The Rifle And The Hound In Ceylon(Fiscle Part-3), Sir Samuel White Baker [most inspirational books .txt] 📗

Word Of Your Tale

With A True Interest,  And In Fact Joins In Imagination In The Chase.

 

There Is One Great Drawback To The Publication Of Sporting

Adventures--They Always Appear To Deal Not A Little In The Marvellous;

And This Effect Is Generally Heightened By The Use Of The First Person

In Writing,  Which At All Events May Give An Egotistical Character To A

Work. This,  However,  Cannot Easily Be Avoided,  If A Person Is Describing

His Own Adventures,  And He Labours Under The Disadvantage Of Being

Criticised By Readers Who Do Not Know Him Personally,  And May,

Therefore,  Give Him Credit For Gross Exaggeration.

 

It Is This Feeling That Deters Many Men Who Have Passed Through Years Of

Wild Sports From Publishing An Account Of Them. The Fact Of Being Able

To Laugh In Your Sleeve At The Ignorance Of A Reader Who Does Not Credit

You,  Is But A Poor Compensation For Being Considered A Better Shot With

A Long Bow Than With A Rifle. Often Have I Pitied Gordon Cumming When I

Have Heard Him Talked Of As A Palpable Munchausen,  By Men Who Never

Fired A Rifle,  Or Saw A Wild Beast,  Except In A Cage; And Still These

Men Form The Greater Proportion Of The `Readers' Of These Works.

 

Men Who Have Not Seen,  Cannot Understand The Grandeur Of Wild Sports In

A Wild Country. There Is An Indescribable Feeling Of Supremacy In A Man

Who Understands His Game Thoroughly,  When He Stands Upon Some Elevated

Point And Gazes Over The Wild Territory Of Savage Beasts. He Feels

Himself An Invader Upon The Solitudes Of Nature. The Very Stillness Of

The Scene Is His Delight. There Is A Mournful Silence In The Calmness Of

The Evening,  When The Tropical Sun Sinks Upon The Horizon--A Conviction

That Man Has Left This Region Undisturbed To Its Wild Tenants. No Hum Of

Distant Voices,  No Rumbling Of Busy Wheels,  No Cries Of Domestic Animals

Meet The Ear. He Stands Upon A Wilderness,  Pathless And Untrodden By The

Foot Of Civilisation,  Where No Sound Is Ever Heard But That Of The

Elements,  When The Thunder Rolls Among The Towering Forests Or The Wind

Howls Along The Plains. He Gazes Far,  Far Into The Distance,  Where The

Blue Mountains Melt Into An Indefinite Haze; He Looks Above Him To The

Rocky Pinnacles Which Spring From The Level Plain,  Their Swarthy Cliffs

Glistening From The Recent Shower,  And Patches Of Rich Verdure Clinging

To Precipices A Thousand Feet Above Him. His Eye Stretches Along The

Grassy Plains,  Taking At One Full Glance A Survey Of Woods,  And Rocks,

And Streams; And Imperceptibly His Mind Wanders To Thoughts Of Home,  And

In One Moment Scenes Long Left Behind Are Conjured Up By Memory,  And

Incidents Are Recalled Which Banish For A Time The Scene Before Him.

Lost For A Moment In The Enchanting Power Of Solitude,  Where Fancy And

Reality Combine In Their Most Bewitching Forms,  He Is Suddenly Roused By

A Distant Sound Made Doubly Loud By The Surrounding Silence--The Shrill

Trumpet Of An Elephant. He Wakes From His Reverie; The Reality Of The

Present Scene Is At Once Manifested. He Stands Within A Wilderness Where

The Monster Of The Forest Holds Dominion; He Knows Not What A Day,  Not

Even What A Moment,  May Bring Forth; He Trusts In A Protecting Power,

And In The Heavy Rifle,  And He Is Shortly Upon The Track Of The King Of

Beasts.

 

The King Of Beasts Is Generally Acknowledged To Be The 'Lion'; But No

One Who Has Seen A Wild Elephant Can Doubt For A Moment That The Title

Belongs To Him In His Own Right. Lord Of All Created Animals In Might

And Sagacity,  The Elephant Roams Through His Native Forests. He Browses

Upon The Lofty Branches,  Upturns Young Trees From Sheer Malice,  And From

Plain To Forest He Stalks Majestically At Break Of Day 'Monarch Of All

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He Surveys.'

