The Albert N'Yanza, Great Basin of the Nile, Samuel White Baker [inspirational novels .TXT] 📗

in mind that the elephant

was a female, with a head far inferior in size and solidity to that of

the male.

 

The temple shot, and that behind the ear, are equally fatal in Africa as

in Ceylon, provided the hunter can approach within ten or twelve yards;

but altogether the hunting is far more difficult, as the character of

the country does not admit of an approach sufficiently close to

guarantee a successful shot. In the forests of Ceylon an elephant can be

stalked to within a few paces, and the shot is seldom fired at a greater

distance than ten yards: thus accuracy of aim is insured; but in the

open ground of Africa, an elephant can seldom be approached within fifty

yards, and should he charge the hunter, escape is most difficult. I

never found African elephants in good jungle, except once, and on that

occasion I shot five, quite as quickly as we should kill them in Ceylon.

 

The character of the sport must vary according to the character of the

country; thus there may be parts of Africa at variance with my

description. I only relate my own experience.

 

Among other weapons, I had an extraordinary rifle that carried a

half-pound percussion shell—this instrument of torture to the hunter

was not sufficiently heavy for the weight of the projectile; it only

weighed twenty pounds: thus, with a charge of ten drachms of powder,

behind a HALF-POUND shell, the recoil was so terrific, that I was spun

round like a weathercock in a hurricane. I really dreaded my own rifle,

although I had been accustomed to heavy charges of powder and severe

recoil for many years.

 

None of my men could fire it, and it was looked upon with a species of

awe, and was named “Jenna el Mootfah” (child of a cannon) by the Arabs,

which being far too long a name for practice, I christened it the

“Baby;” and the scream of this “Baby,” loaded with a half-pound shell,

was always fatal. It was far too severe, and I very seldom fired it, but

it is a curious fact, that I never fired a shot with that rifle without

bagging: the entire practice, during several years, was confined to

about twenty shots. I was afraid to use it; but now and then it was

absolutely necessary that it should be cleaned, after lying for months

loaded. On such occasions my men had the gratification of firing it, and

the explosion was always accompanied by two men falling on their backs

(one having propped up the shooter), and the “Baby” flying some yards

behind them. This rifle was made by Holland, of Bond Street, and I could

highly recommend it for Goliath of Gath, but not for men of A.D. 1866.

 

The natives of Central Africa generally hunt the elephant for the sake

of the flesh, and prior to the commencement of the White Nile trade by

the Arabs, and the discovery of the Upper White Nile to the 5 degrees N.

lat. by the expedition sent by Mehemet Ali Pasha, the tusks were

considered as worthless, and were treated as bones. The death of an

elephant is a grand affair for the natives, as it supplies flesh for an

enormous number of people, also fat, which is the great desire of all

savages for internal and external purposes. There are various methods of

killing them. Pitfalls are the most common, but the wary old bulls are

seldom caught in this manner.

 

The position chosen for the pit is, almost without exception, in the

vicinity of a drinking place, and the natives exhibit a great amount of

cunning in felling trees across the usual run of the elephants, and

sometimes cutting an open pit across the path, so as to direct the

elephant by such obstacles into the path of snares. The pits are usually

about twelve feet long, and three feet broad, by nine deep; these are

artfully made, decreasing towards the bottom to the breadth of a foot.

The general elephant route to the drinking place being blocked up, the

animals are diverted by a treacherous path towards the water, the route

intersected by numerous pits, all of which are carefully concealed by

sticks and straw, the latter being usually strewn with elephants’ dung

to create a natural effect.

 

Should an elephant, during the night, fall through the deceitful

surface, his foot becomes jammed in the bottom of the narrow grave, and

he labours shoulder deep, with two feet in the pitfall so fixed that

extrication is impossible. Should one animal be thus caught, a sudden

panic seizes the rest of the herd, and in their hasty retreat one or

more are generally victims to the numerous pits in the vicinity. The old

bulls never approach a watering place rapidly, but carefully listen for

danger, and then slowly advance with their warning trunks stretched to

the path before them; the delicate nerves of the proboscis at once

detect the hidden snare, and the victims to pitfalls are the members of

large herds who, eager to push forward incautiously, put their “foot

into it,” like shareholders in bubble companies. Once helpless in the

pit, they are easily killed with lances.

 

The great elephant hunting season is in January, when the high prairies

are parched and reduced to straw. At such a time, should a large herd of

animals be discovered, the natives of the entire district collect

together to the number of perhaps a thousand men; surrounding the

elephants by embracing a considerable tract of country, they fire the

grass at a given signal. In a few minutes the unconscious elephants are

surrounded by a circle of fire, which, however distant, must eventually

close in upon them. The men advance with the fire, which rages to the

height of twenty or thirty feet. At length the elephants, alarmed by the

volumes of smoke and the roaring of the flames, mingled with the shouts

of the hunters, attempt an escape. They are hemmed in on every

side—wherever they rush, they are met by an impassable barrier of

flames and smoke, so stifling, that they are forced to retreat.

