HUNTING & SHOOTING IN CEYLON 



had to be gone through again. She must have taken us 

 for a big " croc " or snake, as she could not get our wind. 

 My friend was an amused spectator of the whole business. 

 Having got rid of the pigs, we crawled on to find that the 

 " hay " ended abruptly about 200 yards from where the 

 " buffs " were, and we had to lie still for some time, as one 

 of them was facing us. However, luck was with me and 

 this one moved out of the water and, followed by the rest, 

 sauntered out of sight round a bend of the jungle. As the 

 wind was now in our favour we jumped up and hurried 

 after them, and were just in time, as they were entering 

 the jungle about 80 yards from me. The biggest, a fine 

 bull, was only about 10 yards from cover when I took him 

 behind the shoulder with a heavy 12-bore bullet. There 

 was a regular stampede, and on entering the jungle we were 

 at a loss, as the tracks went in all directions. We picked 

 out a big track, but it soon joined the others, and we 

 followed hard on the line, when suddenly there was a snort 

 and a crash, and "buff" after "buff" dashed through 

 the thick underwood. Apparently the small herd I 

 had been stalking had joined a much larger herd in the 

 jungle. I only got glimpses of them as they dashed off. 

 After following for some time without coming on blood 

 tracks, we decided to give it up, and were returning on the 

 back track, and had almost got out of the jungle, when the 

 tracker pointed to a speck of blood on a leaf, and below it 

 the tracks of a big "buff" leading away almost at right 

 angles to the line taken by the herd. We pushed along 

 very cautiously, and soon the blood became very profuse, 

 the bush being covered with it, and my clothes were soon 

 smeared with it too, as the blood was on both sides of 

 the track. It was jumpy work, as the bush was very 

 thick and quite impenetrable to the eye. I, of course, had 



