1 84 GUN, RIFLE, AND HOUND. 



great, and told the trackers as much by signs as 

 anything else of the whereabouts of a herd of 

 elephants. 



These jungle veddahs, are probably as low a type of 

 humanity as exists on the face of the earth. They 

 have no houses, no cultivation, and I believe no 

 language. They sleep in trees, and live on the fruits 

 of the earth and the game their arrows bring down. 

 They are few in number, and will doubtless soon be 

 extinct. There is another race, the village veddahs, 

 probably a hybrid with the Cingalese, who do cultivate 

 the ground and are in every way superior. 



It was during our subsequent attack upon the 

 " Veddah's herd," as we called them, that an incident 

 occurred which, although it might have ended seriously, 

 was sufficiently laughable. I, who had had the shot, 

 had killed a nice bull after three shots, and my chum 

 had gone off in pursuit of another. I was reloading 

 and looking after him when I heard a warning shout 

 from Sin 'Appu, and turning round saw an elephant so 

 close on me that its trunk was already outstretched 

 towards me. I just had time to spring behind a tree, 

 and as the brute shot headlong past I saw a calf trying 

 to follow. I did not want to injure the poor brute, but 

 it charged myself and the tracker twice more, and each 

 time so savagely that I thought I should have to fire. 

 Fortunately there were plenty of trees amongst which 

 we could dodge the infuriated mother, and at last she 

 made off, driving her calf before her. Will soon 

 returned, having also killed an elephant. 



The next morning will be for ever marked in my 



