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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 life is extinct.

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 début 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.

"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 sud-twenty miles along a narrow denly 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 considerable bag of large game. Like most novices, however, I

'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

path through thick jungle, which half a dozen natives in advance were opening before us with billhooks. This had at one time been a good path, but was then overgrown. It is now an acknowledged bridle - road. At four 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.

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.

'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 rose 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 forests, 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 bulls were dotted about the green surface of the level plain, and on the opposite shores of the lake were many dark patches, undistin

'The village of Minneria was about 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 short guns, which were car-guishable in the distance; these ried by our horse keepers; 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

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

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disturbed; not a breath of air moved the leaves of the trees which shadowed 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 security 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 that 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 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 a most unexpected quarter. One of the large bulls, his companions, charged after him with great fury, and soon overtaking the wounded beast, 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.

Leaving B. to extinguish the wounded buffalo, I gave chase to the retreating bully. 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 on 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. Cursing his cowardice, I fired a long shot at him, and re-loading with my last spare ball, I continued the chase, led on by ignorance and excitement.

"The lake in one part stretched in a narrow creek into the plain, and the bull now directed his course into the angle formed by

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