There is another terrible method of destroying elephants in Central Africa. During the dry season, when the withered herbage from 10 to 14 feet in height is most inflammable, a large herd of elephants may be found in the middle of such high grass that they can only be perceived should a person be looking down from some elevated point. If they should be espied by some native hunter, he would immediately give due notice to the neighbourhood, and in a short time the whole population would assemble for the hunt. This would be arranged by forming a circle of perhaps 2 miles in diameter, and simultaneously firing the grass so as to create a ring of flames around the centre. An elephant is naturally afraid of fire, and it has an instinctive horror of the crackling of flames when the grass has been ignited. As the circle of fire contracts in approaching the encircled herd, they at first attempt retreat until they become assured of their hopeless position; they at length become desperate, being maddened by fear, and panic-stricken by the wild shouts of the thousands who have surrounded them. At length, half-suffocated by the dense smoke, and terrified by the close approach of the roaring flames, the unfortunate animals charge recklessly through the fire, burnt and blinded, to be ruthlessly speared by the bloodthirsty crowd awaiting this last stampede. Sometimes a hundred or more elephants are simultaneously destroyed in this wholesale slaughter. The flesh is then cut into long strips and dried, every portion of the animal being smoked upon frames of green wood, and the harvest of meat is divided among the villages which have contributed to the hunt. The tusks are also shared, a certain portion belonging by right to the various headmen and the chief.
When man determines to commence war with the animal kingdom the result must be disastrous to the beasts, if the human destroyers are in sufficient numbers to ensure success. Although fire-arms may not be employed, the human intelligence must always overpower the brute creation, but man must exist in numerical superiority if the wild beasts are to be fairly vanquished by a forced retreat from the locality. From my own observation I have concluded that wild animals of all kinds will withstand the dangers of traps, pitfalls, fire, and the usual methods for their destruction employed by savages, but they will be rapidly cleared out of an extensive district by the use of fire-arms. There is a peculiar effect in the report of guns which appears to excite the apprehension of danger in the minds of all animals. This is an extraordinary instance of the general intelligence of wild creatures, as they must be accustomed to the reports of thunder since the day of their birth. Nevertheless they draw a special distinction between the loud peal of thunder and the comparatively innocent explosion of a fire-arm.
Many years ago in Ceylon I devoted particular attention to this subject, especially as it affects the character of elephants. How those creatures manage to communicate with each other it is impossible to determine, but the fact remains that a very few days' shooting will clear out an extensive district, although the area may comprise a variation of open prairie with a large amount of forest. I have frequently observed, in the portion of Ceylon known as the Park country, the tracks of elephants in great numbers which have evidently been considerable herds that have joined together in a general retreat from ground which they considered insecure. In that district I have arrived at the proper season, when the grass after burning has grown to the height of about 2 feet, and it has literally been alive with elephants. In a week my late brother General Valentine Baker and myself shot thirty-two, and I sent a messenger to invite a friend to join us, in the expectation of extraordinary sport. Upon his arrival after five or six days, there was not an elephant in the country, excepting two or three old single bulls which always infested certain spots.
The reports of so many heavy rifles, which of necessity were fired every evening at dusk in the days of muzzle-loaders, for the sake of cleaning, must have widely alarmed the country, but independently of this special cause there can be no doubt that after a few days' heavy shooting, the elephants will combine in some mysterious manner and disappear from an extensive district. In many ways these creatures are perplexing to the student of natural history. It would occur to most people that in countries where elephants abound we should frequently meet with those that are sick, or so aged that they cannot accompany the herd. Although for very many years I have hunted both in Asia and Africa I have never seen a sick elephant in a wild state, neither have I ever come across an example of imbecility through age. It is rarely we discover a dead elephant that has not met with a violent death, and only once in my life have I by accident found the remains of a tusker with the large tusks intact. This animal had been killed in a fight, as there were unmistakable signs of a fearful struggle, the ground being trodden deeply in all directions.
It is supposed by the natives that when an elephant is mortally sick it conceals itself in the thickest and most secluded portion of the jungle, to die in solitude. Most animals have the same instinct, which induces them to seek the shelter of some spot remote from all disturbance; and should we find their remains, it will be near water, where the thirst of disease has been assuaged at the last moment. The ox tribe are subject to violent epidemics, and I have not only found the bodies of buffaloes in great numbers upon occasions during some malignant murrain, but they have been scattered throughout the country in all directions, causing a frightful stench, and probably extending the infection. A few years ago there was an epidemic among the bisons in the Reipore district of India; this spread into neighbouring districts over a large extent of country, and caused fearful ravages, but none of the deer tribe were attacked, the disease being confined specially to the genus Bos. There are interesting proofs of the specific poison of certain maladies which are limited in their action to a particular class of animal. We find the same in vegetable diseases, where a peculiar insect will attack a distinct family of plants, or where a special variety of fungoid growth exerts a similar baneful influence.
Wounded elephants have a marvellous power of recovery when in their wild state, although they have no gift of surgical knowledge, their simple system being confined to plastering their wounds with mud, or blowing dust upon the surface. Dust and mud comprise the entire pharmacopoeia of the elephant, and this is applied upon the most trivial as well as upon the most serious occasion. If an elephant has a very slight sore back, it will quickly point out the tender part by blowing dust with its trunk upon the spot which it cannot reach. Should the mahout have seriously punished the crown with the cruel driving-hook, the elephant applies dust at the earliest opportunity. I have seen them, when in a tank, plaster up a bullet-wound with mud taken from the bottom. This application is beneficial in protecting the wound from the attack of flies. The effect of these disgusting insects is quite shocking when an unfortunate animal becomes fly-blown, and is literally consumed by maggots. An elephant possesses a wonderful superiority over all other animals in the trunk, which can either reach the desired spot directly, or can blow dust upon it when required. All shepherds in England appreciate the difficulty when their sheep are attacked by flies, but they can be relieved by the human hand; a wild animal, on the contrary, has no alleviation, and it must eventually succumb to its misery. There is a peculiar fly in most tropical climates, but more especially in Ceylon, which lays live maggots, instead of eggs that require some time to hatch. These are the most dreadful pests, as the lively young maggots exhibit a horrible activity in commencing their work the instant they see the light; they burrow almost immediately into the flesh, and grow to a large size within twenty-four hours, occasioning the most loathsome sores. The best cure for any wound thus attacked, and swarming with live maggots, is a teaspoonful of calomel applied and rubbed into the deep sore.
I have seen the Arabs in the Soudan adopt a most torturing remedy when a camel has suffered from a fly-blown sore back. Upon one occasion I saw a camel kneeling upon the ground with a number of men around it, and I found that it was to undergo a surgical operation for a terrible wound upon its hump. This was a hole as large and deep as an ordinary breakfast-cup, which was alive with maggots. The operator had been preparing a quantity of glowing charcoal, which was at a red heat. This was contained in a piece of broken chatty, a portion of a water jar, and it was dexterously emptied into the diseased cavity on the camel's back.
