54 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 



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 impo- 

 tent 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 yes- 

 terday ; 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 hun- 

 dred yards, and were standing in a dense mass, atten- 

 tively watching us. Without any delay we advanced 

 toward them, and, upon arriving within about a hun- 

 dred 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 paw- 



