.NES WITH i r
THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
PRESENTED BY
PROE CHARLES A. KOFOID AND
MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID
^m:(
SCENES WITH THE HUNTER
AND THE TRAPPER IN MANY LANDS.
STORIES OF ADVENTURES WITH WILD ANIMALS.
IN PURSUIT
LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND NEW YORK.
/i* A i
SCENES WITH THE HUNTER
AND THE TRAPPER IN MANY LANDS;
OR,
STORIES OF ADVENTURES WITH WILD ANIMALS.
BY
W. H. DAVENPORT ADAMS.
" What pleasure, sir, find we in life to lock it
From action and adventure?" SHAKESPEARE.
LONDON:
T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW;
EDINBURGH; AND NEW YOJJK.
Skai
AS-
ace.
|O long as the boys of Great Britain retain anything
of the old traditional spirit, so long will they take
\a pleasure in the perusal of narratives of " action
d adventure." And it is well that they should
learn to admire though not with an exaggerated
admiration the coolness of nerve, the presence of
mind, the steady resolution, the fearlessness of danger, which
enable men to accomplish deeds of gallantry, whether " by
flood or field." The qualities which distinguish the success-
ful hunter, are those which win renown for the successful
warrior. Both must have a keen eye, a firm and ready
hand, a healthy frame ; and both must have the capability
of enduring hardship, the patience to bide their time, ade-
quate fertility of resource, and the mental calmness which no
sudden peril disturbs. I do not say these are the highest
qualities of humanity, but certainly they are foremost in
the second rank ; and the ancient Greeks regarded them as
necessary to their ideal of the perfect man. The hunter is
sometimes represented as a bloodthirsty savage, going to and
fro in search of what he may devour. No doubt the love
of sport may be carried to an excess; but in general the
pursuit of beasts of prey is a benefit to society ; while it
Vlll PREFACE.
unquestionably demands, on the part of those engaged in it,
the exercise of no ordinary powers of mind and body.
It seems to me, therefore, that a book recording some of
the most stirring achievements of men in their prolonged
contest with wild animals may be not only interesting but
useful that it will not only amuse but teach. It is some-
thing gained when a boy learns to prize and imitate the
manly virtues ; and such stories as are set forth in the fol-
lowing pages will help the young reader to this valuable
lesson. They are all true stories, and I have carefully re-
frained from embroidering them with sensational details.
Collected from a variety of sources, they are necessarily
diversified in tone and character; but not one of them is
unwholesome reading. For the sake of securing a certain
degree of homogeneity, I have strung them together on a
simple thread of narration, suggested by a boyish experience
of my own. Further, they are associated with the chief
facts in the natural history of the animals to which they
relate ; so that, to some extent, my little book may be ex-
pected to quicken its reader's interest in zoological studies.
But, of course, it is intended to solicit the patronage of the
"juvenile public" primarily and chiefly as a record of
Adventures with Wild Animals.
I may add that it has been prepared as a companion to
" The Forest, the Jungle, and the Prairie." Each volume
is complete in itself \ yet the two are framed on a common
plan, and the same interlocutors are introduced in both.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
Village of Firbank Dr. Birch's Academy Firbank Glen The Yorkshire
moors Dr. Birch's " young gentlemen " "Dux "Seymour Fisher
The " Fat Boy "A little company The cave in the glen Half-holi-
days Readings A new pastime Stories about wild animals. . ..13-31
CHAPTER II.
ABOUT THE TIGER.
The Tiger described His muscular force His tenacity of life Blake on
the Tiger Man and the Tiger Man-eaters Dimensions of a Tiger
Quotation from Shelley The Tiger and the shark A strange incident
The man-eater Adventures of Mansfield and Burton A Tiger-hunt
Pursuit of a man-eater Native Superstitions Tiger-hunting in
Nepaul The Prince of Wales Sport in India The Royal Tiger of Ben-
gal Tigress and cubs Loss of human life The Toy-tiger A shooting
platform A wonderful escape Seymour indulges his poetical faculty :
"Look up, brave heart!" A tragical Tiger story Why the Tiger is
chosen in the East as a symbol of royal power How he is caught in
Oudh A Tiger-trap Anecdotes of duty done Quotation from Sir F.
H. Doyle "The Private of the Buffs" Another story Twenty-four
hours of adventure A new method of Tiger-hunting A moral re-
flection Quotation from Goethe A famous Tiger-hunter A story
from the East Praise for Fisher A day in the jungle Mansfield,
CONTENTS.
Burton, and Dr. M'PIiee An inexhaustible volume Panthers In
the North American forest Another adventure A scene in Florida
Old jokes 22-132
CHAPTER III.
THE ELEPHANT : HIS HISTORY AND HABITS.
Natural history of the Elephant His tusks His teeth His trunk The
uses he makes of it His habits Other animals afraid of him Wild
Elephants of Ceylon Their favourite food Their longevity Ele-
phants in England A present to James I. All about ivory Wild-
beast shows An Elephant-fight in Ava Entrapping Elephants The
corrals of Ceylon Decoy Elephants Elephant's flesh Quotation
from Mr. Petherick Elephant-hunting in Africa Characteristics of
the Elephant Anecdotes Tit for tat An anecdote told by the great
Duke of Wellington Kogue Elephants A herd and its leader An
affecting scene The difference between " timorous " and "cowardly"
How to read 133-176
CHAPTER IV.
THE ELEPHANT : CONTINUED.
Elephants employed in war Kublai Khan and the Elephants Quotation
from Marco Polo An African nghal Quotation from Leo Africanus
On old books The mastodon Traditions respecting it The mam-
moth Discovery of fossil remains On the Zambesi Hamstringing
the Elephant A wonderful escape Seymour's story An encounter
with Elephants Quotation from Captain Harris Are sportsmen
cruel? An anecdote of Gordon Cumming Quotation from Sir Emer-
son Tennent The Elephant naturally of a mild disposition Sir
Emerson Tennent and his tame Elephants Chutnee, the Elephant of
Exeter 'Change Training and performance of Elephants Quotation
from JElian Quotation from Captain Draysou The battle of the
Berea The Dutch Boer's story A discussion on deer-stalking
Quotation from Professor Wilson More about Elephants Life or
death Quotation from the Old Shekarry Who is the true hero?
Quotations from Mrs. Norton and Cowper A midnight scene by an
African lake Quotation from C. J. Andersson 177-230
CONTENTS. XI
CHAPTER V.
THE WOLF : HIS HISTORY AND HABITS.
Natural history of the Wolf The She- Wolf and her cubs Superstitions
respecting the Wolf His extended range of habitat King Edgar's
law Wolves in England and Scotland The brothers of Falkirk
Siberian Wolves Quotation from Mr. Atkinson A tame Wolf
Wolves and pigs A tragical event A painful anecdote The story of
Erik Scandinavian superstitions The Lapps and the Wolf Hunting
the enemy A pig for a bait The hunters baffled A regular failure
Caught in a Wolf-pit Master and man The varg-gard A Wolf's
suicide A life and death ride A short discussion Romulus and
Remus The Wolf-cubs and their mate Quotations from Major-
General Sleeman In the Lithuanian forests A prayer against the
Wolf Characteristics of the animal The Black Wolf of the Pyrenees
Quotation from Miss Blgby An adventure with Wolves Quotation
from Mr. Whitehead A night of peril An American adventurer
The burning prairie A race for life The hardy pioneers Quotation
from Charles Mackay The Prairie Wolf described The Cayeute His
habits In Brittany The Wolf and the hound A critical position
Wolf and porker A faithful Wolf The dog of Ulysses Another
anecdote Carrying off a child Attack on a caravan On the battle-
field No more talk about wild animals Farewell 231-317
SCENES WITH THE HUNTER AND THE TRAPPER
IN MANY LANDS.
VILLAGE OF FIRBANK FIRBANK GLEN THE YORKSHIRE MOORS DR.
BIRCH'S PUPILS A LITTLE COMPANY THE CAVE IN THE GLEN
HALF-HOLIDAYS, AND HOW THEY WERE SPENT.
| IEBANK is the name of an establishment for young
gentlemen, which Dr. Birch has conducted with
equal profit and renown for the third part of a
century.
It is situated in one of the most romantic parts
of Yorkshire, near the little village of Firbank ;
which, because a wealthy landed proprietor lives in the
neighbourhood, has the good fortune to be connected with
the thriving market-town of Elmwood by a branch line of
railway more, be it said, to the advantage of the inhabitants
of Firbank than to the gain of the Company which works
the line.
Though in this way possessing all the conveniences of
ready access to a large centre of population, Firbank is as
14 FIRBANK GLEN.
secluded a place as you could wish to find in a summer's day
ramble. It is planted on the very edge of the Yorkshire
moors, rising from them with a tolerable ascent, and look-
ing down upon a well- wooded vale, through which a copious
"beck" tumbles along in many a whirl and eddy. There
is no village within half-a-dozen miles of it ; and Elmwood
is twenty-five miles distant. News from the outer world
reach it but slowly ; and its little community remains quite
apathetic under political conditions which raise the nation
generally to a pitch of uncontrollable excitement. A slight
stir is visible about noon, when the daily post arrives ; other-
wise, the only sensations of the place are derived from the
"doings" at the Hall, the escapades and frolics of Dr.
Birch's pupils, and the movements of an occasional guest at
the village inn, attracted to this remote and tranquil nook
by the picturesqueness of its scenery, or the sport for rod
and line afforded by the neighbouring streams.
And certainly one might do worse than spend a day in
Firbank Glen, that strange wooded ravine which cuts into
the moorland, like an oasis in the Sahara, or a bit of Eden
in this work-day world. The sides are richly clothed with
brushwood and stunted oaks, which, near the summit, give
way to tall green firs. In the shadowy depth flows the
brawling stream, taking a restless and wandering course,
now foaming against projecting promontories, now whirling
round gnarled tree-roots, now leaping over a ledge of rock.
Here, when you have wandered about half a mile from the
school, you find yourself in the completest solitude; and
poetically-minded pupils have been prone to resort to a small
cave which, partly by nature and partly by industrious
hands, has been dug into the grassy bank. It is pleasant
enough to sit in this ferny hollow and listen to the waters
as they gurgle by, to the birds as they sing fearlessly and
A BEAUTIFUL PROSPECT. 15
merrily among the green tree-tops. And it is pleasanter still
to gather a posy of the wood flowers that blossom so abun-
dantly in the silent shades to delight in " the sweet azure
of bluebells, and recognize in pearl-white blossoms spangling
the grass an humble type of some starlit spot in space."
Ascending the glen northwards, you come to the perennial
basin from which the stream derives its source ; and climb-
ing the rugged acclivities of the hollow, you emerge upon the
moorland edge, lying all fresh and green under the smile
of a summer sky. Even in the hottest noon, how fresh a
breeze pours over the wide open tract ! And how fine a
sense of fragrance rises from the heathery sward as the way-
farer presses it with impatient foot ! Away to the south-
ward stands the clump of wood which marks the site of
Firbank Hall, with the gray tower of the village church
rising just beyond them ; farther to the south-west, a keen
eye can distinguish the haze that floats upward from the
chimneys of Elmwood. To the east stretches the purple
moorland, extending to the brink of the rocky cliffs which
withstand, unmoved, the storms of the German Ocean.
And what excursions the Yorkshire moorland in this dis-
trict opened up to the adventurous pedestrians of Dr. Birch's
establishment ! Gymnastics at that time had not crept into
the undeserved favour and unwholesome notoriety they have
acquired elsewhere. Instead of running " one hundred yard
races," like professionals, or leaping over bars and hurdles,
Dr. Birch's young gentlemen adhered to the old English
games of cricket, and football, and prisoner's base, or hare
and hounds ; or they started for a vigorous perambulation of
the country in search of the picturesque. They would mount
to the highest point of the moor, from which they could look
across to Whitby, with the gleaming sea beyond it. Or they
struck to the westward, and visited Danby Beacon, famous
16 ABOUT YORKSHIRE.
for the wide landscape which it commands ; and thence they
proceeded to the remains of an early British village : a series
of pits, divided by a stream into two parts, with tall stones
and tumuli all about memorials of a far-off age, when
Britain was a lonely island in a dull gray sea.
Then there was Dauby Castle, a noble, massive building,
even in its decay, with rowan and ash trees springing from
the broken walls, and azure harebells smiling on the ledges.
The boys were never weary of exploring its recesses; and
their imagination loved to people the battlements with archers
and men-at-arms on their guard against the wild freebooters
who so often came down from the Scottish border. It is
said that a queen of England once held high state in the
castle namely, Catherine Parr, who, after the death of
Henry VIII., married Lord Latimer, the then owner of
Danby.
Dr. Birch's boys w r ere mostly of Yorkshire birth , and very
proud were they of their glorious county,
" A kingdom that doth seem, a province at the least,
To them that think themselves no simple shires to be."
Their love was wisely encouraged by Dr. Birch himself, who
was constantly stimulating them to a thorough knowledge
of its characteristics by offering prizes for sketches of York-
shire scenery and essays on Yorkshire history and Yorkshire
worthies. So they knew all about its great rivers the
Tees, the Swale, the Ouse, the Wharfe, the Don ; about its
wolds and vales, its fells and gills, its purple moors and
dark-green woods; its great cities York, with its stately
minster, busy Leeds, thriving Halifax, sunny Doncaster;
its castles as those of Middleham, Eichmond, Pickering,
Barnard, Bolton, Pontefract ; its beautiful churches and its
famous abbeys Whitby, Kirkham, Fountains, Rievaux,
(533)
DR. BIRCH'S "YOUNG GENTLEMEN." 17
Bolton. They had explored, moreover, much of its romantic
sea-coast, with its long stretches of lofty rugged cliff, its bold
promontories, its sweeps of firm, smooth sand, and the bays
of Filey, Robin Hood, Whitby, and Bunswick.
But we must turn our attention to Dr. Birch's school.
We do not propose to indulge in any sketches of school-
life, or to describe any incidents in the career of its pupils,
thinking that both subjects, of late, have been somewhat
overdone. But we must introduce the reader to a few of
the " young gentlemen," in order to explain how this book
came to be written.
The captain, or dux^ not very long ago, was one Francis
Seymour, now an officer in one of Her Majesty's Indian
regiments, then a lad of seventeen ; good-tempered, frank,
cheery, with an athletic frame, a prepossessing countenance,
and considerable mental powers. He was popularly known
as " the poet," from his partiality to verse-making and his
love of poetry. He was also distinguished as a story-teller,
and knew every legend and tradition of the country for
miles around.
His lieutenant and fidus Achates was Frederick Fisher ;
inferior, perhaps, to Seymour in natural powers, but of a
more laborious and patient disposition. He was a great
reader : and it was believed by the little boys that he had
read almost every book under the sun. Having a tenacious
memory, he had accumulated a really considerable stock of
information, and his schoolfellows referred to him as others
refer to a lexicon or a cyclopaedia. He was very fond oi
long walks; in the course of which he collected ferns and
wild plants, insects and birds' eggs, and noted the habits of
animals with wonderful accuracy of observation.
Always hanging about these two leaders were four or five
(533) 2
18 THE " FAT BOY."
of the steadier lads of the school, being kept together by a
certain similarity of tastes, and by the fact that they all
lived in the county-town, where they constantly mixed
together in society.
There was Sholto Douglas, a lively youth, much given to
fun and out-of-door sports, but by no means deficient in
ability.
There was Edward Yernon, a thoughtful boy, with a
strong aptitude for study and a natural quickness of obser-
vation, who wanted only more steadiness of purpose to be-
come a first-rate scholar.
There was Alfred Mount joy, a boy in most respects like
the average school-boy, but very affectionate, and of a fine
open disposition.
We must not omit Walter Beauchamp, a modest, gentle-
manly lad, who scarcely did himself justice, owing to his
retiring habits. Those who knew him well, however, knew
that he had that in him which would hereafter acquire dis-
tinction. Everybody liked him, for he was a thorough
gentleman; and boys are excellent judges of the " real thing."
Last, but not least, in the little company, was Charley
Lambert, popularly known as the Fat Boy, from his sup-
posed resemblance to a certain conspicuous character in
" Pickwick." He was fat, certainly, with a broad, good-
humoured face, like a full moon ; short, stumpy legs, and an
aldermanic rotundity of stomach. Of course, he was left
behind when Seymour and his companions took their long
pedestrian excursions ; Lambert could not conveniently climb
hills, or descend rugged banks, or leap ditches and fences.
His mode of progression was a steady, easy walk, and he
preferred as level a road as he could find. Douglas declared
that he did not walk, but waddle, an aspersion which Lam-
bert always resented with becoming indignation. He took
THE CAVE IN THE GLEN. 19
refuge from the jokes of his tormentors and, unfortunately,
boys are very great tormentors in a quiet corner of the
schoolroom, or in an angle of the playground, where he
amused himself by reading, of which he was very fond, and
strengthening his frame the while by banqueting on such
dainty viands as he could procure in the village-shops of
Firbank. Thoroughly good-humoured and gentle, he was a
favourite even with those who teased him most ; and he could
always rely on the kindly protection of Fisher and Seymour,
whom he worshipped with all a schoolboy's devotion.
Now it came about that, as the summer-time approached,
a few years ago, Fisher, Seymour, and their companions fell
into a habit of resorting, in the holiday afternoons, to the
little cave in the glen of which I have already spoken. As
Douglas said, " They could not be always walking and leap-
ing and running;" and Lambert declared that the weather
was too warm for unnecessary exertion. I think the habit
was encouraged by Fisher and Seymour, because it gave
them an opportunity of raising the intellectual standard of
their companions, by bringing them acquainted with the
best books of the best writers. They took it in turns to
read aloud, answering freely any questions which were
put to them, and taking care that their selections were
judiciously made, and of such a character as to keep alive
the attention of their auditors. In this way they went
through Byron's " Childe Harold," and a good deal of Words-
worth, some of Shakespeare's finest plays, Froissart's Chron-
icles, Fronde's " History of England," and similar works of
genius. And very pleasant the boys found it, sitting about
the entrance to the little cave, with the birds singing above
them, and the waters flowing beside them, and the sunshine
glinting through the trees and bushes, while they listened
to noble bursts of poetic fervour or to the stirring narratives
20 " JOLLY " TALES.
of the deeds of heroic men. The circle of listeners was
frequently very large, for, as Douglas said, " the readings
in the Cave of Wisdom were free gratis and for nothing;"
but I think Seymour and Fisher enjoyed them most when
none attended except their more immediate friends and fol-
lowers, on whose sympathy they could fully rely.
Seymour was wise enough to know, however, that boys
can easily have too much even of a good thing, and he was
" cudgelling his brains " to introduce some variety into their
afternoon occupations which might prevent his companions
from growing weary, when one day Lambert suddenly broke
out with
" Oh ! I say, weren't those jolly stories you fellows told in
the rail way- carriage ! "
"The railway-carriage!" said Vernon; "what do you
mean?"
"To think you don't remember!" exclaimed Lambert.
" What ! have you forgotten our precious adventure in the
snow, when we came back this half?"
" Of course not ; I arn not likely to forget it. And now I
know what you mean these tales about tiger-hunts and
lion-hunts "
" And bears, and all the rest of them," said Lambert ;
" well, weren't they jolly !"
" Capital ! " remarked Mountjoy ; " but you can read
them for yourself, if you want to do so, in the book which
Dr. Birch got printed and published."*
" As if I didn't know that, when my copy of it has been
thumbed and fingered till the leaves will hardly hold to-
gether ! But what I say is, they were stunning stories, and
I wish there were more of them ! "
* See "The Forest, the Jungle, and the Prairie," published by Messrs.
Nelson and Sons.
READINGS IN THE CAVE. 21
" An idea has struck me ! " exclaimed Seymour ; " why
should we not have more of them ? I have not exhausted
all my stock, and I am sure that Fisher has no end of jolly
tales collected in that precious manuscript volume of his ! "
" I am quite ready to do my part," answered Fisher ;
" and as we have some excellent books of travel in the school
library, we might each of us prepare a contribution or two
towards the general fund of amusement and instruction ; for
if we intersperse our stories with bits of information respect-
ing the habits of the animals we are talking about, we shall
not only be entertained but instructed."
" Sagely spoken ! " said Douglas. " And as I agree in toto
with the honourable member who has just sat down, and
with the honourable member who preceded him, I beg to
move that our ' Eeadings in the Cave ; be suspended until
further notice, in consequence of the production of a series of
entertainments by Messrs. Seymour, Fisher, Yernon, and a
talented company, to be entitled what? "
" ' Scenes with the Hunter and the Trapper/ " said Sey-
mour, laughingly.
" Excellent ! Brilliant ! Delightful ! " resumed Douglas.
" A series of entertainments, to be entitled ' Scenes with the
Hunter and the Trapper in Many Lands/ warranted to
make the public's blood cr-r-r-e-eep, and the public's hair to
stand on end ! n
After a little further discussion, it was unanimously agreed
that the following Saturday should witness the commence-
ment of the series, and that the subject should be the Tiger.
" An afternoon with a tiger ! " said Douglas, as the little
party broke up ; " imagine rny looking forward to it with
positive pleasure ! "
II.
Jib out the ^ijjer.
THE TIGEE DESCRIBED TIGER-HUNTS THE BENGAL TIGER NARRA-
TIVES OF ADVENTURE STORIES FROM THE JUNGLE ABOUT THE
PANTHER.
f
JHE boys assembled at the cave on the following
Saturday afternoon, according to agreement. Sey-
k mour was appointed chairman, and proceeded to
explain the purpose for which they had met. He
then stated that the subject of conversation was
the Tiger, and that he proposed to offer a few introductory
remarks before calling upon their friend Fisher for a " hair-
breadth escape " or a " thrilling adventure."
The tiger, he said, as everybody knows, is a very splendid
specimen of the Felidce, or Cat family ; though he was not
the kind of cat which one would desire to treat as a domestic
pet. There could be no doubt as to his handsome appear-
ance ; his coat, of a bright orange-yellow, was richly varie-
gated with stripes or bars of black ; and his eyes shone like
balls of fire. He was famous for his swiftness of foot and
fierceness of temper : men, when they wanted to characterize
a cruel, vindictive disposition, spoke of it as "tigerish."
Shakespearian readers would remember the force and fre-
quency of the great poet's allusions to this crafty and feroci-
ous lord of the jungle. Borneo, in his extremest agony,
speaks of " the time and his intents " as
TENACITY OF LIFE. 23
" More fierce and more inexorable far
Than empty tigers or the roaring sea."
Queen Elizabeth compares Bichard III. to this savage beast
" The tiger now hath seized the gentle hind."
And in King John, the Cardinal warns the King of France
against the duplicity of the English monarch
" France, thou mayst hold a serpent by the tongue,
A chafSd lion by the mortal paw,
A fasting tiger safer by the tooth."
In size the tiger is generally inferior to the " chafed lion,"
but individual examples have been known to surpass the
so-called King of Beasts, measuring as much as fifteen feet
from the nose to the tip of the tail.
He has a muscular, robust, well-proportioned body. Hence
his nimbleness would surprise our friend Lambert; and
when he is pursuing or pursued, he covers the ground with
wonderful celerity. He has been ascertained to clear fifteen
or twenty feet at a single leap. When hunting for prey in
the lower Himalayan valleys, he bounds from crag to crag
like the Alpine chamois ; he springs boldly across the most
tremendous chasms ; though sometimes, indeed, he miscalcu-
lates the distance or over-estimates his strength, and failing to
reach the opposite side, is dashed to death in the abyss below !
Like all of his tribe, he possesses an extraordinary tenaci-
ousness of life; and it is this strong vitality which makes
tiger-hunting dangerous. Even if the hunter be sufficiently
confident in his presence of mind and skill as a marksman
to allow the tiger to approach within such a distance as to
make sure of a shot between the eyes, the danger he incurs
is still very great. A bullet in the head does not always
check the raging animal in his charge. Instances are on
24 BLAKE ON THE TIGEK.
record of tigers which, have pursued their furious career for
some distance after receiving a mortal wound. A Madras
sepoy was once measuring a tiger that had just fallen to the
ground, and lay, to all appearance, dead. But the animal
contrived, even in his death-agonies, to lift his paw and deal
the unfortunate soldier a blow which fractured his skull.
These prefatory remarks I may, perhaps, be allowed to
conclude with the fine lines in which William Blake, a great
poet and artist, has celebrated the wonderful organization
of this splendid animal :
" Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Framed thy fearful symmetry?
" In what distant deeps or skies
Burned that fire within thine eyes?
On what wings dared he aspire?
What the hand dared seize the fire ?
"And what shoulder, and what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart ?
When thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand formed thy dread feet ?
" What the hammer, what the chain,
Knit thy strength and forged thy brain ?
What the anvil ? What dread grasp
Dared thy deadly terrors clasp ?
" When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see ?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?"
Seymour then " called upon " Frederick Fisher to favour
" the audience " with an illustration of the carnivorous pro-
pensities of the tiger. Fisher immediately began a narrative,
for which, he said, he was indebted to an interesting book
by an old Indian officer.
ON THE MYSORE FRONTIER.
25
MAN AND THE TIGER.
An Indian officer* was stationed for several years in a
remote part of our Indian possessions, on the Mysore
frontier, and near the great many-crested range of the
Western Ghauts, whose rugged flanks are richly clothed
with mighty forests wildernesses which the foot of man
CHOOSING A VICTIM.
has never trodden solitudes never disturbed by human
voice. There the tigress loves to feed her young, and
issuing with her savage partner from their lair, she scours
the smaller jungles of the plain, and strikes terror into the
* Major W. Campbell, ' The Old Forest Ranger.'
26 THE MAN-EATING TIGER.
hearts of all its humbler inhabitants. Some idea of the
havoc committed by these animals may be gathered from
the fact that, according to official returns, in one district,
three hundred men and five thousand head of cattle were
destroyed during three years.
While confined to the forest, the tiger is comparatively
harmless. There, feeding principally on deer, he rarely
encounters man, and when the solitary hunter does en-
counter the l grim tyrant of the woods,' an instinctive fear
of the human race bids him retreat. But in the open
country he becomes dangerous. Hunger rouses his fellest
passions, and he seeks his prey even under the herds-
man's eyes. Still he shrinks from attacking man, unless
incensed or urged to desperation. But let him once taste
human blood, and the spell is for ever broken. His
awe of man is loosened ; his nature seems changed ; he
deserts the jungle, and haunts the very doors of his vic-
tims. He lets the cattle pass unheeded, to carry off their
driver ; and from that time forth the tiger becomes a Man-
eater.
A notorious old tigress, says our military authority,
which I assisted in killing some years ago, used to lie in
wait near the ford of a rivulet daily crossed by travellers,
and after carrying off several letter-bearers she became so
dreaded, that the road which passed her haunts was deserted.
For years she had frequented the same covert ; repeated
attempts had been made to destroy her ; she had been
caught in nets and pitfalls, but always escaped ; and at last
she became so cunning as to baffle the most experienced
hunters of the district. In the course of a tour through the
province, our officer, accompanied by a friend, encamped
close to the scene of her depredations. Their shikarees, or
beaters as we should call them always on the quest for
A FIERY FURNACE. 27
information about tigers, heard of her, and most fortunately
hit upon her trail next morning. It was traced right into
a small but impenetrable clump of brushwood on the banks
of a stream, and this was so effectually surrounded by the
hunters, as to render the animal's escape impossible. The
officer and his friend, on their elephant, arrived at the spot,
and beat the thicket, inch by inch, wherever it was practi-
cable ; wading through masses of overgrown creepers, and
tearing down the trees which impeded his progress, without,
however, discovering the tigress's retreat. Finding that she
was not thus to be dislodged, the elephant was withdrawn,
and showers of rockets and other combustibles were flung
into the covert, while the Englishmen planted themselves
on a tree which commanded a good view of the whole clump.
It was soon a sheet of flame, and the heat became so
intolerable, that they were constrained to abandon their
post. One of the daring hunters had already reached the
ground ; the other was in the act of dropping from a branch,
when the tigress leapt from the fiery furnace, lashing her
sides with her tail, and howling furiously. They discharged
their rifles almost simultaneously, and broke her leg by a
rifle-ball. Fortunately she did not charge, for they were
both in her power. The smoke seemed to stupify her, and
creeping into a date-bush, there she lay concealed, and re-
ceived several shots without attempting the least resistance.
This tigress showed, both in appearance and disposition, all
the marks of a true man-eater. Her skull bore the traces
of great age ; her body in size did not exceed that of a
panther ; and her lean gaunt figure seemed diseased by the
human flesh on which she fed.
Another instance is recorded by the same writer of a
man-eater obstinately confining himself to a small patch of
jungle until it was burnt down around him. ' We could see
28 THE TIGER'S GREAT STRENGTH.
him, completely exposed, sitting on his haunches encircled
by fire; we could hear his hoarse roar rising above the
crepitation of the flames ; his glaring eyeballs rolled from
side to side, watching the rockets which fell thickly round
him ; the intense glare of the light seemed to dilate and
expand his form, and kindle his brilliant colours into a
wonderful brightness. At last the heat became intolerable ;
the flames scorched him. Uttering a roar that startled even
the most veteran sportsman, he sprang with one tremendous
bound over the blazing barrier, and dropped dead the instant
he alighted. In both these cases rockets were profusely em-
ployed, though without effect ; but, in general, tigers may be
forced from the strongest coverts by the use of fireworks.'
The muscular strength of this formidable animal seems
out of all proportion to his size. A bullock, says Major
Campbell, was killed by a tiger near his encampment, on
the banks of the Tumboodra, in a field fenced round by a
hedge of prickly pear about six feet high. On going to the
spot, he found the carcass of the bullock, partly devoured,
on the outside of the hedge ; not a branch was ruffled, and
the only clue to account for its removal were the deeply
impressed footprints of a large tiger, where he must have
oveiieapt the barrier with his prey in his jaws. The im-
possibility of the bullock having been conveyed thither in
any other way, was the only proof that an animal weighing
not more than 600 pounds could have exercised such tre-
mendous strength. This is due to his anatomical structure.
The mechanism of his fore leg is very beautiful ; its girth is
upwards of two feet, and it is a mass of elastic muscle and
sinew. The jaw, the neck, the shoulders, convey the same
idea of surpassing strength combined with wonderful agility.
The following are given as the dimensions of an average-
sized tiger :
CONFUSED NOMENCLATURE. 29
Ft. In.
Length from point of nose to point of tail 9 5
Length of tail 2 10
Height, from heel to shoulder 3 9.
Extreme length, from shoulder to point of toe 3 11
There is some confusion in the use of the word ' tiger.'
In many parts of India, and in Ceylon, leopards and
THE TIGER IN THE HIMALAYAS.
panthers are called tree-tigers; and English sportsmen are
sometimes summoned by the natives to ' kill a tiger/ only to
find that the animal in question is one of the less formidable
felidce. Mr. Acland relates that a party of officers once went
out from Cuttack to shoot. Their men were beating the
30 A PRACTICAL JOKE.
jungle, when suddenly all the wild cry ceased, and a man came
gliding to the spot where all the ' sahibs' were assembled,
to tell them that a tiger was lying asleep in his den close at
hand. A consultation was instantly held ; most of the party
expressed a desire to return to Cuttack, but Captain Blake
let us call him insisted on having a shot at the animal.
Accordingly, he advanced very quickly until he came to the
place, where he saw not a tiger, but a large leopard, lying
quite still, with his head resting on his fore paws. He went
up close and fired, but the animal made no movement. This
astonished him ; and on examination he found that the sup-
posed ' man-eater ; was already dead. One of his companions
had bribed some Indians to place a dead leopard there, and
then speak of it as a ' tiger asleep. ; It may be imagined
that Captain Blake did not see the joke !
[" Do tigers climb, like other felidae?" asked Beauchamp.
" No," replied Fisher ; " perhaps because the prey on
which they feed is not of an arboreal habit. They possess
the power, I fancy, but have no call to exercise it."
" It may be on account of their great weight," rejoined
Seymour. " What an exertion of muscular force would be
needed to drag so heavy a bulk up an Indian tree ! By-
the-by, I think I remember a powerful passage in Shelley,
which may here come in as an illustration, though I am not
sure that I can give it correctly. A ship is sinking ; two
tigers, confined between-decks, have burst their bonds, and
plunged into the wide world of waters, where a sea-snake
has grappled with one of them in deadly contest. Now, says
the poet"* and here Seymour, in his excitement, leaped
* The reader will be disposed to cavil, perhaps, because we have repre-
sented a lad of seventeen as quoting Shelley. But many lads of seventeen
do read and appreciate Shelley. Nor is there any reason why they should
not read so much of his works as is contained in Moxon's edition of the
THE TIGER AND THE SHARK. 31
to his feet, and recited the impassioned lines with emphatic
force :
" ' The foam and the smoke of the battle
Stain the clear air with sunbows ; the jar and the rattle.
Of solid bones crushed by the infinite stress
Of the snake's adamantine voluminousness ;
And the hum of the hot blood that spouts and rains
Where the gripe of the tiger has wounded the veins,
Swollen with rage, strength, and effort ; the whirl and the splash
As of some hideous engine whose brazen teeth smash
The thin winds and soft waves into thunder ! the screams
And hissings crawl fast o'er the smooth ocean-streams,
Each sound like a centipede. Near this commotion,
A blue shark is hanging within the blue ocean,
The fin-winged tomb of the victor. The other
Is winning his way from the fate of his brother,
To his own, with the speed of despair. Lo ! a boat
Advances ; twelve rowers with the impulse of thought
Urge on the keen keel ; the brine foams. At the stern
Three marksmen stand levelling. Hot bullets burn
In the breast of the tiger, which yet bears him on
To his refuge and ruin.'
There's a glorious picture, boys, which only a painter of
great genius could realize ! The foaming and churning
waters strewn with wreck the awful struggle between the
tiger and the sea-snake the expectant shark the swift-
cutting keel and the levelled muskets of the marksmen
and that other tiger, who, with three balls in his breast, still
rushes on to refuge and ruin what a scene might be made
up of these elements, and if well-painted, how it would
thrill the gazer ! "
" Bravo, Seymour," shouted the lads, as he threw himself
' Minor Poems.' There is much in the poet's writings to deplore ; but much
more to admire, and 'numbers of passages might be adduced,' as Robertson
remarks (' Lectures and Addresses,' p. 63), ' steeped in a flood of earnest de-
sire to see this earth regenerated, and purified, and the spirit of man mingling
with the infinite Spirit of Good.' A boy with a healthy mind and generous
heart will readily discern where Shelley errs.
32 IN THE MAHRATTA COUNTRY.
back in his seat, apparently surprised at his own enthusiasm.
Fisher again resumed his reading :
An incident which occurred in the Mahratta country is
curious as showing how a wounded tiger will single out the
man who fires at him. A tiger was found in a small patch
of jungle, near camp, by a party of shikarees who were out
hunting the boar. They surrounded the place, and fired
away with their matchlocks till sunset, without doing much
harm. The tiger, slightly wounded, was lying in the middle
of the thicket, and there he remained, responding to each
shot by a roar that deterred every one from approaching
near enough to take deadly aim. Well, when they could no
longer see the muzzles of their long barrels, they determined
to watch round the cover all night, and in the morning, if
the tiger was not yet dead, to make him devour a few more
bullets. It was growing very dark, and somewhat cold.
One of the shikarees determined to cheer himself with a
whiff, but when the chillum had just begun to glow brightly,
a rush was heard among the bushes, a roar rang in their
affrighted ears, and the tiger leapt in upon them. The un-
fortunate smoker was smashed by a blow which fell, dull,
heavy, and crushing, as the stroke of a sledge hammer, and
away sped the tiger far into the deep darkness of the night.
It would seem that the tiger mistook the incandescent
chillum for the flash of a matchlock, and rushed to revenge
himself on his adversary.
["And now, boys, I think I have played out my part.
Seymour, I call upon you for the next story."
" Yes, Seymour, no excuses ; fire away, old fellow," were
the shouts which endorsed Fisher's suggestion, and Seymour
good-naturedly hastened to comply.]
ANOTHER TIGER-STORY. 33
THE MAN-EATER.
Transport yourselves in imagination to the banks of the
great river Cauvery, which, beneath a hot Indian sun, flows
darkly and sluggishly through the rank jungles of Mysore.
There, once upon a time, you might have seen an old
dismantled mud-fort, whose crumbling walls were washed by
turbid waters. Amongst the shallows, with outstretched
necks and vigilant eyes, waded the snow-white egret and
the stately crane. On the oozy sand-banks basked the
alligator's scaly length, and above the reeds hovered the
Brahminey kite, uttering its querulous note, as the setting
sun's slanting beams gilded its quivering wings. Herds of
lazy buffaloes trooped homeward from the pasture, a sun-
burnt urchin, planted on the back of the most docile, shout-
ing shrill objurgations to his charge, whose only reply was
a hoarse and meditative grunt. The turtle-dove cooed
among the mango-leaves, and the sharp cry of the wild pea-
cock echoed through the copse. And under the shade of
the drooping banyan-trees reclined the graceful figure of
many a Hindu girl, listening well-pleased to the wild and
plaintive song of her companions.
Soft and pastoral the scene, as any which Arcady could
have presented in the golden age, though so unlike in the
attributes of form and colour. Soft and pastoral the scene,
except, indeed, that ever and anon a loud startling cry
would ring upon the breeze, and before it had utterly died
away, find an answer in the opposite quarter. A strange
and eery sound, such as man only utters at moments of
urgent peril ; the shout of the Mysore woodsman, endeavour-
ing with the spell of the human voice to scare the tiger from
his path.
On such an evening, as the sun was sinking in a cloud
(533) 3
34 THE BRAHMIN'S ABLUTIONS.
of gold and purple, Rung Row, the priest of a certain
Mysore village, pursued his path along the river-bank in
search of a convenient spot for his evening ablutions.
Musing, let us suppose, on high and holy themes, the
Brahmin strode along, with eyes fixed upon the glowing
heavens, and scarcely noticing the lowly salutations humbly
offered by the Ryots whom he encountered.
At a bend of the river, a few hundred yards from the
village, its waters nestled in a dimpling bay, fringed with
glossy aloe-bushes and bordered with soft and glittering
sand. It was a favourite spot with the Brahmin, and had
Naiads ever flourished on the Cauvery, thither I am sure
would every Naiad have resorted. For so bright were the
river-waves, so rich the encircling verdure, so bold the sweep
of the over-arching boughs which almost hid
' The summer-heaven's delicious blue
So wondrous wild, the whole might seem
The scenery of a fairy dream ! '
SCOTT.
Uttering a prayer at every step, the Brahmin waded into
the river, and commenced the ceremony of ablution by pour-
ing water from a small brass vessel over his shaven crown
and well-oiled skin.
Hark ! what sound was that ? The Brahmin's ears
were closed by the cold water that poured over them, or the
rustle in the bushes would assuredly have alarmed him.
Unsuspicious of danger he did not raise his head, or he
might have seen two bright-green orbs hungrily glaring at
him through the branches of a neighbouring aloe-bush.
Alas ! For him no more the prayer or the rite the mys-
tery or the revel ! His hour was come, and the terrible
man-eater of Shikarpoor had marked him for his prey.
Stealthily she glided through the brush wood, mid draped
SURPRISED BY A TIGER. 35
herself noiselessly along the sand, until the river-marge was
reached ; then, with a roar and a rush she sprang upon her
victim, crushed in his skull to the brain, and clenched her
murderous teeth in his throat. A moment more, and with
the dead body in her grasp, she was bounding away to her
secret lair.
Many a poor Kyot and woodsman had already fallen
victims to this terrible beast, but their fate had created no
concern ; they belonged to the vulgar herd, for whom the
great ones of the earth have little care. But when a peasant
boy, who had witnessed the closing scene of the tragedy, ran
into the village, screaming Bagh! Bagh! and made known
the dreadful fate of the Brahmin, the anxiety and the con-
sternation were indescribable ; men went about in an agony
of grief, and women tore their hair and beat their breasts.
The officials and the priests, the women and the Ryots, were
alike agreed that Rung Row's fate must be avenged, and the
career of the man-eater summarily terminated.
It happened that two English officers let us call them
Mansfield and Burton had arrived a day or two before in
a neighbouring village. Their fame as mighty hunters had
preceded them, and it was generally believed that some
supernatural power guided their death-dealing weapons, so
that they never missed their aim. To these a deputation of
Brahmins and armed peons, and noisy musicians, repaired in
solemn state, and humbly implored their co-operation in an
expedition against the terrible man-eater. Mansfield and
Burton sportsmen to the backbone, and true Englishmen
in their love of dangerous adventure and hazardous enter-
prise willingly acceded, and having made some neces-
sary preparations, proceeded towards the scene of the
Brahmin's catastrophe. It was nearly sunset when they
arrived, and an attempt to track the man-eater's trail
36 THE HOT PURSUIT.
having proved unsuccessful, the Englishmen postponed the
campaign until the next "morning. As soon as it \vas dawn,
the Englishmen were roused by their attendants. They
quickly mounted, and, preceded by an elephant and its
mahout or driver, set out in quest of the tiger.
After traversing some open country, they penetrated
into a deep obscure valley, clothed with fresh verdure, and
watered by a perennial stream, which in the fiercest sum-
mer never ran dry. As it plunged into the bosom of the
hills it grew narrower, and finally terminated in a romantic
glen, not unlike those which are the glory and the pride of
the Scottish Highlands. Here, one of their attendants
Bhurmah, a noted Baghman or tiger-slayer discovered
the fresh footprints of the animal they were in search of.
Mansfield and Burton immediately mounted the elephant,
accompanied by a trusty shikaree, named Ayapah ; the
various attendants were ordered to take up the most favour-
able positions for guarding every point of escape ; and, as a
further precaution, a native horseman was posted on an
ascent which overlooked the surrounding country, with in-
structions to keep the tigress in sight if she broke away.
Then, at the mot tfordre
["The what?" said the Fat Boy, sleepily.
" The word of command," retorted Douglas, in an angry
tone.]
Then, at a signal from the mahout, (continued Seymour),
the elephant advanced, crashing through the intertangled
branches as a ship ploughs through the bounding waves.
Yet, like the course of a ship when beaten back by contrary
winds, the elephant's progress was slow and irregular ; he
was impeded by masses of prickly shrubs and bushes, and
climbing parasitical plants, so densely matted together that
even his immense bulk could scarcely open up a path. But
THE TIGRESS SIGHTED. 37
the Englishmen were as patient as they were ardent. Hour
after hour passed away, and every corner, but one, of the
wooded cover was examined. In this the brushwood was
less luxuriant, but high spear-grass shot up to a considerable
height. The elephant was urged forward. Suddenly a
monkey, who had watched the whole scene with observant
sagacity, was observed to spring from tree to tree, moping
and mowing, grinning and chattering, and pointing to some
object that stole through the long grass waving below him.
'Look, Sahib!' cried Ayapah, from the back of the
liowdak.
' Push on the elephant ! ' shouted Mansfield, ' the beast is
yonder, and trying to escape us.'
Well enough did the lordly elephant know that his game
was at hand, and flapping his ears, with glistening eyes and
curled up trunk he strode forward at a rapid pace.
'There is the trail!' exclaimed Ayapah, pointing to fresh
footprints on the side of the ravine.
' Shall I cross ? ' asked the mahout ; but before he could
receive a reply a wild shout, caught up on every side, proclaimed
that the tiger had been sighted, and away went the elephant
through bush and brier, over the ravine, and towards the
point from whence the shikar cry had first proceeded. The
rockets now blazed all around, but the man-eater had been
hunted before, and was not to be checked by these pyrotechnical
displays. The scouts still pointed forward, and, before the
elephant had forced a passage through the jungle, a shikaree,
watching the plain, waved his turban and uttered the well-
known whoop, which announced that she had c broken cover.'
' She has beaten us,' cried Mansfield ; ' the daughter of
Sheitan has beaten us, and is off to the hills as fast as she
can scour ! '
They had now reached the open plain where the horse-
38 A TEMPORARY DISAPPOINTMENT.
man had been posted, and where the cowardly Hindu might
now be seen apparently urging his horse in hot pursuit of
the man-eater, but prudently determined that he would not
overtake her. Not that he had much cause to apprehend
such a result in the hilly country, the pace of the tiger out-
stripping that of most native horses. As soon as the man-
eater had disappeared over the brow of a hill, the sowar
wheeled round his horse and made towards the English officers,
brandishing his spear as if he were returning from a success-
ful combat. ' Inshallah ! ' he cried, * she did not wait till my
spear could reach her ; she fled like a dove before a hawk ! '
'And well for you,' said Mansfield sarcastically, 'that
you did not come to close quarters with her. But did you
mark the tigress? Was she in sight when you gained the
top of the hill?'
'What could your slave do?' replied the sowar, in a tone
of humility ; ' could he outstrip the lightning?'
Mansfield turned from the timorous braggart in disgust,
and addressing the shikarees, in a few emphatic words urged
upon them the necessity of pushing forward at their utmost
speed to take up the man-eater's trail.
"That fellow,' he added, 'has been of little service as a
marker, but we may track her up again. She cannot have
gone far. A hundred rupees for the man who follows her
up to her lair ! '
A native would sell his hopes of the future for money,
and the pleasant sound of rupees rousing them from their
despondency, they eagerly recommenced the chase.
Scattering themselves over the country, they inspected
the soil with the earnestness of gold-diggers. Some time
elapsed before any discovery rewarded their exertions, but
at length a young villager, who had been scrutinizing a sheep
track, suddenly halted, and gave the signal of success. On
BHURM All's SIGNAL. 39
running to the spot, all were convinced that the footmark
he had discovered was that of a tiger. But when the vete-
ran Bhurmah came on the scene he contemptuously pro-
nounced it to be at least three days old !
["What a swindle!" ejaculated Mountjoy; "now I re-
member "
" Never mind your reminiscences at present," said Douglas.
" Go on, Seymour; I call this ' thrilling !'"]
The quest was recommenced with somewhat less eager-
ness than before; but Bhurmah, turning away from the <x
TroXXot excuse the bit of Greek, boys struck off in a different
direction, towards a noisy little mountain - stream that
tumbled over the craggy rocks, spluttering and foaming, like a
child at play.
' Down to the vale this water steers;
How merrily it goes !
'Twill murmur on a thousand years,
And flow as now it flows ! '
WORDSWORTH.
Into this he dived, and for awhile was seen no more ; but
soon his head re-appeared above the bank, and he raised an
exultant shout, which was answered by a hundred voices and
ten hundred echoes.
* That is Bhurmah's signal,' cried Mansfield, ' and may be
depended upon. Bravo, old fellow, you deserve a medal,
and shall have it ! '
["A medal?" here interrupted Beauchamp, inquiringly.
" The British government rewards the native who slays a
tiger with a medal, and few medals are better deserved ; for
in many parts of India this ferocious beast is a terrible curse."]
Well, on joining Bhurmah, he was found inspecting the
margin of a small pond.
* She has stopped here to drink,' he said, ' and as the sun
has not yet dried the moisture of her footprints she cannot
be far ahead.'
40 A LOJSG RANGE.
Shikarees and peons, sowars and Englishmen, all followed
up this new trail with breathless eagerness, rejoicing to find
it more and more distinct as they advanced. It was carried
to the summit of the hills, and thence over a considerable
extent of rugged table-land. A flock of goats fed leisurely
among the rocks on the mountain-side, and their herdsman
sat watching them like a statue, as if some sudden spell had
congealed him into stone. For the sun poured out his hottest
rays on that open plain, and the little gray fox basked in the
burning light, and the wolf slouched by, with lollhig tongue,
indifferent to the presence of man. The scanty vegetation
wore a brown, faded, and scorched appearance; the date-trees,
planted here and there, hung their heads as if stricken by a
fatal blight ; the soil gaped in wide chinks and cracks ; the
air seemed heavy, though the sky shone without a cloud ;
the god of fire moved abroad, and all nature was blasted by
his presence !
Here the trail was suddenly lost, and the hunters looked
at each other in wonderment and dismay.
Mansfield cast around an inquiring glance. Ah, the goats
have seen an enemy ! Look, how they start, and now see !
they scramble hurriedly over rock and crag. ' My rifle,
Ayapah ; there she goes ! '
Ay, the man-eater was once more iu view. Burton
threw forward his rifle, and instantly fired, although the
tigress was nearly three hundred yards distant. The bullet
fell short of its mark.
, ' Too long a range, friend,' said Mansfield, * for a sure
shot. We must push on and get nearer. She can never
keep up that tremendous pace under such a sun.'
' Sahib,' said Bhurmah, ' may thy servant speak. It will
be better for us to remain quiet. She is making straight for
her house the ravine that lies yonder, below us. There
will she lay up. I have tracked her thither before now.'
THE TIGRESS'S DEX. 41
'No doubt you are right,' rejoined Mansfield, as he
watched the tigress with his glass. ' She is nearly blown.
Ay, now she looks back; I can see her open jaws; her
tongue is lolling a foot out of her mouth, and white with
foam. We have her now ; she has disappeared under the
bank, and must stand to bay. But oh, for two hours more
of daylight!'
'She has chosen a regular stronghold,' said Bhurmah,
'and will die hard. I have known a tiger hold out for a
whole day against three elephants in that very place, and, be
sure, the man-eater of Shikarpoor knows the strongest part.'
' She shall not beat us,' exclaimed Mansfield, rising and
motioning to the mahout. ' She shall not beat us, even if I
set fire to the whole jungle, and burn her out of her lair.
Come on ! '
' The bushes are still green,' quietly observed Bhurmah.
By the time the tigress's cover had been completely sur-
rounded the sun was setting, and shadows gathered rapidly
over the evening sky. There was no time to lose. Bhur-
mah mounted the howdah that he might guide the mahout
at once to the spot where he expected to find the tigress,
for he knew every inch of ground, and on this occasion he
was not mistaken. The experienced shikaree directed the
elephant to a clump of bramble bushes which flourished on a
high ledge of almost perpendicular rock. To penetrate
further was impossible. Pointing upwards to an opening in
the thick high grass, through which a heavy animal had
evidently forced its way, he exclaimed,
1 There is her den !' And a low growl among the bushes
proclaimed that he had not erred.
It was a famous fastness a spot where half a dozen
resolute men might have defied a battalion of the best in-
fantry in Europe. In front rolled a mountain-torrent ;
42
ON THE WATCH-
THERE IS HER DEN !"
behind rose a precipitous cliff; arouud grew a thick barrier
of prickly and intertangled bush. There was no mode of
access, no path by which an elephant could approach. Only
one chance of success remained, and, the elephant being
withdrawn, Mansfield and Charles Burton posted themselves
on a rocky ledge out of the tigress's reach if she burst from
her lair, and directed their attendants to pelt her with
rockets from the opposite height. But it was all in vain.
The rockets set fire to the thin dry grass, but the bushes
ANOTHER VICTIM. 43
would not kindle, and the man-eater resolutely refused to
expose herself to the deadly rifles of her enemies.
Night came on, and, weary and dispirited, the English-
men were compelled to retire.
For three whole days, however, they continued their
chase. It was known that, during the night, she had again
issued from her stronghold ; but the surrounding country
was traversed for leagues without discovering any sign of
her whereabouts. Englishmen, happily for the honour of
the Red Cross, do not readily abandon any object which
they have heartily taken up, and the two officers, with their
shikarees, relaxed not one whit in the ardour of their search.
On the fourth morning, whilst Bhurmah and his shika-
rees were exploring some covert in the neighbourhood, two
herd boys sat watching their buffaloes in the valley where the
pursuit had first begun. They cared little for wild beasts :
had not the English sahibs driven the terrible man-eater from
that part of the country, and for the rest, the old bull of the
herd, as long as they kept by his side, would effectually pro-
tect them. So, heedless of the coming peril, they sauntered
along, picking berries and sporting childishly, until, woe's me !
they had wandered a considerable distance from the herd.
It is seldom, I think, that we have any presentiment of
approaching danger. These boys were playing in careless
glee, and yet the destroyer was close upon them. She had
crept so stealthily from bush to bush, that her heavy breath-
ing first gave warning of their imminent peril. The fierce
eyes of the tigress glared with fire. One of the boys turned
round : he uttered a shriek of terror ; he screamed forth,
'Bagh!' But scarcely had the sound passed his lips ere
the tigress was upon him, and had clutched him in the fell
grasp of her ravenous jaws. His brother fled to the nearest
tree, and climbed it with speed ; from its summit he saw
44 THE SECOND PURSUIT.
the tigress hasten back with her bleeding prey to her lair in
the jungle. As soon as she was out of sight, he made for
the village to give the alarm ; and in less than an hour
Mansfield and his shikarees, guided by the trembling herd-
boy, were on their way to the scene of this sad catastrophe.
When they reached it, and saw the ground covered with
blood and brains, the boldest ' held his breath for a time,'
and Mansfield, as he drew his rough hand across his eyes to
hide those tears which his manhood strove to conceal, and
which yet did so much honour to that manhood, vowed not
to relinquish his pursuit of the man-eater until he had
avenged the death of the poor Hindu herd-boy.
1 Ask him, one of you,' said he, addressing a peon, 'if
he would like to come with me on the elephant, and see that
accursed tigress die.'
The natives were lost in astonishment at the condescen-
sion of a JBurrah Sahib or great gentleman in offering to
mount a poor naked outcast boy on the same elephant as
himself, and at first shrunk from the perpetration of so
appalling a sacrilege. But Mansfield insisted ; he was re-
luctantly obeyed ; Burton had taken his seat in the howdah,
and Mansfield was about to follow, when the elephant,
weary of kneeling so long on the hard ground, gave expres-
sion to his annoyance by an angry roar. Before he had
time to rise, the buffaloes, which had been peacefully grazing
round the edge of the jungle, lifted their heads, snorted, and
made a simultaneous rush towards one point.
' Bagh ! bagh !' shrieked the terrified child, flinging him-
self down into the bottom of the howdah.
'And so it is, I declare !' exclaimed Mansfield, leaping
to the ground. ' She has taken the alarm already. The
large rifle quick !'
Ayapah thrust it into his eager hand. Instantaneously
A GOOD SHOT 1 45
lie raised the weapon, took aim, and fired. ' That hit her !'
he calmly observed, as he dropped the discharged weapon
into the hollow of his arm, and stood for a moment to watch
the effect of his shot.
The tigress, who was stealing along at a distance of full
two hundred yards, uttered a short angry roar, and dropped
on her knees. When she rose, one fore leg hung dangling
from her shoulder, and, so crippled, she shrunk into cover,
pursued by the buffaloes, bellowing at her haunches.
To the bystanders such an exhibition of skill seemed
something miraculous, and they regarded the Burrali Sahib
with reverential awe. Old Bhurmah himself could hardly
believe his senses when he heard the soft thud of the bullet,
and perceived the brute drop at a distance so far beyond the
range of his own trusty matchlock. And the poor little
herd-boy clasped his hands in gratitude, when he saw that
his brother's murderer was disabled from further flight, and
doomed to an inevitable death.
Reloading his rifle, Mansfield took his seat in the howdah,
Bhurmah climbed up on the crupper, and the stately ele-
phant marched to the final encounter.
A trail of blood guided them to the bush where the
tigress lay concealed, licking the blood from her shattered
shoulder, and growling ominously at the approach of her
assailants. Mansfield bade Burton be ready and be cool, as
he would wait for him to take the first shot. They were
now near enough to observe the bush agitated, as if the
man-eater was collecting herself for a rush, and a low mut-
tered roar gave forth a note of warning.
' Keep him steady now, she is coming !' said Mansfield,
addressing the mahout with serene composure. Charles
Burton held his breath in his excitement, as he cocked both
barrels of his rifle, and half raised it to his shoulder.
46 THE MAN-EATER KILLED.
( Do not hurry, boy/ cried Mansfield ; i take it coolly/
The branches crashed, a brindled mass glittered through
them, and the tigress leaped forth. Fire was in her glaring
eyes every hair on her body stood erect her flanks quiv-
ered her tail lashed her foaming sides. With a deep growl,
she arched her back and lowered her head for a spring.
1 Now ! '
With the speed of thought followed the flash of the rifle,
both barrels being discharged almost simultaneously, and
the tigress staggered back with two balls in her breast. She
recovered herself, however, and was in the act of essaying
another charge, when a shot from Mansfield's unerring rifle
crashed into her brain. The natives soon arrived on the
spot, and, exulting over the downfall of the destroyer, in-
voked the blessing of Heaven on the head of the invincible
Burrah Sahib the illustrious Bagh-mar the redoubtable
slayer of wild beasts !
