From Shikar & Safari - A Big Game Hunting Anthology

BIBLIOGRAPHY

PART ONE

AFRICA

CHAPTER I

THE ELEPHANT

ULYSSES. The elephant hath joints, but none for courtesy: his legs are legs for necessity, not for flexure.—Troilus and Cressida.

THE ELEPHANT

ELEPHANTS PANIC-STRICKEN

"NEXT morning, the Bakalahari reported that they had heard elephants during the night, and we soon took up the spoor of one old fellow, which led us into a forest thoroughly ploughed up and broken with elephants. Here this fine fellow joined a glorious squadron of from twenty to thirty mighty bulls, and, shouting to the dogs, I was instantly in the middle of them. Then followed a wondrous scene; the elephants, panic-stricken, charged forward, levelling the forest before them, trumpeting, with trunks and tails aloft.

Looking back over my shoulder I beheld them come crashing on behind and within a few yards of me. I then pressed forward, overtook about ten bulls, rode under their sterns, chose the best, and, yelling at the top of my voice, separated him from his comrades, and brought my dogs to my assistance. In a few minutes he had many mortal wounds, and at last fell, having received twenty-nine balls, twenty-seven of them being in a very correct part. This was an enormous first-rate bull; but his teeth, though large, not being the best in the troop, I felt very much dissatisfied.

From The Lion Hunter in South Africa,

by ROUALEYN GORDON CUMMING

CAUGHT BY AN ELEPHANT

I fell—I cannot say whether struck down by her trunk or not. She then made a thrust at me with her tusk. Luckily she had only one, and luckier still that one missed me. She then caught me with her trunk by the middle, threw me beneath her fore-feet and knocked me about between them for a little space. I was scarcely in a condition to compute the number of minutes very accurately. Once she pressed her foot on my chest with such force, that I actually felt the bones as it were bending beneath the weight, and once she trod on the middle of my arm, which fortunately lay flat on the ground at the time. During this rough handling, however, I never entirely lost my recollection, else I have little doubt she would have settled my accounts with this world; but owing to the roundness of her foot I generally managed, by twisting my body and limbs, to escape her direct tread. While I was still undergoing this buffeting, Lieutenant Chisholm and Diedrick, a Hottentot, had come up and fired several shots at her, one of which hit her in the shoulder, and at the same time, her companions retiring and screaming to her from the edge of the forest, she reluctantly left me, giving me a cuff or two with her hind-feet in passing. I got up, picked up my gun, and staggered away as fast as my aching bones would allow; but observing that she turned round and looked back towards me before entering the bush, I lay down in the long grass, by which means I escaped her observation.

From Wild Sports of the World, by JAMES GREENWOOD

A VERY NARROW ESCAPE

Hunting on foot once in the Entumeni Bush, I had a very narrow escape from an old bull elephant which I had wounded. He gave chase, and I took up the hill; the ground was very wet and slippery—heaps of dead leaves, no heels to my veldt shoes, which were made of blesbuck skin, and, from being thoroughly saturated with wet, had stretched to nearly double the original size; consequently I went, as they say, two steps backwards to one forwards, was constantly down, and quite exhausted in the strenuous efforts I made to get on. Seeing no disposition, on my pursuer’s part, to give up the chase, I changed my tactics, got above a tree, on which I leaned a couple of seconds to recover my wind partly—a very critical moment, as the brute was not more than four of his own lengths from me—jumped then some ten yards at right angles, and turned down the hill at full speed; the monster screaming and trumpeting in full career after me at a tremendous pace. He must have been over me in a few strides more, when I sprang to the right, and down he went in his mad career, crashing and carrying all before him, utterly unable to stop if he had wished, as the hill was very steep, and he was under full sail: a tremendous relief to my mind, as it was my last resort.

From African Hunting from Natal to the Zambesi,

by W. C. BALDWIN

A WOUNDED ELEPHANT IN DENSE BUSH

"The dogs were slipped, and all was quiet for some time, when I heard Turk give mouth, followed immediately by the trumpeting of a bull. I made the best of my way in the direction, when I was turned by Raffler’s voice shouting, ‘Come here, Natoo’, and made for him. I heard a shot behind me, turned at once, and caught sight of the retreating monster. The bush being uncommonly dense, I was fearful of losing him, and fired, striking him in the thick of the thigh, and he took up a position in a thicket, trumpeting and charging the dogs in all directions, making a loud crashing. Unfortunately the cap was driven into the nipple at the first shot, and I lost some time in trying to get it out, and broke the point of my knife, but I eventually succeeded with a strong needle, which I had in my hat.

