 
 country. Large plains, with thorny jungles and bushes 
 of the long cockspur thorn interspersed, formed the 
 character of the ground. This place literally swarmed 
 with pea-fowl, partridges and deer. I killed another 
 peacock, and the shot disturbed a herd of about sixty 
 deer, who bounded over the plain till out of sight. 1 
 tracked up this herd for nearly a mile, when I observed 
 them behind a large bush ; some were lying down and 
 some were standing. A buck and doe presently quitted
 
 134 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 the herd, and advancing a few paces from the bush, 
 they halted, and evidently winded me. I was screen- 
 ing myself behind a small tree, and the open ground 
 between me and the game precluded the possibility of 
 a nearer approach. It was a random distance for a 
 deer, but I took a rest against the stem of the tree and 
 fired at the buck as he stood with his broadside ex- 
 posed, being shoulder to shoulder with the doe. Away 
 went the herd, flying over the plain ; but, to my delight, 
 there were two white bellies struggling upon the ground. 
 I ran up to cut their throats ;* the two-ounce ball^ had 
 passed through the shoulders of both ; and I stepped 
 the distance to the tree from which I had fired, " two 
 hundred and thirteen paces." 
 
 Shortly after this I got another shot, which, by a 
 chance, killed two deer. I was strolling through a 
 narrow glade with open jungles upon either side, when 
 I suddenly heard a quick double shot, and I heard the 
 rush of a large herd of deer coming through the jungle. 
 I immediately lay flat upon the ground, and presently 
 an immense herd of full a hundred deer passed across 
 the glade at full gallop, within seventy yards of me. 
 Jumping up, I fired at a doe, and, to my surprise, two 
 deer fell to the shot, one of which was a fawn : the ball 
 had passed through the shoulder of the mother, and 
 had broken the fawn's neck upon the opposite side. 
 I am astonished that this chance of killing two at one 
 shot does not more often happen when the dense body 
 of a herd of deer is exposed to a rifle-ball. 
 
 Deer-stalking is one of the most exciting sports in 
 the world. I have often crept upon hands and knees 
 
 * This is necessary to allow the blood to escape, otherwise they 
 would be unfit for food.
 
 Deer-stalking. 135 
 
 for upward of a quarter of a mile through mud and 
 grass to get a shot at a fine antlered buck. It fre- 
 quently happens that after a long stalk in this manner, 
 when some sheltering object js reached which you have 
 determined upon for the shot, just as you raise your 
 head above the grass in expectation of seeing the game, 
 you find a blank. He has watched your progress bv 
 tl.e nose, although the danger was hidden from his 
 view, and your trouble is unrewarded. 
 
 In all wild shooting, in every country and climate, 
 the " wind" is the first consideration. If you hunt 
 down wind, you will never get a deer. You will have 
 occasional glimpses of your game, who will be gazing 
 intently at you at great distances long before you can 
 see them, but you will never get a decent shot. The 
 great excitement and pleasure of all sport consists in a 
 thorough knowledge of the pursuit. When the dew is 
 heavy upon the ground at break of day, you are strolling 
 noiselessly along with the rifle, scanning the wide plains 
 and searching the banks of the pools and streams for 
 tracks of the spotted deer. Upon discovering the 
 tracks their date is immediately known, the vicinity of 
 the game is surmised, the tracks are followed up, and 
 the herd is at length discovered. The wind is observed ; 
 dry leaves crumbled into powder and let fall from the 
 hand detect the direction if the slightest air is stirring, 
 and the approach is made accordingly. Every stone, 
 every bush or tree or tuft of grass, is noted as a cover 
 for an advance, and the body being kept in a direct 
 line with each of these objects, you approach upon 
 hands and knees from each successive place of shelter 
 till a proper distance is gained. The stalking is the 
 most exciting sport in the world. I have frequently
 
 136 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 heard my own heart beat while creeping up to a deer. 
 He is an animal of wonderful acuteness, and possess- 
 ing the keenest scent ; he is always on the alert, watch- 
 ing for danger from his stealthy foe the leopard, who is 
 a perfect deer-stalker. 
 
 To kill spotted deer well, if they are tolerably wild, 
 a person must be a really good rifle shot, otherwise he 
 will wound many, but seldom bag one. They are won- 
 derfully fast, and their bounding pace makes them ex- 
 tremely difficult to hit while running. Even when 
 standing, they must be struck either through the head, 
 neck, or shoulder, or they will rarely be killed on the 
 spot ; in any other part, if wounded, they will escape 
 as though untouched, and die a miserable death in soli- 
 tude. 
 
 In narrating long shots that I have made, I recount 
 them as bright moments in the hours of sport ; they are 
 the exceptions and not the rule. I consider a man a 
 first-rate shot who can always bag his deer standing at 
 eighty yards, or running at fifty. Hitting and bagging 
 are widely different. If a man can always bag at the 
 distance that I have named, he will constantly hit, and 
 frequently bag, at extraordinary ranges, as there is no 
 doubt of his shooting, and, when he misses, the ball 
 has whizzed somewhere very close to the object ; the 
 chances are, therefore, in favor of the rifle. 
 
 The deer differ in character in various parts of Cey- 
 lon. In some places where they are rarely disturbed 
 they can be approached to within thirty or forty paces, 
 in which case a very moderate shot can easily kill them ; 
 but it is better sport when they are moderately wild. 
 The greatest number of deer that I ever saw was in the 
 south-eastern part of Ceylon, in the neighborhood of
 
 Hambantotte Country. 137 
 
 Pontane and Yall6. The whole of this country is al- 
 most uninhabited, and accordingly undisturbed. Yall6 
 is the nearest town of importance, from which a good 
 road, lined on either side with cocoa-nut and bread-fruit 
 trees, extends as far as Tangalle, fifty miles. A few 
 miles beyond this village the wild country begins, and 
 Hambantotte is the next station, nearly ninety miles 
 frpm Yalle. They country around Hambantotte is abso- 
 lutely frightful-r- wide extending plains of white sand 
 and low scrubby bushes scattered here and there ; salt 
 lakes of great extent, and miserable plains of scanty 
 herbage, surrounded by dense thorny jungles. Not- 
 withstanding this, at some seasons the whole district is 
 alive with game. January and February are the best 
 months for elephants and buffaloes, and August and 
 September are the best seasons for deer, at which time 
 the whole country is burnt up with drought, and the 
 game is forced to the vicinity of Yalle river and the 
 neighboring pools. In the wet season this district is 
 nearly flooded, and forms a succession of dense marshes, 
 the malaria from which is extremely unhealthy. At this 
 N^time the grass is high, and the elephants are very nu- 
 i^erous. 
 
 V'hen I was in this part of the country the drought 
 was excessive ; the jungle was parched, and the leaves 
 dropped from the bushes under the influence of a burn- 
 ing sun. Not a cloud ever appeared upon the sky, but 
 a dazzling haze of intense heat spread over the scorched 
 plains. The smaller streams were completely dried up, 
 and the large rivers were reduced to small streams in 
 the midst of a bed of sand. 
 
 The whole of this country is a succession of flat 
 sandy plains and low jungles contiguous to the sea-coast. 
 12*
 
 138 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 The intense heat and the glare of the sun rendered the 
 journey most fatiguing. I at length descried a long line 
 of noble forest in the distance, and this I conjectured 
 to be near the river, which turned out to be the case ; 
 and we were soon relieved from the burning sun by the 
 shade of as splendid a forest as I have ever seen. A 
 few hundred yards from the spot at which we had en- 
 tered, Yalle 1 river rolled along in a clear stream. In the 
 wet season this is a rapid torrent of about a hundred 
 and fifty yards in width, but at this time the bed of the 
 river was dry, with the exception of a stream of about 
 thirty paces broad, which ran directly beneath the bank 
 we were descending. 
 
 An unexpected scene now presented itself. The 
 wide bed of the river was shaded on either side by 
 groves of immense trees, whose branches stretched far 
 over the channel ; and not onlv beneath their shade, 
 but in every direction, tents formed of talipot leaves 
 were pitched, and a thousand men, women and chil- 
 dren lay grouped together ; some were bathing in the 
 river, some were sitting round their fires cooking a 
 scanty meal', others lay asleep upon the sand, but all 
 appeared to be congregated together for one purpose ; 
 and so various were the castes and costumes that 
 every nation of the East seemed to have sent a repre- 
 sentative. This was the season for the annual offerings 
 to the Kattregam god, to whose temple these pilgrims 
 were flocking, and they had made the dry bed of Yalle 
 river their temporary halting-place. A few days after 
 no less than 18,000 pilgrims congregated at Kattregam. 
 
 I was at this time shooting with my friend, a Mr. H. 
 Walters, then of the i5th regiment. We waded up 
 the bed of the river for about a mile, and then pitched
 
 Sitraivelle. 139 
 
 the tent under some fine trees in the open forest. 
 Several wild buffaloes were drinking in the river within 
 a short distance of us ; but thinking this a likely spot for 
 elephants, we determined not to disturb the neighbor- 
 hood by firing a shot until we had first explored the 
 country. After a walk of a couple of hours through 
 fine open forest and small bushy plains, we came to 
 the conclusion that there were very few elephants in 
 the country, and we devoted ourselves to other game. 
 
 After a day or two spent in killing deer, a few wild 
 buffaloes and only one elephant, I felt convinced that 
 we should never find the latter, in the dry state of the 
 country, unless by watching at some tank at night. We 
 therefore moved our encampment inland about twenty- 
 five miles from Yalle. Here there is a large tank, 
 which I concluded would be the resort of elephants. 
 
 A long day's journey through a burning sun brought 
 us to Sitrawelle'. This is a small village about six 
 miles inland from the sea-coast village of Kesinde. 
 Here the natives brought us plaintains and buffalo 
 milk, while we took shelter from the sun under a 
 splendid tamarind tree. Opposite to this was a " bo" 
 tree ;* this grew to an extraordinary size ; the wide- 
 spreading branches covered about half an acre of 
 ground, and the trunk measured upward of forty feet 
 in circumference. The tamarind tree was nearly the 
 same size ; and I never saw together two such mag- 
 nificent specimens of vegetation. A few paces from 
 this spot a lake of about four miles' circuit lay in the 
 centre of a plain; this was surrounded by open forests 
 and jungles, all of which looked like good covers for 
 ga:ne ; Skirting the opposite banks of the lake, wa 
 * Very similar to the banian tree.
 
 140 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 pitched the tent under some shady trees upon a fine 
 level sward. By this time it was nearly dusk, and I 
 had barely time to stroll out and kill a peacock for din- 
 ner before night set in. 
 
 The next morning, having been joined by my friend, 
 a Mr. P. Braybrook, then government agent of this dis- 
 trict, our party was increased to three, and seeing no 
 traces of elephants in this neighborhood, we determined 
 to proceed to a place called Wihare' welld, about six 
 miles farther inland. 
 
 Our route now lay along a broad causeway of solid 
 masonry. On either side of this road stone pillars of 
 about twelve feet in height stood in broken rows, and 
 lay scattered in every direction through the jungle. 
 Ruined dagobas and temples jutted their rugged sum- 
 mits above the tree-tops, and many lines of stone col- 
 umns stood in parallel rows, the ancient supports of 
 buildings of a similar character to those of Pollanarua 
 and Anarajahpoora. We were among the ruins of 
 ancient Mahagam. One of the ruined buildings had 
 apparently rested upon seventy-two pillars. These 
 were still erect, standing in six lines of twelve col- 
 umns : every stone appeared to be about fourteen feet 
 high by two feet square and twenty-five feet apart. This 
 building must therefore have formed an oblong of three 
 Xhundred feet by one hundred and fifty. Many of the 
 granite blocks were covered with rough carving ; large 
 flights of steps, now irregular from the inequality of the 
 ground, wei'e scattered here and there ; and the general 
 appearance of the ruins was similar to that of Polla- 
 narua, but of smaller extent. The stone causeway 
 which passed through the ruins was about two miles 
 in length, being for the most part overgrown with low
 
 Ruins of Ancient Mahagam. 141 
 
 jungle and prickly cactus. I traversed the jungle for 
 some distance until arrested by the impervious nature 
 of the bushes ; but wherever I went the ground was 
 strewed with squared stones and fallen brickwork over- 
 grown with rank vegetation. 
 
 The records of Ceylon do not afford any satisfactory 
 information concerning the original foundation of this 
 city ; the first time that we hear of it is in the year 286 
 B. c. ; but we have no account of the era or cause of its 
 desertion. Although Mahagam is the only vestige of 
 an ancient city in this district, there are many ruined 
 buildings and isolated dagobas of great antiquity 
 scattered throughout the country. I observed on a peak 
 of one of the Kattregam hills large masses of fallen 
 brickwork, the ruins of some former buildings, probably 
 coeval with Mahagam. The whole of this district, now 
 so wild and desolate, must in those days have been thickly 
 populated and highly cultivated, although, from the 
 present appearance of the country, it does not seem pos- 
 sible th^t it has ever altered its aspect since the Creation. 
 
 Descending a steep bank shaded by large trees, we 
 crossed the bed of the Manick Ganga (Jewel River). 
 The sand was composed of a mixture of mica, quartz, sap- 
 phire, ruby and jacinth, but the large proportion of ruby 
 sand was so extraordinary that it seemed to rival Sindbad 
 the Sailor's va^e of gems. The whole of this was val- 
 ueless, but the appearance of the sand was very inviting 
 as the shallow stream in rippling over it magnified the 
 tiny gems into stones of some magnitude. I passed ao 
 hour in vainly searching for a ruby worth collecting, 
 but the largest did not exceed the size of mustard seed. 
 
 The natives use this sand for cutting elephants' teeth, 
 in the same manner that a stonemason uses sand to
 
 142 The Rijle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 assist him in sawing through a stone. Elephants' teeth 
 or grinders are so hard that they will produce sparks 
 upon being struck with a hatchet. . 
 
 About two miles from the opposite bank of the river, 
 having journeyed through a narrow path bordered upon 
 either side by thick jungle, we opened upon an exten- 
 sive plain close to the village of Wiharewelle. This 
 plain was covered with wild indigo, and abounded with 
 pea-fowl. Passing through the small village at the ex- 
 tremity of the plain, we pitched the tent upon the bor- 
 ders of the lake, about a quarter of a mile beyond it. 
 This tank was about three miles in circumference, and, 
 like that of Sitrawelle 1 , was one of the ancient works 
 of the Mahagam princes. 
 
 The village was almost deserted ; none but the old 
 men and women and children remained, as the able- 
 bodied men had gone to the Kattregam festival. We 
 could, therefore, obtain no satisfactory information re- 
 garding elephants ; but I was convinced, from the appear- 
 ance of the country and from the high grass around 
 the lake, that if any elephants were in the district some 
 would be here. It was late in the evening, the coolies 
 were heaping up the night-fires, and as darkness closed 
 upon us the savory steam of a peacock that was roast- 
 ing on a stick betokened the welcome approach of din- 
 ner. We had hardly commenced when, the roaring of 
 elephants within a short distance of the tent gave us 
 hope of sport on the following day. 
 
 At daybreak the next morning I strolled round the 
 lake to look for tracks. A herd of about seven had 
 been feeding during the night within half a mile of the 
 tent. During my walk I saw innumerable pea-fowl, 
 jungle-fowl, hares and ducks, in addition to several
 
 Wihare-welle. 143 
 
 herds of deer ; but not wishing to disturb the country, 
 I did not fire, but returned to the tent and sent out 
 trackers. 
 
 In the afternoon the natives returned with intelligence 
 of a small pool two miles from the opposite shore of 
 the lake, situated in dense jungle ; here they had seen 
 fresh elephant tracks, and they proposed that we should 
 watch the pool that evening at the usual drinking hour 
 of the game. As this was the only pool of water for 
 miles round with the exception of the lake, I thought 
 the plan likely to succeed, and we therefore started 
 without loss of time. 
 
 On arrival at the pool we took a short survey of out 
 quarters. A small round sheet of water of perhaps 
 eighty yards in diameter lay in the midst of a dense 
 jungle. Several large trees were growing close to the 
 edge, and around, these lay numerous rocks of about 
 four feet high, forming a capital place for concealment. 
 Covering the tops of the rocks with boughs to conceal 
 our heads, we lay quietly behind them in expectation ot 
 the approaching game. 
 
 The sun sank, and the moon rose in great beauty, 
 throwing a silvery light upon the surface of the water 
 chequered by the dark shadows of the surrounding 
 trees. Suddenly the hoarse bark of an elk sounded with- 
 in a short distance, and I could distinguish two or three 
 dark forms on the opposite bank. The shrill and con- 
 tinual barking of spotted deer now approaching nearei 
 and nearer, the rustling in the jungle and the splashing 
 in the water announced continual arrivals of game to 
 the lonely drinking-place. Notwithstanding the im- 
 mense quantity of animals that were congregated to- 
 gether, we could not distinguish them plainly on accoun*
 
 144 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 of the dark background of jungle. Elk, deer, buffa- 
 loes and hogs were all bathing and drinking in immense 
 numbers, but there were no elephants. 
 
 For some hours we watched the accumulation of 
 game ; there was not a breath of air, although the scud 
 was flying fast above us, occasionally throwing a veil 
 over the moon and casting a sudden obscurity on the 
 dim scene before us. Our gun-bearers were crouched 
 around us ; their dark skins matching with the ground 
 on' which they squatted, they looked like so many 
 stumps of trees. It was nearly ten o'clock, and my 
 eyes ached with watching ; several times I found my-- 
 self nodding as sleep took me by surprise ; so, leaving 
 a man to look out, we sat quietly down and discussed a 
 cold fowl that we had brought with us. 
 
 We had just finished a pint bottle of cherry brandy 
 when I felt a gentle touch upon my shoulder, and our 
 lookout man whispered in my ear the magic word 
 " alia" (elephant), at the same time pointing in the 
 direction of the tank. The guns were all wrapped up 
 in a blanket to keep them from the dew, so telling W. 
 to uncover them and to distribute them to the respective 
 gun-bearers without noise, I crept out and stole unper- 
 ceived along the margin of the tank to discover the 
 number and position of the elephants. So deceitful 
 was the moonlight, being interrupted by the dark 
 shadows of the jungle, that I was within ten paces of 
 the nearest elephant before I distinguished her. I 
 counted three elephants one large and two others about 
 six feet high. Being satisfied with my information, and 
 having ascertained that no others were in the jungle, I 
 returned to my companions : they were all ready, and 
 we crept forward. We were within ten paces of the
 
 Shooting by Moonlight. 145 
 
 large elephant, when a branch of hooked thorn caught 
 W. by the clothes ; the noise that he made in extricat- 
 ing himself immediately attracted the attention of the 
 elephant, and she turned quickly round, receiving at 
 the same moment an ineffectual shot from W. B. at 
 the same time fired without effect at one of the small 
 elephants. The mother, hearing a roar from the small 
 elephant that B. had wounded, immediately rushed up 
 to it, and they stood side by side in the water about fif- 
 teen yards from the bank. The large elephant now 
 cocked her ears and turned her head from side to side with 
 great quickness to discover an enemy. I ran close to 
 the water's edge, and the mother perceiving me imme- 
 diately came forward. I could hardly distinguish the 
 sights of my rifle, and I was, therefore, obliged to wait 
 till she was within four or five paces before I fired. She 
 gave me a good shot and dropped dead. The young 
 one was rushing about and roaring in a tremendous 
 manner, having again been fired at and wounded by B 
 and W. By this time I had got a spare gun, and, wad 
 ing into the tank, I soon came to such close quarters 
 that I could not miss, and one shot killed him. The 
 other small elephant escaped unseen in the confusion 
 caused by the firing. 
 
 The following evening we again watched the pool, 
 and once more a mother and her young one came to 
 drink. W. and B. extinguished the young one while I 
 killed the mother. 
 
 This watching by moonlight is a kind of sport that 
 I do not admire ; it is a sort of midnight murder ; and 
 many a poor brute who comes to the silent pool to cool 
 his parched tongue finds only a cup of bitterness, and 
 retires again to his jungle haunts to die a lingering 
 13 E
 
 146 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 death from some unskillful wound. The best shot must 
 frequently miss by moonlight ; there is a silvery glare 
 which renders all objects indistinct and the shot very 
 doubtful ; thus two animals out of three fired at will 
 generally escape wounded. 
 
 I was tired of watching by night, and I again re- 
 turned to the neighborhood of Yalle 1 . After a long 
 ride through a burning sun, I went down to the river to 
 bathe. The water was not more than three feet deep, 
 and was so clear that every pebble was plainly distin- 
 guishable at the bottom. 
 
 I had waded hip-deep into the river when my servant, 
 who was on the bank, suddenly cried out, " Sar ! sar ! 
 come back, sar ! Mora ! mora ! " and he pointed to 
 some object a little higher up the stream. It was now 
 within ten or twelve yards of me, and I fancied that it 
 was a piece of drift timber, but I lost no time in reach- 
 ing the shore. Slowly the object sailed along with the 
 stream, but as it neared me, to my astonishment, a large 
 black fin protruded from the water, and the mystery 
 was at once cleared up. It was a large shark about 
 nine feet long. 
 
 In some places the water was so shallow that his tail 
 and a portion of his back was now and then above the 
 surface. He was in search of gray mullet, with which 
 fish the river abounded ; and at this season sharks were 
 very numerous, as they followed the shoals for some dis- 
 tance up the river. My servant had been in a great 
 state of alarm, as he thought his master would have 
 been devoured in a few seconds ; but the natives of the 
 village quietly told me not to be afraid, but to bathe in 
 peace, "as sharks would not eat men at this season" 
 I was not disposed to put his epicurean scruples to the
 
 Tatte River. I .; 7 
 
 test: as some persons may kill a pheasant before the 
 first of October, so he might have made a grab at me a 
 little before the season, which would have been equally 
 disagreeable to my feelings. The novelty of a white 
 skin in that clear river might have proved too strong a 
 temptation for a shark to withstand. 
 
 I never saw game in such masses as had now col- 
 lected in this neighborhood. The heat was intense, 
 and the noble forest in the vicinity of Yalle river offered 
 an asylum to all animals beneath its shade, where good 
 water and fine grass upon the river's bank supplied 
 their wants. In this forest there was little or no under- 
 wood ; the trees grew to an immense size and stood 
 far apart, so that a clear range might be obtained for a 
 hundred yards. It was, therefore, a perfect spot for 
 deer-stalking ; the tops of the trees formed an imper- 
 vious screen to the sun's rays ; and I passed several 
 days in wandering with my rifle through these shady 
 solitudes, killing an immense quantity of game. The 
 deer were in such masses that I restricted myself to 
 bucks, and I at length became completely satiated. 
 There was too much game ; during a whole day's 
 walk I was certainly not Jive minutes without seeing 
 either deer, elk, buffaloes or hogs. The noise of the rifle 
 did not appear to scare them from the forest ; they 
 would simply retreat for a time to some other portion 
 of it, and fresh herds were met with in following up 
 one which had been disturbed. Still, there were no 
 elephants. Although I had upward of fifty coolies 
 and servants, they could not dry the venison sufficiently 
 fast to prevent the deer from stinking as they were 
 killed, and I resolved to leave the country. 
 
 I gave orders for everything to be packed up in
 
 148 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 readiness for a start, after an early breakfast, on the fol- 
 lowing morning. The servants were engaged in ar- 
 ranging for the departure, when a native brought intel- 
 ligence of a rogue elephant within four miles of the 
 tent. It was late in the afternoon, but I had not seen 
 an elephant for so long that I was determined to make 
 his acquaintance. My friend B. accompanied me, and 
 we immediately started on horseback. 
 
 Our route lay across very extensive plains, inter- 
 spersed with low thorny bushes and wide salt lakes. 
 Innumerable wild hogs invited us to a chase. There 
 could not be a better spot for boar-spearing, as the 
 ground is level and clear for riding. There were 
 numerous herds of deer and buffaloes, but we did not 
 fire a shot, as we had determined upon an interview 
 with the rogue. We traversed about four miles of this 
 style of country, and were crossing a small plain, when 
 our guide suddenly stopped and pointed to the ele- 
 phant, who was about a quarter of a mile distant. He 
 was standing on a little glade of about fifty yards 
 across ; this was surrounded upon all sides but one 
 with dense thorny jungle, and he therefore stood in a 
 small bay of open ground. It was a difficult position 
 for an attack. The wind blew directly from us to him, 
 therefore an advance in that direction was out of the 
 question ; on the other hand, if we made a circuit so as 
 to get the wind, we should have to penetrate through 
 the thorny jungle to arrive at him, and we should then 
 have the five o'clock sun directly in our eyes. How- 
 ever, there was no alternative, and, after a little con- 
 sultation, the latter plan was resolved upon. 
 
 Dismounting, we ordered the horsekeepers to conceal 
 the horses and themselves behind a thick bush, lest the
 
 A Stroll before Breakfast. 149 
 
 elephant should observe them, a'nd with this precaution 
 we advanced, making a circuit of nearly a mile to ob- 
 tain the wind. On arrival at the belt of thick jungle 
 which divided us from the small glade upon which he 
 stood, I perceived, as I had expected, that the sun was 
 full in our eyes. This was a disadvantage which I felt 
 convinced would lose us the elephant, unless some ex- 
 traordinary chanc'e intervened : however, we entered 
 the thick jungle before us, and cautiously pushed our 
 way through it. This belt was not more than fifty 
 yards in width, and we soon broke upon the small 
 glade. 
 
 The elephant was standing with his back toward us, 
 at about forty paces distant, close to the thick jungle by 
 his side ; and, taking my four-ounce rifle, I walked 
 quietly but quickly toward him. Without a moment's 
 warning he flung his trunk straight up, and, turning 
 sharp round, he at once charged into us. The sun 
 shone full in my eyes, so that I could do nothing but 
 fire somewhere at his head. He fell, but immediately 
 recovered himself, and before the smoke had cleared 
 away he was in full retreat through the thorny jungle, 
 the heavy ball having taken all the pluck out of him. 
 This was just as I had expected ; pui'suit in such a jun- 
 gle was impossible, and I was perfectly contented with 
 having turned him. 
 
 The next morning, having made all arrangements 
 for starting homeward, after breakfast I took my rifle 
 and one gun-bearer with a double-barreled gun to enjoy 
 one last stroll in the fprest. It was just break of day 
 when I entered the forest. My first course was to- 
 ward the river which flowed through it, as I expected 
 to find the game near the water, an hour before sunrise 
 13
 
 150 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 being their time for drinking. I had not proceeded far 
 before immense herds of deer offered tempting shots ; 
 but I was out simply in search of large antlers, and none 
 appearing of sufficient size, I would not fire. Buffaloes 
 continually presented themselves : I was tired of shoot- 
 ing these brutes, but I killed two who looked rather 
 vicious ; and I amused myself with remarking the im- 
 mense quantity of game, and imagining the number of 
 heads that I could bag had I chosen to indulge in indis- 
 criminate slaughter. At length I noticed a splendid 
 buck lying on the sandy bed of the river, beneath a 
 large tree ; his antlers were beautiful, and I stalked 
 him to within sixty yards and shot him. I had not 
 been reloaded ten minutes, and was walking quietly 
 through the forest, when I saw a fine antlered buck 
 standing within thirty yards of me, in a small patch of 
 underwood. His head was turned toward me, and 
 his nostrils were distended in alarm as he prepared to 
 bound off. I had just time to cock my rifle as he 
 dashed off at full speed ; but it was a murderous dis- 
 tance, and he fell dead. His antlers matched exactly 
 with those I had last shot. 
 
 I turned toward the direction of the tent, and, de- 
 scending to the bed of the river, I followed the course 
 of the stream upon the margin of dry sand. I had pro- 
 ceeded about half a mile, when I noticed at about a 
 hundred and fifty paces some object moving about the 
 trunk of a large fallen tree which lay across the bed of 
 the river. This stem was about five feet in diameter, 
 and I presently distinguished the antlers and then the 
 head of a large buck, as they appeared above it : he had 
 been drinking in the stream on the opposite side, and 
 he now raised his head, sniffing; the fresh breeze. It
 
 A Curious Shot. 151 
 
 was a tempting shot, and taking a very steady aim, I 
 fired. For a moment he was down, but recovering 
 himself he bounded up the bank, and was soon in full 
 speed through the forest with only one antler upon his 
 head. I picked up the fellow-antler, which the rifle- 
 ball had cut off within an inch of his skull. This was 
 a narrow escape. 
 
 I did not reload my rifle, as I was not far from the 
 tent, and I was tired of shooting. Giving my rifle to 
 the gun-bearer, I took the double-barreled gun which 
 he carried, and walked quickly toward breakfast. 
 Suddenly I heard a crash in a small nook of thick 
 bushes, like the rush of an elephant, and the next in- 
 stant a buck came dashing past in full speed : his long 
 antlers lay upon his back as he flew through the tangled 
 saplings with a force that seemed to defy resistance. 
 He was the largest spotted buck that I ever saw, 
 and, being within thirty paces, I took a flying shot with 
 the right-hand barrel. He faltered for a moment, and 
 I immediately fired the remaining barrel. Still he con- 
 tinued his course, but at a reduced speed and dead 
 lame. Loading the rifle, I soon got upon the blood- 
 track, and I determined to hunt him down. 
 
 There were many saplings in this part of the forest, 
 and I noticed that many of them in the deer's track 
 were besmeared with blood, about two feet and a half 
 from the ground. The tracks in the sandy soil were 
 uneven one of the fore feet showed a deep impress-ion, 
 while the other was very faint, showing that he was 
 wounded in the leg, as his whole weight was thrown 
 upon one foot. Slowly and cautiously I stalked along 
 the track, occasionally lying down to look under the 
 bushes. For about an hour I continued this slow and
 
 152 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 silent chase ; the tracks became fainter, and the bleed- 
 ing appeared to have almost ceased ; so few and far be- 
 tween were the red drops upon the ground that I was 
 constantly obliged to leave the gun-bearer upon the last 
 trace while I made a cast to discover the next track. 
 I was at length in despair of finding him, and I was 
 attentively scrutinizing the ground for a trace of blood, 
 which would distinguish his track from those of other 
 deer with which the ground was covered, when 1 sud- 
 denly heard a rush in the underwood, and away 
 bounded the buck at about fifty yards' distance, ap- 
 parently as fresh as ever. The next instant he was 
 gasping on the ground, the rifle-ball having passed ex- 
 actly through his heart. I never could have believed 
 that a spotted buck would have attained so large a size ; 
 he was as large as a doe elk, and his antlers were the 
 finest that I have ever seen of that species. It required 
 eight men with two cross poles to bring him home. 
 
 I reached the tent to breakfast at eight o'clock, hav- 
 ing bagged three fine bucks and two buffaloes that 
 morning ; and being, for the time, satiated with sport, I 
 quitted Ceylon.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 BEAT-HOUNDS FOR ELK-HUNTING SMUT KILLBUCK THE HOR- 
 TON PLAINS A SECOND SOYER THE FIND THE BUCK AT 
 BAY THE BAY THE DEATH RETURN OF LOST DOGS 
 COMPARATIVE SPEED OF DEER VEDDAH RIPPED BY A BOAR 
 A MELEE BUCK AT BLACK POOL OLD SMUT'S RUSE 
 MARGOSSE OIL, '. 
 
 foregoing description of sporting incidents 
 X closed my first visit to Ceylon. I had arrived 
 in the island to make a tour of the country and to enjoy 
 its sports ; this I had accomplished by a residence of 
 twelve months, the whole of which had been occupied 
 in wandering from place to place. I now returned to 
 England, but the Fates had traced another road for me, 
 and after a short stay in the old country, I again started 
 for Ceylon, and became a resident at Newera Ellia. 
 
 Making use of the experience that I had gained in 
 wild sports, I came out well armed, according to my 
 own ideas of weapons for the chase. I had ordered 
 four double-barreled rifles of No. 10 bore, to be made 
 to my own pattern ; my hunting knives and boar-spear 
 heads I had made to my own design by Paget of Picca- 
 dilly, who turned out the perfection of steel ; and I ar- 
 rived in Ceylon with a pack of fine foxhounds and a 
 favorite grayhound of wonderful speed and strength, 
 *' Bran," who, though full of years, is still alive. 
 153
 
 154 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 The usual drawbacks and discomforts attendant upon 
 a new settlement having been overcome, Newera Ellia 
 forms a delightful place of residence. I soon discovered 
 that a pack of thorough-bred foxhounds were not 
 adapted to a country so enclosed by forest : some of 
 the hounds were lost, others I parted with, but they 
 are all long since dead, and their progeny, the offspring 
 of crosses with pointers, bloodhounds and half-bred 
 fox-hounds, have turned out the right stamp for elk- 
 hunting. 
 
 It is a difficult thing to form a pack for this sport 
 which shall be perfect in all respects. Sometimes a 
 splendid hound in character may be more like a 
 butcher's dog than a hound in appearance, but the 
 pack cannot afford to part with him if he is really 
 good. 
 
 The casualties from leopards, boars, elk and lost 
 dogs are so great that the pack is with difficulty kept 
 up by breeding. It must be remembered that the 
 place of a lost dog cannot be easily supplied in Cey- 
 lon. Newera Ellia is one of the rare climates in Cey- 
 lon which is suited to the constitution of a dog. In the 
 low and hot climates they lead a short and miserable life, 
 which is soon ended by a liver complaint ; thus, if a 
 supply for the pack cannot be kept up by breeding, 
 hounds must be procured from England at a great ex- 
 pense and risk. 
 
 The pack now in the kennel is as near perfection as 
 can be attained for elk-hunting, comprising ten couple, 
 most of whom are nearly thorough-bred foxhounds, 
 with a few couple of immense seizers, a cross between 
 bloodhound and grayhound, and a couple of large wire- 
 haired lurchers, like the Scotch deer-hound.
 
 " Smut." 155 
 
 In describing the sport, I must be permitted to call 
 up the spirits of a few heroes, who are now dead, and 
 place them in the vacant places which they formerly 
 occupied in the pack. 
 
