Not Fifty Paces Now Separated The Buck From The
Jungle, And With Prodigious Bounds He Sped Along; He Neared It; He Won
It!
The yielding branches crashed before him, but the dogs were at his
haunches as the jungle closed over them and concealed the chase.
I was soon up; and upon entering the jungle, I could neither hear nor
see anything of them, but, by following up the track, I found them about
fifty yards from the entrance of the bush. The buck was standing on the
sandy bed of a dry stream, endeavouring in vain to free himself, while
the greyhounds pinned his nose to the ground, each hanging upon his
ears. The knife finished him immediately. There never was a more
exciting course; it had been nobly run by both the dogs, and well
contested by the buck, who was a splendid fellow and in fine condition.
On my way to the tent I wounded a doe at full speed, which Lena followed
singly and pulled down, thus securing our coolies a good supply of
venison. The flesh of the spotted deer is more like mutton than English
venison, and is excellent eating; it would be still better if the
climate would allow of its being kept for a few days.
There is no sport in Ceylon, in my opinion, that is equal to
deer-coursing, but the great difficulty attending it, is the lack of
good greyhounds. The spotted buck (or axis) is an animal of immense
power and courage; and although most greyhounds would course him, very
few would have sufficient courage and strength to hold him, unless
slipped two brace at a time, which would immediately spoil the sport.
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