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

Killed. If Any Young Elephants Are In The Herd,  The Mothers

Frequently Prove Awkward Customers.

 

Elephant-Shooting Is Doubtless The Most Dangerous Of All Sports If The

Game Is Invariably Followed Up; But There Is A Great Difference Between

Elephant-Killing And Elephant-Hunting; The Latter Is Sport,  The Former

Is Slaughter.

 

Many Persons Who Have Killed Elephants Know Literally Nothing About The

Sport,  And They May Ever Leave Ceylon With The Idea That An Elephant Is

Not A Dangerous Animal. Their Elephants Are Killed In This Way,  Viz.:

 

The Party Of Sportsmen,  Say Two Or Three,  Arrive At A Certain District.

The Headman Is Sent For From The Village; He Arrives. The Enquiry

Respecting The Vicinity Of Elephants Is Made; A Herd Is Reported To Be

In The Neighbourhood,  And Trackers And Watchers Are Sent Out To Find

Them.

 

In The Meantime The Tent Is Pitched,  Our Friends Are Employed In

Unpacking The Guns,  And,  After Some Hours Have Elapsed,  The Trackers

Return: They Have Found The Herd,  And The Watchers Are Left To Observe

Them.

 

The Guns Are Loaded And The Party Starts. The Trackers Run Quickly On

The Track Until They Meet One Of The Watchers Who Has Been Sent Back

Upon The Track By The Other Watchers To Give The Requisite Information

Of The Movements Of The Herd Since The Trackers Left. One Tracker Now

Leads The Way,  And They Cautiously Proceed. The Boughs Are Heard

Slightly Rustling As The Unconscious Elephants Are Fanning The Flies

From Their Bodies Within A Hundred Yards Of The Guns.

 

The Jungle Is Open And Good,  Interspersed With Plots Of Rank Grass; And

Part 3 Chapter 1 Pg 11

Quietly Following The Head Tracker,  Into Whose Hands Our Friends Have

Committed Themselves,  They Follow Like Hounds Under The Control Of A

Huntsman. The Tracker Is A Famous Fellow,  And He Brings Up His Employers

In A Masterly Manner Within Ten Paces Of The Still Unconscious

Elephants. He Now Retreats Quietly Behind The Guns,  And The Sport

Begins. A Cloud Of Smoke From A Regular Volley,  A Crash Through The

Splintering Branches As The Panic-Stricken Herd Rush From The Scene Of

Conflict,  And It Is All Over. X. Has Killed Two,  Y. Has Killed One,  And

Z. Knocked Down One,  But He Got Up Again And Got Away; Total,  Three

Bagged. Our Friends Now Return To The Tent,  And,  After Perhaps A Month

Of This Kind Of Shooting,  They Arrive At Their Original Headquarters,

Having Bagged Perhaps Twenty Elephants. They Give Their Opinion Upon

Elephant-Shooting,  And Declare It To Be Capital Sport,  But There Is No

Danger In It,  As The Elephants Invariably Run Away.

 

Let Us Imagine Ourselves In The Position Of The Half-Asleep And

Unsuspecting Herd. We Are Lying Down In A Doze During The Heat Of The

Day,  And Our Senses Are Half Benumbed By A Sense Of Sleep. We Are

Beneath The Shade Of A Large Tree,  And We Do Not Dream That Danger Is

Near Us.

 

A Frightful Scream Suddenly Scatters Our Wandering Senses. It Is A Rogue

Elephant Upon Us! It Was The Scream Of His Trumpet That We Heard! And He

Is Right Among Us. How We Should Bolt! How We Should Run At The First

Start Until We Could Get A Gun! But Let Him Continue This Pursuit,  And

How Long Would He Be Without A Ball In His Head?

