Lion hunting.
When it becomes known that a lion has established himself in the vicinity, and his depredations become annoying to the cattle owners, his “spoor” or trail is taken up and followed as far as prudent towards his lair; this ascertained, a council is held as to the best means of dislodging him and bringing him into position to receive the fire of the hunters. If there be natural shelter so much the better; if not, the horses are fastened together in line, and, held by the after riders or Hottentot servants, are backed down so near as to afford the marksman an opportunity of a fair shot; one or more, who can be implicitly relied on for certainty of aim and steadiness of hand in the moment of peril, are chosen to reserve their fire in case the rest should miss, and the others are told off to fire in regular order. The marksman, edging a little clear of the shelter of the horses, sits down, rests his elbows on his knees, and, grasping his ramrod as an additional support, takes as deliberate an aim as circumstances permit at the lion, aiming to hit him, if possible, in the breast; for it is seldom that the animal, when thus bearded in his den, refuses to face his foe, or expose his shoulders to the deadly missile. Possibly, he lies with head extended forward, so that it would be useless to fire at the sloping skull; and it is likely also that the fore-paws so cover the chest that there is the chance, by breaking one of them, of somewhat crippling, but at the same time provoking him to a headlong charge, in the fury of which even the loss of a fore-paw would be unheeded, and would diminish but little his power of doing mischief. Suppose him irritated by a painful wound, with a roar like thunder he bounds forward, and the inexperienced hands, if any such there be, discharge their guns as he comes on; but there are always some cool-headed fellows who know that within about five and twenty yards he will stop and gather his energies for a final spring. Deliberate as the Dutchman is, he knows when time is precious; theheavy roer is steadily aligned, and, if the aim be true, the monarch of the forest falls dead upon the spot, or, collecting his last energies, springs upon the horses. Now is the time for the reserve. At a glance he takes in the exigencies of the situation, he steps aside for a clear view, his bullet crushes through skull or shoulder, and the fierce animal falls helpless to the ground.
The restless steeds are brought again to quietude, the visitors gather round the prostrate foe, examine the perforations, and adjudge to each the merit of his respective shot.
Not always, however, is the affair so happily ended. In 1850, while passing through the Orange River Sovereignty, now the Free State, on our way to Vaal River, we heard of a contest that had nearly proved fatal to a brave old boer and his no less gallant nephew; and as we soon after became acquainted with many of the witnesses and actors in the scene, and saw the horses deeply scored by five sharp talons on either quarter, we have no hesitation in relating it. The lion, after receiving the fire of the uncle, had sprung upon him, knocked him down, and lay upon him, glaring defiance at his enemies. The young man, confident of his skill and steadiness of hand, boldly advanced close up to him, set his “Sneider” or hair trigger, and aimed deliberately at the forehead; one gentle touch of the forefinger, and instead of the expected death shot, the hammer fell into half-cock. Again he proved the edge of his flint, set his hair trigger, and again and again it failed him. The lion was growing restless; his trusted weapon was useless in his hand. What wonder that his courage failed, and, dashing it to the earth, he turned and fled. In an instant the lion was upon him, and he in his turn lay helpless beneath the monster’s weight. For some time he waited patiently, expecting his comrades to fire; but only one of them raised his gun, and that barrel wavered, so that the rest begged him not to fire. The uncle rose, and catching up his gun hastened to the rescue, but it had been discharged; and with his broken arm he attempted in vain to load it. The young man advised his comrades, and then entreated them to come on and shoot the lion while he was yet quiet enough to give them a good chance; but they came not. He cursed them for a set of cowards. Next he cursed the lion, and in the recklessness of despairhe kicked him. The astonished beast turned round and seized the left knee, but this was a false move, for the young boer now drove his right foot so vigorously and rapidly into the exposed flank that the lion stared around him in bewilderment, and finally walked off, leaving the young fellow lamed only for a time. About the same time we became acquainted with a young boer, who, while lying in the power of the lion, had been so mangled that there was not sufficient muscle left upon his right arm to enable him to raise it without the assistance of his left. No one could see him advance to give his hand without a feeling of pity, yet his grip was as hearty as ever; and when his fingers closed upon the gunstock, the needful strength to raise it to the shoulder seemed to return. And notwithstanding his misfortune no man was readier or bolder in the hunting field.
Of the method adopted by English hunters, so many illustrative anecdotes are before the public, that in our limited range it is difficult to select one that shall be new and, at the same time, sufficiently striking to arrest attention. Generally, if the country is tolerably open, two or three gentlemen, with their native servants, and perhaps a few dogs, to distract the attention of the lion, will ride up, and one, checking his horse as he passes, will fire from the saddle, starting forward if the lion springs, and trusting to his comrades to relieve him.
