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

His Horns To A Bush,  Lest He Should Be Washed Away By The

Torrent,  I Examined The Dogs. Smut Was Wounded In Two Places,  But Not

Severely,  And Cato Had Just Recovered His Senses,  But Was So Bruised As

To Move With Great Difficulty. In Addition To This,  He Had A Deep Wound

From The Buck's Horn Under The Shoulder.

 

The Great Number Of Elk At The Horton Plains And The Open Character Of

The Country,  Make The Hunting A Far More Enjoyable Sport Than It Is In

Newera Ellia,  Where The Plains Are Of Much Smaller Extent,  And The

Jungles Are Frightfully Thick. During A Trip Of Two Months At The Horton

Plains,  We Killed Forty-Three Elk,  Exclusive Of About Ten Which The

Pack Ran Into And Killed By Themselves,  Bringing Home The Account Of

Their Performances In Distended Stomachs. These Occurrences Frequently

Happen When The Elk Takes Away Through An Impervious Country,  Where A

Man Cannot Possibly Follow. In Such Cases The Pack Is Either Beaten Off,

Or They Pull The Elk Down And Devour It.

 

This Was Exemplified Some Time Ago,  When The Three Best Dogs Were Nearly

Lost. A Doe Elk Broke Cover From A Small Jungle At The Horton Plains,

And,  Instead Of Taking Across The Patinas (Plains),  She Doubled Back To

An Immense Pathless Jungle,  Closely Followed By Three

Greyhounds--Killbuck,  Bran,  And Lena. The First Dog,  Who Ran Beautifully

By Nose,  Led The Way,  And Their Direction Was Of Course Unknown,  As The

Dogs Were All Mute. Night Came,  And They Had Not Returned. The Next Day

Passed Away,  But Without A Sign Of The Missing Dogs. I Sent Natives To

Search The Distant Jungles And Ravines In All Directions. Three Days

Passed Away,  And I Gave Up All Hope Of Them. We Were Sitting At Dinner

One Night,  The Fire Was Blazing Cheerfully Within,  But The Rain Was

Pouring Without,  The Wind Was Howling In Fitful Gusts,  And Neither Moon

Nor Stars Relieved The Pitchy Darkness Of The Night,  When The

Conversation Naturally Turned To The Lost Dogs. What A Night For The

Poor Brutes To Be Exposed To,  Roaming About The Wet Jungles Without A

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Chance Of Return!

 

A Sudden Knock At The Door Arrested Our Attention; It Opened. Two

Natives Stood There,  Dripping With Wet And Shivering With Cold. One Had

In His Hand An Elk's Head,  Much Gnawed; The Other Man,  To My Delight,

Led The Three Lost Dogs. They Had Run Their Elk Down,  And Were Found By

The Side Of A Rocky River Several Miles Distant--The Two Dogs Asleep In

A Cave,  And The Bitch Was Gnawing The Remains Of The Half-Consumed

Animal. The Two Men Who Had Found Them Were Soon Squatted Before A

Comfortable Fire,  With A Good Feed Of Curry And Rice,  And Their Skins

Full Of Brandy.

 

Although The Elk Are So Numerous At The Horton Plains,  The Sport At

Length Becomes Monotonous From The Very Large Proportion Of The Does.

The Usual Ratio In Which They Were Killed Was One Buck To Eight Does. I

Cannot At All Account For This Small Proportion Of Bucks In This

Particular Spot. At Newera Ellia They Are As Two Or Three Compared With

The Does. The Following Extract Of Deaths,  Taken From My Game-Book

During Three Months Of The Year,  Will Give A Tolerably Accurate Idea Of

The Number Killed:

 

1852.

March 24. Doe  .    . Killed In The Elk Plains.

      30. Two Does  . Killed In Newera Ellia Plain.

April 3.  Doe  .    . Killed At The Foot Of Hack Galla.

