Deer at Illc^ecaddwd. 131 



In the beautiful open down country throughout the 

 Ouv;i district, there is no game larger than wild hogs, 

 red-deer, mouse-deer, hares and partridges. These 

 animals shelter themselves in the low bushes, which 

 generally consist of the wild guavas, and occupy the 

 hollows between the undulations of the hills. The 

 thorny jungles conceal a mass of game of all kinds, 

 but in this retreat the animals are secure from attack. 

 In the vicinity of the coast, among the " flat plains and 

 thorny jungles," there is always excellent shooting at 

 particular seasons. The spotted deer abound through- 

 out Ceylon, especially in these parts, where they are 

 often seen in herds of a hundred together. In many 

 places they are far too numerous, as, from the want of 

 inhabitants in these parts, there are no consumers, and 

 these beautiful beasts would be shot to waste. 



In the neighborhood of Paliar and Ulepecadewe' on 

 the northwest coast, I have shot them till I- was satiated 

 and it ceased to be sport. We had nine fine deer hang- 

 ing up in one day, and they were putrefying faster than 

 the few inhabitants could preserve them by smoking 

 and drying them in steaks. I could have shot them in 

 any number, had I chosen to kill simply for the sake 

 of murder ; but I cannot conceive any person finding 

 an enjoyment in slaying these splendid deer to rot upon 

 the ground. 



I was once shooting at Ulepecad£we\ which is a 

 lonely, miserable spot, when I met with a very saga- 

 cious and original sportsman in a most unexpected 

 manner. I was shooting with a friend, and we had 

 separated for a few hundred paces. I presently got a 

 shot at a pea-fowl, and killed her with my rifle. The 

 shot was no sooner fired, than I heard another shot in 