 The first who answers to the magic call is " Smut," 
 hero of at least four hundred deaths of elk and boar. 
 He appears the same well-remembered form of 
 strength, the sullen growl which greeted even his 
 master, the numerous scars and seams upon his body : 
 behold old " Smut !" His sire was a Manilla blood- 
 hound, which accounted for the extreme ferocity of the 
 son. His courage was indomitable, He was a large 
 dog, but not high, considering his great length, but his 
 limbs were immense in proportion. His height at the 
 shoulder was 262 inches; his girth of brisket 34 inches. 
 In his younger days he always opened upon a scent, 
 and the rocky mountains and deep valleys have often 
 echoed back his deep notes, which have now, like him- 
 self, passed away. As he grew older he became cun- 
 ning, and he ran' entirely mute, knowing well that the 
 more noise the elk heard behind him the faster he 
 WQuld run. I have frequently known him to be out 
 by himself all night, and return the next morning 
 blown out with food which he had procured for him- 
 self by pulling down a doe single-handed. When he 
 was a young dog, and gave tongue upon a scent, a 
 challenge was offered, but never accepted, that the dog 
 should find, hunt and pull down two buck elk, single- 
 handed, within a fortnight, assisted only by his master, 
 with no other weapon than a hunting-knife : there is 
 no doubt whatever that he would have performed it 
 easily. He then belonged to Lieut. Pardoe, of the 
 Fifteenth regiment.
 
 156 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 He had several pitched battles with leopards, from 
 which he has returned frightfully torn, but with his yel- 
 low hair bristled up, his head and stern erect ; and his 
 deep growl, with which he gave a dubious reception to 
 both man and beast, was on those occasions doubly 
 threatening. 
 
 I never knew a dog that combined superlative valor 
 with discretion in the degree exhibited by " Smut." I 
 have seen many dogs who would rush heedlessly upon 
 a boar's tusks to certain destruction ; but Smut would 
 never seize until the proper time arrived, and when the 
 opportunity offered he never lost it. This rendered 
 him of great value in these wild sports, where the dog 
 and his master are mutually dependent upon each other. 
 There was nothing to fear if Smut was there : whether 
 boar or buck you might advance fearlessly to him with 
 the knife, with the confidence that the dog would pin 
 the animal the instant that it turned to attack you ; and 
 when he once obtained his hold he was seldom shaken 
 oft' until in his old age, when he lost his teeth. Even 
 then he was always one of the first to seize. Although 
 comparatively useless, the spirit was ever willing ; and 
 this courage, poor fellow, at length caused his death. 
 
 The next dog who claims a tribute to his memory is 
 " Killbuck." He was an Australian grayhound of the 
 most extraordinary courage. He stood at the shoulder 
 28 inches high ; girth of brisket, 31 inches. 
 
 Instead of the surly and ferocious disposition of 
 " Smut," he was the most gentle and affectionate crea- 
 ture. It was a splendid sight to witness the bounding 
 spring of Killbuck as he pinned an elk at bay that no 
 other dog could touch. He had a peculiar knack of 
 seizing that I never saw equaled : no matter where or
 
 " Killbuck? etc. 157 
 
 in what position an elk might be, he was sure to have 
 him. When once started from the slips it was certain 
 death to the animal he coursed, and even when out of 
 view, and the elk had taken to the jungle, I have seen 
 the dog, with his nose to the ground, following upon 
 the scent at full speed like a fox-hound. I never heard 
 hint bark at game when at bay. With a bulldog cour- 
 age he would recklessly fly straight at the animal's 
 head, unheeding the wounds received in the struggle. 
 This unguided courage at length caused his death when 
 in the very prime of his life. Poor Killbuck ! His was 
 a short but glorious career, and his name will never be 
 fergotten. 
 
 Next in rotation in the chronicles of seizers appears 
 " Lena," who is still alive, an Australian bitch of great 
 size, courage and beauty, wire-haired, like a Scotch 
 deer-hound. 
 
 " Bran," a perfect model of a grayhound. 
 
 " Lucifer," combining the beauty, speed and courage 
 >f his parents, " Bran " and " Lena," in a superlative 
 degree. 
 
 There are many others that I could call from the pack 
 and introduce as first-rate hounds, but as no jealousy 
 will be occasioned by their omission, I shall be con- 
 ented with those already named. 
 
 Were I to recount the twentieth part of the scenes 
 that I have witnessed in this sport, it would fill a vol- 
 ume, and become very tedious. A few instances related 
 will at once explain the whole character of the sport, 
 and introduce a stranger to the wild hunts of the Ceylon 
 mountains. 
 
 I have already described Newera Ellia, with its alter- 
 nate plains and forests, its rapid streams and cataracts, 
 24
 
 158 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 its mountains, valleys and precipices ; but a portion of 
 tlvs country, called the Horton Plains, will need a fur 
 ther description. 
 
 Some years ago, I hunted with a brother Nimrod 
 Lieut, de Montenach, of the Fifteenth regiment, in thit 
 country ; and in two months we killed forty-three elk. 
 
 The Horton Plains are about twenty miles from 
 Newera Ellia. After a walk of sixteen miles through 
 alternate plains and forests, the steep ascent of Totapella 
 mountain is commenced by a rugged path through 
 jungle the whole way. So steep is the track that a 
 horse ascends with difficulty, and riding is of course 
 impossible. After a mile and a quarter of almost per- 
 pendicular scrambling, the summit of the pass is 
 reached, commanding a splendid view of the surround- 
 ing country, and Newera Ellia can be seen far beneath 
 in the distance. Two miles farther on, after a walk 
 through undulating forest, the Horton Plains burst sud- 
 denly upon the view as you emerge from the jungle 
 path. These plains are nearly 800 feet higher than 
 Newera Ellia, or 7000 feet above the sea. The whole 
 aspect of the country appears at once to have assumed 
 a new character ; there is a feeling of being on the top 
 of everything, and instead of a valley among surround- 
 ing hills, which is the feature of Newera Ellia and the 
 adjacent plains, a beautiful expanse of flat table-land 
 stretches before the eye, bounded by a few insignificant 
 hill-tops. There is a peculiar freedom in the Horton 
 Plains, an absence from everywhere, a wildness in the 
 thought that there is no tame animal within many miles, 
 not a village, nor hut, nor human being. It makes a 
 man feel in reality one of the " lords of the creation" 
 when he first stands upon this elevated plain, and,
 
 The Horton Plains. 159 
 
 breathing the pure thin air, he takes a survey of his 
 hunting-ground : no boundaries but mountain tops 
 and the horizon ; no fences but the trunks of decayed 
 trees fallen from old age ; no game laws but strong legs, 
 good wind and the hunting-knife ; no paths but those 
 trodden by the elk and elephant. Every nook and cor- 
 ner of this wild country is as familiar to me as my own 
 garden. There is not a valley that has not seen a burst 
 in full cry ; not a plain that has not seen the grayhounds 
 in full speed after an elk ; and not a deep pool in the 
 river that has not echoed with a bay that has made the 
 rocks ring again. 
 
 To give a person an interest in the sport the country 
 must be described minutely. The plain already men- 
 tioned as the flat table-land first seen on arrival is about 
 five miles in length and two in breath in the widest part. 
 This is tolerably level, with a few gentle undulations, 
 and is surrounded, on all sides but one, with low, for- 
 est-covered slopes. The low portions of the plains are 
 swamps, from which springs a large river, the source 
 of the Mahawelli Ganga. 
 
 From the plain now described about fifteen others 
 diverge, each springing from the parent plain, and 
 increasing in extent as they proceed ; these are con- 
 nected more or less by narrow valleys and deep ravines. 
 Through the greater portion of these plains the river 
 winds its wild course. In the first a ftiere brook, it 
 rapidly increases as it traverses the lower portions of 
 every valley, until it attains a width of twenty or thirty 
 yards within a mile of the spot where it is first discern- 
 ible as a stream. Every plain in succession being lower 
 than the first, the course of the river is extremely irreg- 
 uibr ; now a maze of tortuous windings, then a broad,
 
 160 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 still stream, bounded by grassy undulations ; now rush- 
 ing wildly through a hundred channels formed by 
 obtruding rocks, then in a still, deep pool, gathering 
 itself together for a mad leap over a yawning precipice, 
 and roaring at a hundred feet beneath, it settles in the 
 lower plain in a pool of unknown depth, and once 
 more it murmurs through another valley. 
 
 In the large pools formed by the sudden turns in the 
 river the elk generally takes his last determined stand, 
 and he sometimes keeps dogs and men at bay for a 
 couple of hours. These pools are generally about sixty 
 yards across, very deep in some parts, with a large, 
 shallow sandbank in the centre, formed by the eddy of 
 the river. 
 
 We built a hunting bivouac in a snug corner of the 
 plains, which gloried in the name of " Elk Lodge." 
 This famous hermitage was a substantial building, and 
 afforded excellent accommodation : a verandah in the 
 front, twenty-eight feet by eight ; a dining-room twenty 
 feet by twelve, with a fire-place eight feet wide ; and 
 two. bed-rooms of twenty feet by eight. Deer-hides were 
 pegged down to form a carpet upon the floors, and the 
 walls were neatly covered with talipot leaves. The 
 outhouses consisted of the kennel, stables for three 
 horses, kitchen and sheds for twenty coolies and serv- 
 ants. 
 
 The fire-place was a rough piece of art, upon which 
 we prided ourselves extremely. A party of eight per- 
 sons could have sat before it with comfort. Many a 
 roaring fire has blazed up that rude chimney ; and din- 
 ner being over, the little round table before the hearth 
 has steamed forth a fragrant attraction when the nightly 
 bowl of mulled port has taken its accustomed stand. I
 
 A Second Soyer. 161 
 
 have spent many happy hours in this said spot ; the even- 
 ings were of a decidedly social character. The day's 
 hunting over, it was a delightful hour at about seven 
 p. M. dinner just concluded, the chairs brought before 
 the fire, cigars and the said mulled port. Eight o'clock 
 was the hour for bed, and five in the morning was the 
 hour to rise, at which time a cup of hot tea and a slice 
 of toast and anchovy paste were always ready before the 
 start. The great man of our establishment was the 
 cook. This knight of the gridiron was a famous fel- 
 low, and could perform wonders ; of stoical counten- 
 ance, he was never seen to smile. His whole thoughts 
 were concentrated in the mysteries of gravies and 
 the magic transformation of one animal into another by 
 the art of cookery : in this he excelled to a marvelous 
 degree. The farce of ordering dinner was always ab- 
 surd. It was something in this style : " Cook ! " 
 ( Cook answers), " Coming, sar ! " {enter cook) : " Now, 
 cook, you make a good dinner; do you hear?" Cook: 
 "Yes, sar : master tell, I make." " Well, mulligatawny 
 soup." " Yes, sar." " Calves' head, with tongue and 
 brain-sauce." " Yes, sar." " Gravy omelette." " Yes, 
 sar."" Mjitton chops." " Yes, sar." " Fowl cotelets." 
 " Yes, sar."" Beefsteaks." " Yes, sar."" Marrow- 
 bones." " Yes, sar." " Rissoles." "Yes, sar." All 
 these various dishes he literally imitated uncommonly 
 well, the different portions of an elk being their only 
 foundation. 
 
 The kennel bench was comfortably littered, and the 
 pack took possession of their new abode with the usual 
 amount of growling and quarreling for places ; the 
 angry grumbling continuing throughout the night be- 
 tween the three champions of the kennel Smut, Bran
 
 163 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 and Killbuck. After a night much disturbed by this 
 constant quarreling, we unkenneled the hounds just as 
 the first gray streak of dawn spread above Totapella 
 peak. 
 
 The mist was hanging heavily on the lower parts of 
 the plain like a thick snowbank, although the sky was 
 beautifully clear above, in which a few pale stars still 
 glimmered. Long lines of fog were slowly drifting 
 along the bottoms of the valleys, dispelled by a light 
 breeze ; and day fast advancing bid fair for sport ; a 
 heavy dew lay upon the grass ; and we stood for some 
 moments in uncertainty as to the first point of our ex- 
 tensive hunting-grounds that we should beat. There 
 were fresh tracks of elk close to our " lodge," who had 
 been surveying our new settlement during the night. 
 Crossing the river by wading waist-deep, we skirted 
 along the banks, winding through a narrow valley with 
 grassy hills capped with forest upon either side. Our 
 object in doing this was to seek for tracks where the 
 elk had come down to drink during the night, as we 
 knew that the tracks would then lead to the jungle 
 upon either side the river. We had strolled quietly 
 along for about half a mile when the loud bark of an 
 elk was suddenly heard in the jungle upon the opposite 
 hills. In a moment the hounds dashed across the river 
 toward the well-known sound, and entered the jungle 
 at full speed. Judging the direction which the elk 
 would most probably take when found, I ran along the 
 bank of the river, down stream, for a quarter of a mile, 
 toward a jungle through which the river flowed previous 
 to its descent into the lower plains, and I waited upon 
 a steep grassy hill, about a hundred feet above the 
 river's bed. From this spot I had a fine view of the
 
 The Find. 163 
 
 ground. Immediately before me rose the hill from 
 which the elk had barked ; beneath my feet the river 
 stretched into a wide pool on its entrance to the jungle. 
 This jungle clothed the precipitous cliffs of a deep ra- 
 vine, down which the river fell in two cataracts, which 
 were concealed from view by the forest. I waited in 
 breathless expectation of " the find." A few minutes 
 passed, when the sudden burst of the pack in full cry 
 came sweeping down upon the light breeze ; loudly the 
 cheering sound swelled as they topped the hill, and 
 again it died away as they crossed some deep ravine. 
 In a few minutes the cry became very distant, as the 
 elk was evidently making straight up the hills : once or 
 twice I feared he would cross them, and make away 
 for a different part of the country. The cry of the 
 pack was so indistinct that my ear could barely catch 
 it, when suddenly a gust of wind from that direction 
 brought down a chorus of voices that there was no mis- 
 taking : louder and louder the cry became ; the elk had 
 turned, and was coming down the hill-side at a slap- 
 ping pace. The jungle crashed as he came rushing 
 through the yielding branches. Out he came, break- 
 ing cover in fine style, and away he dashed over the 
 open country. He was a noble buck, and had got a 
 long start : not a single hound had yet appeared, but I 
 heard them coming through the jungle in full cry. 
 Down the side of the hill he came straight to the pool 
 beneath my feet. Yoick to him ! Hark forward to 
 him ! and I gave a view holloa till my lungs had well- 
 nigh cracked. I had lost sight of him as he had taken 
 to water in the pool within the jungle. 
 
 One more halloa ! and out came the gallant old fel- 
 low Smut from the jungle, on the exact line that the
 
 164 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 elk had taken. On he came bounding along the rough 
 side of the hill like a lion, followed by only two dogs- 
 Dan, a pointer (since killed by a leopard), and Cato, a 
 young dog who had never yet seen an elk. The re- 
 mainder of the pack had taken after a doe that had 
 crossed the scent, and they were now running in a 
 different direction. I now imagined that the elk had 
 gone down the ravine to the lower plains by some run 
 that might exist along the edge of the cliff, and accord- 
 ingly started off along a deer-path through the jungle, 
 to arrive at the lower plains by the shortest road that I 
 could make. 
 
 Hardly had I run a hundred yards when I heard the 
 ringing of the bay and the deep voice of Smut, mingled 
 with the roar of the waterfall, to which I had been run- 
 ning parallel. Instantly changing my course, I was in 
 a few moments on the bank of the river just above the 
 fall. There stood the buck at bay in a large pool about 
 three feet deep, where the dogs could only advance by 
 swimming. Upon my jumping into the pool he broke 
 his bay, and, dashing through the dogs, appeared to 
 leap over the verge of the cataract, but in reality he 
 took to a deer-path which skirted the steep side of the . 
 wooded precipice. So steep was the inclination that I 
 could only follow on his track by clinging to the stems 
 of the trees. The roar of the waterfall, now only a few 
 feet on my right hand, completely overpowered the 
 voices of the dogs wherever they might be, and I care- 
 fully commenced a perilous descent by the side of the 
 fall, knowing that both dogs and elk must be some- 
 where before me. So stunning was the roar of the 
 water that a cannon might have been fired without 
 my hearing it. I was now one-third of the way down
 
 The Bay. 165 
 
 the fall, which was about fifty feet deep. A large flat 
 rock projected from the side of the clifT, forming a plat- 
 form of about six feet square, over one corner of which 
 the water struck and again bounded downward. This 
 platform could only be reached by a narrow ledge of 
 rock, beneath which, at a depth of thirty feet, the water 
 boiled at the foot of the fall. Upon this platform stood 
 the buck, having gained his secure but frightful posi- 
 tion by passing along the narrow ledge of rock. 
 Should either dog or man attempt to advance, one 
 charge from the buck would send them'to perdition, as 
 they would fall into the abyss below. This the dogs 
 were fully aware of, and they accordingly kept up a 
 continual bay from the edge of the clifT, while I at- 
 tempted to dislodge him by throwing stones and sticks 
 upon him from above. Finding this uncomfortable, he 
 made a sudden dash forward, and, striking the dogs 
 over, away he went down the steep sides of the ravine, 
 followed once more by the dogs and myself. 
 
 By clinging from tree to tree and lowering myself 
 by the tangled creepers, I was soon at the foot of the 
 first fall, which plunged into a deep pool on a flat 
 plateau of rock bounded on either side by a wall-like 
 precipice. 
 
 This plateau was about eighty feet in length, through 
 which the water flowed in two rapid but narrow streams 
 from the foot of the first fall toward a second cataract 
 at the extreme end. This second fall leaped from the 
 centre of the ravine into the lower plain. 
 
 When I arrived on this fine level surface of rock, a 
 splendid sight presented itself. In the centre of one of 
 the rapid streams the buck stood at bay, belly-deep, with 
 the torrent rushing in foam between his legs. His mane
 
 1 66 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 was bristled up, his nostrils were distended, and his 
 antlers were lowered to receive the dog who should 
 first attack him. I happened to have a spear on that 
 occasion, so that I felt he could not escape, and I gave 
 the baying dogs a loud cheer on. Poor Cato ! it was 
 his first elk, and he little knew the danger of a buck at 
 bay in such a strong position. Answering with youth- 
 ful ardor to my halloa, the young dog sprang boldly at 
 the elk's face, but, caught upon the ready antlers, he 
 was instantly dashed senseless upon the rocks. Now 
 for old Smut, the hero of countless battles, who, though 
 pluck to the back-bone, always tempers his valor with 
 discretion ! 
 
 Yoick to him, Smut! and I jumped into the water. 
 The buck made a rush forward, but at that moment a 
 mass of yellow hair dangled before his eyes as the true 
 old dog hung upon his cheek. Now came the tug of 
 war only one seizer ! The spring had been so great, 
 and the position of the buck was so secure, that the dog 
 had missed the ear, and only held by the cheek. The 
 elk, in an instant, saw his advantage, and quickly 
 thrusting his sharp brow antlers into the dog's chest, 
 he reared to his full height and attempted to pin the 
 apparently fated Smut against a rock. That had been 
 the last of Smut's days of prowess had I not fortunately 
 had a spear. I could just reach the elk's shoulder in 
 time to save the dog. After a short but violent strug- 
 gle, the buck yielded up his spirit. He was a noble 
 fellow, and pluck to the last. 
 
 Having secured his horns to a bush, lest he should be 
 washed away by the torrent, I examined the dogs. 
 Smut was wounded in two places, but not severely, and 
 Cato had just recovered his senses, but was so bruised
 
 Return of Lost Dogs. 167 
 
 as to move with great difficulty. In addition to this he 
 had a deep wound from the buck's horn under the 
 shoulder. 
 
 The great number of elks at the Horton Plains, and 
 the open character of the country, make the hunting a 
 far more enjoyable sport than it is in Newera Ellia, 
 where the plains are of much smaller extent, and the 
 jungles are frightfully thick. During a trip of two 
 months at the Horton Plains, we killed forty-three elks, 
 exclusive of about ten, which the pack ran into and 
 killed by themselves, bringing home the account of their 
 performances in distended stomachs. These occur- 
 rences frequently happen when the elk takes away 
 through an impervious country, through which a man 
 cannot possibly follow. In such cases, the pack is 
 either beaten off, or they pull the elk down and devour 
 it. 
 
 This was exemplified some time ago, when the three 
 best dogs were nearly lost. A doe elk broke cover from 
 a small jungle at the Horton Plains, and, instead of 
 taking across the patinas (plains), she doubled back to 
 an immense pathless jungle, closely followed by three 
 grayhounds Killbuck, Bran and Lena. The first dog, 
 who ran beautifully by nose, led the way, and their di- 
 rection was of course unknown, as the dogs were all 
 mute. Night came, and they had not returned. The 
 next day passed away, but without a sign of the missing 
 dogs. I sent natives to search the distant jungles and 
 ravines in all directions. Three days passed away, and 
 I gave up all hope of them. We were sitting at dinner 
 one night, the fire was blazing cheerfully within, but 
 the rain was pouring without, the wind was howling in 
 fitful gusts, and neither moon nor stars relieved the
 
 1 68 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 pitchy darkness of the night, when the conversation 
 naturally turned to the poor lost dogs. What a night 
 for the poor brutes to be exposed to, roaming about the 
 wet jungles without a chance of return ! 
 
 A sudden knock at the door arrested our attention ; 
 it opened. Two natives stood there, dripping with wet 
 and shivering with cold. One had in his hand an elk's 
 head, much gnawed ; the other man, to my delight, led 
 the three lost dogs. They had run their elk down, and 
 were found by the side of a rocky river several miles 
 distant the two dogs asleep in a cave, and the bitch 
 was gnawing the remains of the half-consumed animal. 
 The two men who had found them were soon squatted 
 before a comfortable fire, with a good feed of curry 
 and rice, and their skins full of brandy. 
 
 Although the elks are so numerous at the Horton 
 Plains, the sport at length becomes monotonous from 
 the very large proportion of the does. The usual ratio 
 in which they were killed was one buck to eight does. 
 I cannot at all account for this small proportion of 
 bucks in this particular spot. At Newera Ellia they 
 are as two to three, as compared with the does. The 
 following extract of deaths, taken from my game-book 
 during three months of the year, will give a tolerably 
 accurate idea of the number killed : 
 
 1852. March 24. Doe - - Killed in the Elk Plains. 
 
 30. Two Does Killed in Newera Ellia Plain. 
 
 April 3. Doe - - Killed at the foot of Hack Galla. 
 
 5. Buck - - Killed at the foot of Pedro. 
 
 8. Doe - - Killed at the top of the Pass. 
 
 13. Buck - - Killed at the foot of the Pass. 
 
 16. Buck - - Killed in the river at the Pass. 
 
 19. Doe - - Killed on the patinas on Badulla road 
 
 21. Buck - - Killed in the river at the base of Pedro.
 
 A Tolerable List. 169 
 
 1852. April 23. Buck - - Killed in Matturatto Plain. 
 
 25. Doe - - Killed in the Elk Plains. 
 
 25. Sow - - Killed in the Elk Plains. 
 
 27. Boar - - Killed at the Limestone Quarry. 
 May 3. Sow - - Killed in the Elk Plains. 
 
 6. Two Does Killed in the Barrack Plain. 
 
 10. Two Does One killed in the Barrack Plain, and the 
 
 other at the bottom of the Pass. 
 
 12. Buck - - Killed in Newera Ellia Plain. 
 
 4 19. Buck - - Killed in the Newera Ellia River. 
 
 22. Doe - - Killed at the Pioneer Lines Laboukelle. 
 
 31. Two does Killed in the Barrack Plain. 
 
 June 5. Buck - - Killed at the foot of Pedro. 
 
 8. Buck - - Killed in the Barrack Plain, 
 n. Two Bucks Killed on Kicklamase Patina. 
 
 24. Two Does Killed on Newera Ellia Plain. 
 
 28. Boar - - Killed on Elk Plains. 
 
 29. Doe - - Killed at the "Rest and be Thankful " 
 
 bottom 
 Total 28 Elk, ii Bucks, 17 Does and 4 Hogs. 
 
 This is a tolerable show of game when it is consid- 
 ered that the sport continues from year to year : there 
 are no seasons at which time the game is spared, but the 
 hunting depends simply on the weather. Three times 
 a week the pack turns out in the dry season, and upon 
 every fine day during the wet months. It -must appear 
 a frightful extravagance to English ideas to feed the 
 hounds upon venison, but as it costs nothing it is a 
 cheaper food than beef, and no other flesh is procurable 
 in sufficient quantity. Venison is in its prime when 
 the elk's horns are in velvet. At this season, when the 
 new antlers have almost attained their full growth, they 
 are particularly tender, and the buck moves slowly and 
 cautiously through the jungle, lest he should injure them 
 against the branches, taking no further exercise than is 
 
 15
 
 170 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 necessary in the search of food. He therefore grows 
 very fat, and is then in fine condition. 
 
 The speed of an elk, although great, cannot be com- 
 pared to that of the spotted deer. I have seen the latter 
 almost distance the best greyhounds for the first 'wo 
 hundred yards, but with this class of dogs the elk has 
 no chance upon fair open ground. Coursing the elk, 
 therefore, is a short-lived sport, as the grayhounds run 
 into him immediately, and a tremendous struggle then 
 ensues, which must be terminated as soon as possible 
 by the knife, otherwise the dogs would most probably 
 be wounded. I once saw Killbuck perform a wonder- 
 ful feat in seizing. A buck elk broke cover in the Elk 
 Plains, and I slipped a brace of grayhounds after him, 
 Killbuck and Bran. The buck had a start of about two 
 hundred yards, but the speed of the grayhounds told 
 rapidly upon him, and after a course of a quarter of a 
 mile they were at his haunches, Killbuck leading. The 
 next instant he sprang in full fly, and got his hold by 
 the ear. So sudden was the shock that the buck turned 
 a complete somersault, but, recovering himself imme- 
 diately, he regained his feet and started ofF at a gallop 
 down hill toward a stream, the dog still hanging on. 
 In turning over in his fall the ear had twisted round, 
 and Killbuck, never having left his hold, was therefore 
 on his back, in which position he was dragged at great 
 speed over the ragged ground. Notwithstanding the 
 difficulty of his position, he would not give up his hold. 
 In the mean time Bran kept seizing the other ear, but 
 continually lost his hold as the ear gave way. Kill- 
 buck's weight kept the buck's head on a level with his 
 knees ; and after a run of some hundred yards, during 
 the whole of which the clog had been dragged upon his
 
 Veddah Ripped by a Boar. 171 
 
 back without once losing his hold, the elk's pace was 
 reduced to a walk. With both greyhounds now hang- 
 ing on his ears, the buck reached the river, and he and 
 the dogs rolled down the steep bank into the deep 
 water. I came up just at this moment and killed the 
 elk, but both dogs were frightfully wounded, and for 
 some time I despaired of their recovery. 
 
 This was an extraordinary feat in seizing ; but Kill- 
 buck was matchless in this respect, and accordingly of 
 great value, as he was sure to retain his hold when he 
 once got it. This is an invaluable qualification in a 
 dog, especially with boars, as any uncertainty in the 
 dog's hold renders the advance of the man doubly dan- 
 gerous. I have frequently seen hogs free themselves 
 from a dog's hold at the very moment that I have put 
 the knife into them : this with a large boar is likely to 
 cause an accident. 
 
 I once saw a Veddah who nearly lost his life by one 
 of these animals. He was hunting " guanas" (a species 
 of large lizard which is eaten by all the natives), with 
 several small dogs, and they suddenly found a large 
 boar, who immediately stood to bay. The Veddah ad- 
 vanced to the attack with his bow and arrows ; but he 
 had no sooner wounded the beast than he was sud- 
 denly charged with great fury. In an instant the boar 
 was into him, and the next moment the Veddah was 
 lying on the ground with his bowels out. Fortunately 
 a companion was with him, who replaced his entrails 
 and bandaged him up. I saw the man some years 
 after; he was perfectly .well, but he had a frightful 
 swelling in the front of the belly, traversed by a wide 
 blue scar of about eight inches in length. 
 
 A boar is at all times a desperate antagonist, where
 
 172 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 
 the hunting-knife and dogs, are the only available wea- 
 pons. The largest that I ever killed wejghed four hun- 
 dredweight. I was out hunting accompanied by my 
 youngest brother. We had walked through several 
 jungles without success, but on entering a thick jungle 
 in the Elk Plains, we immediately noticed the fresh 
 ploughings of an immense boar. In a few minutes we 
 heard the pack at bay without a run, and, shortly after, 
 a slow running bay there was no mistake as to our 
 game. He disdained to run, and, after walking before 
 the pack for about three minutes, he stood to a deter- 
 mined bay. The jungle was frightfully thick, and we 
 hastily tore our way through the tangled underwood 
 toward the spot. We had two stanch dogs by our side, 
 Lucifer and Lena, and when within twenty paces of 
 the bay we gave them a holloa on. Away they dashed 
 to the invisible place of conflict, and we almost im- 
 mediately heard the fierce grunting and roaring of the 
 boar. We knew that they had him, and scrambled 
 through the jungle as fast as we could toward the field 
 of battle. There was a fight! the underwood was 
 leveled, and the boar rushed to and fro with Smut, 
 Bran, Lena and Lucifer, all upon him. Yoick to 
 him ! and some of the most daring of the maddened 
 pack went in. The next instant we were upon him 
 mingled with a confused mass of hounds, and throwing 
 our whole weight upon the boar, we gave him repeated 
 thrusts, apparently to little purpose. Round came his 
 head and gleaming tusks to the attack of his fresh ene- 
 mies, but old Smut held him by the nose, and, although 
 the bright tusks were immediately buried in his throat, 
 the stanch old dog kept his hold. Away went the boar 
 covered by a mass of dogs, and bearing the greater part
 
 A Melee. 173 
 
 of our weight in addition, as we hung on to the hunt- 
 ing-knives buried in his shoulders. For about fifty 
 paces he tore through the thick jungle, crashing it like 
 a cobweb. At length he again halted ; the dogs, the 
 boar and ourselves were mingled in a heap of confu- 
 sion, All covered with blood and dirt, our own cheers 
 added to the wild bay of the infuriated hounds and the 
 savage roaring of the boar. Still he fought and gashed 
 the dogs right aijd left. He stood about thirty-eight 
 inches high, and the largest dogs seemed like puppies 
 beside him ; still not a dog relaxed his hold, and he 
 was covered with wounds. "I made a lucky thrust for 
 the nape of his neck. I felt the point of the knife touch 
 the bone ; the spine was divided, and he fell dead. 
 
 Smut had two severe gashes in the throat, Lena was 
 cut under the ear, and Bran's mouth was opened com- 
 pletely up to his ear in a horrible wound. The dogs 
 were completely exhausted, and lay panting around 
 their victim. We cut off the boar's head, and, slinging 
 it upon a pole, we each shouldered an end and carried 
 it to the kennel. The power of this animal must have 
 been immense. My brother's weight and mine, to- 
 gether being upward of twenty-four stone, in addition 
 to that of half a dozen heavy dogs, did not appear to 
 trouble him, and had we not been close to the spot 
 when he came to bay, so that the knives came to the 
 instant succor of the dogs, he would have most prob- 
 ably killed or wounded half the pack. 
 
 In this wild and rough kind of sport the best dogs 
 are constantly most seriously wounded, and after a fight 
 of this kind needles and thread and bandages are in fre- 
 quent requisition. It is wonderful to see the rapid re- 
 covery of dogs from wounds which at first sight appear 
 16*
 
 1 74 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 incurable. An instance occurred a short time ago 
 when I certainly gave up one of the best dogs for lost 
 We had found a buck, who after a sharp run came to 
 bay in a deep part of the river known by the name of 
 Black Pool. My youngest brother (who is always my 
 companion in hunting) and I were at some distance, 
 but feeling certain of the locality of the bay, we started 
 off at full speed toward the supposed spot. A run of a 
 mile, partly through jungle leading into a deep wooded 
 ravine, brought us to the river, which flowed through 
 the hollow, and upon approaching the water we dis- 
 tinctly heard the pack at bay at some distance down 
 the stream. Before we could get up, the buck dashed 
 down the river, and turning sharp up the bank he took 
 up the hill through a dense jungle. Every hound was 
 at fault, except two, who were close at his heels, and 
 being very fast they never lost sight of him. These two 
 dogs were Merriman and Tiptoe ; and having followed 
 the whole pack to their track, we soon heard them in 
 full cry on the top of the high hills which overlook the 
 river ; they were coming down the hill-side at full 
 speed toward the Black Pool. Hiding behind the 
 trees lest we should head the buck, who we now heard 
 crashing toward us through the jungle, we suddenly 
 caught a glimpse of his dun hide as he bounded past us 
 and splashed into the river. A few seconds after, and 
 Tiptoe, the leading hound, came rushing on his track, 
 but to our horror he was dragging his entrails after 
 him. The excitement of the chase recognized no pain, 
 and the plucky animal actually plunged into the river, 
 and in spite of his mangled state he swam across and 
 disappeared in the jungle on the opposite side upon the 
 track which the elk had taken. The pack now closed
 
 Old Smut's Ruse. 175 
 
 up, and swimming the river they opened upon a hot 
 scent on the opposite bank, and running parallel to 
 the stream they drove the buck out of the jungle, and 
 he came to bay in a rocky part of the river, where 
 the velocity of the torrent swept every dog past him 
 and rendered his position secure. The whole pack was 
 there with the exception of Tiptoe ; we looked for him 
 among the baying hounds in vain. For about twenty 
 minutes the buck kept his impregnable position, when 
 in a foolish moment he forsook it, and dashing along 
 the torrent he took to deep water. The whole pack 
 was after him ; once Merriman got a hold, but was im- 
 mediately beaten off. Valiant, who was behaving 
 nobly and made repeated attempts to seize, was struck 
 beneath the water as often as he advanced. The old 
 veteran Smut was well to the point, and his deep voice 
 was heard loud above the din of the bay ; but he could 
 do nothing. The buck had a firm footing, and was 
 standing shoulder-deep ; rearing to his full height, and, 
 springing at the dogs as they swain toward him, he 
 struck them beneath the water with his fore feet. The 
 bay lasted for half an hour ; at the expiration of this 
 time a sudden thought appeared to strike old Smut : 
 instead of continuing the attack, he swam direct for the 
 shore, leaving the buck still occupied with the baying 
 pack. The elk was standing about fourteen feet from 
 the bank, which was covered with jungle. Presently 
 we saw the cunning old hero Smut creeping like a 
 leopard along the edge of the bank till opposite the 
 elk ; he slowly retreated for a few paces, and the next 
 moment he was seen flying through the air, having 
 made a tremendous spring at the elk's ear. A cloud 
 of spray for an instant concealed the effect. Both dog
 
 176 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 and buck were for a few moments beneath the water; 
 when they reappeared, the old dog was hanging on 
 nis ear. Merriman at once had him by the other ear ; 
 and one after another the seizers had him. In vain he 
 tried to drown them off by diving ; as his head again 
 rose above the surface the dogs were at their places : 
 his struggles were useless, and the knife finished him. 
 