Meanwhile the fatal circle is decreasing; buffaloes and antelopes,

likewise doomed to a horrible fate, crowd panic stricken to the centre

of the encircled ring, and the raging fire sweeps over all. Burnt and

blinded by fire and smoke, the animals are now attacked by the savage

crowd of hunters, excited by the helplessness of the unfortunate

elephants thus miserably sacrificed, and they fall under countless

spears. This destructive method of hunting ruins the game of that part

of Africa, and so scarce are the antelopes, that, in a day’s journey, a

dozen head are seldom seen in the open prairie.

 

The next method of hunting is perfectly legitimate. Should many

elephants be in the neighbourhood, the natives post about a hundred men

in as many large trees; these men are armed with heavy lances specially

adapted to the sport, with blades about eighteen inches long and three

inches broad. The elephants are driven by a great number of men towards

the trees in which the spearmen are posted, and those that pass

sufficiently near are speared between the shoulders. The spear being

driven deep into the animal, creates a frightful wound, as the tough

handle, striking against the intervening branches of trees, acts as a

lever, and works the long blade of the spear within the elephant,

cutting to such an extent that he soon drops from exhaustion.

 

The best and only really great elephant-hunters of the White Nile are

the Bagara Arabs, on about the 13 degree N. lat. These men hunt on

horseback, and kill the elephant in fair fight with their spears.

 

The lance is about fourteen feet long, of male bamboo; the blade is

about fourteen inches long by nearly three inches broad; this is as

sharp as a razor. Two men, thus armed and mounted, form the hunting

party. Should they discover a herd, they ride up to the finest tusker

and single him from the others. One man now leads the way, and the

elephant, finding himself pressed, immediately charges the horse. There

is much art required in leading the elephant, who follows the horse with

great determination, and the rider adapts his pace so as to keep his

horse so near the elephant that his attention is entirely absorbed with

the hope of catching him. The other hunter should by this tine have

followed close to the elephant’s heels, and, dismounting when at full

gallop with wonderful dexterity, he plunges his spear with both hands

into the elephant about two feet below the junction of the tail, and

with all his force he drives the spear about eight feet into his

abdomen, and withdraws it immediately. Should he be successful in his

stab, he remounts his horse and flies, or does his best to escape on

foot, should he not have time to mount, as the elephant generally turns

to pursue him. His comrade immediately turns his horse, and, dashing at

the elephant, in his turn dismounts, and drives his lance deep into his

intestines.

 

Generally, if the first thrust is scientifically given, the bowels

protrude to such an extent that the elephant is at once disabled. Two

good hunters will frequently kill several out of one herd; but in this

dangerous hand-to-hand fight the hunter is often the victim. Hunting

the elephant on horseback is certainly far less dangerous than on foot,

but although the speed of the horse is undoubtedly superior, the chase

generally takes place upon ground so disadvantageous, that he is liable

to fall, in which case there is little chance for either animal or

rider. So savage are the natural instincts of Africans, that they attend

only to the destruction of the elephant, and never attempt its

domestication.

 

CHAPTER VIII.

 

IBRAHIM’s RETURN.

 

Ibrahim returned from Gondokoro, bringing with him a large supply of

ammunition. A wounded man of Chenooda’s people also arrived, the sole

relic of the fight with the Latookas; he had been left for dead, but had

recovered, and for days and nights he had wandered about the country, in

thirst and hunger, hiding like a wild beast from the sight of human

beings, his guilty conscience marking every Latooka as an enemy. As a

proof of the superiority of the natives to the Khartoumers, he had at

length been met by some Latookas, and not only was well treated and fed

by their women, but they had guided him to Ibrahim’s camp.

 

The black man is a curious anomaly, the good and bad points of human

nature bursting forth without any arrangement, like the flowers and

thorns of his own wilderness. A creature of impulse, seldom actuated by

reflection, the black man astounds by his complete obtuseness, and as

suddenly confounds you by an unexpected exhibition of sympathy. From a

long experience with African savages, I think it is as absurd to condemn

the negro in toto, as it is preposterous to compare his intellectual

capacity with that of the white man. It is unfortunately the fashion for

one party to uphold the negro as a superior being, while the other

denies him the common powers of reason. So great a difference of opinion

has ever existed upon the intrinsic value of the negro, that the very

perplexity of the question is a proof that he is altogether a distinct

variety. So long as it is generally considered that the negro and the

white man are to be governed by the same laws and guided by the same

management, so long will the former remain a thorn in the side of every

community to which he may unhappily belong. When the horse and the ass

shall be found to match in double harness, the white