172 THE RIFLE AND HOUND IN CEYLON chap. viii. 



if a supply for the pack cannot be kept up by breed- 

 ing, hounds must be procured from England at a great 

 expense and risk. 



The pack now in the kennel is as near peifection 

 as can be attained for elk-hunting, comprising ten 

 couple, most of whom are nearly thoroughbred fox- 

 hounds, with a few couple of immense seizers, a cross 

 between bloodhound and greyhound, and a couple 

 of large wire-haired lurchers, like the Scotch deer- 

 hound. 



In describing the sport, I must be permitted to 

 call up the spirits of a few heroes, who are now dead, 

 and place them in the vacant places which they 

 formerly occupied in the pack. 



The first who answers to the magic call is 

 ' Smut,' hero of at least 400 deaths of elk and boar. 

 He appears — the same well-remembered form of 

 strength, the sullen growl which greeted even his 

 master, the numerous scars and seams upon his body ; 

 behold old Smut ! His sire was a Manilla blood- 

 hound, which accounted for the extreme ferocity of 

 the son. His courage was indomitable. He was a 

 large dog, but not high, considering his great length, 

 but his limbs were immense in proportion. His 

 height at the shoulder was 26^ inches ; his girth of 

 brisket 34 inches. In his younger days he always 

 opened upon a scent, and the rocky mountains and 

 deep valleys have often echoed back his deep notes 



