22O The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 



blades, which completely destroyed the pleasure of 

 shooting. 



In this unfavorable ground we found a herd of ten 

 elephants, and after waiting for some time in the hope 

 of their feeding into a better country, we lost all pa- 

 tience and resolved to go in at them and do the best we 

 could. It was late in the afternoon, and the herd, who 

 were well aware of our position, had all closed up in a 

 dense body, and with their trunks thrown up they were 

 trumpeting and screaming as though to challenge us to 

 the attack. 



. Pushing our way through the high grass, we got 

 within six paces of the elephants before they attempted 

 to turn, and the heavy battery opened upon them in 

 fine style. Leveling the grass in their path, they 

 rushed through it in a headlong retreat, V. keeping 

 on one flank, while I took the other ; and a race com- 

 menced, which continued for about half a mile at full 

 speed, the greater part of this distance being up hill. 

 None of these elephants proved restive ; and on arriv- 

 ing at thick jungle two only entered out of the ten that 

 had composed the herd ; the remaining eight lay here 

 and there along the line of the hunt. 



Out of four herds and three rogues fired at we had 

 bagged thirty-one elephants in a few days' shooting. 

 My mishap on the first day had much destroyed the 

 pleasure of the sport, as the exercise was too much for 

 my wounded leg, which did not recover from the feel- 

 ing of numbness for some months. 