[Fisher now turned to his inexhaustible budget, and
offered the following summary of interesting facts : ]
A recent writer observes that tigers may be divided into
three groups : first, those leading a wild and retired life in the
jungle recesses, feeding solely on game, and proving helpful
in some degree to man by keeping down the numbers of the
deer and nylgai that feed upon his crops. In the second
class may be placed the cattle-lifters, which dwell in the
neighbourhood of the pastures and pools frequented by
oxen. These animals generally consume an ox in about five
days ; but if fired at when returning to their partly-eaten
prey, they will usually strike down a fresh victim : while the
consumption of a tigress and her cubs is at least an ox a
night. Thirdly, we come to the fierce, truculent brutes
which, having once tasted man, are thenceforth possessed
with a cravinor f or human flesh. Sometimes these creatures
A MAN-EATING PANTHER. 47
infect an entire district with terror, until they are destroyed
by some European sportsman ; for they are too wary and
too dangerous to be frequently shot by native shekarries,
though they may be occasionally destroyed by strychnine.
But wolves and panthers in India are apt to turn man-
eaters after they have once tasted human blood ; and a man-
eating panther is even more dangerous and ferocious than a
man-eating tiger. He is nimble in his movements, and dis-
plays more courage when attacked. Being of smaller size,
he is more difficult to hit ; and he can climb trees, which the
tiger cannot do unless they have a sloping trunk. In 1858,
one of these creatures devastated the northern part of the
Scoui district, and killed nearly a hundred persons before
he was shot. He did not eat the bodies of his victims, but
merely lapped the blood from their throat. His mode of
attack was to steal into a house at night, and strangle some
unfortunate sleeper; or he would climb the platform from
which the villagers guard their fields at night, and drag
down the unsuspecting sentinel.
[" Positively, Fisher," exclaimed Beauchamp, " you make
me shudder. I shall have eery dreams to-night I"
" It seems to me," observed Lambert, " that a hunter in
India is a public benefactor. A man killing half-a-dozen of
these horrible brutes saves no end of human lives, you see,
and deserves a gold medal from the Queen's own hands !"]
The tiger hunts in a different manner from the panther.
Generally he seeks some convenient spot where he can lie in
ambush ; and then, as the wayfarer passes by, out he springs,
and strikes him to the ground. A few days later, if you
passed near the spot, you would see just such a sight as
Captain Forsyth saw at a place called MotinaM :
' 1 was walking ahead of my followers/ says this gallant
and successful hunter, ' when I came on the remains of a
48 A TIGER-HUNT.
poor wanderer who had evidently not long before been
killed by a tiger. He was a religious mendicant ; and his
long iron tongs, begging-bowl, hollowed from a skull, and
cocoa-nut hookah, were scattered about in the bottom of the
dry bed of a stream, where he had been resting on his weary
march, together with tresses of his long, matted hair, and a
shred or two of cloth. The bones were all broken to pieces,
and many of them were missing altogether. A drover had
been taken off near the same spot about a week before, so
that it was not without some misgivings that I wandered
off the road through the long grass to look for red deer.'
I will borrow from Captain Forsyth a brief description of
a successful
TIGER-HUNT.
One morning he was engaged in tracking wild animals
along the brink of a stream, to which, in hot weather, all
those inhabiting the country-side were in the habit of re-
sorting. At length his attention was called to the very per-
ceptible excitement of a number of Hanuman monkeys, who
were gesticulating and raging, and were ' swearing ' among
themselves like the mob of an Italian city. This was a sign
that a tiger was stealing along under the trees they in-
habited ; and his course could be followed up by the running
fire of abuse and insult which was taken up by one group
of monkeys after another. Captain Forsyth. was thus able
to pursue the beast for several miles by means of the
violent indications of his monkey-allies. Reaching a nar-
row peninsula, round which the brook circled, he dashed
straight across it ; and, breathless and heated, contrived to
get in front of the tiger, and to secrete himself behind the
trunk of a tree before he came up.
It was early morning, but the gray light penetrated
through the thick screen of foliage, and glimmered softly
THE SOLITARY CROW. 49
in each columned avenue. Captain -Foray th stood still as
death, watching the terrible animal's approach.
On he came, in a long, slouching walk, with his tail
tucked down, and looking exactly like the guilty, midnight
murderer he is. It seemed as if his conscience, like Mac-
beth's, were troubled by his misdeeds; and, as he moved
along, he looked fearfully behind him, or up at the monkeys
with a kind of beseeching glance, as if entreating them not
to betray whither he was going. He was travelling under
the bank opposite to Captain Forsyth's position, in the deep
shadow of the overarching trees ; but when almost in a line
with the captain, in the faint radiance of the newly-risen
sun, he came out into the middle, a picture of terrible
beauty, with his velvety step and undulating movements,
the firm muscles working through his loose, glossy skin, and
the fell, tawny eyes blinking in the light over a row of ivory
teeth !
' He passed,' says Captain Forsyth, ' within about twenty
yards of me, making for a small ravine that here joined the
river from the hills. I let him get to the mouth of this be-
fore I fired ; and on receiving the shot he bounded forward
into its cover, a very different picture from the placid crea-
ture I had just been looking at, and with a roar that silenced
the chattering of every monkey on the trees. I knew he
was hit to death, but waited until the shekarries came up
before proceeding to look for him ; and we then went round
a good way, to where a high bank overlooked the ravine in
which he had disappeared. Here we cautiously peeped
over, but, seeing nothing, came farther down towards the
river ; and within fifty yards of where I had fired at him, I
saw a solitary crow sitting in a tree, and cawing down at an
indistinct yellow object extended below. It seemed like the
tiger ; and, sitting down, I fired another shot at it ; but it
(533) 4
50 A FORMIDABLE MAN-EATER.
never stirred to the thud of the ball, while the crow, alter
flying up a few feet, perched again, and cawed away more
lustily than before. We now went down, and found the
tiger lying stone-dead, shot very near the heart/
[Here Fisher stopped reading, and the boys commented
among themselves on the narrative they had just heard. As
Lambert said, it was not very exciting, but it showed that
the captain was a capital marksman. Vernon was much
interested by the account of the monkeys chattering in their
impotent anger as the tiger slunk through the forest, and
evidently looking upon him as the enemy of their race. At
last Beauchamp begged for " a little more" from Captain
Forsyth's book; and Fisher resumed' his reading in the
course of which, it should be explained, he frequently con-
densed or abridged the original, and even introduced his
own words.
The narrative he chose was descriptive of the destruction
of a notorious and very formidable man-eater.]
PURSUIT OF A MAN-EATER.
In the spring of 1862, Captain Forsyth devoted several
days to hunting down a famous, or infamous, man-eater,
which was reputed to have devoured upwards of a hundred
human beings, and, by the terror he caused, had completely
stopped all traffic along certain roads. The scene of his
operations was a triangular space of country between two
rivers, the M6ran and the Ganjal, some thirty to forty miles
wide at its base. Here he had positively interrupted the
labours of the contractors engaged in constructing a railway
in the Narbadd valley ; the men would not work, they were
so afraid of the creature's depredations. Having pitched
his camp in the pleasant shelter of a magnificent mango
grove, the captain was laid up for some days by a sprained
NATIVE SUPERSTITIONS. 51
tendoii. In the interval sensational news was constantly
arriving of whole families of tigers waiting in the river-beds
to be killed ; and, at length, that the man-eater had pounced
upon a man and a boy on the high-road about ten miles
away.
The captain, by adopting some severe remedies, was able
in a few more days to resume his quest of the man-eater;
but not until he had been inundated with wonderful stories
of the fearful size and appearance of the monster, of its belly
pendent to the ground, of the white crescent blazoned in
the centre of its forehead ; of the horrible composure with
which he would detain a party of travellers while he rolled
in the sand, and after a careful inspection picked out the
fattest ; of his power of transforming himself into a virtuous-
looking woodcutter, and calling or whistling through the
woods till an unsuspecting prey approached ; and how the
spirits of all his victims rode with him on his head, warning
him of every danger, and directing him to the suitable
ambush for waylaying an unfortunate traveller.
Such superstitions as these, ridiculous as they may ap-
pear, are a proof of the despair and dread which the
ravages of the tiger excite. What an illustration they
afford of the panic which spreads everywhere, when no
man feels that his life is safe for a moment, and the whirr of
every quail or peacock which starts from the adjacent brake
seems the rush of the ferocious animal that will strike him
down.
Captain Forsyth's camp was daily besieged by all the
best shekarries of the country, together with the land-
owners and many of the ryots. Villages were entirely de-
serted ; men lived in barricaded houses, and left them only
when compelled by necessity, and then in large bodies,
shouting and beating drums, as if they were marching
52 BEATING THE JUNGLE.
against a hostile army. This condition of things had lasted
for a twelvemonth, so that the country was being slowly
depopulated.
It was through this desert Captain Forsyth rode on his
trained elephant, with baggage-elephants in front and rear,
and accompanied by a guard of police with muskets, and
shekarries with their matchlocks.
Here and there he came upon traces of the man-eater, but
no recent ones; while small cairns, erected at intervals,
showed where a traveller had perished.
At length he reached a spot where one of a party of
pilgrims had been carried off the day before; the blood-
stained grass, and several such relics, still told of the
tragedy, and pointed out where the tiger had dragged the
corpse into a watercourse, and left its mangled remains.
To wait for him to return to his horrid feast was useless, as
experience had made him cautious, and he never ventured
back to his ' kill.'
All the rest of the day a day of burning heat the
searching-party beat the jungles of the Moran river; the
trackers working in a panic of terror under the trunk of the
captain's elephant, and covered by his rifle at full cock.
Eeturning to camp at night, one of the men detected the
great square footprints of the creature they were hunting
down. Early next morning, the captain carefully beat the
neighbouring watercourse, but unsuccessfully. As he was
sitting down to breakfast, however, some men arrived with
the information that about a mile and a half from camp the
man-eater, that very morning, had carried off one of their
companions out of the midst of their drove of bullocks as
they were starting from their night's encampment. Tak-
ing with him a supply of food and a bottle of claret, the
captain mounted his elephant and started in pursuit.
A SIGNAL TRIUMPH. 53
Before long he succeeded in starting the monster from the
lair where he was devouring his unfortunate victim; but
the grass was so thick and long that he could not obtain a
shot. All that day, however, he steadily kept up the pur-
suit, following the footprints through a difficult country,
and allowing him no rest.
At night the captain slept in a tent which he had ordered
to be pitched on the other side of the Ganjal. Then, on the
following morning he resumed the chase ; until at length he
got the tiger shut up within a dense cover of tamarisk and
jaman, surrounded by the river. After a short rest, this
cover was beaten out, and the indefatigable captain obtained
a couple of shots, which told on the tiger. Immediately the
brute turned, and with loud roars charged him ; but a shot
fired within twenty yards toppled him over into the water-
course. Once more, but more slowly, he picked himself up,
when the sportsman's elephant, being badly handled, spun
lound, and, ' with a loud, worrying noise/ the tiger leaped
on to its back, which he lacerated with his fierce claws.
At length the elephant paused for a moment in its wild
gyration, the captain turned round in the howdah, and,
seizing the opportunity, put the muzzle of his rifle to the
tiger's skull, and with the large shell it carried, blew it into
fifty pieces. Then the elephant indulged in a wild dance
over the prostrate body of its foe, and the man-eater of the
M6ran paid the penalty of his misdeeds.
["Hurrah!" shouted Douglas; "I am glad the horrid
cannibal was at length destroyed. I think when I am old
enough I shall go to India, and earn the gratitude of its
natives by hunting down every man-eater."
" It is to be feared your single gun would never accom-
plish such a Herculean task," said Seymour. " I should
recommend you to enrol a company of tiger-hunters, a
54 TIGER-HUNTING IN NEPAUL.
hundred or so at the least. With these at your command,
Douglas, you might do something great. But, certainly, it
would seem to be the duty of the Government to encourage
the extinction of so destructive an animal."]
The British Government does offer a reward (remarked
Fisher) for the head of any tiger ; but many of the native
Indian princes do not wish to see the animal rooted out, on
account of the sport it affords. As if the lives of their
people were not of infinitely more importance than the
amusement of a few luxurious sovereigns ! However, every
tiger shot in the chase lessens the number of the poor man's
enemies.
During his recent visit to India, the Prince of Wales en-
joyed a brief experience of tiger-hunting. In Nepaul the
native Government had gone to great expense in order that
he might see the sport on a sufficiently grand scale. All the
best elephants for fighting or sporting, and an array of some
five thousand camp-followers and porters, constituting quite
a little army, were provided.
The number of tigers killed shows how successful were
the efforts of the Nepaulese Government. One of the hunt-
ing parties for there were several went out in charge of
Mr. Moore, magistrate of Bareilly. In beating across a
grassy plain, they started a noble tiger, which made at
once for the jungle ; but Mr. Moore fired at it, and brought
it down. As they closed on in pursuit, the tiger turned on
the elephants, sprang on the head and side of a Mr. Robin-
son's, placing one claw on his rifle, so that he could not fire,
and the other on the howdah door, tearing the mahout's leg.
The elephant swung round, the howdah door flew open, and
the tiger fell to the ground; but again he sprang at the
elephant, clawing it cruelly, until it was kicked off by the
terrified beast. Then, without a moment's delay, it leaped
A DIGRESSION. 55
on the head of Colonel Ellis's elephant, and was tearing
down the mahout, or driver, when Colonel Ellis, leaning
down over the howdah, coolly fired, with the muzzle almost
touching the tiger, which dropped dying on the ground, but
not until it had lacerated the man's knee and leg. An
English surgeon dressed the man's wounds on the spot, and
the injured elephants were sent back to camp. Another
tiger was started and killed half an hour afterwards. Indian
sportsmen, it is said, make it their boast to stop a tiger
before it can injure mahout or elephant ; but on this occa-
sion the grass was so long, and the animals charged so sud-
denly, that it was scarcely possible to do so.
If I may be allowed to digress from the tiger for a few
moments, I would observe that the Prince of Wales ap-
parently found more excitement in the capture of a wild
elephant than in tiger-shooting. The mode of taking
elephants is peculiar to Nepaul. Trained elephants, famous
for their valour in the fray, are kept on purpose ; and when
a herd of wild ones have been marked down in the jungle,
hunters go out with an army of beaters on swift pad
elephants, and endeavour to break up the herd, or to close
on them, so as to give time for the fighting elephants to
come up and engage the wild champions, which they do
until the latter are exhausted, or have been hobbled with
ropes while involved in the combat. News came that a
very savage old f tusker ' was in the woods about seven miles
away, and Sir Jung Bahadoor, the Prime Minister of Nepaul,
made arrangements to have him watched for the Prince of
Wales. The following morning, about eight o'clock, the
Prince started, with his suite, and Sir Jung on horseback,
riding at first through a most beautiful forest towards the
scene of action. The path, winding under the shade of
noble saul, peepul, and mango trees, interlaced by colossal
56 MOUNT AND AWAY.
creepers and climbing-plants, was guarded at intervals by
soldiers, all the way. At ten o'clock, the party, led by Sir
Jung, riding boldly and swiftly down the river-beds, across
torrents and watercourses, came to a halt, and information
arrived that the old male-elephant was only a few miles dis-
tant, and was descending from the wooded hills into the
plain below.
The Prince, who was well-mounted on a spirited Arab,
fortunately resolved to remain on horseback instead of
mounting on a pad elephant, as Sir Jung proposed. The
fighting elephants were sent for, but as these huge creatures
think ' more haste the worse speed/ an hour elapsed before
the word to mount was given. Then another 'rattling
canter ' brought the Prince to the brink of a broad river,
where a torrent foamed over a stony bed, issuing from a
wooded gorge in the neighbouring mountains ; and it was
hoped the elephant would choose this route, so that he
might be encountered and overcome in the open. The
horses were sent back, and the Prince of Wales seated him-
self on the hill-side. Soldiers were sent up the ravine. In
half an hour Sir Jung jumped on a man's back, and was
carried down the hill and across the ravine to ascertain the
cause of the delay. He soon returned with the news that
the elephant had broken out, and was coming down another
ravine, which the party had traversed before they passed
the river. l Mount, and away/ was the order ; and this
time everybody gave the reins to his horse, and tore along
at full speed. It was wonderful how the horses kept their
feet, considering the sudden checks at deep nullahs, or
watercourses, filled with boulders, stumps, fallen trees, and
similar obstacles.
On reaching the other side of the ravine the party dis-
mounted; and Sir Jung showed great anxiety lest the
AN ELEPHANT-HUNT. 57
elephant should come down ; in which case, he said, no man's
life would be worth a pice. The Prince, Lord Alfred Paget,
Prince Louis of Battenberg, and others clambered into a
tree, where a halt was made. Others were obliged to seek
similar shelter, and another long delay ensued.
Messengers now came in with tidings that the elephant
had crossed higher up, and was making for a deep swamp.
All descended; remounted their horses; and the Prince
and Sir Jung leading, dashed off once more, careering along-
side of the pad elephants, which were being urged at full
speed in the runaway's track.
In about half an hour the party emerged from a wood on
the plain of burnt reeds and grass, above which under-
growth towered the monster elephant, his tail straight out,
his proboscis curled up. He was still running, but evi-
dently fatigued.
With loud shouts and regular English ' view halloos ' the
horsemen broke after him with a rush, while the pad ele-
phants came trumpeting up in the rear ; the drivers standing
on their backs, holding on with one hand, and beating them
with sticks and mallets in the other. The wild l tusker '
stopped short, surveyed the advancing horsemen, and then
rushed at the nearest with incredible speed. ' Fly for your
lives ; look out for the Prince ! ; shouted Sir Jung ; and, in
a second, prince, peer, and commoner were scouring through
the grass and reeds as fast as their horses could carry them.
These charges were again and again repeated, for the ele-
phant's runs were short, and he gave up speedily ; but he
came very near Lord Suffield and Mr. Rose on one occasion,
and unpleasantly near to the Prince, and others also. All
this time the fighting elephants made no sign, and in spite
of the exertions of the horsemen and the pad elephants, the
wild one, who had one enormous tusk and the stump only
58 THE ELEPHANT CAPTURED.
of the other, broke away into a marsh, where he coolly lay
down in a pool of water. The Prince dismounted, and,
with his party, waited till the fighters came up. ' Jung
Pershaud/ the most famous of these, at last made his ap-
pearance, rushed into the swamp, and immediately engaged
his enemy. The combat was brief ; for the wild ( tusker/
vast as he was, could not prevail against the prodigious
bulk of the victor in a hundred fights. He turned and fled,
and Jung Pershaud was unable to overtake him. The pur-
suit on horseback was renewed, and after a most extra-
ordinary chase the wild one was driven out of a wood by
volleys of insulting language ! He then advanced into the
open to engage Bijli Pershaud, the second fighting elephant,
and met his conqueror. Bijli defeated him utterly, knocked
him over, battered him against a tree, and finally so beat
him over the head that he was easily hobbled, and declared
a prisoner. It was then discovered he had only one eye ;
and Sir Jung proposed that he should be set at liberty, if
the Prince wished, after his tremendous tusk had been
sawn off. Finally, he was moored to a tree, and his head
secured ; and there he was left, guarded by elephants ; his
tusk, a noble piece of ivory, being brought in, and presented
to the Prince at camp fire.
And here ends the story of the Prince of Wales' elephant-
hunt ; after which digression, I think, said Fisher, you will
be glad to return to the tiger.
["Well," said Douglas, "I call that better sport than
hunting a poor fox or a little hare."
. "There is danger in it, at all events," remarked Beau-
champ ; " and I suppose an element of danger is necessary
to the full enjoyment of sport."
" Don't be philosophical," interrupted Douglas; "come,
go ahead with the tiger ! "
SPORT IN INDIA. 59
" India must be a splendid place for the sportsman," said
Yernon.
" Not all India ; many parts are as free from wild animals
as these Yorkish rnoors. The North- Western Provinces,
however, which lie between the Ganges and the Soane,
abound in almost every variety of game. The district I
mean is described by Mr. Watkins as a table-land of old
red sandstone, rising on the north-west towards the slopes
of the Yindhyah range, and on the south falling abruptly to
the valley of the Soane. In its vicinity lie the great cities
of Ghazeepore, Benares, and Allahabad; and as these are
connected with its outskirts by railways, the shekarry or
hunter may here shoot tigers in a jungle till towards noon,
and at night repose amidst all the comforts of civilized life.
If he would extend the range of adventure, let him seek the
central highlands south of the Nerbudda, which he can also
reach by means of the iron horse and the iron road. Here,
in these two districts, he will find tigers, bears, wild buffa-
loes, swine, deer, panthers, antelopes. In the rugged, rocky
solitudes he may expect bears, or he may light upon a
leopard surprised outside its favourite cavern or rocky lair.
The forests echo with the yelping of wild dogs. Legions of
snipe and wild fowl arrive in October and November from
the frozen wilds of Central Asia, and settle on the swamps ;
while in the autumnal stubble-fields, in the neighbourhood
of villages and the hill-sides, abound the ordinary game-
birds of India. After nightfall, among the cultivated lands,
and by day in the pasture-tracts, the black antelope or
' black buck' tempts the sportsman's rifle. On wooded
slopes the nylghau or* nilgae is found ; together with the
chikara or Indian gazelle, the spotted deer, the four-horned
antelope, the barking-deer, the hog-deer, and other varieties
of the cervine race unknown to us in England. Then, to
60 THE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL.
sum up the hunter's bill of fare, there are wolves, wild pigs,
porcupines, wood and green pigeons, ortolans, the mighty
"bison, and the broad-snouted ' magar/ or crocodile. Could
the most enthusiastic sportsman desire more ! Yes, the
tiger, the prince of wild animals; and in the jungles of
Mirzapore he prowls insatiate.
" From Dr. Fayrer's book on the ' Koyal Tiger of Bengal/
I have put together some notes, which I hope will interest
you ; or, if you like, they may be deferred for another after-
noon."
" Oh no ! n said Beauchamp ; " let us have them now."
" Yes," cried Yernon ; " for in our class we have to get up
an essay on the tiger, and I rather reckon your notes will
just prime us full of information."
"Go on, Fisher," said Seymour; "if we are a little late
this afternoon, I will ask Dr. Birch to excuse it."
Thus encouraged, Fisher resumed : ]
The Eoyal Tiger (Tigris Bengalis] is the only species of
the kind. He ranges over all the warmer parts of Asia,
and is found even in Java and Sumatra ; but nowhere does
he display so much fierceness, nowhere is he so finely
developed, as in Bengal.
The peculiarities of the tiger's structure are : his muscular
strength in the neck, chin, and fore-arms, and his formid-
able canine teeth. I need not tell you that his feet, like
those of a cat, are armed with cruel claws which he conceals
at pleasure, and cushioned with soft pads which enable him
to move along noiselessly. His senses are acute, that of
smell being the dullest. The bony framework is very firm
and compact ; and is equally well adapted to secure agility,
speed, and strength. As a whole, he is, of course, nothing
more than a cat, the 'King of Cats/ with an excess of
A BIT OF PHYSIOLOGY.
61
power and ferocity. Often, at night, the traveller is roused
in his tent by the tiger calling to his mate in the neigh-
bouring jungle, with just such a growl and yell as their
congeners make, on a smaller scale, as they steal along the
house-tops of an European city.
It has been well said that the ferocity, steal! hiness, and
blood-thirst of the cat reach their climax in the royal tiger.
Persons who have examined him after he has been shot,
THE KOYAL BEMUAL TIGER.
and his skin stripped off, have remarked his curious resem-
blance to the frame and fore-arms of an athlete. The
muscles of his arm and shoulder are but modifications of
those found in man and other mammals ; modifications re-
quired by his predatory life. The withdrawal of the claws
when he is moving along the ground is provided for by a
wonderful mechanism of elastic ligaments and muscles. In
this way they are prevented from being worn or blunted by
contact with the ground. Instinct teaches him to take
62 TIGER AND CUBS.
special care of these, his principal and terrible weapons.
Trees are frequently seen in the jungles scored with long
vertical fissures to the height of eight or ten feet from the
ground, where tigers have sharpened and cleansed their
claws.
A tigress has a litter of from two to five cubs once in
three years, and she is known to watch over them with the
greatest care and affection until they are full-grown. It is
during this period that she is the most savage. She will
fight for her young with the most desperate courage, and
when robbed of them is terrible in her fury. As soon as
they can eat flesh she kills for them, and teaches them to do
so for themselves by practising upon deer or pigs ; she is
then very wanton and bloodthirsty, killing often for amuse-
ment, and not from want. Notwithstanding her affection
for her young, she will abandon or even devour them when
hard pressed by hunger, which puts to the proof, as we
know, even the strongest human affections. When the
young ones leave their parent, which they do about their
second year, they are more destructive than the adult tiger ;
for whereas he kills only one cow or bull in three or four
days, they will kill three or four cows at a time.
[" What," interrupted Yernon, " is really the size of a full-
grown Bengal tiger ? I saw a couple of tigers in a menage-
rie, but they were not much larger than Newfoundland
dogs."
" Perhaps they were not full-grown," remarked Seymour.
" The keeper said they were."]
The extreme size of a full-grown male hardly exceeds ten
feet that is, from the nose to the tip of the tail; that of
the tigress varies from eight to ten, or, in very rare
instances, eleven feet. I am speaking, however, of the
Bengal tiger, the largest variety of the species.
HABITS OF THE TIGER. 63
The appetite of the tiger is not very fastidious ; but his
favourite prey are cattle, deer, and wild hogs. He steals in
the darkness to the neighbourhood of a village, or ' gowrie, J
where cattle feed, and springs upon some unfortunate
bullock, which he drags into some secluded covert. Having
satisfied his appetite, he retires to his lair in the thick grass
or jungle, and sleeps off his abundant feast. In North and
Central India he is accustomed to drag the creature on
which he has pounced to the nearest stream, lie down all
night by it, devouring it at intervals, sleeping during the
following day ; and then, at dusk, quitting his place of
banquet. He rarely travels less than fifteen, and frequently
as many as thirty miles in a night. His attack consists of
a stealthy advance till within short springing distance ;
then, with a rapid rush and a terrible roar, he strikes his
prey to the ground, seizes it at once by the throat with his
cruel fangs, holds it down until nearly or quite dead, and
then drags it away. A fine expression in Milton's ' Comus '
describes the fierce, wild yell of the tiger as he makes his
fatal spring :
1 Howling like tigers at their prey.'
We have already heard something about man-eaters ; and
I think it has been stated that he does not, naturally, possess
a love of human flesh, though he readily acquires it. At
first, that dread of man which seems innate in all animals
distinguishes the tiger ; and the natives, aware of this fact,
will gather fruit, and cut grass, and watch their flocks,
without alarm, in the immediate neighbourhood of a tiger's
covert. So long as he can obtain a supply of other food, he
will not injure man. Even when one of their cattle is
struck down, they will hasten to the spot, and often drive
the tiger from his victim by shouting and clashing sticks
04 SAD LOSS OF HUMAN LIFE.
upon the ground. So great is their confidence, that they
will lead the huntsman right up to the animal's reedy
hiding-place.
This does not prevent them from regarding him, as they
do the cobra, with the reverence of superstition. Just as
the North American savages avoid mentioning the name of
the wolf, so do they shrink from referring directly to the
tiger, using a variety of euphuisms and periphrases, lest his
spirit should haunt them or do them mischief after death.
But when once, through any accident, the tiger has tasted
human blood, then, as you have already heard, he becomes
a confirmed cannibal.
You will not be surprised at the dread in which the man-
eater is held, when I tell you of the loss of human life annu-
ally caused by tigers in India. In the Mundlah districts,
in 1856 and previous years, the average yearly number of
victims was between two and three hundred. The Keports
of the Central Provinces show that in 1866-67, 372 persons
were killed by tigers; in 1867-68, 289; in 1868-69, 285.
So you see, Douglas, that your tiger-killing volunteers
might do good service. Again : in Lower Bengal, it appears
from the Government Reports that 4218 persons were killed
by tigers in six years, and in the same period a total of 13,400
by other wild animals, chiefly leopards and wolves.
Dr. Fayrer quotes a letter written to him by a gentleman
from Nayordunka in July 1869 : ' Cattle killed in my dis-
trict are numberless; as regards human beings, one tiger
in 1867-68 killed respectively 27, 34, and 47 people. I
have known it attack a party and kill four or five at a time.
Once it killed a father, mother, and three children ; and the
week before it was shot it killed seven people. It wandered
over a track of twenty miles, never remaining in the same
spot two consecutive days ; and at last was destroyed by a
HEALING THE WOUNDED. 65
bullet from a spring-gun when returning to feed at the
body of one of its victims a woman/
Dr. Fayrer points out that many persons recover who
have been wounded by tigers. They don't often kill on the
spot; nor do they, unless they are man-eaters, drag their
victim's body to any great distance. Their usual process
and even when not fatal it is by no means an agreeable one
is to give a bite or two on the head or shoulder, two or
three shakes, and then, after dragging the poor wretch a
few yards, to drop him. Of course, he will have been
wounded sorely by the terrible fangs, and have had a limb
crushed ; but as neither the animal's fangs nor teeth are
poisonous, a wounded man, if rescued in time, frequently
recovers. Dr. Fayrer gives several cases, but as they are
not pleasant reading, I will trouble you only with one :
'Baldes Singh, B-ajput, aged thirty, was brought into
hospital, mauled by a wounded tiger. On the front of the
left shoulder was a deep flesh-wound, and on the back of the
shoulder a superficial lacerated wound, two and a half inches
by one inch. There were three fang- wounds in the left
flank ; one in front large enough to have admitted two
fingers at least, penetrating into the abdomen ; two wounds
behind led down to the abdominal cavity, but did not injure
the bowel. He had also one or two slight wounds over the
ribs. Under cotton- wool dipped in carbolic oil, the wounds
rapidly healed; the man is now able to walk about, and
there only remains a superficial wound, which is healing/
This, I need hardly tell you, is the medical report, written
in true medical style.
[" It seems to me," says Beauchamp, " that there is more
pain than pleasure in hunting tigers ! "
"You must recollect also," replied Fisher, "that the
victim cannot always be rescued, and that when rescued
5
66 TIPPOO SAHIB'S TOY-TIGER.
his life cannot always be saved ; so that the danger is really
very great."
"We frequently read in Indian newspapers," remarked
Seymour, "of sportsmen being killed by tigers. If they
went out only for pleasure, or the sake of killing, I don't
know that I should sympathize with them very deeply ; but
it is fair to remember that many English officers are ani-
mated by a generous desire to free some terrified district
from the ravages of a man-eater. And if they are stricken
down in the course of so noble an enterprise, I should be
disposed to call them heroes."
"Can you tell us about Tippoo Sahib's toy-tiger?" in-
quired Beauchamp ; " I have read about it somewhere."
" Tippoo Sahib," said Seymour, " was Sultan of Mysore ;
and his hatred of us English was so intense that he caused
a toy-tiger to be made for him, worked by machinery, so as
to represent it tearing a British soldier to pieces."
"I am glad to think," said Douglas, "that Mr. Tippoo
met with his deserts. Was not his capital Seringapatam ;
and did not our soldiers take it ? "
" Yes ; it was besieged, stormed, and captured by the
British, under Sir David Baird."
" Tigers don't make nice pets," resumed Fisher ; " bat
Eastern princes have loved to keep them in cages, as adding
to the wild fierce splendour of their courts. Sometimes they
are tamed when young, and trained to fight in the arena
with buffaloes, elephants, and other animals. But I must
hasten to finish my notes, of which, I fear, you must really
be tired out and out."]
Tigers, says Mr. Atkins, are sometimes found in very un-
usual localities. Thus, one was shot in the streets of Benares
at the time of the assassination of Lord Mayo, the Viceroy.
How it got there nobody knows. The Government regarded
FACING THE FOE. 67
the affair with much suspicion, because an old legend told
that a great convulsion would occur when a tiger should be
killed in the streets of Benares. In the spring of 1875
another was slain in the very heart of the city of Gorakpore.
This was a wild one ; and when the magistrate was informed
of its appearance, he, thinking it was only a leopard, took
his rifle, and, joined by the head of the city police and others,
sallied forth to kill it. He fired, and the tiger immediately
charged ; stepping quickly on one side, the tiger struck down
the head of the police, who stood behind, with a blow so
heavy that he died on the spot.
Europeans and natives, compelled by their avocations to
frequent the jungles, are frequently brought face to face
with this formidable animal, when least expecting it. On
such occasions a bold bearing and a loud shout will gener-
ally cause him to turn tail, unless he should be a man-eater,
or in a vicious mood ; for tigers, like men, have their fits of
temper. ' It is the greatest folly/ says Mr. Atkins, l in
such a rencontre to flee, as the tiger then loses his instinctive
dread of man, and with a few bounds and one blow of its
paw probably fractures the runaway's skull. At other times
the circumstances under which the creature is met preclude
any other action than an immediate shot. A case was re-
lated to us (and reference to almost any book on tiger-hunt-
ing would confirm such a piece of good luck) where a sports-
man was seated on the ground behind the usual screen of
leaves, on the look-out for deer which were being driven
towards him, when, to his surprise, two tiger cubs came
out gambolling before him, and went by into the jungle.
A few seconds afterwards the tigress appeared, listening to
the shouts of the beaters, and looking out for her cubs. A
slight noise was made by one of the shekarries who were
\vith him, and in a moment the tigress stared him in the
68 A SHOOTING PLATFORM.
face. He saw there was no help for it, and deliberately
fired at her with a smooth-bore gun (the only weapon he
had with him), at the same time leaping aside as quickly as
he could. To his great delight he found he had slain the
animal outright/
The usual mode of killing tigers in the North- West Pro-
vinces is thus described :
As soon as information reaches the camp of the hunters
that a tiger has been tracked in the neighbourhood, the
native shekarry of the district is sent for, and directed to
choose a suitable place for a hankwa, or tiger- drive, and
to procure a victim. The latter is almost always a young
buffalo bull, because a smaller animal would be carried off
by a leopard, while a larger buffalo would be declined by a
tiger. It is securely fastened to a stake in the tiger's sup-
posed track, while two or three villagers who have accom-
panied the shekarry ply their axes in fixing charpoys (or
bedsteads) in trees around the points where it is supposed
the tiger will effect his exit. Poles are also cut and tied
along the front of these machauns (or shooting platforms),
which are further masked with screens of leaves.
The little band then hurries out of the jungle, as wild
beasts begin to move at dusk, and sends word to the neigh-
bouring villages that men and lads are wanted for a beating
party next day.
Early next morning the shekarry, with one or two wary
companions, cautiously steals into the jungle to see whether
the victim has been killed. If, on his return, he reports l a
kill/ the sportsmen, who have been waiting anxiously, im-
mediately set off for the ( machauns/ and ascend them with
all the speed and with the least noise possible. These char-
poys are raised about ten feet from the ground, so as to
A NOVEL HUNT 69
be just out of the reach of a tiger were he to stand on his
hind legs and attempt to get in. Baffled in this attempt he
might spring up, but then, in all probability, he would
bound over, without injury to any one ; whereas, were the
machaun higher in the tree, he might land among their
occupants, which would prove in the highest degree awk-
ward for them.
Some eight or ten of the bravest villagers now post them-
selves in trees to the right and left of the sportsmen.
These are the rokhs, or stoppers, whose office it is to turn
back the tiger if he essay to dash past them, instead of
taking the path leading to the machauns. The least noise
is generally sufficient; a 'hish! 7 or a single knock on the
tree with an axe ; indeed, unless he be a more than usually
resolute animal, a leaf dropped before him is quite enough
to scare.*
Meanwhile, the shekarry, with the men and lads who have
volunteered to act as beaters, some fifty to a hundred in
number, make their way to the back of the spot where the
tiger is supposed to be resting. Spreading out in a semi-
circle, these men advance, beating tom-toms vigorously, and
shouting wildly, so as to terrify effectually all the game
within that particular patch of jungle. First, perhaps, a
wild boar will rush out, then a hyena, then a bear, all of
which are permitted to pass on. A shot would prevent the
tiger from approaching the machauns, and would make him
rush past the stoppers, or double or charge the line of
beaters, when a grievous accident, or even death, might be
the result. If all goes well, a tiger, or it may be a couple
of tigers, trot past the machauns, and are received with a
warm volley from their occupants. 'The circumstances
* We owe these particulars to an article in Fraser's Magazine on ' The
Royal Bengal Tiger/ (February 1876).
70 MIRZAPORE MEMORIALS.
attending the slaying of each tiger differ but little save in
exceptional cases ; like the slaughter in an Homeric battle-
piece, only the actors can remember the exact mode in which
they slew their foemen.' Finally, the beaters arrive; the
sportsmen descend ; the prey is slung upon bamboos, and
escorted to the encampment with the sound of tom-toms
and universal rejoicing.
Occasionally, a sportsman has a carcass dragged under
some suitable tree in a locality where a tiger is known to be
concealed ; and then clambering up to a convenient height
in the branches, he waits with exemplary patience until the
tiger slinks by in the shadow of the night. Then, a well-
aimed shot, and he may sing lo triumphe! This, however,
is a precarious as well as a tedious method, and English
tiger-hunters have seldom the requisite patience.
The natives in the Mirzapore district erect curious conical
mounds of earth, about one and a half or two feet in diameter
at the base, and tapering to about six inches at the apex,
over the spot where any human being has been killed by a
tiger. These mounds are carefully whitewashed, and deco-
rated with flowers and strangely-wrought earthen vessels.
To touch these mounds is a sacrilegious act ; and annually,
on a certain day, the people of the neighbouring villages re-
sort to one of the most tragic of these memorials, worship-
ping before it in order to appease the spirit of the departed,
and prevent his pursuing them in the form of another tiger.
For as the Red Man of North America believed that in the
hunting-grounds of the future he would be accompanied by
his faithful dog, the Hindu seems to think that they will
be haunted by the formidable tiger !
The feline nature of this king of cats is sometimes shown
CAT LIKE SERENADES. 71
in bis demeanour towards a terrified victim that is, a victim
tied up as a bait, when the sportsman is planted in the tree
above it ; for, in other conditions, you would have little
chance of examining the monster's playful cruelty. But,
when not pressed by hunger, he seems to derive as much
pleasure from tormenting his victim as a cat does. He
gambols around the buffalo as if enjoying his alarm ; and
when the affrighted animal in mad despair feebly attempts
to butt at his remorseless foe, the tiger takes a flying leap
over his head, and resumes his cruel pastime on the other
side. At last, as if he had succeeded in whetting his appe-
tite, he crushes the skull of his victim with one blow of his
powerful fore paw, and soon begins his bloody meal.
Captain Forsyth refers to another feline peculiarity one
to which I have already alluded ; the tiger's cat-like serenades
at night.* On one occasion he was encamped in a forest
near Matin, and after darkness had descended on the scene
he heard a peculiar long wail, like the drawn-out mew of a
huge cat, rising from a river-course about a hundred yards
below his tent. Presently, from a mile or so higher up the
river came a deep tremulous roar ; which had scarcely died
away before it was answered from the rear of the camp by
another pitched in a yet deeper tone, peculiarly startling in
its suddenness and proximity.
All these were repeated at short intervals, as the three
tigers approached each other along the bottoms of the deep
dry watercourses, between and above which the camp had
been pitched. As they drew together the noises ceased foi
about a quarter of an hour ; and Captain Forsyth was dozing
off to sleep again, when suddenly arose the most fearful din
near to where the tigress had first sounded the love-note to
her rival lovers a din like the caterwauling of midnight cats
* Captain Forsyth, 'The Highlands of Central India.'
72 A BRIEF CONVERSATION.
magnified a hundredfold. Then came short pauses of silence,
followed by outbursts of this terrific shrieking and moaning,
gradually dying away as the tigers retired along the river-
bed.
And here I beg leave, s;ii.l Fisher, to terminate my notes
upon the Tigris regalis, gratefully acknowledging the atten-
tion which you have been pleased to accord to them.
[" Plaudite, pueri!" cried Seymour; and immediately a
loud clapping of hands resounded through the cave.
" Bravo, Fisher," Seymour continued ; " I know a great
deal more about the tiger now than ever I knew before. I
am inclined to respect him as not only king of cats, but king
of beasts, and I am very thankful he is not an inhabitant of
our Yorkshire moors."
" Yes," remarked Beau champ, " we may well be satisfied
with the less formidable character of our English * game.'
A fox is a better neighbour than an elephant; and hare-
hunting is safer, if less exciting, than tiger-hunting."
" Fancy Lambert," said Douglas, " sitting perched up in
a tree, waiting to ' pot ' a tiger ! Or fancy him pursued by
one no, the thought is too* terrible ! "
"You would make no better figure than myself," said
Lambert ; " but, of course, you must have your joke."
" Now, Seymour," interrupted Fisher, " I think it is your
turn to discuss the subject."
" Well," said Seymour, " I think you must all be pretty
well tired of tigers and tiger stories ; the latter are about as
plentiful as the former. However, ' lend me your ears/ and
I will narrate to you Lieutenant Rice's wonderful escape : ]
A WONDERFUL ESCAPE.
Lieutenant Rice and a comrade, named Cornet Elliot, had
pursued and wounded a tiger, which, escaping through the
STORY OF LIEUTENANT RICE. 73
jungle, was quickly out of sight. By the drops of blood that
issued from his wound, and his broad foot-prints, they con-
trived to track him though not without difficulty through
a dense clump of thorn bushes and high grass for about three
hundred yards, keeping all the men together in a body, and
they themselves undauntedly leading the way. Nor was
this an easy task. It is impossible for an Englishman to
understand what is meant by an Indian /tfftgrlt, or the diffi-
culty it presents to the traveller with its intertangled brush-
wood, its inextricable lianas, its parasites hanging from every
branch, its slimy pools of stagnant water, and its close, fever-
ish, reeking, malignant atmosphere. In due time, however,
they got clear of the maze, and entered an open country,
where all trace of the tiger was lost. Bice and Elliot then
pushed on a few paces ahead, in order to examine the ground
minutely before it should be trodden by the feet of their
numerous attendants. But while thus engaged, a loud roar
broke suddenly on their ears, which proceeded, as Lieutenant
Rice imagined, from a small ditch a few paces to the right.
At this time Cornet Elliot was stooping on the ground,
busily examining it for traces of the lost animal's footprints.
After the roar came a tigress, bounding forward with terrible
velocity, and making straight for Lieutenant Rice. He had
barely time to discharge both barrels of his rifle, at only two or
three paces' distance, into her chest, when either the shots or
the smoke made the beast swerve past him, and dash straight
at Elliot, springing actually upon him before he had time to
get ready his rifle. The next instant he fell backwards under
the tigress, which held him down with her formidable paws.
Fortunately, the shekarries preserved their presence of
mind, and quickly handed to Lieutenant Rice his spare
loaded guns. Rice immediately fired a couple of shots at
the beast's shoulder, as she stood over the unfortunate
/ 4 A FRIEND S LIFE SAVED.
Elliot, but with little effect; for she at once commenced
dragging him backwards by the upper part of his left arm,
which she had seized in her jaws, down a gentle declivity,
towards the ditch where she had first lain concealed. The
ground was very uneven, being covered with boulders and
fragments of rock, so that it was dangerous for Rice to fire
again, lest he should hit his friend instead of the animal.
While borne onward in this fearful manner, Elliot had
fainted. The tigress continued growling, all the time look-
ing fully at her pursuers, who followed at about ten paces
off, watching to get a good shot at her head, and so conclude
the struggle. At last, after aiming twice or thrice in vain,
Lieutenant Rice observed his opportunity, his rifle blazed,
and instantaneously the tigress dropped dead, with a ball
through her brain.
Elliot was now rescued from his terrible position. He
had recovered his senses, and asked for a draught of water.
It is almost needless to say that he was sorely bruised and
bitten ; his left arm was crushed ; and his whole body bore
marks of the recent encounter. When the tigress first sprang
at him, he had warded off her tremendous paw with his up-
lifted musket, and thus saved his head from a blow which
must have been fatal. The stock of the rifle was marked
with her claws, while the trigger and guard were crushed
completely flat.
[A brief pause ensued ; and as the twilight was drawing
in, Seymour declared that it was time to return to Dr. Birch's.
The boys therefore took their way home, discussing the
stories which had afforded them so much entertainment.
Next week the cave was again filled with an attentive
audience.
" I remember," said Seymour, " another tragical tiger story,
if you were not content with ' horrors 7 last Saturday. It is
A TRAGICAL TIGER STORY. /
told by an assistant-surgeon of an East Indian regiment,
who, with a newly-joined ensign, a tali, well-made, active
young Scotchman of eighteen or nineteen, proposed to
inaugurate a brilliant Indian career with a tiger-hunt.*]
A TRAGICAL TIGER STORY.
Some two hours before daybreak they started from their
camp, the doctor and the ensign upon their ponies, their
attendants upon foot. They were followed by two shikarees
carrying their rifles, of which they had four between them ;
while their guide, a village Nimrod and a * mighty man of
war,' led the array along a narrow path which struck
through the forest towards a distant range of hills. On
their way they passed a native village, where their party
received an accession of beaters, provided with tom-toms (or
drums), bullock-horns, and other means of creating a terrible
clang and crash to rouse the tigress from her lair.
When within half-an-hour's ride of her supposed feeding-
grounds, they began to travel cautiously and in silence, even
the natives desisting from their usual din. The path they
had been following led them upwards along a mountain-
slope until it reached the summit of a sort of ledge, which,
densely clothed with jungle, stretched for some distance in
front of them, varying in width from 50 to 200 yards.
Here our adventurers turned to the south and kept
along the level, the descent on the left gradually assum-
ing a precipitous character, while on the right the steep
wooded peak seemed to soar far above the sun-kindled
clouds.
Sun-kindled clouds ! yes ; for as they traversed the
craggy plateau the orb of day leaped suddenly above the
eastern horizon, flooded the scene in golden glory, and
* Captain Bulger, 'Sporting Adventures in Many Lands.'
76 A MOUNTAIN LANDSCAPE.
aroused the whole jungle-world into life. Just as if some
enchantment or magic spell had been broken, which hitherto
had held all things motionless and in silence. Birds of rare
plumage and strange voices wheeled rapidly in the 'blue
serene/ or flitted from tree to tree ; a thousand mysterious
sounds seemed to unite in one grand choral - harmony to
welcome the coming day.
' Each brilliant bird that wings the air is s?en ;
Gay, sparkling loaries, such as gleam between
The crimson blossoms of the coral tree
In the warm isles of India's sunny sea ;
Mecca's blue sacred pigeon, and the thrush
Of Hindustan, whose holy warblings gush,
At evening, from the tall pagoda's top:
Those golden birds that in the spice-tirne drop
About the gardens, drunk with that sweet food
Whose scent hath lured them o'er the summor-floo;.! ;
And those that under Araby's soft sun
Build their high nests of budding cinnamon :
In short, all rare and beauteous things that fly
Through the pure element, here calmly lie
Sleeping in light, like the green birds that dwell
In Eden's radiant fields of asphodel.'
The travellers paused to admire the wondrous panorama
that, touched with a thousand magical hues, lay spread
before and around them a mountain-landscape in which
the beautiful, the sublime, and the terrible had each their
part. Their musings, however, were interrupted by the
guide, who asserted that the tigress a beast of fame, for
she had tasted human blood lay concealed in a thorny
jungle at the further end of the level, where a bright
musical burn ' wimpled' through the intertangled shrubs,
and descended with many a leap to the valley beneath.
Accordingly, they dismounted. Their ponies were entrusted
to the gorawallahs, or horse-keepers, who led them into a
place of security ; while the shikaree and the beaters pro-
SENDING UP THE ROCKETS. 77
cceded to place themselves around the jungle, so as to drive
the tigress from her lair.
The two attendants who remained with the doctor and
his friend advised them to climb into suitable trees, and
there await the moment when the man-slayer should make
her appearance. But our adventurers, with the pride of
youth, rejected such counsel as timid and unsportsmanlike;
and, as they had before them an open space of ground
destitute of all vegetation except some tall grasses, they
conceived that they should sight their enemy in time to
take a sure and steady aim.
The rocky ledge on which they were stationed measured
about fifty yards in width. On one side the ensign posted
himself, on the other the doctor. Now as the tigress, it was
supposed, would neither venture to plunge down the pre-
cipitous descent on the left, or to clirnb the rocky slope on
the right, she would necessarily pass between our two heroes,
and so expose herself to a double fire.
After some minutes of eager expectation, they heard the
crack and rattle of a rocket, which was directed into the
thorny hiding-place of their enemy. It failed, however, to
awaken any responsive growl. Another, and another, and
another ; yet no sign of the tigress. She must have quitted
her lair! Hark! a fifth rocket and now a short, sharp,
angry growl, which sends the blood coursing rapidly through
each hunter's veins. The crisis is at hand ; they cock their
rifles, and with straining eyeballs seek to penetrate the
leafy screen of the jungle.
And now the whole mob of beaters, having discovered
her place of concealment, broke the stillness with a most
unearthly clash of sound shouting, and blowing horns, and
beating tom-toms so that were Echo as tender a nymph as
the Greek poets fabled, she would have swooned in alarm !
78 LYING IX WAIT.
No marvel that the tigress would not confront such an
appalling tempest, which ' sounded more like the howling of
a legion of fiends than a disturbance produced by human
agencies.'
As soon as the old shikaree discovered her lurking-
place, he saluted her with a whole volley of rockets, and
out she crashed from the thicket with a frightful roar,
lashing her brindled sides with her tail in the open glade,
within sixty or seventy yards of our adventurers' stations,
as if she knew their proximity, and meditated an instant
vengeance.
The glade was hidden to a certain extent from the view
of the beaters, and though the old shikaree knew the man-
slayer had broken cover, he could not see her ; so he con-
tinued flashing occasional rockets into the dense jungle,
while his legionaries desisted not from their fiend-like
uproar.
And now, for a moment or two, the tigress seemed un-
certain in what direction she should proceed. During this
pause, the doctor could see his comrade several times raise
his rifle to take aim, but on each occasion he withdrew it
from his shoulder without firing, as if the animal were too
distant for a certain shot. Present!}' she began to move
towards his covert. I never remember, says our traveller,
to have been so excited as at that moment ; 1113' heart beat
so loudly that its palpitations might have been heard ; all
my blood seemed to have rushed in a torrent of fire to my
brain; and yet of what transpired I was condemned to be a
passive spectator. Slowly and stealthily, with a cat-like
tread, the huge sleek glistening brute crept along, apparently
bent on slinking away unobserved, until she approached
within twenty yards of the ensign's position. Then he
raised his rifle ; a crack, and a loud report ; and immediately
THE TIGRESS AND HER VICTIM. 79
lie emerged into the open with his second weapon in his
hand. With a dull heavy thud the shot rang against the
breast of the tigress, and she, with an awful roar, dashed
right at her daring enemy. Kapid as was her charge, the
ensign's movements were equally swift ; he fired again,
striking her a second time, but not with sufficient effect to
arrest her onset. Almost at the instant that the report of
his last shot startled the echoes, the fearful beast was upon
him, and with a short sharp sigh he fell to the earth, in the
fatal grasp of the tigress, and motionless beneath her
body.
For a moment his friend stood panic-stricken at so de-
plorable and unexpected a catastrophe. He was recalled to
his senses, however, by the urgent need there was of render-
ing immediate assistance to the unfortunate ensign. Though
alarmed at the possible danger of missing the tigress or of
wounding his friend, if, indeed, any life still throbbed in the
senseless body, he raised his rifle, and fired. Unfortunately,
the shock had discomposed his nerves, and his bullet struck
a bush fully two feet above the tigress without disturbing
her. The doctor seized his other rifle, which the faithful
shikaree at that moment handed to him. Again he fired ;
again he missed his aim. Flinging away the useless weapon,
he grasped a large hunting-spear, and, without thought of
the rashness and possible peril of the procedure, he rushed
forward to the attack. What was his surprise to find that
his comrade's aim had been true enough there lay the
tigress and her victim the destroyer and the destroyed
and both were dead !
It is unnecessary for me to say more. The remains of
the young ensign were removed to the camp. On examina-
tion, it appeared that his death must have been instan-
taneous, for the heavy paw of the tigress had crushed in his
80 ON NATIONAL EMBLEMS.
skull. It was the last tiger-hunt in which the doctor took
a part, and for years it remained a cloud upon his life :
'One fatal remembrance, one sorrow that throws
Its bleak shade alike o'er our joys and our woes,
To which life nothing darker or brighter can bring,
For which joy has no balm and affliction no sting.' MOORE.
[At the conclusion of this affecting narrative the boys
indulged in their usual comments and expressions of ap-
proval. Fisher observed that the force of the tiger, when
he made his leap upon his victim, was almost incredible ; its
effects were appalling ; a strong man in his grasp was shaken
like a reed. And not only man, but even the Indian buffalo,
which is borne down by the ferocious beast, and carried off
in his reeking jaws like a puppet.
It is this extraordinary energy, doubtless, that has induced
the Eastern nations to select the tiger as an emblem of regal
power. A half-barbarous people is always inclined to deify
force, to worship physical strength, and to associate with it
all their notions of supremacy. The swiftness of the eagle's
flight, the generous courage of the lion, will recommend
them to the admiration of the healthier and nobler races of
the West; but the Oriental, with his innate thirst for blood,
and his instinctive adulation of despotic cruelty, turns from
the lion and the eagle to the sleek, beautiful, agile, vigorous,
but fierce and rapacious tiger. A tiger's head, blazing with
diamonds and precious stones, adorned the throne of Hyder
Ali and Tippoo Saib, and, at the capture of Seringapatam,
fell into the hands of the British. A tiger's skin is often
worn as the peculiar costume of sovereignty.
With the usual discursiveness of boys, some of the audi-
tors in what Douglas styled the Cave of Adventure now
proposed to take up the subject of the Wolf. Others were in
favour of the Rhinoceros ; and Douglas waggishly suggested
TRAPS FOR TIGERS. 81
the Sea-Serpent ! But Seymour and Fisher desired to make
these afternoon gatherings useful as well as amusing, and
felt that it would not be methodical to allow animal after
animal to be taken up, without regard to their proper zoo-
logical or scientific position.
" No, boys," he said ; " one thing at a time: we have not yet
exhausted the tiger. Let us take another journey from this
shady Yorkshire glen to the Indian jungle. What say you,
Douglas ? "
" Well," said Douglas, " we have heard a great deal about
killing tigers, but nothing about catching them alive."
" Catching them alive ! " cried the Fat Boy ; " you don't
mean to say that such a ferocious beast is often captured
living, except when a mere whelp 1 "
"I do, though," rejoined Douglas; "and the way the
natives catch him in Oudh Oudh, you know, the great pro-
vince annexed to our Indian Empire by Lord Dalhousie
seems to me very ingenious. They mix up a kind of bird-
lime peculiarly tenacious and adhesive, with which they
plaster thoroughly the broad leaves of the prams tree.
These leaves they spread in great quantities about the
neighbourhood of the tiger's supposed lair, and then, armed
with their guns, they secrete themselves at convenient points,
and wait for his appearance. In due time he comes, rolling
his eyes to and fro in quest of prey, and little suspecting the
ambuscade that has been prepared for him. Soon one of
the leaves clings to his paw. Like all felines, he loves a
clean paw, and accordingly he tries to get rid of the adhesive
plaster, but in his exertions he covers himself with the pre-
parationhead, whiskers, body, and tail prauss leaves and
bird-lime all over ! When half blind and thoroughly ex-
hausted, he easily falls a victim to the hunters, who cripple
him, perhaps, with a shot or two, and then festoon him with
stout rope."
G
82 TRAPS FOR TIGERS.
"I should like to know what that bird-lime was made
of!" exclaimed Mountjoy; "there's lots of rabbits on the
common."
"What! turn poacher, Mountjoy 1" said Seymour; "no,
that would never do."
" Then," continued Douglas, " I've read of a trap for
killing tigers which is jolly clever. I think it is called the
* spring-bow.' Well, you make an immense bow, some eight
or nine feet long, and string it with good stout gut line.
The path by which the tiger leaves his lair is usually a very
narrow one, and on each side of the path, opposite one an-
other, you drive into the ground two firm posts. To each
of these fasten one end of the bow, and get ready an arrow
dipped in deadly poison. Insert a blunt stick between the
bow and the bow-string, to extend the latter, j ust as if you
were going to discharge it; and between the end of the stick
and the inner side of the bow, drive a long wedge, to whose
thick extremity you have bound a long string and stretched
it the string, I mean right across the tiger's path. Now
place your arrow in the bent bow, and see what will come
of it. Why, out from his cover prowls Mr. Tiger ; goes
straight up against the wedge-string; the wedge and the
blunt stick drop out, and away flies the poisoned arrow
straight into the tiger's heart."
