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

Part 3 Chapter 1 Pg 13

Advantages. At Twenty And Even Thirty Paces A Good Smooth-Bore Will

Carry A Ball With Nearly The Same Precision As A Rifle; But In A Country

Full Of Various Large Game There Is No Certainty,  When The Ball Is

Rammed Down,  At What Object It Is To Be Aimed. A Buffalo Or Deer May

Cross The Path At A Hundred Yards,  And The Smooth-Bore Is Useless; On

The Other Hand,  The Rifle Is Always Ready For Whatever May Appear.

 

My Battery Consists Of One Four-Ounce Rifle (A Single Barrel) Weighing

Twenty-One Pounds,  One Long Two-Ounce Rifle (Single Barrel) Weighing

Sixteen Pounds,  And Four Double-Barrelled Rifles,  No. 10 Weighing Each

Fifteen Pounds. Smooth-Bores I Count For Nothing,  Although I Have

Frequently Used Them.

 

So Much For Guns. It May Therefore Be Summed Up That The Proper Battery

For Ceylon Shooting Would Be Four Large-Bored Double-Barrelled Rifles,

Say From No. 10 To No. 12 In Size,  But All To Be The Same Bore,  So As To

Prevent Confusion In Loading. Persons May Suit Their Own Fancy As To The

Weight Of Their Guns,  Bearing In Mind That Single Barrels Are Very

Useless Things.

 

Next To The `Rifle' In The Order Of Description Comes The 'Hound.'

 

The `Elk' Is His Acknowledged Game,  And An Account Of This Animal's Size

And Strength Will Prove The Necessity Of A Superior Breed Of Hound.

 

The `Elk' Is A Ceylon Blunder And A Misnomer. The Animal Thus Called Is

A `Samber Deer,' Well Known In India As The Largest Of All Asiatic Deer.

 

A Buck In His Prime Will Stand Fourteen Hands High At The Shoulder,  And

Will Weigh 600 Pounds,  Live Weight. He Is In Colour Dark Brown,  With A

Fine Mane Of Coarse Bristly Hair Of Six Inches In Length; The Rest Of

His Body Is Covered With The Same Coarse Hair Of About Two Inches In

Length. I Have A Pair Of Antlers In My Possession That Are Thirteen

Inches Round The Burr,  And The Same Size Beneath The First Branch,  And

Three Feet Four Inches In Length; This,  However,  Is A Very Unusual Size.

 

The Elk Has Seldom More Than Six Points To His Antlers. The Low-Country

Elk Are Much Larger Than Those On The Highlands; The Latter Are Seldom

More Than From Twelve To Thirteen Hands High; And Of Course Their Weight

Is Proportionate,  That Of A Buck In Condition Being About 400 Pounds

When Gralloched. I Have Killed Them Much Heavier Than This On The

Mountains,  But I Have Given About The Average Weight.

 

The Habits Of This Animal Are Purely Nocturnal. He Commences His

Wanderings At Sunset,  And Retires To The Forest At Break Of Day. He Is

Seldom Found In Greater Numbers Than Two Or Three Together,  And Is

Generally Alone. When Brought To Bay He Fights To The Last,  And Charges

Man And Hound Indiscriminately,  A Choice Hound Killed Being Often The

Price Of Victory.

 

The Country In Which He Is Hunted Is In The Mountainous Districts Of

Ceylon. Situated At An Elevation Of 6,200 Feet Above The Sea Is Newera

Ellia,  The Sanatorium Of The Island. Here I Have Kept A Pack And Hunted

Elk For Some Years,  The Delightful Coolness Of The Temperature (Seldom

Above 66 Degrees Fahr.) Rendering The Sport Doubly Enjoyable. The

Principal Features Of This Country Being A Series Of Wild Marsh,  Plains,

Forests,  Torrents,  Mountains And Precipices,  A Peculiar Hound Is

Required For The Sport.

