SK }3 F93 1875 3 1822 01070 0409 WILD SCENES A HUNTER'S LIFE; OB, TUB HUNTING AND HUNTERS OF ALL NATIONS, INCLUDING CUMMING'S AND GIRARD'S ADVENTURES, ur JOHN FROST, LL.D. With Three Hundred Illustrations. BOSTON : LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS. NEW YORK: LEE, SHEPARD a DILLINGHAM, 49 GREENE STREET. 1875. Cr.ttrx] Mwor^Jif to A.rt of CongTMW, In the few one thonwuid right and flfty-flve, BT MfLLEE, ORTON A MULLIGAN, B :* Clerk s offlefl of tne Districi r> >urt of the Northern District of New 1 ortt PREFACE. TIIE subject of hunting is one which has a peculiar interest for the people of this country. So large a portion of our territory, even in the most thickly settled States, is still covered with forests abounding in game and beasts of the chase, that almost every citizen occasionally becomes a sportsman or a hunter; and those who never engage in any sport of the hunt- ing kind, nevertheless, are interested in the narratives of those who have distinguished themselves in forest and field. The following pages have been compiled with a view not only to gratify curiosity and afford enter- tainment to the general reader, but to furnish useful information respecting the natural history and habits of animals, and the modes practised by various na- tions in hunting them. (3) 4 . 'PREFACE. The lively and graphic narratives of Mr. Gumming, from which we have so freely borrowed, seem to open an entirely new era in hunting. His astonishing success in attacking whole herds of elephants and giraffes, and assailing groups of lions and rhinoceroses, would seem to establish the principle that a bold front, quick eye, and unflinching nerve, will enable a single man to hold his ground, and destroy or dis- perse a host of the fiercest wild beasts. We com- mend the portions of this volume copied from Mr, Cumming's work to the special notice of the reader. The narratives may seem incredible; but we believe them; and the spoils of the chase brought from Airica by this daring huntsman, afford convincing proofs of the general truthfulness of his statements. The volume is very copiously embellished, as seemed necessary from the nature of the subject; and we trust that the delineations of animals and birds, as well as of hunting scenes, will be recognized as true copies from nature. Considering the large amount of information con- densed into the volume, and the thrilling character of many of the narratives it contains, the compiler believes that it will prove an acceptable offering to the reading public. CONTENTS. HUKT15 III THE EAST INDIES TERMS USED a Huimxo HCXTISO nr EKGLAJTD Hcimxa THE BADQBB HOXTI.VQ THE WILD BOAB BUNTIKO THE BuTFALO- - Hcirrqrs THE CHAMOIS HCSTINO THE Fox- Btrrnna THE HAKE - CHAPTER I. CHAPTER H. CHAPTER m. CHAPTER IV. CHAPTER V. CHAPTER VL CHAPTER VIL CHAPTER VIIL CHAPTER IX. . ..... 40 CHAPTER X. A CHAPTER XL CONTENTS. CHAPTER XH. HUNTING THE STAG - ^ ....... 34 CHAPTER XTEL MODE OF HUNTING THE INDIAN ANTELOPE 70 CHAPTER XIV. HUNTING THE LION ON HORSEBACK - II CHAPTER XV. HCNTING THE MARMOT - ..~-~. 74 CHAPTER XVL HUNTING THE VIRGINIAN DEEB ~ - --- 7 CHAPTER XVEL HUNTING THE INDIAN RHINOCEROS -....... ......~. 81 CHAPTER XVIH. HONTING THE BISON 83 CHAPTER XIX. HUNTING THE POLAR BEAR 08 CHAPTER XX. HUNTING THE AMERICAN BLACK BEAR 106 CHAPTER XXI. HUNTING THE LLAMA 118 CHAPTER XXn. HUNTING THE REIN DEER 117 CHAPTER XXIII. A BISON HUNT OF MR. CATLIN AND MR. CHARDON - 128 CHAPTER XXIV. A BISHOP HUNTING THE TIGER *..*... 1J5 CHAPTER XXV. ADVENTURES WITH THE HYENAS .......... 141 CHAPTER XXVI. BUNTING THE OURANGOUTANQ ^-....~ 148 CHAPTER XXVIL HUNTING MONKEYS 154 CHAPTER XXVm. HUNTING THE IBEZ - ~- ~-~- 168 CHAPTER XXIX. HUNTING TM PACA, THI AGOUTI, THE VISCACHA, AND THE CHINCHILLA 167 CHAPTER XXX. HUNTING THB Moora ~.~...~~*,.~~*.~~ 173 CHAPTER XXXT. HUNTING ANTELOPES WITH THI CHEETAH -~... ............................ 17$ CHAPTER XXXIL HUNTINO THE KANGAROO CHAPTER XXXm. AFuNCH OFFICER HUNTING Lioni88fl-~~- CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXXIV. HUNTING THE JAGUAR - _._.._^... ........ 193 CHAPTER XXXV. HURTING THEGNOO ~~ ...-. 194 CHAPTER XXXVI. HUNTING THE OSTRICH, THE WILDEBEEST AND THE OBTX - .....-~... 207 CHAPTER XXXVH. HUNTING THE SPRINGBOK AND THE QUAQGA 201 CHAPTER XXXVm. HUNTING THE AFRICAN BUFFALO AND THE PALLAH ~ 213 CHAPTER XXXIX. HUNTING AND HAWKING IN PERSIA - 21J CHAPTER XL. SHOOTING A LION FROM A WATCHING PLACE 221 CHAPTER XLI. HUNTING THE LEOPARD WITH DOGS, AND ADVENTURES WITH BUFFALOES AND LIONS 230 CHAPTER XLII. Ma. CUMKING'S ADVENTURE WITH A SNAKE 235 CHAPTER XLIII. HUNTING THE BLESBOK AND BOAR 242 CHAPTER XLIV. HUNTING THE HIPPOPOTAMUS * 247 CHAPTER XLV. MR. CUMMING'S ADVENTURE WITH AN EXTRAORDINARY HERD OF BLESROKS 262 CHAPTER XLVI. HUNTING THE WHITE RHINOCEROS, LION, BUFFALO AND GIRAFFE .-.._-.. .... 267 CHAPTER XLVII. ELEPHANT HUNTING BY MOONLIGHT .-.... 287 CHAPTER XLVIH. VENTURE WITH A MONSTER LlON ~ ........... 279 CHAPTER XLIX. TOUTING THE BUSTARD AND THE ELAND -..-..._ 283 CHAPTER L. ' VTINO THE GIRAFFE. HABITS OF THE ELEPHANT ~- 293 CHAPTER LL i. GUMMING CHASED BY A RHINOCEROS 301 CHAPTER LH. lOVENTURE WITH ELEPHANTS. HABITS OF THE LlON ..., 309 CHAPTER- LIU. iZutPHANT HUNTING IN THE EAST INDUS -..- ...,.. 323 CHAPTER LIT. fluNTiNG THE MARTEN, SABLE, GENET AND CIVET 32! CHAPTER LV. itOLJNG, CUTTING UP, COOKING AND EATINQ AN ELEPHANT .^^>...,..^ ...,. 854 CONTEXTS. CHAITKR LVI. HUNTING TUB WILD HORSE AND THS ASd ..... ......... ........ ~ ---- *~ ....... -- 340 CHAPTER LVI1. HUNTING TH* NIL GHAD THE OCELET, AND THE LYNX ..... -~. .-... .-~... .... _.~.S5i CHAPTER LVIII. BUNTING THE COUGAR HUNTINO SQUIRRELS ---- ......... ....,..-.-....... ...~~_ ---- 868 CHAFFER LIX HUNTING THE AMERICAN ELK OR WAPITI .............. -.,..._.. ....... _ ............ 3TER LXVI. A HARD CHASE OF AJ ElEPHANT ........ ................. ,.... ... -^-... . ......... 409 CHAPTER LXVIL RlPINO OUT THB BUU. ELEPHANT ................ ---- ...... .... ^. ............ 4]3 CHAPTER LXVin. A MODERN POTNAM .. ."- ........................... ^.^-..^^_ ...... ^..^ ....... 403 CHAPTER LXIX. A ION HDNT 0! THB RITBB MARIQDA ................ - ........ " ~" "- -~ ..... 427 CHAPTER LXX. BIT Vf.O HARRIS'S GIRAFFE HUNT ....... ...... ---- ~.._~_. ..... .-..<~~.~^ 433 CHAPTER LXXI. A BRU8U WITH * BlSOH ~"- ................... - *' ...... .....^.....44< CHAPTER LXXI1. C*JJU>,THB WILD SCENES IN A HUNTER'S LIFE. CHAPTER I. HUNTING AMONG THE ANCIENTS. UNTING, properly speaking, is> "the pursuit of four-foeted beasts of game." " These," says an old writer, " are hunted in the fields, woods, and thick- ets, with guns and greyhounds." F. de Launay, professor of French laws, has an express treatise of hunting. We find that among the earliest civilized nations, hunting made one of their diversions ; and as to the wild ^nd barbarous, it supplied them with focd. The Reman jurispru- ...ence, which was formed on the manners of the first ages, estub 9 10 HUNTING ADVENTURES lished it as a law, that as the natural right of things which have no master belongs to the first possessor, wild beasts, birds, and fishes, are the property of those who can take them first. But the northern barbarians, A'ho over-ran the Roman empire, bringing with them a stronger taste for the diversion, and the people being now possessed of other and more easy means of subsistence, from the lands' and possessions of these they had vanquished, their chiefs began to appropriate the right of hunting, and, instead of a natural right, to make it a royal one. Thus rt continues to this day ; the right of hunting in the Old World belonging only to the king, an 1 those who derive it from him. In America we have a better fashion. The hunting used by the ancients was much like that now practised for the reindeer, which is seldom hunted at force, or with hounds ; but only drawn with a blood hound, and taken with nets and engines. Thus did they with all beasts ; whence a dog was never commended by them for opening, before he has dis- covered where the beast lies. Hence, they were not curious as to the music of their hounds, or the composition of their pack, for deepness, loudness, or sweetness of cry, which are principal points in trodern hunting. Their huntsmen, indeed, were accustomed to shout and make a great noise, as Virgil observes in his third book of Georgics, verse 413. " Ingentem clamore premes ad retia cervum." But that confusion was only to bring the deer to the nets laid foi him. The Sicilian mode of hunting had something in it very ex- traordinary. The gentry being informed which way a herd of deer passed, gave notice to one another, and appointed a meeting ; every one bringing with him a cross-bow or long-bow, and a bundle of staves shod with iron, the heads bored, with a cord passing througD them all : thus provided, they come to the herd, and casting them- selves about in a large ring, surrounded the deer; Then each taking his stand, unbound his fagot, set up his stake, and tie ' .he end of the cord to that of his next neighbor, ten feet fron : each other. Then taking feathers, dyed in crimson, and fastened on a thread, they tied them to the cord ; so that with the least HUNTING AMONG THE ANCIENTS. il A HERD OF DEER. breath of wind they would whirl round. Those who kept /he stands then withdrew, and hid themselves in the next covert. Then the chief ranger entering within the line, with hounds to draw after the herd, roused the game with their cry ; which, fly- ing towards the line, were turned off, and still gazing on the shak- ing and shining feathers, wandered about as if kept in with a real wall. The ranger still pursued, and calling every person by name as he passed by their stand, commanded him to shooi the first, thiid, or sixth, as he pleased : and if any of them missed or singled out another than that assigned him, it was counted a grievous disgrace. By such means, as they passed by the several stations, the whole herd was killed by the several hands. Hunting formed the chief employment of the ancient Germans, and probably of the Britons also, when not engaged in war. Ancient historians tell us, that this was the case, even so late as the third century, with those unconquered Britons who liver 1 beyond Adrian's wall ; nay, that they subsisted chiefly by th prey that they took in this way. The great attachment shown bj all the Celtic nations to hunting, however, proceeded most pro bably from its being a kind of apprenticeship to war. By it thei/ acquired that courage, strength, swiftness, and dexterity iii n HUNTING ADVENTURES. ANCIENT CELTIC HUNTER. handling their arms, which made them so formidable in war to their enemies. By it, too, they freed their country from those mischievous animals which abounded in the forests, and furnished themselves with materials for those feasts which seem to have constituted their greatest pleasure. The young chieftains had thus, likewise, an opportunity of pay- ing court to their mistresses, by displaying their courage and agility, and making them presents of their game ; nay, so strong, and universal was the passion for hunting among the ancient Britons, that even young ladies of the highest quality, and great- est beauty, spent much of their time in the chase. They em- ployed much the same weapons in hunting that they did in war, viz., long spears, javelins, and bows and arrows ; having also great numbers of dogs to assist them in finding and pursuing their game. These dogs were much admired among other nations, on account of their swiftness, strength, fierceness, and exquisite nse of smelling. They s\ ere highly valued by the Celtic nations. Ht'NTINQ AMONG THE ANCIENT MEXICANS 18 MONTEZUMA. CHAPTER II. HUNTING AMONG THE ANCIENT MEXICANS. VERY circumstance in the character and customs and condition of the Mexicans, under Montezuma and his predecessors of the Aztec race, predisposed them to be active hunters. .The Aztecs were a cruel race and delighted in blood. Their forest laws, according to Mr. Prescott,* were as severe as those of the Normans under Wilhain the Conqueror. They had human sacrifices. In some of these bloody rites the heart of the victim was torn from the living body, as an acceptable offering to their stein gods. In others, which might be termed gladiatorial sacrifices, the victim was bound by a chain attached to his leg and fastened to a plat* folir., where he was compelled to fight a fiee antagonist, ur.til his * Conquest of Mexico. HUNTING ADVENTU11K8, GLADIATORIAL COMBAT OF THE MEXICANS. death closed the merciless combat. A people accustomed tc .spectacles like this, would naturally take peculiar delight in tu sports of the chase. Accordingly, we find that the Mexicans were very dexterous in hunting. They used bows and arrows, darts nets, snares, and a kind of tube named carbotfane, through which they shot by blowing out little balls at birds. Those which the kings and great men made use of were curiously carved and painted, and likewise adorned with gold and silver. Besides the exercise of the chase, which private individuals took either for amusement or to provide food, there were genera. Hunting-matches, sometimes appointed by the king ; at others, to provide victims for sacrifices. A large wood, generally that of Zacatapec, near me capita* HUKTING AMONG THE ANCIENT MEXICANS. 15 was pitched upon as the scene of these grand hunting-matches. Here they, chose the place best adapted for setting a number of snares and- nets. The wood was enclosed by some thousands of hunters, forming a circle of six, seven or eight miles, according te the "number of animals they intended to take. Fire was then set to the grass in a great number of places, and a terrible noise made with drums, horns, shouting, and whisth'ng. The hunters gradu- ally contracted their circle, continuing the noise until the game were enclosed in a very small space. They were then killed or taken in snares, or with the hands of the hunters. The numbei of animals taken or destroyed on these occasions, was so great, that the first Spanish Viceroy of Mexico would not believe it with- out making the experiment himself. The place chosen for his hunting-match was a great plain in the country of the Otomies, lying between the villages of Xilotepec and S. Giovani del Rio ; the Indians being ordered to proceed* according to their usual customs. The Viceroy, attended by a vast retinue of Spaniards, repaired to the place appointed, where AN OTOMIE HUNTER. accommodations were prepared for then, in houses of wood, erected i >r the purpose. A circle of more than fifteen miles was formed by eleven thousand Otomies, who started such a quantity of game 16 HUNTING ADVENTURES. on the plain, that the viceroy was quite astonished, and com- manded the greater part of them to be set at liberty, which was accordingly done. The number retained, however, was still incredibly great, were it not attested by a witness of the highest credit. On this occasion upwards of six hundred deer and wild goats, one hundred cajoles, with a surprising number of hares, rabbits, and other smaller animals. The plain still retains the Spanish name Cazadero, which signifies the place of the chase. The Mexicans had also particular contrivances for catching cer- lain animals. Thus, to catch young asses, they made a small fire m the woods, putting among the burning coals a particular kind of stone named cacalottl, i. e. raven or black stone, which bursts with a loud noise when heated. The fire was covered with earth, and a little maize laid around it. The asses quickly ^assembled with their young, in order to feed upon the maize ; but while they were thus employed, the stone burst, and scared away the old ones by the explosion, while the young ones, unable to fly, were carried off by the hunters. Serpents were taken even by the hands, seizing them intrepidly by the neck with one hand, and sewing up their mouths with the other. This method is still practised. They showed the greatest dexterity in tracing the steps of wild beasts, even when an European could not have discerned the smallest print of their feet. The Indian method, however, was by observing sometimes the herbs or leaves broken down by their feet ; sometimes the drops of blood which fell from them when wounded.' Some of the American Indians show still greater dexterity in discovering the tracks of their e T >'nies, which M an European would be altogether imperceptible HUNTING IN THE EAST INDIES IIYDER AM. CHAPTER III. HUNTING IN THE EAST INDIES. UNTING was a favorite diver- sion of the bloody conqueror, Jenghiz Khan, if indeed the word diversion can be applied to a monster whose mind was set upon the destruction of his own species, and who only en- deavored to make the murder of brutes subservient to that of men, by keeping his soldiers in a kind of warfare with the beasts when they had no humaa enemies to contend with. His expe- ditions were conducted on a plan similar to that of the Mexicans already mentioned ; and were no doubt attended with stil] greater 2 18 HUNTING AJ) VENTURES. success, as his numerous army could enclose a much greater space than all the Indians whom the Spanish viceroy could muster. The East Indian princes still show the same inclination to the chase ; and Mr. Blane, who attended the hunting excur- sions of Asoph Ul Dowah, Vizier of the Mogul empire, and Nabob of Oude, in 1785 and 1786, in the time of Hyder Ali, gives the following account of the method practised on this occasion. The time is about the beginning of December ; and the diver- sion is continued till the heats, which commence about the begin- ning of March, oblige them to stop. During this period a circuit of between four and six hundred miles is generally made ; the hunters bending their course towards the skirts of the northern mountains, where the country is wild and uncultivated. The Vizier takes along with him not only his Court and seraglio, but .a great part of the inhabitants of his capital. His immediate attendants amount to about two thousand ; but he is also followed by five or six hundred horse, and several battalions of regular sepoys with their field pieces : four or five hundred elephants also accompany him; of which some are used for riding, others for fighting, and some for clearing the jungles and forests of the ame. About as many sumpter horses of the beautiful Persian and Arabian breeds are taken with him. A great number of wheel carriages, drawn by bullocks, likewise attend, which are used chiefly for the convenience of the women ; sometimes also he has an English chaise or two, and sometimes a chariot ; but all these, as well as the horses, are merely for show, the Vizier himself never using any ofher conveyance than an elephant, or sometimes, when fatigued or indisposed, a palanquin. The animals used in the sport are principally about *hree hundred greyhounds, two hundred hawks, and a few trained leopards for hunting deer. There is a great number of marksmen, whose - profession it is to shoot deer ; with many fowlers, who provide game ; as none of the natives of India know how to shoot game with small shot, or to hunt with slow bounds. A vast number of matchlocks are carried along with the com- pnnv. w'th many English pieces of various kinds, 40 or 50 pairs /itNTINQ IN THE EAST INDIES. 21 of pistols, bows and arrows, besides swords, daggers, and sabres without number. There are also nets of various kinds, some for quails ; and others very large, for fishing, which are carried along with him upon elephants, attended by fishermen, so as always to be ready for throwing into any river or lake that may be met with. Every article that can contribute to luxury or pleasure is likewise carried along with the army. A great number of carts are loaded with the Ganges water, and even ice is transported for cooling the drink. The fruits of the season and fresh vegetables are daily sent to him from his gardens by bearers stationed at every ten miles ; by which means each article is conveyed day and night at the rate of four miles an hour. There are also fighting antelopes, buffaloes, and rams in great numbers ; several hundred pigeons, some fighting cocks, and a vast variety of parrots, nightingales, &c. To complete the magnificence or extravagance of this expe- dition, there is always a large bazaar, or moving town, which attends the camp ; consisting of shop-keepers and artificers of all kinds, money-changers, dancing women ; so that, on the most moderate calculation, the whole number of people in his camp cannot be computed at fewer than 30,000. The Nabob himself, and all the gentlemen of his camp, are provided with double sets of tents and equipage, which are always sent on the day before to the place to which he intends to go ; and this is generally eight or ten miles, in whatever direction most game is expected ; so that by the time he has finished his sport in the morning, he finds his whole camp ready pitched for his recep- tion. The Nabob, with the attending gentlemen, proceed in a regular moving court or durbar, and thus they keep conversing together and looking out for game. Many foxes, hares, jackals, and sometimes deer, are picked up as they pass along : the hawks are carried immediately before the elephants, and let fly at what- ever game is sprung, which is generally partridges, bustards, quails, and different kinds of herons ; these last affording excellent sport with the falcons. Wild boars are sdmetimes started, and either shot or run down by the dogs an! horsemen. Hunting the tiger, however, is ooked 22 HUNTING A L VENTURES. upon as the principle diversion, and the discovery of one of these animals is accounted a matter of great joy. The cover in whicn he is found is commonly long grass, or reeds of such a height as frequently to reach above the elephants ; and it is difficult to find him in such a place, as he commonly endeavors either to steal off, or lies so close to the ground that he cannot be roused till the elephants are almost upon him. He then roars and skulks away, but is shot at as soon as he can be seen ; it being generally con- trived that the Nabob shall have the compliment of firing first. If he be not disabled, he continues to skulk along, followed by the elephants; the Nabob and others shooting at him, as often a* he can be seen, till he falls. The elephants themselves are very much afraid of this terribie animal, and discover their apprehensions by shrieking and roaring as soon as they begin to smell him or hear him growl; generally attempting to turn away from the place where he is. When the tiger can be traced to a particular spot, the elephants are disposed of in a circle round him; in which case he will at last make a desperate attack, springing upon the elephant that is nearest, and attempting to tear him with his teeth or claws. Some, but very few, of the elephants, can be brought to attack the tiger ; and thv they do by curling up their trunks under their mouths, and then attempting to toss, or otherwise destroy him with their tusks, or to crush him with their feet or knees. It is considered as good sport to kill one tiger in the day ; though sometimes, when a female is met with her young ones, two or three will be killed. The other objects of pursuit in these excursions are wild elephants, buffaloes rhinoceroses. Our author was present at the hunting of a wild elephant of vast size and strength. An attempt was first made to take him alive by surrounding him with tame elephants, while he was kept at bay by crackers and other fire-works ; but he con- stantly eluded every effort of this kind. Sometimes the drivers of the tame elephants got so near him, that they threw strong jopes over his head, and endeavored to detain him by fastening them around trees ; but he constantly snapped the ropes like pack- breads, and pursued his way to the forest. Some of the strongest HUNTING IN THE EAST INDIES. euid most furious of the fighting elephants were then brought up to engage him ; but he attacked them with such fury that they were all obliged to desist. In his struggle with one of them he broke one of his tusks, and the broken piece, which was upwards of two inches in diameter, of solid ivory, flew up into the air several yards above their heads. Orders were now given to kill him, as it appeared impossible to take him alive ; but even this was not accomplished without the greatest difficulty. He twice; turned and attacked the party who pursued him ; and in one ol these attacks struck the elephant obliquely on which the prince rode, threw him upon his side, but then passed on without offering farther injury. At last he fell dead, after having received up wards of one thousand balls into his body. ILXFHAMT HUJfT. 26 HUNTING ADVENTURES. CHAPTER IV. TERMS USED IN HUNTING. HE gentlemen of the sport have invented a set of term?, which may be called the hunting language. The princi- pal are these : 1. For beasts, as they are in com- pany : They say, a herd of harts, and all manner of deer ; a hey of roes ; a sounder of swine ; a rout of wolves ; a rich ess of martens : a brace or leash of JIM ks, foxes, or hares ; a couple of rabbits or coneys. 2. For their lodging : A hart is said to harbor ; a buck lodges ; a roe beds ; a hare seats or forms ; a coney sits ; a fox kennels ; a marten trees ; an otter watches ; a badger earths ' a boar couches. Hence, to express their dislodging, they say, un- harbor the hart ; rouse the buck ; start the hare ; bolt the coney ; unkennel the fox; untree the v.iarten; vent the otter; dig the badger ; rear the boar. TERMS USED IN HUNTING. 27 3 For cheir noise at rutting time : A hart belleth ; a buck growns, or treats ; a roe bellows ; a hare beats or taps ; an jotter whines ; a boar freams ; a fox barks ; a badger shrieks ; a wolf howls ; a goat rattles. 4. For their copulation : A hart or buck goes to rut ; a roe to tourn ; a boar to brim ; a hare or coney to buck ; a fox to clickit- ting ; a wolf to match or make ; an otter hunts for his kind. 5. For the footing and treading : Of a hart, they say, the slot ; of a buck, and all fallow-deer, the view ; of all deer, if on the grass, and scarce visible, the foiling ; of a fox, the print ; and of other vermin, the footing ; of an otter, the marks ; of a boar, the track; the hare when in open field, is said to sore; when she winds about to deceive the hounds, she doubles ; when she beats on the hard highway, and her footing comes to be perceived, she pricketh : in snow, it is called the trace of the hare. 6. The tail of a hart, buck, or other deer, it is called the single ; that of a boar, the wreath ; of a fox, the br"h or drag ; and the tip at the end, the chape ; of a wolf the stern ; of a hare and coney, the scut. 7. The ordure of a hart, ami all deer, is called fewmets or few- mishing ; of a hare, crotiles or crotising ; of a boar, lesses ; of a fox, the billetting ; and of other vermin, the fuants ; of an otter, the spraints. 8. As the attire or parts of deer, those of a stag, if perfect, are the bur, the pearls, the little knobs on it, the beam, the gutters, the antler, the fur antler, royal, fur royal, and all at top the troches ; of the buck the bur, beam, brow antler, black antler advancer, palm, and spellers. If the croches grow in the form ol a man's hand, it is called a palmed head. Heads bearing not above three or four, and the croches placed aloft, all of one height, are called crowned heads ; heads having double croches, are called forked heads, because the croches are planted on the top ol the beams like forks. 9. Of the young, they^say, a litter of cubs, a nest of rabbits, a squirrel's dray. 10. The terms used in respect of the dogs, &c., are as follows 28 HUNTING ADVENTURES. -Of greyhounds, two make a brace ; of hounds, a couple ; of greyhounds, three make a leash ; of hounds, a couple and half. They say, let slip a greyhound ; and, cast-off a hound. The string wherein a greyhound is led, is called a leash ; and that of a hound, a lyome. The greyhound has his collaj, and the bound his couples. We say a kennel of hounds, and a pack of beagles. 11. The following terms and phrases ar v more immediately used in the progress of the sport itself. When the hounds, being cast-off, and finding the scent of some game, begin xo open and cry, they are said to challenge ; when they are too busy ere the scent be good, they are said to babble ; when too busy where the scent is good, to bawl ; when they fun it endwiw orderly, holding in together merrily, and making it good, they are said to be in full cry ; when they run along without opening at all, it is called, running mute ; when spaniels open in the string, or a greyhound in the course, they are said to lapse ; when beagles bark and cry at their prey, they are said to yearn ; when the dogs hit the scent the contrary way, they are said to draw amiss ; when they take fresh scent and quit the former chase for a new one, it is called hunting change ; when they hunt the game by the heel or tra.-k, they are said to hunt counter ; when the chase goes off, and returns again, traversing the same ground, it is called hunt- ing the foil ; when the dogs run at a whole herd of deer, instead of a single one, it is called running riot; dogs set in readiness where the game is expected to come by, and cast-off after the other hounds are passed, are called a relay. If they be cast-off ere the other dogs come up, it is called vountlay ; when, finding where the chase has been, they make a proffer to enter, but return, it is called a blemish ; a lesson on the horn to encourage the hounds, is named a call, or recheat ; that blown at the death of a deer, is called the m^rt ; the part belonging to the dogs of any chase they have killed, is the reward ; they say, take off a deer's skin ; strip or case a hare, fox, and all sorts of vermin ; which is Jone by beginning at the snout, and turning the skin over the ars down to .he tail. HUNTING IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 29 HUNTING IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. IN no country is hunting so passion- /V^ragpRP^^^Hi^ atel y iove< * as in Great Britain. From / ^b^P^^f^f' the earliest period of history, to the present time, the nobility and gentry of England have taken pride in all 3*1* -wrt "/**"' tne cur j ous l ore n f the hunter's art 7olumes might be written we should rather say, scores of vo .times have been published in that untry, on what is styled by the ancient writers, the " noble arte of vtnerie." To avoid pro- lixity on this part of our subject, we shall, m the next succeeding chapters, give the brief directions of an old writer, on the modes of hunting the various juadrupeds of the chase, both on the Island of Great Britain and on the continent ; reserving the 30 HUNTING ADVENTURES, privilege of recurring to certain branches of the subject hereafter. Our authority says : Hunting, as practised in England and Scotland, is chiefly performed with dogs ; of which we have various species, ac- commodated to the different kinds of game, as greyhounds, jloodhounds, terriers, &c. In the kennels or packs, they gene- rally rank them under the heads of enterers, drivers, flyers, tyers, &c. On some occasions, nets, spears and instruments for digging the ground, are also required ; nor is the hunting horn to be omitted. The usual chases are, the hart, buck, roe, hare, fox, badger, and otter. Hunting is practised in different seasons and manners, and with different apparatus, according to the nature of the beasts *"hich are hunted. With regard to the seasons, that for hart and buck hunting, begins a fortnight after midsummer, and lasts till Holy- rood day ; that for the hind and doe, begins on Holy- rood day, and lasts till Candlemas ; that for fox hunting, begins at Christmas, and holds till Lady-day ; that for roe hunting, begins at Michaelmas, and ends at Christmas ; hare hunting commences at Michaelmas, and lasts till the end of February ; and where the wolf and boar are hunted, the season for each begins at Christ- mas, the first ending at Lady-day, and the latter at the Purification. When the sportsmen have provided themselves with nets, spears, and a hunting horn to call the dogs together, and likewise with instruments for digging the ground, the following directions will be of use to them, in the pursuit of various sorts of game. HUNTING THE BADGEK. CHAPTER VI. HUNTING THE BADGER. HE Badger is found in almost all the temperate climates of Europe, Asia, and America ; mea- sures in general about two feet and a half from the snout to the insertion of the tail. The body ) is thick, the legs short and muscular, and the J fore feet provided with claws ; the superior part of the body is of a dirty greyish color, the inferior black : the 81, HUNTING ADVENTURES. hair i< long and rough on the juefc and Sides, but shortei on th throat, breast, and belly. It secretes a fetid substance in an orifice under the tail, which gives it a very offensive smell. It is a soli- tary animal, and resides in woolly places, in burrows which it digs deep in the earth, with long winding entrances, and keeps remarkably clean. It feeds upon young rabbits, frogs, birds and their eggs and young ; but seldom ventures far from its habita- tion, and that only at nightfall. If surprised by dogs in its excur- sions, it turns upon its back, combats with desperate resolution, and seldom dies unrevenged ; nor is he easily conquered, for his skin is so thick and loose, that the teeth of a dog make but little impression. It is very torpid, especially in winter. The female brings forth once a-year, three or four at a time. When taken young, it is easily tamed, will play with the dogs, and follow ita master about the house. Its flesh, when well and cleanly fed, makes excellent hams : those of the South American Badger were wont to be considered so delicious, that the sale of them was pro- hibited but to the viceroy, who sent an annual present to Madrid for the royal table. Our old friend, already quoted, gives the following directions' for hunting the badge rf- Seek the earth and burrows where he lies, and in a cleai moonshine night go and stop them all, .except one or two, and therein place some sacks, fastened with drawing strings, which may shut him in as soon as he strains the bag. Some only set a hoop in the mouth of the sack, and so put it into the hole ; and as . of pn HUNTING THE CHAMOIS. 47 color, varying to blackish-brown. Its habitations are among the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the lofty mountains of Asia, border Mg on the regions of everlasting ice and snow. It is agreeable, lively, and active beyond expression: its senses are amazingly acute, and by the scent, it is said, will discover the hunter at half a league's distance. They feed in flocks of nearly twenty or more ; and those at the outskirts, or perhaps a single sentinel when they per- ceive danger, give notice to the rest by a kind of hissing noise, shrill at the beginning, and deeper towards the close, during which they appear in the utmost agitation, striking the ground with their fore feet, bounding from rock to rock, turning, stopping, and looking, till the approach of the enemy is ascertained, when off the whole fly like the wind, and defy pursuit amid the awful chasms of the glaciers, on the stupendous precipices of the rocks ; for their spring is astonishing, and they will throw themselves safely down an almost perpendicular height of twenty or thirty feet. It drinks little, and is rather fastidious in its feeding, picking out buds and flowers and the tenderest of the aromatic herbs, which gives to its flesh a delicious flavor. From the description given by M. Saussure, in his Journey on the Alps, Vol. 3, no species of hunting appears to be attended with more danger than this ; yet the inhabitants of Chamouni re extremely addicted to it. The Chamois hunter generally sets out in the night, that h may reach by break of day the most elevated pastures where the goats come to feed, before they arrive. As soon as he discovers the place where he hopes to find them, he surveys it with his glass. If he finds none of them there, he proceeds, always ascending : whenever he descries any, he endeavors to get above them, either by stealing along some gully, or getting behind some rock or eminence. When he is near enough to distinguish their horns, which is the mark by which he judges of the distance, he rests his piece on a rock, takes his aim with great composure, and rarely misses. This piece is a rifle-barrelled carabine, into which the ball is thrust, and these carabines often contain two charges. 48 HUNTING ADVENTURES. ihoigh they uave but one barrel ; the charges are put one above another, and are fired in succession. If he has wounded the chamois, he runs to his prey, and for security he hamstrings it ; then he considers his way home : if the road is difficult, he skins the chamois, and leaves the carcase ; but, if it is practicable, he throws the animal on his shoulders, and bears him to his village, though at a great distance, and often over frightful precipices ; he feeds his family with the flesh, which is excellent, especially when the creature is young, and he dries the skin for sale. But if, as is the common case, the vigilant chamois perceives the approach of the hunter, he immediately takes flight among the glaciers, through the snows, and over the most precipitous rocks. It is particularly difficult to get near these animals when there are several together; for then one of them, while the rest are feeding, stands as a sentinel on the point of some rock that com- mands a view of the avenues leading to the pasture ; and as soon as he perceives any object of alarm, he utters a sort of hiss, at which the others instantly gather round him to judge for them- selves of the nature of the danger ; if it is a wild beast, or hunter, the most experienced puts himself at the head of the flock ; and away they fly, ranged in a line, to the most inaccessible retreats. It is here that the fatigues of the hunter begin : instigated by his passion for the chase, he is insensible to danger ; he passes over snows, without thinking of the horrid precipices they conceal ; he entangles himself among the most dangerous paths, and bounds from rock to rock, without knowing how he is to return. Night often surprises him in the midst of his pursuit ; but he does not for that reason abandon it ; he hopes that the same cause will arrest the flight of the chamois, and that ho will next morning overtake them. Thus he passes the night, not at the foot of a tree, like the hunter ot the plain ; not in a grotw, softly reclined on a bed of moss, but at the foot of a rock, and often on the bare points of shattered fragments, without the smallest shelter. There, all alone, without fire, without light, he draws from his bag a bit af cheese, with a morsel of oaten bread, which mak e his common HUNTING THE CHAMOIS. 49 food ; bread so dry that he is sometimes obliged to break it between two stones, or with the hatchet he carries with him to cut out steps in the ice. Having thus made his solitary and frugal repast, he puts a stone below his head for a pillow, and goes to sleep, dreaming on the route which the chamois may have taken. But soon he is awakened by the freshness of the morning; he gets up, benumbed with cold; surveys the precipices which he must traverse to overtake his game ; drinks a little brandy, of which he is always provided with a small portion, and sets out to encounter new dangers. Hunters sometimes remain in these solitudes for several days together, during which time their families, their unhappy wives in particular axperience a state of the most dreadful anxiety: they dare not go to rest for fear of seeing their husbands appear to them in a dream ; for it is a received opinion in the country, that when a man has perished, either in the snow, or on some unknown rock, he appears by night to the person he holds most dear, describes the place that proved fatal to him, and requests the performance of the last duties to his corpse. "After this picture (says M. Saussure,) of the life which the chamois hunters lead, could one imagine that this chase would be the object of a passion absolutely unsurmountable ? I knew a well-made, handsome man, who had just married a beau- tiful woman: 'My grand-father, said he to me, lost his life in the chase ; so did my father ; and I am persuaded, that I too shall die in the same' manner ; this bag which I carry with me when I hunt, I call my grave-clothes, for I am sure I will have no other ; yet if you should offer to make my fortune on condition of abandoning the chase of the chamois, I could not consent. I made some excursions on the Alps with this man; his strength and address were astonishing ; but his temerity was greater than his strength ; and I have heard, that two years afterwards, he missed a step on the brink of a precipice, and met with the fate he had expected.' HUNTING ADVENTURES. CHAPTER X. HUNTING THE FOX. OX-HUNTING is so common and has so long prevailed in England, that the term "fox-hunting squire" was supposed to be sufficiently accurate for describing an English country gentleman until a recent period. It was the universal passion of the English rural gentry of the last century; and it is still regarded among a certain class as by far the most delight- ful and exciting of all the sports of the field. Our old friend already quoted treats the art and mystery of Fox Hunting with his accustomed gravity and earnestness. Hunting the fox, he says, makes a very pleasant exercise, and is either above or below ground. Hunting the fox above ground. To hunt a fox with hounds, you must draw about gr.oves, thickets, and bushes near villages When you find one, stop up his earth the night before you design to hunt, about midnight ; while he is out to prev. This ma\ lie HUNTING THE FOX. 61 done by laying two white sticks across in his way, which he will imagine to be some trap kid for him; or they may be stopped up with black thorns and earth mixed. The pack should consist of twenty-five couple. The hounds should be at the cover at sun- rising. The huntsman should then throw in his hounds as quietly as he can, and let the two whippers-in keep wide of him on either hand ; so that a single hound may not escape them ; let them be attentive to this halloo, and let the sportsmen be ready to encourage or rate as that directs. The fox ought on no account to be hallooed too soon, as in that case he would most certainly turn back, and spoil all the sport. Two things Mr. Beckford particularly recommends, viz., the making all the hounds steady, and making them all draw. fe Many huntsmen, (says he) are fond of having them at their horse's heels ; but they never can get so well or soon together, as when they spread the cover; besides, I have often known, when there have only b<:en a few finders, that they have found their fox gone down the wind, and been heard of no more that day. Much depends upon the first finding of your fox ; for I look upou a fox well found to be half killed. I think people are generally in too great a hurry on this occasion. "There are but few instances where sportsmen are not too noisy, and too fond of encouraging their hounds, which seldom do their business so well as when little is said to them. The hurt.s- man ought to begin with his foremost hounds, and keep as cl .-e to them as he can. No hound can then slip down the wind and get out of his hearing ; he will also see how far they carry the scent, a necessary requisite ; for without it he can never make cast with any certainty." You will find it not less necessary for your huntsman to be active in pressing his hounds forward when the scent is good, than to be prudent in not hurrying them beyond u when it is bad. It is his business to be ready at all times, to lend them that assistance which they so frequently need, and which, ,vhen they are first at & fault is then most critical. A hound at that time will exert him- self most ; he afterwards cools and becomes more indifferent about 52 HUNTING ADVENTURES. his game. Those huntsmen who do not get forward enough to take advantage of this eagerness and impetuosity, and direct i\ properly, seldom know enough of hunting, to be of much use to hem .afterwards. Though a huntsman cannot be too fond of hunting, a whipper- in easily may. His business will seldom allow him to be forward enough with the hounds to see much of the sport. His only thought therefore should be to keep the hounds together, and to contribute as much as he can, to the killing of the fox ; keeping the hounds together is the surest means to make them steady When left to themselves they seldom refuse any blood they can get; they become conceited; learn to tie upon the scent; and besides this, they frequently get a trick of hunting by themselves, and are seldom good for much afterwards. Every country is soon known ; and nine foxes out of ten, with the wind in the same quarter, will follow the same track. It is easy therefore for the whipper-in to cut short, and catch the hounds again. With a high scent you cannot push on hounds too much. Screams keep the fox forward, at the same time that they keep the hounds together, or let in the tail-hounds : they also en- liven the sport ; and, if dis- cretely used, are always of service ; but in cover they should be given with the greatest caution. Halloos sel- dom do any hurt when you are running up the wind, for then none but the tail-hounds can hear you : when you are run- ning down the wind, you should* halloo no more than may be necessary to bring the tail hounds forward ; for a hound that knows his business seldom wants encouragement when he is upon a scent. Most fox hunters, wish to see their hounds run in a good' style A pack of harriers, if they have time, may kill a fox, but I defy them to kiJl him in the style in which he ought to be killed; HUNTING THE FOX. 53 they must hunt him down. Lf you intend to tire him ov.t, you must expect to be tired also yourself ; I never wish a chase to be less than one hour, or to exceed two : it is sufficiently long if properly followed ; it will seldom be longer, unless there be a fault somewhere : either in the day, the huntsman, or the hounds. Changing from the hunted fox to a fresh one, is as bad an acci- dent as can happen to a pack of fox-hounds, and requires all the ingenuity and observation that man is capable of, to guard against it. Could a fox hound distinguish a hunted fox, as the deer hound does a deer that is blown, fox hunting would then be perfect. A huntsman should always listen to his hounds while they are running in cover ; he should be particularly attentive to the head- most hounds, and he should be constantly on his guard against a skirter ; for if there be two scents, he must be wrong. Generally speaking, the best scent is least likely to be that of the hunted fox ; and as a fox seldom suffers hounds to run up to him as long as he is able to prevent it ; so, nine times out of ten, when foxes are hallooed early in the day, they are all fresh foxes. The hounds most likely to be right are the hard-running line-hunting ones ; or such as the huntsman knows had the lead before there arose any doubt of changing. With regard to the fox,- if he break over and open country, it is no sign that he is hard run ; for they seldom at any time will do that unless they are a great way before the hounds. Also if he run up the wind ; they seldom or never do that when they have been long hunted and grow weak ; and when they run their soil, that also may direct him. All this requires a good ear and nice observation ; and indeed in that consists the chief excellence f a huntsman. When the hounds divide in two parts, the whipper-in, in stop- ping, must attend to the huntsman, and wait for his halloo, before he attempts to stop either ; for want of proper management in this, I have known.the hounds stopped aj both places, and both foxes lost. If they have many scents, and it is uncertain which vs the hunted foi let him stop those that are farthest down the 61 HUNTING ADVENTURES.. wind : as they can hear the others, and will reach them soonest ; in such a case there will be little use in stopping those that are up the wind. When hounds are at a check, let every one be silent and stand still. Whippers-in are frequently at this time coming on with the tail hounds. They should never halloo to them when the hounds are at fault ; the least thing does them harm at such a time, but a halloo more- than any other. The huntsman, at a check, had better let his hounds alone ; or content himself with holding them forward, without taking them off their aoses. Should they be at fault; afttw having made their own cast, ( which the huntsman should always first encourage them to do) it is then his business to assist them further ; but, except in some particular instances, I never approve of their being cast as long as they are inclined to hunt. The first cast I bid my huntsman make is generally a regulai ane, not choosing to rely entirely on his judgment; if that should not succeed, he is then at liberty to follow his own opinion, and proceed as observation or genius may direct. When such a cast is made, I like to see some mark of good sense and meaning in it ; whether down the wind, or towards some likely cover or strong earth. However, as it is at best uncertain, I always wish to see a regular cast before I see a knowing one ; which, as a last resource, should not be called forth until it be wanted. The letting hounds alone is but a negative goodness in a huntsman ; whereas this last shows real genius ; and to be perfect, it must be born with him. There is a fault, however, which a knowing hunts- man is too apt to commit : he will find a fresh fox, and then claim the merit of having recovered the hunted one. It is always dan- gerous to throw hounds into a cover to retrieve a lost scent; anc unless they hit him in, is not to be depended o. Gentlemen, when hounds are at fault, are too apt themselves to prolong it. They should always stop their horses some distance behind the hounds ; and if it be possible to remain silent, this is the time. They should be careful not to rid"C before the hounds or over the scent ; nor should they ever meet a hound in the face unless to stop him. Should you at any time be before the HUNTING THE FOX. 55 hounds, turn your horse's head the way they are going, get out of their track, and let them pass by you. In dry weather, and particularly in heathy countries, foxes will run the roads. If gentlemen at such times will ride close upon the hounds, they may drive them miles without any scent. High mettled fox- hounds are seldom inclined to stop whilst horses are close at theiT heels. No one should ever ride in a direction which, if persisted in, would carry him amongst the hounds, unless he be at a great distance behind them. The first moment that hounds are at fault is a critical one for the sport people, who should then be very attentive. Those who look forward may perhaps see the fox, or the running of sheep, or the pursuit of crows, may give them some tidings of him Those who listen may sometimes take a hint which way he is gone from the chattering of a magpie ; or perhaps be at certainty from a distant halloo ; nothing that can give any intelligence at such a time ought to be neglected. Gentlemen are too apt t') ride all together : were they to spread more, they might sometimes be of service ; particularly those who, from a knowledge of the sport, keep down the wind; it would then be difficult for either hounds or fox to escape their observation. You should, however, be cautious how you go to a halloo. The halloo itself must in a great measure direct you ; and though it afford no certain rule, yet you may frequently guess whether it can be depended upon or not. At the sowing time, when boys are keeping off the birds, you will sometimes be deceived by their halloo ; so that it is best, when you are in doubt, to send a whipper-in to knuw ihe cer- tainty of the matter. Hounds ought not to be cast so long as they are able to hunt. It is a common idea, that a hunted fox never stops ; but Mr. Beckford informs us that he has known them stop even in wheel-ruts in the middle of a down, and get up in the middle of the hounds. The greatest danger of losing a fox is at the first finding him, and when he is sinking; at both which times he will run short, and the eagerness of the hounds will fre ^uently carry them beyond the scent. 