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

Part 3 Chapter 3 Pg 19

 

Minneria Lake--Brush With A Bull--An Awkward Vis-A-Vis--A Bright

Thought--Bull Buffalo Receives His Small Change--What Is Man?--Long Shot

With The Four-Ounce--Charged By A Herd Of Buffaloes--The Four-Ounce Does

Service--The 'Lola'--A Woman Killed By A Crocodile--Crocodile At

Bolgodde Lake--A Monster Crocodile--Death Of A Crocodile.

 

The Foregoing Description May Serve As An Introduction To The Hill

Sports Of Ceylon. One Animal,  However,  Yet Remains To Be Described,  Who

Surpasses All Others In Dogged Ferocity When Once Aroused. This Is The

'Buffalo.'

 

The Haunts Of This Animal Are In The Hottest Parts Of Ceylon. In The

Neighbourhood Of Lakes,  Swamps,  And Extensive Plains,  The Buffalo Exists

In Large Herds; Wallowing In The Soft Mire,  And Passing Two-Thirds Of

His Time In The Water Itself,  He May Be Almost Termed Amphibious.

 

He Is About The Size Of A Large Ox,  Of Immense Bone And Strength,  Very

Active,  And His Hide Is Almost Free From Hair,  Giving A Disgusting

Appearance To His India-Rubber-Like Skin. He Carries His Head In A

Peculiar Manner,  The Horns Thrown Back,  And His Nose Projecting On A

Level With His Forehead,  Thus Securing Himself From A Front Shot In A

Fatal Part. This Renders Him A Dangerous Enemy,  As He Will Receive Any

Number Of Balls From A Small Gun In The Throat And Chest Without

Evincing The Least Symptom Of Distress. The Shoulder Is The Acknowledged

Point To Aim At,  But From His Disposition To Face The Guns This Is A

Difficult Shot To Obtain. Should He Succeed In Catching His Antagonist,

His Fury Knows No Bounds,  And He Gores His Victim To Death,  Trampling

And Kneeling Upon Him Till He Is Satisfied That Life Is Extinct.

 

This Sport Would Not Be Very Dangerous In The Forests,  Where The Buffalo

Could Be Easily Stalked,  And Where Escape Would Also Be Rendered Less

Difficult In Case Of Accident; But As He Is Generally Met With Upon The

Open Plains,  Free From A Single Tree,  He Must Be Killed When Once

Brought To Bay,  Or He Will Soon Exhibit His Qualifications For Mischief.

There Is A Degree Of Uncertainty In Their Character Which Much Increases

The Danger Of The Pursuit. A Buffalo May Retreat At First Sight With

Every Symptom Of Cowardice,  And Thus Induce A Too Eager Pursuit,  When He

Will Suddenly Become The Assailant. I Cannot Explain Their Character

Better Than By Describing The,  First Wild Buffaloes That I Ever Saw.

 

I Had Not Been Long In Ceylon,  But Having Arrived In The Island For The

Sake Of Its Wild Sports,  I Had Not Been Idle,  And I Had Already Made A

Part 3 Chapter 3 Pg 20

Considerable Bag Of Large Game. Like Most Novices,  However,  I Was Guilty

Of One Great Fault. I Despised The Game,  And Gave No Heed To The Many

Tales Of Danger And Hair-Breadth Escapes Which Attended The Pursuit Of

Wild Animals. This Carelessness On My Part Arose From My First Debut

Having Been Extremely Lucky; Most Shots Had Told Well,  And The Animal

Had Been Killed With Such Apparent Ease That I Had Learnt To Place An

Implicit Reliance In The Rifle. The Real Fact Was That I Was Like Many

Others; I Had Slaughtered A Number Of Animals Without Understanding

Their Habits,  And I Was Perfectly Ignorant Of The Sport. This Is Now

Many Years Ago,  And It Was Then My First Visit To The Island. Some

Places That Were Good Spots For Shooting In Those Days Have Since That

Time Been Much Disturbed,  And Are Now No Longer Attractive To My Eyes.

One Of These Places Is Minneria Lake.

 

I Was On A Shooting Trip Accompanied By My Brother,  Whom I Will

Designate As B. We Had Passed A Toilsome Day In Pushing And Dragging Our

Ponies For Twenty Miles Along A Narrow Path Through Thick Jungle,  Which

Half-A-Dozen Natives In Advance Were Opening Before Us With Bill-Hooks.

This Had At One Time Been A Good Path,  But Was Then Overgrown. It Is Now

An Acknowledged Bridle Road.

 

At 4 P.M.,  And Eighty Miles From Kandy,  We Emerged From The Jungle,  And

The View Of Minneria Lake Burst Upon Us,  Fully Repaying Us For Our Day's

March. It Was A Lovely Afternoon. The Waters Of The Lake; Which Is

Twenty Miles In Circumference,  Were Burnished By The Setting Sun. The

Surrounding Plains Were As Green As An English Meadow,  And Beautiful

Forest Trees Bordered The Extreme Boundaries Of The Plains Like Giant

Warders Of The Adjoining Jungle. Long Promontories Densely Wooded

Stretched Far Into The Waters Of The Lake,  Forming Sheltered Nooks And

Bays Teeming With Wild Fowl. The Deer Browsed In Herds On The Wide

Extent Of Plain,  Or Lay Beneath The Shade Of The Spreading Branches.

