56 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS 
CHAP. 
matter ; many animals charge when infuriated, but 
they can generally be turned by the stunning 
effect of a rifle shot, even though they may not 
be mortally wounded; but a buffalo is a devil 
incarnate when it has once decided upon the 
offensive. Nothing will then turn it; it must be 
actually ' stopped by death, sudden and instant¬ 
aneous, as nothing else will stop it. 
If not killed, it will assuredly destroy its ad¬ 
versary. There is no creature in existence that 
is so determined to stamp out the life of its 
opponents, and the intensity of fury is unsurpassed 
when a wounded bull buffalo rushes forward 
upon the last desperate charge. Should it suc¬ 
ceed in overthrowing its antagonist, it will not 
only gore the body with its horns, but it will 
endeavour to tear it to pieces, and will kneel upon 
the lifeless form, and stamp it with its hoofs until 
the mutilated remains are disfigured beyond all 
recognition. 
I have killed some hundreds of these animals, 
and I never regret their destruction, as they are 
naturally vicious and most dangerous brutes, 
whose ferocity is totally uncalled for. The Bos 
Caffer and the ordinary buffalo of Ceylon are 
about equal in pugnacity, and the duels between 
the bulls are a magnificent display of taurine 
strength and determination. 
In such trials of strength the vanquished party 
generally retreats at full speed, followed for a 
certain distance by its adversary, who endeavours 