56 HvJNTlKG ADVENTURES. When a fox is first found, every one ought to keep behind the hounds till they are well settled to the scent ; and when the hounds are catching him, they ought to be as silent as possible ; and eat him eagerly after he is caught. In some places they have a method of treeing him ; that is, throwing him across the branch of a tree, and suffering the hounds to bay at him for some minutes before he is thrown amcngst them ; the intention of which is to make them more eager, and to let in the tail-hounds ; during this mterval also they recover their wind, and are apt to eat him more readily. Our author, however, advises not to keep. him too long, as he supposes that the hounds have not any appetite to eat him longer than while they are angry with him. yt " Hunting the fox under ground. In case a fox escape so as to earth, countrymen must be got together with shovels, spades, pick- axes, &c., to dig him out, if they think the earth not too great. They make their earths as near as they can in ground that is hard to lig, as in clay, stony ground, or amongst the roots of trees ; and their earths have commonly but one hole, and that is straight and a long way in before you come at their couch. Sometimes they take possession of a badger's old burrow, which has a variety of chambers, holes, and angles. To facilitate this way of hunting the fox, the huntsman must be provided with one or two terriers " to put into the earth after him, that is, to fix him into an angle ; for the earth often consists of many angles ; the use of the terrier is to know where he lies ; for as soon as he finds him, he continues baying or barking, so Shat which way the noise is heard that way dig to him. Youi HUNTING THE FOX. 57 terriers must be garnished with bells hung in collars, to make the fox bolt the sooner ; besides, the collars will be some small defenc to the terriers. The instruments to dig withal are these ; a sharp pointed spade, which serves to begin the trench where the ground is hardest, and broader tools will not so well enter; the round, hollowed spade, which is useful to dig among roots, having very sharp edges; the broad, flat spade to dig withal, when the. trench has been pretty well opened, and the ground softer ; mattock i and pickaxes to dig in hard ground, where a spade will do but little service ; the coal-rake to cleanse the hole, and to keep it from stopping up ; clamps, wherewith you may take either fox or badger out alive to make some sport with afterwards. And it would be very convenient to have a pail of water to refresh your f *rners with, after they have come out of the earth to take breath AN ENGLISH HUNTS*. 58 HUNTING ADVENTURES. CHAPTER XL HUNTING THE HARE. S of al) chases, the .aare makes the greatest pastime, so it gives no little pleasure- to see the craft of this small animal for her self-preservation. If it be rainy, the hare usually takes to the high- ways ; and if she comes to the side of a young grove, or spring, she seldom enters, but squats down till the hounds have overshot her; and then she will return the way she came, for fear of the wet and dew that hangs on the boughs. In this case, the huntsman ought to stay one hun- dred paces before he comes to the wood-side, by which means he will perceive whether she 'return as aforesaid; which if she do, he must haloo in his hounds; :md call them back; and that presently, that the hounds may nut think it the counter she came first HUNTING THE HARE. 61 A HARE SITTING IN HER FORK The ne*. thing to be observed, is the place where the hare sits and upon what wind she makes her form, either upon the North or South wind: she will not willingly run into the wind, but upon aside, or down the wind ; but if she form in the water, it is a sign she is foul and measled ; if you hunt such a one, have a special regard all the day to the brook-sides ; for there, and near plashes she will make all her crossings, doublings, &c. Some hares are so crafty, that as soon as they hear the sound of a hofn, they instantly start out of their form, though it were at the distance of a quarter of a mile, and go and swim in some pool, and rest upon some rush bed in the midst of it. Such will not stir thence till they hear the sound of the horn, and then they start out again, and swimming to land, and standing up before the hounds for hours before they can kill her, swimming and using all sub- tleties and crossings in the water. Nay, such is the subtlety of a hare, that sometimes after she has been hunted three hours, she will start a fresh hare, and squat in the same form. Others, after being hunted a considerable time, will creep under the door of a sheep-cot, and hide themselves among the sheep ; or when they have been hard hunted, will run in among a flock of sheep, and will by no means be gotten out till the hounds are coupled up, and the sheep driven into their pens. Some of them will take the ground like a coney, which is called going to the vault Some will go up one side of the hedge and come down the other, the thick- ess of the hedge being the only distance between the courses. 62 HUNTING ADVENTURES. A hare that has been sorely hunted, has got upon i ^uicksel hedge, and run a good way upon the top thereof, and then leaped off upon the ground. And they frequently betake themselves to furze bushes, and leap from one to the other, whereby the hounds are frequently in default. Having found where a large hare has relieved in some pasture or corn field, you must then consider the season of the year, and the weather: for if it be in spring or sum- m<;r, a hare will not then set in bushes, because they are often in fested with pismires, snakes, and adders; but will sel in corn fields, and open places. In winter, they set near towns ai.d villages, in tufts of thorns and brambles, especially when the wind is northerly or southerly. According to the season and nature of the place where the hare is accustomed to sit, there beat with your hounds, and start her ; which is better sport than trailing her from her relief to her form. After the hare has been started and is on foot, step in where you saw her pass, and halloo in your hounds, until they have all undertaken it and go on with it in full cry : then recheat to them with your horn, following fair and softly at first, making not too much noise either with horn or voice ; for at the first, hounds are apt to overshoot the chase through too much heat. But when they have run an hour, and you see the hounds are well in with it, and stick well upon it, then you may come 'in nearer with them because their heat will thon be cooled, and they will hunt more gobe rly . HUNTING THE STAG. HUNTING TrjB STAG. CHAPTER XII. HUNTING THE STAG. TAG hunting has long been th' favorite sport of royal and noble hi. tters in Europe. The ancient Romans and Greeks practised it, as may be shown by many passages in the classics. In the middle ages it was one of the chief amusements of the hardy barons ; and it is still practised in Britain, as well as in France and other continental countries, and occasionally in the United States. We quote from our former authority the directions to the hunter for this sport. Gesner, speaking of hart-hunting, observes, that this wild, and subtle beast, frequently deceives its hunter by windings and turn- ings. Wherefore the prudent hunter must train his dogs with words of art, that he may be able to set them on and take them off 66 HUNTING ADVENTURES. at pleasure. First he should encompass the beast in her own lair, and so unharbor her in the view of the dogs, that so they may never lose her slot or footing. Neither must he set upon every one, either of the herd or those that wander solitary alone, or a little one ; but partly by sight, and partly by their footing and fumets, make a judgment of the game, and also observe the large- ness of his lair. The huntsman having made these discoveries in order to the chase, takes off the couplings of the dogs ; and some on horseback, and 'others on foot, follow the cry, with the greatest art, observation, and speed ; remembering and intercepting him in his subtle turn- ings and headings ; with all agility leaping hedges, gates, pales, ditches; neither fearing thorns, down hills, nor woods, but mounting a fresh horse if the first tire. Follow the largest head of the whole herd, which must be singled out of the chase ; which the dogs perceiving, must follow, not following any other. The dogs are animated to the sport by the winding of horns, and the voices of the huntsmen. But sometimes the crafty beast sends forth his little squire to be sacrificed to the dogs and hunters, instead of himself, lying close the meantime. In this case, the huntsman must sound a retreat, break off the dogs, and take them in, that is, learn them again, until they be brought to the fairer game ; which riseth with fear, yet .still striveth by flight, until he be wearied and breathless. The nobles call the beast a wise hart, who, to avoid all his enemies, runneth into the greatest herds, and so brings a cloud of error on the dogs, to obstruct their farther pursuit; sometimes also bearing some of the herd into his footings, so that he may the more easily escape by amusing the dogs. Afterwards he betakes himself to his heels again, still running with the wind, not only for the sake of refreshment, but also because he can thus more easily hear the voice of his pursuers whether they be far off, or near. But being again discovered by the hunters and sagacious scent of the dogs, he flies into herds of cattle, as cows, sheep, &c., leaping on a cow or ox, laying the fore-parts of his body thereon, so that touching th earth only with his hinder feet, he may leave very little or no scent behind. But their usual manner is, when they see themselves HUNTING THE STAG. 67 STAG DRINKING. hard beset, and every way intercepted, to make force at their enemy with their horns, who first comes upon him, unless they be ^ re- vented by spear or sword. When the beast is slain, the huntsman windeth the fall of the beast ; and then the whole company come up, blowing their horna in triumph for such a conquest; among whom the skilfullest opens the beast, and rewards the hounds with what properly belongs to them, for their future encouragement, for which purpose the hunts- men dip bread in the blood of the beast to give to the hounds. It is very dangerous to go into a hart at bay ; o, which there are two sorts, one on land and the other in water. If uie hart be in a deep water, where you cannot well come at him, couple up your dogs ; for should they continue long in the water, it wou,d endanger their surbating or foundering. In this case get a boat, and swim to him, with a drawn dagger, or else with rope that has a noose, and throw it over his horns ; for if the water be so deep that the hart swims, there is no danger in approaching him ; otherwise you must be very cautious. As to the land bay, if a hart be burnished, consider the place ; for if it be in a plain and open place, where there is no wood or covert, it is dangerous and difficult to come into him ; but if he be 68 HUNTIEd ADVENTURES. STAG AT BAT. on the iedge-side, or in a thicket, then, while the hart is staring on the aounds, you must come softly and covertly behind him, and cut his throat. If you miss your aim, and the hart turn head upon you, then take refuge at some tree ; and when the hart is' at bay, couple up your hounds ; and when you see the hart turn head to fly, gallop in roundly to him, and kill him with your sword. The first ceremony, when the huntsman comes in to the death of a deer, is to cry ware haunch, that the hounds may not break in to the deer ; Avhicr being done, the next is the cutting his throat, and blooding the youngest hounds, that they may the better love a deer, and learn to Jeap at his throat : then the mort having been blown, and all the company come in, the best person, who hath not tal*4> say before, is to take up the knife that the keeper or hunts- ms*M is to lay across the belly of the deer, some holding by the forv legs, the person who takes say, is to draw the edge of the knife leisurely along the middle of the belly, beginning near the brisket, and drawing a little upon it, enough in the length and depth to dis- cover how fat the deer is ; then he that is to break up the deer, first slits the skin from the cutting of the throat downward >, making the arber that so the ordure may not break forth, and then with her paunches rewarding the hounds. In the next place, he is to HUNTING THE STAG. 69 presanJ the same person who took say, w a drawn hanger, to cut off the head of the deer. Which being done, and the hounds rewarded, the conceding ceremony is, if it be a stag, to draw a triple mort ; and if a buck, a double one ; and then all who have horns, blow a recheat in concert, and immediately a general whoop. A HIND. HUNTING ADVENTURES. CHAPTER XIII. MODE OF HUNTING THE INDIAN ANTELOPE. HUNTING quadrupeds with JjPA the falcon or hawk ia much practised in the East. Several species of birds of prey pursue and capture quadrupeds in their wild state ; and in Persia, India, and Barbary, falcons and hawks are carefully trained for this purpose. The Indian Antelope is the most common object of this sport. This animal has long, prominently annulated, tapering, plaited, cylindrical horns, and inhabits Barbary. The hair near the ' wns is longer than on any other part of the body. The female* HUNTING THE INDIAN ANTELOPE. 71 wrant horns. M. Hasselquist gives the following accouftt of this species: "The cervioapra is larger, swifter, and wilder than the common rock goat, and can scarcely be taken without a falcon It is met with near Aleppo. I have seen a variety of this, which is common in the East, and the horns appear different ; perhaps it is a distinct species. This animal loves the smoke of tobacco ; and, when caught alive,-will approach the pipe of the huntsman, though otherwise more timid than any animal. This is perhaps the only creature, besides man, that delights in the smell of a poisonous and stinking plant." M. Hasselquist describes the manner of hunting these animals in AraHa, as follows : " I had R.M excellent opportunity of seeing this sport near Nazareth, in Galilee. An Arab, mounted on a swift courser, held the falcon in his hand, as huntsmen commonly do ; when he espied the rock goat on the top of a mountain, he Jet loose the falcon, which flew in a direct line like an arrow, and attacked the animal ; fixing the talons of one of his feet in the cheek of the creature, and the other into his throat, extending his wings obliquely over the animal ; spreading one towards one of iti ears, and the other to the opposite hip. The animal thus attacked, made a leap twice the height of a man, and freed him- self from the falcon ; but being wounded, and losing kls strength and speed, he was again attacked by the falcon; which fixed the talons of both his feet into the throat of the animal, and held it fast, till thvj huntsman coming up, took it alive, and cut its throat; the falcon drinking the blood as a reward for his labor. A young falcon which was learning, was likewise put to the throat of the goat : young falcons being thus taught to fix their talons in the throat of the animal as the most proper part." HUNTING ADVENTURES. CHAPTER XIV. HUNTING THE LION ON HORSEBACK. [/jTjHE chase of the lion on horseback is carried sLk on at the Cape of Good Hope, in the follow- ing manner, as described by Dr. Sparrman : " It is only on the plains that the hunters venture to go out on horseback in this chase. If the lion keeps in some coppice or wood, on a rising ground, they endeavor to teaze it with dogs till it comes out ; they likewise prefer going together, two or more in number, to be able to assist each other, in case the first shot should not take effect. " When the lion sees the hunters at a great distance, he takes to his heels as fast as he can, in order to get out of their sight ; but if they chance to discover him at a small distance from them, he is then said to walk off in a surly manner, but without putting himself in the least hurry, as though he was above showing any fear, when he finds himself discovered or hunted. He is there- fore reported likewise, when he finds himself pursued with vigor, to be soon provoked to resistance, or at least he disdains any longer HUNTING THE LION ON HORSEBACK. 73 to fly Consequently he slackens his pace, and at length only slides slowly off, step by step, all the while eying his pursuers askant ; and finally makes a fall stop, and turning round upon them, and at the same time giving himself a shake, roars with a short and sharp tone, to show his indignation, being ready to seize on them, and tear them in pieces. " This is the time for the hunters to be on the spot, or to get within a certain distance of him, yet so as to keep a proper dis- tance from each other ; and he that is nearest, or is most advan- tageously posted, and has the best mark of his heart and lungs, must be the first to jump off his horse, and, securing the bridle by putting it round his arm, discharge his piece ; then in an instant recovering his seat, must ride obliquely athwart his companions ; and giving his horse the reins, must trust entirely to the speed and fear of the latter, to convey him out of the reach of the wild Deast, in case he has only wounded him, or has missed him. In either of these cases, a fair opportunity presents for some of the other hunters to jump off their horses directly, as they may then take their aim and discharge their pieces with greater coolness and certainty. Should this shot likewise miss (which, however, seldom happens), the third sportsman rides after the lion, which at that instant is in pursuit of the first OT the second, and, spring- ing off his horse, fires his piece, as soon as he has got within a proper distance, and finds a sufficiently convenient part of the animal present itself, especially obliquely from behind. If now the lion turns upon him too, the other hunters turn again, to come to his rescue with the charge which they loaded on horseback, while they were flying from the wild beast. 11 No instance has ever been known of any misfortune happen- ing to the hunters in chasing the lion on horseback. The African colonists, who have been born in, or have haf 1 the courage to remove into the more remote parts of Africa, which are exposed to the ravages of wild beasts, are sometimes good marksmen, and are far from wanting courage." 74 HUNTING ADVENTURES. WOOD CHUCK, OR AMERICAN MARMOT. CHAPTER XV. HUNTING THE MAKMOT. ARMOTS are poor little inoffensive ani- mals, and. hardly to be considered game. The species of marmot found in Switzer- land and Savoy, is carried about Eu- rope by the little street musicians who come from those countries. The species of marmot known in this country, is the wood chuck or ground hog, a favorite object of pursuit among school boys. They are caught in the common box trap, or dug out from theif burrows. Our authority, heretofore quoted, gives the following account of the way in which the Marmot is hunted in Switzerland. HUNTING THE MARMOT. f5 Hunting the Marmot is neither dangerous nor laborious, noi fatal to any one but to the poor animals that are the objects of it. The marmots inhabit the high mountains, where in summer they scoop out holes, which they line with hay, and retire to at the beginning of autumn : here they grow torpid with the cold, and remain in a sort of lethargy, till the warmth of the spring return to quicken, their languid blood, and to recall them to life. When it is supposed that they have retired to their winter abode, and before the snow has covered the high pastures where their holes are made, people go to unharbor them. They are found from ten to twelve in the same hole, heaped upon one another, and buried in the hay. Their sleep is so profound, that the hunter often puts them into his bag, and carries them home without their awaking. The flesh of the young is good, though it tastes of oil, and smells somewhat of musk ; the fat is used in the cure of rheumatisms and pains, being rubbed on the parts affected ; but the skin is of little value, and is sold for no more than five or six eols. Notwithstanding the little benefit they reap from it, the people of Chamouni go in quest of this animal with* great eagerness, and its numbers accordingly diminish very sensibly. SWISS BIOT WITH HIS MARMOT. HUNTING ADVENTURES. CHAPTER XVI. HUNTING THE VIRGINIAN DEER. ACH of the American varieties of the deer will fall under our notice in the progress of the work. At present, before taking leave of the old writer to whom we are already so much indebted, we will quote his remarks on the hunting of the common Virginian deer, the am mal whose flesh is the venison so abundant in our markets. These animals are of the utmost importance to the American Indians. Their skins form the greatest branch of their traffic, by which they procure from the whites in exchange, many of th HUNTING THE VIRGINIAN DEER. 77 necessaries of life. To all of them the flesh is the principal food throughout the year; for drying it over a gentle but clear fire, after cutting it into small pieces, it is not only capable of long preserva- tion, hut is very portable in their excursions, especially when reduced to powder, which is frequently done. Hunting is more than an amusement to these people. They use it not only for the sake of subsistence, but to fit themselves for war, by habituating them to fatigue. A good huntsman is an able warrior. Those who fail in the sports of the field are never supposed to be capable of supporting the hardships of a campaign ; they are degraded to ignoble offices, such as dressing the skins of deer, and other employ- ments allotted only to women and slaves. When a large party meditates a hunting match, which is usually at the beginning of winter, they agree on a place of rendezvous, often five hundred miles distant from their homes, and where per- haps many of them had never been. When this matter is settled, they separate into small parties, travel and hunt for subsistence all day, and rest at night. The Indians have tl\eir particular hunting countries; but if they invade the limits of those belonging to other nations, the most deadly feuds ensue. As soon as they arrive on the borders of the hunting country, the captain of the band delineates on the bark of a tree his own figure, with a rattlesnake twined rom.d h nn with distended mouth ; and in his hand a bloody tomahau k. By this he implies a destructive menace to any who shall invndo- their territories, or interrupt their diversion. The chase is carried on in different ways. Some surprise the deer by using the stale 78 HUNTING ADVENTURES. of the head, horns, and hide ; but the general method is performed oy the whoie body. Several hundreds disperse in a' line, encom- passing a vast space of country, fire the woods, and drive the animals into some strait or peninsula, where they become an easy prey ; and where foxes, racoons, bears, &c., are also objects of atten tion, whose furs form articles of commerce with the Europeans. The Indians had a stratagem for taking deer by disguising themselves in the skin of the animal, and the old histories inform us that whr.n Maryland was settled by Lord Baltimore's colony, the Indians instructed the colonists in the use of this stratagem. 9HE INDIANS INSTRUCTING TUB COLONISTS OP HABVLAND IN DEER HUNTING. INDIAN RHINOCEROS. HUNTING THE INDIAN RHINOCEROS. 8i CHAPTER XVII. HUNTING THE INDIAN RHINOCEROS. T HE old name of this the first rhinoceros known to naturalists, was Unicornua, or one-horned ; but the discovery of another with only one horn, and yet with specific difFereices sufficiently marked, rendered this r. ime no longer descriptive as a specific oiie. This powerful animal is not distributed over the breadth of continental India, but confined to the marshy jungles in the lower valleys of the greaf rivers, especially the Granges, and its effluent the Burhampootra The country there has a peculiar character among even Indiar countries. The rains come with both monsoons, the north-east aa well as the south-west, and they come in very great quantity ; so that, for the greater part of the year everywhere, and the whole of it in many places, the country is a swamp ; a swamp whir.h remains under the shade of that most luxuriant vegetation which it produces, despite the great heat of the sun. This is the grand residence of the rhinoceros ; and it points out what must have been the character of vegetation in those places from which the rhinoceros has vanished, when that animal was alive in them. The characters of this one are : a single horn on the nose ; the skin is marked with deep furrows or plaits behind the shoulde* * and the thighs ; and there are also deep folds under the throat. The skin is indeed folded and furrowed in many places, as if it were too large for the owner. The hairs on the skin are hard and smooth ; but they are so few, as scarcely to make any appear- ance, excepting a few on the tail and the margins of the ears. The head is short and triangular ; but the nasal bones are well developed, and form a strong vault, on the summit of which the base of the horn rests. The eyes are very small; and there are two strong incisive teeth in each jaw. When in nealth, the skin f the animal is blackish grey with a slight tinge of violet When 6 82 HUNT1JNU AUVENTUKB8. full grown, it attains the length of eight or nine feet ; but it does not stand much more than half the height of the elephant. It is a strong and powerful animal a ,d easily excited, in which state it is equally bold and perseveri g in its attacks. What the natural enemies of the rhinoceros may be, it is not easy to say ; though its proneness to make the attack, which has no reference whatever to the finding of its food, would lead us to suppose that this pugna- cious instinct has not been given to it in vain. In consequence of its boldness and strength, the hunting of the ihinoceros is one of the most splendid and hazardous of the wild sports of the East. I is to be sought for in the jungles, and is often found in parties of about half a dozen, led on by the biggest of the whole, as is the case with the herds of elephants. In the tall vegetation of the Indian jungle, the sportsmen cannot hunt for this animal unless they are mounted on elephants ; and they find it necessary to go in bands, so that while some of the elephants are receiving the charge of the rhinoceros, the others may take aim and wound them. A single one is said, in the first instance, to seek safety in a retreat into a closer part of the jungle ; but, if again roused, it advances to the attack. Its object appears to be to get at the elephant on the side ; and passing the horn in below it, to wound it in the belly, or fairly rip it open. T^he elephant is also said not to attempt using the tusks, which would not, of course, be able to toss so weighty an animal. What may be done in a state of nature we have no means of knowing, for no- body has recorded, and probably nobody ever saw a battle between a rhinoceros and an elephant in wild nature, nor probably between a rhinoceros and any other creature. But in cases of hunting the elephant does not appear to have any means of warding r.ff the attack ; but wheels round, and receives it on the hinder oart of the body, on which the horn has not much effect in the WP . of laceration ; but the impetus of the animal is such, that it mrls the elephant to the earth ; and this it will continue to load you home. My watch on yonder bluff has just told us by his signals, that there are cattle a plenty on that spot, and we are going there as fast as possible." We all crossed the river, and galloped away a couple of miles or so, when we mounted the bluff; and to be sure as was A BISON HUNT. 131 eaid, mere was n full view of us a fine herd of some four or five hundred buffaloes, perfectly at rest, and in their own estimation (probably) perfectly secure. Some were grazing, and others were lying d( vvn and sleeping; we advanced within a mile or so of them in full view, and came to a halt. Mons. Chardon u tossed the feather" (a custom always observed, to try the course of the wind,.) and we commenced "stripping" as it is termed (i. e. every man strips himself and his horse of every extraneous and unnecessary appendage of dress, &c., that might be an incumbrance in running :) hats are laid off, and coats, and bullet pouches; sleeves are rolled up, a handkerchief tied tightly around the head, and another around the waist cartridges are prepared and placed in the waistcoat pocket, or a half a dozen bullets " th rowed into the mouth," &c., &c., all of which takes up some ten or fifteen minutes, and is not, in appear ance or in effect, unlike a council of war. Our leader lays the whole plan of the chase, and preliminaries all fixed, guns charged and ramrods in our hands, we mount and start for the onset. The horses are all trained for this business, and seem to enter into it with as much enthusiasm, and with as restless a spirit as the riders themselves. While "stripping" and mounting, they exhibit the most restless impatience; and when "approaching" (which is, all of us abreast, upon a slow walk, and in a straight line towards the herd, until they discover us and run,) they all seem to have caught entirely the spirit of the chase, for the laziest rug Amongst them prances with an elasticity in his step champing his ar hi ears erect his eyes strained out of his head, and fixed upor Jie game before him, whilst 1m trembles under the saddle of his rider In '.his way we carefully and silently marched, until within som* forty or fifty rods ; when the herd discovering us, wheeled and laid their course in a mass. At this instant we started ! (and all must start, for no one could check the fury of those steeds at that moment of excitement,) and away all sailed, and over the prairie flew, in a cloud of dust which was raised by their trampling hoofs. MtKenzie was foremost in the throng, and soon dashed off amidst the dust and was out of sight he was after the fattest and the fastest. I had discovered a huge bull whose shoulders towered 132 HUNTING ADVENTURES. above the whole band, and I picked my way through the c. owd to get alongside of him. I went not for " meat," but for a trophy f I wanted his head and horns. I dashed along through the thunder- ing mass, as they swept away over the plain, scarcely able to tell whether I was on a buffalo's back or my horse hit, and hooked, and jostled abc.ut, till at length I found myself alongside of my game, when I gave him a shot, as I passed him. I saw guns flash in several directions about me, but I heard them not. Amidst the trampling throng, Mons. Chardon had wounded a stately bull aid at this moment was passing him again with his piece levellec 'or another shot ; they were both at full speed and I also, within the reach of the muzzle of my gun, when the bull instantly turned and receiving the horse upon his horns, the ground received poor Chardon, who made a frog's leap of some twenty feet or more over the bull's back, and almost under my horse's heels. I wheeled my horse as soon as possible and rode back, where lay poor Char- don, gasping to start his breath again ; and within a few paces of him his huge victim, with his heels high in the air, and the hoise lying across him. I dismounted instantly, but Chardon was raising himself on his hands, with his eyes and mouth full of dirt, and feeling for his gun, which lay about thirty feet in advance of him. " Heaven spare you ! are you hurt, Chardon ?" " Hi hie hie hie hie hie no, hie no no, I believe not. Oh ! this is not much, Mons. Cataline this is nothing new but this is a hard piece of ground here hie oh ! hie !" At this the poor fellow fainted, but in a few monents arose, picked up his gun, took his horse by the bit ; which then opened its eyes, and with a hie and a ugh UGHK ! sprang upon its feet shook off the dirt and here we were, all upon our legs again, save the bull, whose fate had been more ?ad than that c .f either. I turned my eyes in the direction where the herd had gone, and our companions in pursuit, and nothing could be seen of them, nor indication, except the cloud of dust which they left behind them. At a little distance on the right, however, I beheld my huge victim endeavoring to make as much head-way as he possibly could A BISON JIUNT. 133 from this dangerous ground, upon thr6e legs.. I galloped ofF to him, and at my approach he wheeled around and bristled up for battle ; he seemed to know perfectly well that he could' not escape from me, and resolved to meet his enemy and death ;ts bravely as possible. I found that my shot had entered him a little too far forward, breaking one of his shoulders, and lodging in his breast, and from his very great weight it was impossible for him to make much advance upon me. As I rode up within a few paces of him, he would bristle up with fury enough in his looks alone, almost to annihilate me; and making one lunge at me, would fall upon his neck and nose, so that I found the sagacity of my horse alone em ugh to keep me out of reach of danger: and I drew from my pocket my sketch-book, laid my gun across my lap, and commenced taking his likeness. He stood stiffened up, and swelling with awful-vengeance, which was sublime for a picture, but which he could not vent upon me. I rode around him and sketched him in numerous attitudes ; sometimes he would lie down, and I would then sketch him ; then throw my cap at him, and rousing him on his legs, rally a new expression, and sketch him again. In this way I added to my sketch-book some invaluable sketches of this grim-visaged monster, who knew not that he was standing for his likeness. No man on earth can imagine what is the look and expression of such a subject before him as this was. I defy the world to pro- duce another animal that can look so frightful as a huge buffalo bull, when wounded as he was, turned round for battle, and swell- ing with rage ; his eyes bloodshot, and his long shaggy mane hanging to the ground, his mouth open, and his horrid rnge hissing in streams of smoke and blood from his mouth and through his nostrils, as he is bending forward to spring upon his assailant. After I had had the requisite time and opportunity for using my pencil, M< Kenzie and his companions came walking their exhausted horses back from the chase, and in our rear came four or five carta to carry home the meat. The party met from all quarters around me and my buffalo bull, whom I then shot in the head and finished 134 HUNTING ADVENTUKES. And being seated together for a few minutes, each one took a sri.oke of the pipe, and recited his exploits, and his "coups" or oeaths ; when all parties-had a hearty laugh at me, as a novice, for naving aimed at an old bull, whose flesh was not suitable for food, and the carts were escorted on the trail, to bring away the meat. I rode back with Mr. M'Kenzie, who pointed out five cows which he had killed, and all of them selected as the fattest and sleekest of the herd. This astonishing feat was all performed within the distance of one mile all were killed at full speed, and every one shot through the heart. In the short space of time required for a horse under "full whip," to run the distance of one mile, he had dis- charged his gun five, and loaded it four times selected his animals, and killed at every shot ! There were six or eight others killed at the same time, which altogether furnished, as will be seen, abundance of freight for the carts ; which returned, as well as several packhorses, loaded with the choicest parts, which were cut from the animals, and the remainder of the carcasses left a prey for the wolves. Such is the mode by which white men live in this country such the way in which they get their food, and such is one of their delightful amusements at the hazard of every bone in one's body, to feel the fine and thrilling exhilaration of the chase for a moment, and then as often to upbraid and blame himself for his f jlly and imprudence. A BISHOP HUNTING THE TiGER. 135 CHAPTER XXIV. A BISHOP HUNTING THE TIGER. HE late excellent Bishop Heber, in his jounv.i, has given a narrative of the mode in which a tiger-hunt is conducted, full of picturesque effect, and striking from its minute detail: "At Kulleanpoor, the young Raja Gourman Singh mentioned, in the course of conversation, that there was a tiger in an adjoining tope which had done a good deal of mischief; that he should have gone after it himself had he not been ill, and had he not thought it would be a fine diversion for Mr. Boulderson, the collector of the district, and me. I told him I was no sportsman, but Mr. Boulderson's eyes sparkled at the name of tiger, and he expressed great anxiety to beat up his quarters in the afternoon. Under such circumstances, I did not like to deprive him of his sport, as he would not leave me by myself, and went, though with no intention of being more than a epetactor. Mr. Boulderson, however, advised me to load my 136 HUNTING ADVENTURES. pistols for the sake of defence, and lent me a very fine double barrelled gun for the same purpose. We set cut a little after three on our elephants, with a servant behind each howdah, carrying a large chatta, which, however, was almost needless. The Raja, in spite of his fever, made his uppearance too, saying that he could not bear to be left behind. A number of people, on foot and horse- back, attended from our own camp and the neighboring villages, and the same sort of interest and delight was evidently excited which might be produced in England by a great coursing party. The Raja was on a little female elephant, hardly bigger than the Durham ox, and almost as shaggy as a poodle. She was a native of the neighboring wood, where they are generally, though not always, of a smaller size, than those of Bengal and Chittagong. He sat in a low howdah,* with two or three guns ranged beside him ready for action. -Mr. Boulderson had also a formidable apparatus of muskets and fowling-pieces, projecting over his mohout's head. We rede about two miles across a plain covered with long jungle grass, which very much put me in mind of the country near the Cuban. Q,uails and wild-fowl arose in great numbers, and beautifu, antelopes were seen scudding away in all directions." The Bishop then describes the beating of the jungle, the rushing out of two curious animals of the elk kind, called the " mohr," and the growing anxiety of all the people engaged in the hunt. He then proceeds thus : ' At last the elephants all drew up their trunks into the air, began to roar, and stamp violently with their fore-feet. The Raja's little elephant turned short round, and in spite of all her mohout ^her driver) could say or do, took up her post, to the Raja's great annoyance, close in the rear of Mr. Boulderson. The other three (for one of my baggage elephants had come out too, the mohcut, though unarmed, not caring to miss the show) went on slowly, but boldly, with their trunks raised, their ears expanded, and their sagacious little eyes bent inUntly forward. ' We are close upcn him,' said Mr. Boulderson; 'fire where you see the long grass * The Uowdah is a seat somewh.it resembling the body of a gig, and is fastened by girths to the back of the elephant. A BISHOP HUNTING THE TIGER. 137 shake, if he rises before you.' Just at that moment my elephan, stamped again violently. ' There, there,' cried the mohout, 'I saw his head.' A short roar, or rather loud growl followed, and I saw immediately before my elephant's head the motion of some large animal stealing through the grass. I fired as directed, and a moment after, seeing the motion still more plainly, fired the second barrel. Another short growl followed ; the motion was immediately Quickened, and was soon lost in the more distant jungle. Mr. Boulderson said, ' I should not wonder if you hit him that last time ; at any rate we shall drive him out of the cover, and then I will take care of him.' In fact, at that moment the crowd of horse and foot spectators at the jungle side, began to run off in all directions. We went on to the place, but found it was a false alarm ; and, in fact, we had seen all we were to see of him, and went twice more through the jungle in vain. ... "I asked Mr. Boulderson on our return, whether tiger-hunting was generally of this kind, which 1 could not help comparing to that chase of bubbles which enables us in England to pursue an otter. In a jungle, he answered, it must always be pretty much the same, inasmuch as, except under very peculiar circumstances, or when a tiger felt himself severely wounded, and was roused tc revenge by despair, his aim was to remain concealed, and to make off" as quietly as possible. It was after he had broken cover, or when he found himself in a situation so as to be fairly at bay, that the serious part of the sport began, in which case he attacked his enemies boldly, and always died fighting. He added, that the lion, though not so large or swift an animal as the tiger, was general Iv stronger and more courageous. Those which have been killed in India, instead of running away when pursued through a jungle, seldom seem to think its cover necessary at all. When they see their enemies approaching, they spring out to meet them, open- mouthed, in the plain, like the boldest of all animals, a mastiff dog. They are thus generally shot with very little trouble ; but if they are missed, or only slightly wounded, they are truly formidable enemies. Though not swift, they leap with vast strength and vio- lence ; and their large heads, immense paws, and the event weight 138 HUNTING ADVENTURES. of their body forwards, often enables them to spring on the head of the largest elephants, and fairly pull them down to the ground, riders and all. When a tiger springs on an elephant, the latter is generally able to shake him off under his feet, and then woe be to him. The elephant either kneels on him and crushes him at once, or gives him a kick which breaks half his ribs, and sends him flying perhaps twenty paces. The elephants, however, are often dread- fully torn ; and a large old tiger sometimes clings too fast to be thus dealt with. In this case it often happens that the elephant himself falls, from pain, or from the hope of rolling on his enemy ; and the people on his back are in very considerable danger both from friends and foes, for Mr. Boulderson said the scratch of a tiger was some- times venomous, as that of a cat is said to be. But this did not often happen ; and, in general, persons wounded by his teeth or claws, if not killed outright, recovered easily enough." We add to the Bishop's story one more by a gentleman in the civil service of the British East India Company. " I was at Jaffna, at the northern extremity of the Island of Ceylon, in the beginning of the year 1819: when, one morning my servant called me an hour or two before my usual time, with, ' Master, master ! people sent for master's dogs tiger in the town !' Now, my dogs chanced to be some very degenerate specimens of a fine species, called the Poligar dog, which I should designate as a sort of wiry-haired greyhound, without scent. I kept them to hunt jackals; but tigers are very different things: by the way, there are no real tigers in Ceylon ; but leopards and panthers are always called so, and by ourselves as well as by the natives. This turned out to be a panther. My gun chanced not to be put together; and while my servant was doing it, the collector, and two medical men, who had recently arrived, in consequence of the cholera morbus having just then reached Ceylon from the continent, came to my door, the former armed with a fowling-piece, and the two latter with remarkably blunt hog-spears. They insisted upon setting off without waiting for my gun, a proceeding not much to my taste. The tiger (I must continue to call him so) had taken refuge in a hut, the roof of which, as those of Ceylcn huts in HUNTING THE TIGER. 139 general, spread to the ground like an umbrella; the only aperture into it was a small door, about four feet high. The collector wanted to get the tiger out at once. I begged to wait for my gun ; but no the fowling-piece (loaded with ball, of course) and the two hog-spears were quite enough. I got a hedge-stake, and awaited my fate, from very shame. At this moment, to my great delight, there arrived from the fort an English officer, two artillery-men, and a Malay Captain ; and a pretty figure we should have cut without them, as the event will show. I was now quite ready to attack, and my gun came a minute afterwards. The whole scene which follows took place within an enclosure, about twenty fe*t square, formed, on three sides, by a strong fence of palmyra leaves, and on the fourth by the hut. At the door of this the two artillery- men planted themselves; and the Malay captain got on the top, to frighten the tiger out, by worrying it an easy operation, as the huts there are covered with cocoa-nut leaves. One of the artillery- men wanted to go in to the tiger, but we would not suffer it. At last the beast sprang; this man received him on his bayonet, which he 'hrust apparently down his throat, firing his piece at the same moment. The bayonet broke off- short, leaving less than three inches on the musket ; the rest remained in the animal, but was invisible to us : the shot probably went through his cheek, for it certainly did not seriously injure him, as he instantly rose upon his legs, with a loud roar, and placed his paws upon the soldier's breast. At this moment, the animal appeared to me to about reach the centre of the man's face ; but I had scarcely time to observe this, when the tiger, stooping his head, seized the soldier's arm in his mouth, turned him half round staggering, threw him over on his back, and fell upon mm. Our dread now was, that if we fired upon the tiger, we might kill the man : for a moment there was a pause, when his comrade attacked the beast exactly in the same manner as the gallant fellow himself had done. He struck his bayonet into his head ; the tiger rose at him he fired ; and this time the ball took effect, and in the head. The animal staggered backwards, and we all poured in our fire. He still kicked and writhed ; when the gentlemen with the hog-spears advanced, and HO HUNTING ADVENTURES. fixed him, while some natives finished him, by beating him en the head with hedge-stakes. The brave artillery-man was, after all, but slightly hurt : he claimed the skin, which was very cheerfully given to him. There was, however, a cry among the natives that the head should be cut off: it was ; and in so doing, the knife tame Directly across the bayonet. The animal measured scarcely less than four feet from the root of the tail to the muzzle. There was no tradition of a tiger having been in Jaffna before ; indeed, this one must have either come a distance of almost twenty miles, or have swam across an arm of the sea nearly two in breadth ; for Jaffna stands on a peninsula, on which there is no jungle of any A FANTHKR. ADVENTURES WITH HY/ENAS. I'll HYAENA. CHAPTER XXV. ADVENTURES WITH HY2ENAS. 'n\F the hyasna there are twc sJJ/ species, the common or striped, and the South African or Spotted Hyasna. The for- mer is found in Barbary, Egypt, Abyssinia, Nubia, Syria, and Persia. The spotted hysena is a native of Southern Africa; and the species is found, in large numbers, in the neighborhood of the Cape of Good Hope ; from this circum- stance, Desmaret named it. The general shape of this hyaena is very similar to that of the striped, though it is ordinarily smaller. The mane is remarkable, but not quite so full as in the striped species. The general color of the hide is a dirty yellow, ap- proaching to a blackish brown on the belly and limbs, with spots also of a blackish brown, more or less deep, on all parts of thf 1 142 HUNTING ADVENTURES. body, excepting the under part of the belly and of the breast, the inner surface of the limbs, and the head ; the extremity of the muzzle is black; the tail is brown, without spots. The peculiar powers of the hyaena, arising out of the extraordi- nary strength of his jaws and teeth, admirably fit him for the pur- poses which he serves in the economy of nature. An inhabitant of warm countries, he principally derives his subsistence, in com- mon with the jackal and the vulture, from those animal remains, which, if uncons^umed, would produce the most serious incon- venience. All the narratives of residents in, or travellers through, Southern Africa, agree in their accounts of these facts. Mr. Pringle, in the notes to his " Ephemerides," says, "There are several species of the vulture in South Africa, but the most com- mon is the large light-colored vultur percnoptertis, one of the sacred birds of the ancient Egyptians. These fowls divide with the hyaenas the office of carrion-scavengers ; and the promptitude with which they discover and devour every dead carcase is truly surprising. They also instinctively follow any band of hunters, or party of men travelling, especially in solitary places, wheeling in circles high in the air, ready to pounce down upon any game that may be shot and not instantly secured, or the carcase of any ox or other animal that may perish on the road. I have seen a large ox so dexterously handled by a flock of these voracious fowls, that in the course of three or four hours not a morsel, ex- cept the bones and the skin, (which they had contrived to disin- carnate almost entire,) remained for the hysnas. In a field of battle in South Africa, no one ever buries the dead : the birds and beasts of prey relieve the living of that trouble. Even the bones, except a few of the less manage ible parts, find a sepulchre in the voracious maw of the hyaena." Mr. Burchell, speaking of the office of vultures in hot regions, says, "Vultures have been ordained evidently to perform very necessary and useful duties on the globe ; as, indeed, has every other animated being, how- ever purblind we may be in our views of their utility ; and we might almost venture to declare that those duties are the final cause of their existence. To those who have had an opportunity ADVENTURES WITH HYENAS. 