Every Feature Of Lovely Scenery Was Here Presented. In Some Spots Groves

Of Trees Grew To The Very Water's Edge; In Others The Wide Plains,  Free

From A Single Stem Or Bush,  Stretched For Miles Along The Edge Of The

Lake; Thickly Wooded Hills Bordered The Extreme End Of Its Waters,  And

Distant Blue Mountains Mingled Their Dim Summits With The Clouds.

 

It Was A Lovely Scene Which We Enjoyed In Silence,  While Our Ponies

Feasted Upon The Rich Grass.

 

The Village Of Minneria Was Three Miles Farther On,  And Our Coolies,

Servants,  And Baggage Were All Far Behind Us. We Had,  Therefore,  No

Rifles Or Guns At Hand,  Except A Couple Of Shot-Guns,  Which Were Carried

By Our Horsekeepers : For These We Had A Few Balls.

 

For About Half An Hour We Waited In The Impatient Expectation Of The

Arrival Of Our Servants With The Rifles. The Afternoon Was Wearing Away,

And They Did Not Appear. We Could Wait No Longer,  But Determined To Take

A Stroll And Examine The Country. We Therefore Left Our Horses And

Proceeded.

 

Part 3 Chapter 3 Pg 21

The Grass Was Most Verdant,  About The Height Of A Field Fit For The

Scythe In England,  But Not So Thick. From This The Snipe Arose At Every

Twenty Or Thirty Paces,  Although,  The Ground Was Perfectly Dry. Crossing

A Large Meadow,  And Skirting The Banks Of The Lake,  From Which The Ducks

And Teal Rose In Large Flocks,  We Entered A Long Neck Of Jungle Which

Stretched Far Into The Lake. This Was Not Above Two Hundred Paces In

Width,  And We Soon Emerged Upon An Extensive Plain Bordered By Fine

Forest,  The Waters Of The Lake Stretching Far Away Upon Our Left,  Like A

Sheet Of Gold. A Few Large Rocks Rose Above The Surface Near The Shore;

These Were Covered With Various Kinds Of Wild Fowl. The Principal

Tenants Of The Plain Were Wild Buffaloes.

 

A Herd Of About A Hundred Were Lying In A Swampy Hollow About A Quarter

Of A Mile From Us: Several Single Bulls Were Dotted About The Green

Surface Of The Level Plain,  And On The Opposite Shores Of The Lake Were

Many Dark Patches Undistinguishable In The Distance; These Were In

Reality Herds Of Buffaloes. There Was Not A Sound In The Wide Expanse

Before Us,  Except The Harsh Cry Of The Water-Fowl That Our Presence Had

Already Disturbed--Not A Breath Of Air Moved The Leaves Of The Trees

Which Shaded Us--And The Whole Scene Was That Of Undisturbed Nature. The

Sun Had Now Sunk Low Upon The Horizon,  And The Air Was Comparatively

Cool. The Multitude Of Buffaloes Enchanted Us,  And With Our Two Light

Double-Barrels,  We Advanced To The Attack Of The Herd Before Us.

 

We Had Not Left The Obscurity Of The Forest Many Seconds Before We Were

Observed. The Herd Started Up From Their Muddy Bed And Gazed At Us With

Astonishment. It Was A Fair Open Plain Of Some Thousand Acres,  Bounded

By The Forest Which We Had Just Quitted On The One Side,  And By The Lake

On The Other; Thus There Was No Cover For Our Advance,  And All We Could

Do Was To Push On.

 

As We Approached The Herd They Ranged Up In A Compact Body,  Presenting A

Very Regular Line In Front. From This Line Seven Large Bulls Stepped

Forth,  And From Their Vicious Appearance Seemed Disposed To Show Fight.

In The Meantime We Were Running Up,  And Were Soon Within Thirty Paces Of

Them. At This Distance The Main Body Of The Herd Suddenly Wheeled Round

And Thundered Across The Plain In Full Retreat. One Of The Bulls At The

Same Moment Charged Straight At Us,  But When Within Twenty Paces Of The

Guns He Turned To One Side,  And Instantly Received Two Balls In The

Shoulder,  B. And I Having Fired At The Same Moment. As Luck Would Have

It,  His Blade-Bone Was Thus Broken,  And He Fell Upon His Knees,  But

Recovering Himself In An Instant,  He Retreated On Three Legs To The

Water.

 

We Now Received Assistance From An Unexpected Quarter. One Of The Large

Bulls,  His Companions,  Charged After Him With Great Fury,  And Soon

Overtaking The Wounded Beast,  He Struck Him Full In The Side,  Throwing

Him Over With A Great Shock On The Muddy Border Of The Lake. Here The

Wounded Animal Lay Unable To Rise,  And His Conqueror Commenced A Slow

Retreat Across The Plain.

 

Part 3 Chapter 3 Pg 22

Leaving B. To Extinguish The Wounded Buffalo,  I Gave Chase To The

Retreating Bull. At An Easy Canter He Would Gain A Hundred Paces And

Then,  Turning,  He Would Face Me; Throwing His Nose Up,  And Turning His

Head To One Side With A Short Grunt,  He Would Advance Quickly For A Few

Paces,  And Then Again Retreat As I Continued To Approach.

 

In This Manner He Led Me A Chase Of About A Mile Along The Banks Of The

Lake,  But He Appeared Determined Not To Bring The Fight To An Issue At

Close Quarters.