There were five men with guns, but no one had ventured into the bush to give him a shot; and the Kaffirs, no doubt, thought me afraid likewise; but when I was sure of my gun I rode in on Broon, taking care to have a clear passage for a speedy exit. When within about twenty-five yards he threw up his trunk and came direct towards me. The horse stood steady as old Time, and I gave him a conical ball, five to the pound, backed by six drachms of fine powder, on the point of the shoulder-blade. Flesh and blood could not stand before such a driver; and, staggering and stumbling forwards a few yards, he pitched right on his head within fifteen yards of me; then my brave followers immediately rushed in and gave him a volley as he lay on his broadside, and it was over with him.

From African Hunting from Natal to the Zambesi,

by W. C. BALDWIN

A MOONLIGHT ATTACK

"The moon was bright, and I counted nine elephants; they had trampled a space of about fifty yards square into a barren level, and they were now slowly moving forward, feeding as they went. One elephant, unfortunately, was separated from the herd, and was about forty yards in the rear; this fellow I was afraid would render our approach difficult. Cautioning my men, especially Bacheet, to keep close to me with the spare rifles, I crept along the alleys formed by the tall rows of dhurra, and after carefully stalking against the wind, I felt sure that it would be necessary to kill the single elephant before I should be able to attack the herd. Accordingly, I crept nearer and nearer, well concealed in the favourable crop of high and sheltering stems, until I was within fifteen yards of the hindmost animal. As I had never shot one of the African species, I was determined to follow the Ceylon plan, and get as near as possible; therefore I continued to creep from row to row of dhurra, until I at length stood at the very tail of the elephant in the next row. I could easily have touched it with my rifle, but just at this moment, it either obtained my wind, or it heard the rustle of the men. It quickly turned its head half round towards me; in the same instant I took the temple shot, and, by the flash of the rifle, I saw that it fell. Jumping forward past the huge body, I fired the left-hand barrel at an elephant that had advanced from the herd; it fell immediately! Now came the moment for a grand rush, as they stumbled in confusion over the last fallen elephant, and jammed together in a dense mass with their immense ears outspread, forming a picture of intense astonishment! Where were my spare guns? Here was a grand opportunity to run in and floor them right and left!

Not a man was in sight, everybody had bolted! and I stood in advance of the dead elephant, calling for my guns in vain. At length one of my fellows came up, but it was too late, the fallen elephant in the herd had risen from the ground, and they had all hustled off at a great pace, and were gone; I had only bagged one elephant. Where was the valiant Bacheet? the would-be Nimrod, who for the last three months had been fretting in inactivity, and longing for the moment of action, when he had promised to be my trusty gun-bearer! He was the last man to appear, and he only ventured from his hiding-place in the high dhurra when assured of the elephants’ retreat.

From The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,

by SIR SAMUEL W. BAKER

I NEVER SAW ANYTHING SO MAGNIFICENT

"Still we crept forward, as the elephant alternately drank, and then spouted the water in a shower over his colossal form; but just as we had arrived within about fifty yards, he happened to turn his head in our direction, and immediately perceived us. He cocked his enormous ears, gave a short trumpet, and for an instant he wavered in his determination whether to attack or fly; but as I rushed towards him with a shout, he turned towards the jungle, and I immediately fired a steady shot at the shoulder with the ‘Baby’. As usual, the fearful recoil of the rifle, with a half-pound shell and twelve drachms of powder, nearly threw me backwards; but I saw the mark upon the elephant’s shoulder, in an excellent line, although rather high. The only effect of the shot was to send him off at great speed towards the jungle; but at the same moment the three aggageers came galloping across the sand like greyhounds in a course, and, judiciously keeping parallel with the jungle, they cut off his retreat, and, turning towards the elephant, they confronted him, sword in hand. At once the furious beast charged straight at the enemy; but now came the very gallant, but foolish, part of the hunt. Instead of leading the elephant by the flight of one man and horse, according to their usual method, all the aggageers at the same moment sprang from their saddles, and upon foot in the heavy sand they attacked the elephant with their swords.