143 of exam.uing these birds, it need not be remarked how perfectly the formation of a vulture is adapted to that share in the daily business of the globe which has been allotted to it that of clear- ing away putrid orputrescent animal matter, which might otherwise taint the air and produce infectious disease." The vulture is enabled to perform these duties, in countries of great extent and thinly-scattered population, principally from his extraordinary powers of sight. The wonderful extent of vision of this bird's eye is shown in the following instance : "In the year 1778, Mr. Baber, and several other gentlemen, were on a hunting party, in the island of Cossimbuzar, in Bengal, about fifteen miles north of the city of Murshedabad. They killed a wild hog of uncommon size, and left it on the ground near the tent. An hour after, walking near the spot where it lay, the sky perfectly clear, a dark spot in the air ai a great distance attracted their attention. It appeared to increase in size, and move directly towards them ; as it advanced, it proved to be a vulture flying in a direct line to the dead hog In an hour, seventy others came in all directions, which induced Mr. Baber to remark, this cannot be smell."* The faculty of smell of the hyaena conducts him as certainly to his food as the sight of the vulture. Major Denham tells us in his Journal, " the hyaenas came so close to the tent last night, that a camel, which lay about a hundred yards from the enclosure, was found nearly half-eaten. A lion first made a meal on the poor animal, when the hyaenas came down upon what he had left." Mr. Bur- chell says, " A new species of antelope, which had been shot late on the preceding evening, was fetched home ; but during the night, the hyaenas, or wolves as they are usually called by the Boors and Hottentots, had devoured all the flesh, leaving us only the head and the hide." These, and many more instances which we might select, show us that in these regions, in the very hour when any quadruped falls, the sharp-scented hyasnas immediately m of their huge broad sterns. They exhaled a strong bovine, smell, which came hot in my face. I expeced every minute that they would come to bay, and give me time to load ; but this they did not seem disposed to do. At length, finding I. had the speed of them, I increased my pace; and going ahead, I placed myself light before the finest bull, thus expecting to force him to stand at bay ; upon which he instantly charged me with a low roar, very similar to the voice of a lion. Colesburg neatly avoided the charge, and the bull resumed his northward course. We now entered on rocky ground, and the forest became more dense as we proceeded. The buffaloes were- evidently making for some strong retreat. I, however, managed with much difficulty to hold them in view, following as best I could through thorny thickets. Isaac rode some hundred yards behind, and kept shout- ing to me to drop the pursuit, or I should be killed. At last the buffaloes suddenly pulled up, and stood at bay in a thicket within HUNTING THE PALLAH. 215 twenty yards of me. Springing from my horse, I hastily loaded my two-grooved rifle, which I had scarcely completed when Isaac rode up and inquired what had become of the buffaloes, litila dreaming that they were standing within twenty yards of him. I answered by pointing my rifle across his horse's nose, and letting fly sharp right and left at the two buffaloes. A headlong charge, accompanied by a muffled roar, was the result. In an instant I was round a clump of tangled thorn trees ; but Isa,ac, by 'he violence of his efforts to get his horse in motion, lost his balance and at the same instant, his girths giving way, himself, his saddle, and big Dutch rifle, all came to the ground together, with a heavy crash, right in the path of the infuriated buffaloes. Two of the Jogs, which had fortunately that moment joined us, met them in their charge, and, by diverting their attention, probably saved Isaac from instant destruction. The buffaloes now took up another position in un adjoining thicket. They were both badly wounded blotches and pools of blood marking the ground where they had stood. The dogs rendered me assistance by taking up their atten- tion, and in a few minutes these two noble bulls breathed their last beneath the shade of a mimosa grove. Each of them, in dying, repeatedly uttered a very striking, low, deep moan. This I subsequently ascertained 'the buffalo invariably utters When in the act of expiring. On going up to them, I was astonished to behold their size and powerful appearance. Their horns reminded me of the rugged trunk of an oak tree. Each horn was upward of a foot in breadth at the base, and together they effectually protected the skull with a massive and impenetrable shield. The horns, descending, and spreading out horizontally, completely overshadowed the animal's eyes, imparting to him a look the most ferocious and sinister that can be imagined. On my way to the wagons I shot a stag Bassayby, and while I was engaged in removing his head a troop of about thirty doe pallahs cantered past me, followed by one princely old buck. Snatching p my rifle, I made a fine shot iqd rolled him over in the gras,./. 216 HUNTING ADVENTURES. TUB FALCON. CHAPTER XXXIX. HUNTING AND HAWKING IN PERSIA. JOHN MALCOLM, in his deiightfu Sketches of Persia, has given some very lively descriptions of sporting scenes in that romantic country. In order to under- stand the following extract from his book, jf^.nc&affjL l ^ e reader must recollect that Sir John -*'ss^^liy y himself is the Elchee or ambassador from England, of whom he speaks as of another person. We were kept several weeks at Abusheher ; and among other amusements by which we beguiled the tedium of our sojourn at this dull sea-port, were those of hunting and hawking; which, according to the Nimrods of our party, are nowhere found in greater perfection : but as the mode of killing the game differs essentially from that of other countries. I shall describe it, that such sportsmen as can read may judge of its merits. The huntsmen proceed to a large plain, or rather desert, near ihe sea-side : they have hawks and greyhounds ; the former carried in the usual manner, on the hand of the huntsman ; the HUNTLNU AND HAWKING IN PERSIA. , PERSIAN GREYHOUND. latter led in a leash by a horseman, generally the same who carries the hawk. When the antelope is seen, they endeavor to get as near as possible ; but the animal, the moment it observes them, goes off at a rate that seems swifter than the wind ; the horsemen are instantly at full speed, having slipped the dogs. If it is a single deer, they at the time fly the hawks ; but if a herd, they wait till the dogs have fixed on a particular antelope. The hawks, skimming along near the ground, soon reach the deer, at whose head they pounce in succession, and sometimes with a violence that knocks it over. At all events, they confuse the animal so much as to stop its speed in such a degree that the dogs can come up ; and in an instant men, horses, dogs, and hawks, surround the unfortunate deer, against which their united efforts have been combined. The part of the chase that surprised me most was the extraordinary combination of the hawks and the dogs, which throughout seemed to look to each other for aid. This, I was told, was the result of long and skilful training. The antelope is supposed to be the fleetest quadruped on earth, and tlje rapidity of the first burst of the chase I have described is astonishing. The run seldom exceeds three qr four miles, and often it is not half so much. A fawn is an easy victory ; the doe often runs a good chase, and the buck is seldom taken. The Arabs are, indeed, afraid to fly their hawks at the latter, as these one birds, in pouncing, frequently impale themselves on its sharp noins. The hawks used in this sport are of a species that 1 have never 218 HUNTING ADVENTURER. PERSIAN ANTELOPE. een in any other country. This breed, which is c.-.lled Cherxk, is not large, but of great beauty and symmetry. Another mode of running down the antelope is practised here, and still more in the interior of Persia. Persons of the highes* rank lead their own greyhounds in a long silken leash, which passes through the collar, and is ready to slip the moment the huntsman' chooses. The well-trained dog goes alongside the horse, and keeps clear of him when at full speed, and in all kinds of country. When a herd of antelopes is seen, a consultation is held, and the most experienced determine the point towards which they are to be driven The field (as an English sportsman would term it) then disperse, and while some drive the herd in the de- Bired direction, those with the dogs take their post on the same line, at the distance of about a mile from each other ; one of the worst dogs is then slipped at the herd, and from the moment he singles out an antelope the whole body are in motion. The object of the horsemen who have greyhounds is to intercept its course, and to slip fresh "dogs, in succession, at the fatigued animal. In rare instances the second dog kills. It is generally the third or fourth ; ana even these, when the deer is strong, and the grouna CatrorTD IIAWKTNO TN PERSIA. 221 party are exulting in their success, cutting off poor reynard'a brush, praising the hounds, adding some two feet to a wall theii horses had cleared, laughing at those who had got tumbles, and recounting many a hair-breadth escape, I was entertained by listening to an Arab peasant,-who, with animate.d gestures, wai narrating to a group of his countrymen all he had seen of this noble hunt. "There went the fox,'' said he, pointing with a crooked stick to a clump of date trees ; " there he went at a great rate ; I hallooed, and hallooed, but nobody heard me, and I thought he must get away ; but when he was quite out of sight, up came a large spotted dog, and then another and another ; they all had their noses on the ground, and gave tongue, whow, whow, whow, so loud that I was frightened : away went these devils, who soon found the poor animal ; after them galloped the Faringees*, shouting and trying to make a noise louder than the dogs : no wonder they killed the fox among them ; but it is certainly fine sport. Our Shaikh has no dogs like thesr." This last remark Faringee, wftich is a corruption of Frank, is the name given to an Ewopean w all Asia. 2?2 HUNTING ADVENTURES. was assented w by all present, and the possession of a breed of dogs, which their Shaikh had not, added not a little, m the eyes of those peasants, to the character of the mission. #***** Some gentlemen had accompanied the mission whose chief object was to see Persepolis and other remains of ancient splen- dor. These motives were unintelligible to the Persians. The day we left the ruins, Aga Meer, as we were riding together, ex- pressed his surprise at men devoting their time to such pursuits. " What can be the use," said he, " of travelling so far and running so many risks to look at ruined houses and palaces, when they might stay so comfortably at home ?" I replied with some feeling of contempt for my friend's love of quiet, " If the state of a man's circumstances, or that of his country, does not find him work, he must find it for himself, or go to sleep and be good for nothing. Antiquaries," I continued, " to whcse praiseworthy researches you allude, by directing, through their labors and talents, our attention to the great names and magnificent monuments of former days, aid in improving the sentiments and taste of a nation. Be- sides, though no antiquary myself, I must ever admire a study which carries man beyond self. I love those elevating thoughts that lead me to dwell with delight on the past, and to look forward with happy anticipations to the future. We are told by some that such feelings are mere illusions, and the cold, practical phi- losopher may, on the ground of their inutility, desire to remove them from men's minds, to make way for his own machinery ; but he could as soon argue me out of my existence as take from me the internal proof which such feelings convey, both as to my origin and destination." " There goes a Goor-kher'' (wild ass), said Mahomed Beg, the Jelloodar,* who was riding close behind ; and away he galloped. Away I galloped also, leaving unfinished one of the finest speeches about the past and the future that was ever commenced. We pursued the goor-kher several miles, when we gave up the *hase as hopeless. On our return, however, we found plenty ol * Persian groom. HUNTING AND HAWKING IN PERSIA. 223 other game ; five hares were killed by our dogs and three by hawks. When at Sfr'raz, the Elchee had received a present of a very fine Shah-Baz, or ioyal falcon. Before going out I had been amused at seeing Nutee Beg, our head falconer, a man of great experience in his department, put upon this bird a pair of leathers, which he fitted to its thighs with as much care as if he had been the tailor of a fashionable horseman. I inquired the reason of so unusual a proceeding. " You will learn that," said the conse- quential master of the hawks, " when you see our sport :" and I was convinced, at the period he predicted, of the old fellow's knowledge of his business. The first hare seized by the falcon was very strong, and the ground rough. While the bird kept the claws of one foot fastened in the back of its prey, the other was dragged along the ground till it had an opportunity to lay hold of a tuft of grass, by which it was enabled to stop the course of the hare, whose efforts to' escape, I do think, would have torn the hawk asunder, if it had not been provided with the leathern defences which have been mentioned. The next time the falcon was flown, gave us a proof of that extraordinary courage which its whole appearance, and par- ticularly its eye, denoted. It had stopped and quite disabled the second hare by the first pounce, when -two greyhounds, which had been slipped by mistake, came up, and endeavored to seize it. They were, however, repulsed by the falcon, whose boldness and celerity in attacking the dogs and securing its prey excited our admiration and astonishment. We had some excellent sport with smaller hawks and part- ridges. I was particularly pleased with one bird which kept hovering over our heads till the game was sprung, and then de- scending like a shot, struck its prey to the ground. 24 ADVENTURES. LION, LIONESS AN'D CUBS. CHAPTER XL. SHOOTING A LION FROM A WATCHING PLACE. of Mr. Cummings* modes of hunting in Africa, was to have a hole dug near a fountain or piece of water, and concealing himself in. it, to wait for the approach of the wilt! animnls who would resort to it to drink The following extract from his book shows the success of this stratagem On the afternoon of the 3d of Sep tember I watched the fountain. Toward sunset one "blue wilde- beest, six zebras, and .a large herd of pallahs were all drinking Vefore me. I lay enjoying contemplation for at least fifteen HUNTING A LION. 22? minutes, and most cf them having slaked their thirst, I sent a ball through the heart of the best headed pallah. I then took a long shot at the blue wildebeest bull, and sent the other ball iiito his shoulder. I no\v came to the camp, and ordered the pallah to be placed in front of my hole beside the water, to attract the lions. Having taken my coffee, I returned to the water with Kleinboy and Mollyee. It was bright moonlight. We had scarcely lain down, when the terrible voice of a lion was heard a little to the east; the jackals were feasting over the remains of the white rhinoceros of yesterday, and only one or two occasionally came and snuffed at the pallah. Presently a herd of zebras, accompanied by elands, approached the water, but were too timid to come in and drink : a troop of wild dogs now came boldly up, and were walking off with the pallah, when I fired into them. They made off, but immediately returning and again seizing my pallah, I fired again, and wounded one of them. Soon after we had lain down a thundering clattering of hoofs was heard coming up the vley, and on came an immense herd of wildebeest. They were very thirsty, and the leading cow very soon came boldly up and drank before me. I sent a ball through her ; she ran sixty yards up the slope behind me, and fell dead. Her comrades then thundered across the vley, and took up a position on the opposite rising ground. In two minutes the hyasnas and jackals had attacked the carcass of this wildebeest. Soon after this a lion gave a most appalling roar on the bushy height close opposite to us, which was succeeded by a death-like stillness which lasted for nearly a minute. I had then only one shot in my four barrels, and I hastily loaded the other barrel of my Westley Richards, and with breathless attention kept the strictest watch in front, expecting every moment to see the mighty and terrible king of beasts approaching; but he was too cunning He saw all the other game fight shy of the water, so he made a circuit to leeward to get the wind off the fountain. Soon after he roarod I heard a number of jackals bothering him, as if telling him .0 come across the vley to the wildebeest : he growled from fide to side, as if playing with them, and after this all was still. 228 HUNTING ADVENTURES I had listened with intense anxiety for about fifteen min i ea longer, when I heard the hyaenas and jackals give way on either side behind me from the carcass of the wildebeest, and, turning my head slowly round, beheld a huge and majestic lion, with a black mane which nearly swept the ground, standing over the carcass. He seemed aware of my proximity, and, lowering his head, at once laid hold of the wildebeest and dragged it some distance up the hill. He then halted to take breath, but did not expose a broadside, and in a quarter of a minute he again laid hold of the wildebeest and dragged it about twelve yards further toward the cover, when he again raised his noble head and halted to take breath. I had not an instant to loose ; he stood with his rig'nt side exposed to me in a very slanting position ; I stretched my left arm across the grass, and, taking him rather low, fired ; the ball took effect, and the lion sank to the shot. All was still as death for many seconds, when he uttered a deep growl, and, slowly gaining his feet, limped toward the cover, roaring mournfully as he went. When he got into the thorny bushes he stumbled through them as he moved along, and in half a minute I heard him halt and growl fearfully, as if dying. 1 had now every reason to believe that he was either dead or would die .mmediately, and that if I did not seek him till the morning I knew very well thai the hyaenas and jackals would destroy him. I accordingly went up to camp, and, having saddled two horses, I and Martin rode ta seek him, taking all the dogs, led in strings by the natives. On reaching the carcass of the wildebeest we slipped the dogs, and HUNTING A LION. .hey went off' after the hyaenas and jackals: we listened in vain for the deep growl of the Jion, but I was persuaded that he was dead, and rode forward to the spot where I had last heard him growl. Lassie, DOW coming up, commenced barking at a bush in front of me, and, riding round, I had the immense satisfaction to bein, Id the most magnificent old black-maned lion stretched out before me. The ball had entered his belly a little before the flank, and traversed the length and breadth of his body, crippling him in the opposite shoulder. No description could give a correct idea of he surpassing beauty of this most majestic animal, as he lay still warm before me. 1 lighted a fire and gazed with delight upon his lovely mane, his massive arms, his sharp yellow nails, his hard and terrible head, his immense and powerful teeth, his perfect beauty and symmetry throughout ; and I felt that I had won the noblest prize that this wide world could yield to a sports- man. Having about fifteeen natives with me, I sent for rheims and the iechter-uit, and we bore the lion to camp. liSO HUNTING ADVENTURES. Jlown for the night. The rivei's banks on each side were clad with groves of shady thorn trees. After I had lain some time, squadrons of buffaloes were heard coming on, until the shady grove on the east bank of the water immediately above me was alive with them. After some time the leaders ventured down the river's bank to drink, and this was the signal for a general rush into the large pool of Wi-ter: they came on like a regiment of cavalry at a gallop, making a mighty din, and obscuring the air with a dense cloud of dust. At length I sent a ball into one of them, when the most tremendous rush followed up the bank, where they all stood still, listening attentively. I knew that the buffalo was severely wounded, but did not hear him fall. Some time after I fired at a second, as they stood on the bank above me ; this buffalo was also hard hit, but did not then fall. A little after I fired at a third on the same spot; he ran forty-yards, and, falling, groaned fearfully: this at once brought on a number of the others to butt their dying comrade, according to their benevolent custom. I then crept in toward them, and, firing my fourth shot, a second buffalo ran for- ward a few yards, and, falling, groaned as the last ; her comrades, coming up, served her in the same manner. A second time I crept in, and, firing a fifth shot, a third buffalo ran forward, and fell close to her dying comrades : in a few minutes all the other buffaloes made off, and the sound of teeth tearing at the flesh wa? heard immediately. I fancied it was the hyaenas, and fired a shot to scare them from the flesh. All was still ; and, being anxious to inspect the heads of the buffaloes, I went boldly forward, taking the native who accompanied me along with me. We were within about five yards of the nearest buffalo, when I observed a yellow mass lying alongside of him, and at the same instant a lion gave" a deep growl. I thought it was all over with me. The native shouted "Tao," and, springing away, instantly commenced blowing shrilly througn a charmed piei e of bone which he wore on his necklace. I ADVENTURE WITH A LION. 233 tetreated to the native, and we then knelt down. The lion con- tinued his meal, tearing away at the buffalo, and growling at hia wife and family, who, I found next day by the spoor, had accom- panied him. Knowing that he would not molest me if I left him alone, I proposed to the native to go to our hole and lie down, but he would not hear of it, and entreated me to fire at the lion. I fired three different shots where I thought I saw him, but without any effect ; he would not so much as for a moment cease munch ing my buffalo. I then proceeded to lie down, and was soon asleep, the native keeping watch over our destinies. Some time after midnight other lions were heard coming on from other airts, and my old friend commenced roaring so loudly that the native thought it proper to wake me. The first old lion now wanted to drink, and held right away for the two unfortunate steeds, roaring terribly. I felt rather alarmed for their safety ; but, trusting that the lion had had flesh enough for one night, I lay still, and listened with an attentive ear. In a few minutes, to my utter horror, I heard him spring upon one of the steeds with an angry growl, and dash him to the earth ; the steed gave a slight groan, and all was still. I listened to hear the sound of teeth, but all continued still. Soon after this Tao" was once more to be heard munching the buffalo. In a few minutes he came forward, and stood on the bank close above us, and roared most terribly, walking up and down, as if meditating some mis- chief. I now thought it high time to make a fire, and, quickly collecting some dry reeds and little sticks, in half a minute we had a cheerful blaze. The lion, which had not yet got our wind, came forward at once to find out what the deuse was up ; but, not seeing to his entire satisfaction from the top of the bank, he was proceeding to descend by a game-path into the river-bed within a few yards of us. I happened at the very moment to go to this spot to fetch more wood, and, being entirely concealed from the lion's view above by the intervening high reeds, we actually mel face to face ! The -first notice I got was his sudden spring to one side, accom- panied by repeated angry growls, while I involuntarily made a 234 HUNTING ADVENTURES. convulsive apnng backward, at the same time giving a fearful shriek, such as I never before remember uttering. I fancied just as he growled that he was coming upon me. We now heaped on more wood, and kept up a very strong fire until the day dawned, the lions feasting beside us all the time, notwithstanding the remon- strances of the little native, who, with a true Bechuana spirit lamenting the loss of so much good flesh, kept continually shout- ing and pelting them with flaming brands. The next morning, when it was clear, I arose and inspected the buffaloes. The three that had fallen were fine old cows, and two of them were partly consumed by the lions. The ground all around was packed flat with their spoor; one particular spoor was nearly as large as that of a borele. I then proceeded to inspect the steeds : the sand around them was also covered with the lion's spoor. He had sprung upon the Old Gray, but had done him no further injury than scratching his back through the skin : perhaps the lion had been scared by the rheims, or, on discovering hit spare condition, had preferred the buffalo. ADVENTURE WITH A SNAKE. 235 A PYTHON. CHAPTER XLII. MR. CUMMINGS' ADVENTURE WITH A SNAKE. N the 25th, after breakfast, I started with bed ding and provisions to hunt for a few days on the other side of the hills. We visited the first water, and established a place of conceal- ment with rocks and green boughs on the rock. While we were making this bothy a wild boai hove in view, but, observing us, he escaped, We then held on to the further ravine, and on my way thither I nearly rode down a fine old bastard gemsbok, which got away among the rocks. I repaired an old hiding-hole at this water 236 HUNTINtt ADVENTURES. ouilding it up with fragments of rock. I then sent the steeds to a proper distance, put out my fire, and lay down to watch for the night. First came a pallah, closely followed by a wild dog. The pallah escaped ; the wild dog presently returned, and, observing my retreating men, barked loudly ; ten minutes after, about eight wild dogs came up the glen and drank. Night now set in, and the moonlight very faint. Presently an occasional loud displace- ment of rock and stone announced the approach of large game : it was two old buffaloes ; they came and drank, and went away without approaching within shot. Soon after, fourteen buffaloes came ; but before these had finished drinking, they got an alarm, and charged panic-stricken up the rugged mountain side. They had winded two lions, which came up to the fountain head, and drank within eighteen yards of me, where they lay lapping loudly, and occasionally halting for four or five minutes, but, from their light color and the masses of rock that surrounded them, I could not see to fire. About ten minutes after they had drunk I fanciea that they were stili lingering, and on throwing a stone their step was heard retreating among the dry leaves and stones. Soon after this six i Id buffaloes approached from a glen behind us : they walked very slowly, standing long to listen. When the leader came up to within twenty yards of us, Kleinboy and I fired together ; it ran thirty yards, and in two minutes fell. His comrades, after considering the matter for five minutes, came on once more : we again took the leader, and he also dropped. His comrades, as before, retreated, but, soon returning, we wounded a third, which we did not get. The moon was now under, and it was'^rery dark ; the buffaloes, however, were determined to try it on once more, and coming up a fourth and last time, we shot another old bull. In about ten minutes lions were very busy on the carcase of the first buffalo, where they feasted till morning, taking another drink before they went away. Toward daybreak we wounded a white rhinoceros, and soon after two black rhinoce- roses fought beside us, but I was too sleepy to rise. On the 26th I rose at earliest dawn to inspect the heads of the ADVENTURE WITH A SNAKE. three old buffaloes ; they were all enormous old bul^s, and one of them carried a most splendid head. The lions had cleaned out all his enl AJs : their spool was immense. Having taken some ouffalo breast and liver for breakfast, I dispatched Ruyter to the wagons to call the natives to remove the carcases, while I and Kleinboy held through the hills to see what game might be in the next glen which contained water. On our way thither we started a fine old buck koodo, which I shot, putting both barrels into him at one hundred yards. . As I was examining the spoor of the game by the fountain, I suddenly detected an enormous old rock-snake stealing in beneath a mass of rock beside me. He was truly an enormous snake, and, having never before dealt with this species of game, I did not exactly know how to set about capturing him. Being very anxious to preserve his skin entire, and not wishing to have recourse to my rifle, I cut a stout and tough stick about eight feet long, and having lightened myself of my shooting-belt, I commenced the attack. Seizing him by the tail, I tried to get him out of his place of refuge ; but I hau',ed in vain ; he only drew his large folds firmer together ; I could not move him. At length I got a rheim round one of his folds about the middle of his body, and Kleinboy and I commenced hauling away in good earnest. The snake, finding the ground too hot for him. relaxed his coils, and, suddenly bringing round his head to the front, he sprang out at us like an arrow, with his immense arid hideous mouth opened to its largest dimensions, and before I could get out of his way he was clean out of his hole, and made a second spring, throwing himself forward about eight or ten feet, and snapping his horrid fangs within a foot of my naked legs. I sprang out of his way, and, getting a hold of the green bough I had cut, returned to the charge. The snake now glided along at top speed : he knew the ground well, and was making for a mass of broken rocks, where he would have been beyond my reach, but before he could gain this place of refuge I caught him two or three tremendous whacks on tne head. He, however, held on, and gained a pool of muddy water, which he was rapidly crossing, when I again belabored 240 HUNTING ADVENTURES. him, and at length reduced his pace to a stand. We then hanged him by the neck to a bough of a tree, and in about fifteen minutea he seemed dead, but he again became very troublesome during the operation of skinning, twisting his body in all manner of ways. This serpent measured fourteen feet.* At night no game visited the water, being scared by the strong smell of the carrion. Lions, however, were so numerous that we deemed it safe to shift a position we had taken down the glen, for they trotted past within twenty yards of us, growling fearfully. We fired ofT the big gun to scare them for the moment while we shifted to our baggage at the fountain head, where we instantly lighted a large fire. The lions, for a short time after this, kept quiet, when they again returned, and the fire being low, they soon commenced upon the buffalo the natives had left within fifty yards of us, and before morning two of them came up and looked into our bothy, when Boxer, giving a sharp bark, and I suddenly awaking and popping up my head, they bounded off. This snake was probably a Python, a large snake common in Africa. ADVENTURE WITH A SNAKE. 243 IB. the evening of the 28th I shot an old bull koodo. At nighl I watched the water near my camp with Kleinboy. After a long time had elapsed, an enormous old bull muchoco or white rhino- ceros came slowly on, and commenced drinking within fifteen yards of us, and next minute a large herd of zebras and blue wildebeest. It was long before the muchoco would turn his side ; when he did, we fired together, and away he went with zebra' and wildebeests concealed in a cloud of dust. Next came an old bull borele ; we fired together, and he made ofF, blowing loudly, after charging round and round, seeking some object on which to wreak his vengeance. Next came another borele, and he got two bullets into his person. The fourth that came was another old bull muchoco ; he ran forty yards and fell. And fifth came a cow bortle ; she fell dead to the shots. Three other rhinoceroses came about me, but I was too drowsy to watch any longer, and fell asleep. These fountains afforded me excellent shooting for about a fort- night longer, during the whole of which time I watched nightly in my different hiding-holes, and bagged buffaloes, rhinoceroses, koodoos, zebras, and other game. One night, while so engaged, a horrid snake, which Kleinboy had tried to kill with his loading- rod, flew up at my eye, and spat poison into it. Immediately I washed it well out at the fountain. I endured great pain all light, but next day th-3 eye came all right 812 HUNTING ADVENTUBWJ. BLBSBOK. CHAPTER XLIII. HUNTING THE BLESBOK AND BOAR. TlHE blesbok, says Mr. Cam* ming, in his manners and habits, very much resembles the springbok, which, however, it greatly exceds in size, being as large as an English fallow-deer. It is one of the true antelopes, and all its movements and paces par- take of the grace and elegance peculiar to that species. Its color is similar to that of the sassayby, its skin being beautifully painted with every shade of purple, violet, and brown. Its belly is of the purest wjiite, and a broad white band, or " blaze," adoi as the entire of its face. Blesboks differ from springboks in the determined HUNTING THE BLESBOK. 2(3 and in /ariable manner in which they scour the plains, right in th wind's eye, and also in the manner in which they carry their noses close along the ground. Throughout the greater part of the yeai they are very wary and difficult of approach, but more especially when the does have young ones. At that season, when one herd ij disturbed, and takes away up the wind, every other herd in view follows them ; and the alarm extending for miles and miles down the wind, to endless herds beyond the vision of the hunter, a con- tinued stream of blesboks may often be seen scouring up wind for upward of an hour, and covering the landscape as far as the eye can see. The springboks, which in equal numbers frequent the same ground, do not, in general, adopt the same decided course as the blesboks, but take away in every direction across the plains, sometimes with flying bounds, beautifully exhibiting the long> snowy-white hair with which their backs are adorned, and at others walking slowly and carelessly out of the hunter's* way, scarcely deigning to look at him, with an air of perfect independ- ence, as if aware of their own matchless speed. The black wildebeests, which also thickly cover the entire length and breadth of the blesbok country, in herds averaging from twenty to fifty, have no regular course, like the blesboks. Unless driven by a large field of hunters, they do not leave their ground, although disturbed. Wheeling about in endless circles, and performing the most extraordinary variety of intricate evolu- tions, the shaggy herds of these eccentric and fierce-looking ani- mals are forever capering and gamboling round the hunter on every side. While he fe rid'ng hard to obtain a family shot of a herd in front of him, other herds are charging down wind on his right and left, and, having described a number of circular move- ments, they take up positions upon the very ground across which the hunter rode only a few minutes before. Singly, and in small troops of four or five individuals, the old bull wildebeests may be seen stationed at intervals throughout the plains, standing motionless during a whole forenoon, coolly watch- ing with a philosophic eye the movements of the other game, eternally uttering a loud snorting noise, and also a short, sharp 244 HUNTING ADVENl'ULES. cry which is peculiar to them. When the hunter approachei these old bulls, they commence whisking their long white tails in a most eccentric manner ; then suddenly springing into the air, they begin prancing and capering, and pursue each other in circles at their utmost speed. Suddenly they all pull up together to overhaul the intruder, when two of the bulls will often commence fighting m the most violent manner, dropping on their knees at every shock : then quickly wheeling about, they kick up their heels, whirl their tails with a fantastic flourish, and scour across a plain enveloped in a cloud of dust. Throughout the greater part of the plains frequented by bles boks, numbers of the sun-baked hills or mounds of clay formed by the white ants occur. The average height of the ant-hills, in these district, is from two to three feet. They are generally dis- tant from one another from one to three hundred yards, being more or less thickly placed in different parts. These ant-hills are of the greatest service to the hunter ; enabling himself with facility to conceal himself on the otherwise open plain. By means of them I was enabled to hide, and select out of the herds the bucks and bulls carrying the finest heads, for my collection. On the 28th, having breakfasted, I rode forth with two after- riders to try for blesboks, and took up positions on the plain, lying flat on my breast behind ant-hills, while my after-riders, one of whom led my horse, endeavored to move them toward me. We found the blesboks abundant, but extremely wary. I wounded several, but did not bag one. I, however, shot two springboks, which were fat, and whose flesh we stood much in need of. I had several chances of wildebeests, but I had icsolved not to fire at them. The following day was the 1st of March. After an early break' fast I again took the field, with my after-riders and a spare horse There was thunder and lightning on all sides, and I expected the day would set in wet : it all passed over, however, with a few showers, and the weather was delightfully cool. I lay behind ant-hills, while my men, extending to the right and left, endeavored to drive the game toward me. Late in the day I bagged a fin HUNTING THE BLESBOK. 245 old blesbok : it was a family shot, running at two hum/red yards. I also shot a springbok, and mortally wounded another ; both were very long shots. The blesbok is one of the finest antelopes in the world, and is allowed to be the swiftest buck in Africa. He, nevertheless attains very high condition, and at this period was exceedingly fat. I was surprised and delighted with the exquisite manner in which his beautiful colors are blended together. Nothing can exceed the beauty of this animal. Like most other African ante lopes, his skin emitted a most delicious and powerful perfume of flowers and sweet-smelling herbs. A secretion issues from be- tween his hoofs which has likewise a pleasing perfume. The 3d was a charmingly cool day. At an early hour in the morning I was visited by a party of Boers, some of whom I had previously met. They were proceeding to hunt wildebeest and blesbok, and were mounted on mares, each of which was followed by a foal. They requested me to join them in their "jag," but I excus'ed myself, preferring to hunt alone. Having partaken largely of my coffee, the Boers mounted their mares and departed, holding a southeasterly course. As soon as they were out of sight I saddled up and rode north, with two after-riders, to try for blesboks. I found the country extremely pleasant to ride on. It resembled a well-kept lawn. Troops of graceful springbok and ftlesbok were to be seen cantering right and left, and large herds of black wildebeests in every direction, now charging and caper- ing, and now reconnoitering. I took up positions on the plain behind the ant-hills. In the forenoon I wounded one blesbok, and late in the day I made a fine double shot, knocking over two old blesboks right and left, at a hundred and a hundred and fifty yards. I also shot one springbok. While grallochmg" a buck, one of the Boers rode up to me to say that his brother had wounded a wildebeest, which stood at bay on the plain, and his ammunition being expended, he would feel obliged by my coming to his assist- ance. I accordingly accompanied the Boer to where his brothef stood sentry over the wounded bull, when I lent him my rille with which he finished his bull with a bullet in the forehead. 246 HUNTTNO ADVENTURES. On the following day I hunted to the northeast of .my camp, and made a fine shot at a blesbok, knocking him over at a hundred and fifty yards. Returning to camp in a low-lying grassy vley, I started a herd of " vlacke varcke," or wild hogs. The herd con- sisted of seven half-grown young ones and three old ones, one of which carried a pair of enormous tusks, projecting eight or nine inches beyond his lip. Being well mounted and the ground favor- able, I at once gave chase, and was soon at their heels. My horse was " The Gray." I selected the old boar for my prey, and immediately separated him from his comrades. After two miles of sharp galloping, we commenced ascending a considerable acclivity, when I managed to close with him, and succeeded in turning his head toward my camp. He now reduced his pace to a trot, and regarded me with a most malicious eye, his mouth a mass of foam. He was entirely in my power, as I had only to spring from my horse and bowl him over. I felt certain of him, but resolved not to shoot as long as his course lay in the direction of the wagons. At length, surprised at the resolute manner in which he held for my camp, I headed him ; when, to my astonish- ment, he did not in the slightest swerve from his course, but trotted along behind my horse like a dog following me. This at once roused my suspicions, and I felt certain that the cunning old fellow was making for some retreat, so 1 resolved to dismount and finish him. Just, however, as I had come to this resolution, I suddenly found myself in a labyrinth of enormous holes, the bur- rows of the ant-bear. In front of one of these the wild boar pulled up, and, charging stern foremost into it, disappeared from my disappointed eyes, and I saw him no more. I rode home fni my men ; and returning, we collected grass and bushes, and to* dw"ored to smoke him out, but without success. HUNTING THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 241 HOPPOPOTAM US. CHAPTER XLIV. HUNTING THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. N the 17th of June, says Mr. Cum ming, having found a good drift I crossed the Limpopo with my wagons, and drew them up in a gre'en and shady spot. I then rode a long way down the eastern bank in quest of hippopo- tami, and late in the vening I found one, which I did not molest, trusting to find hiri the next day. On the 18th a dense mist hung over the river all the'moining. Ordering the wagons to follow in an hour, I rode ahead to soak the sea-cow of the previous night, hut after a long search I gave it up as a bad job, and, kindling a fire to warm myself, awaited the wagons, which presently came up. Here I halted for two hours, and then once more rode ahead to seek hip- popotami. The river became more promising for sea-cows. At every turn there occurred deep, still pools, with occasional sandy islands densely clad with lofty reeds, and with banks covered with reeds to a breadth of thirty yards. Above and beyond these reeds stood trees of immense age and gigantic size, beneath which grew a long and very rank description of grass, on which the sea-cow delights to pasture. 1 soun found fresh spoor, and after holding on for several 248 HUNTING ADVENTURES. miles, just as the sun was going down, and as I entered a dense reed cover, I came upon the fresh lairs of four hippopotami. They had' been lying sleeping on the margin of the river, and, on hearing me come crackling through the reeds, had plunged into the deep water. I at once ascertained they were newly started, for the froth and bubbles were still on the spot where they had plunged in. Next moment I heard them blowing a little way down the river. I then headed them, and with considerable dif- ficulty, owing to the cover and the reeds, at length came right down above .where they were standing. It was a broad part of the river, with a sandy bottom, and the water came half way up their sides. There were four of them, three cows and an old bull ; they stood in the middle of the river, and, though alarmed, did not appear aware of the extent of the impending danger. I took the sea-cow next me, and with my first ball I gave her a mortal wound, knocking loose a great plate on the top of her ;skull. She at once commenced plunging round and round, and then occasionally remained still, sitting for a few minutes on the same spot. On hearing the report of my rifle two of the others took up stream, and the fourth dashed down the river; they trotted along, like oxen, at a smart pace, as long as the water was shallow. I was now in a state of very great anxiety about my wounded sea-cow, for I feared that she would get into deep water, and be lost like the last one ; her struggles were still carrying her down stream, and the water was becoming deeper. To settle the matter, I accordingly fired a second shot from the bank, which entering the roof of her skull, passed out through her eye ; she then kept continually splashing round and round in a circle in the middle of the river. I had great fears of the crocodiles, and did not know that the sea-cow might not attack me. My anxiety to secure her, however, overcame all hesitation ; so, divesting myself of my leathers, and armed with a sharp knife, I dashed into the water which at first took me up to my arm-pits, but in the middle was shallower. As I approached Behemoth, her eye looked very wicked. 1 Milted for a moment ready to dive under the water if she attacked HUNTING THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 251 me ; but she 'vas stunned, and did not know what she was doing ; so, running :'a *ipon her, and seizing her short tail, I attempted to incline her course to land. It was extraordinary what enormous strength she still had in the water. I could not guide her in the slightest, and she continued to splash, and plunge, and blow, and make her circular course, carrying me along with her as if I was a fly on her tail. Finding her tail gave me but a poor hold, as thp only means of securing my prey, I took out my knife and cut two deep parallel incisions through the skin on her rump. Lifting this skin from the flesh so that I could get in my two hands, I made use of this as a handle ; and after some desperate hard work, sometimes pushing, sometimes pulling, the sea-cow continuing her circular course all the time, and 1 holding on at her rump like grim Death, eventually I succeeded in bringing this gigantic and most powerful animal to the bank. Here the Bushman quickly brought me a stout buffalo rheim from my horse's neck, which I passed through the opening in the thick skin, and moored Behe- moth to a tree. I then took my rifle and sent a ball through the center of her head, and she was numbered with the dead. At this moment my wagons came up within a few hundred yards of the spot, where I outspanned, and by moonlight we took down a span of select oxen and a pair of rheim chains, and succeeded in dragging the sea-cow high and dry. We were all astonished at her enormous size ; she appeared to be about five feet broad across the belly. I could see much beauty in the animal, which Nature has admirably formed for the amphibious life it was destined to pursue. We were occupied all the morning of the 19th cutting up and salting the select parts of the sea-cow ; of the skull I took particular charge. She was extremely fat, more resembling a pig than a cow, or a horse. In the evening I rode down the river, and shot a brace of water-bucks, after which I left the river-bank and rode to the summit of an adjacent hill, from which I obtained a fine view of the surrounding country. Many bold blue mountain ranges stood to the north and no-** 1 west ; to the east and southeast were *Iso ""^untain ranges. 258 HUNTING ADVENTURES. CHAPTER XLV. MR. CUMMING'S ADVENTURE WITH AN EXTRAORDINARY HERD OF BLESBOKS. PON the 19th of March, 1848, says Mr. Gumming, I left Colesberg with three wagons " well manned and stored," for my fifth and last cruise in the far interior. I was joined by a Mr. Orpen (a mighty Nimrcd), who, notwilh standing my representing to him the dangers and hardships of an elephani hunting expedition in their blackest colors, kindly agreed to favoi me with his help and company on my lonely trip. My sojourn \n Colesberg reduced me considerably, and I was glad once more ADVENTURE WITH BLESBOKS. 2f>5 o breathe the fresh air of the countf^. We got clear of Colesberg at about 9 A.M., and commenced our march over the country 1 had so often marked with my wheel-tracks, and which my reader must now be fully acquainted with. On my way I completely recruited my oxen and stud, and prepared myself to take the field with an immense pack of stout serviceable dogs. I also engaged as after-rider a Bushman named Booi. The game became plentiful in about ten days after we left Coles- berg, but when we came to the Vet River I beheld with astonish- ment and delight decidedly one of the most wonderful displays which I had witnessed during my varied sporting career in Southern Africa. On my right and left the plain exhibited or? purple mass of graceful blesboks, which extended without a break as far as my eyes could strain: the depth of their vast legions covered a breadth of about six hundred yards. On pressing upon them, they cantered along before me, not exhibiting much alarm, taking care, however, not to allow me to ride within at least four hundred yards of them. On, on I rode, intensely excited with the wondrous scene before me, and hoped at length to get to wind- ward of at least some portion of the endless living mass which darkened the plain, but in vain. Like squadrons of dragoons, the entire breadth of this countless herd held on their forward course as if aware of my intention, and resolved not to allow me to weather them. At length I determined to play upon their ranks s and, pressing my horse to his utmost speed, dashed forward, and, suddenly halting, sprang from the saddle, and, giving my rifle at least two feet of elevation, fired right and left into one of their darkest masses. A noble buck dropped to the right barrel, and the second shot told loudly ; no buck, however, fell, and after lying for half a minute the prostrate blesbok rose, and was quickly los 1 sight of among his retreating comrades. In half a minute I was again loaded, and after galloping a few hun'dred yards, let drive into them, but was still unsuccessful. Excited and annoyed at my want of luck, I resolved to follow them up, and blaze away while a shot remained in the locker, which I did ; until, after riding 255 HUNTING ADVENTURES. about eight or nine miles, I fotlnd my ammunition expended, and not a single blesbok bagged, although at least a dozen must have been wounded. It was now high time to retrace my steps and seek my wagons. I accordingly took a point, and rode across the trackless country in the direction for which they were steering. I very soon once more fell in with fresh herds of thousands of blesboks. As it was late in the day, and I being on the right side for the wind, the blesboks were very tame, and allowed me to ride along within rifle-shot of them, and those which ran charged reso- lutely past me up the wind in long-continued streams. I took a lucky course for the wagons, and came right upon them, having just outspanned on the bank of the Vet River. 