 We now searched the jungle for Tiptoe's body, ex- 
 pecting to find him dead where we had last seen him 
 enter the jungle. Upon reaching the spot we found him 
 lying down with his bowels in a heap by his side ; the 
 quantity would have filled a hat. The hole in his side 
 was made by a blow from the buck's hoof, and not 
 being more than two inches in length strangulation had 
 taken place, and I could not return the bowels. The 
 dog was still alive, though very faint. Fortunately we 
 had a smalL-bladed knife, with which I carefully en- 
 larged the aperture, and, having cleaned the bowels 
 from the dirt and dead leaves which had adhered to 
 them, I succeeded in returning them, although I ex- 
 pected the dog's death every instant. Taking off my 
 neck-tie, I made a pad, with which I secured the aper- 
 ture, and bound him tightly round with a handkerchief. 
 Making a sling with a couple of jackets upon a pole, 
 we. placed the dog carefully within it and carried him 
 home. By dressing the wound every day with mar- 
 gosse oil, and keeping the pad and bandage in the 
 place, to my astonishment the dog recovered, and he is 
 now as well as ever he was, with the exception of the 
 loss of one eye, which was knocked out by the horn of 
 an elk on another occasion. 
 
 The margosse oil that I have mentioned is a most 
 Valuable balsam for wounds, having a peculiar smell,
 
 Margosse Oil. iff 
 
 which prevents the attacks of flies, who would other- 
 wise blow the wound and occasion a nest of maggots in 
 a few hours. This oil is very healing, and soon creates 
 a healthy appearance in a bad cut. It is manufactured 
 from the fruit of a plant in Ceylon, but I have never 
 met with it in the possession of an English medical 
 man. The smell of this oil is very offensive, even 
 worse than assafcetida, which it in some degrees resem- 
 bles. There are many medicinal plants in Ceylon of 
 great value, which, although made use of by the na- 
 tives, are either neglected or unknown to the profession 
 in our own country. One of the wild fruits of the jun- 
 gle, the wood-apple or wild quince, is very generally 
 used by the natives in attack of diarrhoea and dysentery 
 in the early stages of the disease ; this has been used 
 for some years by English medical men in this island, 
 bu vith no very satisfactory effect. 
 
 M
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A MORNING'S DEER-COURSING KONDAWATAWENY ROGUE AT 
 K.ONDAWATAWENY A CLOSE SHAVE PREPARATIONS FOR 
 CATCHING AN ELEPHANT CATCHING AN ELEPHANT TAMING 
 HIM FLYING SHOT AT A BUCK CAVE AT DIMBOOLDENE 
 AWKWARD GROUND A CHARMED LIFE. 
 
 IT was in July, 1848, that I pitched my tent in the 
 portion of Ceylon known as the " Park," for the 
 purpose|of deer-coursing. I had only three grayhounds, 
 Killbuck, Bran and Lena, and these had been carried 
 in a palanquin from Newera Ellia, a distance of one hun- 
 dred miles. The grass had all been burnt about two 
 months previously, and the whole country was perfectly 
 fresh and green, the young shoots not being more than 
 half a foot high. The deer were numerous but wild, 
 which made the sport the more enjoyable. I cannot 
 describe the country better than by comparing it to a 
 rich English park, well watered by numerous streams 
 and large rivers, but ornamented by many beautiful 
 rocky mountains, which are not to be met with in Eng- 
 land. If this part of the country had the advantage of 
 the Newera Ellia climate, it would be a Paradise, but 
 the intense heat destroys much of the pleasure in both 
 shooting and coursing, especially in the latter sport, as 
 the grayhounds must be home by 8 A. M., or they would 
 soon die from the effects of the sun. 
 178
 
 A Morning's Deer-coursing. 179 
 
 It was in the cool hour of sunrise, when the dew lay 
 thickly upon the grass, and the foliage glistened with 
 the first beams of morning, that we stalked over the ex- 
 tensive plains with Killbuck and Lena in the slips in 
 search of deer. Several herds winded us at a distance 
 of half a mile, and immediately bounded away, render- 
 ing pursuit impossible ; and we determined not to slip 
 the dogs unless they had a fair start, as one run in this 
 climate was quite work enough for a morning. After 
 several disappointments in stalking, we at length dis- 
 covered a noble buck standing, alone by the edge of a 
 narrow belt of jungle ; the instant that he observed us, 
 he stepped proudly into .the cover. This being open 
 forest, my brother took the grayhounds in at the spot 
 where the deer had entered, while I ran round to the 
 opposite side of the cover, and took my position upon 
 an extensive lawn of fine grass about half a mile in 
 width. 
 
 I had not remained a minute at my post before I 
 heard a crash in the jungle, as though an elephant wei-e 
 charging through, and in another instant a splendid 
 buck burst upon the plain at full speed, and away he 
 flew over the level lawn, with the brace of grayhounds 
 laying out about fifty paces behind him. Here was a 
 fair trial of speed over a perfect bowling-green, .and 
 away they flew, the buck exerting his utmost stride, 
 and the grayhounds stretching out till their briskets 
 touched the ground ; Killbuck leading with tremendous 
 bounds, and Lena about a length behind him. 
 
 By degrees the beautiful spring of the grayhounds 
 appeared to tell, and the distance between them and 
 the buck gradually decreased, although both deer and 
 dogs flew along with undiminished speed. The plain
 
 180 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 was nearly crossed, and the opposite jungle lay within 
 two hundred yards of them. To gain this the buck re- 
 doubled his exertions : the grayhounds knew as well as 
 he did that it was his chance of escape, and with equal 
 efforts they pressed upon him. Not fifty paces now 
 separated the buck from the jungle, and with prodi- 
 gious bounds he sped along ; he neared it, he won it ; 
 the yielding branches crashed before him, but the dogs 
 were at his haunches as the jungle closed over them 
 and concealed the chase. 
 
 I was soon up ; and upon entering the jungle I could 
 neither hear nor see anything of them, but, by follow- 
 ing up the track, I found them about fifty yards from 
 the entrance to the jungle. The buck was standing on 
 the sandy bed of a dry stream, endeavoring in vain to 
 free himself, while the grayhounds pinned his nose to 
 the ground, each hanging upon his ears. The knife 
 finished him immediately. There never was a more 
 exciting course; it had been nobly run by both the 
 dogs and well contested by the buck, who was a 
 splendid fellow and in fine condition. 
 
 On my way to the tent, I wounded a doe at full 
 speed, which Lena followed singly and pulled down, 
 thus securing our coolies a good- supply of venison. 
 The flesh of the spotted deer is more like mutton than 
 English venison, and is excellent eating ; it would be 
 still better if the climate would allow of its being kept 
 for a few days. 
 
 There is no sport in Ceylon, in my opinion, that is 
 equal to deer-coursing, but the great difficulty attend- 
 ing it is the lack of good grayhounds. The spotted 
 buck (or axis) is an animal of immense power and 
 courage ; and although most grayhounds would course
 
 Kondcrwata-weny. 181 
 
 him, very few would have sufficient courage and 
 strength to hold him, unless .slipped two brace at a 
 time, which would immediately spoil the sport. A 
 brace of grayhounds to one buck is fair play, and a 
 good strong horse will generally keep them in view. 
 In two weeks' coursing in the Park we killed seventeen 
 deer with three grayhounds ; at the expiration of which 
 time the dogs were so footsore and wounded by the 
 hard, burnt stubble of the old grass that they were 
 obliged to be sent home. 
 
 When the grayhounds had left, I turned my attention 
 o elephants. There were very few at this season in 
 the Park, and I therefore left this part of the country, 
 which was dried up, and proceeded to Kondawataweny, 
 in the direction of Batticaloa. Kondawataweny is a 
 small village, inhabited by Moormen, situated on the 
 edge of a large lake or tank. Upon arrival, I found 
 that the neighborhood was alive with game of all kinds, 
 and the Moormen were excellent hands at elephants. 
 There was accordingly no difficulty in procuring good 
 gun-bearers and trackers, and at 4 P.M. of the day of 
 our arrival we started to make a circuit of the tank in 
 quest of elephants. At about 5 P.M. we observed 
 several tank rogues scattered in various directions 
 around the tank ; one of these fellows, whose close ac- 
 quaintance I made with the telescope, I prophesied 
 would show some fight before we owned his tail. This 
 elephant was standing some distance in the water, feed- 
 ing and bathing. There were two elephants close to 
 the water's edge between him and- us, and we deter- 
 mined to have a shot at them en passant, and then try 
 'o bag the big fellow. 
 
 Althoug} we stalk id very cautiously along the edge
 
 tSs The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 of the jungle which surrounded the lake, divided from 
 it by a strip of plain of about two hundred yards in 
 width, the elephants winded us and retreated over the 
 patina* at full speed toward the jungle. Endeavoring 
 to cut them off before they could reach the thick cover, 
 \ve ran at our best pace along the edge of the jungle, so 
 as to meet them at right angles. One reached the 
 jungle before us, but a. lucky shot at a distance of sixty 
 paces floored the other, who lay struggling on the 
 ground, and was soon extinguished. Having reloaded, 
 we went in quest of the large rogue, who was bathing 
 in the tank. This gentleman had decamped, having 
 taken offence at the firing. 
 
 Close to the e^dge of the tank grew a patch of thick 
 thorny jungle of about two acres, completely isolated 
 and separated from the main jungle by about eighty 
 paces' length of fine turf. The Moormen knew the habits 
 of this rogue, who was well known in the neighbor- 
 hood, and they at once said that lie had concealed him- 
 self in the small patch of jungle. Upon examining the 
 tracks from the tank, we found they were correct. 
 
 The question was, how to dislodge him ; the jungle 
 was so dense that it was impossible to enter, and driv- 
 ing was the only chance. 
 
 There was a small bush within a few paces of the 
 main jungle, exactly opposite that in which the elephant 
 was concealed, and we determined to hide behind this 
 while a few Moormen should endeavor to drive him 
 from his retreat, in which case he would be certain to 
 make for the main forest, and would most probably 
 pass near the bush behind which we lay in wait for him 
 Giving the Moormen a gun, we took to our hiding- 
 * Grassy plains.
 
 *' Rogue " at Kondaivataiveny. 183 
 
 place. The men went round to the tank side of the 
 patch of jungle, and immediately commenced shouting 
 and firing, securing themselves from an attack by climb- 
 ing into the highest trees. A short interval elapsed, 
 and not a sound of the elephant could be heard. The 
 firing and shouting ceased, and all was as still as death. 
 Some of the Moormen returned from the jungle, and 
 declared that the elephant was not there, but this was 
 all nonsense ; the fact was, they did not like the idea of 
 driving him out. Knowing the character of these 
 " rogues," I felt convinced that he was one of the worst 
 description, and that he was quietly waiting his time 
 until some one should advance within his reach. Hav- 
 ing given the Moormen a supply of powder, I again 
 despatched them to drive the jungle. Once more the 
 firing and shouting commenced, and continued until their 
 supply of powder was exhausted : no effects had been 
 produced ; it was getting late, and the rogue appeared 
 determined not to move. A dead silence ensued, 
 which was presently disturbed by the snapping of a 
 bough ; in another moment the jungle crashed, and 
 forth stepped the object of our pursuit. He was a mag- 
 nificent elephant, one of the most vicious in appearance 
 that I have ever seen ; he understood the whole affair 
 as well as we did ; and flourishing his trunk, he paced 
 quickly backward and forward fdr a few turns before 
 the jungle he had just quitted, and, suddenly making 
 his resolution, he charged straight at the bush behind 
 which we had imagined ourselves 'concealed. He was 
 about eighty yards off when he commenced his onset ; 
 and seeing that we were discovered, I left the hiding- 
 place and stepped to the front of the bush to meet him 
 with the four-ounce rifle. On he came at a great pace]
 
 184 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 carrying his head very high, and making me the sole 
 object of his attack. I made certain of the shot, al- 
 though his head was in a difficult position, and I accord- 
 ingly waited for him till he was within fifteen paces. 
 At this distance I took a steady shot and fired. A cloud 
 of smoke, from the heavy charge of powder, obscured 
 everything, but I felt so certain that he was down that 
 I looked under the smoke to see where he lay. Ye 
 gods ! He was just over me in full charge ! I had not 
 even checked him by the shot, and he was within three 
 feet of me, going at a tremendous pace. Throwing my 
 heavy rifle into the bush, I doubled quickly to one side, 
 hoping that he would pass me and take to the main 
 jungle, to which I ran parallel as fast as my legs could 
 carry me. Instead of taking to the jungle, he turned 
 short and quickly after me, and a fair race commenced. 
 I had about three feet start of him, and I saw with de- 
 light that the ground was as level and smooth as a lawn ; 
 there was no fear of tripping up, and away I went at 
 the fastest pace that I ever ran either before or since, 
 taking a look behind me to see how the chase went on. 
 I saw the bullet-mark in his forehead, which was cov- 
 ered with blood ; his trunk was stretched to its full 
 length to catch me, and was now within two feet of my 
 back : he was gaining on me, although I was running 
 at a tremendous pace. I could not screw an inch more 
 speed out of my legs, and I kept on, with the brute 
 gaining upon me at every stride. He was within a foot 
 of me, and I had not heard a shot fired and not a soul 
 had come to the rescue. The sudden thought struck 
 me that my brother could not possibly overtake the 
 elephant at the pace at which we were going, and I 
 suddenly doubled short to my left into the open plain,
 
 Catching an Elephant. 185 
 
 and back toward the guns. The rogue overshot me. I 
 met my brother close to his tail, which position he had 
 with difficulty maintained ; but he could not get a shot, 
 and the elephant turned into the jungle and disappeared 
 just as I escaped him by a sharp turn. This was a close 
 shave ; had not the ground been perfectly level, I must 
 have been caught to a certainty, and even as it was he 
 would have had me in another stride had I not turned 
 from my straight course. It was nearly dark, and we 
 returned to the tent, killing several peacocks and ducks 
 on our way, with which the country swarmed. 
 
 We passed a miserable night, not being able to sleep 
 on account of the mosquitoes, which were in swarms. 
 I was delighted to see the first beam of morning, when 
 our little winged enemies left us, and a " chatty bath" 
 was most enjoyable after the restless tossings of a sleep- 
 less night. The Moormen were out at dawn to look 
 for elephants, the guns were cleaned, and I looked for- 
 ward to the return of the trackers with peculiar interest, 
 as we had determined to " catch an elephant" The 
 Moormen were full of excitement and preparation. 
 These men were well practiced in this sport, and they 
 were soon busied in examining and coiling their hide 
 ropes for the purpose. 
 
 At about mid-day the trackers returned, having found 
 a herd about five miles from the village. We were all 
 ready, and we set off without a moment's delay, our 
 party consisting of my brother, myself, four gun-bearers, 
 and about thirty Moormen, each of whom carried a coil 
 of finely-twisted rope made of thongs of raw deer's hide : 
 these ropes were each twenty yards in length and about 
 an inch in diameter. 
 
 Having skirted the borders of the tank for about three 
 IS*
 
 186 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 miles, we turned into the forest, and continued our 
 route through alternate open and thick forests, until we 
 at length reached a rough, open country interspersed 
 with low jungles. Here we met the watchers, who 
 reported the herd to be a few hundred paces from us. 
 in some patches of thick jungle. Taking the wind, we 
 carefully approached their position. The ground was 
 very rough, being a complete city of ant-hills about 
 two feet high ; these were overgrown with grass, giving 
 the open country an appearance of a vast churchyard 
 of turf graves. Among these tumps grew numerous 
 small clusters of bushes, above which we shortly dis- 
 covered the flapping ears of the elephants ; they were 
 slowly feeding toward the more open ground. It was 
 a lovely afternoon, the sky was covered with a thin 
 gray cloud, and the sun had little or no power. Hiding 
 behind a bush, we watched the herd for some time, 
 until they had all quitted the bushes and were well out 
 in the open. There were two elephants facing us, and 
 the herd, which consisted of seven, were tolerably close 
 together, with the exception of one, who was about 
 thirty yards apart from the main body ; this fellow we 
 determined to catch. We therefore arranged that our 
 gun-bearers and four rope-carriers thould accompany 
 us, while the remaining portion of our party should lie 
 in reserve to come to our assistance when required, as 
 so large a body of men could not possibly stalk the herd 
 without being discovered. Falling upon our hands and 
 knees, we crept between the grassy ant-hills toward the 
 two leading elephants, who were facing us. The wind 
 was pretty brisk, and the ant-hills effectually concealed 
 us till we were within seven paces of our game. The 
 two leaders then both dropped dead to the front shot.
 
 Catching an Elephant. i8/ 
 
 V 
 and the fun began. The guns were so well handed up 
 
 that we knocked over the six elephants before they had 
 given us a run of twenty yards, and we all closed up 
 and ran tinder the tail of the retreating elephant that we 
 had devoted to the ropes. He was going at about seven 
 miles an hour ; we therefore had no difficulty in keep- 
 ing up with him, as we could run between the ant-hills 
 much faster than he could. The ropes were in readi- 
 ness, and with great dexterity one of the Moormen 
 slipped a noose over one of his hind feet as he raiced it 
 frem the ground, and drawing it tight, he dropped his 
 coil. We all halted and allowed the unconscious ele- 
 phant to run out his length of line ; this he soon did, 
 and the rope trailed after him like a long snake, we all 
 following at about the centre of the length of rope or 
 twenty paces behind him. He was making for the jun- 
 gle, which was not far distant, and we were running 
 him like a pack of hounds, but keeping a gun in readi- 
 ness, lest he should turn and charge. He at length 
 reached the wooded bank of a dry river, and thick rattan 
 jungle bordered the opposite side ; he thought he was 
 safe, and he plunged down the crumbling bank. We 
 were a little too quick for him by taking a double turn 
 round a tree with the slack end of the rope just as he 
 descended the bank ; the effect of this was to bring him 
 to a sudden stand-still, and the stretching of the hide 
 rope threw him upon his knees. He recovered him- 
 self immediately, and used extraordinary efforts to break 
 the rope : tightening the rope to its utmost length, he 
 suddenly lifted up his tied leg and threw his whole 
 weight forward. Any but a hide rope of that diameter 
 must have given way, but this stretched like a harp- 
 string, and, at every effort to break it the yielding elas*
 
 l88 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 ticity of the hide threw him upon his head, and the 
 sudden contraction after the fall jerked his leg back to 
 its full length, 
 
 After many vain but tremendous efforts to free him- 
 self, he turned his rage upon his pursuers and charged 
 every one right and left ; but he was safely tied, and 
 we took some little pleasure in teasing him. He had 
 no more chance than a fly in a spider's web. As he 
 charged in one direction several nooses were thrown 
 round his hind legs ; then his trunk was caught in a 
 slipknot, then his fore legs, then his neck, and the 
 ends of all these ropes being brought together and 
 hauled tight, he was effectually hobbled. 
 
 This had taken some time to effect (about half an 
 hour), and we now commenced a species of harness to 
 enable us to drive him to the village. 
 
 The first thing was to secure his trunk by tying it to 
 one of his fore legs ; this leg was then fastened with a 
 slack rope to one of his hind legs, which prevented him 
 from taking a longer stride than about two feet ; his 
 neck was then tied to his other fore leg, and two ropes 
 were made fast to both his fore and hind legs ; the ends 
 of these ropes being manned by thirty men. 
 
 Having completed these arrangements, he was re- 
 leased from the ties which hobbled him, and we com- 
 menced the arduous task of driving him toward the 
 village, a distance of five miles. The only method of 
 getting him along was to keep two men to tease him in 
 front, by shouting and waving cloths before his face; 
 he immediately charged these fellows, who, of course, 
 ran in the right direction for the village ; and by this 
 repeated manoeuvre we reached the borders of the tank 
 by nightfall. We were still at least two miles from the
 
 Return to the Park Country* 189 
 
 village, and we were therefore obliged to tie him to a 
 tree for the night. The next morning we succeeded in 
 driving him to the village. He was a fine elephant, 
 but not full grown, and for this reason he had been se- 
 lected from the herd for capture, as they are more valu- 
 able at this particular period of their growth, being 
 more easily rendered docile than when older." He was 
 about sixteen years of age ; and by starving for two 
 days and subsequent gentle treatment, the natives 
 mounted and rode him on the third day of his capture, 
 taking the precaution, however, of first securing his 
 trunk. This elephant was then worth fifteen pounds 
 to be sold to the Arabs for the Indian market. 
 
 After a stay of a few days in this neighborhood, 
 during which we had good sport in elephant-shooting, 
 we returned to the Pai'k country. The first evening of 
 our return we heard elephants roaring in the jungle 
 within a short distance of the tent. At daybreak the 
 next morning we were on their tracks, and after a walk 
 of five miles we found them in thick thorny jungle, and 
 only killed three. We had a long day's work, and we 
 were returning home in the afternoon when we sud- 
 denly observed a hei'd of deer grazing in the beautiful 
 park. The headman of this part of the country is a 
 first-rate sportsman, and has always accompanied me 
 in shooting through this district. This man, whose 
 name is Banda, is the only Cingalese that I have ever 
 seen who looks like a man of good birth in his nation. 
 Strikingly handsome and beautifully proportioned, with 
 the agility of a deer, he is in all respects the beau ideal 
 of a native hunter. His skill in tracking is superb, and 
 his thorough knowledge of the habits of all Ceylon ani- 
 mals, especially of elephants, renders him a valuable
 
 190 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 ally to a sportsman. He and I commenced a careful 
 stalk, and after a long circuit I succeeded in getting 
 within seventy paces of the herd of deer. The ground 
 was undulating, and they were standing on the top of a 
 low ridge of hills. I dropped a buck with my two- 
 ounce rifle, and the herd immediately disappeared be- 
 hind the top of the hill. Taking one of my double- 
 barreled rifles, which Banda gave me, I ran to the top 
 of the hill as fast as I could, just in time to see the herd 
 going at a flying speed along a small valley at a long 
 distance. Another buck was separated from the herd 
 by about forty paces, and putting up the second sight 
 of my rifle, I took a shot at him ; to my delight he 
 plunged heavily upon the turf. I fired my remaining 
 barrel at the herd, but I must have missed, as none fell. 
 I immediately stepped the distance to the dead buck, 
 one hundred and eighty-seven paces. I had fired a little 
 too high, and had missed his body, but the ball had 
 struck him in the neck and broke his spine. A suc- 
 cessful flying shot at this distance has a very pretty 
 effect, and Banda was delighted. 
 
 There were very few elephants at this season at the 
 Park, and the numberless " ticks" which swarmed in 
 the grass spoiled all the pleasure of shooting. 'These 
 little wretches, which are not larger than a small grain 
 of gunpowder, find their way to every part of the body, 
 and the irritation of their bites is indescribable. 
 Scratching is only adding fuel to fire ; there is no 
 certain prevention or relief from their attacks ; the best 
 thing that I know is cocoa-nut oil rubbed daily over the 
 whole Dody, but the remedy is almost as unpleasant as 
 the bite. Ceylon is, at all times, a frightful place for 
 vermin: in the dry weather we have ticks ; in the wet
 
 Cave at Dimloolden&. 191 
 
 weather mosquitoes, and, what are still more disgust- 
 ing, " leeches," which swarm in the grass and upon the 
 leaves of the jungle. These creatures insinuate them- 
 selves through all the openings in a person's dress up 
 the trowsers, under the waistcoat, down the neck, up 
 the wrists and in fact everywhere, drawing blood with 
 insatiable voracity, and leaving an unpleasant irritation 
 for some days after. 
 
 All these annoyances form great drawbacks to the 
 enjoyment of the low-country sports ; although they 
 are afterward forgotten, and the bright moments of 
 the sport are all that are looked back to, they are great 
 discomforts at the time. When the day is over, and 
 the man, fatigued by intense heat and a hard day's 
 work, feels himself refreshed by a bath and a change, 
 of clothes, the incurable itching of a thousand tick-bites 
 destroys all his pleasure : he finds himself streaming 
 with blood from leech-bites, and for the time he feels 
 disgusted with the country. First-rate sport can alone 
 compensate for all these annoyances. 
 
 There is a portion of the Park country known as 
 Dimbooldene. In this part there is a cave formed by 
 a large overhanging rock, which is a much cooler resi- 
 dence than the tent. Here we accordingly bivouacked, 
 the cave being sufficiently large to contain the horses 
 in addition to ourselves and servants. After a delight- 
 fully cool night free from mosquitoes we made a day of 
 it, but we walked from sunrise till five P.M. without 
 seeing ?i sign of an elephant. At length, from the top 
 of a high hill on the very confines of the Park country, 
 we looked across a deep valley, and with the assistance 
 of the telescope we plainly distinguished a large single 
 elephant feeding on the grassy side of an opposite nioun-
 
 192 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 tain. To cross the deep valley that separated us and to 
 ascend the mountain would have taken several hours, 
 and at this time of the day it was, therefore, imprac- 
 ticable ; we were thus compelled to turn our backs 
 upon the game and return toward our rocky home, 
 Tired more from our want of success than from the 
 day's work, we strolled leisurely along, and we were 
 talking of the best plan to be adopted for the next day's 
 work, when I suddenly observed a herd of eight ele- 
 phants going up the side of a small hill at their best 
 pace within two hundred yards of us. They had just 
 quitted a small jungle at the bottom of a ravine, and 
 they had been alarmed by our approach. 
 
 Off we started in pursuit, down the rugged side of 
 the hill we were descending, and up the opposite hill, 
 upon the elephants' tracks, as hard as we could run. 
 Just as we reached the top of the hill the elephants 
 were entering a small jungle on the other side. My 
 brother got a shot and killed the last of the herd ; in 
 another moment they had disappeared. It had been a 
 sharp burst up the steep hill, and we stopped to breathe, 
 but we were almost immediately in pursuit again, as we 
 saw the herd emerge from the jungle at the base of the 
 hill and plough their way through a vast field of high 
 lemon grass. 
 
 Upon arriving on their tracks they had fairly dis- 
 tanced us. The grass, which was as thick as a hedge, 
 was trodden into lanes by the elephants, and upon 
 either side it stood like a wall ten or twelve feet high. 
 Upon these tracks we ran along for some time until it 
 became dusk. We halted, and were consulting as t j 
 the prudence of continuing the chase at this late hour, 
 when we suddenly heard the cracking of the branches
 
 Awkward Ground. 193 
 
 in a small jungle in a hollow close to our left, and 
 upon taking a position upon some rising ground we 
 distinctly saw several elephants standing in the high 
 grass about a hundred paces before us, close to the edge 
 of the jungle in which the remaining portion of the 
 herd was concealed. Two of the elephants were 
 looking at us, and as there was no time to lose, we 
 walked straight up to them. They stood quietly 
 watching us till we were within twenty yards, when 
 they came a few paces forward, one immediately fall- 
 ing dead to my shot, while the other was turned by a 
 shot from my brother ; the rest retreated to the jungle 
 over the most difficult ground for both man and beast. 
 Immense rocks lay scattered in heaps over the surface 
 of the ground, forming chasms by the intervening crev- 
 ices of five and six feet in depth ; from these crevices 
 the long lemon grass grew in dense tufts, completely 
 hiding the numerous pitfalls, and making the retreat 
 of the elephants and our pursuit equally difficult. I 
 was close to the tail of a large elephant, who was pick- 
 ing his way cai-efully over the treacherous surface, and 
 I was waiting for an opportunity for a shot should he 
 turn his head, when I suddenly pitched head first into 
 one of these rocky holes. Here I scrambled for some 
 seconds before I could extricate myself, as I was carry- 
 ing my heavy four-ounce rifle ; and at length, upon re- 
 covering my footing, I found that all the elephants had 
 gained the jungle, except the one that I had been fol- 
 lowing. He was about twenty yards from me, and was 
 just entering the jungle, but I got a splendid shot at 
 him behind the ear and rolled him over. 
 
 It was very nearly dark, and we could not of course 
 follow the herd any farther ; we therefore reloaded and 
 17 N
 
 194 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 turned toward the dh'ection of the cave, which was 
 plainly shown by a distant blaze of light from the night- 
 fires, which were already lit. We were walking 
 slowly along parallel to the jungle, into which the ele- 
 phants had retreated, when my man Wallace, who is a 
 capital gun-bearer, halloed out, " Here comes an ele- 
 phant !" and in the dim twilight I could see an elephant 
 bowling at a great pace toward us, but close to the jun- 
 gle. He was forty yaixls from me, but my brother fired 
 at him and without effect. I took a quick shot with a 
 double-barreled rifle, and he dropped immediately. 
 Hearing him roar as he lay in the high lemon grass by 
 the edge of the jungle, I ran down the gentle slope to 
 the spot, followed by my trusty gun-bearer Wallace, as 
 I knew the elephant was only stunned and would soon 
 recover. Upon arriving within a few feet of the spot, 
 pushing my way with difficulty through the tangled 
 lemon grass I could not see where he lay, as daylight 
 had now vanished. I was vainly looking about when I 
 suddenly heard a rush in the grass close to me, and I 
 saw the head and cocked ears of the elephant within six 
 feet as he came at me. I had just time to fire my re- 
 maining barrel, and down he dropped to the shot. I 
 jumped back a few paces to assure myself of the result, 
 as the smoke hanging in the high grass, added to the 
 darkness, completely blinded me. Wallace pushed the 
 spare rifle into my hand, and to my astonishment I saw 
 the head and cocked ears again coming at me. It was 
 so dark that I could not take an aim, but I floored him 
 once more by a front shot, and again I jumped back 
 through the tangled grass just in time to avoid him, as 
 he, for the third time, recovered himself and charged. 
 He was not five paces from me, and I took a steady
 
 Three Weeks' Work. 195 
 
 shot at him with my last barrel, and I immediately 
 bolted as hard as I could run. This shot once more 
 floored him, but he must have borne a charmed life, as 
 he again recovered his legs, and to my great satisfaction 
 he turned into the jungle and retreated. This all hap- 
 pened in a few seconds ; had it been daylight, I could 
 of course have killed him, but, as it happened, I could 
 not even distinguish the sights at the end of my rifle- 
 In a few minutes afterward it was pitch dark, and we 
 could only steer for the cave by the light of the fire 
 which was nearly two miles distant. 
 
 The next day we found a herd of eight elephants in 
 very favorable ground, and succeeded in killing seven ; 
 but this was the last herd in the Park, and after a few 
 days spent in beating up the country without success, I 
 returned to Newera Ellia,the bag being twenty-two ele- 
 phants during a trip of three weeks, in addition to deer, 
 hogs, buffalo and small game, which had afforded excel- 
 lent sport.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 ANOTHER TRIP TO THE PARK A HARD DAY'S WORK DISCOVER 
 A HERD DEATH OF THE HERD A FURIOUS CHARGE 
 CAUGHT AT LAST THE CONSEQUENCES A THOROUGH ROGUE 
 ANOTHER HERD IN HIGH LEMON GRASS BEARS A FIGHT 
 BETWEEN A MOORMAN AND A BEAR A MUSICAL HERD 
 HERD ESCAPE A PLUCKY BUCK DEATH OF KILLBUCK GOOD 
 SPORT WITH A HERD END OF THE TRIP. 
 
 ABOUT twelve months elapsed without my pulling 
 a trigger. I had contented myself with elk-hunt- 
 ing in Newera Ellia and the vicinity, but in November, 
 1850, the grayhounds were again in their palanquin, 
 and, accompanied by my brother V., I was once more 
 in the saddle on my steady-going old horse Jack, en 
 route for the Park. 
 
 It was 5 P. M., on a cool and lovely evening, that we 
 halted and unsaddled in this beautiful country. Our 
 tents and coolies were far behind, our horse-keepers 
 were our only attendants, and we fixed upon a spot as 
 the most eligible site for the tents. A large open park 
 lay before us interspersed with trees and clumps of 
 forest. A clear stream flowed from some low rocky 
 hills upon our right, and several detached masses of 
 rock lay scattered irregularly here and there, like the 
 ruins of an old castle. Large trees grew from the 
 crevices of these rocks, and beneath their shade we 
 196
 
 Another Trip to the Park. 197 
 
 turned our horses loose to graze upon a soft sweet grass 
 with which this part of the park is covered. We had 
 the grayhounds with us and a single rifle, but no other 
 guns, as the servants were far behind. Having given 
 directions to the horse-keepers to point out the spot for 
 the tents on the arrival of the people, we took a stroll 
 with the grayhounds to get a deer, as we depended upon 
 this chance for our dinner. 
 
