cour
each other. This renders the dog a more cherished companion than he is
considered in England, where his qualities are not of so important a
nature; and it makes the loss of a good hound more deeply felt by his
master.

Having thus described the general character of Ceylon sports in all
branches, I shall conclude by a detailed journal of one trip of a few
weeks in the low country, which will at once explain the whole minutiae
of the shooting in the island. This journal is taken from a small diary
which has frequently accompanied me on these excursions, containing
little memoranda which, by many, might be considered tedious. The daily
account of the various incidents of a trip will, at all events, give a
faithful picture of the jungle sports.

CHAPTER XII.

A JUNGLE TRIP.

ON November 16, 1851 I started from Kandy, accompanied by my brother,
Lieutenant V. Baker,* (*Now Colonel Valentine Baler, late 10th Hussars.)
then of the Ceylon Rifle Regiment. Having sent on our horses from Newera
Ellia some days previous, as far as Matille, sixteen miles from Kandy,
we drove there early in the morning, and breakfasted with F. Layard,
Esq., who was then assistant government agent. It had rained without
ceasing during twenty-four hours, and hoping that the weather might
change, we waited at Matille till two o'clock P.M. The rain still poured
in torrents, and giving up all ideas of fine weather, we started.

The horses were brought round, and old Jack knew as well as I did that
he was starting for a trip, as the tether rope was wound round his neck,
and the horse-cloth was under his saddle. The old horse was sleek and
in fine condition for a journey, and, without further loss of time, we
started for Dambool, a distance of thirty-one miles. Not wishing to
be benighted, we cantered the whole way, and completed the distance in
three hours and a half, as we arrived at Dambool at half-past five P.M.

I had started off Wallace and all the coolies from Newera Ellia about a
week beforehand; and, having instructed him to leave a small box with a
change of clothes at the Dambool rest-house, I now felt the benefit of
the arrangement. The horsekeepers could not possibly arrive that night.
We therefore cleaned and fed our own horses, and littered them down
with a good bed of paddy straw; and, that being completed, we turned our
attention to curry and rice.

The next morning at break of day we fed the horses. Old Jack was as
fresh a