1 66 A JUNGLE POOL IN CEYLON. 



city of Mahagam, was the only one known to exist 

 for miles round; and by the advice of the natives Sir 

 S. Baker decided to watch beside it, at the usual drink- 

 ing hour of the game. 



"It was," he informs us, "a small round sheet of water, 

 perhaps 80 yards in diameter, which lay in the midst of a 

 dense jungle. Several large trees were growing close to the 

 edge, and around these lay numerous rocks' of about 4 feet 

 high, forming a capital place for concealment. Covering the 

 tops of the rocks with boughs to conceal our heads, we lay 

 quietly behind them, in expectation of the approaching game.. 

 The sun sank, and the moon rose in great beauty, throwing 

 a silvery light upon the surface of the water, chequered by 

 the darkness of the surrounding trees. Suddenly the hoarse 

 bark of an elk (sambur) sounded within [a short distance, 

 and I could distinguish two or three dark forms on the 

 opposite bank. The shrill and continued barking of spotted 

 deer, now approaching nearer and nearer; the rustling in the 

 jungle and the splashing in the water, announced continued 

 arrivals of game at the lonely drinking-place. Notwithstanding^ 

 the immense number of animals that were congregated 

 together, we could not distinguish them plainly on account 

 of the dark background of jungle. Elk, deer, buffaloes and 

 hogs were all bathing and drinking in immense numbers, but 

 there were no elephants. For some hours we watched the 

 accumulation of game ; there was not a breath of air, although 

 the scud was flying fast above us, occasionally throwing a 

 veil over the moon, and casting a sudden obscurity on the 

 dim scene before us. Our gun-bearers crouched around us,, 

 and their dark skins matching with the ground on which they 

 squatted, they looked like so many stumps of trees. We had 

 just finished (supper) when our look-out man whispered in 

 my ear the magic word 'alia' (elephant) at the same time 

 pointing in the direction of the tank." ' 



* The Rifle and Hotind in Ceylon, by Sir S. W. Baker, Edit. i882 > 

 pp. 158 159 (originally published 1854). 