 Just as we were starting, we noticed two large ele- 
 phants feeding on the rocky hills within a quarter of a 
 mile of us ; but having no guns up with the exception 
 of one rifle, we were obliged to postpone the attack, 
 and, cautioning the horse-keepers to observe silence lest 
 the game should be alarmed, we left the elephants to 
 their meal, while we struck off in another direction with 
 the grayhounds. We found a herd of deer within half . 
 a mile of our starting-place ; they had just come out 
 from the forest for the night's feeding ; and when I first 
 saw them, they were barking to each other in a small 
 glade within sixty paces of the jungle. Dinner de- 
 pending upon success, I stalked them with the greatest 
 caution. Taking Killbuck and Lena in the slips, I 
 crept from tree to tree without the slightest noise ; I had 
 the wind, and if any dogs could kill a deer in the diffi- 
 cult position in which the herd stood, these two dogs I 
 knew would do it. I got within sixty yards of the herd 
 before they observed me, and as they dashed off* toward 
 the jungle, I slipped the straining grayhounds. A loud 
 cheer to the dogs confused the herd, and they scattered 
 to the right and left as they gained the forest, the dogs 
 being close up with them, and Killbuck almost at a 
 buck's throat as he reached the jungle. Following as 
 well as I could through the the dusky jungle, I shortly 
 17*
 
 198 The Rijle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 heard the cry of a deer, and on arriving at the spot I 
 found Killbuck and Lena with a buck on the ground. 
 No deer had a chance with this wonderful dog Killbuck. 
 When he was once slipped there was no hope for the 
 game pursued ; no matter what the character of the 
 country might be, it was certain death to the deer. We 
 gralloched the buck, and having fed the dogs with the 
 offal, we carried him on a pole to the place where we 
 had left the horses. On arrival we deposited our heavy 
 burden ; and to our satisfaction we found all our 
 people had arrived. The tents were pitched, and the 
 night-fires were already blazing, as daylight had nearly 
 ceased. 
 
 In the course of an hour we were comfortably seated 
 at our table with venison steaks and chops smoking 
 before us thanks to the dogs, who were now soundly 
 sleeping at our feet. During the progress of dinner I 
 planned the work for the day following. We were now 
 eight miles from Nielgalla (Blue Rock), the village at 
 which Banda resided, and I ordered a man to start off 
 at daybreak to tell him that I was in his country, and 
 to bring old Medima and several other good men (that 
 I knew) to the tent without delay. I proposed that we 
 should, in the mean time, start at daylight on the tracks 
 of the two elephants that we had seen upon the hills, 
 taking Wallace and a few of the best coolies as gun- 
 bearers. Wallace is a Cochin man, who prides him- 
 self upon a mixture of Portuguese blood. He speaks 
 six different languages fluently, and is without excep- 
 tion the best interpreter and the most plucky gun- 
 bearer that I have ever seen. He has accompanied me 
 through so many scenes with unvarying firmness that 
 I never have the slightest anxiety about my spare guns
 
 A Hard Day's Work. 199 
 
 , if he is there, as he keeps the little troop of gun-bearers 
 in their places in a most methodical manner. 
 
 At break of day on the following morning we were 
 upon the tracks of the two elephants, but a slight shower 
 during the night had so destroyed them that we found it 
 was impossible to follow them up. We therefore deter- 
 mined to examine the country thoroughly for fresh 
 tracks, and we accordingly passed over many miles of 
 ground, but to little purpose, as none were to be seen. 
 
 We at length discovered fresh tracks of a herd in 
 thick thorny jungle, which was too dense to enter, but 
 marking their position, we determined to send out 
 watchers on the following day to track them into better 
 country. Having killed a deer, we started him off with 
 some coolies that we had taken with us on this chance, 
 and we continued our route till 3 p. M. We ha.d lost 
 our way, and, not having any guide, we had no notion 
 of the position of the tents : the heat of the day had been 
 intense, and not having breakfasted, we were rather 
 anxious about the direction. Strolling through this 
 beautiful expanse of park country, we directed our 
 course for a large rocky mountain, at a few miles dis- 
 tance, at the base of which I knew lay the route from 
 the tent to Nielgalla. To our great satisfaction we 
 found the path at about 4 p. M., and we walked briskly 
 along at the foot of the mountain in the direction of our 
 encampment, which was about four miles distant. 
 
 We had just arrived at an angle of the mountain, 
 which, in passing, we were now leaving to our left, 
 when we suddenly halted, our attention having been 
 arrested by the loud 1'oaring of elephants in a jungle at 
 the foot of the mountain, within a quarter of a mile of 
 us. The roaring continued at intervals, reverberating
 
 2oo The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 among the rocks like distant thunder, till it at length 
 died away to stillness. 
 
 We soon arrived in the vicinity of the sound, and 
 shortly discovered tracks upon a hard sandy soil, cov- 
 ered with rocks and overgrown with a low but tolerably 
 open jungle at the base of the mountain. Following 
 the tracks, we began to ascend steep flights of natural 
 steps formed by the successive layers of rock which 
 girded the foot of the mountain : these were covered 
 with jungle, interspersed with large detached masses of 
 rock, which in some places formed alleys through which 
 the herd had passed. The surface of the ground being 
 nothing but hard rock, tracking was very difficult, and 
 it took me a considerable time to follow them up by the 
 pieces of twigs and crunched leaves which the elephants 
 had dropped while feeding. I at length tracked them 
 to a small pool formed by the rain-water in the hollow 
 of the rock ; here they had evidently been drinking only 
 a few minutes previous, as the tracks of their feet upon 
 the margin of the pool were still wet. I now went on 
 in advance of the party with great caution, as I knew 
 that we were not many paces from the herd. Passing 
 through several passages among the rocks, I came sud- 
 denly upon a level plateau of ground covered with 
 dense lemon grass about twelve feet high, which was so 
 thick and tangled that a man could with difficulty force 
 his way through it. This level space was about two 
 acres in extent, and was surrounded by jungle upon all 
 sides but one ; on this side, to our right as we entered, 
 the mountain rose in rocky steps, from the crevices of 
 which the lemon grass grew in tall tufts. 
 
 The instant that I arrived in this spot I perceived the 
 flap of an elephant's ear in the high grae s, about thirty
 
 Discover a Herd. 2O1 
 
 paces from me, and upon careful inspection I distin- 
 guished two elephants standing close together. By the 
 rustling of the grass in different places I could see that 
 the herd was scattered, but I could not make out the 
 elephants individually, as the grass was above their 
 heads. 
 
 I paused for some minutes to consider the best plan 
 of attack ; but the gun-bearers, who were behind me, 
 being in a great state of excitement, began to whisper 
 to each other, and in arranging their positions behind 
 their respective masters they knocked several of the 
 guns together. In the same moment the two leading 
 elephants discovered us, and, throwing their trunks up 
 perpendicularly, they blew the shrill trumpet of alarm 
 without attempting to retreat. Several trumpets an- 
 swered the call immediately from different positions in 
 the high grass, from which trunks were thrown up and 
 huge heads just appeared in many places, as they en- 
 deavored to discover the danger which the leaders had 
 announced. 
 
 The growl of an elephant is exactly like the rumbling 
 of thunder, and from their deep lungs the two leaders, 
 who had discovered us, kept up an uninterrupted peal, 
 thus calling the herd together. Nevertheless, they did 
 not attempt to retreat, but stood gazing attentively at us 
 with their ears cocked, looking extremely vicious. In 
 the mean time we stood perfectly motionless, lest we 
 should scare them before the whole herd had closed up. 
 In about a minute a dense mass of elephants had col- 
 lected round the two leaders, who were all gazing at us ; 
 and thinking this a favorable moment, I gave the word, 
 and we pushed toward them through the high grass. 
 A portion of the herd immediately wheeled round and
 
 2O2 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 retreated as we advanced, but five elephants, including 
 the two who had first discovered us, formed in a compact 
 line abreast, and thrashing the long grass to the right 
 and left with their trunks, with ears cocked and tails 
 up, they came straight at us. We pushed on to meet 
 them, but they still came on in a perfect line till within 
 ten paces of us. 
 
 A cloud of smoke hung over the high grass as the 
 rifles cracked in rapid succession, and the Jive ele- 
 phants lay dead in the same order as they had ad- 
 vanced. The spare guns had been beautifully handed. 
 And running between the carcases, we got into the 
 lane that the remaining portion of the herd had made 
 by crushing the high grass in their retreat. We were 
 up with them in a few moments : down went one, then 
 another ; up he got again, almost immediately recovei'- 
 ing from V.'s shot ; down he went again as I floored 
 him with my last barrel. 
 
 I was now unloaded, as I had only two of my double- 
 barreled No. 10 rifles out that day, but the chase was 
 so exciting that I could not help following empty- 
 handed, in the hope that some gun-bearer might put 
 one of V.'s spare guns in my hand. A large elephant 
 and her young one, who was about three feet and a half 
 high, were recreating up the rugged side of the moun- 
 tain, and the mother, instead of protecting the little one, 
 was soon a hundred paces ahead of him, and safely lo- 
 cated in a thick jungle which covered that portion of 
 the mountain. Being empty-handed, I soon scrambled 
 up and caught the little fellow by the tail ; but he was 
 BO strong that I could not hold him, although I exerted 
 all my strength, and he dragged me slowly toward the 
 jungle to which his mother had retreated V. now
 
 A Furious Charge. 203 
 
 came up ; and he being loaded, I told him to keep a 
 look out for the mother's return, while I secured my 
 captive, by seizing him by the trunk with one hand 
 and by the tail with the other ; in this manner I could 
 just master him by throwing my whole weight down 
 the hill ; and he began to roar like a full-grown ele- 
 phant. The mother was for a wonder faithless to her 
 charge, and did not return to the little one's assistance. 
 While I was engaged in securing him, the gun-bearers 
 came up, and at this moment I observed, at the foot of 
 the hill, another elephant not quite full grown, who 
 was retreating through the high grass toward the jun- 
 gle. There were no guns charged except one of my 
 No. 10 rifles, which some one had reloaded ; taking 
 this, I left the little " Poonchy" with V. and the gun- 
 bearers, and running down the side of the hill, I came 
 up with the elephant just as he was entering the jun- 
 gle, and getting the ear-shot I killed him. 
 
 We had now bagged nine elephants, and only one 
 had escaped from the herd ; this was the female who 
 had forsaken her young one. 
 
 Wallace now came up and cut off the tails of those 
 that I had killed. I had one barrel still loaded, and I 
 was pushing my way through the tangled grass to- 
 ward the spot where the five elephants lay together, 
 when I suddenly heard Wallace shriek out, " Look out, 
 sir ! Look out ! an elephant's coming !" 
 
 I turned round in a moment ; and close past Wal- 
 lace, from the very spot where the last dead elephant 
 lay, came the very essence and incarnation of a " rogue" 
 elephant in full charge. His trunk was thrown high in 
 the air, his ears were cocked, his tail stood high above 
 his back as stiff as a poker, and screaming exactly like
 
 04 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylcn. 
 
 the whistle of a railway engine, he rushed upon me 
 through the high grass with a velocity that was per- 
 fectly wonderful. His eyes flashed as he came on, and 
 he had singled me out as his victim. 
 
 I have often been in dangerous positions, but I never 
 felt so totally devoid of hope as I did in this instance. 
 The tangled grass rendered retreat impossible. I had 
 only one barrel loaded, and that was useless, as the up- 
 raised trunk protected his forehead. I felt myself 
 doomed ; the few thoughts that rush through men's 
 minds in such hopeless positions flew through mine, 
 and I resolved to wait for him till he was close upon 
 me before I fired, hoping that he might lower his trunk 
 and expose his forehead. 
 
 He rushed along at the pace of a horse in full speed ; 
 in a few moments, as the grass flew to the right and 
 left before him, he was close upon me, but still his 
 trunk was raised and I would not fire. One second 
 more, and at this headlong pace he was within three 
 feet of me ; down slashed his .trunk with the rapidity 
 of a whip-thong, and with a shrill scream of fury he 
 was upon me. 
 
 I fired at that instant ; but in a twinkling of an eye 
 I was flying through the air like a ball from a bat. At 
 the moment of firing I had jumped to the left, but he 
 struck me with his tusk in full charge upon my right 
 thigh, and hurled me eight or ten paces from him. 
 That very moment he stopped, and, turning round, he 
 beat the grass about with his trunk and commenced a 
 strict search for me. I heard him advancing close to 
 the spot where I lay as still as death, knowing that my 
 last chance lay in concealment. I heard the grass 
 rustling close to the spot where I lay ; closer and closer
 
 Caught at Last. 205 
 
 he approached, and he at length beat the grass with his 
 trunk several times exactly above me. I held my 
 breath, momentarily expecting to feel his ponderous 
 foot upon me. Although I had not felt the sensation 
 of fear while I had stood opposed to him, I felt like 
 what I never wish to feel again while he was delibe- 
 rately hunting me up. Fortunately I had reserved my 
 fire until the rifle had almost touched him, for the 
 powder and smoke had nearly blinded him and had 
 spoiled his acute power of scent. To my joy I heard 
 the rustling of the grass grow fainter; again, I heard 
 it at a still greater distance ; at length.it was gone ! 
 
 At that time I thought that half my bones were 
 broken, as I was numbed from head to foot by the force 
 of the blow. His charge can only be compared to a 
 bloyv from a railway engine going at twenty miles an 
 hour. 
 
 Not expecting to be able to move, I crept to my 
 hands and knees. To my delight there were no bones 
 broken, and with a feeling of thankfulness I stood 
 erect. I with difficulty 'reached a stream of water near 
 the spot, in which I bathed my leg, but injifew minutes 
 ; i swelled to the size of a man's waist. In this spot 
 every one had congregated and were loading their 
 guns, but the rogue had escaped. 
 
 My cap and rifle were now hunted for, and they 
 were at length found near the spot where I had been 
 caught. The elephant had trodden' on the stock of the 
 rifle, and it bears the marks of his foot to this day. 
 
 In a few minutes I was unable to move. We there- 
 fore sent to the tent for the horses, and arrived at 6 P.M., 
 having had a hard day's work from 5 A.M. without 
 food. 
 
 18
 
 206 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 On arrival at the tent, we found Banda and the 
 trackers. 
 
 There could not be a better exemplification of a 
 rogue than in this case. A short distance apart from 
 the herd he had concealed himself in the jungle, from 
 which position he had witnessed the destruction of his 
 mates. He had not stirred a foot until he saw us 
 totally unprepai'ed, when he instantly seized the op- 
 portunity and dashed out upon me. If I had attempted 
 to run from him, I should have been killed, as he would 
 have struck me in the back ; my only chance was in 
 the course which I pursued to wait quietly until he 
 was just over me, and then to jump on one side : lie 
 thus struck me on the thickest part of the thigh instead 
 of striking me in the stomach, which he must have 
 done had I remained in my first position ; this would 
 have killed me on the spot. 
 
 I passed an uncomfortable night, my leg being very 
 painful and covered with wet bandages of vinegar and 
 water. The bruise came out from my ankle to my 
 hip ; the skin was broken where the tusk had struck 
 me ; and the blood had started under the skin over a 
 surface of nearly a foot, making the bruise a bright 
 purple, and giving the whole affair a most unpleasant 
 appearance. The next morning I could not move my 
 leg, which felt like a sack of sand, and was perfectly 
 numbed ; however, I kept on a succession of cold lo- 
 tions, and after breakfast I was assisted upon my horse, 
 and we moved the encampment to Nielgalla. On the 
 following day I could just manage to hobble along, my 
 leg being at least double its usual size, and threatening 
 to spoil my sport for the whole ti - ip. 
 
 We were seated at breakfast when a native came in,
 
 A Thorough Rogue. 207 
 
 bringing intelligence of a herd of elephants about four 
 miles distant. I was not in a state for shooting, but I 
 resolved to mount my steady old horse Jack and take 
 my chance of revenge for my mishap. The guns were 
 accordingly loaded, and we started. 
 
 We had ridden through the Pai'k for about three 
 miles, and had just turned round the corner of a patch 
 of jungle, when we came suddenly upon a large rogue 
 elephant, who was standing in the open, facing us at 
 about seventy yards. The moment that he saw the 
 horses, he turned sharp round and retreated to a long 
 belt of fine open forest which was close behind him. 
 There was no resisting the invitation upon such favor- 
 able ground, and immediately dismounting we followed 
 him. I now found that my leg was nearly useless, and 
 I could only move at a snail's pace, and even then with 
 great pain. Upon reaching the forest, we found that 
 the rogue had decamped, not wishing to meet us in 
 such advantageous ground. We followed his tracks 
 for a few hundred yards through the forest till we sud- 
 denly emerged upon a large tract of high lemon grass. 
 Into this our cunning foe had retreated, and with my 
 decreased powers of locomotion I did not wish to pui'- 
 sue him further. I was at length persuaded by Banda 
 to make a trial, and we accordingly left the track and 
 pushed our way through the high grass to some rising 
 ground, from which we could look over the surface of 
 waving vegetation and find out the exact position of 
 the elephant. While forcing our way through the 
 dense mass I momentarily expected to hear the rush of 
 the rogue charging down upon us, and I was glad to 
 find myself at length safe in the position we had steered 
 for.
 
 208 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 Upon scanning the surface of the grass, I distin- 
 guished the elephant immediately; he was standing 
 close to the edge of the jungle in the high grass, facing 
 us, at about a hundred and fifty yards distant. He was 
 a picture of intense excitement and attention, and was 
 evidently waiting for us. In the position that we now 
 occupied we unavoidably gave him the wind, and he 
 of course almost immediately discovered us. Giving 
 two or three shrill trumpets, lie paced quickly to and 
 fro before the jungle, as though he were guarding the 
 entrance. To enter the high grass to attack him would 
 have been folly, as he was fully prepared, and when 
 once in the tangled mass we could not have seen him 
 .until he was upon us ; we therefore amused ourselves 
 for about ten minutes by shooting at him. During this 
 time he continued pacing backward and forwai'd, 
 screaming almost without intermission ; and having 
 suddenly made up his mind to stand this bullying no 
 longer, he threw his trunk up hi the air and charged 
 straight at us. The dust flew like smoke from the dry 
 grass as he rushed through it ; but we were well pre- 
 pared to receive him. Not wishing him to come to 
 close quarters with my useless leg, I gave him a shot 
 with my two-ounce rifle, at about a hundred and twenty 
 paces. It did not even check him, but it had the effect 
 of making him lower his trunk, and he came on at un- 
 diminished speed. Taking the four-ounce rifle from 
 Wallace, I heard the crack of the ball as it entered his 
 head at about a hundred yards. He was down ! A gen- 
 eral shout of exclamation rose from Banda and all the 
 gun-bearers. I reloaded the four-ounce immediately, 
 and the ball was just rammed home when we heard the 
 supposed dead elephant roaring on the ground. In
 
 Another Herd. 3OO 
 
 another moment he regained his legs and stood with hi* 
 broadside exposed to us, stunned with the heavy ball in 
 his head. Taking a steady shot at his shoulder, I gave 
 him a second dose of the four-ounce : he reeled to and 
 fro and staggered into the jungle. I dared not follow 
 him in my crippled state, and we returned to the horses ; 
 but the next day he was found dead by the natives. 
 
 I much feared that the shot fired might have dis- 
 turbed the herd of elephants, as they were reported to 
 be not far distant ; this, however, proved not to be the 
 case, as we met the watchers about a mile farther on, 
 who reported the herd to be perfectly undisturbed, but 
 located in the everlasting lemon grass. At this time 
 the greater portion of the Park was a mass of this 
 abominable grass, and there was no chance of getting 
 the elephants in any other position, this serving them at 
 the same time for both food and shelter. How they 
 can eat it is a puzzle : it is as sharp as a knife, and as 
 coarse as a file, with a flavor of the most pungent 
 lemon peel. 
 
 We shortly arrived at the spot in which the herd was 
 concealed ; it was a gentle slope covered with dense 
 lemon grass, terminated by a jungle, We could just 
 distinguish the tops of the elephants' heads in several 
 places, and, having dismounted, we carefully entered 
 the grass and crept toward the nearest elephants. The 
 herd was much scattered, but there were five elephants 
 close to each other, and we made toward these, Banda 
 leading the way. My only chance of making a bag 
 lay in the first onset, I therefore cautioned Wallace to 
 have the spare guns handed with extra diligence, and 
 we crept up to our game. There were two elephants 
 facing us, but we stalked them so carefully through the 
 18*
 
 2IO The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 high grass that we got within four paces of them before 
 they discovered us ; they cocked their ears for an 
 instant, and both rolled over at the same moment to the 
 front shot. Away dashed the herd, trumpeting and 
 screaming as they rushed through the high grass. For 
 a few moments my game leg grew quite lively, as it was 
 all down-hill work, and I caught up to an elephant and 
 killed him with the left-hand barrel. Getting a spare 
 gun, I was lucky enough to get between two elephants 
 who were running abreast toward the jungle, and I 
 bagged them by a right and left shot. Off went the 
 herd at a slapping pace through the jungle, V. pitching 
 it into them, but unfortunately to very little purpose, as 
 they had closed up and fofmed a barrier of sterns, and 
 we could not get a good shot. For about a quarter of 
 a mile I managed to hobble along, carried away by the 
 excitement of the chase, through jungles, hollows and 
 small glades, till my leg, which had lost all feeling, 
 suddenly gave way, and I lay sprawling on my face, 
 incapable of going a step farther. I had killed four 
 elephants : six had been killed altogether. It was very 
 bad luck, as the herd consisted of eleven ; but the 
 ground was very unfavorable, and my leg gave way 
 when it was most required. 
 
 A few days after this, the tents were pitched on the 
 banks of the broad river of Pattapalaar, about eight 
 miles beyond Nielgalla. Elephants were very scarce, 
 and the only chance of getting them was to work hard. 
 We were on horseback at break of day, and having 
 forded the river, we rode silently through plain and 
 forest in search of tracks. We refused every shot at 
 deer, lest we should disturb the country and scare away 
 the elephants.
 
 Bears. ' 21 1 
 
 We had ridden for some distance upon an elephant 
 path, through a tolerably open forest at the foot of a 
 range of rocky mountains, when Banda, who was some 
 paces in advance, suddenly sprang back again, crying, 
 " Wallaha ! wallaha !" (bears ! bears !) We were off 
 our horses in a moment, but I fell sprawling upon my 
 back, my leg being so powerless and numbed that I 
 could not feel when I touched the ground. I recovered 
 myself just in time to see a bear waddling along through 
 the jungle, and I pushed after him in pursuit at my 
 best pace. V. had disappeared in the jungle in pursuit 
 of another bear, and I presently heard two or three 
 shots. In the mean time my game had slackened speed 
 to a careless kind of swaggering walk ; and the under- 
 wood being rather thick, I was determined to get close 
 to him before I fired, as I knew that I could not follow 
 him far, and my success would therefore depend upon 
 the first shot. I overtook him in a few moments, and 
 I was following within a foot of his tail, waiting for a 
 chance for a clear shot between his shoulders, as the 
 thick underwood parted above his back, when he sud- 
 denly sprung round, and with a fierce roar he leaped 
 upon the muzzle of the gun. I fired both barrels into 
 him as he threw his whole weight against it, and I 
 rolled him over in a confused cloud of smoke and crack- 
 ling bushes. In a moment he was on his legs again, 
 but going off through the thick underwood at a pace 
 that in my helpless state soon left me far behind. His 
 state must have been far from enviable, as he left por- 
 tions of his entrails all along his track. V. had killed 
 his bear ; he weighed about two hundred pounds, and 
 measured fourteen inches round the arm, without his 
 hide.
 
 212 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 The Ceylon bear is a most savage animal, constantly 
 attacking men without the slightest provocation. I 
 have seen many natives frightfully disfigured by the 
 attacks of bears, which they dread more than any other 
 animal. Nothing would induce my trackers to follow 
 up the wounded bear. I followed him as far as I could, 
 but my useless limb soon gave way, and I was obliged 
 to give him up. I once saw a Moorman, who was a 
 fine powerful fellow and an excellent elephant-tracker, 
 who had a narrow escape from a bear. He was cut- 
 ting bamboos with a catty or kind of bill-hook, when 
 one of these animals descended from a tree just above 
 him and immediately attacked him. The man instinc- 
 tively threw his left arm forward to receive the bear, 
 who seized it in his mouth and bit the thumb completely 
 oft', lacerating the arm and wrist at the same time in a 
 frightful manner. With one blow of the bill-hook the 
 Moorman cleft the bear's skull to the teeth, at the same 
 time gashing his own arm to the bone by the force of 
 the blow ; and he never afterward recovered the proper 
 use of the limb. 
 
 The Ceylon bear feeds upon almost anything that 
 offers ; he eats honey, ants, fruit, roots and flesh, when- 
 ever he can procure it : his muscular power is enor- 
 mous, and he exerts both teeth and claws in his attack. 
 They are very numerous in Ceylon, although they are 
 seldom met with in any number, owing to their noctur- 
 nal habits, which attract them to their caves at break 
 of day. 
 
 After strolling over the country for some miles, we 
 came upon fresh elephant-tracks in high grass, which 
 we immediately followed up. In the course of half an 
 hour, after tracking them for about two miles through
 
 A Musical Herd. 213 
 
 open country, we entered a fine forest, in which the 
 herd had retired ; but our hopes of meeting them in this 
 favorable ground were suddenly damped by arriving at 
 a dense chnar jungle in the very heart of the forest. 
 This che'nar extended for some acres, and rose like a 
 hedge, iform ing a sudden wall of thorns, which effectu- 
 ally checked our advance. The elephants had retired 
 to this secure retreat, and having winded us they kept 
 up an uninterrupted roaring. I never heard such a 
 musical herd : the deep and thunder-like growls, com- 
 bined with the shrill trumpet and loud roars, as they all 
 joined in concert, had a particularly grand effect, and 
 a novice in elephant-shooting would have felt his heart 
 beat in double time. 
 
 There was a rogue consorting with his herd, and it 
 was necessary to be particularly cautious in the attack. 
 It was impossible to enter such thick jungle, and we 
 waited for some hours in the forest, close to the edge of 
 the chdnar, trying every dodge in vain to induce the 
 herd to quit their stronghold. They were continually 
 on the qui vive. Sometimes a tremendous rush would 
 be heard in the thick jungle as the herd would charge 
 toward us ; but they invariably stopped just upon the 
 borders, and would not venture into the open forest. 
 On one occasion I thought we had them : they rushed 
 to the edge of the thick jungle, and suddenly filed off to 
 the left and halted in a line within a few feet of the 
 forest. We were within six paces of them, concealed 
 behind the trunks of several large trees, from which we 
 could discover the dim forms of six elephants through 
 the screen of thorns, which had a similar effect to that 
 produced by looking through a gauze veil. For some 
 moments they stood in an attitude of intense attention^
 
 a 14 The Pifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 and I momentarily expected them to break cover, as 
 we were perfectly still and motionless in our concealed 
 position. Suddenly they winded us, and whisked round 
 to the thick jungle, disappearing like magic. 
 
 We now tried the effect of bullying, and we sent men 
 to different parts of the jungle to shout and fire guns ; 
 this stirred up the wrath of the rogue, and he suddenly 
 burst from the thick jungle and rushed into the open 
 forest right among us. We were both standing behind 
 the trees ; and the gun-bearers, with the exception of 
 Wallace, had thrown the guns down and had bolted 
 up the trees when they heard the rush of the elephant 
 through the jungle ; thus, upon his arrival in the open 
 forest, he could see no one, and he stood gazing about 
 him with his ears cocked and tail on end, not knowing 
 exactly what to do, but ready to charge the first person 
 that showed himself. He was an immense elephant, 
 being one of the largest that I have ever seen, and he 
 had as fine an expression of vice in his appearance as 
 any rogue could wish for. Suddenly he turned his trunk 
 toward us, but he was puzzled as to the exact position 
 of any one, as so many men were scattered among the 
 trees. I was within twenty yards of him, and he turned 
 his head toward the spot, and was just on the move for- 
 ward when I anticipated his intentions by running up 
 to him and knocking him over by a shot in the fore- 
 head, which killed him. Unfoi'tunately the herd at the 
 same moment broke cover on the opposite side of the 
 jungle, and escaped without a shot being fired at them. 
 It was nearly dusk, and we were five miles from the 
 tent; we were therefore obliged to give them up. 
 
 The next morning, at daybreak, I rode out with the 
 grayhounds, Killbuck, Bran and Lena, to kill a deer.
 
 A Brace of Bucks. 215 
 
 The lemon grass was so high at this season that the 
 dogs had no chance, and I was therefore compelled to 
 pick out some spot which was free from this grass, and 
 employ beaters to driv'e the jungles, instead of stalking 
 the deer in the usual manner. I tracked a herd of deer 
 into a large detached piece of cover, and, sending the 
 beaters round to the opposite side, I posted myself with 
 the grayhounds in the slips behind a clump of trees, 
 upon a small plain of low, soft grass. 
 
 The noise of the beaters approached nearer and near- 
 er, and presently two splendid bucks with beautiful ant- 
 lers rushed from the jungle about two hundred yards 
 from me, and scudded over the plain. I slipped the 
 grayhounds, and away they went in full fly, bounding 
 over the soft turf in beautiful style. 
 
 Mounting old Jack, who was standing at my elbow, 
 and giving him the spur, I rode after them. It was a 
 splendid course ; the two bucks separated, Bran and 
 Lena taking after one, and Killbuck following the other 
 in his usual dashing manner. Away they went with 
 wonderful speed, the bucks constantly doubling to throw 
 the dogs out ; but Killbuck never overshot his game, 
 and as the buck doubled he was round after him in fine 
 style. I now followed him, leaving Bran and Lena to 
 do their best, and at a killing pace we crossed the plain 
 through a narrow belt of trees, down a stony hollow, 
 over another plain, through a small jungle, on entering 
 which Killbuck was within a few yards of the buck's 
 haunches. 
 
 Now old Jack is as fond of the sport as I am, and he 
 kept up the chase in good style ; but just as we were fly- 
 ing through some high lemon grass, a fallen tree, which 
 was concealed beneath, tripped up the horse's fore legs,
 
 2l6 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 and in an instant he was on his nose, turning a complete 
 somersault. I was pitched some yards, and upon in- 
 stinctively mounting again, the sparks were dancing in 
 my eyes for some seconds before I recovered myself, as 
 we again continued the chase with unabated speed. 
 
 We pressed along up some rising ground, having 
 lost sight of the game ; and as we reached the top of 
 the hill, I looked around and saw the buck at bay 
 about a hundred paces from me, upon fine level 
 ground, fighting face to face with the dog, who sprang 
 boldly at his head. That buck was a noble fellow ; he 
 rushed at the dog, and they met like knights in a tour- 
 nament ; but it was murderous work : he received the 
 reckless dog upon his sharp antlers and bored him to 
 the ground. In another instant Killbuck had recovered 
 himself, and he again came in full fly at the buck's face 
 with wonderful courage ; again the buck rushed for- 
 ward to meet him, and once more the pointed antlers 
 pinned the dog, and the buck, following up his charge, 
 rolled him over and over for some yards. 
 
 By this time I had galloped up, and I was within a 
 few feet of the buck when he suddenly sprung round 
 with the evident intention of charging the horse. In 
 the same moment Killbuck seized the opportunity, and 
 the buck plunged violently upon the ground, with the 
 staunch dog hanging upon his throat. I jumped off my 
 horse, and the buck fell dead by a thrust with the knife 
 behind the shoulder. 
 
 I now examined the dog ; he was wounded in several 
 places, but as he bled but little, I hoped that his ap- 
 parent exhaustion arose more from the fatigue of the 
 fight than from any severe injury. 
 
 At this time Bran and Lena came up ; they had lost
 
 Death of Killbuck. 317 
 
 their deer in some high lemon grass, but they also were 
 both wounded by the buck's horns. I now put Killbuck 
 and Lena together in the slips, and with the buck, car- 
 ried upon cross poles by six men, I rode toward the 
 tent. I had not proceeded far when the man who was 
 leading the grayhounds behind my horse suddenly cried 
 out, and on turning round I saw Killbuck lying on the 
 ground. I was at his side in a moment, and I released 
 Ris neck from the slips. It was too late ; his languid 
 head fell heavily upon the earth ; he gave me one part- 
 ing look, and after a few faint gasps he was gone. 
 
 I could hardly believe he was dead. Taking off my 
 cap, I ran to a little stream and brought some water, 
 which I threw in his face ; but his teeth were set, his 
 eyes were glazed, and the best and truest dog that was 
 ever born was dead. Poor Killbuck ! he had died like 
 a hero, and though I grieved over him, I could not have 
 wished him a more glorious death. 
 
 I was obliged to open him to discover the real injury. 
 I had little thought that the knife which had so often 
 come to his assistance was destined to so sad a task. 
 His lungs were pierced through by the deer's horns in 
 two places, and he had died of sudden suffocation by 
 internal haemorrhage. A large hollow tree grew close 
 to the spot in which I buried him. The stag's antlers 
 now hang in the hall, a melancholy but glorious me- 
 mento of poor Killbuck. 
 
 In a few days my leg had so much improved that I 
 could again use it without much inconvenience ; I 
 therefore determined to pay the cave a visit, as I felt 
 convinced that elephants would be more numerous in 
 that neighborhood. We started in the cool of the after- 
 noon, as the distance was not more than eight miles 
 19
 
 2i8 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 from our encampment. We had proceeded about hal 
 way, and our horses were picking their way with diffi- 
 culty over some rocky hills, when we came upon fresh 
 tracks of a herd of elephants. It was too late to go 
 after them that evening, we therefore pitched the tent 
 upon the spot, resolving to track them up at daybreak 
 on the following morning. 
 
 We were accordingly out before sunrise, and came 
 upon the tracks within a mile . of the tent. We at 
 length discovered the herd upon the summit of a steep 
 rocky hill. There were no trees in this part, and we 
 carefully ascended the hill, stepping from rock to rock, 
 and occasionally concealing ourselves in the high grass, 
 till we at length stood at the very feet of the elephants, 
 two of whom were standing upon a large platform of 
 rock, about seven feet above us. They were so high 
 above us that I was obliged to aim about four inches 
 down the trunk, so that the ball should reach the brain 
 in an upward direction ; this shot proved successful, 
 and killed him. V., who had not taken this precaution, 
 missed ; and the whole herd of eight elephants started 
 off in full retreat. 
 
