I do not profess to be a sportsman, in the
usual acceptation of the word. I am fond of
my gun, as a provocative to exercise, and as a
means of amusement and recreation in the
lonely out-stations where a great part of a
civilian's life is often spent. But I object
to the wanton and uncalled-for destruction of
animal life. Although I would not shun an
encounter with any animal when meeting him
on fair terms, and would always, and do always
seek it, when I know that he may do injury to
the lives or property of others, or even when
any part of him can be turned to use, still I
have no sympathy with the persistent pursuit
of elephants in places remote from the haunts of
men, merely that they may be shot and left
dead on the ground, for the boar and the jackal
to devour. But I know many excellent men
who do not take the same view of the case;
and, without arguing the merits thereof, it may
not be uninteresting by-and-by to note down
some of their adventures.

Treating of the " Trifles" in the way of animal
life that are every-day affairs in Ceylon, let us
begin with Alligators. The river alligator attains
to a large size; they have been seen as
long as eighteen feet; these are formidable
customers, but in most of the tanks, in the northern
part of the island, alligators are more properly
crocodiles, and literally swarm, varying from
seven to nine feet only. These, though destructive
to cattle, deer, and dogs, are generally very
shy of man, and will not attack him, even in the
water. They may easily be caught by attaching
a baited hook to a float. The alligator devours
the bait, and then swims off to the middle of
the tank with the float. In the morning the
float is drawn ashore in a canoe, and the alligator
is hauled ashore, and despatched by a ball in the
shoulder. The flesh is very white and tender-
looking. Some of the cocoa-nut planters catch
them in order to manure their trees with the
carcases. They are exceedingly partial to dogs,
and are the terror of the huntsman. The spotted
deer, when pursued and hard pressed, usually
takes to the water; the dogs (greyhounds, or
Australian kangaroo hounds) follow in hot pursuit,
regardless of the shouts of the huntsman, who
frantically yells from the bank. Suddenly a
monster's head rises to the surface, and a noble
hound disappears beneath the water. An alligator
has seized him. I was one day riding by a tank
when I saw a deer emerge from the jungle, pursued
by two pariah dogs, and take to the water.
I rode towards the tank, but before I reached
it, I saw the deer struggle up the opposite bank,
with an alligator hanging on to its shoulders.
The alligator dragged back its victim, and
when I reached the spot where I had seen
the struggle, only the circling ripples remained
to tell the deed that was going on below, while
around could be seen the tops of the heads of
several other alligators waiting until the successful
one had finished his deed of darkness, and
ready to come to the rescue should the deer
shake off its captor. I succeeded in attracting
the attention of some cottagers, and caused them
to shout, and try to alarm the alligator, while I
rode over to the spot where I had seen the ripple
last, in hopes I might succeed in inducing him
to quit his prey. But I was too late. So, in
shooting ducks, it is often very annoying to find
an alligator gobble one up you have shot, and
are going to pick up, before you can get hold
of it.

The following tragedy, which occurred on the
sixth of September last, will show that the river
alligator is occasionally a dangerous trifle. A
stout young man, aged eighteen, was washing
his face by the water-side, when suddenly an
alligator emerged from some bushes growing in
the water and seized him by the calf of the leg.
The young man seized the branch of an overhanging
tree, and cried out for assistance, and a
desperate struggle ensued: the alligator trying
to drag him away, while the man clung with the
tenacity of desperation to the tree. At length
the man's uncle, who was in the jungle close by,
ran up, and with a stick belaboured the alligator,
who, however, still held on, grunting at each blow
he received. Finding that his blows were of no
avail, the uncle drew a knife and stabbed the
brute in the eye. This induced him to leave his
hold for a moment, but it was only to seize his
unfortunate victim once more, and now by
the thigh. The uncle then inserted his knife
into his jaws, and attempted to rip open his
mouth, whereon the alligator left his hold and
plunged into the water. The unfortunate youth
was carried to Caltura, the nearest station, where
medical aid was rendered him, but in vain; he
died from loss of blood, his leg being lacerated
in a manner too shocking for description.

Snakes are abundant in Ceylon, among the
other trifles that environ a resident there.

Some persons never overcome their dread of
these creatures, and other reptiles; but in general
a short residence is sufficient to overcome
this feeling. As to the smaller animals, such as
centipedes, scorpions, and so forth, a stranger
in Ceylon soon learns to take it for granted
that they may be found wherever there is shelter
for them. Consequently, care is always taken
to keep boxes and other articles of household
use in such positions that no opportunity may be
afforded for noxious animals to lodge behind
them. Boxes are invariably supported on legs,
which prevents the white ants from commencing
their insidious attacks unobserved, and destroying
all the contents. Although, however, there
are noxious reptiles in almost every house, and
although it is not at all uncommon to see some
one get up from his chair and squash a centipede
that has just dropped from the roof, still
accidents are comparatively rare. I have been
a good many years in Ceylon, and yet I have
only once been bitten by a centipede. He was
a good sized fellow. He fell on me while
asleep in a bed without curtains, and nipped
me in the arm. It was some little time before
I could get a light, and then I found my friend
under the pillow, and transferred him to a bottle
of spirits. The pain was sharp for a time, but
subsided before long. Some persons suffer