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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2007 with funding from 
 
 IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/adventuresofgreaOOmeunrich 
 
ADVENTURES 
 
 GREAT HUNTING GEOUNiS 
 
 OF THE WORLD. 
 
 By VICTOE MEUNIER. 
 
 ^fUuatratfU toitf) 2rU)ent»4U)o c2^cotJCut». 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER & CO. 
 
 1870. 
 
Illustrated f ibrary. of Ifonders. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 St^mm< ^krks $mhmr «^ (l[o., 
 
 654 BROADWAY, NP:W YORK. 
 Each one volume 12mo. Trice per volume, $1.50 
 
 Titles of Books. 
 
 Thunder and LionTNiNO, . 
 
 Wonders of Optics, 
 
 Wonders of Heat, 
 
 Intelligence of Animals, 
 
 Gbeat Hunts, . 
 
 Egypt 3,300 Years Ago, . 
 
 Wonders of Pompeii, 
 
 The Sun, by A. Guillemin, 
 
 Sublime in Nature, . 
 
 Wonders of Glass-Making, 
 
 Wonders of Italian Art, 
 
 Wonders of the Human Body, 
 
 Wonders of Architecture, 
 
 Lighthouses and Lightships, 
 
 Bottom of the Ocean, 
 
 Wonders of Bodily Strength and 
 
 Wonderful Balloon Ascents, 
 
 Acoustics, 
 
 Wonders of the Heavens, , 
 
 The Moon, by A. Guillemin, 
 
 Wonders of Sculpture, 
 
 Wonders of Engraving, 
 
 Wonders of Vegetation, 
 
 Wonders of the Invisible World, 
 
 Celebrated Escapes, 
 
 Water, 
 
 Hydraulics, 
 
 Electricity, 
 
 Subterranean World, 
 
 Skill, 
 
 Ko. of Illustrations. 
 
 70 
 90 
 54 
 
 40 
 22 
 58 
 50 
 63 
 28 
 45 
 50 
 60 
 68 
 70 
 80 
 114 
 48 
 60 
 61 
 82 
 45 
 97 
 26 
 77 
 40 
 71 
 2T 
 
 * In Press for early Publication. 
 
 The above works sent to any address, post-paid^ upon receipt of the price "by the 
 publishers. 
 
The object which the Compiler has had in view in 
 producing the following work, has been to present to 
 the young reader a collection of well-authenticated 
 facts, illustrative of the nature, habits, and various 
 modes of capturing some of the largest and fiercest 
 of the <inimal world, and to describe some of the 
 numerous adventures, terrible fights, and hairbreadth 
 escapes w^hich the hunting of these animals has given 
 rise 'to. For this purpose M. Victor Meunier has 
 availed himself of the writings of a great variety of 
 travellers of different countries, ancient as well as 
 modern ; and in thus bringing together their varied 
 and often conflicting statements, he has endeavoured, 
 Vvithout entering into minute scientific details, to bring 
 them into harmony, or to arrive at the truth on dis- 
 puted points. 
 
 The Translator, notwithstanding the tempt atk)n 
 which an almost inexhaustible field presented to 
 him of adding illustration and adventure, has con- 
 fined himself, with one or two exceptions, to an 
 almost literal translation of M. Victor Meunier' s com- 
 
IV 
 
 pilation. To the chapters on Elephants he has 
 appended a very interesting account of the Duke 
 of Edinburgh's Elephant Hunt in South Africa. 
 This account he has ventured to give, not only 
 because it records the latest, but perhaps the only 
 hunt of the kind in which a Royal prince of England 
 has ever been engaged, at least in recent times, and 
 not the less so on account of the real pluck and 
 spirit, characteristic of his race, which the adventure 
 called forth in him. 
 
 In the chapter on Crocodiles an extract is also 
 given from a work just published by Don Ramon 
 Paej^, entitled, •* Travels and Adventures in South 
 and Central America," which will not be found in 
 the original French work. 
 
 E. M. ' 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Gorilla : — 1. Stories of Travellers. — 2. Stories of the negroes. 
 — 3. On the Hunting Ground — More Hunting Stories. — 4. Baby 
 Gorillas— Capture of Young Male— His escape — Young Female 
 taken — Man severely bitten . . . . . . .1-35 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Bears : — 1. Grizzly Bears — "William Cannon pursued — Kept in a 
 Tree all Night by a Grizzly — John Day's attack — Fight in a Pit 
 with a Grizzly. — 2. The Brown Bear — Mode of Hunting by Russian 
 Peasants — Horses frightened by Bear-skins. — 3. The White Bear — 
 Sailor seized and killed — The Bear attacked — Another sailor 
 seized and torn to pieces — The Bear killed — Another Story , 3G-51 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 TnE Tiger : — The Plaintive Sigh. — 2. A Tigress seizes a Hunter 
 from an Elephant's Back ; carries him into the Jungle — The Tigress 
 shot by the Hunter whilst almost Dead in her Jaws — Another 
 Hunt of a Tigress with Elephants — A Tiger in the Fair at Hurdwar. 
 — 4. Another Hunt — An Indian torn to pieces — Tiger cubs — 
 Another Tiger shot 52-66 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The Lion :~1. The Lion of South Africa. — 2, Lions round the 
 Camp Fires — A Heifer carried off. — 3. Bands of Lions hunting 
 together — Three Lions leaped on aBuffiilo — Buffalo carried off by a 
 Lion — The young Lion's respect for an older one — Thg Lion and 
 the Zebra. — 4. Dr. Livingstone attacked by a Lion. — 5. A Lion 
 keeping Guard over a Man for Two Nights and Three Days — A 
 Hottentot's manoeuvre — A Widow killed — Two Karainouquois 
 frightfully mangled. — 6* A family of Lions attacked . . 67-99 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Mufflon : — Its liaLits— Various modes of Ilimiijjg*. . 100-10-1 
 
 CHAPTES VI. 
 
 TiiK Musk Ox: — Description of mode of Hunting — Ross attacked 
 by a Musk Ox — Gluttony of the Esquimaux . . . 105-103 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Giuaffe : — Le Vaillant's first Giraffe — A Hunt — Fight with 
 Dogs — Eaten Ly Natives — Skinning — PreiDaraticn of Skin for pre- 
 serving — A Lion's fatal leap and Giraffe's escape . . . 109-117 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Tapirs :— Easily tamed— Familiarity of — Mode of Hunting — A Swim 
 for Life— Fight with Dogs— Anecdotes .... 118-125 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Hippopotamus :—1. An unsuccessful Hunt. — 2. A Nuli\c Cut 
 in Two. — 3. Mode of living. — 4. A Calf captured. — 5. A Figbt 
 between two Hiiipopotami. — G. Mr. Moffat in danger— A Boat upset 
 — A Man dragged from a Boat. — 7. Hunt with Hook and Float 
 — Du Chaillu shooting Hippopotami — Le Vaillant's attack on a 
 troop 126-143 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Rhinoceros : — A Traitor and Aggi-essor — Mr. Oswell on horse- 
 hack Tossed in the Air — Various modes of Hunting — Lo Vaillant's 
 attack on a Male and Female — The Female killed . . . 143-152 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The Elephant :— 1. The White Elephant an object of veneration — 
 Hunting in India. — 2. Fifteen individuals killed by a solitary — 
 Courier crushed — Two Woodmen killed. — 3. A Herd of about 
 Seventy siftro\inding Camp Fires. — 4. Method of taking in 
 India. — 5. Used as domestics by the Siamese — Intelligence of 
 Elephant firing Howitzers at Lucknow. — 6. Killing Elephants — 
 Anecdote 153-170 
 
^ CONTENTS. VU 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Elephants (continued): — 7. Hunting in Nubia. — 8. Captain Speke 
 in tlie Oungoro. — 9. Le Yaillant and Du Cliaillu fallen into Pits — 
 Mode of killing in the Zambesi. — 10. Livingstone's dosciipti'on of 
 mode of attack. — 11. Claas Yolk killed — Cobus Klopper killed — 
 Kricger throvv'n into the Air and trampled to Death. — 12. Cooper 
 Rose— Journey and Hunt with a veteran Hunter . . . 171--190 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Elepiiakts {continued) : — The DuKe of Edinburgh's Hunt at the 
 Knysna 191-204 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 The OstPvICH : — 1. Description of. — 2. Fables and absurdities re- 
 specting — 3. Want of Sense of Taste — Copper Candlestick swallowed. 
 4. Habits. — 5. Anecdotes— Extraordinary Speed. — C. Strength 
 of. — 7. Reputed want of Intelligence — Attack on a Horseman by a 
 Male— Excessive timidity— Sociability .... 205-223 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 The OsTPvicn {continued) : — 8. The period of laying — Violent 
 character of the Male during Incubation. — 9. The two Sexes Build 
 the Ncit — Capturing a Female. — 10. Ostrich Hunts — Various 
 methods— Anecdotes 224-23G 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 Crocodiles and Caymans : — 1 . The Scene and the Actoi's. — 2. Their 
 dwellings. — 3. Habits — Dr. Livingstone attacked — Picking the 
 Crocodile's Teeth by a Plover — A Fight with Caricaris —Fight 
 with a Jaguar 237-256 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 Crocodiles {continued) :— 4. The question as to their Ferocity — 
 Anecdotes — Fights and Adventures. — 5. On taming Crocodiles. — 
 6. Differences of Opinions reconciled — Anecdotes. — 7. Anecdotes 
 —Methods of Taking, &c 257-297 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTIUTIONS. 
 
 NO. PAGE 
 
 1. "The Animal gave nm a tremendous Blow" . . 24 
 
 2. Hunters followed by a Bear 3G 
 
 3. "The Fin walks straight up to the Encounter" . . 43 
 i. **IIe hit the Bear a little above the Eye" ... 48 
 
 5. *'R despatched her with a Ball behind the Ear" . 57 
 
 6. **IIe could not fire, for the Man and the Tiger were 
 
 so entangled " 61 . 
 
 7. The Lion op South Africa 67 
 
 8. '*They heard him breaking the Bones op the Anoial". 69 
 
 9. *'IIe stretched out his Hand to seize his Gun" . . 83 
 
 10. *'An old Male keeps sentry" 100 
 
 11. **He owed his Safety to a large Fragment op Hock" . 107 
 
 12. The Giraffe 109 
 
 13. *'Ip he can reach Deep Water, he plunges in" . . 121 
 
 14. "On the HIVES Bank the Mother showed herself" . 131 
 
 15. '''The Hunter was tossed in the Air" .... 144 
 
 16. *'He tore away the upper part of his Body" . . 156 
 
 17. *'The old Male stumbled, and fell on his Knees" . 169 
 
 18. Herd op Elephants IBS 
 
 19. ."The Duke discharged both Barrels in quick succession" 201 
 
 20. "The Ostrich then turned its blows against Si-Moham- 
 
 med" 219 
 
 21. Crocodiles on the Mud-banks op the Guayaquil • 2'6S 
 22. •Fight between the Cayman and the Jaguar . » 245 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 L — Stopjes of Travelleks. 
 
 For three centuries the rumour has been current that 
 there existed on the western coast of Africa, north and 
 south of the equator, an ape of immense strength and 
 gigantic size, — of all animals the largest and most 
 formidable — the king of the African forests. 
 
 Let us see what travellers say concerning this 
 animal. 
 
 At the beginning of the seventeenth century Andrew 
 Battel, who had been for a long time a prisoner of the 
 Portuguese in Angola, described, under the name of 
 Fongo, an ape resembling a man in all his proportions, 
 but as large as a giant, and so strong that ten men 
 were not sufficient to subdue one of them. 
 
 ''He has a human face," said Battel, ''with sunken 
 eyes, long hair on the sides of his head, his face naked, 
 as well as his ears and his hands; his body rather 
 shaggy; his hair of dark brown. He differs from 
 
 B 
 
2 THE GORILLA. 
 
 man in outward appearance chiefly in having little or 
 no calves to his legs. Nevertheless, he walks upright, 
 holding his hands clasped hehmd his neck He sleeps 
 in trees, and constructs for himself a shelter against 
 the sun and rain ; he lives on fruits ; he cannot talk, 
 although he has a better understanding than other 
 animals. When travellers abandon, in the morning, 
 the fire which they have kept during the night, the 
 pongoes come and sit around it until it becomes extinct, 
 but they have not sufficient intelligence to gather wood 
 to keep it alive. They go in companies , they kill the 
 negroes they encounter ; they will even attack an ele- 
 phant, and put him to flight by blows with their fists 
 or with sticks.'* 
 
 Bosman, another traveller in Guinea, has spoken 
 of the same ape. " They grow extremely large," he 
 wrote ; '^ I have seen one with my own eyes which was 
 five feet high ; they have a very ugly figure, are very 
 wicked, very bold, and sujSficiently daring to attack 
 men. Some negroes assure us that these apes 
 can talk, and that if they don't do so, it is 
 because they don't wish to give themselves the 
 trouble. It would perhaps be better to say that they 
 are capable of understanding all one would wish to 
 teach them." 
 
 M. de la Brosse, in a journey on the coast of 
 Angola, published in 1738, says that they attain the 
 
STORIES OF TKAVELLERS. 3 
 
 height of six and seven feet, that their strength is 
 without equal, that they live in huts, and use clubs to 
 defend themselves. He thus describes them : — 
 
 ''Face dull, nose snubbed and flat, ears without 
 cushions, skin a little lighter than that of a mulatto, 
 hair long and thin on many parts of the body, stomach 
 extremely tight, the heels flat, and elevated about half 
 an inch at the back, They walk on two feet, and on 
 all-fours when they have the fancy to do so.'* M. de 
 la Brosse adds that they endeavour to carry off the 
 ncgresses, keep them with them, and treat them very 
 welL *'I have known at Lowango a negress who had 
 been three years with these animals." 
 
 Finally, Mr, Bowditch, in his "Narrative of a Mis- 
 sion from Cape Coast Castle to Ashantee" (London, 
 1819), writes :— 
 
 " The favourite and most curious subject of our con- 
 versation on natural history was the Ingena, an animal 
 like the orang-outang, but of a much greater size, being 
 five feet in height and four feet across the shoulders. 
 Its paw was said to be still more disproportionate, and 
 one blow of it would cause death. Travellers who go 
 to Kaybe frequently encounter him. He lies in ambush 
 to kill passers-by, and he principally feeds on 
 wild honey, ^mong other traits which characterize 
 this animal, and on which all persons agree, it is 
 reported that he builds for himself a hut, in rude 
 
4 THE GORILLA.. 
 
 imitation of that of the natives, and that he sleeps 
 outside on the roof of this dwelling. 
 
 It is needless to say that Africa does not contain an 
 ape which bears resemblance to man in all his pro- 
 portions, and which differs from him exteriorly only 
 in the small protuberance of his calves, and who docs 
 not talk simply because he does not wish to give 
 himself the trouble. '*I regret," says an author, from 
 whom presently we shall frequently borrow, — ** I regret 
 to be obliged to destroy agreeable illusions ; but the 
 gorilla does not lie in ambush behind trees to seize 
 with his claws the defenceless traveller. He does not 
 strangle him between his feet as in a vice ; he does not 
 carry away women from their villages ; he does not build 
 for himself a hut of branches in the forests ; he does 
 not march in troops, and in all that has been said of his 
 attacks en masse, there is not the shadow of truth.'' 
 
 The reports of travellers w^ere then imbued with 
 exaggerations and errors ; but beyond what was erro- 
 neous and improbable, these accounts agree in attesting 
 the existence of an ape distinct from the chimpanzee, 
 larger, stronger, and more dangerous than this latter, 
 and of that there was no reason to doubt. 
 
 Attention was then aroused to the subject. It was 
 in 1846 that all doubts ceased. 
 
 It happened that at that period an American mis- 
 sionary, the Eev. Dr. J. Leighton Wilson, discovered at 
 
STORIES OF TEAYELLERS. 5 
 
 the Gaboon the skull of a new and extraordinary- kind 
 of ape. A narrow cranial cavity, almost wholly behind 
 the orbits of the eyes, and where the cerebral convolu- 
 tions had left but feeble impression ; jaw-bones of pro- 
 digious power, projecting in front, and armed with 
 formidable and deeply rooted tusks ; at the extremities 
 of the eyebrows, on the line of the parietal bonj^s, and 
 at the junction of these with the occipital, were 
 enormous bony ridges ; finally, very large and arched 
 cheek-bones : in a word, all the characters of bestiality 
 carried to excess and united to those of strength without 
 equal among apes : such was this skull, which could 
 only have belonged to the Ingena of Bowditch, to the 
 Pongo of Battel. A learned American naturalist, Pro- 
 fessor Jeffries Wyman, gave a description of it in 1847 
 in the '^ Journal of Natural History of Boston." The 
 discovery of Mr. Wilson did not long remain isolated, 
 and the anatomy of the new quadrumane, to which 
 Wilson had given the name of Gorilla, became the 
 object of the labours of Eichard Owen in England, of 
 Isidore Geoffrey Saint Hilaire and of Duvernoy in 
 France. The interest still increased when the first 
 white man who had seen a living gorilla face to 
 face had marie known Ms marvollous storios of the 
 chase. 
 
 This white man is an American of French origin, 
 M. Paul du Chaillu, 
 
6 THE GORILLA. 
 
 He embarked, in the month of October, 1855, for the 
 western coast of Africa. His intention was to devote 
 some years to the exploration of the region comprised 
 between two degrees North and two degrees South lati- 
 tude over the whole space which extends from the coast 
 to the chain of mountains called the Sierra del Crystal. 
 This country is the domain of the gorilla. Many 
 times, during a former excursion in Africa, our traveller 
 had heard of this animal, of his terrible roar, his pro- 
 digious strength, and great courage. To reach the 
 gorilla in his haunts, to kill him, and so to enrich 
 science, was one of the objects which M. du Chaillu 
 had in view. We are going to see him at the work. 
 
 But whilst he is seeking this extraordinary being, 
 let us listen to the stories told by the negroes whilst 
 sitting round their camp fires, as reported by the 
 American author. 
 
 11. — Stories of the Negroes. 
 
 "My father," said one, '^ used to relate, that being one 
 day in the forest, he suddenly found himself face to 
 face with a great gorilla, which barred the way. My 
 father held his lance in his hand ; at sight of this 
 weapon the gorilla began to roar. Then my father, 
 frightened, let fall his lance. When the gorilla saw 
 
STORIES OF THE NEGROES. 7 
 
 that he was disarmed, he seemed satisfied ; he looked 
 at him for an instant, and then left him and returned 
 into the depths of the forest. My father, on his side, 
 was well content, and pursued his journey.'* 
 
 And the auditors cried" with one voice, ''Yes, yes, 
 that's it; when you meet a gorilla, let fall your 
 lance, and you will appease him ! " 
 
 ''Some dry seasons since," said another, "a man, 
 after a violent quarrel, disappeared from my village. A 
 short time afterwards an Ashira, going into the forest, 
 met there a very large gorilla. This gorilla was the 
 man himself who had disappeared. He leapt on the 
 poor Ashira, bit a piece of flesh from his arm, and 
 then allowed him to go. The unfortunate man re- 
 turned with his arm all bleeding, and told me of his 
 adventure. I hope we shall not encounter any of these 
 man-gorillas, for they are very wicked beings, and we 
 shall have a terrible time of it. " 
 
 The chorus replied, " No, no, we shall not meet with 
 these wicked gorillas ! '* 
 
 *' They believe, in fact," says the author already 
 quoted, "that there are some gorillas of a particular 
 kind which serve as the habitation of the spirits of 
 certain dead negroes. The initiated recognize them by 
 mysterious signs, and, above all, by their extraordinary 
 stature. These gorillas, according to the Indians, can 
 never be taken or killed ; they have also more sagacity 
 
8 THE GORILLA. 
 
 and reason than the common animals. In these pos- 
 sessed beasts the intelligence of man is united with 
 the strength and ferocity of the animal. 
 
 *^ Some years ago a man disappeared, carried ofl 
 probably by a tiger. It was said, and believed, that 
 one day, whilst he was walking in the woods, he had 
 been metamorphosed into a hideous gorilla, which the 
 blacks had often pursued without being able to kill, 
 although he continually haunted the outskirts of the 
 village." 
 
 Here is another story : — 
 
 Some natives encountered, in a field of sugar-canes, 
 a troop of gorillas tying up the canes in bundles to carry 
 them away. They attacked them, but the apes put 
 them to flight, and they lost many men, some killed, 
 others prisoners. A few days after, the latter returned 
 home with their finger and toe-nails torn off. 
 
