Although I have seen elephants in nearly every position, I have
never seen one inextricably fixed in a swamp. This is the more
extraordinary as their habits induce them to frequent the most
extensive morasses, deep lakes, muddy tanks and estuaries, and
yet I have never seen even a young one get into a scrape by being
overwhelmed. There appears to be a natural instinct which warns
them in their choice of ground, the same as that which influences
the buffalo, and in like manner guides him through his swampy
haunts.
It is a grand sight to see a large herd of elephants feeding in a
fine lake in broad daylight. This is seldom witnessed in these
days, as the number of guns have so disturbed the elephants in
Ceylon that they rarely come out to drink until late in the
evening or during the night; but some time ago I had a fine view
of a grand herd in a lake in the middle of the day.
I was out shooting with a great friend of mine, who is a
brother-in-arms against the game of Ceylon, and than whom a
better sportsman does not breathe, and we had arrived at a wild
and miserable place while en route home after a jungle trip.
Neither of us was feeling well; we had been for some weeks in the
most unhealthy part of the country, and I was just recovering
from a touch of dysentery: altogether, we were looking forward
with pleasure to our return to comfortable quarters, and for the
time we were tired of jungle life. However, we arrived at a
little village about sixty miles south of Batticaloa, called
"Gollagangwelléwevé" (pronunciation requires practice), and a
very long name it was for so small a place; but the natives
insisted that a great number of elephants were in the
neighborhood.
They also declared that the elephants infested the neighboring
tank even during the forenoon, and that they nightly destroyed
their embankment, and would not be driven away, as there was not
a single gun possessed by the village with which to scare them.
This looked all right; so we loaded the guns and started without
loss of time, as it was then one P. M., and the natives described
the tank as a mile distant. Being perfectly conversant with the
vague idea of space described by a Cingalese mile, we mounted our
horses, and, accompanied by about five-and-twenty villagers,
twenty of whom I wished at Jericho, we started. By the by, I
have quite forgotten to describe who "we" are - F. H. Palliser,
Esq., and myself.
Whether or not it was because I did not feel in brisk health, I
do not know, but somehow or other I had a presentiment that the
natives had misled us, and that we should not find the elephants
in the tank, but that, as usual, we should be led tip to some
dense, thorny jungle, and told that the elephants were somewhere
in that direction. Not being very sanguine, I had accordingly
taken no trouble about my gun-bearers, and I saw several of my
rifles in the bands of the villagers, and only one of my regular
gun-bearers had followed me; the rest, having already had a
morning's march, were glad of an excuse to remain behind.
Our rate lay for about a quarter of a mile through deserted
paddy-land and low jungle, after which we entered fine open
jungle and forest. Unfortunately, the recent heavy rains bad
filled the tank, which had overflowed the broken dam and
partially flooded the forest. This was in all parts within two
hundred yards from the dam a couple of feet deep in water, with a
proportionate amount of sticky mud beneath, and through this we
splashed until the dam appeared about fifty yards on our right.
It was a simple earthen mound, which rose about ten feet from the
level of the forest, and was studded with immense trees,
apparently the growth of ages. We knew that the tank lay on the
opposite side, but we continued our course parallel with the dam
until we bad ridden about a mile from the village, the natives,
for a wonder, having truly described the distance.
Here our guide, having motioned us to stop, ran quickly up the
dam to take a look out on the opposite side. He almost
immediately beckoned us to come up. This we did without loss of
time, and knowing that the game was in view, I ordered the horses
to retire for about a quarter of a mile.
On our arrival on the dam there was a fine sight. The lake was
about five miles round, and was quite full of water, the surface
of which was covered with a scant, but tall, rushy grass. In the
lake, browsing upon the grass, we counted twenty-three elephants,
and there were many little ones, no doubt, that we could not
distinguish in such rank vegetation. Five large elephants were
not more than a hundred and twenty paces distant; the remaining
eighteen were in a long line about a quarter of a mile from the
shore, feeding in deep water.
We were well concealed by the various trees which grew upon the
dam, and we passed half an hour in watching the manoeuvres of the
great beasts as they bathed and sported in the cool water.
However, this was not elephant-shooting, and the question was,
how to get at them? The natives had no idea of the sport, as
they seemed to think it very odd that we did not fire at those
within a hundred paces' distance.
