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

Herds Of Wild Buffaloes Scattered

Over The Surface. 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 400 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 Towards 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 Immensely Long Shot To Produce So Immediate An Effect

So Reloading Quickly I Stepped The Distance. I Measured 352 Paces,  And I

Then Stood Within Ten Yards Of Him,  As He Still Lay Upon The Ground,

Endeavouring 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

Carcasses 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

400 Yards,  And Was Standing Shoulder-Deep. This Was A Fine Target; 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

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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 Practising At Long Ranges; But With No

Very Satisfactory Effect; Several Buffaloes 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,  Carrying The Four-Ounce Rifle; And,  Upon Seeing Himself

Pursued,  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 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 Vegetation 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

Expected To Have Seen The Infuriated Buffalo Among Us. I Peeped Over The

Horse's Back,  And,  To My Delight And Surprise,  I Saw The Carcass Of The

Bull Lying Within Three Feet Of Him. His Head Was Pierced By The Ball

Exactly Between The Horns,  And Death Had Been Instantaneous. The Horse,

Having Reared To His Full Height,  Had Entangled His Hind Legs In The

Grass,  And He Had Fallen Backwards Without Being Touched By The Buffalo,

Although The Horns Were Close Into Him.

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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 Towards

The Position Of The Tent,  I Rode Homewards. 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

Encampment,  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 Towards Them,  And Upon Approaching To Within Sixty

Yards,  I Found They Consisted Of Three Cows,  Two Bulls,  And Three

Calves. I Had Advanced Towards 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 Themselves,  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 Sprang 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 Commenced 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. 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 Towards 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 Towards

Them To Within Twenty Yards. One Of The Cows Now Commended 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-Barrelled 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 He Soon Did,  And Hauled

It To The Shore; And Having Reloaded,  I Proceeded To Examine The Hits On

The Dead Buffaloes. It Was Fortunate That I Had Reloaded; For I Had No

Part 3 Chapter 6 Pg 50

Sooner Approached To Within