 Two Mbondemos women were walking in a forest, 
 when suddenly an enormous gorilla bestrode the path, 
 and seizing one of the women, carried her off, in spite 
 of her efforts and her cries. The other, trembling with 
 terror, returned to the village and related the adventure. 
 
 Naturally, her companion was held as lost. What 
 was the general surprise when, at the end of a few 
 days, she returned home ! 
 
 *'It was a gorilla possessed by a spirit," cried one 
 of the hearers. 
 
STORIES OF THE NEGROES. 9 
 
 A gorilla was walking in the forest, when lie met 
 a leopard. Both stood still. The quadruped, which 
 was hungry, drew himself up to make a. spring at 
 the throat of his enemy, who immediately commenced 
 a fearful howling. Without allowing himself to he 
 intimidated, the leopard took his leap ; as ill luck 
 would have it, he was caught in the air hy the gorilla, 
 who seized him hy the tail, and twisted it round and 
 round with such force that it came off, and the animal 
 fled, leaving his appendage in the hands of the gorilla. 
 
 Ee turned to his comrades, the quadruped had to 
 reply to their questions. 
 
 *'"What has happened?" they asked him. It was 
 necessary to tell the whole story, at which news the 
 king of the leopards howled so long and so strong, that 
 from all points of the forest his suhjects came together. 
 Hardly had they learnt the injury done to their hrother, 
 than they swore to revenge it, and at once they entered 
 the field in pursuit of the gorilla. 
 
 Their search did not last long. As soon as the great 
 ape saw them approach, he tore up a tree, and using it 
 as a club, he whirled it round with an air so menacing, 
 that he held in abeyance the army of his assailants; 
 but at last he grew tired, seeing which, the leopards 
 rushed upon him altogether, and strangled him. 
 
 One day, another gorilla was walking out in the 
 forest with his wdfe and little boy, when he found 
 
10 THE GORILLA. 
 
 himself suddenly vis-d-vis with an immense elephant, 
 who said to him, — 
 
 *'Let me pass, gorilla, for these forests belong to 
 me." 
 
 ''Oh, oh!" said the gorilla, *' how do these forests 
 belong to thee ? Am I not the master here ? Am I 
 not the man of the woods?" So saying, he ordered 
 his wife and his little boy to stand aside. He then 
 broke off a large branch of a tree, and arming him- 
 self with it, he so belaboured the elephant that he was 
 killed by his blows, and some days afterwards the car- 
 case of the elephant was found on the ground, and the 
 club lying beside him. 
 
 One fact believed by all the tribes who know a little 
 of the gorilla is, that this animal conceals himself on 
 the lower branches of trees, and that when any one 
 passes his ambuscade, he seizes the unhappy wretch 
 with his large and powerful hands, lifts him into the 
 tree, and quietly chokes him. 
 
 They are quite persuaded that if a woman about to 
 become a mother, or if only the husband of the woman 
 should see a gorilla, or even a dead gorilla, the woman 
 will give birth not to an infant, but to a little gorilla ! 
 *'I have remarked this superstition," says M. du 
 Chaillu, '' amongst all the tribes,, and only a jpropos 
 of the gorilla." 
 
 But this superstition does not prevent them from 
 
ON THE HUNTING GEOUND. 11 
 
 eating the gorilla. Thej carefully set apart the brains 
 to make magic charms. '* If we kill a gorilla to- 
 morrow/' said a black, ^' I should like to have a part 
 of his brains for fetiche,'' Nothing can render a man 
 more intrepid than having a gorilla's brains ^or fetiche. 
 *' Yes," repeated the other, '* that gives heart for every 
 danger." 
 
 III. — On the Hunting Ground. 
 
 Accompanied by men and women of the tribe of Mbon- 
 demos, M. du Chaillu, ascending the second range of 
 the Sierra del Crystal, at length came upon an open 
 space of ground, not far from the sources of the 
 Ntambonny, where once had been established a Mbon- 
 demo village. A degenerate kind of sugar-cane was 
 growing where the houses had once stood. Tormented 
 by hunger, the traveller had hastened to gather some of 
 the stalks, but his men drew his attention to a cir- 
 cumstance which gave quite a new turn to his ideas. 
 Here and there the cane was beaten down, torn up by 
 the roots, and lying about in fragments, which had 
 evidently been chewed. The Mbondemos looked at 
 each other in silence, and muttered, ^^ Njenaf ihtii 
 is to say, *' Gorilla." 
 
 They were, in fact, traces of gorillas, and traces, 
 too, quite fresh. They soon found the tracks of their 
 
12 THE GORILLA. 
 
 feet, and there must have been four or five in the 
 comi^any. From time to time they had sat doT\Ti to 
 masticate the canes. 
 
 ** It was the first time I had ever seen these foot- 
 prints," writes M. du Chaillu, *^and my sensationa 
 were indescribable. Here was I, now, it seemed, on 
 the point of meeting face to face that monster of whose 
 ferocity, strength, and cunning the natives had told me 
 so much ; an animal scarce known to the civilized world, 
 and which no white man before had hunted. My heart 
 beat till I feared its loud pulsations would alarm the 
 gorilla, and my feelings were really excited to a painful 
 degree. 
 
 *' The women were terrified, poor things, and we left 
 them a good escort of two or three men to take care of 
 them and reassure them. Then the rest of us looked 
 once more carefully at our guns, and the hunt began. 
 
 *^ We descended a hill, crossed a stream on a fallen 
 log, and presently approached some huge boulders 
 of granite. Alongside of this granite block lay an 
 immense dead tree, and about this we saw many evi- 
 dences of the very recent presence of the gorillas. 
 
 ** Doubtless they were hiding behind these granite 
 blocks, which it was necessary to surround. The 
 hunters divided into two parties, one taking the right, 
 the other the left, with guns cocked and in hand. The 
 excitement of the blacks was even greater than that of 
 
ON THE HUNTING GROUND. 13 
 
 their master. They advanced through the brushwood, 
 which was dense and sombre, though it was broad day. 
 Unfortunately, the circle had been too much enlarged. 
 The watchful gorillas saw the hunters. Suddenly a 
 strange discordant, half-human devilish cry arose, and 
 they beheld four young gorillas running towards the 
 deep forests. With their heads bent down, and their 
 bodies stooping, they gave the idea of men who were 
 flying for their lives. They resembled to a frightful 
 degree hairy men. 
 
 ** I protest," continues M. du Chaillu, *' I felt almost 
 like a murderer when I saw the gorillas this first time. 
 Take with this their awful cry, which, fierce and ani- 
 mal as it is, has yet something human in its discor- 
 dance, and you will cease to wonder that the natives 
 have the wildest superstitions about these tvild men of 
 the ivoocls. They all fired at once, but hit nothing ; 
 then the hunters rushed on in pursuit : they ran until 
 they were exhausted, but in vain. The alert beasts 
 knew the woods better than their enemies, and so made 
 good their escape." 
 
 So far, then, it was a failure ; but at least M. du 
 Chaillu could boast of having seen living gorillas, 
 and he lost no time in endeavouring to see them again, 
 and more closely. 
 
 Some days after this fruitless hunt, the intrepid tra^ 
 veller and his friends the Mbondemos., starting early in 
 
14 THE GORILLA. 
 
 the morning, explored for many hours the thickets and 
 least approachable parts of the forest, but without find- 
 ing the faintest trace of a gorilla, when suddenly one 
 of the men uttered a little ^' cluck '^ with his tongue, 
 which is the native's way of showing that something is 
 stirring, and at the same time M. du Chaillu thought 
 he heard — seemingly ahead of him — the noise as of 
 some one breaking dow^n the branches or twigs of trees. 
 ** This was the gorilla, I knew at once, by the eager 
 and satisfied looks of the men. 
 
 " They looked once more carefully at their guns, to 
 see if by any chance the powder had fallen out of the 
 pans ; I also examined mine, to make sure that all was 
 right ; and then we marched on cautiously. The sin- 
 gular noise of the breaking of tree branches continued ; 
 we walked with the greatest care, making no noise at 
 all. The countenances of the men showed that they 
 thought themselves engaged in a very serious under- 
 taking ; but we pushed on, until finally we thought 
 we saw through the thick woods the moving of the 
 branches and small trees, which tlie great beast was 
 tearing down, probably to get from them the berries 
 and fruits he lives on. 
 
 *' Suddenly, as we were yet creeping along, in a 
 silence which made a heavy breath seem loud and 
 distinct, the woods were at once filled with the tremen- 
 dous barking roar of the gorilla. 
 
ON THE HUNTING GROUND. 15 
 
 -• Then the underbrush swayed rapidly just ahead, and 
 presently before us stood an immense male gorilla. He 
 had gone through the jungle on all-fours, but when he 
 saw our party he erected himself and looked us boldly 
 in the face. He stood about a dozen yards from us, and 
 was a sight I think I shall never forget. Nearly sis 
 feet high (he proved four inches shorter), with immense 
 body, huge chest, and great muscular arms, with 
 fiercely glaring large deep grey eyes, and a hellish 
 expression of face, which seemed to me like some 
 nightmare vision. Thus stood before us the king of 
 the African forests. 
 
 *'He was not afraid of us; he stood there and beat 
 his breast with his huge fists till it resounded like an 
 immense drum (its usual mode of offering defiance), 
 meantime giving vent to roar after roar. 
 
 '* The roar of the gorilla is the most singular and 
 awful noise heard in these African woods. It begins 
 with a sharp bark, like an angry dog, then glides into a 
 deep bass roll, which literally and closely resembles the 
 roll of distant thunder along the sky, for which I have 
 sometimes been tempted to take it when I did not see 
 the animal. So deep is it, that it seems to proceed 
 less from the mouth and throat than from the deep 
 chest and vast paunch. 
 
 ''His eyes began to flash fiercer fire as we stood 
 motionless on the defensive, and the crest of short hair 
 
16 THE GOKILLA. 
 
 which stands od his forehead began to twitch rapidly 
 up and down, while his powerful fangs were shown as 
 he sent forth a thunderous roar; and now truly he 
 reminded me of nothing but some hellish dream-crea- 
 ture, a being of that hideous order — half man, half 
 beast, which we find pictured by old artists in some 
 representations of the infernal regions. He advanced 
 a few steps, then stopped to utter that hideous roar 
 again ; advanced again, and finally stopped when at a 
 distance of about six yards from us ; and here, just as 
 he began another of his roars, beating his breast in 
 rage, we fired and killed him. 
 
 "With a groan, which had something terribly human 
 in it, and yet was full of brutishness, he fell forward 
 on his face. The body shook convulsively for a few 
 minutes, the limbs moved about in a struggling way, 
 then all was quiet.'* 
 
 The body measured five feet eight inches high. 
 
 Another day, when out hunting, M. du Chaillu heard 
 a loud rumbling noise, which he took for thunder. 
 Foreseeing a storm, he hastened to seek shelter under 
 some ebony bushes, but he soon perceived that this 
 supposed rolling of thunder was nothing else than the 
 voice of a male gorilla calling the female, who an in- 
 stant afterwards replied by a more feeble roar. The 
 echo of this terrible voice resounded from mountain to 
 mountain, and the forest seemed to tremble. 
 
ON THE HUNTING GROUND, 17 
 
 Our traveller immediately slipped a ball into his 
 gun, already loaded with bird- shot, and walked in the 
 direction of the cry. 
 
 From thne to time the rumbling sound, which the 
 male makes in striking his breast with his large fists, 
 approached him. 
 
 He soon heard the cracking of branches, and he saw 
 through the thicket a young tree rudely shaken, and in 
 a few seconds fall to the ground. But perhaps the 
 animal was conscious of danger, for a profound silence 
 succeeded the roaring, and when M. du Chaillu had 
 opened a passage into the thicket, the gorilla had 
 disappeared. 
 
 " I am certain,'* writes he, *' that I heard his roar 
 at a distance of three miles, and the drumming of his 
 arms against his breast at a mile at least. No words 
 can describe the kind of thunder which it produces. 
 
 *' On examining the wood where these gorillas were 
 moving and feeding, I learnt for the first time why the 
 canine teeth of this animal, especially of the male, are 
 generally so worn, and I found at the same time aston- 
 ishing proofs of his strength. Many trees, measuring 
 from four to six inches in diameter, had been broken, 
 and bore the marks of the biting of the gorillas, whose 
 teeth had penetrated to the heart of the tree, in order 
 to extract the pith. It was a hard wood, and I saw 
 well, by the manner in which it had been gnawed, that 
 
 
 
18 THE GOEILLA. 
 
 it was quite needless to attribute to any other cause the 
 singular deterioration which I had remarked in the 
 exterior of the canine teeth of these animals." 
 
 Some days after this fruitless encounter, the natives 
 reported to Du Chaillu that a very large gorilla had 
 been seen many times in the forest ten miles to the 
 east. The traveller, who was just then in search of 
 such a subject for his collection, at once resolved to go 
 and look after this fellow. 
 
 Accompanied by a negro named Gambo, he hunted 
 for many hours, when at length, in a thicket at the 
 bottom of an obscure ravine, he suddenly found him- 
 self face to face with two gorillas — male and female. 
 These had already perceived them : the female uttered 
 a cry of alarm and fled through the woods. As to the 
 male, which was just the one which M. du Chaillu 
 wanted, he showed no intention to fly. He rose slowly, 
 and facing the disturbers of his retreat, he uttered a 
 roar of rage. The hunters stood side by side awaiting 
 the attack of the monster. Imperfectly seen in the 
 dim half-light of the ravine, his hideous features 
 working with rage, his eyes shining with a sombre fire, 
 his satyr-like face violently contracted, he was alto- 
 gether frightful. 
 
 lie advanced by jerks, as is the custom of these 
 animals, and halting from time to time to beat his fists 
 on his vast breast, which emitted a dull hollow sound, 
 
ON THE HUNTING GROUND. 19 
 
 like that of a great bass drum covered with ox-hide; 
 then he gave a short bark, followed by that formidable 
 roar which we have already heard of. 
 
 The two men stood firm at their post for three long 
 minutes, waiting until the gigantic animal should be 
 sufficiently near. Arrived within a distance of about six 
 yards, the monster raised his head, roared again, and 
 beat his breast. He was on the point of moving for- 
 ward again, when two balls, fired at the same moment, 
 staggered him, and he fell at full length on his face, 
 dead. 
 
 *' I saw at once that we had the very animal I 
 wanted. It is the oldest of all my collection, and very 
 nearly the largest I ever saw. Gambo, who though a 
 young man was still an old hunter, said a fev/ were 
 larger, but not many. Its height was five feet nine 
 inches, measured to the tip of the toes. Its arms 
 spread nine feet. Its chest had a circumference of 
 sixty-two inches. The hands — those terrible claw-like 
 weapons, with one blow of which he tears out the 
 bowels of a man, or breaks his arms — were of 
 immense muscular power, and bent like veritable claws. 
 I could see how frightful a blow could be struck with 
 such a hand, moved by such an arm, all swollen into 
 great bunches of muscular fibre, as this animal pos- 
 sessed. The big toe was no less than six inches in 
 circumference." 
 
 c 2 
 
20 the gorilla. 
 
 More Hunting Stories. 
 
 One morning, after a terrible night, during which an 
 awful storm had extinguished the camp fire and left the 
 travellers most uncomfortable, the roar of a gorilla was 
 heard, which revived the drooping spirits of M. du 
 Chaillu. He swallowed a cup of coffee and a biscuit — 
 nothing more, for provisions were scarce — and set out. 
 
 ** We had not far to go,'* he writes. ** We had 
 walked barely a quarter of a mile when we heard the 
 loud roar again ; this time quite near. We stood quite 
 still for fear of alarming the beast, which was evidently 
 approaching us, as we could see the bushes bent 
 towards us. The fear of alarming him, however, 
 proved needless. When he saw us he at once struck 
 aside the intervening bushes, rose to an erect position, 
 made a few steps, stopped, and seated himself; then, 
 beating his vast breast, which resounded like an old 
 drum, he advanced straight upon us. His dark eyes 
 flashed with rage, his features worked convulsively, and 
 at every few paces he stopped, and, opening his cavern- 
 ous mouth, gave venl; to his thunderous roar, which 
 . the forest gave back with multiplied echoes. 
 
 *' He was evidently not a bit alarmed, and was quite 
 ready for a fight. We stood perfectly still. He advanced 
 till he stood beating his breast within six yards of us, 
 when I thought it time to put an end to the scene. 
 
MORE HUNTING STORIES. 21 
 
 My shot hit him in the breast, and he fell forward on 
 his face, dead. They die very easily, and haye none of 
 that tenacity of life which most savage animals have. 
 In this they also resemble man. It proved to be a 
 middle-aged male, a fine specimen." 
 
 Still another encounter, and another victory. The 
 animal had announced his presence by roaring. They 
 thought he was close at hand, but he proved farther 
 off than they imagined. They wandered nearly three- 
 quarters of an hour through the forest before they 
 reached him. As soon as he perceived the men he 
 came resolutely towards them, uttering a succession of 
 the short bark-like yells which denote his rage. 
 
 ** His manner of approach gave me once more an 
 opportunity to see with how much difficulty he supports 
 himself in the erect posture. His short and slender 
 legs are not able firmly to sustain the large body. 
 They totter beneath the weight, and the walk is a sort 
 of waddle, in which the long arms are used, in a clumsy 
 way, to balance the body and keep up the ill-sustained 
 equilibrium. Twice he sat down to roar, evidently not 
 trusting himself to this exertion while standing. 
 
 *' My gun was fresh loaded, and could be depended 
 upcn, so I stood in advance. I waited, as the negro 
 rule is, till the huge beast was within six yards of me ; 
 then, as he once more stopped to roar, delivered my 
 fire, and brought him down on his face, dead. 
 
22 THE GORILLA. 
 
 " It proved to be a male, full grown, but young. 
 His huge canine tusks, his claw-like hands, the 
 immense development of muscle on his arms and 
 breast, — his whole appearance, in fact, proclaimed a 
 giant strength. There is enough likeness to humanity 
 in this beast to make a dead one an awful sight, even 
 to accustomed eyes, as mine were by this time. I 
 never quite felt that matter-of-course indifference, or 
 that sensation of triumph which the hunter has when 
 a good shot has brought him a head of his choice 
 game. It was as though I had killed some monstrous 
 creation, which yet had something of humanity in it. 
 Well as I knew that this was an error, I could not 
 help the feeling. 
 
 *^This animal was five feet eight inches high. In 
 the evening, Minsho brought in a young female he had 
 shot, w^hich measured three feet eight inches. All the 
 hunts had not this happy issue. On one occasion, when 
 M. du Chaillu was beating the woods at the head of a 
 little troop, one of his bold companions had the im- 
 prudence to advance alone from the side where he ex- 
 pected to encounter a gorilla. For nearly an hour they 
 had lost sight of him, when they heard a shot fired in 
 the distance — then a second. They ran in the direction 
 of the shot, hoping to find a dead gorilla, when sud- 
 denly the forest resounded with more terrible roars. 
 
 ** Gambo seized my arms in great agitation, and wo 
 
MORE HUNTING STORIES. 23 
 
 hurried on, both filled with a dreadful and sickening 
 alarm. We had not gone far when our w^orst fears 
 were realized. The poor brave fellow who had gone 
 off alone, was lying on the ground in a pool of his 
 own blood, and I thought, at first, quite dead. His 
 bowels were protruding through the lacerated abdomen. 
 Beside him lay his gun, f e stock was broken, and the 
 barrel was bent and flattened. It bore plainly the 
 marks of the gorilla's teeth. 
 
 "We picked him up, and I dressed his wounds as 
 well as I could with rags torn from my clothes. When 
 I had given him a little brandy to drink, he came to 
 himself, and was able, but with great difficulty, to 
 speak. He said that he had met the gorilla suddenly 
 face to face, and that it had not attempted to escape. 
 ' It was,' he said, * a huge male, and seemed very 
 savage.' It was in a very gloomy part of the wood, 
 and the darkness, I suppose, made him miss. He 
 said he took good aim, and fired when the beast was 
 only about eight yards off. The ball merely wounded 
 it in the side. It at once began beating its breast, 
 and with the greatest rage advanced upon him. 
 
 " To run away was impossible. He would have been 
 caught in the jungle before he had gone a dozen 
 steps. 
 
