CHAPTER IV. 



Equipment for a Hunting Trip — In Chase of a Herd of 

 Buffaloes — Hard Work — Close Quarters — Six Feet 

 from the Muzzle — A Black with a Devil. 



THERE is one thing necessary to the enjoyment of 

 sport in Ceylon, and without which no amount 

 of game can afford thorough pleasure ; this is personal 

 comfort. Unlike a temperate climate, where mere 

 attendance becomes a luxury, the pursuit of game in a 

 tropical country is attended with immense fatigue and 

 exhaustion. The intense heat of the sun, the dense 

 and suffocating exhalations from swampy districts, the 

 constant and irritating attacks from insects, all form 

 drawbacks to sport that can only be lessened by excel- 

 lent servants and by the most perfect arrangements for 

 shelter and supplies. I have tried all methods of trav- 

 eling, and I generally manage to combine good sport 

 with every comfort and convenience. 



A good tent, perfectly waterproof and of so light a 

 construction as to travel with only two bearers, is abso- 

 lutely indispensable. My tent is on the principle of an 

 umbrella, fifteen feet in diameter, and will house three 

 persons comfortably. A round table fits in two halves 

 round the tent-pole ; three folding chairs have ample 

 space ; three beds can be arranged round the tent 

 walls ; the boxes of clothes, etc., stow under the beds ; 

 6* E 65 