In the way of sport, I never saw anything so magnificent, or so absurdly dangerous. No gladiatorial exhibition in the Roman arena could have surpassed this fight. The elephant was mad with rage, and nevertheless he seemed to know that the object of the hunters was to get behind him. This he avoided with great dexterity, turning as it were upon a pivot with extreme quickness, and charging headlong, first at one, and then at another of his assailants, while he blew clouds of sand in the air with his trunk, and screamed with fury. Nimble as monkeys, nevertheless the aggageers could not get behind him. In the folly of excitement they had forsaken their horses, which had escaped from the spot. The depth of the loose sand was in favour of the elephant, and was so much against the men that they avoided his charges with extreme difficulty. It was only by the determined pluck of all three that they alternately saved each other, as two invariably dashed in at the flanks when the elephant charged the third, upon which the wary animal immediately relinquished the chase, and turned round upon his pursuers. During this time, I had been labouring through the heavy sand, and shortly after I arrived at the fight, the elephant charged directly through the aggageers, receiving a shoulder shot from one of my Reilly No. 10 rifles, and at the same time a slash from the sword of Abou Do, who, with great dexterity and speed, had closed in behind him, just in time to reach the leg. Unfortunately, he could not deliver the cut in the right place, as the elephant, with increased speed, completely distanced the aggageers; he charged across the deep sand, and reached the jungle. We were shortly upon his tracks, and after running about a quarter of a mile, he fell dead in a dry watercourse. His tusks were, like the generality of Abyssinian elephants, exceedingly short, but of good thickness.

From The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,

by SIR SAMUEL W. BAKER

THE HERD THUNDERED DOWN UPON US

"About a quarter of an hour passed in suspense, when we suddenly heard a chorus of wild cries of excitement on the other side of the jungle, raised by the aggageers, who had headed the herd, and were driving them back towards us. In a few minutes a tremendous crashing in the jungle, accompanied by the occasional shrill scream of a savage elephant, and the continued shouts of the mounted aggageers, assured us that they were bearing down exactly upon our direction; they were apparently followed even through the dense jungle by the wild and reckless Arabs. I called my men close together, and told them to stand fast, and hand me the guns quickly; and we eagerly awaited the onset that rushed towards us like a storm. On they came, tearing everything before them. For a moment the jungle quivered and crashed; a second later, and, headed by an immense elephant, the herd thundered down upon us. The great leader came direct at me, and was received with a right and left in the forehead from a Reilly No. 10 as fast as I could pull the triggers. The shock made it reel backwards for an instant, and fortunately turned it and the herd likewise. My second rifle was beautifully handed, and I made a quick right and left at the temples of two fine elephants, dropping them both stone-dead. At this moment the ‘Baby’ was pushed into my hand by Hadji Ali just in time to take the shoulder of the last of the herd, who had already charged headlong after his comrades, and was disappearing in the jungle. Bang! went the ‘Baby’; round I spun like a weather-cock, with the blood pouring from my nose, as the recoil had driven the sharp top of the hammer deep into the bridge. My ‘Baby’ not only screamed, but kicked viciously. However, I knew that the elephant must be bagged, as the half-pound shell had been aimed directly behind the shoulder.

In a few minutes the aggageers arrived; they were bleeding from countless scratches, as, although naked, with the exception of short drawers, they had forced their way on horseback through the thorny path cleft by the herd in rushing through the jungle. Abou Do had blood upon his sword. They had found the elephants commencing a retreat to the interior of the country, and they had arrived just in time to turn them. Following them at full speed, Abou Do had succeeded in overtaking and slashing the sinew of an elephant just as it was entering the jungle. Thus the aggageers had secured one, in addition to Florian’s elephant that had been slashed by Jali. We now hunted for the ‘Baby’s’ elephant, which was almost immediately discovered lying dead within a hundred and fifty yards of the place where it had received the shot. The shell had entered close to the shoulder, and it was extraordinary that an animal should have been able to travel so great a distance with a wound through the lungs by a shell that had exploded within the body.

From The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,

by SIR SAMUEL W. BAKER

SWORD VERSUS ELEPHANT

"Roder Sheriff rode a bay mare, that, having been thoroughly trained to these encounters, was perfect at her work. Slowly and coolly she advanced towards her wary antagonist, until within about eight or nine yards of the elephant’s head; the creature never moved, and the mise en scène was beautiful; not a word was spoken, and we kept our places amidst utter stillness, which was at length broken by a snort from the mare, who gazed intently at the elephant, as though watching for the moment of attack.

