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The Rifle and the Hound in Ceylon by Sir Samuel White Baker
page 113 of 283 (39%)
the position of the tent, I rode homewards. The plain appeared deserted,
and I rode for three or four miles along the shores of the lake without
seeing a head of game. At length, when within about three miles of the
encampment, I saw a small herd of five buffaloes and three half-grown
calves standing upon a narrow point of muddy ground which projected for
some distance into the lake.

I immediately rode towards them, and upon approaching to within sixty
yards, I found they consisted of three cows, two bulls, and three
calves. I had advanced towards them upon the neck of land upon which
they stood; there was, therefore, no retreat for them unless they took
to the water. They perceived this themselves, but they preferred the
bolder plan of charging through all opposition and then reaching the
main land. After a few preliminary grunts and tosses of the head, one of
the bulls charged straight at me at full gallop; he was not followed by
his companions, who were still irresolute; and, when within forty yards,
he sprang high in the air, and pitching upon his horns, he floundered
upon his back as the rifle-ball passed through his neck and broke his
spine. I immediately commenced reloading, but the ball was only half-way
down the barrel when the remaining bull, undismayed by the fate of his
companion, rushed on at full speed. Snatching the long two-ounce rifle
from a gun-bearer, I made a lucky shot. The ball must have passed
through his heart, as he fell stone dead.

The three cows remained passive spectators of the death of their mates,
although I was convinced by their expression that they would eventually
show fight. I was soon reloaded, and not wishing to act simply on the
defensive, and thus run the risk of a simultaneous onset, I fired at the
throat of the most vicious of the party. The two-ounce ball produced no
other effect than an immediate charge. She bounded towards me, and,
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