Among the Bushmen the lion is not much hunted; in fact, some of them seem to look upon him as an involuntary benefactor, who, after he has killed his prey, will certainly let some remain for them, and may, perhaps, be scared from his repast, so as to leave them all. Sometimes, perhaps, they venture, if annoyed by one of men-eating propensities, to track him to his lair, and as he lies in dreamy enjoyment after a full meal, to lodge a poisoned arrow in his side.
But in general they prefer to enlist the white man in their cause, partly because they know his weapons to be more instantaneously effective, and partly because they are sure he will reward them for showing him the sport. The feat of Gordon Cumming delivering a village from the persecution of a pair of man-eaters, by killing them both with two shots from his double-barrel gun was still talked of by the natives when we were in the Sovereignty. The general introduction of firearms among the half-castes and the native tribes hasrendered obsolete many of their customs, and it is now rare even in Africa to see some of the weapons they formerly used; such, for instance, as the long spears with which the Kafirs attacked the hippopotamus or elephant. But a lion hunt on fair and open ground, by a tribe of savage warriors, must have been an exciting scene. With them the preparatory tracking up and gathering of information essential to the English hunter are needless; the haunts and habits of the lion they intend to hunt have long been too familiar to them. The hunters with their naked bodies fresh anointed, and lithe and well-turned limbs, assemble around with light assegais or javelins, and with long sticks tufted with black ostrich feathers. A few feints and false attacks are made, and the lion is drawn or driven from his covers to the open plain. Now the fight begins. Encircled by the active warriors the lion stands at bay, perplexed and baffled by their rapid change of place, and perhaps somewhat confused by shouts from every quarter. At length the irritated beast exposes himself to the attack. Some bold warrior rushes past and darts his assegai, escaping if he can, while the manœuvre is repeated by the next. Not all are thus successful. The wounded animal charges furiously, but in the moment of extreme peril the native strikes his plumed staff into the ground, and, before even the quick eye of the lion can detect the cheat, darts off in another direction, driving home, perhaps, another assegai as he passes. Many, perhaps, are wounded; but unless he does it at a stroke the lion has no time to kill, for he is already bristling like a porcupine with spears, and one moment of inaction would expose him to the fatal shower that would pour in upon him from every side. His fate sooner or later is sealed; whatever way he charges his foes elude him; wound after wound exhausts his strength, till, bleeding and helpless, he sinks upon the ground, and his skin and paws are borne in triumph to the chief; while the women of the kraal, with clapping of hands and extemporary songs of triumph, welcome and congratulate the victors.
The elephant, unfortunately for his love of ease and indolence, or perhaps rather quiet and undisturbed enjoyment, is endowed with many qualities which offer peculiar temptations to his apparently contemptible, yet in reality formidable, enemies. To savage tribes the amount of flesh acquired by the destruction of an elephant is a sufficientinducement for a small tribe to labour in digging pitfalls, or unite in the attempt to weary out and irritate him almost to death by numberless light javelins, till some one, bolder or more fortunate than the rest, is able to approach and drive the larger spear with skill and strength sufficient to give a deadly wound. To the ardent sportsman, who is also a clever artist and lover of nature, the mere act of engaging with and conquering single-handed this gigantic animal, affords an almost delirious excitement.
But beyond all other considerations, the paramount inducement to traders, hunters, and even to natives among whom white men have already penetrated, is that, like the greatest of marine animals, the whale, he carries about him that which may be made profitable in a commercial point of view, and thus repay the hunter for the labour of destroying him. Of course, in the case of the elephant this inducement is the ivory, with which in Africa both males and females are provided; while in India the hunters find the females without tusks, and the males so frequently so that profit from this source rarely enters into the sportsman’s calculations, nevertheless, great numbers are annually killed in Ceylon and other parts of the Indian Empire. It requires a knowledge of the immense damage a single elephant is capable of doing among the cane or grain fields of the natives to induce those who cannot enter into the enthusiasm of the sportsman, to return a verdict of justifiable elephanticide.
