184 THE RIFLE AND HOUND IN CEYLON, chap. viii. 



appeared to leap over the verge of the cataract, but in 

 reality he took to a deer-path which skirted the steep 

 side of the wooded precipice. So steep was the incli- 

 nation that I could only follow on his track by cling- 

 ing to the stems of the trees. The roar of the water- 

 fall, now only a few feet on my right hand, completely 

 overpowered the voices of the dogs wherever they 

 might be, and I carefully commenced a perilous des- 

 cent by the side of the fall, knowing that both dogs 

 and elk must be somewhere before me. So stunning 

 was the roar of the water, that a cannon might have 

 been fired without my hearing it. I was now one-third 

 of the way down the fall, which was about fifty feet 

 deep. A large flat rock projected from the side of the 

 cliff, forming a platform of about six feet square, over 

 one corner of which, the water struck, and again 

 bounded downwards. This platform could only be 

 reached by a narrow ledge of rock, beneath which, at a 

 depth of thirty feet, the water boiled at the foot of the 

 fall. Upon this platform stood the buck, having 

 gained his secure but frightful position by passing 

 along the narrow ledge of rock. Should either dog 

 or man attempt to advance, one charge from the buck- 

 would send them to perdition, as they would fall into 

 the abyss below. This the dogs were fully aware of, 

 and they accordingly kept up a continual bay from the 

 edge of the cliff, while I attempted to dislodge him by 

 throwing stones and sticks upon him from above, 



