Our tins of provisions were consumed at
dinner, leaving us only two remaining.
Not a moment was to be lost in
pushing forward; and we determined upon a long march on the following
day.
Nov. 25.--Sunrise saw us in the saddles. The coolies, with the tents and
baggage, kept close up with the horses, being afraid to lag behind, as
there was not a semblance of a path, and we depended entirely upon our
small guide, who appeared to have an intimate knowledge of the whole
country. The little Veddah trotted along through the winding glades; and
we travelled for about five miles without a word being spoken by one of
the party, as we were in hopes of coming upon deer. Unfortunately, we
were travelling down wind; we accordingly did not see a single head of
game, as they of course winded us long before we came in view.
We had ridden about eight miles, when we suddenly came upon the fresh
tracks of elephants, and, immediately dismounting, we began to track up.
The ground being very dry, and the grass short and parched, the tracks
were very indistinct, and it was tedious work. We had followed for about
half a mile through alternate glades and belts of jungle, when we
suddenly spied a Veddah hiding behind a tree about sixty yards from us.
The moment that he saw he was discovered, he set off at full speed, but
two of our coolies, who acted as gunbearers, started after him.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 296 of 343
Words from 78709 to 78962
of 91283
