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

Foam Upon His Lips And

Nostrils--The Ball Had In Reality Passed Through His Lungs,  And,  Making

Its Exit From The Opposite Shoulder,  It Had Even Then Flown Across The

Lake. This Was The Proof Of The Effect Of The Twelve Drachms Of Powder.

 

Having Reloaded,  I Now Advanced Towards Him,  And Soon Arrived Within

Fifty Paces. He Was The Facsimile Of The Bull That Had Chased Us On The

Previous Day--The Same Picture Of Fury And Determination; And,  Crouching

Low,  He Advanced A Few Paces,  Keeping His Eyes Fixed Upon Us As Though

We Were Already His Own.

 

A Short Cough,  Accompanied By A Rush Of Blood From His Mouth,  Seemed To

Cause Him Great Uneasiness,  And He Halted.

 

Again We Advanced Till Within Twenty Paces Of Him. I Would Not Fire,  As

I Saw That He Already Had Enough,  And I Wished To See How Long He Could

Support A Wound Through The Lungs,  As My Safety In Buffalo-Shooting

Might In Future Depend Upon This Knowledge.

 

The Fury Of His Spirit Seemed To War With Death,  And,  Although Reeling

With Weakness And Suffocation,  He Again Attempted To Come On. It Was His

Last Effort; His Eyes Rolled Convulsively,  He Gave A Short Grunt Of

Impotent Rage,  And The Next Moment He Fell Upon His Back With His Heels

In The Air; He Was Stone Dead,  And Game To The Last Moment.

 

I Had Thus Commenced A Revenge For The Insult Of Yesterday; I Had Proved

The Wonderful Power Of The Four-Ounce Rifle--A Weapon Destined To Make

Great Havoc Amongst The Heavy Game Of Ceylon.

 

Upon Turning From The Carcass Before Us,  We Observed To Our Surprise

That A Large Herd Of Buffaloes,  That Were At A Great Distance When We

Had Commenced The Attack Upon The Bull,  Had Now Approached To Within A

Few Hundred Yards,  And Were Standing In A Dense Mass,  Attentively

Watching Us. Without Any Delay We Advanced Towards Them,  And,  Upon

Arriving Within About A Hundred Paces,  We Observed That The Herd Was

Headed By Two Large Bulls,  One Of Which Was The Largest That I Had Ever

Seen. The Whole Herd Was Bellowing And Pawing The Ground. They Had

Winded The Blood Of The Dead Bull And Appeared Perfectly Maddened.

 

We Continued To Advance,  And We Were Within About Ninety Paces Of Them

When Suddenly The Whole Herd Of About Two Hundred Buffaloes,  Headed By

The Two Bulls Before Noticed,  Dashed Straight Towards Us At Full Gallop.

So Simultaneous Was The Onset That It Resembled A Sudden Charge Of

Cavalry,  And The Ground Vibrated Beneath Their Heavy Hoofs. Their Tails

Were Thrown High Above Their Backs,  And The Mad And Overpowering Phalanx

Of Heads And Horns Came Rushing Forward As Though To Sweep Us At Once

From The Face Of The Earth.

 

There Was Not An Instant To Be Lost; Already But A Short Space

Intervened Between Us And Apparently Certain Destruction. Our

Gun-Bearers Were Almost In The Act Of Flight; But Catching Hold Of The

Man Who Carried The Long Two-Ounce Rifle,  And Keeping Him By My Side,  I

Awaited The Irresistible Onset With The Four-Ounce.

 

