170 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 



necessary in the search of food. He therefore grows 

 very fat, and is then in fine condition. 



The speed of an elk, although great, cannot be com- 

 pared to that of the spotted deer. I have seen the latter 

 almost distance the best greyhounds for the first 'wo 

 hundred yards, but with this class of dogs the elk has 

 no chance upon fair open ground. Coursing the elk, 

 therefore, is a short-lived sport, as the grayhounds run 

 into him immediately, and a tremendous struggle then 

 ensues, which must be terminated as soon as possible 

 by the knife, otherwise the dogs would most probably 

 be wounded. I once saw Killbuck perform a wonder- 

 ful feat in seizing. A buck elk broke cover in the Elk 

 Plains, and I slipped a brace of grayhounds after him, 

 Killbuck and Bran. The buck had a start of about two 

 hundred yards, but the speed of the grayhounds told 

 rapidly upon him, and after a course of a quarter of a 

 mile they were at his haunches, Killbuck leading. The 

 next instant he sprang in full fly, and got his hold by 

 the ear. So sudden was the shock that the buck turned 

 a complete somersault, but, recovering himself imme- 

 diately, he regained his feet and started ofF at a gallop 

 down hill toward a stream, the dog still hanging on. 

 In turning over in his fall the ear had twisted round, 

 and Killbuck, never having left his hold, was therefore 

 on his back, in which position he was dragged at great 

 speed over the ragged ground. Notwithstanding the 

 difficulty of his position, he would not give up his hold. 

 In the mean time Bran kept seizing the other ear, but 

 continually lost his hold as the ear gave way. Kill- 

 buck's weight kept the buck's head on a level with his 

 knees ; and after a run of some hundred yards, during 

 the whole of which the clog had been dragged upon his 