The poor creature sprang to its feet, and screaming with agony, dashed at full gallop across the desert in a frantic state, with the fire scorching its flesh, and doubtless making it uncomfortable for the maggots. Fire is the Arabs' vade mecum; the actual cautery is deeply respected, and is supposed to be infallible. If internal inflammation should attack the patient, the surface is scored with a red-hot iron. Should guinea-worm be suspected, there is no other course to pursue than to burn the suffering limb in a series of spots with a red-hot iron ramrod. The worm will shortly make its appearance at one of these apertures after some slight inflammation and suppuration. This fearful complaint is termed Frendeet in the Soudan, and it is absorbed into the system generally by drinking foul water. At the commencement of the rainy season, when the ground has been parched by the long drought of summer, the surface-water drains into the hollows and forms muddy pools. The natives shun such water, as it is almost certain to contain the eggs of the guinea-worm. These in some mysterious manner are hatched within the body if swallowed in the act of drinking, and whether they develop in the stomach or in the intestines, it is difficult to determine, but the result is the same. The patient complains of rheumatic pains in one limb; this increases until the leg or arm swells to a frightful extent, accompanied by severe inflammation and great torment. The Arab practitioner declares that the worm is at work, and is seeking for a means of escape from the body. He accordingly burns half a dozen holes with a red-hot iron or ramrod. In a few days the head of the guinea-worm appears; it is immediately captured by a finely-split reed, and by degrees is wound like a cotton thread by turning the reed every day. This requires delicate manipulation, otherwise the worm might break, and a portion remain in the flesh, which would increase the inflammation. An average guinea-worm would be about three feet in length. Animals do not appear to suffer from this complaint, although they are subject to the attacks of great varieties of parasites. Elephants are frequently troubled with internal worms. I witnessed a curious instance of the escape of such insects from the stomach through a hole caused by a bullet, nevertheless the animal appeared to be in good condition.
It was a fine moonlight night on the borders of Abyssinia that I sat up to watch the native crops, which were a great attraction to the wild elephants, although there was no heavy jungle nearer than 20 miles. It was the custom of these animals to start after sunset, and to arrive at about ten o'clock in the vast dhurra fields of the Arabs, who, being without fire-arms, could only scare them by shouts and flaming torches. The elephants did not care much for this kind of disturbance, and they merely changed their position from one portion of the cultivated land to another more distant, and caused serious destruction to the crop (Sorghum vulgare), which was then nearly ripe. The land was rich, and the dhurra grew 10 or 12 feet high, with stems as thick as sugar-cane, while the large heads of corn contained several thousand grains the size of a split-pea. This was most tempting food for elephants, and they travelled nightly the distance named to graze upon the crops, and then retreated before sunrise to their distant jungles.
I do not enjoy night shooting, but there was no other way of assisting the natives, therefore I found myself watching, in the silent hours of night, in the middle of a perfect sea of cultivation, unbroken for many miles. There is generally a calm during the night, and there was so perfect a stillness that it was almost painful, the chirp of an insect sounding as loud as though it were a bird. At length there was a distant sound like wind, or the rush of a stream over a rocky bed. This might have been a sudden gust, but the sharp crackling of brittle dhurra stems distinctly warned us that elephants had invaded the field, and that they were already at their work of destruction.
As the dhurra is sown in parallel rows about 3 feet apart, and the ground was perfectly flat, there was no difficulty in approaching the direction whence the cracking of the dhurra could be distinctly heard. The elephants appeared to be feeding towards us with considerable rapidity, and in a few minutes I heard the sound of crunching within 50 yards of me. I immediately ran along the clear passage between the tall stems, and presently saw a black form close to me as it advanced in the next alley to my own. I do not think I was more than 4 or 5 yards from it when it suddenly turned its head to the right, and I immediately took a shot behind the ear. I had a white paper sight upon the muzzle of the large rifle (No. 10), which was plainly distinguished in the bright moonlight, and the elephant fell stone dead without the slightest struggle.
After some delay from the dispersion of my men who carried spare guns, I re-loaded, and followed in the direction which the herd had taken.
Although upon the "qui vive," they had not retreated far, as they were unaccustomed to guns, and they were determined to enjoy their supper after the long march of 20 miles to the attractive dhurra fields. I came up with them about three-quarters of a mile from the first shot; here there was the limit of cultivation, and all was wild prairie land; they had retreated by the way they had arrived, with the intention, no doubt, of returning again to the dhurra when the disturbing cause should have disappeared. I could see the herd distinctly as they stood in a compact body numbering some ten or twelve animals. The only chance was to run straight at them in order to get as near as possible before they should start, as I expected they would, in panic. Accordingly I ran forward, when, to my surprise, two elephants rushed towards me, and I was obliged to fire right and left. One fell to the ground for a moment, but recovered; the other made no sign, except by whirling round and joining the herd in full retreat.
That night I used a double-barrel muzzle-loader (No. 10), with conical bullet made of 12 parts lead, 1 part quicksilver, 7 drams of powder.
Some days later we heard native reports concerning an elephant that had been seen badly wounded, and very lame.
Forty-two days after this incident I had moved camp to a place called Geera, 22 miles distant. It was a wild uninhabited district at that time on the banks of the Settite river, with the most impervious jungle of hooked thorns, called by the Arabs "kittul." This tree does not grow higher than twenty-five feet, but it spreads to a very wide flat-topped head, the branches are thick, the wood immensely strong and hard, while the thorns resemble fish-hooks minus the barb. This impenetrable asylum was the loved resort of elephants, and it was from this particular station that they made their nocturnal raids upon the cultivated district more than 20 miles distant in a direct line.
We slept out that night upon the sandy bed of a small stream, which at that season of great heat had evaporated. Upon waking on the following morning we found the blankets wet through with the heavy dew, and the pillows soaking. Having arranged the camp, I left Lady Baker to give the necessary orders, while I took my rifles and a few good men for a reconnaissance of the neighbourhood.
The river ran through cliffs of rose-coloured limestone; this soon changed to white; and we proceeded down stream examining the sandy portions of the bed for tracks of game that might have passed during the preceding night. After about a mile we came upon tracks of elephants, which had apparently come down to drink at our side of the river, and had then returned, I felt sure, to the thorny asylum named Tuleet.