 The rocks were so steep that it occupied some time 
 in climbing over the top of the hill ; upon reaching 
 which, we saw the elephants going off at great speed, 
 with a start of about two hundred paces. The ground 
 was perfectly open, covered by small loose rocks free 
 from grass, and the chase commenced in good earnest. 
 With the elephants in view the whole time, and going 
 at a great pace, a mile was run without the possibility 
 of firing a shot. By this time we had arrived at an un- 
 dulating country covered with small rocks, and grass 
 about four feet high, which made the pace dreadfully
 
 Good Sport 'with Elephants. 219 
 
 fatiguing ; still we dared not slacken the speed for an 
 instant lest the elephants should distance us. This was 
 the time for rifles to tell, although their weight (15 Ibs.) 
 was rather trying in so long and fast a run. I was 
 within eighty paces of the herd, and I could not de- 
 crease the distance by a single yard. I halted and took 
 a shot at the ear of a large elephant in the middle of 
 the herd. The shot so stunned him that, instead of 
 going on straight, he kept turning round and round as 
 though running after his tail ; this threw the herd into 
 confusion, and some ran to the right and others to the 
 left, across some steep hollows. Running up to my 
 wounded elephant, I extinguished him with my re- 
 maining barrel ; and getting a spare rifle from Wallace, 
 who was the only gun-bearer who had kept up, I floored 
 another elephant, who was ascending the opposite side 
 of a hollow about forty yards off*: this fellow took two 
 shots, and accordingly I was left unloaded. V. had 
 made good play with the rifles as the herd was crossing 
 the hollow, and he had killed three, making six bagged 
 in all. The remaining two elephants reached a thick 
 jungle and escaped. 
 
 We returned to the tent, and after a bath we sat 
 down with a glorious appetite to breakfast, having 
 bagged six elephants before seven o'clock A. M. 
 
 In the afternoon we went to the cave and sent out 
 trackers. We were very hard up for provisions in this 
 place : there were no deer in the neighborhood, and 
 we lived upon squirrels and parrots, both of which are 
 excellent eating, but not very substantial fare. 
 
 The whole of this part of the country was one dark 
 mass of high lemon grass, which, not having been 
 burnt, was a tangled mixture of yellow stalks and sharp
 
 22O The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 blades, which completely destroyed the pleasure of 
 shooting. 
 
 In this unfavorable ground we found a herd of ten 
 elephants, and after waiting for some time in the hope 
 of their feeding into a better country, we lost all pa- 
 tience and resolved to go in at them and do the best we 
 could. It was late in the afternoon, and the herd, who 
 were well aware of our position, had all closed up in a 
 dense body, and with their trunks thrown up they were 
 trumpeting and screaming as though to challenge us to 
 the attack. 
 
 . Pushing our way through the high grass, we got 
 within six paces of the elephants before they attempted 
 to turn, and the heavy battery opened upon them in 
 fine style. Leveling the grass in their path, they 
 rushed through it in a headlong retreat, V. keeping 
 on one flank, while I took the other ; and a race com- 
 menced, which continued for about half a mile at full 
 speed, the greater part of this distance being up hill. 
 None of these elephants proved restive ; and on arriv- 
 ing at thick jungle two only entered out of the ten that 
 had composed the herd ; the remaining eight lay here 
 and there along the line of the hunt. 
 
 Out of four herds and three rogues fired at we had 
 bagged thirty-one elephants in a few days' shooting. 
 My mishap on the first day had much destroyed the 
 pleasure of the sport, as the exercise was too much for 
 my wounded leg, which did not recover from the feel- 
 ing of numbness for some months.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 EXCITEMENT OF ELEPHANT-SHOOTING AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR 
 A LONG RUN WITH A BUCK HARD WORK REWARDED A 
 GLORIOUS BAY END OF A HARD DAY'S WORK BEE-HUNT- 
 ERS DISASTERS OF ELK-HUNTING BR N WOUNDED "OLD 
 SMUT'S " BUCK BOAR AT HACKGALLA DEATH OF " OLD 
 SMUT "SCENERY FROM THE PEREWELLE MOUNTAINS DIA- 
 BOLICAL DEATH OF " MERRIMAN " SCENE OF THE MURDER. 
 
 IN describing so many incidents in elephant-shoot- 
 ing it is difficult to convey a just idea of the true 
 grandeur of the spbrt : it reads too easy. A certain 
 number are killed out of a herd after an animated chase, 
 and the description of the hunt details the amount of 
 slaughter, but cannot possibly explain the peculiar ex- 
 citement which attends elephant-shooting beyond all 
 other sports. The size of the animal is so dispropor- 
 tionate to that of the hunter that the effect of a large 
 herd of these monsters flying before a single man would 
 be almost ridiculous could the chase be witnessed by 
 some casual observer who was proof against the ex- 
 citement of the sport. The effect of a really good 
 elephant shot in the pursuit of a herd over open coun- 
 try is very fine. With such weapons as the double-bar- 
 reled No. 10 rifles, a shot is seldom wasted ; and 
 during the chase, an elephant drops from the herd at 
 every pufF of smoke. It is a curious sight, and one of 
 19 221
 
 222 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 the grandest in the world, to see a fine rogue elephant 
 knocked over in full charge. His onset appears so irre- 
 sistible, and the majesty of his form so overwhelming, 
 that I have frequently almost mistrusted the power of 
 man over such a beast ; but one shot well placed, with 
 a heavy charge of powder behind the ball, reduces him 
 in one instant to a mere heap of flesh. 
 
 One of the most disgusting sights is a dead elephant 
 four or five days after the fatal shot. In a tropical cli- 
 mate, where decomposition proceeds with such won- 
 derful rapidity, the effect of the sun upon such a mass 
 can be readily understood. The gas generated in the 
 inside distends the carcase to an enormous size, until it 
 at length bursts and becomes in a few hours afterward 
 one living heap of maggots. Three weeks after an ele- 
 phant is killed nothing remains but his bones and a 
 sm'all heap of dried cases, from which the flies have 
 emerged when the time arrived for them to change from 
 the form of maggots. The sight of the largest of the 
 animal creation being thus reduced from life to nothing- 
 ness within so short a space of time is an instance of 
 the perishable tenure of mortality which cannot fail to 
 strike the most unthinking. The majesty, the power 
 and the sagacity of the enormous beast are scattered in 
 the myriads of flies which have fed upon him. 
 
 It is a delightful change after a sporting trip of a few 
 weeks in the hot climates to return again to the cool 
 and even temperature of Newera Ellia. The tent is a 
 pleasant dwelling when no other can be obtained, but 
 the comfort of a good house is never so much appre- 
 ciated as on the return from the jungle. 
 
 One great pleasure in the hunting at Newera Ellia is 
 the ease with which it is obtained. In fact, the sport
 
 An Unexpected Visitor. 223 
 
 lies at the very door. This may be said to be literally 
 true and not a fagon de parler, as I once killed an elk 
 that jumped through a window. It was a singular in- 
 cident. The hounds found three elk at the same time 
 on the mountain at the back of the hotel at Newera El- 
 lia. The pack divided : several hounds were lost for 
 two days, having taken their elk to an impossible coun- 
 try, and the rest of the pack concentrated upon a doe, 
 with the exception of old Smut, who had another elk 
 all to himself. This elk, which was a large doe, he 
 brought down from the top of the mountain to the back 
 of the hotel, just as we had killed the other, which the 
 pack had brought to the same place. A great number 
 of persons were standing in the hotel yard to view the 
 sport, when old Smut and his game appeared, rushing 
 in full fly through the crowd. The elk was so bothered 
 and headed that she went through the back door of the 
 hotel at full gallop, and Smut, with his characteristic 
 sagacity, immediately bolted round to the front of the 
 house, naturally concluding that if she went in at the 
 back door she must come out at the front. He was 
 perfectly right ; the old dog stood on the lawn before 
 the hotel, watching the house with great eagerness. In 
 the mean time the elk was galloping from room to room 
 in the hotel, chased by a crowd of people, until she at 
 length took refuge in a lady's bed-room, from which 
 there was no exit, as the window was closed. The 
 crash of glass may be imagined as an animal as large 
 as a pony leaped through it ; but old Smut was ready 
 for her, and after a chase of a few yards he pulled her 
 down. This is the only instance that I have ever 
 known of an elk entering a building, although it is a 
 common occurrence with hunted deer in England.
 
 324 The Rifle and~ Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 An elk found on the top of Pedro talla Galla, which 
 rises from the plain of Newera Ellia, will generally run 
 straight down the mountain, and, unless headed, he will 
 frequently come to bay in the river close to the hotel, 
 which is situated at the foot of the mountain. This, 
 however, is not a rule without an exception, as the elk 
 on some occasions takes a totally different direction, 
 and gives a hard day's work. 
 
 It was on the 27th of July, 1852, that I had a run of 
 this kind. It was six A. M. when my youngest brother 
 and I started from the foot of Pedro to ascend the moun- 
 tain. The path is three miles long, through jungle the 
 whole way to the summit. There were fresh tracks of 
 elk near the top of the mountain, the dew lay heavily 
 upon the leaves, and the scent was evidently strong, as 
 Merriman and Ploughboy, the two leading hounds, 
 dashed off upon it, followed by the whole pack. In a 
 few minutes we heard them in full cry about a quarter 
 of a mile from us, going straight down the hill. Giving 
 them a good holloa, we started off down the path at a 
 round pace, and in less than a quarter of an hour we 
 were at the foot of the mountain on the plain. Here 
 we found a number of people who had headed the elk 
 (a fine buck) just as he was breaking cover, and he had 
 turned back, taking off to some other line of country at 
 a great pace, as we could not hear even a whimper. 
 This was enough to make a saint swear, and, blessing 
 heartily the fellows who had headed him, we turned 
 back and retraced our steps up the mountain to listen 
 for the cry of the pack among the numerous ravines 
 which furrow the sides. 
 
 It was of no use : we could hear nothing but the 
 mocking chirp of birds and the roaring of the mountain
 
 A Long Run with a Buck. 225 
 
 torrents. Not a sign of elk or dogs. The grayhounds 
 were away with the pack, and knowing that the dogs 
 would never leave him till dark, we determined not to 
 give them up. No less than three times in the course 
 of the day did we reascend the mountain to listen for 
 them in vain. We went up to the top of the Newera 
 Ellia Pass, in the hope of hearing them in that direc- 
 tion, but with the same want of success. Miles of 
 giound were gone over to no purpose. Scaling the 
 steep sides of the mountains at the back of the barracks, 
 we listened among the deep hollows on the other side, 
 but again we were disappointed ; the sound of the tor- 
 rents was all that we could hear. 
 
 Descending again to the plain, we procured some 
 breakfast at a friend's house, and we started for the 
 Matturatta plains. These plains are about three or four 
 miles from the barracks ; and I had a faint hope that 
 the buck might have crossed over the mountain, and 
 descended into this part of the country to a river which 
 flows through the patinas. We now mounted our 
 horses, having been on foot all the morning. It was 
 three o'clock P.M., and, with little hope of finding the 
 dogs, we rode along the path toward the Matturatta 
 plains. 
 
 We had just entered the forest, when we met a young 
 hound returning along the path with a wound from a 
 buck's horn in the shoulder. There was now no doubt 
 of the direction, and we galloped along the path to- 
 wa :d the plains as hard as we could go. About half 
 wa~' to the plains, to my joy I saw an immense buck's 
 track in the path going in the same direction ; the toes 
 were spread wide apart, showing the pace at which he 
 had been going ; and there were dogs' tracks following 
 
 P
 
 226 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 him. all as fresh as could be. This was a gladdening 
 sight after a hard day's work, and we gave a random 
 cheer to encourage any dogs that might be within 
 hearing, rattling our horses over the ground at their 
 best speed. 
 
 At last the plains were reached. We pulled up our 
 panting steeds, and strained every nerve to hear the cry 
 of the hounds. The snorting of the horses prevented 
 our hearing any distant sound, and I gave a holloa and 
 listened for some answering voice from a dog. Instead 
 of a sound, Bran and Lucifer suddenly appeared. This 
 was conclusive evidence that the pack was somewhere 
 in this direction, and we rode out into the plain and 
 again listened. Hark to old Smut ! there was his deep 
 voice echoing from the opposite hills. Yoick to him, 
 Bran ! forward to him, Lucifer ! and away the gray- 
 hounds dashed toward the spot from which the sound 
 proceeded. The plain forms a wide valley with a river 
 winding through the centre, and we galloped over the 
 patinas after the grayhounds in full speed. There was 
 no mistaking the bay. I could now distinguish Merri- 
 man's fine voice in addition to that of old Smut, and a 
 general chorus of other tongues joined in, till the woods 
 rung again. The horses knew the sport, and away they 
 went, but suddenly over went old Jack, belly-deep in a 
 bog, and sent me flying over his head. There is noth- 
 ing like companionship in an accident, and Momus ac- 
 cordingly pitched upon his nose in the same bog, my 
 brother describing a fine spread-eagle as he sprawled 
 in the soft ground. We were close to the bay ; the 
 horses extricated themselves directly, and again mount- 
 ing we rode hard to the spot. 
 
 The buck was at bay in the river, and the exhausted
 
 . A Glorious Bay. 337 
 
 dogs were yelling at him from the bank. The instant 
 that we arrived and cheered them on, old Smut came 
 from the pack toward us with an expression of perfect 
 delight ; he gave himself two or three rolls*on the 
 grass, and then went to the fight like a lion. The 
 buck, however, suddenly astonished the whole pack by 
 jumping out of the river, and, charging right through 
 them, he started over the plain toward the jungle, with 
 the whole pack after him. He had refreshed himself 
 by standing for so long in the cold stream, while the 
 dogs, on the contrary, were nearly worn out. He 
 reached the jungle with the whole pack at his heels ; 
 but after doubling backward and forward in the forest 
 for about five minutes, we heard the crash in the 
 bushes as he once more rushed toward the plain, and 
 he broke cover in fine style, with the three grayhounds, 
 Bran, Lucifer and Lena, at his haunches. In another 
 instant he was seized, but he fell with such a shock 
 that it threw the grayhounds from their hold, and re- 
 covering himself with wonderful quickness, he went 
 down the slope toward the river at a tremendous pace. 
 The grayhounds overtook him just as he gained the 
 steep bank of the river, and they all rolled over in a 
 confused crowd into the deep water. 
 
 The next moment the buck was seen swimming 
 proudly down the river, with the whole pack follow- 
 ing him down the stream in full cry. Presently he 
 gained his footing, and, disdaining further flight, he 
 turned bravely upon the hounds. 
 
 He was a splendid fellow ; his nostrils were dis- 
 tended, his mane was bristled up, and his eyes flashed, 
 as, rearing to his full height he plunged forward and 
 struck the leading dogs under the water. Not a dog
 
 2s8 'The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 could touch him ; one by one they were beaten down 
 and half drowned beneath the water. Old Smut was 
 to the front as usual ; down the old dog was beaten, 
 but he Reappeared behind the elk's shoulder, and the 
 next moment he was hanging on his ear. The poor 
 old dog had lost so many of his teeth in these encoun- 
 ters that he could not keep his hold, and the buck gave 
 a tremendous spring forward, shaking off the old dog 
 and charging through the pack, sinking nearly half of 
 them for a few moments beneath the water. He had 
 too much pluck to fly farther, and, after wading shoul- 
 der-deep against the stream for a few yards, he turned 
 majestically round, and, facing the baying pack, he 
 seemed determined to do or die. I never saw a finer 
 animal ; there was a proud look of defiance in his as- 
 pect which gave him a most noble appearance ; but at 
 that time he had little pity bestowed upon him. 
 
 There he stood ready to meet the first dog. Old 
 Smut had been thrown to the rear as the buck turned, 
 and Lena came beautifully to the front, leading the 
 whole pack. There was a shallow sandbank in the 
 river where the bitch could get a footing, and she 
 dashed across it to the attack. The buck met her in 
 her advance by a sudden charge, which knocked her 
 over and over, but at the same instant Valiant, who is 
 a fine, powerful dog, made a clever spring forward and 
 pinned the buck by the ear. There was no shaking 
 him off, and he was immediately backed up by Plough- 
 boy, who caught the other ear most cleverly. There 
 the two dogs hung like ear-rings as the buck, rearing 
 up, swung them to and fro, but could not break their 
 hold. In another moment the grayhounds were upon 
 him the whole pack covered him ; his beautiful form
 
 The Nillho. 229 
 
 was seen alternately rearing from the water with the 
 dogs hanging upon him in all directions, then strug- 
 gling in a confused mass nearly beneath the surface of 
 the stream. He was a brave fellow, and had fought 
 nobly, but there was no hope for him, and we put an 
 end to the fight with the hunting-knife. 
 
 It was past four o'clock P.M., and he had been found 
 at seven A.M., but the conclusion fully repaid us for the 
 day's work. The actual distance run by the buck was 
 not above eight miles, but we had gone about twenty 
 during the day, the greater portion of which was over 
 most fatiguing ground. 
 
 On an open country an elk would never be caught 
 without grayhounds until he had run fifteen or twenty 
 miles. The dense jungles fatigue him as be ploughs 
 his way through them, and thus forms a path for the 
 dogs behind him. How he can move in some of these 
 jungles is an enigma ; a horse would break his legs, 
 and, in fact, could not stir in places through which an 
 elk passes in full gallop. 
 
 The principal underwood in the mountain districts 
 of Ceylon is the " nillho." This is a perfectly straight 
 stem, from twelve to twenty feet in length, and about 
 an inch and a half in diameter, having no branches ex- 
 cept a few small arms at the top, which are covered 
 with large leaves. This plant, in proportion to its 
 size, grows as close as corn in a field, and forms a 
 dense jungle most difficult to penetrate. When the 
 jungles are in this state, the elk is at a disadvantage, 
 as the immense exertion required to break his way 
 through this mass soon fatigues him, and forces him to 
 come to bay. 
 
 Every seven years this " nillho" blossoms. The jun- 
 20
 
 230 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 gles are then neither more nor less than vast bouquets 
 of bright purple and white flowers ; the perfume is de- 
 licious, and swarms of bees migrate from other coun- 
 tries to make their harvest of honey. The quantity 
 collected is extraordinary. The bee-hunters start from 
 the low country, and spend weeks in the jungle in col- 
 lecting the honey and wax. When looking over an 
 immense tract of forest from some elevated point, the 
 thin blue lines of smoke may be seen rising in many 
 directions, marking the sites of the bee-hunters' fires. 
 Their method of taking the honey is simple enough. 
 The bees' nests hang from the boughs of the trees, and 
 a man ascends with a torch of green leaves, which 
 creates a dense smoke. He approaches the nest and 
 smokes off the swarm, which, on quitting the exterior 
 of the comb, exposes a beautiful circular mass of honey 
 and wax, generally about eighteen inches in diameter 
 and six inches thick. The bee-hunter being provided 
 with vessels formed from the rind of the gourd attached 
 to ropes, now cuts up the comb and fills his chatties, 
 lowering them down to his companions below. 
 
 When the blossom of the nillho fades, the seed 
 forms ; this is a sweet little kernel, with the flavor of a 
 nut. The bees now leave the country, and the junglea 
 suddenly swarm, as though by magic, with pigeons, 
 jungle-fowl and rats. At length the seed is shed and 
 the nillho dies. 
 
 The jungles then have a curious appearance. The 
 underwood being dead, the forest-trees rise from a mass 
 of dry sticks like thin hop-poles. The roots of these 
 plants very soon decay, and a few weeks of high wind 
 howling through the forest levels the whole mass, leav- 
 ing the trees standing free from underwood. The appear
 
 Disasters of Elk-hunters. 231 
 
 ance of the ground can now be imagined a perfect 
 chaos of dead sticks and poles, piled one on the other, 
 in every direction, to a depth of between two and three 
 feet. It can only be compared to a mass of hurdles 
 being laid in a heap. The young nillho grows rapidly 
 through this, concealing the mass of dead sticks be- 
 neath, and forms a tangled barrier which checks both 
 dogs and man. With tough gaiters to guard the shins, 
 we break through by main force and weight, and the 
 dogs scramble sometimes over, sometimes under the 
 surface. At this period the elk are in great numbers, 
 as they feed with great avidity upon the succulent 
 young nillho. The dogs are now at a disadvantage. 
 While they are scrambling with difficulty through this 
 mass of half-rotten sticks, the elk bounds over it with 
 ease, leaving no path behind him, as lie clears it by 
 leaps, and does not exhaust himself by bursting through 
 it. He now constantly escapes, and leaves the pack 
 miles behind ; the best hounds follow him, but with 
 such a start he leads them into the unknown depths of 
 the jungles, over high mountains and across deep 
 ravines, from which the lost dogs frequently never 
 return. 
 
 There can be no question that it is a bad country for 
 hunting at all times, as the mass of forest is so dispro- 
 portionate to the patinas ; but, on the other hand, 
 were the forests of smaller size there would be less 
 game. Elk-hunting is, on the whole, fine sport. There 
 are many disappointments constantly occurring, but 
 these must happen in all sports. The only important 
 drawback to the pleasure of elk-hunting is the constant 
 loss of the dogs. The best are always sure to go. 
 What with deaths by boars, leopards, elk, and stray
 
 232 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 hounds, the pack is with difficulty maintained. Pup 
 pies are constantly lost in the commencement of their 
 training by straying too far into the jungle, and some- 
 times by reckless valor. I lost a fine young grayhound, 
 Lancer, own brother to Lucifer, in this way. It was 
 his first day with the pack. 
 
 We found a buck who came to bay in a deep rocky 
 torrent, where the dogs had no chance with him, and 
 he amused himself by striking them under water at his 
 pleasure. He at length took his stand among some 
 large rocks, between which the torrent rushed with great 
 rapidity previous to its descent over a fall of sixty feet. 
 
 In this impregnable position young Lancer chose to 
 distinguish himself, and with a beautiful spring he flew 
 straight at the buck's head ; but the elk met him with a 
 tremendous blow with the fore feet, which broke his 
 back, and the unfortunate Lancer was killed in his first 
 essay and swept over the waterfall. This buck was at 
 bay for two hours before he was killed. 
 
 A veteran seizer is generally seamed with innumer- 
 able scars. Poor old Bran, who, being a thoroughbred 
 grayhound, is too fine in the skin for such rough hunt- 
 ing, has been sewn up in so many places that he is a 
 complete specimen of needlework. If any dog is hurt 
 in a fight with elk or boar, it is sure to be old Bran. 
 He has now a scar from a wound that was seven inches 
 in length, which he received from a buck whose horns 
 are hanging over my door. 
 
 I had started with the pack at daybreak, and I was 
 riding down the Badulla road, about a mile from the 
 kennel, when the whole pack suddenly took up a scent 
 off the road, and dashed into the jungle in full cry. 
 The road was enclosed by forest on either side. The
 
 Bran Wounded. 233 
 
 pack had evidently divided upon two elk, as they were 
 running in different directions. 
 
 Starting oft' down the pass, I soon reached the steep 
 patinas, and I heard the pack coming down through 
 the jungle which crowns the hills on the left of the road. 
 There was a crash in the underwood, and the next mo- 
 ment a fine buck broke cover and went away along the 
 hillside. Merriman and Tiptoe were the two leading 
 dogs, and they were not fifty yards behind him. Old 
 Smut came tearing along after them, and I gave Bran 
 a holloa and slipped him immediately. It was a beau- 
 tiful sight to see Bran fly along the patina : across the 
 swampy bottom, taking the broad stream in one bound, 
 and skimming up the hill, he was on the buck's path in 
 a few minutes, pulling up to him at every stride. He 
 passed the few dogs that were in chase like lightning, 
 and in a few more bounds he was at the buck's side. 
 With a dextrous blow, however, the buck struck him 
 with his fore foot, and sent him rolling down the hill 
 with a frightful gash in his side. The buck imme- 
 diately descended the hillside, and came to ( bay in a 
 deep pool in the river. Regardless of his wound, old 
 Bran followed him ; Smut and the other dogs joined, 
 and there was a fine bay, the buck fighting like a hero. 
 The dogs could not touch him, as he was particularly 
 active with his antlers. 
 
 I jumped into the water and gave them a cheer, on 
 which the buck answered immediately by charging at 
 me. I met him with the point of my hunting-knife in 
 the nose, which stopped him, and in the same moment 
 old Smut was hanging on his ear, having pinned him 
 the instant that I had occupied his attention. Bran had 
 the other ear just as I had given the fatal thrust. In a 
 
 20*
 
 234 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 few seconds the struggle was over. Bran's wound was 
 four inches wide and seven inches long. 
 
 My brother had a pretty run with the doe with the 
 other half of the pack, and we returned home by eight 
 A. M., having killed two elk. 
 
 Daybreak is the proper time to be upon the ground 
 for elk-hunting. At this hour they have only just re- 
 tired to the jungle after their night's wandering on the 
 patinas, and the hounds take up a fresh scent, and save 
 the huntsman the trouble of entering the jungle. At a 
 later hour the elk have retired so far into the jungle that 
 much time is lost in finding them, and they are not so 
 likely to break cover as when they are just on the edge 
 of the forest. I had overslept myself one morning when 
 I ought to have been particularly early, as we intended 
 to hunt at the Matturatta plains, a distance of six miles. 
 The scent was bad and the sun was excessively hot ; 
 the dogs were tired and languid. It was two o'clock 
 p. M. and we had not found, and we were returning 
 through the forest homeward, having made up our 
 minds for a blank day. 
 
 Suddenly I thought I heard a deep voice at a great 
 distance ; it might have been fancy, but I listened again. 
 I counted the dogs, and old Smut was missing. There 
 was no mistaking his voice when at bay, and I now 
 heard him distinctly in the distance. Running toward 
 the sound through fine open forests, we soon arrived 
 on the Matturatta plains. The whole pack now heard 
 the old dog distinctly, and they rushed to the sound 
 across the patinas. There was Smut, sure enough, with 
 a fine buck at bay in the river, which he had found and 
 brought to bay single-handed. 
 
 ^he instant that the pack joined him the buck broke
 
 Old Smut's Buck. 235 
 
 his bay, and, leaping up the bank, he gave a beautiful 
 run over the patinas, with the whole pack after him, 
 and Bran a hundred paces in advance of the other dogs, 
 pulling up to him with murderous intent. Just as I 
 thought that Bran would have him, a sudden kick 
 threw the dog over, but he quickly recovered himself, 
 and again came to the front, and this time he seized the 
 buck by the ear, but, this giving way, lost his hold and 
 again was kicked over. This had checked the elk's 
 speed for some seconds, and the other dogs were fast 
 closing up, seeing which the buck immediately altered 
 his course for the river, and took to water in a deep 
 pool. Down came old Smut after him, and in a few 
 moments there was a beautiful chorus, as the whole 
 pack had him at bay. 
 
 The river went through a deep gorge, and I was 
 obliged to sit down and slide for about thirty yards, 
 checking a too rapid descent by holding on to the rank 
 grass. On arriving at the river, I could at first see 
 nothing for the high grass and bushes which grew upon 
 the bank, but the din of the bay was just below me. 
 Sliding through the tangled underwood, I dropped into 
 deep water, and found myself swimming about with 
 the buck and dogs around me. Smut and Bran had 
 him by the ears, and a thrust with the knife finished 
 him. 
 
 However great the excitement may be during the ac- 
 tual hunting, there is a degree of monotony in the recital 
 of so many scenes of the same character that may be 
 fatiguing : I shall therefore close the description of 
 these mountain sports with the death of the old hero 
 Smut, and the loss of the best hound, Merriman, both 
 of whom have left a blank in the pack not easily filled.
 
 236 The Rijle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 On the i6th of October, 1852, I started with a very 
 short pack. Lucifer was left in the kennel lame ; Lena 
 was at home with her pups ; and several other dogs 
 were sick. Smut and Bran were the only two seizers 
 out that day, and, being short-handed, I determined to 
 hunt in the moi'e green country at the foot of Hackgalla 
 mountain. 
 
 My brother and I had entered the jungle with the 
 dogs, and before we had proceeded a hundred yards we 
 heard a fierce bay, every dog having joined. The bay 
 was not a quarter of a mile distant, and we were puz- 
 zled as to the character of the game : whatever it was, 
 it had stood to bay without a run. Returning to the 
 patina, in which position we could distinctly assure 
 ourselves of the direction, we heard the bay broken, 
 and a slow run commenced. The next instant Bran 
 came hobbling out of the jungle covered with blood, 
 which streamed from a frightful gash in his hind quar- 
 ters. There was no more doubt remaining as to the 
 game at bay ; it was an enormous boar. 
 
 Bran was completely hors de combat', and Smut, 
 having lost nearly all his teeth, was of no use single- 
 handed with such an enemy. We had no seizers to 
 depend upon, and the boar again stood to bay in a thick 
 jungle. 
 
 I happened to ha've a rifle with me that morning, as 
 I had noticed fresh elephant-tracks in the neighborhood 
 a few days previous, and, hoping to be able to shoot 
 the boar, we entered the jungle and approached the 
 scene of the bay. ' : 
 
 When within twenty paces of the spot I heard his 
 fierce grunting as he charged right and left into the bay- 
 ing pack. In vain I cheered them on. I heard no signs
 
 Boar at Hackgalla. 237 
 
 ot his being seized, but the fierce barking of old Smut, 
 mingled with the savage grunts of the boar, and the oc- 
 casional cry of a wounded dog, explained the hopeless 
 nature of the contest. Again I cheered them on, and 
 suddenly Smut came up to me from the fight, which 
 was now not ten paces distant, but perfectly concealed 
 in thick bamboo underwood. The old dog was cov- 
 ered with blood, his back was bristled up, and his deep 
 growl betokened his hopeless rage. Poor old dog! he 
 had his death-wound. He seemed cut nearly in half; 
 a wound fourteen inches in length from the lower part 
 of the belly passed up his flank, completely severing the 
 muscle of the hind leg, and extending up to the spine. 
 His hind leg had the appearance of being nearly off, 
 and he dragged it after him in its powerless state, and, 
 with a fierce bark, he rushed upon three legs once more 
 to the fight. Advancing to within six feet of the boar, 
 I could not even see him, both he and the dogs were so 
 perfectly concealed by the thick underwood. Suddenly 
 the boar charged. I jumped upon a small rock and 
 hoped for a' shot, but, although he came within three 
 feet of the rifle, I could neither see him nor could he 
 see me. Had it not been for the fear of killing the 
 dogs, I would have fired where the bushes were moving, 
 but as it was I could do nothing. A rifle was useless 
 in such jungle. At length the boar broke his bay, but 
 again resumed it in a similar secure position. There 
 was no possibility of assisting the dogs, and he was cut- 
 ting up the pack in detail. If Lucifer and Lena had 
 been there, we could have killed him, but without 
 seizers we were helpless in such jungle. 
 
 This lasted for an hour, at the expiration of which 
 we managed to call the dogs off. Old Smut had stuck
 
 238 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 to him to the last, in despite of his disabled state. The 
 old dog, perfectly exhausted, crawled out of the jungle : 
 he had received several additional wounds, including a 
 severe gash in his throat. He fell from exhaustion, and 
 we made a litter with two poles and a horsecloth to 
 carry him home. Bran, Merriman and Ploughboy 
 were all severely wounded. We were thoroughly 
 beaten. It was the first time that we had ever been 
 beaten off, and I trust it may be the last. We returned 
 home with our vanquished and bleeding pack Smut 
 borne in his litter by four men and we arrived at the 
 kennel a melancholy procession. The pack was dis- 
 abled for weeks, as the two leading hounds, Merriman 
 and Ploughboy, were severely injured. 
 
 Poor old Smut lingered for a few days and died. 
 Thus closed his glorious career of sport, and he left a 
 fame behind him which will never be forgotten. His 
 son, who is now twelve months old, is the facsimile of 
 his sire, and often recalls the recollection of the old dog. 
 I hope he may turn out as good.* 
 
 Misfortunes never come alone. A few weeks after 
 Smut's death, Lizzie, an excellent bitch, was killed by 
 a leopard, who wounded Merriman in the throat, but 
 he being a powerful dog beat him off and escaped. 
 Merriman had not long recovered from his wound when 
 he came to a lamentable and most diabolical end. 
 
 On the 24th of December, 1852, we found a buck in 
 the jungles by the Badulla road. The dead nillho so 
 retarded the pack that the elk got a long start of the 
 dogs, and stealing" down a stream he broke cover, 
 crossed the Badulla road, ascended the opposite hills, 
 and took to the jungle before a single hound appeared 
 
 * Killed four month afterward by a buck elk.
 
 Scenery of the Pere-wette Mountains. 239 
 
 upon the patina. At length Merriman came bounding 
 along upon his track, full a hundred yards in advance 
 of the pack. In a few minutes every dog had disap- 
 peared in the opposite jungle on the elk's path. 
 
 This was a part of the country where we invariably 
 lost the dogs, as they took away across a vast jungle 
 country toward a large and rapid river situated among 
 stupendous precipices. I had often endeavored to find 
 the dogs in this part, but to no purpose ; this day, how- 
 ever, I was determined to follow them if possible. I 
 made a circuit of twenty miles down into the low coun- 
 tries, and again ascending through precipitous jungles, 
 I returned home in the evening, having only recovered 
 two dogs, which I found on the other side of the range 
 of mountains over which the buck had passed. No 
 pen can describe the beauty of the scenery in this part 
 of the country, but it is the most frightful locality for 
 hunting that can be imagined. The high lands sud- 
 denly cease ; a splendid panoramic view of the low 
 country extends for thirty miles before the eye ; but to 
 descend to this precipices of immense depth must be 
 passed ; and from a deep gorge in the mountain the 
 large river, after a succession of falls, leaps in one vast 
 plunge of three hundred feet into the abyss below. 
 This is a stupendous cataract, about a mile below the 
 foot of which is the village of Perewelle'. I passed 
 close to the village, and, having ascended the steep 
 sides of the mountain, I spent hours in searching for 
 the pack, but the roaring of the river and the din of the 
 waterfalls would have drowned the cry of a hundred 
 hounds. Once, and only once, when halfway up the 
 side of the mountain, I thought I heard the deep bay 
 of a hound in the river below ; then I heard the shoul
 
 240 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 of a native ; but the sound was not repeated, and I 
 thought it might proceed from the villagers driving 
 their buffaloes. I passed on my arduous path, little 
 thinking of the tragic fate which at that moment at- 
 tended poor Merriman. 
 