1 could willingly have devoted a month to blesbok shooting in this hunter's elysium, but, having heard from a party of Bastards that the Vaal River was low, and being extremely anxious to push on, I inspanned, and continued my march by moonlight. Before proceeding far we discovered the deeply-imprinted spoor of an enormous lion, which had walked along the wagon-track for several hundred yards. We continued our march till after midnight, vast herds of blesbock charging from us on every side. Lions were hearc 'oaring for the first time during this night. HUNTING THE WHITE RHINOCEROS. 257 WHITE RHINOCEROS. CHAPTER XLVI. HUNTING THE WHITE RHINOCEROS, LION, BUFFALO AND GIRAFFE. PON the 9th, says Mr. Gumming, it rained unceasingly throughout the day, converting the rich soil on which we were encamped into one mass of soft, sticky clay. In the forenoon, fearing the rain would continue so as to ren- der the vley (through which we must pass to gain the firmer ground) impassable, I ordered my men to prepare to march, and leave the tent with its contents standing, the point which I wished to gain being distant only about five hundred yards. When the oxen were inspanned, however, and we attempted to move, we found my tackle, which was old, so rotten from the effects of the rain, that something gave way at every strain. Owing to thifc and to 17 258 HUNTING ADVENTURES. the softness of the vley, we labored on till sundown, a ad L/ily ssc- cee^ded in bringing one wagon to its destination, the other two re- maining fast in the mud in the middle of the vley. Next morning, '.uckily, the weather cleared up, when my men brought over the tent, and in the afternoon the other two wagons. We followed up the banks of the river for several days with the usual allowance of sport. On the 16th we came suddenly upon an immense old bull muchocho rolling in mud. He sprang to his feet immediately he saw me, and charging up the bank, so frightened our horses, that before I could get my rifle from my after-rider he was past us. I then gave him chase, and after a hard gallop of about a mile, sprang from my horse and gave him a good shot behind the shoulder. At this moment a cow rhinoceros of the same species, with her calf, charged out of some wait-a-bit thorn . cover, and stood right in my path. Observing that she carried an unusually long horn, I turned my attention from the bull to her, and, after a very long and severe chase, dropped her at the sixth shot. I carried one of my rifles, which gave me much trouble, that not being the tool required for this sort of work, where quick loading is indispensable. After breakfast I sent men to cut off the head of this rhinoceros, and proceeded with Ruyter to take up the spoor of the bull wounded in the morning. We found that he was very severely hit, and having followed the spoor for about a mile through very dense thorn cover, he suddenly rustled out of the bushes close ahead of us, accompanied by a whole host of rhinoceros birds. 1 mounted my horse and gave him chase, and in a few minutes he hud received four severe shots. I managed to turn his course toward camp, when I ceased firing, as he seemed to be nearly done up, and Ruyter and I rode slowly behind, occasionally shout- ing to guide his course. Presently, however, Chukuroo ceased taking any notice of us, and held leisurely on for the river, into a shallow part of which he walked, and after panting there anc? turning about for a quarter of an hour, he fell over and expired. This was a remarkably fine old bull, and from his dentition it was *ot improbable that a hundred summers had seen him roaming a fHi its, b&^SSSfe' HUNTING THE BUFFALO. 261 peaceful denzien of ihe forests and open glades along the fail banks of the secluded Mariqua. During our march on the 19th we had to cross a range of very rocky hills, covered with large loose stones, and all hands were required to be actively employed for about an hour in clearing them out of the way to permit the wagons to pass. The work went on fast and furious, and the quantity of stones cleared was immense. At length we reached the spot where we were obliged to bid adieu to the Mariqua, and hold a westerly course across the country for Sicheley. At sundown we halted under a io/ty mountain, the highest in the district, called "Lynche a Cheny," or the Monkey's Mountain. Next day, at an early hour, I rode out with Ruyter to hunt, my camp being entirely without flesh, and we having been rationed upon very tough old rhinoceros for several days past. It was a cloudy morning, and soon after starting it came on to rain heavily. 1, however, held on, skirting a fine, well- wooded range of moun- tains, and after riding several miles t shot a zebra. Having covered the carcass well over with branches to protect it from the vultures, I returned to camp, and inspanning my wagons, took it up on the march. We continued trekking on until sundown, when we started an immense herd of buffaloes, into which I stalked and shot a huge old bull. Our march this evening was through the most beautiful country I had ever seen in Africa. We skirted an endless range of well- wooded stony mountains lying on our left, while to our right the country at first sloped gently off, and then stretched away into a level green forest (-occasionally interspersed with open glades), boundless as the ocean. This green forest was, however, relieved in one direction by a chain of excessively bold, detached, well-wooded, rocky, pyramidal mountains, which stood forth in grand relief. In advance the picture was bounded by forest and mountain ; one bold acclivity, in shape of a dome, standing prominent among its fellows It was a lovely evening : the sky overcast and gloomy, threw an 'ntcresting, wild, mysterious coloring over the landscape. I gazed forth upon the romantic scene before me with intense delight, and 262 HUNTING ADVENTURES. felt melancholy and sorrowful at passing so fleetingly through it, and couid no help shouting out, as I marched along, Where a the coward who would not dare to die for such a land ?" In the morning we held for a fountain some miles ahead in a gorge in the mountains. As we approached the fountain, and were passing close under a steep rocky hill side, well wooded to its summit, I unexpectedly beheld a lion stealing up the rocky face, and, halting behind a tree, he stood overhauling us for some minutes. I resolved to give him battle, and seizing my rifle, marched against him, followed by Carey carrying a spare gun, and by three men leading my dogs, now reduced to eight. When we got close in to the base of the mountain, we found ourselves enveloped in dense jungle, which extended halfway to its summit, and entirely obscured from our eyes objects which were quite ap- parent from the wagons. I slipped my dogs, however, which, after snuffing about, took right up the steep face on the spoor of the lions, for there was a troop of them a lion and three lionesses. The people at the wagons saw the chase in perfection. When the lions observed the dogs coming on, they took right up, and three of them crossed over the sky ridge. The dogs, however, turned one rattling old lioness, which came rumbling down through the cover, close past me. I ran to meet her, and she came to bay in an open spot near the base of the mountain, whither I quickly followed, and coming up within thirty yards, bowled her over with my first shot, which broke her back. My second entered her shoulder ; and fearing that she might hurt any of the dogs, as she still evinced signs of life, I finished her with a third in the bieast. The bellies of all the four lions were much distended by some game they had been gorging, no doubt a buffalo, as a large herd started out of the jungle immediately under the spot where the noble beasts were first disturbed. Showers of rain fell every hour throughout the 24th, so I em- ployed my men in making feldt-schoens, or, in other words, African brogues for me. These shoes were worthy of a sportsman, being light, yet strong, and were entirely composed of the skins of game of my shooting. The soles were made of either buffiilo or camel- 3S&&&& f ,-_ " WCOV4. HUNTING THE BUFFALO 266 oprd . the front part perhaps of koodoo, or hartebeest, or bushbuck r>nd the back of the shoe of lion, or hyaana, or sabln antelope, while the rheimpy or. thread with which the whole was sewed consisted of a th ; n strip of the skin of a steinbok. On the forenoon of the 26th I rode forth to hunt, accompanied by Ruyter ; we held west, skirting the wooded stony mountains. The natives had here many years before waged successful war with elephants, four of whose skulls I found. Presently I camo across two sassaybies, one of which I knocked over ; but while I was loading he regained his legs and made off. We crossed a level stretch of forest, holding a northerly course for an opposite range of green, well-wooded hills and valleys. Here I came upon a noop of six fine old bull buffaloes, into which I stalked, and wounded one princely fellow very severely behind the shoulder, bringing blood from his mouth ; he, however, made off with his comrades, and, the ground being very rough we failed to overtake him. They held for the Ngotwani. After following the spoor for a couple of miles, we dropped it, as it led right away from camp. Returning from this chase, we had an adventure with another old bull buffalo, which shows the extreme danger of hunting buf- faloes without dogs. We started him in a green hollow among the hills, and his course inclining for camp, I gave him chase. He crossed the level broad strath and made for the opposite dense- ly-wooded range of mountains. Along the base of these we followed him, sometimes in view, sometimes on the spoor, keeping the eld fellow at a pace which made him pant. Ai length, finding himself much distressed, he had recourse to a singular stratagem. Doubling round some thick bushes which obscured him from our view, he found himself beside a small pool of rain water, just deep enough to cover his body ; into this he walked, and, facing about, lay gently down and awaited our on-coming, with nothing but h* old grey face and massive horns above the water, and these con- cealed ,Yom view by rank overhanging herbage. Our attention was entirely engrossed with the spoor, and thus we rode boldly on until within a few feet of him, when springing to his feet, he made a desperate charge after Ruyter, uttei.ngf 266 HUNTING ADVKXTTTKE8. low, stifled roar peculiar to buffaloes (somewhat similar to tne giowl of a lion), and hurled horse and rider to the earth with fearful vio- lence. His horn laid the poor horse's haunch open to the bone, making the most fearful rugged wound. In an instant Ruyter re gained his feet and ran for his life, which the buffalo observing,, gave chase, hut most fortunately came down with a tremendous somersault in the mud, his feet slipping fnm under him ; thus the Bushman escaped certain destruction. The buffalo rose much discomfited, and, the wounded horse first catching his eye. he went a second time after him, but he got out of the way. At this moment I managed to send one of my patent pacificating piils into his shoulder, when he instantly quitted the field of action, and sought shelter in a dense cover on the mountain side, whither I deemed it imprudent to follow him. HUNTING THE ELEHIAXT AFRICAN ELEPHANT. CHAPTER XLVII. ELEPHANT HUNTING BY MOONLIGHT, the 17th of September, says Mr. Gumming, I resolved to leave the fountain of Seboono, as it was much disturbed, and to proceed with a few Bakalahari to a small yet famous water about six miles to the southeast. We accordingly saddled up and held thither. On reaching this fountain, which is called by the natives " Paapaa," I found the numerous foot-paths leading to it covered, as I had anticipated, with fresh spoor of elephant and rhinoceros. I then at once proceeded to study the best spot on which to make our shooting-hole for the night. It would be im- possible to prevent some of the game from getting our wind, for the foot-paths led to it from every side. The prevailing wind was from the east, so I pitched upon the southwest corner of the foun- tain. The water was not more than twenty yards long and ten broad. The west side was bounded by tufous rock, which rose abruptly from the water about five feet high. The top of this 268 HUNTING ADVENTURES. reck was level ^ith the surrounding vJey, and here a 1 the elephants drank, as if suspicious of treading on the muddy margin on the other three sides of the fountain. I made our shooting box within six or eight yards of the water, constructing it in a circular form, of bushes packed together so as to form a hedge about three feet high. On the top of the hedge I placed heavy dead old branches of trees, so as to form a fine clear rest for our rifles; these clean old brunches were all lashed firmly together with strips of thorn bark. All being completed, I took the Bakalahari and cur steeds to a shady tree, about a quarter of a mile to lee- ward of the fountain, where we found a kraal and off-saddled. This day was particularly adapted to bring game to the water, the sun being extremely powerful, and a hot dry wind prevailing all the afternoon. I. told Carey that we were certain of having a good night's sport, and I was right, for we undoubtedly had about the finest night's sport and the most wonderful that was ever enjoyed by man. A little before the sun went down, leaving our kraal, we held to the fountain, having with us our heavy-metaled rifles, karosses, and two Bakalahari. We also had two small guns, my double barreled Westley Richards, and Carey's single-barreled gun. As we approached the fountain, a stately bull giraffe stood before us ; the heat of the day had brought him thither, but he feared to go in and drink ; on observing us, he walked slowly away. Two jackals were next detected. Guinea-fowl, partridges, two or three sorts of pigeon and turtle-dove, and small birds in countless thousands, were pciring in to drink from every airt, as we walked up to our hiding-place and lay down. In a few minutes the sun was under; but the moon was strong and high (it being within thiee nights of the full), and the sky was clear, with scarcely a cloud. Very soon a step was heard approaching from the east : it was a presuming black rhinoceros. He Came up within ten yards of the hiding-hole, and, observing us with his sharp prying eye, at once came slowly forward for a nearer inspection. I then shouted to him ; but this he did not heed in the slightest. I then sprang up and waved my large kaross, shouting at the same time HUNTING THE ELEPHANT. 271 This, however, only seemed to amuse Borele, for he stood within four yards of us, with his horn threatening our momentary destruc- tion, nor would he wheel about until I threw a log of wood at him. Black rhinoceroses are very difficult to scare when they do not get the wind : the best way to do so is to hit them with a stone that is, in the event of the sportsman not wishing to fire off' his gun. Soon after Borele departed four old bull e'er Jin nts drew near from the south. They were coming right on for the spot where we lay, and they seemed very likely to walk over the top of us. We therefore placed our two big rifles in position, and awaited their forward movement with intense interest. On they came, with a slow and stately step, until within twenty yards of us, when the leading elephant took it into his head to pass to leeward. We let him come on until he got our wind ; he was then within ten yards of the muzzles of our heavy-metaled rifles ; on winding us, he tossed his trunk aloft, and we instantly fired together. I caught him somewhere about the heart, and my big six-pound rifle burst in Carey's hands, very nearly killing us both. The elephant, on being fired at, wheeled about, and retreated to the forest at top speed. I now directed " Stick-in-the-mud" to make use of his single-barreled twelve to the pound in the event of more elephants coming up ; and thanking my stars that the old Dutch rifle had not sent us both to the land of the leal, I sat down and watched the dark masses of trees that cut the. sky on every side, in the hope of seeing a mass as high and wide come towering forward into the open space that surrounded the fountain. Nor did I watch Jong in vain, for very scon three princely bull elephants appeared exactly where the first came on, and holding exactly the same course. They approached just as the first had done. When the leading elephant came within ten yards of us, he got our wind and t'-ssed up his trunk, and was wheeling round ,o retreat, wht^n we fired together, and sent our bullets somewhere about his heart. He ran two hundred yards and then stood, being evidently dying. His comrades halted likewise, but one of them, he finest < f t!^e three, almost immediately turned his head once 272 HUNTING ADVENTURES. more to the fountain, and very slowly and warily came on. Wa now heard the wounded elephant utter the cry of death, and fal heavily on the earth. Carey, whose ears were damaged ty thf bursting of the big rifle, did not catch this sound, but swcre that the elephant which now so stealthily approached the water was the one at which we had fired. It was interesting to observe this grand old bull approach the fountain : he seemed to mistrust the very earth on which he stood, and smelt and examined with his trunk every yard of the ground before he trod on it, and sometimes stood five minutes on one spot without moving. At length, having gone round three sides of the fountain, and being apparently satisfied as to the correctness of every thing, he stepped boldly forward on to the rock on the west, and, walking up within six or seven yards of the muzzles of our rifles, turned his broadside, and, lowering his trunk into the water, drew up a volume of water, which he threw over his back and shoulders to cool his person. This operation he repeated two or three times, after which he commenced drinking, by drawing the water into his trunk and then pouring it into his mouth. I deter- mined to break his leg if possible ; so, covering the limb about level with the lower line of his body, I fired, Carey firing for his heart. I made a lucky shot ; and, as the elephant turned and attempted to make away, his leg broke with a loud crack, and he stood upon his three sound ones. At once disabled and utterly incapable of escaping, he stood statue-like beside the fountain, within a few yards of where he had got the shot, and only occa- sionally made an attempt at locomotion. The patch of my rifle, fired at this elephant's comrade, had Ignited a large ball of dry old dung, about eight yards to leeward of our kraal, and, fanned by the breeze, it was now burning away very brightly, the sparks flying in the wind. Presently, on look- ing about me, I beheld two bull elephants approaching by the self- same foot-path which the others had held. The first of these was a half-grown bull, the last was an out-and-out old fellow with enormous tusks. They came on as the first had done, but seemed incliued to pass to v/indvvard of us. The young bull, houevec HUNTING THE ELEPHANT. 273 observed the fire ; he at once walked up to it, and, smelling ;U if. with his trunk, seemed extremely amused, and in a gamboling humor threw his trunk about, as if not knowing what to think of. it. The larger bull now came up, and exposed a fine broadside : we took h ; m behind the shoulder and fired together: on receiving the shots, he wheeled about and held west with droo. ing ears, evidently mortally wounded. Some time after this I detected an enormous old bull elephant approaching from the west. If we lay still where we were, he must in a few minutes get our wind, so we jumped up and ran forward out of his line of march. Here a borele opposed our fur- ther progress, and we had to stone him out of our way. The elephant came on, and presently got the wind of where we had been lying. This at once seemed to awake his suspicions, for he stood still among the trees, stretching his trunk from side to side to catch the scent, and doubtful whether he should advance or retreat. We then ran toward him, and stalked in within forty yards of where he stood, and, taking up a position behind a bush, awaited his forward movement. The elephant came slowly for- ward, and I thought would pass to windward of us, when he sud- denly altered his course," and walked boldly forward right for where we stood. He came on until within seven or eight yards, when I coughed loudly to turn him. He tossed up his trunk and turned quickly round to fly ; as he turned, however, we fired together, when the elephant uttered a shrill cry of distress, and crashed away, evidently hard hit. When this bull was standing before us, we both remarked that he was the finest we had seen that night : his tusks were extremely long, thick, and very un- usually wide set. We now returned to the fountain, and once more lay down to watch. Rhinoceroses, both black and white, were parading around us all night in every direction. We had lain but a short titne when I detected a single old bull elephant approaching from the south by the same path which all the others had held. This elephant must have been very thirsty, for he came boldly on with- out any hesitation ; and, keeping to windward, walked pist within 18 274 about eight yards of us. We fired at the same moment ; th elephant wheeled about, and; after running a hundred yards reduced his pace to a slow walk. I clapped Carey on the shoulder, and said, '" We have him." 1 had hardly uttered the words when he fell over oh his side ; he rose, however, again to his feet. At this moment the same presuming borele who had troubled us in the early part of the night, came up to us again, and, declining as before to depart by gentle hints, I thought it a h'ting moment to put an end to his intrusion, and accordingly gave him a ball behind the shoulder. On receiving it, he galloped off in tremendous consternation, and passed close under the dying elephant, who at the moment .fell dead with a heavy crash, and broke one of his hind legs under him in the fall. About an hour after two more elephants came towering on from the east. When they came up they stood for a long time motion- less within forty yards of the water ; and at length the finer of the two, which was a very first-rate old bull, and carrying im- mense tusks, walked boldly forward, and passing round the north side of the fountain, commenced drinking on the rock just as the crippled bull had done. We both fired together, holding for his heart ; the bullets must have gone nearly through him, for we had double charges of powder in our weapons. On receiving the shots he dropped a volume of water from his trunk, and, tossing it aloft, uttered a loud cry and made ofF, steering north ; but before he was out of our sight he reduced his pace to a slow walk, and I could quite plainly hear, by the loud, painful breathing through nis trunk, that he was mortally wounded ; but whether the natives were too lazy to seek him, or h iving found him would not tell me, I know not, but I never got him. We shot another bull elephant shortly after this ; he too uttered a shrill cry, and went off holding the same course the last one did ; that was, however, all that I ever saw of him. It was now wearing on toward morning : the moon was low and the sky was cloudy ; and feeling very sleepy, I set the t'.vo Bakalahari to watch while I lay down to rest. Carey was already enjoying a sound sleep, and snoring loudly. I had lain nearly an HUNTING THE ELEPHANT. 275 hour, and was neither waking nor sleeping, when the Bakalahari whispered, " Clou toona, macoa," which signifies {( Bull elephants white man." I sat up on my kaross, and heheld three old bulls approaching from the west. At this moment there was a death- like calm in the atmosphere, and the sky looked very threatening all along the mountain range which bounds this favorit* elephant district on the southwest. I greatly feared a thunder-storm Suddenly a breeze came whistling from the mountains, and gave these three elephants our wind. We then left the fountain and held to our wagons, where we slept till the sun rose. When the sun rose I proceeded with the Bakalahari to inspect the spoors of the wounded elephants. I was struck with astonish- ment when I thought over our night's sport : nine times had first- rate old bull elephants come up to drink, and we had fired at eight of these at distances of from six to ten yards, with cool, steady rests. Two of them lay dead beside the fountain ; another had a broken leg, and could not escape ; and the only one which we imagined had escaped was the bull with the wide-set tusks, which we both felt certain was wounded too far back in the body. The event, however, proved that our expectations were incorrect, for that afternoon We found this princely elephant lying dead very near our kraal. Both our shots were very far back, wounding him somewhere about the kidneys. We never saw any thing of the four other elephants shot by us. The bull with the broken leg had 'gone nearly a mile from the fountain when we came up to him. At first he made vain attempts to escape, and then tc charge ; but finding he could neither escape nor catch any of us, he stood at bay beside a tree, and my after-riders began to assail him. It was curious to watch his movements as the boys, al about twenty yards' distance, pelted him with sticks, &c. Each thing, as it was thrown, he took up and hurled back at tnem. When, however, dry balls of elephants' dung were pitched at him, he contented himself with smelling at them with his trunk. At length, wishing to put an end to his existence, I gave him four shots behind the shoulder, when he at once exhibited signs of dis- t v t'ss ; water ran from his eyes, and he could barely keep them 76 HUNTING ADVENTURES. open ; presently his gigantic form quivered, and, fa /ling over, h expired. At night we again watched the fountain. Only one elephant appeared ; late in the night he came up to leeward, and got our wind. I, however, shot two fine old muchocho, or white rhinoceroses, and wounded twd or three borele, which were found by the natives. On the 19th I proceeded with Carey and Piet, and a few Baka- lahari, to a small fountain lying one mile to the south : here we made two shooting-boxes of boughs of trees. There were three pools at which the game drank, the largest not being more than twelve feet in breadth. I and Carey at night shot one fine bull elephant and four rhinoceroses, wounding two others, which escaped. On the night following we also wounded two elephants, which got away. The next night I put in practice a novel experiment I had long entertained that of hunting elephants by moonlight with dogs and horses, as in the day, being very much annoyed at wounding and losing in the last week no less than ten first-rate old bull elephants. I communicated my idea to " Stick-in-the-mud," and we hastily proceeded to saddle my steed. I led my dogs, eight in number, through the forest to leeward of where a bull who had come to the fountain to drink had gone in, and when I saw that they had got his wind I slipped them. ' They dashed forward, and next minute I followed the baying of the dogs and the crash and the trumpet of the elephant. He rushed away at first w : th- out halting, and held right for the mountains to the southwest. When, however, he found that his speed did not avail, and that he could not get away from his pursuers, he began to turn and dodge about in the thickest of \he cover, occasionally making charges after the dogs. I followed on as best I could, shouting with all my might to encourage my good hounds. These, hear- ing their master's voice beside them, stuck well by the ewphant, and fought him better than in the day. I gave him my first two shots from the saddle ; after which, I rode close up to him, and, running in on foot, gave him some deadly shots at distances from fifteen to twenty yards. HUNTING THE KLKPll AM. _ -14 The elephant very soon evinced signs of distress, and ceased t" make away- from us. Taking up positions in the densest parts of the cover, he caught up the red dust with his trunk, and throwing it over his head and back, endeavored to conceal himself in a cloud. This was a fine opportunity to pour in my deadly shafts, and I took care to avail myself of it. When he had received about twelve shots, he walked slowly forward in a dying state, the blood streaming from his trunk. I rode close up to him, arid gave him a sharp right ami left from the saddle: he turned and walked a few yards, then suddenly came down with tremendous violence on his vast stern, pitching his head and trunk aloft to a prodigious height, and, falling heavily over on his side, expired. This was an extremely large and handsome elephant, decidedly the finest bull I had shot this year. Afraid of taking cold or rheumatism, for I was in a most profuse perspiration, I hastened back to my fire-side, having first secured all the dogs in their couples. Here I divested myself of my leather trowsers, shooting- belt, and veldt-schoens, and, stretched on my karcss, I took tea, and wondered at the facility with which I had captured thir mighty elephant. Feeling fatigued, I intended to lie down and rest till morning. Just, however, as I was arranging rny saddles for a pillow, 1 be- held another first-rate old bull elephant advancing up the vlry from the south. I at once resolved that ke, too, should run the gauntlet with the dogs. In immense haste, tnerefore, I once more pulled on my old leathers, and buckled en my shooting-belt, and ran down into the rank long grass beside the fountain to meet h.m, armed with the large two-grooved rifle, having directed Caiey and Piet to come slowly up with the dogs and my horse and gun as soon as they were ready. The elephant came on, and stocd drinking within thirty yards of me. When I saw Carey coming on with the dogs and steed, I fired, but my rifle hung fire. The shot, however, gave the dogs good courage, and they fought well The elephant took away at a rapid p ce toward the other foun- tain where the Bechuanas lay, and at first led me through very bad wait-a-bit thorn cover, which once or twice nearly swept me HUNTING ADVENTURES. out of the saddle Presently he inclined to the west, and got /nto better country ; 1 then rode close to him, and bowled him ovei with lour shots. The next morning, my ammunition being expended, or very nearly so, 1 dispatched Carey to camp for fresh supplies. After. he had gone I walked through the forest, when I observed "Fro- chum" snuff up the wind and go ahead. I soon saw him return- ing, with two jackals trotting behind him, so I at once knew that there was some game lying dea'd in advance. When I had pro- ceeded a little further the dogs ran forward, and next moment a rush oj many feet was heard charging toward where I stood. It was a troop of half-grown lions, with a lioness, which dashed past me, followed by the dogs. They had been- feasting on a white rhinoceros, shot by me two nights previously, which I found lying a little in advance. Beside the carcase stood a fine fat calf the poor thing, no doubt, fancying that its mother slept ; heedless of lions, and all the other creatures that had trodden there, it had remained beside its dead mother for a day and two nights. Rhi- noceros' calves always stick to their mothers long after they are dead. The next night. I was again successful in a night hunt, and bagged a very fine bull, elephant. This wound up my ele- phant night shooting for that moon, for next day there was a mosl awful thunder-storm, which tilled the forest with large pools oj water. ADVENT UK E WITH A MONSTER LION. 27 * CHAPTER XL VIII. ADVENTURE WITH A MONSTER LION. N the 29th, says Mr. Gumming, we 'arrived at a small village ci - Bakalahari. These natives told me that elephants were abundant on the opposite side of the river. I accordingly resolved to halt here and hunt, and drew my wagons up on the river's bank, within thirty yards of the water, and about one hun- dred yards from the native village. Having outspanned, we at once se* about making for the cattle a kraa^ of the worst description of thorn- liees Of this I had now become very particular, since my severe loss by lions on the first of this month ; and my cattle were, at night, secured by a strong kraal, which inclosed my two wagons the horses being made fast to a trek-tow stretched between the hind wheels of the wagons I had yet, however, a fearful lesson IT 280 HVNTTVO ,T>VKN TT rRES. learn as to the nature and character of the lion, of which I had at one time entertained so little fear; and en this night a horrible tragedy was to be acted in my little lonely camp, of so very appalling a nature as to make the blood curdle in our veins. I worked til) near sundown at one side of the kraal with Hendric, my first wagon-driver I cutting down the trees with my ax, and he drag- ing them to the kraal. When the kraal for the cattle was finished, I turned my attention to making a pot of barley-broth, and lighted my fire between the wagons and the water, close on the river's bank, under a dense grove of shady trees, making no sort of kraal around our sitting-place for the evening. The Hottentots, without any reason, made their fire about fifty yards from mine ; they according to their usual custom, being satisfied with the shelter of a large dense bush. The evening passed away cheerfully. Soon after it was dark we heard ele- phants breaking the trees in the forest across the river, and once or twice I strode away into the darkness some distance from the fireside to stand and listen to them. I little at that moment, deemed of the imminent peril to which I was exposing my life, nor thought that a blood-thirsty man-eater lion was crouching near, only watching his opportunity to spring into the kraal and ccnsijj.i one of us to a most horrible death. About three hours after the suv went down I called to my men to come and take their coffee HP us all was very serious. CHAPTER XLTX. HUNTING THE BUSTARD AND ELAND. A.T an early hour on the morning of the 6th, pays Mr. Gumming, while I was yet in bod, TIendric Strydom and his frau wen; standing over my fire, alongside of my wagon, with a welcome supply of sweet milk, and hurrying on the indolent Hottentots to prepare iuy break- fast, and rouse their slothful master^ the earliest dawn being, as he affirmed, the best time to go after the springboks. On hearing their voices, I rose, and having breakfasted, we shouldered our " roors." walked about a mile across the plain, and took up positions behind two very low bushes, about three hundred yards apart, and iustriK tc-1 our Hottentots' to endeavor to drive the springbok* towa' .Is us. V\ C had two beats, but were unlucky both times, each of us wounding and losing a springbok. In the evening we went out again to !m;it on the same principle, on a very wide flat to the west of hi> house, where we lay down behind very low bushes, in the middle of the bucks. We lay there on our breasts for two hours, with herds of springboks moving all round us, our Hottentots manoeuvring in (lie di.stauce. One small troop came within shot of me, when I sent my bullet, spinning through a graceful doe, which bounded forward a hundred yards, a:id, staggering for a moment, fell over and expired. A little after this, I suddenly perceived a large paow or bustard walking on the plain before me. These birds are very wary, an 1 difficult to approach. I thi refore resolved to have a phot at him, and lay like a piece of rock until he came within range, wlidii I sent a bullet through him. He managed, however, to fly about a quartei of a mile, when he alighted ; and, on going up to the place half an hour after, I found him lying dead, with his head stuck into a bus', of heath. On the 15th, I- took leave of my friends, at Kuruman, a'-iJ uuu- (284) A SWARM OF LOCUSTS. 280 A LOCUST. tinned my journey in a northeasterly course through a heavy sandy country of boundless level plains, stretching away on every side, covered with rank yellow grass, which, waving in the breeze, imparted the idea of endless fields of ripe corn. At sundown we crossed the Matluarin River, an insignificant stream, and encamped on its northern bank. On the march we saw a few blue wilde- beests and ostriches. At dawn of day on the following morning we pursued our journey through the same description of country varied, however, with detached clumps of thorny mimosas. On the march we crossed a swarm of locusts, resting for the night on the grass and bushes. They lay so thick that the wagons could have been filled with them in a very short time, covering the large bushes just as a swarm of young bees cover the branch on which it pitches. Lccusts afford fattening and wholesome food to man, birds, and all sorts of beasts ; cows and horses, lions, jackals, hyaenas, an-telopes, elephants, &c., devour them. We met a party of Batlapis carrying heavy burdens of them on their backs. Our hungry dcgs made a fine feast on them. The cold frosty night had rendered them unable to take wing until the sun should restore their powers. As it was difficult to obtain sufficient food for my dogs, I and Isaac took a large blanket, which we spread under a bush, whose branches --vere bent to the ground with the HUNTING ADVENTURES. mass of locusts which covered it ; and, having shaken the branches, in an instant I had more locusts than I could carry on my back : these we roasted for ourselves and dogs. Beautifully wooded hills and mountains stretched away on every side; some of the mountains were particularly grand and majestic, th^ir summits being surrounded by steep precipices and abrupt parapets of rock, the abodes of vv-hole colonies of black- faced baboons, which, astonished to behold such novel intruders upon their domains, leisurely descended the craggy mountain sides for a nearer inspection of our caravan. Seating themselves together upon a broad ledge, they seemed to hold a council as to the propriety of permitting us to proceed further through their territories. Having advanced about nine miles, I drew up my wagons on the bank of a rivulet, where the spoor of large game was extremely abundant. In the bed of the stream I discovered the scaly skin of a manis, which had been newly eaten by some bird of prey. Thisj?xtraordinary animal, which in its habits par- lakes of the nature of the hedgehog, is about three feet, in length, and is covered all over with an impenetrable coat of mail, consist- ing of large rough scales about the size and shape of the husk of an artichoke ; these overlap one another in an extraordinary and HUNTING RHINOCEROSES. 287 MANIS. irery beautiful manner. Its tail is broad, and likewise covered with scales ; on being disturbed it rolls itself into a ball. The manis is met with throughout the interior of South Africa, but it is rare and very seldom seen. Having taken some coffee, I rode out unattended, with my rifle, and before proceeding far I fell in with a huge white rhinoceros with a large calf, standing in a thorny grove. Getting my wind, she set off" at top speed through thick thorny bushes, the calf, as is invariably the case, taking the lead, and the mother guiding its course, generally about three feet in length, against its ribs. My hcrse shied very much at first, alarmed at the strange appearance of " Chuckuroo," but by a sharp application of spur and jambok I prevailed upon him to follow, and presently, the ground im- proving, I got alongside, and, firing at the gallop, sent a bullet through her shoulder. She continued her pace with blood stream- ing from the wound, and very soon reached an impracticable thorny jungle, where I could not follow, and instantly lost her. In half an hour I fell in with a second rhinoceros, being an old bull of the white variety. Dismounting, I crept within twenty yat 3s, and saluted him with both barrels in the shoulder, upon which he made off", uttering a loud blowing noise, and upsetting every thing that obstructed his progress. Shortly after this I found myself on the bauks of the stream oeside which my wagons were outspanned. Following along its margin, I presently beheld a bull of the borele, or black rhinoceros, standing within a hundred yards of me. Dismounting from my horse, I secured hiiu to a tree, and then stalked within twenty 283 HUNTING ADVENTURES. AIT El, AND. yards of *he huge beast, under cover of a large, strong biish. Borele, hearing me advance, came on to see what it was, and suddenly protruded his horny nose within twenty yards of me. Knowing well that a front shot would not prove deadly, I sprang to my feet and ran behind the bush. Upon this the villain charged, blowing loudly, and chased me round the bush. Had his activity been equal to his ugliness, my wanderings would have terminated here, but by my superior agility I had the ad- vantage in the turn. After standing a short time eyeing me through the bush, he got a whiff of my wind,- which at once alarmed him. Uttering a blowing noise, and erecting his insig- nificant yet saucy-looking tail, he wheeled about, leaving me master of the field, when I sent a bullet through his ribs to teach him manners. Finding that rhinoceroses were abundant in the vicinity, I re solved to halt a day for the purpose of hunting, and after an earir breakfast on the 6th I rode southeast with the two Baquaines HUNTING THE ELAND. 289 They led me along the bases of the mountains, through woody dells and open glades, and we eventually reached a grand forest gray with age. Here we found abundance of spoor of a variety of game, and started several herds of the more common varieties. At length I observed an old bull eland standing inder a tree. He was the first that I had seen, and was a noble specimen, standing about six feet high at the shoulder. Observing us, h<* if the wait-a-bit thorns. Their horns are much shorter 19 290 HUNTING ADVENTURES. than those of the other varieties, seldom exceeding eighteen inches in length. They are finely polished with constant rubbing against the trees. The skull is remarkably formed, its most strik- ing feature being .rie tremendous thick ossification in which it ends above the nostrils. It is on this mass that the horn is sup- ported. The norns are not connected with the skull, being at- tached merely by the skin, and they may thus be separated from the head by means of a sharp knife. They are hard and per- fectly solid throughout, and are a fine material for various articles, such as drinking-cups, mallets for rifles, handles for turner's tools, &c., &c. The horn is capable of a very high polish. The eyes of llie rhinoceros are small and sparkling, and do not readily observe tne hunter, provided he keeps to leeward of them. The skin is extremely thick, and only to be penetrated by bullets hard- ened with solder. During the day the rhinoceros will be found lying asleep or standing indolently in some retired part of the forest, or under the base of the mountains, sheltered from the power of the sun by some friendly grove of umbrella-topped mimosas. In the evening they commence their nightly ramble, and wander over a great extent of country. They usually visit the fountains between the hours of nine and twelve o'clock at night, and it is on these occasions that they may be most success- fully hunted, and with least danger. The black rhinoceros is subject to paroxysms of unprovoked fury, often plowing up the ground for several yards with its- horns, and assaulting large bushes in the most violent manner. On these bushes they work for hours *vith their horns, at thf same time snorting and blowing loudly, nor do they l^ave them in general until they have broken them into pieces. The rhinoceros is supposed bj many and by myself among the rest, to be the animal alluded to by Job, chap, xxxix., verses 10 and 11, where it is written, "Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow ? or will he harrow the valleys after thee ? wilt thou trust him because his strength is great ? or wilt thou leave thy labor to him ?" evidently alluding to an animal possessed of great strength and of untamable disposition, for both of which the rhinoceros is remarkable. All the four HUNTING THE ELAND. 291 varieties di light to ro 1 . and wallow in mud, with which theil rugged hides are generally incrusted. Both varieties of the black rhinoceros are much smaller and more active than the white, and are so swift that a horse with its rider on its back can rarely over- take them. The two varieties of the white rhinoceros are so similar in habits, that the description of one will serve for both, tbe principal difference consisting in the length and set of the anterior horn ; that of the muchocho averaging from two to three feet in length, and pointing backward, while the horn of the kobaoba ofter exceeds four feet in length, and inclines forward frorn the nose at an angle of forty-five degrees. The posterior horn of either species seldom exceeds six or seven inches in length. The ko- baoba is the rarer of the two, and it is found very far in the in- terior, chiefly to the eastward of the Limpopo. Its horns are very valuable for loading rods, supplying a substance at once suitable for a sporting implement and excellent for the purpose. Both these varieties of rhinoceros attain an enormous size, being the animals next in magnitude to the elephant. They feed solely on grass, carry much fat, and their flesh is excellent, being preferable to beef. They are of a much milder and more inoffensive dispo- sition than the black rhinoceros, rarely charging their pursuer. Their speed is very inferior to that of the other varieties, and a person well mounted can overtake and shoot them. The head of these is a foot longer than that of the borele. They generally carry their heads low, whereas the borele, when disturbed, ca-nes his very high, which imparts to him a saucy and independent air. Unlike the elephants, they m;ver associate in herds, but are met with singly or in pairs. In districts where they are abundant from three to six may be found in company, and I once sow up- ward of a dozen congregated together on some young grass, but such an occurrence is rare. That magnificent animal the eland is by far the largest of all the antelope tribe, exceeding a large ox in size. It also attains an ex- traordinary condition, being often burdened with a very large amount of fat. Its flesh is most excellent, and is justly esteemed above all others. It has a peculiar sweetness, and is 'tender and 292 HUNTING ADVENTURES. fit for use the moment the animal is killed. Like ti e gemsbok, the eland is independent of water, and frequents the borders of tl e great Kalahari desert in herds varying from ten to a hundred, ll is also generally diffused throughout all the wooded districts of the interior where I hunted. Like other varieties of deer and an'elope, the old males may often be found consorilng together apart from the females, and a troop of these, when in full condition, may be likened to a herd of stall-fed oxen. The eland has less speed than any other variety of antelope : and, by judicious riding, they may be driven to camp from a great distance. In this man- ner I have often ridden the best bull out of the herd, and brought him within gunshot of my wagons, where I could more conveni- ently cut up and preserve the flesh, without the trouble of send- ing men and pack-oxen to fetch it. I have repeatedly seen an eland drop down dead at the end of a severe chase, owing to his plethoric habit. The skin of the eland I had just shot emitted, like most f any game that might approach to drink. I had just cooked my breakfast, and commenced to feed when I heard my men ex- claim. Almagtig keek de ghroote clomp cameel :" and raising my eyes from tny sassayby stew, I beheld a truly beautiful and very unusual scene. From the margin of the fountain there extended an open level vley, without tree or bush, that stretched away about a mile to the northward, where it was bounded by extensive groves of wide-spreading mimosas. Up the middle of this vley stalked a troop of ten colossal giraffes, flanked by two large herds of blue wildebeests and zebras, with an advanced guard of pallahs. They were all coming to the fountain to drink, and would be within rifle-shot of the wagons before I could finish my breakfast. I, however, continued to swallow my food with the utmost expedition, having directed my men to catch and saddle Colesberg. In a few minutes the giraffes were slowly advancing within two hun- dred yards, stretching their graceful nex^ks, and gazing in wonder at the unwonted wagons. Grasping my rifle, I now mounted Colesberg, and rode slowly toward them. They continued gazing at the wagons until I was within one hundred yards of them, when, wisking their long tails over their rumps, they made off at an easy canter. As I pressed upon them they increased their pace ; but Colesberg had much the speed of them, and before we had proceeded half a mile I was riding by the shoulder of the dark-chestnut old bull, whose head towered above the rest. Letting fly at the gallop, I wounded him behind the shoulder ; soon after which I broke him from the herd, and presently going ahead of him, he came to a stand. I then gave him a second bullet, some- nhere near the first. These two shots had taken effect, and hts 298 HUNTING ADVENTURES. was now in my power, but I would not lay him low so far frorr. camp ; so, having waited until he had regained his breath, I drove him halfway back toward the wagons. Here he became obstreper- ms ; so loading one barrel, and pointing my rifle towards the clouds, I shot him in the throat, when, rearing high, he fell back- ward and expired. This was a magnificent specimen of the giraffe, measuring upward of eighteen feet in height. I stood for nearly half an hour engrossed in the contemplation of his extreme beauty and gigantic proportions ; and if there had been no ele- phants, I could have exclaimed like Duke Alexander of Gordon when he killed the famous old stag with seventeen tine, " Now I can die happy." But I longed for an encounter with the noble elephants, and I thought little more of the giraffe than if I had killed a gemsbok or an eland Before proceeding further with my narrative, it may here be in- teresting to make a few remarks on the African elephant and his habits. The elephant is widely diffused through the vast forests, and is met with in herds of various numbers. The male is very much larger than the female, consequently much more difficult to kill. He is provided with two enormous tusks. These are long, tapering, and beautifully arched ; their length averages from six to eight feet, and they weigh from sixty to a hundred pounds each. In the vicinity of the equator the elephants attain to a greater size than to the southward; and I am in possession of a pair of tusks of the African bull elephant, the larger of which measures ten feet nine inches in length, and weighs one hundred and seventy-three p mnds. The females, unlike the Asiatic elephants in this re- spect, are likewise provided with tusks. The price which the largest ivory fetches in the English market is from 28 to 32 per hundred and twelve pounds. Old bull elephants are found singly or in pairs, or consorting together in small herds, varying from six to twenty individuals. The younger bulls remain for many years in company of their mothers, and these are met to- gether in large herds of from twenty to a hundred individuals. The food of the elephant consist of the branches, leaves, and roots of .rees. and als.j of a variety of bulbs, of the situation of which he HABITS OP THE ELEPHANT. 