A Large Snake. 125 



is alone to be depended upon. Venison killed on one day 

 would be uneatable on the day following, unless it were 

 half-dressed shortly after it was killed : thus the size of 

 the animal in no way contributes to the continuation of 

 the supply of food, as the meat will not keep. Even 

 snipe killed on one morning are putrid the next even- 

 ing ; the quantity of game required for the subsistence 

 of one person is consequently very large. 



After killing the deer I stalked a fine peacock, who 

 gave me an hour's work before I could get near him. 

 These birds are very wary and difficult to approach ; 

 but I at length got him into a large bush, surrounded 

 by open ground. A stone thrown into this dislodged 

 him, and he gave me a splendid flying shot at about 

 thirty yards. I bagged him with the two-ounce rifle, 

 but the large ball damaged him terribly. There are 

 few better birds than a Ceylon peafowl,. if kept for two 

 days and then washed in vinegar: they combine the 

 flavor of the turkey and the pheasant. 



I was obliged to carry the bird myself, as my two 

 gun-bearers were staggering under the weight of the 

 deer, and the spare guns were carried by my tracker. 

 We were proceeding slowly along when the tracker, 

 who was in advance, suddenly sprang back and pointed 

 to some object in the path. It was certainly enough to 

 startle any man. An enormous serpent lay coiled in 

 the path. His head was about the size of a very small 

 cocoa-nut, divided lengthways, and this was raised 

 about eighteen inches above the coil. His eyes were 

 fixed upon us, and his forked tongue played in and out 

 of his mouth with a continued hiss. Aiming at his 

 head, I fired at him with a double-barreled gun, within 

 four paces, and blew his head to pieces. He appeared 

 11* 



