112 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 



when presently their horns became locked together, as 

 though arm in arm. The more they tugged to separate 

 themselves, the tighter they held together, and at length 

 they ranged side by side. Taking a shot at the shoulder 

 of the nearest bull, they both fell suddenly to the ground. 

 The fall unlocked their horns, and one bull, recovering 

 his legs, retreated at a slow pace and dead lame. The 

 nearest bull was killed ; and mounting my horse, I gal- 

 loped after the wounded buffalo. The chase did not 

 last long. Upon arriving within fifty yards of his 

 flank, I noticed the blood streaming from his mouth, 

 and he presently rolled over and died. The ball, hav- 

 ing passed through his antagonist, had entered his 

 shoulder, and, smashing the shoulder-blade, had passed 

 through the body, lodging in the tough hide upon his 

 opposite side, from which I extracted it by simply 

 cutting the skin which covered it. 



I have frequently seen the bull buffaloes fight each 

 other with great fury. Upon these occasions they are 

 generally the most dangerous, all their natural ferocity 

 being increased by the heat of the combat. I was once 

 in pursuit of an elephant which led me across the plain 

 at Minneria, when I suddenly observed a large bull 

 buffalo making toward me, as though to cut me oft" in 

 the very direction in which I was advancing. Upon 

 his near approach, I noticed numerous bloody cuts and 

 scratches upon his neck and shoulders, which were 

 evidently only just made by the horns of some bull 

 with whom he had been fighting. Not wishing to fire, 

 lest I should alarm the elephant, I endeavored to avoid 

 him, but this was no easy task. He advanced to 

 within fifty paces of me, and ploughing up the ground 

 with his horns and roaring, he seemed determined to 