There was no other course to pursue but to follow on the tracks; this we did until we arrived at the formidable covert to which I have alluded. It was impossible to enter this except at certain places where wild animals had formed a narrow lane, and in one of these by-ways we presently found ourselves, sometimes creeping, sometimes walking, but generally adhering firmly every minute to some irrepressible branch of hooked thorns, which gave us a pressing invitation to "wait a bit." In a short time we found evident signs that the elephants were near at hand. The natives thrust their naked feet into the fresh dung to see if it was still warm. This was at length the case, and we advanced with extra care. The jungle became so thick that it was almost impossible to proceed. I wore a thick flaxen shirt which would not tear. This had short sleeves, as I was accustomed to bare arms from a few inches above the elbow. Not only my shirt, but the tough skin of my arms was every now and then hooked up fast by these dreadful thorns, and at last it appeared impossible to proceed. Just at that moment there was a sudden rush, a shrill trumpet, and the jungle crashed around us in magnificent style to those who enjoy such excitement, and a herd of elephants dashed through the dense thicket and consolidated themselves into a mighty block as they endeavoured to force down the tough thorny mass ahead of them. This was a grand opportunity to run in, but a phalanx of opposing rumps like the sterns of Dutch vessels in a crowd rendered it impossible to shoot, or to pass ahead of the perplexed animals. A female elephant suddenly wheeled round, and charged straight into us; fortunately I killed her with a forehead shot exactly below the boss or projection above the trunk. I now took a spare rifle, the half-pounder, and fired into the flank of the largest elephant in the herd, just behind the last rib, the shot striking obliquely, thus aimed to reach the lungs, as I could not see any of the fore portion of the body.
The dense compressed thorny mass of jungle offered such resistance that it was some time before it gave way before the united pressure of these immense animals. At length it yielded as the herd crashed through, but it then closed again upon us and made following impossible. However, we felt sure that the elephant I had hit with the half-pound explosive shell would die, and after creeping through upon the tracks with the greatest difficulty for about 150 yards, we found it lying dead upon its side.
The whole morning was occupied in cutting up the flesh and making a post-mortem examination. We found the inside partially destroyed by the explosive shell, which had shattered the lungs, but there was an old wound still open where a bullet had entered the chest, and missing the heart and lungs in an oblique course, it had passed through the stomach, then through the cavity of the body beneath the ribs and flank, and had penetrated the fleshy mass inside the thigh. In that great resisting cushion of strong muscles the bullet had expended its force, and found rest from its extraordinary course of penetration. After some trouble, I not only traced its exact route, but I actually discovered the projectile embedded in a foul mass of green pus, which would evidently have been gradually absorbed without causing serious damage to the animal. To my surprise, it was my own No. 10 two-groove conical bullet, composed of twelve parts lead and one of quicksilver, which I had fired when this elephant had advanced towards me at night, forty-two days ago, and 22 miles, as far as I could ascertain, from the spot where I had now killed it. The superior size of this animal to the remainder of the herd had upon both occasions attracted my special attention, hence the fact of selection, but I was surprised that any animal should have recovered from such a raking shot. The cavity of the body abounded with hairy worms about 2 inches in length. These had escaped from the stomach through the two apertures made by the bullet; and upon an examination of the contents, I found a great number of the same parasites crawling among the food, while others were attached to the mucous membrane of the paunch. This fact exhibits the recuperative power of an elephant in recovering from a severe internal injury.
The natives of Central Africa have a peculiar method of destroying them, by dropping a species of enormous dagger from the branch of a tree. The blade of this instrument is about 2 feet in length, very sharp on both edges, and about 3 inches in width at the base. It is secured in a handle about 18 inches long, the top of which is knobbed; upon this extremity a mass of well-kneaded tenacious clay mixed with chopped straw is fixed, weighing 10 or 12 lbs., or even more. When a large herd of elephants is discovered in a convenient locality, the hunt is thus arranged:—A number of men armed with these formidable drop-spears or daggers ascend all the largest and most shady trees throughout the neighbouring forest. In a great hunt there may be some hundred trees thus occupied. When all is arranged, the elephants are driven and forced into the forest, to which they naturally retreat as a place of refuge. It is their habit to congregate beneath large shady trees when thus disturbed, in complete ignorance of the fact that the assassins are already among the branches. When an elephant stands beneath a tree thus manned, the hunter drops his weighted spearhead so as to strike the back just behind the shoulder. The weight of the clay lump drives the sharp blade up to the hilt, as it descends from a height of 10 or 12 feet above the animal. Sometimes a considerable number may be beneath one tree, in which case several may be speared in a similar manner. This method of attack is specially fatal, as the elephants, in retreating through the forest, brush the weighted handle of the spear-blade against the opposing branches; these act as levers in cutting the inside of the animal by every movement of the weapon, and should this be well centred in the back there is no escape.
There is no animal that is more persistently pursued than the elephant, as it affords food in wholesale supply to the Africans, who consume the flesh, while the hide is valuable for shields; the fat when boiled down is highly esteemed by the natives, and the ivory is of extreme value. No portion of the animal is wasted in Africa, although in Ceylon the elephant is considered worthless, and is allowed to rot uselessly upon the ground where it fell to die.
The professional hunters that are employed by European traders shoot the elephant with enormous guns, or rifles, which are generally rested upon a forked stick driven into the ground. In this manner they approach to about 50 yards' distance, and fire, if possible simultaneously, two shots behind the shoulder. If these shots are well placed, the elephant, if female, will fall at once, but if a large male, it will generally run for perhaps 100 or more yards until it is forced to halt, when it quickly falls, and dies from suffocation, if the lungs are pierced.
The grandest of all hunters are the Hamran Arabs, upon the Settite river, on the borders of Abyssinia, who have no other weapon but the heavy two-edged sword. I gave an intimate account of these wonderful Nimrods many years ago in theNile Tributaries of Abyssinia, but it is impossible to treat upon the elephant without some reference to these extraordinary people.
Since I visited that country in 1861, the published account of those travels attracted several parties of the best class of ubiquitous Englishmen, and I regret to hear that all those mighty hunters who accompanied me have since been killed in the desperate hand-to-hand encounters with wild elephants. Their life is a constant warfare with savage beasts, therefore it may be expected that the termination is a death upon their field of battle, invariably sword in hand.
James Bruce, the renowned African traveller of the last century, was the first to describe the Agagheers of Abyssinia, and nothing could be more graphic than his description both of the people and the countries they inhabit, through which I have followed in Bruce's almost forgotten footsteps, with the advantage of possessing his interesting book as my guide wheresoever I went in 1861. Since that journey, the deplorable interference of England in Egypt which resulted in the abandonment of the Soudan and the sacrifice of General Gordon at Khartoum has completely severed the link of communication that we had happily established established, which had laid the foundations for future civilisation. The splendid sword-hunters of the Hamran Arabs, who were our friends in former days, have been converted into enemies by the meddling of the British Government with affairs which they could not understand. It is painful to look back to the past, when Lady Baker and myself, absolutely devoid of all escort, passed more than twelve months in exploring the wildest portions of the Soudan, attended only by one Egyptian servant, assisted by some Arab boys which we picked up in the desert among the Arab tribes. In those days the name of England was respected, although not fairly understood. There was a vague impression in the Arab mind that it was the largest country upon earth; that its Government was the emblem of perfection; that the military power of the country was overwhelming (having conquered India); and that the English people always spoke the truth, and never forsook their friends in the moment of distress. There was also an idea that England was the only European Power which regarded the Mussulmans with a friendly eye, and that, were it not for British protection, the Russians would eat the Sultan and overthrow the mosques, to trample upon the Mahommedan power in Constantinople. England was therefore regarded as the friend and the ally of the Mahommedans; it was known that we had together fought against the Russians, and it was believed that we were always ready to fight in the same cause when called upon by the Sultan. All British merchandise was looked upon as the ne plus ultra of purity and integrity; there could be no doubt of the quality of goods, provided that they were of English manufacture.
