246 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 



over the scene, which reminded me of an English mid- 

 summer evening. 



There is so little ground in Ceylon upon which a 

 horse can gallop without the risks of holes, bogs and 

 rocks that we could not resist a canter upon such fine 

 turf; and although the horses had made a long journey 

 already, they seemed to enjoy a more rapid pace when 

 they felt the inviting sward beneath their feet. Although 

 every inch of this country had been familiar to me, I 

 felt some difficulty in finding the way to the appointed 

 spot, the scene was so changed by the disappearance of 

 the water. 



There were fresh elephant tracks in many parts of 

 the plain, and I was just anticipating good sport for the 

 next day, when we suddenly heard an elephant trumpet 

 in the open forest which we were skirting. The next 

 instant I saw eight elephants among the large trees 

 which bordered the forest. For the moment I thought 

 it was a herd, but I almost immediately noticed the 

 constrained and unnatural positions in which they were 

 standing. They were all tied to different trees by the 

 legs, and upon approaching the spot we found an en- 

 campment of Arabs and Moormen who had been noos- 

 ing elephants for sale. We at once saw that the coun- 

 try was disturbed, as these people had been employed 

 in catching elephants for some weeks. 



After a ride of seven or eight miles along the plain, 

 I discovered a thin blue line of smoke rising from the 

 edge of a distant forest, and shortly after I could dis- 

 tinguish forms moving on the plain in the same direc- 

 tion. Cantering toward the spot, we found ou*" coolies 

 and encampment. The tents were pitched under some 

 noble trees, which effectually excluded every ray of sun 



