chap, in MINNERIA LAKE. y, 



projecting on a level with his forehead, tl us securing 

 himself from a front shot in a fatal part. This renders 

 him a dangerous enemy, as he will receive any number 

 of balls from a small gun in the throat and chest with- 

 out evincing the least symptom of distress. The 

 shoulder is the acknowledged point to aim at, but from 

 his disposition to face the guns this is a difficult shot 

 to obtain. Should he succeed in catching his anta- 

 gonist, his fury knows no bounds, and he gores his 

 victim to death, trampling and kneeling upon him till 

 he is satisfied that life is extinct. 



This sport would not be very dangerous in the 

 forests, where the buffalo could be easily stalked, and 

 vvhere escape would also be rendered less difficult in 

 case of accident ; but as he is generally met with upon 

 the open plains, free from a single tree, he must be 

 killed when once brought to bay, or he will soon ex- 

 hibit his qualifications for mischief. There is a degree 

 of uncertainty in their character which much in- 

 creases the danger of the pursuit. A buffalo may 

 retreat at first sight with every symptom of cowardice, 

 and thus induce a too eager pursuit, when he will 

 suddenly become the assailant. I cannot explain their 

 character better than by describing the first wild buf- 

 faloes that I ever saw. 



I had not been long in Ceylon, but having arrived 

 in the island for the sake of its wild sports, I had not 

 been idle, and I had already made a considerable bag 



