The Rifle And The Hound In Ceylon(Fiscle Part-3), Sir Samuel White Baker [most inspirational books .txt] 📗

Him

Almost Without His Knowledge,  But The Poker Will Knock Him Down. Thus

The Pointed Conical Ball Will,  Perhaps,  Pass Through An Elephant'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 Completely

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 Awkward

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 Answer In Ceylon; The Country Is Not Sufficiently Open

To Watch The Effects Produced Upon The Animal,  And Although He May 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 Beneath.

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 Horseback I Rode Up To Them,  Carrying My Heavy Rifle;

And,  Upon A Near Approach I Discovered Two Large Bulls Fighting

Furiously. This Combat Was Exciting The Attention 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,  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

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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 Galloped

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,  Having 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 Towards

Me,  As Though To Cut Me Off 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 Endeavoured 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 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 150 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 Drooping,  But Produced No Other

Effect. I Therefore Returned Towards 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 Astonishment,  He Recovered Himself Instantly And Galloped Towards 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 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 I 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 In Describing These

Encounters Is To Show The Style Of Animal That The Buffalo Is In His

Natural State. I Could Relate A Hundred 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 Behaviour 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

Commence The Attack Unless Pursued. Their Instinct At Once Tells Them

Whether The Man Advancing Towards 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 Will Soon Show

Their Real Character. Heavy Rifles Then Make A Good Sport Of What Would

Otherwise Be A Chance Of Ten To One Against The Man. It Must Be

Remembered That The Attack Is Generally Upon An Extensive Plain,  Without

Part 3 Chapter 6 Pg 47

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 Decription 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 Penetrate; 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 Springing 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 Numerous