 ** He stood his ground, and as quickly as he could 
 reloaded his gun. Just as he raised it to fire, the 
 
24 THE GORILLA. 
 
 gorilla daslied it out of his hands, the gun going off in 
 the fall; and then in an instant, and with a terriblo 
 roar, the animal gave him a tremendous blow with its 
 immense paw, frightfully lacerating the abdomen, and 
 with this single blow laying bare part of the intestines. 
 As he sank bleeding to the ground, the monster seized 
 the gun, and the poor hunter thought he would have 
 his brains dashed out with it; but the gorilla seemed 
 to have looked upon this also as an enemy, and in his 
 rage almost flattened the barrel between his strong 
 jawsr 
 
 " When we came upon the ground, the gorilla was 
 gone. This is their mode when attacked — to strike 
 one or two blows, and then leave the victims of their 
 rage on the ground, and go off into the woods. 
 
 " We hunted up our companions and carried our poor 
 fellow to the camp, where all was instantly excitemeuo 
 and sorrow. * * * He had to tell the whole story over 
 again ; and the people declared at once that this was 
 no true gorilla that had attacked him, but a man — a 
 wicked man turned into a gorilla. Such a being no 
 man could escape, they said ; and it could not be killed 
 even by the bravest hunters." 
 
 He was killed, nevertheless, the following day ; but 
 his victim succumbed some hours afterwards. 
 
■-^^i 
 
 THE ANIMAL GAVE HIM A TRKMKNDOLS BLOW." [P"yt 24. 
 
LABY GOrvILLAS. 25 
 
 IV. — Baby Gorillas. 
 
 M. DU CiiAiLLU, who had killed so many adult 
 gorillas, had ncyer taken one alive, and he thought 
 it impossible that he ever should do so; hut for the 
 young it was a different matter, although the thing 
 presented some difficulties. 
 
 Some hunters whom our traveller had taken into his 
 service had gone out to heat the wood on his account. 
 There were five of them, and as they were going noise- 
 lessly through the forest they heard the cry of a little 
 gorilla calling his mother. It was about noon, and a 
 profound silence reigned around. The cry was heard 
 a second time, and the men, knowing what joy the 
 capture of a young gorilla would cause their master, 
 resolved to go over to the side from whence the sound 
 proceeded. With their guns cocked they crept into the 
 thicket, where they soon found certain signs that the 
 mother was not far off ; there was also the same ground 
 for supposing that the male was in the neighbourhood ; 
 nevertheless, the brave fellows did not hesitate. In a 
 dead silence, and scarce breathing, they crawled on. At 
 a few yards in advance of them the bushes were shaken, 
 and soon they perceived a young gorilla, seated on 
 the gTound eating some berries, and at a short distance 
 sat his mother, occupied in the same way. Just as 
 
26 THE GORILLA. 
 
 they were raising their guns to fire, she perceived them. 
 The shots struck her, and she fell mortally wounded. 
 
 At the noise of the discharge, the little gorilla threw 
 himself on his mother, clasped her with his arms, and 
 hid himself in her bosom. But the triumphant cries 
 of the hunters recalled him to himself, and he left 
 the body of his mother, rushed up a tree, and scram- 
 bled nearly to the top, where he sat howling at them 
 savagely. 
 
 The blacks were much embarrassed, being unwilling 
 either to shoot him or to expose themselves to his bites. 
 At last they agreed to cut down the tree ; and profiting 
 by the surprise of the little monster when he fell, they 
 threw a sack over his head, which, however, did not 
 prevent his giving one of them a fearful bite on the 
 hand, and another had a piece taken out of his leg. 
 
 As this little beast, although very small, and the 
 merest baby for a^e, was astonishingly strong, and as 
 nothing would assuage his fury, they scarcely knew how 
 to carry him. They finished by fixing his neck in a 
 forked stick in such a way as to keep him at a safe 
 distance, at the same time preventing his escape ; and 
 in this fashion they led him to M. du Chaillu. *'I 
 cannot," he writes, *^ describe the emotions which I 
 felt. That single moment recompensed me for all the 
 fatigue and suffering I had undergone in Africa.'' 
 
 The excitement in the village was intense. Tbo 
 
BABY GOEILLAS. ' 27 
 
 young gorilla roared and bellowed, and looked around 
 wildly with Ins wicked little eyes, giving fair warning 
 that if he could only get at some one he would take 
 his revenge. In two hours they had built a strong 
 bamboo house, with the bars sufficiently apart to 
 enable the ape to see and to be seen. Here he was 
 immediately deposited, and M. du Chaillu enjoyed 
 the opportunity of tranquilly examining his prize. 
 
 *' It was a young male, evidently not yet three years 
 old. Its face and hands were very black ; eyes not so 
 much sunken as in the adult. The hair began just at 
 the eyebrows and rose to the crown, where it was of a 
 reddish-brown. It came down the sides of the face in 
 lines to the lower jaw, much as our beards grow. The 
 upper lip was covered with short coarse hair, the lower 
 lip had longer hair. The eyelids very slight and thin ; 
 eyebrows straight, and three-quarters of an inch long. 
 
 ** The whole back was covered with hair of an iron- 
 grey, becoming dark nearer the arms, and quite white 
 about the anus ; chest and abdomen covered with hair, 
 which was somewhat thin and short on the breast. On 
 the arms the hair was longer than anywhere on the 
 body, and of a greyish-black colour, caused by the roots 
 of the hair being dark and the ends whitish. On the 
 hands and wrists the hair was black, and came down to 
 the second joints of the fingers, though one could see 
 in the short down the beginning of the long black hair 
 
28 " THE GORILLA. 
 
 wliich lines the upper parts of the fingers in the adult. 
 The hair of the legs was greyish-black, becoming 
 blacker as it reached the ankles, the feet being covered 
 with black hair. 
 
 *'When I had the little fellow safely locked in his 
 cage, I ventured a few encouraging words to him. He 
 stood in the farthest corner, but as I approached, 
 bellowed and made a precipitate rush at me, and 
 though I retreated as quickly as I could, succeeded in 
 catching my trousers, which he grasped with one of 
 his feet and tore, retreating immediately to the corner 
 farthest away. This taught me caution for the present, 
 though I had hopes still of being able to tame him. 
 
 " He sat in his corner looking wickedly out of 
 his grey eyes, and I never saw a more morose 
 or more ill-tempered face than had this little 
 beast. 
 
 " The first thing was, of course, to attend to the 
 wants of my captive. I sent for some of the forest 
 berries, v/hich these animals are known to prefer, and 
 placed these and a cup of water within his reach. 
 
 '^He was exceedingly shy, and would neither eat nor 
 drink till I had removed to a considerable distance. 
 
 ** The second day found Joe, as I had named him, 
 fiercer than the first. He rushed savagely at any one 
 who stood even for a momeat near his cage, and 
 seemed ready to tear us all to pieces. I threw him 
 
BABY GOEILLAS. 29 
 
 to-day some pineapple leaves, of wliich I noticed lie 
 ate only the white parts. 
 
 " There seemed no difficulty about his food, though 
 he refused now — and continued during his short life 
 to refuse — all food, except such wild leaves and fruit as 
 were gathered from his native woods for him. 
 
 "The third day he was still morose and savage, 
 bellowing when any person approached, and either 
 retiring to a distant corner or rushing to attack. 
 
 ' " On the fourth day, while no one was near, the little 
 rascal succeeded in forcing apart two of the bamboo 
 rails which composed his cage, and made his escape. 
 I came up just as his flight was discovered, and im- 
 mediately got all the negroes together for pursuit, de- 
 termining to surround the wood and recapture him. 
 Kunning into my house to get one of my guns, I was 
 startled by an angry growl issuing from under my low 
 bedstead. It was Master Joe, who lay hid there, but 
 anxiously watching my" movements. I instantly shut 
 the window^s and called to my people to guard the door. 
 When Joe saw the crowd of black faces, he became 
 furious, and with his eyes glaring, and with every sign 
 of rage in his little face and body, got out from 
 beneath the bed. We shut the door at the same time, 
 and left him master of the premises, preferring to 
 devise some plan for his easy capture rather than to 
 expose ourselves to his terrible teeth. 
 
so THE GOEILLA. 
 
 ** Meantime Joe stood in the middle of tlie room, ex- 
 amining with some surprise the furniture. I watched 
 with fear, lest the ticking of my clock should strike his 
 ear, and perhaps lead to an assault upon that precious 
 article. 
 
 *' Finally, seeing him quite still, I despatched some 
 fellows for a net, and opening the door quickly, threw 
 this over his head; fortunately, we succeeded at the 
 first throw in fatally entangling the young monster, 
 who roared frightfully, and struck and kicked in every 
 direction under the net. I took hold of the back of 
 his neck, two men seized his arms, and another man 
 his legs, and thus held by four men, this extraordinary 
 little creature still proved most troublesome. We 
 carried him as quicldy as we could to the cage, which 
 had been repaired, and there once more locked him in. 
 I never saw so furious a beast in my life as he was ; 
 he darted at every one who came near, bit the bamboos 
 of the house, glared at us with venomous and sullen 
 eyes, and in every motion showed a temper thoroughly 
 wicked and malicious ; and as there was no change in 
 this for two days thereafter, but continual moroseness, 
 I tried what starvation would do towards breaking his 
 spirit. It also began to be troublesome to procure his 
 food from the woods, and I wanted him to become 
 accustomed to civilized food, which was placed before 
 him. But he would touch nothing of the kind ; and 
 
BABY GOBILLAS. 31 
 
 as for temper, after starving Lim twenty-four hours, all 
 I gained was that he came slowly up and took some 
 berries from the forest out of my hand, immediately 
 retreating to his corner to eat them. 
 
 *^ Daily attention from me for a fortnight more did not 
 bring any further confidence from him than this. * * * 
 At the end of this fortnight I came one day to feed 
 him, and found that he had gnawed a bamboo to pieces 
 slyly, and again made his escape. Luckily, he had but 
 just gone. As I looked around I caught sight of Master 
 Joey making off on all-fours, and with great speed, 
 across the little prairie for a clump of trees. 
 
 ''I called the men up, and we gave chase. * * * He 
 did not ascend a tree, but stood defiantly at the border 
 of the wood. About one hundred and fifty of us sur- 
 rounded him. As we moved up he began to yell, and 
 made a sudden dash at a poor fellow who was in 
 advance, who, as he ran, tumbled down in a fright, and 
 by his fall escaped, but also detained Joe sufiiciently 
 long for the nets to be brought to bear upon him. 
 
 "Four of us again bore him struggling into the 
 village. This time I would not trust him to the cage, 
 but had a little light chain fastened round his neck. 
 This operation he resisted with all his might, and it 
 took us quite an hour to securely chain the little fellow, 
 whose strength was something marvellous. 
 
 * * * "To the last he continued utterly untame* 
 
82 THE GORILLA. 
 
 able ; and, after his chains were on, added the vice of 
 treachery to his others. 
 
 '^ He would come sometimes quite readily to eat out of 
 my hand, but while I stood by him would suddenly — 
 looking me all the time in the face, to keep my atten- 
 tion — put out his foot and grasp my leg. Several 
 times he tore my pantaloons in this manner, quick 
 retreat on my part saving my person, till at last I was 
 obliged to be very careful in my approaches. 
 
 ^' The negroes could not come near him at all without 
 setting him in a rage. 
 
 *^ After he was chained, I filled a half-barrel with hay, 
 and set it near him for his bed. He recognized its use 
 at once, and it was pretty to see him shake up the hay 
 and creep into this nest when he was tired. At night 
 he always again shook it up, and then took some hay 
 in his hands, with which he would cover himself when 
 he was snug in his barrel. Ten days after he was thus 
 chained he died suddenly. He was in good health, and 
 ate plentifully of his natural food, which was brought 
 every day for him. He did not seem to sicken until 
 two days before his death, and died in some pain." 
 
 Some months later he was replaced by another one. 
 This time M. du Chaillu took part in the capture of 
 the young animal. 
 
 ^* We were walking along in silence, when I heard a 
 cry, and presently saw before me a female gorilla, with 
 
BABY GOBILLAfJ. 83 
 
 a tiny baby gorilla liaBgiiig at her breast and sucking. 
 The mother was stroking tlio little one, and looking 
 fondly down at it; and the scene was so pretty and 
 touching, that I held my fire, and considered, like a 
 soft-hearted fellow, vvhether I had not better leave 
 them in peace. 
 
 *' Before I could make up my mind, however, my 
 hunter fired, and killed the mother, v/ho fell without 
 a struggle. The mother fell, but the baby clung to 
 her, and with pitiful cries endeavoured to attract her 
 attention. I came up, and when it saw me it hid 
 its poor little head in its mother's breast; it could 
 neither walk nor bite, so we could easily manage it, 
 and I carried it while the men bore the mother on 
 a pole. When we got to the village, another scene 
 ensued. The men put the body down, and I set the 
 little fellow near. As soon as he sav/ his mother, 
 he crawled to her and threw himself on her breast. 
 He did not find his accustomed nourishment, and I 
 saw that he perceived something was the matter with 
 the old one. He crawled over her body, smelt at it, 
 and gave utterance from time to time to a plaintive 
 cry, ' hoo, hoo, hoo ! ' which touched my heart. 
 
 *' I could get no milk for the poor little fellov/, who 
 could not eat, and consequently died on the third 
 day after he Vv^as caught. He seemed more docile 
 than the other I had, for he already recognized my 
 
 D 
 
34 THE GORILLA. 
 
 voice, and would try to hurry towards me when he 
 saw me.'' 
 
 A thh'd time M. du Chaillu succeeded in procuring 
 a young living gorilla, under the following circum- 
 stances : — 
 
 He had been hunting for about an hour, when 
 the cry of a young gorilla calling to his mother 
 was heard. Two men, who were in advance, and 
 who were well accustomed to life in the woods, 
 knelt down and crawled through the bushes ; about 
 half an hour afterwards two shots were heard. M. 
 du Chaillu ran and found the mother shot dead, 
 but the young one had saved itself in the woods. 
 
 They concealed themselves in order to wait for its 
 return. They had not to wait long, — it reappeared, 
 jumped on its mother, and began to suck and to caress 
 her. The hunters rushed upon it immediately, but 
 although the little ajiimal was evidently less than 
 two years old, it fought with so much force that it 
 succeeded in escaping. 
 
 It was retaken, nevertheless ; not, however, until one 
 of the men had been severely bitten in the arm by 
 the little demon. It wcs a female. When brought 
 back to its mother, it threw itself upon her, and 
 buried its head in the maternal bosom. It was a 
 touching sight. Unhappily, this little female only 
 lived ten days; she was not as ferocious as the 
 
BABY GORILLAS. 35 
 
 young male already described, but slie was quite as 
 cunning. When slie was approached, she exhibited 
 the same menacing demonstrations. Her eyes, though 
 milder, had the same false and traitorous look, *^ and," 
 y/rites M. du Chaillu, '^ she had the same way as 
 my other intractable captive, of looking you straight 
 in the eyes when she was meditating an attack. I 
 remarked, also, the same manoeuvre practised by the 
 other when she wanted to seize anything — say my 
 arm, which, by reason of her chain, she could not 
 reach with her arm ; she looked me straight in the 
 face, then, quick as a flash, threw her body on one 
 leg and arm, and reached out with the other leg. 
 Several times I had narrow escapes of a grip from 
 her strong great toe. * * * All her motions were 
 remarkably quick, and her strength, though she was 
 BO small and young, was truly extraordinary," 
 
 D 2 
 
CHAPTER n. 
 
 I. — Grizzly Beaes. 
 
 Of all tliG quadrupeds of America, the grizzly bear is 
 the only one that is truly formidable, and therefore his 
 manners, his habits, and his exploits are the favourite 
 theme of the hunters of the West. His size is enor- 
 mous, and his strength prodigious ; his speed far 
 superior to that of a man endeavouring to escape from 
 him by flight. His claws are nearly nine inches in 
 length. Although he is very fond of fruits, acorns, and 
 roots, he is carnivorous as well as herbivorous. He 
 attacks the buffalo, fells him to ihe ground, and drags 
 him to some spot where he can feed on him at leisure. 
 If a man attacks him, he squats on his hind paws 
 and accepts Iho combat ; and when pressed by hunger, 
 he becomes the assailant. When wounded, he becomes 
 furious, and then the tables are turned, and man is 
 hunted. He was formerly known on the Missouri and 
 in the low countries, but, like the tribes of the prairies, 
 he has gradually beaten retreat before the march of civi- 
 
GRIZZLY BEARS. 37 
 
 lization, and to-day .he is only to be found in elevated 
 regions, — in the Eocky Mountains, for example, and 
 in the Black Mountains, a great chain situated about 
 thirty-three leagues to the east of them. There he 
 hides himself in caverns, or in holes scooped out by 
 himself under the roots and trunks of fallen trees. 
 
 Hunters, whether red or white, regard the hunting* 
 of the bear as the most heroic of all the field sports on 
 the American continent. They prefer attacking him 
 on horseback, and sometimes they approach sufiiciently 
 near to touch him, but woe to the horse or the rider 
 that gets too^ near to his terrible claws ! The man 
 must have a sure eye and a steady hand to strike the 
 animal in a vital part, for he is very difficult to kill ; and 
 it very rarely happens that one shot kills him, unless it 
 passes through his head or his heart. 
 
 Some Americans on a commercial expedition had 
 one evening established their camp at Iho foot of the 
 Black Mountains. Soon, from the numerous footprints 
 among the bushes, they discovered that their tents were 
 pitched just in the very midst of one of the rendezvous 
 of grizzly bears. From that moment all the charm of 
 the encampment was destroyed. 
 
 The night, however, was passed very well, but they 
 had sufficient proof next morning that their fears had 
 not been groundless. 
 
 ** Amongst the hired men of the party was on© 
 
38 BEARS. 
 
 William Cannon, who had been a soldier at one of the 
 frontier posts. 
 
 " He was an inexperienced hunter and a poor shot, 
 for which he was much bantered by his more adroit com- 
 rades. Piqued at their raillery, he had been practising 
 ever since he joined the expedition, but without success. 
 One afternoon he went out alone, and, to his great joy, 
 he had the good fortune to kill a buffalo. Being at a 
 considerable distance from the camp, he cut out the 
 tongue and some of the choice bits, made a packet 
 of them, and slinging it on his shoulders by a 
 strap passed round his forehead, as travellers carry 
 packets of merchandise, he directed his steps all 
 glorious for the camp. 
 
 '* In passing through a narrow ravine he heard foot- 
 steps behind him. He looked round, and saw to his 
 great terror that he was followed by a grizzly bear, 
 apparently attracted by the smell of the meat. Cannon 
 had heard so much of the invulnerability of this tre- 
 mendous animal, that he not only did not attempt to 
 fire at him, but, slipping the strap from his forehead, 
 let go the buffalo-meat and ran for his life. The bear, 
 without stopping for the game, pursued the hunter. 
 He had nearly overtaken him, when Cannon reached a 
 tree, and scrambled up it, throwing down his rifle. 
 
 *^ An instant after, bruin was at the foot of the tree ; 
 but as this kind of bear does not climb, he contented 
 
GRIZZLY BEARS. 89 
 
 himself by changing his pursuit into a blockade. 
 Night came on. Poor Cannon could not know for cer- 
 tain in the darkness whether his enemy remained there 
 or not, but his fears pictured him rigorously mount- 
 ing guard, and^he passed the night in the tree, a prey 
 to the most horrible fancies. At daybreak the bear was 
 gone. Cannon warily descended, picked up his gun, 
 and made the best of his way back to the camp, with- 
 out troubling himself to go in search of the buffalo- 
 meat." 
 
 John Day, an old Kentucky hunter, accompanied by 
 one of the clerks, a lively youngster, was following the 
 trail of a deer, when suddenly a huge grizzly bear 
 emerged from the thicket at thirty yards distant, rear- 
 ing himself on his hind-legs with a terrific growl, and 
 displaying a hideous array of claws and teeth. The 
 young man instantly levelled his gun, but John Day's 
 iron hand was quickly upon his arm. ** Be quiet, boy, 
 be quiet ! '' said the hunter between his clenched teeth, 
 without turning his eyes from the bear. 
 
 The two hunters remained motionless. The mon- 
 ster regarded them for several minutes, then dropping 
 his fore-feet, slowly withdrew. 
 
 After a few steps he turned round, sat up again, and 
 repeated his menaces. Day's hand was still on the arm 
 of his young companion, whilst he repeated between 
 his teeth, '* Quiet boy! keep quiet, keep quiet!" a 
 
40 BEAKS. 
 
 warning but little needed, for the young man had 
 not moved. 
 
 At length the bear again came down on all- 
 fours, retreated another twenty yards, then turned 
 round, showed his teeth, and growled. This third 
 menace was too much for the game spirit of John 
 Day. 
 
 *'By Jove!" exclaimed he, '^ I can stand this no 
 longer;" and in an instant a ball from his rifle whizzed 
 into the foe. The wound was not mortal, but luckily 
 it dismayed instead of enraging the animal, and he 
 retreated into the thicket. 
 
