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

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 The 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 Horse-Keeper,  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 Emptied 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 Cessation Of Daylight Put An End To All Shooting.

 

The Moon Was Full And Shone Over The Lake With Great Brilliancy; The Air

Was Cool And Refreshing After The Great Heat Of The Day; And The Chirp

Of The Snipe And Whistling Sound Of The Wild Fowl On The Lake Were 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 Towards The Spot.

 

I Was Within Half A Mile Of The Tent,  And Had Just Turned Round An Angle

Made By The Forest,  When I Suddenly Saw The Grey 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 Jungle,  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 Towards 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,  Halting 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 Moment. In The Same Instant,  As I Dropped My Empty Rifle,

A Double-Barrelled 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

Towards 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 Behind 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 Was 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 Horse-Keeper,  Who Had

Actually Handed Me The Shot-Gun,  Which I Had Received As The

Double-Barrelled Ball-Gun That I Knew Was Carried By A Gun-Bearer. How I

Did Thrash 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 Homewards. 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 Neighbourhood Of

Cowdellai,  I Got A Shot At A Deer At A Killing Distance. She Was Not

Twenty Yards Off,  And Was Looking At Me As If Spellbound. 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 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 Evening; 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 Before 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 Flavour 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

Part 3 Chapter 6 Pg 51

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-Barrelled Gun,  Within Four Paces,  And

Blew His Head To Pieces. He Appeared Stone Dead; But Upon Pulling Him By

The Tail,  To Stretch Him Out At Full Length,  He Wreathed Himself In

Convulsive 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

Man'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 End 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 Incision,

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 Colours. 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 Off The 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 Reptiles In Ceylon; But They Are Seldom Seen,  As

They Generally Wander Forth At Night. There Are Marvellous Stories Of

Their Size,  And My Men Assured Me That They Had Seen Much Larger Than

The Snake Now Mentioned; To Me He Appeared 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; Their Immense Number 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

Accustomed 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

Movements Of His Uninvited Bedfellow. 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

Pillow,  Upon Which The Unwary Sleeper Might Have Received 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 Manner Of

Reptiles.

 

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