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

I Much Feared That The Shot Fired Might Have Disturbed The Herd Of

Elephants,  As They Were Reported To Be Not Far Distant; This,  However,

Proved Not To Be The Case,  As We Met The Watchers About A Mile Farther

On,  Who Reported The Herd To Be Perfectly Undisturbed,  But Located In

The Everlasting Lemon Grass. At This Time The Greater Portion Of The

Park Was A Mass Of This Abominable Grass,  And There Was No Chance Of

Getting The Elephants In Any Other Position,  This Serving Them At The

Same Time For Both Food And Shelter. How They Can Eat It Is A Puzzle; It

Is As Sharp As A Knife,  And As Coarse As A File,  With A Flavour Of The

Most Pungent Lemon Peel.

 

We Shortly Arrived At The Spot In Which The Herd Was Concealed; It Was A

Gentle Slope Covered With Dense Lemon Grass,  Terminated By A Jungle. We

Could Just Distinguish The Tops Of The Elephants' Heads In Several

Places,  And,  Having Dismounted,  We Carefully Entered The Grass,  And

Crept Towards The Nearest Elephants. The Herd Was Much Scattered,  But

There Were Five Elephants Close To Each Other,  And We Made Towards

These,  Banda Leading The Way. My Only Chance Of Making A Bag Lay In The

First Onset; I Therefore Cautioned Wallace To Have The Spare Guns Handed

With Extra Diligence,  And We Crept Up To Our Game. There Were Two

Elephants Facing Us,  But We Stalked Them So Carefully Through The High

Grass That We Got Within Four Paces Of Them Before They Discovered Us;

They Cocked Their Ears For An Instant,  And Both Rolled Over At The Same

Moment To The Front Shot. Away Dashed The Herd,  Trumpeting And Screaming

As They Rushed Through The High Grass. For A Few Moments My Game Leg

Grew Quite Lively,  As It Was All Downhill Work,  And I Caught Up An

Elephant And Killed Him With The Left-Hand Barrel. Getting A Spare Gun,

I Was Lucky Enough To Get Between Two Elephants Who Were Running Abreast

Towards The Jungle,  And I Bagged Them By A Right And Left Shot. Off Went

The Herd At A Slapping Pace Through The Jungle,  V. Pitching It Into

Them,  But Unfortunately To Very Little Purpose,  As They Had Closed Up

And Formed A Barrier Of Sterns; Thus We Could Not Get A Good Shot. For

About A Quarter Of A Mile I Managed To Hobble Along,  Carried Away By The

Excitement Of The Chase,  Through Jungles,  Hollows,  And Small Glades,

Till My Leg,  Which Had Lost All Feeling,  Suddenly Gave Way,  And I Lay

Sprawling On My Face,  Incapable Of Going A Step Farther. I Had Killed

Four Elephants; Six Had Been Killed Altogether. It Was Very Bad Luck,  As

The Herd Consisted Of Eleven; But The Ground Was Very Unfavourable,  And

My Leg Gave Way When It Was Most Required.

 

A Few Days After This,  The Tents Were Pitched On The Banks Of The Broad

River Of Pattapalaar,  About Eight Miles Beyond Nielgalla. Elephants Were

Very Scarce,  And The Only Chance Of Getting Them,  Was To Work Hard. We

Were On Horseback At Break Of Day,  And Having Forded The River,  We Rode

Silently Through Plain And Forest In Search Of Tracks. We Refused Every

Shot At Deer,  Lest We Should Disturb The Country,  And Scare Away The

Elephants.

 

We Had Ridden For Some Distance Upon An Elephant Path,  Through A

Tolerably Open Forest At The Foot Of A Range Of Rocky Mountains,  When

Banda,  Who Was Some Paces In Advance,  Suddenly Sprang Back Again,

Crying,  'Wallaha! Wallaha!' (Bears! Bears!) We Were Off Our Horses In A

Moment,  But I Fell Sprawling Upon My Back,  My Leg Being So Powerless And

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Numbed That I Could Not Feel When I Touched The Ground. I Recovered

Myself Just In Time To See A Bear Waddling Along Through The Jungle,  And

I Pushed After Him In Pursuit At My Best Pace. V. Had Disappeared In The

Jungle In Pursuit Of Another Bear,  And I Presently Heard Two Or Three

Shots. In The Meantime My Game Had Slackened Speed To A Careless Kind Of

Swaggering Walk; And The Underwood Being Rather Thick,  I Was Determined

To Get Close To Him Before I Fired,  As I Knew That I Could Not Follow

Him Far,  And My Success Would Therefore Depend Upon The First Shot. I

Overtook Him In A Few Moments,  And I Was Following Within A Foot Of His

Tail,  Waiting For A Chance For A Clear Shot Between His Shoulders,  As

The Thick Underwood Parted Above His Back,  When He Suddenly Sprang

Round,  And With A Fierce Roar,  He Leaped Upon The Muzzle Of The Gun. I

Fired Both Barrels Into Him As He Threw His Whole Weight Against It,  And

I Rolled Him Over In A Confused Cloud Of Smoke And Crackling Bushes. In

A Moment He Was On His Legs Again,  But Going Off Through The Thick

Underwood At A Pace That In My Helpless State Soon Left Me Far Behind.

His State Must Have Been Far From Enviable,  As He Left Portions Of His

Entrails All Along His Track. V. Had Killed His Bear; He Weighed About

Two Hundred Pounds,  And Measured Fourteen Inches Round The Arm,  Without

His Hide.

 

The Ceylon Bear Is A Most Savage Animal,  Constantly Attacking Men

Without The Slightest Provocation. I Have Seen Many Natives Frightfully

Disfigured By The Attacks Of Bears,  Which They Dread More Than Any Other

Animal. Nothing Would Induce My Trackers To Follow Up The Wounded Beast.