Tigers, panthers, leopards, pumas, &c., are taken in various ways. The former animals, as we have before stated, are captured in large cage traps fitted with drop doors and trigger levers, which are thrown out of gear when the animal seizes a bait suspended from them. The Malays are very skilful in setting traps of this description. The systems adopted in shooting the large animals of prey just mentioned in the jungles of the far East are too well known to need description here. They may be said mainly to consist in shooting from a howdah placed on an elephant’s back; shooting on foot, aided by beaters; watching a live or dead bait from a “meechaum” or scaffolding erected in a tree; or shooting at night from the rifle pit, after the manner already described. To hunt antelopes by the aid of tamed leopards, or to take deer with the bearcoot, or hunting eagle, it is necessary to secure theservices of a regular staff of native hunters, keepers, and trackers—in fact, a retinue which few mere travellers could support. Sword hunting, as practised by the inhabitants of the Abyssinian borders, is a pursuit requiring more than ordinary skill and adroitness—in short, almost a lifetime may be passed in fruitlessly endeavouring to successfully imitate the feats of the “Aggageers.” There are, however, many weapons and hunting appliances used in wild countries which the traveller will do well to familiarise himself with. The spear, the bow and arrow, the sling, the lasso, the bolas, the sumpitan or blow pipe, and the club, may as makeshifts stand him in good stead. A knowledge of the use of the boomerang would be extremely valuable; but we have never known a white man who could throw it even passably well. The spear, as cast from the womera, or throwing stick, is another weapon marvellously accurate, long-ranged, and deadly in the hands of the black fellow, but resolves itself into a mere sharp pointed stick when the European attempts to use it. It is much the same with the Kafir assegai. Very few Englishmen learn to use it well, whilst the natives hurl it with astonishing force and precision. There are calls, too, which are successfully used by the natives of many countries for attracting game to the lurking place of the sportsman. The birch bark calling trumpet of the American and Canadian moose hunter is an example of these; but practice alone will enable the traveller to use it successfully.
Pitfalls.
The natives of South Africa excel in the construction of pitfalls, and there is scarcely a tribe, with the exception of the pastoral Kafirs on the frontier, or the half-castes, who possess firearms, that does not more or less supply itself with wild flesh in this manner.
The tools used in sinking pitfalls resemble chisels, perhaps a hand breadth broad, and 8in. or 1ft. long; these are set in stout handles 6ft. or more in length, and used in a manner that may be understood after a glance at the beautiful group of Michael overthrowing Satan. The pits will be 10ft. or 12ft. long, 2ft. or 3ft. wide, and more than 8ft. deep, but they taper wedge-like towards the bottom, which is only a few inches wide, the intention being that an antelope or other animal shall jam his body immovably between the sides before he can touch the bottom with his feet. Aboutthe centre the pit is crossed by a wall of the hard soil, reaching about half-way to the top, and left standing for the purpose of catching any animal that, having once fallen in, is able to spring forward, and of holding him helplessly suspended by the belly.
The top is carefully covered with small sticks, over which reeds or grass are laid, and earth dusted over the whole as naturally as possible. A little water is then sprinkled over all to equalise the surface. Of course this has to be very artistically done to deceive the timid game; therefore there is no wonder that a mounted hunter, or even a traveller on foot, should occasionally fall in. Sometimes, to insure the capture of the animal, a small hole, also carefully covered, is made just before one end of the pit, and the creature stumbling in this, leaps forward and precipitates itself into the true snare.
We have on three occasions fallen into such pits (unprovided with the little hole last mentioned, which might have proved a warning to a man, who, if possible, would instinctively step backward), and once had considerable difficulty in getting out, because, owing to the wedge-shaped form, our hips were tightly jammed between the sides, while our feet could not reach the bottom; but, by vigorously sticking our elbows into the sides above, we at length extricated our lower extremities.
A fellow hunter had a more dangerous adventure than this; for the one that he fell into had three stakes, that would certainly have impaled an antelope, fixed upright in it; but fortunately a man goes straight down feet foremost, and seldom or never falls lengthwise. These pits for single animals, however, are but petty affairs compared with the extensive hopo or tellekello fences, built for the purpose of inclosing large herds of game, that are either driven during the day by extended lines of men from all quarters into the wide entrance, or suddenly find themselves forced into it when they come by night to drink at the water; in either case the space between the fences narrows rapidly, funnelwise, the fences themselves being made stronger in proportion to the diminution of the space between them, until this becomes little more than a narrow lane, and the fences assume the proportions of palisades, high and strong enough to prevent the escape even of the large animals that crowd into it. At the end of this passage is a lowfence, partially concealing from view the yawning pit beyond, the apparent size of which is diminished by beams and poles so laid as to cover a considerable portion of each side, and thus rendering it impossible for any animal attempting to spring out to make his escape.
We have often seen these fences; but the Bushmen will very seldom get up a drive when white hunters are in the vicinity, preferring, very naturally, to eat game which, with very little trouble to themselves, has been shot by the European or the colonist, rather than to assemble their tribe and be on watch all night at the tellekello.