 

A Person Who Has Never Seen A Wild Elephant Can Form No Idea Of His Real

Character,  Either Mentally Or Physically. The Unwieldy And

Sleepy-Looking Beast,  Who,  Penned Up In His Cage At A Menagerie,

Receives A Sixpence In His Trunk,  And Turns Round With Difficulty To

Deposit It In A Box; Whose Mental Powers Seem To Be Concentrated In The

Idea Of Receiving Buns Tossed Into A Gaping Mouth By Children's

Hands,--This Very Beast May Have Come From A Warlike Stock. His Sire May

Have Been The Terror Of A District,  A Pitiless Highwayman,  Whose Soul

Thirsted For Blood; Who,  Lying In Wait In Some Thick Bush,  Would Rush

Upon The Unwary Passer-By,  And Know No Pleasure Greater Than The Act Of

Crushing His Victim To A Shapeless Mass Beneath His Feet. How Little

Does His Tame Sleepy Son Resemble Him! Instead Of Browsing On The Rank

Vegetation Of Wild Pasturage,  He Devours Plum-Buns; Instead Of Bathing

His Giant Form In The Deep Rivers And Lakes Of His Native Land,  He Steps

Into A Stone-Lined Basin To Bathe Before The Eyes Of A Pleased

Multitude,  The Whole Of Whom Form Their Opinion Of Elephants In General

From The Broken-Spirited Monster Which They See Before Them.

 

I Have Even Heard People Exclaim,  Upon Hearing Anecdotes Of

Elephant-Hunting,  'Poor Things!'

 

Poor Things,  Indeed! I Should Like To See The Very Person Who Thus

Expresses His Pity,  Going At His Best Pace,  With A Savage Elephant After

Him : Give Him A Lawn To Run Upon If He Likes,  And See The Elephant

Gaining A Foot In Every Yard Of The Chase,  Fire In His Eye,  Fury In His

Headlong Charge; And Would Not The Flying Gentleman Who Lately Exclaimed

'Poor Thing!' Be Thankful To The Lucky Bullet That Would Save Him From

Destruction?

 

There Are No Animals More Misunderstood Than Elephants; They Are

Naturally Savage,  Wary,  And Revengeful; Displaying As Great Courage When

In Their Wild State As Any Animal Known. The Fact Of Their Great Natural

Sagacity Renders Them The More Dangerous As Foes. Even When Tamed,  There

Are Many That Are Not Safe For A Stranger To Approach,  And They Are Then

Only Kept In Awe By The Sharp Driving Hook Of The Mohout.

 

In Their Domesticated State I Have Seen Them Perform Wonders Of Sagacity

And Strength; But I Have Nothing To Do With Tame Elephants; There Are

Whole Books Written Upon The Subject,  Although The Habits Of An Elephant

Can Be Described In A Few Words.

 

All Wild Animals In A Tropical Country Avoid The Sun. They Wander Forth

To Feed Upon The Plains In The Evening And During The Night,  And They

Return To The Jungle Shortly After Sunrise.

 

Elephants Have The Same Habits. In Those Parts Of The Country Where Such

Pasturage Abounds As Bamboo,  Lemon Grass,  Sedges On The Banks Of Rivers,

Lakes,  And Swamps,  Elephants Are Sure To Be Found At Such Seasons As Are

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Most Propitious For The Growth Of These Plants. When The Dry Weather

Destroys This Supply Of Food In One District,  They Migrate To Another

Part Of The Country.

 

They Come Forth To Feed About 4 P.M.,  And They Invariably,  Retire To The

Thickest And Most Thorny Jungle In The Neighbourhood Of Their

Feeding-Place By 7 A.M. In These Impenetrable Haunts They Consider

Themselves Secure From Aggression.

 

The Period Of Gestation With An Elephant Is Supposed To Be Two Years,

And The Time Occupied In Attaining Full Growth Is About Sixteen Years.

The Whole Period Of Life Is Supposed To Be A Hundred Years,  But My Own

Opinion Would Increase That Period By Fifty.