 

A Pack Of Thoroughbred Fox-Hounds Would Never Answer. They Would Pick Up

A Cold Scent And Open Upon It Before They Were Within A Mile Of Their

Game. Roused From His Morning Nap,  The Buck Would Snuff The Breeze,  And

To The Distant Music Give An Attentive Ear,  Then Shake The Dew From His

Rough Hide,  And Away Over Rocks And Torrents,  Down The Steep Mountain

Sides,  Through Pathless Forests; And Woe Then To The Pack Of

Thoroughbreds,  Whose Persevering Notes Would Soon Be Echoed By The Rocky

Steeps,  Far,  Far Away From Any Chance Of Return,  Lost In The Trackless

Jungles And Ravines Many Miles From Kennel,  A Prey To Leopards And

Starvation! I Have Proved This By Experience,  Having Brought A Pack Of

Splendid Hounds From England,  Only One Of Which Survived A Few Months'

Hunting.

 

The Hound Required For Elk-Hunting Is A Cross Between The Fox-Hound And

Blood-Hound,  Of Great Size And Courage,  With As Powerful A Voice As

Possible. He Should Be Trained To This Sport From A Puppy,  And His

Natural Sagacity Soon Teaches Him Not To Open Unless Upon A Hot Scent,

Or About Two Hundred Yards From His Game; Thus The Elk Is Not Disturbed

Until The Hound Is At Full Speed Upon His Scent,  And He Seldom Gets A

Long Start. Fifteen Couple Of Such Hounds In Full Cry Put Him At His

Best Pace,  Which Is Always Tried To The Uttermost By A Couple Or Two Of

Fast And Pitiless Lurchers Who Run Ahead Of The Pack,  The Object Being

To Press Him At First Starting,  So As To Blow Him At The Very

Commencement: This Is Easily Effected,  As He Is Full Of Food,  And It Is

His Nature Always To Take Off Straight Up The Hill When First Disturbed.

When Blown He Strikes Down Hill,  And Makes At Great Speed For The

Largest And Deepest Stream; In This He Turns To Bay,  And Tries The

Mettle Of The Finest Hounds.

 

The Great Enemy To A Pack Is The Leopard. He Pounces From The Branch Of

A Tree Upon A Stray Hound,  And Soon Finishes Him,  Unless Of Great Size

And Courage,  In Which Case The Cowardly Brute Is Soon Beaten Off. This

Forms Another Reason For The Choice Of Large Hounds.

 

The Next Sport Is 'Deer-Coursing.' This Is One Of The Most Delightful

Kinds Of Sport In Ceylon. The Game Is The Axis Or Spotted Deer,  And The

Open Plains In Many Parts Of The Low Country Afford Splendid Ground For

Both Greyhound And Horse.

 

The Buck Is About 250 Pounds Live Weight,  Of Wonderful Speed And Great

Courage,  Armed With Long And Graceful Antlers As Sharp As Needles. He

Will Suddenly Turn To Bay Upon The Hard Ground,  And Charge His Pursuers,

And Is More Dangerous To The Greyhounds Than The Elk,  From His Wonderful

Activity,  And From The Fact That He Is Coursed By Only A Pair Of

Greyhounds,  Instead Of Being Hunted By A Pack.

 

Pure Greyhounds Of Great Size And Courage Are Best Adapted For This

Part 3 Chapter 1 Pg 14

Sport. They Cannot Afford To Lose Speed By A Cross With Slower Hounds.

Part 3 Chapter 2 Pg 15

Newera Ellia - The Turn-Out For Elk-Hunting - Elk-Hunting - Elk Turned

To Bay - The Boar.

 

Where Shall I Begin? This Is A Momentous Question,  When,  Upon Glancing

Back Upon Past Years,  A Thousand Incidents Jostle Each Other For

Precedence. How Shall I Describe Them? This,  Again,  Is Easier Asked Than

Answered. A Journal Is A Dry Description,  Mingling The Uninteresting

With The Brightest Moments Of Sport. No,  I Will Not Write A Journal; It

Would Be Endless And Boring. I Shall Begin With The Present As It Is,

And Call Up The Past As I Think Proper.

