The spearmen were in advance, and the axemen were
divided into two parties, one on either flank, with an equal number of
ropemen.
The instant that he charged the whole body of men ran forward
at full speed to meet him; still he continued his furious onset,
undismayed by the yells of a hundred men. The spearmen halted when
within twenty yards, then turned and fled; this had been agreed upon
beforehand. The elephant passed the two flanks of axemen in pursuit of
the flying enemy; the axemen immediately closed in behind him, led by
the husband of the murdered girl. By a well-directed blow upon the hind
leg, full of revenge, this active fellow divided the sinew in the first
joint above the foot.* (*Since this was written I have seen the African
elephant disabled by one blow of a sharp sword as described in the "Nile
Tributaries of Abyssinia.") That instant the elephant fell upon his
knees, but recovered himself directly, and endeavoured to turn upon his
pursuers; a dozen axes flashed in the sunbeams, as the strokes were
aimed at the other hind leg. It was the work of an instant: the massive
limb bent powerless under him, and he fell in a sitting posture, utterly
helpless, but roaring with mad and impotent fury. The ropemen now threw
nooses over his trunk and head; his struggles, although tremendous, were
in vain; fifty men, hanging their weight upon several ropes attached to
his trunk, rendered that dreaded weapon powerless. The sharp lances were
repeatedly driven into his side, and several of the boldest hunters
climbing up the steep ascent of his back, an axe was seen to fall
swiftly and repeatedly upon his spine, on the nape of his tough neck.
The giant form suddenly sank; the spine was divided, and the avenging
blow was dealt by the husband of his late victim. The destroyer was no
more. The victory was gained without the loss of a man.'
The natives said that this elephant was mad; if so it may account in
some measure for the unheard-of occurrence of an elephant devouring
flesh. Both elephants and buffaloes attack man from malice alone,
without the slightest idea of making a meal of him. This portion of the
headman's story I cannot possibly believe, although he swears to it. The
elephant may, perhaps, have cracked her head and torn his victim to
pieces in the manner described, but the actual 'eating' is incredible.
CHAPTER VI.
Character of the Veddahs--Description of the Veddahs--A Monampitya
Rogue--Attacking the Rogue--Breathless Excitement--Death of a Large
Rogue--Utility of the Four-ounce--A Curious Shot--Fury of a Bull
Buffalo--Character of the Wild Buffalo--Buffalo-shooting at Minneria
Lake--Charge in High Reeds--Close of a Good Day's Sport--Last Day at
Minneria--A Large Snake--An Unpleasant Bedfellow.
Doolana is upon the very verge of the most northern point of the Veddah
country, the whole of which wild district is the finest part of Ceylon
for sport. Even to this day few Europeans have hunted these secluded
wilds. The wandering Veddah, with his bow and arrows, is occasionally
seen roaming through his wilderness in search of deer, but the report of
a native's gun is never heard; the game is therefore comparatively
undisturbed. I have visited every portion of this fine sporting country,
and since I have acquired the thorough knowledge of its attractions, I
have made up my mind never to shoot anywhere but there. The country is
more open than in most parts of Ceylon, and the perfect wildness of the
whole district is an additional charm.
The dimensions of the Veddah country are about eighty miles from north
to south, by forty in width. A fine mountain, known as the 'Gunner's
Coin,' is an unmistakable landmark upon the northern boundary. From this
point a person may ride for forty miles without seeing a sign of a
habitation; the whole country is perfectly uncivilised, and its scanty
occupants, the 'Veddahs,' wander about like animals, without either
home, laws, or religion.
I have frequently read absurd descriptions of their manners and customs,
which must evidently have been gathered from hearsay, and not from a
knowledge of the people. It is a commonly believed report that the
Veddahs 'live in the trees,' and a stranger immediately confuses them
with rooks and monkeys. Whoever first saw Veddah huts in the trees would
have discovered, upon enquiry, that they were temporary watch-houses,
from which they guard a little plot of korrakan from the attacks of
elephants and other wild beasts. Far from LIVING in the trees, they live
nowhere; they wander over the face of their beautiful country, and
migrate to different parts at different seasons, with the game which
they are always pursuing. The seasons in Ceylon vary in an extraordinary
manner, considering the small size of the island. The wet season in one
district is the dry season in another, and vice versa. Wherever the dry
weather prevails, the pasturage is dried up; the brooks and pools are
mere sandy gullies and pits. The Veddah watches at some solitary hole
which still contains a little water, and to this the deer and every
species of Ceylon game resort. Here his broad-headed arrow finds a
supply. He dries the meat in long strips in the sun, and cleaning out
some hollow tree, he packs away his savoury mass of sun-cooked flesh,
and fills up the reservoir with wild honey; he then stops up the
aperture with clay.
The last drop of water evaporates, the deer leave the country and
migrate into other parts where mountains attract the rain and the
pasturage is abundant. The Veddah burns the parched grass wherever he
passes, and the country is soon a blackened surface--not a blade of
pasture remains; but the act of burning ensures a sweet supply shortly
after the rains commence, to which the game and the Veddahs will then
return.
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