" Thanks for your description, Douglas," said Seymour ;
" but I should imagine the bow was liable to frequent mis-
haps. The string might relax, for instance, and then the
plot would fail. The Hindus, however, wage war against
the man-eater in a score of ways. They kill a bullock, make
incisions in the carcass, gather some red berries which grow
in the jungle and are peculiarly poisonous, pound them to
dust, and rub the powder very plentifully into the said in-
cisions. The tiger finds the prey, and begins to devour it.
COWARDS 1 WORDS. 83
111 a few minutes the poison spreads through all his veins,
and he is stricken to death by a consuming fire.
" Then another manoeuvre, and one which requires no
ordinary degree of pluck to carry out, is to build a stout cage
of bamboo, with wide intervals between the reeds, transport
it at nightfall to the depths of the jungle, and, armed with
a well-tempered tulwar -- or sword ensconce yourself
within it, and wait.
"hi due time the tiger sallies forth, and his organs of
smell conduct him to your ambuscade. He flings himself
against the cage, which, however, you have securely fixed
between a couple of trees, and with greedy teeth and fero-
cious claws endeavours to seize upon you. Keep cool, and
bide your time. See, now he presents his breast towards
y u, and with a firm thrust you drive your tulwar into his
body up to the very hilt and, mortally wounded, the
beast lies down to die, or crawls back to his cover, where,
the next morning, you may claim his carcass as the reward
rf your daring."
" If the tiger did overturn your cage," said Vernon, "you
would be in an awkward position."
" True," answered Seymour, " but no gallant deed can be
accomplished by the mind that always weighs possibilities.
' If,' ' but,' and f might,' are the coward's words ; no brave
man, no hero ever gives heed to them. Had young
Durosier thought of either, he would not, perhaps, have been
killed, but then his memory would never have been held
in immortal honour."
" Who ivas Durosier?" inquired Vernon.
" Don't you know the story? Well, I will tell it to you,
for every boy ought to know it.*
* Miss Pardoe, ' Episodes of French History/
84 STORY OF YOUNG DUROSIER.
ANECDOTES OF DUTY DONE.
" At one of Napoleon's battles, this young officer, named
Durosier, was in attendance on the emperor at the moment
when it became necessary to despatch an order to one of the
generals of division, and he volunteered to carry it, though
the service was one of imminent peril
" The emperor gave him his instructions, and added :
" ' Spare neither yourself nor your horse, sir/ said he
sternly ; ' there is not a moment to lose, and return at once
to report to me that my order has been obeyed.'
" Away, amid the storm of shot and shell, galloped the
brave young fellow, and in less than a quarter of an hour
was again in the emperor's presence.
" ' You have done well, sir,' said Napoleon, when he had
received his report, 'you have a clear brain and a stout
heart, though still so young. I give you a captain's rank,
and attach you henceforth to my person.'
" * It is too late, sir,' murmured the young soldier.
" 'Too late, Captain Durosier, and why]'
u ' Sir, they have hit me,' and as he spoke, he threw open
his coat. The blood was streaming from a wound in the
chest. ' All will soon be over, but I have done my duty
Vive U Empereur ! Vive la France!'
" He reeled for an insiant in his saddle, and then fell
back heavily into the arms of an officer who had sprung
forward to assist him. Durosier was dead."
" The anecdote," said Fisher, " is an interesting one ; but
I can match it with an English example. My hero is a
private of the Buffs. In one of our Chinese expeditions
the last, I believe some Sikhs and this private of the Buffs
fell into the hands of the Chinese, were brought before the
authorities, and commanded, if they would save their lives,
THE PRIVATE OF THE BUFFS. 85
to perform the kotoo. The Sikhs accordingly grovelled in
the dust, but not so our stout English soldier. He felt that
he represented England, and though death stared him in
the face, he declared that he would not prostrate himself
before any Chinaman alive. Straightway his head was
stricken off, and his body thrown on a dung-hill. I re-
member that the incident suggested an eloquent little ballad,
whose concluding verses I may quote to you : *
'Yes, honour calls ! with strength like steel
He put the vision bv.
Let dusty Indians whine and kneel ;
An English lad must die
And thus, with eyes that would not shrink,
With knee to man unbent,
Unfaltering on its dreadful brink,
To his red grave he went.
' Vain, mightiest fleets, of iron framed ;
Vain, those ail-shattering guns ;
Unless proud England keep, untamed,
The strong heart of her sons.
So, let his name through Europe ring
A man of mean estate,
Who died, as firm as Sparta's king,
Because his soul was great.' "
Fisher's anecdote and quotation proved very acceptable,
and a desultory conversation upon heroes and heroism en-
sued, until Lambert recalled the boys to their original
subject by the apt inquiry,
" What has all this to do with tigers 1"
" True," said Seymour, " and now I will tell you another
story about a Man-Eater. "]
* Macmilltin's Magazine: 'The Private of the Buffs,' by Sir V. II. Doyle
8G A BURR AH SAHIB.
TWENTY-FOUR HOURS OF ADVENTURE.*
My authority for the following story is Captain Shake-
spear, who on his way from Belaspore to Bhundurah, had
occasion to halt at a village called Doongurghur. He found
that the village had recently been desolated by a couple of
man-eating tigers, who had killed a great number of the in-
habitants. Burning with love of sport, he resolved upon a
campaign against these two destroyers, a resolve which was
hailed by the surviving villagers as worthy of the magna-
nimity of a Burrah Sahib.
The last victim of the men-eaters had been the Byraghee,
or holy man, who officiated at the temple of the village.
When informed of this sacrilege, the rajah had hired five
native shikarees to recover the body of the holy man from
the tiger's lair, but affrighted at the stories which were
poured into their ears at Doongurghur. they fled the scene.
Nor was this much imputation on their cowardice, for these
poor fellows were armed with matchlocks only, and the
tigers from their fastnesses kept so vigilant an outlook, that
not a man could move in the jungle or the forest except in
the heat of the day, without their seeing him.
Captain Shakespear started with his shikarees at once
for Doongurghur. After marching about two and a half
miles, he found two natives with matchlocks, one up in a
tree, the other concealed at its foot. Addressing them, he
asked, ' Have you heard any tidings of the man-eaters ?
What are you hunting, that you sit up yonder?' They re-
plied that they were lying in wait for the chikura, or ravine
deer, the gazelle of Arabia, and that as to the tigers they
knew nothing of their whereabouts. Taking one of their
weapons as he rode along, he fell to flattering its workman-
* Capt. TTcnry Shakespear, ' Wild Sports of India.'
THE DESOLATE VILLAGE. 87
ship and praising its unerring aim: 'Come,' said he, 'you
and I are brothers. You are a shikaree, and so am I, you
must come and help me to kill these tigers.' The man went,
and his companion followed ; but sooth to say, both showed
a manifest reluctance. In a short time, however, the whole
procession arrived at Doongurghur.
There spread the beautiful lake for which it was so
famous a lake serene, and still, and cool with broad
water-lilies floating like swans upon its unruffled surface.
The village clustered on its shore, but seemed abandoned
to silence and desolation. Not a sound was audible; life
seemed to have fled from the accursed place. At length, a
chnprassee of the rajah, and two men and a boy, being the
only family that had remained, issued from the huts. The
elder man was the kullal, or wine-maker and wine-vender of
the village, but, like Othello, his occupation was gone. He
had the most to lose in the way of property, and accordingly
had remained when all the rest had fled or been killed.
His eyes were like a ferret's, and he had maintained his
courage by liberal potations of fiery drink.
Having supplied his shikarees and attendants with a
plentiful supply of food and tobacco, Captain Shakespear
prepared for action. He resolved, if possible, to shoot the
tiger from a tree, since he had no elephant at his disposal.
One of his small body-guard, or naicks, thereupon
volunteered to look out for a suitable tree near a tank
of shallow and muddy water that had been constructed at
the foot of the neighbouring mountain and there to tie up
securely a small bullock, about twenty months old. Having
taken with him one of the captain's double-barrelled guns,
the three villagers, and another shikaree, he started in the
noontide heat of the day, when the tiger loves to repose in
the shade of his jungle lair.
88 'JIIE CAPTAIN MAKES READY.
About three hours afterwards, the naick returned in a
state of great alarm, saying that he had not completed the
trap, for the shikaree, he was afraid, had been carried off.
The man was just below the tree, cutting wood, and collect-
ing leaves to screen the shooter in a kind of bower, but that
he had suddenly disappeared.
Captain Shakespear ordered his shikarees to get his
rifles, intending to attempt the recovery of the unfortunate
man's body. On arriving at the spot, he heard the spotted
deer give utterance to the shrill bark which denotes their
alarm at the approach of a beast of prey. But in vain did
he search for any trace of the supposed catastrophe, and it
turned out the next day, that he had fled, panic-stricken, to
his own village, some three or four miles distant.
Returning in the direction of the ambuscade he had
ordered, he found that all his people had secreted them-
selves in the screen or bower the mechaun, as the Hindus
call it which they had constructed, and were looking in-
tently down into a ravine beneath. To Captain Shake-
spear's inquiries they responded : ' The Baghisjust below
us!' He looked with equal curiosity into the ravine, but
could see nothing through the dense brushwood that clothed
it. The sun had set, and it was nearly dark. The captain,
therefore, j udged it advisable to return to his cam}), where
all was made secure for the night. The horses and cattle
were confined within the narrowest possible limits; the
carts piled up outside them as a rampart ; and large fires
kindled at every twenty yards. Over and above the regular
sentry of dismounted troopers, the servants were told off.
and these furnished four more sentinels, so as to afford a
relief every two hours. Having completed these prepara-
tions, Captain Shakespear retired to his couch, with his
rifles, ready loaded, placed ready to his hand.
ON TO THE ATTACK ! 80
All through the night the hurgoors these are the baboons
of Hindustan, and, when on their hind legs, stand five and
a half feet high chattered and hooted incessantly among
the trees, up to the very verge of the encampment. These
animals, which dwell in the mountains with the tigers and
panthers, never allow them to move without following them,
and by jumping from branch to branch of the trees, over
their heads, they give warning of the tiger's approach. The
horses also were very restless during the night, but the
blazing fires and vigilant sentries prevented the tigers from
making any attack.
It will readily be understood that owing to these cir-
cumstances Captain Shakespear waited eagerly for the dawn,
and as soon as 'rosy-fingered Aurora' hem ! peeped forth
in the eastern skies
["I suppose," said Beauchamp, "you mean, as soon as it
was morning."
"Precisely," replied Seymour, "but I thought you would
prefer the more poetical expression."]
Well : as soon as it was morning, he roused his people, and
they all started for the place where the young bullock had
been fastened up. The Kullab, or Doongurglmr wine-maker,
acted as guide. Scarcely had they gone two hundred yards
before they heard the roar of their enemy. The poor villager,
the father of the only surviving family at Doongurghur, ex-
claimed, ' Wuh hai that is he ! that's the tiger who owns mv
village.' Captain Shakespear replied, ' If you run, you are
a dead man; keep close in my rear.' Placing in the front
the head shikaree, Mangkabe, who was gifted with remark-
able powers of vision, the party proceeded, until they reached
some rocks from which the poor calf could be seen. There
he lay, apparently dead. But where was the tiger 1 See,
something moves ! Surely it is the tail of some large
90 RETURNING IN TRIUMPH.
animal. And now, the whole body, with its glittering
painted hide, is plainly discernible. He has emerged on the
open, and between him and his assailants not a leaf, not a
blade of grass intervenes ; but within gunshot stands a
single forest-tree, without a branch on it for thirty feet
from the ground.
Captain Shakespear was aware that in attempting to
gain the tree he would probably be discovered by his furious
foe, but the risk must be incurred. Stealthily he glided
forward, keeping the trunk of the tree between himself and
the tiger, who was so intent on the poor calf, that he did
not notice his adversary's approach. Captain Shakespear
then watched his opportunity, and the beast exposing the
white of his belly and chest, took a deliberate aim, and
fired. His shot proved effectual, and in a few minutes one
of the man-eaters of Doongurghur had ceased to exist.
The victorious tiger-slayer returned to his camp, refreshed
himself with a cup of tea, and ordered his admiring attend-
ants to bring in the body of his victim. He proved to be
of immense bulk and extraordinary muscular power; ex-
treme length, ten feet eight inches, of which the tail was
only three feet three. The head was very large, and every
limb was stout and thickset.
Thirteen quarts of fat were obtained from this lusty
animal, of which the mokassee, or renter of the village,
begged a pipkinful. 'Of course,' replied Captain Shake-
spear, grimly; ( it is the fat of your own villagers.' At
this ghastly, but not unveracious joke, the mokassee laughed
the shadow of a laugh.
Fatigued with the day's exertion, and a sleepless night,
our gallant hunter retired to his couch at an early hour,
after cautioning the duffadur to have a line of fires kindled,
and the sentries posted as before. He was also warned
A NEW ALARM.
01
A TRAGICAL INCIDENT.
that another man-eater was still lurking in the neighbour-
hood.
But scarcely had the Captain enjoyed an hour's rest,
than he was aroused by a shout from the duffadur, that the
tigress had carried off one of the troopers. Leaping out of
bed, he seized the large single two-ounce rifle, kept loaded
with powder only for the purpose, and fired it off in the
92 THE SOLDIER'S DEATH.
air. The darkness was intense ; no fire was burning in the
camp, save one or two embers near the spot where the
trooper had been, seized, but which had proved perfectly in-
effectual to scare away his assailant. Captain Shakespear
huddled on his clothes with all possible speed, and seized
his rifle; some of his attendants were soon ready; and the
villagers, with flaring torches, rushed into the camp. The
iluffadur pointed out the direction in which the tigress
had escaped. He had been standing within five paces of
the man who was seized. In fact, he was relieving the
sentries, and the trooper was putting on his belts to go on
duty. A dry ravine, bare of bramble and brushwood, ran
up to the camp, and had afforded the bloodthirsty beast the
means of stealing on her victim unperceived. Then she
sprang on the man's chest, seizing him by the mouth, and
pressing him so closely that the poor fellow could never
reply to his name. Leaping into the ravine, the Captain
followed it up rapidly, in the belief that his only chance of
recovering the man was to gain the base of the mountain,
some five hundred yards distant, before the tigress could
carry him there. He heard or thought he heard a sigh,
and pursued in that direction. But his generous exertions
proved fruitless, and he was compelled to return.
You will easily imagine that for Captain Shakespear
there was no more sleep that night. So tragical an event
was not to be easily forgotten. He could not dismiss from
his mind the thought of his poor soldier's untimely fate
his sudden agony his terrible death. When the daylight
came, he resumed his search, nor was there any difficulty in
following up the man-eater's trail. The tigress had dragged
the trooper's body across the ravine, and his comrades re-
covered his sword-belt, his turban, trousers, and other frag-
ments of his dress.
HARANGUING THE NATIVES. 93
Leaving the villagers to pursue the animal's track, the
Captain inquired if there were no mountain-path by which he
might be intercepted. The mokassee ordered one of the
natives to guide him to the water, a spot where she had
killed and devoured four or five people. He started, and
mounted a ledge of rock, in the hope of catching her before
her return, but in vain. After waiting a while, he returned
towards the spot where he had left his followers ; and seeing
some crows perched on a tree, came up to the place where
lay the mutilated corpse of the unfortunate trooper, just at
the time that it was discovered by the duffadur and
villagers. She had eaten off one of his legs only up to the
knee. They had passed within fifteen yards of the body in
the night. The Captain informs us, in his published narra-
tive, that he expatiated at some length to the Mussulmans
Moslems or Mohammedans- -I wish there was one recognised
form of describing the followers of the Crescent upon the
worthlessness of the body when deserted by the soul ; and
ho informed them that he would just as soon be devoured
by tigers or jackals as interred in the stateliest mauso-
leum
["Oh, what bosh!" exclaimed Mountjoy; "one would
rather die in one's bed, I think, than be crunched to death
by a tigress ! "]
Yes; and I daresay Captain Shakespear in his heart
was of the same opinion ; but he wanted to persuade the
Mussulmans into allowing the man's body to remain where
he was sure the tigress would return to devour it, and he
could get a shot at her. But his rhodomontade fell upon deaf
ears. All nations and all sects love to bury their dead de-
cently, and the Indians carried away the body and interred it.
Our hunter, however, was determined to kill the tigress,
and accordingly ordered a mechaun, or screen, to be con-
94 THE BAIT TAKES.
structed in a tree near the shallow water where she was
accustomed to bathe herself, and a young bullock to be
bound to a stake within gunshot as a bait for the trap.
The preparations completed, he and his shikarees took up
their positions in the mechaun. Scarcely had they waited
half an hour, when down came the tigress at her wonted
stealthy pace. Evidently she was of the same species as
the male ; short and thick the regular mountain-tiger her
tail did not touch the ground. She was the smallest full-
grown beast the Captain had ever seen. His blood boiled
within him, he says, that so small a tigress should have
killed and carried off his poor trooper. There was some
sort of excuse, he adds, naively, for the big lusty male, with
his broken teeth, killing men; but for this active fiend,
made like a panther, and not much larger than one, for her
to adopt man-slaying was unpardonable.
The reason she had not kept to the sandy ravine was
now very evident. She was neither large enough nor strong
enough to drag the man except on the hard ground; so,
when pursued, she had hauled him along the bank, and
within a few yards of the nullah; the easiest path to the
spot at the base of the hill where she had intended to
devour him at her leisure. In front of the concealed
sportsman spread the ravine, which she now dropped into,
crossed, and, fixing her gaze on the bush where she had
left the body, glided along till she reached a large forest-tree,
about sixty yards from the mechaun. Then she caught
sight of the calf, which, under her gaze, stood paralyzed,
like one under a spell.
By degrees the tigress brought first one eye, and then
both, round the side of the large tree, and fixed them on her
prisoner, and thus they looked at one another for at least
twenty minutes. The Captain devoutly wished that he was
DOWN WITH THE TIGRESS. 95
on foot, for he felt certain that he could put a ball between
her eyes. But the sun was shining on both barrels of his
rifle, and to move a finger would have scared away his
enemy. One of the natives unable to brook so long a sus-
pense did, at last, scratch his leg with his right hand. The
action, slight as it was, proved sufficient. The tigress
retreated into the ravine, and ascended the opposite bank
at the same deliberate and stealthy pace.
Though he feared that his chance was gone, the Captain
seized his rifle, and, as she cleared the heavy bushes, fired.
The shot went through her belly, but did not instantaneously
kill her, and she contrived to drag herself away among the
rocks. For a time her lurking-place remained undiscovered,
and the Captain returned to his camp somewhat discon-
solate ; but before he left Doongurghur, her dead body was
discovered, and the neighbourhood relieved from all further
apprehension on account of the once-famous and much-
dreaded man-eaters.
[" Such is my story, boys."
" And a very good story, too," said Beauchamp. " What
a terrible scourge the tigers must be to those parts of
Hindustan which they infest ! I do not wonder that our
Government offers rewards for their destruction."
"Captain Shakespear," said Seymour, "from whom I
have borrowed the story just told to you, describes a
peculiar method of tiger-hunting, which is quite new to me.
He says that the native shikarees, in districts where pools
of water lie among the jungles, dig holes about six feet
square and three feet deep, within a few paces of the margin
of the water. The mould removed from the pit is thrown
up around its outer edge, like a bank. On this bank the
shikaree rests the barrel of his matchlock, and when the
beast is drinking, he shoots him sometimes at but a few
96 ANOTHER ADVENTURE.
feet from the muzzle of his matchlock. As the water
recedes, the hunter digs a fresh hole, so as to keep tolerably
close to the water's edge. In this way, not only tigers, but
wild hog, mulghai (the blue cattle), sambur or red deer,
and other animals are slain during the hot months of March,
April, and May. For tiger-shooting, however, such a stra-
tagem is very dangerous ; if the shikaree miss his aim, I
would not give much for his life !
"One more story I will tell you, boys, if you are all
agreeable."
" Of course we are," cried Douglas ; and " Decidedly so,"
shouted Vernon and Mountjoy.
"Then, 'lend me your ears' 'I will a tale unfold.'
Captain Shakespear happened, on one occasion, to receive
information of four tigers having resorted to a deep ravine
within a few miles of the cantonment where he was stationed.
A native officer under his command owned a female elephant,
and a tiger-hunting expedition was therefore resolved upon.
They tracked the beasts to a very thick sendbund, or date-
grove, which, from the number of bones of bullocks and
deer scattered about, was conjectured to be their stronghold.
The jungle was very dense, and the captain's native friends,
who had vainly persuaded him to mount the elephant, at
length got into the howdah themselves, and commenced
beating. The captain posted himself up in a tree, for it was
very difficult to see from the ground, and they agreed to
beat up to him. He knew the tigers must be within thirty
or forty paces of his post ; and his men had scarcely put the
elephant to beat, when he heard a tremendous roaring. The
elephant ran away, upset the howdah against the branch of
a tree, and flung the people who were in it almost on the
top of the tigers.
" One rushed by the captain, who shot him in the hind-
A MORAL FROM THE JUNGLES. 97
quarters, but did not recover him. On the day following,
they again beat for them, without the elephant, and after
beating for a long time unsuccessfully, sent word to Captain
Shakespear that the tigers could not be in that part of the
jungle. He had posted himself within eight yards of a
small water-course, and was on foot; so he desired the
natives to beat the jungle up to him, though under an im-
pression that really there were no tigers in it. Scarcely had
he done this, when a large male bear rushed out close by
him, up the bed of the water-course. He did not see his
watchful enemy, but as he came abreast, he suddenly scented
him, and came round to the point. The captain shot him
between the eyes, plump into his brain, and he sank a mass
of black hair.
"At the report of the rifle, out leaped a tiger, almost
over the fallen bear, which was not above eight yards from
him ; and Shakespear discharged his other barrel behind the
shoulder. The natives followed up the wounded beast, but
did not succeed in discovering his hiding-place. At sunset,
our persevering sportsman and his attendants resumed their
stations by the water-side, but no other victory rewarded
their rifles ; the bear and the tiger were their only prize.
" You see, boys, what tenacity of purpose and fixity of
resolution the tiger-hunter must needs possess. A wavering,
unstable, irresolute man would never succeed in the jungles
of Hindustan ; instead of slaying the tiger, the tiger would
slay him.
" Moral. In the jungles of life and the world, go on
boldly, patiently, courageously ; do not lose heart ; do not
be disquieted by small difficulties ; and remember, unless
you conquer the obstacles that lie in your path, they will
assuredly conquer you. Do you remember Goethe's noble
lyric but, of course, you do not translated very finely by
(633) 7
98 GOETHE'S LYRIC OF PROGRESS.
Carlyle, who has aptly called it ' the marching-music of
humanity ' ? Let me endeavour to recall it. I committed
it to memory as a constant incentive to labour, a spur to my
flagging energies, and whenever I repeat it, surely it stirs
my heart like the sound of a trumpet ! "
" Let us hear it, Seymour. I know," said Fisher, " you
pointed it out to me when you were reading 'Wilhelm
Meister' not a boy's book, by the way but I have not
your faculty of remembering poetry."
Seymour then recited Goethe's noble lyric, which we give
here in extenso, for the benefit of our readers :
'"The future hides in it
Gladness and sorrow :
We press still thorow ;
Nought that abides in it
Daunting us
Onward !
' And solemn before us,
Veiled, the dark portal ;
Goal of all mortal :
Stars silent rest o'er us
Graves under us silent.
' While earnest thou gazest,
Comes boding of terror,
Comes phantasm and error ;
Perplexes the bravest
With doubt and misgiving.
'But heard are the voices,
Heard are the sages,
The works and the ages ; -
Choose well, your choice is
Brief, and yet endless.
'Here eyes do regard you
In Eternity's stillness !
Here is all fulness,
Ye brave, to reward you ;
Work, and despair not ! ' "
AN EASTERN STORY. 99
The young poet spoke the lines with noble force and
emphasis, but we must own they somewhat soared above the
capacity of most of his auditors. They rewarded him, how-
ever, with a burst of applause, for they could not be insensible
to the earnestness of his delivery, and were both proud and
fond of their dux.
" Of all the adventurous spirits whom England has sent
forth to wage war against the beasts of prey, not one, per-
haps," said Fisher, turning to his inexhaustible volume,
* can surpass in resolution, daring, and intrepidity the
famous tiger-hunter, Lieutenant Rice. In five successive
campaigns, occupying altogether about three hundred and
sixty-days, and though always hunting on foot, he succeeded
in destroying no less than sixty-eight tigers, three panthers,
and twenty-five bears, without counting those which he
wounded more or less severely.
"From the published narrative of his exploits I have
already quoted. It is replete with stirring incidents, and
such perilous situations as might well make each particular
hair on the reader's head stand erect with horror, like ' quills
of fretful porcupine.' I propose to give a further sample of
Lieutenant Rice's book."*]
A STORY FROM THE EAST.
It is in the thickets, he says, and especially among the
clumps of willows in the marshy localities, that the tiger is
generally met with, because in these places he finds the
cool shelter of which he has need during the heat of the
day and after a night of marauding. It is difficult to dis-
cover him, but fortunately various inhabitants of the jungle
* Lieutenant Rice, ' Tiger-Shooting in India.' It should be stated that
we have not thought it necessary to follow the lieutenant's language very
closely.
100 VIGILANT ANIMALS.
make it their business to indicate his presence. Among
these may be particularly mentioned the peacocks and the
monkeys. The former utter an alarm-cry, which no tiger-
liunter can mistake, when the beast, quitting his lair, has
begun to move. This watchfulness on their part is to be
explained by the fact that the peacocks also prefer the
shelter of the thickets during the day, and frequently fall
victims to the young tiger, who, as soon as he quits his
mother, tries upon them his ' 'prentice-hand,' climbing the
trees like a cat.
During the day, too, the vigilance of the monkeys, who
while slumbering in the trees at night are often surprised
by the panther, or the serpent-boa, is never at fault. Like
the peacocks, they make no mistake as to the species of the
animal which steals through the jungle. Be it a kid or a
wild boar, they do not stir ; but if it be a tiger or a panther,
they utter the peculiar cry destined to put their companions
on their guard. So that when making your way through
the woods, if you see an ape tranquilly seated on the ground,
you may rest assured that you will meet with no dangerous
animal.
A particular bark of the jackal also indicates at night
the presence of tigers. When an old jackal can no longer
hunt by himself, or when he has been expelled from the
troop to which he formerly belonged, he attaches himself to
the service of a tiger, whose scout he becomes, and who, in
return, abandons to him the remains of his banquets. It is
thus that a tiger has frequently been conducted to my
bivouac by a jackal, who redoubled his barkings to indicate
the presence of my horses or cattle to his royal master ;
while the latter, to the terror of all the inmates of my little
camp, prowled around it for several hours waiting an
opportunity to attack. In such a case, one must not fire at
AT THE GATES OF JAAT. 101
the tiger except with sure aim and close at hand, for if he is
not mortally wounded, he becomes furious, and his ferocity,
increased by the obscurity, knows no obstacle and disregards
all danger.
My month's furlough, which I had spent in my first
campaign against the tigers, was nearly at an end, and up to
the 22nd of April I had killed, says Lieutenant Rice, none
but bears, when I pitched my tent at the gates of Jaat, a
small town of some importance from its iron-works. The
day was fruitlessly spent in beating the surrounding thickets
without making any discovery, and yet, on my return to the
camp at sunset, I had hardly begun my evening repast
before I was disturbed by a violent clamour. It proved to
have originated in the forcible abduction by a tiger of a
young shepherd when leading his flock back to the town.
Thirty of the inhabitants, furnishing themselves with
weapons and noisy instruments, immediately started in pur-
suit of the ravisher, in the hope of forcing him to abandon
his prey. It was too late ; when they overtook the beast,
he had partly devoured the poor shepherd-lad, who had been
surprised close to my tent, where I was supping tranquilly,
suspecting not the frightful catastrophe that was being
consummated within a few paces. This tiger, who had for
a long time desolated the surrounding country, was known
under the name of the ' Man-Eater of Jaat.' He had been
frequently hunted, but always unsuccessfully, because, during
the day, he found an inaccessible retreat in the ancient pits
of the iron-mines. I made a compact with myself that I
would not forget him.
On the following day, the 23rd, I had visited a village
named Dowhetpoora, about six miles from Jaat, when a man
came to inform me of the covert of another tiger, who had
carried off several oxen. We promptly assembled about
102 A SAD EVENT.
thirty beaters, and directed our steps towards the indicated
locale, whose appearance immediately inspired me with
the liveliest hopes. It was a fine ravine, well provided with
water, and clothed with willows and aquatic plants, between
two lines of cavern-pierced rocks. I posted myself at the
end of the defile, on the point of a crag, while my beaters,
in a compact body, attacked the other extremity, raising
a deafening noise. Soon a magnificent tigress made her
appearance, but as she attempted to clear the thicket, I
rolled her over with my first shot, killing her with two or
three others, to the inexpressible joy of every owner of
cattle. In the evening her splendid skin was carried to my
tent.
In the following June I resumed the campaign in com-
pany with my friend, Lieutenant Little ; we went direct to
Jaat, and, on the first day, killed a bear.
The following day, when about to start on an explora-
tion of the country, tidings were brought us that the man-
eater had just carried off an unfortunate woman engaged in
cutting grass. The tiger had regularly hunted her, as if she
had been a kid. He had stealthily glided towards her ;
then with one tremendous bound had reached and seized
her, as a cat catches a mouse. Some neighbours who had
seen the affair from a distance, had vainly endeavoured by
their shouts to frighten him from his victim.
This sad event produced a lively excitement in the whole
population. Numbers immediately offered to accompany us
in pursuit of the sanguinary destroyer. Well-armed for the
most part, they were also furnished with drums, horns, and
other instruments of ' sound and fury.' The tiger's trail was
easy to follow, for the bushes through which he had dragged
his victim were loaded with fragments of her clothes, and
covered with hair and gouts of blood. Each of us was in-
THE AVENGERS IN PURSUIT. 103
spired by the sight with rage and horror. We advanced
slowly, because the path was dangerous, from the height of
the grasses and the density of the wood. At last, after a
two miles' journey, we found the corpse of the poor woman
at the mouth of one of the long galleries that penetrated the
deserted mines. Fortunately, her death had been instan-
taneous, her skull having been broken by the tiger's power-
ful jaws. We proposed to enclose the beast in his cavern,
but as many attempts of this kind had been unsuccess-
fully made, the people who accompanied us wished, without
delay, to bear back the mutilated corpse.
Pursuing our campaign with various success, we arrived
at a village near the fort of Euttenghur, where, as we had
been informed, a tiger had recently made havoc among the
herds. We were guided to the ravine in which he usually
lurked, and were picking our way along the rocks, when we
suddenly caught sight of him about three paces below us.
He was lying down ; but, on hearing us, turned his head
and confronted us with a terrible look. He was very fat
and very old. Little and I simultaneously fired ; the tiger
made a spring, and disappeared in the thicket. Drops of
blood enabled us to track him for some distance ; then they
completely disappeared in the surface of a rock which pre-
served no impression.
Proceeding a little further, we encountered a herdsman,
who assured us that he had seen nothing ; and the tranquillity
with which his goats browsed among the herbage was a
sufficient confirmation of the truth of his statement. We
retraced our steps, and soon one of the natives who ac-
companied us indicated by a signal the entrance to a cavern
whose base we had passed unnoticed. Immediately we
ordered the beaters to fall back to such a distance as would
ensure their safety ; then, depositing close at one side our
104 THE DEAD COMES TO LIFE I
spare guns, we knelt on a ledge of rock three or four paces
from the cavern's mouth. It was the only point from which
we could get the range of the tiger, whose eyes we could
perceive shining like two lamps in the deep obscurity of
the cave. We agreed to fire together, at the signal of ' One !
two! three!' given by one of us. We took steady aim; I
repeated the magic words, and the air rang with the loud
report of our muskets.
As soon as the smoke had cleared off, we could see our
enemy lying stiff and rigid on his back, and on our nearer
approach discovered two holes just above his eyes, from
which two rills of blood escaped. Thrusting our heads, at
last, into the very mouth of the cavern, we perceived that
though the entrance was narrow, the spacious interior
afforded sufficient room for the tiger to move about easily.
While we exchanged congratulations on our success, one
of the animal's paws moved lightly, and I wished to fire
again to make sure that he was dead, but Little opposed
me, as he was unwilling the skin should be needlessly
injured by another hole. It was agreed, in consequence,
that I should shoot him in the head, at the point where our
knives would make the first incision when we began to strip
him of his splendid hide. Our beaters,' who had now re-
joined us, gathered round, exulting over their fallen foe.
Raising my gun I fired carelessly, without even bringing it
up to my shoulder, when, lo ! the dead suddenly came to
life, uttered a frightful roar, rose on his hind legs, and
seemed about to spring upon us. There was a general panic.
At a single leap, Little, who was remarkably agile, gained
the summit of the rock, and, with his gun loaded, stood
ready to discharge a final shot at the animal as soon as
he appeared in the open. For myself, whose discharged
muskets were lying scattered on the ground, I dashed
MAKING SURE OF HIM ! 105
through the crowd of beaters, upset two or three one upon
another, and finished by falling prone upon the ground my-
self. Some of the natives climbed up the trees like apes ;
others fled on all fours without looking behind them ; and
all the time the tiger growled so furiously that I thought he
was rending to pieces the victims he had seized upon.
However, he either had not been able or had not dared
to issue from his lair ; his rage exhausted itself in impotent
growls and convulsive movements. I sprang to my feet,
seized a gun, scaled a small tree which was conveniently
placed, and from thence discharged in succession twelve
shots at the monster, who finally rolled over, and lay com-
pletely motionless. He was really dead ; but his skin, which
we immediately stripped off, was riddled. As yet we were
but novices, and this little adventure, which might have had
fatal consequences, served for our instruction. It taught us
never to spare a few holes in the skin of a tiger when it was
necessary to make sure of his death.
We returned to the camp at Neemuch with the skins of
four tigers and one bear. We prepared for a longer cam-
paign in the following summer, for it is only in the dry
season that the chase is practicable in India.
In 1851, Little and myself, after various excursions more
or less successful, returned to Jaat, where I had to fulfil the
promise which I had made to myself.
On the evening of our arrival, we assembled a crowd of
beaters, and before dawn, were on the march towards the
covert of our old acquaintance, the man-eater of Jaat. My
plan consisted in finding out the entrance to the pits of the
mines at the hour when the animal, returning from his noc-
turnal excursion into the plain, regained his asylum. This
time we could dispose our men at a distance, for the tiger,
at so early an hour, would have but a single thought on the
106 THE MAN-EATER SLAIN.
slightest alarm, namely, to seek safety in bis lair. The ac-
curacy of my calculation was promptly verified. The drums,
horns, and pistols had scarcely begun to blend in a tremendous
clamour, when we saw from afar the man-eater approaching
in a straight line towards the place where we had posted
ourselves, conveniently screened by some bamboos and tall
shrubs, my companion in the rear, and myself a little in
advance. I allowed him to get within two paces of me,
and then brought him to the ground; two more shots
completely finished him. Messengers immediately started
to convey the good news to the town, and the dead tiger
being suspended by its four paws to a pole, which my
beaters carried triumphantly on their shoulders, we inarched
in procession to the sound of drums and cymbals, and at
the gates of Jaat were received by the whole population.
In the midst of the general acclamations which hailed our
victory, the women laid nosegays of fresh flowers at our feet,
and recited verses in honour of the tiger-slayers. I confess
that this little fete delighted me hugely.
That the slain animal was really the dreaded man-
eater, was proved by an inhabitant of a neighbouring village,
who, the year preceding, had dealt him a blow on the head
with a club, just as he seized his brother by his side, and
carried him off to the jungle. He showed the mark of the
wound which the club had inflicted. And, to conclude, from
that time we heard no more sad stories of accidents in the
vicinity of Jaat, and the terror caused by the man-eater
entirely subsided.
On the 26th of March, while still in the neighbourhood
of the town, I escaped a great danger. I had posted myself
on a ridge of rocks. A panther which I had wounded dis-
appeared in the coppice above my position, and a few
minutes later, I suddenly caught sight of her on a point
ONE MORE STORY. 107
which projected over me; she was about to make a spring.
I had only time to jump into the branches of a young tree
which flourished a few paces below me, when the panther
followed me with a tremendous leap. Fortunately, Little,
who w r as always composed, had observed her, and as she
made her flying leap, rolled her over with a ball through
the head, so that she fell at the foot of the tree where I
had taken refuge. It was an admirable shot, and probably
saved my life, or at least preserved me from a cruel lacera-
tion.
Some moments afterwards we killed the largest tiger
we had yet encountered. He measured eleven feet eleven
inches. In the evening we prepared his skin and that of
the panther's an operation which demands great care, and
must be performed within twenty-four hours of the animal's
death.
[" And now," said Fisher, " we will bid farewell to Lieu-
tenant Rice and tiger-shooting."
" The lieutenant was a plucky fellow," remarked Douglas,
" and I don't wonder tiger-shooting proves so attractive a
pastime ; its excitement must be immense."
" A little too much of it," said Lambert, " for my taste.
I don't care for the excitement of being eaten, limb after
limb, by a ' magnificent tigress.' "
" Come, Fisher, one more story," cried Vernon.
" Well, boys/' replied Fisher, " I thought just now you
had had nearly enough of the tiger ; but here, in this manu-
script volume of mine, which you so often laugh at, I dare
say I have jotted down another anecdote or two, if you really
wish for more."
" Oh, go on," said Lambert ; " these tigers are splendid
fellows for making good stories."
" Yes ; and I consider it rather jolly," said a boy called
108 FISHER'S STORY.
Ha worth, " sitting here in this cosy little cave and listening
to such first-rate narratives. That is a capital book of yours,
Mr. Fisher."
" When I was putting it together, I little thought how
useful it would prove."
" Now then, Fisher," said Seymour, " fire away ! "]
A DAY IN THE JUNGLE.
Once more, then, we transport ourselves to the rank
jungle of Hindustan on a tiger-hunting expedition.* The
leading characters are Mansfield and Burton, with whom
you have already been brought acquainted, and a certain
Doctor M'Phee, a North Briton and a phlebotomist. The
usual native attendants accompany them, bent upon ' deeds
of high emprise.' They have killed a fine fat buck, as
a preliminary to the day's sports, and wounded a doe. At
the time I begin my narrative, they are endeavouring to
track the latter to her hiding-place by the drops of blood
which have welled from the poor creature's wound.
Charles Burton had been entrusted with the important
office of tracker, and, proud of the responsibility, he set off
at a rapid pace ; whilst the Jemidar, or native officer, con-
sidering so easy a trail unworthy of his powers of penetration
and marvellous sagacity, followed in the rear of the party,
occasionally breaking a small twig, or tying a knot in the
long grass, to serve as landmarks on their return.
In this manner they pursued the trail for more than a
mile, through tangled masses of bamboo, and tigrish-looking
patches of long grass, which rose far above their heads, and
where the skulls and half-picked bones of deer showed that
the forest - tyrant had occasionally selected them for his
lair.
* Major Campbell, 'The Old Forest Ranger.'
" A TIGER, WITHOUT DOUBT ! " 109
Too much excited by the chase to think of any possible
clanger, and deaf to the prudent remonstrances of canny Dr.
M'Phee as wary and as long-headed as most of his race
Burton pressed forward rapidly, and ventured at last into
such eery nooks such grim-looking depths that the Doctor
appealed to Mansfield to protect his companion against his
own temerity.
'Oh, Captain Mansfield,' said the Scot, 'I wish you
would speak to that daft laddy, and no let him drag us any
further through sic awfu' places it's just a wilful tempting
of Providence. I tell you, sir, we'll be made tiger's meat
o' before we get out. I see the tracks of the horrid brutes,
back and forret, as thick as rabbits in a warren. Hech,
sir, it seems to me an unchristian act to gar a decent body
risk his precious life in sic uncannie places, just for the sake
o' a wounded deer/
1 Forward, forward !' shouted Mansfield, quite as deaf as
Burton to any hints of probable danger for both of them
were of that order of temperament which peril only stimulates
and inspires ' forward, forward ; we have nearly run down
the doe. See, the drops of blood are larger and quite frothy,
a sure sign that she is nearly spent. Forward, Charles, my
boy ! we are close upon her/
But his shout was suddenly answered by a terrible
growl not ten yards in front of them, upon which the whole
party immediately halted, as if the sound had congealed
them into stone.
' A tiger, without doubt ! ' muttered Mansfield, setting his
teeth hard, and cocking both barrels of his rifle, while the
Doctor would have accomplished a hasty retreat had he
not been instantaneously arrested.
'Hold!' cried Mansfield, seizing him by the collar;
1 would you bring the tiger upon us ? Turn your back to
110 STEADY, MY LADS !
him, and we are dead men. Our sole chance is to fix our
gaze steadily on the spot where he lurks concealed, and be
ready to pour in a volley if he attempts to charge. If we
maintain a bold front, he will, perhaps, think discretion the
better part of valour and slip away. Look at Burton.
Though a youth, he sets you an example of coolness and
resolution you ought to be ashamed not to imitate. Here,
stand by my side, and be ready with " Mons Meg ;" she will
do us good service among the long grass. Come, Doctor,
pluck up your courage ; I have been in many a worse peril
than this, and yet got clear after all.'
But though Mansfield talked thus lightly to rouse his
companion's spirits, it was evident from his glowing eye,
his firm-set lips and knitted brow, that he realized all the
danger of the position, and felt it was a matter of life and
death.
' Kamah,' said he to one of his attendants, still keeping
his eye fixed on the spot where he supposed the tiger to be
planted, ' keep a sharp look out, and try if you can mark
him amongst the grass. Steady, my lads,' whispered he,
as another deep growl was heard, and that peculiar lashing
of the tail which indicated an intention to attack ; * he is
determined to fight, I see, and there is nothing for it but a
shower of well-directed bullets. Keep cool ; do not move
an inch ; and reserve your fire until he shows himself.'
Mansfield's words were carefully heeded by every
member of his little band. The Doctor's teeth chattered,
and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead, but he held his
ground. As for Burton, he looked as brave men look when
they know the die is cast and retreat impossible ; paler than
usual, perhaps, but with the light of battle in his eyes, and
an expression of high resolve on his rnanly face.
' Dekho, sahib,' whispered the jemidar ' look, sir,' his
WHAT MONS MEG DID ! Ill
fierce eyes glaring with fire, as he gently touched Mans-
field on the shoulder, and eagerly pointed towards the spot
from whence a rustling sound proceeded. But Mansfield,
though he looked with all the anxiety of a man who watches
his deadly foe, could discern nothing. The sound, however,
was repeated, and he felt that his suspense would soon be
terminated.
' Now for it, lads ! death or victory !' and Mansfield, as
he drew himself up to his full height, and half raised his
rifle to his shoulder, felt ready to charge a regiment of Sikhs.
* Be steady, and don't throw away your fire ; there's life or
death in every shot. Ha !' At this moment he caught a
glimpse of the tiger's hateful eye, as he lowered his head for
the final spring. Like a sudden thought, his trusty rifle
poured forth its deadly contents. A roar a bound and
the ferocious beast lay gasping at their feet, with a two-
ounce ball buried in his skull.
1 Wallah! wallah!' shouted the jemidar, with uplifted
hands, startled out of his stoical composure by the sudden-
ness of the catastrophe.
Burton and the Doctor were loud in their expressions of
admiration, and the latter approached the stricken monster.
' Od's my life, he's no dead yet ! ' he shouted, as the dying
tiger gasped painfully for breath.
' Well, Doctor,' exclaimed Mansfield, ' what is Mons
Meg about 1 Why don't you treat your enemy to a dose
of the grit-shot ? '
The Doctor raised his piece with a trembling hand, and
pulled the trigger. The thundering report of ' Mons Meg '
echoed far and wide through the jungle. The tiger gathered
up his limbs with a sudden spasm, and then stretched them
out, quivering in the last agony, whilst the frothy blood
bubbled from his mouth and nostrils.
112 MORE OF THE FAMILY.
As if appalled by his own temerity, the Doctor flung
down his gun, and, securing himself behind Mansfield,
peeped cautiously over his shoulder.
' Hech,' he exclaimed, ' I believe the grit shot has settled
him at last; he's just about gone! Od, there's another
awfu' gape, though. Mercy on us ! what gruesome teeth ;
there's another ! Hurra, that's the last ! Hurra, he's dead !'
and the Doctor began to dance, and to snap his fingers, and
to laugh with an almost hysterical wildness, as if the sudden
revulsion from mortal terror to triumphant exultation had
disturbed his brain.
' Come, Doctor,' said Mansfield, ' compose yourself.
Thank God for your life, and load your weapon. As old
Cromwell said, " Trust in Providence, and keep your powder
dry." This is no place for idle antics and empty barrels.
Look at Burton ; he has stood as stanch and unmoved
as my oldest trooper before a charge of Sikh cavalry.'
Whilst the sportsmen followed Mansfield's advice,
Kamah searched among the thick grass where the tiger had
made his lair, and, after a while, returned triumphant,
dragging after him the carcass of the wounded doe, which
had suffered terribly from her antagonist's cruel paws.
1 Ay,' said Mansfield, ' I now understand why the brute
so boldly confronted us. A jungle tiger is generally glad to
steal away from men ; but having j ust stricken down the
wounded deer, she was too hungry to abandon her prey
without a struggle. All's well, however, that ends well ; so
let us get out of this long thick grass as quickly as possible.
For aught we know, there may be more of the family in the
vicinity.'
1 Od preserve us, Captain/ cried the Doctor, ' you don't
say so ! More of the family ? " Will auld acquaintance be
forgot ? " I have had enough of Tiger & Co. ; and if ever
" DOWN FOR YOUR LIVES !" 113
you catch me plouthering through the jungle grass again in
quest of what you call " sport," may the blood of the
M'Phees degenerate into ditch-water !'
Having gained the open ground, Mansfield called a
council of war, and it was unanimously resolved, much to
the Doctor's satisfaction, that the sportsmen should return
to breakfast, as the sun was already high, and their coolies
be despatched to bring in the game.
' Heaven be thanked for all its mercies ! ' ejaculated the
Doctor."
[" That Doctor," interrupted Douglas, " was but a ' fause
Scot' to skulk in so cowardly a manner from the post of
danger."
" Well," said the Fat Boy, " I think he showed his wisdom.
I am sure a nice comfortable breakfast must be much better
for a fellow than tiger-hunting."
" That's just like your sordid way of looking at things,"
cried Beauchamp; "you seem to think, Lambert, that one
only lives for the gratification of one's appetites, instead of
noble thoughts, high purposes, and gallant deeds. But go
on, Fisher."]
The sportsmen were on the point of turning towards
their tents, when a terrible crash echoed among the bam-
boos, and a shrill scream rang through the air, like the sound
of a cracked trumpet.
* Huttee! hutteef shouted the jemidar; * the elephant !
the elephant! 7 as he sprang behind a tree for shelter, and
beckoned his companions to adopt a similar precaution.
1 Down for your lives ! ' exclaimed Mansfield, as he
crouched behind a clump of reeds, and cocked his rifle.
' This must be the notorious elephant that has committed
such havoc of late on the verge of the forest ; and if we
manage to kill him, the victory will be glorious !'
tea) 8
114 GRUESOME WORK !
The Doctor could not appreciate the glory, and sincerely
wished himself back in his own quarters. But seeing that
escape was impossible, he put on as bold a front as his com-
panions.
1 Now, lads,' cried Mansfield, 'be cautious, be steady,
and the day is our own. Do not move until he shows him-
self. When I whistle, he will lower his head to listen from
whence the strange sound proceeds ; then aim directly at
the hollow in his forehead, just above the insertion of the
trunk, and, when I whistle a second time, fire together.
But mind you only discharge one barrel ; reserve the other,
and dash off, two to the right, and two to the left, so that, if
he does not fall, he may find a clear space to make a final
rush. Elephants are dull, short-sighted animals; and, if
you keep quiet, we shall probably have time to reload before
he discovers us; at all events, we shall have our second
barrels ready. Now, remember these directions ; and you,
Doctor, do, like a good fellow, keep your wits about you ;
our lives depend upon our steadiness, and the least mistake
may prove fatal.
' Eh, lads,' cried the Doctor, ' but this is gruesome work ! '
For a moment deep silence 'reigned around.' Then
came another tremendous crash, and the enormous brute,
breaking into the open space, flung aloft his ponderous
trunk f like a knight entering the lists to do battle against
all comers,' and rang forth his harsh trumpet-note of de-
fiance. A mighty animal was he ! a mountain of flesh and
bone and muscle, full twelve feet high, with enormous tusks,
and a little twinkling redeye that shone with the fire of
madness.
Brandishing his trunk about, he snuffed the tainted air,
and his scream of rage, as he stamped heavily upon the
ground, showed that he was aware of the immediate neigh-
THE DOCTOR IN DANGER. 115
bourhood of his enemies, though uncertain in what direction
to deliver his headlong charge.
' Now, lads/ cried Mansfield, * steady, and reserve your
fire till the proper time.'
He gave a low whistle.
The elephant started, pricked his ears, and lowered his
head in the attitude of listening. He was just in the right
position, and Mansfield was about to raise his rifle, when
crack went Mons Meg, with a loud report, and the Doctor,
throwing down his weapon, took to his heels, roaring lustily
that the monster was upon him. His nerves had given way,
and by an involuntary twitch of his forefinger, he had pulled
the trigger when he least expected it.
Mansfield and Burton hastily fired, and both their balls
took effect in the head of the elephant, drawing the blood
freely ; but as they had been fired without any steady aim,
and not planted in the correct spot, they only acted as incen-
tives to his rage. Screaming angrily, he rushed forward
like an avalanche, as if bent upon sweeping every obstacle
from his headlong path.
Mansfield and Burton slipped aside, and fled for shelter
behind the stem of a large teak-tree. But the poor Doctor,
in his horror and mental confusion, ran straight forward,
and his red jacket attracting the elephant's immediate at-
tention, his fate appeared inevitable.
In vain did he wind and dodge among the trees, like a
hunted jackal. The destroyer pursued him, like the Fate
of the old Greek tragedians. His strength was failing fast,
and it was evident that he could not long maintain the
terrible chase. The elephant had already projected his
trunk to seize him, when he made a sudden turn ; the enor-
mous brute dashed forward too far, and for one moment
was at fault, apparently uncertain in which direction his
intended victim had fled.
110
CAUGHT BY A TRUNK.
A NARROW ESCAPE.
The Doctor took advantage of the pause to begin climb-
ing a tree behind which he had taken shelter. He was
already several feet from the ground, and had stretched out
his arm to grasp a branch which would have placed him in
A WELL-DIRECTED SHOT. 117
safety, when the elephant, suddenly discovering him, bounded
forward with redoubled fury, wound his trunk about his
legs, hurled him to the earth, rushed upon him where he
lay insensible and bleeding, and, kneeling down, plunged at
him furiously with his enormous tusks, burying them up to
the very root.
It was at this terrible moment that Mansfield, who had
followed the chase, springing from tree to tree, in hopes that
lie might secure a favourable opportunity for planting a
death-shot in the elephant's head, came in sight of the catas-
trophe.
1 Heaven have mercy on his soul!' cried he, 'for man
cannot save him!'
The elephant rose from his knees, caught up the body of
the unfortunate Doctor in his trunk, flung it to a short dis-
tance, and stood gazing on it with burning eyes, as if gather-
ing fresh breath before he made a second rush, to finish the
work of death by trampling him under his enormous feet.
' No more of this !' exclaimed Mansfield, ' I will put an end
to such sanguinary work ;' and he raised his rifle as coolly and
deliberately as if about to fire at a mark in a shooting-
gallery. True to its aim the fatal bullet sped its way, pene-
trating the eye, and crashing into the brain of the elephant.
With one scream of mingled wrath and agony, the monster
sank to the ground, and rolled over like a toppling tower.
Burton and the jemidar now came running to the scene
of action, and, to render ' assurance doubly sure,' discharged
both barrels into the head of the elephant ; but he moved
not ; Mansfield's shot had terminated his career for ever.
' And so,' exclaimed Mansfield, ' poor M'Phee is gone !
Pill and potion he will mix no more. Fain could I say with
Shakspeare, I could have better spared a better man, for
with all his oddities and absurdities, his heart was generous
118 THE DOCTOR REVIVES.
in the main, and his intellect was clear and penetrating. I
feel a pang of remorse at having prevailed upon him to join
in a sport so dangerous, and in which he took so little plea-
sure. But this is not the time to pronounce his epitaph.
Kamah, cut a few stout bamboos; we must put together
some sort of litter to carry home his body.'
Burton, meanwhile, approached the Doctor's remains to
throw a covering over the head and face. ' Thank heaven, he
lives ! ' was his joyous exclamation, as a faint groan reached
his ear. * Lives ! ' echoed Mansfield ; ' this is indeed a
miracle;' and tearing open his jacket, the two friends dis-
covered, with gratitude and joy, that though his countenance
was pale, and his clothes soaked in blood, the Doctor's body
was free from scathe.
It seemed that the elephant, in his rage and distraction,
and blinded, perhaps, by the blood which poured from his
wounds, had missed his aim, and, instead of transfixing his
victim, as he intended, had plunged his tusks in the ground,
on each side of the body, thus holding him down, as it were,
within the prongs of an enormous pitchfork. Consequently,
the Doctor, despite his sorry appearance, had escaped with
no other injury than the faintness and bruises resulting from
his first toss. A strong dose of brandy, promptly admini-
stered by Mansfield, restored him to consciousness, and he
suon so far recovered as to admit of his being carried back
to camp. Thither the whole party returned triumphant,
though with different feelings, in respect to their usual ex-
periences of a Day in the Jungle.
[A desultory conversation now ensued such mingled chaff,
sentiment, and reflection, as school-boys most delight in
terminated by an offer on Beauchamp's part to close their
discussion on the Tiger by another yarn ; an offer promptly
accepted, and redeemed as follows : ]
BEAUCHAMP'S STORY. 119
THE BOY AND THE TIGER.
One fine morning, (said Eeauchamp,) a young English
officer, in a certain district of North-western India, was
engaged * killing time ' by ' shooting game,' attended only by
a small Moorish boy a little fellow about twelve years old,
who had charge of his dogs. The boy and his four-footed
companions beat the bushes energetically, if not very skil-
fully ; quail and partridge abounded ; and though our young
officer was no practised shot, his bag promised to be a full
one. While thus engaged, a large panther suddenly sprang
from the midst of the luxuriant vegetation, and, as if
frightened by some unwonted spectacle, took immediately
to flight, pursued by the barking dogs, who drove him into
a cave on the side of a rocky hill, a few hundred paces
distant.
The officer shall we call him Danvers? had never
before seen any animal of the tiger kind in a state of nature,
but his Moorish page was the son of a famous shikaree, and
burned with a traditional hatred of the ferocious beast.
'Suppose, master!' he exclaimed, 'I show sahib how to
kill that destroyer of the hamlet. I have learned from my
father how to manage hurrah shikar business.'
Young Danvers was by no means displeased with the
suggestion. He was as reckless of danger as are most lads
just let loose from Eton or Eugby, and he never doubted
the skill or experience of his dark-skinned attendant, who,
for aught he knew, might have been in at the death of a
score or so of layhs.
He proceeded, therefore, to reload his gun with some
bullets which he happened to have in his pocket.
'Now, then,' cried the shikaree's son, as ho directed
him to cover himself behind a fragment of rock that lay
120 THE BOY AND THE TIGER.
directly in front of the cave ; ' now, then, I show sahib how
to draw tiger out. Sahib then make him eat a great feast of
bullets ; that proper shikar business.' With these words, he
actually advanced to the very mouth of the cavern, and
while pelting the beast with stones, loaded him with the
choicest bits he could recollect of Hindustani slang.
He succeeded, poor fellow! in drawing the tiger out.
With a roar of fury he dashed from the cave, sprang upon
the thoughtless boy, seized him by the neck, flung him over
his shoulder, and swept down the hill like a rush of water.
