He was a splendid fellow; his nostrils were distended, his mane was bristled up, and his eyes flashed, as, rearing to his full height, he plunged forward and struck the leading dogs under the water.Not a dog could touch him; one by one they were beaten down and half-drowned beneath the water.Old Smut was to the front as usual: down the old dog was beaten, but he reappeared behind the elk's shoulder, and the next moment he was hanging on his ear.The poor old dog had lost so many of his teeth in these encounters that he could not keep his hold, and the buck gave a tremendous spring forward, shaking off the old dog and charging through the pack, sinking nearly half of them for a few moments beneath the water.He had too much pluck to fly farther, and, after wading shoulder-deep against the stream for a few yards, he turned majestically round, and, facing the baying pack, he seemed determined to do or die.I never saw a finer animal; there was a proud look of defiance in his aspect that gave him a most noble appearance; but at that time he had little pity bestowed upon him.
There he stood ready to meet the first dog.Old Smut had been thrown to the rear as the buck turned, and Lena came beautifully to the front, leading the whole pack.There was a shallow sandbank in the river where the bitch could get a footing, and she dashed across it to the attack.
The buck met her in her-advance by a sudden charge, which knocked her over and over, but at the same instant Valiant, who is a fine, powerful dog, made a clever spring forward and pinned the buck by the ear.There was no shaking him off, and he was immediately backed up by Ploughboy, who caught the other ear most cleverly.There the two dogs hung like ear-rings as the buck, rearing up, swung them to and fro, but could not break their hold.In another moment the greyhounds were upon him-the whole pack covered him; his beautiful form was seen alternately rearing from the water with the dogs hanging upon him in all directions, then struggling in a confused mass nearly beneath the surface of the stream.
He was a brave fellow, and had fought nobly, but there was no hope for him, and we put an end to the fight with the hunting-knife.
It was past four o'clock P.M., and he had been found at seven A.M., but the conclusion fully repaid us for the day's work.The actual distance run by the buck was not above eight miles, but we had gone about twenty during the day, the greater portion of which was over most fatiguing ground.
On an open country an elk would never be caught without greyhounds until he had run fifteen or twenty miles.The dense jungles fatigue him as he ploughs his way through them, and thus forms a path for the dogs behind him.How he can move in some of these jungles is an enigma; a horse would break his legs, and, in fact, could not stir in places through which an elk passes in full gallop.
The principal underwood in the mountain districts of Ceylon is the 'nillho.' This is a perfectly straight stem, from twelve to twenty feet in length, and about an inch and a half in diameter, having no branches except a few small arms at the top, which are covered with large leaves.
This plant, in proportion to its size, grows as close as corn in a field, and forms a dense jungle most difficult to penetrate.When the jungles are in this state, the elk is at a disadvantage, as the immense exertion required to break his way through this mass soon fatigues him, and forces him to come to bay.
Every seven years this 'nillho' blossoms.The jungles are then neither more nor less than vast bouquets of bright purple and white flowers; the perfume is delicious, and swarms of bees migrate from other countries to make their harvest of honey.The quantity collected is extraordinary.
The bee-hunters start from the low country, and spend weeks in the jungle in collecting the honey and wax.When looking over an immense tract of forest from some elevated point, the thin blue lines of smoke may be seen rising in many directions, marking the sites of the bee-hunters fires.Their method of taking the honey is simple enough.
The bees' nests hang from the boughs of the trees, and a man ascends with a torch of green leaves, which creates a dense smoke.He approaches the nest and smokes off the swarm, which, on quitting the exterior of the comb, exposes a beautiful circular mass of honey and wax, generally about eighteen inches in diameter and six inches thick.The bee-hunter being provided with vessels formed from the rind of the gourd attached to ropes, now cuts up the comb and fills his chatties, lowering them down to his companions below.
When the blossom of the nillho fades, the seed forms; this is a sweet little kernel, with the flavour of a nut.The bees now leave the country, and the jungles suddenly swarm, as though by magic, with pigeons, jungle-fowl, and rats.At length the seed is shed and the nillho dies.