 

The Height Of Elephants Varies To A Great Degree,  And In All Cases Is

Very Deceiving. In Ceylon,  An Elephant Is Measured At The Shoulder,  And

Nine Feet At This Point Is A Very Large Animal. There Is No Doubt That

Many Elephants Far Exceed This,  As I Have Shot Them So Large That Two

Tall Men Could Lie At Full Length From The Point Of The Forefoot To The

Shoulder; But This Is Not A Common Size: The Average Height At The

Shoulder Would Be About Seven Feet.*(*The Males 7 Ft.6 In.,  The Females

7 Ft.,  At The Shoulder.)

 

Not More Than One In Three Hundred Has Tusks; They Are Merely Provided

With Short Grubbers,  Projecting Generally About Three Inches From The

Upper Jaw,  And About Two Inches In Diameter; These Are Called 'Tushes'

In Ceylon,  And Are Of So Little Value That They Are Not Worth Extracting

From The Head. They Are Useful To The Elephants In Hooking On To A

Branch And Tearing It Down.

 

Elephants Are Gregarious,  And The Average Number In A Herd Is About

Eight,  Although They Frequently Form Bodies Of Fifty And Even Eighty In

One Troop. Each Herd Consists Of A Very Large Proportion Of Females,  And

They Are Constantly Met Without A Single Bull In Their Number. I Have

Seen Some Small Herds Formed Exclusively Of Bulls,  But This Is Very

Rare. The Bull Is Much Larger Than The Female,  And Is Generally More

Savage. His Habits Frequently Induce Him To Prefer Solitude To A

Gregarious Life. He Then Becomes Doubly Vicious. He Seldom Strays Many

Miles From One Locality,  Which He Haunts For Many Years. He Becomes What

Is Termed A 'Rogue.' He Then Waylays The Natives,  And In Fact Becomes A

Scourge To The Neighbourhood,  Attacking The Inoffensive Without The

Slightest Provocation,  Carrying Destruction Into The Natives'

Paddy-Fields,  And Perfectly Regardless Of Night Fires Or The Usual

Precautions For Scaring Wild Beasts.

 

The Daring Pluck Of These 'Rogues' Is Only Equalled By Their Extreme

Cunning. Endowed With That Wonderful Power Of Scent Peculiar To

Elephants,  He Travels In The Day-Time Down The Wind; Thus Nothing Can

Follow Upon His Track Without His Knowledge. He Winds His Enemy As The

Cautious Hunter Advances Noiselessly Upon His Track,  And He Stands With

Ears Thrown Forward,  Tail Erect,  Trunk Thrown High In The Air,  With Its

Distended Tip Pointed To The Spot From Which He Winds The Silent But

Approaching Danger. Perfectly Motionless Does He Stand,  Like A Statue In

Ebony,  The Very Essence Of Attention,  Every Nerve Of Scent And Hearing

Stretched To Its Cracking Point; Not A Muscle Moves,  Not A Sound Of A

Rustling Branch Against His Rough Sides; He Is A Mute Figure Of Wild And

Fierce Eagerness. Meanwhile,  The Wary Tracker Stoops To The Ground,  And

With A Practised Eye Pierces The Tangled Brushwood In Search Of His

Colossal Feet. Still Farther And Farther He Silently Creeps Forward,

When Suddenly A Crash Bursts Through The Jungle; The Moment Has Arrived

For The Ambushed Charge,  And The Elephant Is Upon Him.

 

What Increases The Danger Is The Uncertainty Prevailing In All The

Movements Of A 'Rogue'. You May Perhaps See Him Upon A Plain Or In A

Forest. As You Advance,  He Retreats,  Or He May At Once Charge. Should He

Retreat,  You Follow Him; But You May Shortly Discover That He Is Leading

You To Some Favourite Haunt Of Thick Jungle Or High Grass,  From Which,

When You Least Expect It,  He Will Suddenly Burst Out In Full Charge Upon

You.

 

Next To A 'Rogue' In Ferocity,  And Even More Persevering In The Pursuit

Of Her Victim,  Is A Female Elephant When Her Young One Has Been Killed.

In Such A Case She Will Generally Follow Up Her Man Until Either He Or

She Is