You may imagine the horror and apprehension which seized
upon Danvers. He was a lad of mettle, however, and did
not lose his presence of mind. To take a steady aim was
impossible ; but he fired without a moment's hesitation, and
undoubtedly hit the beast, for he instantly dropped his
victim, who rolled into a clump of thick herbage at the foot
of the hill. As soon as the panther was out of sight,
Danvers hastened to succour his unfortunate companion,
whom he found bathed in blood, and sinking rapidly, though
still quite sensible.
Not a moan, not a sigh, did the gallant boy utter, but
in a faint tone of voice he asked for some water. Danvers
stooped down to collect some in his hat, when a hoarse
growl startled him, and looking around, he saw that the
panther had returned, and was hurriedly pacing around
the bushes that separated him from his prey. As Danvers
was young, we need not wonder that he was tempted at
first to make his escape; as he was an English boy, we
need not be astonished that he immediately repented of the
impulse, and clung to his ill-fated attendant. Kneeling by
Kheder's side such was the Moor's name he tenderly
raised his head, wiped his clammy lips and brow, and
poured a few drops of refreshing water down his throat.
In a minute or two he revived.
A YOUNG LIFE GONE. 121
' Bhot atch, sahib very good, sir ! ' lie exclaimed ; ' sweet
as the rain to the palm-tree is that water to my burning
lips. But woe's me, that you did not kill the tiger ! I
should have liked to have sent his skin to my father. You
will tell him will will you not ? that I died as became
the son of a famous shikaree. Tell him I was not afraid of
the bagh ; that I never cried out when I felt his teeth crush-
ing my bones. No ; I drove my knife into him twice ; see,
this is tiger's blood ! ' and a transitory light flashed in his
eye as he held up the evidence of his prowess. ' My father
will rejoice when he hears that his son did not disgrace him,
but my mother will weep that she has lost me; yes, her
heart will turn to water when she hears that I am dead ! '
And now, for the first time, the heroic lad gave way,
and the hot tears stole down his pallid cheeks. He remained
motionless for a few minutes. What were his thoughts?
what his hopes, or fears? Suddenly he started up; his
eyes glared wildly ; the turpid blood swelled his veins into
rigid cords ; he gasped painfully for breath ; a fit of delirium
had seized him, and he cried,
1 Oh, the tiger has seized me again ! Save me, burrah
sahib, save me ! His teeth have clutched my throat I
cannot breathe ! Mother ! He gasped like a person
drowning; his jaws became fixed as in a vice; then he
stretched out his limbs with a spasmodic gesture, and fell
back into the arms of Danvers dead !
Some moments elapsed before the young officer could
recover himself after a scene so painful, and so calculated
to produce a painful impression on a youthful heart. But
the instinct of self-preservation roused him from his trance.
The panther was still prowling around the leafy clump
where he and the unfortunate Kheder had found a tempor-
ary refuge. Happily, the screen of verdure was so thick
122 A GRUESOME STORY.
that his fierce eyes could not distinguish the persons of its
occupants ; and the panther, like his congener, the tiger, is a
wary and suspicious animal. Always apprehensive of a trap
or ambush, he will rarely venture to spring upon his prey if
any bush or impediment should chance to lie between them.
Still, for upwards of an hour he kept guard upon the
covert, and Danvers began to feel the combined effects of
alarm, hunger, fatigue, and melancholy. His position, indeed,
was peculiarly painful. There he sat, with his musket
loaded, prepared to try one more shot if the panther
broke in upon his solitude ; the dead body of the unhappy
Kheder lying by his side, covered with the leaves which he
had hurriedly heaped upon it; a powerful and ferocious
beast pacing to and fro, and effectually preventing him
from attempting an escape ; and no chance of succour from
his friends, as they were ignorant of the direction he had
taken, and the errand on which he had been bound. Seldom
has a stronger throb of happiness shot through human heart
than Danvers felt when at last the panther grew weary of
his watch, and slunk away in despondent mood. He
waited until the beast was fairly out of sight, and then
started off at full speed for his father's cantonment. His
tale was soon told, and a party of natives despatched to
bring in the body of the ill-fated Kheder.
[When Beauchamp had concluded, his companions ex-
pressed their admiration of the simple but pathetic tale,
and Seymour opined that Doctor M'Phee, had he heard it,
would have certainly exclaimed, " Hech, sirs, but it's an
awf u' gruesome story ! "
" I must again resort to my l ponderous tome/ " said
Fisher, " if you would wish to hear further particulars of
adventures with panthers."
" That volume," remarked Seymour, " is something like
SOMETHING ABOUT PANTHERS. 123
the bags of gold we read of in Oriental stories, and which
the genii rendered inexhaustible."
" Yes," exclaimed Douglas, " the more you took the more
there was left. I wish such purses could be found nowadays ! "
" Go on, Fisher," interrupted Yernon ; " your volume will
be finished, I expect, before we grow weary of listening to
its stunning contents."
"You might have said ' thrilling/ " observed Seymour;
"not but what there is something very expressive in the
epithet your fine taste selected."
" Don't chaff, old fellow. "When I like a thing, I always
call it 'jolly' or ' stunning/ Why, such namby-pamby
words as l thrilling/ 'exciting/ ' affecting/ would not do
justice to one's feelings ! "
" Well, resumed Fisher, " I will now read you Benedict
KeVoiPs narrative of his doings in the American wilds. He
is a great hunter, I must tell you, a French Nimrod, and
is scarcely less expert with his pen than with his rifle. I
shall allow him to tell his story, therefore, in his own words."*]
IN THE NORTH AMERICAN FOREST.
One winter day, he says, I was wandering in the depths
of the forests that stretch along the course of the Erie Rail-
way ; I was accompanied by two friends, who were excel-
lent hunters. We were all three mounted on native Ameri-
can horses, armed with our guns, and followed by a pack of
six dogs. That part of the wood which we were traversing
was a jungle of cypress, and cedar, and brushwood ; broken
up here and there by hollows full of water, which are called
bayous in Louisiana, and ponds in the Northern States.
The deepest shadow prevailed in the forest, which appeared
to be frequented by numerous animals of every kind. The
* Benedict ReVoil, 'Les Chasses,' p. 116, et sqq.
124 IN THE CANE-BRAKE.
atmosphere was heavy, the horizon black and misty; but,
despite the obscurity, we resolved not to return to our camp
until we had killed a deer. Suddenly one of our dogs gave
voice, and after a long circuit he brought us in front of a
dense cane-brake, rendered perfectly impenetrable by the
multitude of lianas interwoven among the reeds. The dogs
now halted. For a moment they seemed in doubt, then
they followed their quarry around the inextricable bush, with
ears erect, eyes darting fire and flame, open nostrils, and
rigid muscles. They barked madly and terrifically, and
with so continuous a rapidity that they did not stop appa-
rently to draw breath. Echo repeated the clamour, which
rolled over the liquid surface of a neighbouring lake, until
it was lost in the distance like the merry ' call ' of a hunts-
man's spirit-stirring bugle.
We had followed closely after our dogs, and while putting
aside the branches that struck us in the face, carefully held
up our horses, lest a false step should bring them and us to
the ground.
On the other side of the cane-brake, the dogs had con-
trived to find a way into its labyrinthine recesses, and we
could hear them barking hoarsely in its midst. I begged
my companions to let me act at my own discretion, and,
throwing off my overcoat, I bound a handkerchief round my
head as a protection for my eyes, face, and glasses. Then,
taking nay gun in hand, after fitting on new caps, I pene-
trated with great difficulty into the narrow gap made by
the dogs. I was careful not to make the slightest noise,
and trod as softly as possible through the difficult passage,
where no human being had ever trod before. Soon, through
this verdurous screen which obscured my sight, I came within
two paces of the dogs. One was dashing himself against
the trunk of a tree, and gnawing at its bark, while the
others raged around him, like so many demons.
AX ADVENTURE AT SHENANDOAH. 125
I raised my eyes to discover, if I could, the object which
had so provoked my dogs. In a few moments I grew
accustomed to the shadow, and descried, at about thirty
paces above my head, a male panther of the largest species,
furiously lashing his sides with his tail, and rolling in their
orbits his dark eyes, which glowed like balls of flaming
phosphorus.
To take aim, and simultaneously discharge both barrels
of my rifle, was the affair of a second; but though both
shots took effect, the animal was not killed outright. With
his two fore-paws he clung to the branch of a tree, as if he
defied death. A few minutes afterwards, his muscles stiff-
ened, his claws abandoned their hold, and he fell at my feet
in the midst of the dogs, whom I with difficulty prevented
from tearing him in pieces.
My friends now came up, and with their help I rescued
my prize, and suspended it to a bough, out of reach.
ANOTHER ADVENTURE.
The panther will sometimes attack man, but this is
generally the case when hunger has driven him from the
woods, and he has his cubs to nourish. In illustration of
this fact, I may tell you of my second encounter with the
animal, which took place at Shenandoah, in the State of
Virginia.
I had been most hospitably entertained by an American
planter, named Pendleton. One evening, after supper, four
of us were seated around a table glittering with glasses, and
crowned by a bowl of whisky-punch, when suddenly our
quiet chat was interrupted by a succession of shrieks from an
apartment near the dining-room. Mrs. Pendleton had been
seated there with her sick child and nurse, who had just
opened the window, when a panther of enormous size
126 FOLLOWING IN THE TRACK.
sprang upon the sill, from a balcony that ran all round
the house, and prepared to throw herself on the infant's
cradle.
The cries of the mother and the nurse brought us immedi-
ately upon the scene, but the animal had taken fright, and,
before we could learn the cause of the sudden uproar, was
far beyond pursuit. The house-dogs were set upon the
creature's track, but speedily returned, with their tail be-
tween their legs, and their head drooping in shame, as if
they had retreated before a too formidable danger.
The next morning, before daybreak, the three Messrs.
Pendleton and myself, accompanied by two negroes, and a
pack of eight bloodhounds of noble breed, followed the track
of the panther through a perfect wilderness of reeds and
thorns, until we reached a kind of clearing, in the middle of
which lay the half-devoured carcass of a kid. The game had
been killed in the night, for it was quite fresh and free from
offensive smell.
The snow had been falling for a couple of days, and lay
on the ground like a vast shroud, and the imprint of the
animal's paws was as strongly marked upon it as is that
of a seal on the wax of a parchment-deed. The traces con-
ducted us to the summit of the Paddy Mountains, where a
rock cloven in twain formed a kind of natural grotto, in
whose recesses prevailed the deepest darkness.
One of our dogs, having thrust his head into the rocky
cleft, gave a loud howl, which convinced us that the panther
was only a few paces off.
I know not if nature has endowed the dog with more
courage in the daytime than at night ; but it is certain that
the bloodhounds which, on the previous evening, had re-
turned with drooping head, and tail between their legs, from
their pursuit of the panther, did not hesitate a moment to
THE PANTHER'S EYES. 127
precipitate themselves into the narrow mouth of the grotto,
to attack their enemy. Two of them contrived to effect an
entrance before their masters could restrain them.
Immediately we heard a terrible howling, followed by the
loud yelping cries of the two bloodhounds. What to do we
could not decide ; but unless we could get out the dogs, it
was clear they would be killed. Mr. Eudolph, the eldest
of the three Pendletons, ordered his two negroes to force
their way into the cavern, and draw forth the hounds by
their paws or tail. Jupiter and Adonis (for such were the
mythological names of the two blacks) willingly obeyed
their master, and, thanks to their courageous efforts, the
brave animals were rescued from their peril. One of them
had received no injury, but the other had been severely
wounded by the panther.
At this moment, the negro Jupiter, who had re-entered
the mouth of the cavern, cried out in his simple language,
1 Oh, Massa Pendleton, the eyes of the panther shine like
like oh yes- -like two bran-new dollars ! Yah, yah, yah ! ;
Acting on some fresh instructions from their master, the
slaves now cleared away all the brushwood and leaves which
blocked up the entrance of the grotto, and Mr. Budolph
forced himself into it.
A solemn silence prevailed all around ; the very dogs
seemed to understand that they must not raise their voices.
Two minutes after Mr. Pendleton had undertaken his dan-
gerous enterprise, he returned to us with the intelligence
that instead of one beast he had discovered two ! The first
was crouching in the depth of the recess ; the second was
planted on a rocky ledge, as if keeping watch and ward over
the entrance.
It was decided by my three hosts that Mr. Rudolph, car-
bine in hand, should head the attack, supported by his
128 THE DEAD PANTHER.
brother Harry, whose office it would be to hand him another
rifle, ready loaded, if the first discharge failed to kill the
male panther. Mr. Charles Pendleton and myself were to
remaiu on the qui-vive^ with our guns in hand ; while the
two negroes, who had coupled the bloodhounds, took charge
of the leash.
My heart throbbed violently with anxious curiosity as to
the details of the drama then being enacted in the bowels
of the earth. Suddenly we heard a loud report ; the earth
seemed to tremble beneath our feet, as if a mine had been
sprung.
Quickly afterwards the two Pendletons reappeared, one
carrying his brother's rifle, and the latter dragging by the
tail an enormous panther, which measured from tail to
muzzle fully five feet in length.
While we were examining this superb animal, the dogs had
broken their leash, and two of them, rushing anew into the
grotto, began a desperate combat with the other panther,
which still remained on its rocky ledge. Fortunately for
them, she trembled in a panic of fear, and made no attempt
to defend herself, so that they strangled her easily. When
this subterranean battle was over, the negro Adonis, who
had penetrated in his turn into the cavern, reappeared in
the light of day, bringing forth the dead panther, and fling-
ing her by the side of her mate.
A SCENE IN FLORIDA.
I shall terminate these stories about panthers with an
episode from an exploration which I had undertaken in the
forests of Florida.
One frosty, bitter cold morning, I was hunting, in com-
pany with an American friend, on the bank of the St. John
river, about fourteen miles from St. Augustine. Our three
THE MAN AND THE ANIMAL. 129
dogs had followed up a panther, which, to escape them, had
taken to the river, and reached a little island out of musket-
range. In accomplishing this feat he had turned on the
nearest of his pursuers, seized the dog by the head, and
dragging him down under the water, suffocated him. The
two other dogs, warned by their comrade's fate, quickly re-
turned to our side.
Quitting his island-retreat, the panther swam across to
the other bank, and we wistfully followed him with our
eyes, lamenting the impossibility of our crossing the river.
Emerging from the water, he sprang upon an adjacent rock,
and from thence climbing up a lofty tree, we saw him settle
himself in a crouching position on a branch exposed to the
sun, that he might dry his superb fur.
Soon, to our astonished eyes, we saw a Carib gliding along
the ground. He reached a tree adjacent to that on which
the panther had planted himself, and whose branches
mingled with those of the other. With admirable agility
he scaled its trunk, and was speedily within a few yards of
the animal.
Already the panther seemed to be calculating the force
and range of his spring ; but he hesitated, from a fear the
boughs would prove too weak to support both his own
weight and that of his daring antagonist. As for the
Indian, armed with a pole and a bowie-knife, he calmly
awaited the attack of the murderous creature, which raised
his paws with evident caution, dug his sharp claws into the
tree's smooth bark, and advanced inch by inch, while his
emerald eyes glittered with blood-thirsty ardour.
This stirring spectacle held us rooted to the ground, yet
a secret instinct warned us that, great as was the peril, the
Man would triumph over the Animal. "We were unable,
however, to refrain from admiring the elegance, vigour, and
(533) 9
130
A STIRRING SPECTACLE.
suppleness of the panther. The warm breath from his gap-
ing jaws seemed to play on the Kedskin's countenance, as,
raising his pole, he dealt him a violent blow on the head, to
A STIRRING SPECTACLE.
which he replied with a hoarse, deep roar. And, taking
warning, so turned his body as to place his muzzle under
a bough which covered and protected it.
A SHOUT OF VICTORY. 131
Watching his opportunity, however, the Carib suddenly
thrust his pole into the creature's open mouth, whereupon
the panther drew together his body, and stretched forward
a paw, to reach a branch on a level with his enemy. The
situation became critical : already his enormous claws
touched the Kedskin's knee; his heaving breast indicated
the vigorous effort he was about to attempt ; and my friend
and myself would have terminated the horrible strife, had
we not feared we might kill the Indian as well as the ani-
mal, our guns being loaded with deer- shot.
At this supreme moment, the Carib, making a violent
movement, plunged the blade of his knife into the eye of
the panther, which, unable either to retreat or advance, held
as he was by the weapon planted in the orbit of his eye,
gave vent to his impotent rage in long and repeated cries.
His fury at length prevailed over his natural instinct of
caution : in his indignation, he prepared to leap ; but a
second blow from the pole overthrew his equilibrium, and
he fell upon the bank within range of our rifles. A terrible
explosion, caused by the simultaneous discharge of our four
barrels, and the panther ceased to exist.
At the unexpected sound the Carib turned his eyes in our
direction, uttering a vigorous hoop, which, in his language,
is at once an expression of gratitude and a shout of victory.
He descended the tree with the nimbleness of a cat, and by
a wild dance manifested his joy at being rescued in so mira-
culous and unhoped-for a manner. With his knife he soon
removed the skin, which measured five feet three inches in
length, and rolling up the superb trophy he placed it upon
his shoulders. We then contrived to make him understand
that we should be glad of his company. Accordingly, he
swam across the river, and followed us without any hesita-
tion to the town of St. Augustine, where my hunting com-
132 OLD JOKES.
paiiion, a friend of the Governor of the State, obtained him
a reward for his courage and audacity.
["A decidedly. interesting story ," remarked Seymour, when
his friend had concluded; "and sufficiently exciting, I
should think, to satisfy even Lambert's appetite."
" Impossible ! impossible ! " shouted Douglas, laughing.
" I mean his appetite for the terrible and sensational ;
which is more easily appeased, perhaps, than his craving for
raspberry-tarts and apple-turnovers ! But you see, boys, it
is now half-past five, which gives us just half an hour to get
back to the Hall. We must close our little entertainment
for the present ; but if you are all agreeable, we will resume
next Saturday. And I propose that we take the Elephant
for our next subject. What say you? "
" Agreed ! agreed ! "
" An elephant would have to pack up his trunk" said
Douglas, whispering, " before he could get into our Cave of
Adventure ! "
" No old jokes, Master Sholto, if you please. And now
look here, boys : you have all a week before you in which
to read up about the elephant ; so that I hope each one will
be able to tell us something or other about it."
It is needless to say that on the following Saturday they
all assembled punctually, Fisher bringing with him his cele-
brated volume. He was chosen to open the discussion, and
began by reading some notes in reference to the natural
history of the elephant.]
III.
(fclep lmnt : 3)is 3istorj> anb 3abits.*
ANECDOTES OF HIS STRENGTH AND SAGACITY HOW HE IS ENTRAPPED
A SINGHALESE CORRAL ELEPHANT HUNTING IN AFRICA
STORIES OF ADVENTURE.
|jHE ELEPHANT (from the Greek Ae<as) is a genus
of quadrupeds, (said Fisher,) belonging to the
Border Pachydermata so called from their
thickness of hide and the section Proboscidea
so named from their snouts or trunks. Ele-
phants are the largest terrestrial animals now in exist-
ence. They are huge and unwieldy, and their external
appearance entirely belies that character for sagacity and
docility which they have so long and not unjustly borne.
The average height at the shoulder is about eight, but
sometimes exceeds ten, feet ; and the bulk of the clumsy
body weighs about five tons. Remember that a strong man
weighs not more than thirteen stone, or 182 Ibs., and you
may form some idea of the burden equal to seventy full-
grown men which the elephant has to support on his
pillar-like legs. These limbs, however, are well fitted for
their Atlantean task. Their construction is peculiarly
* Ciivier, ' Le Regne Aiiimai,' edit. 1834-7, div. Mammalia ; Professor
T. Rymer Jones, 'Structure of the Animal Kingdom,' in loco
134 DIVERS OLD STORIES.
solid, each bone resting vertically on that beneath it.
Hence, they present such an appearance of inflexibility,
that the ancients, and even mediaeval writers, believed
them to be destitute of joints. 'This absurdity,' says Sir
Thomas Browne, * is seconded by another, that, being
unable to lie down, it sleepeth against a tree; which the
hunters observing, saw almost asunder, whereon the beast
relying, by the fall of the tree falls almost down itself,
and is able to rise no more.' * So says Pliny, with that
easy good faith which distinguishes his dissertations on
natural history :t 'In the island of Scandinavia lives a
beast called Machlis, which has neither joint in the hough,
nor pastern in his hind-legs ; and therefore never lies down,
but sleeps leaning against a tree. Wherefore the hunters
that lie in wait for these beasts fell the trees while they are
asleep, and so capture them.'
[" I have heard," interrupted Douglas, " that it is difficult
to catch a weasel asleep ; it is easier work, I suppose, to
catch an elephant !"]
The elephant does, indeed, repose when standing, or fall
asleep, supported against a rock or tree ; but his limbs are
flexible enough to permit of his maintaining a race with a
horse of ordinary speed, of ascending or descending abrupt
declivities, and occasionally indulging in frolicsome gambols.
He seldom lies down ; and if the keeper of a tame animal
finds him prostrate, he immediately concludes that he is
afflicted with some disease, and physics him accordingly.
It is related of an elephant which belonged to Louis XIV.,
that for five years he preserved an upright position, sup-
porting himself during his slumbers by thrusting his tusks
into two holes which he had hollowed in the stone wall of
his den.
* Sir Thomas Browne, ' Vulgar Errors. ' t Pliny, 'Natural History/
THE ELEPHANT'S SURE-FOOTEDXESS.
135
We often hear the sure-footedness of the mule com-
mended. You will be surprised to learn that in this respect
lie is surpassed by the elephant, which, even with a heavily-
loaded Jiowdah on his back, will accomplish an abrupt
THE ELEPHANT.
declivity with ease and rapidity. First, he kneels, with
his chest and belly on the ground; each fore-foot is then
employed in making a hole for itself, into which, gradually
and with caution, the hind-legs are in their turn inserted.
This process he repeats, and with so much dexterity, that
he descends a considerable hill as quickly as a horse.
In lying down, he does not, like other quadrupeds, bring
his hind-legs under him, but stretches them in his rear, as a
136 HIS GIGANTIC TUSKS.
man does when kneeling; so that, drawing his hind-feet
gradually under him, he is enabled to rise almost without a
perceptible effort. His pace, when it exceeds a walk, may
be compared to a clumsy shuffle, increasing or decreasing in
speed without other alteration. He cannot leap or spring
like the deer or horse, not only on account of his weight,
but because the bones of his shoulders and hocks are not
placed at an angle.
Let us now examine this Behemoth of the earth a little
more closely. First, mark you his head; its size is not
disproportionately large ; the neck is short and thick ; there
are no canine teeth in either jaw, and in the lower one no
incisors. The upper jaw has two incisors, more generally
known as tusks, which, properly speaking, are neither tusks
nor incisors ; for they do not perform the functions of the
latter, and have not the situation of the former. French
naturalists, therefore, in allusion to their uses, call them
defenses. Sometimes they attain an enormous size, nine or
ten feet in length, and weighing from 150 to 300 Ibs. each.
Often, however, they are mere rudimentary tusks, ten or
twelve inches in length, and one or two in diameter. These
are only used for such purposes as rending climbing plants,
or tearing off small branches from the forest trees. The
larger defenses will loosen the roots of trees, carry timber,
pile up huge stones, or pierce the adamantine hide of an
aggressor. It is said that a powerful elephant can lift and
carry on his tusks a log weighing ten or eleven cwts.
They grow these defenses upon a species of pulpy
matter, like that which forms the teeth of the bottle-nosed
whale. They consist chiefly of that variety of dentine called
ivory, and their growth continues even when the animal has
arrived at a great age.
The succession of teeth in the elephant differs materially
ELEPHANTINE DENTITION. 137
from that which prevails in most carnivorous and her-
bivorous animals. The young elephant is at first provided
with deciduous incisors, which are shed between the first
and second year, and are succeeded by the permanent tusks.
The molar teeth are developed in succession ; the first cut
the gum in about two weeks after birth, and are shed about
the end of its second year. The sixth, which are supposed
to be the last, appear about the fiftieth year of the elephants'
life, each new tooth advancing from behind as the former is
used. In animals which exhibit this mode of dentition, the
grinding surfaces of their molar teeth are placed obliquely,
so that if they were to issue altogether from the gum, the
anterior portion would be much more prominent than the
posterior, notwithstanding that the opposed teeth act upon
each other in a horizontal plane.* The anterior portion,
therefore, is worn away much sooner than the posterior, and
each tooth is abraded to the very stump. They are com-
posed of vertical osseous or bony plates, separately enveloped
with enamel, and cemented together by a third substance,
called crusta petrosa, cortical, or cement, rather resembling
bone than enamel. Each succeeding tooth is a longer time
growing, and exhibits more laminae, than its predecessor.
Elephants, says John Hunter, do not shed their teeth
as other animals do that have more than one; for those
that possess more than one tooth can afford to be for some
time without their teeth. The young tooth consequently
springs up in nearly the same place as its predecessor, or
exactly underneath it ; so that the shedding tooth sometimes
falls before there is another to supply the deficiency. But
this would never have done for the elephant ; if the suc-
ceeding tooth had formed in the same situation with respect
to the first, the animal must have lived for some time en-
* Professor T. Rymer Jones, ' Structure of the Animal Kingdom.'
138 A REMARKABLE APPENDAGE.
tirely deprived of a tootli on one side ; or if one had
flourished on the same side in the opposite jaw, it must
have been utterly useless; and if this process took place in
both sides of the same jaw, and in either jaw, the animal
would have been wholly deprived of any use in the two
remaining.
The largest tusk on record was sold at Amsterdam, and
weighed 350 Ibs. Hartenfels measured one which exceeded
fourteen feet in length. The females seldom have any
tusks, and when these appear they are but small, and their
direction is rather downwards than upwards.
The trunk, however, is the most remarkable, and the
distinctive appendage of the elephant. As we speak of the
lion's mane, the fox's brush, the deer's antlers, so do we
speak of the elephant's trunk. It is essential to his liberty
and life ; once rendered incapable, he is unable to feed him-
self. It is equally powerful for defence or aggression ; like
the genius of steam, it can tear down a tree or pick up a pin;
its strength is enormous, its delicacy wonderful, and ex-
quisite is its sense of touch. Endowed with the finest
sensibility, it is capable of the strongest or the most delicate
work ; can raise a heavy cannon, or gather a blade of grass ;
kill a man, or brush a fly. It conveys the food to the
elephant's mouth, and pumps up the enormous draughts of
water which, by its recurvature, are turned into and driven
down the capacious throat, or poured over the body. Its
length supplies the place of a long neck, which would have
been incompatible with the support of the huge skull and
weighty tusks. A glance at an elephant's head will show
how thick and strong the trunk is at its insertion, and that
the massy arched bones of the face, and thick muscular
neck, are skilfully adapted for working and supporting this
potential and wonderful instrument.
USES OF THE ELEPHANT'S TRUNK. 139
A great extent of bony surface is supplied in a remark-
able manner, so that the head, weighty as it is, is lighter in
proportion to its bulk than is usual in quadrupeds. As a
considerable space separates the internal and external
tables of all the bones of the skull, except the occipital
bones, the area which the brain occupies is, after all, but a
small portion of the whole head. This space is filled up
with cells, some of which are four or five inches in length,
others small, irregular, and honeycomb-like, all communi-
cating with one another, and through the frontal sinuses
with the cavity of the nose, and also with the tympanum or
drum of each ear ; consequently, as in some birds, these cells
are filled with air.
The tapering proboscis, to whose very extremity the
nostrils are prolonged, is nearly eight feet long. In ad-
dition to the great muscles connected with it at its base, it
consists of a network of small muscles, which are chiefly
longitudinal, and divided into successive arcs, whose con-
vexity is outward, or transverse, and radiating from the
internal to the external membrane. According to Cuvier,
the number of muscles which have a distinct action is not
far short of 40,000.
The elephant's trunk, then, is, in the first place, an
organ of smell. Secondly, it enables the animal to quench
his thirst in the shallowest waters. And, thirdly, as I have
already said, it possesses a wonderful sensibility of touch.
This is due to a curious appendage at the extremity,
which has been likened to a finger and thumb. On the
upper side is an elongated process, soft, flexible, but strong ;
and, on the under, a kind of tubercle, or thumb, against
which it may be pressed. Thus, if the articles he collects
be not worth the trouble of separate conveyance to his
mouth, he holds them in his thumb until the finger has
accumulated a sufficient quantity.
HO USES OF THE ELEPHANT'S TRUNK.
ELEPHANTS AT WORK.
The elephant makes use of his trunk for a variety of
purposes in contributing to his comfort or enjoyment.
He picks a leafy branch, and fans himself with it, or drives
away the troublesome flies. With his trunk he throws
dust over his back a practice which seems to afford him
peculiar pleasure. It expresses his rage or affection ; in the
former case, emitting through it a loud hoarse sound, which
Aristotle compared to that of a trumpet, whence the French
trompe, corrupted into our English trunk. With the trunk,
also, when violently angry or in great pain, he will beat the
ground. An elephant was once burnt to death in a Dublin
menagerie. On examining his carcass, no trunk could be
found, and it was supposed to have perished in the fire;
but a closer investigation showed that, in the poor brute's
THE ELEPHANT'S HABITS. 141
agony, he had driven it two feet deep into the hard ground
that made the floor of his den.
Elephants are gregarious, that is, they consort together
in large herds, and form a kind of community, governed by
some mysterious laws of instinct. The skin is of a deep
ash-coloured brown ; the so-called white elephants of Siam
are actually of a light mahogany hue, or like cream with a
yellowish, buttery tint. Their average stature is about nine
or ten feet ; but some giants of the herd arrive at fourteen
feet. Their food is wholly vegetable ; and as they are
especially fond of the succulent branches and young twigs
of various trees and fruits, they are as unwelcome visitors
in a plantation as a troop of schoolboys in a garden of ripe
fruit.
Having said so much about the structure of this famous
animal, I must now dwell at some detail upon his habits.
You will remember that he is an inhabitant of the ripe, rich,
tropical world, where Nature runs riot in an exuberant
fertility ; the elephant, however, is averse to extreme heat,
and loves the shelter of leafy groves, the cool tranquillity of
shady woods ; he delights in the grassy glades which open
upon running water, and seems to find an exquisite pleasure
in bathing and swimming ; and, where his colossal bulk is
seen approaching, all meaner animals retire in a panic of
reverent fear. They remain at a respectful distance until
he has quenched his thirst. An African traveller, who was
reposing, on one occasion, by the reedy marge of a small
pool, was warned of the approach of the elephants by the
uneasy symptoms of such animals as happened to be drink-
ing at the time. The giraffe, he says,* began to sway his
long neck to and fro ; the zebra uttered subdued, plaintive
cries ; the gnu glided away with a noiseless step ; and even
* C. J. Andersson, 'Lake Ngami.'
142 WILD ELEPHANTS IN CEYLON.
the ponderous and quarrelsome rhinoceros paused in his
heavy walk to listen; then, turning round, listened again;
and, when satisfied that his suspicions were correct, he
cautiously withdrew, venting his terror or his rage by one
of his vicious and peculiar snorts.
The wild elephants of Ceylon herd together in small
groups or families. In wandering from place to place, the
males which are provided with the largest tusks take up their
position in the van, like covering-sergeants, move forward
with stately tread, and are the first to confront every
danger. When a full stream or broad river must be crossed,
they lead the way, and select a suitable landing-place; next
follow the young elephants, clinging to each other by means
of their trunks ; while the remainder of the adults bring up
the rear. They think nothing of a day's march of forty
miles. Having arrived at a well- wooded and well-watered
spot, they call a halt, and -begin to feed, generally at a con-
siderable distance from the fountains which are to supply
them with water. About sunset, they start towards the
springs, reaching them between the hours of nine and mid-
night ; when, having slaked their thirst, and cooled their
bodies by pouring over them copious draughts of water,
they betake themselves once more to their bowery forest-
solitudes.*
When they eat grass, it is said that nothing can be
more graceful than the ease with which, before conveying
it to their mouths, they clear the earth from its roots by
striking it on their fore-legs. They are partial to rice, and
commit extensive depredations in the grain-fields. Cocoa-
nuts are a favourite article of diet: they first roll them
under foot, to strip off the outer bark ; then they remove
the fibrous husk, and finally crush them between their
" B. Gordon dimming, 'Five Years of a Hunter's Life in South Africa.'
A BILL OF FARE.
143
grinders, swallowing the fresh milk with evident gusto.
The Palmyra palm affords an agreeable variation in their
bill of fare ; and they seem to know instinctively the season
of their ripening. They are altogether fond of sweet food.
ELEPHANTS FEEDING.
Iii a tame state they are generally fed upon hay and carrots,
and each animal consumes daily about two hundred pounds'
weight.
Two hundred pounds' weight ! Do you not wonder
where the herds of wild elephants which frequent the
deserts of Africa and the forests of Asia obtain their nutri-
ment? But you must remember the rapid growth of
vegetable life in tropical regions, which repairs the de-
struction caused by the elephant and his congeners. In
Africa his food is coarse and comparatively scanty ; but in
Asia, and especially in Ceylon, where an abundance always
prevails, he eats daintily, like a London alderman. He
never appears, says Sir Emerson Tennent, to be impatient
or voracious, but rather to play with the leaves and
144 HIS LONGEVITY.
branches on which he leisurely feeds. In riding by places
where a herd has recently halted, the traveller will some-
times see the bark peeled curiously off the twigs, as though
it had been done for amusement.
[Here Fisher made a short pause, and his auditors availed
themselves of the opportunity to propound a few queries.
"To what age," said Mountjoy, "does the elephant gen-
erally live?"
" His span of life," replied Fisher, " is that which the
Psalmist allots to man threescore years and ten though
the Singhalese believe that he numbers two or even
three hundred years. There is occasionally a * Henry
Jenkins' and an 4 Old Parr' among the breed ; and a well-
authenticated instance is on record of a decoy elephant
found at Matmes in Ceylon, when that island passed into
the hands of the British that is, about 1799 which the
Dutch had previously found there on their expulsion of the
Portuguese, in 1656.* I do not know when this venerable
centenarian died, but at any rate he was upwards of one
hundred and sixty years old."
" I have heard," remarked Seymour, " that dead elephants
are rarely met with."
" No," exclaimed Douglas ; " like Sam Weller's postboys,
and donkeys, and old wife's pins, they are spirited off to
some undiscovered bourne !"
" I think," said Walter Beauchamp, " that the skeletons
of dead elephants are frequently discovered in African
wilds, but in Ceylon they are certainly wanting, and I do
not know how their disappearance can be accounted for."
"Tennent notes," observed Fisher, "a suggestion that
the elephant's bones may be so porous and spongy as to
disappear in consequence of their speedy decomposition,
* Sir J. E. Tennent, 'Ceylon.'
ELEPHANTS IN ENGLAND. 145
but, as he says, tliis cannot be the case with the teeth or
tusks. The Singhalese have a curious idea that when the
huge beast feels the approach of death, he retires to some
sequestered valley, and in silence and in solitude awaits
his end. To an Englishman hunting in the forests of
Anarajapoora, the native who accompanied him remarked,
on their arrival at a peculiarly lonely spot, that they were
now in the immediate neighbourhood of the place where
the elephants retired to die, but that it was so mysteriously
secluded no one had ever succeeded in penetrating to it."
"I have seen the elephants at the London Zoological
Gardens," said the fat boy, " and fancied that they looked
exceedingly melancholy."
"When were elephants first seen in England?" inquired
Douglas.
" That is a question I cannot answer," said Fisher, " but
one of the earliest visitors must have been the elephant
presented by the king of Spain to James I. (A.D. 1620),
who, by the way, was curiously fond of wild animals. It
was accompanied by five camels. * Going through London
after midnight,' says a state-paper letter, 'they could not
pass unseen ;' and the wondering clamour raised by some
street-loiterers at sight of their 'ponderous bulk and ungainly
step,' roused the sleepers from their beds in every district
through which the unwonted procession lumbered. The
English court found it almost as difficult to provide for the
king of Spain's present as any Siamese nobleman for the
celebrated white elephants. Missives were constantly inter-
changed between King, Lord Treasurer, and Mr. Secretary
Conway, as grave and weighty as if they related to some
knotty point of foreign policy. In expressive language the
thrifty lord treasurer shows ' how little he is in love with
royal presents, which cost his master as much to maintain
(533) 10
146 AN EXPENSIVE GUEST.
as would a garrison.' The king, however, cared right royally
for his elephantine guest. He issued warrant to the officers
of the Mews, and to Buckingham, master of the horse,
'that the elephant should be daily well dressed and fed,
but that he should not be led forth to water, nor any
admitted to see him, without directions from his keeper,
which they were to observe and follow in all things con-
cerning that beast, as they will answer for the contrary at
their uttermost peril.'
" Elephants are not maintained for a trifle, and the state-
papers for August 1623 furnish a brief note of the charges
of the royal elephant and his keeper for a year, which
might well appal the economical spirit of Mr. Secretary
Conway :
' To feeding for the elephant at 10s. per diem, is per annum,. . . 180
To the two Spaniards that keep him, 20s. per week, 52
To the two Englishmen, his keepers, 16s. per week, 41
Sum per annum in toto 275 12 '"
"Stop, Fisher !" cried Walter Beauchamp ; "'18052
41 ; why, that gives a total of 273, not 275, 12s."
" Yes," replied Fisher ; " and the author from whom I
borrow these details,* remarking upon the inaccuracy, ex-
presses a hope that Mr. Secretary Conway's foreign policy
was better than his figures. But this calculation does not
include every item of the costly bill of fare : ' Besides,' adds
the secretary, ' his keepers affirm that from the month of
September until April, he must drink not water but
wyne'* wine for an elephant! 'and from April unto
September he must have ' in addition to water, I suppose
' a gallon of wyne the day.' I opine that Behemoth, as
Milton calls him, was far better off in his pleasant winter
* Chambers, 'Book of Days,' ii. 37, 33.
THE VALUE OF IVORY. 147
quarters at St. James's Park than he had been in parsimo-
nious Spain ! "
"Elephants, of course, were known to the ancients," re-
marked Vernon, "for ivory was. a favourite ornament of
their houses."
" Yes," rejoined Seymour ; "and Horace, when condemning
the luxurious tendencies of his age, boasts that neither ivory
nor fretted ceiling enriched with gold could be seen in his
simple home :
' Non ebur neque aureum
Mea renidet in domo lacunar.'" *
" A very pert quotatkm," said Douglas, laughing ; " Sey-
mour is a walking treasury of choice passages a Thesaurus
Verborwn, always opening at the right page."
" Ivory," continued Fisher, " was extensively used by the
Greeks, and you will remember that the great sculptor
Phidias fashioned with it that sublime statue of the Olym-
pian Jupiter which it was considered a misfortune to die
without having seen. The Romans, as you have remarked,
were very partial to it, and diffused its use over the whole
of Europe. The art of working in ivory undoubtedly arose
in India, but it is the ivory of the tusks of the African
elephant that has always been held in the highest estima-
tion, on account of its superior density and whiteness. It
was from Africa the Romans first obtained their supplies,
until, having drained the districts known to them, they were
compelled to content themselves with the less valued pro-
ducts of India.
" The elephant figured in those wild beast shows which
gratified the thirst for blood of the Roman populace, which
we have already discussed. Pliny records a curious combat
between a troop of elephants and a company of Getulian
* Horace, Carm. ii. 18.
148 ELEPHANT FIGHTS.
archers which took place in the circus ill the year B.C. 54,
that is, in Pompey's second consulate. One of the elephants,
although infuriated by a wound, seized upon the shields of
his human adversaries, and whirled them in the air with a
peculiar movement, which caused them to revolve before
they fell to the ground. An animal, having been slain by
a single blow of a javelin through his eye, his fellows dashed
forward with impetuous onset, as if to save him, and falling
with great force against the iron palisades of the circus,
overthrew them, and injured several of the spectators."
" They were cruel sports," said Beauchamp ; " these com-
bats between man and wild beasts. I often think there
must have been a natural love of cruelty in the Roman
character, or surely such sanguinary pastimes could never
have been popular."
"The semi-civilized mind," replied Fisher, gravely, "re-
quires coarse food. It can only be stimulated by amuse-
ments which a more refined age shrinks from in abhorrence.
We regard with disgust the bull-baiting and bear-fighting
that our ancestors enjoyed so heartily. But the shows of
the Romans were pre-eminently cruel because they set man
against man in mortal strife, or the half-armed savage, torn
from his native land, against the furious beast of prey,
purposely maddened by want of food. Let me relieve, how-
ever, these graver details with one or two exciting passages,
lest you should grow weary of my prosiness."]
AN ELEPHANT FIGHT IN AVA.
Elephant fights are common in the East, and a graphic
account of one at Ava is supplied by quaint old Bernier in
his entertaining narrative of travel : *
'A wall of earth is raised four or five feet wide, and
* F. Bernier, 'Travels in the Mogul Empire,' transL by Brock, LoncL 1826.
COMBATS WITH ELEPHANTS. 149
about seven feet high. The two huge beasts meet one
another face to face on opposite sides of the wall, each
having a couple of riders, so that the place of the man who
sits on the shoulders with a large iron hook for the purpose
of guiding the elephant, may immediately be supplied if he
should be thrown down.
'The riders animate the elephants either by soothing
words, or by chiding them as cowards, and urge them on
with their heels until the poor creatures approach the wall
and are brought to the attack. The shock is tremendous,
and it appears surprising that they ever survive the dreadful
wounds and blows inflicted by their tusks, their heads, and
their trunks. There are frequent pauses during the fight ;
it is suspended and renewed ; and the mud wall being at
length thrown down, the stronger or more courageous
elephant passes on and attacks his opponent, and, putting
him to flight, pursues and fastens on him with so much
obstinacy that the animals can only be separated by means
of cherkys, or fireworks, which are made to explode between
them ; for they are naturally timid, and have a particular
dread of fire, which is the reason why elephants have been
so little used in warfare since the introduction of fire-
arms.
'The fight of these noble creatures is attended with
much cruelty. It frequently happens that some of the
riders are trodden under foot, and killed on the spot, the
elephant having always cunning enough to feel the im-
portance of dismounting the rider of his adversary, whom
he therefore endeavours to strike down with his trunk. So
imminent is the danger considered, that on the day of
combat, the unhappy men take the same formal leave of
their wives and children as if condemned to death. They
are somewhat consoled by the reflection, that if their lives
150 AN ELEPHANT FIGHT IN AVA.
AN ELEPHANT FIGHT.
should be preserved, and the king be pleased with their
conduct, not only will their pay be augmented, but a sack
ofpeyssus (equal to about two pounds sterling) be presented
to them, the moment they alight from the elephant. They
have also the satisfaction of knowing that in the event of
their death, their pay will be continued to their widow, and
that their sons will be appointed to the same situation.
The mischief with which this amusement is attended, does
not always terminate with the death of the riders. It often
ENTRAPPING ELEPHANTS, 151
happens that some of the spectators are knocked down and
trampled upon by the elephants in the crowd ; for the rush
is terrible when, to avoid the infuriated combatants, men
and horses in confusion take to flight.'
Such are the amusements of a savage people, affording
them as much enjoyment as the music of a Mozart, or the
elocution of a Kean, does to the refined audiences of London
or Paris.
[" To entrap live elephants," said Vernon, " must be a
very difficult task."
" Yes," replied Fisher ; <; a task requiring much ingenuity
and patience, and the labour of many men. But the work
is now carried on with a certain amount of science, and it
is the object of the hunters to capture a score or more of
animals at a time. You may remember that, for this
purpose, a gigantic trap is constructed, which in India is
called a keddah, and in Ceylon a corral (from the Portu-
guese curral, or catch-pen). I will endeavour to describe
it to you."]
THE CORRALS OF CEYLON.
The corral is a rectangular enclosure, about half as wide
as it is long 600 feet by 300, for instance.* It is formed
by a sort of rampart or barrier of stout poles lashed together
with jungle rope. Can either of you boys tell me what
jungle rope is?
[" I can," said Beauchamp. " It is woven with the pliant
stems of climbing parasitical plants, which in the tropical
forests grow to an extraordinary length."]
Very good. Well, this barrier is placed in the ground
very firmly, and has a height of about fifteen feet, its inter-
* The following details are chiefly borrowed from Sir J. Emerson
Teanent's 'The Wild Elephant' (ed. 18C7).
152
A CORRAL IN CEYLON.
stices being wide enough to admit of the passage of a man's
body. Outside the rampart great buttresses of green
timber are set fast, so as to protect it from external
pressure. At one end is left an opening, tli rough which the
elephants are to be driven into the corral, and from each
angle of this end a line of strong palisading is continued on
either side, in amongst the thickly branching trees. The
object of this last arrangement is, that if the herd should
turn aside to the right or left they should find escape im-
possible, and be driven back to the gate. I see, Vernon,
that your pencil has been busy with a ground plan of the
corral. Let us have a glimpse of your hands' work.
[Vernon shyly passed up to his comrade a small card, on
which he had drawn the following design. Fisher pro-
The corral.
The fence.
nounced it correct, and in his turn gave his schoolmates
an illustration of the kind of fence which composes the
corral.
When the boys had inspected these simple diagrams,
which Douglas considerably improved by a fancy sketch of
an elephant pursuing the Fat Boy into the corral, Fisher
resumed his explanation : ]
Elephant hunting is seldom pursued until the rice- sowing
season is over, in order that it may not unnecessarily inter-
fere with agricultural operations. A great number of natives
is required to make the corral effective, and as they are well
THE PRELIMINARIES DESCRIBED. 153
aware that little rice will be gathered for their garners if
many wild elephants remain at large, they usually volunteer
their services very readily. To those who assist in the con-
struction of the corral, a reward is paid by government.
The corral is invariably pitched in a route much fre-
quented by elephants on their periodical migration to the
water, and the trees and brushwood around it are left un-
disturbed. As beaters, a host is employed proportionate,
you will say, to the quality of the game ; and these describe
an entire circuit round the locality where the elephants are
supposed to have collected.
At first their advances are slow and cautious, so as to
induce the wary animals to move slowly in the desired
direction. An entire month is frequently occupied in this
preliminary movement, until the circle of beaters is eventu-
ally contracted to half its original radius. The elephants
then take the alarm, and the beaters on their part take
courage. At intervals of ten paces all round the ring great
fires are kindled, which blaze both night and day, while
headsmen gallop to and fro that no laggard may neglect his
duty. For were an opening once discovered, the whole herd
would quickly effect their escape.
In a corral which Sir Emerson Tennent was a spectator
of, two months were consumed in these preparations, and
they had been thus far completed when he and his suite
arrived on the spot, and took up their places on a platform
specially erected for them, overlooking the entrance to the
corral. Close beneath them, a group of tame elephants,
sent by the temples and the chiefs to assist in securing the
wild ones, were picketed in the shade, and lazily fanned
themselves with leaves. Three distinct herds, whose united
numbers were variously represented at from forty to fifty
elephants, were inclosed, and were at that moment concealed
154 A CIRCLE OF FIRE.
in the jungle within a short distance of the stockade. Not
a sound was permitted to be made ; each person spoke to
his neighbour in whispers ; and so great a silence was
maintained by the battalion of watchers at their post, that
the listener could sometimes hear the rustling of the
branches as some of the elephants stripped off their leaves.*
Suddenly the signal was given, and the stillness of the
forest was broken by the discordant shouts of the guard,
the rolling of the drums and tom-toms, and the rattle of
musketry ; and beginning at the furthest side of the area,
the elephants were impelled towards the portal of the en-
closure. The watch-fires were increased to huge shooting
masses of flame, which seemed to describe an impenetrable
ring in the forest wilds. Thus surrounded and goaded, the
herd of mighty beasts drove madly towards the only spot
which seemed free from their tormentors the dark, obscure,
and silent corral, and immediately its gate was closed upon
the struggling mass. Then, with a melodramatic effect,
vast bonfires were kindled all around the trap, and revealed
the strange weird scene in every picturesque detail.
The elephants, aroused by this sudden illumination,
first dashed to the very extremity of the enclosure, but
being arrested by the powerful fence, started back to regain
the gate, which they found closed upon them. Their terror
was sublime ; they hurried round the corral at a rapid pace,
but seeing it girt by fire on every side, attempted to force
the stockade. The guards, however, were on the alert, and
drove them back with spears and musketry and blazing
torches, so that, on whatever side they approached, they
were speedily repulsed. Collecting into one body, they
would pause for a moment in apparent bewilderment ; then
start off in another direction, as if to try some point which
* Sir J. E. Teanent, ' The Wild Elephant.'
THE ELEPHANTS CAPTURED.
A CORRAL IN CEYLON.
they had previously overlooked ; but again foiled, returned
to their forlorn resting-place in the centre of the corral.
Further proceedings were deferred until the morrow,
when, at daylight, Sir Emerson Tennent, on visiting the
corral, found the captives completely overcome, and huddled
together in a group, while all sides of the enclosure were
guarded by crowds of men and boys, with spears or white
peeled wands about ten feet long.
156 SIRIBEDDI, THE DECOY.
It was now time to bring new actors upon the stage,
that the proverbial influence of the female sex might be
tested upon these wild and untamed leviathans. Among
the elephantesses pardon the word employed on this
occasion was one named Siribeddi, which had earned a
reputation for her skill as a decoy, and now did her best
to justify that reputation.
She entered the corral with a stealthy step and a
cunning air of easy composure, proceeding leisurely in the
direction of the captives, and occasionally pausing to gather
a tuft of grass or a few succulent leaves. On approaching
the herd they put themselves in motion to salute her, and
the tusked leader their Achilles and Nestor advancing
a few paces before them, passed his trunk over her head
with a gentle caress, and then slowly retired to his com-
panions. Siribeddi followed with the same laggard step, and
drew herself close up in his rear, enabling the native who
acted as nooser, and who had followed stealthily behind, to
slip the noose over the hind foot of the wild elephant. The
latter, instinctively aware of his danger, shook off the rope,
and turned to attack the man, who would certainly have
perished, had not Siribeddi lifted her trunk, and driven the
assailant back among the herd.
Once more the terrified beasts huddled together in the
centre of the corral, when two more decoys were sent to
Siribeddi's assistance, and the three contrived to detach
from the herd the largest elephant. The nooser this time
secured the rope over the brute's hind leg, and then, with
the two decoys, retired, leaving Siribeddi to complete the
entrapment. She accordingly drew off her victim, tail first,
towards the proper tree. Giving her end of the rope one
turn round the trunk, she endeavoured to haul the beast
close up to it, but this feat proving beyond her strength, one
A WORK OF SKILL. 157
of the tame decoys advanced to her assistance, placed herself
courageously opposite the groaning captive, and with her
shoulder against his, literally backed him towards the tree ;
Siribeddi, meanwhile, hauling in every foot of rope thus
gained, until the huge beast was finally ( cribbed, cabined,
and confined.' Now came up the other decoy, and, pro-
tected by the trio, the nooser fastened his jungle-ropes round
the brute's other legs, securing the end of each rope to a
tree, and the capture was completed. I am near the end of
my yarn, boys, and a long one you must have thought it.
[" Elephant trapping, it seems, is a work of skill and
patience," said Vernon, " in which the beast shows himself
almost equal to man. I often think what a revolution
would be effected in the world, if the animals combined
together in a league offensive and defensive. It would
surely tax all our wit and strength and resources in such
a case to hold our own."
" I am very well satisfied," remarked Douglas, " with the
present state of affairs. To venture on a quotation, I should
say that ' whatever is, is right.' However, I am too much
interested in Fisher's narrative to stop the way with an
argument."]
When the decoys had moved off, (resumed Fisher,) the
captive seemed suddenly to awake to a full conscious-
ness of his wretchedness. Hitherto he had remained com-
paratively calm and almost passive under his sufferings, but
as soon as he was left entirely alone, he made the most sur-
prising efforts to free himself and rejoin his companions.
He felt the ropes with his trunk, and endeavoured to un-
fasten the numerous knots ; he drew backwards to release
his fore-legs, then leaned forward to extricate the hind ones,
till every branch of the tall tree shook with his persistent
struggles. In his anguish he literally screamed, raising his
158 LIFE IN CAPTIVITY.
proboscis aloft in the air; then, like a man fairly overcome
with misery, who feels that life for him has' neither hope
nor pleasure, he fell on his side, laid his head to the ground,
and pressed down his doubled-in trunk, as though he would
bury it in the earth ; suddenly rising, he balanced himself
on his forehead and fore-legs, holding his hind feet fairly off
the ground. This scene of distress continued for some hours,
with occasional pauses of apparent stupor, after which the
struggle was renewed at intervals, abruptly, and as if by
some sudden impulse. But at last the vain strife subsided,
and the poor animal stood perfectly motionless, the image of
exhaustion and despair.
Among the game captured on this occasion were two
little creatures about two months old. When the mother
of the smallest was noosed, and being hauled along by the
decoys, the whelp kept close by her side, as if to soothe and
comfort her, and occasionally vented its anger on the
noosers by butting at them with its little head. Driven
back to the herd, it was petted and fondled by another
matronly elephant, but as soon as the noosers had secured
and quitted its parent, it sprang up, and scampered off to
her side. Filial affection, however, was not proof against
the demands of appetite. It w r as amusing to see how, in
the midst of all their agony and affection, the little fellows
seized on every article of food that was thrown to them, and
ate and roared simultaneously.
For three days the captives lay in the corral, the older
animals at first rejecting the food brought to them by their
captors, and trampling it under foot. The manner in which
the different beasts met their fate was singularly character-
istic. Some stood motionless, as though prostrated by panic
fear ; others fretted and writhed in feverish restlessness ;
others, prone upon the earth, gave vent to their despair in
LIFE IN CAPTIVITY". 150
low but incessant moans. Strict watch and ward were still
maintained about the corral ; the fires blazed at night, and
those watchers who were not on duty reclined in the cheer-
ful warmth until their turn came. In the day-time a general
holiday was kept, and from far and near the dusky natives
rlocked to the welcome spectacle. They assembled by
thousands : aged men and women ; young girls a year or so
wedded, with a baby lashed to their back ; maidens, dressed
in quaint costume, with gold ornaments flashing in their
dark hair, and their oiled sweethearts joining with them in
a dance to the soft music of the Kandyan flute.
At length the proud spirit of the captive is subdued, and
a stall being allotted to him between those of two half-tamed
elephants, he soon reconciles himself to his fate, and returns
to his food. The natives who attend in the stable are each
armed with a hendoo, whose point is held towards the wild
elephant's trunk the said hendoo being not unlike a whaler's
harpoon, or a spear-head with a stout hook attached to it,
while others rub the animal's back, and hum a low mono-
tonous chant, in which, according to its age and sex, it is
addressed as their * mother,' ' son/ or ' father,' and advised
to behave genteelly, and in a mild and tractable manner.
To the voice of the charmer, however, he is sometimes ex-
ceedingly insensible, and strikes out furiously with his
trunk; but as the tender proboscis invariably meets the
points of the sharp hendoo, it becomes so sore and painful
that it is soon curled up out of harm's way, and its owner
begins to acknowledge the folly of kicking against the
pricks.
He is now allowed a bath, but fond as he is of water in
his free and unconfined state, he manifests a decided aversion
to it in captivity. He has to be driven down to the tank
between two trained companions ; his legs are bound with
160
DOCTORING THE PEISONEES.
AX ORIENTAL PAGEANT.
rope ; and he is compelled to lie down by a free application
of the hendon. Finally, the native doctor is called in to
ELEPHANT'S FLESH FOR FOOD. 161
tend the poor animal's legs, which are generally cut to the
bone by the coarse jungle rope employed to noose him.
The wounds frequently do not heal for several months, or
even years. And thus subjugated by man's activity, perse-
verance, and courage as well as by the treachery of his
own kind the leviathan, which once roamed at will through
the forest solitudes, may be found treading clay in a brick-
field, or figuring in the pageantry of some Oriental court.
[" I wonder," said Mountjoy, " what sort of eating an
elephant steak would be. I have heard of hippophagy, or
eating horses ; but no right-minded man would like to sacri-
fice for his kitchen a favourite mare. I should have no such
scruples about an elephant, and I fancy it would sound
rather jolly to tell one's cook to broil an elephant chop, or
stew down some elephant's-foot jelly !"