On occasions such as we have referred to, the widest opening of the fences is kept as near as possible to the pool or river where the wild game comes to drink, without encroaching so far as to interfere with their free access to the water. The Bushmen dig holes outside the fence, make in them large fires of hard wood, and cover the still glowing embers with dry earth, which absorbs a great amount of heat, and gives it out gradually during the night to those who come to sleep, or at least to lie down and watch beside it. In addition to this, they fashion a number of torches of some dry light wood, preferring that of a dead baobab; and at night, when the herds come down to quench their thirst, they draw their cordon round in rear of them, light their torches, and, waving them in the air, rush forward with wild gesticulations and loud outcries. Sometimes the larger animals, such as the black rhinoceros, or others, instead of submitting to be driven, will endeavour to break through the fence, but the active Bushmen swarm along the outside, and meet every attempt by waving their blazing torches, or throwing them in the faces of the animals; at length the herd crowded together comes to the narrowing neck of the funnel. The height and strength of the palisade forbids all hope of escape; the natives, wild with delight, are shouting and pressing on their rear, they rush thundering on to the narrowest part, the slight fence which hides the pit from view is easily leaped, others follow, blindly pushed on by the crowd in the rear, until at length the pit is filled with perhaps one or two hundred animals, writhing, struggling, and suffocating, and moreover bruised and stunned by the hoofs of those which rush madly on, seeking to escape over them. The Bushmen now assemble near the pass and stab with their assegais,as many as they can, but these are few in comparison; and when the pit is once filled, the escape of the majority of those that remain is tolerably certain.
Tsetse fly.
The most serious impediment which stands in the African hunter’s road to success is the tsetse fly, which haunts the forests and the banks of streams in many parts of southern and subtropical Africa. Horses and dogs are also liable to be fatally affected; but men, mules, and donkeys, as well as sheep or goats and wild animals, are not injured. When cattle are “bitten” by “the fly,” as this dreaded pest is called,par eminence, they begin to lose condition, the coat ceases to be sleek and glossy, and in a period, proportioned to the severity or number of the bites, generally from twelve hours to a fortnight or three weeks, or even a month, the animals die.
If the tsetse infested district is not large, it is much better to make the circuit of it, or to pass through it in the night. We have seen a horse thus taken through the belt on the shores of the Zambesi as a present for Tekalatu. He would be towed by a canoe across the broad river, and hurried on to a place of security before the morning. The fly, as may be supposed from these remarks, is very local. One of the Transvaal republicans told us that a mimosa tree, with bright yellow bark (probably the sweet gum), was one tolerably certain indication of its habitat; but it is best to inquire of the natives what are its particular limits, and especially to learn whether the tribes in advance keep cattle or dogs, and if they do not, to ask why so. Have they possessed cattle, and been plundered of them, or can they not keep them because of the proximity of the fly? If this is the case, the oxen must be kept beyond the bounds; but mules or donkeys may be used with safety.
The boundaries of this pest are well defined; and we have heard the Dutch colonists speak of “De Kant van de Vleigen,” or the “edge of the flies,” with as much precision as a municipal officer in defining the boundary of his parish. Frequently one side of a waggon road will be spoken of as infested, while the other is safe; and sometimes the hunters speak of riding up to the “edge of the fly,” and going in on foot to shoot game.Whether the rather more than half-reasoning elephants know that the fly kills horses or not, we cannot undertake to say; but they certainly connect the idea of comparative security with the “fly country,” just as an Australian horse knows that the stockyard is the only place in which he is never flogged, and retreats to it whenever he hears the cracking of the dreaded stock whip.
That the fly is local there can be no doubt; and the only chance, so far as we have heard, of this pest being found out of its proper district, is that a herd of buffaloes or other game may be chased to some distance, and carry the fly with them; but if they remain long the insect will leave them and return to its proper range.
tsetse fly
The fly, a little more than half an inch long and more slender in proportion than a common house fly (the illustrations given below, Figs. 1 and 2, give the true size and an enlarged view of the insect), hovers steadily over the devoted cattle with a peculiarly rapid motion of the wings. To speak either of its bite or its sting would convey an erroneous idea; it seems to pierce the skin, and dilute the blood it wishes to drink by the injection of a fluid, just as the mosquito does; the surplus liquid mingles fatally with the blood. We believe neither goats nor sheep are injured by the virus. The piercing apparatus must be of considerable length, as the insect will penetrate a pilot coat and full suit of underclothing; the puncture leaves no subsequent pain like that of a mosquito, but is startling enough at the moment. The description of the fly may be thus summed up: The abdomen is marked with transverse stripes of yellow and dark chesnut, fading towards the back, and imparting the appearance of a longitudinal stripe of yellow down the centre of the back. The belly is a livid white; dusky glassy-brown wings folding over each other; eyes, brownish purple. It has six long legs. Its proboscis is about one-sixth of an inch long. It has tufts of hair on the body, which aredingiest about the mouth, on the back, and near the tail. It is keen of smell, quick of sight, and its flight is rapid and straight.