The Largest Of The Bulls Was Some Yards In Advance,  Closely Followed By

His Companion,  And The Herd In A Compact Mass Came Thundering Down At

Their Heels. Only Fifty Yards Separated Us; We Literally Felt Among

Them,  And Already Experienced A Sense Of Being Over-Run. I Did Not Look

At The Herd,  But I Kept My Eye Upon The Big Bull Leader. On They Flew,

And Were Within Thirty Paces Of Us,  When I Took A Steady Shot With The

Four-Ounce,  And The Leading Bull Plunged Head-Foremost In The Turf,

Turning A Complete Summersault. Snatching The Two-Ounce From The

Petrified Gun-Bearer,  I Hadjust Time For A Shot As The Second Bull Was

Within Fifteen Paces,  And At The Flash Of The Rifle His Horns Ploughed

Up The Turf,  And He Lay Almost At Our Feet. That Lucky Shot Turned The

Whole Herd. When Certain Destruction Threatened Us,  They Suddenly

Wheeled To Their Left When Within Twenty Paces Of The Guns,  And Left Us

Astonished Victors Of The Field. We Poured An Ineffectual Volley Into

The Retreating Herd From The Light Guns As They Galloped Off In Full

Retreat,  And Reloaded As Quickly As Possible,  As The Two Bulls,  Although

Floored,  Were Still Alive. They Were,  However,  Completely Powerless,  And

A Double-Barrelled Gun Gave Each The "Coup-De-Grace" By A Ball In The

Forehead. Both Rifle Shots Had Struck At The Point Of Junction Of The

Throat And Chest,  And The Four-Ounce Ball Had Passed Out Of The

Hind-Quarter. Our Friend Of Yesterday,  Although Hit In Precisely The

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Same Spot,  Had Laughed At The Light Guns.

 

Although I Have Since Killed About Two Hundred Wild Buffaloes I Have

Never Witnessed Another Charge By A Herd. This Was An Extraordinary

Occurrence,  And Fortunately Stands Alone In Buffalo-Shooting. Were It

Not For The Two Heavy Rifles Our Career Might Have Terminated In An

Unpleasant Manner. As I Before Mentioned,  This Part Of The Country Was

Seldom Or Never Disturbed At The Time Of Which I Write,  And The

Buffaloes Were Immensely Numerous And Particularly Savage,  Nearly Always

Turning To Bay And Showing Good Sport When Attacked.

 

Having Cut Out The Tongues From The Two Bulls,  We Turned Homeward To

Breakfast. Skirting Along The Edge Of The Lake,  Which Abounded With

Small Creeks,  Occasioning Us Many Circuits,  We Came Suddenly Upon A

Single Bull,  Who,  Springing From His Lair Of Mud And High Grass,  Plunged

Into A Creek,  And,  Swimming Across,  Exposed Himself To A Dead Shot As He

Landed On The Opposite Bank About A Hundred Paces From Us. The

Four-Ounce Struck Him In The Hind-Quarters And Broke The Hip Joint,  And,

Continuing Its Course Along His Body,  It Pierced His Lungs And Lodged In

The Skin Of The Throat. The Bull Immediately Fell,  But Regaining His

Feet He Took To The Water,  And Swam To A Small Island Of High Grass

About Thirty Yards From The Shore. Upon Gaining This He Turned And Faced

Us,  But In A Few Seconds He Fell Unable To Rise,  And Received A Merciful

Shot In The Head,  Which Despatched Him.

 

We Were Just Leaving The Border Of The Lake On Our Way To The Village,

When Two Cow Buffaloes Sprang Up From One Of The Numerous Inlets And

Retreated At Full Gallop Towards The Jungle,  Offering A Splendid Side

Shot At About A Hundred Paces. The Leading Cow Plunged Head-Foremost

Into The Grass As The Four-Ounce Struck Her Through Both Shoulders. She

Was A Fine Young Cow,  And We Cut Some Steaks From Her In Case We Should

Find A Scarcity Of Provisions At Minneria And,  Quitting The Shores Of

The Lake,  We Started For Breakfast.

 

It Was Only 8 A.M. When We Arrived. I Had Bagged Five Buffaloes,  Four Of

Which Were Fine Bulls. Our Revenge Was Complete,  And I Had Proved That

The Four-Ounce Was Perfectly Irresistible If Held Straight With The

Heavy Charge Of Twelve Drachms Of Powder. Since That Time I Have

Frequently Used Sixteen Drachms (One Ounce) Of Powder To The Charge,  But

The Recoil Is Then Very Severe,  Although The Effect Upon An Animal With

A Four-Ounce Steel-Tipped Conical Ball Is Tremendous.

 

On Our Return To The Village Of Minneria We Found A Famous Breakfast,

For Which A Bath In The Neighbouring Brook Increased An Appetite Already

Sharpened By The Morning Exercise. The Buffalo Steaks Were Coarse And

Bad,  As Tough As Leather,  And Certainly Should Never Be Eaten If Better

Food Can Be Obtained. The Tongues Are Very Rich,  But Require Salting.