An Englishman cannot show his face among those people at the present day. The myth has been exploded. The golden image has been scratched, and the potter's clay beneath has been revealed. This is a terrible result of clumsy management. We have failed in every way. Broken faith has dissipated our character for sincerity, and our military operations have failed to attain their object, resulting in retreat upon every side, to be followed up even to the seashores of the Red Sea by an enemy that is within range of our gun-vessels at Souakim. This is a distressing change to those who have received much kindness and passed most agreeable days among the Arab tribes of the Soudan deserts, and I look back with intense regret to the errors we have committed, by which the entire confidence has been destroyed which formerly was associated with the English name. The countries which we opened by many years of hard work and patient toil throughout the Soudan, even through the extreme course of the White Nile to its birthplace in the equatorial regions, have been abandoned by the despotic order of the British Government, influenced by panic instead of policy; telegraphic lines which had been established in the hitherto barbarous countries of Kordofan, Darfur, the Blue Nile territories of Senaar, and throughout the wildest deserts of Nubia to Khartoum have all been abandoned to the rebels, who under proper management should have become England's friends.
This has been our civilising influence (?), by which we have broken down the work of half a century, and produced the most complete anarchy where five-and-twenty years ago a lady could travel in security. England entered Egypt in arms tore-establish the authority of the Khedive!We have dislocated his Empire, and forsaken the Soudan.
The experience of modern practice has hardly decided the vexed question "whether the African species is more difficult to train than the gentle elephant of Asia." In a wild state there can be no doubt that the African is altogether a different animal both in appearance and in habits; it is vastly superior in size, and although of enormous bulk, it is more active and possesses greater speed than the Asiatic variety. Not only is the marked difference in shape a distinguishing peculiarity,—the hollow back, the receding front, the great size of the ears,—but the skin is rougher, and more decided in the bark-like appearance of its texture.
The period of gestation is considered to be the same as the Asiatic elephant, about twenty-two months, but this must be merely conjecture, as there has hitherto been no actual proof. My own experience induces me to believe that the African elephant is more savage, and although it may be tamed and rendered docile, it is not so dependable as the Asiatic. Only last year I saw an African female in a menagerie who had killed her keeper, and was known to be most treacherous. Her attendant informed me that she was particularly fond of change, and would welcome a new keeper with evident signs of satisfaction, but after three or four days she would tire of his society and would assuredly attempt to injure him, either by backing and squeezing him against the wall, or by kicking should he be within reach of her hind legs.
Few persons are aware of the extreme quickness with which an elephant can kick, and the great height that can be reached by this mischievous use of the hind foot. I have frequently seen an elephant kick as sharp as a small pony, and the effect of a blow from so ponderous a mass propelled with extreme velocity may be imagined. This is a peculiar action, as the elephant is devoid of hocks, and it uses the knees of the hind legs in a similar manner to those of a human being, therefore a backward kick would seem unnatural; but the elephant can kick both backwards and forwards with equal dexterity, and this constitutes a special means of defence against an enemy, which seldom escapes when exposed to such a game between the fore and hind feet of the infuriated animal.
Although it is generally believed that an elephant moves the legs upon each side simultaneously, like the camel, it does not actually touch the ground with each foot upon the same side at exactly the same moment, but the fore foot touches the surface first, rapidly followed by the hind, and in both cases the heel is the first portion of the foot that reaches its destination. The effect may be seen in the feet of an elephant after some months' continual marching upon hard ground: the heels are worn thin and are quite polished, as though they had been worn down by the friction of sand-paper,-in fact, they are in the same condition as the heels of an old boot.
The Indian native princes do not admire the African elephant, as it combines many points which are objectionable to their peculiar ideas of elephantine proportions. According to their views, the hollow back of an African elephant would amount to a deformity. The first time that I ever saw a large male of that variety I was of the same opinion. I was hunting with the Hamran Arabs in a wild and uninhabited portion of Abyssinia, along the banks of the Settite river, which is the main stream of the Atbara, the chief affluent of the Nile.
As before stated, I have already published an account of these wonderful hunters in the Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia, and it is sufficient to describe them as the most fearless and active followers of the chase, armed with no other weapon than the long, straight, two-edged Arab sword, with which they attack all animals, from the elephant and rhinoceros to the lion and buffalo. The sword is sharpened to the finest degree, and the blade is protected for about six inches above the cross-hilt with thick string, bound tightly round so as to afford a grip for the right hand, while the left grips the hilt in the usual manner. This converts the ordinary blade into a two-handed sword, a blow from which will sever a naked man into two halves if delivered at the waist. It may be imagined that a quick cut from such a formidable weapon will at once divide the hamstring of any animal. The usual method of attacking the elephant is as follows:-Three, or at the most four mounted hunters sally forth in quest of game. When the fresh tracks of elephants are discovered they are steadily followed up until the herd, or perhaps the single animal, is found. If a large male with valuable tusks, it is singled out and separated from the herd. The leading hunter follows the retreating elephant, accompanied by his companions in single file. After a close hunt, keeping within 10 yards of the game, a sudden halt becomes necessary, as the elephant turns quickly round and faces its pursuers.
The greatest coolness is required, as the animal, now thoroughly roused, is prepared to charge. The hunters separate to right and left, leaving the leader to face the elephant. After a few moments, during which the hunter insults the animal by shouting uncomplimentary remarks concerning the antecedents of its mother, and various personal allusions to imaginary members of the family, the elephant commences to back a half-dozen paces as a preliminary to a desperate onset. This is the well-known sign of the coming charge. A sharp shrill trumpet! and, with its enormous ears thrown forward, the great bull elephant rushes towards the apparently doomed horse. As quick as lightning the horse is turned, and a race commences along a course terribly in favour of the elephant, where deep ruts, thick tangled bush, and the branches of opposing trees obstruct both horse and rider. Everything now depends upon the sure-footedness of the horse and the cool dexterity of the rider. For the first 100 yards an elephant will follow at 20 miles an hour, which keeps the horse flying at top speed before it. The rider, even in this moment of great danger, looks behind him, and adapts his horse's pace so narrowly to that of his pursuer that the elephant's attention is wholly absorbed by the hope of overtaking the unhappy victim.
In the meantime, two hunters follow the elephant at full gallop; one seizes his companion's reins and secures the horse, while the rider springs to the ground with the same agility as a trained circus-rider, and with one dexterous blow of his flashing sword he divides the back sinew of the elephant's hind leg about 16 inches above the heel. The sword cuts to the bone. The elephant that was thundering forward at a headlong speed suddenly halts; the foot dislocates when the great weight of the animal presses upon it deprived of the supporting sinew. That one cut of the sharp blade, disables an animal which appeared invincible.