 

Here,  Then,  I Am In My Private Sanctum,  My Rifles All Arranged In Their

Respective Stands Above The Chimney-Piece,  The Stags' Horns Round Walls

Hung With Horn-Cases,  Powder-Flasks And The Various Weapons Of The

Chase. Even As I Write The Hounds Are Yelling In The Kennel.

 

The Thermometer Is At 62 Degrees Fahr.,  And It Is Mid-Day. It Never

Exceeds 72 Degrees In The Hottest Weather,  And Sometimes Falls Below

Freezing Point At Night. The Sky Is Spotless And The Air Calm. The

Fragrance Of Mignonettes,  And A Hundred Flowers That Recall England,

Fills The Air. Green Fields Of Grass And Clover,  Neatly Fenced,  Surround

A Comfortable House And Grounds. Well-Fed Cattle Of The Choicest Breeds,

And English Sheep,  Are Grazing In The Paddocks. Well-Made Roads And

Gravel Walks Run Through The Estate. But A Few Years Past,  And This Was

All Wilderness.

 

Dense Forest Reigned Where Now Not Even The Stump Of A Tree Is Standing;

The Wind Howled Over Hill And Valley,  The Dank Moss Hung From The

Scathed Branches,  The Deep Morass Filled The Hollows; But All Is Changed

By The Hand Of Civilisation And Industry. The Dense Forests And Rough

Plains,  Which Still Form The Boundaries Of The Cultivated Land,  Only Add

To The Beauty. The Monkeys And Parrots Are Even Now Chattering Among The

Branches,  And Occasionally The Elephant In His Nightly Wanderings

Trespasses Upon The Fields,  Unconscious Of The Oasis Within His

Territory Of Savage Nature.

 

The Still,  Starlight Night Is Awakened By The Harsh Bark Of The Elk; The

Lofty Mountains,  Grey With The Silvery Moonlight,  Echo Back The Sound;

And The Wakeful Hounds Answer The Well-Known Cry By A Prolonged And

Savage Yell.

 

Part 3 Chapter 2 Pg 16

This Is 'Newera Ellia,' The Sanatorium Of Ceylon,  The Most Perfect

Climate Of The World. It Now Boasts Of A Handsome Church,  A Public

Reading-Room,  A Large Hotel,  The Barracks,  And About Twenty Private

Residences.

 

The Adjacent Country,  Of Comparatively Table Land,  Occupies An Extent Of

Some Thirty Miles In Length,  Varying In Altitude From 6,200 To 7,000

Feet,  Forming A Base For The Highest Peaks In Ceylon,  Which Rise To

Nearly 9,000 Feet.

 

Alternate Large Plains,  Separated By Belts Of Forest,  Rapid Rivers,

Waterfalls,  Precipices,  And Panoramic Views Of Boundless Extent,  Form

The Features Of This Country,  Which,  Combined With The Sports Of The

Place,  Render A Residence At Newera Ellia A Life Of Health,  Luxury,  And

Independence.

 

The High Road From Colombo Passes Over The Mountains Through Newera

Ellia To Badulla,  From Which Latter Place There Is A Bridle Road,

Through The Best Shooting Districts In Ceylon,  To The Seaport Town Of

Batticaloa,  And From Thence To Trincomalee. The Relative Distances Of

Newera Ellia Are,  From Galle,  185 Miles; From Colombo,  115 Miles; From

Kandy,  47 Miles; From Badulla,  36 Miles; From Batticaloa,  148 Miles.

Were It Not For The Poverty Of The Soil,  Newera Ellia Would Long Ago

Have Become A Place Of Great Importance,  As The Climate Is Favourable To

The