It is said that a peculiar breed of dogs, known as the “Moscoba,” or Bàylyè dogs, remain exempt from injury, from having from time immemorial been reared in the fly district, and escaped a cow-milk dietas the natives say. It has no injurious effect upon game whatsoever.
The Cape Colony, the Free State, Kafirland, Natal, and most of the Transvaal Republic, as well as Namaqua and Damara land—the Kalihari Desert and the desert between the Bō-tlét-lē and Zambesi rivers—may be regarded (speaking generally) as clear of the fly, but the hunters on the various tributaries of the Limpopo suffered very heavy losses; and Mr. Coqui and party, who travelled from Origstadt to Delagoa Bay, lost all their cattle, we believe, from the tsetse, not far from the last-named place. When travellers first began to find their way to Lake Ngami many, for want of local knowledge, lost sometimes half their cattle. At Tette, and the other Portuguese possessions on the Zambesi, very few cattle and no horses are kept, but Senhor Pascoal possessed a few donkeys. The natives in the vicinity have no cattle. We do not remember that we saw the tsetse there, but possibly this may have originally prevented their introduction, and the fly may have died out in places where the wild animals have been destroyed. When we travelled from Walwisch Bay, we fell in with no fly all the way to Lake Ngami, but turning thence to the north-west we feared to push too far to the northward, as the banks of the Teoughe, and probably the woods some distance from it, were known to be infested.
From the lake eastward we travelled in comparative safety along the Bō-tlét-lē River, and turned north over the elevated riverless plain towards the Zambesi. In the valley of that great river system we first felt ourselves in actual proximity to the fly. At Dāká, the cattle grazed in safety; but a servant, who was sent to outspan, ten or twenty miles to the west, had to return because he had got into an infested locality; and when we started with one waggon only to visit the Falls, we found that patches of mimosa and other forests on the banks of the Matietsie River were also frequented by these little pests.
We tried to save the oxen by rushing them past whenever the edge of the bush approached too closely to the river; but an accidental delay exposed the cattle to the fatal influence of the tsetse. At the Anyati, or Buffalo River, we had to leave the waggon and cattle as the long bed or sand hill covered with mopani and other trees, between it and the Falls, was known to be infested.
Mr. Baldwin also on his way to the Victoria Falls, from Natal, left his waggons in Moselekatses country, on account of the fly in the intervening districts, and made his way on foot. A fellow traveller of ours had a safe camp for several months with cattle at Boana; and at Logier Hill on the Zambesi (lat. 18° 4′ 58″ S.; long. approx. 26° 38′ E.) we do not remember to have seen any, though we resided there from September to the following February, in 1862–63.
In the parts about Chobè the fly is found near rivers only, in or near rich soils, and marshy spots—generally in mimosa or mopani forests. It sometimes shifts its position, and has been known to leave a spot which has been greatly hunted with guns—probably because the game had diminished or left.
The following are the first symptoms in oxen of being bitten: A swelling under the throat, which, if lanced, emits a yellowish fluid; the hair stands on end or reversed; they become debilitated, and though the herbage is ever so luxuriant, refuse to fill themselves and become very thin; their eyes water, and at length, when their end is approaching, a continual rattling in the throat or chest may be heard a few paces off. Sometimes one out of the number recovers, but very rarely, and only when it has no work to perform after being bitten. Horses generally swell about the eyes, nostrils, and testacles, where, probably, the bites are most numerous; the hair becomes reversed, and pining gradually away, they die. Both cattle and horses live from a fortnight to six months after being bitten, but generally all die shortly after the first rain falls.
After death the heart of an ox is encased in a yellowish and glutinous substance, which might be mistaken for fat. The flesh is full of little bladders of water, and the blood is half water at heart, which, on cooling, becomes congealed into a yellow glutinous substance. The vitals are of a livid colour.
We do not believe that the flesh is rendered unfit for food if the animal be killed in the early stages, but when the poison has made much progress in the blood, and the creature becomes much out of condition, it must of course be greatly deteriorated. We do not know of any remedy, and no certain preventive; it would be a great boon to travellers if any composition, disgusting to the insect, innoxious to the animal, and easy of carriage and application, could be discovered. We have heard a hunter propose to tar his horse, and then ride “into the fly,” and shoot elephants; and it is supposed that the anointing of cattle with their own excrement mixed with milk will save them from being bitten, but both these expedients, beside being annoying to the animals, would be liable to lose their efficacy in a short time.
Catching cattle.
