after a chase of a few
yards he pulled her down. This is the only instance that I have ever
known of an elk entering a building, although it is a common occurrence
with hunted deer in England. An elk found on the top of Pedro talla
Galla, which rises from the plain of Newera Ellia, will generally run
straight down the mountain, and, unless headed, he will frequently come
to bay in the river close to the hotel, which is situated at the foot of
the mountain. This, however, is not a rule without an exception, as the
elk on some occasions takes a totally different direction, and gives a
hard day's work. It was on July 27, 1852, that I had a run of this kind.
It was six A.M. when my youngest brother and I started from the foot
of Pedro to ascend the mountain. The path is three miles long, through
jungle the whole way to the summit. There were fresh tracks of elk near
the top of the mountain; the dew lay heavily upon the leaves, and the
scent was evidently strong, as Merriman and Ploughboy, the two leading
hounds, dashed off upon it, followed by the whole pack. In a few minutes
we heard them in full cry about a quarter of a mile from us, going
straight down the hill. Giving them a good holloa, we started off down
the path at a round pace, and in less than a quarter of an hour we were
at the foot of the mountain on the plain. Here we found a number of
people who had headed the elk (a fine buck) just as he was breaking
cover, and he had turned back, taking off to some other line of country
at a great pace, as we could not hear even a whimper. This was enough
to make a saint swear, and, blessing heartily the fellows who had headed
him, we turned back and retraced our steps up the mountain to listen for
the cry of the pack among the numerous ravines which furrow the sides.

It was of no use; we could hear nothing but the mocking chirp of birds
and the roaring of the mountain torrents. Not a sign of elk or dogs.
The greyhounds were away with the pack, and knowing that the dogs would
never leave him till dark, we determined not to give them up. No less
than three times in the course of the day did we reascend the mountain
to listen for them in vain. We went up to the top of the Newera Ellia
Pass, in the hope of hearing them in that direction, but with the same
want of success. Miles of ground were gone over to no purpose. Scaling
the steep sides of the mountains at the back of the barracks, we
listened among the deep hollows on the