299 is advised by his exquisite sense of smell. To oblain these he turns up the ground with his tusks, and whole acres may be seen thus plowed up. Elephants consume an immense quantity of food, and pass the greatel part of the day and night in feeding. Like the whale in the ocean, the elephant on land is acquainted with, and roams over, .wide and extensive tracts. He is extremely particular in always frequenting the freshest and most verdant districts of the forest ; and when one district is parched and barren, he will forsake it for years, and wander to great distances in quest of better pasture. The elephant entertains an extraordinary horror of man, and a child can put a hundred of them to flight by passing at a quarter of a mile to windward ; and when thus disturbed, they go a long way before they halt. It is surprising how 'soon these sagacious animals are aware of the presence of a hunter in their domains. When one troop has been attacked, all the otl er elephants fre- quenting the district are aware of the fact within two or three days, when they all forsake it, and migrate to distant parts, leaving the hunter no alternative but to inspan his wagons, and remove to fresh ground. This constitutes one of the greatest' difficulties which a skilful elephant-hunter encounters. Even in the most remote parts, which may be reckoned the head-quarters of the elephant, it is only occasionally, and with inconceivable toil and hardship, that the eye of the hunter is cheered by the sight of one. Owing to habits peculiar to himself, the elephant is more inac- cessible, and much more rarely seen, than any other game quad- ruped, excepting certain rare antelopes. They choose for their resort the most lonely and secluded depths of the forest, generally at a very great distance from the rivers and fountains at which they drink. In dry and warm weather they visit these waters nightly, but in cool and cloudy weather they drink only once every third or fourth day. About sundown the elephant leaves his distant mid-day haunt, and commences his march toward the fountain, which is probably from twelve to twenty miles distant This he generally reaches between the hours of nine and mid- night, when, having slacked his thirst and cooled his body by 300 HUNTING ADVENTURES. spouting large volumes of water over his back with nis trur.L, he resumes the path to his forest solitudes. Having reached a secluded spot, I have remarked that full-grown bulls lie down on their broadsides, about the hour of midnight, and sleep for a few hours. The spot which they usually select is an ant-hill, and they lay around it with their backs resting against it; these hills, formed by the white ants, are from thirty to forty feet in diameter at their base. The mark of the under tusk is always deeply im- printed in the ground, proving that they lie upon their sides. I never remarked that females had thus lain down, and it is only in the more secluded districts that the bulls adopt this practice ; for I observed that, in districts where the elephants were liable to fre- quent disturbance, they took repose standing on their legs beneath some shady tree. Having slept, they then proceeded to feed ex- tensively. Spreading out from one another, and proceeding in . zigzag course, they smash and destroy all the finest trees in the forest which happen to lie in their course. The number of goodly trees which a herd of bull elephants will thus destroy is utterly incredible. They are extremely capricious, and on coming to a group of five or six trees, they break down not unfrequently the whole of ^hem, when, having perhaps only tasted one or two small branches, they pass on and continue their wanton work of destruction. I have repeatedly ridden through forests where the trees thus broken lay so thick across one another that it was almost impossible to ride through the district, and it is in situations such as these that attacking the elephant is attended with most danger. During the night they will feed in open plains and thinly-wooded districts, but as day dawns they retire to the densest covers within reach, and which nine times in ten are com- posed of the impracticable wait-a-bit thorns and hen) they remain drawn up in a compact herd during the heat of the day. In re- mote districts, however, and in cool weather, I have known herds iO continue pasturing throughout the whole day. The pace of the elep 1 ant, when undisturbed, is a bold, free sweeping step ; and a' his movements are attended with a peog liar gentlenes? and g:ace HUNTING RIIINOCEKOSES. A BLAUWBOS. CHAPTER LI MR. CUMMINQ CHASED BY A RHINOCEROS. N the 22d, says Mr. Cumnnng r ordering my men to move on toward a fountain in the centra of the plain, 1 rode forth with Ruyter,and held east through a grove of lofty and wide-spreading mimosas, most of which were more or less damaged by the gigantic strength of a troop of elephants, which had passed there about twelve; months before, Having proceeded about two miles with large herds of game on every side, I observed a crusty looking old bull borele, or black rhinoceros, cocking his ears one hundred 802 HUNTING ADVENTURES. yards in advance. He had not observed us ; and soon after he walked slowly toward KS, and stood broadside to, eating some wait-a-bit thorns within fifty yards of me. I fired from my saddle, and sent a bullet in behind his shoulder, upon which he rushed forward about one hundred yards in tjjemendous consternation, blowing like a grampus, and then stood looking about him. Pre- sently he made off. I followed, but found it hard to come up with him. When I overtook him I saw the blood running freely from his T -vound. The chase led through a large herd of blue wildebeests, zebras, and springboks, which gazed at us in utter amazement. At length I fired my second barrel, but my horse was fidgety, and I missed. I continued riding alongside of him, expecting in my ignorance that at length he would come to bay, which rhinoceroses never do ; when suddenly he fell flat on his broadside on the ground, but, recovering his feet, resumed his course as if nothing had hap- pened. Becoming at last annoyed at the length of the chase, as I wished to keep my horses fresh for the elephants, and being indif- ferent whether I got the rhinoceros or not, as I observed that his horn was completely worn down with age and the violence of his disposition, I determined to bring matters to a crisis ; so, spurring my horse, I dashed ahead, and rode right in his path. Upon this the hideous monster instantly charged me in the most resolute manner, blowing loudly through his nostrils ; and, although I quickly wheeled about to my left, he followed me at such a furious pace for several hundred yards, with his horrid horny snout within a few yards of my horse's tail, that my little Bushman, who was looking on in great alarm, thought his master's destruction inevita- ble. It was certainly a very near thing; my horse was extremely afraid, and exerted his utmost energies on the occasion. The rhi- noceros, however, wheeled about, and continued his former course, and I, being perfectly satisfied with the interview which 1 had already enjoyed with him, had no desire to cultivate his acquaint- ance any further, and accordingly made for camp. We /eft the fountain of Bob'tlonamy the same day, and marched about six AFRICAN GAME. 305 miles through an old gray forest of mimosas, when we halted for the night. Large flocks of Guinea-fowls roosted in the trees around our encampment, several of which I shot for my supper. On the 23d we inspanned by moonlight, and continued our march through a thinly-wooded, level country. It was a lovely morning ; the sun rose in great splendor, and the sky was beauti- fully overcast with clouds. Having proceeded about ten miles, the country became thickly covered with detached forest trees and gioves of wait-a-bit thorns. The guides now informed us that the water, which is called by the Bechuanas " Lepeby," was only a short distance in advance, upon which I saddled steeds, and rode ahead with the Bushman, intending to hunt for an hour before breakfast. Presently we reached an open glade in the forest, where I observed a herd of zebras in advance ; and on my left stood a troop of springboks, with two leopards watching them from behind a bush. I rode on, and soon fell in with a troop of hartebeests, and, a little after, with a large herd of blue wilde- beests and pallahs. I followed these for some distance, when they were re-inforced by two other herds of pallahs and wilde- beests. Three black rhinoceroses now trotted across my path. Presently I sprang from my horse, and fired right and left at a princely bull blue wildebeest. He got both balls, but did not fall ; and I immediately lost sight of him in the dense ranks of his shaggy companions. The game increased as we proceeded, until ihe whole forest seemed alive with a variety of beautifully-colored animals. On this occasion I was very unfortunate ; I might have killed any quantity of game if venison had been my object ; but I was trying to get a few very superior heads of some of the master bucks of the pallahs. Of these I wounded four select old bucks but in the dust and confusion caused by the innumerable quantity of the game I managed to lose them all. We had now ridden many miles from the wagons ; and feeling faint from want of food, I dropped the chase in disgust, and, with- out looking at my compass, ordered the Bushman to go ahead My attention had been so engrossed with the excitement of the pursuit, that I had i,ot the remotest idea of the course I had taken, 20 806 HUNTTXtt ADVENTURES. ind the whole country exhibited such an aspect of sameness, that there was no landmark or eminence of any description by which to steer. Having ridden many miles through the forest, I at length asked the Bushman, in whom on such occasions I gene- raJly placed great confidence, if he was sure he was riding in the right direction, and, as he appeared quite confident, I allowed him 10 proceed. At length he said that we had gone a little too far to the left, and led me away several miles to the right, which was westerly ; whereas the wagons eventually proved to be a long way to the east. I felt convinced that we were wrong, and, rein- ing up, a discussion arose between us, the Bushman still main- taining that we must ride west, while I was certain that our course should be east. I now adopted my own opinion, and, having ridden many miles in an easterly direction, we were at one time close upon the wagons, when the thick-headed Bushman declared that if I persevered we should never see the wagons again, and 1 with equal stupidity yielded to his advice, and a southwesterly course was once more adopted. Having ridden for many miles, I again reined up, and again told the Bushman we were wrong ; upon which he for the first time acknowledged that he knew no- thing at all about the matter, but stated it to be his impression that we ought to ride further to the west. My head was so confused that I lost all recollection of how we had ridden ; and while I was deliberating what I should do, I observed a volume of smoke a long way to the north, which I at once imagined had been kindled by my followers to guide their lost master to the wagons. With revived spirits, I stirred my jaded steed and made for the smoke: but, alas! this only served to lead me further astray. After riding many miles in that direction, I discovered that the fire vvus at an amazing distance, and could not have been kindled by my men ; it was the wild Bakalahari of the desert burning thu old dry grass. I was now like a seaman in a hurricane at my wit's end I knew not how to ride nor what to do. The sun, which had just risen when I left the wagons, was about to set. There was no landmark whatever by which to steer; I might tvander for days, and not discover water. SUFFERING FROM THIRST. 307 To find the wagons was comparatively a trifle. I thought little of them ; it was the thought of water that harrowed my mind. Already^ the pangs of thirst began to seize me. I had ridden alt day, under the hot sun, and had neither eaten nor drunk since early the preceding evening. I felt faint and weary, and my heart sank as horrible visions of a lingering death by maddening thirst arose before me. Dismounting from my horse, I sat down to think what I should do. I knew exactly by my compass the course we had been steering since we left Booby. I accordingly resolved to ride southwest for many miles, the course of the wagons having been northeast, and then to send Ruyter across the country a little to the north of west, while I should hold a corresponding course in an easterly direction. By this means one of us could not fail to find the spoor, and I arranged that at nightfall we should meet at some conspicuous tree, paving thus resolved, I mounted my horse, which was half dead with thirst and fatigue, and, having ridden southwest for several miles, I and Ruyter separated at a conspicuous tree, and rode in opposite directions. Before riding far I recognized the country as being the spot where I had seen the leopards in the morning. I at once followed Ruyter, and fired several signal shots, which he fortunately heard, and soon joined me. We then rode due east, and eventually, to my inexpressible gratification, we discovered the spoor of the wagons, which we reached after following it for about four miles in a northeasterly direction. Our poor horses were completely exhausted, and could barely walk to the camp. I found my wagons drawn up beside the strong fountain of Lepeby, which, issuing from beneath a stratum of white tufous rock, formed an extensive deep pool of pure water, adorned on one side with lofty green reeds. This fountain was situated at the northern extremity of a level bare vley, surrounded by dense covers of the wait-a-bit thorns. Such a peculiar same- ness characterized the country, that a person wandering only a few hundred yards from the fountain would have considerable difficulty in regaining it. It was night when I reached the 808 HUNTING ADVENTURES. wagons, and two or three cups of coffee soon restored me to mj wonted vigor. On the following morning, from earliest dawn until we trekked, which we did about 10 A. M., large herds of game kept pouring in to drink from evsry side, completely covering the open space, and imparting to it the appearance of a cattle fair ; blue wilde- beests, zebras, sassaybies, pallahs, springboks, &c., capered fear- .essly up to the water, troop after troop, within two hundred yards jf us. In former years a tribe of Bechuanas had frequented this fountain, and I beheld the skeletons of many rhinoceroses and of one elephant bleaching in the sun ; but the powerful and cruel Matabili had attacked the tribe, and driven them to seek a home elsewhere. I shot a pallah and a wildebeest, which we secured behind the wagons. About 10 A. M. we inspanned, and within a mile of Lepeby we passed through another similar open vley, containing a strong fountain of delicious water. We. continued our march till sundown through an undulating open country, thinly covered with detached trees and thorny bushes, and en- camped in a sandy desert without water. ADVENTURE WITH ELEPHANTS. 309 CHAPTER LIT. AL VENTURE WITH ELEPHANTS. HABITS OF THE LION. N the 27th, as day dawned, say& Mr. Gumming, I left my shooting- hole, and proceeded to inspect the spoor of my wounded elephant. After following it for some distance I came to an abrupt hillock, and fancying that from the summit a good view might be obtained of the surrounding country, I left my fol- lowers to seek the spoor, while 1 ascended. I did not raise my eyes from the ground until I had reached the highest pinnacle of rock. I then looked east, and to my inex- pressible gratification, beheld a troop of nine or ten elephants quietly browsing within a quarter of a mile of me. I allowed myself only one glance at them, and then rushed down to warn my followers to be silent. A council of war was hastily held, the result of TOhich was my ordering Isaac to ride hard to camp, with instructions to return as quickly as possible, accompanied by Klein- boy, and to bring me my dogs, the large Dutch rifle, and a fresh 310 HUNTING ADVENTURES. horse. I once more ascended the hillock to feast my eyes upon the enchanting sight before me, and, drawing out my spy-glass, narrowly watched the motions of the elephants. The herd con sisted entirely of fern lies, several of which were followed by small calves. Presently, on reconnoitering the surrounding country, I dis- covered a second herd, consisting of five bull elephants, which were quietly feeding about a mile to the, northward. The cows were feeding toward a rocky ridge that stretched away from the base of the hillock on which I stood. Burning with impatience to commence the attack, I resolved to try the stalking system with these, and to hunt the troop of bulls with dogs and horses. Hav- ing thus decided, 1 directed the guides to watch the elephants from the summit of the hillock, and with a beating heart 1 ap- proached them. The ground and wind favoring me, I soon gained the rocky ridge toward which they were feeding. They uere now within one hundred yards, and I resolved to enjoy the plea- sure of watching their movements for a little before I fired. They continued to feed slowly toward me, breaking the branches from the trees with their trunks, and eating the leaves and tender shoots. I soon selected the finest in the herd, and kept my eye on her in particular. At length two of the troop had walked slowly past at about sixty yards, and the one which I had selected was feeding with two others, on a thorny tree before me. My hand was now as steady as the rock on which it rested ; so, taking a deliberate aim, I let fly at her head a little behind the eye. She got it hard and sharp, just where I aimed, but it did not seem to affect her much. Uttering a loud cry, she wheeled about, when I gave her the second ball close behind the shoulder All the elephants uttered a strange rumbling noise, and made off in a line to the northward at a brsk ambling pace, their huge, fan-like ears flapping in the ratio of their speed. I did not wait to load, but ran back to the hillock to obtain a view. On gaining its summit, the guides pointed out the elephants : they were stand- ing in a grove of shady trees, but the wounded one was some dis- tance behind with another elephant, doubtless its particular friend, , ' **7 i to* 1 ADVENTURE WITH ELEPHANTS. 313 tvho was endeavoring to assist it. These elephants had probably never before heard the report of a gun, and, having neither seen nor smelt me, they were unaware of the presence of man, and did not seem inclined to go any further. Presently my men hove in sight, bringing the dogs ; and when these came up, I waited some time before commencing the attack, that the dogs and horses might recover their wind. We then rode slowly toward the ele- phants, and had advanced within two hundred yards of them when, the ground being open, they observed us and made off in an easterly direction ; but the wounded one immediately dropped astern, and the next moment was surrounded by the dogs, which, barking angrily, seemed to engross her attention. Having placed myself between her and the retreating troop, I dismounted to fire within forty yards of her, in open ground. Colesberg was extremely afraid of the elephants, and gave me much trouble, jerking my arm when I tried to fire. At length I let fly ; but, on endeavoring to regain my saddle, Colesberg de- clined to allow me to mount ; and when I tried to lead him, and run for it, he only backed toward the wounded elephant. At this moment I heard another elephant close behind ; and on looking about, I beheld the ({ friend," with uplifted trunk, charging down upon me at top speed, shrilly trumpeting, and following an old black pointer named Schwart, that was perfectly deaf, and trotted along before the enraged elephant quite unaware of what was be hind him. I felt certain that she would have either me or my horse. I, however, determined not to relinquish my steed, but to hold on by the bridle. My men, who of course kept at a safe dis- tance, stood aghast with their mouths open, and for a few seconds my position was certainly not an enviable one. Fortunately, how ever, the dogs took off the attention of the elephants ; and just ay they were upon me, I managed to spring into the saddle, where 1 was safe. As I turned my back to mount, the elephants were so rery near that I really expected to feel one of their trunks lay hold of me. I rode up to Kleinboy for my double-barreled two-grooved rifle : he and Isaac were pale and almost speechless with fright Returning to the charge, I was soon once more alongside, andL 314 HUNTING ADVENTURES. firing from the saddle, I sent another brace of bullets into the wounded elephant. Colesberg was extremely unsteady, and de- stroyed the correctness of my aim. The friend now seemed resolved to do some mischief, and charged me furiously, pursuing me to a distance of several hun- dred yards. I therefore deemed it proper to give her a gentle hint to act less officiously, and, accordingly, having loaded, T approached within thirty yards, and gave it her sharp, right and left, behind the sh'oulder, upon which she at once made off with drooping trunk, evidently with a mortal wound. I never recur to this day's elephant shooting without regretting my folly in contenting myself with securing only one elephant. The first was now dying, and could not leave the ground, and the second was also mortally wounded, and I had only to follow and finish her ; but I foolishly allowed her to escape, while I amused myself with the first, which kept walking backward, am. -'anding by everj tree she passed. Two more shots finished h v on receivifco them, she tossed her trunk up and down two or tlu^ *imes, and, falling on her broadside against a thorny tree, which yielded like grass before her enormous weight, she uttered a deep hoarse cry end expired. This was a very handsome old cow elephant, and jvas decidedly the best in the troop. She was in excellent con- dition, and carried a pair of long and perfect tusks. I was in high spirits at my success, and felt so perfectly satisfied with -having killed one, that, although it was still early in the day, and my horses were fresh, I allowed the troop of five bulls to remain un- molested, foolishly trusting to fall in with them next day. How little did I then know of the habits of elephants, or the rules to be adopted in hunting them, or deem it probable I should never see them more ! ***** Although the dignified and truly monarchical appearance of ihe lion has long rendered him famous among his fellow quad- mpeJs, and his apj. sarance and habits have often been described by abler pens than mine, nevertheless I consider that a few re- marks, resulting from my own personal experience, formed by a * drably long acquaintance with him both by day and by night, HABIIS OF THE LION. 315 /nay not prove uninteresting to the reader. There is something so noble and imposing in the presence of the lion, when seen walkin? with dignified self-possession, free and undaunted, on hig native soil, that no description can convey an adequate idea of his striking appearance. The lion is exquisitely formed by nature for the predatory habits which he is destined to pursue. Combining in comparatively small compass the qualities of power and agility, he is enabled, by means of the tremendous machinery with which nature has gifted him, easily to overcome and destroy almost every beast of the forest, however superior to him in weight and stature Though considerably under four feet in height, he has little difficulty in dashing to the ground and overcoming the lofty and apparently powerful giraffe, whose head towers above the trees of the forest, and whose skin is nearly an inch in thickness. The lion is the constant attendant of the vast herds of buffaloes which frequent the interminable forests of the interior ; and a full-grown one, so long as his teeth are unbroken, generally proves a match for an old bull buffalo, which in size and strength greatly sur- passes the most powerful breed of English cattle : the lion also preys on all the larger varieties of the antelopes, and on both rarieties of the gnoo. The zebra, which is met with ir. large herds throughout the interior, is also a favorite object of his pursuit. Lions* do not refuse, as has been asserted, to feast upon the venison that they have not killed themselves. I have repeatedly discovered lions of all ages which had taken possession of, and were feasting upon, the carcases of various game quadrupeds 5 which had fallen before my rifle. The lion is very generally diffused throughout the secluded parts of Southern Africa. He is, however, nowhere met with in great abundance, it being very rare to find more than three, or even two, families of lions fre- quenting the same district and drinking at the same fountain. When a greater number were met with, I remarked that it was owing to long-protracted droughts, which, by drying nearly alJ the fountains, had compelled the game of various districts to crowd the remaining springs, and the lions, according to theii 316 HUNTING ADVENTURES. custom, followed in their wake. It is a common thing to come upon a full-grown lion and lioness associating with three or four large ones nearly full-grown ; at other times full-grown males wilJ be found associating and hunting together in a happy state of friendship : two, three, and four full-grown male lions may thus be discovered consorting together. The male lion is adorned with a long, rank, shaggy mane, which in some instances almost sweeps the ground. The coloi of these manes varies, some being very dark, and others of a golden yellow. This appearance has given rise to a prevailing opinion among the Boers that there are two distinct varieties of lions, which they distinguish by the respective names of " Schwart fore life" and "Chiel fore life :" this idea, -however, is erroneous. The color of the lion's mane is generally influenced by his age. He attains his mane in the third year of his existence. I have remarked that at first it is of a yellowish color ; in the prime of life it is blackest, and when he has numbered many years, but still is in the full enjoyment of his power, it assumes a yellowish- gray, pepper-and-salt sort of color. These old fellows are cun- ning and dangerous, and most to be dreaded. The females are utterly destitute of a mane, being covered with a short, thick, glossy coat of tawny hair. The manes and coats of lions fre- quenting open-lying districts utterly destitute of trees, such as the borders of the great Kalahari desert, are more rank and handsome than those inhabiting forest districts. One of the most striking things connected with the lion is his voice, which is extremely grand and peculiarly striking. It con- sists at times of a low, deep moaning, repeated five or six times, ending in faintly audible sighs; at other times he startles the forest with loud, deep-toned, solemn roars, repeated five or six times in quick succession, each increasing in loudness to the third or fourth, when his voice dies away in five or six low, mufflf d sounds, very much resembling distant thunder. At times, and not unfrequently, a troop may be heard roaring in concert, one assuming the lead, and two, three, or four more regularly taking u* heir parts, like persons singing a catch. Like our Scottish HABITS OF THE LION. 317 stags at the rutting season, they roar loudest in cold, frosty nights; but on no occasions are their voices to oe heard in such perfection, o? so intensely powerful, as when two or three strange troops of lions approach a fountain to drink at the same time. When this occurs, every member of each troop sounds a bold roar of defiance at the opposite parties ; and when one roars, all roar together, and each seems to vie with his comrades in the intensity and power of his voice. The power and -grandeur of these nocturnal forest concerts is inconceivably striking and pleasing to the hunter's ear. The effect, I may remark, is greatly enhanced when the hearer happens to be situated in the depths of the forest, at the dead hour of midnight, unaccompanied by any attendant, and ensconced within twenty yards of the fountain which the surrounding troops of lions are approaching. Such has been my situation many scores of times; and though I am allowed to have a tolerably good taste for music, I consider the catches with which I was then regaled as the sweetest and most natural I ever heard. As a general rule, lions roar during the night ; their sighing moans commencing as the shades of evening envelop the forest, and continuing at intervals throughout the night. In distant and secluded regions, however, I have constantly heard them roaring loudly as late as nine and ten o'clock on a bright sunny morning. In hazy and rainy weather they are to be heard at every hour in the day, but their roar is subdued. It often happens that when two strange male lions meet at a fountain a terrific combat ensues, which not unfrequently ends in the death of one of them. The habits of the lion are strictly nocturnal ; during the day he lies concealed beneath the shade of some low bushy tree or wide- spreading bush, either in the level forest or on the mountain side. He is also partial to lofty reeds, or fields of long, rank yellow grass, such as occur in low-lying vleys. From these haunts he sallies forth when the sun goes down, and commences his nightly prowl. When he is successful in his beat and has secured his prey, he does not roar much that night, only uttering occasionally G. few low moans ; that is, provided no intruders approach him otherwise the cai;e would be very different. 318 HUNTING ADVENTURES. Lions are ever most active, daring, and presuming in dark and stormy nights, and consequently, on such occasions, the traveller ought more particularly to be on his guard. I remarked a fact connected with the lions' hour of drinking peculiar to themselves : they seemed unwilling to visit the fountains with good moonlight. Thus, when the moon rose early, the lions deferred their hour of watering until late in the morning ; and when the moon rose late, they drank at a very early hour, in the night. By this acute system many a grisly lion saved his bacon, and is now* luxuriating in the forest of South Africa, which had otherwise fallen by the barrels of my " Westley Richards." Owing to the tawny color of the coat with which nature has robed him, he *s perfectly invisible in the dark ; and although I have often heard them loudly lapping the water under my very nose, not twenty yards from me, I could not possibly make out so much as the outline of their forms. When a thirsty lion comes to water, he stretches out his massive arms, lies down on his breast to drink, and makes a loud lapping noise in drinking not to be mistaken. He continues lapping up the water for a long whife, and four or five times during the proceeding he pauses for half a minute as if to take breath. One thing conspicuous about them is their eyes, which, m a dark night, glow like two balls of fire. The female is more fierce and active than the male, as a general rule. Lionesses which have never had young are much more dangerous than those which have. At no time is the lion so much to be dreaded as when his partner has got small young ones. At that season he knows no fear, and, in the coolest and most intrepid manner, he will face a thousand men. A remarkable instance of this kind came under my own observation, which confirmed the reports 1 had before heard from the natives. One day, when out elephant hunting in the territory of the " Baseieka," accompanied by two hundred and fifty men, I was astonished suddenly to behold a majestic lion slowly and steadily advancing toward us with a dignified step and undaunted bearing, the most noble and imposing that can be conceived. Lashing his tail from side to side, and growling haughtily, his terribly expressive eye resolutely fixed HABITS OP THE LION. 319 EAST INDIAN TIGER. apon us, and displaying a show of ivory well calculated, to inspire terror among the timid " Bechuanas," he approached. A head- long flight of the two hundred and fifty men was the immediate result ; and, in the confusion of the moment, four couples of my dogs, which they had been leading, were allowed to escape in their couples. These instantly faced the lion, who, finding that by his bold bearing he had succeeded in putting his enemies to flight, now became solicitous for the safety of his little family, with which the lioness was retreating: in the back-ground. Facing about, he followed after them with a haughty and independent step, growling fiercely at the dogs which trotted along on eithei side of him. Three troops of elephants having been discovered a few minutes previous to this, upon which I was marching for the attack, I, with the most heartfelt reluctance, reserved my fire On running down the hill side to endeavor to recall my dogs, I observed, for the first time, the retreating lioness with four cubs. A.bout twenty minutes afterward two noble elephants repaid my forbearance. Among Indian Nimrods, a certain class of royal tigers is dig- uified with the appellation of " ma-n-eaters." These are 320 HUNTING AUVENTUKES. which, having once tasted human flesh, show a predilection foi the same, and such characters are very naturally famed and dreaded among the natives. Elderly gentlemen of similar tastes und habits are occasionally met with among the lions in the inte- rior of South Africa, and the danger of such neighbors may be easily imagined. I account for lions first acquiring this taste in the following manner : the Bechuana tribes of the fax interior do not bury their dead, but unceremoniously carry them forth, and leave them lying exposed in the forest or on the plain, a prey to the lion and hyaena, or the jackal and vulture ; and I can readily imagine that a lion, having thus once tasted human flesh, would have little hesitation, when opportunity presented itself, of springing upon and carrying off the unwary traveller or " Bechuana" inhabiting his country. Be this as it may, man-eaters occur; and on my fourth hunting expedition, a horrible tragedy was acted one dark night in my little lonely camp by one of these formidable cha- racters, which deprived me, in the far wilderness, of my most valuable servant. In winding up these few observations on the lion, which I trust will not have been tiresome to the reader, I may remark that lion-hunting, under any circumstances, is deci- dedly a dangerous pursuit. It may nevertheless be followed, to a certain extent, with comparative safety by those who have natu- rally a turn for that sort of thing. A recklessness of death, per- fect coolness and self-possession, an acquaintance with the dispo- sition and manners of lions, and a tolerable knowledge of the use of the rifle, are indispensable to him who would shine in the overpoweringly exciting pastime of hunting this justly celebrated k >ig of beasts. , ELEPHANT HUNTING IN THE EAST DUES. CHAPTER LIII. BLEPHANT HUNTING IN THE EAST INDIES. IEUT.-COL. JAMjSS CAMPBELL, -d. bravs and talented officer, af- fords us the following particulars of a personal adventure in Ceylon : 1 was reading to beguile the time during- the heat of the day (says the colo nel) when one of the servants ran into our hut, in gr?at alarm, exdaiming lhat he luid just seen an elephant in a clump .f trees, to which he pointed, not more than three hundred yards on". I, at least, had no wish whatever to encounter such an antagonist, if 1 could avoid doing so ; but it was in council deemed advisable to dislodge him, as otherwise we might have to move our encampment ; and to do ( none of us were inclined. It was therefore settled that we 824 HUNTING ADVENTURES. should attack him ; that is, if we could not by any other means in duce him to retire, and that too without delay. Having carefi'lly loaded our guns with brass balls, we moved forward all three to- gether ; the Malays, who seemed greatly to enjoy the fun, form ng a supporting column in our rear. It was also arranged, that if the elephant stood his ground, I was to have the first shot; J ow then was it possible for me not to perform my part upon the or :a- sion ? By entering at a projecting point of the jungle, and being ' ,d much against his will, by the -servant who said that he had s-en the elephant, we were able tr come within a short distance of h^rn, before he could perceive 'is. When he did so, or rather wnen he heard the noise which we could not avo ; d making in approach- ing him, however cautiously, he suddenly turned round upon us cracking and breaking the smaller trees and branches, as he shuffled forwards towards the edge of the clump of jungle, so as to face us. I think we were then not mo~e than fifteen yards from his head. I fired, and my two companions did so likewise and with the utmost coolness ; when down fell the huge creature, quite dead, almost at our feet ! But to our astonishment, away went some other elephants and a buffalo, which we had no idea were in the middle of the cover, trumpeting loudly and crashing every thing that obstructed their passage ; and most fortunately for us, they did not seem to have missed their unlucky companion, as we could hear them, for some time, continuing their impetuous course through the jungle, and towards the wooded hills to the eastward. As for the buffalo, in her hurried attempt to escape, she took to the right and thus fully exposing herself, Mr. F fired his second barrel at her, which breaking one of her for*- legs she fell, with a great crash, not more than twelve yards frum us ; and wh.ist she was endeavoring to rise, Mr. C seru the bal. frorr. his other barrel through her body, which instantly ended hei sufferings. I confess, however, I should have been glad had she escaped, as she seemed to be only half wild. We had in this instance managed admirably, and we were therefore not a little proud of ourselves ; for upon examining the elephant, which, hough "urge, had very short tusks, we tound that no .less than ELEPHANT HUNTING tN THE EAST INDIES. 325 two of the balls had entered the brain, and the third had penetrated the head from the root of the trunk. This feat was performed and were all back in the huts, talking the matter over, in less than half an hour from the time we had left them. The young elephants which are reared in the British Indian settlements are principally produced by the females that are taken wild at the time they are in calf. It does not appear that there is any difficulty in the education of these little ones, who are accus- tomed to a domestic state from their birth ; but that they are gradually accustomed to bear burthens, and become obedient to the commands of their keepers. In the kingdom of Ava, where the female elephants belonging to the king are in a state of half wild- ness, there is considerable trouble in reducing the young ones to submission. When we consider the enormous strength of the elephant, which enables him to break through all ordinary means of confine- ment, and at the same time regard not only his ability to resist any violent attack, but his sagacity to elude any common stratagem, it must be evident that the business of his capture must be a task requiring equal courage and activity great skill and presence of mind in the individuals engaged in it and, when conducted upon a large scale, a combination of human force such as is seldom used except in the more prodigal game of war. The rudest mode of taking the elephant is by digging a pit in his native forests, which is covered over with loose boa-rds and the boughs and grass upon which he feeds. This is mentioned as the custom of Ceylon a century ago ; and the Sieur Brue describes this as the mode of taking the elephant for his flesh, by the Afri cans of Senegal. Mr. Williamson states that in places where the natives find the elephants destructive neighbors, they dig a pit covered with a slight platform of branches and grass, towards which the herd is seduced by a tame elephant, when the leading pursuer is precipitated into the trap, and the remainder retire in great alarm. This practice is evidently not very successful ; and we apprehend that the instinctive caution of the elephant not to tread upon my insecure ground must render it unavailing, except HUNTING ADVENTURES. when his natural prudence gives way to the more powerful im pulses of terror or desire. "The mode of getting elephants out of pits," according to Mr. Williamson, '" is somewhat curious, but extremely simple. The animal is for the most part retained unti, sufficiently tractable to be conducted forth ; when large bundles of jungle grass tied up into sheaves being thrown to him, he is gra- dually brought to the surface, at least to such an elevation as may enable him to step out." The elephant will do the same if he is swamped in boggy ground, thrusting the bundles of grass and straw into the yielding earth with his heavy feet, and placing th*-m so around him with his trunk that he at lasts obtains a firm footing. Pliny, who mentions the manner of taking elephants in pits, says that the companions of the unfortunate animal who is thus captured will throw branches and masses of earth into the hole to assist in his deliverance. In Nepaul, and in the countries bordering on the northern fron- tiers of India, where the elephants are of a small size, they are often captured by the natives with a phaun, or slip knot. Thrs practice has some analogy with the custom of taking horses with the lasso, m the Pampas. The hunter, seated on a docile ele- phant, round whose body the cord is fastened, singles out one from the wild herd ; and cautiously approaching, throws his pliable; rope in such a manner that it rests behind the ears, and over the brows of the animal pursued. He instinctively curls up his trunk, making an effort to remove the rope ; which, with great adroitness on the part of the hunter, is then passed forward over the neck. Another hunter next comes up, who repeats the process ; and thus the creature is held by the two tame elephants, to whom the phauns are attached, till his strength is exhausted. It would appear quite impossible to take a large elephant in this manner ; although with those of a peculiarly small breed the operation doe? not appear more difficult than that of securing the wild horse or the buffalo in the plains of South America. It is remarkable that in every mode of capturing the wild ele- phant, man avails himself of the docility of individuals of the same upecies, which he has already subdued. Birds may be taught to ELEPHANT HUNTING IN TITE EAST INDIES. 327 assist in ensnaring other birds ; but this is simply an effect of habit The elephant, on the contrary, has an evident desire to join its master in subduing its own race ; and, in this treachery to its kind, exercises so much ingenuity, courage, and perseverance, that we cannot find a parallel instance of complete subjection to the will of him to whom it was given to " have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl oi the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." The various modes of capturing wild elephants in India have undergone little variation for several centuries ; and they are more or less practised in all parts of Asia where elephants are still re- quired to maintain the splendor of Oriental luxury to assist in the pomp and administer to the pride of despotic monarc-hs , or, as is the case in the British Eastern establishments, to bear the heavy equipage of an Indian camp, or to labor in the peaceful occupa- tions of transporting those articles of commerce, which are far too weighty to be moved by the power of the horse or camel. 328 HUNTING ADVENTURES. THE SABLE. CHAPTER LIV. HUNTING THE MARTEN, SABLE, GENET AND CIVET. HE Pine Marten, a native of the North, and an in- habitant'of the pine forests, whence it derives ita name, is abundant in Siberia and the northern por- tions of America, and is not uncommon among the wooded ravines in the wild mountainous districts of Scotland and Wales. It builds its habitation chiefly on the tops of the fir, or seizes on the already formed nest of the squirrel, or some bird, whence it drives the owner, and enlarges for its own convenience. It is rather less than the former, but its fur is finer and darker, and the throat and breast yellow, instead of white. In summer they assume a lighter tinge, and their hair becomes shorter : in winter their toes are well protected by long wool, which drops off as the weather gets warm. Its habits are similar to the common Marten, but more fierce ; it never meets the wild cat without a deadly encounter, and is sometimes victorious even over the golden eagle, when that bird pounces on it as its prey, seizing the aggressor by the throat, and bringing it lifeless to the gnrmd Formerly, the fur of this species formed a lucrative article of export from Scotland ; at present immense quantities are brought from Siberia, and in one year, the Hudson Bay Company alone sold fifteen thousand skins. The Sable inhabits the same countries in the North, and has sometimes been confounded with the former which it strongly icsem* bles in structure and habits ; but Professor Pauas, who examined it ou HUNTING THE CIVET. 331 THE CIVET. its native soil, has assigned it its place as a distinct species. It is somewhat larger in size than the pine marten ; its head is Either more slightly depressed, and its muzzle rather more elongated ; the soles of the feet more villous, and finally, the fur on its body is more beauti- ful, soft, long, black, and shining, and the hair turns with ease either way ; the skin is consequently more valuable, and one of them not exceeding four inches broad, has sometimes been valued as high as fifteen pounds. The tails are sold by the hundred, at from four to eight pounds sterling. The exiles in Siberia are required to famish a certain number of skins annually, from which the Rus- sian government is said to derive" a considerable revenue. The smell of the marten tribe is rather agreeable. They are taken in traps and also hunted with the musket. The Civet, a native of the warmest climates of Africa and Asia, can yet subsist in more temperate latitudes : it is upwards of two feet in length, exclusive of the tail, which is more than one foot, and tapering. It stands from ten to twelve inches high ; has a lengthened muzzle like a fox, straight ears, whiskers like a cat, with bright eyes. Their fur is of a brownish-grey color, diversified with numerous stripes and . egular spots of black ; along the dorsal runs a kind of mane formed of black hairs, which the animal cftn raise or depress at pleasure. It is a fierce creature, and though tamed, is yet never thoroughly familiar ; its food, like ..hat of the rest of the family, is birds and small animals. The perfume, for which it is particularly valued, is very strong, and i found, of the color and consistence of pomatum, in a pouch unctei 332 HUNTING ^BV ENTIRES. THE GENET he anus. Great numbers were wont to be bred in Holland, where no small emolument was derived from this luxury. The quantity which a single animal affords, depends upon its health and nourishment : in confinement, its favorite food is raw flesh cut small, eggs, rice, fowl, and fish. The perfume is collected twice or thrice a week, and is said to be more plentiful if the animal be irritated. That of Amsterdam is recorded the best, being gener- ally the purest, though that brought from Guinea would exceed it, could it be procured free from adulteration. The Javanese Civet is not more than from fifteen to eighteen inches long: the muzzle is narrow, the ears short, the back strongly arched, and the tail is as long as the body. The ground color of the fur is of a much brighter grey than that of the common civet, surmounted with a broad dorsal line of black, and on each side two or three narrower black lines of confluent spots. Over the rest of the body these spots are thickly but irregularly scattered. The head is greyish and has no spots ; and the legs are externally black. They livr on animal and vegetable food, and are said to be revengeful and savage. The Genet, a native of Spain, Africa, and the South of Asia, is smaller than the civet, and somewhat longer than the marten, but in its leading characters resembles the former: it secretes also a perfume similar to the civet, but less strong, and therefore more agreeable : it is easily tamed, is very cleanly, and keep^s houses perfectly free from rats and mice. All these animals are taken in traps. Opposed to these sweet-smelling weasels, at the extreme''* point is the Skunk, peculiar to North America : in length it IB ubou HUNTING THE SKUNK. 