The vang-stock is generally used to slip the noose over the hind leg of an ox unwilling to be caught. If a turn can be got round the other leg so much the better; another noose is thrown over his horns; men catch him by the tail, another seizes him by the horns, using them as levers, and, with all his members thus pushed and hauled in contrary directions, down he must go. If he is meant for a waggon ox the yoke is put upon his neck, and once fast in the middle of a dozen well-drilled yokefellows his struggles are unavailing, and he soon begins to feel the necessity of taking kindly to his work.
If he is wanted for a pack ox, a hole is bored through the cartilage of the nose, and a small stick 4in. or 6in. long, with a fork at one end like aYpushed through; this serves as a bit, to which his halter is made fast; a long reim is passed very tightly, with many turns, round his body, some old skins are tied upon his back, and he is forced to stand or walk with these for several hours. Next day heavier packages are put on, and he is thus exercised till he is well accustomed to carry a load. The Kafirs very frequently tie packages upon the horns of their oxen. For riding oxen, those that seem of a less gregarious or dependent temper, and go most freely alone, are selected, as they give less trouble to the rider. Many of the most highly valued have loose, pendent horns, swinging, like locks of hair, with every motion of the head. We believe this is malformation, and is produced by beating andbreaking the core of the horn while still young. In riding, the reim is carried from the nose-bit over the forehead, and thus the nose can be jerked up into the air at the rider’s pleasure, or the animal guided by a gentle pull from side to side.
Riding oxen.
Among completely uncivilised Kafirs or Hottentots the ox is ridden with only a few skins lashed on his back, but after communication with Europeans they generally improvise some sort of saddle, perhaps a couple of pads connected by strips of skin, or a piece of skin with the ends turned up towards the middle and stitched, so as to form two bags, which may be filled either with grass or with any soft articles that have to be carried. We have ridden oxen very comfortably with an English saddle, and have used spurs, which are well enough for gentle admonition, but the sambok, or hide whip, must be at hand as a more convincing argument.
The armament of a hunter is expensive. A couple of hundred pounds may very easily be spent upon his rifles, without subjecting him to the imputation of extravagance. He must have his good, stout, plain gun (smooth-bored) for general purposes—double-barrel, of eleven gauge; then his rifles, carrying bullets of from 2oz. to 6oz. each; and most probably one or more smooth bores, of still heavier metal, for night shooting at close quarters, when extreme accuracy of aim is not of much importance, and where the shock to the nervous system by the concussion of a large round bullet which bruises the parts around, instead of merely penetrating them like the sharp pointed cylindro-conical, is much more likely to bring down the animal before he has had time to wander very far from the place where he was shot.
Powder is required in large quantities, for, besides being always liable to waste or injury from damp, the loading of guns, with from 6drs. to 10drs. to a charge, the number of shots fired for practice at ant-hills, ineffectively in the chase, or shot away by native servants, counts for something. A liberal stock of shot of various sizes, caps, wadding, and gun requisites should be laid in.
Of course there must be a proportionate amount of mercury, tin, or type metal, to harden the bullets, till they can just be indented between the teeth, when they are supposed to be hard enough, without losing too much of their weight.
Spring guns.
gun trapsetting a gun trapthe lever principlePORCUPINE TRAP.
gun trap
setting a gun trap
the lever principle
PORCUPINE TRAP.
PORCUPINE TRAP.
When engaged in hunting in the forests during the day, the hunter will not unfrequently find it convenient to set either gun or bow traps for the purpose of destroying mischievous and roving night prowlers. Almost any old gun or musket, provided that it will go off when the trigger is pulled, and will not burst from the effects of a good heavy charge, will answer the purpose.gun trapThe most convenient form of gun trap we have ever used is formed by lashing a piece of horn, bone, or polished wood, to the back of the trigger guard with waxed thread, as shown in the annexed illustration.setting a gun trapThe trigger string is then brought back, passed through behind it, and led forward through the ramrod hoops. The gun, when heavily loaded, is lashed fast to some tree or post at a convenient height from the ground. A stout forked stick placed in the ground, about 18in. from the muzzle, will, according to its length, serve to regulate the line of fire to the height of the animal the trap is intended for. The trap is baited either by attaching a piece of meat of suitable size to the end of the trigger string in such a way that, as the food is seized and dragged away, the trigger may be drawn, and the gun exploded. Where jackals or other small animals of prey are abundant, they are very apt to spring your trap and waste your ammunition. In order to prevent them from doing so,it is well to form a sort of pass or road up to a large bait staked to the earth with crook posts or pegs, and then carry your trigger line at a slight strain high enough for a jackal to go under it, but low enough to be struck on the advance of a larger animal. The outer end must now be tied fast to a tree or post, as shown in the engraving on the opposite page.the lever principleSome hunters we have known adjust their trigger lines on the lever principle, as shown in the accompanying illustration. The plan is a good one for drawing a trigger with a heavy pull; but we prefer our own plan, because it is always available. The bit of horn need never be taken from the guard when once properly secured there.PORCUPINE TRAP.A very good porcupine trap is made from the barrel of an old cavalry pistol, stapled to a block of wood, and exploded by the fall of a piece of old spring. A little bone peg or setting pin rests on the top of the barrel, and supports the spring until the string which is fastened to the middle of the setting pin is drawn. The least pull on the string causes the lower end of the pin to slip off the barrel, and allows the spring to fly sharply down on the crown of the nipple.