 The next day all the dogs found their way home to 
 the kennel with the exception of Merriman. I -was 
 rather anxious at his absence, as he knew the whole 
 country so thoroughly that he should have been one of 
 the first dogs to return. I was convinced that the buck 
 had been at bay in the large river, as I had seen his 
 tracks in several places on the banks with dog tracks in 
 company ; this, added to the fact of the two stray dogs 
 bbing found in the vicinity, convinced me that they had 
 brought the elk to bay in the river, in which I imagined 
 he had beaten the dogs off. Two or three days passed 
 away without Merriman's return, and, knowing him to 
 be the leading hound of the pack, I made up my mind 
 that he had been washed down a waterfall and killed. 
 
 About a week after this had happened a native came 
 up from the low country with the intelligence that the 
 dogs had brought the buck to bay in the river close to 
 the village of Perewelle, and that the natives had killed 
 the elk and driven the dogs away. The remaining por- 
 tion of this man's story filled me with rage and horror. 
 Merriman would not leave the body of the elk : the 
 natives thought that the dog might be discovered in 
 their village, which would lead to the detection of the 
 theft of the elk ; they, therefore, tied this beautiful 
 hound to a tree, knocked his brains out -with a hatchet, 
 and threw his body into the river. This dog was a 
 favorite with every one who knew the pack. The 
 very instant that I heard the intelligence I took a good
 
 A Glorious Satisfaction. 241 
 
 stick, and, in company with my brother, three friends, 
 and my informant, we started to revenge Merriman. 
 Perewell is twelve miles from my house across coun- 
 try : it was six P.M. when we started, and we arrived at 
 a village within two miles of this nest of villains at half- 
 past eight. Here we got further information, and a 
 man who volunteered to point out three men who were 
 the principal actors in murdering the dog. We slept 
 at this village, and, rising at four o'clock on the follow- 
 ing morning, we marched toward Perewelle to surprise 
 the village and capture the offenders. 
 
 It was bright moonlight, and we arrived at the village 
 just at break of day. The house was pointed out in 
 which the villains lived, and we immediately sur- 
 rounded it, and upon entering we seized the offenders. 
 Upon searching the house we found a quantity 
 of dried venison, a spear and,, an axe, covered with 
 blood, with which they had destroyed the unfortunate 
 dog. 
 
 A glorious satisfaction is the law of might ! At every 
 blow I thought of the dog's death, and we thrashed them 
 till we dared not go much farther. The whole village, 
 which comprised nearly a hundred persons, took to 
 flight, according to their usual cowardly nature. The 
 captured wretches declared their innocence, and they 
 lay down pretending to be at the point of death. Tak- 
 ing a fine gutta percha whip, I flogged them till they 
 revived again ; and we forced them to lead the way 
 and point out the very spot of the elk's death. They 
 would not confess the dog's murder, although it was 
 proved against them. 
 
 It was a frightful spot, about two hundred pace> 
 below the foot of the great fall. The river, swollen by 
 21 Q
 
 242 The Rifle a?id Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 the late rain, boiled, and strove with the opposite rocks, 
 lashing itself into foam, and roaring down countless 
 cataracts, which, though well worthy of the name, sank 
 into insignificance before the mighty fall which fed 
 them. High above our heads reared the rocky preci- 
 pice of a thousand feet in height, the grassy mountains 
 capped with forest, and I could distinguish the very 
 spot from which I had heard the shouts of men on the 
 day of Merriman's death. Had I only known what 
 was taking place below, I might perhaps have been in 
 time to save the dog. 
 
 We found the blood and remains of the offal of the 
 buck, but we, -of course, saw no remains of the dog, as 
 the power of the torrent must soon have dashed him to 
 atoms against/ the rocks. 
 
 Thus ended poor Merriman : a better hound could 
 not have lived, and h^s murderers should have been 
 hanged. Unfortunately, Ceylon laws are often admin- 
 istered by persons who have never received a legal edu- 
 cation, and these wretches escaped without further pun- 
 ishment than the thrashing they had received. Of this, 
 however they had a full dose, which was a sweet sauce 
 to their venison which they little anticipated. 
 
 The few descriptions that I have given of elk-hunting 
 should introduce a stranger thoroughly to the sport. No 
 one, however, can enjoy it with as much interest as the 
 owner of the hounds ; he knows the character of every 
 dog in the pack every voice is familiar to his ear ; he 
 cheers them to the attack ; he caresses them for their 
 /courage ; they depend upon him for assistance in the 
 struggle, and they mutually succor each other. This 
 renders the dog a more cherished companion than he is 
 considered in England, where his qualities are not of so
 
 Reference to my Journal. 243 
 
 important a nature ; and it makes the loss of a good 
 hound more deeply felt by his master. 
 
 Having thus described the general character of Cey- 
 lon sports in all branches, I diall conclude by a detailed 
 journal of one trip of a few weeks in the low country, 
 which will at once explain the whole minutiae of the 
 shooting in the island. This journal is taken from a small 
 diary which has frequently accompanied me on these ex- 
 cursions, containing little memoranda which, by many, 
 might be considered tedious. The daily account of the 
 various incidents of a trip will, at all events, give a 
 faithful picture of the jungle sports.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 A JUNGLE TRIP. 
 
 ON the i6th of November, 1851, I started from 
 Kandy, accompanied by my brother, Lieutenant 
 V. Baker, then of the Ceylon Rifle Regiment. Having 
 sent on our horses from Newera Ellia some days pre- 
 vious, as far as Matille, sixteen miles from Kandy, we 
 drove there early in the morning, and breakfasted with 
 F. Layard, Esq., who was then assistant government 
 agent. It had rained without ceasing during twenty- 
 four hours, and, hoping that the weather might change, 
 we waited at Matill6 till two o'clock p. AT. The rain 
 still poured in torrents, and, giving up all ideas of fine 
 weather, we started. 
 
 The horses were brought round, and old Jack knew 
 as well as I did that he was starting for a trip, as the 
 tether rope was wound round his neck and the horse- 
 cloth was under his saddle. The old horse was sleek 
 and in fine condition for a journey, and, without further 
 loss of time, we started for Dambool, a distance of 
 thirty-one miles. Not wishing to be benighted, we can- 
 tered the whole way, and completed the distance in 
 three hours and a half, as we arrived at Dambool at 
 half-past five p. M. 
 
 I had started off Wallace and all the coolies from 
 244
 
 A Jungle Trip. 245 
 
 Nv-wera Ellia about a week beforehand ; and, having 
 instructed him to leave a small box with a change of 
 clothes at the Dambool rest-house, I now felt the bene- 
 fit of the arrangement. The horsekeepers could not 
 possibly arrive that night. We therefore cleaned and 
 fed our own horses, and littered them down with a good 
 bed of paddy straw ; and, that being completed, we 
 turned our attention to curry and rice. 
 
 The .next morning at break of day, we fed the horses. 
 Old Jack was as fresh as a daisy. The morning was 
 delightfully cloudy, but free from rain ; and we cantered 
 on to Innamalow, five miles from Dambool. Here we 
 procured a guide to Minneria ; and turning off from the 
 main road into a narrow jungle path, we rode for 
 twenty miles through dense jungle. Passing the rock 
 of Sigiri, which was formerly used as a fort by the 
 ancient inhabitants of the country, we gradually en- 
 tered better jungle, and at length we emerged upon the 
 beautiful plains of Minneria. J had ordered Wallace 
 to pitch the encampment in the exact spot which I had 
 frequently occupied some years ago. I therefore knew 
 the rendezvous, and directed my course accordingly. 
 
 What a change had taken place ! a continuous drought 
 had reduced the lake from its original size of twenty-two 
 miles in circumference, to a mere pool of about four 
 miles in circuit; this was all that remained of the noble 
 sheet of water around which I had formerly enjoyed so 
 much sport. 
 
 From the rich bed of the dry lake sprung a fine silky 
 grass of about two feet in height, forming a level plain 
 of velvet green far as the eye could reach. The turf 
 was firm and elastic ; the four o'clock sun had laid 
 aside the fiercest of his rays, and threw a gentle glow 
 21*
 
 246 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 over the scene, which reminded me of an English mid- 
 summer evening. 
 
 There is so little ground in Ceylon upon which a 
 horse can gallop without the risks of holes, bogs and 
 rocks that we could not resist a canter upon such fine 
 turf; and although the horses had made a long journey 
 already, they seemed to enjoy a more rapid pace when 
 they felt the inviting sward beneath their feet. Although 
 every inch of this country had been familiar to me, I 
 felt some difficulty in finding the way to the appointed 
 spot, the scene was so changed by the disappearance of 
 the water. 
 
 There were fresh elephant tracks in many parts of 
 the plain, and I was just anticipating good sport for the 
 next day, when we suddenly heard an elephant trumpet 
 in the open forest which we were skirting. The next 
 instant I saw eight elephants among the large trees 
 which bordered the forest. For the moment I thought 
 it was a herd, but I almost immediately noticed the 
 constrained and unnatural positions in which they were 
 standing. They were all tied to different trees by the 
 legs, and upon approaching the spot we found an en- 
 campment of Arabs and Moormen who had been noos- 
 ing elephants for sale. We at once saw that the coun- 
 try was disturbed, as these people had been employed 
 in catching elephants for some weeks. 
 
 After a ride of seven or eight miles along the plain, 
 I discovered a thin blue line of smoke rising from the 
 edge of a distant forest, and shortly after I could dis- 
 tinguish forms moving on the plain in the same direc- 
 tion. Cantering toward the spot, we found ou*" coolies 
 and encampment. The tents were pitched under some 
 noble trees, which effectually excluded every ray of sun
 
 A Jungle Trip. 247 
 
 It was the exact spot upon which I had been accus- 
 tomed to encamp some years ago. The servants had 
 received orders when they started from Kandy to have 
 dinner prepared at five o'clock on the i7th November; 
 it was accordingly ready on our arrival. 
 
 Minneria was the appointed rendezvous from which 
 this trip was to commence. Our party was to consist 
 of the Honorable Stuart Wortley, E. Palliser, Esq., 
 Lieutenant V. Baker, S. W. Baker. My brother had 
 unfortunately only fourteen days' leave from his regi- 
 ment, and he and I had accordingly hurried on a day in 
 advance of our party, they having still some prepara- 
 tions to complete in Kandy, and not being quite so well 
 horsed for a quick journey. 
 
 Nothing could be more comfortable than our arrange- 
 ments. Our followers and establishment consisted of 
 four personal servants, an excellent cook, four horse- 
 keepers, fifty coolies and Wallace ; in all, sixty people. 
 The coolies were all picked men, who gave not the 
 slightest trouble during the whole trip. We had two 
 tents, one of which contained four beds and a general 
 dressing-table ; the other, which was my umbrella- 
 shaped tent, was arranged as the dining-room, with 
 table and chairs. With complete dinner and breakfast 
 services for four persons, and abundance of table linen, 
 we had everything that could be wished for. Although 
 I can rough it if necessary, I clo not pretend to prefer 
 discomfort from choice. A little method and a trifling 
 extra cost will make the jungle trip anything but un- 
 comfortable. There was nothing wanting in our sup- 
 plies. We had sherry, madeira, brandy and cura9oa, 
 biscuits, tea, sugar, coffee, hams, tongues, sauces, pick- 
 les, mustard, sardines en huile, tins of soups and pre-
 
 248 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 served meats and vegetables, currant jelly for venison, 
 maccaroni, vermicelli, flour and a variety of other things 
 that add to the comfort of the jungle, including last, but 
 not least, a double supply of soap and candles. No one 
 knows the misery should either of these fail dirt and 
 darkness is the necessary consequence. 
 
 There was a large stock of talipots* to form tents for 
 the people and coverings for the horses in. case of rain ; 
 in fact, there never was a trip more happily planned or 
 more comfortably arranged, and there was certainly 
 never such a battery assembled in Ceylon as we now 
 mustered. Snch guns deserve t> be chronicled : 
 
 Wortley I single barrel rifle 3-ounce. 
 
 " i double do. rifle No. 12. 
 
 " 2 double do. guns No. 12. 
 
 Palliser I single do. rifle No. 8 (my old 2-ounce). 
 
 " i double do. rifle No. 12. 
 
 " 2 double do. guns No. 12. 
 
 V. Baker 3 double do. do No. 14. 
 
 " i double do. do No. 12. 
 
 " i single do. rifle No. 14. 
 
 S. W. Baker. . . . i single do. rifle 4-ounce. 
 
 " ... -3 double do. rifles No. 10. 
 
 " .... i double do. gun No. 16. 
 
 1 8 guns. 
 
 These guns were all by the first makers, and we took 
 possession of our hunting country with the confidence 
 of a good bag, provided that game was abundant. 
 
 But how changed was this country since I had visited 
 it in former years, not only in appearance but in the 
 quantity of game ! 
 
 On these plains, where in times past I had so often 
 counted immense herds of wild buffaloes, no' one wag 
 * Large leaves from the talipot tree.
 
 A Jungle Trip. 249 
 
 now to be seen. The deer were scared and in small 
 herds, not exceeding seven or ten, proving how thej 
 had been thinned out by shooting. In fact, Minneria 
 had become within the last four years a focus for most 
 sportsmen, and the consequence was that the country 
 was spoiled ; not by the individual shooting of visitors, 
 but by the stupid practice of giving the natives "large 
 quantities of powder and ball as a present at the con- 
 clusion of a trip. They, of course, being thus supplied 
 with ammunition, shot the deer and buffaloes without 
 intermission, and drive them from the country by inces- 
 sant harassing. 
 
 I saw immediately that we could not expect much 
 sport in this disturbed part of the country, and we de- 
 termined to waste no more time in this sport than 
 would be necessary in procuring the elephant-trackers 
 from Doolana. We planned our campaign that evening 
 at dinner. 
 
 Nov. 18. At daybreak I started WallactfofFto Doo- 
 lana to bring my old acquaintance the Rhatamahatmeya 
 and the Moormen trackers. I felt confident that I could 
 prevail upon him to accompany us to the limits of his 
 district ; this was all-important to our chance of sport, 
 as without him we could procure no assistance from 
 the natives. 
 
 After breakfast we mounted our horses and rode to 
 Cowdelle, eight miles, as 'I expected to find elephants 
 in this open but secluded part of the country. There 
 were very fresh tracks of a herd, and as we expected 
 Wortley and Palliser on the following day, we would 
 not disturb the country, but returned to Minneria and 
 passed the afternoon in shooting snipe and crocodiles. 
 The latter were in incredible numbers, as the whole
 
 250 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 population of this usually extensive lake was now con 
 densed in the comparatively small extent of water be- 
 fore us. The fish of course were equally numerous, 
 and we had an unlimited supply of " lola " of three to 
 four pounds weight at a penny each. Our gang of 
 coolies feasted upon them in immense quantities, and 
 kept a native fully employed in catching them. Our 
 cook exerted his powers in producing some piquante 
 dishes with these fish. Stewed with melted butter 
 (ghee), with anchovy sauce, madeira, sliced onion and 
 green chilies, this was a dish worthy of " Soyer," but 
 they were excellent in all shapes, even if plain boiled or 
 fried. 
 
 Nov. 19. At about four p. M. I scanned the plain 
 with my telescope, in expectation of the arrival of our 
 companions, whom I discovered in the distance, and as 
 they approached within hearing, we greeted them with 
 a shout of welcome to show the direction of our en- 
 campment. * We were a merry party that evening at 
 dinner, and we determined to visit Cowdelle, and track 
 up the herd ihat we had discovered, directly that the 
 Moormen trackers should arrive from Doolana. 
 
 The worst of this country was the swarm of mosqui- 
 toes which fed upon us at night ; it was impossible to 
 sleep with the least degree of comfort, and we always 
 hailed the arrival of morning with delight. 
 
 Nov. 20. At dawn this morning, before daylight 
 could be called complete, Palliser had happened to 
 look out from the tent, and to his surprise he saw a 
 rogue elephant just retreating to the jungle, at about 
 two hundred yards distance. We loaded the guns and 
 went after him in as short a time as possible, but he 
 was too quick for us, and he had retreated to thick jun-
 
 A Jungle Trip. 251 
 
 gle before we were out. Wortley and I then strolled 
 along the edge of the jungle, hoping to find him again 
 in some of the numerous nooks which the plain formed 
 by running up the forest. We had walked quietly 
 along for about half a mile, when we crossed an abrupt 
 rocky promontory, which stretched from the jungle into 
 the lake like a ruined pier. On the other side the lake 
 formed a small bay, shaded by the forest, which was 
 separated from the water's edge by a gentle slope of 
 turf about fifty yards in width. This bay was a shel- 
 tered spot, and as we crossed the rocky promontory, 
 the noise that we made over the loose stones in turn- 
 ing the corner, disturbed a herd of six deer, five of 
 whom dashed into the jungle ; the sixth stopped for a 
 moment at the edge of the forest to take a parting look 
 at us. He was the buck of the herd, and carried a 
 noble pair of antlers ; he was about a hundred and 
 twenty yards from us, and I took a quick shot at -him 
 with one of the No. 10 rifles. The brushwood closed 
 over him as he bounded into the jungle, but an ominous 
 crack sounded back from the ball, which made me think 
 he was hit. At this moment Palliser and V. Baker 
 came running up, thinking that we had found the ele- 
 phant. 
 
 The buck was standing upon some snow-white quartz 
 rocks when I fired, and upon an examination of the 
 spot, frothy patches of blood showed that he was struck 
 through the lungs. Men are bloodthirsty animals, for 
 nothing can exceed the pleasure, after making a long 
 shot, of finding the blood track on the spot when the 
 animal is gone. We soon tracked him up, and found 
 him lying dead in the jungle within twenty yards of the 
 spot. This buck was the first head of game we had
 
 252 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 bagged, with the exception of a young elk that I had 
 shot on horseback during the ride from Dambool. We 
 had plenty of snipe, and, what with fish, wildfowl and 
 venison, our breakfast began to assume an inviting 
 character. After breakfast we shot a few couple of 
 snipe upon the plain, and in the evening we formed 
 two parties Palliser and V. Baker and Wortley and 
 myself and taking different directions, we scoured the 
 country, agreeing to meet at the tent at dusk. 
 
 W. and I saw nothing beyond the fresh tracks of 
 game which evidently came out only at night. We 
 wandered about till evening, and then returned toward 
 the tent. On the way there I tried a long shot at a 
 heron with a rifle ; he was standing at about a hundred 
 and fifty yards from us, and by great good luck I killed 
 him. 
 
 On arrival at the tent we found P. and V. B., who 
 had returned. They had been more fortunate in their 
 line of country, having found two rogue elephants one 
 in thick jungle, which V. B. fired at and missed ; and 
 shortly after this shot, they found another rogue on the 
 plain not far from the tent. The sun was nearly set- 
 ting, and shone well in the elephant's eyes ; thus they 
 were able to creep pretty close to him without being 
 observed, and P. killed him by a good shot with a rifle, 
 at about twenty-five yards. In my opinion, this was 
 the same elephant that had been seen near the tent 
 early in the morning. 
 
 Wallace, with the Rhatamahatmeya and the trackers, 
 had arrived, and we resolved to start for Cowdelle at 
 daybreak on the following morning. 
 
 Nov. 21. Having made our preparations over night 
 for an early start, we were off at daybreak, carrying
 
 A Jungle Trip. 253 
 
 with us the cook with his utensils, and the canteen con 
 taining everything that could be required for breakfast. 
 We were thus prepared for a long day's work, should 
 it be necessary. 
 
 After a ride of about eight miles along a sandy path, 
 bordered by dense jungle, we arrived at the open 
 but marshy ground upon which we had seen the tracks 
 of the herd a few days previous. Fresh elephant tracks 
 had accompanied us the whole way along our path, and 
 a herd was evidently somewhere in the vicinity, as the 
 path was obstructed in many places by the branches of 
 trees upon which they had been feeding during the 
 night. The sandy ground was likewise printed with 
 innumerable tracks of elk, deer, hogs and leopards. 
 We halted under some widespreading trees, beneath 
 which a clear stream of water rippled over a bed of 
 white pebbles, with banks of fine green sward. In this 
 spot were unmistakable tracks of elephants where they 
 had been recently drinking. The country was park- 
 like, but surrounded upon its borders with thick jun- 
 gles ; clumps of thorny bushes were scattered here and 
 .there, and an abundance of good grass and water en- 
 sured a large quantity of game. The elephants were 
 evidently not far off, and of course were well secured 
 in the thorny jungles.' 
 
 Wortley had never yet seen a wild elephant, and a 
 dense jungle is by no means a desirable place for an 
 introduction to this kind of game. It is a rule of mine 
 never to follow elephants in such ground, where they 
 generally have it all their own way ; but, as there are 
 exceptions to all rules, we determined to find them, 
 after having taken so much trouble in making our ar- 
 rangements. 
 22
 
 254 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 We unsaddled, and ordered breakfast to be ready for 
 our I'eturn beneath one of the most shady trees, and 
 having loaded, we started off upon the tracks. As I 
 had expected, they led to a thick thorny jungle, and 
 slowly and cautiously we followed the leading tracker. 
 The jungle became worse and worse as we advanced, 
 and had it not been for the path which the elephants 
 had formed, we could not have moved an inch. The 
 leaves of the bushes were wet with dew, and we were 
 obliged to cover up all the gun-locks to prevent any of 
 them missing fire. We crept for about a quarter of a 
 mile upon this track, when the sudden snapping of a 
 branch a hundred paces in advance plainly showed 
 that we were up with the game. 
 
 This is the exciting moment in elephant-shooting, 
 and every breath is held for a second intimation of the 
 exact position of the herd. A deep, guttural sound, 
 like the rolling of very distant thunder, is heard, accom- 
 panied by the rustling and cracking of the branches as 
 they rub their tough sides against the trees. Our ad- 
 vance had been so stealthy that they were perfectly un- 
 disturbed. Silently and carefully we crept up, and in a 
 few minutes I distinguished two immense heads ex- 
 actly facing us at about ten paces distant. Three more 
 indistinct forms loomed in the thick bushes just behind 
 the leaders. 
 
 A quiet whisper to Wortley to take a cool shot at 
 the left-hand elephant, in the exact centre of the fore- 
 head, and down went the two leaders, Wortley's and 
 mine ; quickly we ran into the herd, before they knew 
 what had happened, and down went another to V. 
 Baker's shot. The smoke hung in such thick volumes 
 that we could hardly see two yards before us, when
 
 A Jimgle Trip. 255 
 
 straight into the cloud of smoke an elephant rushed 
 toward us. V. Baker fired, but missed ; and my left-hand 
 barrel extinguished him. Running through the smoke 
 with a spare rifle I killed the last elephant. They were 
 all bagged five elephants within thirty seconds from 
 the first shot fired. Wortley had commenced well, hav- 
 ing killed his first elephant with one shot. 
 
 We found breakfast ready on our return to the horses, 
 and having disturbed this part of the country by the 
 heavy volley at the herd, we returned to Minneria. 
 
 I was convinced that we could expect no sport in 
 this neighborhood ; we therefore held a consultation as 
 to our line of country. 
 
 Some years ago I had entered the north of the Ved- 
 dah country from this point, and I now proposed that 
 we should start upon a trip of discovery, and endeavor 
 to penetrate from the north to the south of the Veddah 
 country into the " Park." No person had ever shot 
 over this route, and the wildness of the idea only in- 
 creased the pleasure of the trip. We had not the least 
 idea of the distance, but we knew the direction by a 
 pocket compass. 
 
 There was but one objection to the plan, and this 
 hinged upon the shortness of V. Baker's leave. He 
 had only ten days unexpired, and it seemed rash, with 
 so short a term, to plunge into an unknown country ; 
 however, he was determined to push on, as he trusted 
 in the powers of an extraordinary pony that would do 
 any distance on a push. This determination, however, 
 destroyed a portion of the trip, as we were obliged to 
 push quickly through a lovely sporting country, to ar- 
 rive at a civilized, or rather an acknowledged, line of 
 . road by which he could return to Kandy. Had we, on
 
 256 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 the contrary, traveled easily through this country, we 
 should have killed an extraordinary amount of game. 
 
 We agreed that our route should be this. We were 
 to enter the Veddah country at the north and strike 
 down to the south. I knew a bridle-path from Badulla 
 to Batticaloa, which cut through the Veddah country 
 from west to east ; therefore we should meet it at right 
 a'ngles. From this point V. Baker was to bid adieu, 
 and turn to the west and reach Badulla, from thence to 
 Newera Ellia and to his regiment in Kandy. We 
 were to continue our direction southward, which I 
 knew would eventually bring us to the Park. 
 
 Nov. 22. We moved our encampment, accompanied 
 by the headman and his followers, and after a ride of 
 fourteen miles we arrived at the country of Hengiri- 
 watdowane, a park-like spot of about twelve square 
 miles, at which place we were led to expect great sport. 
 The appearance of the ground was all that we could 
 wish ; numerous patches of jungle and single trees were 
 dotted upon the surface of fine turf. 
 
 In the afternoon, after a cooling shower, we all sepa- 
 rated, and started with our respective gun-bearers in 
 different directions, with the understanding that no one 
 was to fire a shot at any game but elephants. We were 
 to meet in the evening and describe the different parts 
 of the country, so that we should know how to proceed 
 on the following day. 
 
 I came upon herds of deer in several places, but I of 
 course did not fire, although they were within a cer- 
 tain shot. I saw no elephants. 
 
 Every one saw plenty of deer, but V. Baker was the 
 only luckjj individual in meeting with elephants. He 
 came upon a fine herd, but they winded him and
 
 A Jungle Trip. 257 
 
 escaped. There was evidently plenty of game; but V. 
 B. having fired at the elephants, we knew that this part 
 of the country was disturbed ; we therefore had no 
 hesitation in discharging all the guns and having them 
 well cleaned for the next morning, when we proposed 
 to move the tent a couple of miles farther off. 
 
 J\ T ov. 23. A m6st unfortunate day, proving the dis- 
 advantage of being ignorant of the ground. Although 
 I knew the whole country by one route, from Minneria 
 to the north of the Veddah country, we had now di- 
 verged from that route to visit this particular spot, 
 which I had never before shot over. We passed on 
 tiirough beautiful open country interspersed with clumps 
 of jungle, but without one large tree that would shade 
 the tent. 
 
 A single roofed tent exposed to the sun is perfectly 
 unbearable, and we continued to push on in the hope 
 of finding a tree of sufficient size to afford shelter. 
 
 Some miles were passed ; fresh tracks of elephants 
 and all kinds of game were very numerous, and the 
 country was perfection for shooting. 
 
 At length the open plains became more protracted, 
 and the patches of jungle larger and more frequent. 
 By degrees the open ground ceased altogether, and we 
 found ourselves in a narrow path of deep mud passing 
 through impenetrable thorny jungle. Nevertheless our 
 guide insisted upon pushing on to a place which he 
 compared to that which we had unfortunately left be- 
 hind us. Instead of going two miles, as we had orig- 
 inally intended, we had already ridden sixteen at the 
 least, and still the headman persisted in pushing on. 
 No coolies were up ; the tents and baggage were far 
 behind; we had nothing to eat; we had left the fine 
 22* R
 
 2$S The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 open country, which was full of game, miles behind 
 us, and we were in a close jungle country, where a rifle 
 was not worth a bodkin. It was too annoying. I voted 
 for turning back to the lovely hunting-ground that we 
 had deserted ; but after a long consultation we came to 
 the conclusion that every day was of such importance 
 to V. Baker that we could not afford to retrace a single 
 step. 
 
 Thus all this beautiful country, abounding with every 
 kind of game, was actually passed over without firing a 
 single shot. 
 
 I killed a few couple of snipe in a neighboring swamp 
 to pass the time until the coolies arrived with the bag- 
 gage ; they were not up until four o'clock P.M., there- 
 fore the whole day was wasted, and we were obliged to 
 sleep here. 
 
 Nov. 24. This being Sunday, the guns were at rest. 
 The whole of this country was dense ch^nar jungle ; 
 we therefore pushed on, and, after a ride of fourteen 
 miles, we arrived at the Rhatamahatmeya's residence 
 at Doolana. He insisted upon our taking breakfast 
 with him, and he accordingly commenced his prepara- 
 tions. Borrowing one of our hunting-knives, two of 
 his men gave chase to a kid and cut his head off. 
 Half an hour afterward we were eating it in various 
 forms, all of which were excellent. 
 
 We had thus traveled over forty-four miles of country 
 from Minneria without killing a single head of game. 
 Had we remained a week in the country through which 
 we had passed so rapidly, we must have had most ex- 
 cellent sport. All this was the effect of being hurried 
 for time. 
 
 In the neighborhood of Doolana I had killed many
 
 A Jungle Trip. 259 
 
 elephants some years ago, and I have no doubt we 
 could have had good sport at this time ; but V. Baker's 
 leave was so fast expiring, and the natives' accounts of 
 the distance through the Veddah country were so vague, 
 that we had no choice except to push straight through 
 as fast as we could travel, until we should arrive on the 
 Batticaloa path. 
 
 We took leave of our friend the Rhatamahatmeya ; 
 he had provided us with good trackers, who were to 
 accompany us through the Veddah country to the Park ; 
 but I now began to have my doubts as to the knowledge 
 of the ground. However we started, and after skirting 
 the Doolana tank for some distance, we rode five miles 
 through fine forest, and then arrived on the banks of the 
 Mahawelle 1 river. The stream was at this time very 
 rapid, and was a quarter of a mile in width, rolling 
 along between its steep banks through a forest of mag- 
 nificent trees. Some hours were consumed in trans- 
 porting the coolies and baggage across the river, as the 
 canoe belonging to the village of Monampitya, on the 
 opposite bank, would only hold four coolies and their 
 loads at one voyage. 
 
 We swam the horses across, and, attending carefully 
 to the safety of the cook before any other individual, 
 we breakfasted on the opposite bank, while the coolies 
 were crossing the river. 
 
 . After breakfast, a grave question arose, viz., Which 
 way were we to go ? The trackers that the headman 
 had given us now confessed that they did not know an 
 inch of the Veddah country into which we had arrived 
 by crossing the river, and they refused to go a step far- 
 ther. Here was a " regular fix !" as the Americans 
 worJd express it.
 
 260 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 The village of Monampitya consists of about six small 
 huts ; and we now found out that there was no other 
 village within forty miles in the direction that we wished 
 to steer. No't a soul could we obtain as a guide no offer 
 of reward would induce a man to start, as they declared 
 that no one knew the country, and that the distance was 
 so great that the peeple would be starved, as they could 
 get nothing to eat. We looked hopelessly at the country 
 before us. We had a compass, certainly, which might 
 be useful enough on a desert or a prairie, but in a jun- 
 gle country it was of little value. 
 
 Just as we were in the greatest despair, and we were 
 gazing wistfully in the direction which the needle 
 pointed out as the position of the " Park," now sepa- 
 rated from us by an untraveled district of an unknown 
 distance, we saw two figures with bows and arrows 
 coming from the jungle. One of these creatures bolted 
 back again into the bushes the moment he perceived 
 us ; the other one had a fish in his hand, of about four 
 pounds weight, which he had shot with his bow and 
 arrow, and, while he was hesitating whether he should 
 run or stand still, we caught him. 
 
 Of all the ugly little devils I ever saw, he was super- 
 lative. He squinted terribly ; his hair was grayish and 
 matted with filth ; he was certainly not more than four 
 feet and a half high, and he carried a bow two feet 
 longer than himself. He could speak no language but 
 his own, which throughout the Veddah country is much 
 the same,' intermixed with so many words resembling 
 Cingalese that a native can generally understand their 
 meaning. By proper management, and some little pres- 
 ents of rice and tobacco, we got the animal into a good 
 humor, and we gathered the following information :
 
 A Jungle Trip. 264 
 
 He knew nothing of any place except the northern 
 portion of the Veddah country. This was his world ; 
 but his knowledge of it was extremely limited, as he 
 <*ould not undertake to guide us further than Oomanoo, 
 a Veddah village, which he described as three days' 
 journey from where we then stood. We made him 
 point out the direction in which it lay. This he did, 
 after looking for some moments at the sun ; and, upon 
 comparing the position with the compass, we were glad 
 to see it at south-south-east, being pretty close to the 
 course that we wished to steer. From Oomanoo, he 
 said, we could procure another Veddah to guide us still 
 farther; but he himself knew nothing more. 
 
 Now this was all satisfactory enough so far, but I 
 had been completely wrong in my idea of the distance 
 from Doolana to the " Park." We now heard of three 
 days' journey to Oomanoo, which was certainly some- 
 where in the very centre of the Veddah country ; and 
 our quaint little guide had never even heard of the Bat- 
 ticaloa road. There was no doubt, therefore, that it 
 was a long way from Oomanoo, which village might 
 be any distance from us, as a Veddah's description of a 
 day's journey might vary from ten to thirty miles. 
 
 I certainly looked forward to a short allowance of 
 food both for ourselves and coolies. We had been hur- 
 rying though the country at such a rate that we had 
 killed no deer ; we had, therefore, been living upon our 
 tins of preserved provisions, of which we had now only 
 four remaining. 
 
 At the village of Monampitya there was no rice pro- 
 curable, as the natives lived entirely upon korrakan,* 
 
 * A small seed, which they make into hard, uneatable cakes.
 
 262 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 at which our coolies turned up their noses when I ad' 
 vised them to lay in a stock before starting. 
 