 Day's young companion reproached him for not 
 practising the caution which he preached. 
 
 *'Look here, my boy," replied the veteran, *' caution 
 is caution ; but one must not put up with too much, 
 even from a bear. Would you have me suffer my- 
 self to be bullied all day by a varmint?"* 
 
 *' A hunter, whilst pursuing a deer, fell into one of 
 those deep funnel-shaped pits, formed on the prairies 
 by the settling of the waters after heavy rains, and 
 known by the name of sink-holes. 
 
 '* To his great horror he found himself in contact, 
 at the bottom of the pit, with a huge grizzly bear. 
 The monster grappled him, a deadly contest ensued, 
 
 * Washington Irvine's "Astoria." 
 
GRIZZLY BEARS. 41 
 
 and the poor hunter was severely torn and bitten, 
 and had an arm and a leg broken, but succeeded in 
 killing his rugged foe. 
 
 '*For several days he remained at the bottom of 
 the pit, too much crippled to move, and subsisting 
 on the raw flesh of the bear. At length he regained 
 sufiicient strength to scramble to the top of the pit, 
 and crawling into a ravine formed by a nearly dry 
 watercourse, he took a delicious draught. The fresh 
 water infused new life into him. Then dragging 
 himself along from pool to pool, he sustained him- 
 self with small fish and frogs. 
 
 *' One day he saw a wolf kill a deer in the neigh- 
 bouring prairie; he instantly scrambled out of the 
 ravine, scared away the wolf, and, lying down beside 
 the carcase of the deer, he remained there until he 
 had made several hearty meals, by which his strength 
 was much recruited. 
 
 "Keturning to the ravine, he followed the water- 
 course to a point where it grew to be a considerable 
 stream. He descended this river, allowing himself 
 to be guided by the current, and just at the point 
 where it emptied into the Mississippi, he found a 
 f illen tree, which he launched with some difficulty, 
 and getting astride of it, committed himself to the 
 current of the mighty river. In this way he floated along 
 until he arrived opposite the Fort at Council Blufis. 
 
*# 
 
 42 BEARS. 
 
 " Happily, he arrived by daylight, otherwise he might 
 have passed this solitary post unperceived, and have 
 perished in the idle waste of waters. Being descried 
 from the Fort, a canoe was sent to his relief, and he 
 was brought to shore more dead than alive, where he 
 soon recovered of his wounds, but remained maimed 
 ^or life."* 
 
 II. — The Brown Bear. 
 
 The manner in which the Kussian peasants hunt this 
 bear is worthy of description. The weapon of the 
 Fins is a lance. At about a foot from the point a 
 bar of iron is fixed crosswise, the object being to 
 prevent the lance from penetrating too deeply into 
 the body of the animal, and causing him, pierced 
 through and through, to fall upon the hunter. 
 
 When this latter has discovered the bear's winter 
 quarters, he posts himself, with his dog, near the 
 entrance. The dog barks, the man shouts, and both 
 making the greatest noise possible, endeavour to 
 irritate the solitary animal and bring him out of 
 his den. 
 
 For a long time the bear hesitates, but at last, 
 
 * living's "Journey in the Prairies." 
 
„..,....,., 
 
THE BKOWN BEAR. 43 
 
 tired of these provocations, he rushes* out in great 
 fury. 
 
 At sight of the peasant he rises on his hams 
 and springs forth; but the Fin is ready for him, 
 holding in front the iron point of his lance pressed 
 against his breast, and carefully concealing the stem, 
 in order that the length of the weapon may not 
 arouse the suspicion of the animal, who otherwise 
 would parry with his paws the blow which the 
 hunter is ready to give him. The latter walks 
 straight up to the encounter, and, when the distance 
 between them is so little that the monster, extending 
 his arms, is on the point of reaching him, suddenly 
 the weapon is darted forth, with a firm hand and a 
 sure eye, through the heart of the bear. 
 
 Had the bar of iron not been placed thus crosswise, 
 the animal, although mortally wounded, would have 
 fallen on the man and have done him serious injury, 
 but this bar arrests him in his spring, and the hunter 
 soon turns him over. '' What will seem extraordi- 
 nary,'' says a naturalist, " is that the bear, instead of 
 endeavouring to tear out the lance, holds it tightly 
 with his paws, and forces it more deeply into the 
 wound." 
 
 This triumph is concluded by a little fete, at which 
 there is always present a poet to sing the valour of 
 the hunter. 
 
44 BEARS. 
 
 The wearing of bearskins, like that of furs, is not 
 always free from inconvenience, and I shall not wander 
 from my subject in citing, as a projoos, an episode 
 from the *^ Voyage d'Acerbi." 
 
 He was crossing in a sledge the Gulf of Finland, 
 which was entirely frozen over. 
 
 "I expected," he writes, *Ho have to cross a limit- 
 less' and monotonous plain. What was my astonish- 
 ment, my admiration — even my fright, the farther 
 we got from our point of departure ! Enormous 
 * masses of ice, heaped up one above another, some- 
 times in the form of rocks, sometimes of pointed 
 pyramids ! What detours we had to make, in 
 order to avoid these groups of ice which barred 
 our way! In spite of all precautions, our sledges 
 upset one after the other, and constantly brought 
 the caravan to a stand. One circumstance, im- 
 possible to foresee, increased the dangers which 
 surrounded us. The sight of our long pelisses, made 
 of Kussian wolf or bearskins, and the odour which 
 they exhaled, frightened some of our horses, and made 
 them furious. When it became necessary to disengage 
 ourselves from our upset sledges, the horses perceived 
 us, and taking us for the animals with whose skins we 
 were covered, would plunge in their harness, or start 
 oS at full gallop. The peasant, fearing to lose his 
 horse, would cling to the bridle, and rather than 
 
THE BROWN BEAR. 45 
 
 let go, would allow himself, at the risk of his life, to 
 be dragged over the rough ice until his horse was 
 stopped. 
 
 " Then we would regain our sleighs, and the conduc- 
 tor, taught by experience, would take the precaution to 
 bandage the eyes of his horses. One of these animals, 
 nevertheless, the fiercest and most spirited in our 
 caravan, took fright, and managed to escape altogether. 
 The peasant who was driving him, after being dragged 
 over the ice for a long time, at last let go the bridle, 
 and then the horse, free from all restraint, redoubled 
 his speed and broke through all obstacles ; the sledge 
 which he was carrying away, bounding over the ice, 
 added to his fright and lent wings to his speed. Wo 
 followed him for a long time with our eyes, until at 
 length he was lost in the horizon. We saw him again 
 and again, as he surmounted the frozen waves, like 
 a black speck, gradually diminishing, till at last ho 
 totally disappeared. His master took a reserve sledge, 
 and started off in pursuit, flattering himself that 
 he should find him by following in his track. For 
 ourselves, we continued our route towards the Isle of 
 Aland, taking, as well as we could, the middle of the 
 smoothest passages, not, however, without being 
 frequently upset, and in danger of losing one or 
 other of our horses, which would have caused us 
 no small embarrassment.'' 
 
46 BExVRS. 
 
 III. — The White Bear. 
 
 The white bear enjoys a reputation for ferocity which 
 does not yield to that of the grizzly, and his character 
 will not be changed for the better by what we are about 
 to tell of him. 
 
 A ship returning from Nova Zembla having cast 
 anchor off one of the islands at the mouth of the 
 Strait of Waigatz, two sailors had the curiosity to 
 visit that island. 
 
 After walking about there for some time, they sat 
 down on the shore, in sight of the vessel. 
 
 They were chatting tranquilly together when one 
 of them suddenly felt himself seized forcibly by the 
 back of the neck. 
 
 He at first supposed it to be one of those rough 
 jokes in which sailors sometimes indulge. '* Who is 
 squeezing me so ? '* cried he. 
 
 The other sailor, turning round, uttered a cry of 
 alarm — '^ Oh, my God, it is a bear ! " and he ran 
 away. 
 
 It was, in fact, an enormous but very lean white bear, 
 which had stealthily approached the two mariners, and 
 which soon made a corpse of the one who had fallen 
 into his clutches. 
 
 Aroused by the desperate cries of the other, the 
 ship's crew, armed with pikes and guns, threw them- 
 
THE WHITE ^EAE. 47 
 
 selves into the boats, landed on the island, and went 
 straight to the bear gloating on his prey. 
 
 The bear saw them approach without moving and 
 without discontinuing his repast ; and when they had 
 approached near him, he started up, and rushing upon 
 them, seized one by the middle of his body, and 
 throwing him down, dragged him away in sight of 
 his stupefied companions, and tore him to pieces with 
 his teeth ! 
 
 At this sight a panic arose amongst the sailors, 
 and they ran away much faster than they came, threw 
 themselves into their boats, and, full of terror, 
 scrambled into the vessel. 
 
 Once in safety, courage returned to them ; and feel- 
 ing ashamed of themselves, and intensely excited, the 
 proposition was made to return in a body to land, and 
 attack the ferocious animal, wherever they might en- 
 counter him. 
 
 Notwithstanding, some of them protested ; and their 
 sage discourse is worthy of being transcribed as the 
 historian gives it : — 
 
 ^* Our comrades are dead," said they ; '^ we cannot 
 bring them to life again ; there is no longer any hope 
 of saving them. We shall not go to encounter their 
 murderer, but to see their limbs scattered hither and 
 thither, and to renew our grief at sight of their broken 
 bones and torn flesh. What honour can there be in 
 
48 BEAES. 
 
 running after an inglorious victory, which must be 
 bought at the price of a thousand dangers ? " 
 
 How many were there whom this eloquence did not 
 touch ? — Three ! They started at the same instant, 
 trusting to nothing but their courage, and very sure 
 of having no assistance. 
 
 Crouching over the two bodies, the conqueror was 
 about to profit by his victory. They advanced, and, 
 apparently at too great a distance, they fired several 
 times without touching him. Then the bravest man 
 of the three, separating from the others, approached 
 nearer, and taking good aim, he hit the bear a 
 little above the eye, the ball passing through his 
 head. 
 
 The bear did not fall ; he did not even leave his prey. 
 Far from that, he arose, and holding the body by the 
 neck, fled away. He had only gone a few steps, 
 however, when they saw him stagger, and the sailors 
 attacked him with their sabres. 
 
 The terrible beast fell at length, but he did not leave 
 hold of his man until they had plunged a sword into 
 his mouth, and given him the coup de grace. 
 
 Then the brave fellows gathered the remains of 
 their comrades, and buried them on the island, in 
 presence of the whole crew, who could now land with- 
 out the fear of breaking the rules of prudence. 
 
 The skin of the bear -was awarded to the man 
 
THE WHITE BEAB. A, -^ • *49 
 
 who first struck him; it measured thirte^i^eet in 
 length. ^'^' 
 
 Here is another story to show that the white bear 
 dies a hard death : — ^**iiL 
 
 We are on board the ship of Captain Jonge Kees. 
 It is evening. They had been cutting up a large 
 quantity of whale blubber during the evening. The 
 captain and crew, overcome by fatigue, had retired to 
 rest. No one remained on deck but the ordinary 
 watch. The ship was made fast to a bank of ice. On 
 that bank the men on duty saw a bear lying down, 
 and apparently asleep. 
 
 ''Let us go and surprise him," said they; and off 
 they went, as quietly as possible, in order not to 
 awake any one. But they could not avoid making 
 some noise in detaching the boat. The captain, who 
 only slept with one ear, heard them : he had just 
 been dreaming of a whale, and thinking they had 
 discovered one, he arose, went on deck, and learning 
 what was the matter, and having verified the fact with 
 his telescope, and judging that one boat would not 
 suffice, he armed another, and started off with his men. 
 
 The bear saw this little army approaching without 
 at first showing any disquietude ; but when the boats 
 were close upon the bank, without waiting longer, he 
 quitted his place and plunged into the water. 
 
 They followed him with the utmost speed, and soon 
 
 E 
 
50 BEARS. 
 
 gaining on liim, the captain had the honour of 
 striking the first blow with the spear, which pierced 
 his entrails. 
 
 They might have redoubled their blows, but as it was 
 his skin they most wanted, and they were fearful of 
 damaging it, they resolved to give him time to die 
 of that first wound, which could not be long. 
 
 Nevertheless, the animal continued to swim, reached 
 a little island which arose only about five feet above 
 the water, and began to climb up, to the astonishment 
 of the sailors, who could not believe him capable of 
 making such an effort ; he squatted himself down 
 there, with his muzzle on his fore-paws. 
 
 Then the captain became impatient. He steered on 
 to the island, landed, and with a long lance he prepared 
 to strike a second blow. The bear, which he thought 
 was nearly dead, roared, and making a gigantic bound, 
 fell on him, and placing one paw on his side and the 
 other on his breast, showed him two rows of white teeth. 
 
 He remained in that position, which a painter would 
 have paid dear to see, looking at the man as if he de- 
 sired (says the report from which we quote) to give 
 him time to consider all the horror of the punishment, 
 and to lengthen out his cruel vengeance. 
 
 The crew (continues the report) no sooner saw the 
 imminent danger of their chief, than they shouted with 
 all their might towards the ship for more help. But a 
 
THS WHITE BEAE. 51 
 
 sailor, wlio did not expect that the bear would have 
 the complaisance to await the arrival of assistance, 
 scrambled on to the island, and, armed with a boat- 
 hook, ran to the defence of the captain, and attacked 
 the bear. The boat-hook was a weapon very badly 
 chosen. Happily, at sight of this new adversary, the 
 animal took flight. The captain had not even a 
 scratch. 
 
 A reinforcement arrived from the ship, and they took 
 counsel together. 
 
 The bear had not gone far, and was sitting on an ice- 
 bank. They attacked him at first with their guns, and 
 then with spears, until at length he succumbed, but 
 not until the whole crew had joined in the attack. 
 
 E 
 
CHAPTEE in. 
 
 " Sitting by the camp fire in the forests of the Don, 
 I have sometimes heard a deep low moan, like the 
 rumbling of falling earth. The native servants would 
 exchange glances of intelligence, and, affrighted, would 
 cease their gossip on the price of corn ; and then the 
 conversation would soon turn on the innumerable cases 
 of death or of wounds caused by the fiercest and most 
 subtle enemy that the sportsman can encounter in 
 India." 
 
 Thus Captain Dunlop, of the Indian army, expresses 
 himself at the end of his recitals of the chase in the 
 Himalayas.* 
 
 It is by this plaintive sigh that the royal tiger makes 
 known his presence to the hosts of the forest. In com- 
 pany with other animals of his species, he caterwauls 
 like a gigantic Tom-oat. His springs, when charging, 
 are accompanied by a series of rapid frightful, cough- 
 like growls ; *' But," says the Captain, '' I have heard 
 
 * "Hunting in tlie Himalayas." 
 
THE TIGEE. 53 
 
 a bear making nearly the same noise ; '* and M. Louis 
 Viardot says the same.* 
 
 With one blow of his paw he will break the back of 
 an ox, and will carry him afterwards as a cat carries a 
 mouse, and apparently without effort ; and it rarely 
 happens that the limbs of the victim touch the ground. 
 
 II. 
 
 Mounted on elephants, some Europeans, among whom 
 were some indigo planters and officers of a native regi- 
 ment, left Bombay, intending to devote some time to 
 the noble pleasure of tiger hunting. They had not yet 
 reached the skirt of the forest, when the noise of their 
 march aroused a huge tigress, which, far from flying, 
 attacked furiously the line of elephants. One of these 
 animals, seeing the tiger for the first time, was fright- 
 ened, and in spite of the efforts of the hunter who rode 
 him, turned tail on the terrible beast. Seeing this, the 
 tigress rushed in pursuit, leaped on the elephant's 
 back, seized the hunter by the thigh, dragged him to 
 the ground, and, throwing him over her shoulders 
 
 * " The bear advanced resolutely, in a straight line, the head 
 raised, and uttered at intervals a blusterous hissing, like that 
 which a cat makes when barked at by a dog." — Souvenirs de 
 Chasse, p. 791. 
 
54 THE TIGEB. 
 
 as easily as a fox would have thrown a fowl, bounded 
 off towards the forest. All the guns were at once 
 directed towards her, but no hunter dared to fire, in 
 the fear of hitting their unfortunate comxDanion. 
 
 They were soon out of sight, but they could follow 
 by the trace of blood shed by the victim. Soon these 
 traces became more and more indistinct, and, arrived 
 in the heart of the forest, not knowing on which side 
 to direct their steps, the hunters, in despair, were 
 about to give up the pursuit, when at the very moment 
 they least expected it, they perceived the tigress and 
 her prey, both extended in the high grass. The beast 
 was dead. The man, with his eyes wide open, was 
 still conscious, but his thigh remained in the jaws 
 of the tigress, and he was too feeble to reply to the 
 questions of his friends. It was necessary, in order 
 to release him from his terrible position, to cut off the 
 head of the animal, and to disjoint her jaws. 
 
 Fortunately, a surgeon was present, and the best care 
 was given to the wounded, and he was conveyed to the 
 nearest dwelling from the theatre of this frightful scene. 
 
 When he had sufiiciently regained his strength, 
 he related his adventure thus : — Stunned by his 
 fall, weakened by loss of blood and by pain, he had 
 fainted a few seconds after the tigress seized him. 
 When he regained consciousness he found himself on 
 the back of the animal, which was trotting at a rapid 
 
THE TIGER. C5 
 
 pace towards the thicket. Every second his face and 
 his hands were torn by the bushes through which the 
 tigress carried him. His death appeared to him 
 certain, and he remained motionless, resigned to his 
 fate. Then the thought struck him that he had in his 
 belt a pair of pistols. He seized one of them, and 
 pointing it at the animal's head, he fired. The tigress 
 shook violently, her teeth were pressed more deeply 
 into the flesh of her victim, and that was all. The 
 poor fellow fainted again. When he came to himself 
 once more, wishing to try his last chance, he took his 
 second pistol, and this time aimed under the shoulder- 
 blade, in the direction of the heart, and the tigress fell 
 dead, without a struggle or a groan, whilst the hunter, 
 exhausted by this last effort, had not even strength to 
 shout to his friends when he heard them approach. 
 
 III. 
 
 Let us return to Captain Dunlop. 
 
 He started one morning from the camp of Jubrawalla, 
 on the banks of the Soosv/a, accompanied by Major 
 
 H . They had with them seven elephants. Near 
 
 this spot was a piece of land covered with young 
 cotton plants and thick boxwood bushes. As the 
 hunters were crossing this ground, they perceived the 
 carcase of an ox, partly devoure'd by some animal, 
 
56 THE TIGEB 
 
 which to all appearances had only just quitted his 
 feast. The ground was too hard to judge of tho 
 animal from the footprints. Nevertheless, they im- 
 mediately formed in line, and the hunt commenced 
 along a dry trench, partly covered hy the jungle. At 
 the first turn of the route an animal sprang out of the 
 ditch, and for a second stood on the ojDposite hank, at 
 a distance of sixty yards from the hunters. A ghoorka 
 declared that it was a calf; hut it proved to he a 
 full-grown tigress. 
 
 Pursuit commenced immediately. The animal rushed 
 across a large piece of ground, on which the grass had 
 heen burnt, but the most that it could do, being gorged 
 with food, was to keep just in advance of the line of 
 the seven elephants, which were rushing forward at 
 their utmost speed. 
 
 The tigress charged straight through a herd of 
 cattle, which immediately dispersed. At length, after 
 a race of about two miles, she reached a part of the 
 jungle which crossed a deep nullah, and the hunt 
 began again. *' Scarcely had I entered that part of 
 the jungle which I was about to search, when I saw 
 her under a bush, crouching down, ready to make a 
 spring ; and firing one barrel straight between her eyes, 
 she rolled over into the nullah. She threw herself 
 repeatedly against the side in her attempts to remount, 
 but failed to accomplish it, all troubled as she was 
 
THE TIGER. 57 
 
 from the effects of my ball, wliicli had made a large 
 fracture in her skull, grazed the brain, and caused an 
 overflowing of blood in the throat. The shot was fatal, 
 for it was impossible for her to leave the place ; and 
 
 K , who came up soon afterwards, despatched her 
 
 with a ball behind the ear.'* 
 
 The carcase was hoisted on one of the elephants ; 
 not, however, without the latter protesting by sundry 
 imprecations and objections after his fashion. 
 
 Another time (it was in 1855, at the famous fair of 
 Hurdwar) two or three millions of people, from all 
 parts of India, — Thibet, the Punjaub, Affghanistan, 
 and Persia, were assembled at this religious and com- 
 mercial rendezvous ; and Captain Dunlop was present 
 as superintendent of the mountain district. 
 