"One more pace forward, and Roder sat coolly upon his mare, with his eyes fixed upon those of the elephant. For an instant I saw the white of the eye nearest to me. ‘Look out, Roder! he’s coming!’ I exclaimed. With a shrill scream, the elephant dashed upon him like an avalanche!

"Round went the mare as though upon a pivot, and away, over rocks and stones, flying like a gazelle, with the monkey-like form of little Roder Sheriff leaning forward, and looking over his left shoulder as the elephant rushed after him.

"For a moment I thought he must be caught. Had the mare stumbled, all were lost; but she gained in the race after a few quick bounding strides, and Roder, still looking behind him, kept his distance so close to the elephant, that its outstretched trunk was within a few feet of the mare’s tail.

Taher Sheriff and his brother Ibrahim swept down like falcons in the rear. In full speed they dexterously avoided the trees, until they arrived upon open ground, when they dashed up close to the hindquarters of the furious elephant, who, maddened with the excitement, heeded nothing but Roder and his mare, that were almost within its grasp. When close to the tail of the elephant, Taher Sheriff’s sword flashed from its sheath, as grasping his trusty blade he leapt nimbly to the ground, while Ibrahim caught the reins of his horse; two or three bounds on foot, with the sword clutched in both hands, and he was close behind the elephant; a bright glance shone like lightning, as the sun struck upon the descending steel; this was followed by a dull crack, as the sword cut through skin and sinews, and settled deep in the bone, about twelve inches above the foot. At the next stride, the elephant halted dead short in the midst of its tremendous charge. Taher had jumped quickly on one side, and had vaulted into the saddle with his naked sword in hand. At the same moment, Roder, who had led the chase, turned sharp round, and again faced the elephant as before; stooping quickly from the saddle, he picked up from the ground a handful of dirt, which he threw into the face of the vicious-looking animal, that once more attempted to rush upon him. It was impossible! the foot was dislocated, and turned up in front like an old shoe. In an instant Taher was once more on foot, and again the sharp sword slashed the remaining leg. The great bull elephant could not move! the first cut with the sword had utterly disabled it; the second was its death-blow; the arteries of the leg were divided, and the blood spouted in jets from the wounds. I wished to terminate its misery by a bullet behind the ear, but Taher Sheriff begged me not to fire, as the elephant would quickly bleed to death without pain, and an unnecessary shot might attract the Base, who would steal the flesh and ivory during our absence.

From The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,

by SIR SAMUEL W. BAKER

WHO IS KING?

"There have been discussions as to who is king among the beasts, and to this day the lion is generally given the title. But look down that narrow game-track. A lion is coming up it from the water. As he turns the curve in the winding path he sees that a rhinoceros or buffalo is coming down to drink. He slinks into the bush, lies very low, gives them the road, lets them pass well by, and then resumes his interrupted way. If this is the king, he is exceedingly courteous to his subjects—one might even think just a little in awe of some of them. King of the cats in Africa he may be, and is; but king of the beasts he is not.

"Come with me to a desert pool some clear moonlight night when the shadows are deep and sharply cut, and the moon herself, in the dry, cloudless air, looks like a ball. All is nearly as bright as day, only the light is silver, not gold. Sit down on that rock and watch the thirsty animals as they drink—buffalo, rhinoceros, antelope, quagga, and occasionally, if the water is large, lions too. But what has frightened the antelope and quagga that they throw their heads up for a second and fade away into the shadows? The other beasts, too, are listening, and now leave the sides of the pond. Nothing but the inevitable, irrepressible jackal, that gamin amongst wild things, remains in view. As yet your dull human ears have caught no sound, but very soon the heavy tread, and low, rumbling note of an oncoming herd of elephants reaches you. They are at the water. The jackals have sat down with their tails straight out behind them, but not another creature is to be seen. The king drinks. Not a sound is heard. He squirts the water over his back, makes the whole pool muddy, and retires solemnly, leaving his subjects, who now gather round, to make the best of what he has fouled. This is the king in the opinion of the beasts. You may think him a nervous monarch, subject to panic, and I do not know that you are not right; but he has weight in the animal world, you may be assured."