As the elephant moves both legs upon the same side simultaneously, the disabling of one leg entirely cripples all progress, and the creature becomes absolutely helpless. The hunter, having delivered his fatal stroke, springs nimbly upon one side to watch the effect, and then without difficulty he slashes the back sinew of the remaining leg, with the result that the animal bleeds to death. This is a cruel method, but it requires the utmost dexterity and daring on the part of the hunters, most of whom eventually fall victims to their gallantry.
I was accompanied by these splendid sword-hunters of the Hamran Arabs in 1861 during my exploration of the Nile tributaries of Abyssinia; and upon the first occasion that I was introduced to an African male elephant, the animal was standing at the point of a long sandbank which had during high water formed the bed of the river, where a sudden bend had hollowed out the inner side of the curve and thrown up a vast mass of sand upon the opposite shore. This bank was a succession of terraces, each about 4 feet high, formed at intervals during the changes in the level of the retreating stream. The elephant was standing partly in the water drinking, and quite 100 yards from the forest upon the bank. The huge dark mass upon the glaring surface of white sand stood out in bold relief and exhibited to perfection the form and proportions of the animal; but it was so unlike the Indian elephant of my long experience that I imagined some accident must have caused a deformity of the back, which was deeply hollowed, instead of being convex like the Asiatic species. I whispered this to my hunters, who did not seem to understand the remark; and they immediately dismounted, exclaiming that the loose sand was too deep for their horses, and they preferred to be on foot.
It was difficult to approach this elephant, as there was no cover whatever upon the large area of barren sand; the only method was to keep close to the level of the water below the terraces, as the head of the animal was partially turned away from us whilst drinking. I had a very ponderous single rifle weighing 22 lbs., which carried a conical shell of half a pound, with a charge of 16 drams of powder. The sand was so deep that any active movement would have been impossible with the load of so heavy a weapon; I therefore determined to take a shoulder shot should I be able to arrive unperceived within 50 yards. Stooping as low as possible, and occasionally lying down as the ever-swinging head moved towards us, we at length arrived at the spot which I had determined upon for the fatal shot. Just at that moment the elephant perceived us, but before he had made up his mind, I fired behind the shoulder, and as the smoke cleared, I distinctly saw the bullet-hole, with blood flowing from the wound. I think the elephant would have charged, but without a moment's hesitation my gallant Hamrans rushed towards him sword in hand in the hope of slashing his hamstring before he could reach the forest. This unexpected and determined onset decided the elephant to retreat, which he accomplished at such a pace, owing to the large surface of his feet upon the loose sand, that the active hunters were completely distanced, although they exerted themselves to the utmost in their attempts to overtake him.
The wound through the shoulder was fatal, and the elephant fell dead in thick thorny jungle, to which it had hurried as a secure retreat. This was a very large animal, but as I did not actually measure it, any guess at the real height would be misleading. As before noted, the measurement of the African elephant Jumbo, when sold by the Zoological Society of London, was 11 feet in height of shoulder, and 6 tons 10 cwts. nett when weighed before shipment at the docks. That animal might be accepted as a fair specimen, although it would be by no means unusual to see wild elephants which greatly exceed this size.
The peculiar shape of head renders a front shot almost impossible, and the danger of hunting the African elephant is greatly enhanced by this formation of the skull, which protects the brain and offers no defined point for aim.
I have never succeeded in killing a male African elephant by the forehead shot, although it is certainly fatal to the Asiatic variety if placed rather low, in the exact centre of the boss or projection above the trunk. Should an African elephant charge, there is no hope of killing the animal by a direct shot, and the only chance of safety for the hunter is the possession of good nerves and a powerful double-barrelled rifle, No. 8 or No. 4, with 14 drams of powder and a well-hardened bullet. The right-hand barrel will generally stop a charging elephant if the bullet is well placed very low, almost in the base of the trunk. Should this shot succeed in turning the animal, the left-hand barrel would be ready for a shot in the exact centre of the shoulder; after which, time must be allowed for the elephant to fall from internal haemorrhage.
There is no more fatal policy in hunting dangerous game than a contempt of the animal, exhibited by a selection of weapons of inferior calibre. Gunmakers in London of no practical experience, but who can only trust to the descriptions of those who have travelled in wild countries, cannot possibly be trusted as advisers. Common sense should be the guide, and surely it requires no extraordinary intelligence to understand that a big animal requires a big bullet, and that a big bullet requires a corresponding charge of powder, which necessitates a heavy rifle. If the hunter is not a Hercules, he cannot wield his club; but do not permit him to imagine that he can deliver the same knock-down blow with a lighter weapon, simply because he cannot use the heavier.
We lost only last year one of the most daring and excellent men, who was an excellent representative of the type which is embraced in the proud word "Englishman"—Mr. Ingram—who was killed by a wild female elephant in Somali-land, simply because he attacked the animal with a '450 rifle. Although he was mounted, the horse would not face some prickly aloes which surrounded it, and the elephant, badly but not really seriously wounded, was maddened by the attack, and, charging home, swept the unfortunate rider from his saddle and spitted him with her tusks.
This year (1889) we have to lament the death of another fine specimen of our countrymen, the Hon. Guy Dawnay, who has been killed by a wild buffalo in East Africa. The exact particulars will never be ascertained, but it appears that he was following through thick jungle a wounded buffalo, which suddenly turned and was not stopped by the rifle.
I cannot conceive anything more dangerous than the attack of such animals with an inferior weapon. Nothing is more common than the accounts of partially experienced beginners, who declare that the '450 bore is big enough for anything, because they have happened to kill a buffalo or rhinoceros by a shoulder shot with such an inferior rifle. If the animal had been facing them, it would have produced no effect whatever, except to intensify the charge by maddening the already infuriated animal.
This is the real danger in the possession of what is called a " handy small-bore," when in wild countries abounding in dangerous game. You are almost certain to select for your daily companion the lightest and handiest rifle, in the same manner that you may use some favourite walking-stick which you instinctively select from the stand that is filled with a variety.
All hunters of dangerous animals should accustom themselves to the use of large rifles, and never handle anything smaller than a '577, weighing 12 lbs., with a solid 650 grain hard bullet, and at the least 6 drams of powder. I impress this upon all who challenge the dangers of the chase in tropical climates. No person of average strength will feel the weight of a 12 lb. rifle when accustomed to its use. Although this is too small as a rule for heavy game, it is a powerful weapon when the bullet is hardened by a tough mixture of antimony or quicksilver. A shoulder shot from such a rifle will kill any animal less than an elephant, and the front shot, or temple, or behind the ear, will kill any Asiatic elephant.
I would not recommend so small a bore for heavy thick-skinned game, but the '577 rifle is a good protector, and you need not fear any animal in your rambles through the forest when thus armed, whereas the '450 and even the '500 would be of little use against a charging buffalo.
At the same time it must be distinctly understood that so light a projectile as 650 grains will not break the bone of an elephant's leg, neither will it penetrate the skull of a rhinoceros unless just behind the ear. This is sufficient to establish the inferiority of small-bores.