 The second day a native came to tell him that in the 
 very midst of that immense assembly a tiger had just 
 struck down a man. The Captain immediately dis- 
 tributed rifles amongst some officers who were on a visit 
 near him, and they started off", to the number of seven. 
 Unfortunately, there was no hunting elephant in the 
 camp, and they were obliged to content themselves 
 with three saddle elephants, although it was almost 
 certain that they would turn tail at the critical mo- 
 ment. Each elephant carried two hunters, and the 
 seventh, Mr. 0. Bradford, rode on horseback. 
 
 At the distance of about 500 yards they found the 
 
58 THE TIGER. 
 
 unfortunate countryman, with his skull fractured and 
 his brains uncovered. A little farther on they were 
 shown, in the midst of a field of wheat, a thicket about 
 thirty yards square. It was from this thicket that 
 the tiger had thrown himself upon his victim, and 
 there also he had taken refuge. 
 
 Some thousands of the natives, seeing the hunters, 
 united together around the place, enclosing the tiger 
 in a living circle. It was fortunate for Mr. Dunlop and 
 his friends that they were mounted on the elephants, 
 for on foot it would have been impossible to discharge 
 their guns without wounding some one in the crowd. 
 Now let the narrator speak : — 
 
 *^ Our feline friend, evidently arrived at a pitch of 
 lively excitement, did not await our arrival, but charged 
 upon us of his own accord with a cry of rage. 
 
 " The three elephants with one accord faced about, 
 and ran one against the other, screaming and crying 
 with fright, whilst Bradford danced around them on 
 my chestnut, *Waverley.' Several shots were never- 
 theless fired by our quadrille, and with some success, 
 inasmuch as whilst neither of us was hit, one ball 
 was sent through the fore-leg of the tiger just in time 
 to stop short his charge, and to send him back into 
 the cover. 
 
 *'An active struggle now began between the elephants 
 and their drivers, seeing that no force, moral or phy- 
 
THE TIGER. 59 
 
 sical, no caressing or spurring, could induce them 
 to form in line, to beat the thicket out of which had 
 come the monster which had so troubled their minds. 
 
 ** At last, pell-mell, and driven like sheep, they ad- 
 vanced to about fifty yards from the thicket, guided 
 only by the violent blows of the anlms, when a second 
 roar from the tiger served as a prelude to a fresh 
 charge with all his speed. 
 
 " This would doubtless have been, from the manner 
 in which it was made, a flight to his lair, but luckily, 
 amongst the numerous shots fired from the howdahs, 
 which were rolling and pitching like boats on the sea, 
 a ball, fired by Melville, struck the tiger's shoulder, 
 which sent him rolling at four feet from Grant's 
 elephant, where we saw him lying on his back, with 
 his hind-legs paralyzed, and performing the exercise 
 of a pugilist with his fore-legs. The roars of the 
 elephants, the howling of the tiger, and the cries of 
 the crowd, produced such a confusion, that Melville's 
 elephant faced completely round and took to his heels. 
 
 " The hurrah which followed the fall of the tiger 
 had scarcely subsided when he arose, and, balanc- 
 ing himself, attempted to spring forward a few 
 yards, principally by means of his fore-paws. He 
 repeated this manoeuvre at each discharge : it seemed 
 as if each ball had a revivifying effect on his system, 
 like sal volatile. He had risen for the last time, when 
 
60 THE TIGER. 
 
 some of us descended from our elephants to examine 
 him more closely. 
 
 *^ He was found to be a male, and one of the largest 
 I had ever seen:" 
 
 IV. 
 
 Anotheb hunter, and similar stories. Our guide is 
 now M. Thomas Anquetil. The scene is in Birmah, 
 at some miles from Ngnyoun-goo, in a forest, in the 
 centre of which a lake occupies the place of an ancient 
 monastery which had been destroyed by an earth- 
 quake. This lake is covered by water-fowl. 
 
 Accompanied by a European, M. le Baron do 
 
 L , his servants, and a few natives, amongst 
 
 whom was one named Laos, M. Thomas Anquetil 
 went out hunting. 
 
 Going along by the side of the lake on foot, the 
 narrator separated from his companions, and followed 
 only by an Indian rower, who had charge of his rifle, 
 had just fired both barrels on a flight of birds. The 
 Indian went forward immediately to gather up the 
 dead and the wounded. *' He had not gone twenty 
 yards when a sharp, piercing, and terrible roar re- 
 sounded through the solitudes of the forest, and was 
 re-echoed by the neighbouring rocks. Soon I heard a 
 rapid movement, and then a tiger sprang from the 
 
fer 'gk\ 
 
THE TIGER. 61 
 
 bushes, which he broke like straw. The tiger was 
 forty yards off. The Indian stood still, aimed, and 
 fired; a fresh roar, and the ferocious beast pursued 
 his course. 
 
 " At twenty yards the Indian fired his second barrel ; 
 a frightful cry of terror and agony was the reply. 
 The tiger at one bound reached and seized his enemy, 
 and tore him in pieces ! " 
 
 M. Thomas Anquetil threw down his rifle, and 
 taking his revolver in his right hand and his cutlass 
 in his left, he held himself -in readiness ; he could 
 not fire, for the man and the tiger were so entangled 
 together. At length the animal, with his eyes on fire, 
 his mouth all bloody, and lashing his sides with his 
 tail, abandoned the dead body, and turning round 
 upon the hunter, prepared for a spring, when six shots 
 resounded. All the balls had struck, and the animal 
 rolled on the ground, uttering a convulsive groan. 
 
 *' The Indian was reduced to a shapeless heap. He 
 had not left his hold on my rifle. His cramped fingers 
 still clung with one hand to the stock and the other to 
 the barrel of the gun. The wood was broken and the 
 barrels bore marks of the tiger's fangs. 
 
 *^ The ferocious beast— it was a female — lay on the 
 left side, the claws stifi'ened, the pupils contracted, the 
 mouth dripping with blood, slimy foam, and shreds 
 of throbbing flesh. She belonged to the species called 
 
62 THE TIGER. 
 
 the Eoyal Tiger, which I recognized by the short nap, 
 strewn with black and irregular rays over the tawny 
 hair. But its height and length, the fineness of its 
 extremities, and the grace of its form, denoted that 
 it was not yet quite full grown. I suppose it was 
 about seven years old. 
 
 ** The oarsman's ball had glided over the ribs and 
 ploughed the right flank of the beast ; the second had 
 entered the flesh at the top of the shoulder. One 
 inch lower, and the Indian would have conquered the 
 tiger, for he would have broken the joint. He had 
 evidently fired each time a little too hastily. 
 
 " Two of my six balls had shattered the tiger's jav/ ; 
 the four others were lodged in the breast, and one of 
 them had grazed the heart. 
 
 *' Scarcely had our inspection terminated when Laos> 
 who had carefully watched all, pressed under his finger 
 the slightly distended udder of the beast, and there 
 issued a yellowish- white milky fluid. This was a ray of 
 sunlight to him. He seized his cutlass and started o&, 
 without speaking a word, and began to search about 
 the end of the peninsula, beating every tuft of bushes. 
 The Baron and I, being greatly moved, took up our 
 firearms and set ourselves to watch with increasing 
 interest. 
 
 ** At the end of the peninsula footprints were seen 
 on the greasy and humid shore — some large and deep, 
 
THE TIGER. 63 
 
 others small and almost imperceptible. Laos at once 
 guessed the meaning. The beasts had come there 
 to quench their thirst, after which they had gone away 
 on different tracks. 
 
 *^ At one place, where the grass and the shrubs had 
 been more trodden down than elsewhere, as if many 
 beasts had made their halt there, Laos remarked that 
 the track in front, which was that of the mother, w^as 
 much more decided than the light impression which 
 was seen on the left. This last index was sufficient. 
 At forty yards farther a shout escaped from him. 
 
 ^* Under a covering of lotus and flowering rushes, 
 two young tigers, a little larger than cats, as round as 
 balls, lay one against the other, awaiting their mother 
 in a kind of fierce terror. They were about three 
 weeks or a month old at most. Laos having half 
 opened with the point of his stick this verdant screen, 
 they opened their eyes, stretched out their claws, 
 showed their teeth, and growled : with one blow with 
 the butt-end of his gun he stunned them both. 
 
 ** To tie their legs together with cords, to take off his 
 vest, and to divest himself of his patsoo (he was then 
 naked as a glass, about which he did not trouble him- 
 self the least in the world), was for him an affair of 
 half a minute. 
 
 *' Then he extended his vest on the ground, and 
 placed thereon the two little animals, and tied up the 
 
64 THE TIGER. 
 
 opposite ends. Then having opened out his patsoo, he 
 enclosed the packet, and placing it on a branch over 
 his shoulder, he marched away, after the fashion of a 
 country labourer. 
 
 ** The hunters returned through the forest, M. Thomas 
 Anquetil and the Baron walking ahead, in conversation. 
 
 '^ Suddenly a warm breath passed over my cheek; I 
 felt myself seized by my girdle from behind, and 
 the grave voice of Laos murmured rapidly these 
 words in my ear, — ^ Take care, master; do not ad- 
 vance.' 
 
 ^'^ What is it, then?' 
 
 ** * A tiger ! ' said he, extending his arm. 
 
 *' This dialogue took place whilst I was taking down 
 my rifle, which was unfortunately fixed in my shoulder- 
 belt. 
 
 *^ A little eminence of twelve or fifteen feet overhung 
 the route. Around a mango tree of moderate growth 
 w^as a cluster of flowering mallows. 
 
 ** The tiger, the position of whose body we could 
 guess at, but as yet we could only see his head, was 
 watching us with a fixed gaze, his back against the 
 tree, and his body bent under him, in order to give 
 double force to his spring. He was waiting until we 
 should arrive in front of him, to throw himself upon 
 us suddenly and at one bound ; the interval which 
 separated us was scarcely thirty yards. 
 
THE TIGER. 65 
 
 '* When we stood to take aim at him he understood 
 that he was discovered. A slight movement on one 
 side, as if to examine where he could fly, betrayed this 
 instinctive sentiment. Then all at once, obeying his 
 sanguinary nature, or rather his courage, he turned to 
 us suddenly, and crouching on his haunches, prepared 
 to spring on us. 
 
 ** Immediately I called out, * One ! two ! three ! — fire ! ' 
 
 ** He fell on the path like a lump of lead, at five or 
 six yards from the foot of the eminence, so great was 
 the impulse of the fall ; and, strange to say, without a 
 cry or a groan. 
 
 ''He remained there — his fore-legs extended; his 
 hind legs hidden underneath him ; his nose buried in 
 the dust : one might have said that he was asleep. 
 But was he really dead, or only stunned ? 
 
 *' We advanced whilst loading our guns ; and, in the 
 meantime, my people kept their eyes on him. Not 
 seeing him move, I had a great desire to riddle his 
 head with the balls of my revolver, remaining at a few 
 yards' distance ; for the tiger, like the lion, has some- 
 times sudden starts and returns of fury, which are 
 extremely dangerous. Let him reach you at such a 
 moment, and you are lost. His paw fells you, his 
 claws rip you open, and his teeth crush your limbs, 
 were he at the very point of expiring. 
 
 '* Laos dissuaded me, saying that I should injure the 
 
 F 
 
66 
 
 THE TIGER. 
 
 skin, and he begged of me to let him do it. I con- 
 sented; but, nevertheless, I continued to aim at the 
 animal, at all hazards. 
 
 ** Laos deposited his burden of the two young tigers 
 on the ground, and then, taking up his club with his 
 two hands by the extremity of the handle, he j)laced 
 himself well in front of the beast, and dealt him a 
 blow on the head with all his might, with so much 
 vigour, indeed, as to split the skull in two as a butcher . 
 would that of an ox. 
 
 '* It was a full-grown male ; and a very splendid 
 animal he was. 
 
 '^ Laos took the fancy to draw the scent of the beast 
 before the two cubs, still wrapped up in the imtsoo ; 
 they squalled and tore like mad things, until they 
 very nearly managed to effect their escape. This 
 was evidence to me that the tiger was their father. 
 
 " Poor Laos ended very badly. M. Thomas- Anquetil 
 had made him a present cf a rifle and ammunition, of 
 which no one could make better use. One day, sur- 
 prised by a tiger, he promptly put himself on the 
 defensive. His two barrels missed fire in the very face 
 of the animal, and he was devoured in the twinkling 
 of an eye," 
 
THE LION OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 linage i 
 
CHAPTEK IV. 
 
 The lion of South Africa, or the dog-nosed lion, differs 
 considerably from the lion of Northern Africa in its 
 physical characteristics and its habits, as well as in its 
 size, strength, and courage; and the following anecdotes 
 will serve to exhibit some of these characteristics. 
 
 ''When," says Livingstone, ''a lion is met in the 
 daytime, a circumstance by no means infrequent to 
 travellers in these parts, if preconceived notions do not 
 lead them to expect something very ' noble ' or ' majes- 
 tic,' they will see merely an animal, somewhat larger 
 than the biggest dog they ever saw, and partaking very 
 strongly of the canine features. The face is not much 
 like the usual drawings of a lion, the nose being 
 prolonged like a dog's ; not exactly such as our painters 
 make it, though they might learn better at the Zoolo- 
 gical Gardens: their ideas of majesty being usually 
 shown by making their lions' faces like old women in 
 nightcaps." 
 
 F 2 
 
68 THE LION OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 It should, however, be said in reply to this, in the 
 first place,, that hitherto painters have never had South 
 African lions for their models ; and then that this lion, 
 although less formidable than the lion of the Atlas, is, 
 nevertheless, not quite so contemptible an animal as 
 the worthy traveller would have us believe. 
 
 II. 
 
 One of the characteristic traits of this or that variety 
 is undoubtedly the great number of individuals which 
 represent it in certain parts of Africa. Not that one 
 finds in any part entire armies of lions, such as are 
 spoken of by the author of an old work, ** Voyage a 
 rile de France ; " but every traveller has had occasion 
 to note that on such a night, in such a j)lace, many 
 lions, roaring horribly, were prowling round his camp 
 fire. 
 
 Listen to Le Vaillant : — 
 
 "On all sides we heard wild beasts, and above all 
 lions, crying and roaring in a fearful manner. Many of 
 the latter in particular would come and prowl round 
 our camp all night, filling with dismay both my men 
 and my animals ; neither our fires nor our muskets 
 w^ould drive them away ; they would reply with a sort 
 of savage fury to the roaring of those in the neighbour- 
 hood, as if inviting them to the carnage by making a 
 
THE LION OF SOUTH AFIIICA. 69 
 
 general attack upon us. Nevertheless, daybreak would 
 deliver us." 
 
 Mr. Moifat was on a tour among the Barolongs : 
 they had halted beside a pool of water, and at night 
 they lighted the camp fires. Scarcely had the traveller 
 got into his waggon to pass the night, when he heard 
 the oxen stamping their feet with fright. A lion had 
 just followed a heifer which they had neglected to tie 
 up, and carried it off to a distance of about a hundred 
 yards. They heard him breaking the bones of the 
 animal, which was sending forth most lamentable cries. 
 They fired several times in the direction of the noise, 
 and the lion replied only by roaring. Once he even 
 came up to the waggons, two natives having flung fire- 
 sticks at him. The sight of the fire only served to 
 redouble his fury. He was rushing on them, when a 
 ball struck the ground close by him, and he turned 
 away, still roaring. 
 
 As the fuel was getting very low, they profited by 
 the temporary departure of the lion to go and seek 
 some wood. *^ I had not gone far," says Mr. Moffat, 
 *^when I perceived between myself and the horizon 
 four animals, whose attention seemed to have been 
 aroused by the noise which I had made in breaking 
 some dry branches. Looking at them more closely, I 
 perceived that these new visitors were no other than 
 lions. I immediately beat a retreat, crawling on my 
 
70 THE LION OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 hands and knees towards the pond, to inform our guide 
 of the danger we were in. I found him not less fright- 
 ened than myself, and looking fixedly in the opposite 
 direction ; there, indeed, were two more lions and a 
 cub, devouring us with their looks, and appearing only 
 to await our movements, in order to decide upon their • 
 own. By an optical illusion which I have often noticed 
 in obscurity, they appeared to be double their real size. 
 We lost no time in entrenching ourselves in the 
 waggon and in raking up our fire, whilst at only a short 
 distance from us we could hear the first lion tearing 
 and devouring his prey. When one of the other 
 famished animals, which was prowling about the out- 
 skirts, attempted to approach him, he would drive him 
 away with such a horrible howling, as made our poor 
 oxen tremble, and was by no means reassuring to our- 
 selves. We had too good ground to fear that out of 
 six lions there might be at least one which would 
 spring upon us without allowing himself to be stopped 
 by our miserable fire. The two Barolongs begrudged 
 the animal his succulent repast, and from time to time 
 a sigh of regret would escape from them, at the 
 thought of the loss of their cow and of all the milk 
 with which she would have supplied them. A little 
 before daybreak, having swallowed the whole animal, 
 the lion retired, leaving nothing behind but some re- 
 mains of the bones. ' 
 
THE LION OF SOUTH AFRICA. 71 
 
 " When the morning arrived we examined the place, 
 and we found from the traces of the lion that he was 
 of the largest size, and that he alone had devoured 
 the heifer. The footmarks of the other lions did not 
 approach within thirty yards of the place. Two jackals 
 alone had come to finish the debris. Although I had 
 often heard spoken of the enormous quantity of food 
 which a hungry lion would devour, it required nothing 
 less than such a demonstration as this to convince me 
 that a single individual was capable of devouring all 
 the flesh of a heifer, without counting a large quantity 
 of bones ; for there only remained a rib or two and 
 even many of the marrowbones had been broken, as if 
 with a hammer." 
 
 Livingstone says, '* Whilst I was engaged in re- 
 moving our dwelling to Kolobeng, there came such a 
 large number of lions round our half-deserted homes, 
 that the natives, who remained with Mrs. Livingstone, 
 would not have dared for the world to go out of doors 
 after nightfall." 
 
 We could multiply examples almost without limit. 
 
 The author whom we have just quoted observes 
 somewhere, that the abundance of lions is explained 
 by that of the large game ; and of this latter he gives 
 us in many places of his book marvellous examples. 
 I cannot resist the pleasure of citing the following 
 passage : — 
 
72 THE LION OF SOUTH AFEICA. 
 
 *' The valley named Kandehy, or Kandehai, is as pic- 
 turesque a spot as is to be seen in tins part of Africa. 
 The open glade, surrounded by forest trees of various 
 hues, had a little stream meandering in the centre, A 
 herd of reddish coloured antelopes stood on one side, 
 near a large baobab, looking at us, and ready to run 
 up the hill, while gnus, tsessbes, and zebras gazed in 
 astonishment at the intruders. Some fed carelessly, 
 and others put on the peculiar air of displeasure 
 which these animals sometimes assume before they 
 resolve on flight. A large white rhinoceros came 
 along the bottom of the valley with his slow sauntering 
 gait without noticing us ; he looked as if he meant to 
 indulge in a mud bath. Several buffaloes, with their 
 dark visages, stood under the trees on the side opposite 
 to the pallahs." 
 
 And again : ** At a short distance below us we saw 
 the Kafue, wending its way over a forest-clad plain to 
 the confluence, and on the other side of the Zambesi ; 
 beyond that lay a long range of dark hills. A line of 
 fleecy clouds appeared lying along the course of that 
 river at their base. The plain below us, at the left 
 of the Kafue, had more large game on it than any- 
 where else I had seen in Africa. Hundreds of 
 bufi'aloes and zebras grazed on the open spaces : and 
 there stood lordly elephants, feeding majestically, 
 nothing moving, apparently, but the proboscis. 
 
THE LION OF SOUTH AFEICA. 73' 
 
 "When we- descended we found all the animals 
 remarkably tame. The elephants stood beneath the 
 trees, fanning themselves with their large ears, as 
 if they did not see us at 200 or 300 yards' distance. 
 We saw great numbers of red-coloured pigs (pota- 
 mochoerus) standing gazing at us in wonder. 
 
 *' The number of animals was quite astonishing, and 
 made me think that here I could realize an image of 
 that time when Megatheria fed undisturbed in the 
 primeval forests.** 
 
 III. 
 
 Another very characteristic feature of the dog-nosed 
 lion, is that individuals of this species often unite 
 together for the purpose of hunting large game. 
 
