None Of My Men Could Fire It, And It Was Looked Upon With A Species Of
Awe, And Was Named
"Jenna el Mootfah" (child of a cannon) by the Arabs,
which being far too long a name for practice, I
Christened it the
"Baby;" and the scream of this "Baby," loaded with a half-pound shell,
was always fatal. It was far too severe, and I very seldom fired it, but
it is a curious fact, that I never fired a shot with that rifle without
bagging: the entire practice, during several years, was confined to
about twenty shots. I was afraid to use it; but now and then it was
absolutely necessary that it should be cleaned, after lying for months
loaded. On such occasions my men had the gratification of firing it, and
the explosion was always accompanied by two men falling on their backs
(one having propped up the shooter), and the "Baby" flying some yards
behind them. This rifle was made by Holland, of Bond Street, and I could
highly recommend it for Goliath of Gath, but not for men of A.D. 1866.
The natives of Central Africa generally hunt the elephant for the sake
of the flesh, and prior to the commencement of the White Nile trade by
the Arabs, and the discovery of the Upper White Nile to the 5 degrees N.
lat. by the expedition sent by Mehemet Ali Pasha, the tusks were
considered as worthless, and were treated as bones. The death of an
elephant is a grand affair for the natives, as it supplies flesh for an
enormous number of people, also fat, which is the great desire of all
savages for internal and external purposes. There are various methods of
killing them. Pitfalls are the most common, but the wary old bulls are
seldom caught in this manner.
The position chosen for the pit is, almost without exception, in the
vicinity of a drinking place, and the natives exhibit a great amount of
cunning in felling trees across the usual run of the elephants, and
sometimes cutting an open pit across the path, so as to direct the
elephant by such obstacles into the path of snares. The pits are usually
about twelve feet long, and three feet broad, by nine deep; these are
artfully made, decreasing towards the bottom to the breadth of a foot.
The general elephant route to the drinking place being blocked up, the
animals are diverted by a treacherous path towards the water, the route
intersected by numerous pits, all of which are carefully concealed by
sticks and straw, the latter being usually strewn with elephants' dung
to create a natural effect.
Should an elephant, during the night, fall through the deceitful
surface, his foot becomes jammed in the bottom of the narrow grave, and
he labours shoulder deep, with two feet in the pitfall so fixed that
extrication is impossible. Should one animal be thus caught, a sudden
panic seizes the rest of the herd, and in their hasty retreat one or
more are generally victims to the numerous pits in the vicinity. The old
bulls never approach a watering place rapidly, but carefully listen for
danger, and then slowly advance with their warning trunks stretched to
the path before them; the delicate nerves of the proboscis at once
detect the hidden snare, and the victims to pitfalls are the members of
large herds who, eager to push forward incautiously, put their "foot
into it," like shareholders in bubble companies. Once helpless in the
pit, they are easily killed with lances.
The great elephant hunting season is in January, when the high prairies
are parched and reduced to straw. At such a time, should a large herd of
animals be discovered, the natives of the entire district collect
together to the number of perhaps a thousand men; surrounding the
elephants by embracing a considerable tract of country, they fire the
grass at a given signal. In a few minutes the unconscious elephants are
surrounded by a circle of fire, which, however distant, must eventually
close in upon them. The men advance with the fire, which rages to the
height of twenty or thirty feet. At length the elephants, alarmed by the
volumes of smoke and the roaring of the flames, mingled with the shouts
of the hunters, attempt an escape. They are hemmed in on every
side - wherever they rush, they are met by an impassable barrier of
flames and smoke, so stifling, that they are forced to retreat.
Meanwhile the fatal circle is decreasing; buffaloes and antelopes,
likewise doomed to a horrible fate, crowd panic stricken to the centre
of the encircled ring, and the raging fire sweeps over all. Burnt and
blinded by fire and smoke, the animals are now attacked by the savage
crowd of hunters, excited by the helplessness of the unfortunate
elephants thus miserably sacrificed, and they fall under countless
spears. This destructive method of hunting ruins the game of that part
of Africa, and so scarce are the antelopes, that, in a day's journey, a
dozen head are seldom seen in the open prairie.
The next method of hunting is perfectly legitimate. Should many
elephants be in the neighbourhood, the natives post about a hundred men
in as many large trees; these men are armed with heavy lances specially
adapted to the sport, with blades about eighteen inches long and three
inches broad. The elephants are driven by a great number of men towards
the trees in which the spearmen are posted, and those that pass
sufficiently near are speared between the shoulders. The spear being
driven deep into the animal, creates a frightful wound, as the tough
handle, striking against the intervening branches of trees, acts as a
lever, and works the long blade of the spear within the elephant,
cutting to such an extent that he soon drops from exhaustion.
The best and only really great elephant-hunters of the White Nile are
the Bagara Arabs, on about the 13 degree N. lat.
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