Minneria Lake. 43 



gerous enemy, as he will receive any number of balls 

 from a small gun in the throat and chest without evin- 

 cing 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 nc 

 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 qualifi- 

 cations 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 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 hairbreadth 

 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 