333 TIIE SKUNK. eighteen inches ; its legs are short, and its body broad and flat ; scarcely two of them are colored alike, but they generally are black or brown, with white spots or stripes. In its "appetite foi petty carnages, it emulates any of the tribe ; but what renders it chiefly remarkable, is the fetid odor which it discharges upon its assailants when attacked, who, be they men or dogs, as soon as they find this extraordinary battery played off against them, in- stantly turn tail and leave the animal undisputed master of the field, glad to escape from the intolerable stench, perhaps smarting with pain, if the approach be too near, so as to* allow a drop of the pestilent fluid to strike the eye. The hunting of the skunk is not a favorite sport. It is usually shot, whenever discovered fcy the farmers, whose poultry he is very muck addicted to stealing 334 HUNTING ADVENTURES. CHAPTER LV. KILLING, CUTTING UP, COOKING AND EATING AN ELEPHANT, T an early hour on the 24th, says Mr. Gum- ming, upon the strength of the report brought to us .on the preceding evening, I took the field with Isaac and Kleinboy as after- riders, accompanied by Mutchuisho and a hundred and fifty of his tribe. We held a north- easterly course, and, having proceeded about five miles through the forest, reached a foun- tain, where I observed the spoor of a herd of cow elephants, two days old. Here we made a short halt, and snufFwas briskly cir- culated, while the leading men debated on the course we were to follow, and it was agreed th;.t we should hold for the Bakalahan kraal. Having continued our course for several miles, we rounded the northern extremity of a range of rocky mountains which rose abruptly in the forest and stretched away to the south of east in a long-continued chain. Here we were met by men whom Mut- chuisho had dispatched before day-break, who said that the Baka- SEARCH FOR ELEPHANTS. 335 Jahari women had that morning sesn elephants. This was joyous news. My hopes were high, and I at once felt certain that the hour of triumph was at hand. But disappointment was still in store for rne. We all sat dovvn on the grass, while wen were dispatched to bring the Bakalahari, and when these came we ascertained that it was only spoor and not elephants they had seen. We held en for an inspection of it; and here I was further to be disappointed, the spoor proving to be two days old. The country now before me was a vast level forest, extending to the north and east for about twenty miles without a break. At that distance, however, the landscape was shut in by blue moufa- tain ranges of considerable height, and two bold conical moun- tains standing close together rose conspicuous above the rest. These mountains, the Bamangwato men informed me, were their ancient habitation, and that of their forefathers, but the cruel Mata- bili had driven them from thence to the rocky mountains which they now occupy. We continued our course in an easterly direc- tion, and twice crossed the gravelly bed of a periodical river, in which were several small springs of excellent water. These springs had been exposed by elephants, which had cleared away the gravel with their trunks. Around these springs the spoor o; rhinoceros was abundant. After proceeding several miles through a dry and barren tract, where wait-a-bit thorns prevailed, wm entered upon more interesting ground. The forest was adorned with very picturesque old trees of various sorts and sizes, which stood singly and in shady groups, while the main body of the forest consisted of a variety of trees of other sorts, averaging, the height of a giraffe. The elephants had left abundant traces of their presence, but all the marks were old. Fresh spoor of giraffe was imprinted on the ground on every side, and we presently saw 9 large herd of these, standing scattered through the forest to our left. They were glorious fellows, but I was now in pursuit of nobler game : the natives were leading me to some distant foun- tain, where they expected we should discover spoor. On we sped through the depths of the forest, our view being tonfined to about fifty yards on every side. Presently emerging 336 HUNTING ADVENTURES. Upon a small open glade, I observed a herd of brindled gnoos and two or three troops of pallahs ; and soon after, a second herd of about fifteen camelopards stood browsing before us, and, getting our wind, dashed away to our left^ We had proceeded about two miles further, and it was now within two hours of sunset, when, lo ! a thorny tree, newly smashed by an elephant. Some of the natives attentively examined the leaves of the broken branches to ascertain exactly when he had been there, while some for the same purpose overhauled the spoor. It was the spoor of a first- rate bull: he had fed there that morning at the dawn of day The ground was hard and bad for spooring, but the natives evinced great skill, and, following it for a short distance, we came to ground where a troop of bull elephants had pastured not many hours before. Here the thorny trees on every side were demo lished by them, and huge branches and entire trees were rent and uprooted, and Jay scattered across our path, having been carried several yards in the trunks of the elephants before they stood to eat the leaves : the ground also was here and there plowed up by their tusks in quest of roots ; and in these places the enormous fresh spoor that thrilling sight to a hunter's eye was beauti- fully visible. All this was extremely interesting and gratifying ; but I had Jbeen so often disappointed, and it was now so very near sunset, that I entertained but faint hopes of finding them that evening. Mutchuisho was very anxious that I should see the elephants ; he had divested himself of his kaross, and, carrying one of the mus- kets which Sicomy had bought from me, he led the spooring party, consisting of about fifteen cunning old hands. The great body of the men he had ordered to sit down and remain quiet until the attack commenced. Having followed the spoor for a short distance, old Mutchuisho became extremely excited, and told VENTTJRR8. THE LYNX. ern of Asia and America; has bright eyes, a mild aspect, and upon the whole a lively and agreeable appearance. He is about the size of the unce. His ears are erect, with tufts of black hair at the tips ; his tail is short, and also tipped black ; his fur is extremely valuable, of a pale grey color, sometimes with a reddish tinge, obscurely marked with small, dusky spots on the upper parts of the body ; the under parts are white. He advance's by leaping and . bounding, and will scale the loftiest trees, so that neither *>he wild cat nor squirrel are more secure than the sta:; or the hare. He always fixes on the throat of the animal, and when he has sucked the blood, leaves the carcase; thus ivvrling in destruction, and doing immense mischief among the weaker and moro, harmless inhabitants of the forest. He is extremely difficult if not impossible to tame. The Caracal, or lynx of the ancients, is common in Barbary, Arabia, and Southern Asia. lie is nearly three feet in length, including a tail of about ten inches ; in height is about fourteen inches: his ears are black and tutted; the fur on the upper part of the body is of a reddish-brown, the under part and iuside of the legs white. He follows (it is said) the lion, and feeds on the left fragments of his spoil ; but his common faro is small animals and birds. The kindest usage cannot always over- come his native fierceness, but like the former, he will sometimes even turn upon the hand that feeds him. flliNTING TUB COUGAR. CHAPTER LVIII. HUNTING THE COUGAR. HUNTING SQUIRRELS. O OTHER animal of the cat kind is so formidable a-s the Cougar. Il is found in North America. The Coug-ar is sometimes im- properly called Panther. It \a the largest animal of the cat kind found in North America, and has occasionally received the name of American lien, from the similarity of its proportion and color to the iion of the old world. The cougar may be stated to be about one- third less in size than the lien, and has no mane nor tuft at the ex- tremity of the tail, which is about half the length of the body and head. The skin of this animal is clothed with a soft and close hair over the limbs and body, of a brownish yellow color, or a mixture of red and -blackish, with occasional patches of a rather deep reddish tint, which are only icmarkable in certain lights, and disappear entirely with the age of the individual. A dark red i* 358 HUNTING ADVENTURES. spread over the upper parts, produced by the tips of the k t, which is black at the base. The head has a great many g> -ty hairs upon it ; the whiskers are white, and rise in a blackish spa<*e. At an early period the cougar was distributed in considerable num- bers over the whole of the warm and temperate regions of this conti- nent, and is still found, though not abundantly, in the southern, middle, and northwestern parts of the Union. It is a savage and destructive animal, yet timid atA cautious. It climbs, or rather, springs up large trees with surprising facility, and in that way is enabled, by dropping suddenly upon deer and other quadru- peds, to secure prey which it would be impossible for them fo overtake. The cougar is seldom seen in day-time, but its peculiai cry thrills the traveller with horror, during the night. As an in- stance of the manner in which the cougar is pursued, and his behavior when attacked, we quote the following from a late num- ber of the Potsdam (N. Y.) Mercury :- 11 PANTHER SHOT. The well known hunter, Mr. Charles Parme- ter, of this town, who has been out in the woods the last two months deer-hunting, killed a few days since in the town of Belmont, in Franklin County, a large panther or catamount, measuring nine feet in extreme length, and weighing 247 pounds. Mr. Parmeter came upon the track while hunting, and the next day, with a dog started with the determination to hunt him up. After a short dis- tance he struck the trail and soon came up to where, with a single bound, the panther had killed and split entirely open a huge buck, apparently carried the same about twenty rods, and partly buried the carcase. " Following on in pursuit, Mr. P. soon came to a mountain ridge with huge shelving rocks, in a chasm under one of which he found the panther's den. His dog, with hair erect and exhibiting ex- treme fear, refused to enter, when Mr. P., tying a rope around the dog's neck, entered himself, dragging his dog after him. The panther fled by another entrance and took to a very tall spruce tree near by. Mr. P. now climbed the ledge of rocks overhead and thus found himself on a level with the tree top, and distant about fifty feet from the same. The panther was almost hid in the dense HUNTING THE COMMON GRAY SQUIRREL. 359 top, but catching a glimpse of h in, he fired in quick succession two balls into his body. " The panther had now placed himself with eye fixed on Mr. P., in the attitude of springing, when Mr. P. having quickly reloaded both barrels of his gun, fired one into the back of his neck, and the other through his body : the fourth shot brought him to the ground. The dog having now regained courage, rushed in upon him, but one bite of the dying panther sent him back howling with pain, when springing to his feet the ferocious animal ran jome twenty rods and fell dead. Mr. P.. intends to bring him down in a few days and give our citizens a chance to see this rarely found animal, whose strength, agility, ferocity, and tenacity of life render him monarch of the forest, and the dreaded foe of the most intrepid hunter." .The Common Gray Squirrel, is exceedingly common in the United States, and was once so excessively multiplied as to be a scourge to the inhabitants, not only consuming their grain but ex- hausting the public treasury by the amount of premiums given for their destruction. The gray squirrel prefers the oak, hickory and chestnut woods, where it finds a copious supply of nuts and mast, of which it pro- vides large hordes for the winter. Their nests are placed chiefly in tall oak-trees, at the forks of the branches ; these nests are very comfortable, being thickly covered and lined with dried leaves. During cold weather the squirrels seldom leave these snug retreats, except for the purpose of visiting their store houses, and obtaining a supply of provisions. It has been observed that, the approach of uncommonly cold weather is foretold when these squirrels are seen out in unusual numbers, gathering a larger stock of provi- sions, lest their magazines should fail. This, however, is not an infallible sign, at least in vicinities where many hogs are allowed to roam at large, as these keen-nosed brutes are very expert al discovering the winter hoards of the squirrel, which they immedi- ately appropriate to their own use. If the gray squirrels confined themselves to the diet afforded by the forest trees, the farmers would profit considerably thereby 86U HUNTING ADVENTURES. But, having once tasted the "sweetness of Indian corn and othei cultivated grains, they leave acorns and such coarse, fare to the nogs, while they invade the corn-fields, and carry off and destroy very large quantity. This species is remarkable among all our squirrels for its beauty and activity. It is in captivity remarkably phiyful and mischievous, and is more frequently kept as a pet than any other. It becomes very tame, and may be allowed to spend a great deal of time entirely at liberty, where there is nothing exposed that can be injured' by its teeth, which it is sure to try upon every article of furniture, &c. in its vicinity. This HUNTING THE GROUND i-QUIRREL. 361 THE BLACK SQUIRREL. qunrel, when domesticated, drinks frequently, and a considerable quar tity of water at each draught. The Gray Squirrel varies considerably in color, but is most com monly of a fine blueish gray, mingled with a slight golden hue. This golden color is especially obvious on the head, along the sides, where the white hair of the belly approaches the gray of the sides, and on the anterior part of the fore and superior part of the hind feet, where it is very rich and deep. This mark on the hind feet is very permanent, and evident even in those varieties which differ most from the common color. There is one specimen HUNTING ADVENTURES. in the Philadelphia Museum of a light brownish red on all the superior parts of the body. The gray squirrel is favorite game of American sportsmen. Durino the cold weather, they are caught in traps, or shot, in great num- bers. Their flesh is remarkably tender and delicate. The method sometimes used for snaring them is curious, though very simple, as it consists of nothing more than setting a number of snares all around the body of the tree in whkh they are seen, and arranging them in such a manner that it is scarcely possible for the squirrel to descend without being entangled in one of them. The Black Squirrel is very common, but is liable to be con- founded with the other varieties of the squirrel. It very Seldom varies. In the summer, the pelage is rather gray on the back and sides, though the whole color of the body is a black intermingled with a small quantity of gray, and of a dark reddish brown on the under parts. In the winter the color is a pure black, varying slightly in intensity on any part of the body. The same means are used by sportsmen in trapping the black squirrel as in tho capture of the common gray species. They are good eating but do not- possess the playful spirit of some of the other varieties. The Ground Squirrel is frequently called the Hackee, or Striped Squirrel. This squirrel is most generally seen scudding along the lower rails of the common zigzag or " Virginia" fences, which afford him at once a pleasant and secure path, as in a few turns he finds a safe hiding place behind the projecting angles, or enters his burrow undiscovered. When no fence is near, or his retreat is cut off, after having been out in search of food, he becomes ex- ceedingly alarmed, and runs up the nearest tree, uttering a vejy shrill cry or whistle, indicative of his distress, and it is in this situation that he is most frequently made captive by his persecut- ing enemies, the mischievous school-boys. The ground squirrel makes his burrow generally near the roots of trees, along the course of fences and old walls, or in banks ad- jacent to forests, whence he obtains his principal supplies of food The burrows frequently extend to very considerable distances, HUNTING TUE GRAY AND CLACK SQUIKKEL. 363 THE GROUND SQUIRREL. having several galleries or lateral excavations, in which provi sions, are stored for winter use. The burrow has always twc openings, which are usually far distant from each other ; it very rarely happens that the animal is dug out, unless it be accidentally during the winter season. The ground squirrel appears to suffer more when made captive than any other squirrel with which we are acquainted. We have several times endeavored to tame individuals of this species, bu( without success. In losing its liberty, the ground squirrel appears to lose all vivacity, becomes a dull and melancholy animal, and 364 HUNTING ADVENTURES. can yield very little amusement or satisfaction to its keeper, whom it always flies, or bites severely if not permitted to get out of hia reach. The ground squirrel is rather more than five inches in length from the nose to the root of the tail ; the last is about two inchea and a half long. The general color of the head and upper parts of the body is reddish brown, all the hairs an these parts being gray at the base. The eyelids are whitish, and frorr. the external angle of each eye a black line runs towards the ear. while on each cheek there is a reddish brown line. The short rounded ears are covered with fine hairs, which are on the outside of a reddish brown color, and within of a whn ; sh gray. The upper part of the neck, shoulders, and base of the hair on the back, are of a gray brown, mingled with whitish. On the back there are five longitudinal black hands, which are at their posterior parts bordered slightly with red. The middle one begins at the back of the head, the two lateral ones on the shoulders ; they all terminate at the rump, whose color is reddish On each side two white separate the lateral black bands. The lower part of the flanks and sides of the neck are of a paler red , the exterior of the fore feet is of a grayish yellow ; the thighs and hind /eet are red above. The upper lip, the chin, throat, belly, and internal face of the limbs, are of a dirty brown. The tail is redtlish. at its base, blackish below, and has an edging of black. The sportsman regards the ground squirrel as good but not extra game. The flesh is very good for the table; but is inferior to that of the more lively gray squirrel. They are occasionally shot at, but more frequently snared while they are collecting their food for winter use. The Flying Squirrel is very common throughout the United States. Nature has endowed them with instruments to facilitate their passage from place to place in the easiest and most pleasant manner. Capable of moving on the bodies and limbs of trees, like other squirrels, it does not require an equal degree of muscular strength to.leap from tree to tree, or from great elevations to the ground, but launching itself from a lofty bough into the air, and HUNTING THE FLYING SQUIRREL. 3G extending its limbs and the intervening membranes, its body is buoyed up, and sails swiftly and obliquely downwards, passing over considerable space. To aid in this sailing movement, we find the whole body covered with a short and silky fur, lying close -to the skin. The tail is flattened, and serves as a rudder. During the day-light the flying squirrel is rarely to be met with abroad, unless it has been disturbed. Occasionally large troops are seen together, and their sailing leaps have been said to present to the inexperienced the appearance of a large number of leaves blown off the trees. Their peculiar construction ana habit render them very unfit for living on the ground, and they speedily regain the nearest tree, when at any time they fall short of the object towards which they may have leaped. They always take advantage of the wind, when about to leap to any distance, and then they appear to deserve the name of flying squirrels, from the ease and velocity of their movements. Individuals are frequently tamed as pets, but are more admired on account of the softness of their fur, and the gentleness of their dispositions, than for any of the frolicsome and amusing actions that characterize other squirrels. When confined in a cage with a reel appended, they continue running almost uninterruptedly throughout the night. The flying squirrel makes its nest in hollow trees, where it brings forth three or four young at a litter. It is very easy to ascertain whether this squirrel has a nest in any hollow tree, by knocking against the trunk with a stone or stick ; as soon as the jarring is felt, the animal comes to the opening and endeavors to escape. In this way the young are very commonly discovered and taken. The flying squirrel is quite small, being little more than foar inches and a half long, the tail being three inches and a half in length. The general color is a brownish ash, with rounded, nearly naked ears, and large prominent black eyes. The under parts of the body are white, with a yellowish margin, where the cck>t oi the back and belly approach each other. 366 HUNTING AT. 1 VENTURES. CHAPTER LIX. HUNTING THE AMERICAN ELK, OR WAPITI. ^^^^~ ',, HE WAPITI was for a long time consi- dered as a mere variety of the moose. Ilearne is justly entitled to the credit of having insisted upon the .specific dis- tinctness of this animal from the moose. The size and appearance of the elk are imposing ; his air denotes confidence of great strength, while his towering horns exhibit weapons capable of doing n uch injury when offensively employed. The head is beauti- fully formed, tapering to a narrow point; the ears are large and rapidly movable : the eyes are full and dark ; the horns are lofty, and the neck at once slender, vigorous and graceful. The beauty of the male elk is still further heightened by the long, forward, curling hair, which extends from the head to the breast in the HUNTING THE ELK. 367 THE WAPITI. manh hunters bark stone, and is squeezed gently into an open mouthed phial. The contents of five or six of these castor bags are mixed with a nutmeg, twelve or fifteen cloves, and thirty grains of cinna- mon, in fine powder, and then the whole is stirred up with as much whiskey as will give it the consistency of mustard prepared for the table. This mixture must be kept closely corked up, and in four or five days the odor becomes more powerful, with care it may be preserved for months without injury. Various other strong aromatics are sometimes used to increase the pungency of the odor. Some of this preparation smeared upon the bits of wood with which the traps are baited, will entice the beaver from a great distance. The castor, whose odor is similar to tanner's ooze, gets the name of bark-stone from its resemblance to finely powdered bark. The sacks containing it are about two inches in length. Behind these, and between the skin and root of the tail, are found two other oval cysts, lying together, which contain a pure strong o;. of a rancid smell. During the winter season the beaver becomes very fat, and its flesh is esteemed by the hunters to be excellent food. But those occasionally caught in the summer are very thin, and unfit for the table. They lead so wandering a life at this season, and are so much exhausted by the collection of materials for building, or the winter's stock of provision, as well as by suckling their young, as to be generally at that time in a very poor condition. Their fur during the sun^mer is of little value, and it is only in winter that it is to be obtained in that state which renders it so desirable to the fur traders. The Opossum, is one of the most common animals within our bor- ders, and is annually killed or captured in large numbers. Yet it is still considered as a sort of anomaly among animals, and the pecu- liarities of its sexual intercourse, gestation and parturition, are to this day veiled in obscurity. The opossum has a number of Juxta preputium utroque latero existunU HUNTING THE OPOSSUM. 381 peculiarities which deserve to be mentioned. It has a very large number of teeth, its hind feet are actually rendered hands by short, flesh*y, and opposabie thumbs, enabling the animal to grasp objects firmly with these feet ; it has a prehensile tail by curving which at the extremity, the animal can depend from the limb of a tree, or c iher projection, and hanging in security, gather fruit, or seize r:ny prey within his reach. The opossum has a very acute sense of touch, which contributes to its safety during the nocturnal ramble in which he indulges. The general color of the animal Js a whitish gray. On the face the wool is short and of a smoky white color ; that on the belly is of the same character. The tail is covered with small hexagonal scales, interspersed with short, coarse hairs. The opossum is a nocturnal animal, depending more upon its cunning than its strength for its safety. Its motions are slow, and clumsy in appearance. Birds, small quadrupeds, eggs, insects, and the denizens of the poultry-yard form its principal food. Its flesh is said to resemble roast pig in flavor. The hunting of the opossum is a favorite sport with the country people, who frequently go out with their dogs at night, after the autumnal frosts have begun and the persimmon fruit is in its most delicious state. The opossum as soon as he discovers the ap- proach of his enemies, lies perfectly close to the branch, or places himself snugly in the angle where two limbs separate from each other. The dogs, however, soon announce the fact of his presence by their baying, and the hunter ascending the tree discovers the branch upon which the animal is seated, and begins to shake it with great violence to alarm and cause him to relax his hold. This is soon effected, and the opossum attempting to escape to another limb is pursued immediately, and the shaking is renewed with greater violence, until at length the terrified quadruped allows himself to drop to the ground, where hunters or dogs are prepared to despatch him. Should the hunter, as frequently happens, be unaccompanied by dogs when the opossum falls to the ground, it does not im- mediately make its escape, but steals slowly and quietly to a little 382 HUNTING ADVENTURES. distance, and then gathering itself into as small a compass is pos ?ble, remains as still as if dead. Should there be any quantity of grass or underwood near the tree, this apparently simple artifice is frequently sufficient to secure the animal's escape, as it is diffi- cult by moonlight or in the shadow of the tree to distinguish it, and if the hunter has not carefully observed the spot where it fell, his labor is often in vain. This circumstance, however, is generally attended to, and the opossum derives but little benefit from his instinctive artifice. After remaining in this apparently lifeless condition for a con- siderable time, or so long as any noise indicative of danger can be heard, the opossum slowly unfolds himself, and creeping as closely as possible upon the ground would fain sneak offunperceived. Upon a shout or outcry in any tone from his persecutor, he immediately renews his death-like attitude and stillness. If then approached, moved or handled, he is still seemingly dead, and might deceive any one not accustomed to his actions. This feigning is repeated aa frequently as opportunity is allowed him of attempting to escape, and is known so well to the country folks as to have long since passed into a proverb. (l He is playing 'possum" is applied, with great readiness, by them to any one who is thought to act deceit- fully, or wishes to appear what he is not. As the female produces from twelve to sixteen cubs at a time, there is but little danger of the animal becoming scarce at an early day. Its usual haunts are thick forests, and the hollows of de- cayed trees serve it for a refuge during the day. HUNTING THE FISliER. 883 THE FISHU. CHAPTER LXII. HUNTING THE FISHER. THE Fisher, or Black Cat of our hunters is a large and power ful animal, standing nearly a foot from the ground. It was formerly very abundant in the Middle States, but is now confined o the thinly settled Northern districts. It is a nocturnal species, ind lives chiefly on the smaller quadrupeds, but also devours frogs, fish and serpents. It climbs with great ease, and takes up its abode in the trunk of a tree. The form of the body is typical. Head broad ; nose acute ; ears about three inches from the nose, broad, rounded and distant ; the fore feet are shorter than the hind ones, and the soles of both are covered with short hair ; the tail i* long and bushy, and the fur very fine and lustrous ; the color is grayish over the head and anterior parts of the body ; dark browo o* black behind. 884 HUNTING ADVENTURES. The name of Fisher, which has been censured as not applicable to this animal, is, however, that by which it is best known, and which it has received from its cnaracteristic habits. Richardson states that it feeds on the hoards of frozen fish stored up by the residents. We are informed by a person who resided many years near Lake Oneida, where the Fisher was then common, that the name was derived from its singular fondness for the fish used to bait traps. The hunters were in the practice of soaking- their fish over night, and it was frequently carried off by the Fisher, whose well known tracks were seen in the v'cinity. T n Hamilton county it is still numerous and troublesome. The hunters there have assured me that they have known a fisher to destroy twelve out of thirteen traps in a line of not more than fourteen miles in length. It brings forth two young annually. The hunting season for the fisher in the northern part of the State, commences about the tenth of October, and lasts to the middle of May, when the furs are not so valuable. The ordinary price is $1 50 per skin ; but it is not so fine, nor so highly valued as that of the sable. Its geographical range is included between the fortieth and seventieth parallels of latitudes, extending across the continent. The American Gray Rabbit, so common in the United States, has been, until recently, confounded with others. The following description by Schreber, which seems to have been overlooked by modern writers, applies very well to our rabbit : "Cheeks full of thick hair; ears thin externally, with few hairs, naked within, and when bent forward, do not reach the nose ; when bent backwards, they reach the shoulder blades ; eyes large and black, with 4-5 bristles above them ; whiskers mostly black ; some are white ; the longest appears to reach beyond the head. Color in summer: ears brownish, with a very narrow black border on the outer margin, of the same breadth to the tips, or becomes effaced ; brown cheeks, back and sides ; fore and hind legs light brown externally, mixed with black ; t all round the breech, white ; feet full of short hair of a light brown, unmixed with black, changing towards the inside to a grey white ; upper part of the tail like that of the back, (perhaps mixed with black, as HUNTING THE AMERICAN GRAY RABBIT. 385 GRAY RABBI1. I'ennant describes it black ;) beneath white ; throat white ; lower part of the neck bright brown, mixed with white ; chest and bjlly, inside of fore and hind legs, white. Color in winter, when it Joes change, white." The Gray Rabbit changes but little with the season, except that the fur is longer and finer, and has a tendency to white. It is a timid, inoffensive creature ; and were it not for its excessive vigilance and its astonishing powers of reproduction, would soon be extirpated. Besides man, it has many other enemies. It is the favorite food of the two lynxes, and is destroyed by the weasel, skunk, hawUs, < wls and serpents. Its food consists of bark, buds, grass, wild berries, etc. ; and in cultivated -districts, it is said to enter gardens and destroy vege- 25 386 HUNTING ADVENTURES. THE JUMPING MOUSE. tables. Unlike its congeners, it does not confine itself to th wood, but is frequently found in open fields, or where there is a eligfc copse or under-brush. It does not burrow like its closely allied species the European Rabbit, but makes its form, which is a slight depression in the ground, sheltered by some low shrub. It frequently resorts to a stone wall, or a heap of stones, or a hol- low tree, and sometimes to the burrow of some other animal. Its habits are nocturnal ; and they may often be seen in the morning, or early part of the afternoon, although in retired situations they have been seen at all times of the day. Its flesh, though black and dry, is well flavored, although in this respect it varies with the quality of its previous, food. It breeds in New York State, three times in the season, producing from four to six at a birth. It is the smallest of the species found m this HUNTING THE JUMPING MOUSE. 887 State, and so much resembles in its form the European Rabbit, that the same popular name has been applied to it, although differ- ing in color and some of its habits. This, however, is of no con- sequence, for the name of American or Gray Rabbit is sufficiently distinctive. It has not a wide geographical range. It is found from New Hampshire to Florida, but its western limits. are not yet established. The Jumping Mouse is found from Hudson's Bay to Pennsyl- vania, and through the Western States to the mouth of the Columbia river. From the distribution of its colors, and its slender propor- tions, it has a delicate and beautiful appearance. It is very agile, jumping in the manner of the deer-mouse, and is, in common with that animal, called ihe jumping mouse. It seems to prefer forests and wooded places, but is often found in meadows or cultivated grounds, where grain and seeds of grasses abound. It is said to build its nest in trees. According to Richardson, in thfe northern regions, it becomes an inmate of the fur establishments, and makes hoards of grain in various places. It is usually about six inches long ; the color is brownish alone, the feet and beneath being white. The tail is hairy, being as long as the body. They arc said to be quite as good eating as the most of the qi -rels, ano. kre frequently trapped by the hunters HUNTING ADVENTURES. CHAPTER LXIII. HUNTING THE AMERICAN DEER. Deer is found in almost every part fir the IHE Xmerican Northern and Western States, where there is sufficient fores' to afford them food and cover. It even ranges South to the Gulf of Mexico, but very seldom. It is very abundant in some parts of New York and Pennsylvania, in spite of the destructive efforts of man and the wolves. The deer has one, and occasionally ~vo fawns at a birth, which generally occurs in May or June. In the rutting season the males are restless and bold, and are observed to have the neck considerably swelled. When alarmed.. they stamp quickly and often upon the ground, and emit a sound like a shrill whistle, which may be heard at a great distance. When mortally wounded, they often give a faint bleat, like that of a call. When brought to bay, 't throws ofF its habitual timidity, its eyes glare fiercely around, every hair on its body bristles up, and appears as if directed forward, and it dashes boldly upon its f e. HUNTING THE AMERICAN DEER. 389 Its horns are cast usually in the winter, but the period appears to depend upon the latitude and the severity of the season. In New York, the deer are protected by law during the rutting season. Description. Heal long and slender ; muzzle pointed-; eyes large and lustrous, the lachrymal pits consisting of a slight fold of the skin ; tail moderate, depressed ; legs slender ; a glandular pouch concealed by a thick tuft of rigid hairs inside of- the hind legs, odoriferous, and connected with the sexual appetite. The horns of the adult male vary so much in shape, that scarcely any two are alike; appearing to depend upon age, season and abundance or scarcity of food. In the first season they are simple, cylindrical and pointed, and in this state they are known as spike bucks ; in the following season, they have a short, straight antler; and the number increases until the fourth season, when the following is the most usual condition of the horns : the main stem rises upward and laterally, and then makes a broad curve forward, with the tips turned inward and downward; on the inner and slightly ante rior surface of the main stem, arises a short brow antler, directed forward and upward ; the stem, thus far, is roughened by nodosi- ties and furrows ; above this, a branch is thrown off from the inte- rior or anterior, curving inwards and forwards, and occasionally another branch before reaching the tip. These first and second oranches are occasionally themselves bifurcated ; and in one before me now, the horns exhibit six tips on one side! including those of the brow antlers, and on the other nine, the first branch being bifid, the second trifid, a third simple, and the extreme tip itself bifid. When the horn is palmated, the flattening occurs at the origin of the first branch. In many specimens, there is only the brow antler, and a single branch above. Fur, composed of flattened angular hairs, lying smooth on the body. Color. Bluish-gray in the autumn and winter, dusky reddisn or fulvous in the spring, becoming bluish in the summer ; the fawns are irregularly spotted with white ; the gray or reddish cclor in the adult extends over the whole head, back, sides, and upper part of the tail ; a few white hairs often observed on the rump at the origin of the tail ; beneath the chin, throat, belly 390 HUNTING ADVENTURES. THE KED DEER. and inside of legs and under side of tail, always white ; ears mar. gined with dark brown, and often with white hairs within, and a white circle round the eyes ; hoofs jet black. The American Deer is considered by the hunters the king of game beasts, and consequently, he is pursued with unrelenting cruelty. Before the Europeans visited America, the deer roamed the forests from the brink of the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains. He was pur- sued by the Indians for the sake of his skin and flesh, but still the number of his race suffered but little diminution. But when the Europeans had obtaired a foothold upon the continent, his de- struction was greatly accelerated, and as cities and towns sprang up, he was driven to the forests of the interior. Still he was pur- sued with as much ardor as the Red Deer of Europe was in the middle ages, European and Indian joining in the chase. The BUNTING THE RED DEER. 391 number of the Deer decreased in proportion to the advance ot civilization, and now but few are found in the Atlantic states. The Indian method of deer hunting differs in many respects from that originally pursued by the Europeans, and is now gen- erally adopted anong the western hunters. A number of hunters divide themselves into several parties and proceed by different paths through the same forest. When a deer trail has been dis- covered, a signal is given, either by hallooing or firing a gun, and the hunters upon tiie olher tracks station themselves in such a position as to cut off the retreat of the animal, and- shoot him if he attempt to pass them. The hunters, who have discovered the deer, if they cannot get a shot at him, or them, halloo and drive the deer before them. In this manner, they are brought within the range of the concealed hunters upon one of the other tracks, and shot. Besides this method, by which great numbers are de- stroyed, the Indians use disguises to enable them to approach the deer unsuspected, and frequently a single hunter commits con siderable havoc amoncr them. CHAPTER XLIV. MR. CUMMING'S ENCOUNTER WITH FOUU LIONS. OUR old friend, Mr. Gumming, thus describes an encounter which he had with four lions. Swint had just milked the cows, and was driving them from the wooded peninsula in which we lay, athwart the open ground, to graze with my other cattle in the forest beyond, he beheld four majestic lions walking slowly across the vley, a few hundred yards below my camp, and disappear over the river's bank, at a favorite drinking-place. These mighty monarchs of the waste had been holding a prolonged' repast over the carcases of some zebras killed by Present, and had now come down the river to slake their thirst. This being reported, I instantly saddled up two horses, and directing my boys to lead after me as quickly as possible my small remaining pack of sore-footed dogs, T rode ibrth, accompanied by Cavey carrying a spare gun, to give battle to the four grim lions. As I rode out of the peninsula, they showed themselves on the bank of the river, and, guessing that their first move would be a disgraceful retreat, I determined to ride so as to make them think that I had not observed them, until I should be able to cut off their retreat from the river, across the open vley, to the endless forest beyond. That point being gained, I knew that they, still doubtful of my having observed them, would hold their ground on the river's bank, until my dogs came up, when I could more advantageously make the attack. I cantered along, as if I meant to pass the lions at a dis- tance of a quarter of a mile, until I was opposite to them, when I altered my course, and inclined a little nearer. The lions then (392) HUNTING LIONS. 395 bowed symptoms of uneasiness ; they rose to their feet, and, over- hauling us for half a minute, disappeared over the bank. They re- appeared, however, directly, a little farther down ; and finding that their present position was bare, they walked majestically along the top of the bank to a spot a few hundred yards lower, where the bank was well woo-isd. Here they seemed half inclined to await my attack ; two stretched out their massive arms, and lay down in the grass, and the other two sat up like dogs upon their haunches. Deeming it probable that when my dogs came up and I approached they would still retreat and make a bolt across the open vley, I directed Carey to canter forward and take up the ground in the centre of the vley about four hundred yards in advance; whereby the lions would be compelled either to give us battle or to swim the river, which, although narrow, I knew they would be very reluctant to do. I now sat in my saddle, anxiously awaiting the arrival of the dogsj. and whilst thus momentarily disengaged, I was* much struck with the majestic and truly appalling appearance which these four noble lions exhibited. They were all full-grown immense males ; and I felt, I must confess, a little nervous, and very uncertain as to what might be the issue of the attack. When the dogs came up I rode right in towards the lions. They sprang to their feet, and trotted slowly along the bank of the river, once or twice halting and facing about for half a minute. Immedi- ately below them there was a small determined bend in the streafh, forming a sort of peninsula. Into this bend they disappeared, and ihi next moment I was upon them with my dogs. They had taken shelter in a dense angle of the peninsula, well sheltered by high treea end reeds. Into this retreat the dogs at once boldly followed them, making a loud barking, which was instantly followed by the terrible voices of the lions, which turned about and charged to the end of the cover. Next moment, however, I heard them plunge into the river, when I sprang from my horse, and running to the top of the bank, I saw three of them ascending the opposite bank, the dogs fol- lowing. One of them bounded away across the open plain at top speed, but the other two, finding themselves followed by the dogs, immediately turned tc Lay. It was now my turn, so, taking them 896 HUNTING ADVENTUEES. coolly right and left with my little rifle, I made the most glorioui double shot that a sportsman's heart could desire, disabling them both in the shoulder before they were even aware, of my position. Then snatching my other gun from Carey, who that moment had ridden up to my assistance, I finished the first lion with a shot about the heart, and brought the second to a standstill by disabling him in hia hind quarters. He quickly crept into a dense, wide, dark green bush, in which for a long time it was impossible to obtain a glimpse of him. At length, a clod of earth falling near his hiding-place, he made a move which disclosed to me his position, when I finished him with three more shots, all along the middle of his back. Carey swam across the river to flog off the dogs ; and when these came through to me, I beat up the peninsula in quest of the fourth lion, which had, however, made off. We then crossed the river a little higher up, and we proceeded to inspect the noble prizes I had won. Both lions were well up in their years ; I kept the skin and skull of the finest specimen, and only the nails and tail of the other, one of whose ca- nine teeth was worn down to the socket with caries, which seemed to have affected his general condition. On the 9th it rained throughout the day, converting the rich soil on which we were encamped into one mass of soft sticky clay. In the forenoon, fearing the rain would render the vley (through which we must pass to gain the firmer ground) impassable, I ordered my men to prepare to march, and leave the tent with its contents standing, the point which I wished to gain being distant only about five hundYed yards. When the oxen were mspanned, however, and we attempted to move, we found my tackle, which was old, so rotten from the effects of the rain, that something gave way at every strain. Owing to this and the softness of the vley, we labored on till sundown, and only succeeded in bringing one wagon to its destination, the other two remaining fast in the mud in the middle of the vley. Next morning, luckily, the weather cleared up, when my men brought over the tent, and in the afternoon the other two wagons. We followed up the banks of the river for several days with the usual allowance of sport. On the 16th we came suddenly upon an immense old bull muchocho rolling in mud. He sprang to his feet HUNTING LIONS. 397 immediately he saw me, and, charging up the bank, so frightened GUI horses, that before I could get my rifle from my after-rider he was. past us I then gave him chase ; and after a hard gallop of about a mile I sprang from my horse and gave him a good shot behind the shoulder. At this moment a cow rhinocerous of the same species, with her calf, charged out of some wait-a-bit thorn-cover, and stood right in my path. Observing that she carried an unusually long horn I turned my attention from the bull to her; and after a very long and severe chase I dropped her at the sixth shot. I carried one of my rifles, which gave me much trouble, that not being the tool required for this sort of work, where quick loading is indispensable. After breakfast I sent men to cut off the head of this rhinoceros, and proceeded with Ruyter to take up the spoor of the bull wounded in the morning. We found that he was very severely hit, and, having followed the spoor for about a mile through very dense thorn-cover, he suddenly rustled out of the bushes close ahead of us, accompanied by a whole host of rhinoceros birds. I mounted my horse and gave him chase, and in a few minutes he had received four severe shots I managed to turn his course towards camp, when I ceasetl firing, as ne seemed to be nearly done up, and Ruyter and I rode slowly behind him, occasionally shouting to guide his course. Presently, however, Chukuroo ceased taking any notice of us, and held leisurely on for the river, into a shallow part of which he walked, and after panting there and turning about for a quarter of an hour he fell over and expired. This was a remarkably fine old bull, and from his dentition it was not improbable that a hundred summers had seen him roaming as a peaceful denizen of the forests and open glades along the fair banka of the secluded Mariqua. During our march on the 19th we had to cross a range of very rocky hills, covered with large loose stones ; and all hands were re- quired to be actively employed for about an hour in clearing them out of the way to permit the wagons to pass. The work went on fast and furious, and the quantity of stones cleared was immense. Wa had now reached the spot where we were obliged to bid adieu to the Mariqua, and hold a westerly course across ** Country for Sichely 398 HUNTING ADVENTURES. At sundown we halted under a lofty mountain, the highest iu the district, called "Lynche a Cheny," or the Monkey's Mountain. Next day at an early hour I rode out with Ruyter to hunt; my camp being entirely without flesh, and we having been rationed on very tough old rhinoceros for several days past. It was a cloudy morning, and soon after starting it came on to rain heavily. I, how- ever, held on, skirting a fine well-wooded range of mountains, ana after riding several miles I shot a zebra. Having covered the carcass well over with branches to protect it from the vultures, I returned to camp, and, inspanning my wagons, took it up on the march. We continued trekking on until sundown, when we started an immense herd of buffaloes, into which I stalked and shot a huge o*ld bull. Our march this evening was through the most beautiful country I nad ever sjeen in Africa. We skirted along an endless range of well- wooded stony mountains lying on our left, whilst to our right the country at first sloped gently off, and then stretched away into a level green forest (occasionally interspersed with open glades,) boundless as the ocean. This green forest was, however, relieved in one direction by a chain 'of excessively bold, detached, well-wooded, rocky, pyra- midal mountains, which stood forth in grand relief. In advance the picture was bounded by forest and mountain ; one bold acclivity, in chape a dome, standing prominent among its fellows. It was a lovely evening : the sky, overcast and gloomy, threw an interesting, wild, mysterious coloring over the landscape. I gazed forth upon the ro- mantic scene before me with intense delight, and felt melancholy and sorrowful at passing so fleetingly through it, and I could not help shouting out as I marched along, " Where is the coward who would not dare to die for such a land?" In the morning we held for a fountain some miles ahead in a gorge in the mountains. As we approached the fountain, and were passing close in under a steep rocky hill side, well wooded to its summit, I unexpectedly beheld a lion stealing up the rocky face, and halting behind a tree, he stood overhauling us for some minutes. I re- solved to give him battle, and seizing my rifle marched against him, followed by Carey, carrying a spare gun, and by three men leading my dogs, now reduced to eight. When we got close in to the base HUNTING LIONS. 401 af the mountain, we found ourselves enveloped in dense a jungle, which extended half way to its summit, and entirely obscured from our eyes objects which were quite apparent from the wagons. I slipped my dogs, however, which, after snuffing about, took righ up the steep face on the spoor of the lions, for there was a troop of them a lion and four lionesses. The people at the wagons saw the chase in perfection. When the lions observed the dogs coming on, they took right up, and three of them crossed over the sky ridge. The dogs, however, turned one old rattling lioness, which came rumbling down through the cover, close past me. I ran to meet her, and she came to bay in an open spot near the base of the mountain, whither I quickly followed; and coming up within thirty yards, bowled her over with my first shot, which broke her back. My second entered her shoulder ; and fear- ing that she might hurt any of the dogs, as she still evinced signs of life, I finished her with a third in the breast. The bellies of all the four lions were much distended by some game they had been gorging, no doubt a buffalo, as a large herd started out of the jungle immediately under the spot where the noble beasts were first disturbed. 