 

It Is Precisely The Same In Attacking A Herd Of Elephants Or Any Other

Animals Unawares; They Are Taken By Surprise,  And Are For The Moment

Panic-Stricken. But Let Our Friends X.,  Y.,  Z.,  Who Have Just Bagged

Three Elephants So Easily,  Continue The Pursuit,  Hunt The Remaining

Portion Of The Herd Down Till One By One They Have Nearly All Fallen To

The Bullet--X.,  Y.,  Z. Will Have Had Enough Of It; They Will Be Blinded

By Perspiration,  Torn By Countless Thorns,  As They Have Rushed Through

The Jungles Determined Not To Lose Sight Of Their Game,  Soaked To The

Skin As They Have Waded Through Intervening Streams,  And Will Entirely

Have Altered Their Opinion As To Elephants Invariably Running Away,  As

They Will Very Probably Have Seen One Turn Sharp Round From The

Retreating Herd,  And Charge Straight Into Them When They Least Expected

It. At Any Rate,  After A Hunt Of This Kind They Can Form Some Opinion Of

The Excitement Of The True Sport.

 

The First Attack Upon A Herd By A Couple Of First-Rate Elephant-Shots

Frequently Ends The Contest In A Few Seconds By The Death Of Every

Elephant. I Have Frequently Seen A Small Herd Of Five Or Six Elephants

Annihilated Almost In As Many Seconds After A Well-Planned Approach In

Thick Jungle,  When They Have Been Discovered Standing In A Crowd And

Presenting Favourable Shots. In Such An Instance The Sport Is So Soon

Concluded That The Only Excitement Consists In The Cautious Advance To

The Attack Through Bad Jungle.

 

As A Rule,  The Pursuit Of Elephants Through Bad,  Thorny Jungles Should

If Possible Be Avoided: The Danger Is In Many Cases Extreme,  Although

The Greater Portion Of The Herd May At Other Times Be Perhaps Easily

Killed. There Is No Certainty In A Shot. An Elephant May Be Discerned By

The Eye Looming In An Apparent Mist Formed By The Countless Intervening

Twigs And Branches Which Veil Him Like A Screen Of Network. To Reach The

Fatal Spot The Ball Must Pass Through Perhaps Fifty Little Twigs,  One Of

Which,  If Struck Obliquely,  Turns The Bullet,  And There Is No Answering

For The Consequence. There Are No Rules,  However,  Without Exceptions,

And In Some Instances The Following Of The Game Through The Thickest

Jungle Can Hardly Be Avoided.

 

The Character Of The Country In Ceylon Is Generally Very Unfavourable To

Sport Of All Kinds. The Length Of The Island Is About Two Hundred And

Eighty Miles,  By One Hundred And Fifty In Width; The Greater Portion Of

This Surface Is Covered With Impenetrable Jungles,  Which Form Secure

Coverts For Countless Animals.

 

The Centre Of The Island Is Mountainous,  Torrents From Which,  Form The

Sources Of The Numerous Rivers By Which Ceylon Is So Well Watered. The

Low Country Is Flat. The Soil Throughout The Island Is Generally Poor

And Sandy.

 

This Being The Character Of The Country,  And Vast Forests Rendered

Impenetrable By Tangled Underwood Forming The Principal Features Of The

Landscape,  A Person Arriving At Ceylon For The Purpose Of Enjoying Its

Wild Sports Would Feel An Inexpressible Disappointment.

 

Instead Of Mounting A Good Horse,  As He Might Have Fondly Anticipated,

And At Once Speeding Over Trackless Plains Till So Far From Human

Habitations That The Territories Of Beasts Commence,  He Finds Himself

Walled In By Jungle On Either Side Of The Highway. In Vain He Asks For

Information. He Finds The Neighbourhood Of Galle,  His First Landing

Place,  Densely Populated; He Gets Into The Coach For Colombo. Seventy

Miles Of Close Population And Groves Of Cocoa-Nut Trees Are Passed,  And

He Reaches The Capital. This Is Worse And Worse--He Has Seen No Signs Of

Wild Country During His Long Journey,  And Colombo Appears To Be The

Height Of Civilisation. He Books His Place For Kandy; He Knows That Is

In The Very Centre Of Ceylon--There Surely Must Be Sport There,  He

Thinks.

 

The Morning Gun Fires From The Colombo Fort At 5 A.M. And The Coach

Starts. Miles Are Passed,  And Still The Country Is Thickly

Populated--Paddy Cultivation In All The Flats And Hollows,  And Even The

Sides Of The Hills Are Carefully Terraced Out In A Laborious System Of

Agriculture. There Can Be No Shooting Here!

