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

Part 3 Chapter 7 Pg 56

Overgrown 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 Possible

That 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,  Sapphire,  Ruby,  And Jacinth,  But The Large Proportion Of

Ruby Sand Was So Extraordinary That It Seemed To Rival Sindbad The

Sailor's Vale Of Gems. The Whole Of This Was Valueless,  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 An 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 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 Extensive Plain Close To The Village Of Wihare-Welle.

This Plain Was Covered With Wild Indigo,  And Abounded With Peafowl.

Passing Through The Small Village At The Extremity Of The Plain,  We

Pitched The Tent Upon The Borders Of The Lake,  About A Quarter Of A Mile

Beyond It. This Tank Was About Three Miles In Circumference,  And,  Like

That Of Sitrawelle,  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

Regarding Elephants; But I Was Convinced,  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 Savoury Steam Of A Peacock That Was

Roasting On A Stick Betokened The Welcome Approach Of Dinner. We Had

Already 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 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 Our 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 Of 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 Within A

Short Distance,  And I Could Distinguish Two Or Three Dark Forms On The

Opposite Bank. The Shrill And Continual Barking Of Spotted Deer Now

Approaching Nearer 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 Immense Quantity Of Animals

That Were Congregated Together,  We Could Not Distinguish Them Plainly On

Account Of The Dark Background Of Jungle. Elk,  Deer,  Buffaloes,  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 Myself 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 Look-Out 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 Unperceived

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--One Large And Two

Part 3 Chapter 7 Pg 57

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 Large Elephant,  When A Branch Of Hooked Thorn Caught W.

By The Clothes; The Noise That He Made In Extricating 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 Fifteen 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 Immediately 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,  Wading 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 Death From

Some Unskilful 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 Returned To The

Neighbourhood Of Yalle. 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 Distinguishable 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 Reaching 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 Were Now And Then Above The Surface. He Was In Search Of Grey

Mullet,  With Which Fish The River Abounded; And At This Season Sharks

Were Very Numerous,  As They Followed The Shoals For Some Distance 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 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 Collected In This

Neighbourhood. 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 Underwood; 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 Trees Formed An Impervious 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