276 WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS CHAP. 



3-oz. rifle was most interesting, and afforded instructive experience 

 in the i>enctration and stopping power of the heavy bullet. Upon 

 one occasion I managed to separate a herd, and five buffaloes swam 

 across a bend of the lake and reached a long but narrow spit of 

 land which extended for several hundred yards into the water. 

 Upon reaching the base of this narrow promontory I saw that the 

 buffaloes would dispute the right of possession, and I advanced 

 with extreme caution, the 3-oz. rifle in my hand, while a trust- 

 worthy native carried the long 2-oz. My people were so thoroughly 

 confident in the power of these weapons that they had no fear of 

 animals, which in ordinary circumstances they would certainly 

 have avoided. We had not proceeded far when the buffaloes 

 which were on the point ranged up together, and, without much 

 demonstration, a large bull made a determined charge at full 

 speed upon us, fortunately without being accompanied by his 

 companions. 



A shot from the 3-oz. met him exactly in the chest, and his 

 momentum was so great that, being shot through the heart, he 

 turned a complete somersault, and lay dead upon the muddy 

 ground. This two-grooved rifle was easy to load, as the belt of 

 the bullet was so prominent that it fitted at once into the broad 

 and deep lines of the barrel. I had just placed the cap upon the 

 nipple when, undismayed by the fate of the first buffalo, another 

 bull charged, but not with the same velocity. This fellow was 

 regularly crumpled up, and lay floundering upon the ground, the 

 bloody foam from the mouth proving the death-wound through the 

 lungs. Reloading, I assumed the offensive, and I knocked over 

 another, leaving only two from the original number. One of these 

 now took to water, but received a bullet in the neck ; the other 

 made a rush as though wishing to charge past me to reach the 

 plain ; this one got the 2-oz. through the shoulder-blade atf close 

 quarters, and fell struggling in a confused heap, both shoulder- 

 bones being smashed. 



This was sharp work for two single -barrelled muzzle-loaders, 

 but nothing could resist them. The effective power of such 

 weapons induced me to order four double-barrelled No. 10 two- 

 grooved muzzle-loaders, which proved to be exactly the weapons 

 required for Ceylon shooting at that period, as they had nearly the 

 same power as the 2-oz. rifle, with the additional advantage of the 

 double-barrels. 



As a rule, no person should attempt to shoot dangerous game 

 with a single barrel, if on foot. Although the modem breech- 

 loader has simplified the system of loading, there are many cases 