" What nonsense you talk, Alfred," said Seymour ; " but
I can tell you that elephant's flesh is eaten at least in some
parts of Africa--and Major Denham, the traveller, asserts
that though coarse, it is better flavoured than any beef he
found in the country. Vaillant speaks of it as making quite
a dainty dish, which might tickle the palate of a luxurious
gastronome. He absolutely indulges in ecstasies on the
merits of baked elephant's foot, and declares that our
modern epicures, with all their contrivances, have never
invented anything half so exquisite ! "
" Well," replied Mountjoy, " it might be a good speculation
to import elephant pemmican, though I can fancy the as-
tonishment of people at seeing placarded in the provision
shops,
'Arrival of some Fine Pickled Elephants' Feet;'
or,
'Just Imported : Real Preserved Elephant's Trunk;'
(588) 11
162 ELEPHANT HUNTING IN AFRICA.
or,
'No More High-priced Beef and Mutton. Try our
Fine Salted Elephant's Brisket!'"
" I think," said Fisher, laughing, " Englishmen would
rather adhere to their national dish, and give their faith
upon the virtues of roast-beef. I have heard an old song
declare that
' The brains of nightingales,
With unctuous fat of snails,
Between two cockles stewed,
Is meat that's easily chewed;
Tails of worms and marrow of mice
Do make a dish that's wondrous nice ! ' *
but I have no fancy for such culinary novelties.]
ELEPHANT HUNTING IN AFRICA.
To continue my narratives, and fly from Ceylon to
Egypt, Mr. Petherick supplies some interesting details of the
mode in which elephants are hunted at Djour, on the White
Nile.t A herd having made its appearance in the vicinity,
the Djour population started in pursuit. Mr. Petherick
also repaired to the scene of action, in the capacity of an
eye-witness. The natives had separated into several bands,
and scattered themselves in different parts of the bush.
Joining one of these, he found that a chief, named Pfing,
with whom he was on terms of the closest amity, and fifty
men, had succeeded in bringing an elephant to bay, around
which they stood in a circle ; whilst the furious young beast,
with tusks about one foot in length, with cocked ears and
uplifted trunk, trumpeted his displeasure. Turning round,
as if on a pivot, he confronted the party from whom he
expected danger. Pfing, with his nephew, a lad of sixteen,
* Bp. Percy, 'Reliques of Ancient English Poetry,' ed. G. Gilfillan, 1857.
t J. Petherick, 'Egypt, the Soudan, and Central Africa ' (London : 1861).
PURSUED AND CAPTURED. 163
sprung into the ring towards him, and approached to a
point within about ten yards. The lad then leapt forward
a pace, hurled his lance, and struck the elephant's foot, an
achievement entitling him to the tusks.
They retired now as quickly as they advanced, while
the enraged beast drawing the lance with his trunk, broke
it in twain, gave a loud screech of rage, and darted at his
assailants. This was the moment for the negroes on his
left side to make a simultaneous attack, and wounding him
with their spears, they effectually diverted his attention
from his previous enemies. Then, with equal rapidity, he
was assailed on the right side, half a dozen lances piercing
his body up to the very socket.
The maddened animal stood still for a moment, squirt-
ing water from his trunk on his bleeding wounds, extracting
some of the spears, and snapping them like reeds. While
thus engaged, he was subjected to renewed attacks, until,
losing patience, he rushed off at a hard trot with several of
the lances sticking in his body. The negroes followed at
their utmost speed, and succeeded in bringing him a second
time to bay. After repeated charges, the poor brute was
overcome. Four others had fallen ; and during this and
the following day both men and women found ample em-
ployment in securing the meat, with the skin attached to
it, for consumption. Great were the rejoicings in the Djour
on an occasion so auspicious !
This method of killing the elephant is adopted by nearly
all the tribes, who also excavate pitfalls in the neighbour-
hood of pools or streams where the herds are accustomed
to drink, and across narrow gorges in the mountainous
parts of the Dor district, through which they have to pass.
A Djour negro related to Mr. Petherick a remarkable
instance of an elephant which had fallen into a trap of
164 KILLING MADE EASY.
this kind being extricated from it by the trunks of his
companions.
Another mode of 'killing made easy' is practised by
some of the upper D6r and Baer tribes: a strong lance,
with a handle five feet long, the extremity shaped like a
club, in diameter about four inches, is weighted with a
stone, fixed to it with cords, and plastered over with clay,
the whole being made as heavy as possible. With this
instrument a negro, conversant with the noonday haunts of
the elephants, which are invariably found
* Under the shade of melancholy boughs,'
ascends a large tree, and laying himself out on a branch,
quietly expects the arrival of his prey. As soon as one
passes directly under his covert, he drives his spear, with
all his force, into his back or shoulders. When the blow
has been skilfully directed, the animal may bound about
for a short time, but he only increases the oscillation of the
spear, and accelerates his death.
On another occasion, when a herd of elephants was
announced, containing amongst the number a female with
a young cub, Mr. Petherick offered a large reward for the
baby elephant, if taken alive and uninjured. After much
manoeuvring, the negroes contrived to separate the herd,
and detach the mother and her offspring. Mounted on a
mule, Mr. Petherick anxiously followed her, although he
found it a difficult matter to keep up with the negroes.
At length the elephant was brought to bay. She
fought desperately with her assailants, who, with wonderful
activity, bounded towards her, discharged their lances, and
retreated dexterously. Incessant attacks of this kind, made
by small detachments of the negroes, roused the animal to
a terrible state of fury. She mercilessly charged first one
A COURAGEOUS MOTHER. 165
party and then another; the excitement of the negroes
seeming to equal that of the elephant.
During the heat of the affray little notice had been
taken of the young one by the shouting, yelling, struggling
negroes ; she had, however, engaged all Mr. Petherick's
attention, and even his sympathy, for whilst her mother
was hazarding the most furious charges, she followed her at
the top of her speed. With raised tail and ears, with fresh
shrill note and uplifted trunk, she indicated plainly the same
feelings which animated the mother. At length, the latter
being sorely pressed, the young elephant seemed fully
conscious of her danger, and volunteering her assistance,
bravely charged the negroes, pressed into their very ranks,
and tripped up several of them by her furious sallies.
Her loud repeated cries now attracted the attention of
her mother, and, facing a volley of spears with as much
indifference as Leonidas and his Greeks confronted the
lances of the Persian host, she rushed to the rescue of her
offspring. This she effected ; braving another discharge of
spears while she caressed her young and sheltered it
between her fore-legs. Kenewed attacks seemed but to call
forth fresh displays of energy. The combat, however, -was
too unequal to be much longer protracted; the young
elephant, pierced by a heedless negro, dropped dead ; and
its mother soon afterwards succumbed, her body literally
perforated with lances. She proved to be an old elephant,
her long and taper tusks weighing fifty pounds each.
The female African elephant unlike the Asiatic is
provided with tusks as well as the male, but, in general,
they are shorter and much thinner. The right tusk, which
is most used for digging roots, is not unf requently broken
at the extremity, or is always so much worn as to be shorter
than its companion. Tusks differ according to latitude;
166 THE WHITE ELEPHANT.
those, for instance, in the more northern latitudes being
shorter, thicker, less hollowed, and heavier than those in
the south. Thus, the tusk of an elephant in the Shillook
country will weigh one hundred and twenty pounds ; that
of an elephant from the Bari, only from seventy to eighty.
[" Are there any white African elephants ? " inquired
Yernon.]
No, (answered Fisher;) I believe they are entirely
confined to the Burman empire. The so-called white or
yellowish-white elephant is, in fact, an animal afflicted
with leprosy, and it is only for their rarity that these
albinos of the carnivorous races can be valued. In Siam
they are treated with peculiar consideration. Slaves min-
ister to them with fear and trembling ; they are fed
luxuriously and housed sumptuously ; and when they are
angry, the people cover their heads as if a god had frowned
upon them. Record is preserved of a white Siamese ele-
phant that was the cause of constant hostilities between
two nations for nearly a century, and was red with the
blood of five kings and thousands of soldiers. A hundred
men attended on this terrible beast, which was fed out of
golden vessels.
The Burmese regard the white elephant with supersti-
tious veneration, and should he give an unusual grunt will
break off the most important negotiations, or pause in the
most critical enterprises. In Siam he is considered an
indispensable part of the regalia of sovereignty ; just as the
coronation-chair, ampulla, or crown, is in Great Britain.
' Royalty/ says an intelligent traveller, ' is incomplete with-
out him; and the more there are, the more perfect is the state
of the kingly office considered. Both the court and people
would consider it as peculiarly inauspicious to want a white
elephant, and hence the repute in which they are held, and
ELEPHANTINE PREJUDICES. 167
the anxiety to obtain them ; the capture of a white elephant
is consequently highly rewarded. The one which I saw was
first discovered by four common villagers, each of whom
received two thousand five hundred ticals in money, and
offices, titles, and estates. While I was at Ava,' says my
authority, ' a report was brought that a white elephant had
been seen ; but it was stated, at the same time, that his
capture and transport on a sledge over the cultivated
country could only be accomplished by the destruction of
ten thousand baskets of rice. His majesty, when informed
of this trivial consideration, replied, with sublime enthusiasm,
" What signifies the destruction of ten thousand baskets
of rice, in comparison with the possession of a white ele-
phant?"'*
[" You have told us how elephants are entrapped," said
Douglas, " but I should like to hear something of the way
in which they are usually hunted."]
I daresay one of you fellows can help me here, (replied
Fisher,) but I must first conclude my notes upon the
elephant's habits and peculiarities. For instance : he has
a marked dread of, or dislike to, anything like a fence or
stockade. The Singhalese think it sufficient to throw up
around their rice-fields an enclosure of slight sticks, which,
here in Yorkshire, would not keep out a short-horn. It is
seldom above six feet high, and yet is very rarely broken.
Pathways about twenty feet broad run between the fences,
and in the night the wild herds pass along these routes to
the water- tanks without doing the slightest injury. But
leave a gap in the hurdle, and woe betide the youug green
crops ! An elephant wounded by the hunter will rarely
pursue his antagonist through a hedge, but will run to and
* J. Crawfurd, 'Journal of an Embassy to the Court of Ava in 1827,'
edit. London, 1834.
168 SAGACITY OF THE ELEPHANT.
fro for several yards in search of an opening. Is this extra-
ordinary timidity or suspicion owing, as Sir Emerson Tennent
suggests, to some instinctive consciousness that his superior
bulk exposes him to danger from sources that for lighter
animals might have no capability of evil ? Some similar
apprehension is evident in the deer, which shrinks from
attempting a fence of wire, although it will leap, without
hesitation, a stone wall of greater height. 'At the same
time/ says Tennent, * the caution with which the elephant
is supposed to approach insecure ground, and places of
doubtful solidity, appears to me, so far as my observation
and experience extend, to be overrated ; and the number of
temporary bridges annually broken down by elephants in
all parts of Ceylon is sufficient to show that, although in
captivity, and when familiar with such structures, the tame
ones may, and doubtless do, exhibit all the wariness at-
tributed to them, yet in a state of liberty, and while unac-
customed to such artificial appliances, their instincts are not
sufficient to ensure their safety.'
The sagacity of the elephant almost approaches reason,
and to some extent he possesses a faculty of combining his
ideas or recollections. A remarkable example of this is
afforded in a well-known tale. An elephant was in the
habit of passing daily through a particular street in some
Eastern town. A tailor, seated at an open window on the
route, gave the huge beast a cocoa-nut several mornings as
he passed by. At length, to amuse himself, the tailor
substituted for his usual gift an empty nut, and much
enjoyed the elephant's discomfiture. He repeated this trick
the next morning. On the third, the elephant flung aside
the shell as soon as it was presented to him, and dashed over
the astounded tailor a volume of dirty water from his
uplifted trunk. Here it is evident that the animal under-
THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON.
169
TIT FOR TAT.
stood the nature of the indignity to which he was subjected,
and, concluding that it would be offered to him again and
yet again, was prepared to resent it.
Among the many extraordinary tales of his sagacity I
scarcely remember to have read one more curious or interest-
ing than that which the poet Kogers attributes to the great
Duke of Wellington. * Elephants,' said the Duke, * are used
always in war (in India) for conveyance of stores or artillery.
I had once occasion to send my men through a river upon
some. A drunken soldier fell off, and was carried down by
the torrent till he scrambled up a rock in the middle of the
stream. I sent the elephant after him, and with large
strides he obeyed his driver. When arrived he could not
get near the rock, and he stiffened his tail to serve as a
plank. The man was too drunk to avail himself of it, and
170 WHAT IS A ROGUE ELEPHANT ?
the elephant seized him with his trunk, and, notwithstand-
ing the resistance he made, and the many cuffs he gave that
sensitive part, placed him on his back.'
He has a singular power of detecting the existence of
danger. If the hunter attacks a herd at night, and performs
his murderous exploits with the utmost stealthiness, on the
morrow not a single elephant will be left in the neighbour-
hood. By some means every member of the herd leaves the
presence of the deadly rifle, and with extraordinary celerity
they gather together and migrate to some securer locality.
They seem to convey intelligence of present and coming
peril by uttering with the lips a low, suppressed sound, like
the twittering of a bird, which the elephant-hunters call
' prut.' When the danger is imminent they produce a suc-
cession of sounds, which have been compared to ' the hollow
booming of an empty tub when struck with a wooden mallet
or a muffled sledge.' These are probably caused by his
striking the ground forcibly with the point of his trunk.
[" I have read of rogue elephants," said Vernon ; " why are
iney so designated, Fisher?"]
It appears, (replied Fisher,) that elephants associate
in well defined family-groups. A distinct similarity of
feature has been detected among various members of a herd.
Thus, in a herd of one and twenty, captured in Ceylon in
1844, it was observed that the trunk of each exhibited the
same peculiar formation. In another society of thirty-five
captives, the eyes of all were of the same colour. These
families aggregate together in one large herd on very friendly
terms, sometimes numbering two or three hundred indi-
viduals, but if any alarm arises, the leader of each family
sounds his warning note, and the mass dissolves into its
separate component parts. It is not too much to say that
alliances from one family into another are discouraged by
" SENT TO COVENTRY." 171
the elder elephants, so that if through any evil chance an
unfortunate animal lose all his kith and kin, he is regularly
ostracized
["Ostracized; what do you mean, Fisher?" interrupted
the Fat Boy.
" He means, ' sent to Coventry,' " replied Douglas.]
Yes, (continued Fisher ;) none of the herd will consort
with him, and he is compelled to live in utter loneliness,
cut off from the companionship of his fellows by their own
act. This excommunicated solitary is a sort of Ishmael ;
he is against every other elephant, and every elephant is
against him. He may bathe and drink at the same pool,
but he may not hope to find a mate among the herd. Even
if trapped with the herd, when you would suppose that
mutual danger would create mutual sympathy, he must
stand apart, and neither expect nor offer any condolences.
There are no caresses for him, and, on his part, he is ani-
mated by a bitter antipathy for his kind. Solitude makes
him morose ; he is less timorous of man than his fellows ;
breaks through the fences into rice-field and cocoa-nut
plantations ; and will even intrude himself among the rice
reapers, and carry off a fragrant sheaf or two at his pleasure.
It is to this banned and excommunicated animal that
the Hindus give the appellation of Goondah or Saun, and
the Singhalese, of Hora, which, being interpreted, means
1 rogue. 1
[" Bravo, Fisher," cried Douglas ; " I now find that an
astonishing similarity exists between man-kind and elephant-
kind, and that both look upon the unfortunate with equal
aversion. Well ; I suppose that each of these family-groups
has its patriarch or ruler."
" Yes," replied Fisher ; " but it is not always the strongest
or biggest animal in the herd that acts as leader. A
172 AN AFFECTING SCENE.
principle of selection prevails, and as females are sometimes
found in command, we may conclude that the most sagacious
or boldest animal is generally chosen, or tacitly allowed, to
rule. The other elephants exhibit as sincere a loyalty
towards their chief as any civilized nation towards a
popular sovereign. They would die to save him, they watch
his lightest gesture, they allow him to chastise them, they
seek to receive in their own bodies the hunter's bullets
intended for his. This admirable devotedness is repaid on
the part of the leader by equal fidelity ; and many princes
and peoples might learn mutual lessons from the elephant/']
AN AFFECTING SCENE.
A modern traveller records a scene of which he was an
eye-witness, illustrative of this attachment between the
herd and their chief. He had concealed himself at night in
the neighbourhood of a large tank ; the moon shone brightly,
and he had a favourable opportunity of watching the move-
ments of the animals. After waiting about two hours, he
saw an unusually large elephant issue from the dense cover,
and cautiously advance across the open ground to within a
hundred yards of the tank, where he stood perfectly motion-
less. So quiet had the elephants become, although they
had been roaring and breaking the jungle throughout the
day and evening, that not a movement was now to be heard.
The huge sentinel remained in his position, firm and still as
a statue, for a few minutes, and then made three successive
stealthy advances of several yards, halting for some minutes
between each, with ears bent forward to catch the slightest
sound, and in this way he moved slowly to the water's
marge.
Still he did not venture to quench his thirst, for though
his fore-feet were partly in the tank, and his colossal bulk
A CAUTIOUS ANIMAL.
173
THE ELEPHANTS AND THEIR LEADER.
was mirrored clear in the water, he remained for some
minutes listening in perfect silence.
Not a motion was discernible either in himself or his
shadow. He returned slowly and warily, like an Indian
scout, .to the position he had first assumed on emerging from
the forest.
174 A TIMOROUS HERD.
Here, after awhile, he was joined by five others, and
with these he proceeded as cautiously, but somewhat more
quickly, than before, to within a few yards of the tank, and
then posted his patrols.
His next step was to return into the forest-glades and
collect around him the whole herd, which must have
amounted to between eighty and a hundred individuals.
These he led across the open area with the most imperturb-
able gravity and composure till he joined the advance
guard, when he left them for a moment and repeated his
former reconnaissance at the edge of the tank. After which,
and having apparently satisfied himself that no enemy was
to be apprehended, he returned, and obviously gave the
order to advance, for in a moment the entire herd moved
into the water with a degree of unreserved confidence so
directly opposite to the caution and timidity which had
marked their previous movements, that our traveller declares
he will never be persuaded there was not rational and pre-
concerted co-operation throughout the whole party, and a
degree of responsible authority exercised by the patriarch
leader.
He continued to watch them with great interest until
they had satisfied themselves both in bathing and drinking,
when he bethought himself of trying how small a noise
would frighten them from their fancied security. All he
did was to snap a little branch, and away went the whole
herd like a group of startled children, each of the smaller
calves being apparently shouldered and carried along
between two of the older elephants.
[" I should never have thought," said Vernon, " that those
mighty fellows were so cowardly; yet I ought to have
known that neither size nor strength gives courage."
Beauchamp did not think the elephant was so much
cowardly as timorous.
" COWARDLY " OR " TIMOROUS." 175
" What is the difference ?" inquired Yernon.
With his usual bashfulness, Beau champ hesitated to reply;
out being encouraged by Seymour, he said, " The timorous
are those, I think, who fear unseen enemies or dangers
existing chiefly in their own imagination. When the danger
actually comes, or the enemy is really before them, they
often show themselves capable of the greatest courage and
endurance. On the other hand, the cowardly shrink from
the peril which is in presence, and cannot be roused to
endure suffering or repel attack. History shows how
bravely many a timorous woman has won the crown of
martyrdom, how many a craven soldier has fled from the
field of battle when his country's freedom was at stake."
"Very good," said Fisher; "your definition is both
correct and neatly expressed. And I may illustrate it by
pointing out that it is only of man, with his unknown
powers of destruction, that the elephant shows any appre-
hension. All the beasts of the forest own the elephant's
superiority. At his approach the tiger slinks back into the
reedy coverts of his jungle, and the lion withdraws to his
secret lair."
"You boys will remember/' interrupted Seymour, "the
gallant part which he so often played in ancient warfare."
"Yes," said Douglas; "but when the soldiers of an
opposing army got accustomed to him, the tables were
speedily turned. I recollect reading that when Hannibal
invaded Italy, the elephants which accompanied the Cartha-
ginian army at first struck terror into the hearts of the
Eoman soldiers ; but they soon grew familiar with their bulk
and towering stature, and learned to regard them with com-
parative indifference, nay, by the use of balls of fire, they
even drove them back in terror and confusion upon the
ranks of Hannibal's army."
176 HOW TO READ.
" That's right, Douglas. I am glad," exclaimed Fisher,
" you remember what you read, because it shows you don't
read superficially don't skim your books, but dive deep
into them. Some fellows are always reading, and yet never
know anything. That is because they don't read to learn,
but only to amuse themselves."
" Well, we must just adjourn our discussion of the lordly
elephant until to-day week, I find," said Seymour. " It is
getting late, and if we don't make a run for it we shall not
be in our places until after the bell is rung. Away with
you, boys ! Let us see who will be the first to reach Dr.
Birch's gate ! "]
IV.
Elephant: Continued
THE ELEPHANT IN WARFARE AN AFRICAN NGHAL MASTODON AND
MAMMOTH TAME ELEPHANTS ELEPHANT STORIES.
*HEN the little company had again assembled in
their cave, Fisher reminded them that they had
left off, on the last occasion, in the midst of
some remarks about the employment of the
elephant in warfare.
" Yes," said Beauchamp ; " arid I have been
looking up my Greek history since, and I find that Darius,
the great Persian king, brought elephants against the army
of Alexander the Great ; but the Greek soldiers do not seem
to have been much frightened by them."
" The Greeks were bold sailors and explorers ; and as they
traded with the Asiatic nations, they would be acquainted
with the elephant, and therefore they would have no fear
of its huge proportions."
" But you must remember, Fisher," said Seymour, " that
when Alexander had pushed forward to the borders of India,
he was unable at first to cross the river Indus, because the
opposite bank was guarded by Porus that was the Indian
prince, you know with a large army and two hundred
elephants; and it is particularly said how formidable an
appearance these elephants presented. But I see you have
(533) 12
178 DEVICE OF AN ASSYRIAN QUEEN.
kindly drawn up some notes for our instruction. Boys,
attention ! Professor Fisher will open the proceedings."]
Elephants were principally employed, (said Fisher,) as you
are all aware, in the wars of Eastern nations. A curious story
is told respecting their use by the great Assyrian queen Semi-
ramis, when engaged in hostilities with Stabrobates, an Indian
potentate. She was leading her armies into his dominions,
and to compensate for her want of elephants, and at the
same time to terrify her enemies, who believed that those
colossal animals only existed in India, she caused three
hundred thousand black oxen to be slaughtered, and their
skins stitched together and stretched upon frameworks
designed to represent the elephant, placing within each a
camel and his driver to provide for their locomotion.
Stabrobates, however, either from traitors in the Assyrian
camp, or by his own spies, had received intelligence of this
manoeuvre, and, therefore, when the two armies met in
battle, directed a fierce charge of horsemen against the
fictitious elephants. It happened, however, that the horse
has an innate abhorrence of the camel, and when the cavalry
approached the leather-covered framework their steeds
scented the camels, and, stricken with a panic, carried their
riders back into their own battalions. Stubrobates was at
a loss to comprehend the cause of this sudden alarm, but ho
proved equal to the emergency, and led his elephants against
their uncouth resemblances. The camels were paralyzed
before these formidable opponents, which trampled them on
the ground, pierced them with their tusks, and completely
routed the Assyrian army.
The great Timour when he invaded India with the view
of overthrowing the Moslem potentate Mahmood (A.D. 1399),
was opposed by the latter with a cohort of elephants. He
devised an ingenious stratagem to render them powerless.
ELEPHANTS DEFEATED. 179
Around his camp he caused an immense trench to be ex-
cavated, and this he protected with a rampart of shields or
bucklers ; round the rampart he posted buffaloes, securely
fastened by the necks and feet, with brambles upon their heads,
which he set on fire as soon as the elephants approached.
The Mohammedan host was composed of 40,000 foot, 10,000
horse, and elephants armed with cuirasses, and poisoned
daggers upon their trunks. The towers which they carried
on their backs were filled with cross-bowmen and archers,
who fought securely under cover. On their sides were
placed numerous natives, with iron pots full of melted pitch
and blazing naphtha, and rockets shod with iron. The
Tartar army was affrighted at this formidable array ; and,
when the Moslems beat their brass kettle-drums, and sounded
their countless bells, cymbals, and trumpets, they showed a
signal disposition to save themselves by flight. Timour,
however, encouraged them with brave words, and, flinging
himself on his knees, prayed the Lord of Hosts to give him
the victory. The battle began. The Sultan's elephants
threw his own left wing into disorder ; the right was re-
pulsed, and Timour himself led his soldiers against the
centre. The elephants fled before the sabres of the horse-
men. The expert swordsmen aimed at the trunks of the
terrified animals, and many of them were strewed over the
field with the slain. The alarm which the supposed invinci-
bility of the elephants had produced was dissipated for ever.
Timour's grandson, only fifteen years of age, wounded an
elephant, and drove the animal before him into his grand-
father's camp. The next day Timour sat on the throne of
the Indian sovereign, and received the homage of his new
subjects. Twelve rhinoceroses and a hundred and twenty
elephants were paraded before him.
180 MARCO POLO'S STORY.
KUBLAI KHAN AND THE ELEPHANTS.
The accounts given by the old traveller, Marco Polo, of
the great battle in which Kublai Khan first subjugated the
Indian elephants, is full of interest.* It was in the year
1272 that Kublai was at war with the King of Ava, who,
powerful in the number of his subjects, in territory, and in
wealth, resolved upon aggressive operations. Learning that
a Tartar army had arrived at Vochang, he immediately
marched to attack it, in the hope that its destruction would
deter the Grand Khan from again attempting to station an
armed force on the borders of his dominions. For this
purpose he assembled a numerous host, and collected a
multitude of elephants, upon whose backs large wooden
towers were erected, each capable of containing from twelve
to sixteen soldiers. With this formidable armament he
took the road to Volchang, where the Tartar army lay en-
camped, and, tarrying at no great distance from it, designed
to give his warriors a few days' rest.
But, being apprised that the Tartars had descended into
the plain, he immediately put his army in motion, took up
his ground within a mile of the enemy, and proceeded to
draw up his forces. He placed his elephants in the van,
and disposed his cavalry and infantry in two extended wings
in their rear, but with a considerable interval between them.
Here he took his own station, and proceeded to animate his
men, and encourage them to fight valiantly, assuring them
of their victory, as well from the superiority of their numbers,
being four to one, as from their formidable body of armed
elephants, whose shock the enemy, never before having been
engaged with such antagonists, could by no means with-
stand.
* 'Travels of Marco Polo,' transL by Marsden, ed. by Wright, 1854.
KUBLAI KHAN AND HIS TARTARS. 181
Then, giving orders for sounding a prodigious number
of warlike instruments, he advanced boldly with his whole
army towards that of the Tartars. But Kublai Khan had
commanded them to remain firm, and attempt no forward
movement, suffering the Burmese to approach their entrench-
ments. As soon as the latter were within a hundred yards
or so, the Tartars rushed forth with loud shouts, and with a
valour worthy of their old repute. But their horses, unac-
customed to the sight of the huge castled elephants, were
terrified, and, wheeling about, could not be brought to the
charge by the utmost exertions of their riders. Kublai
Khan was not dismayed by this unexpected disorder, but,
with great presence of mind, instantly ordered his soldiers
to dismount, and their horses to be taken into the neighbour-
ing forest and fastened to the trees.
The Tartars then briskly advanced on foot towards the
threatening line of elephants, and poured in a very storm of
arrows. So swift were their discharges, all the missiles
being directed against the animals, and none against the
soldiers in the wooden towers, that galled, infuriated, and
alarmed, they gave way, and fell back upon their own people
in the rear, trampling them under foot, and throwing the
whole army into confusion. Smarting with the pain of their
wounds, affrighted by the shouting of their assailants,
they became ungovernable, and, at length, in a frenzy of
rage and fear, rushed into a portion of the wood not occupied
by the Tartars. Here it happened that, from the intertangle-
ment of the branches of large trees, they broke with loud
crashes the castles that were upon their backs, and involved in
the ruin the unfortunate soldiers posted within them. On
seeing the utter rout of the elephants, the Tartars were fired
with fresh courage, remounted their horses, renewed the
assault, and completely repulsed the Burmese host.
182 AN AFRICAN ELEPHANT-TRAP.
[" Come Fisher," cried Vernon, " that's a famous story.
I could sit and listen to you for hours !"
" Mr. Winwood Reade, an adventurous African traveller,
has graphically described the mode in which the elephant
is entrapped by the Africans of the west coast, and it would
be difficult to find a more striking illustration of that child-
like simplicity which is not less characteristic of the elephant
than his sagacity."]
AN AFRICAN NGHAL.
The ground enclosed for the nghdl, trap, or pound, was
one of those comparatively open patches which sometimes
occur in the dense Equatorial forests. It was covered with
a thick shrubby vegetation, and sprinkled with a few large
trees. Under one of these, he was told, the elephants lay
asleep. The enclosure was frail enough ; a circle of posts
and railings which would have been easily broken through
by a Shetland pony. Mounting on the railings, Mr. Reade
surveyed the scene with interest, and especially directed his
attention to a fine old tusker, not a hundred yards distant,
which was swinging himself on three feet, sometimes lazily
raising his trunk to the tree above him, and always un-
conscious, apparently, of the hum and murmur around.
Imagine, says Mr. Reade, such a giant of intelligence decoyed
into so palpable a trap ! Imagine this monster, which can
uproot trees, confined within a fence not strong enough to
resist a calf. Imagine this philosopher of so high an order
surrounded by talking savages. You do not know how a
negro talks ! You know how a boy of the lower form
chatters how a village gossip tattles how a monkey
gabbles but you do not know how a negro talks. What
can be the feelings of the elephant, with his retiring nature
and his gentle repugnance to man, in such a position ? Why,
he would be a Timon of Athens ' blocked 7 at Temple Bar.
WINWOOD READE'S NARRATIVE. 183
Mr. Reade asked how the elephants came within the
nghdl, which, rude as it was, must have occupied the
savages a considerable time in erection. Were they driven
into it ? No. The elephants were in the neighbourhood ;
the nghdl was built ; a gap was left open, just large enough
to admit an elephant ; and lo, the herd walked in !
I have already commented upon the dread which an
elephant exhibits on approaching a fence. Sportsmen have
observed that even when enraged by a wound, he will
hesitate to charge his assailant across an intervening hedge,
but will hurry along it to seek for an opening.
It may be, therefore, that this nghdl being built across
the elephant's road, he turns aside on reaching it, and
enters at the first gap which presents itself. Yet even this
supposition does not explain the singular calmness displayed
by the prisoners in an African nghdl, when the Indian
elephants break into a fury of rage on finding themselves
entrapped. In Ceylon an army is required to enclose them,
and they are only tamed, as you have heard, by the assistance
of female decoys. Mr. Reade hazards the hypothesis that
they are attracted to the enclosure by means of some plant
for which they have the same mania as cats for valerian
and rabbits for oil of rhodium. Such herbal secrets are
often possessed by the medicine men, or priest-doctors,
among savage nations.
One will naturally inquire, says our traveller, why the
Africans resort to so laborious a method of killing elephants
as that of decoying them into a species of colossal pound,
and keeping them there until a certain period of the moon.
To this we may reply that undoubtedly elephants were once
caught alive in this manner in India, as in Africa. It is
said that the Africans possessed the secret of taming
elephants, which has expired with many other arcana of
184 FROM LEO AFRICANUS,
by-gone ages. The huge monsters which performed in the
Roman amphitheatres, dancing, and writing on tablets,
were African. They are represented in ancient medals
with the convex forehead and huge pendent ears of that
particular genus.
In hunting the elephant, the African negroes excavate
deep trenches, which they cover over with leafy boughs so
as to hide them completely, and the animal is then precipi-
tated suddenly upon a row of pointed stakes, and perishes
on the spot. Sometimes they hunt them with guns, some-
times with arrows or assegays. Hunting them with darts
is cruel, as the poor brute does not succumb until he has
received a vast number of projectiles, so as to resemble an
enormous porcupine! He rarely defends himself against
his aggressors, but endeavours to make his escape, filling
the air with sounds of agony, while the female seeks to
protect her young ones, covering them with her body.
Let me quote, in conclusion, (said Fisher,) from the
quaint old English translation of Leo Africanus in proof
that this method of killing elephants has been practised in
the more northern parts of Africa.*
* And although it be a mightie and fierce beast, yet
there are great store of them caught by the Ethiopian
hunters, in manner following: These hunters being ac-
quainted with the woodes and thickets where they keepe,
use to make among the trees a rounde hedge of strong
boughes and rafters, leaving a space open on the side
thereof, and likewise a doore standing upon the plain e
ground, which may be lift up with ropes, whereby they
can easily stoppe the said open place or passage. The
elephant, therefore, coming to take his rest under the
shady boughes, entereth the hedge and enclosure, when the
* W. Winwood Reade, ' Savage Africa,' pp. 165-109.
A DIGRESSION ON OLD AUTHORS. 185
hunters, by drawing the said rope and fastening the door,
having imprisoned him, descend downe from the trees, and
kill him with their arrows, to the end they may get his
teeth, and get sale of them. But if the elephant chanceth
to break through the hedge, he murthereth as many men
as he can find.'
["I love those old authors," remarked Seymour; "they
are like old wine they have a body in them. There is
something nervous and manly in their work, which irresis-
tibly attracts you to it, and holds you spell-bound, j ust as
the ancient mariner, in Coleridge's ballad, fixed the wedding
guest with his glittering eye. The truth is, they were not
forced to beat out their gold so thin as men must do now-a-
days; so you come upon it in bright nuggets solid and
precious instead of finding it manipulated into poor and
apparently endless sheets of gold leaf, or, perhaps, which
is worse, of mere Dutch metal. An old book is like an old
friend; you never turn to it without receiving a word of
honest counsel. Or it is like an old castle, which, even in
decay, will afford you material enough for a dozen such
houses as our modern builders construct. Or it is like "
" Spare us your similes, Seymour," interrupted Douglas,
" for they are leading us away from the elephant, to which,
by the way, you can't compare your favourite old books."
" Yes, that I can," exclaimed Seymour, laughing ; " once
master them and they will serve you with equal docility,
and they carry their precious ivory in the very front of
them, like the leviathan of the African wilds. But I own
the comparison is forced. So let us resume our zoological
discussions."]
Some allusion should be made, (said Fisher,) to the
prototypes of the elephant, the gigantic mastodon, which
flourished long before the creation of man, and the colossal
186
ANIMALS OF THE PRIMEVAL WORLD.
mammoth, whose era immediately preceded the modern
epoch. These are my notes on an interesting subject :
The mastodon, which belonged to the pliocene period
of geologists, did not differ greatly from the elephant except
THE MASTODON (RESTORED).
in its dental apparatus. Its grinders were mameloned or
knobbed whence its name;* it had two small tusks
planted in the lower jaw, and two others in the upper jaw,
of a prodigious length, all four projecting forwards. Buffon
called it the Animal of the Ohio, because the first bones
brought to France had been found on the banks of that
river. They have since been discovered in every part of
North America, but particularly in damp situations, and
* From the Greek.
THE MASTODON AND MAMMOTH. 187
in the neighbourhood of the salt lakes. Several skeletons,
almost complete, were found sunk at a moderate depth, and
some planted vertically in the earth, as if the animal while
standing had been stricken with death.
Many fables, says a French author, exist in reference
to these huge animals. The Chawnee Indians believe that
a race of men of proportionate stature lived contempora-
neously with them, and that the ' Great Being' destroyed
both the giant and the colossal beast by his thunderbolts.
The aborigines of Virginia assert that the ' Great Man
Above ' annihilated the species, lest they should sweep off
all the animals necessary for man's sustenance, and that
only one escaped a male, and he the greatest of his race
who, beiDg wounded, fled towards the great lakes, where he
still wanders in the silent solitudes. The natives of Canada
and Louisiana designate the mastodon the ' Father of Bulls/
on account, perhaps, of the bones of oxen which are generally
exhumed with its own.
The mammoth (Elephas priniigenius) is now known not
only by the fossil remains found in every European country,
but more perfectly by the almost complete skeletons recently
discovered in northern Asia and the two Americas, and
which demonstrate that this species was only extinct at a
recent epoch. In 1799 a Tungusian fisherman found the
body of a mammoth encased in a block of ice on the borders
of the Lake Oncoul. Seven years later, the block having
melted, this strange memorial of a by-gone time was com-
pletely exposed. The bones were collected by the naturalist
Adams, and removed to the museum at St. Petersburg.
This skeleton was wonderfully well preserved ; only a fore-
foot was wanting. Its flesh had been almost totally de-
voured by the white bears and Jakutski dogs ; nevertheless,
some ligaments and portions of skin remained, holding
188
A FOSSIL RELIC.
THE MAMMOTH (RESTORED).
together the vertebral column, the posterior limbs, and one
of the anterior. The skin of the head was dry, but intact ;
the brain was dried up in the interior of the skull ; one of
the ears was garnished with a tuft of bristles. What
remained of the skin was covered with a reddish woolly
fleece, from 9 to 10 inches long, and with a kind of hard
bristle, red and black, 16 inches long, which formed on the
neck a genuine mane. A second skeleton of this extra-
ordinary monster was discovered some time afterwards on
the bank of the Asaleia, which empties itself into the
Frozen Sea, by the Russian traveller Sarytscheff. The
latter stood erect, and was entirely covered with its skin
and hair. We may, therefore, conclude that it was or-
ganized to live in an Arctic climate. It probably roamed
at large over the frozen waters or on the borders of the ice-
GIANTS IN THE OLD DAYS. 189
bound lakes and rivers, feeding on lichens, reeds, pines,
birches, willows, and on such other plants and trees as
flourish in moist soils.
["There were giants in those days," said Seymour; "what
a formidable appearance so huge an animal must have
presented, and had not Providence made it herbivorous,
how terrible a foe it would have been to its meaner and
feebler contemporaries! None could have escaped its
furious jaws. I think I have read that it measured some
16 feet 6 inches in length, and 9 feet 4 inches in height."]
Yes, (added Fisher ;) and its tusks thousands of which
have been found in England were 9 feet 6 inches long.
They are valued on account of their ivory, which, however,
is inferior to that of the modern elephant.
I have nearly exhausted, (he continued,) the few memo-
randa I had collected respecting the elephant. I have told
you how he is entrapped, but I think I have not yet informed
you in what various ways he is pursued by the hunters.
The South African savage takes a shaft of stout wood, some
five or six feet long, and two or three inches thick, and to
one end he fastens a two-feet blade, double-edged, and very
keen. Armed with this rude but effective weapon he
conceals himself amid the foliage of a tree standing in a
well-frequented elephant track, and when the huge beast
rolls his unwieldy bulk beneath him, swiftly plunges the
steel into his body. He then follows up the infuriate
giant, who plunges into the forest-depths, and as he winds
among the trees, necessarily works the blade deeper and
deeper into his side, and enlarges the dreadful wound,
until, exhausted with loss of blood, he falls to the ground,
and becomes the hunter's prey.
On the banks of the Zambesi a hundred natives bearing
sharp reedy javelins collect for a grand foray, and singling
190 THE ELEPHANT'S PERSECUTORS.
out some ill-fated beast, attack him with their puny weapons.
It is the number, not the size or weight, that kills.
Another method adopted by the African hunters is ' ham-
stringing.' Two of them, naked, mount a tried and trusty
steed ; the rider in front carrying nothing but a switch, and
the man behind, a sword with a broad blade, which he
grasps by its thong-bound handle. The horse is galloped
straight towards the elephant, pursuing him till he is brought
to a stand, whereupon the rider with the switch commences
abusing him with an eloquence worthy of a Dublin fish-
woman. He loads the memory of his progenitors with the
foullest abuse ; boasts that he was the means of untimeously
despatching them to the land of shadows ; and announces
his deliberate resolve to inflict upon him a similar destiny.
He believes that his antagonist thoroughly comprehends
this injurious language, and in a tempest of rage will dash
at him. This, indeed, the beast does, to his misfortune,
for while he is bewildered by the numerous wiles and feints
of the native horseman, the swordsman glides to the ground,
steals behind him, and with one swift cut severs the tendon
just above the heel. Then he remounts, and away the pair
gallop in search of assistance, certain of finding the elephant
on their return at the exact spot where he was over-
thrown.
But the rifle is rapidly superseding all other weapons,
and proves more potent than any against the wild beasts of
the forest and the plain. It is a matter of dispute where
the death-carrying bullet should be directed. The Singhalese
always aim at the head, and the sportsman finds his safety
to consist in boldly facing the animal to within fifteen
paces, and lodging a bullet either in the temple or in the
hollow over the eye, or in a well-known spot immediately
above the trunk, where the weaker structure of the skull
LIEUTENANT HOODIE'S STORY. 191
affords easy access to the brain.* The African traveller
Andersson is in favour of the shoulder, either behind or in
the centre, near to the lower edge of the ear;t and Gordon
Gumming, the Nimrod of Scottish hunters, after trying
various parts of the vast elephantine bulk, seems to arrive
at the same conclusion.!
And now I shall terminate my elephant notes by nar-
rating Lieutenant Hoodie's remarkable story of his escape
from one of these mighty animals.
A WONDERFUL ESCAPE.
Having been informed of the proximity to his camp of
a noble herd, the gallant lieutenant hastily equipped him-
self for the encounter, and started off to join the hunters.
Not being well acquainted with the country, however, he
strayed from the right path, and could discern no signs of
his comrades, until suddenly a gun was fired, and the air
was rent with shouts of 'Moodie! passop! passop ! ' that
is, beware! Before he could realize the presence of any
danger he heard the crashing of the thick jungle-growth,
and the rustle of the dense foliage, and lo, a whole drove
of elephants, led by a female of towering bulk a Semiramis
of the wilds bore down upon him, like a squadron of
mighty men-of-war.
Finding himself unable to take aim, the lieutenant
thought it most prudent to beat a rapid retreat, but, on
looking back, he saw, with feelings of horror and despair,
that the herd had altered their course, and were in full
pursuit of him, the female still to the fore, like to carry
out my former image an admiral's ship in advance of his
fleet, with all sail set, and eager for the fray. Mr. Moodie
* Sir Emerson Tennent, 'Ceylon.' t C. F. Andersson, 'Lake Ngami.'
t Gordon dimming, ' Five Years of a Hunter's Life.'
192 A WONDERFUL ESCAPE.
redoubled his exertions, and made his way through the
jungle with astonishing celerity, for, as old Montaigne
quaintly observes, ' Fear sometimes adds wings to the
heels,' and the lieutenant felt as if he was borne along on
a magic steed. Seeing a stream before him, he rushed
towards it, in the hope of swimming across and finding an
asylum among the rocks that lined the opposite bank, but
before he could succeed, thud thud came the heavy hoofs
of the huge beasts behind him, and with uplifted trunks
they filled the air with uproar. The lieutenant turned, and,
as a last resource, shouldered his rifle, and fired at the
female leader. The ball struck her head, and glanced off,
like a bullet from a wall of granite !
She immediately charged at her assailant. The lieu-
tenant fell ; whether struck by her trunk or not he could
never say. She thrust at him with her tusk she had only
one but luckily missed him. She then caught him with
her trunk about the waist, flung him beneath her forefeet,
and for a minute or so knocked him about like a ball.
Once she pressed her foot on his chest so heavily that he
could feel the bones as it were bending beneath the weight ;
and once she trod on the middle of his arm, which fortun-
ately lay flat on the ground at the time. He never lost his
recollection, however, during all this terrible ill-usage, or
else he would probably have perished ; but owing to the
roundness of the elephant's foot, he generally contrived, by
a nimble management of his body, to escape her direct
tread. His comrades now came up, and firing a few shots
at her, one of which hit her in the shoulder, she suddenly
abandoned her intended victim, giving him a kick or two
with her hind feet as she left him. You may be sure that
the lieutenant was glad to pick up his gun and his bruised
limbs, and stagger forward to obtain the help and con-
solation of his companions.
HORROR UPON HORROR ! 193
While narrating to them and the Hottentot attendants
the particulars of his escape, a huge male elephant rushed
from his covert, and seizing a soldier who was standing by,
bore him away, and crushed him into a lifeless, shapeless
heap. As soon as the dismayed group had recovered from
their astonishment, a soldier fired, and broke this male
elephant's left fore-leg, completely disabling him from run-
ning. Thereupon the female, regardless of the danger she
incurred, forsook her shelter in the bush, rushed to his
assistance, walked round and round him, driving away the
assailants and still returning to his side, and caressing him,
and when he attempted to walk she placed her flank under
his wounded side and supported him. This scene lasted
for nearly half an hour, until the female received a severe
wound, which, drove her again to the bush, where she
speedily sunk exhausted from the loss of blood, and the
male, soon after receiving a mortal bullet, sunk to the earth.
And this was the conclusion of Lieutenant Hoodie's
adventure.*
[" Heaven forefend," exclaimed Douglas, " that ever I
should be called upon to rim a similar hazard. Our stars
be praised ! there are no such dangers among our Highland
hills!"
After some desultory remarks Fisher observed that it
was Seymour's turn "to spout;" and the Fat Boy expressed
himself again anxious to hear something terrible something
that would curdle up his blood, he said, and make each
particular hair to stand on end, like quills of the fretful
porcupine.
" Pile horror upon horror," cried Douglas, laughing ; " for
my coarse appetite hath stomach for it all ! "
Seymour replied that he was unable to promise anything
very sensational, but would do his best to gratify his auditors.]
* Lieut. Hoodie, ' South Africa ' (2 vols. )
(533) 13
194 CAPTAIN HARRIS'S ADVENTURE.
AN ENCOUNTER WITH ELEPHANTS.
I must premise that I borrow my facts from the record
of an African hunter,* though I am responsible for the
language in which I clothe them. And to render my story
all the simpler, I shall ask you to suppose that I am the
hero of it.
With the necessary train of waggons and Hottentot
attendants, I was traversing the north-eastern districts of
the Cape Colony, and had crossed the Sant river, when
signs of an approaching storm determined me to halt in my
journey.
The heat was excessive ; the air was heavy and still ;
the sky obscured by a mass of lowering clouds. I could
not doubt that a deluge was about to burst on my devoted
head.
My followers soon raised a rude encampment in a
sheltered and elevated position, protected by a lofty stone
enclosure, which only needed the approach to be closed
with fences to make a secure pound for the cattle. We had
scarcely completed our arrangements when a stream of fire
shivered along the ground, and a deafening clap of thunder
broke above us, and down in big drops quickly increasing
into heavy torrents came the rain; tropical rain; with
a flood-like copiousness of which the denizens of a temperate
clime can form no idea. This lasted during the greater
part of the night ; the thunder now seeming to die away in
the distance; now drawing nearer and rolling more and
more loudly ;
' Far along
From peak to peak, the rattling crags among,
Leapt the live thunder, not from one low cloud,
But every mountain soon had found a tongue.'
BYRON.
* Capt. W. Cornwallis Harris, ' Wild Sports of Southern Africa. '
FOLLOWING THE TRAIL. 195
The horses and oxen were soon standing knee-deep in
water; ray followers remained sitting all night in the
baggage-waggon, which leaked considerably, but my own,
being better covered, fortunately withstood the pitiless storm.
About an hour before dawn it began to decrease in
violence, and at sunrise it was perfectly clear, the sky was
bright and the air fresh, but the streams swept onward with
such fury as to be quite impracticable. I pushed ahead with
a few of my Hottentots to reconnoitre the pass, but found it
to be nothing more than a narrow rocky defile through
which the Sant river rushed to join the Linkling, so that no
waggons could possibly attempt it. From the highest peak
I could see several herds of buffaloes, and, while descending,
observed the tracks of a huge bull-elephant that had passed
about an hour before. This being the largest footprint I
had seen, I had the curiosity to measure it, in order to
compute the animal's height twice the circumference of
an elephant's foot being the exact height at the shoulder.
The result was twelve feet, which, notwithstanding the
monstrous stories one hears of, I believe to be the maxi-
mum height attained by the African elephant. I followed
the trail across the Sant river, which had now considerably
subsided, and perceiving that it struck eastward along the
mountain - chain, hastened back to my encampment for
horses and ammunition.
Leaving the waggons to wend their way slowly towards
an appointed rendezvous, we again took the field about ten
o'clock, and sedulously followed up the trail for some
eight miles, over a country marked by the boldest varieties of
landscape. Thus : at one time we toiled up a bare, open, and
stony acclivity ; at another, wound through the labyrinthine
recesses of shadowy but decaying forests ; now we struggled
through broad fields of high waving grass; and now
196 IN PRESENCE OF THE ENEMY.
breathed the fresh air of swelling downs. At length, we
found ourselves amongst a maze of grassy hillocks, and
interlacing brooks, and patches of luxuriant foliage, where
the recent ravages of the elephants had wrought extensive
desolation. Here, to my indescribable delight, I descried a
large herd of them, lazily browsing at the head of a distant
valley ; my attention being, in the first place, attracted to
the animals by the strong and significant odour which was
borne upon the wind. It was a spectacle such as I had
never before seen, and I gazed upon it with wonder and
admiration. Something of my enthusiasm seemed to com-
municate itself to my followers. As for Andries, the most
intelligent, his agitation became so great that he could
scarcely speak. With wide-opened eyes and quivering
lips at length he stuttered, * Dar stand de olifant ! ' I
immediately despatched a couple of scouts to drive back
the herd into the hollow, while I and my trusty liegemen
rode slowly and noiselessly up it, against the wind ; until,
drawing within one hundred and fifty yards unperceived, we
made our horses fast, and selected a commanding position
in an old stone kraal.
The shouting of the Caffres, who now appeared on the
hills above, rattling their shields, caused the huge animals
to move unsuspiciously towards us, and even within ten
yards of our ambuscade. The group consisted of nine, all
females with large tusks. We picked out the finest. It
was a moment of hot suspense, at least for myself; for
never before had I pursued such mighty game. We fired
into her a volley of five balls. She stumbled, but soon
recovered herself, and gave utterance to a shrill sharp cry
of mingled agony and rage; whereupon the whole drove
threw their trunks above their heads, and clambered up
the ascent with remarkable swiftness, their huge fan-like
AN IMMENSE HERD. 197
ears flapping in proportion to their speed. We immedi-
ately mounted our horses, and soon overtook the wounded
animal. Streaming with blood, and infuriate with rage, she
turned upon us, and it was not until after several discharges
that a ball crashed into her brain, and brought her lifeless
to the earth.
Leaving the prize for some of our attendants to secure,
we found that we had arrived at the mouth of a second
valley, which was shut in by bare stony hills, and traversed
by a thinly wooded ravine. The superb panorama which
here burst upon the view no words can describe. The
entire landscape seemed alive with wild elephants! In
the limited area embraced within our ken, there could
not have been less than three hundred. Groups were
planted on every grassy knoll, on every turfy undulation ;
while, in the bottom of the glen, they had gathered in ' a
dense and sable living mass ;'* their colossal forms at one
moment partially concealed by the trees which they were
threatening with their giant strength ; at others, looming
in all their majesty through the open glades, as they slowly
stalked on their way, with waving branches in their up-
lifted trunks to protect themselves from the flies. The
background was grandly filled with the shadow of the blue
mountain - range, which here assumed a singularly pre-
cipitous character, and fitly completed a picture of unusual
interest.
Against the wind we contrived to approach unobserved,
nor did we excite any alarm until the herd we had left
behind suddenly made their appearance, thundering down
the declivity to join the main body, and passing so close to
us that we could not refrain from firing a broadside into
one of them, which, however, stood our volley as coolly as
* Capt. W. C. Harris, ' Wild Sports of Southern Africa.'
198 BRINGING DOWN A VICTIM.
the veteran of a hundred battles. We secured our horses
on the summit of a stony ridge, and then selecting a suitable
position, overlooking the woody glen, despatched Andries
to manoeuvre so that as many of the elephants as possible
should pass before us in order of review, that we might
ascertain, from close inspection, whether there was not a
male amongst them. Stalking leisurely along, they oc-
casionally halted beneath an umbrageous tree within fifteen
yards of us, lazily fanning themselves with their ample
ears, blowing away the flies with their trunks, and uttering
their peculiar feeble cry. They proved to be all females,
and most of them mothers, followed by their little old-
fashioned calves, each treading close to the heel of her dam,
and mimicking her motions. From our secure location we
might have made as many victims to our rifles as we
pleased, their heads being frequently turned towards us in
such a position, and so close, that a single ball in the brain
would have sufficed for each ; but whilst we were yet
hesitating, a bullet suddenly whizzed past my companion
Richardson's ear, and instantly the whole herd was off at
a rapid pace.
We had barely time to take shelter behind a tree, before
a drove of about twenty, with several little ones in their
wake, bore down upon us, striding at their hugest step, and
filling the air with a sound like that of trumpets.
I rested my rifle against the tree, and taking deliberate
aim struck the leader behind her shoulder. She dropped
instantly. Another large detachment appearing close in
our rear at the same moment, we were forced to retreat,
availing ourselves of every tree, and the inequalities of the
ground, and occasionally saluting our enemies with a dis-
charge of stones. When the elephants had all passed, we
returned to the body of our victim, whose struggles we
ON THE LOVE OF SPORT. 199
speedily terminated by a shot in the forehead. Andries
now came up in excellent humour at his own achievements,
and with an air of triumph discharged his piece into the
motionless carcass, under the pretence that the animal was
shamming. His object evidently was to confound the
shots ; for, thrusting his middle finger into the orifice made
by my two-ounce ball, he coolly declared himself the author
of the deed, being content to overlook altogether the simple
fact that the elephant had received her mortal wound on
the opposite side to that where he was stationed, and that
his own ball had nearly made its mark on my worthy
fellow-traveller.
The day being now far spent, we returned to our camp,
where we received the welcome due to such skilful and
successful warriors.
And here, boys, I think I may conclude my narrative of
a day's encounter with African elephants.
[This short and simple story was much applauded, though
Douglas remarked that it only contained one quotation, and
that he had not detected a single simile, which was too bad,
as he observed, in a poet. Fisher reminded him that a good
poet always adapted his style to his subject, and that
Wordsworth had narrated the history of Peter Bell in very
different language to that which he had selected for his
noble Ode to Duty. "Seymour," he said, "had a plain
story to tell, and he has told it plainly."
"Do you not think it cruel," interrupted Beauchamp,
"for men to pursue these majestic creatures in mere grati-
fication of the love of sport ? "
" It is useless to open up such a difficult subject of dis-
cussion," replied Fisher; "it is one on which so many
opinions exist. Assuredly the love of sport is strongly
implanted in the hvfijian breast, and ? under certain con-
200 PRO AND CON.
ditions, I see no objection to its cultivation. At all events,
the hunter opens up to us new and untrodden regions which
otherwise would remain closed to commerce and civilization,
and enables us to obtain much valuable information relative
to the mode of life and anatomical structure of the denizens
of the Forest, the Jungle, and the Prairie. But I hold that
sport should be pursued without cruelty, and that the
hunter should use every care to avoid giving needless agony
to the victims of his rifle. Mr. Baker, in his amusing book,
1 The Rifle and the Hound in Ceylon,' assures us that ' all
real sportsmen are tender-hearted men, who shun cruelty to
an animal, and are easily moved by a tale of distress.' I
would it were so, but his own book supplies abundant
evidence to the contrary. The love of sport was probably
at first a natural instinct, with which man was gifted for
the evident purpose of enabling him to support himself in a
savage condition on the proceeds of the chase. It still
survives; under certain limitations is not objectionable; but
when exaggerated into a consuming and devouring mania,
must be censured by every thoughtful and well-balanced
mind."
"I think, Fisher," said Douglas, "I remember an instance
of cruelty associated with love of sport in the adventures of
Gordon Gumming, the once-famous lion-hunter."
"The lion-hunter !" exclaimed Beauchamp; "ay, but just
now, you know, we are confined to elephants, and we have
had enough of lion-hunting."
44 Yes," said Seymour ; " to
' Nature's great masterpiece, an elephant ;
The only harmless great thing.' "
DR. DONNE.
" Well, it is of elephants I was about to speak."
" Go on, Sholto," said Fisher ; " I have no doubt your
illustration will be well-chosen."
A HUNTER'S CRUELTY. 201
" Mr. Cumming had wounded an elephant, on one occa-
sion, in the shoulder-bone, and so severely, that the great
brute was compelled to lean for support against a tree. He
then proceeded to unpack his knapsack, and, with all the
coolness possible, to make himself a refreshing and highly-
fragrant cup of coffee. While partaking of this delicious
beverage, he closely scrutinized the agonies of the wounded
elephant, as Parrhasius of old watched the tortures of the
poor wretch he had wounded that he might serve as a
subject for his pencil. At length he resolved to make
experiments experiments, mark you on vulnerable points;
and leaving his coffee, he approached the animal, and fired
several bullets at different parts of his enormous skull. He
only acknowledged the shots, it appears, by a salaam-like
movement of his trunk, with the point of which he gently
touched the wounds with a striking and peculiar action.
