568 
THE TROPICAfc AGRICULTURIST. 
[Feb. 1, 1901. 
HOW I KILLED MY FIRST AND 
ONLY SPIKED BUCK. 
A goodly number of years had come and 
gone, and in the interval I had taken part 
in some very fine runs iti and around 
Nuwara Eliya with the late G A Cruweil, 
R B Downail, W W Wynn, &c., when in 1873, 
or 1876, a couple of those gentlemen and the 
■writer I'eceived a very cordial invitation from 
THE LATE LAIRD OF MATTAKELLE 
— than whom there was no grander old liunts- 
man at that time in Ceylon— to have a day 
with his celebrated pack in Dimbula. Well 
do I recall that (to me) memorable morning 
when we turned out on to the large stretch 
of patanas lying at the back of Mattakelle 
bungalow. A bright crisp morning in Nov- 
ember after the monsoon rauis had refreshed 
all Nature, and "Old King Coffee" looked 
'as if the heyday of its prosperity would 
never decay— at least over that grand ex- 
panse of Dimbula lying » betwixt us and the 
Great Western range— and I had no mis- 
givings then as to the assured fortune of 
our genial and kindly host— the biggest- 
hearted soul 1 ever met. How a few short 
years changed the circumstances of 
many hardy, honest, prosperous planteis in 
those days, it would be useless for me to 
recount in this letter, so 1 will " hie back" 
to the subject of my text. In the 
days of which I write nearly the 
whole of Dimbula, at least as far 
up as Kadella, was under coffee and 
there was little jungle to be seen, big 
enough to hold game. About the far end of 
the patanas to which I have referred, how- 
ever, there was a conical hill of forest 
standing. I should at a rough estimate 
put it down at 100 to 150 acres, though 
we could only see the side facing the 
plains. Into this the hounds were slipped 
by the " dog boys," while the huntsman, 
Oruwell, Wynn and the writer squatted on 
the grass to av/ait results. The Master 
knowing so weli the habits of the elk as- 
sured us that when the hounds succeeded in 
forcing him to vacate his strongliold, the 
" quarry " would break cover and take to 
the open on the side commanded by us. 
HUNTING THE QUARBT. 
" The Laird " had that time in his ken- 
nels a magnificent specimen of the grey- 
hound, a half-brother to the famous Irish 
dog of that breed, " Master McGrath," a 
triple winner, I believe; for the late Lord 
Lurgan of the Waterloo Cup at Liverpool. 
This hound was in leash and delivered over 
to my care. How long we waited on those 
patanas, listening to tlie distant " tonguing ' 
of the pack as they hunted their 
quarry round and round that jungle, the 
voices of the hounds every now and then 
being heard as they approached the ridge 
and then becoming quiet again as they 
descended on the other side— it is impossible 
exactly to say. Keener huntsmen than the 
trio who accompanied me it would be difficult 
to find, and yet when 9 o'clock arrived, and 
seemingly no prost)ect of any excitement, 
either their patience became exhausted, 
or more likely the cravings of hunger 
led them to inake tracks for MattakelleS 
for off they went and left me single-handed 
with only the grey-liound as a companion. 
I had not very long to wait before the 
virtue of patience was rewarded. From the 
far-off corner of the jungle I could see the 
elk break cover, and come bounding down 
over those vast and rugged patanas with a 
couple of small half-bred hounds hanging on 
to his ears, and in the very direction 
wished for and exactly as indicated by our 
huntsman before he left me. 
Making the best use I could of my 
"understandings", and pulled along at a 
tremendous pace by the .'itr lining power of 
the hound whom I was loath to slip until 
he had fairly sighted the game, I came almost 
to mortal grief over a cut drain in the 
middle of the plain, which was hidden by 
tall rushes. Unaware of this wretched "man- 
trajj " and going at such speed I tripped 
over the upheaved earth and stones, and 
landing fu i length I came a cropper on 
some broken metal on the far side, and 
though clad in a stout pair of English corded 
"knickers,'" I received a verv severe cut 
close upon the knee cap (the mark of which 
I carry to this day) and I was thereafter 
only able tf) crawl to where the elk was held 
at bay by the assistance of the greyhound. 
THE "COUP DE grace" " 
followed, and do not wish ever again to hear 
that "uncanny" cry when my blade 
struck his heart and he bounded high 
up into the air, falling dead at my feet. 
He turned out to be a magnificent specimen 
of tlie .Spiked Buck very rare in those days 
in Ceylon. The head was mounted and 
adorned Mattakelle bungalow along with so 
many other trophies of the chase ; but I was 
promised that it should eventually find a place 
in my own house whenever I had the good 
fortune to settle down in this country ; and 
one of tJie very latest letters I had from 
my late noble friend was to the effect that 
the head of my fSpiked Buck would be sent to 
Scotland by an early opportunity. But it has 
never reached me. 
To finish my story. Making tracks for the 
bungalow, as best I could in my crippled 
state, I had not proceeded far, before 
ANOTHER DANGER 
lay in my path for my attention was soon 
drawn to the presence of three semi-wild 
buffaloes who came trotting along in our di- 
rection with up-raised heads looking as savage 
as only those brutes can look when raised. 
A means of concealment fortunately was 
close at hand, and into an open drain I 
dropped unperceived, dragging my grey- 
hound on the top of me, and with deep feelings 
of relief allowed these creatures to pass to lee- 
ward within about 30 yards of where we 
lay, and move out of sight. When I did 
manage to reach Mattakelle, exhausted with 
pain, I received much kind attention from Dr. 
D — then resident Surgeon of the dis trict — and 
who I am glad to know is still in Cevlon. 
By his orders I was laid up forseveral days ; 
thereafter when convalescent travelling on 
to Kandy where I was due to take part in 
an iniportant Cricket match, — Colombo vs. 
Planters. Tims ended the most enjoyable 
holiday I ever had in the Island of Ceylon. 
"W. G." 