 *' In winter, during the daytime, one frequently sees," 
 writes Delegorgue, ** bands of lions united together for 
 the purpose of encircling and driving the game towards 
 gorges and wooded passes difficult of access, where 
 some of their number are posted. These were regular 
 but noiseless battues, the scent of the lions being quite 
 sufficient to drive away the herbivorous animals that 
 came across it. On two occasions, and at only a few 
 minutes' interval, we had fallen into the centre of a 
 line of these beaters ; there were twenty ot first, thirty 
 
74 THE LION OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 afcerwards. A rhinoceros appeared to be the chief 
 object of their greed." 
 
 Livingstone has seen a herd of buffaloes defending 
 themselves against a number of lions with their 
 horns, the males in advance, the females and their 
 young forming a rear guard. 
 
 Messrs. Oswell and Yardon were riding along the 
 banks of the Limpopo, when a waterbuck started in 
 front of them. ** I dismounted," says Mr. Vardon, 
 '* and was following it through the jungle, when three 
 buffaloes got up, and, after going a little distance, 
 stood still, and the nearest bull turned round and 
 looked at me. A ball from the two-ouncer crashed 
 into his shoulder, and they all three made off. 
 Oswell and I followed as soon aS I had reloaded, and 
 when we were in sight of the buffalo, and gaining on 
 him at every stride, three lions leapt on the unfor- 
 tunate brute. He bellowed most lustily as he kept up 
 a running fight, but he was of course soon overpowered 
 and pulled down. We had a fine view of the struggle, 
 and saw the lions, on their hind legs, tearing away 
 with teeth and clavv'S in most ferocious style." Three 
 to one is an evident proof of weakness, and even three 
 of the South African lions together are not always 
 able to master a buffalo, especially a female with little 
 ones to defend. A traveller reports having seen a 
 female, backed by a river, hold five lions in check, and 
 
THE LION OF SOUTH AFBICA. 75 
 
 compel them to beat retreat. **I have heard from 
 a good source,'* says Sparrman, '^ of a lion being 
 knocked down and trampled to death by a herd of 
 cattle which, pressed by hunger, he had dared to 
 attack in the daytime." 
 
 It is scarcely fair, ho^vever, to exaggerate the rela- 
 tive weakness of this animal. He has been seen at 
 the Cape to seize a heifer and carry her off with the 
 legs trailing the ground, with as much ease as a cat 
 would carry a mouse, leaping without any difficulty 
 across a ditch, with his load in his mouth. 
 
 Two farmers who were out hunting saw one of these 
 lions carrying away a buffalo from the plain over a 
 woody hillock ; certainly the animal had had the saga- 
 city to lighten the body by disembowelling it. 
 
 How do they manage to share the plunder in these 
 expeditions made in common ? With a certain degree 
 of equity, one is compelled to think, since the habits 
 of association continue. When an old male conduets 
 the band, as he reserves to himself the chief part of 
 the work, he gives to the others his leavings ; and if 
 this is not charitable, it is just. This is the way in 
 which the affair is managed, as described by a native: — 
 
 **When several lions together come upon some 
 game, the oldest of the troop crawls towards the ob- 
 ject of their covetousness, whilst the others lie down 
 quietly on the grass. If he succeeds in becoming 
 
76 THE LION OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 master, as he usually does, he leaves his victim and 
 retires for a quarter of an hour or so to take breath ; 
 during this time the other lions approach and lie down 
 at a respectful distance. When the chief has finished 
 his repose, he begins an attack on the brisket and the 
 abdomen; and after helping himself to the most succu- 
 lent morsels, he takes another rest, none of his com- 
 panions in the meantime dreaming of moving. Then, 
 when he has finished his second repast and retired, the 
 others, having watched all his movements, pounce upon 
 the remains, which are soon devoured. 
 
 " On other occasions, when a young lion has seized 
 his prey and an old one passes by, the young one 
 stands aside until his senior has dined." 
 
 Observations made by Mr. Mofi'at, in continuation 
 of his account of the night attack already mentioned, 
 agree entirely with the foregoing recital. 
 
 The same native saw one day a lion creeping 
 towards the stump of a tree of a blackish colour, and 
 not unlike a human form. When the animal had 
 approached within about twenty-five yards, he sprang 
 forward, and missed his mark by a foot or two, which 
 appeared to mortify him very much. After smelling 
 the object and discovering his mistake, he returned, 
 all ashamed, to his starting-point, made another leap 
 with no more success, began again, and at last, at the 
 fourth attempt, he succeeded in planting his paw on 
 
THE LION OF SOUTH AFRICA. 77 
 
 the imaginary prey. Then, satisfied with himself, he 
 went away. 
 
 Another Hottentot relates that a troop of zebras 
 was going along a straight path leading to the margin 
 of a precipice. A fine stallion formed the rear guard, 
 when suddenly, from a rock ten or twelve feet high, a 
 lion sprang at the stallion and missed him. The path 
 wound round the rock, and the lion comprehended that 
 if he could scale it at a single bound, a second spring 
 would bring him on to the back of his victim. He 
 made the attempt, but could only get sufficiently high 
 to see the zebra galloping away, beating the air with 
 his tail. He then made a second leap, and a third, 
 until he succeeded. During this time two other lions 
 had arrived, and chatting together after their fashion, 
 the old lion made them take a turn round the rock ; 
 then, leading them to the starting-point, he made the 
 leap once more in their presence, to show them what 
 must be done in future on a like occasion. 
 
 '^ They were evidently talking together," said the 
 African, '* but being in a low tone of voice I could not 
 comprehend a word of their conversation ; and fearing 
 that they might take a fancy to exercise their art at 
 my expense, I silently retired, leaving them in the 
 midst of their deliberations/' 
 
78 THE LION OF SOUTH AFBICA. 
 
 IV. 
 
 The Hottentots hold that a lion never kills a man 
 at once, when he has struck him down, unless he is 
 irritated hj resistance. This would appear to be true 
 in general, for there is nothing absolute in natural 
 history. 
 
 A father and his two sons were pursuing a lion, when 
 the animal turned upon them, and springing upon one 
 who fell underneath him, the others, without losing 
 an instant, fired and killed the lion, whilst the young 
 man was found to have sustained no injury. 
 
 A farmer of the name of Botta, who was also a 
 captain of militia, was seen in the same position as this 
 young man. For a long time the lion crouched over 
 him. The man at length extricated himself, with only 
 a few bruises and a bite in the arm — deep, certainly, 
 but not such as to put his life in danger. 
 
 We have also the testimony of Livingstone. He 
 had wounded a lion, and was in the act of reloading 
 his gun, when the lion sprang upon him. "I was 
 upon a little height; he caught my shoulder as he 
 sprang, and we both came to the ground below to- 
 gether. Growling horribly close to my ear, he shook 
 me as a terrier dog does a rat. The shock produced 
 a stupor similar to that which seems to be felt by a 
 mouse, after the first shake of the cat. It caused a 
 
THE LION OF SOUTH AFRICA. 79 
 
 sort of dreaminess, in which there was no sense of 
 pain nor feeling of terror, though quite conscious of 
 all that was ha]Dpening. It was like what patients 
 partially under the influence of chloroform describe, 
 who see all the operation, but feel not the knife. This 
 singular condition was not the result of any mental 
 process. The shake annihilated fear, and allowed no 
 sense of horror in looking round at the beast. This 
 peculiar state is probably produced by all animals 
 killed by the carnivora ; and if so, is a merciful pro- 
 vision by our benevolent Creator for lessening the pain 
 of death. Turning round to relieve myself of the 
 weight, as he had one paw on the back of my head, I 
 saw his eyes directed to Mebalwe, who was trying to 
 shoot him at a distance of ten or fifteen yards. His 
 gun, a flint one, missed fire in both the barrels. The 
 lion immediately left me, and attacking Mebalwe, bit 
 his thigh. Another man, whose life I had saved 
 before, after he had been tossed by a buffalo, attempted 
 to spear the lion while he was biting Mebalwe. He 
 •left Mebalwe and caught this man by the shoulder, 
 but at that moment the bullets he had received took 
 efi'ect, and he fell down dead." 
 
 It would seem that the lion takes quite another 
 course when the victim is a beast. Most frequently 
 he kills him at a blow. A farmer had just unyoked 
 his oxen, when a lion threw himself successively on 
 
80 THE LION OF SOUTH AFEICA. 
 
 two of these animals, whose deaths were instan- 
 taneous. 
 
 He had broken their spines. 
 
 Whence comes this difference ? 
 
 Doubtless from the fear which man inspires, and the 
 natural prudence of the lion, which makes him always 
 suspect some trap on the part of man, especially of 
 a white man, even when he has him in his clutches. 
 
 All Africans are agreed as to the distinction which 
 the South African lion establishes between the white 
 man and the negro. 
 
 '* One morning," relates Mr. Moffatt *' after having 
 passed the night at the door of the cabin in which 
 slept the principal man of the village and his wife, I 
 told them that I had heard something moving on the 
 other side of the hawthorn hedge, under the shade 
 of which I had been sleeping; and I concluded that 
 some of the cattle had broken loose during the night. 
 * No,' replied my host, ' I have seen the trail this 
 morning — it was the Hon.* And he added that some 
 nights previously this lion had broken through the. 
 hedge at the very place where I had been sleeping, and 
 had seized a goat, which he carried off through the 
 other side of the enclosure. Then he showed the 
 remains of a mat, wiiich he had taken from his cabin, 
 and burnt to frighten the animal. 
 
 ** I asked him how it happened that he had arranged 
 
THE LION OF SOUTH AFRICA. 81 
 
 for my sleeping just on that particular spot, * Oh ! ' 
 said he, * the lion would never have had the audacity 
 to leap on you ! * " 
 
 It would doubtless be scarcely wise to trust abso- 
 lutely in that; but since the lion can learn to fear man, 
 one can understand that he would have more respect 
 for a white man than a black one. 
 
 As to the lion's caution, it is so great, that to him 
 who only knew him from this side of his character, he 
 would seem to be the most pusillanimous of animals. 
 
 One of the horses belonging to Mr. Codrington, an 
 Englishman who was travelling in Africa, having broken 
 loose, he was caught in his flight by the trunk of a 
 broken tree, round which the bridle had become entan- 
 gled, and he was found on this spot forty-eight hours 
 afterwards. 
 
 All around him were to be seen numerous footmarks 
 of lions, but the horse was safe and sound. Evidently 
 this animal, thus fastened in the open country, was to 
 them a very suspicious object ; they believed in a trap, 
 and did not venture to make the attack. Livingstone 
 says : — '^ Two lions came up by night to within three 
 yards of oxen tied to a waggon, and a sheep tied to a 
 tree, and stood roaring, but afraid to make a spring, 
 fearing a trap. On another occasion one of our party 
 was lying sound asleep, and unconscious of danger, 
 between two natives behind a bush at Mashue ; the fire 
 
 a 
 
82 THE LION OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 was nearly out at their feet, in consequence of all being 
 completely tired out by the fatigues of the previous day. 
 A lion came up to within three yards of the fire, and 
 there commenced roaring instead of making a spring : 
 the fact of their riding ox being tied to the bush was 
 the only reason the lion had for not following his in- 
 stinct and making a meal of flesh. He then stood on a 
 knoll three hundred yards distant, and roared all night ; 
 and continued his growling as the party moved off 
 by daylight next morning." 
 
 V. 
 
 This natural cautiousness and this acquired fear seem 
 to us to explain perfectly the conduct of the lion in 
 the circumstances we are about to relate. 
 
 A man belonging to the congregation of Bethany 
 was returning home from visiting a friend : he made a 
 detour in order to pass by a little spring, where he 
 hoped to find an^ antelope for his family supper. 
 When he reached this spot the sun was already very 
 high, and not finding the game he was in search of, 
 he placed his gun against a rock, quenched his thirst, 
 returned to the rock, and smoked his pipe, and then 
 slept. 
 
 Soon afterwards, roused up by the intense heat of the 
 
THE LION OF SOUTH AFRICA. 83 
 
 sun, he observed an enormous lion lying down within 
 three yards of him, and with his eyes fixed upon him. 
 After remaining for some minutes motionless with 
 terror, he recovered his presence of mind, and looking 
 round for his gun, he stretched out his hand to seizo it. 
 
 The lion saw the movement, lifted his head, and 
 roared terribly. The man made one or two further 
 attempts, but the gun being beyond his reach he gave 
 it up ; for the lion, who appeared perfectly to understand 
 his object, also exhibited signs of anger whenever the 
 poor wretch moved his hand. 
 
 The position soon became intolerable; the rock on 
 which the man was lying had become so heated by the 
 sun, that his naked feet could not bear the contact, and 
 he was obliged constantly to change them, by placing 
 one over the other. The whole day passed in this 
 manner, then the night, without the lion moving from 
 his place ; the sun rose again, and soon the intense 
 heat on the rock rendered the poor Hottentot's feet 
 insensible. 
 
 At noon the lion arose and went towards the spring, 
 looking behind him to watch the movements of his 
 prisoner ; and seeing him stretch out his hand towards 
 his gun, he turned round in a fury, and appeared as if 
 he was about to spring upon him. After having ap- 
 peased his thirst, he returned to his post near the 
 rock, 
 
 G 2 
 
84 THE LION OF SOUTH AFKICA. 
 
 Another night passed away. The man, when he 
 recounted this scene, said that he was ignorant as to 
 whether he had slept or not ;" but that if he had slept it 
 must have been with his eyes open, for he had never 
 for one moment ceased to see the lion at his feet. 
 
 In the afternoon of the following day the lion 
 returned to drink at the spring; and there, having 
 heard some noise which frightened him, he disappeared 
 in the wood. 
 
 The man went for his gun ; but when he stooped to 
 pick it up, his ankles refused to sustain him, and he fell 
 down. With his gun in his hand he dragged himself 
 to the spring ; his great toes were shrivelled, and the 
 soles of his feet scorched. 
 
 He waited a short time for the return of the lion, 
 resolved to shoot him through the head, but the 
 animal did not come back; and 'fastening his gun 
 behind him, he crawled as well as he could on his 
 hands and knees into a neighbouring path, happily 
 just as a friend was passing, who carried him into a 
 safe place, and bestowed on him all the care which his 
 state required; but he lost his toes, and remained a 
 cripple for the rest of his life. 
 
 An old Hottentot returning: to his home perceived a 
 lion that he thought was following him : at the end of 
 an hour or so he no longer doubted it — the lion was 
 following. He naturally thought that the animal was 
 
THE LION OF SOUTH AFRICA. 85 
 
 only waiting for the night, in order to spring upon 
 him. The situation was a critical one ; for, on the one 
 hand, the poor wretch could not reach his village 
 before night, and, on the other, he had no other 
 weapon than a stick. 
 
 Trudging along, not without turning his head round 
 from time to time, our friend pondered what was the 
 best thing to be done, without being able to find a 
 satisfactory solution. The country was absolutely 
 naked — not a tree or refuge of any kind at hand. At 
 length an idea occurred to him. 
 
 In those parts there are frequently found rocks, 
 sometimes of a considerable height, which on one side 
 are connected with the surrounding land by a very 
 gentle slope, whilst on the other they rise to a peak, 
 and form a precipice : they call them Idiprons. 
 
 To find a klipron became the fixed idea of the old 
 Hottentot ; and, turning aside from his path, he soon 
 found one, which sloped gradually upwards. He gained 
 the summit, and reaching the verge, he sat down, his 
 legs hanging over the precipice, and looked behind 
 him. The lion was standing still, and watching this 
 very doubtful manoeuvre. 
 
 They remained thus, the man sitting, the beast 
 standing, until night came on. Then the Hottentot 
 quietly slid down to a projection on the vertical face 
 of the rock ; and, standing upright, he quickly placed 
 
86 THE LION OF SOUTH AFBICA, 
 
 his hat and his mantle on the end of his stick, raised 
 it above his head and above the rock, and waited. 
 
 He had not long to wait. During these preparations 
 the lion had stealthily crept up. He saw the man- 
 nikin, and, supposing it to be the Hottentot, he 
 sprang, and fell head foremost down the precipice. 
 Then the poor fellow shouted, *^ Tlcatsi! fkatsi/'' — an 
 interjection which combines within itself a thousand 
 curses. 
 
 *'We saw two large lions,'* says Sparrman; *Hhe 
 one had a mane, and was therefore a male. They were 
 at a distance of from two to three hundred yards from 
 us, in a little valley; and the moment they perceived 
 us they took to flight. They used in running a kind 
 of sidelong motion, like certain dogs, interrupted 
 by occasional light springs ; with their necks slightly 
 elevated, they seemed to be looking at us sideways. I 
 was very curious to study them more closely; and 
 we followed on horseback, shouting after them, and 
 tempting them to stop. 
 
 ** These cries caused them to redouble their speed ; 
 and when they reached the river, which we had to 
 cross, they plunged into the neighbouring thicket, and 
 we lost sight of them." 
 
 A rich peasant, Jacob Kok, of Zee-Koe-rivier, was one 
 day walking in his fields, with a loaded gun, when he 
 saw a lion at a short distance from him. He took aim, 
 
THE LION OF SOUTH AFEICA. 87 
 
 but his gun hung fire ; and, full of fright, he fled for 
 his life, followed in turn by his game. Soon finding 
 himself out of breath, he leapt on a heap of stones, 
 and, facing round, resolved to defend himself with the 
 butt end of his gun. 
 
 This attitude imposed on the lion ; he stopped and 
 sat down with the coolest air in the world. Never- 
 theless, the hunter did not dare to move. In running 
 he had lost his pow^der-flask, and he could only await 
 the pleasure of the lion. They remained in this 
 position for a good half-hour, looking at each other; 
 after which the lion skulked slowly away, affecting 
 some dignity meanwhile, but, when he had gone some 
 distance, he bolted away with all his speed. 
 
 A man, meeting a lion unexpectedly, fell down faint- 
 ing from fright. The lion, astonished, peered round 
 the bush, and seeing no one, suspected an ambuscade, 
 and started with his tail between his legs. 
 
 He would have gone more slowly if he had been 
 perfectly certain of being seen, for his vanity equals his 
 distrust. 
 
 ^* In the daytime,'* says Livingstone, " the lion 
 stands a second or two gazing at the person^ he en- 
 counters ; then he turns slowly round, and walks as 
 slowly away for a dozen paces, looking over his 
 shoulder ; then he begins to trot, and when he thinks 
 himself out of sight, bounds off like a greyhound.'* 
 
88 THE LION OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Mr. Moffat says that lie has seen bushmen, and even 
 women, compel a lion to leave the prey which he had 
 just seized, simply by shouting and making a noise. 
 
 But this portrait ceases to be a correct one when the 
 lion is very hungry or has charge of young ones. 
 The cry of the stomach drowns the voice of prudence ; 
 the lion no longer distinguishes between black and 
 white ; and in a man he only sees a possible prey or 
 a certain enemy. 
 
 " At Lopepe, a lioness sprang on the hind-quarter of 
 Mr.' Oswell's horse, and when we came up to him we 
 found the marks of the claws on the horse, and a 
 scratch on Mr. O.'s hand. The horse, on feeling the 
 lion on him, sprang away, and the rider, caught by a 
 wait-a-bit thorn, was brought to the ground and ren-. 
 dered insensible : his dogs saved him.'* 
 
 Mr. Codrington, too, was attacked in the same way, 
 though not hunting the lion at the time ; but turning 
 round, he shot him dead in the neck. 
 
 A widow woman was living in a very isolated dwell- 
 ing with her two sons, the eldest of whom was about 
 nineteen years old. One dark night they were awoke 
 by the lowing of the cattle enclosed in a yard at a 
 short distance. They ran for their arms. It was a 
 lion. He had broken through the palisade and made 
 horrible carnage amongst the cattle. Neither the 
 Hottentots nor the young men themselves dared to 
 
THE LION OF SOUTH AFEICA. 89 
 
 enter the enclosure, but tlie intrepid widow went in 
 alone armed with a gun. In the darkness she could 
 scarcely see the lion, but she fired nevertheless ; the 
 wounded animal rushed upon her and threw her down. 
 At the cries of the poor woman her two sons ran to her 
 assistance ; they found the lion attacking his prey. 
 Furious and desperate, they rushed upon him, and 
 slaughtered him on the bleeding body of their mother. 
 Besides the deep wounds which she received in the 
 throat and on different parts of her body, the lion had 
 bitten off her hand, which he had devoured. 
 
 All help was useless, and the same night she expired, 
 in the midst of the sorrows and vain regrets of her 
 children and the assembled servants. 
 