I Followed Him As Far As I Could,  But My Useless Limb Soon Gave Way,  And

I Was Obliged To Give Him Up. I Once Saw A Moorman,  Who Was A Fine

Powerful Fellow And An Excellent Elephant-Tracker,  Who Had A Narrow

Escape From A Bear. He Was Cutting Bamboos With A Catty Or Kind Of

Bill-Hook,  When One Of These Animals Descended From A Tree Just Above

Him And Immediately Attacked Him. The Man Instinctively Threw His Left

Arm Forward To Receive The Bear,  Who Seized It In His Mouth And Bit The

Thumb Completely Off,  Lacerating The Arm And Wrist At The Same Time In A

Frightful Manner. With One Blow Of The Bill-Hook The Moorman Cleft The

Bear's Skull To The Teeth,  At The Same Time Gashing His Own Arm To The

Bone By The Force Of The Blow; And He Never Afterwards Recovered The

Proper Use Of The Limb.

 

The Ceylon Bear Feeds Upon Almost Anything That Offers; He Eats Honey,

Ants,  Fruit,  Roots,  And Flesh Whenever He Can Procure It: His Muscular

Power Is Enormous,  And He Exerts Both Teeth And Claws In His Attack.

They Are Very Numerous In Ceylon,  Although They Are Seldom Met With In

Any Number,  Owing To Their Nocturnal Habits,  Which Attract Them To Their

Caves At Break Of Day.

 

After Strolling Over The Country For Some Miles,  We Came Upon Fresh

Elephant-Tracks In High Grass,  Which We Immediately Followed Up. In The

Course Of Half An Hour,  After Tracking Them For About Two Miles Through

Open Country,  We Entered A Fine Forest,  In Which The Herd Had Retired;

But Our Hopes Of Meeting Them In This Favourable Ground Were Suddenly

Damped By Arriving At A Dense Chenar Jungle In The Very Heart Of The

Forest. This Chenar Extended For Some Acres,  And Rose Like A Hedge,

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Forming A Sudden Wall Of Thorns,  Which Effectually Checked Our Advance.

The Elephants Had Retired To This Secure Retreat,  And Having Winded Us

They Kept Up An Uninterrupted Roaring. I Never Heard Such A Musical

Herd: The Deep And Thunder-Like Growls,  Combined With The Shrill Trumpet

And Loud Roars,  As They All Joined In Concert,  Had A Particularly Grand

Effect,  And A Novice In Elephant-Shooting Would Have Felt His Heart Beat

In Double Time.

 

There Was A Rogue Consorting With This Herd,  And It Was Necessary To Be

Particularly Cautious In The Attack. It Was Impossible To Enter Such

Thick Jungle,  And I've Waited For Some Hours In The Forest,  Close To The

Edge Of The Chenar,  Trying Every Dodge In Vain To Induce The Herd To

Quit Their Stronghold. They Were Continually On The Qui Vive. Sometimes

A Tremendous Rush Would Be Heard In The Thick Jungle As The Herd Would

Charge Towards Us; But They Invariably Stopped Just Upon The Borders,

And Would Not Venture Into The Open Forest. On One Occasion I Thought We

Had Them: They Rushed To The Edge Of The Thick Jungle,  And Suddenly

Filed Off To The Left And Halted In A Line Within A Few Feet Of The

Forest. We Were Within Six Paces Of Them,  Concealed Behind The Trunks Of

Several Large Trees,  From Which We Could Discover The Dim Forms Of Six

Elephants Through The Screen Of Thorns,  Which Had A Similar Effect To

That Produced By Looking Through A Gauze Veil. For Some Moments They

Stood In An Attitude Of Intense Attention,  And I Momentarily Expected

Them To Break Cover,  As We Were Perfectly Still And Motionless In Our

Concealed Position. Suddenly They Winded Us,  And Whisked Round To The

Thick Jungle,  Disappearing Like Magic.

 

We Now Tried The Effect Of Bullying,  And We Sent Men To Different Parts

Of The Jungle To Shout And Fire Guns; This Stirred Up The Wrath Of The

Rogue,  And He Suddenly Burst From The Thick Jungle And Rushed Into The

Open Forest Right Among Us. We Were Both Standing Behind The Trees; And

The Gun-Bearers,  With The Exception Of Wallace,  Had Thrown The Guns Down

And Had Bolted Up The Trees When They Heard The Rush Of The Elephant

Through The Jungle; Thus,  Upon His Arrival In The Open Forest,  He Could

See No One,  And He Stood Gazing About Him With His Ears Cocked And Tail

On End,  Not Knowing Exactly What To Do,  But Ready To Charge The First

Person That Showed Himself. He Was An Immense Elephant,  Being One Of The

Largest That I Have Ever Seen,  And He Had As Fine An Expression Of Vice

In His Appearance As Any Rogue Could Wish For. Suddenly He Turned His

Trunk Towards Us,  But He Was Puzzled As To The Exact Position Of Any

One,  As So Many Men Were Scattered Among The Trees. I Was Within Twenty

Yards Of Him,  And He Turned His Head Towards The Spot,  And Was Just On

The Move Forward,  When I Anticipated His Intentions By Running Up To Him

And Knocking Him Over By A Shot In The Forehead,  Which Killed Him.

Unfortunately The Herd At The Same Moment Broke Cover On The Opposite

Side Of The Jungle,  And Escaped Without A Shot Being Fired At Them. It

Was Nearly Dusk,  And We Were Five Miles From The Tent; We Were Therefore

Obliged To Give Them Up.

 

The Next Morning,  At Daybreak,  I Rode Out With The Greyhounds,  Killbuck,

Bran And Lena,  To Kill A Deer. The Lemon Grass Was So High At This