 There was no time to be lost, and we determined to 
 push on as fast as the coolies could follow, as they had 
 only two days' provisions ; we had precisely the same, 
 and those could not be days of feasting. We were, in 
 fact, like sailors going to sea with a ship only half vic- 
 tualed ; and, as we followed our little guide, and lost 
 sight of the village behind us, I foresaw that our stom- 
 achs would suffer unless game was plentiful on the path. 
 
 We passed through beautiful open country for about 
 eight miles, during which we saw several herds of deer ; 
 but we could not get a shot. At length we pitched the 
 tent, at four o'clock p. M., at the foot of " Gunner's 
 Coin," a solitary rocky mountain of about two thousand 
 feet in height, which rises precipitously from the level 
 country. We then divided into two parties W. and 
 P., and V. B. and I. We strolled off with our guns in 
 different directions. 
 
 The country was perfectly level, being a succession 
 of glades of fine low grass divided into a thousand 
 natural paddocks by belts of jungle. 
 
 We were afraid to stroll more than a mile from the 
 tent, lest we should lose our way ; and we took a good 
 survey of the most prominent points of the mountain, 
 that we might know our direction by their position. 
 
 After an hour's walk, and just as the sun was setting, 
 a sudden crash in a jungle a few yards from us brought 
 the rifles upon full cock. The next moment, out came 
 an elephant's head, and I knocked him over by a front 
 shot. He had held his head in such a peculiar posi- 
 tion that a ball could not reach the brain, and he im- 
 mediately recovered himself, and, wheeling suddenly
 
 A Jungle Trip. 263 
 
 round, he retreated into the jungle, through which we 
 could not follow. 
 
 We continued to stroll on from glade to glade, ex- 
 pecting to find him ; and, in about a quarter of an hour, 
 we heard the trumpet of an elephant. Fully convinced 
 that this was the wounded animal, we pushed on toward 
 the spot ; but, on turning a corner of the jungle, we 
 came suddenly upon a herd of seven of the largest ele- 
 phants that I ever saw together ; they must have been 
 all bulls. Unfortunately, they had our wind, and, being 
 close to the edge of a thick thorny jungle, they disap- 
 peared like magic. We gave chase for a short dis- 
 tance, but were soon stopped by the thorns. We had 
 no chance with them. 
 
 It was now dusk, and we therefore hastened toward 
 the tent, seeing three herds of deer and one of hogs on 
 our way ; but it was too dark to get a shot. The deer 
 .were basking in every direction, and the country was 
 evidently alive with game. 
 
 On arrival at the tent, we found that W. and P. had 
 met with no better luck than ourselves. Two of our 
 tins of provisions were consumed at dinner, leaving us 
 only two remaining. Not a moment was to be lost in 
 pushing forward ; and we determined upon a long 
 march on the following day. 
 
 JVov. 25. Sunrise saw us in the saddles. The coolies, 
 with the tents and baggage, kept close up with the 
 horses, being afraid to lag behind, as there was not a 
 semblance of a path, and we depended entirely upon 
 our small guide, who appeared to have an intimate 
 knowledge of the whole country. The little Veddah 
 trotted along through the winding glades ; and we trav-' 
 eled for about five miles without a word being spoken
 
 264 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 by one of the party, as we were in hopes of coming 
 upon deer. Unfortunately, we were traveling down 
 wind ; we accordingly did not sec a single head of 
 game, as they of course winded us long before we came 
 in view. 
 
 We had ridden about eight miles, when we suddenly 
 came upon the fresh tracks of elephants, and, imme- 
 diately dismounting, we began to track up. The ground 
 being very dry, and the grass short and parched, the 
 tracks were very indistinct, and it was tedious work. 
 We had followed for about half a mile through alternate 
 glades and belts of jungle, when we suddenly spied a 
 Veddah hiding behind a tree about sixty yards from us. 
 The moment that he saw he was discovered he set off 
 at full speed, but two of our coolies, who acted as gun- 
 bearers, started after him. These fellows were splendid 
 runners, and, after a fine course, they ran him down ; 
 but when caught, instead of expressing any fear, he 
 seemed to think it a good joke. He was a rather short, 
 but stout-built fellow, and he was immediately recog- 
 nized by our little guide as one of the best hunters 
 among the Northern Veddahs. He soon understood 
 our object ; and, putting down his bows and arrows 
 and a little pipkin of sour curd (his sole provision on 
 his hunting trip), he started at once upon the track. 
 
 Without any exception he was the best tracker I have 
 ever seen : although the ground was as hard as a stone, 
 and the footprints constantly invisible, he went like a 
 hound upon a scent at a pace that kept us in an occa- 
 sional jog-trot. After half an hour's tracking, and 
 doubling backward and forward in thick jungle, we 
 'Came up with three elephants. V. B. killed one, and I 
 killed another at the same moment. V. B. also fired at
 
 A Jungle Trip. 265 
 
 the third ; but, instead of falling, he rushed toward us, 
 and I killed him with my remaining barrel, Palliser 
 joining in the shot. They were all killed in about three 
 seconds. The remaining portion of the herd were at a 
 distance, and we heard them crashing through the thick 
 jungle. We followed them for about a mile, but they 
 had evidently gone off to some other country. The 
 jungle was very thick, and we had a long journey to' 
 accomplish ; we therefore returned to the horses and 
 rode on, our party being now increased by the Veddah 
 tracker. 
 
 After having ridden about twenty miles, the last eight 
 of which had been through alternate forest and jungle, 
 we arrived at a small plain of rich grass of about a hun- 
 dred acres : this was surrounded by forest. Unfortu- 
 nately, the nights were not moonlight, or we could have 
 killed a deer, as they came out in immense herds just 
 at dusk. We luckily bagged a good supply of snipe, 
 upon which we dined, and we reserved our tins of meat 
 for some more urgent occasion. 
 
 Nov. 26. All vestiges of open country had long 
 ceased. We now rode for seventeen miles through 
 magnificent forest, containing the most stupendous 
 banian trees that I have ever beheld. The ebony trees 
 were also very numerous, and grew to an immense 
 size. This forest was perfectly open. There was not 
 a sign of either underwood or grass beneath the trees, 
 and no track was discernible beyond the notches in the 
 trees made at some former time by the Veddah's axe. 
 In one part of this forest a rocky mountain appeared at 
 some period to have burst into fragments ; and for the 
 distance of about a mile it formed the apparent ruins 
 of -a city of giants. Rocks as large as churches lay 
 23
 
 266 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 piled one upon the other, forming long, dark alleys and 
 caves that would have housed some hundreds of men. 
 
 The effect was perfectly fairylike, as the faint silver 
 light of the sun, mellowed by the screen of tree tops, 
 half lighted up these silent caves. The giant stems of 
 the trees sprang like tall columns from the foundations 
 of the rocks and shadowed them with their dense foli- 
 * age. Two or three families of " Cyclops" would not 
 have been out of place in this spot ; they were just the 
 class of people that one -would expect to meet in such a 
 place. 
 
 Late in the afternoon we arrived at the long talked- 
 of village of Oomanoo, about eighteen miles from our 
 last encampment. It was a squalid, miserable place of 
 course, and nothing was attainable. Our coolies had 
 riot tasted food since the preceding evening ; but, by 
 good luck, we met a traveling Moorman, who had just 
 arrived at the village with a little rice to exchange with 
 the Veddahs for dried venison. As the villagers did 
 not happen to have any meat to barter, we purchased 
 all the rice at an exorbitant price ; but it was only 
 sufficient for half a meal for each servant and coolie, 
 when equally divided. 
 
 Fortunately, we killed four snipe and two doves: 
 these were added to our last two tins of provisions, 
 which were " hotch potch," and stewed altogether. 
 This made a good dinner. We had now nothing left 
 but our biscuits and groceries. All our hams and pre- 
 served meats were gone, and we only had one meal on 
 that day. 
 
 Nov. 27. Our horses had eaten nothing but grass 
 for maii} r days ; this, however, was excellent, and old 
 Jack looked fat, and was as hardy as ever. We now
 
 A Jungle Trip. 267 
 
 discharged our Veddah guides and took on others from 
 Oomanoo. These men told us that we were only four 
 miles from the Batticaloa road, and with great glee we 
 started at break of day, determined to breakfast on arri- 
 val at the road. 
 
 The old adage of " Many a slip 'twixt the cup and 
 the lip "was here fully exemplified. Four miles! We 
 rode twenty-five miles without drawing the rein once ! 
 and at length we then did reach the road ; that is to 
 say, a narrow track of grass, which is the track to Bat- 
 ticaloa for which we had been steering during our 
 journey. A native hut in this wilderness rendered the 
 place worthy of a name ; it is therefore known upon 
 the government maps as " Pyeley." 
 
 From this place we were directed on to " Curhel- 
 lulai," a village represented to us as a small London, 
 abounding with every luxury. We obtained a guide 
 and started, as they assured us it was only two miles 
 distant. 
 
 After riding three miles through a country of open 
 glades and thick jungle, the same guide who had at 
 first told us it was two miles from " Pyeley," now said 
 it was only " three miles farther on" We knew these 
 fellows' ideas of distance too well to proceed any farther. 
 We had quitted the Batticaloa track, and we immedi- 
 ately dismounted, unsaddled and turned the horses 
 loose upon the grass. 
 
 Having had only one meal the day before, and no 
 breakfast this morning, we looked forward with impa- 
 tience to the arrival of the coolies, although I confess I 
 did not expect them, as they were too weak from want 
 of food to travel far. They had only half a meal the 
 day before, and nothing at all the day before that.
 
 268 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon, 
 
 We had halted in a grassy glade surrounded by thick 
 jungle. There were numerous fresh tracks of deer and 
 elk, but the animals themselves would not show. 
 
 As evening approached we collected a quantity of 
 dead timber and lighted a good fire, before which we 
 piled the rifles, three and three, about ten feet apart. 
 Across these we laid a pole, and then piled branches 
 from the ground to the pole in a horizontal position. 
 This made a shed to protect us from the dew, and, 
 with our saddles for pillows, we all lay down together 
 and slept soundly till morning. 
 
 Nov. 28. We woke hungry, and accordingly tight- 
 ened our belts by two or three holes. V. Baker had to 
 be in Kandy by the evening of the 3Oth, and he was 
 now determined to push on. His pony had thrown all 
 his shoes, and had eaten nothing but grass for many 
 days. 
 
 I knew our position well, as I had been lost near this 
 spot about two years ago. We were fifty-three miles 
 from Badulla. Nevertheless, V. B. started off, and 
 arrived in Badulla that evening. On the same pony he 
 pushed on to Newera Ellia, thirty-six miles, the next 
 day, and then taking a fresh horse, he rode into Kandy, 
 forty-seven miles, arriving in good time on the evening 
 of the 3oth November. 
 
 Having parted with V. B., we saddled and mounted, 
 and, following our guide through a forest-path, we ar- 
 rived at Curhellulai after a ride of four miles. Noth- 
 ing could exceed the wretchedness of this place, from 
 which we had been led to expect so much. We could 
 not even procure a grain of rice from the few small 
 huts which composed the village. The headman, who 
 himself looked half-starved, made some cakes of kor-
 
 A Jungle Trip. 269 
 
 rakan ; but as they appeared to be composed of two 
 , parts of sand, one of dirt and one of grain, I preferred 
 a prolonged abstinence to such filth^ The abject pov- 
 erty of the whole of this country is beyond description. 
 Our coolies arrived at eight A. M., faint and tired ; 
 they no longer turned up their noses at korrakan, as 
 they did at Monampitya, but they filled themselves 
 almost to bursting. 
 
 I started off V. B.'s coolies after him, also eight men 
 whose loads had been consumed, and, with a diminished 
 party, we started for Bibille, which the natives assured 
 us was only nineteen miles from this spot. For once, 
 they were about correct in their ideas of distance. The 
 beautiful park country commenced about four miles 
 from Curhellulai, and, after a lovely ride through this 
 scenery for sixteen miles, we arrived at the luxurious 
 and pretty villag'e of Bibille, which had so often been 
 my quarters. 
 
 We had ridden a hundred and forty miles from Minne- 
 ria, through a country abounding with game of all kinds, 
 sixty miles of which had never been shot over, and yet 
 the whole bag in this lovely country consisted of only 
 three elephants. So much for hurrying through our 
 ground. If we had remained for a week at the foot 
 of the Gunner's Coin, we could have obtained supplies 
 of all kinds from Doolana, and we should have enjoyed 
 excellent sport through the whole country. Our total 
 bag was now wretchedly small, considering the quan- 
 tity of ground that we had passed over. We had killed 
 nine elephants and two deer. V. Baker had a miser- 
 able time of it, having only killed two elephants when 
 he was obliged to return. The trip might, in fact, be 
 said to commence from Bibille. 
 23
 
 270 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 This is a very pretty, civilized village, in the midst 
 of a wild country. It is the residence of a Rhatama- 
 hatmeya, and he. and his family were well known to 
 me. They were perfectly astonished when they heard 
 by which route we had arrived, and upon hearing of 
 our forty-eight hours of fasting, they lost no time in pre- 
 paring dinner. We were now in a land of plenty, and 
 we shortly fell to at a glorious dinner of fowls in various 
 shapes, curries, good coffee, rice cakes, plantains and 
 sweet potatoes. After our recent abstinence and poor 
 fare, it seemed a perfect banquet. 
 
 Nov. 29. The coolies did not arrive till early this 
 morning ; they were soon hard at work at curry and 
 rice, and, after a few hours of rest, we packed up and 
 started for a spot in the park (upon which I had often 
 encamped) about ten miles from Bibilld. 
 
 The horses had enjoyed their paddy as much as we 
 had relished our change of diet, and the coolies were 
 perfectly refreshed. I sent orders to Kotoboya (about 
 twenty miles from Bibille) for several bullock-loads of 
 paddy and rice to meet us at an appointed spot, and 
 with a good supply of fowls and rice, etc., for the pres- 
 ent, we arrived at our place of encampment at three 
 P. M., after a delightful ride. 
 
 The grass was beautifully green ; a few large trees 
 shaded the tents, which were pitched near a stream, and 
 the undulations of the ground, interspersed with clumps 
 of trees and ornamented by rocky mountains, formed a 
 most lovely scene. We sent a messenger to Nielgalla 
 for Banda, and another to Dimboolden for old Medima 
 and the trackers, with orders to meet us at our present 
 encampment. We then took our rifles and strolled out 
 to get a deer. We shortly found a herd, and Wortley
 
 A Jungle Trip. 271 
 
 got a shot at about sixty yards, and killed a doe. We 
 could have killed other deer shortly afterward, but we 
 did not wish to disturb the country by firing unneces- 
 sary shots, as we had observed fresh tracks of elephants. 
 
 We carried the deer to the tent, and rejoiced cur 
 coolies with the sight of venison ; the doe was soon di- 
 vided among them, one haunch only being reserved for 
 our own use. 
 
 Nov. 30. This, being Sunday, was a day of rest for 
 man and beast after our recent wanderings, and we 
 patiently awaited the arrival of Banda and the trackers. 
 The guns were all in beautiful order, and stood ar- 
 ranged against a temporary rack, in readiness for the 
 anticipated sport on the following day. 
 
 Banda and the trackers arrived in the afternoon. His 
 accounts were very favorable as to the number of ele- 
 phants, and we soon laid down a plan for beating the 
 Park in a systematic manner. 
 
 Upon this arrangement the duration of sport in this 
 country materially depends. If the shooting is con- 
 ducted thoughtlessly here and there, without reference 
 to the localities, the whole Park becomes alarmed at 
 once, and the elephants quit the open country and retire 
 to the dense chenar jungles. 
 
 I proposed that we should commence shooting at our 
 present encampment, then beat toward the Cave, shoot 
 over that country toward Pattapalaar, from thence to 
 cross the river and make a circuit of the whole of that 
 portion of the Park, and finish off in the environs of 
 Nielgalla. 
 
 Banda approved of this plan, as we should then be 
 driving the borders of the Park, instead of commencing 
 in the centre.
 
 272 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 Dec. i. The scouts were sent out at daybreak. At 
 two o'clock p. M. they returned : they had found ele- 
 phants, but they were four miles from the tent, and two 
 men had been left to watch them. 
 
 Upon questioning them as to their position, we dis- 
 covered that they were in total ignorance of the number 
 in the herd, as they had merely heard them roaring in 
 the distance. They could not approach nearer, as a 
 notoriously vicious rogue elephant was consorting with 
 the herd. This elephant was well known to the natives 
 from a peculiarity in having only one tusk, which was 
 about eighteen inches long. 
 
 In November, and December elephant-shooting re- 
 quires more than ordinary caution at the Park, as the 
 rogue elephants, who are always bulls, are in the habit 
 of attending upon the herds. The danger lies in their 
 cunning. They are seldom seen in the herd itself, but 
 they are generally within a few hundred paces, and 
 just as the guns may have been discharged at the herd, 
 the rogue will, perhaps, appear in full charge from his 
 ambush. This is exquisitely dangerous, and is the 
 manner in which I was caught near this spot in 1850. 
 
 Banda was very anxious that this rogue should be 
 killed befoi-e we attacked the herd, and he begged me 
 to give him a shoulder shot with the four-ounce rifle, 
 while Wortley and Palliser were to fire at his head. A 
 shot through the shoulder with the heavy rifle would be 
 certain death, although he might not drop immediately ; 
 but the object of the natives was simply to get him killed 
 on account of his mischievous habits. 
 
 We therefore agreed to make our first attack upon 
 the rogue : if we should kill him on the spot, so much 
 the better ; if not, we knew that a foiir ounce ball
 
 A Jungle Trip. 273 
 
 through his lungs would kill him eventually, and, at all 
 events, he would not be in a humor to interrupt oui 
 pursuit of the herd, which we were to push for the mo- 
 ment we had put the rogue out of the way. 
 
 These arrangements being made, we started. After 
 a ride of about four miles through beautiful country, we 
 saw a man in the distance, who was beckoning to us. 
 This was one of the watchers, who pointed to a jungle 
 into which the elephant had that moment entered. 
 From the extreme caution of the trackers, I could see 
 that this rogue was worthy of his name. 
 
 The jungle into which he had entered was a long 
 but narrow belt, about a hundred yards in width ; it 
 was tolerably good, but still it was so close that we 
 could not see more than six paces in advance. I fully 
 expected that he was lying in wait for us, and would 
 charge when least expected. We therefore cautiously 
 entered the jungle, and, sending Banda on in advance, 
 with instructions to retreat upon the guns if charged, 
 we followed him at about twenty paces' distance. 
 
 Banda immediately untied his long hair, which fell 
 to his hips, and divesting himself of all clothing except 
 a cloth round his loins, he crept on in advance as 
 stealthily as a cat. So noiselessly did he move that we 
 presently saw him gliding back to .us without a sound. 
 He \vhispered that he had found the elephant, who was 
 standing on the patina, a few yards beyond the jungle. 
 We immediately advanced, and, upon emerging from 
 the jungle, we saw him within thirty paces on our right, 
 standing with his broadside exposed. Crack went the 
 four-ounce through his shoulder, and the three-ounce 
 and No. 8, with a similar good intention, into his head. 
 Nevertheless, he did not fall, but started off at a great 
 
 S
 
 274 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 pace, though stumbling nearly on his knees, his head 
 and tail both hanging down, his trunk hanging listlessly 
 upon the ground, and his ears, instead of being cocked, 
 were pressed tightly back against his neck. He did not 
 look much like a rogue at that moment, with upward 
 of half a pound of lead in his carcase. Still we could 
 not get another shot at him before he reached a jungle 
 aboqt seventy paces distant ; and here we stopped to 
 load before we followed him, thinking that he was in 
 dense che'nar. This was a great mistake, for, on fol- 
 lowing him a minute later, we found the jungle was 
 perfectly open, being merely a fringe of forest on the 
 banks of a broad river ; in crossing this we must have 
 killed him had we not stopped to load. 
 
 On the sandy bed of this river we found the fresh 
 tracks of several elephants, who had evidently only just 
 retreated, being disturbed by the shots fired ; these were 
 a portion of the herd, and the old rogue having got his 
 quietus, we pushed on as fast as we could upon the 
 tracks through fine open forest. 
 
 For about an hour we pressed on through forests, 
 plains, rivers and thick jungles alternately, till at length, 
 upon arriving on some rising ground, we heard the 
 trumpet of an elephant. 
 
 It was fine country, but overgrown with lemon grass 
 ten feet high. Clumps of trees were scattered here 
 and there among numerous small dells. Exactly oppo- 
 site lay several large masses of rock, shaded by a few 
 trees, and on our left lay a small hollow of high lemon 
 grass, bordered by jungle. 
 
 In this hollow we counted seven elephants : their 
 heads and backs were just discernible above the grass, 
 as we looked over them from some rising ground at
 
 A Jungle Trip. 275 
 
 about seventy yards' distance. Thrfee more elephants, 
 were among the rocks, browsing upon the long grass. 
 
 We now heard unmistakable sounds of a large num- 
 ber of elephants' in the jungle below us, from which 
 the seven elephants in the hollow had only just 
 emerged, and we quietly waited for the appearance of 
 the whole herd, this being their usual feeding-time. 
 
 One by one they majestically stalked from the jungle, 
 We were speculating on the probable number of this 
 large herd, when one of them suddenly winded us, and, 
 with magical quickness, they all wheeled round and 
 rushed back into the jungle. 
 
 Calling upon my little troop of gun-bearers to keep 
 close up, away we dashed after them at full speed ; 
 down the steep hollow and through the high lemon 
 grass, now trampled into lanes by the retreating ele- 
 phants. 
 
 In one instant the jungle seemed alive ; there were 
 upward of fifty elephants in the herd. The trumpets 
 rang through the forest, the young trees and underwood 
 crashed in all directions with an overpowering noise, as 
 this mighty herd, bearing everything before it, crashed 
 in one united troop through the jungle. 
 
 At the extreme end of the grassy hollow there was a 
 snug corner formed by an angle in the jungle. A glade 
 of fine short turf stretched for a small distance into the 
 forest, and, as the herd seemed to be bearing down in 
 this direction, Wortley and I posted off as hard as we 
 could go, hoping to intercept them if they crossed the 
 glade. We arrived there in a few moments, and., tak- 
 ing our position on this fine level sward, about ten paces 
 from the forest, we awaited the apparently irresistible 
 storm that was bursting exactly upon us.
 
 l*jb The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 No pen, no tong\ie can describe the magnificence of 
 the scene ; the tremendous roaring of the herd, min- 
 gled with the shrill screams of other elephants ; the 
 bursting stems of the broken trees ; the rushing sound 
 of the leafy branches as though a tempest were howl- 
 ing through them, all this concentrating with great 
 rapidity upon the very spot upon which we were stand- 
 ing. t This was an exciting moment, especially to 
 nerves unaccustomed to the sport. 
 
 The whole edge of the forest was faced with a dense 
 network of creej^ers ; from the highest tree-tops to the 
 ground they formed a leafy screen like a green curtain, 
 which clothed the forest as ivy covers the walls of a 
 house. Behind this opaque mass the great actors in the 
 scene were at work, and the whole body would evi- 
 dently in a few seconds burst through this leafy veil 
 and be right upon us. 
 
 On they came, the forest trembling with the onset ; 
 the leafy curtain burst into tatters ; the jungle ropes and 
 snaky steins, tearing the branches from the 'tree-tops, 
 were ih a few moments heaped in a tangled and con- 
 fused ruin. One dense mass of elephants' heads, in 
 full career, presented themselves through the shattered 
 barrier of creepers. 
 
 Running toward them with a loud holloa, they were 
 suddenly checked by our unexpected apparition, but 
 the confused mass of elephants made the shooting very 
 difficult. Two elephants rushed out to cross the little 
 nook within four yards of me, and I killed both by a 
 right and left shot. Wallace immediately pushed a 
 spare rifle into my hand, just as a large elephant, mean- 
 ing mischief, came straight toward me, with ears 
 cocked, from the now staggered body of the herd. I
 
 A Jungle Trip. 277 
 
 killed her with the front shot, both barrels having gone 
 off at once, the heavy charge of powder in the right 
 hand barrel having started the trigged of the left barrel 
 by the concussion. Round wheeled the herd, leaving 
 their three leaders dead ; and now the race began. 
 
 It was a splendid forest, and the elephants rushed off 
 at about ten miles an hour, in such a compact troop 
 that their sterns formed a living barrier, and not a head 
 could be seen. At length, after a burst of about two 
 hundred yards, the deep and dry bed of a torrent 
 formed a trench about ten feet in width. 
 
 Not hesitating at this obstacle, down went the herd 
 without missing a step ; the banks crumbled and half 
 filled the trench as the leaders scrambled across, and 
 the main body rushed after them at an extraordinary 
 pace. 
 
 . I killed a large elephant in the act of crossing ; he 
 rolled into the trench, but struggling to rise, I gave him 
 the other barrel in the nape of the neck, which, break- 
 ing his spine, extinguished him. He made a noble 
 bridge, and, jumping upon his carcase, we cleared the 
 ravine, and again the chase continued, although the 
 herd had now gained about thirty paces. 
 
 Upon a fine meadow of grass, about four feet high, 
 the hei'd now rushed along in a compact mass extend- 
 ing in a broad line of massive hind-quarters over a sur- 
 face' of half an acre. This space formed a complete 
 street in their wake, as they leveled everything before 
 them ; and the high grass stood up on either side of this 
 road like a wall. 
 
 Along this level road we ran at full speed, and by 
 great exertions managed to keep within twenty yards 
 of the game. Full a quarter of a mile was passed at 
 24
 
 278 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon* 
 
 this pace without a sh6t being fired. At length one 
 elephant turned and faced about exactly in front of me. 
 My three double-barreled rifles were now all empty, 
 and I was carrying the little No. 16 gun. I killed him 
 with the right-hand barrel, but I lost ground by stop- 
 ping to fire. 
 
 A jungle lay about two hundred yards in front of the 
 herd, and they increased their speed to arrive at this 
 place of refuge. 
 
 Giving the little gun, with one barrel still loaded, to 
 Wallace, I took the four-ounce rifle in exchange, as I 
 knew I could not close up with the herd before they 
 reached the jungle, and a long shot would be my last 
 chance. With this heavy gun (21 Ibs.) I had hard 
 work to keep my distance, which was about forty yards 
 from the herd. 
 
 Palliser and Wortley were before me, and within 
 twenty yards of the elephants. They neared the jungle ; 
 I therefore ran off to my left as fast as I could go, so as 
 to ensure a side shot. I was just in time to command 
 their flank as the herd reached the jungle. A narrow 
 river, with steep banks of twenty feet in height, bor- 
 dered the edge, and I got a shot at a large elephant just 
 as he arrived upon the brink of the chasm. He was 
 fifty paces off, but I hit him in the temple with the four- 
 ounce, and rolled him down the precipitous bank into 
 the river. Here he lay groaning, so, taking the little 
 gun, with one barrel still loaded, I extinguished him 
 from the top of the bank. 
 
 Oh, for half a dozen loaded guns ! I was now un- 
 loaded, and the fun began in real earnest. The herd 
 pushed for a particular passage down the steep bank. 
 It was like a rush at the door of the opera ; they jostled
 
 A Jungle Trip. 279 
 
 each other in a confused melee, and crossed the river 
 with the greatest difficulty. By some bad luck, Palliser 
 and Wortley only killed one as the herd was crossing 
 the river, but they immediately disappeared in pursuit, 
 as the elephants, having effected their passage, retreated 
 in thick jungle on the other side. 
 
 I was obliged to halt to load, which I did as quickly 
 as possible. While I was ramming the balls down, I 
 heard several shots fired in quick succession, and when 
 loaded I ran on with my gun-bearers toward the spot. 
 
 It was bad, thorny jungle, interspersed with numer- 
 ous small glades of fine turf. 
 
 Upon arriving in one of these glades, about a quarter 
 of a mile beyond the river, I saw a crowd of gun-bear- 
 ers standing around some person lying upon the ground ; 
 neither Palisser nor Wortley were to be seen, and for 
 an instant a chill ran through me as I felt convinced 
 that some accident had happened. " Where are mas- 
 ters?" I shouted to the crowd of men, and the next mo- 
 ment I was quite relieved by seeing only a coolie lying 
 on the ground. On examining the man I found he was 
 more frightened than hurt, although he was cut in 
 several places and much bruised. 
 
 Upon giving a shout, Palliser and Wortley returned 
 to the spot. They now explained the mystery. They 
 were running on the fresh tracks in this glade, no ele- 
 phants being then in sight, when they suddenly heard a 
 rush in the jungle, and in another instant two elephants 
 charged out upon them. Wortley and Palliser both 
 fired, but without effect the gun-bearers bolted an 
 elephant knocked one man over, and tried to butt him 
 against the ground ; but two more shots from both Pal- 
 liser and Wortley turned him, but they were imrae-
 
 280 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 diatdy obliged to run in their turn, as the other elephant 
 charged and just grazed Palliser with his trunk behind. 
 Fortunately, they doubled short round, instead of con- 
 tinuing a straight course, and the elephants turned into 
 the jungle. They followed them for some little dis- 
 tance, but the jungles were so bad that there was no 
 chance, and they returned when I had shouted. 
 
 The man who was hurt was obliged to be supported 
 home. Two of the guns were lost, which the gun- 
 bearers, in their fright, had thrown away. After a long 
 search we found them lying in the high bushes. 
 
 We now returned along the line of hunt to cut off 
 the elephants' tails. I had fired at six, all of which 
 were bagged, which we accordingly found in their va- 
 rious positions. One of them was a very large female 
 with her udder full of milk. Being very thirsty, both 
 Wortley and I took a long pull at this, to the evident 
 disgust of the natives. It was very good, being exactly 
 like cows' milk. This was the elephant that I had 
 killed doubly by the left-hand barrel exploding by acci- 
 dent, and the two balls were only a few inches apart in 
 the forehead. 
 
 There had been very bad luck with this herd ; the 
 only dead elephant, in addition to these six, was that 
 which Wortley and Palliser had both fired at in the 
 river, and another which Palliser had knocked down in 
 the high grass when we had just commenced the attack 
 at which time he had separated from us to cut off 
 the three elephants that we had just seen among the 
 rocks. 
 
 On arrival at the spot where the elephants had first 
 burst from the jungle, a heavy shower came down, and 
 the locks of the guns were immediately covered each
 
 A Jungle Trip. 281 
 
 with a large leaf, and then tied up securely with a hand- 
 kerchief. A large banian tree afforded us an imagin- 
 ary shelter, but we were drenched to the skin in a few 
 seconds. In the mean time, Palliser walked through 
 the high lemon grass to look for his dead elephant. 
 
 On arriving at the spot, instead of rinding a deade\Q- 
 phans, he found him standing up, and only just recov- 
 ered from the stunning effect of his wound. 
 
 The elephant charged him immediately, and Palliser, 
 having the lock of his gun tied up, was perfectly de- 
 fenceless, and he was obliged to run as hard as his long 
 legs would carry him. 
 
 " Look out ! look out ! an elephant's coming ! Look 
 out!" 
 
 This we heard shouted as we were standing beneath 
 the tree, and the next moment we saw Palliser's tall 
 form of six feet four come flying through the high 
 grass. Luckily the elephant lost him, and turned off 
 in some other direction. If he had continued the chase, 
 he would have made a fine diversion, as the locks were 
 so tightly tied up that we could not have got a gun 
 ready for some time. In a few minutes the shower 
 cleared off, and on examining the place where the ele- 
 phant had fallen, we found a large pool of clotted 
 blood. 
 
 We now rode homeward, but we had not gone a 
 quarter of a mile before we heard an elephant roaring 
 loudly in a jungle close to us. Thinking that it was the 
 wounded brute who had just hunted Palliser, we imme- 
 diately dismounted and approached the spot. The 
 roaring continued" until we were close to it, and we 
 then saw a young elephant standing in the bed of a 
 river, and he it was who was making all the noise, 
 24
 
 282 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 having been separated from the herd in the late melee. 
 Wortley shot him, this making eight killed. 
 
 When within a mile of the tent, as we were riding 
 along a path through a thick thorny jungle, an immense 
 rogue elephant stalked across our road. I fired the 
 four-ounce through his shoulder, to the great satisfac- 
 tion of Banda and the natives, although we never had 
 a chance of proving what the effect had been, as he 
 was soon lost in the thick jungle. A short time after 
 this we reached the tent, having had the perfection of 
 sport in elephant-shooting, although luck had been 
 against us in making a large bag. 
 
 Dec. 2. The scouts having been sent out at day- 
 break, returned early, having found another herd of 
 elephants. On our way to the spot Palliser fired at a 
 rogue, but without effect. 
 
 On arrival at the jungle in which the elephants were 
 reported to be, we heard from the watchers that a rogue 
 was located in the same jungle, in attendance upon the 
 herd. This was now a regular thing to ^expect, and 
 compelled us to be exceedingly cautious. 
 
 Just as we were stalking through the jungle on the 
 track of the herd, we came upon the rogue himself. 
 Wortley fired at him but without effect, and unfortu- 
 nately the shot frightened the herd, which was not a 
 quarter of a mile distant, and the elephants retreated to 
 a large tract of thick jungle country, where pursuit was 
 impracticable. Our party was too large for shooting 
 " rogues " with any degree of success. These brutes, 
 being always on the alert, require the most careful 
 stalking. There is only one way to kill them with any 
 certainty. Two persons, at most, to attack ; each per- 
 son to be accompanied by only one gun-bearer, who
 
 A SHOT FROM HORSEBACK. 
 
 Page 283.
 
 A Jungle Trip. 283 
 
 should carry two spare guns. One good tracker should 
 lead this party of five people in single file. With great 
 caution and silence, being well to leeward of the ele- 
 phant, he can thus generally be approached till within 
 twelve paces, and he is then killed by one shot before 
 he knows that danger is near. What with our gun- 
 bearers, trackers, watchers and ourselves, we were a 
 party of sixteen persons ; it was therefore impossible to 
 get near a rogue unperceived. 
 