Surprised and shocked to find, he says, that he was only
prolonging the sufferings of the noble beast but what else
had he aimed at 1 which bore its trials with heroic com-
posure, he resolved to finish his sanguinary essay of skill,
and accordingly opened fire upon him from the left side.
Aiming at the shoulder, he fired six shots with his two-
grooved rifle, which must have eventually proved fatal ; and
then, in his tender-heartedness, he fired six shots at the
same part with a Dutch six-pounder. Large tears now
trickled from his eyes, which he slowly shut and opened ;
his colossal frame shivered convulsively, and falling on his
side, he expired."
" Horrible ! " cried all the lads, when Douglas had con-
cluded.
"Such a man," said Seymour, "would have plied the
rack in the dungeons of the Inquisition, or tortured Anne
Askew with the 'scavenger's daughter/ and then assured
202 GENTLE DISPOSITION OF THE ELEPHANT.
you that he was only anxious to terminate the suffermgd of
his victims ! "
" Yes," said Fisher ; " there can be no excuse made, no
apology attempted, for acts of such deliberate cruelty."
"And I think they are especially detestable," observed
Vernon, " when practised upon an animal so harmless and
so sagacious as the elephant, whom Nature seems to have
intentionally deprived of any power of offence."
" Sir Emerson Tennent remarks," said Fisher, " if I may
once more refer to his authority, that the elephant appears
to live on friendly terms with every quadruped in the forest,
that he neither regards them as his foes nor provokes their
hostility by his acts ; and that, with the exception of man,
his greatest enemy is a fly ! * It is true that towards man
he evinces shyness, partly from his love of solitude, but
more from his knowledge of man's slaughtering propensities.
But did his instincts carry him further, or were he ani-
mated by any feeling of animosity or hostility, it is evident
that, as against the prodigious numbers which inhabit the
Singhalese forests, man would wage an unequal contest, and
that of the two one or other must long since have been
reduced to a helpless bondage.
" Nor, as he points out, is the testimony of statistics
wanting in confirmation of this view : take the returns of
108 coroners' inquests held in Ceylon during five years, in
cases of death occasioned by wild animals ; 16 are recorded
to have been caused by elephants, 15 by buffaloes, 6 by
crocodiles, 2 by boars, 1 by a bear, and 68 by serpents.
Little more than three fatal accidents annually, on the
average of five years, must be accounted a small proportion
amongst a population estimated at a million and a half, in
an island abounding with elephants, and where encounters
* Sir J. Emerson Tennent, 'The Wild Elephant.'
AN ELEPHANT'S DEFENSIVE WEAPONS. 203
are daily stimulated by the love of sport or the hope of gain.
'Were the elephants instinctively vicious, or even highly
irritable in their temperament, the destruction of human
life under the circumstances must have been infinitely
greater. It must also be taken into account that some of
the accidents recorded may have occurred in the rutting
season, when elephants are subject to fits of temporary fury,
known in India by the term must, in Ceylon, muddaa,
paroxysm which speedily passes away, but during the fury
of which it is dangerous even for the mahout to approach
those ordinarily the tamest and most gentle.' "
"Do elephants fight with their tusks or trunks?" inquired
Lambert.
" With their trunks, my boy ; seldom, if ever, with their
tusks, which, as I have already told you, are purely defensive
weapons. But the great beast chiefly trusts to his enormous
weight, the pressure of his foot being sufficient to crush any
minor assailant whom he has first prostrated by means of
his trunk.. In using his feet for this purpose, he derives
a peculiar advantage from the conformation of the knee-
joint in his hind-leg, which enabling him to swing his
hind-feet forward close to the ground, assists him to toss
the body alternately from foot to foot, until deprived
of life.
" A sportsman who had undergone this painful operation,
but had happily been rescued before it was complete, de-
scribes his sufferings as he was thus bandied to and fro
between the hind-legs and fore-feet of the animal as very
acute. The elephant ineffectually attempted to trample him
at each concussion, but abandoned him without inflicting
serious injury."
" Well, boys," said Seymour, after a pause, " I don't know
that I can tell you a good thrilling adventure, such as would
204 FROM SIR EMERSON TENNENT.
delight our friend Lambert, but in the book Fisher has so
often quoted, I remember some notes respecting tamo
elephants."
" Hear, hear ! " cried Fisher.
" Silence, gentlemen ! Oyez ! oyez ! " shouted Douglas ;
and the little circle once more composed themselves in an
attitude of serious attention.]
TAME ELEPHANTS.
Sir Emerson Tenuent had a tame elephant in his house
at Colombo, which became a general favourite with the
servants. He was especially fond of the coachman, who
had a little shed erected for him near his own quarters at
fche stables. His favourite resort, however, was the kitchen,
where he received his daily allowance of milk and plantains,
and picked up all kinds of titbits and little delicacies. He
was innocent and playful in the extreme, and when walking
in the grounds would trot up to his owner, and twine his
little trunk round Sir Emerson's arm, and coax him to take
him to the fruit-trees.
In the evening, the grass-cutters would sometimes in-
dulge him by permitting him to carry home a load of fodder
for the horses, when he would assume a most impressive air
of gravity, showing his sense of the importance of the charge
with which he was entrusted.
Being sometimes allowed to enter the dining-room, and
helped to fruit at dessert, he at last learned his way to the
side-board ; and, on more than one occasion, having stolen
in during the absence of the servants, he made a clean sweep
of all the wine-glasses and china in his endeavours to possess
himself of a basket of oranges. At length his pranks became
so expensive, that Sir Emerson was compelled to put him
away.*
* Sir J. Emerson Tennent, 'Natural History of Ceylon.'
A TAME ELEPHANT. 205
In captivity he is very docile and tractable, and, en-
couraged by his keeper, will undertake the most laborious
tasks. But should the eye of his attendant be withdrawn,
he displays his natural indolence of disposition, and betakes
himself to some cool covert, where he enjoys the luxury of
fanning his heated hide, or blowing dust over his back,
He is particularly partial to coolness and the shade, and
has as great an objection to work in the sun as a Neapolitan
lazzarone; so that he eagerly snatches every moment of
leisure for the pleasing pastimes I have already alluded to.
His obedience to his keeper is remarkable. When
Chutnee, the famous elephant long kept at Exeter 'Change,
was shot in 1826, he had received upwards of one hundred
and twenty balls ineffectually in various parts of his body,
and it was not until he turned his face to his assailants on
hearing his keeper's voice, and knelt at the accustomed
word of command, that the fatal shot struck home. Bleed-
ing from a score of wounds, he nevertheless obeyed the
long familiar voice.
This docility seems to spring from affection as much as
from fear. But though his attachment will be so strong,
that an elephant in Ceylon has been known to remain out
all night, without food, rather than return without his
mahout, who was lying intoxicated in the jungle, he seems
equally ready to yield submission to a new driver. This
seems contradictory of the popular belief that ' the elephant
cherishes such an enduring remembrance of his old mahout,
that he cannot easily be induced to obey a stranger.' In the
Government establishments of Ceylon, the keepers are
changed without hesitation ; and the animals, if they meet
with the same amount of kindness of treatment, render as
implicit submission to their new drivers as to their old.
There are, however, exceptions to this rule, and the ' vulgar
206 IN A DOMESTICATED STATE.
error ' was, no doubt, founded at least on some reasonable
basis. *
The elephant is chiefly guided in his movements by the
voice of the mahout, whose principal cry has been described
as a repetition, with various modulations, of the words
ur-re! ur-ref It is curious that this sound, or combination
of sounds, seems in vogue, with slight modifications, all over
the world. The Eastern camel-drivers urge on their jaded
beasts with ar-re! ar-re! The Algerine Arabs stimulate
their mules by crying eirich ! The French sportsmen excite
the hounds by shouts of hare! hare! The Irish driver objur-
gates his pigs with hurrish! hurrish! and surely a family
resemblance is discernible in our English hurrah!
The captive elephant is always a delicate animal, and
must be watched as carefully and attended as sedulously as
an English racer. He is comparatively of little value as a
beast of burden ; for though he could easily carry an enor-
mous weight, so far as mere strength is concerned, it is diffi-
cult to pack it without causing sores or abrasions, that
quickly ulcerate. 'His skin,' says an authority already
quoted, 'is easily chafed by harness, especially in wet
weather. Either during long droughts or excessive moisture,
his feet are liable to sores, which render him non-effective
for months. Many attempts have been made to provide him
with some protection for the sole of the foot, but, from his
extreme weight and peculiar mode of planting the foot, they
have all been unsuccessful. His eyes are also liable to fre-
quent inflammation, and the skill of the elephant-doctors,
which has been renowned for ages, is nowhere more strik-
ingly displayed than in the treatment of such attacks.' And
nothing, I may add, is more remarkable than the patience
with which he swallows the most nauseous doses, and the
* ' Menageries : ' The Elephant (Society for Diffusion of Useful Knowledge).
AN OLD GREEK WRITER. 207
fortitude with which he endures the most painful surgical
operations.
And now I would beg leave to conclude these desultory
notes with a translation of the passage in which ^Elian de-
scribes the training and performance of elephants.
[" But who was ^Elian 1" here inquired Mountjoy.]
An old Greek writer on natural history, (rejoined
Seymour,) Claudius JElianus, born at Preneste about A.D.
200. His writings display an extensive erudition, but also a
remarkable credulity. I think, however, you will pronounce
the following passage full of interest :
* I would wish to speak,' he says,* ' of their musical feel-
ing, the ease and docility with which they learn things that
it is even difficult for human beings to acquire, much less a
beast, previously so untamable ; such as to dance, as is
done on the stage ; to walk with a measured step ; to listen to
the melody of the flute, and to detect the difference of sounds
how, if pitched low, they introduce a slow movement ;
or high, a quick one ; all this the elephant comprehends
with perfect accuracy. Nature, therefore, has made him
not only the hugest in size, but the gentlest and most easily
taught.
1 Now, were I about to treat of the tractability and apt-
ness in learning of the elephants of India, ^Ethiopia, and
Libya, I should probably seem to be concocting a tale and
playing the braggart, or disseminating a falsehood respecting
the nature of the animal, founded only on hearsay ; all which
it is the duty of a philosopher, and a devoted lover of the
truth, to avoid. I will only narrate the results of my own
observations, and what I have gathered from others as hav-
ing occurred at Rome, selecting a few facts out of a multi-
tude to illustrate the peculiarities of these creatures.
* ^Elianus, De Natura Animalium, lib. ii., c. 11.
208 PERFORMANCES OF TAME ELEPHANTS.
'The elephant, when tamed, is a peculiarly gentle
creature, and easily induced to do all he is required. And
with the view of doing him honour, I will first relate events
of the greatest antiquity.
' Caesar Germanicus, the nephew of Tiberius, exhibited
once a public show, wherein there were many full-grown ele-
phants, male and female, and some of their breed born in this
country. As soon as their limbs began to strengthen, a person
accustomed to their ways trained them in a singular and sur-
prising manner ; trusting chiefly to kindness and gentleness,
and enforcing his mild lessons with the bait of agreeable and
varied food. Thus he gradually instructed them to cast aside
their wildness, and, as it were, to adopt a state of civilization,
conducting themselves in a manner almost human. [Did
^Elian mean this for satire ?] He taught them to preserve
their composure on hearing the pipe, and not to be affected
by the beat of the drum ; but to be soothed by the music of
the reed, and to endure discordant sounds, and the trample of
feet from persons while marching. So, too, they were trained
to feel no fear of a mass of men, nor to be wroth at the in-
fliction of blows, not even when compelled to twist their
limbs and bend them like a stage-dancer, and this, too,
although gifted with energy and strength. And there is in
this a very admirable addition to nature, not to conduct
themselves with disorderliness, nor to disobey the orders and
injunctions of their masters; for after the dancing-master
had made them expert, and they had acquired their lessons
skilfully, they did not render all his labour fruitless when-
ever occasion or necessity called upon them to exhibit what
they had been taught. For the whole herd came forward
from either side of the theatre, and divided themselves into
sections ; they walked forward with a tripping gait, and ex-
hibiting in all their carriage the manners of a beau, while
THE BANQUET AND THE GUESTS. 209
decked in the festooned garb of the stage-mimes ; and, on the
director of the orchestra giving a signal with his voice, they
fell into line, and marched round in a circle, or deployed, as
they were ordered. Then they adorned the floor of the
stage by scattering it with flowers, doing everything with
moderation and caution ; and straightway they beat a
measure with their feet, and kept time together.
' Now that Damon or Spintharus, Aristoxenus or
Philoxenus, Xenophilus, and others, should be well ac-
quainted with music, and for their ability be classed
amongst the few, is, indeed, a subject of admiration; but
there is nothing in it incredible, nor at all opposed to reason.
And why ? Because man is a rational animal, endowed
with mind and intellect. But that a jointless animal should
understand rhythm and melody, and preserve a studied
bearing, and keep to a regulated movement, and fulfil all
that its instructors demand of it, these, I think, are gifts of
nature, and a peculiarity in every way astounding. Added
to these marvels were others which might almost drive the
spectator out of his mind: when the strewn rushes and
other materials for beds on the ground were placed on the
sand of the arena, and they received stuffed mattresses such
as belonged to rich houses, and vari-coloured bed-coverings,
and costly goblets, and gold and silver bowls, containing a
great quantity of water ; and splendid tables were placed
there, of odoriferous wood and ivory ; and upon them meats
and loaves enough to satisfy the stomachs of the most
voracious animals.
* When all was prepared, and set forth in great abund-
ance, the banqueters came forward, six male, and an equal
number of female elephants the former dressed after the
masculine, and the latter after the feminine fashion ; and at
a given signal they stretched forward their trunks in a sub-
(533) H
210 AWAY TO SOUTH AFRICA.
dued manner, and ate their food in great moderation, not
one of them appearing greedy or gluttonous, or snatching at
a greater portion than another.
' When it was time for them to drink, a bowl was placed
by the side of each. Inhaling with their trunks, they drank
in a very decorous manner, and then scattered the water
about in sport, but not as in insult. Many other acts of a
similar kind, both clever and astonishing, and illustrating
the peculiarities of these great animals, have persons de-
scribed to me; and I myself have seen them writing
letters with their trunks on Roman tablets, neither turn-
ing aside nor looking obliquely. The teacher's hand, how-
ever, was so placed as to guide them in the formation of
the characters, and the elephant, while writing, kept its
eye fixed upon the writing in a scholarly and accomplished
manner.'
[" I must ask you now," continued Seymour, " to accom-
pany me on an expedition in the dense bush of the Berea,
under the leadership of a gallant English soldier."
" But where is the Berea *?" inquired Douglas ; " my geo-
graphy is at fault just now, and I have not the remotest
idea of the locality of that interesting stream."
" It is not a river, but a tract of wooded country, of con-
siderable elevation, near Pietermaritzberg, in the South
African colony of Natal."
" You speak like a book, Seymour," said the incorrigible
Douglas : " and now I remember all about it ; for do I not
read the newspapers, when I get a chance, in the doctor's
study? Natal ; of course ! It is a British colony, connected
with Bishop Colenso, and Zulus, and Langabilele ; and it is
going to be included in a great confederated South Africa ! "
" Captain Drayson, whom we take as our leader, shall tell
THE ELEPHANT CHASE IN KAFFRARIA. 211
our story, though I shall frequently beg leave to substitute
my language for his." *]
THE BATTLE OF THE BEREA.
With most South African sportsmen the elephant is one
of the last of the wild animals which he is fortunate enough
to see : it was my first. The view was not a long one, but
it is still forcibly impressed on my memory.
I had been invited by a colonist, who was a thorough
sportsman, to accompany him to the Berea in chase of a large
herd of elephants ; a proposition which, from our ignorance
of all the artifices necessary in the bush, was rather rash ; for
elephant-shooting is at all times a dangerous amusement,
and when attempted by novices on foot, in a dense bush,
against a very savage herd, it involves considerable peril.
In Africa, however, the elephant-chase is generally pur-
sued on horseback. The Dutch boers, who frequently ob-
tain their living by this sport only, are amongst the most
skilful hands ; they make periodical trips into the unin-
habited regions, or where elephants are numerous, and the
country is open and exposed. When a herd is discovered,
these boers arrange a plan of attack, either to drive the
herd of game to a better and more open country, or to pre-
vent them from retreating to any dense covert near at hand.
As soon as the preparations are completed, they single out
the leader of the troop, generally the largest bull-elephant.
They then move up as close as is consistent with safety, and
pour in a volley, while their attendants ply the infuriated
animals with darts ; if the leader falls, they can manage the
remainder more easily, from the confusion that always pre-
vails when the herd miss their chief. Should he, however,
* Capt. A. "W. Drayson, 'Sporting Scenes amongst the Kaffirs of South
Africa/ pp. 77-88.
212 SPEED OF THE ELEPHANT.
be only wounded, he frequently turns savage, and charges
with a rush ; the boers then mount their horses, and gallop-
ing off a hundred yards or so, they separate, scatter about
in different directions, and fire at the elephant as oppor-
tunity offers. Success generally crowns their efforts. I
have been assured by many veteran hunters that they have
oft-times seen a herd stand with heads close pressed to-
gether, after their leader has been killed, as if paralyzed
with confusion and despair. Such a chance, however, seems
reserved only for the peculiarly fortunate.
An elephant, as you know, moves with great swiftness,
and with no less ease and silence.
Every boy will have heard the old tale of the elephant !
How he began to turn early in the morning, and did not con-
clude the difficult gymnastic performance until mid-day, so
that the hunter had only to keep in his rear to ensure per-
fect safety. The experience of modern sportsmen contradicts
this 4 vulgar error.' The huge beast will wheel round, and
crash through the
' Primeval tiees, that cast
Their ample shade on Niger's yellow stream,
Or where the Ganges rolls his sacred waves,'
with nearly the rapidity of a large buck ; and his speed out-
vies that of a man, though he cannot maintain it for any
considerable distance. Sir Emerson Tennent observes, that,
for a creature of his extraordinary weight, it is astonishing
how noiselessly and stealthily the elephant can make his
escape from a pursuer. ' When suddenly disturbed in the
jungle, he will burst away with a rush that seems to bear
down all before him ; but the noise sinks into absolute still-
ness so suddenly, that a novice might well be led to suppose
that the fugitive had only halted within a few yards of him,
when further search would disclose that he has stolen
HUNTING IN THE BUSH. 213
silently away, making scarcely a sound in his escape ; and,
stranger still, leave the foliage almost undisturbed by his
passage.' *
In the dense underwood or reedy jungle a man's pro-
gress is continually impeded, while an elephant bears down
every obstacle with the utmost facility. A horse, however,
in the open country, easily outstrips an elephant, and especi-
ally up hill, the weight of the latter being a serious draw-
back on rising ground.
The elephant, by common consent, ranks very high
among sagacious animals, and is, perhaps, as capable of
learning a moral lesson as any school-boy.
1 When a large herd is but seldom disturbed by man, but
on each visit five or six are killed, and two or three more
die of their wounds, the remainder then have a very great
dread of the smell of a biped, and the report of his gun ;
but when elephants are disturbed very frequently, and only
one shot obtained at them, which wounds and annoys, but
may not kill, they become very savage, and, upon smelling
their teasing enemy, are at once furious and vindictive.
The herds that come into the Natal bush are of this disposi-
tion ; they are constantly persecuted, and sometimes fired at,
but without any great result, as the density of the cover
renders it almost impossible to get more than one shot, and
a single bullet rarely carries immediate death.'
The bush that skirts the Natal coasts for many miles is
only practicable by the paths made by the elephants ; the
avenues through which they stalk, in Indian file, on moving
from place to place, or in quest of water.
It is difficult for the hunter, when moving along these
curious paths, to see many yards on either hand, through
the thickly-matted underwood, briers, and parasitical plants
* Sir J. Emerson Tennent, ' Ceylon,' ut anil.
214 PURSUING THE TRACK.
which enclose him in. In many parts he has literally to
drag himself through the luxuriant growth, where he cannot
see a yard around him. He must place all his reliance,
therefore, on his sense of smell or hearing, or he will not
long be left to enjoy the fierce excitement of the sport,
which, when once tasted, like the drink of the Mcenads,
serves but to whet and inflame the appetite ; producing a
' bush-fever ' that leaves as permanent an impression as the
similar mental malady caught on the rolling prairies of the
Far West.
And now let us suppose that we have crossed the dreary
Natal flat, and entered upon a small, narrow bush-path that
winds to the summit of the Berea, which is here about two
miles broad, very dense, and closely covered with underwood.
On reaching the top of the wooded acclivity, we emerge
upon an open space of some twenty yards in diameter, where
we dismount, and fasten our horses to a neighbouring tree.
The track of the elephants is here very fresh and plain. In
every direction the grass is trodden down, and in some parts
uprooted, as though a heavy log of timber had been hauled
along it. You will note that in one or two bare and clayey
places several large circular and oval- shaped impressions
may be distinctly traced, and these belong, the circular to
the bull, and the oval to the cow-elephant ; the height of
each animal being about six times the diameter of these
impressions. From a careful measurement it appears that
the animals we are in search of must be about twelve feet high.
How strange, how mysterious the feeling which thrills
the soul when we gaze for the first time on the fresh traces
of a herd of these gigantic creatures ! Does it not seem an
act of audacity for such pigmies as my companions and my-
self to adventure an attack upon twoscore or more of such
giants, which, by a swing of their trunks or a stamp of their
SILENCE IN THE FORESTS. 215
hoofs, could crush us into nothingness ? Strange, too, and
mysterious is the emotion which springs from the utter
solitude and deep silence of the measureless forests ; widely
different from the cheerful feelings one experiences when
traversing an open breezy country. The gloom, the shadow,
the stillness only broken by a shifting ray of light, or the
crackle of a distant branch, or the melody of some unseen
bird impress one with a species of devout awe.
["Bravo !" exclaimed Douglas.
" I have often felt the peculiar sensation you describe,"
said Fisher, " when wandering alone in a thick wood. One
seems afraid, by voice or motion, to break the intense stillness
which everywhere prevails.
' Silence and twilight here, twin-sisters, keep
Their noonday watch, and sail among the shades,
Like vaporous shapes half seen.' *
We are conscious of the presence of an unseen Power, which
subdues the wild tumult of our thoughts, and bids the pas-
sionate heart be still."]
Moving quickly forward, (continued Seymour,) we
neglected I shall henceforth adopt the past tense in relat-
ing our adventures we neglected to pay sufficient attention
to the signs which betoken a herd's proximity. We had
scarcely traversed thirty yards, when I looked round to the
spot where our horses stood, but was prevented from seeing
them by the denseness of the intervening bush. Several
large branches had been snapped off the trees, the ends
eaten, and then flung across the track in different directions.
Either in sport or wrath, the elephants had entirely de-
stroyed two or three trees of a considerable size that had
hung over their path, and peeled the bark off in many in-
stances for several feet up the stems.
* Shelley, ' Alastor.'
216 A SUDDEN ALARM.
Steadily, steadily we pressed forward, following in the
footmarks of the animals ; their freshly-trodden course
being easily detected.
The silence that reigned in the bush caused me much
surprise, for I had supposed that a herd of wild elephants
would indicate their presence by noises audible at a great
distance. My companion told me, however, that during the
day they usually remained quiet, especially if they were in
a suspicious neighbourhood, or where they had smelled traces
of man.
For about a mile we continued our steady march, creeping
under the branches that checkered our forest-path, and re-
moving others which had been apparently dropped by the ele-
phants. At length, observing the branches of a distant tree
to be violently shaken, we halted. We watched them for a
considerable time, and listened, but only heard a strange
rumbling sound, for which we could not account. This, as
I afterwards ascertained, was produced by the elephants ;
but seeing a couple of monkeys springing about in a distant
tree, we thought it must be caused by them.
About one hundred yards further the bush became very
dense, long creepers trailing all over the shrubs, twining and
interlacing the underwood together, and rendering it ab-
solutely impenetrable, except where our huge game had
forced a path. In moving through these avenues quickly,
we could not help making a little noise. I was about two
yards behind my colonial friend, and did not deem any ani-
mal was near, when suddenly the bushes close to our right
hand were rudely agitated, and a deep growl was uttered
resembling a lion's roar. My friend sprang forward, and
raised his gun to fire : I was going to follow him, but glanc-
ing to the left, I descried a huge elephant, about two yards
distant, striding towards us with upcoiled trunk and ears
" RUN FOR YOUR LIFE ! "
erect. At the same moment my companion fired, and spring-
ing past me, shouted, ' Run for your life !' I did not tarry
for another look, as I then heard, almost over my head,
the terrible shrill trumpet of the animal which I had seen
charging, in addition to the groan of the wounded elephant,
and the responsive shrieks of several others who had
gathered round us.
218 A BREATHLESS FLIGHT.
For the first hundred yards we ran with all the speed of
an athlete ; but we had neither time nor space to spare, so
looking round soon after we had started, I saw the big
elephant charging close upon us, with a mischievous and
malicious aspect.
I lost rny hat, but we rushed on heedlessly ; diving under
some of the branches, leaping over others, wheeling first one
way and then another, until I was completely out of breath.
Having both barrels loaded, and being anxious to try a shot,
I called for a halt, but my companion would not hear of it,
advising that we should get clear of the bush at all hazard,
as the herd had shown themselves so savage. I gave way
to his better judgment, knowing that he united true courage
and a daring spirit with sufficient prudence to prevent their
degenerating into showy recklessness. At length we reached
our horses, and I must own I felt much more comfortable
when again seated in my saddle, than when on foot, and
within a pace or so of the elephant's trunk.
We stopped to listen, and could hear the shrieks and
trumpets of the wild troop, and the crashing of the thick
jungle growth; all plainly showing that they were still in-
tent on overtaking their insignificant but presumptuous foe.
I had, as I have just told you, dropped my hat during the
first hundred yards' rush, and felt it was unadvisable to stop
and pick it up.
My companion told me that he expected we should find
his elephant dead if we returned, as the growl we had heard
seemed indicative of a death wound. Having aimed behind
the shoulder, he considered such a result probable.
As soon as we emerged from the bush, we met with a
Hottentot on the Natal flat, quietly sitting under the shade
of a tree, to repair his only and sadly-dilapidated pair of
trousers : he looked at us very sagaciously, and said, ' Ole-
THE SCENE OF THE ENCOUNTER. 219
phants barnie qui bas '(Elephants very angry, sir). On
asking him how he knew this, he said, that although he
could only just hear the report of the gun, the elephants'
trumpets were audible enough, and he knew from the tone
how savage they must be ; yet this man was distant at least
a mile from the scene of our encounter.
In the course of the evening we decided that, early on
the morrow, we would retrace our steps, and follow up the
wounded elephant until we found him, if he should not
happen to have fallen dead on the spot. We also agreed
that the ivory should be divided between us, as, although I
had not actually fired, I had participated in the attack, the
peril, and the flight. But woe to those who count their
chickens too soon ! At this very moment the tough old
forest-giant was most probably stalking leisurely through
the bush, without the least intention of becoming a white
man's prize, and caring as little for a fourteen-to-the-
pound bullet as an iron-clad man-of-war for an Enfield
rifle!
The next morning, as soon as the sun had dried up the
heavy dew, we set out.
We were now attended by an English settler, a veteran
elephant-hunter, two Kaffirs, and a Hottentot.
The scene of yesterday's encounter was soon reached.
The discovery of my hat, knocked out of all shape, satis-
factorily identified it. But there was no sign of the
wounded elephant. None but an experienced eye, indeed,
could have detected that anything extraordinary had hap-
pened; but it was perceptible enough to both the Kaffirs
and the Hottentot, who, after some little hesitation, lighted
upon the huge animal's trail.
Following it up, we soon found blood, both on the leaves
and branches, and even on the ground, but not in such large
220 THE DUTCH BOER*S STORY.
quantities as I should have supposed. We pursued this
spoor for some distance, but the blood soon ceasing, and the
elephant's track being confounded by other feet, we aban-
doned the fruitless quest.
We discovered, however, that during our advance on
the previous day, we had passed within fifty yards of three
elephants without being aware of their vicinit} r . The noise
and the rumbling sounds which we had heard were caused
by them. We also saw that three or four elephants, feeding
close to the spot from whence we had fired, had chased us
for at least two hundred yards. We had unwittingly
escaped a very great danger.
' These elephants,' said one of my companions, 'must
have been very angry. But one never knows in what
temper one may find them. To-day they will be very
placable, and seem scarcely to object to a little rifle-practice,
to-morrow they will not suffer you to approach within a
quarter of a mile of them without charging you. I have
been very careful how I approached elephants ever since
my Kaffir was killed by them last year, near the Urn
Volozie.'
As a close to the day's sport, I begged my friend to
relate the incident.
THE DUTCH BOEtt's STORY.
It seems that, whilst out on a shooting expedition, he
came on the fresh spoor of a very large bull-elephant. The
traces were quite recent, the game having passed early that
morning. His Kaffir, who was named Mabili, was an ex-
cellent marksman, very cool in emergencies, and of un-
daunted bravery. He was walking beside the Dutchman,
who rode a small pony.
The two had arranged that Mabili was to receive half
"HE DASHED STRAIGHT AT US." 221
the game if he put the first bullet into the elephant. My
friend hoped by this agreement to stimulate him to a keener
interest in the hunting, and make him keep a sharper look-
out. If he only * assisted' at the elephant's death, he was
to receive whatever reward the boer might think he de-
served.
Following the spoor of the elephant for about four miles
through an open park-like country, where a few scattered
bushes and trees were the only cover, they descried the
elephant at last, standing under a tree of considerable siza
What followed I will describe nearly in the Dutchman's
own words :
1 He swung his trunk a little every now and then, or I
could not have distinguished him from a large rock, he stood
so still. We settled our plan immediately. I was to leave
my horse where we were, and stalk with my Kaffir up to
the elephant ; for he seemed so quiet, I felt sure I should
surprise him, and surprise is half the battle with an ele-
phant.
1 Mabili had a single-barrelled heavy rifle of mine, that
threw a three-ounce bullet; while I was armed with a
double-barrel, that threw eight-to-the-pound. To conceal
our approach, we took advantage of every bush and tree,
and arrived within fifty yards apparently without giving
the alarm. But just as we were about to fire, the hitherto
sleepy-looking and indifferent Colossus turned quickly round,
with ears extended, and, trumpeting with tremendous shrill-
ness, dashed straight at us.
I We both fired, and both hit him ; but he never even
shook his head, and continued his mad headlong charge.
I 1 turned, and ran towards my horse, as a man runs for
his life, but with little hope of reaching him, as the distance
was great.
222 UNFORTUNATE MABILI !
1 1 therefore wheeled suddenly to the right in the direc-
tion of a great tree that I had noticed near at hand. I did
not know what had become of Mabili, but, on looking round,
saw that he had turned in a contrary course. In this he
he acted judiciously, for it generally puzzles an elephant
when those he is chasing separate.
' It seemed, however, as if the animal had fixed its eye
on Mabili, for it turned sharp after him, and soon was close
upon him. I feared that there was no chance for my poor
Kaffir, but shouted as loudly as I was able, and fired my
gun, in the hope I might distract the elephant's attention.
In vain : the next instant he had caught Mabili with his
trunk, with which he seemed to press him to the earth,
dropping on his knees at the same time, so as to thrust his
tusks into him. I thought I heard a faint shriek, but
instantly mounting my horse, I galloped up to the scene,
and sent a couple of bullets into the monster. He had
caught up the mangled body of the unfortunate Mabili, and,
holding it by his trunk, was slowly stalking off. When I
wounded him, he dropped the body, and giving one of his
shrill trumpets, rushed at me. I cared little for him now,
as I could gallop away from him easily, and loading quickly,
I repeated the dose. Six double shots did I give that fellow
all about the shoulder before he showed any signs of
having received a severe hit ; he then seemed rather weak,
and spouted from his trunk a quantity of blood. I was
determined to kill that elephant, if I followed him for a
week. Upon giving him three more shots, he swung his
trunk about a little, and fell.
4 1 now looked for the remains of my poor Kaffir, and
found him crushed to pieces: his death must have been
speedy, as a tusk had gone quite through him, breaking in
his chest.
THE PLEASURES OF DEER-STALKING. 223
' Next day we buried him under the tree near which we
had first seen the elephant. He was the cleverest Kaffir
huntsman I ever had. Therefore, beware how you go near
single bull-elephants they are always very savage; but,
above all, avoid cow-elephants without tusks ; they are not
common, but if you should come across a "poes-kop" like
this, " pas-op " (take care) ! '
Here I conclude my hunting adventures in South Africa.
["I should like to go elephant-hunting," said Vernon;
" there is some credit in braving a huge animal like that,
but I never could relish the popping away at a little timid
hare or unfortunate partridge I don't call that sport, or, at
all events, sport worthy of a man."
" No," said Beauchamp ; " I had rather go deer-stalking.
Oh, it must be a thing to cheer the heart to brush away the
morning dew from the purple heather, and up the deep glen,
and over the sunlit hill, to chase a noble two-year-old buck,
one's frame all in a glow with exercise and expectation, and
one's nerves as firm as steel with the consciousness )f a
glorious prize."
" Much of the pleasure of deer-stalking," remarked Doug-
las, " results, I think, from the beauty of the scenery among
which it is pursued. You cannot help being exhilarated by
the sight of each lofty mountain peak, soaring sharp and
distinct into the clear blue sky each deep, shadowy ravine,
echoing with the mysterious murmur of an unseen brook
the green knolls that spring above the heather the black-
gleaming tarns lying in the hollow of the hills and, now
and again, the royal eagle, as it shoots homeward to its eyrie
on some inaccessible cliff."
" You are right, friend Douglas ; and no one," observed
Seymour, "sees such magnificent landscapes and shall I
not say sky-scapes as the hunter. His are the glories of
224 THE OLD SHEKARRY'S EXPERIENCES.
the sunrise and the sunset noon, twilight, and midnight-
heaven in a glow of golden splendour, or studded in its
cloudless sapphire with a myriad stars. His, too, are the
marvels of the wreathing mist, and his the wonders of the
storm. ' Tis his,' says Professor Wilson,
' 'Tis his, by the month of some cavern his seat,
The lightning of heaven to hold at his feet,
While the thunder below him that growls from the clond,
To him comes on echo more awfully loud ! ' " *
"Dux," interrupted Douglas, u we are growing too poetical.
We are rising above Firbank; we are soaring soaring into
mist and cloud ; let us get down to earth again, and go on
hunting the elephant."
"Good," said Beauchamp, "and with your permission,
boys, I'll tell you another story of a wonderful escape."]
LIFE OR DEATH.
You will all have heard, I doubt not, of the Old She-
Karry, an English gentleman who has published his remark-
able hunting-experiences in India and elsewhere, under the
title of the 'Hunting-Grounds of the Old World.' He
appears to have been gifted with unusual presence of mind,
patience, skill, and unrivalled courage, and it is certain that
he encountered some terrible hazards, and accomplished
some * hair-breadth escapes.'
Chasing the elephant in the Annamullay forests of
Hindustan, attended by his Hindu beater, Goolooloo, the
latter suddenly gave the signal that the enemy was at hand.
But scarcely had the Old Shekarry snatched up his gun,
before a male and seven female elephants swept past like a
whirlwind. Throwing up his gun, and aiming behind the
ear, he fired a couple of shots, in the hope he might check
* Professor Wilson, Collected Works, 'Poems:' The Hunter.
CONFRONTING A WOUNDED ANTAGONIST. 225
the career of the male. The last took effect, and brought
him to his knees; but he immediately regained his legs,
and, separating from the females, dashed madly through the
forest, which he filled with his mighty roar.
Snatching his second spare gun from Goolooloo, and
jumping down a bank, the veteran hunter ran with all
speed to cut his prey off at the gorge, which was extremely
narrow, as a torrent here poured its waters through a huge
cleft in the rock, through which the animal would be forced
to pass to join the rest of the herd.
The Shekarry was running down the bed of the stream,
on either side of which the banks were lofty and precipitous,
when he heard a rattling noise among the stones behind
him, and, on turning his head, perceived the wounded
elephant tearing straight after him, with eyes flashing fire,
and about forty paces distant. Speed he saw could avail
him nothing. The brute would have pounced upon him
before he could have scaled the bank. Swinging round,
therefore, he dropped on his knee, and took a steady aim.
On charged the elephant, with a fiendish shriek of revenge.
The Shekarry allowed him to approach within fifteen paces,
and then fired, aiming between his eyes his favourite shot,
he says but whether it was that he felt unsteady, being
breathless from his run, or that his rifle, which weighed
sixteen pounds, was too heavy, it is certain that his left
arm dropped as he pulled the trigger, and his shot took
effect four inches too low, entering the fleshy part of the
roots of the trunk, instead of penetrating the brain. It
failed to arrest his career; and before the Shekarry could
get out of the way, the huge brute was upon him. Some-
thing dark passed over him ; he felt a severe blow ; then he
was whirled through the air; he knew nothing in ore.
4 When I recovered my senses, I found myself,' says our
(533) 15
226 BALKED OF A VICTIM.
plucky sportsman, 'lying on my face, in a pool of blood,
which came from my nose, mouth, and ears. Although
nearly choked with clotted gore, a sense of my perilous
situation flashed across my mind, and I strove to rise and
look after my antagonist, but he was nowhere to be seen.
I picked myself up, and although fearfully bruised and
shaken, found that no bones were broken. I was lying on
the top of the bank, although quite unable to account to
myself how I got there. In the dry bed of the nullah I saw
my rifle, and after much painful exertion managed to crawl
down and get it. The muzzle was filled with sand, which I
cleared out as well as I could ; and then, sitting by the edge
of the stream, began to wash away the blood, and bathe my
face and head. Whilst so employed, I heard a piercing
shriek, and saw Goolooloo rushing towards me, closely
followed by the infuriated elephant, who was almost mad
from the pain of his wounds. Luckily, a hanging branch
was in his way, and with the agility of a monkey he caught
hold of it, and swung himself up the bank, where he was
safe. The elephant, balked of his victim, rushed wildly
backwards and forwards two or three times, as if searching
for him, and then, with a hoarse scream of disappointment,
came tearing down the bed of the nullah. I was directly in
his path, and powerless to get out of the way. A moment
more, and I saw that I was perceived, for down he charged
on me with a roar of vengeance. With difficulty I raised
my rifle, and, taking a steady aim between his eyes, pulled
the trigger it was my only chance. When the smoke
cleared away, I perceived a mighty mass lying close to me.
At lh,st I had conquered. Soon after this I must have sunk
into a swoon, for I hardly remembered anything until I
found myself in my hut.'
["What a gallant fellow !" exclaimed Mountjoy. "There
WHAT IS TRUE COURAGE. 227
was more true courage in such a deed, than in charging half
a score of bayonets on the field of battle."
" But did the Old Shekarry die ?" inquired Lambert.
" No," answered Beauchamp ; " or he would not have
published his book, and we should never have known all his
wonderful adventures. He was seriously ill, however, for
some time, being bruised and shaken in a frightful manner."
" He showed great composure," remarked Seymour, " in a
peculiarly trying emergency. It must test the iron of a
man's nerves to see a huge beast charging full upon him, and
to know that his hope of safety rests in his rifle, which,
perhaps, might miss fire. I doubt whether the mere love of
sport is a sufficient justification for plunging into such severe
risks. If a man becomes a hunter with the view of keeping
down the beasts of prey that are so severe a scourge to
various regions, he does a good work in his generation, and
I honour him for it ; but if he pursues them merely for the
purpose of gratifying a thirst of adventure or notoriety, I
don't sympathize very keenly with him in the dangers he
voluntarily incurs."
" And don't be misled, my boys," continued Fisher, " as to
the nature of true courage. I do not dispute the pluck and
presence of mind displayed by the Old Shekarry, but boys
are too apt to make heroes of men whose only merit it is to
show a contempt of physical danger. The physician who
enters the room of a patient dying of some contagious fever
exhibits a far nobler and more heroic spirit. So does the
martyr who perishes at the stake ; or the patriot who yields
his life on the scaffold, in glorious testimony to the truth of
the principles he has espoused. So an agreeable poetess
has sung :
' Yet, it may be, more lofty courage dwells
In one weak heart which braves an adverse fate,
228 A SPORTSMAN NOT A HERO.
Than his whose ardent soul indignant swells,
4 Warmed by the fight, or cheered through high debate.'*'
"Who is the poetess ?" whispered Douglas to Seymour.
" The Honourable Mrs. Norton, I think," he replied.
"While Cowper," continued Fisher, "defines a hero in
admirable language :
' He holds no parley with unmanly fears;
Where duty bids, he confidently steers;
Faces a thousand dangers at her call,
And, trusting in his God, surmounts them all.'
"And therefore, young fellows, while I would not have you
depreciate the courage of these hardy and adventurous sports-
men, I would wish you to remember that theirs is not the
most exalted or most useful form of heroism."
After a short pause, Seymour said,
" Can none of you favour us with any further stories
respecting the mammoth of modern animals ? Are all your
elephant anecdotes exhausted ? "
" No," said Edward Vernon ; " I have been looking through
a book of African travel lately, and I think I can recall a
few passages which will interest you."
" Very good, Ted," said his dux ; " we shall listen to you
with pleasure."]
A MIDNIGHT SCENE BY AN AFRICAN LAKE.
You must suppose yourself ensconced, (said Vernon,) in
a shady covert on the marge of a small African lake, whose
waters gleam brightly in the radiance of an unclouded
moon. The trees, which are few and stunted, fling their
gaunt shadows on the sandy desert like spectral arms. All
is silent ; save when an animal comes down to the cool waters
to slake its thirst. And while the night wears on, the still-
ness is frequently broken by a giraffe or a zebra, a gnu or
BY AN AFRICAN LAKE. 229
a koodoo, all brought together by the same keen desire.
As .you watch, the scene grows animated; and at length
you become sensible of a peculiar stir and agitation in the
society of quadrupeds. Observe the giraffe swaying his long
neck to and fro ; hark to the low, dolorous, prolonged cry of
the zebra. Why does the gnu retire with such evident alarm ?
Why, with a reluctant and angry movement, does even the
ponderous black rhinoceros drag his slow bulk away from
the shining pool 1 If you look across the plain to yonder
low line of hill, you will detect the reason. Those dark
forms, gradually looming larger in the moonlight, are ele-
phants, and at their approach, as you have already been
told, the inferior animals invariably retreat.
It was on such an occasion that the celebrated African
traveller, Mr. Andersson,* approached to within a short
distance of seven bull-elephants. While endeavouring to
select the largest for his shot, he was startled by a peculiar
rumbling noise immediately in his rear.
Springing to his feet, he perceived, to his surprise and
alarm, a semicircle of female elephants, with their calves,
rushing down upon him. Thus planted, as it were, between
two fires, Mr. Andersson's position was certainly critical,
and he had no other choice than to plunge into the pool,
which could only be crossed by swimming, in the face of the
male elephants, or to make a sortie through the ranks of the
females.
He adopted the latter alternative, but first fired at the
nearest of the seven bulls ; and then, without a moment's
hesitation, he rushed on the more open line of the female
phalanx, uttering, at the same time, loud shouts. The
unusual sounds caused a momentary panic among the
animals, of which our hunter took advantage, and slipping
* C. J. Andersson, ' Lake Ngami/ pp. 413-417.
230 A MIDNIGHT SCENE.
out between them, discharged his second barrel into the
shoulder of the nearest as he passed her. No sooner, how-
ever, had he effected his escape, than the whole herd made
a simultaneous rush at him, but fortunately in the darkness
they did not see the course he took, and he was soon in
safety among the jungle.
When, after a while, he sallied from his hiding-place, he
found the whole scene silent and undisturbed ; only a soli-
tary elephant was drinking at the pool, and pouring water
on his sides with his trunk. Mr. Andersson's spirit of ad-
venture was nothing daunted by the peril he had so narrowly
escaped, and seating himself right across the elephant's path,
he quietly watched the animal's proceedings. 'After a
time/ says Mr. Andersson, ' I saw him, as I thought, moving
off in an opposite direction. But I was mistaken ; for in
another instant his towering form loomed above me. It
was too late to get out of his way; so, quickly raising
myself on one knee, I took a steady aim at his fore-leg. On
receiving the ball, he uttered the most plaintive cries, and
rushing past me, soon disappeared in the neighbouring
forest. The next afternoon he was discovered dead within
rifle-shot of the water.'
[" Thank you, Ted; a story * short but sweet.' And now,"
said Seymour, "we have had enough of the elephant. What
is to be our next choice 1 "
After some discussion, the WOLF was selected, and Sey-
mour announced it as the subject for the following Satur-
day. The boys then separated : some returning to the
school, and some betaking themselves, on various errands,
into the village.]
V.
molt : $ta 3p*torB m\b 3|abits.
STORIES OF ADVENTURES WITH WOLVES THE PRAIRIE WOLF
WOLVES IN OUDH ANECDOTES.
his manuscript volume, Fisher began to
read as follows :
The Wolf (Lupus) belongs to the genus
Canis, and closely resembles the dog in structure,
the only anatomical distinction being the oblique
position of the wolf's eye. This distinction may
serve to illustrate the difference of character that exists
between the two, for the wolf can never look j r ou straight-
forwardly and steadily in the face ; he is susceptible of no
generous emotions ; fidelity, honour, tenderness well-known
canine virtues he never cultivates ; his glance is sly, furtive,
and treacherous ; his cunning can only be equalled by his
ferocity, which no amount of confinement seems able to
diminish ; his cruelty is only surpassed by his powers of
endurance. His subtlety exceeds that of the fox : he never
ventures from his retreat to windward ; as he advances, his
tail obliterates all mark of his foot-prints, so that his
enemies cannot track him ; if two or three prowl forth in
company, they travel in line, and contrive to tread in each
232
BRINGING UP THE YOUNG.
other's steps, so that you would think only one animal bad
passed ; and to deceive his captor, or his intended victim,
he will feign death with marvellous skill. The she- wolf >
however and it is the only pleasing trait in the lupine
character is very fond of her young, which she educates
carefully.
[" Educates ? "^exclaimed Vernon.]
Yes ; she trains them to their vocation, as you are pre*
WOLVES ON THE BATTLE-FIELD.
pared for a competitive examination. She accustoms them
to suffering, and to bear pain without complaint, just as
the Spartans taught their children ; and it is said that their
parents bite them, beat them, and drag them by the tail,
punishing them if they utter a cry, until they learn to be
VULGAR ERRORS ABOUT THE WOLF. 233
mute. They are gradually accustomed to eat flesh, and
taken out to hunt down their prey.
For these reasons, I don't believe that the wolf proceeds
from the same stock as the dog; their widely different
characters would seem to indicate a distinct origin. Wolves,
moreover, never bark except in the case of a species met
with in South Africa they only yelp, or howl. A traditional
hatred exists between the two, who never come in contact
without fighting to the death : the dog, if victorious, leaves
the dead wolf untouched ; but the wolf, should he vanquish
his assailant, feeds on the carcass. Altogether, the dog, it
seems to me, belongs to a nobler type, and occupies a. higher
rank in creation.
Superstition, of course, has woven its fancies about the
wolf, as about the grim and grisly bear. Pounded wolf's
liver, steeped in wine, was supposed by the old pharma-
copolists ' a sovereign cure ' for diseases of the liver. Split
open and dry a wolf's snout, and you were furnished with a
talisman which no evil spirit would dare to disregard. The
Hindus believe that the village within whose confines a
drop of wolf's blood has been shed is cursed with a terrible
curse, until due atonement is made. Pliny tells us that
' the great master teeth and grinders being hanged about a
horse's neck, he shall never tire or be weary, be he put to
never so much running in any race whatsoever' a fact
which I commend to the notice of the ' patrons of the turf.'
The range of the wolf is extensive. He is found in
Europe, in the northern regions of Asia, in the more tem-
perate parts of Africa, and in North America. In ancient
times he abounded in Britain, and committed such terrible
ravages that King Edgar enacted a law enabling the kinsmen
of a criminal to ransom him with wolves' tongues, in greater
or less number, according to the relative enormity of his
234 WOLVES IN SCOTLAND.
offence. When a man was outlawed, the Saxons said he
was 4 wolf-shed,' or abandoned to the wolves ; and January
was called ' wolf-monath,' on account of the havoc which
they committed at that period of the year. All along the
great roads of the counties bordering on Wales, refuges were
erected for the wayfarer stout huts, built of strong timber,
and with impenetrable doors whither he might fly when
pressed close by the hungry animals.
As late as the reign of Edward I. their numbers were so
great, that it was found necessary to appoint a Wolf-hunter
General ; and all bailiffs and royal officers were commanded
to lend him every assistance.
They were gradually extirpated from the southern
provinces of the kingdom; but in Scotland they lingered
until the middle of the eighteenth century, especially in the
wikl fastnesses of Moray. A tragic story is told in con-
nection with the last wolves which existed in that romantic
district.
THE BROTHERS OF FALKIRK.
They had their den, it would appear, in a deep sandy
ravine under the Knock of Bre-Moray, a lofty mountain
near the source of the Burn of Newton.
Two brothers, residing at the little village of Falkirk,
boldly undertook to watch one day until the old ones had
gone forth in quest of food, and then to kill their young ;
and as every peasant had suffered more or less from their
depredations, the excitement to learn the result of so perilous
an enterprise was universal.
Having seen the parent animals quit their covert, the
one brother stationed himself as a sentinel to give the alarm
in case the wolves returned, whilst the other threw off his
plaid, and, armed with his dirk alone, crawled in to despatch
the cubs. He had not been long in the den when the
THE TWO BROTHERS. 235
watchman descried the wolves stealing back to the ravine,
A sudden panic seized the wretched man ; he fled without
giving the promised warning, and never paused till he
crossed the Divie, two miles off. There, conscience-stricken
for his cowardice, he wounded himself in various places with
his dirk ; and on reaching Falkirk, asserted that the wolves
had surprised them in the den, that his brother was killed,
and that it was with extreme difficulty he, wounded as he
was, had effected his escape. A shout of vengeance rent the
air; and, the villagers, laying their hands on the nearest
weapons, set off in a body to recover, at all hazards, the
mutilated remains of their friend.
What, then, was their astonishment, wnen, on reaching
the hill of Bogney, they beheld the mangled and bleeding
form of him whom they supposed dead, dragging himself
towards them. For a moment they thought it was a ghost,
and dreaded to approach him; but some of the boldest
recovered from their momentary affright, and lent him the
assistance the poor creature stood in need of. His story
was soon told. After killing the cubs, he was in the act of
making his way from the den, when the mouth of the hole
was darkened, and the she-wolf threw herself upon him.
With one lucky thrust of his dirk he despatched her at
once ; but his struggle with her mate was longer and more
severe. Fortunately, the body of the brute he had killed
afforded some protection, and, after receiving several severe
wounds, he succeeded in driving his knife into the heart of
his ferocious assailant. The indignation of the people
against the dastard who had abandoned his brother to what
seemed certain death, and had then endeavoured by false-
hood to conceal his guilt, was unbounded. They dragged
him before the laird, who, on hearing the case, assumed, as
in those rude days was not unusual, the function of a judge,
236 IN THE SIBERIAN WASTES.
and ordered the criminal to be hanged on the summit of the
highest hill a sentence that was immediately and willingly
carried into execution. *
[" Showing," observed Beauchamp, " that Lynch law was
known in Scotland long before its introduction into the
United States."]
The wolves of Siberia, (continued Fisher,) are among
the most ferocious of their kind ; and the traveller through
the Siberian wastes often falls a victim to their ferocity.
Mr. Atkinson, an unimpeachable authority, records his
opinion of their savage nature, and illustrates.it by a ' thrill-
ing ' experience of his own. The story runs as follows : t
With a retinue of Kalmucks he had encamped for the
night on the banks of a small lake. A large fire was lighted,
and the men disposed themselves around it, after having
carefully picketed their horses. The darkness had gathered
over, when a sudden and terrible howling broke upon the
silence ; a howling which smote with terror many a heart,
for they knew that it proceeded from a pack of furious
wolves. In hot haste they collected their horses, and posted
them behind the fire. Then they looked to their fire-arms,
though scarcely with a hope that their ammunition, however
well expended, would outlast the murderous fury of the
approaching enemy, who had scented them from afar.
The fire was suffered to burn very low, for the Kalmucks
knew that their best plan was to suffer the foe to come
within gunshot-range, and then pile on the fuel, and kindle
an enormous flame, in such wise to dazzle and affright the
wolves, and reveal their exact position. Ere long, the gallop
of hundreds of heavy feet was heard, and then the pile was
stirred up into a great blaze ; the pack suddenly stopped
* Sir T. Dick Lauder, 'Account of the Great Moray Flood/
t T. Atkinson, ' Oriental Siberia and Tartary/
A FRESH ARRIVAL ! 237
short ; their ears and tails erect, their eyes glaring fiendishly.
Make ready, men ! Take sure aim, and waste not a shot !
Now ! A rattling volley was discharged, and with good
effect, as the loud shrieks and grim howls bore witness. In
a few moments the gallop was resumed ; but the wolves
were retiring, not advancing.
They did not withdraw to any great distance, however, nor
had they any intention of abandoning their intended prey.
They had retreated, we may suppose, to deliberate upon
the best mode of attack. A brief interval, and they re-
turned ; stealing now between the lake and the camp, and
dividing into two parties, so as to renew the assault on both
sides. Galloping across the frozen snow their fierce eyes
glowing through the darkness the double baud came on,
and on, and on. But again a storm of shot arrested their
career ; this time, however, they did not retreat they only
halted.
At this moment of peril, when so many hungry jaws
were seeking to ' devour them up,' Mr. Atkinson's little
band were startled by the approach of a fresh pack of
wolves. But the very event that threatened their destruction
proved their salvation, and they were rescued from their
danger by the ferocity of their enemies. On the arrival
of the second band, the first-comers, by their snarls and
growls, indicated their wrath that these strangers should
put in a claim for the booty which they considered their
own. They therefore flung themselves incontinently upon
them, and a frightful melee ensued, such, probably, as
human eyes had never before witnessed. During the
height of the fray, a few of the Kalmucks contrived to glide
into the forest and obtain a fresh supply of fuel, which,
piled on the dying embers, soon kindled a tremendous
conflagration. The sudden-shooting flames and crackling
238 A TAME WOLF.
brands spread a terror and a consternation among the raging
wolves; and a well-aimed volley being poured into their
midst, they gave a final howl, and took to flight.
Mr. Lloyd, in his ' Scandinavian Adventures/ gives a
curious account of a tame wolf, with which he was furnished
by a Swedish lady. It will serve as a contrast to the fore-
going narrative.
Her husband had purchased three wolf-cubs, which had
only just begun to see. One of them was a female. Out of
curiosity, the lady begged leave to keep them for a while.
They were kept together about a month, residing mean-
while in a garden arbour. As soon as they heard their
mistress in the courtyard, calling ' Sma valparna ' (or, Little
puppies), as she was accustomed to name them, they would
run up to her with the most pleasing signs of affectionate
delight ; and when they had been caressed and fed, returned
peacefully to their shelter. After the lapse of a month, two
were given away ; and the one that remained sought refuge
with the work-people, though during the day he generally
followed his mistress and her husband. As he grew up his
attachment increased to such an extent, that when they took
a walk about the estate, and he was with them, he would
crouch beside them when they rested, nor allow any one to
approach nearer than about twenty paces. If they drew
closer, he growled, and showed his teeth. When his mis-
tress scolded him, he would lick her hand, at the same time
keeping his eyes intently fixed upon the intruder.
He wandered up and down the house, and in the kitchen,
like a pet dog ; and was very fond of the children, licking
them, and playing with them good-temperedly. This con-
tinued until he was five months old. As he had then
grown both large and strong, his master, apprehensive that
in his sports with the children he might hurt them with his
A TAME WOLF. 239
strong claws, or, if lie found blood upon them, be incited to
do them an injury, determined on tying him up. However,
his mistress frequently released him, and took him for a
walk.
