The Rifle and Hound in Ceylong | Page 6

behind the ear.

Although the African elephant with his magnificent tusks is a higher
type than that of Ceylon, I look back to the hunting of my younger days
with unmixed pleasure. Friends with whom I enjoyed those sports are
still alive, and are true friends always, thus exemplifying that peculiar
freemasonry which unites the hearts of sportsmen.
After a life of rough experience in wild countries, I have found some
pleasure in referring to the events of my early years, and recalling the
recollection of many scenes that would have passed away had they not
been chronicled. I therefore trust that although the brightest days of
Ceylon sports may have somewhat faded by the diminution of the game,
there may be Nimrods (be they young or old) who will still discover
some interest in the `Rifle and Hound in Ceylon.'
S. W. BAKER.
INTRODUCTION.
THE LOVE OF SPORT is a feeling inherent in most Englishmen, and
whether in the chase, or with the rod or gun, they far excel all other
nations. In fact, the definition of this feeling cannot be understood by
many foreigners. We are frequently ridiculed for fox-hunting: 'What for
all dis people, dis horses, dis many dog? dis leetle (how you call him?)
dis "fox" for to catch? ha! you eat dis creature; he vary fat and fine?'
This is a foreigner's notion of the chase; he hunts for the pot; and by
Englishmen alone is the glorious feeling shared of true, fair, and manly
sport. The character of the nation is beautifully displayed in all our
rules for hunting, shooting, fishing, fighting, etc.; a feeling of fair play
pervades every amusement. Who would shoot a hare in form? who
would net a trout stream? who would hit a man when down? A
Frenchman would do all these things, and might be no bad fellow after
all. It would be HIS way of doing it. His notion would be to make use
of an advantage when an opportunity offered. He would think it folly to
give the hare a chance of running when he could shoot her sitting; he
would make an excellent dish of all the trout he could snare; and as to
hitting his man when down, he would think it madness to allow him to
get up again until he had put him hors de combat by jumping on him.

Their notions of sporting and ours, then, widely differ; they take every
advantage, while we give every advantage; they delight in the certainty
of killing, while our pleasure consists in the chance of the animal
escaping.
I would always encourage the love of sport in a lad; guided by its true
spirit of fair play, it is a feeling that will make him above doing a mean
thing in every station of life, and will give him real feelings of
humanity. I have had great experience in the characters of thorough
sportsmen, who are generally straightforward, honourable men, who
would scorn to take a dirty advantage of man or animal. In fact, all real
sportsmen that I have met have been tender-hearted men--who shun
cruelty to an animal, and are easily moved by a tale of distress.
With these feelings, sport is an amusement worthy of a man, and this
noble taste has been extensively developed since the opportunities of
travelling have of late years been so wonderfully improved. The facility
with which the most remote regions are now reached, renders a tour
over some portion of the globe a necessary adjunct to a man's education;
a sportsman naturally directs his path to some land where civilisation
has not yet banished the wild beast from the soil.
Ceylon is a delightful country for the sporting tourist. In the high road
to India and China, any length of time may be spent en passant, and the
voyage by the Overland route is nothing but a trip of a few weeks of
pleasure.
This island has been always celebrated for its elephants, but the other
branches of sport are comparatively unknown to strangers. No account
has ever been written which embraces all Ceylon sports: anecdotes of
elephant-shooting fill the pages of nearly every work on Ceylon; but
the real character of the wild sports of this island has never been
described, because the writers have never been acquainted with each
separate branch of the Ceylon chase.
A residence of many years in this lovely country, where the wild sports
of the island have formed a never-failing and constant amusement,
alone confers sufficient experience to enable a person to give a faithful

picture of both shooting and hunting in Ceylon jungles.
In describing these sports I shall give no anecdotes of others, but I shall
simply recall scenes in which I myself have shared, preferring even a
character