I have seen in a life's experience the extraordinary vagaries of rifle bullets, and for close ranges of 20 yards there is nothing, in my opinion, superior to the old spherical hardened bullet with a heavy charge of powder. The friction is minimised, the velocity is accordingly increased, and the hard round bullet neither deflects nor alters its form, but it cuts through intervening branches and goes direct to its aim, breaking bones and keeping a straight course through the animal. This means death.
At the same time it must be remembered that a '577 rifle may be enabled to perform wonders by adapting the material of the bullet to the purpose specially desired. No soft-skinned animal should be shot with a hardened bullet, and no hard-skinned animal should be shot with a soft bullet.
You naturally wish to kill your animal neatly—to double it up upon the spot. This you will seldom or never accomplish with a very hard bullet and a heavy charge of powder, as the high velocity will drive the hard projectile so immediately through the animal that it receives no striking energy, and is accordingly unaware of a fatal wound that it may have received, simply because it has not sustained a shock upon the impact of a bullet which has passed completely through its body.
To kill a thin-skinned animal neatly, such as a tiger, lion, large deer, etc. etc., the bullet should be pure lead, unmixed with any other metal. This will flatten to a certain degree immediately upon impact, and it will continue to expand as it meets with resistance in passing through the tough muscles of a large animal, until it assumes the shape of a fully developed mushroom, which, after an immense amount of damage in its transit, owing to its large diameter, will remain fixed beneath the skin upon the side opposite to its place of entry. This bestows the entire striking energy of the projectile, and the animal succumbs to the tremendous shock, which it would not have felt had the bullet passed through, carrying on its striking energy until stopped by some other object beyond.
I must repeat that although gunmakers object to the use of pure lead for rifle bullets, upon the plea that lead will form a coating upon the inner surface of the barrel, and that more accurate results will be obtained in target practice by the use of hardened metal, the argument does not apply to sporting practice. You seldom fire more than half a dozen shots from each barrel during the day, and the rifle is well cleaned each evening upon your return to camp. The accuracy with a pure leaden bullet is quite sufficient for the comparatively short ranges necessitated by game-shooting. The arguments of leading the barrel, etc., cannot be supported, and the result is decidedly in favour of pure lead for all soft-skinned animals.
The elephant requires not only a special rifle, but the strongest ammunition that can be used without injury to the shooter by recoil. It is impossible to advocate any particular size of rifle, as it must depend upon the strength of the possessor. As a rule I do not approve of shells, as they are comparatively useless if of medium calibre, and can be only effective when sufficiently large to contain a destructive bursting charge. I have tried several varieties of shells with unsatisfactory results, excepting the half-pounder, which contained a burst bursting charge of 8 drams of the finest grained powder.
This pattern was my own invention, as I found by experience that the general defect of shells was the too immediate explosion upon impact. This would cause extensive damage to the surface, but would fail in penetration.
Picrate of potash was at one time supposed to combine an enormous explosive power with perfect safety in carriage, as the detonating shells were proof against the blow of a hammer, and would only explode upon impact through the extreme velocity of their discharge from a rifle-barrel. These were useless against an elephant, as they had no power of penetration, and the shell destroyed itself by bursting upon the hard skin. I tried these shells against trees, but although the bark would be shattered over an extensive area, upon every occasion the projectile failed to penetrate the wood, as it had ceased to exist upon explosion on the surface.
My half-pound shell was exceedingly simple. A cast-iron bottle, similar in shape to a German seltzer-water, formed the core, around which the lead was cast. The neck of the iron bottle projected through the pointed cone of the projectile, and formed a nipple to receive the percussion-cap. In external appearance the shell was lead, the iron bottle being concealed within. Half an ounce of the finest grained powder was inserted through the nipple by means of a small funnel; this formed the bursting charge. The cap was only adjusted previous to loading, as a necessary precaution. This half-pound shell was propelled by a charge of 16 drams of coarse-grained powder.
I never fired this rifle without killing the animal, but the weapon could not be claimed as a pleasant companion, the recoil being terrific. The arrangement of the cap upon a broad-mouthed nipple prevented the instantaneous explosion that would have taken place with a picrate of potash shell. A fraction of a second was required to explode the cap upon impact, and for the cap to ignite the bursting charge; this allowed sufficient time for the shell to penetrate to the centre of an elephant before the complete ignition had taken place. The destruction occasioned by the half-ounce of powder confined within the body of an elephant may be imagined.
I tried this shell at the forehead of a hippopotamus, which was an admirable test of penetration before bursting. It went through the brain, knocked out the back of the skull, and exploded within the neck, completely destroying the vertebrae of the spine, which were reduced to pulp, and perforating a tunnel blackened with gunpowder several feet in length, along which I could pass my arm to the shoulder. The terminus of the tunnel contained small fragments of lead and iron, pieces of which were found throughout the course of the explosion.
The improvements in modern rifles will, within the next half-century, be utterly destructive to the African elephant, which is unprotected by laws in the absence of all government. For many ages these animals have contended with savage man in unremitting warfare, but the lance and arrow have been powerless to exterminate, and the natural sagacity of the elephant has been sufficient to preserve it from wholesale slaughter among pitfalls and other snares. The heavy breechloading rifle in the hands of experienced hunters is a weapon which nothing can withstand, and the elephants will be driven far away into the wilderness of an interior where they will be secure from the improved fire-arms of our modern civilisation.
It is much to be regretted that no system has been organised in Africa for capturing and training the wild elephants, instead of harrying them to destruction. In a country where beasts of burden are unknown, as in equatorial Africa, it appears incredible that the power and the intelligence of the elephant have been completely ignored. The ancient coins of Carthage exhibit the African elephant, which in those remote days was utilised by the Carthaginians; but a native of Africa, if of the Negro type, will never tame an animal, he only destroys.
When we consider the peculiar power that an elephant possesses for swimming long distances, and for supporting long marches under an enormous weight, we are tempted to condemn the apathy even of European settlers in Africa, who have hitherto ignored the capabilities of this useful creature. The chief difficulty of African commerce is the lack of transport. The elephant is admirably adapted by his natural habits for travelling through a wild country devoid of roads. He can wade through unbridged streams, or swim the deepest rivers (without a load), and he is equally at home either on land or water. His carrying power for continued service would be from 12 to 14 cwts.; thus a single elephant would convey about 1300 lbs. of ivory in addition to the weight of the pad. The value of one load would be about 5oo pounds. At the present moment such an amount of ivory would employ twenty-six carriers; but as these are generally slaves which can be sold at the termination of the journey, they might be more profitable than the legitimate transport by an elephant.
Although the male elephant will carry a far greater load than the female, through its superior size and strength, it would be dangerous to manage upon a long journey should it take place during the period, of "must." I have heard the suggestion that an elephant should be castrated, as the operation would affect the temper of the animal and relieve it from the irritation of the "must" period; but such an operation would be impossible, as the elephant is peculiarly formed, and, unlike other animals, it has neither scrotum nor testicles externally. These are situated within the body, and could not be reached by surgery.