His kennel was placed in the lower yard, near to the
gate ; and in the winter- time, when the peasants came with
charcoal, he would leap on to the stone fence, where he
would wag his tail and whine, until they came up to him
and patted him. At such times he showed a strong desire
to search their pockets, in the hope he might come upon a
dainty. To this practice the men grew so accustomed that
they amused themselves by putting a piece of bread in their
coat-pockets, to let him find it out, which he perfectly under-
stood; and he ate all that they gave him. His regular
daily allowance was three bowls of food. He allowed the
house-dogs to eat with him out of the same bowl; but if
any strange animal attempted to share the meal, he would
break out into a frantic fit of rage. Whenever he caught
sight of his mistress in the yard, he kept up a dreadful
noise ; and when she went up to his kennel^ would raise
himself on his hind legs, and place his fore paws on her
shoulders, and in the excess of his delight would lick her,
always beginning to howl with sorrow when she withdrew.
One day a fox was shot. His master, having fastened a
rope round the carcass, gave it to the wolf, who received it
with evident pleasure, and drew it along with him into his
kennel. But when his master pulled at the rope, with the
intention of taking it from him again, Master Wolf held on
so tenaciously that both he and the dead fox were drawn
out of the kennel together ; and even at last he did not re-
lease his hold except with the loss of two of his front teeth.
As, however, these were his temporary teeth, others came
in their place about three weeks later. He was kept as a
2-40 WOLVES AND PIGS.
pet for a year ; but proving expensive to keep, and making
night hideous with his howls, his master caused him to be
shot.
Mr. Lloyd furnishes other instances of the practicability
of subduing the natural ferocity of the wolf, at least while
kept in confinement.
At one time, says Mr. Lloyd, he had serious thoughts of
training a fine female wolf, which he had in his possession,
as a pointer, but was prevented from doing so by her incon-
venient partiality for the pigs of his neighbours. She was
chained in a little enclosure, just in front of his window,
into which those animals, when the gate happened to be left
open, occasionally found their way. The devices to which
the wolf resorted to get them in her power were very amus-
ing. When she saw a pig in the neighbourhood of her
kennel, she would throw herself evidently to put him off
his guard on her side or back, wagging her tail with the
most playful innocence. And she would continue her ami-
able demonstrations until the porker was enticed within the
length of her tether, when lo ! the mask was thrown aside,
and she appeared in her true character of the remorseless
enemy of the porcine race.
The Scandinavian wolves do not often attack man ; only
in the winter-time, when they are sore driven by hunger.
They will then display the most astonishing audacity. A
peasant, returning from a village which he had been visit-
ing, was assaulted by a wolf with so much violence that he
was torn from his sledge and dragged along the ground for
some little distance. The man's coat, however, happily gave
way ; and the poor fellow, regaining his feet, sped back to
his sledge, and pursued his journey. The wolf followed
him closely, how r ever, until he reached his own village.
A TRAGICAL EVENT. 241
We read of a boy, about eight years old, being attacked
by a wolf in the winter-month of January 1821. Together
with several others, he was cutting gran-och tall-ris (the
sprays of the spruce-pine and Scotch fir), for the use of the
cattle, in an enclosure near his father's cottage. On seeing
the wolf approach, the boys shrieked out and made for
home. But the beast soon overtook them ; and charging
into their midst, seized the child already mentioned, dragged
him over a fence, and, as he bounded along, carried him
over several dykes, or stone walls. The children who had
escaped ran to tell their mother what had happened, and
she immediately hastened to the rescue of her son. She
found him still grasped in the cruel jaws of the wolf ; but
on her resolute approach the wolf dropped him and re-
treated. The boy grew up to be a man, but always carried
about his body the marks of the wolf's claws.
It was in the same winter that a wolf fell in with some
peasants who were crossing the snow-covered fields in their
sledges, and ventured to attack the rearmost of the party.
The peasant seized a stout stake, and rained blows at the
aggressor ; who, however, dexterously eluded them, and get-
ting in the rear of the peasant, renewed his assault. The
issue of the combat might have been disastrous, had not the
cries of the man alarmed his comrades, and brought them
back to his assistance.
A tragical event is recorded in the register of a Swedish
village. A wolf killed a little girl, about eleven years old,
within a short distance of her home, which she had just
quitted on an errand. Some peasants, who were crossing
the frozen expanse of Lake Ressen, which was close by, dis-
covered the ferocious beast, with the poor little corpse lying
under him. By sheer force they tore it from his clutch,
and laid it reverently on one of their sledges, for the purpose
(533) 16
242 A PAINFUL ANECDOTE.
of depositing it at the nearest house until it could receive
interment. This chanced to be the child's home. Great
was the grief of the parents when they recognized the well-
known features, and great their fury; for the murderous
wolf had followed, and showed no dread of the people who
WAITING FOR PREY.
were collected. His craving for human flesh would seem to
have been very great, for as he passed up from the lake to
the cottage he licked the red drops that had fallen on the
snow.
If you are not weary of these painful anecdotes, I will
add one more in further illustration of the wolf's terrible
voracity. A boy, Erik Scendstedt, fifteen years old, was
THE STORY OF ERIK. 243
killed near a village called Stjernsund. In company with
two young friends, he was skating on the Lake Grycken,
and halted for a while on one of its little ice-bound islands.
While the three were resting themselves and chatting mer-
rily, a wolf suddenly dashed in among them. He was an
animal of large size ; in colour light gray, with some dark
spots, and white under the belly ; and the survivors, their
imagination stimulated, perhaps, by their terror, asserted
that his growl was as loud as the bellowing of an ox. His
first charge was directed towards a boy named Sundniark ;
who, by leaping aside and brandishing a short stick, for-
tunately evaded it. But the unfortunate Erik, having re-
moved his skates, could not get out of the way; and the
wolf, attacking him next, threw him to the ground, flung
Ids whole weight upon him, biting at his throat and shak-
ing him dreadfully. The poor lad's cries, you may be sure,
were of the most agonizing description. His comrades, ter-
rified out of their senses, and unable to render him any
assistance, darted away on their skates to the nearest village.
Meantime, the cruel wolf dragged his prey over the
island, and along the ice, until he reached the shore. Then
he crossed the high-road, dashed up a considerable eminence,
and finally gained a kind of elevated wooded table-land.
The villagers, informed of the sad occurrence, pressed
him in close pursuit; and the beast, finding he could not
escape with his victim, hurriedly abandoned him, and gal-
loped off into the forest.
The poor boy was alive when rescued, but soon after-
wards expired.
[Here Fisher stopped. A minute or two elapsed before
the painful impression passed away which these sad narra-
tives had produced.
244 SCANDINAVIAN SUPERSTITIONS.
" I think I shall devote myself/ 7 said Douglas, " to hunt-
ing down the wolves of Scandinavia. I am convinced that
if I succeeded in getting rid of them, as Egbert did of the
wolves of England, I should be a public benefactor, and
deserve a statue in gold ! "
" Your single efforts," remarked Seymour, " would hardly
accomplish so great an enterprise. Something more power-
ful than you namely, Civilization will gradually extirpate
the ferocious characters. As population increases, and man
extends his dominion farther into the wilds, the wild beasts
still remaining in Europe will be destroyed."
" There does not seem to be any present decrease in the
number of wolves in Norway and Sweden," said Fisher,
" notwithstanding that every man's hand is against them."
" I don't wonder," remarked Beauchamp, " that every
man's hand is against them. They are hateful creatures."
" The wolf, says a Swedish writer, taxes the peasant more
heavily than the Crown. So great is the abhorrence in
which he is held, that many Scandinavians believe he is an
evil spirit incarnate. In the old Norse mythology we read
that
' Eastward, in the forest of iron,
Sat the Evil One,
And there begat
The young wolves.'
And the popular belief is, that thence descended all the
different races of the ferocious animal. The usual supersti-
tion prevails that it is unlucky to call him by his real name;
while to meet one at certain hours, or under certain circum-
stances, is a bad omen ; and their appearance in considerable
numbers forebodes war, or some great national calamity.
Old women, lean and shrivelled, who dwell alone in the
forest-recesses, and profess to deal in witchcraft, are be-
THE LAPPS AND THE WOLF. 245
lieved to be in league with, and to shelter wolves ; whence
they are known by the hated name of Varg-modrar, or
Wolf-mothers."
" I think I have read that there are many ways of hunt-
ing the wolf adopted in Sweden and Norway."
" On this point," said Seymour, " I can give you some
little information ; borrowing it, as Fisher has done, from
Mr. Lloyd's t Scandinavian Adventures. 7 "
The boys disposed themselves to listen, and Seymour
proceeded : ]
WOLF-HUNTING IN SCANDINAVIA.
First we will begin with the Lapps.
When in pursuit of the wolf, these hardy children of the
North frequently carry no other weapon than a stout staff,
about six feet long, armed at one end with an iron pike.
This is useful, not only against their great enemy, but in
staying or expediting their own movements across the slip-
pery surface of the frozen snow. An enemy indeed, is the
wolf to the unfortunate Lapps. Night and day, summer
and winter, he prowls in the rear of their herds of reindeer,
pouncing upon every straggler, and frequently carrying off
as many as forty out of a single herd. When starting on
the chase, the men, as it often occupies several days, take a
sufficient supply of provisions ; and with dogged persever-
ance they follow the wolf over the roughest ground and
through the densest thickets, driving him from one place to
another until he is worn out with hunger and fatigue, when
they close in upon him, and with loud shouts put an end to
his career.
Turning now to Sweden, we find that the chase is almost
always conducted on foot. It would not be possible to take
a horse up the mountain-ravines and into the tangled for-
246 HUNTING THE ENEMY.
ests. Generally the wolf-hunts that take place are for the
capture of cubs, the Swedish dogs being little capable of
facing the older animals. In this case, the hunters make
for the she- wolf s lya, or lair. Twenty or thirty in number,
they form in line, and carefully beat the country before
them. While the cubs are small, the wolves usually take
shelter in the thickest brakes and the clefts of the most in-
accessible rocks; but when the rye has sprung up high
enough to conceal them, they often retreat to the rye-fields.
Their haunts are betrayed by the bones of slaughtered
animals ; and if large courageous dogs, accustomed to give
stand-shall that is, like our pointers, to remain steadfast
at one and the same spot they will soon indicate the lya
and the cubs. The she-wolf does not deposit her cubs, like
the fox, in deep holes in the ground, but under boulders,
the stumps of uprooted trees, in close thickets, or beneath
the spruce-pine ; and hence, when the lya is found the cubs
are readily taken and destroyed.
It is customary, however, to retain one alive, that, by its
cries, it may attract its mother. For this purpose a screen
of boughs is hastily erected near the lair, and behind it a
couple of the hunters conceal themselves. The homeward
course of the mother- wolf is quickened by the yelp or wail of
her offspring, as it hangs by the hind leg to a neighbouring
tree. As soon as she comes within reach the hunters fire.
Allusion has already been made to the custom of hunting
wolves with a pig as bait. Let me tell you a curious story
in illustration of it :
Some years ago, says a Swedish officer,* my servant,
about eight o'clock one evening, informed me that she had
just heard cries of distress on the Lake Eada, which lay
* Lloyd, "Scandinavian Adventures," ii. 4S2, et sqq.
A PIG FOR A BAIT. 247
about sixty feet only from rny house. On going out-of-
doors, I heard them also. Soon afterwards came a peasant,
who said a drove of five wolves had attacked him on the
ice, and attempted to deprive him of his horse; and that it
was only by a sturdy use of a stout cudgel he and the steed
had escaped from their jaws.
I ordered a horse to be harnessed without delay to a kolryss
that is, a very large basket-like sledge, in which charcoal
is carried to the furnaces and a pig to be tied up in a
sack ; and with the estate inspector as my companion, and
three guns loaded with slug-shot, I clashed in the direction
of the lake.
At first the pig would not squeal; but he altered his
mind when we got his head out of the sack and pinched
his ears. The sound of a possible prey soon attracted three
wolves; but they did not approach nearer than within
eighty paces, and at this distance they followed us for a
considerable time. Finding, however, that so long as WQ
kept moving the beasts would come no closer to us, we
halted ; whereupon they presently advanced to within forty
or fifty paces, and quietly seated themselves on their
haunches. The inspector and myself now agreed to count
one, two, three, very slowly, and on pronouncing the last
word to fire, each at his own particular wolf. This w r e
did; our guns going off so simultaneously that the report
seemed like one and the same. Both the beasts at which
we had fired fell immediately, and the third dashed off with
lightning speed.
"We now ran towards the spot where the animals lay, but
in our exultation forgot to take the third gun, which was
still loaded, along with us. We had not proceeded more
than twenty paces from the sledge, when one of the pros-
trate wolves suddenly sprang to his feet and ran off. Seeiog
248 THE HUNTEKS BAFFLED.
tins unlooked-for resurrection, I returned forthwith to the
sledge for the loaded gun. Meanwhile, the inspector went
up to the other wolf, which had hitherto made no move-
ment, and seized him by the leg with the intention of drawing
him towards the vehicle. But as the beast showed signs of
vitality, he struck hirn on the head with the butt of his
gun. This, however, had an effect contrary to what was
intended; instead of despatching, it brought the brute to
life, and on to his legs again. Nor did a second blow im-
prove the state of affairs, for he now not only broke from his
captor, but, following his comrade's example, ran away. At
this moment I had seized the loaded gun, and was in the
act of giving the coup de grace, when, most unfortunately,
the inspector stood in the very line of fire, and consequently
I durst not pull the trigger.
We afterwards got into the sledge and set out in pursuit
of the tenacious beast my comrade had been belabouring ;
but our horse, being old and steady, could not be stimulated
even into a trot, and the attempt proved fruitless. We per-
severed as long as possible; and at times the moonlight
revealed to us our missing wolf, as he lunkade, or trotted
slowly before us. We fell more and more in the rear, how-
ever; and at length abandoned the pursuit, and returned
home, exceedingly disgusted with the ill-success of our
exertions.
At an early hour next morning we resumed the chase.
The wounded wolves had taken different directions. The
one which the inspector had tussled with we found near the
borders of the lake, about four miles from the spot where
he had fallen on the preceding evening ; at least, we found
his head, his tail, and his feet, his companions, cannibal-
like, having banqueted on the rest of him.
The second wolf, at which I myself had fired, we also
A REGULAR FAILURE. 249
found near the lake, lying under a willow-bush, where he
had passed the night. At our approach he ran off. I
tracked him all day, and several times as he crossed the
open forest-glades caught sight of him ; but on each occa-
sion he was out of range. Traces of blood were discovered
at each place where he made a temporary halt ; but all my
efforts to overtake him on that day proved fruitless. So
did they on the following ; which was not very surprising,
as the snow was so deep that I sank in it up to my knees,
and consequently could make but little progress.
On the third day I started with two men and a couple of
large dogs. We had no difficulty in stirring up the wolf ;
for, as on previous occasions, he had spent the night very
near where he was left on the preceding evening, his re-
treat being stained with much blood. The dogs, however,
were of no avail; as soon as they scented the beast they
were panic-stricken, came to heel, and refused to leave us
for the remainder of the day. We ourselves persevered
throughout the forenoon; but finding at length that the
wolf, instead of growing weaker and weaker from loss
of blood, as we had anticipated, began now to clear with
the greatest ease obstacles which he had previously found
much difficulty in surmounting, we considered all further
pursuit as worse than useless, and returned home.
[" Baffled by a wolf I" cried Yernon ; " well, if /had been
in the Swedish officer's place, I would not have given up."
" No," added Mount joy ; "I call that a miserable end to
an adventure."
" Perhaps the wolf was uncanny," remarked Douglas ;
" and I should think he was, if the more blood he lost the
stronger he became ! "]
Wolves iu Sweden are frequently caught in the varg-grop,
250 CAUGHT IN A WOLF-PIT.
or wolf-pit, which usually measures ten to twelve feet
across, and about the same in depth. They are of various
sizes; square, octagonal, circular. The sides are usually
built up with wood and stone ; partly to prevent the earth
from falling in, and partly to prevent wild beasts, when
once incarcerated, from getting out. These pits are very
effective. Sometimes as many as eight wolves are captured
at one ' fell swoop.' But then the misfortune is, that now
and then an unwary biped stumbles into one, and such a
result cannot be considered otherwise than unfortunate. Mr.
Lloyd tells an amusing tale of a country parson to whom this
accident happened, under the following circumstances :
The reverend gentleman in question was a great sports-
man, and had a varg-grop on his land for the capture of
wolves and foxes. One Sunday morning, after preparing
his sermon and pulling on his snowy bands, he thought he
would pay a flying visit to his varg-grop. On reaching the
spot, he observed an aperture in the straw that covered the
mouth of the pit ; and though he had no time to send for a
rope and ladder to haul up the prisoner, he could not re-
sist the temptation of seeing what animal it was of which
he had made prize. For this purpose he peered curiously
into the pit ; but reaching too far over the brink, he lost his
balance, and plunged to the very bottom !
As soon as he had somewhat recovered from the shock,
he looked around the gloomy den, and discovered, in a
corner, a fox that some time before had effected its descent
in an equally unexpected manner. What was to be done?
It was Sunday morning ; his sermon was in his pocket, and
his gown was on his back : he could easily hold a service ;
but there was only an audience of one; and that one was
more intent on regaining his liberty than on listening to a
grave discourse ! The parson himself was troubled with
MASTER AND MAN. 251
the same desire, and in no mood for preaching. He looked at
his large, round turnip-like watch, and lo ! it wanted but a
few minutes to the hour at which the service ought to begin.
Meantime, much surprise and confusion prevailed in the
parsonage. Everybody was asking, Who has seen the pastor 1
The women-servants went upstairs and downstairs, and
round about the house and the garden ; but no pastor could
be found. An old and faithful serving-man, however,
withdrawing from the noise and bustle, began to reason
within himself where his master could have wandered ; and
at last, knowing his propensities, conceived the idea that
he had visited the varg-grop, and perhaps fallen in.
Without intimating his suspicion to any person, he hastened
to the spot, and, to his great joy, heard the parson lustily
chanting the 99th Psalm. In an ecstasy of delight he ad-
vanced to the brink of the pit, and extended his hand to the
reverend divine to help him up. Unfortunately, the master
weighed several stone more than the man, and, in his anxiety
to escape from his captivity, tugged at the proffered hand
with so much force as to draw the poor fellow down. into
the pit ! Here was a complication ! The varg-grop had
never before held such a motley group ; but fox and master
and man were compelled to remain there until assistance
arrived in the course of the afternoon.
What, you will say, became of the congregation ? Why,
with the characteristic patience of the Swede, they whiled
away the time in the churchyard, the men with their long
tobacco-pipes and the women with their longer tongues, until
an infallible iustinct told them it was the dinner-hour !
The report of this misadventure soon got abroad ; but
such is the wickedness of people, and such the tendency of
a story to expand as it passes from lip to lip, that at length
it came to be believed that three foxes of very different
252 THE VARG-GARD.
colour, but all alike in cunning, had been caught, that Sun-
day, in the parson's varg-grop !
[" Capital, capital ! " exclaimed Douglas ; " oh ! how I
would have liked to peep at those three foxes !"
" But I don't see," said Lambert, " why"
" Of course you don't," rejoined Douglas ; " but how awk-
ward it would be for our beloved friend here if he met with
such a catastrophe ! "]
Another mode of capturing wolves is by the erection of a
varg-gard, or wolf-enclosure ; an enclosure so arranged that
the wolf finds no difficulty in getting into it, but is unable
to get out of it. For this purpose the fence is made very
high, and with an inward inclination : the spot selected is
generally surrounded by a wood ; and a kind of chevaux-
de-frise, or low hurdle, bars the entrance. This gives way
when the beast springs upon it, and deposits him in a cavity
below, after which it recovers its upright position, and
effectually prevents him from forcing his way out. Of
course, he is tempted to enter the varg-gard by a distribu-
tion of bait outside and inside of it.
Many wolves are captured in Scandinavia in the common
steel-trap. The trap is not baited, but simply concealed
beneath the snow in such paths as they are known to fre-
quent. It is fastened by a chain to a block of wood, some
six feet in length, and of considerable thickness. This
precaution is adopted in order that, should bad weather
ensue, the trap itself, as well as the prisoner, should one
happen to be made, may not be wholly buried in the snow,
and lost. It is only brought into use in the winter- time,
and after a fall of snow. A good situation for it is in the
tracks trodden down by the herds of tame reindeer; for
these Lapp-vagar, as they are called, are always haunted by
several kinds of wild beasts. First in order after the herd
A WOLF'S SUICIDE. 253
comes the daring wolf, now and then picking up a fawn,
or even an old deer that has straggled from the herd. Next
the voracious glutton ; and after him the fox, who, by his
cunning, manages to share in the plunder that his prede-
cessors have acquired by force. Lastly comes the Arctic
fox, bent on picking up some of the crumbs that may have
fallen from his master's table. Several traps are usually
set in the same pathway, at a distance of one to two miles
apart, in order that the wolf, if he avoid the one danger,
may fall into the next.
More wolves are destroyed by poison, however, than by
any other means. The drug mostly used is arsenic, but
some persons prefer nux vomica. Of course, the poison is
administered by being carefully concealed in a piece of bait.
Fulminating-powder is also in favour. This deadly prepara-
tion, after being duly protected from injury, is introduced
into the leg or thigh-bone of a fresh-killed calf or sheep,
from which the marrow has been first extracted. After-
wards the bone is laid in a part of the forest where the
wolf is known to haunt ; and when the beast begins to gnaw
it, an immediate explosion takes place, and his head, as a
consequence, is shattered into atoms !
Finally, the wolf is sometimes his own executioner. Thus :
a wolf was found hanging between the stems of two fir-
trees growing out of one and the same root, but separating
at some feet from the ground, so as to form a fork. The
probability is, that while in pursuit of a cat, martin, or
squirrel, he had, in his efforts to seize his prey, made a great
leap, and missing his hold, had fixed himself as I have de-
scribed. A spruce pine, nearly six inches in diameter,
growing close at hand, was nearly gnawed through by the
tortured animal while thus imprisoned. The people in the
neighbouring village stated that for some time they had
254 A THRILLING STORY.
heard a plaintive howling in the forest ; but such noises are
not uncommon, and their cnriosity was not aroused. The
wolfs suspended carcass was discovered by a passer-by.
["And now," said Fisher, putting aside his volume, "I
call upon Seymour to relate one of his most interesting
narratives, while I enjoy an interval of rest."
" To which," said Seymour, " you are well entitled. I
don't know, old boy, what we should have done without
your valuable aid. Well, here goes for a thrilling story."]
A LIFE AND DEATH RIDE.*
The scene is Circassia, and the time the winter of 1852.
The plains were covered with snow ; it had accumulated
in the valleys; it lay in heavy masses on the mountain-side;
and the Circassians, then gallantly struggling for liberty and
independence against the Russians, had taken advantage of
the severe weather to harass their enemy by desultory and
incessant attacks.
One of the Circassian detachments having been encoun-
tered by a greatly superior force, had been compelled to
separate, and return homeward by the most secluded paths.
We shall follow the fortunes of a party of eleven men, who,
well-mounted, and armed with matchlocks, pistols, and
swords, carried with them as prisoners four Russian soldiers
and a woman.
Emerging from a narrow defile, they found themselves
upon a vast, dreary, and treeless plain, which spread before
them, white and boundless, like a foaming sea. They made
their way across it, until they fell in with a pack of seven
wolves. Of these they killed two or three for the sake of
their fur, and, dispersing the rest, continued their journey.
* 'The Hun ting-Grounds of the Old World.'
IX FIERCE PURSUIT. 255
Shortly afterwards the wind bore upon their ears a wild,
hoarse, howling sound. They mistook it at first for the roar
of the wind itself, as it tore across the snowy wastes from
the hidden depths of the mountains ; but soon their attention
was drawn to a black spot on the distant horizon, which
rapidly grew larger, advancing like a heavy and lowering
cloud, and the travellers realized the full extent of the peril
that impended over them they knew that they were pur-
sued by a horde of wolves.
It was sorely to their disadvantage that a long day's
journey had already spent their horses, but the poor animals
seemed conscious of the danger that threatened. They flew
over the hard, crackling snow as if furnished with wings,
and at first fairly outstripped their pursuers. But the
nearest hamlet was at least seven miles distant, and occa-
sionally the horses floundered in a snow-drift, which sorely
impeded their progress. It soon became evident that escape
was impossible, and the ravenous wolves, with fiendish eyes
and horrid yell, gained rapidly upon their prey. The Cir-
cassians deliberated among themselves what course should
be adopted in so pitiful an emergency, and finally determined
on the cruel, yet not altogether unjustifiable plan of sacri-
ficing the prisoners one by one, so as to gain time for the
others to escape. The poor woman was the first victim,
A Circassian, stepping behind, hamstringed her horse, and
brought both to the ground. On swept the rest of the little
troop a fearful shriek ringing in their ears as they plunged
into the darkness.
They had gained by this expedient a temporary respite,
but the wolves were soon again upon their track, and as
the horses could no longer keep up the first fury of their
speed, their chances of safety were proportionably diminished.
A second victim was now offered in the person of a Russian
25G
VICTIM UPON VICTIM.
soldier; and each time the pack overtook them, a new
sacrifice was demanded, until all the prisoners were slain,
and the whet of blood had only sharpened the appetites of
their pursuers. The chief now deemed the time had come
to try the effect of their matchlocks, and volley after volley
was poured in among the pack. They were slain by scores,
but the rest pressed on, as if their fury had only been stimu-
lated by the slaughter of their companions.
WOLVES AND THEIR PREY.
Two of the horses, no longer able to maintain their
flight, next fell to the ground, and fell with a terrible shriek,
almost human in its intensity. Their riders were swift of
A TERRIBLE INCIDENT. 257
foot, active, and muscular, and they sped along as men will
do when it is a question of life or death ; but the deep snow
soon fatigued them, and bidding their companions farewell,
they drew their yataghans, shouted their battle-cry, and
died like heroes, among a heap of slain.
Another two miles, and the survivors would be safe !
But alas, their horses were panting in agony, and the fore-
most of the wolves were scarcely a hundred paces distant !
An old man, whose two sons were also present, perceiving
that another sacrifice was necessary, calmly took his leave
of his countrymen, chanted his imaum, or creed, as a death-
hymn, and felling his horse to the ground with the butt-end
of his pistol, perished nobly. The survivors, now eight in
number, continued their mad, headlong flight. Again the
ravenous foe was upon them. The Circassian leader drew
his pistol, and shot the man nearest to him through the
head. Throwing up his hands with a sudden gesture, and
dropping the reins, he sat firm in his saddle though dead,
stone dead and his terrified horse galloped fiercely onward,
until a second shot brought both to the ground.
Thus was obtained another respite, and the long wished-
for village appeared in sight. They reached a rude hut of
timber erected for the benefit of hard-pressed travellers, and,
the door being open, rushed in, closed it, and hastily barred
it. At this moment a terrible shriek as of ' some strong
swimmer in his agony ' rose distinctly above the tremendous
howling of the wolves, and looking through the crevices of
the timber, alas, what was their horror to see one of their
comrades, whose horse had broken down, and, unperceived,
had fallen behind the rest, hemmed in by the ferocious beasts,
and contending with them desperately, but in vain ! He
was dragged from his saddle, and both man and horse were
devoured before their eyes. Then was it fortunate for them
(533) 17
258 A BRIEF DISCUSSION.
that the hut was firmly set upon its foundations, and the
door made of stout iron-bound oak, for the wolves beat
against it like the billows of an angry sea; nor did the
constant discharge of firearms maintained by the beleaguered
wayfarers, though it thinned their numbers, arrest their
fury. The dead wolves were quickly eaten by their brothers,
and the raging, howling, furious horde continued their
fruitless efforts against the hut, and fought and prowled
around it, until, on the evening of the second day, a terrible
thunderstorm arose, and away in the darkness they swiftly
scurried, leaving the Circassian fugitives, reduced to six
survivors, to thank God for their preservation, and return
to their homes with mingled feelings of joy and sorrow.
[" Phew ! " exclaimed Douglas, drawing a long breath, " I
have seldom heard or read a more stirring story."
" I declare," said Beauchamp, " I could not help casting a
sly glance up and down the glen, to make sure no ferocious
band was dashing down upon our snug retreat ! "
" Those poor Circassians !" exclaimed Mountjoy; " it must
have been terrible work to see their comrades dropping off
one by one."
" I wonder," said Beauchamp, " whether they were justified
in shooting the unfortunate Russian prisoners. I suppose
they were, as it was the only means of preserving their own
lives. Yet it would have been far nobler of them to have
sacrificed themselves first, and to have saved the lives of
their prisoners. I think Englishmen would have done so ;
in fact, during the great French Avar, several instances
occurred, when ships were sinking or driving ashore, of
every effort being made to rescue the French captives before
our gallant tars gave any heed to their own safety."
"Wolves," said Fisher, "are hardlj 7 as black as they are
painted. At least, several apparently authentic stories exist
A STORY FROM OUDH. 259
of their fostering and suckling children, instead of eating
them."
"Oh, ay," interrupted Douglas, "you refer to the she-
wolf that suckled Komulus and Remus."
" No," replied Fisher ; " for that is not a well-authenticated
story, but a popular legend, originating in the simple fact
that the foster-nurse of those celebrated heroes was named
Lupa, the Latin for * she-wolf.' Here, however, is a story
whose truth is vouched for by a British officer."*]
THE WOLF-CUBS AND THEIR MATE.
Some seven years ago, a trooper in attendance upon Rajah
Hurdat Singh, of Bon dee, when passing near a small stream,
saw three wolf-cubs and a boy drinking. He contrived to
carry off the boy, who seemed about ten years old, but was
so wild and fierce that he tore the trooper's clothes, and bit
him severely in several places. The Rajah, at first, had him
fastened up in his gun-shed, and fed him with raw meat.
He was afterwards allowed to wander freely about the
Bondee bazaar. There he ran off, on one occasion, with a
joint of meat from a butcher's, and another of the bazaar-
keepers shot an arrow at him, which penetrated his thigh.
A lad named Janoo, servant of a Cashmir merchant then at
Bondee, took compassion on the poor boy, and extracted
the arrow from his thigh. Preparing a bed for him under
the mango-tree, where he himself lodged, he kept him
fastened to a tent-pin.
Up to this time he would eat nothing but raw flesh, but
Janoo gradually accustomed him to eat balls of rice and
pulse. In about six weeks after he had been tied up, and
after much rubbing of his joints with oil, he was made to
* Major-Gen. Sir W. H. Sleeman, 'Journey through the Kingdom of Oudh.'
260 ANOTHER STORY FROM OUDH.
stand and walk upright, whereas hitherto he had gone on
all-fours.
All this lasted for three or four months, and he was
taught to perform several simple household duties. How-
ever, while the boy was lying one night under the mango-
tree, Janoo saw two wolves creep stealthily towards him,
and after smelling him they touched him, when he got up.
He showed no apprehension, however, but put his hand upon
their heads, and they began to play with him, frolicking
about while he pelted them with grass and straw. Janoo
endeavoured to drive them off, but could not. At last,
however, they left him ; but the following night three wolves
came, and a few nights after, four, who returned several
times.
Janoo, in his anxiety to retain the lad, removed him
from place to place, but he never lost an opportunity of
escaping into the jungle, and showed great dissatisfaction
when brought back again. At length Janoo was forced to
leave home on a short journey. During his absence the lad
disappeared, and was never more heard of.
Another curious story, (continued Fisher,) is related by
the same authority.
At a place called Chupra, twenty miles east from Sultan-
poor, lived a cultivator with his wife and son, who was then
three years of age. One day the man went forth to cut his
crop of wheat and pulse, and his wife took her basket and
accompanied him to glean, leading her son by the arm. He
had recently recovered from a severe scald on the left knee,
and in all the enjoyment of renovated health, tumbled about
on the grass. A wolf rushed upon him suddenly from the
covert of a bush, caught him up by the loins, and carried
him at a swift pace towards the ravines. The father was
some distance off at the time, but the mother courageously
WOLVES AS FOSTER-MOTHERS. 261
followed, screaming for assistance. Her neighbours ran to
her aid, but they soon lost sight of the wolf and his prey.
For six years her husband and herself mourned for their
son as for one dead, and at the end of that period she lost
her husband. Soon afterwards two sipatees came from the
town of Singramow, which is about ten miles from Chupra.
While they sat on the border of the jungle, which stretched
down to the stream, watching for hogs they commonly
come to drink early in the morning they descried three
wolf-cubs and a boy emerge from the jungle, and proceed in
company to the water. Tlte sipatees watched them till they
drank, and were about to return, when they rushed towards
them. All four then ran hastily towards a den in the
ravines. The sipatees followed with all possible speed, but
the three cubs outstripped them, and took shelter in the
den. The boy, however, was overtaken, and seized. He
seemed very angry and ferocious, bit at them, and caught
hold, with his teeth, of the barrel of one of their guns, which
they put forward to keep him off, and shook it. Neverthe-
less, they secured him, brought him home, and supported
him for twenty days. They could not prevail upon him for
that time to eat aught but raw flesh, and fed him upon
hares and birds. As they found it difficult to supply him
with sufficient food, they took him to the bazaar in the
village of Koeleepoor, and there let him go, to be fed by the
charitable people of the place, until his parents might re-
cognize and claim him. One market-day a man from the
village of Chupra chanced to see him, and on his return
mentioned the strange story of his discovery to his neigh-
bours. The poor cultivator's widow, on hearing the par-
ticulars, asked him to describe the boy minutely ; and when
she learned that he had the mark of a burn on the left
knee, and three scars from the teeth of an animal on each
side of his loins, she felt assured that her child was found.
262 THE WOLF-BOY.
Immediately she repaired to the Koelee bazaar, and, in
addition to the two marks already mentioned, discovered a
third upon the child's thigh, which he had had at his birth.
She took him home to her village, where he was recognized
by all her neighbours. She kept him for two months, and
all the wealthy landholders in the vicinity furnished her
with game for him to feed upon. He continued to dip his
face in the water to drink, but sucked it in, not lapping it
up like a dog or a wolf. A disagreeable odour was exhaled
from his body. When the mother went to her work, the
boy always ran into the jungle, and she could never persuade
him to speak. He followed her for food, but showed no
affection for her, and she could never bring herself to feel
much for him ; and, after two months, finding him of no use
to her, and despairing of ever making any impression on his
wolfish nature, she left him to the common charity of the
village. He soon afterwards learnt to eat bread when it
was given him, and ate whatever else he could procure
during the day, but invariably went off to the jungle at
night. He used to mutter some guttural sounds, but never
articulated any word distinctly.
The boy was alive, and in the same semi-savage state,
when General Sleeman visited Oudh. He had been seen by
a British officer, named Nicholas, and there seems no
doubt of the entire truthfulness of the story."
[" What a strange tale ! " said Beauchamp ; " surely the
boy must have imbibed something of the wolf-nature, and
learned to converse in the wolf-tongue. How completely he
must have cast aside the feelings, thoughts, and desires of
a boy ! I profess myself unable to read the mystery, Fisher :
and as I can't, I will volunteer a story which shall be in-
telligible enough, and which, if not as melancholy, is almost
as exciting as the one which Seymour told us."
A STORY FROM LITHUANIA. 263
"Bravo, Beauchamp!" said Douglas, "and after you
comes your humble servant."]
IN THE LITHUANIAN FORESTS.*
The vast forests of Poland and Lithuania are the only
regions where now exist the aurochs, or wild bulls, which,
in the time of the Eomans, were found in all the wooded
districts of Europe, and were distinguished by their im-
mense horns, their thick mane, their long beard, and their
hunch garnished with shaggy hair. These same forests are
infested by hundreds of bears and wolves ; the latter, when
sore pressed in winter by a ravenous hunger, frequently
gather in immense hordes, and an encounter with them is
necessarily attended with imminent peril, as the following
true history will prove. I borrow it from a foreign source,
but to avoid confusion, shall identify myself if you will
allow me with the hero.
I had been on a visit, with my sister Aninia, to the
chateau of our uncle, situated on the frontiers of Lithuania,
when T received the painful intelligence that my father had
been seized with a sudden and serious illness. We did not
lose a day in setting out on our homeward journey, for as
the snow had ceased to fall, as the moon shone in full-orbed
splendour, and we possessed, in the person of the venerable
Rosko an old huntsman of my father's a safe and ex-
perienced driver, we resolved to start that very evening, and
to travel all night.
Well wrapped-up in our fur pelisses and abundantly
supplied with provisions, we ascended our sledge, and
arrived at nightfall on the verge of the immense forest
which separated us from our paternal residence, and which
* Adapted from a French version in Vuilliet's ' Scenes et Aventures de
Voyages.'
264 BACK THROUGH THE FOREST.
stretched far away into the very interior of Lithuania. The
road was so ample that the branches of the trees could not
screen from us the silvery beams of the moon ; but the
heavy masses of snow which had accumulated at various
points along the route somewhat impeded our progress, and
fatigued our horses. The silence which our sorrow imposed
upon us for my sister and myself were lost in gloomy
thought and anxious expectation was only broken by the
echoing hoofs of our steeds, or the occasional bursts of the
night-wind through the desolate glades. And a stranger
spectacle can hardly be conceived than our travelling-party
presented ; the galloping horses, the sledge with its human
occupants, the dreary solitude of the forest, the moonlit
snow, the wide and deep blue heaven closing over all !
It was near midnight, and hitherto nothing extraordinary
had occurred, when suddenly our horses displayed a curious
inquietude ; they breathed loudly and with pain, and began
to push forward with a rapidity which needed no urging.
These horses had been in my father's possession for several
years, and we felt assured that only some unusual circum-
stance could produce so great a change in their behaviour.
Evidently they were the victims of a great terror, for they
cast furtive and frightened glances behind them, and one
might have said that some invisible power was coercing
them forward.
Their bounds and leaps soon became so violent that
Rosko, to restrain them, was compelled to rein them in with
all his force. This unwonted conduct caused me considerable
anxiety, and I could not help looking upon it as ominous of
some approaching peril. Old Rosko was also much per-
turbed : he incessantly cast an anxious and searching gaze
around us, and vainly endeavoured to discover something
by lending his ear to every sound. Suddenly I saw him
THE WOLVES IN PURSUIT. 265
give the horses the reins altogether, and immediate!}' they
flew over the snow with frightful rapidity.
Leaning forward over his shoulder, I said to him in a
low voice, so that Aninia should not hear,
* What is it, Rosko V
The old man appeared to reflect for a moment, then he
replied in tones quite as subdued.
* I fear the wolves are on our track ! The cold drives
them from the forests, hunger animates them against us, and
we are lost if the swiftness of our horses does not preserve
us from their attack.'
I have faced death under its most terrible aspects, but
never has the clash of battle produced upon me so terrifying
an effect as these few simple words. My first thought was
for Aninia ; it seemed as if I already saw her, in all her
young, fresh beauty, torn in pieces by those cruel and
furious animals. I had often heard of the obstinacy and
speed with which wolves pursue their prey. Undoubtedly
we might be saved if our horses did not break down ; but
was there not just reason to fear that their strength would
give way before we could reach a secure asylum 1
I had with me a hunting-knife, a gun, and two pistols,
but my supply of powder and shot was small, and conse-
quently I could only hope to slay a small number of our
foes, whose habit it is to collect by hundreds for their noc-
turnal expeditions.
Our aged guide did all he could to urge forward his
horses, but his exertions were unnecessary; their own in-
stinct stimulated them more effectually than whip or spur.
I continually looked behind, but without descrying the
objects of our detestation, when Rosko, whose eyes and
ears were much more practised than mine, suddenly ex-
claimed,
266
NEARER, AND NEARER !
1 There they are ! Yonder ! Do you hear their howls ?
That black point which you see in the distance is a troop
of more than one hundred of these animals.*
I then perceived myself what the piercing sight of Rosko
had discovered before me. The black, dense mass drew
nearer and nearer. Their wild and terrible cries were borne
to us through the stillness of the night, like certain mes-
sengers of an imminent danger.
IN PURSUIT.
Aninia suspected nothing; our extreme peril had not
yet aroused her from her reverie. I could no longer leave
her in such ignorance. Already I could distinguish the
various groups into which our fierce and voracious enemies
had gathered ; already some, outstripping the rest of the horde,
had pushed forward within musket-range of our sledge. I
raised my gun, and levelled it at the nearest of these
animals.
BROTHER AND SISTER. 267
* Stoop, Aninia,' I cried, and at these words my sister
seemed to awake from a deep sleep, but put no questions to
me, comprehending at once that there was no time for ex-
planations. Involuntarily she inclined her head, and the
foremost, who was also the largest of the wolves, fell, pierced
by a ball.
The report awoke my sister's maid, who, thinking we
were attacked by robbers, began to shout for help with all
her might.
* It is only the wolves,' said Rosko, with frightful cool-
ness. * See, they are devouring their fallen comrade ! Come,'
added he, * we are delivered from one enemy, but there re-
main some scores, so that *
He did not complete the sentence, for he was unwilling
to make known to these poor women the actual horror of
our situation.
Meanwhile, our horses, excited by the firing, galloped
onward with fresh rapidity, while the wolves precipitated
themselves on the dead body of the animal I had killed.
' It will not long delay them/ muttered Rosko in my
ear. ' They will soon resume the chase, and our horses will
not hold out.'
It was now that I learnt to admire my sister's firmness
of soul. She was engaged in consoling her waiting-woman,
and exhorting her to submit to God's will with Christian
resignation. Then, folding her hands, she began to pray
with serene composure.
The spectacle, I declare to you, inspired me with new
courage, with fresh hope. I reloaded my gun, and held
myself ready to fire. Our horses seemed to rally all their
energies ; but, at the same time, I saw that some of the
gaunt and unclean beasts had gained upon us, impelled by
increased fury.
268 THE CHASE QUICKENS.
A musket-shot again brought the foremost to the ground,
and I hoped that the horde by falling pell-mell as before
on the corpse of their fallen brother, would give us time
to reach the edge of the forest, or, at least, some human
habitation. But, alas ! I was deceived in this expectation !
Scarcely had I reloaded my carbine, when the wolves were
again on our trail in a mass as compact as before.
[" Come now," exclaimed Mountjoy, wiping the perspiration
from his face, " I can't stand this ! Did they escape ?
What became of Aninia 1 Do tell a fellow !"
"No, no !" cried Seymour ; "wait patiently for the de-
nouement, or you will spoil the whole."]
' All is useless,' whispered Eosko ; ' our horses are
nearly spent, and then the Lord have mercy on our souls !'
And, indeed, their exhaustion was becoming clearly
evident. They breathed with hurried gasps ; they swayed
from side to side of the road ; and yet they gallantly did
their utmost, for they knew as well as we did the danger
that impended.
Our situation was frightful, and I trembled not for my
own life, but my sister's. I continued to kill the wolves,
but the others did not slacken their pursuit. They followed
behind us in serried ranks, and I could discern their pal-
pitating tongues and glaring eyes.
And what a multitude of heads ! My powder was ex-
hausted, and to defend ourselves against this raging host, I
had but my two pistols still loaded, my hunting-knife, and
the butt of my carbine. Rosko had already taken note of
this.
' There remains for us but one hope,' said he. ' On our
way to the castle I noticed a hunting-box, no longer in-
habited, at a short distance from this point. If we can
reach it, we are saved at least for a time ; on the other
A BLOW WELL DEALT ! 269
hand, we have no other prospect before us but that of being
devoured by the wolves. Should such a terrible fate attend
us,' added he in a lower tone, ' then have mercy on Made-
moiselle, and terminate her sufferings with your pistol,
rather than see her torn to pieces by the teeth of yon ter-
rible animals.'
I cast an angry glance at the old and faithful servant ;
big tears rolled down his wrinkled cheeks, but he made a
gesture with his head as if to enforce upon me his frightful
proposition.
I shall never forget that moment. An icy cold feeling
shot through all my limbs, and when I saw, in the attitude
of prayer, resigned, and with eyes uplifted towards heaven,
that sister whom I was bidden in the name of love and
mercy to put to death, I experienced an anguish and an
agony which no words can describe.
At that instant our hungry foes advanced simultane-
ously on each side of the sledge, and for a moment I de-
spaired. My left hand seized one of my pistols, and with a
wandering glance I was about to raise it to my sister's head,
when I resolved on another effort for our preservation. I
drew my hunting-knife from its sheath, and, brandishing it
about my head, struck at the first wolf which essayed to
spring upon the sledge ; he fell back bleeding upon the
snow, and howling frightfully.
* Well stricken ! ' cried old Rosko ; ' spare your powder,
and use only your knife and the butt-end of your carbine.
Already I can see the hut I spoke of ; keep up the struggle
for a few moments, and we are saved !'
These words restored my presence of mind. Rosko
began to whip the horses without mercy, and the poor
brutes made a last and powerful effort. I replaced the
pistols in my pelisse, and, springing to my feet, stood up-
right, with my gun held high in the air.
270 " WE ARE SAFE !"
Was it this threatening attitude, or the lightning-speed
with which our horses bounded forward, which for a moment
arrested our enemies ? At all events it is certain that we
shot several paces ahead, an inestimable advantage in our
position. A moment afterwards, turning round my head, I
could see the open door of the hut, and Kosko, with a shout
f joy? sprang from his seat, while reining up the horses.
'We are safe! We are safe P he cried; 'but we must
not lose a moment P
Aninia quickly abandoned the sledge, and entered the
hut, into whose interior Eosko carried the waiting-woman.
She had swooned in his arms. Then, seizing my gun, he
returned to the sledge. Struck with astonishment and
terror, for I could see the wolves approaching us in ap-
parently increased numbers, I implored him not to expose
his life without any necessity. But his end was already
attained ; he had cut the traces, and with a few blows from
nis whip, set the horses oft' at a mad gallop ; then, turning
round, he reached the door of the hut just as the two fore-
most wolves made a dash at the entrance. With the
carbine he stretched one after the other on the ground,
sprang into the hut, and quickly closed and barred its
massive door.
We were safe !
[" Hurrah !" shouted the boys, who had followed the
narrative with breathless interest, as if they themselves had
been the actors in it.]
It was a solemn moment, and the emotions which it
excited no words of mine could fitly express. Many years
have rolled by since then ; but the thoughts and feelings
which at that crisis I thought and felt still return to my
mind in all their vivid force. A lively gratitude to God for
so unexpected a deliverance animated every heart, and found
vent in broken words.
INSIDE THE HUT. 271
At the moment that he had turned loose the horses, as
the only chance of saving them, Rosko had had the pre-
sence of mind to bring away from the sledge the lantern
which had illuminated it. We were therefore able, while
the wolves raged frightfully without, flung themselves
against the door, or strove to force the strong bars which
protected the window, to explore the interior of our asylum.
Nothing met our gaze but walls of earth, completely
bare, a miserable bench of the same material built up against
the side, and a little half-rotten straw lying in one of the
corners. But an invaluable treasure, which filled us with
joy, was a considerable store of dry wood, capable of pro-
tecting us from the cold for four-and-twenty hours. Our old
servant hastened to kindle an immense fire, w r hich soon
filled all the hut with a grateful warmth. The smoke
escaped through an opening made for the purpose in the
roof.
I looked with tenderness upon my sister, who, kneeling
by the side of the still swooning waiting-woman, contrived
at length, by administering a few drops of some restorative
cordial, to restore her to consciousness. Then all of us
seated ourselves around the cheering blaze, and while our
enemies shrieked and howled without, we mutually con-
gratulated ourselves on our good fortune in having escaped
them.
Only the old Rosko appeared but little thankful for the
grace which the mercy of God had accorded us. His
gloomy looks were fixed upon the flames ; his brow was
heavy with grief and anxiety ; and from time to time he
shook his head with an air of inquietude. But I felt myself
too happy to pay much attention to the mood of our com-
panion. Suddenly we heard without a piercing cry, and we
looked at one another in mute terror. The cry was too
272 BESIEGED !
loud to have been uttered by a human voice ; almost im-
mediately it ceased, though the echo of it survived in our
imaginations.
' Sir,' said Eosko to me, after a minute's silence, * that
outcry announces the death of your favourite horses. Often,
on fields of battle, I have heard horses utter a similar shriek
or moan call it what you will at the moment of death.
It was evident to me that the poor beasts had fallen a prey
to the wolves, who, while devouring them, suffered us to
enjoy a temporary repose; but that they would return to us
more lustful after blood and more terrible than before.'
Old Eosko was not wrong. A few moments later, these
ferocious animals recommenced their attacks against the
hut, and we could perceive that their fury was increased,
for they made incredible exertions to climb up the walls to
the very roof While our eyes were lifted above with an
unquiet gaze, a gust of wind driving away the smoke re-
vealed to us the clear sapphire sky of night, and, at the
same time, four 'blood-boltered' throats of hungry wolves
1 ravening ' for their prey.
4 From these we have nothing to dread,' said Eosko,
with a composure which we did not share ; ' they fear the
fire, and probably are too blinded to be able to recognize us.'
Suddenly we heard a terrible crash. At the same in-
stant three of the furious beasts disappeared, but the fourth,
precipitated inwards by the giving way of a portion of the
roof, fell into the very centre of the fire.
' Shoot quickly, but take good aim,' cried Eosko, and, at
the same time, he seized my gun. I fired and shot the wolf,
which our old companion finished with half-a-dozen heavy
blows. We dragged the dead body into a corner, its skin
and flesh, scorched by the flames, exhaling an insupportable
stench, and old Eosko tranquillized us with the assurance
A TERRIBLE NIGHT. 273
that this would be the only visit of the kind which we had
any cause to apprehend during the night ; but, added he in
a whisper, the dawn will bring back to us more/ of these
visitors than we shall be able to kill.
I alone had heard his last words. I asked him in a low
tone why we had any cause to dread the morning, since, on
the contrary, it seemed to me that, at daylight, the wolves
would disperse and retire into the interior of the forest.
* We must not hope that/ he said, ' for when wolves
assemble in great numbers they do not fear the brightness
of the day. As long as our supply of wood shall last, we
shall be safe from any attack by way of the roof; but when
that is spent, little hope will remain of defending our lives
and those of our companions. For what could we do when
night returned, and our fuel had come to an end ] '
My last hope, then, was extinguished, and our ruin
seemed inevitable; my heart ached with the bitterness of
its despair. Not the less did I seek to conceal my anguish
from Aninia, and I was happy when she sunk to sleep, over-
powered by fatigue and mental exhaustion, save that the soft
smile which played about her lips smote me to the very soul.
Old Kosko continued in silence to maintain the fire. For
the rest he was right ; no wolf showed himself at the breach
in the roof ; but the scratchings at the door and the howls
and hisses of strife and fury, lasted throughout the night.
Before Bosko had communicated to me the secret of his
apprehensions, all my prayers had been for the swift ap-
proach of day ; now, on the contrary, I wished that night
would never terminate. What would be the gain to ex-
change the frightful but swift death by the wolves for a slow
but painful death by hunger 1
At length the stars began to wane, and the dreaded
dawn appeared. The moment for the fulfilment of Rosko's
(533) 18
274 HELP IS AT HAND !
prophecy approached. The wolves, encouraged by the light,
leapt, to the number of twenty or more, upon our feeble
roof, which threatened to give way beneath the burthen.
Aninia still slumbered, and I praised God for it. At this
instant of supreme peril, when all hope seemed lost, we
heard the sudden discharge of a musket of a second of a
third another, and yet another while the shouts of hunts-
men and the barking of dogs were borne to us upon the wind.
My sister and her attendant awoke; the wolves sprang
from the roof, and with fierce howls galloped away.
In hot haste we rushed to the door. All the pleasures
of existence returned to us simultaneously with our deliver-
ance from captivity and the dread of death. The blood
flowed freely in our veins, and we inhaled with rapture the
fresh air of morning. At length our liberator made his ap-
pearance at the head of a large body of huntsmen; it was
M. Leon de M , my sister's fiance.
How can I describe the rapture of that moment ! I felt
like one distraught, and warmly clasped my friend in my arms ;
my sister, with a sweet smile, extended her hand to Leon,
who pressed it fondly. And while his companions pursued
the wolves, we related to him the incidents of that terrible
night, and he, in his turn, explained the circumstances which
had brought him to our help at so opportune a moment.
At my uncle's chateau, where he had been a guest at the
same time as ourselves, the news had arrived, soon after our
departure, of an immense herd of wolves that had broken oufc
of the interminable forests of Lithuania, and spread over the
country which we would be compelled to traverse. It was
also stated that several catastrophes had already occurred,
and that the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages had
assembled to wage a war of extermination against them.
Leon was much disturbed by these tidings, and immediately
ON THE EPITHET " WOLFISH." 275
collecting as many men as could be supplied with fire-arms,
he set out in pursuit of us, accompanied by the other land-
holders and farmers. These had not wished to commence
the chase until the following day ; but no arguments or
considerations could divert Leon from his purpose, and he
succeeded in arranging for their immediate departure. Had
he been an hour or two later, who knows whether I should
now have been alive to relate this true story ?
[When Beauchamp had concluded, a general burst of
applause expressed the satisfaction of his audience, who all
concurred in Seymour's oracular decision, that " it was a
very good tale very well told."
" I don't think," remarked Douglas, " there is any beast
of prey more repulsive to man than the wolf. Why, we have
adopted the epithet * wolfish' to express anything cruel,
treacherous, and particularly foul."
" Ay," rejoined Fisher, " and when the Bible describes
the fierce qualities of one of the sons of Jacob, it likens him
to this sanguinary animal ' Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf ;
in the morning he shall devour the prey.' * It was the ob-
ject of terror and dread to the shepherds of Europe in the
mediaeval times, so that they resorted to witches and sor-
cerers for the purpose of obtaining some charm or exorcism
to protect the folds from its destructive attacks. In France
the following ' Prayer against the Wolf,' which I am about
to read to you, was considered very effective :
" ' Come, beast of wool, thou art the lamb of humility !
I will protect thee. Go to the right about, grim, gray, and
greedy beasts ! Wolves, she-wolves and young wolves, ye
are not to touch the flesh which is here. Get thee behind
me, Satan !'"f
" What an absurdity ! " cried Mountjoy,
* Genesis xlix. 27. t Chambers, ' Book of Days/ i 129.
276 EUROPEAN WOLVES.
" Yes ; a good musket," said Vernon, " would be more
likely to scare away Master Wolf than all the exorcisms
ever invented. What sort of animal, Fisher, is he in ap-
pearance 1 r
"The European wolf is of a yellowish-gray in colour. He
is clothed with harsh, strong, shaggy hair; his eyes are
obliquely set ; his muzzle is long and black ; he has a straight
tail, white upper lip and chin, and a black band or bar
upon the fore legs. Altogether, he is not unlike a dog.
This species of wolf, according to Cuvier, ranges from Egypt
to Lapland, and seems even to have crossed into America.
The colour and size vary in different countries. Thus, the
French wolf is browner and smaller than his German
brother ; the Kussian is longer, and carries a great quantity
of hair on the cheeks, throat, and neck. In Scandinavia the
colour is white in winter ; the Alpine wolf is small, and of a
brownish gray hue ; in Italy, Dalmatia, and Albania, the
colour is fulvous. The black wolf, a large, strong, and
furious beast, infests the passes and forests of the Pyrenees.
According to Colonel Smith, they formerly congregated in
large troops, and even now the lobos, as they are called, will
accompany strings of mules as soon as it becomes dusky.
They are seen bounding from bush to bush by the side of
travellers, and keeping parallel with them as they proceed,
waiting an opportunity to select a victim ; and often suc-
ceeding, unless the muleteers can reach some place of safety
before dark.
" Can you imagine a more terrible situation than that of
some straggling traveller who has taken refuge from these
sanguinary enemies in some cavernous recess of the moun-
tains, and there, with gun and pistol, keeps watch during
the long moonlit night, lest the herd should break in upon
him? Such incidents are not rare. Let the weary way-
ON THE WATCH.
277
ON THE WATCH !
farer but yield to the drowsiness which is too sure to creep
upon him, and his fate is certain. It is only while the
wolves know and see him to be on the alert that they
refrain from attacking him ; and if they are very hungry
or ferocious, not even their instinctive dread of man will
control them. Alas for the lonely watcher! Nothing is
then left for him but to sell his life as dearly as he can ! "
"And now for my story," said Seymour, "as nearly as I re-
member it."*]
AN ADVENTURE WITH WOLVES.
Mart, a Livonian peasant, was one evening making his
* Miss Eigby, 'Livonian Tales.'
278 MART'S ADVENTURE.
way home through a desolate swampy wood, which stretched
for some miles on one side of his little farm, and where the
track, deep between accumulations of high snow, allowed
only just space enough for his horse and sledge to pass.
