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

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Became Completely Satiated. There Was Too Much Game; During The Whole

Day's Walk I Was Certainly Not Five Minutes Without Seeing Either Deer,

Elk,  Buffaloes,  Or Hogs. The Noise Of The Rifle Did Not Appear To Scare

Them From The Forest; They Would Simply Retreat For A Time To Some Other

Portion Of It,  And Fresh Herds Were Met With In Following Up One Which

Had Been Disturbed. Still,  There Were No Elephants. Although I Had

Upwards Of Fifty Coolies And Servants,  They Could Not Dry The Venison

Sufficiently Fast To Prevent The Deer From Stinking As They Were Killed,

And I Resolved To Leave The Country.

 

I Gave Orders For Everything To Be Packed Up In Readiness For A Start,

After An Early Breakfast,  On The Following Morning. The Servants Were

Engaged In Arranging For The Departure,  When A Native Brought

Intelligence Of A Rogue Elephant Within Four Miles Of The Tent. It Was

Late In The Afternoon,  But I Had Not Seen An Elephant For So Long That I

Was Determined To Make His Acquaintance. My Friend B. Accompanied Me,

And We Immediately Started On Horseback.

 

Our Route Lay Across Very Extensive Plains,  Interspersed With Low Thorny

Bushes And Wide Salt Lakes. Innumerable Wild Hogs Invited Us To A Chase.

There Could Not Be A Better Spot For Boar-Spearing,  As The Ground Is

Level And Clear For Riding. There Were Numerous Herds Of Deer And

Buffaloes,  But We Did Not Fire A Shot,  As We Had Determined Upon An

Interview With The Rogue. We Traversed About Four Miles Of This Style Of

Country,  And Were Crossing A Small Plain,  When Our Guide Suddenly

Stopped And Pointed To The Elephant,  Who Was About A Quarter Of A Mile

Distant. He Was Standing On A Little Glade Of About Fifty Yards Across;

This Was Surrounded Upon All Sides But One With Dense Thorny Jungle,  And

He Therefore Stood In A Small Bay Of Open Ground. It Was A Difficult

Position For An Attack. The Wind Blew Directly From Us To Him,  Therefore

Part 3 Chapter 7 Pg 58

An Advance In That Direction Was Out Of The Question; On The Other Hand,

If We Made A Circuit So As To Get The Wind,  We Should Have To Penetrate

Through The Thorny Jungle To Arrive At Him,  And We Should Then Have The

Five O'clock Sun Directly In Our Eyes. However,  There Was No

Alternative,  And,  After A Little Consultation,  The Latter Plan Was

Resolved Upon.

 

Dismounting,  We Ordered The Horse-Keepers To Conceal The Horses And

Themselves Behind A Thick Bush,  Lest The Elephant Should Observe Them,

And With This Precaution We Advanced,  Making A Circuit Of Nearly A Mile

To Obtain The Wind. On Arrival At The Belt Of Thick Jungle Which Divided

Us From The Small Glade Upon Which He Stood,  I Perceived,  As I Had

Expected,  That The Sun Was Full In Our Eyes. This Was A Disadvantage

Which I Felt Convinced Would Lose Us The Elephant,  Unless Some

Extraordinary Chance Intervened; However,  We Entered The Thick Jungle

Before Us,  And Cautiously Pushed Our Way Through It. This Belt Was Not

More Than Fifty Yards In Width,  And We Soon Broke Upon The Small Glade.

 

The Elephant Was Standing With His Back Towards Us,  At About Forty Paces

Distant,  Close To The Thick Jungle By His Side; And,  Taking My

Four-Ounce Rifle,  I Walked Quietly But Quickly Towards Him. Without A

Moment's Warning He Flung His Trunk Straight Up,  And,  Turning Sharp

Round,  He At Once Charged Into Us. The Sun Shone Full In My Eyes,  So

That I Could Do Nothing But Fire Somewhere At His Head. He Fell,  But

Immediately Recovered Himself,  And Before The Smoke Had Cleared Away He

Was In Full Retreat Through The Thorny Jungle,  The Heavy Ball Having

Taken All The Pluck Out Of Him. This Was Just As I Had Expected; Pursuit

In Such A Jungle Was Impossible,  And I Was Perfectly Contented With

Having Turned Him.