Arrow traps.
Bow and arrow traps are in use in many parts of the world. The Chinese and Tartars are very clever at constructing them. Very large and powerful cross-bows, charged with poisoned arrows, and set much after the manner of a gun-trap are often used for the destruction of tigers and other animals.
Large and very strong bamboo bows, charged with a number ofarrows placed in a row, are set with a line stretched across the run of the animals in such a manner that a set of trigger sticks, shown in the annexed illustration, may be acted on when the line is drawn on.
arrow trap
There is an arrow trap, the “Elg-Led,” used for the destruction of elk in the forests of northern Europe. No bow is used in the construction of this engine. The hunter, when about to set an elg-led, seeks for a regularly used elk track. Each side of this, when found, he plants a post about 4ft. in height, like the posts of a gate. At about 6ft. from one of the posts he plants another in the same line, and on the tops of the two uprights he fixes by pins a fir-pole chopped flat, just as a hand rail of a bridge is made. He then cuts a long tough spring pole, and lashes its large end fast to two more uprights in such a way that, when forcibly bent back like a spring, its small end may sweep the whole length of the hand-rail, as we will call it. On the top of this hand rail a deep groove is cut, and in it rests a heavy-headed arrow. When the spring pole is drawn back to its full extent, it is held in place by a hard wood pin, set at a slope in a notch cut in the top of the hand rail. To the bottom or heel of this pin is attached one end of a stout copper wire, whilst the other end is carried across the elk track and made fast to the other gate post. Brushwood skilfully disposed on either side of the track keeps the elk in the direct road, whilst fresh young branches and “elk food lichen” scattered freely here and there serve to so attract the attention of the advancinganimal that the first intimation he receives of anything being amiss is the passage of the massive steel-pointed shaft through his body. We were first shown how to set an elg-led by an old Norse skipper, who as a warning informed us that the best cow he ever possessed, or was ever likely to possess again, was found dead within ten yards of the first elg-led he ever constructed. Whilst on the subject of traps of this kind, it may not be amiss to caution our readers against placing any of them in situations where either domestic animals or human beings are likely to stray. When you set gun or bow traps near camp, warn all your followers that you have done so. In setting a gun trap be sure that the cocking of the gun and putting on the cap are the last two operations performed. In the case of arrow traps never lay in your arrow until every detail of your arrangements have been completed. Never cross in front of a set trap, or you may pay dearly for doing so.
In situations where it is not convenient or profitable to construct arrow traps, deer are often taken in considerable numbers by first forming a rough fence of tree trunks and branches, and then making openings just large enough for the animals to pass through at intervals. In these pass ways nooses of strong cord are suspended in such a way that, as the deer endeavours to force its way through, the slip knot tightens round his neck and holds him fast until dispatched. Tough, elastic young trees are not unfrequently made to do duty as deer traps, by bending them down until their tops are a few feet from the earth; a running loop of strong cord is then made fast to the extreme end of the natural spring, which is held down by a line, peg, and trigger arrangement set in the deer path. As the animal, in straying onward, catches his leg in the line, the trigger sets the bow free, the noose runs home, and the captive swings aloft. Some of the jungle tribes of India make use of an ingenious hook arrangement for deer and antelope catching, which is thus prepared: A pebble from the river bed, a stout, sharp, hook-shaped thorn and a short piece of twisted hide or grass rope are used to make the trap.The pebble has a hole made in one of its ends, through this one end of the rope is looped, whilst the other end is securely lashed to the thick end of thehooked thorn, as shown in the annexed illustration. This contrivance is baited by placing a small round jungle fruit, of which deer are very fond, on the hook, which is, with its cord and pebble, laid in the path which the animals follow in going to and from water. On the bait being taken into the mouth, the hook quickly becomes embedded in the loose skin below the tongue. The deer, being unable to get rid of it, strikes impatiently upwards with one of its fore-feet, stamping furiously, like an enraged sheep; in doing this, the cleft between the two hoof-tips, being open, receives the cord, the pebble runs up to the back of the pastern, into the hollow of the heel, holds fast there, and so compels the deluded beast to caper about on three legs, when a well-directed arrow soon settles the matter. On the American Continent a sport known as fire-hunting is much followed. This mode of hunting is prosecuted at night. The hunter provides himself with a rifle, an old frying-pan, fastened to the end of a pole, and a good supply of resinous pine knots. These he ignites in the pan, and as the bright flame leaps up, he watches carefully for the gleam from the eyes of the deer amongst the dark shadows of the forest. When the two glowing orbs are perceived a ball is directed immediately between them. Canoes are not unfrequently used in fire-hunting, when the deer are lily-root hunting on the borders of lakes and rivers. Salt-licks or saline incrustations are powerful attractions to deer, who will travel long distances at night to indulge their fondness for salt, when they can be often shot in great numbers by the aid of fire kindled near the lick. Trappers and squatters at times manufacture artificial salt-licks by boring a great number of auger-holes in prostrate tree trunks; these, when tightly rammed with salt, seldom fail to attract such deer as may be in the vicinity. Care must, however, be taken that domestic cattle are not shot at the lick in mistake, as the salt is much relished by them.