 On the way to the tent I got a shot at a deer at full 
 gallop, on " old Jack." It was a doe, who bounded 
 over the plain at a speed that soon distanced my horse, 
 and I took a flying shot from the saddle with one of my 
 No. 10 rifles. I did not get the deer, although she was 
 badly wounded, as we followed the blood-tracks for 
 some distance through thick jungle without success. 
 
 This was altogether a blank day ; and having thor- 
 oughly disturbed this part of the Park, we determined to 
 up stick and move our quarters on the following day 
 toward the " Cave," according to the plan that we had 
 agreed upon for beating the country. 
 
 Dec. 3. With the cook and the canteen in com- 
 pany we started at break of day, leaving the servants to 
 pack up and bring the coolies and tents after us. By 
 this arrangement we were sure of our breakfast wher- 
 ever we went, and we were free from the noise of our 
 followers, whose scent alone was enough to alarm miles 
 of country down wind. We had our guns all loaded, 
 and carried by our respective gun-bearers close to the 
 horses, and, with Banda, old Medima and a couple of 
 trackers, we were ready for anything. 
 
 We had ridden about six miles when we suddenly 
 came upon fresi elephant-tracks in a grassy hollow, sur-
 
 28 \ The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon, 
 
 rounded by low, rocky hills. We immediately sent the 
 men off upon the tracks, while we waited upon a high 
 plateau of rock for their return. They came back in 
 about a quarter of an hour, having found the elephants 
 within half a mile. 
 
 They were in high lemon grass, and upon arrival at 
 the spot we could distinguish nothing, as the grass rose 
 some feet above our heads. It was like shooting in the 
 dark, and we ascended some rising ground to improve 
 our position. Upon arrival on this spot we looked over 
 an undulating sea of this grass, interspersed with rocky 
 hills and small patches of forest. Across a valley we 
 now distinguished the herd much scattered, going off in 
 all directions. They had winded us, and left us but a 
 poor chance -of catching them in such ground. Of 
 course we lost no time in giving chase. The sun was 
 intensely hot not a breath of air was stirring and the 
 heat in the close, parched grass was overpowering. 
 With the length of start that the elephants had got, we 
 were obliged to follow at our best pace, which, over 
 such tangled ground, was very fatiguing ; fortunately, 
 however, the elephants had not yet 'seen us, and they 
 had accordingly halted now and then, instead of going 
 straight off. 
 
 There were only four elephants together, and, by a 
 great chance, we came up with them just as they were 
 entering a jungle. I got a shot at the last elephant and 
 killed him, but the others put on more steam, and all 
 separated, fairly beating us, as we were almost used up 
 by the heat. 
 
 This was very bad luck, and we returned in despair 
 of finding the scattered herd. We had proceeded some 
 distance through the high grass, having just descended
 
 A Jungle Trip. 285 
 
 a steep, rocky hill, when we suddenly observed two 
 elephants approaching along the side of the very hill 
 that we had just left. Had we remained in the centre 
 of the hill, we should have met them as they advanced. 
 One was a large female, and the other was most proba- 
 bly her calf, being little more than half-grown. 
 
 It was a beautiful sight to see the caution with which 
 they advanced, and we lay down to watch them without 
 being seen. . They were about 200 yards from us, and, 
 as they slowly advanced along the steep hillside they 
 occasionally halted, and, with their trunks thrown up in 
 the air, they endeavored, but in vain, to discover the 
 enemy that had so recently disturbed them. We had 
 the wind all right, and we now crept softly up the hill, 
 so as to meet them at right angles. The hillside was 
 a mass of large rocks overgrown and concealed by the 
 high lemon grass, and it was difficult to move without 
 making a noise or falling into the cavities between the 
 rocks. 
 
 I happened to be at the head of our line, and, long 
 before I expected the arrival of the elephants, I heard 
 a rustling in the grass, and the next moment I saw the 
 large female passing exactly opposite me, within five 
 or six paces. I was on half-cock at the time, as the 
 ground was dangerous to pass over with a gun on full 
 cock, but I was just quick enough to knock her over 
 before the high grass should conceal hcrat another step. 
 She Jell in a small chasm, nearly upsetting the young 
 .elephant, who was close behind her. Wortley killed 
 him while I took the last kick out of the old one by 
 another shot, as she was still moving. 
 
 We had thus only killed three elephants out of the 
 herd, and, without seeing more, we returned to th horses.
 
 286 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 On finding them we proceeded on our road toward 
 the " Cave," but had not ridden above two miles far- 
 ther when we again came upon fresh tracks of ele- 
 phants. Sending on our trackers like hounds upon 
 their path, we sat down and breakfasted under a tree. 
 We had hardly finished the last cup of coffee when the 
 trackers returned, having found another herd. They 
 were not more than half a mile distant, and they were 
 reported to be in open forest, on the banks of a deep 
 and broad river. 
 
 Our party was altogether too large for elephant-shoot- 
 ing, as we never could get close up to them without 
 being discovered. As usual, they winded us before we 
 got near them, but by quick running we overtook them 
 just as they arrived on the banks of the river and took 
 to water. Wortley knocked over one fellow just as he 
 thought he was safe in running along the bottom of a 
 deep gully ; I floored his companion at the same mo- 
 ment, thus choking up the gully, and six elephants 
 closely packed together forded the deep stream. The 
 tops of their backs and heads were alone above water. 
 I fired the four-ounce into the nape of one elephant's 
 neck as the herd ci'ossed, and he immediately turned 
 over and lay foundered in the middle of the river, which 
 was sixty or seventy yards across. In the mean time, 
 Palliser and Wortley kept up a -regular volley, but no 
 effects could be observed until the herd reached and be- 
 gun to ascend the steep bank on the opposite side. I 
 had reloaded the four-ounce, and the heavy battery now 
 begun to open to concert with the general volley as the 
 herd scrambled up the precipitous bank. Several ele- 
 phants fell, but recovered themselves and disappeared.
 
 A Jungle Trip. 287 
 
 At length the volley ceased, and two were seen one 
 dead on the top of the bank, and the other still strug- 
 gling in the shallow water at the foot of the bank.' 
 Once more a general battery opened and he was extin- 
 guished. Five were killed, and if noise and smoke 
 add to the fun, th'ere was certainly plenty of it. Wort- 
 ley and my man Wallace now swam across the river 
 and cut off the elephants' tails. 
 
 We returned to the horses, and moved to the " Cave," 
 meeting_with no further incidents that day. 
 
 Dec. 4. We saw nothing but deer the whole of the 
 day, and they were so wild that we could not get a shot. 
 It was therefore a blank. 
 
 Dec. 5. We started early, and for five miles we 
 tracked a large herd of elephants through fine open 
 country, until we were at length stopped by impene- 
 trable jungle of immense extent, forming the confines 
 of the " Park " on this side. We therefore reluctantly 
 left the tracks, and directed our course toward Pattapa- 
 laar, about twelve miles distant. 
 
 We had passed over a lovely country, and were with- 
 in a mile of our proposed resting-place, when Banda, 
 who happened to be a hundred yards in advance, came 
 quickly back, saying that he saw a rogue elephant feed- 
 ing on the patina not far from us. Wortley had gone 
 in another direction with old Medima a few minutes 
 previous to look for a deer ; and Palliser and I resolved 
 to stalk him carefully. We therefore left all the people 
 behind, except two gun-bearers, each of whom carried 
 one of my double-barreled rifles. I carried my four- 
 ounce, and Palliser took the two-ounce. 
 
 It was most difficult ground for stalking, being en 
 tirely open, on a spot which had been high lemon grass,
 
 288 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 but recently burnt, the long reeds in many places still 
 remaining. 
 
 We could not get nearer than fifty yards in such 
 ground, and I accordingly tried a shot at his temple 
 with the four-ounce. The long unburnt stalks of the 
 lemon grass waving to and fro before' the sights of my 
 rifle so bothered me that I missed the fatal spot, and 
 fired about two inches too high. Stumbling only for a 
 moment from the blow, he rushed down hill toward a 
 jungle, but at the same instant Palliser made a capital 
 shot with the long two-ounce, and knocked him over. 
 I never saw an elephant fall with such a crash : they 
 generally sink gently down ; but this fellow was going at 
 such speed down hill that he fairly pitched upon his head. 
 
 We arrived at our resting-place, and having pitched 
 the tents, we gave them up to Banda and the servants, 
 while we took possession of a large " amblam," or open 
 building, massively built by the late Major Rodgers, 
 which is about twenty-five feet square. This we ar- 
 ranged in a most comfortable manner, and here we de- 
 termined to remain for some days, while we beat the 
 whole country thoroughly. 
 
 Dec. 6. We started at our usual early hour with 
 Banda and the trackers, and after a walk of about a mile 
 we found fresh tracks and followed up. Crossing a 
 smi.ll river upon the track, we entered a fine open for- 
 est, through which the herd had only just passed, and 
 upon following them for about a quarter of a mile, we 
 came to a barrier of dense chenar jungle, into which the 
 elephants had retreated. 
 
 There was a rogue with this herd, and we were rather 
 doubtful of his- position. We stood in the open forest, 
 within a few feet of the thick jungle, to the edge of
 
 A Jungle Trip. 289 
 
 which the elephants were so close that we could hear 
 their deep breathing ; and by stooping down we could 
 distinguish the tips cf their trunks and their feet, al- 
 though the animals themselves were invisible. We 
 waited about half an hour in the hope that some of the 
 elephants might again enter the open forest; at length 
 two, neither of whom were above five feet high, came 
 out and faced us. My dress of elastic green tights had 
 become so browned by constant washing and exposure, 
 that I matched exactly with the stem of a tree against 
 which I was leaning, and one of the elephants kept ad- 
 vancing toward me until I could nearly touch him with 
 my rifle ; still he did not see me, and I did not wish to 
 fire, as I should alarm the herd, which would then be 
 lost for ever. Unfortunately, just at this moment, the 
 other elephant saw Palliser, and the alarm was given. 
 There was no help for it, and we were obliged to fire. 
 Mine fell dead, but the other fell, and, recovering him- 
 self immediately, he escaped in the thick jungle. 
 
 This was bad luck, and we returned toward the 
 " amblam" to breakfast. On our way there we found 
 that the " rogue" had concealed himself in a piece of 
 thick jungle, backed by hills of very high lemon grass. 
 From this stronghold we tried to drive him, and posted 
 ourselves in a fine position to receive him should he 
 break cover ; but he was too cunning to come out, and 
 the beaters were too knowing to go in to drive such bad 
 jungle ; it was, therefore, a drawr game, and we were 
 obliged to leave him. 
 
 When within a short distance of the " amblam," a 
 
 fine black partridge got up at about sixty yards. I was 
 
 lucky enough to knock him over with a rifle, and still 
 
 more fortunate in not injuring him much with the ball, 
 
 25 T
 
 290 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 which took his wing off close to his body. Half an 
 hour afterward he formed part of our breakfast. 
 
 During our breakfast a heavy shower of rain came 
 down and continued for about two hours. 
 
 In the afternoon we sallied out, determined to shoot 
 at any large game that we might meet. We had lately 
 confined our sport to elephants, as we did not wish to 
 disturb the country by shooting at other game, but hav- 
 ing fired in this neighborhood in the morning, we were 
 not very particular. 
 
 We walked through a lovely country for about five 
 miles, seeing nothing whatever in the shape of game, 
 not even a track, as all the old marks were washed out 
 by the recent shower. At length we heard the barking 
 of deer in the distance, and, upon going in that di- 
 rection, we saw a fine herd of about thirty. They were 
 standing in a beautiful meadow of about a hundred 
 acres in extent, perfectly level, and interspersed with 
 trees, giving it the appearance of an immense orchard 
 rather thinly planted. One side of this plain was bounded 
 by a rocky mountain, which rose precipitously from its 
 base, the whole of which was covered with fine open 
 forest. 
 
 We were just stalking toward the deer when we came 
 upon a herd of wild buffaloes in a small hollow within 
 a close shot. 
 
 Palliser wanted a pair of horns, and he was just pre- 
 paring for a shot when we suddenly heard the trumpet 
 of an elephant in the forest at the foot of the rocky 
 mountain, close to us. 
 
 Elephants, buffaloes and deer were all within a hun- 
 dred yards of each other : we almost expected to see 
 Noah's ark on the top of the hill.
 
 A Jungle Trip. 291 
 
 Of course the elephants claimed our immediate atten- 
 tion. It was Palliser's turn to lead the way ; and upon 
 entering the forest at the foot of the mountain we found 
 that the elephants were close to us. The forest was a 
 perfect place for elephant-shooting. Large rocks were 
 scattered here and there among the fine trees, free from 
 underwood ; these rocks formed alleys of various widths, 
 and upon such ground an elephant had no chance. 
 
 There was a large rock the size of a small house lying 
 within a few yards from the entrance of the forest. This 
 rock was split in two pieces, forming a passage of two 
 feet wide, but of several yards in length. As good luck 
 would have it, an elephant stood exactly on the other 
 side, and, Palliser leading the way, we advanced through 
 this secure fort to the attack. 
 
 On arrival at the extreme end, Palliser fired two quick 
 shots, and, taking a spare gun, he fired a third, before 
 we could see what was going on, we being behind him 
 in this narrow passage. Upon passing through we 
 thought the fun was over ; he had killed three elephants, 
 and no more were to be seen anywhere. 
 
 Hardly had he reloaded, however, when we heard a 
 tremendous rushing through the forest in the distance ; 
 and, upon quickly running to the spot, we came upon 
 a whole herd of elephants, who were coming to meet 
 us in full speed. Upon seeing us, however, they 
 checked their speed for a moment, and Palliser and 
 Wortley both fired, which immediately turned them. 
 This was at rather too long a distance, and no elephants 
 were killed. 
 
 A fine chase now commenced through the open for- 
 est, the herd rushing off at great speed. This pace 
 soon took us out of it, and we burst upon an open plain
 
 292 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 of high lemon grass. Here I got a shot at an elephant, 
 who separated from the main body, and I killed him. 
 
 The pace was now so great that the herd fairly dis- 
 tanced us in the tangled lemon grass, which, though 
 play to them, was very fatiguing to us. 
 
 Upon reaching the top of some rising ground, I no- 
 ticed several elephants, at about a quarter of a mile dis- 
 tant upon my left in high grass, while the remaining 
 portion of the herd (three elephants) were about two 
 hundred yards ahead, and were stepping out at full 
 speed straight before us. 
 
 Wortley had now had plenty of practice, and shot his 
 elephants well. He and Palliser followed the three 
 elephants, while I parted company and ran toward the 
 other section of the herd, who were standing on some 
 rising ground, and were making a great roaring. 
 
 On arriving within a hundred yards of them I found 
 I had caught a " Tartar." It is a very different thing, 
 creeping up to an unsuspecting herd and attacking them 
 by surprise, to marching up upon sheer open ground 
 to a hunted one with wounded elephants among them, 
 who have regularly stood at bay. This was now the 
 case ; the ground was perfectly open, and the lemon 
 grass was above my head : thus I could only see the 
 exact position of the elephants every now and then, by 
 standing upon the numerous little rocks that were scat- 
 tered here and there. The elephants were standing 
 upon some rising ground, from which they watched 
 every movement as I approached. They continued to 
 growl without a moment's intermission, being enraged 
 not only from the noise of the firing, but on account of 
 two calves which they had with them, and which I 
 could not see in the high grass. There was a gentle
 
 A Jungle Trip. 293 
 
 rise in the ground within thirty paces of the spot upon 
 which they stood ; and to this place I directed my steps 
 with great care, hiding in the high grass as I crept 
 toward them. 
 
 During the whole of this time guns were firing with- 
 out intermission in the direction taken by Palliser and 
 Wortley, thus keeping my game terribly on the qui 
 vive. What they were firing so many shots at I could 
 not conceive. 
 
 At length I reached the rising ground. The moment 
 that I was discovered by them the two largest elephants 
 came toward me, with their ears cocked and their 
 trunks raised. 
 
 I waited for a second or two till they lowered their 
 trunks, which they presently did ; and taking a steady 
 shot with one of my double-barreled No. 10 rifles, I 
 floored them both by a right and left. One, however, 
 immediately recovered, and, with the blood streaming 
 from his forehead, he turned and retreated with the re- 
 mainder of the herd at great speed through the high 
 grass. 
 
 The chase required great caution ; however, they for- 
 tunately took to a part of the country where the grass 
 was not higher than my shoulders, and I could thus see 
 well over it. Through this I managed to keep within 
 fifty yards of the herd, and I carried the heavy four- 
 ounce rifle, which I knew would give one of them a 
 benefit if he turned to charge. 
 
 I was following the herd at this distance when they 
 suddenly halted, and the wounded elephant turned 
 quickly round and charged with a right good intention. 
 He carried his head thrown back in such a position 
 that I could not get a fair shot; but, nevertheless, the 
 25*
 
 294 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 four-ounce ball stopped him, and away he went again 
 with the herd at full speed, the blood gushing in streams 
 from the wounds in his head. 
 
 My four-ounce is a splendid rifle for loading quickly, 
 it being so thick- in the metal that the deep groove 
 catches the belt of the ball immediately. I was loaded 
 in a few seconds, and again set off in pursuit. I saw 
 the herd at about two hundred yards distant ; they had 
 halted, and they had again faced about. 
 
 I had no sooner approached within sixty paces of 
 them, when the wounded elephant gave a trumpet, and 
 again rushed forward out of the herd. His head was 
 so covered with blood, and was still thrown back in 
 such a peculiar position, that I could not get a shot at 
 the exact mark. Again the four-ounce crashed through 
 his skull, and, staggered with the blow, he once more 
 turned and retreated with the herd. 
 
 Loading quickly, I poured the powder down ad lib- 
 itum, and ran after the herd, who had made a circuit 
 to arrive in the same forest in which we had first found 
 them. A sharp run brought me up to them ; but, upon 
 seeing me, they immediately stopped, and, without a 
 moment's pause, round came my old antagonist again 
 straight at me, with his head still raised in the same 
 knowing position. The charge of powder was so great 
 that it went off like a young fieldpiece, and the ele- 
 phant fell upon his knees ; but, again recovering him- 
 self, he turned and went off at such a pace that he left 
 the herd behind, and in a few minutes I was within 
 twenty yards of them ; but I would not fire, as I was 
 determined to bag my wounded bird before I fired a 
 single shot at another. 
 
 They now readied the forest, but, instead of retreat
 
 A Jungle Trip. 295 
 
 ing, the wounded elephant turned short round upon the 
 very edge of the jungle and faced me ; the remaining 
 portion of the herd (consisting of two large elephants 
 and two calves) had passed on into the cover. 
 
 This was certainly a plucky elephant ; his whole face 
 was a mass of blood, and he stood at the very spot 
 where the herd had passed into the forest as though he 
 was determined to guard the entrance. I was now 
 about twenty-five yards from him, when, gathering him- 
 self together for a decisive charge, he once more come 
 on. 
 
 . I was on the point of pulling the trigger when he 
 reeled and fell without a shot from sheer exhaustion ; 
 but, recovering himself immediately, he again faced me, 
 but did not move. This was a fatal pause ; he forgot 
 the secret of throwing his head back, and he now held 
 it in the natural position, offering a splendid shot at 
 about twenty yards. Once more the four-ounce buried 
 itself in his skull, and he fell dead. 
 
 Palliser and Wortley came up just as I was endeavor- 
 ing to track up the herd, which I had now lost sight of 
 in the forest. Following upon their tracks, we soon 
 came in view of them. Away we went as fast as we 
 could run toward them, but I struck my shin against a 
 fallen tree, which cut me to the bone and pitched me 
 upon my head. The next moment, however, we were 
 up with the elephants : they were standing upon a slope 
 of rock facing us, but regularly dumbfounded at their 
 unremitting pursuit, and they all rolled over to a volley 
 as we came up, two of them being calves. Palliser 
 killed the two biggest right and left, he being some 
 paces in advance. 
 
 This was one of the best hunts tflat I have ever shared
 
 296 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 in. The chase had lasted for nearly an hour. There 
 had been thirteen elephants originally in the herd, 
 every one of which had been bagged by fair running. 
 Wortley had fired uncommonly well, as he had killed 
 the three elephants which he and Palliser had chased, 
 one of which had given them a splendid run and had 
 proved restive. This elephant took fifteen shots before 
 she fell, and this accounted for the continual firing which 
 I had heard during my chase of the other section. We 
 had killed fourteen elephants during the day, and we 
 returned to the " amblam," having had as fine sport as 
 Ceylon can afford. 
 
 Dec. 7. This, being Sunday, was passed in quiet ; 
 but a general cleaning of guns took place, to be ready 
 for the morrow. 
 
 Dec. 8. We went over many miles of ground with- 
 out seeing a fresh track. We had evidently disturbed 
 the country on this side of the river, and we returned 
 toward the "amblam," determined to cross the river 
 after breakfast and try the opposite side. 
 
 When within a mile of the " amblam" we heard deer 
 barking, and, leaving all our gun-bearers and people 
 behind, we carefully stalked to the spot. The ground 
 was very favorable, and, having the wind, we reached 
 an excellent position among some trees within sixty 
 yards of the herd of deer, who were standing in a little 
 glade. Wortley and I each killed a buck ; Palliser 
 wounded a doe, which we tracked for a great distance 
 by the blood, but at length lost altogether. 
 
 After breakfast we crossed the large river which flows 
 near the " amblam," and then entered a part of the Park 
 that we had not yet beaten. 
 
 Keeping to our left we entered a fine forest and skirted
 
 A Jungle Trip. 297 
 
 the base of a range of rocky mountains. In this forest 
 we saw deer and wild buffalo, but we would not fire a 
 shot, as we had just discovered the fresh track of a rogue 
 elephant. We were following upon this when we heard 
 a bear in some thick jungle. We tried to circumvent 
 him, but in vain ; Bruin was too quick for us, and we 
 did not get a sight of him. 
 
 We were walking quietly along the dry bed of a little 
 brook bordered by thick jungle upon either side, when 
 we were suddenly roused by a tremendous crash through 
 the jungle, which was evidently coming straight upon 
 us. 
 
 We were in a most unfavorable position, but there 
 was no time for any further arrangement than bringing 
 the rirle on full cock before six elephants, including the 
 " rogue " whose tracks we were following, burst through 
 the jungle straight at us. 
 
 Banda was nearly run over, but with wonderful agility 
 he ran up some tangled creepers hanging from the trees, 
 just as a spider would climb his web. He was just in 
 time, as the back of one of the elephants grazed his feet 
 as it passed below him. 
 
 In the mean time the guns were not idle. Wortley 
 fired at the leading elephant, which had passed under 
 Banda's feet, just as he was crossing the brook on our 
 left* His shot did not produce any effect, but I killed 
 him by a temple-shot just as he was passing on. Pal- 
 liser, who was on our right, killed two and knocked 
 down a third, who was about half grown. This fellow 
 got up again, and Wortley and Palliser, both firing at 
 the same moment, extinguished him. 
 
 The herd had got themselves into a mess by rushing 
 down upon our scent in this heedless manner, as four
 
 298 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 of them lay dead within a few paces of each other 
 The u rogue," who knew how to take care of himself, 
 escaped with only one companion. Upon these tracks 
 we now followed without loss of time. 
 
 An hour was thus occupied. We tracked them 
 through many glades and jungles, till we at length dis- 
 covered in a thick che'nar the fresh tracks of another 
 herd, which the *' rogue " arfd his companion had evi- 
 dently joined, as his immense foot-print was very con- 
 spicuous among the numerous marks of the herd. 
 Passing cautiously through a thick jungle, we at length 
 emerged upon an extensive tract of high lemon grass. 
 There was a small pool of water close to the edge of 
 the jungle, which was surrounded with the fresh dung 
 of elephants, and the muddy surface of the water was 
 still agitated by the recent visit of some of these thirsty 
 giants. 
 
 Carefully ascending some slightly rising ground, and 
 keeping close to the edge of the jungle, we peered over 
 the high grass. 
 
 We were in the very centre of the herd, who were 
 much scattered. It was very late, being nearly dusk ; 
 but we counted six elephants here and there in the high 
 grass within sixty paces of us, while the rustling in the 
 jungle to our left warned us that a portion of the herd 
 had not yet quitted this cover. We knew that the 
 " rogue " was somewhere close at hand, and after his 
 recent defeat would be doubly on the alert. Our plans 
 therefore required the greatest vigilance. 
 
 There was no doubt as to the proper course to pur 
 sue, which was to wait patiently until the whole herd 
 had left the jungle and concentrated in the high grass ; 
 but the waning daylight did not permit of such a steady
 
 A Jungle Trip. 299 
 
 method of proceeding. I then proposed that we should 
 choose our elephants, which were scattered in the high 
 grass, and advance separately to the attack. Palliser 
 voted that we should creep up to the elephants that 
 were in the jungle close to us, instead of going into the 
 high grass. 
 
 I did not much like this plan, as I knew that it 
 would be much darker in the jungle than in the patina, 
 and there was no light to spare. However, Parser 
 crept into the jungle, toward the spot where we heard 
 the elephants crashing the bushes. 
 
 Instead of following behind him, I kept almost in a 
 line, but a few feet on one side, otherwise I knew that 
 should he fare I should see nothing for the smoke of his 
 shot. This precaution was not thrown away. The 
 elephants were about fifty yards from the entrance to 
 the jungle, and we were of course up to them in a few 
 minutes. Palliser took a steady shot at a fine elephant 
 about eight yards from him, and fired. 
 
 The only effect produced was a furious charge right 
 into us ! 
 
 Away went all the gun-bearers except Wallace as 
 hard as they could run, completely panic-stricken. Pal- 
 liser and Wortley jumped to one side to get clear of 
 the smoke, which hung like a cloud before them, and 
 having taken my position with the expectation of some- 
 thing of this kind, I had a fine clear forehead shot as 
 the elephant came rushing on, and I dropped him dead. 
 
 The gun-bearers were in such a fright that they never 
 stopped till they got out on the patina. 
 
 The herd had of course gone off at the alarm of the 
 firing, and we got a glimpse at the old " rogue "as he 
 was taking to the jungle. Palliser fired an ineffectual
 
 300 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 shot at him at a long range, and the day closed. It 
 was moonlight when we reached the " amblam" : the 
 bag for that day being five elephants and two bucks. 
 
 Dec. 9. We had alarmed this part of the country, 
 and after spending a whole morning in wandering over 
 a large extent of ground without seeing a fresh track 
 of an elephant, we determined to move on to Nielgalla, 
 eight miles from the " amblam." We accordingly 
 packed up, and started off our coolies by the direct 
 path, while we made a long circuit by another route in 
 the hope of meeting with heavy game. 
 
 After riding about four miles, our path lay through a 
 dense forest up the steep side of a hill. Over this was 
 a narrow road, most difficult for a horse to ascend, on 
 account of the large masses of rocks which choked the 
 path from the base to the summit. Leaving the horse- 
 keepers with the horses to scramble up as they best 
 could, we took our guns and went on in advance. We 
 had nearly reached the summit of this pass when we 
 came suddenly upon some fragments of chewed leaves 
 and branches lying in the middle of the path. The 
 saliva was still warm upon them, and the dung of an 
 elephant lay in the road in a state which proved his 
 close vicinity. There were no tracks, of course, as the 
 path was nothing but a line of piled rocks, from which 
 the forest had been lately cleared, and the elephants had 
 just been disturbed by the clattei'ing of the horses' 
 hoofs in ascending the rugged pass. 
 
 Banda had run on in front about fifty yards before 
 us, but we had no sooner arrived on the summit of the 
 hill than we saw him returning at a flying pace toward 
 us, with an elephant chasing him in full speed. 
 
 It was an exciting scene while it lasted : with the *r.
 
 BANDA'S ESCAPE FROM A "ROGUE." Page 301.
 
 A Jungle Trip. 301 
 
 tivity of a deer he sprang from rock to rock, \vhile we 
 of course ran to his assistance, and arrived close to the 
 elephant just as Banda had reached a high block of 
 stone, which furnished him an asylum. A shot from 
 Palliser brought the elephant upon his knees, but, im- 
 mediately recovering himself, he ran round a large rock. 
 I ran round the other side, and killed him dead within 
 four paces. 
 
 Upon descending the opposite side of the pass we 
 arrived in flat, open country, and on the left of the road 
 we saw another elephant, a " rogue," in high lemon 
 grass. We tried to get a shot at him, but it was of no 
 use ; the grass was so high and thick that, after trying 
 several experiments, we declined following him in such 
 ground. We arrived at Nielgalla in the evening with- 
 out further sport : here we killed a few couple of snipe 
 in the paddy-fields, which added to our dinner. 
 
 Dec. 10. Having beaten several miles of country 
 without seeing any signs of elephants, we came unex- 
 pectedly upon a herd of wild buffaloes ; they were 
 standing in beautiful open ground, interspersed with 
 trees, about a hundred and ten paces from us. I gave 
 Palliser my heavy rifle, as he was very anxious to get a 
 pair of good horns, and with the pleasure of a specta- 
 tor I watched the sport. He made a good shot with 
 the four-ounce and dropped the foremost buffalo ; the 
 herd galloped off, but he broke the hind leg of another 
 buffalo with one of the No. 10 rifles, and, after a chase 
 of a couple of hundred yards, he came up with the 
 wounded beast, who could not extricate himself from a 
 deep gully of water, as he could not ascend the steep 
 bank on three legs. A few more shots settled him. 
 
 We gave up all ideas of elephants for this day after 
 26
 
 302 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 
 
 so much firing, but, curious enough, just as we were 
 mounting our horses we heard the roar of an elephant 
 in a jungle on the hillside about half a mile distant. 
 There was no mistaking the sound, and we were soon 
 at the spot. This jungle was very extensive, and the 
 rocky bed of a mountain-torrent divided it into two por- 
 tions ; on the right hand was fine open forest, and on 
 the left hand thick thorny che"nar. The elephants were 
 in the open forest, close to the edge of the torrent. 
 
 The herd winded us just as we were approaching up 
 the steep ascent of the rocky stream, and they made a 
 rush across the bed of the torrent to gain the thick jun- 
 gle on the opposite bank. Banda immediately beckoned 
 to me to come into the thick jungle with the intention 
 of meeting the elephants as they entered, while Palliser 
 was to command the narrow passage, in which there 
 was only space for one person to shoot without confu- 
 sion. 
 
 In the mean time Palliser knocked over three ele- 
 phants as they crossed the stream, while we, on reach- 
 ing the thick jungle, found it was so dense that we could 
 see nothing. Just as we were thinking of returning 
 again to the spot that we had left, we heard a tremen- 
 dous rush in the thick jungle, coming straight toward 
 us. In another instant I saw a mass of twisted and 
 matted thorns rushing in a heap upon me. I had barely 
 time to jump on one side, as the elephant nearly grazed 
 me, and I fired both barrels into the tangled mass that 
 he bore upon his head. I then bolted and took up a 
 good position at a few yards' distance. The shots in 
 the head had so completely stunned the elephant that 
 she could not move, and she stood in a piece of jungle 
 so dense that we could not see her, and Palliser creep-
 
 A Jungle Trip. 303 
 
 ing up to her, while we stood ready to back him, fired 
 three shots at her without the least effect. She did not 
 even move, being senseless with the wound. One of 
 my men then gave him my -four-ounce I'ifle. A loud 
 report from the old gun sounded the elephant's knell, 
 *nd closed the sport for that trip. 
 
 We returned to Nielgalla, the whole of that day's 
 bag belonging to Palliser four elephants and two buffa- 
 loes. We packed up our traps, and early the next 
 morning we started direct for Newera Ellia, having in 
 three weeks from the day of our departure from Kandy 
 bagged fifty elephants, five deer and two buffaloes ; of 
 which Wortley had killed to his bag ten elephants and 
 two deer ; Palliser sixteen elephants and two buffaloes ; 
 V. Baker, up to the time of his leaving us, two ele- 
 phants.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 THUS ended a trip which exhibited the hat>its and 
 character of elephants in a most perfect manner. 
 From the simple experience of these three weeks' shoot- 
 ing, a novice might claim a knowledge of the elephant ; 
 and the journal of this tour must at once explain, even 
 to the most uninitiated, the exact proportion of risk 
 with which this sport is attended when followed up in 
 a sportsmanlike manner. These days will always be 
 looked back to by me with the greatest pleasure ; the 
 moments of sport lose none of their brightness by age, 
 and when the limbs become enfeebled by time, the 
 mind can still cling to scenes long past with the pleas- 
 ure of youth. 
 
 One great addition to the enjoyment of wild sport is 
 the companionship of thorough sportsmen. A cpnfi- 
 dence in each other is absolutely necessary ; without 
 this, I would not remain a day in the jungle. An even 
 temper, not easily disturbed by the little annoyances in- 
 separable from a trip in wild country, is also indispens- 
 able ; without this, a man would be insufferable. Our 
 party was an emblem of contentment. The day's sport 
 concluded, the evenings were most enjoyable, and will 
 never be forgotten. The well-arranged tent, the neatly- 
 spread table, the beds forming a triangle around the 
 304
 
 Conclusion. 305 
 
 walls, and the clean guns piled in a long row against 
 the gun-rack, will often recall a tableau in after years 
 in countries far from this land of independence. The 
 acknowledged sports of England will appear child's 
 play; the exciting thrill will be wanting when a sud- 
 den rush in the jungle brings the rifle on full cock ; 
 and the heavy guns will become useless mementoes 
 of past days, like the dusty helmets of yore hanging 
 up in an old hall. The belt and the hunting-knife will 
 alika share the fate of the good rifle, and the blade, now 
 so keen, will blunt from sheer neglect. The slips, 
 which have held the necks of dogs of such staunch na- 
 tures, will hang neglected from the wall ; and all these 
 souvenirs of wild sports, contrasted with the puny imple- 
 ments of the English chase, will awaken once more the 
 longing desire for the " Rifle and Hound in Ceylon." 
 26* U
 
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