He Was About Sixteen Years Of Age; And By
Starving For Two Days, And Subsequent Gentle Treatment, The Natives
Mounted And Rode Him On The Third Day Of His Capture, Taking The
Precaution, However, Of First Securing His Trunk.
This elephant was then
worth fifteen pounds to be sold to the Arabs for the Indian market.
After a stay of a few days in this neighbourhood, during which we had
good sport in elephant-shooting, we returned to the Park country. The
first evening of our return, we heard elephants roaring in the jungle
within a short distance of the tent. At daybreak the next morning we
were on their tracks, and after a walk of five miles we found them in
thick thorny jungle, and only killed three. We had a long day's work,
and we were returning home in the afternoon when we suddenly observed a
herd of deer grazing in the beautiful park. The headman of this part of
the country is a first-rate sportsman, and has always accompanied me in
shooting through this district. This man, whose name is Banda, is the
only Cingalese that I have ever seen who looks like a man of good birth
in his nation. Strikingly handsome and beautifully proportioned, with
the agility of a deer, he is in all respects the beau ideal of a native
hunter. His skill in tracking is superb, and his thorough knowledge of
the habits of all Ceylon animals, especially of elephants, renders him a
valuable ally to a sportsman.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 211 of 343
Words from 56085 to 56340
of 91283