When a deer is killed by the hunter at some distance from camp, he either protects it from the attacks of animals or birds of prey until it can be conveniently removed, or proceeds to prepare it for packing at once on his horse, pony, or mule. In countries where there are no vultures, animals of medium size may be kept in safety by attaching themto a spring-pole, or “riser.” This is made by bending down a tough, elastic young tree until the crown fork is reached; trim this in such a way with your hunting knife that a sort of hooked crutch is formed. Now lock the hind legs of your animal together by making a slit behind one back tendon, and running the opposite leg through until the hough joint prevents its return; place the loop thus formed over your hook-crutch, and then let the tree spring back to its original erect position, and your game will be safe from ground pilferers. The pole will be too small for bears to climb. Birds and wild cats are scared away by attaching a few bits of coloured rag, or a fluttering pocket handkerchief to the prong. Large red deer or moose can be cut up before suspension. When large animals have to be left whole and unskinned in the woods, lay them longways against the side of a fallen log; cover them with thorn bushes, and then proceed to cut some long thin wands, or small branches; strip the bark from them, in order that the white stick may show. Plant the ends in the earth, and bend the upper portions of the rods over the thorn bushes, amongst which they can be wattled. Few wolves will face this arrangement, as it looks too much like a trap to be safely ventured on. To prepare a deer for packing on a horse which has to carry the hunter as well, proceed as follows:—First make an incision directly behind the back of the head, above what is called the pithing spot, or joint between theatlasanddentataof anatomists; cut round the neck until the muscles, &c., are all divided; then twist the head round, using the antlers as a pair of levers; divide the attachment between the two bones just mentioned, and the head is separated from the neck. Cut the neck from the body just at the last neck joint, which lays in front of and above the shoulders. Cut off all the feet at the pastern joints. Now pass your knife directly in through the front line of the breast bone, and cut forward and back until the brisket is completely divided. Then in the same line carry your cut straight down the centre of the belly until the point of your knife rests on the root of the tail. Feel for the arch bone of the pelvis, skin back the tissues from it, place your knife on its centre with the heel of the blade close to the border of the bone. If the knife is a powerful one, and in good order, a little dexterity in its use will suffice to divide the arch at once. Whenthis has been done, return to the brisket, force open the cut made in it, insert the two hands, and pull right and left until you can bring your knee to bear in flattening out the two sides by the giving way of the heads of the ribs. Take the two thighs and spread them open in the same manner. When this is done seek for the end of the windpipe; when found make a hole through it and pass in a short stick for a cross handle to hold on by, pull it upwards and backwards, cutting away right and left above it such adhesions as will be found, turn out all the intestines by freeing them in the same manner, taking care not to puncture them during the operation. If the work has been properly done nothing but the kidneys will remain in the body of the deer, which can be easily lashed fast to the Ds behind the saddle. The liver and heart can be made a separate package of, as they are well worth taking home.
Fall-traps.
A great number of forms of the fall-trap, as it is called, are to be found in different parts of the world, and trappers of fur-bearing animals avail themselves extensively of the use of engines of this description. From the largest bear to the tiny ermine the drop or deadfall produces death, just as we see the common slide-door cage successfully used in taking alive either the royal Bengal tiger or the pilfering kitchen mouse. Deadfall traps are especially valuable to the northern trapper, who, with axe, knife, and rifle, penetrates vast solitudes in search of furs. The materials for his traps cost him merely the trouble of cutting them from the surrounding forest; but no little ingenuity, forethought, and deep calculation are needed to so arrange the tree-trunks, pegs, sticks, and baits, as to successfully impose on creatures so richly endowed with instinct as the fur-coated inhabitants of the wilds.