 

The Next Morning,  Having Made All Arrangements For Starting Homewards,

After Breakfast I Took My Rifle And One Gun-Bearer With A

Double-Barrelled Gun To Enjoy One Last Stroll In The Forest. It Was Just

Break Of Day. My First Course Was Towards The River Which Flowed Through

It,  As I Expected To Find The Game Near The Water,  An Hour Before

Sunrise Being Their Time For Drinking. I Had Not Proceeded Far Before

Immense Herds Of Deer Offered Tempting Shots; But I Was Out Simply In

Search Of Large Antlers,  And None Appearing Of Sufficient Size,  I Would

Not Fire. Buffaloes Continually Presented Themselves: I Was Tired Of

Shooting These Brutes,  But I Killed Two Who Looked Rather Vicious; And I

Amused Myself With Remarking The Immense Quantity Of Game,  And Imagining

The Number Of Heads That I Could Bag Had I Chosen To Indulge In

Indiscriminate Slaughter. At Length I Noticed A Splendid Buck Lying On

The Sandy Bed Of The River,  Beneath A Large Tree; His Antlers Were

Beautiful,  And I Stalked Him To Within Sixty Yards And Shot Him. I Had

Not Been Reloaded Ten Minutes,  And Was Walking Quietly Through The

Forest,  When I Saw A Fine Antlered Buck Standing Within Thirty Yards Of

Me In A Small Patch Of Underwood. His Head Was Turned Towards Me,  And

His Nostrils Were Distended In Alarm As He Prepared To Bound Off. I Had

Just Time To Cock My Rifle As He Dashed Off At Full Speed; But It Was A

Murderous Distance,  And He Fell Dead. His Antlers Matched Exactly With

Those I Had Last Shot.

 

I Turned Towards The Direction Of The Tent,  And,  Descending To The Bed

Of The River,  I Followed The Course Of The Stream Upon The Margin Of Dry

Sand. I Had Proceeded About Half A Mile,  When I Noticed At About 150

Paces Some Object Moving About The Trunk Of A Large Fallen Tree Which

Lay Across The Bed Of The River. This Stem Was About Five Feet In

Diameter,  And I Presently Distinguished The Antlers And Then The Head Of

A Large Buck,  As They Appeared Above It; He Had Been Drinking In The

Stream On The Opposite Side,  And He Now Raised His Head,  Sniffing The

Fresh Breeze. It Was A Tempting Shot,  And Taking A Very Steady Aim I

Fired. For A Moment He Was Down,  But Recovering Himself He Bounded Up

The Bank,  And Was Soon In Full Speed Through The Forest With Only One

Antler Upon His Head. I Picked Up The Fellow-Antler,  Which The

Rifle-Ball Had Cut Off Within An Inch Of His Skull. This Was A Narrow

Escape.

 

I Did Not Reload My Rifle,  As I Was Not Far From The Tent,  And I Was

Tired Of Shooting. Giving My Rifle To The Gun-Bearer,  I Took The

Double-Barrelled Gun Which He Carried,  And Walked Quickly Towards

Breakfast. Suddenly I Heard A Crash In A Small Nook Of Thick Bushes,

Like The Rush Of An Elephant,  And The Next Instant A Buck Came Rushing

By In Full Speed; His Long Antlers Lay Upon His Back As He Flew Through

The Tangled Saplings With A Force That Seemed To Defy Resistance. He Was

The Largest Spotted Buck That I Ever Saw,  And,  Being Within Thirty

Paces,  I Took A Flying Shot With The Right-Hand Barrel. He Faltered For

A Moment,  And I Immediately Fired The Remaining Barrel. Still He

Continued His Course,  But At A Reduced Speed And Dead Lame. Loading The

Rifle,  I Soon Got Upon The Blood-Track,  And I Determined To Hunt Him

Down.

