EXTRAORDINARY FIGHT.

Evening Star, Issue 4131, 24 May 1876, Page 3

EXTRAORDINARY FIGHT.

A MAN BILLED BY AN ELK. An incident of an almost unexampled nature in the hunting field recently occurred in Ceylon to a young gentleman named Behrend, who was learning coffeeplanting on the estate of Mr C. Phipson, at Maskeylia. The * Ceylon Advertiser’ of March 2nd thus describes the affair: —“On February 2b‘th, after the day’s work was closed, Behrend went in pursuit of an elk which had been seen on the plantation. The animal came to bay in the river, and the coolies who accompanied their Sinna Curia wished to kill it with sticks and stones. This Behrend would not permit, and instead, without the aid of dogs, he pluckily but very rashly, went in himself knife in hand. The attempt would be a dangerous one, even for an old experienced huntsman, for the elk was a large powerful buck, but poor Behrend had no chance, for instead of going at the elk sideways, he seems to have gone up in front and caught at the creature’s throat. There was of course a struggle, and the coolies saw Behrend fall back, while the elk broke away. They rushed up at once and got their young master out of the water, but only to find him quite dead. The explanation seems to be that the elk with his foot struck the poor fellow’s hand with such force as to turn the knife back and right into his breast, if not through his heart. Death must have been instantaneous.”