 After a successful expedition against the bushmen, 
 who had stolen some cattle, Le Vaillant returned to a 
 spot where the evening before he had left two Kami- 
 nouquois, who had served him as guides. *'Just as 
 we were approaching, I heard from the troop ahead 
 such frightful cries as almost froze my blood with 
 alarm. I ran up immediately, and saw a frightful 
 spectacle, the picture of which haunts me to this hour. 
 Those two unfortunate savages, who so generously had 
 offered to conduct me, were lying on the ground, 
 almost dead, and weltering in their blood. 
 
 ** My first idea was that they had been murdered by 
 some of those belonging to the horde we had been 
 
90 THE LION OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 pursuing, but on approaching nearer I was f5oon dis- 
 abused . 
 
 '' One of them had his lower jaw smashed, and almost 
 entirely gone; the shreds which still remained and 
 discovered the tongue were hanging all bleeding down 
 the neck and bosom. He gave no other sign of life 
 than a slight pulsation; but the prodigious swelling 
 of his head, the horrible alteration of his countenance, 
 his eyes out of their sockets, had so greatly disfigured 
 him, that he preserved no human features, and revolted 
 my sight at the same time that he lacerated my heart. 
 
 ** His companion had many bites and tears on his 
 body, and his arm broken, or rather crushed, in several 
 places. Nevertheless his state was by no means so 
 grievous, and he could even speak. We inquired the 
 cause of his misfortune. He told us that after we had 
 ' quitted them, they extinguished their fire in order not 
 to be discovered by the bushmen, and whilst sleeping 
 at a few yards from his companion, he w^as in a short 
 time woke up by his cries. He at once rushed to his 
 assistance, and he found himself fighting against the 
 claws of a lion, which he wounded in the flank. But 
 the animal, feeling himself wounded, threw himself 
 upon him, and before fleeing away, reduced him to the 
 state in which we found him.'* 
 
THE LION OF SOUTH AFRICA. 91 
 
 VI. 
 
 The natives hunt the lions with guns or lances, wnich- 
 ever of these weapons they may chance to possess. 
 Each of these arms was in use in the encounter which 
 we give below, and which nearly proved fatal to Dr. 
 Livingstone. 
 
 ** The Bakatla of the village Mabotsa were much 
 troubled by lions, which leaped into the cattle-pens by 
 night and destroyed their cows. They even attacked 
 the herds in open day. This was so unusual an 
 occurrence, that the people believed they were be- 
 witched — 'given,* as they said, 'into the power of the 
 lions by a neighbouring tribe.' They went once to 
 attack the animals, but being rather a cowardly people, 
 compared to Bechuanas in general on such occasions, 
 they returned without killing any. 
 
 ''It is well known that if one in a troop of lions is 
 killed, the others take the hint and leave that part of 
 the country. So the next time the herds were at- 
 tacked, I went with the people in order to encourage 
 them to rid themselves of the annoyance by destroying 
 one of the marauders. We found the lions on a small 
 hill about a quarter of a mile in length, and covered 
 with trees. A circle of men was formed round it, and 
 they gradually closdd up, ascending pretty near to 
 each other. 
 
92 THE LION OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 "Being down below on the plain with a native 
 schoolmaster, named Mebalwe, a most excellent man, 
 I saw one of the lions sitting on a piece of rock within 
 the now closed circle of men. Mebalwe fired at him 
 before I could, and the ball struck the rock on which 
 the animal was sitting. He bit at the spot struck, as 
 a dog does at a stick or stone thrown at him ; then 
 leaping away, broke through the opening circle and 
 escaped unhurt. The men w^ere afraid to attack him, 
 perhaps on account of their belief in witchcraft. 
 When the circle was reformed, we saw two other lions 
 in it, but we were afraid to fire lest we should strike 
 the men; and they allowed these beasts to burst 
 through also. If the Bakatla had acted according to 
 the custom of the country, they would have speared 
 the lions in their attempt to get out. Seeing we could 
 not get them to kill one of the lions, we bent our 
 footsteps towards the village. In going round the end 
 of the hill, however, I saw one of the beasts sitting on 
 a piece of rock as before, but this time he had a little 
 bush in front. Being about forty yards off, I took a 
 good aim at his body through the bush, and fired both 
 barrels into it. The men then called out, * He is shot ! 
 he is shot ! ' others cried, ' He l^as been shot by another 
 man too ; let us go to him ! ' I did not see any one 
 else shoot at him, but I saw the lion's tail erected in 
 anger behind the bush, and turning to the people, said, 
 
THE LION OF SOUTH AFEICA. 93 
 
 * Stop a little, till I load again.' When in the act of 
 ramming down the bullets I heard a shout. Starting, # 
 and looking half round, I saw the lion just in the act 
 of springing upon me." 
 
 This was the occasion on which Livingstone was 
 knocked down, and, as it will be remembered, the lion 
 quitted him to throw himself on the other aggressor : 
 this one was bitten on the thigh. ** Another man," 
 he continues, " whose life I had saved before, after he 
 had been tossed by a buffalo, attempted to spear the 
 lion while he was biting Mebalwe. He left Mebalwe 
 and caught this man by the shoulder, but at that 
 moment the bullets he had received took effect, and he 
 fell down dead. The whole was the work of a few 
 moments, and must have been his paroxysm of dying 
 rage. In order to take out the charm from him, the 
 Bakatla on the following day made a huge bonfire over 
 the carcase, which was declared to be that of the 
 largest lion they had ever seen. Besides crunching 
 the bone into splinters, he left eleven teeth-wounds on 
 the upper part of the arm." 
 
 To see Europeans at the work, let us now return to 
 that buffalo which had started up at the approach of 
 Messrs. Oswell and Vardon, and which we left at the 
 moment when three lions were upon him tearing him 
 with their teeth. 
 
 ** We crept up within thirty yards, and kneeling down 
 
94 THE LION OP SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 blazed away at the lions. One lion fell dead almost 
 * on the buffalo ; he had merely time to turn towards us, 
 seize a bush with his teeth, and drop dead v/ith the 
 stick in his jaws. The second made off immediately; 
 and the third raised his head, coolly looked round for 
 a moment, then went on tearing and biting at the 
 carcase as hard as ever. "We retired a short distance 
 to load, then again advanced and fired : the lion made 
 off, but a ball that he received ought to have stopped 
 him, as it went clean through his shoulder-blade. He 
 was followed up and killed, after having charged several 
 times.'* 
 
 The colonists generally hunt the lion on horseback. 
 But they only hazard themselves on the plain. They 
 go two or three together, in order to help each other in 
 case of need, and if the game holds to any cover they 
 send dogs in to induce it to show itself. 
 
 The attitude of the lion is very different according 
 as he sees the hunters are near or at a distance. In 
 the first case he flies with all his speed ; in the other 
 he moves to and fro with a fierce air, but without 
 permitting himself to seem in the least trouble. When 
 sharply pursued he soon slackens his pace, and at 
 length stops, faces his enemies, shakes himself, and 
 utters a short roar. This is the moment for action. 
 The nearest hunter fires, and if he has missed his 
 mark, or only wounded the lion, he gallops off; then 
 
THE LION OF SOUTH AFEICA. 95 
 
 comes tlie turn of the second, and in case of need of 
 the third; and then, if this is not enough, the two 
 first, who have by this time reloaded their guns, again 
 enter the lists ; and so they continue until the lion is 
 at last obliged to acknowledge himself vanquished. 
 
 It is said that there has been no instance of a 
 colonist paying the price of his life for the pleasures 
 of this si^ort. 
 
 It is, however, not merely a pleasure ; it is an abso- 
 lute necessity for those who live in the remote parts of 
 the colony, as they have to defend their cattle against 
 the attacks of this insatiable marauder. '* They are 
 always eager for the chase," says Sparrman : *' the 
 peasants with whom I was hunting seemed only to 
 long for an encounter, quite regardless of any possible 
 danger likely to happen to them — from which, indeed, 
 they felt themselves quite secure.'* 
 
 Le Yaillant tells of a wadow who kept house by 
 herself, and who, when wild beasts came to alarm her 
 flocks, would mount on horseback, pursue them vigor- 
 ously, and never give in until she had either killed 
 them or driven them away from her canton. 
 
 We have seen the part which dogs bear in this sport 
 — sometimes, indeed, they really do all the work. 
 Twelve or fifteen of the dogs bred by the Cape farmers 
 will perform wonders. When the lion sees them 
 approach, his pride prevents him from going away ; ho 
 
96 THE LION OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 sits down and waits for them. Then the dogs sur- 
 round him, and rushing on him all at once, they com- 
 mence tearing him to pieces. They rarely give him 
 time to strike more than one or two blows with his 
 paws, each one of which, however, is sure and certain 
 death to two or three of his assailants. 
 
 The natives sometimes dig pitfalls for lions, as care- 
 fully concealed as possible ; but it very rarely happens 
 that the cautious animal is caught therein. 
 
 A traveller asserts that the following stratagem suc- 
 ceeded : — *' They place,'' says he, '^ the figure of a man 
 near to some guns, disposed in such a manner that 
 they will discharge themselves into the body of the 
 animal the moment he springs on the mannikin. As 
 this method is as easy as it is sure, and as they are not 
 particularly anxious to take the lions alive, the colonists 
 rarely put themselves to the trouble of laying pit-hole 
 traps for them." There are, however, not wanting 
 instances in which lions have discovered this mine. 
 
 **A lion," continues the same traveller, ^'had broken 
 through the bars of a gateway into a walled enclosure 
 in which the cattle were kept, and committed great 
 ravages there. The people of the farm, not doubting 
 but that he would return by the same way, bristled the 
 entry with loaded firearms attached to a cord stretched 
 across the gateway, and feeling quite satisfied that he 
 could not enter without disturbin<]: them. The lion 
 
THE LION OF SOUTH AFBICA. 97 
 
 returned a little before niglitfall. He had probably 
 some suspicion of this cord : he examined it with his 
 paw, and, without exhibiting the least fear of the artil- 
 lery roaring in his ears, entered boldly, and devoured 
 the prey which he had left the previous evening/' 
 
 To conclude this subject, we will describe the siege of 
 a thick brake of underwood, in which a whole family of 
 lions had taken up their domicile. An entire horde of 
 Hottentots were on foot, armed with spears and other 
 weapons. Even the women and children had joined the 
 party — not to fight, but to look on. Le Vaillant com- 
 manded the expedition. The following is an abridg- 
 ment of his account of the adventure : — 
 
 ** The thicket was about two hundred yards long 
 by sixty wide. The space it occupied was lower than 
 the surrounding land, so that to penetrate into it we 
 had to descend. It was composed mostly of thorn 
 bushes, with some mimosas which rose towards the 
 centre. 
 
 '^ In the impossibility of attacking the two formidable 
 beasts in their entrenchment, it became a question as 
 to the best method of getting them out of it. I de- 
 cided to place my marksmen, at short distances apart 
 on the heights all round the wood, in such a manner 
 that the lions could not gain the plain without being 
 seen, being persuaded that as soon as we could get 
 them into the open country we should find ourselves 
 
 H 
 
98 THE LION OF SOUTH AFBICA. 
 
 the strongest, and should not be long in gaining the 
 victory. 
 
 ''When we were all at our posts, oxen were driven in 
 advance, and by dint of shouting and lashing we forced 
 them into the thicket. At the same time my dogs 
 began to bark; and in order to frighten the lions 
 and compel them to come out, pistols were frequently 
 discharged. The oxen, on scenting the enemy, fell 
 back in terror, and rushed towards us ; but, driven back 
 by our clamouring, by the barldng of the dogs, and 
 the noise of our arms, they became furious, striking 
 against each other and bellowing in a fearful manner. 
 The lions, on their part, were now growing angry, and 
 exhibited their rage by horrible roars. "We heard them 
 successively in all parts of the thicket, without their 
 daring to show themselves anywhere. The collision of 
 two opposing armies is not more clamorous than were 
 their defiant roarings, confounded as they were with the 
 animated shouts of the men, the noise of the dogs, and 
 the furious bellowing of the oxen. This frightful concert 
 lasted a good part of the morning, and I had already 
 begun to despair of the success of our enterprise, when 
 suddenly I heard piercing cries from the opposite side, 
 immediately followed by the firing of a gun, and at the 
 same time succeeded by shouts of joy. I ran over to 
 the spot, and found the lioness expiring. She had at 
 last sprung out of her stronghold and thrown herself 
 
THE LION OF SOUTH AFrJCA. 99 
 
 furiously on my troop ; but Klaas had fired and shot 
 her through the body. It was evident from the appear- 
 ance of her udders that she had young ones, and I was 
 not deceived in my conjectures. It occurred to me to 
 make use of her body to attract them out of the thicket. 
 With this design I caused her to be dragged out and 
 placed at a certain distance, not doubting but that they 
 would follow her scent and approach her, or perhaps 
 that the male would follow, either to avenge her or to 
 defend them. 
 
 " But my rusB was useless, and we spent several hours 
 in vain waiting for them. The cubs, being disquieted 
 at not seeing their mother, ran growling all round the 
 stronghold ; and the male himself, separated from her, 
 redoubled his angry roars. We saw him for an 
 instant on the outskirt, his eyes on fire, his mane 
 bristling up, and lashing his sides with his tail ; but 
 he was out of reach of my rifle. One of my gunners, 
 posted more advantageously, missed him, and he disap- 
 peared. The sun was going down, and we decided to 
 put off the aJfFair until the following day. The following 
 day the three lions had decamped." 
 
 h2 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 The mufflon is one of the mammals most characte- 
 ristic of the island of Corsica. It is not, however, 
 peculiar to that island; it is also found in Sardinia, 
 in Crete, and in Spain. 
 
 In the summer it keeps to the plateaus which border 
 the regions of eternal snow ; during the winter it de- 
 scends lower. In the extreme cold it seeks the deserted 
 cabins in which the shepherds had lodged in the sum- 
 mer ; and it is said that in some exceptional winters 
 mufBOns have been seen mingling with the horses, 
 mules, and sheep in the stables. 
 
 They go habitually in flocks of from five or six at 
 least, to twenty or twenty-five at most, browsing 
 the different kinds of grass, and the young shoots of 
 many kinds of trec3 and shrubs, those of the ivy 
 above all. Whilst they are feeding an old male keeps 
 sentry on some elevated point; at the least danger 
 the alarm is given, and in the twinkling of an eye 
 all have disappeared in the ravines; and they bound 
 
'an old MAl.K KKKPS SENTKY." 
 
 [/*(/(,'« 10). 
 
THE MUFFLON. 101 
 
 from rock to rock, gaining places so steep that no 
 human foot could reach them. 
 
 Important zoological questions have arisen with 
 reference to this animal. It is said that Buffon con- 
 sidered it to be the original stock of the different 
 varieties of the domestic sheep. 
 
 "I do not know from my own experience," writes 
 M. H. Aucapitaine, ^'anything to justify this assertion. 
 
 '^ In Corsica, the country of the mufflon, one ought to 
 be able most easily to discover the connection between 
 this animal and the sheep of the country. Now there 
 seems to be no affinity between these two species, 
 notwithstanding the fact that the Corsican shepherds 
 leave their flocks at full liberty in the higher regions of 
 the mountains, where the mufflons could most easily 
 mingle with the sheep. No cross has ever been ob- 
 served between these animals, except in exclusive cases 
 when the mufflons were in captivity. Unfortunately, 
 so far as I know, the results of these couplings have 
 nowhere been followed up." 
 
 On the other hand, the Prince P. N. Buonaparte 
 writes : — 
 
 '' The mufflon reproduces itself when in cap 
 tivity, both with the sheep and the goat. In both 
 cases the mixed breed is prolific. These facts have 
 been many times established, both by ourselves and by 
 many other inhabitants of Corsica ; and they upset 
 
102 THE MUFFLON. 
 
 the theories of the learned. "We can affirm also that 
 the mufflons breed with the gazelle ; and a tame stag 
 in the enclosure of our house killed two mufiSons 
 which we possessed, from jealousy,''^ 
 
 '' There are," says the author whom we have just 
 quoted, *^ three methods of hunting the mufflon : by 
 caccla piutta, that is, by surprise. The hunters start 
 some hours before daybreak to gain the heights which 
 command the dales and mountain sides where the 
 game is to be met with. Sometimes they bivouac 
 the previous evening in the immediate neighbourhood, 
 if the wind is favourable. At daybreak they place 
 themselves on the look-out. The mufflons do not 
 move until the sun shines on their pasturage. If the 
 weather is cloudy, they come out later, and are much 
 more distrustful. 
 
 ** As soon as they are perceived, their position is 
 marked, and the hunters creep near to them, often on 
 their hands and knees, to protect themselves from all 
 accidents of the ground, rocks, trees, or bushes. It is 
 necessary to be to the windward, otherwise every other 
 precaution would be useless ; they are off like lightning, 
 before it is possible to get within range of them. By 
 the greatest caution it is sometimes possible to get 
 sufficiently near to shoot them with buckshot. It is 
 always well to load one barrel with a ball, for distant 
 firing, and when the game is still. 
 
THE MUFFLON. 103 
 
 " Whatever braggarts may assert— and they are not 
 wanting, even in Corsica — when the mufflon has seen 
 the hunter, it is by the merest chance that he can 
 touch him with a ball. He darts like a flash through 
 everything into the abyss ; and if he is wounded he 
 takes refuge in inaccessible crevices, where he dies, and 
 is soon devoured by the eagles and vultures. Often, 
 after many hours, and even days of searching, they 
 come upon him in the most impossible places, by 
 means of ropes and ladders. 
 
 "The most frequent method is to occupy the high 
 mountain ridges, by which the mufflons fly the mo- 
 ment they hear the least noise. Some beaters are 
 stationed on the mountain sides, shouting and rolling 
 down blocks of rock with a noise of thunder; and if 
 we are posted to windward, we are not long in seeing 
 the mufllons approach. 
 
 "But the best sport that can be made is with one, 
 two, or at most three of the dogs of the country, 
 accustomed to the mountains and the game. 
 
 " In winter the mufllons descend to where the snow 
 fails, and they do not pass over that limit unless they 
 are pursued. Ordinarily they are found on the wooded 
 sides of the mountains, or on the open spaces between 
 the great rocks. The hunters follow them into their 
 retreat in the snow, or rather on the borders of it. 
 This is very difficult, for the distance, the frost, and 
 
104 THE MUFFLON. 
 
 the slipperiness of the descent, cause a delay of 
 several hours in reaching the post of action. On 
 attaining it, a man stationed at the foot of the 
 mountain enters the wood with the dogs, and soon 
 finds the game, which is not slow in giving up 
 possession of the spot to him." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 This animal is found in the frozen regions of North 
 America, and particularly^-according to Hearne — in 
 the neighbourhood of the polar circle. He is with- 
 out a muzzle, which circumstance has induced Blanville 
 to separate him from the ox species, and to classify 
 him separately, under the name of Ovibos. He is 
 small in size and very low on his legs, and covered 
 with an enormous quantity of wool and dark-brown 
 hair, which in winter reaches almost to the ground. 
 On his back there is a whitish place, which is called 
 the saddle. Large horns, flattened at the base, cover 
 his head like a kind of casque ; they are enormous, 
 and are said to weigh almost fifty pounds. It derives 
 its name from the odour which its flesh exhales at 
 certain epochs, and especially at the beginning of 
 spring. This odour is so strong that it communi- 
 cates itself to the knives with which the flesh is 
 
106 THE MUSK OX. 
 
 cut up. Excepting in this season, and when the 
 musk ox is fat, his flesh is excellent. 
 
 He feeds on grass and moss during one part of 
 the year, and on lichens during the other part. 
 
 Notwithstanding the shortness of his limbs, he 
 gallops with great speed, and the facility with which 
 he climbs the mountains can only be compared to 
 that of goats. 
 
 In September the musk oxen assemble together 
 in herds more or less numerous, not to emigrate, 
 for Parry has killed many of them on Melville 
 Island, but probably for mutual protection against 
 the wolves, which abound in those parts. 
 
 Lieutenant M. E. de Bray relates the following 
 hunt of the musk ox, in a note communicated to 
 VAcademie cles Sciences:— > 
 
 *' When musk oxen are attacked by hunters, they 
 assemble together, form a very compact phalanx, 
 putting the young animals in the centre, their hind 
 quarters being directed towards the centre, and thus 
 presenting their heads to the enemy in every direction. 
 The males tear up the earth with their horns and 
 fore feet, thus preparing themselves for the combat. 
 One of them, the oldest of the herd, places himself 
 in front, like a general at the head of his army, 
 and advances cautiously to reconnoitre the enemy, 
 
;jlij!ilt||l!i:||ii 
 
 iilij::'ii:!.iiii:u«fVijii m 
 
THE MUSK OX, 107 
 
 and watching attentively tlie least movement on the 
 part of the hunters. 
 