 

There Were Many Saplings In This Part Of The Forest,  And I Noticed That

Many Of Them In The Deer's Track Were Besmeared With Blood About Two

Feet And A Half From The Ground. The Tracks In The Sandy Soil Were

Uneven--One Of The Fore-Feet Showed A Deep Impression,  While The Other

Was Very Faint,  Showing That He Was Wounded In The Leg,  As His Whole

Weight Was Thrown Upon One Foot. Slowly And Cautiously I Stalked Along

The Track,  Occasionally Lying Down To Look Under The Bushes. For About

An Hour I Continued This Slow And Silent Chase; The Tracks Became

Fainter,  And The Bleeding Appeared To Have Almost Ceased; So Few And Far

Between Were The Red Drops Upon The Ground,  That I Was Constantly

Obliged To Leave The Gun-Bearer Upon The Last Trace,  While I Made A Cast

To Discover The Next Track. I Was At Length In Despair Of Finding Him,

And I Was Attentively Scrutinising The Ground For A Trace Of Blood,

Which Would Distinguish His Track From Those Of Other Deer With Which

The Ground Was Covered,  When I Suddenly Heard A Rush In The Underwood,

And Away Bounded The Buck At About Fifty Yards' Distance,  Apparently As

Fresh As Ever. The Next Instant He Was Gasping On The Ground,  The

Rifle-Ball Having Passed Exactly Through His Heart. I Never Could Have

Believed That A Spotted Buck Would Have Attained So Large A Size; He Was

As Large As A Doe Elk,  And His Antlers Were The Finest I Have Ever Seen

Of That Species. It Required Eight Men With Two Cross Poles To Bring Him

Home.

 

I Reached The Tent To Breakfast At Eight O'clock,  Having Bagged Three

Fine Bucks And Two Buffaloes That Morning; And Being,  For The Time,

Satiated With Sport,  I Quitted Ceylon.

Part 3 Chapter 8 Pg 59

Beat-Hounds For Elk-Hunting--Smut--Killbuck--The Horton Plains--A Second

Soyer--The Find--The Buck At Bay--The Bay--The Death--Return Of Lost

Dogs--Comparative Speed Of Deer--Veddah Ripped By A Boar--A Melee--Buck

At Black Pool--Old Smut's Ruse--Margosse Oil.

 

The Foregoing Description Of Sporting Incidents Closed My First Visit To

Ceylon. I Had Arrived In The Island To Make A Tour Of The Country And To

Enjoy Its Sports; This I Had Accomplished By A Residence Of Twelve

Months,  The Whole Of Which Had Been Occupied In Wandering From Place To

Place. I Now Returned To England; But The Fates Had Traced Another Road

For Me,  And After A Short Stay In The Old Country I Again Started For

Ceylon,  And Became A Resident At Newera Ellia.

 

Making Use Of The Experience That I Had Gained In Wild Sports,  I Came

Out Well Armed,  According To My Own Ideas Of Weapons For The Chase. I

Had Ordered Four Double-Barrelled Rifles Of No. 10 Bore To Be Made To My

Own Pattern; My Hunting-Knives And Boarspear Heads I Had Made To My Own

Design By Paget Of Piccadilly,  Who Turned Out The Perfection Of Steel;

And I Arrived In Ceylon With A Pack Of Fine Foxhounds And A Favourite

Greyhound Of Wonderful Speed And Strength,  'Bran,' Who,  Though Full Of

Years,  Is Still Alive.

 

The Usual Drawbacks And Discomforts Attendant Upon A New Settlement

Having Been Overcome,  Newera Ellia Forms A Delightful Place Of

Residence. I Soon Discovered That A Pack Of Thoroughbred Foxhounds Were

Not Adapted To A Country So Enclosed By Forest; Some Of The Hounds Were

Lost,  Others I Parted With,  But They Are All Long Since Dead,  And Their

Progeny,  The Offspring Of Crosses With Pointers,  Bloodhounds And

Half-Bred Foxhounds,  Have Turned Out The Right Stamp For Elk-Hunting.

 

It Is A Difficult Thing To Form A Pack For This Sport Which Shall Be

Perfect In All Respects. Sometimes A Splendid Hound In Character May Be

More Like A Butcher's Dog Than A Hound In Appearance,  But The Pack

Cannot Afford To