It is well known that the entire males of many domestic animals are naturally savage. The horse, bull, boar, and the park-fed stag are all uncertain in their tempers and may be pronounced unsafe; but the male elephant, although dangerous to a stranger and treacherous to his attendants, combines an extraordinary degree of cowardice with his natural ferocity. A few months ago I witnessed a curious example of this combination in the elephant's character. A magnificent specimen had been lent to me by the Commissariat Department at Jubbulpur; this was a high caste bull elephant named Bisgaum that was well known as bad-tempered, but was supposed to be courageous. He had somewhat tarnished his reputation during the last season by turning tail upon a tiger that rushed out of dense bush and killed a coolie within a few yards of his trunk; but this momentary panic was excused, and the blame was thrown upon the mahout. The man was dismissed, and a first-rate Punjaubi driver was appointed in his stead. This man assured me that the elephant was dependable; I accordingly accepted him, and he was ordered to carry the howdah throughout the expedition.
In a very short experience we discovered the necessity of giving Bisgaum a wide berth, as he would fling out his trunk with extreme quickness to strike a person within his reach, and he would kick out sharply with his hind leg whenever a native ventured to approach his rear. He took a fancy to me, as I fed him daily with sugar-canes, jaggery, and native chupatties (cakes), which quickly established an understanding between us; but I always took the precaution of standing by his side instead of in his front, and of resting my left hand upon his tusk while I fed him with the right. Every morning at daylight he was brought to the tent with Demoiselle (the female elephant), and they both received from my own hands the choice bits which gained their confidence.
My suspicions were first aroused by his peculiar behaviour upon an occasion when we had killed two tigers; these were young animals, and although large, there was no difficulty in arranging them upon the pad, upon which they were secured by ropes, when the elephant kneeling down was carefully loaded. Hardly had Bisgaum risen to his feet, when, conscious of the character of the animals upon his back, and, I suppose, not quite certain that life was actually extinct, he trumpeted a shrill scream, and shook his immense carcase like a wet dog that has just landed from the water. This effect was so violent that one tiger was thrown some yards to the right, while the other fell to the ground on the left, and without a moment's warning, the elephant charged the lifeless body, sent it flying by a kick with his fore foot, and immediately proceeded to dance a war-dance, kicking with his hind legs to so great a height that he could have reached a tall man's hat. A vigorous application of the driving-hook by the mahout, who was a powerful man, at length changed the scene, and the elephant at once desisted from his attack upon the dead tiger, and rushed madly upon one side, where he stood nervously looking at the enemy as though he expected it would show signs of life.
This did not look promising for an encounter with a live tiger, as it would have been absolutely impossible to shoot from that elephant's back.
A short time after this occurrence, when upon my usual reconnaissance through the jungles in the neighbourhood of the camp, I came upon the fresh tracks of a large tiger close to the banks of the Bearmi river, and I gave the necessary instructions that a buffalo should be tied up as a bait that same evening.
Early on the following morning the news was brought by the shikaris that the buffalo had been killed, and dragged into a neighbouring ravine. As the river was close by, there could be no doubt that the tiger would have drunk water after feasting on the carcase, and would be lying asleep somewhere in the immediate neighbourhood.
The mucharns (platforms in trees) had already been prepared in positions where the tiger was expected to pass when driven, as he would make for the forest-covered hills which rose within half a mile of the river.
The spot was within twenty minutes of the camp; the elephants were both ready, with simple pads, as the howdah was ill-adapted for a forest; and we quickly started.
Three mucharns had been prepared; these were about 100 yards apart in a direct line which guarded a narrow glade between the jungle upon the river's bank and the main body of the forest at the foot of a range of red-sandstone hills; these were covered to the summit with trees already leafless from the drought.
The mucharn which fell to my share was that upon the right flank when facing the beat; this was in the open glade opposite a projecting corner of the jungle. On the left, about 70 yards distant, was a narrow strip of bush connected with the jungle, about 4 yards wide, which terminated in a copse about 30 yards in diameter; beyond this was open glade for about 40 yards width until it bounded the main forest at the foot of the hill-range.
We took our places, and I was assured by the shikaris that the tiger would probably break covert exactly in my front.
It is most uncomfortable for a European to remain squatted in a mucharn for any length of time; the limbs become stiffened, and the cramped position renders good shooting anything but certain. I have a simple wooden turnstool, which enables me to shoot in any required direction; this is most comfortable.
I had adjusted my stool upon a thick mat to prevent it from slipping, and having settled myself firmly, I began to examine the position to form an opinion concerning the most likely spot for the tiger to emerge from the jungle.
The beat had commenced, and the shouts and yells, of a long line of 150 men were gradually becoming more distinct. Several peacocks ran across the open glade: these birds are always the forerunners of other animals, as they are the first to retreat.
Presently I heard a rustle in the jungle, and I observed the legs of a sambur deer, which, having neared the edge, now halted to listen to the beaters before venturing to break from the dense covert. The beaters drew nearer, and a large doe sambur, instead of rushing quickly forward, walked slowly into the open, and stood within 10 yards of me upon the glade. She waited there for several minutes, and then, as if some suspicion had suddenly crossed her mind, gave two or three convulsive bounds and dashed back to the same covert from which she had approached.
It struck me that the sambur had got the wind of an enemy, otherwise she would not have rushed back in such sudden haste; she could not have scented me, as I was 10 or 12 feet above the ground, and the breeze was aslant . . . . Then, if a tiger were in the jungle, why should she dash back into the same covert ?
I was reflecting upon these subjects, and looking out sharp towards my left and front, when I gently turned upon my stool to the right; there was the tiger himself! who had already broken from the jungle about 75 yards from my position. He was slowly jogging along as though just disturbed (possibly by the sambur), keeping close to the narrow belt of bushes already described. There was a foot-path from the open glade which pierced the belt; I therefore waited until he should cross this favourable spot. I fired with the '577 rifle just as he was passing across the dusty track. I saw the dust fly from the ground upon the other side as the hardened bullet passed like lightning through his flank, but I felt that I was a little too far behind his shoulder, as his response to the shot was a bound at full gallop forwards into the small clump of jungle that projected into the grassy open. My turnstool was handy, and I quickly turned to the right, waiting with the left-hand barrel ready for his reappearance upon the grass-land in the interval between the main jungle and the narrow patch. There was no time to lose, for the tiger appeared in a few seconds, dashing out of the jungle, and flying over the open at tremendous speed. This was about 110 yards distant; aiming about 18 inches in his front, I fired. A short but spasmodic roar and a sudden convulsive twist of his body showed plainly that he was well hit, but with unabated speed he gained the main forest which was not more than 40 yards distant. If that had been a soft leaden bullet he would have rolled over to the shot, but I had seen the dust start from the ground when I fired, and I knew that the hard bullet had passed through without delivering the shock required.