 

Sixty Miles Are Passed; The Top Of The Kaduganava Pass Is Reached,

Eighteen Hundred Feet Above The Sea Level,  The Road Walled With Jungle

On Either Side. From The Summit Of This Pass Our Newly Arrived Sportsman

Gazes With Despair. Far As The Eye Can Reach Over A Vast Extent Of

Country,  Mountain And Valley,  Hill And Dale,  Without One Open Spot,  Are

Clothed Alike In One Dark Screen Of Impervious Forest.

 

Part 3 Chapter 1 Pg 12

He Reaches Kandy,  A Civilised Town Surrounded By Hills Of Jungle--That

Interminable Jungle!--And At Kandy He May Remain,  Or,  Better Still,

Return Again To England,  Unless He Can Get Some Well-Known Ceylon

Sportsman To Pilot Him Through The Apparently Pathless Forests,  And In

Fact To 'Show Him Sport.' This Is Not Easily Effected. Men Who

Understand The Sport Are Not Over Fond Of Acting `Chaperon' To A Young

Hand,  As A Novice Must Always Detract From The Sport In Some Degree. In

Addition To This,  Many Persons Do Not Exactly Know Themselves; And,

Although The Idea Of Shooting Elephants Appears Very Attractive At A

Distance,  The Pleasure Somewhat Abates When The Sportsman Is Forced To

Seek For Safety In A Swift Pair Of Heels.

 

I Shall Now Proceed To Give A Description Of The Various Sports In

Ceylon--A Task For Which The Constant Practice Of Many Years Has

Afforded Ample Incident.

 

The Game Of Ceylon Consists Of Elephants,  Buffaloes,  Elk,  Spotted Deer,

Red Or The Paddy-Field Deer*(*A Small Species Of Deer Found In The

Island),  Mouse Deer,  Hogs,  Bears,  Leopards,  Hares,  Black Partridge,

Red-Legged Partridge,  Pea-Fowl,  Jungle-Fowl,  Quail,  Snipe,  Ducks,

Widgeon,  Teal,  Golden And Several Kinds Of Plover,  A Great Variety Of

Pigeons,  And Among The Class Of Reptiles Are Innumerable Snakes,  Etc.,

And The Crocodile.

 

The Acknowledged Sports Of Ceylon Are Elephant-Shooting,

Buffalo-Shooting,  Deer-Shooting,  Elk-Hunting,  And Deer-Coursing: The Two

Latter Can Only Be Enjoyed By A Resident In The Island,  As Of Course The

Sport Is Dependent Upon A Pack Of Fine Hounds. Although The Wild Boar Is

Constantly Killed,  I Do Not Reckon Him Among The Sports Of The Country,

As He Is Never Sought For; Death And Destruction To The Hounds Generally

Being Attendant Upon His Capture. The Bear And Leopard Also Do Not Form

Separate Sports; They Are Merely Killed When Met With.

 

In Giving An Account Of Each Kind Of Sport I Shall Explain The Habits Of

The Animal And The Features Of The Country Wherein Every Incident

Occurs,  Ceylon Scenery Being So Diversified That No General Description

Could Give A Correct Idea Of Ceylon Sports.

 

The Guns Are The First Consideration. After The First Year Of My

Experience I Had Four Rifles Made To Order,  Which Have Proved Themselves

Perfect Weapons In All Respects,  And Exactly Adapted For Heavy Game.

They Are Double-Barrelled,  No. 10 Bores,  And Of Such Power In Metal That

They Weigh Fifteen Pounds Each. I Consider Them Perfection; But Should

Others Consider Them Too Heavy,  A Pound Taken From The Weight Of The

Barrels Would Make A Perceptible Difference. I Would In All Cases

Strongly Deprecate The Two Grooved Rifle For Wild Sports,  On Account Of

The Difficulty In Loading Quickly. A No. 10 Twelve-Grooved Rifle Will

Carry A Conical Ball Of Two Ounces And A Half,  And Can Be Loaded As

Quickly As A Smooth-Bore. Some Persons Prefer The Latter To Rifles For

Elephant-Shooting,  But I Cannot Myself Understand Why A Decidedly

Imperfect Weapon Should Be Used When The Rifle Offers Such Superior