chap. xr. DIABOLICAL DEATH OF ' MERRIMAN: 273 



his sire, and often recalls the recollection of the old 

 dog. I hope he may turn out as good. 1 



Misfortunes never come alone. A few weeks aftei 

 Smut's death, Lizzie, an excellent bitch, was killed by 

 a leopard, who wounded Merriman in the throat, but 

 he being a powerful dog, beat him off and escaped 

 Merriman had not long recovered from his wound, 

 when he came to a lamentable and diabolical end. 



On December 24, 1852, we found a buck in the 

 jungles by the Badulla road. The dead nillho so 

 retarded the pack that the elk got a long start of the 

 dogs ; and stealing down a stream he broke cover, 

 crossed the Badulla road, ascended the opposite hills, 

 and took to the jungle before a single hound appeared 

 upon the patina. At length Merriman came bound- 

 ing along upon his track, full a hundred yards in 

 advance of the pack. In a few minutes every dog 

 had disappeared in the opposite jungle on the elk'a 

 path. 



This was a part of the country where we invariably 

 lost the dogs, as they took away across a vast jungle 

 country towards a large and rapid river situated among 

 stupendous precipices. I had often endeavoured tc 

 find the dogs in this part, but to no purpose ; this day, 

 however, I was determined to follow them if possible. 

 I made a circuit of about twenty miles down into the 



1 Killed four months afterwards by a buck elk. 

 U 