 

In Those Days Minneria Was Not Spoiled By Visitors,  And Supplies Were

Accordingly At A Cheap Rate--Large Fowls At One Penny Each,  Milk At Any

Price That You Chose To Give For It. This Is Now Much Changed,  And The

Only Thing That Is Still Ridiculously Cheap Is Fish.

 

Give A Man Sixpence To Catch You As Many As He Can In The Morning,  And

He Forthwith Starts On His Piscatorial Errand With A Large Basket,  Cone

Shaped,  Of Two Feet Diameter At The Bottom And About Eight Inches At The

Top. This Basket Is Open At Both Ends,  And Is About Two Feet In Length.

 

The Fish That Is Most Sought After Is The 'Lola.' He Is A Ravenous

Fellow,  In Appearance Between A Trout And A Carp,  Having The Habits Of

The Former,  But The Clumsy Shoulders Of The Latter. He Averages About

Three Pounds,  Although He Is Often Caught Of Nine Or Ten Pounds Weight.

Delighting In The Shallows,  He Lies Among The Weeds At The Bottom,  To

Which He Always Retreats When Disturbed. Aware Of His Habits,  The

Fisherman Walks Knee-Deep In The Water,  And At Every Step He Plunges The

Broad End Of The Basket Quickly To The Bottom. He Immediately Feels The

Fish Strike Against The Sides,  And Putting His Hand Down Through The

Aperture In The Top Of The Basket He Captures Him,  And Deposits Him In A

Basket Slung On His Back.

 

These 'Lola' Are Delicious Eating,  Being Very Like An Eel In Flavour,

And I Have Known One Man Catch Forty In A Morning With No Other

Apparatus Than This Basket.

 

Minneria Lake,  Like All Others In Ceylon,  Swarms With Crocodiles Of A

Very Large Size. Early In The Morning And Late In The Evening They May

Be Seen Lying Upon The Banks Like Logs Of Trees. I Have Frequently

Remarked That A Buffalo,  Shot Within A Few Yards Of The Lake,  Has

Invariably Disappeared During The Night,  Leaving An Undoubted Track

Where He Has Been Dragged To The Water By The Crocodiles. These Brutes

Frequently Attack The Natives When Fishing Or Bathing,  But I Have Never

Heard Of Their Pursuing Any Person Upon Dry Land.

 

I Remember An Accident Having Occurred At Madampi,  On The West Coast Of

Ceylon,  About Seven Years Ago,  The Day Before I Passed Through The

Village. A Number Of Women Were Employed In Cutting Rushes For

Mat-Making,  And Were About Mid-Deep In The Water. The Horny Tail Of A

Large Crocodile Was Suddenly Seen Above The Water Among The Group Of

Women,  And In Another Instant One Of Them Was Seized By The Thigh And

Dragged Towards The Deeper Part Of The Stream. In Vain The Terrified

Creature Shrieked For Assistance; The Horror-Stricken Group Had Rushed

To The Shore,  And A Crowd Of Spectators On The Bank Offered No Aid

Beyond Their Cries. It Was Some Distance Before The Water Deepened,  And

The Unfortunate Woman Was Dragged For Many Yards,  Sometimes Beneath The

Water,  Sometimes Above The Surface,  Rending The Air With Her Screams,

Until At Length The Deep Water Hid Her From Their View. She Was Never

Again Seen.

 

Some Of These Reptiles Grow To A Very Large Size,  Attaining The Length

Of Twenty Feet,  And Eight Feet In Girth,  But The Common Size Is Fourteen

Feet. They Move Slowly Upon Land,  But Are Wonderfully Fast And Active In

The Water. They Usually Lie In Wait For Their Prey Under Some Hollow

Bank In A Deep Pool,  And When The Unsuspecting Deer Or Even Buffalo

Stoops His Head To Drink,  He Is Suddenly Seized By The Nose And Dragged

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Beneath The Water. Here He Is Speedily Drowned And Consumed At Leisure.

 

The Two Lower And Front Teeth