      5.  Buck .    . Killed At The Foot Of Pedro.

      8.  Doe  .    . Killed At The Top Of The Pass.

      13. Buck .    . Killed At The Foot Of The Pass.

      16. Buck .    . Killed In The River At The Pass.

      19. Doe  .    . Killed On The Patinas On Badulla Road.

      21. Buck .    . Killed In The River At The Base Of Pedro.

      23. Buck .    . Killed In Matturatta Plain.

      25. Doe  .    . Killed In The Elk Plains.

      25. Sow  .    . Killed In The Elk Plains.

      27. Boar .    . Killed At The Limestone Quarry.

May    3. Sow  .    . Killed In The Elk Plains.

       6. Two Does  . Killed In The Barrack Plain.

      10. Two Does  . One Killed In The Barrack Plain,  And

                        The Other At The Bottom Of The Pass.

      12. Buck .    . Killed In Newera Ellia Plain.

      19. Buck .    . Killed In The Newera Ellia River.

      22. Doe  .    . Killed At The Pioneer Lines-Laboukelle.

      31. Two Does  . Killed In The Barrack Plain.

June   5. Buck .    . Killed At The Foot Of Pedro.

       8. Buck .    . Killed In The Barrack Plain.

      11. Two Bucks . Killed On Kicklamane Patina.

      24. Two Does  . Killed On Newera Ellia Plain.

      28. Boar .    . Killed On Elk Plains.

      29. Doe  .    . Killed At The ` Rest And Be Thankful Bottom

 

      Total--28 Elk (11 Bucks,  17 Does),  And 4 Hogs.

 

This Is A Tolerable Show Of Game When It Is Considered That The Sport

Continues From Year To Year; There Are No Seasons At Which Time The Game

Is Spared,  But The Hunting Depends Simply On The Weather. Three Times A

Week The Pack Turns Out In The Dry Season,  And Upon Every Fine Day

During The Wet Months. It Must Appear A Frightful Extravagance To

English Ideas To Feed The Hounds Upon Venison,  But As It Costs Nothing,

It Is A Cheaper Food Than Beef,  And No Other Flesh Is Procurable In

Sufficient Quantity. Venison Is In Its Prime When The Elk's Horns Are In

Velvet. At This Season,  When The New Antlers Have Almost Attained Their

Full Growth,  They Are Particularly Tender,  And The Buck Moves Slowly And

Cautiously Through The Jungle,  Lest He Should Injure Them Against The

Branches,  Taking No Further Exercise Than Is Necessary In The Search Of

Food. He Therefore Grows Very Fat,  And Is Then In Fine Condition.

 

The Speed Of An Elk,  Although Great,  Cannot Be Compared To That Of The

Spotted Deer. I Have Seen The Latter Almost Distance The Best Greyhounds

For The First 200 Yards,  But With This Class Of Dogs The Elk Has No

Chance Upon Fair Open Ground. Coursing The Elk,  Therefore,  Is A

Short-Lived Sport,  As The Greyhounds Run Into Him Immediately,  And A

Tremendous Struggle Then Ensues,  Which Must Be Terminated As Soon As

Possible By The Knife,  Otherwise The Dogs Would Most Probably Be

Wounded. I Once Saw Killbuck Perform A Wonderful Feat In Seizing. A Buck

Elk Broke Cover In The Elk Plains,  And I Slipped A Brace Of Greyhounds

After Him,  Killbuck And Bran. The Buck Had A Start Of About 200 Yards,

But The Speed Of The Greyhounds Told Rapidly Upon Him,  And After A

Course Of A Quarter Of A Mile,  They Were At His Haunches,  Killbuck

Leading. The Next Instant He Sprang In Full Fly,  And Got His Hold By The

Ear. So Sudden Was The Shock,  That The Buck Turned A Complete

Somersault,  But,  Recovering Himself Immediately,  He Regained His Feet,

And Started Off At A Gallop Down Hill Towards A Stream,  The Dog Still

Hanging On. In Turning Over In His Fall,  The Ear Had Twisted Round,  And

Killbuck,  Never Having Left His Hold,  Was Therefore On His Back,  In

Which Position He Was Dragged At Great Speed Over The Rugged Ground.

