Both Dog And Buck
Were For A Few Moments Beneath The Water; When They Reappeared, The Old
Dog Was Hanging On His Ear!
Merriman at once had him by the other ear;
and one after another the seizers held him.
In vain he tried to drown
them off by diving; as his head again rose above the surface, the dogs
were at their places: his struggles were useless, and the knife finished
him.
We now searched the jungle for Tiptoe's body, expecting to find him dead
where we had last seen him enter the jungle. Upon searching the spot, we
found him lying down, with his bowels in a heap by his side; the
quantity would have filled a cap. The hole in his side was made-by a
blow from the buck's hoof, and not being more than two inches in length,
strangulation had taken place, and I could not return the bowels. The
dog was still alive, though very faint. Fortunately we had a
small-bladed knife, with which I carefully enlarged the aperture, and,
having cleaned the bowels from the dirt and dead leaves which had
adhered to them, I succeeded in returning them; although I expected the
dog's death every instant. Taking off my neck tie, I made a pad, with
which I secured the aperture, and bound him tightly round with a
handkerchief. Making a sling with a couple of jackets upon a pole, we
placed the dog carefully, within it, and carried him home. By dressing
the wound every day with margosse oil, and keeping the pad and bandage
in the place, to my astonishment the dog recovered, and he is now as
well as ever he was, with the exception of the loss of one eye, which
was knocked out by the horn of an elk on another. occasion.
The margosse oil that I have mentioned is a most valuable balsam for
wounds, having a peculiar smell, which prevents the attacks of flies,
who would otherwise blow the sore and occasion a nest of maggots in a
few hours. This oil is very healing, and soon creates a healthy
appearance in a bad cut. It is manufactured from the fruit of a plant in
Ceylon, but I have never met with it in the possession of an English
medical man. The smell of this oil is very offensive, even worse than
assafoetida, which it in some degree resembles. There are many medicinal
plants in Ceylon of great value, which, although made use of by the
natives, are either neglected or unknown to the profession in our own
country. One of the wild fruits of the jungle, the wood-apple or wild
quince, is very generally used by the natives in attacks of diarrhoea
and dysentery in the early stages of the disease; this has been used for
some years by English medical men in this island, but with no very
satisfactory effect.
CHAPTER IX.
A Morning's Deer-coursing--Kondawataweny--Rogue at Kondawa taweny--A
Close Shave--Preparations for Catching an Elephant--Catching an
Elephant--Taming Him--Flying Shot at a Buck--Cave at
Dimbooldene--Awkward Ground--A Charmed Life.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 102 of 177
Words from 52107 to 52632
of 91283
