54 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WA YS 
CHAP. 
fowl. The principal tenants of the plain were wild 
buffaloes. 
“ A herd of about a hundred were lying in a 
swampy hollow about a quarter of a mile from us. 
Several single bulls were dotted about the green 
surface of the level plain, and on the opposite 
shores of the lake were many dark patches 
undistinguishable in the distance; these were in 
reality herds of buffaloes. There was not a sound 
in the wide expanse before us, except the harsh 
cry of the water-fowl that our presence had already 
disturbed. ... Not a breath of air moved the 
leaves which shadowed us, and the whole scene 
was that of undisturbed nature. The sun had 
now sunk low upon the horizon, and the air was 
comparatively cool. The multitude of buffaloes 
enchanted us, and with our two light double-barrels 
we advanced to the attack of the herd before us.” 
I have extracted this passage as a picture of 
the hunter’s paradise, which I so well remember, 
but which now exists as a scene still lovely, but 
almost devoid of game. 
In those days the buffaloes were quite unso¬ 
phisticated, as they were never disturbed ; the plain 
was their territory. I will not repeat what has 
already been published in the Rifle and Hound in 
Ceylon , but that first interview with the buffaloes, 
when we (my late brother and I) “advanced to 
attack the herd before us,” very nearly wound 
up my early experience of shikar. 
. The “two light double-barrels” were quite 