The beaters and shikaris now arrived, and having explained the incident, we examined the ground for tracks, and quickly found the claw-marks which were deeply indented in the parched surface of fine sward. We followed these tracks cautiously into the jungle. Our party consisted of Colonel Lugard, the Hon. D. Leigh, myself, and two experienced shikaris. Tiger-shooting is always an engrossing sport, but the lively excitement is increased when you follow a wounded tiger upon foot. We now slowly advanced upon the track, which faintly showed the sharp claws where the tiger had alighted in every bound. The jungle was fairly open, as the surface was stony, and the trees for want of moisture in a rocky soil had lost their leaves; we could thus see a considerable distance upon all sides. In this manner we advanced about 100 yards without finding a trace of blood, and I could see that some of my people doubted the fact of the tiger being wounded. I felt certain that he was mortally hit, and I explained to my men that the hard bullet would make so clean a hole through his body that he would not bleed externally until his inside should be nearly full of blood. Suddenly a man cried "koon" (blood), and he held up a large dried leaf of the teak-tree upon which was a considerable red splash: almost immediately after this we not only came upon a continuous line of blood, but we halted at a place where the animal had lain down; this was a pool of blood, proving that the tiger would not be far distant.
I now sent for the elephants, as I would not permit the shikaris to advance farther upon foot. The big tusker Bisgaum arrived, and giving my Paradox gun to my trustworthy shikari Kerim Bux, he mounted the pad of that excitable beast to carry out my orders, "to follow the blood until he should find the tiger, after which he was to return to us." We were now on the top of a small hill within an extensive forest range, and directly in front the ground suddenly dipped, forming a V-shaped dell, which in the wet season was the bed of a considerable torrent. It struck me that if the tiger were still alive he would steal away along the bottom of the rocky watercourse; therefore, before the elephant should advance, and perhaps disturb him, we should take up a position on the right to protect the nullah or torrent-bed; this plan was accordingly carried out.
We had not been long in our respective positions when a shot from the direction taken by the elephant, followed instantly by a short roar, proved that the tiger had been discovered, and that he was still alive. My female elephant Demoiselle, upon hearing the sound, trembled beneath me with intense excitement, while the other female would have bolted had she not been sharply reminded by the heavy driving-hook. Several shots were now fired in succession, and after vainly endeavouring to discover the whereabouts of the tiger, I sent Demoiselle to obtain the news while we kept guard over the ravine. No tiger having appeared, I stationed natives in trees to watch the nullah while we ascended the hill on foot, directing our course through the forest to the place from whence the shots had been fired. We had hardly advanced 80 yards before we found both the elephants on the top of the steep shoulder of the hill, where several of our men were upon the boughs of surrounding trees. Bisgaum was in a state of wild excitement, and Kerim Bux explained that it was impossible to shoot from his back, as he could not be kept quiet. Where was the tiger? That was the question. "Close to us, Sahib!" was the reply; but on foot we could see nothing, owing to high withered grass and bush. I clambered upon the back of the refractory Bisgaum, momentarily expecting him to bolt away like a locomotive engine, and from that elevated position I was supposed to see the tiger, which was lying in the bottom of the ravine about 100 yards distant. There were so many small bushes and tufts of yellow grass that I could not distinguish the form for some minutes; at length my eyes caught the object. I had been looking for orange and black stripes, therefore I had not noticed black and white, the belly being uppermost, as the animal was lying upon its back, evidently dying.
The side of the rocky hill was so steep and slippery that the elephants could not descend; I therefore changed my steed and mounted Demoiselle, from the back of which I fired several shots at the tiger until life appeared to be extinct. The ground was so unfavourable that I would not permit any native to approach near enough to prove that the animal was quite dead. I therefore instructed Bisgaum's mahout to make a detour to the right until he could descend with his elephant into the flat bottom of the watercourse, he was then to advance cautiously until near enough to see whether the tiger breathed. At the same time I rode Demoiselle carefully as near as we could safely descend among the rocks to a distance of about 40 yards; it was so steep that the elephant was impossible to turn. From this point of vantage I soon perceived Bisgaum's bulky form advancing up the dry torrent-bed. The rocks were a perfectly flat red sandstone, which in many places resembled artificial pavement; this was throughout the district a peculiar geological feature, the surface of the stone being covered with ripple-marks, and upon this easy path Bisgaum now approached the body of the tiger, which lay apparently dead exactly in his front.
Suddenly the elephant halted when about 15 yards from the object, which had never moved. I have seen wild savages frenzied by the exciting war-dance, but I never witnessed such an instance of hysterical fury as that exhibited by Bisgaum. It is impossible to describe the elephantine antics of this frantic animal; he kicked right and left with his hind legs alternately, with the rapidity of a horse; trumpeting and screaming, he threw his trunk in the air, twisting it about, and shaking his immense head, until, having lashed himself into sufficient rage, he made a desperate charge at the supposed defunct enemy, with the intention of treating the body in a similar manner to that a few days previous. But the tiger was not quite dead and although he could not move to get away, he seized with teeth and claws the hind leg of the maddened elephant, who had clumsily overrun him in the high excitement, instead of kicking the body with a fore foot as he advanced.
The scene was now most interesting. We were close spectators looking down upon the exhibition as though upon an arena. I never saw such fury in an elephant; the air was full of stones and dust, as he kicked with such force that the tiger for the moment was lost to view in the tremendous struggle, and being kicked away from his hold, with one of his long fangs broken short off to the gum, he lay helpless before his huge antagonist, who, turning quickly round, drove his long tusks between the tiger's shoulders, and crushed the last spark of life from his tenacious adversary.
This was a grand scene, and I began to think there was some real pluck in Bisgaum after all, although there was a total want of discipline; but just as I felt inclined to applaud, the victorious elephant was seized with a sudden panic, and turning tail, he rushed along the bottom of the watercourse at the rate of 20 miles an hour, and disappeared in the thorny jungle below at a desperate pace that threatened immediate destruction to his staunch mahout. Leaving my men to arrange a litter with poles and cross-bars to carry the tiger home, I followed the course of Bisgaum upon Demoiselle, expecting every minute to see the body of his mahout stretched upon the ground.
At length, after about half a mile passed in anxiety, we discovered Bisgaum and his mahout both safe upon an open plain; the latter torn and bleeding from countless scratches while rushing through the thorny jungle.
On the following day the elephant's leg was much swollen, although the wounds appeared to be very slight. It is probable that a portion of the broken tooth remained in the flesh, as the leg festered, and became so bad that the elephant could not travel for nearly a fortnight afterwards. The mahouts are very obstinate, and insist upon native medicines, their famous lotion being a decoction of Mhowa blossoms, which in my opinion aggravated the inflammation of the wound.
I returned Bisgaum to the Commissariat stables at Jubbulpur directly that he could march, as he was too uncontrollable for sporting purposes. Had any person been upon his back during his stampede he would have been swept off by the branches and killed; the mahout, sitting low upon his neck, could accommodate his body to avoid the boughs.
The use of the elephant in India is so closely associated with tiger-shooting that I shall commence the next chapter with the tiger.