96 CHAPTER LXV. SOCTURNAL ADVENTURE WITH SIX LIONS content with encountering four lions at once, Mr. Onmmiig, on a certain occasion, gave battle to six. He thus describes this adventure. On the afternoon of th< 4th, I deepened my hole and watched the water. As the sun went down two graceful springboks and a herd of pallah came and drank, when I shot the best pallah in the troop. At night I watched the water with Kleinboy : very soon a cow black rhinoceros came and drank, and got off for the present with two balls in her. A little afterwards two black rhinoceroses and two white ones came to the water-side. We both fired together at the finest of the two black rhinoceroses ; she ran three hundred yards, and fell dead. Soon after this the other black rhinoceros came up again and stood at the water-side ; I gave her one ball after the shoulder.; she ran a hundred yards and fell dead. In half an hour a third old borele appeared, and, having inspected the two dead dues, he came up to the water-side. We fired together ; he ran two hun- dred yards and fell dead. I felt satisfied with our success, and gave it up for the night. By the following evening the natives had cleared away the greater part of the rhinoceroses which lay right in the way of the game ap- proaching the water; I, however, enforced their leaving the third rhinoceros, which had fallen on the bare rising ground, almost oppo- site my hiding-place, in the hope of attracting a lion, as I intended to watch the water at night. Soon after the twilight had died nway, I went down to my hole with Kleinboy and two natives, who (402) HUNTING LIONS. 405 lay concealed in another hole, with Wolf and Boxer ready to slip, in the event of wounding a lion. On reaching the water I looked towards the carcass of the rhino- ceros, and, to my astonishment, I beheld the ground alive with large creatures, as though a troop of zebras were approaching the fountain to drink. Kleinboy remarked to me that a troop of zebraa Were standing on the height. I answered, " Yes ;" but I knew very well that zebras would not be capering around the carcass of a rhj noceros. I quickly arranged my blankets, pillow, and guns in t> j hole, and then. lay down to feast my eyes on the interesting sight before me. It was bright moonlight, as clear as I need wish, and within one night of being full moon. There were six laqje lions, about twelve or fifteen hyaenas, and from twenty to thirty jackals, feasting on and around the carcasses of the three rhinoceroses. The lions feasted peacefully, but the hyaenas and jackals fought ovf 1 every mouthful, and chased one another round and round the car- casses, growling, laughing, screeching, chattering, and howling with- out intermission The hyaenas did not seem afraid of the lions, although they always gave way before them ; for I observed that they followed them in the most disrespectful manner, and stood laughing, one or two on either side, when any lions came after their comrades to examine pieces of skin or bones which they were dragging away. I had lain watching this banquet for about three hours, in the strong hope that, when the lions had feasted, they would come and drink. Two black and two white rhinoceroses had made their appearance, but, scared by the smell of the blood, they had made off. At length the lions seemed satisfied. They all walked about with their heads up, and seemed to be thinking about the water ; and in two minutes one of them turne JL his face towards me, and came on j he was immediately followed by a second lion, and in half a minute by the remaining four. It was a decided and general move, they were all coming to drink right bang in my face, within fifteen yarda of me. I charged the unfortunate, pale, and panting Kleinboy' to convert himself into a stone, and knowing, from old spoor, exactly where they would drink, I cocked my left barrel, and placed myself and 406 HUNTING ADVENTUKES. gun in position. The six lions came steadily on along the stony ridge, until within sixty yards of me, when they halted for a minute to reconnoitre. One of them stretched out his massive arms on the rock and lay down ; the others then came on, and he rose and brought up the rear. They walked, as I had anticipated, to the old drink- ing-place, and three of them had put down their heads and were lapping the water loudly, when Kleinboy thought it necessary to shove up his ugly head. I turned my head slowly to rebuke him, and again turning to the lions I found myself discovered. An old lioness, who seemed to take the lead, had detected me, and with her head high, and her eyes fixed full upon me, she was coming slowly round the corner of the little vley to cultivate further my acquaintance. This unfortunate proceeding put a stop at once to all further contemplation. I thought, in my haste, that it was perhaps most prudent to shoot this lioness, especially as none of the others had noticed me. I accordingly moved my arm and covered her ; she saw me move and halted, exposing a full broadside. I fired ; the ball entered one shoulder and passed out behind the other. She then bounded forward with repeated growls, and was followed by her five comrades all enveloped in a cloud of dust; nor did they stop until they had reached the cover behind me, except one old gen tleman, who halted and looked back for a few seconds, when I fired, but the ball went high. I listened anxiously for some sound to de- note the approaching end of the lioness; nor listened in vain. I heard her growling and stationary, as if dying. In one minute her comrades crossed the vley a little below me, and made towards the rhinoceros. I then slipped Wolf and Boxer on her scent, and fol- lowing them into the cover, I found her lying dead within twimty yards of where the old lion had lain two nights before; This \ras a fine old lioness, with perfect teeth, and was certainly a noble prize ; but I felt dissatisfied at not having rather shot a lion, which I had most certainly done if my Hottentot had not unfortunately destroyed HT contemplation. CHAPTER LXVI. A HARD CHASE OF AN ELEPHANT. THE following narrative of an encounter with an elephant, is one cf the most interesting of Mr. Cumming's adventures in South Africa. It occurs at the beginning of his second volume, as follows : I remained at Sabie, hunting elephant and rhinoceros with success, till the morning of the 22nd of August, when I inspanned, and marched for Mangmaluky, which we reached at sundown, when I drew up my wagons in an open grassy glade on a rather elevated position, commanding a fine view of the bold outline of the surround ing mountains. Oh the march I shot a white rhinoceros in the act of charging down a. rocky face, with all the dogs in full pursuit of him. The ball disabled him in the shoulder, when, pitching upon his head, he described the most tremendous somersault, coming down among the stones and bushes with the overwhelming violence of an avalanche. On the 27th I cast loose my horses at earliest dawn of day, and then lay half asleep for two hours, when I arose to consume coffee and rhinoceros. Having breakfasted, I started with a party of na- tives to search for elephants in a southerly direction. We held along the gravelly bed of a periodical river, in which were abund- ince of holes excavated by the elephants in quest of water. Here the spoor of the rhinoceros was extremely plentiful, and in every hole where they had drunk the print of the horn was visible. We soon found the spoor of an old bull elephant, which led us into a iense forest, where the ground was particularly unfavorable fof (409) 410 IMJMING ADVENTURES. spooring ; we, however, threaded it out for a considerable distance, when it joined the spoor of other bulls. The natives now requested rae to halt, while men went off in different directions to reconnoitre. In the mean time a tremenduous conflagration was roaring and crackling close to windward of us. It was caused by the Bakalahari burning the old dry'grass to enable the young to spring up with greater facility, whereby they retained the game within their domi- nions. The fire stretched away for many miles on either side of us darkening the forest far to leeward with a dense and impenetrable canopy of smoke. Here we remained for about half an hour, when one of the men returned, reporting that he had discovered elephants. This I could scarcely credit, for I fancied that the extensive fire which raged so fearfully must have driven, not only elephants, but every living creature out of the district. The native, however, pointed to his eye, repeating the word " Klow," and signed to me to follow him. My guide led me about a mile through dense forest, when wo reached a little well wooded hill, to whose summit we ascended, whence a view might have been obtained of the surrounding country, had not volumes of smoke obscured the scenery far and wide, as though issuing from the funnels of a thousand steamboats. Here, to my as- tonishment, my guide halted, and pointed to the thicket close beneath me, when I instantly perceived the collossal backs of a herd of bull elephants. There they stood quietly browsing on the lee side of tho hill, while the fire in its might was raging to windward within two hundred yards of them. I directed Johannus to choose an elephant, and promised to reward him should he prove successful. Galloping furiously down the hill, I started the elephants with an unearthly yell, and instantly selected the finest in the herd. Placing myself alongside, I fired both barrels behind the shoulder, when he instantly turned upon rae, and in his impetuous career charged head foremost against a large bushy tree, which he sent flying before him high in the air with tremenduous force, coming down at the same moment violently on his knees. He then met the raging fire, when, altering his course, he wheeled to the right-about. As I galloped after him I perceived another noble elephant meeting us in an opposite direction, and presently the gallant HUNTING THE ELEPHANT. 411 Joliannus hove in sight, following his quarry at a respectful distance. Both elephants held on together, so I shouted to Johannus, "I will give your elephant a shot in the shoulder, and you must try to finish him." Spurring my horse, I rode close alongside, and gave the fresh elephant two shots immediately behind the shoulder, when he parted from mine, Johannus following; but before many minutes had elapsed that mighty N-imrod re-appeared, having fired one shot and lost his prey. In the mean time I was loading and firing as fast as could be, some- times at the head, and sometimes behind the shoulder, until my ele- phant's fore-quarters were a mass of gore, notwithstanding which he continued to hold stoutly on, leaving the grass and branches of the forest scarlet in his wake. On one occasion he endeavored to escape by charging desperately amid the thickest of the flames ; but this did not avail, and I wan soon once more alongside. I blazed away at this elephant, until ] began to think that he was proof against my weapons. Having fired thirty-five rounds with my two-grooved rifle, I opened fire upon him with the Dutch six-pounder; and when forty bullets had perforated his hide, he began for the first time to evince signs of a dilapidated constitution. He took up a position in a grove ; and as the dogs kept barking round him, he backed stern foremost among the trees, which yielded before his gigantic strength. Poor old fellow ! he had long braved my deadly shafts, but I plainly saw that it was now all over with him ; so I resolved to expend no further ammunition, but. hold him in view until he died. Throughout the chase this elephant repeatedly cooled his person with large quantities of water, which he ejected from his trunk over his back and sides ; and just as the pangs of death came over him, he stood trembling violently beside a thorny tree, and kept pouring water into his bloody, mouth until he died, when he pitched heavily forward, with the whole weight of his fore- quarters resting on the points of his tusks. A most singular occurrence now took place. * He lay in this pos- ture for several seconds, but the amazing pressure of the carcass was more than the head was able to support. He had fallen with hii head so short under him that the tusks received little assistance from 412 HUNTING AD\ 7 ENTURES. his legs. Something must give way. The strain an the mighty tusks was fuirj they did not, therefore, yield; but the portion of his head in which the tusk was imbedded, extending a long way above the eye, yielded and burst with a muffled crash. The tusk was thus free, and turned right round in his head, so that a man could draw it out, and the carcass fell over and rested on its side. This was a very first-rate elephant, and the tusks he. carried were long and perfect. A KAFFIR. CHAPTER LXVII. RIDING OUT THE BULL ELEPHANT. ME.. GUMMING used to ride fearlessly into a herd of elephants, ]mrsu3 them through the forests, select the largest and finest male, and shoot him. This he calls riding out the best bull elephant. He thus describes an affair of this kind. The country now before me was a vast level forest, extending to the north and east for about twenty miles without a break. At that distance, however, the land- scape was shut in by blue mountain ranges of considerable height, and two bold conical mountains standing close together rose con- spicuous above the rest. These mountains, the Bamangwato men informed me were their ancient habitation, and that of their fore- fathers, but the cruel Matabili had driven them from thence to the rocky mountains which they now occupy. We continued our course in an easterly direction, and twice crossed the gravelly bed of a periodical river, in which were several small springs of excellent water. These springs had been exposed by elephants, which had cleared away the gravel with their trunks. Around these springs, the spoor of the rhinoceros was abundant. After proceeding several miles through a dry and barren tract, where wait-a-bit thorns pre- vailed, we entered upon more interesting ground. The forest was adorned with very picturesque oM trees of various sorts and sizes, which stood singly and in shady groups, while the main body of the forest consist-'d of a variety of trees of other sorts, averaging the height of a g. ; affe. The elephants had left abundant traces of their presence, but ill their marks were old. Fresh spoor of giraffe was* 414 HUNTING ADVENTURES. imprinted on the ground on every side, and we presently saw a large herd of these, standing scattered, through the forest to our left. They were glorious fellows, but I was now in pursuit of nobler game : the natives were leading me to some distant fountain, where they expected we should discover spoor. On we sped through the depths of the forest, our view being con- fined to about fifty yards on every side. Presently emerging upon n small open glade, I observed a herd of brindled gnoos and two or three troops of pallahs; and soon after, a second herd of about fifteen camelopards stood browsing before us, and, getting our wind, dashed away to our left. We had proceeded about two miles further, and it was now within two hours of sunset, when, lo ! a thorny tree newly smashed by an elephant. Some of the natives Attentively examined the leaves of the broken branches to ascertain exactly when he had been there, while some for the same purpose overhauled the spoor It was the spoor of a first-rate bull : he had fed there that morning at the dawn of day. The ground was hard and bad for spooring, but the natives evinced great skill, and, following it for a short distance, we came to ground were a troop of bull elephants had pastured not many hours before. Here the thorny trees on every side were de- molished by them, and huge branches and entire trees were rent and uprooted, and lay scattered across our path, having been carried seve- ral yards in the trunks of the elephants before they stood to eat the leaves : the ground also was here and there ploughed up by their tusks in quest of roots ; and in these places the enormous fresh spoor that thrilling sight to a hunter's eye- was beautifully visible. All this was extremely interesting and gratifying; but I had been BO often disappointed, and it was now so very near sunset, that I en- tertained but faint hopes of finding them that evening. Mutchuisho was very anxious that I should see the elephants ; he had divested himself of his kaross, and, carrying one of the muskets which Sicomy had bought from me, he led the spooring party, consisting of about fifteen cunning old hands. The great body of the men he had ordered to sit down and remain quiet until the attack commenced. Having followed the spoor for a short distance, old Mutchuisho became ex- tremely excited, and told me that we were near the elephants. A HUNTING ELEPHANTS 411 few miuutes after several of the spoorers affirmed that they had heard the elephants break a tree in advance ; they differed, however, about the direction, some saying it was in front, and others that it was away to our left. Two or three men quickly ascended the tallest trees that stood near us, but they could not see the elephants. Mutchui- sho then extended men to the right and left, while we continued on the spoor. In a few minutes one of those who had gone off to our left came running breathless to say that he had seen the mighty game. I halted, for a minute, and instructed Isaac, who carried the big Dutch rifle, to act independently of me, while Kleinboy was to assist me in the chase ; but, as usual, when the row began, my followers thought only of number one. I bared my arms to the shoulder, and, having im- bibed a draught of aqua pura from the calabash of one of the spoorers, I grasped my trusty two-grooved rifle, and told my guide to go ahead. We proceeded silently as might be for a few hundred yards., following the guide, when he suddenly pointed, exclaiming, " Klow !" and be- fore us stood a herd of mighty bull elephants, packed together be- neath a shady grove about a hundred and fifty yards in advance. I rode slowly toward them, and, as soon as they observed me, they made a loud rumbling noise, and, tossing their trunks, wheeled right about and made off in one direction, crashing through the forest and leaving a cloud of dust behind them. I was accompanied by a de- tachment of my dogs, who assisted me in the pursuit. The distance I had come, and the difficulties I had undergone, to behold these elephants, rose fresh before me. I determined that on this occasion at least I would do my duty, and, dashing my spurs into " Sunday's" ribs, I was very soon too close in their rear for safety. The elephants'now made an inclination to my left, whereby I obtained a good view of the ivory. The herd consisted of six bulls; four of them were full-grown, first-rate elephants; che other two were fine fellows, but had not yet arrived at perfect stature. Of the four old fellows, two had much finer tusks than the rest, and for a few seconds I was undecided which of these two I would follow ; when, suddenly the one which I fancied had the stoutest tusks broke from his com- rades, and I at once felt convinced that he was the patriarch of the 27 418 HUNTING ADVENTURES. herd, and followed him accordingly. Cantering alongside, 1 wan about to fire, when he instantly turned, and, uttering a trumpet so strong and shrill that the earth seemed to vibrate beneath my feet, b* charged furiously after me for several hundred yards in a direct line, not altering his course in the slightest degree for the trees of the forest, which he snapped and overthrew like reeds in his headlong career. When he pulled up in his charge, I also halted ; and as he slowly turned to retreat, I let fly at his shoulder, " Sunday" capering and prancing, and giving me much trouble. On receiving the ball the elephant shrugged his shoulder, and made off at a free majestic walk. This shot brought several of the dogs to my assistance which had been following the other elephants, and on their coming up and barking another headlong charge was the result, accompanied by the never-failing trumpet as before. In his charge he passed close to me, when I saluted him with a second bullet in the shoulder, of which he did not take the slightest notice. I now determined not to fire again until I could make a steady shot; but, although the elephant turned repeatedly, " Sunday" invariably disappointed me, capering so that it was impossible to fire. At length, exasperated, I became reckless of the danger, and, springing from the saddle, approached the elephant under cover of a tree, and gave him a bullet in the side of the head, when, trum- peting so shrilly that the forest trembled, he charged among the dogs, from whom he seemed to fancy that the blow had come ; after which he took up a position in a grove of thorns, with his head to- wards me. I walked up very near, and, as he was in the act of charging (being in those days under wrong impressions as to the im- practicability of bringing down an elephant with a shot in the fore- head,) stood coolly in his path until he was within fifteec paces of me, and let drive at the hollow of his forehead, in the vain expecta- tion that by so doing I should end his career. The shot only served to increase his fury an effect which, I had remarked, shots in the head invariably produced; and, continuing his charge with incredible quickness and impetuosity, he all but terminated my elephant-hunting for ever. A large party of the Bechuanas who had come up yelled HUNTING ELEPHANTS. 4i9 out Bimultaneously, imagining I was killed, for tAi elephant was at one moment almost on the top of me : I, however / escaped by my activity, and by dodging round the bushy trees. As the elephant was charging, an enormous thorn ran deep into the sole of my foot, the old Badenoch brogues, which I that day sported, being worn through ; and caused me severe pain, laming me throughout the rest of the conflict. The elephant held on through the forest at a sweeping pace ; but he was hardly out of sight when I was loaded and in the saddle, and goon once more alongside. About this time I heard Isaac blazing away at another bull ; but when the elephant charged, his cowardly heart failed him, and he very soon made his appearance at a safe distance in my rear. Mj elephant kept crashing along at a steady pace, with blood streaming from his wounds; the dogs, which were knocked up with fatigue and thirst, no longer barked around him, but had dropped astern. It was long before I again fired, for I was afraid to dismount, and " Sunday" was extremely troublesome. At length I fired sharp right and left^ from the saddle ; he got both balls behind the shoulder and made a long charge after me, rum- bling and trumpeting as before. The whole body of the Bamang- wato men had now come up, and were following a short distance be- hind me. Among these was Mollyeon, who volunteered to help ; and being a very swift and active fellow, he rendered me important ser- vice by holding my fidgety horse's head while I fired and loaded. I then fired six broadsides from the saddle, the elephant charging almost every time, and pursuing us back to the main body in our rear, who fled in all directions as he approached. The sun had now sunk behind the tops of the trees ; it would very soon be dark, and the elephant did not seem much distressed, notwithstanding all he had received. I recollected that my time was short, therefore at once rcsolvad to fire no more from the saddle, but to go close up to him and fire oj\ foot. Riding up to him I dis- mounted, and, approaching very near, I gave it him right and left in the side of the head, upon which he made a long and determined charge after me ; but I was now very reckless of his charges, for I saw that he could not overtake me, and in a twinkling I was loaded, 420 HUNTING ADVENTURES. and, again approaching, I fired sharp right and left behind his shoulder. Again he charged with a terrific trumpet, which sent " Sunday" flying through the forest. This was his last charge. The wounds which he had received began to tell on his constitution, and he now stood at bay beside a thorny tree, with the dogs barking around him. These, refreshed by the evening breeze, and perceiv- ing that it was nearly over with the elephant, had once more come to my assistance. Having loaded, I drew near and fired right and left at his forehead. On receiving these shots, instead of charging he tossed his trunk up and down, and by various sounds and motions, most gratifying to the hungry natives, evinced that his demise was near. Again I loaded, and fired my last shot behind his shoulder; on received it, he turned round the bushy tree beside which he stood, and I ran round to give him the other barrel, but the mighty old monarch of the forest needed no more ; before I could clear the bushy tree he fell heavily on his side, and his spirit had fled. My feelings at this moment can only be understood by a few brothel Nimrods, who have had the good fortune to enjoy a similar encounter. I neve felt so gratified on any former occasion as I did then. CHAPTER LXVIII. A M.ODERN PUTNAM. THE following is an account of an adventure which occurred t< Frank Forrester, in America. A large bear was traced to a cavern in the Round Mountain, and every effort made for three days with out success to smoke or burn him out. At length a bold hunter, familiar with the spot, volunteered to beard the bear in his den. The well-aperture, which, alone could be seen from without, descended for about eight feet, then turned off at right angles, running nearly horizontally for about six feet, beyond which it opened into a small circular chamber, where the bear had taken up his quarters. The man determined to descend, to worm himself, feet forward, on liis back, and to shoot at the eyes of the bear, as they would be visible in the dark. Two narrow laths of pine wood were accordingly pro- cured, and pierced with holes in which candles were placed and lighted. A rope was next made fast about his chest, a butcher's knife disposed in readiness for his grasp, and his musket loaded with two good ounce bullets, well wrapped in greased buckskin. Gradually he disappeared thrusting the lights before him with his feet, and holding the musket ready cocked in his hand. A few anxious moments a low stifled growl was heard then a loud, bellowing, crashing report, followed by a loud and 'fearful howl, half anguish, half furious rage. The men above wildly and eagerly hauled up the rope, and the sturdy hunter was whirled into the ah uninjured, and retaining in his grasp his good weapon; while the fierce brute rushed tearing after him sven to the cavern's mouth. As soon as the man had entered the (423) 424 HUNTING ADVENTURES. small chamber, he perceived the glaring eyeballs of the bear, had taken steady aim, at them, and had, he believed, lodged. his bullets fairly, Painful moanings were soon heard from within, and then all was still! Again the bold man determined to seek the monster; again he vanished, and his musket shot roared from the recesses of the rock. Up he was whirled; but this time, the bear, streaming with gore, and furious with pain, rushed after him, and with a mighty bound, cleared the confines of the cavern ! A hasty and harmless volley was fired, while the bear glared around as if undecided upon which of the group to wreak his vengeance. Tom, the hunter, coolly raised his piece, but snap ! no spark followed the blow of the hammer '- With a curse Tom threw down the musket, and, drawing his knife, rushed forward to encounter the bear single handed. What would have been his fate had the bear folded him in his deadly hug, we may be pretty sure ; but ere this could happen, the four bullets did their work, and he fell ; a convulsive shudder passed through his frame, and all was still. Six hundred odd pounds did he weigh, and great were the rejoicings at his destruction. CHAPTER LXIX. A LION HUNT ON THE RIVER MARIQUA. WE trekked up along the banks of the river for the llariqua, says Mr. Gumming, and a little before sundown fell in with two enormous herds of buffaloes, one of which, consisted chiefly of bulls, stood under the shady trees on one side of the bank, whilst the other, composed chiefly of cows and calves, stood on the opposite side, a little higher up the river. In all there were at least three hundred. Thinking it probable that if I hunted them 1 might kill some old bull with a head perhaps worthy of my collection, I ordere," my men to outspan, and having saddled steeds, I gave chase to the herd of bulls, accompanied by Booi and my dogs. After a short burst they took through the river, where I lost sight of an old bull which carried the finest head in the herd. My dogs, however, brought a cow to bay as they crossed the river, which I shot stand- ing in the water, but not before she had killed a particularly favo- rite bull dog, named Pompey. I then continued the chase, and again came up with the herd, which was now considerably scattered ; and after a sharp chase, part of which was through thick wait-a-bit thorn cover, I brought eight or nine fine old bulls to bay in lofty reeds at the river's margin, exactly opposite to my camp; of these I singled out the two best heads, one of which I shot with five balls, and wounded the other badly, but he made off while I was engaged with his comrade. In the morning I instructed four of my people to cross the river, r j ' bring ove4 a supply of buffalo beef. These men were very re (427) 428 HUNTING ADVENTURES^ luctant to go, fearing a lion might have taken possession of the carcass On proceeding to reconnoitre from our side, they beheld the majcstia beast they dreaded walk slowly up the opposite bank from the dead buffalo, and take up a position on the top of the bank under some shady thorn-trees. I resolved to give him battle, and rode forth with my double-barrelled Westley Richards rifle, followed by men leading the dogs. Present, who was one of the party, carried his " roer," no doubt to perform wonders. The wind blew up the river ; I accordingly held up to seek a drift, and crossed a short dis- tance above where the buffalo lay. As we drew near the spot, I ob- served the lion sitting on the top of the bank, exactly where he had been seen by my people. On my right, and within two hundred yards of me, was a very extensive troop of pallahs, which antelope invari- 'ably manages to be in the way when it is not at all wanted. OR this occasion, however, I succeeded in preventing my dogs from ob- serving them. When the lion saw us coming, he overhauled us for a moment, and then slunk down the bank for concealment; bein well to leeward of him, I ordered my dogs to be slipped, and galloped forward. On finding that he was attacked, the lion at first made a most de- termined bolt for it, followed by all the dogs at a racing pace; and when they came up with him he would not bay, but continued his course down the bank of the river, keeping close in beside the reeds, growling terribly at the dogs, which kept up an incessant angry bark- ing. The bank of the river was intersected by deep water-courses, and, the ground being extremely slippery from the rain which had fallen during the night, I was unable to overtake him until he came to bay in a patch of lofty dense reeds which grew on the lower bank, immediately adjacent to the river's margin. I had brought out eleven of my dogs, and before 1 could come up three of them were killed. On reaching the spot I found it impossible to obtain the smallest glimpse of the lion, although the ground favored me, I having the upper bank to stand on; so, dismounting from my horse, I tried to guess, from his horrid growling, his exact position, and fired several shots on chance, but none of these hit him. I then commenced pelt- ing him with lumps o* earth and sticks, there being no stones at HUNTING LIONS. 429 hand. This haa the effect of making him shift his position, but he still kept in the densest part of the reeds, where I could do nothing with him. Presently my followers came up, who, as a matter of course, at once established themselves safely in the tops of thorn-trees. After about ten minutes' bullying, the lion seemed to consider his quarters too hot for him, and suddenly madt a rush to escape from his perse- cutors, continuing his course down along the edge of the river. The dog, however, again gave him chase, and soon brought him to bay in another dense patch of reeds, just as bad as the last. Out of this in a few minutes I managed to start him, when he bolted up the river, and came to bay in a narrow strip of reeds. Here he lay so close that for a long time I could not ascertain his whereabouts ; at length, however, he made a charge among the dogs, and, coming forward took up a position near the outside of the reeds, where for the first time I was enabled to give him a shot. My ball entered his body a little behind the shoulder. On receiving it he charged growling after the dogs, but no farther than the edge of the reeds, out of which he was extremely reluctant to move. I gave him a second shot, firing for his head ; my ball entered his eye, and passed through the back of the roof of his mouth. The lion then sprang up, and facing about, dashed through the reeds, and plunged into the river, across which he swam, dyeing the waters with his blood; one black dog, named "Schwart," alone pursued him. A huge crocodile, attracted by the blood, followed in their wake, but fortunately did not take my dog, which I much feared he would do. Present fired at the lion as he swam, and missed him ; both my barrels were empty. Before, however, the lion could make the opposite bank, I had one loaded without patch, and just as his feet grazed the ground I made a fine shot at his neck, and turned him over dead on the spot. Present, Carollus, and Adonis, then swam in and brought him through. We landed him by an old hippopotamus foot-path, and, the day being damp and cold, we kindled a fire, beside which we skinned him. While this was going forward I had a painful duty to perform viz. to load one barrel, and blow out Rascality's brains, whom the lion had ut 430 HUNTING ADVENTURES. ferly disabled in his after-quarters. Thus ended this protracted and all but unsuccessful hunt; for when I at length managed to shoot him, the dogs were quite tired of it, and, the reeds being green, 1 could not have set them on fire to force him out. The lion proved to be a first-rate one ; he was in the prime of life and had an exquisitely beautiful coat of hair. His inane was not very rank ; his awful teeth were quite perfect, a thing which in lions of his age is rather unusual ; and he had the finest tuft of hair on the end of his tail that I had ever seen on a lion. In the chas*e my after-rider, who fortunately did not carry my rifle, got a tremenduous capsize from bad riding, a common occurrence with most after-riders who have been employed in my service. The afternoon was spent in drying the wet mane of the lion, skinning out the feet, and pre- serving the skin with alum and arsenical soap. CHAPTER LXX. SIR. w. c. HARRIS'S GIRAFFE HUNT. SOME of the best and most animating accounts of giraffe bunts we contained in the work of Sir W. Cornwallis Harris. Of his magnificent folio, " Portraits of the Game and Wild Animals of Africa," we cannot speak too highly ; it is equal, in many respects, to the truly-superb folios of Mr. Gould. From it we extract the following spirit-stirring adventures : It was on the morning of our departure from the residence of his Amazoola majesty, that I first actually saw the giraffe. Although I had been for some weeks on the tiptoe of expectation, we had hith erto succeeded in finding the gigantic footsteps only of the tallest ct all the quadrapeds upon the earth ; but at dawn of that day, a large party of hungry savages, with four of the Hottentots on horseback, having accompanied us across the Mariqua in search of elands, which were reported to be numerous in the neighborhood, we formed a long line, and, having drawn a great extent of country blank, divided into two parties, Richardson keeping the right, and myself to the left. Beginning, at length, to despair of success, I had shot a hartebeeste for the savages, when an object, which had repeatedly attracted my eye, but which I had as often persuaded myself was nothing more than the branchless stump of some withered tree, suddenly shifted its position, and the next moment I distinctly perceived that singular form of which the apparition had ofttimes visited my slumbers, but upon whose reality I now gtzed for the first time. Gliding rapidly among the trees, above the topmost bran ues, of many f which its 28 (433) 434 HUNTING ADVENTURES. graceful head nodded like some lofty pine, all doubt was in another moment at an end it was the stately, the long-sought giraife, and, putting spurs to my horae, and directing the Hottentots to follow, I presently found myself half choked with excitement, rattling at the heels of an animal which, to me, had been a stranger even in its cap- tive state, and which, thus to meet free on its native plains, has fallen to the lot of but few of the votaries of the chase ; sailing be- fore me with incredible velocity, his long swan-like neck, keeping Sime to the eccentric motion of his stilt-like legs his ample black tail curled above his buck, and whisking in ludicrous concert with the rocking of his disproportioned frame he glided gallantly along " like some tall ship upon the ocean's bosom," and seemed to leave whole leagues behind him at each stride. The ground was of the most treacherous description ; a rotten, black soil, overgrown with long, coarse grass, which concealed from view innumerable gaping fissures, that momentarily threatened to bring down my horse. For the first five minutes, I rather lost than gained ground, and, despairing over such a country of ever diminish- ing the distance, or improving my acquaintance with this ogre in seven league boots, I dismounted, and the mottled carcass present- ing a fair and inviting mark, I had the satisfaction of hearing two balls tell roundly upon his plank-like stern. But as well might I have fired at a wall ; he neither swerved from his course or slackened his pace, and pushed on so far ahead during the time that I was re- loading, that, after remounting, I had some difficulty in even keep- ing sight of him among the trees. Closing again, however, I re- peated the dose on the other quarter, and spurred my horse along, ever and anon sinking to the fetlock the giraffe now flagging at each stride until, as I was coming up hand-over-hand, and success eeemed certain, the cup was suddenly dashed from my lips, and down I came headlong my horse having fallen into a pit, and lodged me close to an ostrich's nest, near which two of the old birds were sitting. Happily, there were no bones broken, but the violence of the shock had caused the lashings of my previously-broken ride to give waj^ and had do ibled tbe stocks in half, the barrels only hang- ing to the wood by the trigger guard. Nothing dismayed, however, HUNING THE GIRAFFE. 436 Dy this h iavy calamity, I remounted my jaded beast, and one more effort brought me ahead of my wearied victim, which stood still and allowed me to approach In vain did I now attempt to bind my frac- tured rifle with a pocket-handkerchief, in order to admit of my ad- ministering the coup de grace. The guard was so contracted that, in the tantalizing phantasies of a night-mare, the hammer could not be brought down upon the nipple. In vain I looked around for a stone, and sought in every pocket for my knife, with which either to strike the copper-cap and bring about ignition, or hamstring the co- lossal but harmless animal, by whose towering side I appeared the veriest pigmy in the creation. Alas ! I had lent it to the Hotten- tots to cut off the head of the hartebeeste, and, after a hopeless search in tho remotest corners, each hand was withdrawn empty. Vainly did I then wait for the tardy and rebellious villians to come to my assistance, making the welkin ring, and my throat tingle with reite rated shouts. Not a soul appeared, and in a few minutes the giraffe, having recovered his wind, and being only slightly wounded on the hind-quarters, shuffled his long legs, twisted his bushy tail over his back, walked a few steps, then broke into a gallop, and, diving into the mazes of the forest, presently disappeared from my sight. Dis- appointed and annoyed at my discomfiture, I returned toward the wagons, now eight miles' distant, and on my way overtook the Hot- tentots, who, pipe in mouth, were leisurely strolling home, with an air of total indifference as to my proceedings, having come to the conclusion that " Sir, could not fung de kameel" (catch the giraffe,) for which reason they did not think it worth while to follow me, as I had directed. Two days after this catastrophe, having advanced to the Tolaan River, we again took the field, accompanied by the whole of the male inhabitants of three large kraals, in addition to those that had accompanied us from the last encampment. The country had now become undulating, extensive mimosa groves occupying all the valley as well as the banks of the Tolaan winding among them, on its way to join Vbe Mariqua. Before we had proceeded many hun- dred yards, our progress was opposed by a rhinocer )s, who looked in defiance, hut quickly took the hint we gave him to get out of the way. Two fat elands had been pointed out at the verge of the copw 436 HUNTING ADVENTUR1IS. the moment before. One jf which Richardson disposed of ivith but little difficulty, the other leading me through all the intricacies of the labyrinth to a wide plain on the opposite side. On entering which, I found the fugitive was prostrate at my feet in the middle of a troop of giraffes, who stooped their long necks, astounded at the intrusion, ihen consulted a moment how they should best escape the impending danger, and in another they were sailing away at their utmost speed. r lo have followed upon my then jaded horse would have been absurd, and I was afterward unable to recover any trace of them. Many days elapsed before we again saw the tall giraffe, nor were our eyes gladdened with his sight until after we had crossed *he Cashan Mountains to the country of the Baquaina, for the express purpose of seeking for him. After the many contretemps, how shall I express the sensations I experienced as, on a cool November evening, after rapidly following some fresh traces in profound silence, for sev- eral miles, I at length counted from the back of '* JBreslau," my most trusty steed, no fewer than thirty-two of various sizes industriously stretching their peacock necks to crop the tiny leaves that fluttered above their heads, in a flowering mimosa grove which beautified the scenery. My heart leaped within me, and my blood coursed like quicksilver through my veins, for, with a firm wooded plain before me, I knew they were mine; but, although they stood within a hun- dred yards of me, having previously determined to try the " boarding" system, reserved my fire. Notwithstanding that I had taken the field expressly to look for giraffes, and in consequence of several of the remarkable spoors of these animals having been seen the evening before, had taken four mounted Hottentots in my suite, all excepting Piet had, as usual, slipped off unperceived in pursuit of a troop of koodoos. Our steal- thy approach was soon opposed by an ill-natured rhinoceros, which, with her old fashioned calf, stood directly in our path, and the twinkling of her bright little eyes, accompanied by a restless rolling of the body, giving earnest of her mischievous intentions. I directed Piet to salute her with a broadside, at the same time putting spurs to my horse. At the report of the gun, and sudden clatter of the hoofs- away bounded the herd in grotesque confusion, clearing the HUNTING THE GIRAFFE. 437 gr-mnd bj a succession of frog-like leaps, and leaving me far ir the rear. Twice were their Towering forms concealed from view by a park of trees, which we entered at the same instant, and twic?, on emerging from the labyrinth, did I perceive them tilting over an eminence far in advance, their sloping backo reddening in the sun- shine, as with giant port they topped the ridges in right gallant style. A white turban that I had round my hunting cap, being drawn off by a projecting bough, was instantly charged and trampled under foot by three rhinoceroses, and long afterward, looking over my shoulder, I could perceive the ungainly brutes in the rear fagging themselves to overtake me. In the course of five minutes the fugi- tives arrived at a small river, the treacherous sands of which receiv- ing their spider-legs, their flight was greatly retarded, and by the time they had floundered to the opposite side and scrambled to the top of the bank, I could perceive that their race was run. Patting the neck of my good steed, I urged him again to his utmost, and in- stantly found myself aside of the herd. The lordly chief being readily distinguishable from the rest by his dark chestnut robe, and superior stature, I applied the muzzle of my rifle behind his dappled shoulder with my right hand, and drew both triggers; but he still continued to shuffle along, and being afraid of losing him should I dismount, among the extensive mimosa groves with which the land- scape was now obscured, I sat in my saddle, load'iu^ and firing be- hind the elbow, and then placing myself across his path to obstruct his progress. Mute, dignified, and majestic stood the unfortunate victim, occasionally stooping his elastic neck towards his persecutor, the tears trickling from the lashes of his dark humid eye, as broad side after broadside was poured into his brawny front. " His drooping head sinks gradually low, And through his side the last drops ebbing slow From the red gash fall heavy one by one, Like the first of a thunder shower." Presently a convulsive shivering seized his limbs, his coat stood on end, his lofty fn.me began to totter, and at the seventeenth discharge from the deadly grooved bore, like a falling minaret bowing his gnu:e- 438 HUNTING ADVENTURES. ful head from the skies, his proud form was prostrate in *he dust. Never shall I forget the intoxicating excitement of that moment ! A 4 last, then, the summit of my ambition was actually attained, and the towering giraffe laid low ! Tossiug my turbanless cap into the air, alone in the wild wood, I hurraed with bursting exultation, and un- saddling my steed, sank, exhausted with delight, beside the noble prize I had won. While I leisurely contemplated the massive form before me, seem- ing as though it had been cast in a mould of brass, and wrapped in a hide an inch and a half in thickness, it was no longer matter of astonishment that a bullet discharged from a distance of eighty or ninety yards should have been attended with little effect upon such amazing strength. Two hours were passed in completing a drawing, and Piet still not making his appearance, I cut off the ample tail, which exceeded five feet in length, and was measureless the most estimable trophy I had ever gained. But on proceeding to saddle my horse, which I had left quietly grazing by the running brook, my chagrin may be conceived when I discovered that he had taken advantage of my occupation to free himself from his halter and abscond. Being ten miles from the wagons, and in a perfectly strange country, I felt convinced that the only chance of saving my pet from the clutches of the lion, was to follow his trail; while doing which with infinite difficulty, the ground scarcely deigning to receive a foot-print, I had the satisfac- tion of meeting Piet and Mobanycom, who had fortunately seen and re-captured the truant. Returning to the giraffe, we all feasted merrily on the flesh, which although, highly scented with the rank ruokaala blossom?, was far from despicable, and losing our way in consequence of the twin-like resemblance of two scarped hills, we did not finally regain the wagons until after the setting sun beania had ceased to play upon the trembling leaves of the light acacias, and the golden splendor which was sleeping upon the plain had gradually passed away. Singular aad striking as is the form of the giraffe, it only fur- nishes a proof of the wonderful manner in which an all -wise Create" has adapted means to ends. A vegetable feeder, but an inhabitant HUNTING THE GIRAFFE. 439 of sterile and sandy deserts, its long slender neck and sloping body ; enable it to reach with ease its favorite food ; leaf by leaf is daintily plucked from the lofty branch by the pliant tongue and a mouth- ful of tender and juicy food is speedily accumulated. The oblique fcnd narrow apertures of the nostrils, defended even to their margins by a chevaux de /rise of strong hairs, and surrounded by muscular fibres by which they can be hermetically sealed, effectually prevent the entrance of the fine particles of sand which the suffocating storms o( the desert raise in fiery clouds, destructive to the lord of the cre- ation. Erect on those stilt-like legs, the giraffe surveys the wide ex- panse, and feeds at ease, for those mild, large eyes are so placed that it can see not only on all sides, but even behind, rendering it next to impossible for an enemy to approach undiscovered. As we reflect on these and numberless other points for admiration presented f y the giraffe, we involuntarily exclaim with the Psalmist, " Oh, Lord ! how oaanifo.M are thy works ; in wisdom has thou made them all I" " Nature to these, without profusion kind, The proper organs, proper powers assigned; Each seeming what compensated of course, Here with degrees of swiftness, there of fore 4 ; All in exact proportion to the state, Nothing to add. and nothing to bt " CHAPTER LXXI. A BRUSH WITH A BISON. loiiowing t ;rilling narrative of a buffalo hunt, is by John Millsj Esq. We were now on the verge of the upper prairies, no longer ena- meled with flowers and flowering plants, but covered with a short, coarse, herbage called " buffalo grass," on which the buffalo loves to feed. These hunting grounds are far easier to ride over, from being free from vines and entangling shrubs which interlace each other in impenetrable masses, although the yawning clefts, made by the water courses, the wallows formed by the buffaloes making baths for them- selves by ripping the earth open with their heads in soft, oozy spots, and the burrowing of that sharp and watchful little animal the prairie dog, cause both horse and horseman to run considerable risk when taking a spin over the flat. Hill and dale, bluff and level, the land- scape broken upon the eye in one of those infinite and fruitful waters, strikes the mind with awe at its grand and boundless scale. The serious object of the expedition was now on the eve of being realized, and the land of promise being gained, every preparation had been made the succeeding morning for a regular buffalo hunt In addition to my rifle and pistols, I carried a long lance with the shaft made of the toughest ash. This weapon I luund rather un- wieldy and awkward, and saw how different it looked in the hands of my companions; but Hawkoye insisted that it was indispensable, as I could not attempt the use of bow and arrow. Stripped of all superfluous garments, and fully equipped for the ex- pedition, my companions mounted their horses, with their lassoes uncoiled and trailing upon the ground, as invariably is the rule in (440) HUNTING THE BISON. 