Notwithstanding The Difficulty Of His Position,  He Would Not Give Up His

Hold. In The Meantime,  Bran Kept Seizing The Other Ear,  But Continually

Lost His Hold As The Ear Gave Way. Killbuck's Weight Kept The Buck's

Head On A Level With His Knees; And After A Run Of Some Hundred Yards,

During The Whole Of Which,  The Dog Had Been Dragged Upon His Back

Without Once Losing His Hold,  The Elk's Pace Was Reduced To A Walk. With

Both Greyhounds Now Hanging On His Ears,  The Buck Reached The River,  And

He And The Dogs Rolled Down The Steep Bank Into The Deep Water. I Came

Up Just At This Moment And Killed The Elk,  But Both Dogs Were

Frightfully Wounded,  And For Some Time I Despaired Of Their Recovery.

 

This Was An Extraordinary Feat In Seizing; But Killbuck Was Matchless In

This Respect,  And Accordingly Of Great Value,  As He Was Sure To Retain

His Hold When He Once Got It. This Is An Invaluable Qualification In A

Dog,  Especially With Boars,  As Any Uncertainty In The Dog's Hold,

Renders The Advance Of The Man Doubly Dangerous. I Have Frequently Seen

Hogs Free Themselves From A Dog's Hold At The Very Moment That I Have

Put The Knife Into Them; This With A Large Boar Is Likely To Cause An

Accident.

 

I Once Saw A Veddah Who Nearly Lost His Life By One Of These Animals. He

Part 3 Chapter 8 Pg 65

Was Hunting 'Guanas' (A Species Of Large Lizard Which Is Eaten By All

The Natives) With Several Small Dogs,  And They Suddenly Found A Large

Boar,  Who Immediately Stood To Bay. The Veddah Advanced To The Attack

With His Bow And Arrows; But He Had No Sooner Wounded The Beast Than He

Was Suddenly Charged With Great Fury. In An Instant The Boar Was Into

Him,  And The Next Moment The Veddah Was Lying On The Ground With His

Bowels Out. Fortunately A Companion Was With Him,  Who Replaced His

Entrails And Bandaged Him Up. I Saw The Man Some Years After; He Was

Perfectly Well,  But He Had A Frightful Swelling In The Front Of The

Belly,  Traversed By A Wide Blue Scar Of About Eight Inches In Length.

 

A Boar Is At All Times A Desperate Antagonist,  Where The Hunting-Knife

And Dogs Are The Only Available Weapons. The Largest That I Ever Killed,

Weighed Four Hundredweight. I Was Out Hunting,  Accompanied By My

Youngest Brother. We Had Walked Through Several Jungles Without Success,

But On Entering A Thick Jungle In The Elk Plains We Immediately Noticed

The Fresh Ploughings Of An Immense Boar. In A Few Minutes We Heard The

Pack At Bay Without A Run,  And Shortly After A Slow Running Bay-There

Was No Mistake As To Our Game. He Disdained To Run,  And,  After Walking

Before The Pack For About Three Minutes,  He Stood To A Determined Bay.

The Jungle Was Frightfully Thick,  And We Hastily Tore Our Way Through

The Tangled Underwood Towards The Spot. We Had Two Staunch Dogs By Our

Side,  Lucifer And Lena,  And When Within Twenty Paces Of The Bay,  We Gave

Them A Halloa On. Away They Dashed To The Invisible Place Of Conflict,

And We Almost Immediately Heard The Fierce Grunting And Roaring Of The

Boar. We Knew That They Had Him,  And Scrambled Through The Jungle As

Fast As We Could Towards The Field Of Battle. There Was A Fight! The

Underwood Was Levelled,  And The Boar Rushed To And Fro With Smut,  Bran,

Lena,  And Lucifer All Upon Him. Yoick To Him! And Some Of The Most

Daring Of The Maddened Pack Went In. The Next Instant We Were Upon Him,

Mingled With A Confused Mass Of Hounds,  And Throwing Our Whole Weight

Upon The Boar,  We