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

Capabilities Of Ceylon--Deer At Illepecadewe--Sagacity Of A Pariah

Dog--Two Deer At One Shot--Deer-Stalking--Hambantotte Country--Kattregam

Festival--Sitrawelle--Ruins Of Ancient Mahagam-- Wiharewelle--A Night

Attack Upon Elephants--Shooting By Moonlight--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 Diversity In The Scenery Which Refreshes The Eye; And

Although The Evergreen Appearance Might Appear Monotonous To Some

Persons,  Still,  Were They Residents,  They Would Observe That The Colour

Of The Foliage Is Undergoing 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

Frozen Branches And Deserts Them. Every Shade Of Colour 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 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 Decidedly

Unhealthy.

 

This Vast Amount Of Forest And Jungle Is A Great Impediment To The

Enjoyment Of Travelling. 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

Mountains With Delight. Some Districts,  However,  Are Perfectly Devoid Of

Trees,  And Form A Succession Of Undulating Downs Of Short Grass. Other

Parts,  Again,  Although Devoid Of Heavy Timber,  Are Covered With Dense

Part 3 Chapter 7 Pg 53

Thorny Jungles,  Especially The Country Adjoining The Sea-Coast,  Which Is

Generally Of A Uniform Character Round The Whole Island,  Being

Interspersed With Sand Plains Producing A Short Grass.

 

Much Has Been Said By Some Authors Of The "Capabilities" Of Ceylon; But

However Enticing The Description Of These Capabilities May Have Been,

The Proof Has Been Decidedly In Opposition To The Theory. Few Countries

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 Exception Of

Cinnamon. Sugar Estates Do Not Answer,  And Coffee Requires An Expensive

System Of Cultivation By Frequent Manuring. In Fact,  The Soil Is

Wretched; So Bad That The Natives,  By Felling The Forest And Burning 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,  Underwood,  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 Portion 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. 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 The 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 Throughout 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 Neighbourhood Of Paliar And Illepecadewe,  On The North-West

Coast,  I Have Shot Them Till I Was Satiated And It Ceased To Be Sport.

We Had Nine Fine Deer Hanging 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 Illepecadewe,  Which Is A Lonely,  Miserable Spot,

When I Met With A Very Sagacious 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 Peafowl,  And Killed

Her With My Rifle. The Shot Was No Sooner Fired Than I Heard Another

Shot In 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

A Dog At This Distance From A Village (About Four Miles)? I 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 Followed 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 Knowing 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 Wounded 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 Our Mute Companion To Follow; He Pulled

Violently Back And Shrinked,  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

Near The River,  So I Told The Gun-Bearer To Drag Him Across By Force.

This He Accordingly Did,  And The Dog Swam With Frantic Exertions Across

The River,  And Managed To Disengage His Head From The Rope. The Moment

Part 3 Chapter 7 Pg 54

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 Off 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 Separated 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

Peafowl,  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. I Tracked Up This Herd For Nearly A Mile,  When I Observed

Them Behind A Large Bush; Some Were Lying Down And Others Were Standing.

A Buck And Doe Presently Quitted The Herd,  And Advancing A Few Paces

From The Bush They Halted,  And Evidently Winded Me. I Was Screening

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 Exposed,  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; (*1 This Is Necessary To Allow The Blood

To Escape,  Otherwise They Would Be Unfit For Food) 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 1 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,  Followed By 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