St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-04-17
CEYLON'S BIG GAME.
The Wary Elephant a Dangerous
Beast When Aroused to
Anger.
Not Much on the Run, but q
Fearless and Desperate
Fighter.
San Francisco Chronicle.

y
namon-perfuIned isle OF the Indian
ocean. Mr.. Templeton is great
sportsman, and, being wealthy man,
he has been able to spare plenty of time
for shooting and hunting the many va
rieties OF wild beasts found in the dense
jungleJ of Ceylon. He has large planta-
lions in tile slOping country near Handy,
the. ancient capital, and various other
interests in other parts of the island.
He came to this country few weeks
ago on private business connected with
a legacy beQueathed him by a relative
i'll Denver, and is now awaiting the
next China steamer to return to Cey-
Ion.
To readers OF sporting literature of
the East Mr.. Templet0n's prowesS with
| the rifle is we'll known. Twenty years
ago his name was household word in
| the officers meSSrOOmS In Colombo in
all matters pertaining to wild and dar-
ing sports OF the mountain and forest.
Mr.. iempletOn was approached Oh his
| favOrite hobby by Chronicle reporter
| at the Palace hotel yesterday, and al
though at first unwilling to become the
| subject OF newspaper EOtOriety he soon
| thaWed out under the warming in flu
ence of old hunting memories, and told
some interesting stories of life with the
gun in Ceylon.
"When first went to coffee planting,
nearly thirty years ago." said Mr.. Tenn
pletOn, my first expedition was one of
exploration and discovery as much as
sport There was party of US, all
experienced men, with many n0tcheS
in their rifle stocks. We were some
months away. and l was so much taken
with the beauty of tie country that l
would gladly have delayed our return
indefinitely. We went right away to
the north among the high mount
aims, and the scenery and the
beautiful country did mucn to convince
me that there was some truth in the old
Cingalese legend that the Garden of
Eden was there. From that legend the
chain OF rocks connecting India and
Ceylon- and over which our first par.
ents are said 10 have passed when
driven out of Eden-iS called Adams
bridge. The high mountains OF kiri-
gallOpocta and TOtapella are the cul-
mlnaLing points of some of the most
glorious mountain scenery in the world.
10 return to the subject OF hunting,
however, it is sufficient TO say that we
were having fairly good luck in bagging
some smaller game, but up to that time
had not beaten the jungle for anything
large. Leaving the nelghbOrhOOd of the
DlmOo coffee plantations, where we
had been living III comparative civiliZa-
ton, we struck out for the Elk Plain hills.
We found plenty of boar tracks and our
hounds had pretty hard time hunting
tElS dangerous animal. They grow very
large in some parts, fattenlng upon the
nuts and cones OF the forest. [ have
seen large Wild boar tip the scales at
43O pounds. They often roam about in
groves OF 2OO or 300 ami are fOrmida-
Dle army to encounter. That trip lasted
three mOntnS, and provided ME with
mucn valuable experience, which | was
aiterWard able to utilize 10 good ad-
vantage when hunting by myself
Elephant hunting is the acme of the
Angio-Clngalese sportsman's ambition,
and 1t was in this branch that endeav-
Ored TO 40 something out of the way.
These animals in their wild state are
terribly destructive, and about thirty
years ago, when they were so plentiful,
bounty was paid to the natives for
their slaughter. The government paid
the men 1C shillings a tail, which was
afterWard reduced to seven shilIings,
and even then they were SO thick that
the natives who took up the trade of
elephant shooting made quite little
fortune.
"The biggest bag ever made, to my
knowledge, was that Of three firSt-claSs
shots, armed with weapons, who were
out three days and brought In 1O4 tails.
The CingaleSe elephants have, usually
speaking, no tuSks. A bull with tuskS
is a rarity, and is scarcely ever seen.
although the elephant is the largest
animal in the world, it is all eXtraOrdi-
nary fact that ne is very difficult to see,
and the huntsman often often finds
himself clofe up to the quarry without
previously knowing it. The color of
the elephant closely resembles the sur
rounding jungle, and ill the gloom
of the forest they are oft
ell unnoticed. Hidden among the
OW branches the huge legs look
like tree Stumps, and the beast becomes
apparently part OF the forest. They are
very hard to kill. without the would-be
killer is close enough to take deliberate
aim at a vital spot. l have shot ele-
plants with several bullet marks upon
their hide and balls imbedded in their
anatomy, proving that they had been
the unframed targets Of many hunters
before ME.
The native hunter is merciess in
pursuit Of his prey. He will track the
until he runs them down, and by night
he will lie in walt for them at the drink
ing places. have shot most of my ele-
phants at short range, this being the
only way TO make sure of them. TO do
this 1t is necessary to use much art and
stealth, for your elephant is wary
brute ana always suspicious.
lin All open space i'll the jungle. along
the banks of the Tale river, found a
favorite watering place where the man.
moths appeared to come often to drink,
and hiding myself in the trees about
dusk, l awaited the coming of the thirsty
herd. The moon was we'll up and shin
ing on the wide waters before there
were any signs of approach.
Then in the distance the loud trum-
peting of the bulls could be heard, and |
soon after about forty of all sizes came |
swinging along, their heavy moving
bodies shaking the earth. Into the |
cool water they went, spiashing and |
snorting. in full enjoyment of their |
evening bath. l was ready for their
return with my arsenal OF rifles in
charge of Il native servant. 1t was use
less 10 trust to relOading, as the instant |
the alarm was given they would scamp
er off into their dark jungle Businesses.
In about fifteen minutes the leader gave
the signal to leave and the herd came
up the bank.
Now was my chance. and picking out
the biggest, let fly both barrels OF my
heavy rifle in quick SUGGESTIONS; then,
snatching the spare ones from my man,
fired rapidly upon the nearest, taking
care to aim for their heads. Before the
startled giants had realized what had
happened three of the leaders of the
herd were lying dead upon the ground.
We came back at daylight and found
that two bulls and cow were the VIC
inns all shot through the head, and
ong trail of blood through the Jungle
ed us to the fourth, which had gone