64 The Rifle and Hoimd iit Ceylon. 



under it, and a pair of gaping jaws appeared above the 

 water wide open and within two feet of the canoe. 

 The next moment his head appeared, and the two-ounce 

 ball shattered his brain. He sunk to the bottom, the 

 rushes moved slightly and were then still. 



I now put the canoe ashore, and cutting a strong stick 

 with a crook at one end, I again put out to the spot and 

 dragged for him. He was quite dead ; and catching 

 him under the fore-leg, I soon brought him gently to 

 the surface of the water. I now made fast a line to his 

 fore-leg, and we towed him slowly to the village, the 

 canoe being level with the water's edge. 



His weight in the water was a mere trifle, but on 

 arrival at the village on the banks of the lake, the vil- 

 lagers turned out with great glee and fastened ropes to 

 different parts of his body to drag him out. This opera- 

 tion employed about twenty men. The beast was about 

 fourteen feet long; and he was no sooner on shore than 

 the natives cut him to pieces with axes'and threw the 

 sections into the lake to be devoured by his own species. 

 This was a savage kind of revenge, which appeared to 

 afford them great satisfaction. 



Taking a large canoe, I paddled alon^ the shores of 

 the lake with a short gun, and made a good bag of 

 ducks and teal, and returned to breakfast The fatness 

 and flavor of the wild ducks in Ceylon are quite equal to 

 the best in England. 