Mart's eyes were closed, and his senses heavy with weari-
ness ; nevertheless, he soon began to be aware that the ani-
mal was unwontedly quickening its pace ; again it jerked
forward quicker still and a low neighing sound of terror
effectually roused the sleeping man. He looked in front ;
the scene had not changed its accustomed features. Then
he looked behind. At first it seemed as if the landscape
was the same ; but soon he became aware that close to the
sledge galloped three dark loathsome animals, while another
was fast coming up behind. So low was the sledge, and so
nigh the foremost, that its jaws were within reach of Mart's
shoulders. For this he cared not ; he knew that it was his
horse they wanted first ; and in an instant he perceived that
all depended on the animal's courage rather than on his own.
Could the frightened creature keep steadily in the track, the
chances were much in his favour, for the moment the wolves
turned off in order to pass and get ahead of it, the depth of
the snow diminished their speed ; but should the horse, in its
turn, start aside and plunge into the snow, Mart knew that
he must be lost. He leaned forward, and so encouraged th*
animal with word and hand, that it darted forward at an
evener pace.
Mart shouted violently, but the wolves were either too
keen or too numerous he did not succeed in arresting their
pursuit. It was an awful moment, both for the horse and its
master. Mart kept his hand on the animal, while with his
eye he watched the ferocious brutes, which were often within
arm's length. He had a hatchet, which he always carried
on these occasions to chop the frozen fish ; he felt for it, and
THE FLIGHT AND THE PURSUIT.
279
grasped it in his hand, forbearing to use it, however, for the
closer the wolves kept to the back of the sledge the less they
were seen by the horse. Every minute, however, one or
more of them broke out of the track in the attempt to pass ;
ON THE LOOK-OUT.
and although they instantly lost footing in the snow, yet the
unblinkered eyes of the little animal had descried the dreaded
enemy, and a sudden plunge forward made Mart turn his eye
in anxiety to see that it kept straight in the narrow path.
One of the wolves was unusually large and long-limbed,
and more than once had contrived, in spite of the deep snow,
to draw nearer the sledge than any of its companions. On
this grim grisly creature Mart kept constant watch, and
caught the greenish glare which shot from its straining eye-
balls. It turned off again the snow lay flatter for a space
the wolf kept its footing it gained for their swiftness is
extraordinary the horse turned a despairing eye upon it
280 A STRUGGLE FOR LIFE.
Mart withdrew his hand, wet with the animal's perspiration,
the wolf was just beyond arm's length, but he held his
hatchet in readiness. The horse swept forward at a pace
inspired by terror; the wolf was just abreast, it turned
sharply towards the sledge; now was Mart's opportunity.
He dealt a tremendous blow ; the wolf avoided it, stumbled,
and in a moment was yards behind.
The distance from Mart's home, where a young wife and
sister anxiously awaited his return, was now quickly short-
ened beneath the horse's hoofs, till the fear of an overturn
became a source of fresh apprehension. Mart, by this time,
was alive to the fact that he had no common lazy brutes to deal
with, but keen, hungry, and resolute animals, to which man
or horse w r ould be equally welcome. Such creatures would
not be deterred even by the sight of a human habitation, as
is usually the case, and an ugly mile or more of open ground
which lay between the verge of the forest and his hut he
looked forward to with real alarm.
They had now reached the very margin of the wood ; the
road became opener ; the wolves gained on each side ; it was
a race between life and death ! The horse bounded furiously
forward, the sledge caught against the stump of a tree, was
swept away at a tremendous pace, and Mart was left alone
in the snow. In a moment a heavy claw had slit the throat
^nd front of his sheep-skin it was well his wife's home-
made wrappers lay so thick beneath. He flung off his as-
sailant and rose ; his hatchet had been jerked out of his
nand in the fall, he flung a despairing glance around, but
saw it not. The horse was now out of sight, two of the
wolves were close to the defenceless man, and two others,
abandoning their pursuit of the animal, were bounding back
to him. Mart faced the foremost, he could do no more, and
in an instant was surrounded.
THE WIFE'S SUSPENSE. 281
[Here Seymour paused, and every boy so great was the
excitement drew a long breath, as if he had just sur-
mounted some imminent peril. The Fat Boy indulged in a
murmured exclamation of " Stunning ! " and the young
raconteur resumed his interesting narrative.]
Let us now return to Mart's modest home, where his
wife and sister muse and wonder what can have detained
him. Have you never felt, when a loved one has been ab-
sent, some dim presentiment of evil gradually taking posses-
sion of your mind, until, in spite of all your efforts to be
bright and hopeful, your cheek turns pale, your eyes fill with
tears, and an agony shoots sharp and sudden at your heart 1
It was so with Anno, Mart's fair young wife, as she sat at
her spinning-wheel by the light of the pine- wood candle.
Liso, Mart's sister, unable any longer to stifle her apprehen-
sions, but reluctant to increase Anno's alarm by exhibiting
her own, retired into a small chamber especially appropri-
ated to her. Old Karria Pois, their trusty dog, lay curled up
before the stove in happy slumber ; but all at once he pricked
up his ears and listened he rose hastily darted to the
door barked, scratched, and wagged his tail until Anno
rightly interpreted his signs and threw the door open. The
dog dashed furiously out, but no signs of her husband greeted
the wife's anxious eyes. She went out into the freezing air,
saw nothing, heard nothing, and was slowly returning, when
a sound caught her ear the clatter of hoofs ringing sharply
on the frozen ground. What danger did this portend ? Mart
had never before approached in so hurried a manner. There
was no time, however, for wonder the next moment the
horse galloped up to the door, reeking with foam, and
trembling in every limb. Anno saw instantly that some-
thing had occurred something terrible something, the very
thought of which seemed to freeze her blood for the sledge
was overturned, and Mart was not there !
282 MART AND HIS AGONY.
Anno was still but a girl of seventeen summers her life
hitherto had been all summer she called quickly to her
grandmother, who did not answer, she flew into the inner
room, where Liso stood, motionless as a statue, but with
hands folded and her lips moving in silent prayer. '0
Jammal (God),' cried the poor girl, ' deign thou to hear her ! '
And leaving her undisturbed, she darted again from the house,
and, almost unconscious of what she did, attempted to trace
the rugged track which the horse had followed through the
snow.
We must now return to Mart, whom we left beset by
the hungry wolves. He knew what it was to put forth his
vigorous strength in athletic games and wrestling matches,
and it was such as, shoulder to shoulder, and muscle to
muscle, few even of the hardy Livonian peasants could with-
stand. Yet was it as nothing against the heavy weight, the
intolerable pressure, the iron grasp that now bore him down
on every side. For a few seconds the despairing efforts of
a man to whom life was sweet, because he had much to live
for, daunted his pitiless assailants ; but his own blood was
reddening the snow, and its sight seemed to heighten their
ferocity into fury. Again the blood-seekers closed upon him
and they pulled him down !
We are sometimes told that in sudden peril the mind
has no time to think ; those who utter such a platitude have
never experienced such an emergency. It is then, indeed,
that the powers of the mind are strained to the uttermost,
and thoughts pour over the brain, to scathe and scorch it,
like a lava flood ; thoughts of the checkered past, with its
loves, and joys, and sorrows ; thoughts of home and the old
familiar faces ; thoughts of the mysterious future, on whose
threshold we are trembling ; all, all, and more, are concen-
trated into one moment of passionate emotion ! So was it
MART IS RESCUED. 283
with the poor Livonian, while struggling in the jaws of
hungry wolves. But the lurid eyes glared over him, and the
grasp tightened on his throat, and he felt a terrible choking
sensation ; his senses were giving way, when, lo, into the
midst, with one sharp howl, dashed another animal, hard
breathing, and fastened like a vice on the principal assailant.
For a moment the wolves relaxed their fury ; Mart reeled
giddily to his feet, and recognized Karria Pois as his deliverer.
He stood, bewildered and amazed, for a second ; then, looking
around, he saw one wolf slinking off and the others grappling
with his gallant dog. At the same time his glance rested
on a bright object in the snow it was his hatchet. Mart
joyously darted upon it, and then threw himself into the
melee. The blood dripped from him, but his limbs were un-
injured, and the strokes he dealt were worthy of the stoutest
peasant in that country-side.
One wolf soon lay dead at his feet ; another, gashed with
many wounds, crawled off as best he could ; and now Mart
flung his whole strength on the third and hugest brute,
which held Karria Pois in as deadly a clutch as he had held
his master. No light task was it to release the faithful dog.
Mart dealt his ringing blows on the wolf's skull, and ribs,
and backbone, but the dog's own body prevented him from
dealing a fatal wound, and the wolf seemed to feel no other.
Nor was it until Karria Pois in his great agony suddenly
stretched out his limbs, that Mart found an opportunity of
burying his hatchet deep in the creature's throat. Exhausted
with his great toil and imminent peril, he would now have
flung himself on the frozen snow, where death would have
surely visited him in the guise of slumber, but a light touch
on his shoulder, and a fond trembling voice in his ear,
aroused within him a new life a sob, a tear, and Mart and
Anno were clasped in each other's arms !
284 SKATING ON THE KENNEBEC.
[" So ends my story," said Seymour, modestly.
" And a better story," cried Douglas, " I never heard."
"Well, of all animals," remarked Mountjoy, "I do think
that wolves are the most sanguinary ; they have not a spark
of generosity in them ; I don't wonder that Egbert the Saxon
was glad to get rid of them by accepting wolves' heads for
tribute-money. But, Fisher, cannot you tell us something
by way of companion to Seymour's capital sketch ?"
" Yes, I think I can. Did any of you ever hear or read
Mr. Whitehead's account of his escape from wolves in North
America 1 Well, then, I will tell you what I remember of
it."]
U A NIGHT OF PERIL.*
During the winter of 1844 you must suppose that Mr.
Whitehead himself is talking to you I had much leisure to
devote to the sports of a new country, for I had recently
settled in the State of Maine, but no pastime did I adopt
with greater zest then that of skating.
The deep and sequestered lakes which form so conspi-
cuous a feature in the scenery of Maine, when frozen by the
intense cold of a Northern winter, present a wide field to
the lovers of this exhilarating amusement. So I would fre-
quently bind on my skates and glide away up the glittering
Kennebec, and thread the mazy course of each quiet
streamlet, that beneath its shroud of ice rolled towards the
all-embracing ocean. At times I would follow the track of
a fox or otter, and run my skate along the mark he had
left with his bushy tail until it disappeared in the woody
depths. On moonlight nights silence all around me, a
keen blue sky above me such excursions had a peculiar
* Though we have adopted Mr. Whitehead's incidents, we have ventured
to use our own language.
THE SKATER ALARMED. 285
charm ; but on one occasion an incident happened that
effectually deprived me of any liking for nocturnal adven-
ture, and which even now I cannot recall without a feeling
of dread.
I had left niy friend's house one evening just before
dusk, with the intention of skating a short distance up the
noble Kennebec, which glided directly before the door. The
night was very lovely. A moon of intense radiance rode
through the 'blue serene' of heaven, and myriads of stars
came forth, as if to admire her queenly beauty.
I had ascended the river nearly two miles, when coming
to a little stream which fed it during the rainy season with
tributary waters, I turned into it to explore its course. Fir
and hemlock of a century's growth arched overhead, forming
a canopy radiant with frostwork. All was dark within;
but, strong in the fearlessness of youth, I plunged joyously
into the depths of this strange natural avenue ; excited with
the swift motion and the wild beauty of the scene, I shouted
aloud, like a soldier on the brink of victory. My voice rang
like a trumpet through the echoing woods, and I listened
half appalled to the reverberations that rolled and rolled
away into the far distance. Suddenly a horrid sound arose.
At first I thought it was a ground-swell or rising of the
waters beneath the ice; but soon it gathered in strength and
volume, until it broke into one wild and appalling yell. I
stood transfixed with dread. Never before had such a
sound broken on my ears. Presently I heard the twigs on
the bank crack as though from the tread of some wild
animal the blood rushed to my forehead I regained my
3nergies, and my presence of mind returned I looked around
me for some means of escape.
The moon glinted through the opening of the embowered
creek which had beguiled me into the forest. Seeing no
286 FLEEING FROM THE WOLVES.
other channel of safety I darted towards it, and flew over
the ice with that swiftness which so imminent a peril might
reasonably be expected to stimulate. It was hardly a
hundred yards distant, and the swallow could scarcely have
surpassed my desperate flight ; yet, as I turned my head to
the shore, I could see two dark objects dashing through the
underwood at a pace nearly double in speed to my own. By
this tremendous speed, and by their occasional short yells,
I knew them to be the much-dreaded gray wolves.
I had never met with these animals, and from the tales
I had heard of their ferocity, I had little pleasure in making
their acquaintance. Their untamable fierceness, and espe-
cially their untiring strength, render them objects of alarm
to every benighted traveller.
With their long, swinging, unresting gallop they follow
up their prey, never swerving from their victim's track ; and
when the weary hunter fondly thinks he has at length out-
stripped them, alas, he finds they have but waited for the
darkness to pounce upon him.
The bushes that fringed the shore glided past with the
noiseless velocity of lightning as I dashed towards the
narrow opening. It was nearly gained a second, and I
should be comparatively safe when my pursuers emerged
on the bank above me, which rose, at that point, to the
height of ten feet. There was no time for thought ; bending
my head, and with a silent prayer, I rushed madly forwards.
The wolves sprang, but miscalculating my speed, fell behind,
while their intended prey passed out upon the broad river.
Instinct, rather than reason, turned me towards home.
The light snow-flakes spun from the iron of my skates, and
I thought I had wholly distanced my pursuers, when their
loud howl told me that they were still on my track. I did
not look behind me I felt neither fear, nor sorrow, nor
THE CHASE DOES NOT SLACKEN.
287
A HOT CHASE.
alarm one thought of home shot across my brain, of faces
that would brighten at my return, of eyes that would fill
with tears if I perished and then all my energies of body
and mind were directed to my escape. It was one chance
in my favour that I was perfectly at home on the ice. I
had spent many days practising with the skates, little
thinking that the skill I thus attained would ever bestead
me in a struggle for life. Every half minute an alternate
yelp from my fierce attendants warned me that the pursuit
did not slacken. Nearer and nearer they came ; I heard
288 WILL HE ESCAPE 1
their feet pattering close behind me on the ice ; I could feel
their hot breath ; I could hear their snuffing scent. Every
nerve, every muscle in my frame was stretched to its utmost
tension.
The trees along the shore wavered and reeled to my
straining eyes ; my brain was giddy with my breathless
speed ; yet still the wolves seemed to hiss forth their breath
with a sound truly horrible, when any involuntary motion
on my part turned me out of my course. Close behind me,
but unable to stop, and equally unable to turn on the smooth
ice, they slipped and fell, still darting far ahead ; their
tongues were lolling out, their white tusks glaring from their
bloody mouths, the foam lay on their shaggy breasts in
broad patches, and as they passed me their eyes lit up with
a horrible fire. The thought flashed on my mind that by
this means I might baffle them, namely, by sharply turning
aside whenever they drew too near ; for the formation of
their feet prevents them from running on ice, except in a
straight line.
I immediately acted upon this plan. The wolves, having
regained their feet, sprang directly towards me. The race
was renewed for twenty yards up the stream ; they were
already close on my back, when I swiftly wheeled about,
and dashed directly past my pursuers. A fierce yell greeted
my evolution, and the wolves, slipping upon their haunches,
glided incontinently onward, presenting a curious picture of
helpless, baffled ferocity. Thus, at each turning, I gained
nearly a hundred yards. This was repeated two or three
times, and every moment the animals seemed to grow more
infuriate.
At one time, by delaying my stratagem too long, my
sanguinary adversaries came so near that their foam be-
sprinkled my dress as they sprang to seize me, and their
SUDDEN FLIGHT OF THE ENEMY. 289
teeth clasped together like the sudden closure of a fox-trap.
Had my skates failed for one instant, had I tripped over a
fallen branch, or caught my foot in a fissure of the ice, this
story would never have been told.
For myself, I thought all my chances over ; I reflected
\vhere they would first seize me if I fell ; I wondered how
long I should be in dying ; I prayed that God might forgive
the sins and errors of my young life : in a word, those
feelings and that agony were mine which naturally afflict
the mind of one doomed to a terrible and premature death.
But at length I came opposite my friend's house, and
the hounds, roused by the unusual noise, bayed furiously
from their kennels. How I longed that they might break
their chains, for then I knew I should soon be avenged upon
my foes. Happily, their deep, resonant clamour alarmed
the wolves. They hesitated they turned they fled ! I
watched them until their dark forms disappeared in the
obscure shadows of the forest ; then I took off my skates,
and, with feelings of unutterable thankfulness, made my
way to the house. But I never even now see a broad sheet
of ice in the moonlight, but I think of the Night of Peril
which I passed on the frozen Kennebec !
[It is needless to say that the boys received this true tale
with much favour, and found it difficult to decide whether
the palm of merit as a raconteur should be awarded to the
accurate Fisher or the poetic Seymour. They did not long
dispute the point ; the juvenile appetite for stories of en-
terprise and adventure is not easily satisfied ; the more you
feed it, the keener it becomes ; and Vernon was again
summoned to contribute to the amusement of his comrades.
" My story will also take us into America," said Vernon,
" but not so far north as the frozen Kennebec. The scene
is laid in the prairie-land near the source of the river
(533; 19
290 A SCENE IN TEXAS.
Nueces, one of the principal Texan- rivers ; and the hero is
a well-known American adventurer, Captain Dan Henrie,
who distinguished himself in the Mexican wars by his reck-
less daring and inexhaustible energy."]
THE BUKNING PEAIRIE.
Dan had started on a grand buffalo-hunt, accompanied
by some of his troopers, who, on Hearing the ground where
they expected to find their game, had scattered in various
directions. The captain himself, riding slowly along, fol-
lowed up the western arm of the Nueces, until he arrived at
its head waters. A rough, reckless, fervid spirit, he had
not much relish for the poetry of Nature, but the landscape
which now spread before him was of so strange and ex-
quisite a loveliness, that it was impossible for him to look
upon it unmoved ; just as there are some melodies of such
ineffable sweetness that they affect the dullest ear. The
plain here rose like a billow against the base of a lofty
mountain-range, the parent of many streams, which threw
out one bold and rugged spur, like a promontory into the
green waves. This spur was a huge, square, perpendicular
mass, which, nearly in the centre, and from crest to foot,
was cloven by a deep fissure, just as if it had been smitten
by a thunderbolt. The vast piles of stone which built it up
were marked with fantastic seams, and along these seams
trailed festoons of evergreens and wild-flowers. Towards
the base the masses became less regular in their disposition,
and fell into a strange similitude to the mossy ruins of some
glorious Gothic sanctuary a similitude which Nature loves,
I think, for I have often observed it in the wave-worn cliffs
of the sea-shore. JFrom the prairie level sprung a broken
arch with a sweep so grand that you might easily have
believed it to be the relic of a stately cathedral or feudal
APPEARANCE OF THE INDIANS. 291
stronghold. Away to the left, and beyond this promontory
of the prairie, rolled a wide spread of undulating plains,
dotted with clumps of cactus, and apparently tenanted only
by the deer, the wild horse, and the buffalo.
Dan had dismounted from his steed, and, overpowered
by the choice beauties of the scene, remained for a minute
or two in rapt contemplation, when that habitual instinct
of vigilance peculiar to men who lead lives of constant
adventure, induced him to change his position and turn his
head. In moving, he observed one of the droves of mus-
tangs moving slowly towards him. They were still at a con-
siderable distance, and nothing in their appearance could
excite suspicion ; yet he now remembered to have noticed,
as he rode thitherward, the unshod tracks of horses and
mules that had evidently been galloping. And why gallop-
ing ? Either, he thought to himself, they must have been
Indian horses and mules, or mustangs chased by Indians ;
and no bitterer enemies than the Indians had the reckless
Texan rangers ! He thought no more of the picturesque,
but of the possible dangers in his way, and once more flung
himself upon his horse.
Now and then his eye fell upon the still-advancing
drove, with a feeling of apprehension that he could not
account for. At length they disappeared behind one of the
billowy undulations that cross the prairie like so many
mounting waves, and were out of sight so long that he had
almost forgotten, and had certainly ceased to suspect them,
when suddenly they broke again upon the scene, moving
directly towards him, at a swift gallop. He reined up his
horse behind a cluster of cactus to let them pass, but as they
rose upon the higher ground, and stood out sharply against
the sky, he saw with what feelings you may well imagine !
that each animal had an Indian slung along its side, by
292 THE TEXAN RANGER.
one hand and foot, clinging to either horn of the saddle,
This is a common Indian stratagem when approaching an
enemy by daylight on the prairies ; and at a distance can
scarcely be detected by the wariest eye, as they ride close
together, and no part of the body is shown above the out-
line of the horse.
The ranger could trust his steed a true son of the
prairies ! and stimulating him with hand and voice, he flew
across the fragrant sward at a wondrous pace. So soon as
the Indians perceived themselves discovered, they had
wheeled up into their saddles again, and urging their mus-
tangs forward, raised their war-whoop like exultant fiends.
Henrie, glancing hastily behind him, saw that they were
spreading over the prairie, with the evident intention of
hemming him in against the mountains. His sole chance of
escape, therefore, was a desperate run for an elbow of the
range, which, could he reach and turn it first, he thought,
would secure his safety, as around it the wood grew very
dense, and he knew the Indians would not follow him into
its recesses, lest they should encounter his comrades, and
face a score of rifles instead of one.
A terrible race was that, I tell you a race for life and
death a race in which all that man prizes most was the
stake ; and fast as the pursued galloped onward, the pursuers
were no less rapid in their pursuit.
Happily, however, he succeeded in gaining the projecting
angle before the Indians surrounded him, and waving his
cap in derisive triumph, he burst, with the joyous shout of
one who has escaped from a deadly peril, into the sheltering
shadows of the wood. Here as he expected, the baffled
bloodhounds gave up the chase, but as the neighbourhood
was evidently dangerous, he rode onward for five or six
miles more ere he ventured to draw rein.
A RIDE FOR LIFE. 293
When he once more emerged upon the prairie, he found
himself far away from the river's course, and consequently
from the tracks of his companions. After a brief rest, he
again urged his horse into a gallop, taking a direction which,
as he conjectured, would bring him back to the morning's
hunting-ground. But after some hours' hard riding, night
gathered rapidly over, his animal was thoroughly exhausted,
and yet the desired locality could not be found. He came
at last to a small rivulet gliding through a deep, rough
hollow, to join, as he supposed, the western arm of the
Nueces. This, then, if closely followed up, would put him
right when daybreak came. Meantime, as both horse and
rider needed rest, Henrie selected a small plot of meadow-
ground thickly covered with musquito grass, and screened
from view by great clusters of thorn-trees which encompassed
it on three sides. Here he stripped his weary steed and
turned him to graze. For himself, he had lost his provision-
wallet in the chase, and he durst not shoot any game for
fear of arousing the Indians ; he was fain to content himself,
therefore, with a draught of water, and, supperless, retire to
his grassy couch.
[*' Poor fellow ! " exclaimed the Fat Boy, in a tone of com-
miseration, " he must have felt very uncomfortable."]
Early the next morning he was mounted and off, some-
what disconcerted at the evident signs of fatigue which his
horse evinced. He moved on very slowly in order to spare
him, especially as his practised eye, after a close survey,
could discover no indications of pursuit. Following the
rivulet, he gained in due time the western branch of the
Nueces, and turned up at a quicker pace, encouraged by the
hope of soon rejoining his comrades, and finding them safe.
In an hour he was in sight of the ground, and put his steed
into a gallop in his eagerness to reach it. Alas, he saw
294 ANOTHER TROOP OF INDIANS.
not his companions, not his trusty troopers "but the dead
body of an Indian warrior, flung across the ashes of their
camp-fire, all gashed and bleeding with bowie-knife cuts.
The adjoining ground was torn up and broken, as if it had
been the scene of a desperate hand-to-hand struggle. The
breech of a rifle, which he recognised as belonging to his
band, and a number of arrows, with a rude shield and
shivered lance, lay in different directions. He felt a chok-
ing sensation, and his blood seemed to congeal in his veins.
Undoubtedly the troopers had been surprised by the
same body of Indians who had so nearly captured himself.
Whether they had escaped with equal fortune he knew not,
but he feared the worst. Amongst the numerous tracks of
unshod horses, he could distinguish the marks, here and there,
of his troopers' steeds. He saw no trace of their bodies, and
it seemed very strange that the Indians, contrary to their
habits, should have left behind their dead brave. Cautiously,
as one who treads among pitfalls, he followed up the trail
for several hours, but without any result, until, towards
noon, when ascending the crest of a steep ridge, he suddenly
descried in the plain beneath him a large body of his ene-
mies encamped about a mile off.
To his keen regret they discovered him at the same
moment, and now, indeed, he felt that his life hung on a
thread. One glance, as he wheeled about, showed him
several warriors mounting the horses of his troopers. A
race against the Indian mustangs he would not have dreaded ;
he knew his horse to be more than a match for the best of
theirs ; but the chargers of his comrades were as good as his
own, and not so fatigued ! He bitterly repented the tem-
erity that had induced him to follow up their trail, but
regret was now too latetoo late ! alas, what an influence
on the fate of men and nations have those two brief but
T1IE PRAIRIE ON FIRE. 295
pregnant words exercised! a ride was before him, arid,
striking his heels into his horse's flanks, he rushed like a
whirlwind down the hill. All depended upon his getting
back to the shelter of the wood. He had a good mile the
start of his pursuers, whose frightful yells were borne to
him upon the wind, but this would avail him little if, as he
supposed, their horses were fresher than his own. However,
his object was to get out of sight with all possible speed, for
he gained a great deal by compelling the Indians to pursue
his trail He pushed his animal forward tremendously, and
succeeded in his design, for when the sudden burst of their
voices came from time to time, proving that they had gained
the summit of the ridge, he looked back and could neither
see it nor them.
He breathed a little more freely now, and had time to
consider his best course. His chances of escape seemed
very slight, for he was still above six miles from timber. It
now suddenly occurred to him that for several days past he
had noticed a heavy cloud of smoke gathering in the south,
and, turning in that direction, he saw that the whole horizon
was obscured with gloomy masses, and that apparently at
no great distance a vast fire was raging. Observing that it
was not very high, he concluded, after a moment's thought,
that the safest course for him was the most desperate ; and,
as his horse was evidently sinking, he resolved to ride
straight at the advancing line of this fire, and take his
chance of passing through the flaming barrier alive. And
on the other side, with such a rampart between himself
and the Indians, he was safe ! Acting upon this strange
alternative, he urged his horse steadily forwards ; and soon
they encountered the lowering vanguard of the smoke, as it
rolled along the grass, and rode beneath the stifling shelter,
the fire being yet a mile distant.
29G ON THROUGH THE FLAMES !
He was now out of sight of the keenest Indian scout who
ever hunted on the prairies, and, leaping from his horse, he
began to prepare himself for the passage of the Sea of Fire.
Cutting his blanket into pieces, with one he blindfolded the
animal, another he tied loosely about the lower part of its head,
enveloping the mouth and nostrils. He then protected his
own face with a mask of the same material. The blanket
was coarse, and admitted air enough to sustain life for a
short time, while it kept out the smoke. He could hear the
yells of his pursuers apparently close at hand. He was now
in utter darkness, and mounting quickly, he galloped
towards the fire. On, on he went he knew not whither
he cared not whither but plying lash and spur with all the
energy of desperation.
The air grew hotter ; hot as a furnace-breath ; his lips were
parched ; the sweat poured down every limb ; he felt stifled,
choked, maddened ; it seemed as if billows of flame and fire
were rolling over him ; his hair was burnt, and the flesh of
his body was sorely scorched. But that wild ride knew
neither pause nor hindrance, and the horse and the hunter
still darted onward onward !
The horse would fain have wheeled aside, but the fierce-
ness of the agony had turned his rider's arm and will to iron.
On, on ! Through the wreathing flames through the
roar and hiss of the fire ! A few bounds more, and the peril
will be past ! Yes ; the air is fresh and cool oh, so
deliciously cool ! and balmy, like the breeze which stole
through the blossomy bowers of Eden. Away with the
head-gear which has served its purpose so well ; away witli
the wrappings from the trembling steed ; air air fresh
air ; and lo, botli the adventurers are safe, after breasting
that sea of fire !
For an hour they stood side by side upon the blackened
THE PRAIRIE WOLVES. 297
plain, unable to move from sheer exhaustion. Every hair
on the animal's body was gone, its skin was terribly scorched,
and its limbs seemed stiffened into stone. But now the
keen agony of thirst came upon the soldier, and he felt that
the peril was not all past that without water both he and
his companion must die. He sprang into the saddle, and urged
forward the poor, gasping animal for its sake as well as his
own. They swept across a charred and smouldering waste.
In an hour he had begun to grow faint and giddy ; strange
noises rang in his ears ; strange forms danced before his
eyes ; the earth heaved and rolled like a stormy sea ; and
through the shadows which wrapped him round about, he
could plainly define the shapes of huge galloping wolves,
glaring at him with blazing eyes, howling at him with
hungry jaws. Suddenly his mustang dashed down a steep
acclivity, and rode full into a brawling stream. Henrie
flung himself from his saddle into its invigorating waters.
Immediately, as if by magic, he regained his senses,
though the prospect on which his conscious gaze then rested
was one to have driven most men into madness. He found
himself surrounded by thirty or forty prairie wolves, some
swimming in the water after him, while others crouched on
the bank, and howled their gathering cry. He struck the
nearest with his gun-barrel, and beat them off, while he had
time to draw his heavy knife. One of them had seized his
passive horse, which, while it was endeavouring to pull him
down, continued his eager draughts. The wolf's head Henrie
split open with his knife, and the others he soon drove back
out of the water, yelling at the wounds he had inflicted.
But those upon the bank only howled the louder, and were
answered nigh at hand and from afar by hundreds of others,
which swiftly gathered in on all sides to the expected banquet.
He now remembered that the wolves always collect in
298 " IN HOT PURSUIT."
large numbers and follow up the track of a prairie-fire, to
regale on the carcasses of the animals destroyed by the de-
vouring flames, or to chase and drag down such as have
passed through the ordeal alive, but in too enfeebled and
distressed a state for resistance or escape. Blood, impunity,
numbers all tend to excite their ferocity, and very few
creatures which the hungry fire has spared can hope to
shun their yet more ravenous jaws. At other times the
prairie wolf is not remarkable for courage ; but even the
bold ranger shuddered when he recalled the dreadful stories
he had heard of its fierceness under such circumstances as
these.
He looked at his horse, Refreshed and stimulated by
his copious draughts, he had begun to apprehend the new
danger which threatened him, and with straining eyeball
looked around on the gaunt and horrid forms that crowded
the bank of the stream. He lifted his head with a wildly
mournful neigh, that echoed on the wind like the wail of a
lost soul, and actually brought tears to the rough soldier's
eyes ; yet there was some consolation in it the horse had
life enough still to make one more desperate effort for safety.
He mounted, fired his rifle with deliberate aim into the
midst of the howling pack, and then, at full speed, dashed
through. They leaped at his feet, and attempted to seize
the animal's legs, but terror seemed to have lent him wings,
and his flight was not for one moment interrupted. Away
he flew across the prairie, and after him, in hot pursuit,
bounded the yelling wolves. They were more than a hundred
now, and their numbers seemed constantly increasing. It was
evident that all depended on the strength and endurance of his
steed, and the ranger was heartily glad to perceive that he
was leaving his pursuers far behind. There can be no com-
parison between the swiftness of a horse and that of a prairie
wolf.
WILL THEY OVERTAKE HIM ?
299
A. RACE FOR LIFE.
After a hot gallop, Heurie reached a woody patch, where
he hoped his safety would be secured, but his poor comrade
was utterly exhausted. Climbing a tree, he looked around,
and for the moment thought his grim enemies had abandoned
the chase ; but, alas, no ! The long yellowish-looking traiD
300 SURROUNDED, BUT NOT TAKEN.
soon rose in the distance, and as it approached Henrie saw
it had been joined by several large white wolves, whose piti-
less cruelty nothing living can escape.
The yells grew louder and more distinct. See, they
have reached the wood they spread themselves among the
trees they pounce upon the ranger's horse they rend him
in pieces. And now, panting and yelling, they gather at the
foot of the tree, and fix their red eyes hungrily upon their
human victim. Whenever he moves they look up eagerly,
as if to meet his fall. The ranger, in a species of gleeful
hilarious desperation that horrid mirth which springs from
a sense of utter misery deliberately fires, and fires again
and again, at the glaring eyeballs of the white wolves, laugh-
ing aloud at each successful shot ; laughing louder still when
the whole pack rush on the bleeding brute, and greedily de-
vour it with gnashing teeth.
This strange wild sport occupied the ranger for an hour,
until he had slain, and had seen devoured, each white wolf
that had joined the chase. In his mad hatred he became
so reckless that he narrowly escaped falling. He only saved
himself by dropping his gun, which the wolves seized, tearing
its stock before they discovered that it was uneatable.
Though night was gathering over slowly and gently as
sleep steals over a happy infant they gave no indication of
abandoning their watch, and he felt that he must soon drop
from his post through the exhaustion produced by hunger
and fatigue, if compelled to spend another hour without food.
He had grown entirely desperate now, and loaded his pistols,
determined, if he must fall, to bring some more of his en-
emies to death before life abandoned him.
Suddenly he heard a distant yelling on the prairie, like
that which had pursued him in his headlong flight. The
wolves listened to it as eagerly as himself. Looking forth,
TUB RANGER'S ESCAPE. 301
he could just faintly discover a large buffalo bull plunging
across the plain, encompassed by a great herd of wolves
which pressed him sorely. At the sight of this fresh victim,
most of his adversaries started to join the chase, and those
which still lingered behind showed manifest signs of greedy
impatience. As the buffalo came in sight, even these dashed
away, yelling furiously. He fired his pistols after them as a
farewell salute, killing one of the hindermost, while another,
with a broken shoulder, limped along with the pack.
Oh, how joyously Henrie descended from his perilous
position ! He knew that if he could kindle a fire before their
return he should be safe, and with trembling eagerness he
proceeded to make use of the flint and steel which every
hunter carries. Soon a spire of flame shot heavenward the
most welcome sight that for many a long day had greeted
his eyes ! His next step was to cut a piece from the last
wolf he had killed, and roast it for food. The meal greatly
refreshed him, and having gathered a heap of wood, which
he arranged in a blazing circle, he laid himself down in the
centre, and calmly composed himself to sleep. Some of the
wolves returned during the night, but the fire effectually
scared them, and the one or two which remained, when Henrie
awoke in the morning, soon fell victims to his well-aimed
pistol. Then he made a hearty breakfast off the fattest of
his enemies, and prepared to resume his journey homewards.
Picking up his gun, he had the satisfaction of finding that,
though the stock was much injured, it was still serviceable,
and thenceforward, in his weary march for the American
settlements, he was troubled no more by hunger. His suffer-
ings, however, were very severe ; and when he arrived at his
journey's end, few of his friends could recognize in the wan,
wasted, gaunt, and haggard form before them the dashing
and robust Dan Henrie, conspicuous among Texan rangers
for his athletic figure and great strength.
302 VARIETIES OF THE PRAIRIE WOLF.
[" Such is a prairie adventure, boys. Little do we, who
' sit at home at ease,' know by what suffering, and at what
cost of human life and happiness, the pioneers of civilization
accomplish their difficult work. The road once made, the
ground once levelled, it becomes easy to travel along it, but
surely to those who make the road and level the ground
something of gratitude should be rendered."
"Do you know Charles Mackay's song?" said Seymour.
" 'Fair elbow-room for men to thrive in !
Wide elbow-room for work or play!
If cities follow, tracing onr footsteps,
Ever to westward shall point our wayf
Rude though our life, it suits our spirit,
And new-born states in future years
Shall own us founders of a nation
And bless the hardy Pioneers!'"
" Jolly ! " was the emphatical comment of the Fat Boy.
" I have an extract here," continued Fisher, " which de-
scribes four varieties of the prairie wolf. The white wolf,
says my authority,'* is the invariable attendant upon the
buffalo ; and when one of these persevering animals is seen,
it is a certain sign that buffalo are not far distant. Besides
the buffalo-wolf, there are four distinct varieties common to
the plains, and all more or less attendant upon the buffalo.
These are : the black, the gray, the brown, and last and least,
the coyote or cayeute of the mountaineers, the ' ivach-unka-
ma.rut* or ' medicine- wolf of the Indians, who hold the
latter animal in reverential awe.
" This little wolf, whose fur is very thick and beautiful, is
of diminutive size, but wonderfully sagacious, making up by
cunning what it wants in physical strength.
" In bands of from three to thirty they not unfrequently
station themselves along the ' runs ' of the deer and the an-
* G, F. Ruxton, 'Life in the Far West'
HUNTING THE ANTELOPE.
303
HI
RUN TO DEATH !
telope, extending their line for many miles, and the quarry
being started, each wolf follows in pursuit until tired, when
it relinquishes the chase to another relay, following slowly
304 HABITS OF THE CAYEUTE.
after until the animal is fairly run down, when all hurry to
the spot, and speedily consume the carcass.
" The cayeute, however, is frequently used as a tool by his
larger brethren, unless, indeed, he is actuated by motives of
spontaneous charity. When a hunter has slaughtered game
and is employed in cutting it up, the little wolf sits
patiently at a short distance from the scene of operations,
while at a more respectful one the larger wolves (white or
gray) gather hungrily around, and lick their jaws in greedy
expectation. Occasionally the hunter flings a piece of meat
to the cayeute, which seizes it immediately and runs off with
it in his mouth. Before he gets many yards with his prize,
the large wolf pounces with a growl upon him, and the
cayeute, dropping the meat, returns to his former position,
and will continue his charitable act as long as the hunter
continues his generosity.
" Wolves, it appears, were and are so common on the
great Western plains and in the mountains, that the hunter
never cares to fling away a charge of ammunition upon them,
although the ravenous animals are a constant source of an-
noyance; creeping to the camp-fire at night, gnawing his
saddles and bridles, and eating the skin ropes which secure
the horses and mules to their pickets.
" During the night the cayeutes watch incessantly; and the
traveller not seldom starts from his hammock with affright,
as their mournful and eyry howling breaks suddenly upon
his ear. They seldom attack the traveller, but if an emi-
grant-train should lose one of their number, and bury him
in the savage wilderness, all their righteous cares will be in
vain. The cayeutes will soon discover the sepulchre, scratch
away the earth, and pounce upon the dead body."
w From America," said Seymour, after expressing his ap-
proval of Vernon's contribution, "I beg you to accompany me
THE BRETON-HUNTER. 305
to the province of Brittany, where, some hundred years ago,
occurred an incident which, I think, is worth narration. There
lived in that wild province, and in one of its wildest districts,
the forest of Dualt, a gallant hunter named St. Prix, whose
adventures were a constant theme of marvel. But of all Ms
exploits, none equalled that which I am about to describe.*]
THE WOLF AND THE HOUND.
A huge wolf of unusual rapacity had long been the
terror of the sabottiers and charcoal-burners in that neigh-
bourhood. He had snatched away the goats bound by a
thong from their very door-post, and had carried off the dogs
of the verderer by daylight before his face. So daring were
his depredations, and so marvellous the mode in which he
contrived to escape from bullets and traps of all kinds, and
even from St. Prix's hounds, that the scared and super-
stitious peasantry came to the firm belief that the monster
was indeed the Loup-garou. On several occasions St. Prix,
officially invited by the mayor of the commune, had brought
his hounds from Morlaix expressly to hunt this scourge of
the forest. As often as they met at Callac, and drew the
deep cover of Dualt, so often a hound was missing from
the pack, and was never heard of afterwards. At length
it was observed by St. Prix that this wolf, which was
always found in a particular quarter, made a long round
before he quitted the cover ; and then it occurred to him
that the wary brute had overtaken the tail-hound and de-
stroyed him, while the forward pack was engaged in the
chase. This proved to be really the case ; the wolf turned
round, and, although pursued, became the pursuer himself,
and easily overcame the weakest or the slackest hound of
the pack; then, having wreaked his vengeance, he broke
* 'Paul Tendril ; or, Sport and Adventure in Coifcica.'
(533) 20
306 ST. PKIX AND HIS DOG.
away, as old wolves do break, for a strange country, and so
escaped with his life. St. Prix, however, having discovered
the stratagem, was at no loss to baffle it by a counter-plot.
The next time and the last time that wolf was found, he
ordered Charon to be coupled up for twenty minutes after
the wolf was roused ; then to be slipped and laid upon the
line of the forward hounds. In the meantime St. Prix rode
ahead, and posting himself at a point just passed by the
pack, he awaited with intense anxiety the appearance of
Charon, now coming on the foiled scent. He had not been
a minute at his post before he viewed the gaunt wolf in the
rear of Charon, actually hunting the hound and running into
him with a headlong rush, which the hound, he thought,
could hardly withstand. Then came the tug of war ; Greek
met Greek, silently and fiercely, and over they rolled fast
locked in each other's jaws. Now the wolf was uppermost,
and now Charon; then, as they struggled and reared up
together, the wolf seemed a head and shoulders bigger than
the swarthy hound. St. Prix could hear the clash of their
teeth ; and as he hurried on, with his couteau de chasse
drawn, the combatants caught sight of him. Again they
rolled over and over ; but this time Charon rose from the
ground, like Antaeus, with renewed vigour, and, with a
desperate effort, seized the wolfs throat. Under that vice-
like grip he seemed to stagger and gasp for life. St. Prix
was at hand, but the brave hound no longer needed his help ;
the wolf's eyes were starting from their sockets ; his mouth,
with its chasm of huge teeth, was wide open ; and in another
minute the gaunt beast fell motionless and lifeless to the
earth. St. Prix's blade was again sheathed in all its bur-
nished brightness; the good hound had done his own work,
and there the wolf lay
'Tremendous still in death,'
A CRITICAL POSITION. 307
I remember to have read about an incident that occurred
to a party of sportsmen somewhere in Sweden. They
started on a wolf -hunt, well provided with guns and ammu-
nition, and driven in a sledge. On reaching a likely spot,
they pinched a pig which they carried with them for the
purpose. Of course, it squealed tremendously ; and, of
course, the cry of the savoury pig soon drew a host of
hungry wolves around the sledge. As soon as the latter
arrived within range, the hunters discharged a volley, and
brought down several. The pack immediately threw them-
selves on their killed or wounded companions, and devoured
them with infinite relish !
[" What cannibals ! " muttered Lambert.]
The blood with which they had gorged themselves, how-
ever, served but to stimulate their fury ; and, in spite of the
steady fire maintained by the hunters, the wolves dashed
close up to the sledge, apparently with the intention of
making an attack. The hunters, in order to preserve them-
selves, now threw the pig to the wolves, and in this way
effected a temporary diversion ; of which they took advan-
tage to turn towards home. But the horse, in the excess of
his terror at the close neighbourhood of the wolves, strug-
gled so violently and plunged so madly that he broke the
shaft to pieces, rushed off at full gallop, and made good his
escape.
By this time the pig had disappeared, and the wolves
once more showed evident intentions of attacking the sports-
men. Finding the aspect of affairs so critical, the latter
now turned the sledge bottom up, and took refuge beneath
it ; in which uncomfortable position they were compelled to
remain for several hours the wolves making repeated
efforts to get at them by gnawing at the pledge with their
keen strong fteth. Happy were the hunters when their
308 WOLF AND PORKER.
friends, alarmed by their long absence, came to their relief,
and drove away their persistent enemies !
[" That," said Douglas, " is a case of what I should call
the biter bit ! They went out to hunt the wolves, and the
wolves hunted them ! It reminds me of an anecdote I have
read in some book or other. A Lieutenant Oldenburg was
in pursuit of game in the neighbourhood of a large lake,
which, as it was winter-time, was completely frozen over.
At a little distance from the shore, he observed that a small
aperture had been made by the peasants for the purpose of
procuring water, and at this hole a pig was drinking.
Casting a glance around, to see if any other animal were
in sight, the lieutenant's attention was attracted by what
seemed to be a speck or ball, which rapidly grew larger,
and could be seen to move swiftly along the ice. It
proved to be a large wolf, which had scented the porker,
and was careering towards it at the top of his speed like
Lambert, when he is late for dinner ! Lieutenant What's-
his-name seized his gun, and rushed to the assistance of the
pig; but before he could reach the spot the wolf had got
up with his longed-for prey, and, though he was a large
animal, tumbled him over and over like a nine-pin. His
attention was so entirely devoted to this pleasing process,
however, that Lieutenant Oldenburg was able to approach
within a few paces, when he fired, and brought him to the
ground, dead. I regret to state that a piece of considerable
size was missing from the porker's rear ; and the animal was
so stupidly terrified that he followed the lieutenant home
like a spaniel, and could hardly be induced to quit his pre-
sence. There's a tragic story for you ! The humane
rescuer, the murderous assailant, the gratitude of the rescued,
all so nicely mixed up together, that the most romantic-
taste ought to be satisfied. "
A FAITHFUL WOLF. 309
" It may be very pathetic," said Beauchamp ; " but you
have told it so as to make me feel more inclined to laugh
than weep."
" Ah," exclaimed Douglas, with a humorous sigh, " my
best efforts are never appreciated ! What can be said of the
dulness of an individual who does not see the difference
between the comic and the tragic ?"]
You have all, remarked Fisher, been dwelling on the
ferocity, treachery, cunning, and other bad qualities of the
wolf. It is but fair to remember that there is another side
to his character. A writer says, in a passage which I have
transferred to my favourite commonplace-book, that wolves,
like dogs, are capable of strong attachment. The instances
of such attachment seem to be rare ; but one is recorded by
Cuvier, the French naturalist, as having come under his own
notice.
The wolf, in this case, had been brought up in much the
same manner as a young dog. He grew quite friendly and
familiar with those persons he was in the habit of seeing ;
and as for his master, so strong was his affection for him,
that he followed him everywhere, showing the deepest regret
at his absence, obeying his voice, and in every respect dis-
playing the submissiveness that one expects from a well-
trained and thoroughly-domesticated dog. His master being
obliged to leave home for a considerable period, presented
his pet to the menagerie, where, of course, he was confined
in a den. Here, at first, he was very disconsolate, refused
his food, and pined greatly; but after a while he became
reconciled to his new situation, recovered his health, showed
much attachment to his keepers, and seemed quite to have
forgotten l the days that are no more.'
Eighteen months had passed away, when his old master
310 THE DOG OF ULYSSES.
returned. But at the first sound of the well-known voice,
the wolf, like the dog of Ulysses,* evinced the wildest de-
light ; and being released, lavished upon him the tenderest
caresses, just as the most loyal and affectionate dog might
have done. Indeed, it was not without difficulty that his
keepers got him back to his den.
A second separation was followed by another period of
sorrow and pining, until time had once more healed the
wound.
Three years glided away, and the wolf had learned to live
contentedly enough with a dog which had been brought up
beside him, when his master reappeared; and again the
loug-lost but unforgotten voice awakened cries of the most
joyous impatience. The poor animal, being set at liberty,
rushed to his master, placed his fore feet on his shoulders,
licked his face with the most unmistakable expression of
affectionate delight, and even threatened the keepers when
they wished to remove him. A third separation occurred
* Ulysses, or Odysseus, returning to his Ithacan palace clad in the dis-
guise of a beggar, is recognized by none but his dog Argus :
" And the dog Argus raised his ears and head,
Whom the much-toiled Odysseus long before
Reared with his own hand, but enjoyed no more.
There lay the dog
Who, when he marked Odysseus in the way,
And could no longer to his lord come near,
Fawned with his tail, and drooped in feeble play
His ears. Odysseus turning, wiped a tear,
Hid from the noble swineherd, and made question there."
Argus dies immediately after having recognized his old master :
" And upon Argus came the death-fate drear,
Just having seen Odysseus in his twentieth year."
Homer, " Odyssey," book xvii., translated by Philip Stanhope Worsley
(vol. ii., pp. 115-117).
ANOTHER ANECDOTE. 311
soon afterwards; but this proved too much for the poor
creature's temper : he grew morose and surly, refused his
food, and for some time it was thought he would die. Time,
however, deadens the grief of wolves, as it soothes the
wounded hearts of men, and he gradually recovered his
health; but, as if convinced of the duplicity and falsehood
of humanity, he no longer allowed any but his keepers to
AFFECTION IN A WOLF.
caress him, and, in fact, in the presence of strangers fully
maintained the reputation of his race for savageness of
temper.
Mr. Lloyd, in a book about Sport in the North, relates
another instance of the occasional affectionatenees of the
wolf. A Swedish friend of his had reared up a couple of
young wolves until they were fully grown. They were male
and female. The latter grew so tame that she would play
with her master and lick his hands, and often accompanied
312 CARRYING OFF A CHILD.
him iu the winter on his sledge- journeys. Once, when he
was absent, she broke loose from her chain, and was absent
for three days. On her master's return, he went out on a
hill and called, 'Where's my Tussa?' as she was named;
when she immediately came home, and fondled with him
like the friendliest dog.
[" Exceptions prove the rule," said Beauchamp ; " and
these few instances of an affectionate disposition do but
show that in general there can be no doubt as to the
wolfs ferocity. Oh, I hate wolves ! I have seen them
at the Zoological Gardens, and never could bear to look
at their crafty cunning countenance and fierce treacherous
eye!"
" So great is his savagery," said Seymour, " that he will
feed on his own kind. It is asserted, on good authority,
that if he should be so wounded as to draw blood, or if he
should besmear himself with the blood of a victim, his com-
panions will immediately kill and devour him."]
I recollect another anecdote. A Norwegian peasant,
looking out of his cottage window, saw a large wolf steal
into his bit of pasture and seize one of his goats. At the
time he was carrying in his arms a child of eighteen months
old. Without a thought, he laid her down in the porch,
and seizing a cudgel which happened to be close at hand,
k sallied forth and made an onslaught on Mr. Wolf, just as
he was trotting away with his prize in triumph. The wolf
dropped the goat, but in galloping past the house caught
sight of the child, seized it, threw it across his shoulders,
and sped away with the speed of the lightning. He made
good his escape, and the poor child was no more seen !
Even in the winter of 1875, only a few months ago,
a tragic incident which occurred near Moscow proved that
ATTACK ON A CARAVAN. 313
the traveller in Russia has still to dread the attack of the
* wolfish herd/
It appears that severe frost and hunger had compelled
the rapacious beasts of the forest to leave their accustomed
haunts and draw near the centres of population, displaying
so much ferocity that they did not confine their depreda-
tions to the sheep-fold and the poultry-yard, but pounced
upon any living creature they might happen to encounter.
The Moscow Gazette, describing one of the latest exploits of
these terrible animals, said that a caravan of six sledges,
carrying twenty-four travellers, had been attacked within a
few miles of the 'Holy City ; by a band of wolves, num-
bering many hundreds. It might have been thought that
twenty- four resolute men could have repulsed their charge ;
but they were less fortunate than Robinson Crusoe and his
companions. The whole of the travellers and their horses
were torn to pieces and devoured, one only succeeding in
effecting his escape. This was the conductor of one of the
sledges, who owed his safety partly to his presence of mind,
and partly to the good condition and swift-footedness of his
horse.
On reaching Moscow, he gave a most graphic account of
the scene he had witnessed, and of the hazards through
which he had passed.
The moment of the attack was something terrible to
witness, the wolves, as they advanced, forming one black
and compact mass, covering many acres of ground, and com-
pletely encircling the sledges and their ill-fated occupants.
The latter had heard the distant howls of the ferocious
beasts echoing over the dreary frozen waste for some time,
and had heard their cries growing louder as the animals
advanced yells so fearful, cries so melancholy and dismal,
that some of the travellers felt inclined to turn back again
314 A HOT PURSUIT.
towards Moscow. The majority, however, rashly decided
to proceed upon their journey. A rash, and also a fatal
decision, involving the death of three-and-twenty persons !
As they galloped across the plain, the wolves closed in
upon them by tens, by scores, by hundreds at first in the
rear, then in front, then on every side ! The little caravan
was quickly encompassed by a howling, raving mass. No
preparations had been made for resistance. A few shots
of revolvers were heard, but these produced no impression
on so dense a host ; and for one wolf killed hundreds im-
mediately rushed forward to the charge. They fell upon
the horses first, tearing them to pieces, and then overthrew
the sledges, and But the picture is too horrible to dwell
.upon. The conductor who escaped, lost no time, at the
beginning of the attack, in cutting his horse free of the en-
cumbering sledge, and, mounted on his back, dashed off at
full speed the full speed of horse and rider threatened
with a terrible death towards Moscow. The main body
of the wolves remained on the field of carnage, struggling
and fighting with one another for a share of the bloody
feast ; but about a dozen caught sight of the fugitive, and
started in pursuit. The conductor had but a couple of
bullets left ; but both took effect, and stretched two of the
foremost wolves dead upon the snow. The others halted
in their pursuit, to devour the carcasses of their dead com-
panions, and the hardy rider was thus enabled to get a
long distance ahead of them, and effect his escape. For
some time, as he galloped across the frozen ground, he
heard the heartrending cries and appeals for succour on the
part of his fellow-travellers ; but at length a dead silence
followed. The victims were five Polish Jews, a Leipzig
locksmith, a Bavarian bookbinder, a weaver of Zittan, five
Russian servants, and five sledge-conductors.
ON THE BATTLE-FIELD. 315
[" Three groans for the wolf!" cried Douglas; and all the
company joining in right lustily, the groans echoed through
the glen, with a sound which would have struck terror to
the heart of any wolf, had one been within hearing.]
The only plea that can be put in for the wolf, said
Fisher, has been well stated by an agreeable writer. l The
wolf and jackal tribes/ he says, ' are by no means without
their use in the economy of nature ; though, from their pre-
datory habits, they are justly regarded as pests in the
countries they infest. That they will disturb the dead and
rifle the graves, is true ; but they also clear away offal, and,
with vultures, are the scavengers of hot countries. They
follow on the track of herds, and put a speedy end to the
weak, the wounded, and the dying ; they are the most use-
ful, though most disgusting, of camp-followers, and after a
battle, when thousands of corpses of men and horses are col-
lected within a limited space, they are of essential service.'
So the poet Coleridge says :
' I stood in a swampy field of battle ;
"With bones and skulls I made a rattle
To frighten the wolf, and carrion-crow,
And the homeless dog ; but they would not go :
So off I flew for how could I bear
To see them gorge their dainty fare ? '
The writer I have already quoted goes on to say : ' Re-
volting and heart-sickening though such scenes may be, the
evil is less than would result from the undisturbed decay of
the dead ; were that to take place, the air would hang heavy
with pestilence, and the winds of heaven, laden with noisome
exhalations, would carry death and desolation far and near,
rendering still more terrible the horrors and calamities of
war.' But, in spite of all this, I say with Douglas, ( Three
groans for the wolf ! '
316 END OF THE STORIES.
[" Yes ; I ha\ r e no doubt he answers a very useful purpose :
so, I suppose, does the crocodile."
" And the mosquito," interrupted Douglas.
" You turn everything to fun, Douglas," said Beaucharnp.
" But what I mean is, that his answering a useful purpose
does not make him a bit milder, braver, or more honest. So,
down with the wolf ! "
Here the discussion ceased, for it was getting late. Just
as the boys were preparing to depart, Seymour addressed
them, saying they had spent, he hoped, some pleasant after-
noons in the cave, and all had learned something which they
had not known before, while assisting to make each other
happy. But, as they were aware, the midsummer examina-
tion was coming on, and most of them would have hard
work to do in preparing for it. Therefore, he thought they
must give up their talk about wild animals for the present.
It would not do to neglect their cricket and other out-of-
door games ; and the leisure time not devoted to these would
be required for their extra lessons and repetitions. They
had done him the honour to elect him as their chairman ;
and he was proud to say that the audience on each occasion
had been large, well-behaved
" Hear, hear !" exclaimed Douglas
had been large, well-behaved, and enthusiastic. To their
friend, Mr. Fisher, they were particularly indebted for the
vast stores of information he had placed at their disposal.
With respect to the others, each had done his best to pro-
mote the general entertainment ; and it would be invidious
to particularize. He now begged leave to offer them his
warmest thanks, and to say that, with their assistance, and
the support of their friend Fisher, he hoped at some future
time to assemble them again in the Cave of Adventure, for
occasional afternoons with Wild Animals.
LAST WORDS. 317
Douglas proposed a hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Seymour,
for his courteous and dignified behaviour in the chair ; and
then, with loud shouts and merry laughter, the boys returned
to Dr. Birch's.
Afterwards it was determined to record the stories and
conversations for the benefit of future pupils of Dr. Birch ;
and the result of this determination is to be found in the
present volume.]
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