By W. COTTON OSWELL

From Big Game Shooting (Badminton Library, vol. i.)

THE WHOLE EIGHT CHARGED

We had pottered about, shot a giraffe, and some smaller game, when accidentally we lighted upon a herd of elephants. Now you very seldom come across elephants by chance; you have nearly always to follow them for miles from the water; but here they were, and eight fine bulls too—nothing very large in tusks, but all good. Though startled, they stood and fronted us. We each took one of the flankers, firing at the point of the shoulder. With a flourish of trumpets the whole eight charged in a crescent—it was a grand sight—we turned and galloped right and left, the bulls pressing after Murray, and in their course driving up an old mahoho, who puffed and snorted, and putting on full steam managed at last to get clear, in great alarm. We only bagged a couple; in after years with more knowledge I should have got at least four single-handed.

By W. COTTON OSWELL

From Big Game Shooting (Badminton Library, vol. i.)

THERE WAS NOTHING BUT ELEPHANTS

We pressed on as quickly as possible to the open park-like country, of which I could now and again get glimpses, fearing that the shot might have disturbed the rest of the herd if they were within hearing. But I need not have troubled myself, for as I got clear of the bush I came upon at least 400 elephants standing drowsily in the shade of the detached clumps of mimosa-trees. Such a sight I had never seen before and never saw again. As far as the eye could reach, in a fairly open country, there was nothing but elephants. I do not mean in serried masses, but in small separate groups. Lying on the pony’s neck I wormed in and out looking for the bulls whose spoor we had been following, and while doing so was charged by a very tall, long-legged, ugly beast, who would take no denial, and I was obliged to kill him.

By W. COTTON OSWELL

From Big Game Shooting (Badminton Library, vol. i.)

A NARROW ESCAPE

The undergrowth was here very dense, tall, and leafy, but on getting a little nearer I could just make out a bit of the elephant I had seen from the tree, and was worming my way forward with the greatest care so as not to make any noise, my eyes fixed intently on it, when suddenly I heard something which made me look round quickly to the left, to behold another, which must have been within a few yards, though hidden by the thick scrub, coming for me and almost on me. No time to aim; all I could do was to bang off in its face, which was right over me, and throw myself down into the scrub behind me. I could just draw myself among the stems far enough to escape being trodden on, and only just in time, as she (it was a cow with small tusks) was where I had stood the instant before (for my shot did not stop her), and waited there apparently looking for me. She could easily have reached me with her trunk, which I could see moving about as if feeling for me, without stirring, and I momentarily expected to be hauled out by one of my legs, which I was unable to draw in farther on account of the close-growing scrub, and made an end of in some unpleasant fashion. As she stood there a second or two, screaming and wondering, as it seemed, what had become of me, I fired my second barrel as well as I could for her ear; but I was in so awkward a position (a bit flustered, too, I confess) that I failed to get at her brain. However, she made off on receiving the shot.

From Elephant-Hunting in East Equatorial Africa,

by ARTHUR H. NEUMANN

A SIGHT WORTH SEEING

"Stretched below was a large patch of thorn forest, fairly open, simply filled with elephants standing, mostly in clumps, here and there all through it. These seemed, unluckily, to be mostly cows (some with calves) or young bulls, but the massive forms of one or two big bulls could be distinguished among them. I stood and gazed at this magnificent scene. I had never seen anything like it before, all my experience of elephants having been in dense wood, where it was seldom possible to see more than two or three at a time. Then they began to move slowly about, and we hurried on, over the rough, rocky hills, until we got opposite a part of the valley beyond the herd. It was now about noon, or somewhat past. Having got right round, we descended, and, entering the thorn forest, advanced cautiously towards where we had last seen the elephants (of course we could see them no longer), having the wind now in our faces. But they had slowly strolled up towards us, and, as soon as we got near the spruit, we saw a large herd standing about, some in the stream, some on the banks, loitering and resting. Such a sight I never beheld. It reminded me of pictures in ancient books on South African hunting. In the foreground were some Grant’s gazelles and a large Grevy’s zebra; the bush seemed full of vulturine guinea-fowls and francolins; ‘paa’ (kirkii) were everywhere, and here and there one caught sight of a walleri or two making off, while small birds were in clouds.