The Man Instinctively Threw His Left
Arm Forward To Receive The Bear, Who Seized It In His Mouth And Bit The
Thumb Completely Off, Lacerating The Arm And Wrist At The Same Time In A
Frightful Manner.
With one blow of the bill-hook the Moorman cleft the
bear's skull to the teeth, at the same time gashing his own arm to the
bone by the force of the blow; and he never afterwards recovered the
proper use of the limb.
The Ceylon bear feeds upon almost anything that offers; he eats honey,
ants, fruit, roots, and flesh whenever he can procure it: his muscular
power is enormous, and he exerts both teeth and claws in his attack.
They are very numerous in Ceylon, although they are seldom met with in
any number, owing to their nocturnal habits, which attract them to their
caves at break of day.
After strolling over the country for some miles, we came upon fresh
elephant-tracks in high grass, which we immediately followed up. In the
course of half an hour, after tracking them for about two miles through
open country, we entered a fine forest, in which the herd had retired;
but our hopes of meeting them in this favourable ground were suddenly
damped by arriving at a dense chenar jungle in the very heart of the
forest. This chenar extended for some acres, and rose like a hedge,
forming a sudden wall of thorns, which effectually checked our advance.
The elephants had retired to this secure retreat, and having winded us
they kept up an uninterrupted roaring.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 238 of 343
Words from 63252 to 63516
of 91283
