HUNTING & SHOOTING IN CEYLON 



the shoulder, which at last brought him to the ground. 

 On examination we found both my shots had caught him 

 fair in the shoulder, and my cousin's shot had entered at 

 the neck, in front, and gone out again at the top of the 

 back, behind the shoulders, and why either of the two first 

 shots did not floor him was a mystery. 



Elk are so scarce now in the low country of Ceylon as 

 to render it not worth while making, or trying to make, the 

 animal a special object of pursuit. You may by chance 

 come upon one when in search of other game, and the best 

 time which gives you a chance of so doing is during the 

 wet north-eastern monsoon, in November, December, and 

 January. 



A very curious incident was witnessed on one occasion 

 by Wright and myself during one of our trips together. 

 We were camped on the Alut Oya at Puliankulam, in 

 Tamankaduwa, 4 miles from Alut Oya rest-house on 

 the Kauduluwewa-Minneriya road, waiting for carriers and 

 trackers to arrive from Diwulankadawela, 7 miles away, 

 and during the afternoon we went out with our shot-guns 

 after pigeons, jungle fowl, and such fry, in some parks, 

 formerly paddy fields, bordering the river and close to 

 camp. When in one smallish park we heard, to our sur- 

 prise, some dogs barking in the depths of the forest, which 

 we could not account for, as there was no village within 

 7 miles of us ; but Tom had declared he saw a dog on the 

 edge of the forest down the road the previous day. The 

 Kauduluwewa road or track traversed this park, and just 

 as we heard the dogs two spotted does darted across the 

 plain near us. 



We thought more deer might follow, so hid behind 

 a bush, but nothing came except a jackal which appeared 

 on the road track close by us. I filled him full of small 



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