443 wAr or hunting, for the purpose of facilitating the re-capture of the animal should an unlucky separation take place between the rider and his saddle. Alike eager for the sport, both horses and men seemed to be moved by a desire to let no " important delay" stand between them and the consummation of their hopes, and, as we moved forward to give chase to the herds which were known to be in the vicinity, I thought that a finer set of Osage hunters, albeit the last of the race, never, perhaps, drew a bowstring or couched a lance. Indeed, nothing can be conceived handsomer than they looked, as t with their bronzed chests and finely-developed limbs exposed, they sat upon their plunging horses like statues of faultless mould. A. few had decorated their bits and bridles with blue and scarlet tassels, and not the least of the most gayly-decked was my retainer, Hawkeye, who appeared disposed to be equally conspicuous in field, or tent, or lady's bower. It was now that I rued the luckless mishap which cost me Sunny- side, and learned alas ! not for the first time the true value of lessons taught by experience. For knowing how much depends on their horses, in expeditious of this kind, the Indians take the great- est care in running no unnecessary risks with them, although when in the ardor of the chase they ride like demons, and reck little of danger to life and limb. As my wild colt had successfully given me the slip at the moment of anticipating bis services in carrying me " to buffalo," I was fain to depend still upon Nigger, who, Hawkeye swore by the shades of his fathers, would outstrip the best of the herd, " if I only drove my epurs well in and held them there." Certes, this was a fair specimen of Indian treatment to the horse, more particularly should his master be in possession of the white man's instruments of control. Delighted with making an exhibition of his horsemanship, and totally regard- less of the maddening effects of bit and spur, the Indian is never at rest with them, but keeps both at work with relentless rigor and perseverance. Among the red man's virtues, humanity to tho brute creation, or indeed to those of his own kind, can not be classed with an approach to truth. Without evincing any emotion of deep chagrin, Adonis was lof 1 444 Hl.NTIlfQ ADVENTURES. behin I to guard such goods, chattels, and provisions as would hav proved useless to have been carried forward, and as it was expected that we should be enabled to return to the encampment before night- fall, he was directed to hold all things in readiness, and more espe- cially to withstand temptation in keeping his mouth from the bung of my whisky-jug. In an extended line, or by the familiar descrip- tion of Indian file, we began this march as usual just at ruddy day- break, and were not far advanced on the great prairie stretching be- fore us like a vast and limitless ocean, when Blackwolf, who headed the force, reined in his dark iron-gray steed with a sudden jerk which sent him nearly upon his haunches. In an instant all was commotion. Arrows were drawn from their quivers, bow-strings were tied and thrummed, lances poised, and ever}' eye directed to the spot on which the chief fixed his earnest and flashing gaze. Not two miles distant, and feeding in fancied security on a piece of table land as level as a bowling-green, a large herd of buffalo was descried, looking at the distance like so many black specks on the waste. Some I could perceive were lying down, and the scene alto- gether may be compared, without violence to the imagination, to what the tourist may witness by the aid of railways, within a few hours of any of our principal cities, and where no dread exists of Pawnees and Camanches. It was decided that we should head the herd, and endeavor to drive them back toward the encampment, in order to save as little time and trouble as possible in getting the meat and skins to that omarter. In prosecuting this scheme we had to make a wide circle from the direct course, and, indeed, it would have been impossible to approach them in any other way, as we were down the wind, and their powers of scent, like those given to the denizens of the wild in ge- neral, are of the most acute order. " You know, major," observed Hawkeye, as he turned our horses considerably to the left, for the purpose of covering our circumvent- ing manoeuvre under the screen of two lines of bluffs running parallel with each other, " You know, major," repeated he, with a slight twinkle of satire in his snake-like eyes, " for all de Britishers dat come here, say 'you know' to every thing, dat buffa/o smell Indian HUNTING THE E.'SON. 445 mile off. No sec far; but suiell Hah ! no saying how far buffufo smell." Taking every precaution to prevent an exercise of these powers upon the force now approaching their precincts, our head and front of the party, Blackwolf led us, with consummate generalship, close to the rear of the unsuspecting animals, and we were upon them with- out a single head being disturbed. At first, we gave ourselves to view from behind the bluffs, a few of the nearest jerked up their heads, and after a stare, remarkable for its brevity, erected their tufted tails over their backs and moved off not rapidly, but evidently preparing for a bolt. This example was soon followed by severa 1 ^thers; but as the main body, consisting of upward of a hundred, still remained undisturbed, the signal for attack was reserved, as the first object in buffalo-hunting appears to be precisely that in our own glorious fox-hunting to get on good terms with the chase. Cau- tiously, and restraining the ardent and fierce spirit of our horses to Ke^p within the compass of control, we still slowly advanced in a doubia ane, while many of the animals knowing, like an old seasoned Kn ^lish hunter when he catches a glimpse of the pack at the meet, tbc run in preparation, pulled with might and main and almost defied MK- stalwart tug upon their jaws The pickets having been driven in, 1 noticed an animal of strikin,. appearance surrounded by a knot of others, suddenly throw up ln head, and elevating his tail simultaneously with his pericranium, who-.-- suddenly in an opposite direction and gallop away, douotiessly, as fa.: as his legs and hoofs would carry him. This praiseworthy precedent of self-preservation was immediaun} adopted by the entire family, and the patriarch, leading the wuv. found ready follow irs at a pace corresponding with his own. It was a moment of the most thrilling excitement of my life, at with a swoop the Indians dashed ahead, and with halter and reiij dangling free, to see their horses strain their utmost powers to out- strip the fugitives, and bring them within reach of bow and lanre. Nigger r l may confidently state, did his best without the. aid of Hawk- eye's cruel suggestion, although in a very short distance, it was con- clusively obvious that he could not long live the. pace we were 416 HUNIING ADVENTURES. at The pori} however, with his ears thrown back like a race-horse, at his final effort, and we were within a few score yards at the mo ment of Blackwolf 's bearing close to the right side of the nearest buffalo, and drawing his bow at the moment of passing, buried the arrow to the feather. In an instant the hor^e wheeled to avoid the thrust which the wounded buffalo often makes; but Bluckwolf's victim was stricken in a vital part, and he rolled over struggling and bleed- ing in the throes of deadly agony. Right and left the Indians scoured the plain in hot pursuit of the doomed and frightened animals, and never halting in the chase, but rushing from one to another as the huge beasts shouldered along in their ungainly gallop down the val- lies and over the bluffs, and across huge gaping rents in the prairie, aused by the winter torrents, brought them to the ground like skittles trom well-directed hands. There appeared to be no chance for me to flesh my maiden lance, and I began to despair of adding a single head to the number slain, when I caught sight of a solitary fugitive stealing away through t. stony ravine much to the left of the line which the rest had taken, and from his action I concluded that he had met with a wound whicL materially interfered with his speed. With an unequivocal disposi- tion to refuse taking any other cours\ than the one he was pursu- ing, Nigger began to wrestle for the mastership, and being encum- bered with my lance, I hal-some difficulty in pricking him toward the point where the buffalo, alone in his flight, was using his best energies to escape. The pointed iron, however, prevailed, and the plucky little horse, seeing the animal scramble over a conical shaped hillock in the distance, settling himself again in his best pace, and carried me forward in winning style. The buffalo in his stride is a most singular looking animal, pitch- ing to and fro in heavy lumbering fashion, and yet gets over the ground much faster than he appears. From the thickness of bis foic- hand he is any thing but speedy on rising ground ; but on a level, or descent, he can play a merry Dat. He is, however, no math foi a horse under any circumstances, and under-sized as Niggtr was, and notwithstanding the distance lost at the start, J have no d jubt, HUNTING THE DISON. 447 had he not been crippled, but that we should have come up with the patriarch in a rua of somewhat longer duration. As it was, we were, in nautical phraseology, coming up with the chase hand over hand, and after floundering through a spongy bottom, in which were several wallows of some dozen feet in diameter madt by the buffaloes, I found myself near enough to try the effect of lead, and dropping my hnce to trail along the ground by a thong attached to my wrist, for I was not expert enough to handle both it and my rifle, as an Indian would have done without inconvenience, I brought the barrels to bear and gave the contents of both just as Nigger's nose was on a level with the haunch of one of the largest and blackest bulls that ever ranged over a western plain. With due regard for the preservation of himself, and possibly hia rider, Nigger made an abrupt curve, and sheering off, almost at a right angle, avoided an ugly vicious thrust, which the bull might have made much more effective than my brace of bullets, had not the sagacity of the pony taught him to avoid it. Upon reining in my gallant and discreet little steed, and turning his head again to- ward the buffalo, I saw that he was standing still, and giving as bold a front as was ever offered to an enemy. Coming to a correspond- ing position, I deliberately re-loaded my rifle, and approached him with the greatest caution ; for whether he intended to wait my se- cond attack, or plunge forward and send me and Nigger skimming to some unknown corner of the earth, appeared a matter of doubt not quite made up. After a few brief moments for reconnoitring, I urged my horse to advance to within less than thirty paces of where the bull stood gazing at us, with his curling mane and beard sweeping below his knees, and his distended jaws droppii g foam, scarlet dyed with blood. Nothing, indeed, can be imagined more ferocious than the wounded animal looked, fixing the peculiar white balls and black iris of his eyes upon us, under his shaggy frontlet, with the expression of the devil in a mood far from funny. Think- ing it expedient to bring the contest to a conclusion without further waste of time, I essayed a manoeuvre 'in order to obtain a sight at a more vulnerable part of my victim's carcass than that which, as I had been given to understand by Hawkeye, his head presented. But, at 448 HUNTING ADVENTURES. tho baited grimalkin turns to the worrying cur, so did tl e 'aull tum exactly with my movements, ever presenting his head, and nothing but his head. This proving exceedingly wearisome, and quickly ex- hausted the slender stock of patience with which nature supplied me at my birth, I resolved to try what a shot would do in the centre of his forehead, and steadying my horse for a moment, snapped ray left barrel at him, when with the crack he dropped down, and spurring forward with the belief that I had given him his coup de grace, 1 was not a little surprised to see him again stagger to his feet, ready to receive me on his two short black horns, curved in the best possible shape for the ripping business. Perceiving, however, that notwithstanding the last bullet had only flattened on his face, he was fast sinking from the internal hemor- rhage caused by the two first, which brought him to a check, I determined, therefore, to expend no more valuable ammunition upon him, but inflict a final thrust or two of cold steel. Re-slinging my rifle across my shoulders, I for the first time couched a lance foi a deadly object, and rode at the bull's flank ; but he was too quick for me, and turned, as if upon a pivot. Round and round we went Nigger, with pricked ears and nimble limbs, keeping a steady loo) upon the buffalo's movements, and far from liking the loud snorts of mingled rage and pain which he momentarily sent forth as we whirled about him. But the attempts of the enemy to foil our pur- pose grew gradually weaker, and at length failing to twist witli hig former adroitness, I plunged the head of the lance to the shaft in liis body, and as I plucked it out, the crimson current of his life poured forth, and falling upon his knees, he rolled over dead without a Struggle. Dismounting from Nigger, who steamed and reeked, probably from the combined effects of fear and exertion, I commenced a close in- spection of my victim, and found that an arrow had passed into the 3t-shy part of the near thigh, not far from the hock, and, breaking within a few inches of the barbed point, left it buried there. The beast was certainly a fine specimen of the wild bull of the prairie, and might, from his huge size, patriarchial beard, and luxuriant mane which almost imbedded Inn head, ears, and horns, have roved maut HUNTING THE BISON. 449 successive j and found Firefly busily engaged in stripping a skin from a cow, and as it smoked from his bloody fingers, I must own, a slight nausea affected the regions of my stomach. Hot, naked, and fierce from ex- citement, the savage was tearing away at his butchering task, and I was glad to turn aside from the gory and sickening sight. The rest, he informed me, I should find similarly employed with himself, as the whole herd was killed, and seven had fallen to his bow. He boasted of having used but a single arrow to each head ; but I subsequently found this was not quite in accordance with the truth, although the first three had fallen as he described, at the first shot, and his quiver proved that many shafts had not been thrown away. Upon leaving Firefly at his truly dirty work, I put Nigger to a gentle canter, and soon passed several carcasses of the buffaloes stretched on the greensward, where they had fallen dead, or been disabled by the arrow, and subsequently lanced by the hunters who swept in the trail of the bowmen. Like flies collecting around carrion, so do the birds and beasts of prey hcver and slink towards the scene of carnage on the prairie from every quarter, and with marvellous powers discover the spot where their feast is prepared. In incredible numbers, ravens, buz- zards, crows, and others of the same large family, now wheeled, screaming most discordantly in the air, and packs of wolves appeared howling impatient for the banquet. The appearance of the animals in the distance is that of a flock of sheep, being generally perfectly white ; but among some dozen or fifteen occupied a bluff in the course I was taking, and howling a most dismal chorus, I perceived a jet black member, whose skin I felt desirous of possessing. It ia not, however, an easy task to get on close term? with a wolf, unlesi 29 450 HUNTING ADVENTURES. gorging himself, when so reluctant is he to quit his meal, that, era- "en-hearted as he is, he can scarcely be driven from it; but turning Nigger's head away from them, as if I intended in no way to inter- rupt the assembly, I suddenly brought him in an opposite direction, upon getting on a line with the yelling crew, and, spurring hard, sent them scampering at their best speed. It was a long, raking shot, but covering the knight of the sable hue, I pulled, and dropped him with a shot through the spine. He grinned most horribly, and snapped his teeth together like the rattle of castanets, as I rode up close to his side, and gave him his quietus with a pistol. There being an insurmountable difficulty in marking the spot wheie he fell, as neither tree nor bush was to be seen by which it could be retraced, I considered it advisable to make sure of my booty by car- rying it with me, and as I was not expert in flaying, I was compelled to lift the carcass, and, bearing it. with me across the pony's shoulders, commenced a piece of diversion for my red-skinned friends, which lasted as long as I was with them. Seeing a group of hunters coming towards me, I advanced to meet them, among the foremost I distinguished the bold Hawkeye, who. carried a large bale of hides in front of him, and in the same way that T was carrying my treasure. " Has major killed buff'lo?" inquired he; but before I could re- turn any answer, he saw the quality of my prize, and bursting into a roar of laughter, exclaimed, " Major's meat ! Ha ! ha ! ha ! Major's moat ! Nice roast, major, but berry lean !" The rest also were moved with equal mirth at the trouble I had taken at bagging a wolf, and I was twitted immensely by my fac- tious critics, who, had they been seen rolling on their horses, milking the welkin ring with shouts of laughter, would have given a practi- cal denial of the solemn character assigned to them by the writers of fiction for the subscribers of circulating libraries. Notwithstand- ing the explanation given, I was frequently reminded of the great care I bestowed upon the carcass of the black wolf, it being alleged that my intention was to eat the most savory parts, only for th( discovery of the error that he did not come under the head of game CHAPTER LXXIl. GERARD, THE LION-g LAYER. THE people of India, Turkey, and Arabia, who profess the Mahom- niedan faith, are fatalists ; that is, they believe every thing that will happen to them has been decreed beforehand by God, and that it is therefore useless to resist misfortune, or in other words, to contend against fate. Clinging to this creed, they are naturally indolent, and comparatively helpless. They sink, whenever circumstances permit, into habits of voluptuousness, and endeavoring to fill up life with as much enjoyment and as little exertion as possible. They are alike fanatics and cowards. Without energy to contend against a sudden danger, their chief virtues are submission and resignation. Thus, at the appearance of a royal tiger in India, the population will retreat before him, abandoning their houses and harvests; and in Africa the Arab trembles when he hears the roaring of the lion, resistance is too frequently not thought of; one hides himself, and another flies, and the monster reigns, a terror and scourge. .Such are the people amongst whom the hero of our story, Gerara, the lion-slayer, has won his laurels, a man of delicate frame, but an iron heart, poor in his fortunes and simple in his habits as the Arab of the desert; like him living on nuts and Jates; drinking from the game springs as the lion whose steps he tracks; exposing himself to a thousand dangers, that he may be able to brave a peril greater than all ; and this without noise or eclat, but with an unassuming modesty that is the invariable accompaniment of true merit. Jules Gerard is a native of Pignan, where he was born in 1817, and having em (453) 454 HUNTING ADVENTURES. braced the profession of arras, joined the 3d regiment of cavalry in the French army of Algeria, as a volunteer, on the 23d of June, 1842. At first, absorbed in military duties and studies, he gave himself but little to the exercises of the chase, if we may dignify with that terra shooting excursions, after such small prey as quail, water- fowl, rabbits, foxes, antelopes, jackals, and wild-boars, which were in abund- ance. From more distant enterprises, the soldiers were deterred by the fear of the panther and the lion, and the yet unconquered Arab. Nor were they less afraid of those vast swarms of deadly flies which haunt the heights of Algeria, and settle with such deter mination and vigor upon their victims, as to overcome the bravest and strongest man. The immediate vicinity of Bone, having submitted to the French authority, the garrison of that place had but little to do but to keep a watchful eye upon the more distant provinces whose attitude was threatening; and Gerard had little opportunity, therefore, of parti- cipating in the military service and glory for which he thirsted. In consequence of this circumstance, he was among the first to inscribe his name as a volunteer to serve at Guelraa, an advanced post to the north of the lower chain of the Atlas, where he took part in various expeditions, between the years 1843 and 1846, and so distinguished himself by his valor, that he had twice the honor of being mentioned in the military despatches. It is not our province to record his ex- ploits as a soldier. War is a capricious mistress. Her moods are variable. Sometimes she gives action and glory, at others idleness and discontent. Inaction is the purgatory of a brave and adventurous man. Against this common enemy, each soldier arras himself as his in- clinations direct and his resources permit. The book-shelf of a mili- tary man is soon exhausted. Men look anxiously about for other sources of occupation and amusement. One night a soldier might have been seen climbing the ramparts, heedless of the challenges of the sentinels, and thus exposing hiua- Belf to the chances of an inglorious death. It was Jules Gerard, who had beard the howling r.f wild beasts. },nd had set off to encountef bad reached Linr Au old linn from the Atlas moan HUNTING THE LION. 156 tains is ravaging the country around Archioua, and innumerable victims, men as well as cattle, attested the terrible presence of the monster. Tne whole population is in despair, and cries aloud for an avenger. As an avenger Gerard offers himself. In the course of a few hours, accompanied by his dog called by tli" prophetic name of Lion he has traversed the vast plain of Guel- \, broken by 'ravens and hidden streams, and clad by the untrained txuriance of nature with a gorgeousness of vegetation far exceeding ,ae richest productions of European climes. Gerard, having exa- mined the theatre of the enemy's depredations, and made himself familiar with the necessary landmarks, calmly waits the return of night. The hour of the evening watch has sounded. Refreshments circulate in the hospitable tent where the elders of the tribe are as- sembled, and one of the most gifted of the natives chants a long and monotonous ballad in honor of the renowned Arsenne. This Arsenne was by birth a Turk, who had acquired great cele- brity under the ancient beys of Constantino, as a lion-hunter, or lion- Bnarer. Sometimes aloft in a tree, sometimes buried in a cavity of the rocks, always sheltered in impregnable ambuscade, he killed a great number of these ferocious creatures without ever daring openly to face them. He wanted the glory of this exploit, or to speak more truly, he was challenged by his betrothed, and, in her sweetest tones, she said to him one day, " Arsenne, dost thou hear in the moun- tain the roaring of the lion '/" " I hear it," Arsenne replied. " You must bring me his skin to-night ; not as a new trophy of thy address, but of thy valor. In the open country only shalt thou attack him." Such was her command. She waited the result. To humor hia >etrothed, the enamored Arsenne threw himself upon the track of the lion His bones only were discovered at the foot of a ravine. This little history imparted something of a solemnity to the ocua. ibn. Was it intended as a prudent warning against the rashness of his enterprise ? Or was it a last confession of humiliation on th part of the Arab, in accepting the heroic protection of the infidel f 45(5 HUNTING ADVENTURES. Whatever the design, it missed its aim ; for the heart of Gerard, proof equally against intimidation and flattery, took note of nothing but the hospitality of his hosts. Having lighted a fresh pipe, and made his acknowledgements to his entertainers, he took his way to- ward the wood-clothed ravines, which seemed at this hour of the dusk to encincture the country of Archioua with a girdle of mourning. During the entire night he explored the district, but his search was vain j not a trace of the foe he sought met his eye. On the fol- lowing day at the same hour he was at his post, scanning with eager look every ravine and hollow. In vain the hyaena and the jackal bounded howling beneath his feet. The panther himself had been deemed unworthy of his arms, or rather of the solitary shot it was in his power to discharge ; for by accident cie of the locks of his musket had become broken. An old Eoman, interpreting the mischance as an augury, would have retraced his steps ; but Gerard was only rendered by it the more daring, as placing himself more on an equality with the noble beast. It will now, he said, be lion matched against lion. At length, about eight o'clock in the evening of the 8th of July, a terrific howling, repeated again and again by many-voiced echo, was heard to issue from a neighboring ravine. At the dread sound of its notes all nature seemed abashed into silence, and the cattle crept away, and him themselves. Gerard was impatient for the fray ; his heart beat high, and his breast expanded. He essayed to tear away the branches that sepa- rated him from the enemy, who he feared might yet retreat, and de- cline * e combat. Eagerly his eye penetrated the gloom. He removed in a ' ' minutes the last screen. His watchful dog followed hia mas* . a eye, and suddenly crouched at his feet, without uttering so muf a as a cry of terror ; for fear had paralyzed his voice. It was a sublime and imposing sight, that forest king, in all hia colossal proportions, his shaggy mane floating in the wind, his eyes on fire, and his mouth reeking with blood. He had planted himself within twenty paces of Gerard, whose pulse throbbed, not with fear, but, as he has related with admirable simplicity, with joy at having HUNTING THE LION. 457 reached the crisis of his enterprise, and finding himseif face to fact with the enemy he had been seeking. The lion saw his antagonist, and did not attempt flight. Man. who had so often fallen before his midnight depredations, seemed to him an easy and certain prey. He knew not how Gerard was armed. Profiting by the few seconds, which seemed an eternity, during which the monster stood glaring at him, Jules schooled himself to sustain his flashing looks ; then bringing his weapon to bear with a cautious movement, so as not to excite suspicion, he grasped it with the firmness of a vice. His body slightly inclined forward, resting on limbs as immovable as buttresses of masonry He pauses a moment to steady his aim. If it fail, the monster will be upoa him before he can reload. Life and death are at an issue upon tha* single shot. Now he is ready. His finger presses the trigger An explosion, of sweeter melody to the ear of our hero than strains of softest music, shows that the trusty weapon has not failed. Stricken between the eyes, the huge beast shakes the earth with a convulsive bound, and as the volume of smoke clears away, Gerard contemplates his victim gasping out its latest breath at his feet. As the news spread that the lion was dead, men, women, and children filled the air with shouts of joy. The traces of their de spair and misery passed away. Torches were burned ; guns were fired as the signal for a feast ; wheaten puddings, light beer, and bis- cuits circulated; discordant flourishes of native msic, songs and dances, made up an Arab carnival full of spirit and originality. The entire population presently poured along the path that led tc the lion's den their torches shining like a long riband of flame and soon, illumined by the reflection of a thousand torches,, the monster was seen stretched out motionless upon the earth. It was one of the fiercest lions of Atlas, exhibiting the very pe* fection of strength and beauty. On measurement, he was found t. be seventeen feet in length, and a thick curly and knotted mau. veiled half of his huge frame. One instant kept silent by astonishment, the delirious joy of the multitude quickly found vent in shouts that rent the air. A thou and voices joined in one, like the voice of a thousand grains of 458 HUNTING ADVENTURES. powder uniting in the report of a cannon, hailed Gerard as the Lion-Slayer. Such was his first exploit in a career in which he has since gained such distinguished renown. The fame of his prowess quickly spread abroad, and innumerable applications were made to him for succor from districts ravaged by lions. The natives themselves are gene- rally too much terrified to adopt efficient means of defending themselves from the depredations of these monsters, and with all the extravagance of enthusiasm, hailed our hero as a saviour. They wore astonished at the courage and self-possession which dared en- counter these formidable beasts single-handed. Their own opera- tions, whenever the extremity of their peril rouses them to resistance, invariably take the shape of a combined movement on a very extensive scale. In the southern district of the circle of Constantino, for example, the Arabs are accustomed to meet the lion in true array of battle, only refraining from the use of artillery itself, because they happen to be destitute of that resource. When one of the monarch beasts has been committing his depre- dations, the Arabs of the tribe which has suffered most severally assemble at some rendezvous. The horsemen then take up their position at the foot of the mountain where it is ascertained the lion reposes during the day, whilst those on foot, uttering loud shouts, advance in parties of thirty or forty to his retreat. At the first war-cry, the lion, if it is a young one, (and a lioness unless she have her young one with her will do the same,) quits his lair, to avoid a combat ; but as the mountains in this part are but scantily wooded, he is generally perceived, and a few shots are sufficient to bring him to battle. An adult lion will lazily arouse himself like a sluggard awakened too soon; then, stretching and rubbing his sides against the bushes from which he has risen, and shaking his thick matted mane, he listens to the cries that reach him, and angrily scratches the earth with his claws. Proceeding slowly to the nearest point of rock which com manda the country below, he looks around on every side, and when he has surveyed the scene, awaits the issue. HUNTING THE LION. 459 Immediately an Arab perceives him, lie exclaims, in a loud voice, "He is there;" and the cry, rising distinctly above the incoherent shouts of the multitude, is at once understoqd by all. Its effect ia instantaneous, Every voice is hushed to silence. Those to whom the lion is visible involuntarily stop and gaze at him, and the more distant parti3s quickly gather to the spot. A long pause ensues. The Arabs examine the priming of their guns, and try the edge of their yatagans, (Turkish swords,) and the lioc, licks his paws, and rubs his face and maire, as if performing his toilette before the battle. Then an Arab advances from the group, and addresses the majestic creature in language of defiance. He says, " Do you not know us, since you thus continue to stand before us ? Get thee up and fly, for we are the men of such a tribe, and I am ," proclaiming his name. The lion, who has made his meal of more than one native who had apostrophized him in the same valiant terms, disregards the warning, and with unruffled dignity proceeds with his toilette. Another of his assailants bids him begone ; and not show- ing any disposition to obey, the ears of the poor beast are presently stunned with such a torrent of abuse, in the midst of which may be heard the contemptuous epithets of "Jew," " Christian," "Infidel," &c., strangely mingled, that enraged at the annoyance, he springs to his feet, and lashing his sides with his tail, marches on to thr attack. The combat begins. Blood is shed. More than one rock and more than one bush, are marked by it. It is the blood of the bravest, who were the foremost in the encounter. The footmen, wounded and repulsed, retreat before the enemy to the plain where the cavalry have taken their position. Warned of the approach of the beast, these hastily prepare for action. They gallop wildly about, brandish their weapons in the air, and add to the confusion' by loud and discordant shouts. But the lion watches their manoeuvres, and maintains his vantage-ground. -He will not venture out into the un- sheltered plain. Their utmost provocations fail. Some one must approach him and fire. There is a moment perhaps of hesitation, when an aged man, who has some kindred to avenge, addresses his comrades, " Young men," he says, " if any among you is afraid of death, let him go back." No one moves. The Arab who should 160 HUNTING ADVENTURES. retire at such a moment would be lost forever in the estimation of his tribe. He who has spoken takes some steps in advance, and, deliberately taking aim, fires. Perhaps his shot goes home, and then the rest of the party rushing in, complete the slaughter of the beast. Perhapa he misses his aim, and the lion, rightly interpreting the design of the shot, becomes himself the assailant, and springs forward in a rage on his foes. Now the panic becomes universal ; there is an indiscrimi- nate flight, a few only, perhaps, reaching ambush, and discharging their weapons from their hiding-places. If the enemy succeed in making a capture of one of his assailants (and this happens almost as a matter of course,) his deliverance may generally be effected by one of the horsemen rallying, and, at a proper distance firing. The lion will quit his prisoner to resent this new attack, and thus give his terrified prey an opportunity of escape, whilst he himself, exhausted in the fruitless pursuit of horses, to whom fear has lent wings, crouches down and awaits-death upon the spot. This is the critical moment. The scattered riders rapidly come up ; an irregular fire is opened ; the lion receives, without moving, numerous balls discharged at the distance of eighty or a hundred paces ; but if any one more venturous approaches much nearer than this, the monster at once rouses himself, and either rider is torn from his saddle, or both rider and horse roll in the dust, and perish together. " I have se.en many Arabs," says Gerard, " who have been seized by lions, and have escaped at the commencement of an affray ; but who- ever has the mischance to fall into the hands of one in whose body a dozen bullets have been lodged, is quickly torn to pieces. You may approach him near enough then to put the muzzle of your musket in his ear, and he will die before he will release his prey." Gerard was often questioned a^ to his exploits by the Arabs amongst whom he fell, and to whose tents his fame had been carried. " How is it possible," they would say, " that alone, and in the darkness of night, you have been able to slay lions (unless you are something more than a man,) when we experience so much difficulty, and en- counter so many perils, in despatching one on horseback and in open day, even after we have wounded him with eighty balls, and have HUNTING THE LION. 461 ost many horses and men ?" And when he replied, that it was easy enough ; that he waited till they came to the encounter, and that if they came not to him he went to them ; they would shake their heads and say, " Ah ! these lions of Guelma are but children." The natives of Seguia challenged our hero to give them a proof of his prowess. He accepted it and thus related the sequel : " It was the 28th of January. I was told there were several lions in the Ze- razcr mountains, about twenty leagues to the south of Constantine. The weather continuing very unfavorable till the 1st of February, 1 contented myself with despatching some Arabs to reconnoitre the different stations about the mountain, and occupied my time with other affairs. On the first of the month, two small parties of natives placed themselves at my disposal. I instructed them to proceed to the woods at an early hour on the following morning, and light a great beacon, fire as soon as they discovered the track of a lion on his return towards the mountain. I concluded the whole neighborhood would rally round the fire. On the 3d, at eight o'clock in the morning, I mounted my horse, accompanied by two native sheiks, each taking command of a party, and after following the foot of the mountain towards the south for an hour, perceived a column of smoke ascending from a rock ; it was the signal of my spies. On approaching the rendezvous I saw an Arab standing at the base of a declivity, high up on the mountain ; and, following the direction of his hand, presently per- ceived abundant signs of .more than one lion. They say that a sin confessed is half expiated. So much the better, then, for I will ac- knowledge my vanity was gratified at beholding on one side of me the foot-prints of three lions, and, on the other, forty Arabs, armed to the teeth, the expectant witnesses of my valor and prowess. " My attendant followed me silently, as, dismounting, I cautiously pursued the trail of the beasts, endeavoring to obtain a sight of them. As I turned back, I marked an expression of sly mischief on his face, as much as to say, ' There are three of them for you !' They are but young,' I observed, ' not more than three years of age ; I should have preferred an old lion.' He shrugged big shoulders, and went away to relate what I had said to his compa- nions, whom I presently joined. ' Let two mefl take our horses, 462 HUNTING ADVENTURES. and wait for us at the foot of the mountain/ I said to one of the shieks, ' let the others attend me with my carbines, and do both of you follow me in silence/ " When I had reached the crest of the mouatain, I found amid the snow a hollow like the lair of wild beasts, stained with bloou, and could perceive, from the traces still left, that from this spot the lions had directed their course towards a valley, which seemed likelj enough to afford them cover. I directed two parties to follow very quietly the projecting ledge of rocks which forms, as it were, a cor- nice, the entire length of the Zerazer, abstaining from any attempt to descend the side. They were to march towards the south, raising a great outcry, but without firing a single shot. In case the lions should assume the offensive, their cries were to cease, and the senti- nels, who- were so placed as to be witnesses of every thing, were to give the alarm. Satisfied, from sufficient signs, that the snow-plain where I had found the marks of blood was the route usually tra- versed by the foes I was seeking, I disarmed my two attendants of their carbines, and placing them in a cleft of the rock, where they would be able to observe every thing without any danger to them- selves, I sat down upon a piece of stone in the open plain. The wind brought me the sound of a prolonged shout, and I concen- trated all my attention upon the proceedings of the signal-mem. For about an hour I had been listening to the cries of the scouts, when a gazelle appeared upon the hill above me. She stopped a moment, and casting a look behind her, sprang forward, and ran towards me with the utmost speed. She passed on my left, within fifteen feet of me, and a noise I heard immediately afterwards satisfied me that I acted wisely in not firing at her. A lion, separated from his com- panions, came direct towards me, seated as I was close by a bush, at the foot of which lay the path the creature followed; I did not move, hoping to be able to fire upon him at a distance of ten feet, and intending to aim at him between the eyes. "For a moment he disappeared, hidden by the windings of the path amongst the bushes. My gun at my shoulder, my finger upon the trigger, T waited with impatience for his re-appearance, when an acclamation, uttered by the Arabs who were concealed behind- ne, HUNTING THE LION. 463 made me aware that the lion had turned to the right, under the shade cf the wood. Getting on my feet, I saw him stationed on the very rock which served as a shelter to my men. A ball from my gun lodged in his shoulder, and, as he rose, a second followed the first. Smarting from his two wounds, he uttered a howl which made the two prisoners in the rock almost die with fright, and then bounded towards a precipice almost fifty feet in height. " He fell heavily amidst a mass of stones and brambles among which his last convulsions of agony were spent. At the same moment one of my exploring parties appeared on the heights from which the lion had descended. They had heard my firing. I had the greatest diffi- culty in the world to prevent their going down to the foot of the rock which my prey had overleaped. Fearful lest he should not be yet quite dead, I persisted in going alone. " Scarcely had I reloaded my carbine, when the videttes began shouting with all their might. Two lions were visible. There waa no time to looe. Satisfied that I should find my first victim dead, I followed the natives, who, no longer doubting my intrepidity, had taken the advance, leaping from rock to rock like the chamois. The lions, however, had disappeared, and were invisible for the rest of that day. " On the 4th, at mid-day, I took up the same position as before, and about three hours afterwards a lioness approached by the same path as the lion I had slain. I planted myself on the top of the rock, and sat down till she came within range of my gun. Hitherto she had not seen me, but as soon as I rose she stopped, looked about her with an air of disquietude, and crouching down in the same way as a cat does, showed me her magnificent teeth. What weapons they were ! She was about thirty feet distant. I levelled my gun. As I fired, she darted up like a serpent, turning her head from the side where she had been struck ; then, collecting all her remaining strength, she bounded forward about ten feet, and fell, receiving a second shot in the back of the neck. The Arabs, attracted by the double discharge, came to me one by one to make me tha 1 amende honorable/ and kiss the hand that had given them a lesson they said they should never forget." 4.t>4 HUNTING ADVENTURES. The lion was sent as a trophy to Constantino. The following day they found the one previously slain He lay dead at the foot of the ock where he had fallen. The following episode can be best related in the adventurer's own words : " On the night of the 2d of January," he says, " I mor- tally wounded a lion with three slugs in the shoulder, whose dismal bowlings I had followed in the neighborhood of the camp of Mezez- Amar. After making a preliminary examination, I returned to the camp, and on the following day, at break of dawn, followed by a cavalry-man and the Sheik Mustapha, returned upon the track of the beast. After following the trail of his blood for the course of half an hour, we discovered him, still living, in the midst of a thicket, on the right bank of the river Bon Hemdem, a quarter of a league to the west of Mezez-Amar. He proclaimed his presence to us by his groans. As the wood in which he had taken refuge was almost impenetrable, I placed Rostain (the cavalry-man) and seven or eight Arabs, who had joined our party, at the outskirts of the wood 'and proceeded myself to descend the ravine, directing them when they saw me at the bottom, about fifty feet distant from them, to throw stones. The lion I thought, mortally wounded would come down to me as soon as he was disturbed by the noise of the stones above. But for some time he did not stir, though the stones literally rained down upon his sides. " I made a sign, therefore, to Rostain to cease throwing, and as soon as he did so, the lion, not hearing the noise any longer, rose, and slowly came out, as if to listen. By a gesture of my hand I prevented Rostain from attacking him, when the Shiek Mustapha'a dogs, finding themselves face, to face with the beast, suddenly took flight, bounding over the brushwood by Rostain and the Arabs. These immediately turned tail ; and the lion seeing Rostain nearer to him than the rest of the party, attacked him ; now leaping for ward, and now rolling for some feet, but quickly recovering him- self, and starting off" again with a howl in pursuit, when he received a ball, which would have saved my man, but for the mishap of a false step and a fall. The lion seized him at the instant he was re covering himself, and i oiled over and over, holding the unfortunate HUNTING THE LION. 465 lorseman in his teeth, whilst he savagely tore his sides with his claws. When he had got over a few feet in this way, the animal abandoned his victim, and tried with difficulty to make his way towards the foot of the ravine. As soon %s I saw Kostain fall, feeling that the lion would inevitably seize him, 1 had hastened, as well as the nature of the ground and the brambles that covered it would permit, to fly to his assistance, but I arrived too late. The lion had disappeared, and I could do nothing but attend to the severe wounds of my poor comrade. " The next day I went back to the wood, accompanied by a party of thirty Arabs. We found the trail of the lion, and followed the marks of his blood. He had betaken himself to a thicket forming almost an islet, and separated by the river Bon Hemdem from the plain which the Arabs call Elbaz. In spite of our shouts, and the stones we threw plentifully, he did not stir. One of the natives caught a glimpse of him as he lay counohed up in the midst of an enormous mastic-tree. He fired, but missed his aim. The lion sprang at him, but his strength was spent, and the Arab escaped. Another of the party, finding himself face to face with the animal, levelled his gun; the lion sat down and waited; the Arab, in a mo- ment of panic, turned his head aside to see that his companions had not left him ; the lion saw his opportunity, and made a spring ; with one claw of his heavy paw he laid open the cheek of his victim, tore the butt-end of his musket from the barrel and from his grasp, and seizing him by the loins, hurled him against a tree some ten feet dis- tant. Encountering a third native armed with a musket and bayo- net, he struck him down with a blow of his tail, and then presented himself on the bank of the river in face of the little ford occupied by the rest of the men. These took to flight, and the lion escaped without further molestation. I was starting off in pursuit of him, when the Sheik Mustapha came to tell me that the litter for carrying the wounded Rostain had arrived from Mezez-Arnar. I thought it my duty to at- tend him to the camp, arid thence to Guelma, where I saw him re- ceived into the hospital. On the morrow I returned to the spot, and for six days caused the wood to be watched, to assure myself that tha li-m did not come )ut either to eat or drink, and at the end of that 30 4C6 HUNTING ADVENTURES. time the vultures began to gather, a sufficient sign that my prey h*l died in some thicket." Since the death of the black lion of Archioua, his consort having retreated from the neighborhood, it was for a time free from depre- dations. But in the course of some months this lioness returned, accompanied by a yellow lion and two young ones of about eighteen months old. Cattle now began to disappear again every day and oc- casionally horses, killed by the dam to feed her offspring. After many complaints on the part of the peasants, Gerard established hia quarters in the vicinity, and on the 3rd of December, 1846, intelli- gence was brought him that the lion had just wounded a man and killed a horse. He at once accompanied the messenger to the spot where the animal had been strangled. On the borders of a wood near, be found a pool of blood, and from that place, through a thicket of oaastic of wild olive-trees, traced the course along which the lioness aad dragged the horse to the foot of a ravine, a distance of six hun- dred feet. The poor beast was lying on the ground still whole, and with no other wounds than the bites of two huge teeth in his throat. Gerard crept behind a tree about four feet from the carcass and waited the result. The entire night passed without the appearance of anything. But about six o'clock in the evening of the next day the approach of the lioness was announced by the affrighted cries of birds, and the flight of two raccoons who were roaming near the horse. The ravine being very narrow, and every where well wooded, he could not perceive the lioness until she had come up. to her prey. Her two young followed her at a short distance. One of them advancing towards the horse, the dam turned upon it, and frightening it away, drove it back to the thicket. " She had distinguished me," says Gerard, " in my hiding place. Stealthily she made a circuit around me, now hiding herself from my sight, now showing her h jad above a bramble, as she looked to see that I was still there. Suddenly she seemed to have entirely disappeared. " I almost believed she had done so, when happening to cast my eyes to my right, I saw her extended like a serpent, her head resting upon her two paws, her eyes fixed upon mine, her tail swaying slowly HUNTING THE LION. 467 like a pendulum, in the air. I felt that I had not a moment to spare> I took my aim at her forehead ; she bounded five feet from the ground, and fell, uttering a horrid howl. She was dead. The aim had been true, and the shot pierced her brain The young lions having fled at the sound of the musket, I waited till four o'clock in the morning without their re-appearing. At length the extreme cold compelled me to return, and when I came afterwards to take possession of my lioness, I was accompanied by more than two hundred Arabs, who manifested the highest joy at my success; for amongst all I had killed to this time, not one had committed so many ravages in so short a time." Gerard continues to distinguish himself in adventures similar to those we have related. His services are in general request, and ho is known amongst all the natives of Algeria by the name conferred on him by acclamation, by the people of Archioua, The Lion-Slayer 24293 A ''iHiiiiiiii ilium/I linn in