 " This survey being accomplished, he retires to his 
 post and awaits the attack. Then it is that this 
 animal appears in all his majestic beauty; and when 
 the hunter finds himself for the first time in his 
 presence, he must muster up his courage and 
 strengthen his nerves. But although seemingly so 
 terrible, these animals, either stupid or over-confi- 
 dent in their strength, allow the hunters to approach 
 within a short distance, and then at the first gun- 
 shot the whole herd takes flight, abandoning the 
 dead and the wounded. I have often seen five or 
 six hunters destroy a herd of a score of them. On 
 one occasion only have I seen one of these animals 
 charge; it is true that the poor beast had twelve 
 balls in his body, and being unable to fly, ho 
 defended himself to the last moment.'* 
 
 This last story scarcely accords with what Eoss 
 relates : — 
 
 A musk ox, in vdiose body he had lodged three 
 balls, threw himself upon him, and the illustrious 
 sailor owed his safety entirely to a large fragment 
 of rock, behind which he took refuge, the animal's 
 head coming in contact with it with prodigious 
 force. 
 
108 THE MUSK OX. 
 
 He was eaten raw by the Esquimaux, who on this 
 occasion surpassed even themselves in gluttony. 
 
 Filled, but still hungry, they extended themselves 
 on the ground, with their hands full of meat, waiting 
 lor a fresh void in their asDphagus, which they at 
 once replenished^ 
 
THE GIRAFFE. 
 
 [Paue 109. 
 
CHAPTER VIL 
 
 It is to Le Yaillant tliat we owe our first exact ideas 
 respecting the giraffe, 1783-5. 
 
 With what a transport of joy he writes in describing 
 the first giraffe which fell under his hand ! 
 
 *'Pain, fatigue, cruel want, uncertainty for the 
 future, disgust sometimes for the past, all disappeared 
 in presence of this new prey. • I could not withdraw 
 myself from contemplating it. I measured its enor- 
 mous height. I looked with astonishment from the 
 animal destroyed to the instrument which had de- 
 stroyed him. I called my people to examine him over 
 and over again ; and although each one of them could 
 have done as much, and although we had slaughtered 
 heavier and far more dangerous animals, yet I had 
 been the first to kill this one; and I was about to 
 enrich natural history, to destroy romance, and in 
 my turn to establish a truth." 
 
 This giraffe measured sixteen feet three inches from 
 bis hoofs to his head. In general the males measure 
 from fifteen feet to fifteen feet six inches, and the 
 
110 THE GIRAFFE. 
 
 females from thirteen to fourteen feet. They feed on 
 the leaves of trees, particularly of the mimosa, and 
 also on the herbage of the prairies, which they can 
 browse without kneeling down, although the contrary 
 has been stated. But they often lie down, either to 
 ruminate or to sleep, from which cause a considerable 
 callosity is formed on the sternum and on the knees. 
 These animals are peaceable and timid, and in presence 
 of any danger their first movement is to fly. They trot 
 very swiftly, and a good horse can with difficulty keep 
 pace with them. But what a singular gait ! perched at 
 the extremity of a long neck, which works in a single 
 piece from the shoulders, the head incessantly sways 
 backwards and forwards, as if the animal were lame. 
 When we see him in front, the anterior part of the 
 body being much larger than the posterior, it is easy 
 to fancy ourselves in front of the trunk of a dead tree. 
 Although giraffes flee from danger, it is not cor- 
 rect to say that they will make no resistance when the 
 opportunity of flight is closed to them. It is true that 
 their means of defence are but small. Their frontal 
 horny protuberances do not appear to be of any 
 assistance to them. Le Yaillant never saw them 
 use them against his dogs ; but they have their 
 feet, and they use them very courageously. The 
 hind quarters are so light, and their kicks so rapid, 
 that the eye cannot follow them ; and this means of 
 
THE GIRAFFE. Ill 
 
 resistance has succeeded perfectly, even against the 
 lion himself. 
 
 A Namaquois came one day in great haste to inform 
 Le Vaillant that he had seen in the neighbourhood a 
 giraffe browsing the leaves of a mimosa tree. 
 
 "Full of joy, I instantly leapt upon one of my 
 horses, and made Bemfry mount another, and followed 
 by my dogs, I galloped towards the mimosa indicated ; 
 but the giraffe was no longer there. We saw him 
 crossing the plain on the western side, and we spurred 
 on to overtake him. He was trotting along lightly, 
 without, however, exerting himself unduly. We gal- 
 loped after him, and from time to time fired several 
 shots after him ; but imperceptibly he gained so much 
 upon us, that after following him for three hours, we 
 were forced to stop, our horses being quite blown, and 
 we lost sight of him." 
 
 This gives an idea of the swiftness of the giraffe. 
 
 Another opportunity presented itself on the following 
 day, on which occasion five giraffes were hunted during 
 the whole day, but they effected their escape under 
 cover of the night. 
 
 At length, the following day was for M. Vaillant ono 
 of the happiest of his life. 
 
 ** I started on a hunting expedition at daybreak, in 
 the hope of finding some game for provisions. 
 
 ** After some hours' march, we perceived, on turning 
 
112 THE GIEAFFE. 
 
 a little hill, seven giraffes, which my dogs at once 
 attacked. Six of them took to flight together. The 
 seventh, cut off by the dogs, started off in the opposite 
 direction, 
 
 " Bemfry at that moment was dismounted, and 
 leading his horse by the bridle. In less than a 
 twinkling he was in the saddle, and started in pursuit 
 of the first six. As for me, I followed the other at full 
 gallop ; but in spite of the efforts of my horse, he soon 
 gained so much upon me, that in turning a hill he 
 disappeared from my sight and I gave up the pursuit. 
 
 "Nevertheless, my dogs were not long in reaching 
 him, and he was compelled to stop to defend himself. 
 
 *' From the place where I was I heard them giving 
 tongue with all their might; and as their barking 
 seemed always to proceed from the same spot, I conclu- 
 ded that the animal was surrounded by them, and I 
 immediately spurred on towards them. 
 
 *^ In fact, I had scarcely turned round the knoll when 
 I perceived him surrounded by the dogs, and endea- 
 vouring by rapid kicks to keep them off. I at once dis- 
 mounted, and a shot from my rifle brought him down. 
 
 " Delighted with my victory, I returned to call my 
 people to flay and cut up the animal. Whilst I was 
 looking about me, I saw Klaas Barter, who, with an 
 air of great earnestness, was making signs to me, 
 which at first I could not comprehend. But, turning 
 
THE GIRAFFE. 113 
 
 my eyes in the direction indicated by his hand, I 
 perceived with surprise a giraffe, under a great ebony 
 tree, assailed by my dogs. I thought this must be 
 another one, and ran towards him. It was the same, 
 which had got up, but which, just as I was about to 
 fire a second time, fell down dead.'* 
 
 This large game was becoming scarce, and the 
 people of our traveller were almost dying of hunger. 
 They shared the animal amongst themselves, first 
 selecting for the master some choice bits, which he ate 
 broiled, and which he found excellent. The thin bones 
 placed on a brazier of hot coals furnished marrow as 
 white and firm as mutton tallow, and was very appe- 
 tizing. ** I had never before seen any so fine, and I 
 regretted much not having any bread to make toast 
 with it. I had a certain quantity of it melted, with 
 which I filled the giraffe's bladder ; and this provision 
 served me for a long time in cooking cutlets from the 
 same animal." 
 
 But these material necessities could not make Le 
 Vaillant forget the interests of science. We shall be 
 glad to learn the means which he adopted in the midst 
 of a desert in central Afiica to prepare the skin of the 
 gigantic animal. 
 
 '• Klaas," he writes (his factotum), *' had swept and 
 levelled a piece of ground about twenty feet square 
 I had the sldn spread out there, with the hair under- 
 
 I 
 
114 THE GIRAFFE. 
 
 neatli, the sides and corners being kept down with 
 large stones. 
 
 ^' I had to dry the skin of my giraffe, to consume 
 the grease, and to destroy all the causes of fermenta- 
 tion, which might rot or damage it. With this design 
 I had great fires made, in order to use the cinders. I 
 spread these cinders on the skin, taking care that it 
 was covered entirely, and quite equally. 
 
 *^ It remained in this state during the whole night ; 
 and, lest some hyaena should come to it, under the 
 cover of the darkness, to devour the fragments, I 
 pitched my tent quite close to my treasure. 
 
 " The dissection of the head and the hoofs took me 
 the whole afternoon of the following day, because I 
 could not obtain, and, indeed, I did not wish any aid 
 but that of Klaas. The hoofs cost me little trouble ; 
 but it was not so with the head. "We began upon this 
 by raising the skin from the jaw-bones and cheeks-, and 
 by taking away the flesh from underneath, replacing it 
 by tow, to preserve the form. The eyes were treated 
 in the same manner % after having taken out the globe 
 of the eye, and dried its orbit with hot cinders, I filled 
 the cavity with tow, in order to sustain the eyelids. 
 
 *' The most difficult operation was the extraction of 
 the brain, which in the giraffe is large ; and I was 
 the more embarrassed because I desired to extract it 
 without incision or fracture. At last I thought of 
 
THE GIHAFFE, 115 
 
 sponging it out, so to speak, little by little. We 
 managed to do this by the aid of a steel point, fur- 
 nished at the end with bristles from the kros of my 
 Hottentots ; and which, thus changed into a pencil, 
 was introduced into the bony cavity of the cranium. 
 I filled the empty cranium with hot cinders. As to 
 the anterior part of the head, from the nostrils to the 
 bony appendages, which in this animal form a kind 
 of horns, I had nothing to do, because, not being 
 fleshy, I had simply to dry it. 
 
 ''From time to time I renewed the cinders on the 
 ckin ; I even kept up great fires for many days to- 
 gether, solely for the purpose of having these cinders. 
 They operated at once by the combined action of their 
 desiccative and alkaline property; and this method 
 succeeded admirably." 
 
 This skin was brought to Europe ; and Le Vaillant 
 expressed his regret at not having an apartment suffi- 
 ciently high to exhibit the animal, and to offer to 
 amateurs a true model of what the animal is in nature. 
 
 Let us transport ourselves now to the other extremity 
 of Africa — ^Nubia. 
 
 Five or six men, mounted on good horses, plunge 
 into the desert, accompanied by camels carrying water 
 and provisions. When they discover their prey they 
 separate, and, shouting aloud, they manoeuvre in such a 
 manner as to drive him towards a wood. The animal, 
 
 I 2 
 
116 THE GIRAFFE. 
 
 hoping to get out of their sight, is not slow in falling 
 into the trap. He plunges in amongst the trees, seeks 
 the thickest part of the wcod, hut the bushes and the 
 branches hindering his progress, the hunters gain upon 
 him ; and, as if the natural obstacles were not enough, 
 they stretch cords across the path of the giraffe. He 
 falls, and they throw a halter over him. If he refuses 
 to walk, they kill him, in order at least to obtain his 
 skin. This is an extremity to which they are never 
 reduced with the young ones : more docile than the 
 adults, they follow the hunters, who sell them in the 
 neighbouring villages. 
 
 But the giraffe has other enemies besides man. 
 There is the lion. 
 
 If the giraffe is vigorous, he sometimes succeeds 
 in escaping from him. A traveller relates having seen 
 two whose shoulders bore indelible marks of their 
 having carried the monarch of the forest on their 
 backs, and that they had come off victorious from the 
 struggle. The lion always endeavours to throw himself 
 on the giraffe's back; plunging his sharp claws into 
 the shoulders, he gnaws before him until he reaches 
 the vertebrae of the neck, then the two animals fall 
 together, and the lion is often maimed in the struggle ; 
 and sometimes even worse luck befalls him. 
 
 A young savage in South America, returning to his 
 village, stopped at a spring to quench his thirst ; then 
 
THE GIRAFFE. 117 
 
 lying down on tlio bank, he fell asleep. Awakened by 
 the hot rays of the sun, he perceived through a bush a 
 giraffe browsing on the leaves of a mimosa, and at a 
 few yards' distance a lion, motionless, watching the 
 giraffe, and preparing to spring upon him. He at 
 length made his spring, and, with a gigantic bound, 
 threw himself towards the head of the animal. The 
 giraffe quicldy leaped aside, and so cleverly, that the 
 lion fell on his back into the middle of a thorn-bush. 
 The giraffe immediately scampered off, and the negro 
 was not slow in imitating him, not doubting but that 
 the lion would soon be on his footsteps. 
 
 Some time afterwards eagles were seen wheeling 
 round above the mimosa. On search being made 
 the carcase of a lion was found, extended on a bed of 
 thorns. 
 
CHAPTER Vni. 
 
 Tapirs have the general form of the hog, but they are 
 distinguished from it at first sight by a little fleshy 
 proboscis, susceptible of being lengthened out or with- 
 drawn. This proboscis is not like that of the elephant, 
 an organ of prehension. 
 
 There are many species of the tapir. One called 
 the American Tapir, is common enough in the hot 
 countries of South America. Another is met with in 
 the most elevated regions of the Cordilleras, and the 
 Andes. A third inhabits the forests of the island of 
 Sumatra, and the peninsula of Malacca. 
 
 The American Tapir, seen on the borders of rivers, 
 hides itself during the day in the midst of the thickest 
 bushes, and seeks its food, which is entirely vegetable, 
 at night. It has a preference for water-melons and 
 citrons. It goes but a very small distance from the 
 spot where it has established its dwelling. It is a very 
 timid animal, and the least noise frightens it ; and it 
 seeks out the most profound solitudes. 
 
THE TAPIR. 119 
 
 Notwithstanding tliis wild disposition, it is tamed 
 wdth the greatest facility — at least, if it is taken young. 
 Its timidity soon makes way for the greatest fami- 
 liarity. *'It becomes tame from the first day," says 
 d'Azara, ''and goes all about the house without leaving 
 it. Every one can touch it and stroke it — not that it 
 prefers one to another, or obeys one more or less than 
 another ; and if it is wished to get it out of a place, 
 it becomes necessary to force it out. It does not bite ; 
 and if it is inconvenienced in any way, it utters a 
 shrill kind of whistle, quite disproportionate to its 
 size. It drinks like the hog, and eats raw or cooked 
 meat and food of all kinds, and whatever comes in its 
 way — not excepting woollen rags or bits of silk. I 
 have seen it many times gnawing my w^alking- stick ; 
 and on one occasion it was doing the same to a silver 
 snuff-box. It seems to be more gluttonous than the 
 pig, and its sense of taste does not seem to enable it to 
 distinguish one thing from another." 
 
 A contemporaneous observer, M. Chabrillac, does 
 not agree with d'Azara as to the indifference which, 
 according to this latter, the tapir shows for the persons 
 amongst whom it lives. '' It loves the society of 
 man," says M. Chabrillac, ''attaches itself to all 
 those who show it kindness, and exhibits a special 
 predilection for children, whose spoyts it shares without 
 ever doing them the least harm." 
 
120 THE TAPIR. 
 
 He gives a very convincing proof of the attachment 
 of the tapir: — **I have kept for two years a tapir 
 which had been taken when young on the banks of the 
 Eio San Francisco. He passed all the time of his 
 captivity in the court of a college frequented by two 
 hundred scholars, with whom he played like the most 
 intelligent dog, without ever offending even those who 
 sometimes took pleasure in teasing him. When the 
 hour of recreation arrived, he would appear delighted, 
 showing his pleasure by leaping and racing about. If 
 the scholars did not seem to be paying proper attention 
 to him, he would go to excite and entice them to come 
 and share in his gambols. But when he was too much 
 tormented by his playfellows, far from seeking to 
 defend himself by doing them any injury, he would 
 run to take refuge in a trough filled with water for his 
 use, and there, uttering a grunt of satisfaction, he 
 appeared to set his persecutors at defiance, whilst they, 
 tiring of the game, w^ould leave him in repose, and 
 soon give themselves to other sports. This interesting 
 animal, which as a rule ate nothing but green herbs, 
 had become accustomed to all kinds of nourishment. 
 They gave him all the debris of the kitchen, which he 
 ate without his health appearing to suffer in the least 
 degree. He died of a wound in his leg, caused by a 
 fall upon a broken bottle." 
 
 An inhabitant of Santa-Maria-de-Belene (Para) pos- 
 
THE TAPIR. 121 
 
 sessecl a very familiar tapir. Having given him to 
 the captain of one of the Brazilian coasting vessels, 
 he took him himself on board. But when the tapir 
 saw his master depart, he began to show signs of 
 disquietude. At length, when the steam was getting 
 up, the animal became furious, ran about from one side 
 to the other, and having found a port-hole open, he 
 threw himself into the sea, swam towards the coast, 
 arrived there safe and sound, and went to find his 
 master, who vowed he would never part with him 
 again. 
 
 They hunt the tapir by night, sometimes with dogs, 
 sometimes by lying in wait for him in the water-melon 
 grounds; but as he has excellent sight, and a very 
 sensitive ear, it is not easy to surprise him. 
 
 If he can reach deep water he throws himself in, 
 and remains a long time submerged, and reappears at 
 a long distance from the place where he plunged in. 
 When there are woods in the immediate proximity, ho 
 throws himself into the thickest brakes, removing and 
 breaking whatever comes in contact with his head, 
 which he carries close to the ground. 
 
 Those who hunt him with the gun, never stop him 
 at once ; and d'Azara relates having seen one whose 
 heart was pierced by two balls, and which before falling 
 ran a distance of two hundred yards. Keduced to 
 extremity, he kicks out his le^s and seizes the dog 
 
122 THE TAPIR. 
 
 by the back, and shakes them so vigorously that he 
 lacerates then* sldn. 
 
 It sometimes happens at daybreak that hunters 
 on horseback encounter a tapir belated in the open 
 country. The lasso soon stops him in his course, 
 and his fate is sealed ; for although he is much 
 swifter than at first sight he seems, he cannot for 
 any length of time compete in speed with a horse. 
 
 D'Azara says that the Indians of Paraguay eat 
 the flesh of the tapir ; but he adds, that by no means 
 proves that it is delicate; and Barren, in his ^'Ilistoire 
 Natiirelle cle la France Equinoxiale,'* writes, *^His 
 flesh is coarse and of a disagreeable taste." \Ye have 
 changed all that. 
 
 " The flesh of the tapir," says M. Chabrillac, '' is 
 much esteemed in the country where I have had 
 occasion to eat it very often, and I can assert that 
 it yields in nothing, both for savour and nutritive 
 qualities, to the best meat we have in Europe. When 
 smoked, it keeps a long time, and acquires a flavour 
 which would be appreciated by our most delicate 
 gourmets,'' 
 
 M. Victor Bataillo writes from Guyana : — "I have 
 often eaten the flesh of this animal. Without being 
 delicate and of the first quality, it is good, and has 
 nothing disagreeable to the taste. 
 
 '*It has also, since 1818, taken a very important 
 
THE TAPIR, 123 
 
 place in the food of the colony, particularly of the 
 labouring classes. 
 
 ** Before 1848 they did not hunt the tapir much. 
 The Indians alone gave attention to this sport, 
 because the Europeans and the slaves were occupied 
 in other works. Since the emancipation the hunt 
 has been taken up very actively and with success, 
 not only amongst the Indians, but near the city, in 
 the environs of which the animal is by no means 
 rare. I have very frequently seen them killed at a 
 distance of one or two leagues from the city. .Not 
 a week passes in which two or three are not brought 
 in ; and these are cut up and sold retail, like butcher's 
 meat. The price is from 5d. to 6d. per pound, 
 and its consumption is a real advantage to the 
 colony.*' 
 
 The pincliaque tapirs are those of the Cordilleras. 
 They inhabit by preference the cold regions, whilst 
 the lower region is frequented by the common tapir : 
 otherwise their habits very much resemble those of 
 the latter. In their nocturnal expeditions they 
 ordinarily go in file, and thus form tracks across the 
 woods, of which the hunters often avail themselves, 
 and which the Indians pompously call royal routes. 
 
 These beaten paths are found in regions between 
 1,400 and 4,400 metres above the level of the sea. 
 TlSi pinchcifiues resort to lonely spots, where the soil 
 
124 THE TAPIE. 
 
 is composed of a clayey kind of slate. This slate 
 clay bears the mark of their teeth. 
 
 D'Azara also reports that the common tapir eats 
 nitrous earth, and says that he has found a great 
 quantity in the stomach of one of these animals. 
 
 Hunters are sure to find the plnchaques on these 
 slate-clay spots a little before sunrise, provided they 
 have not been disturbed, for they are very suspicious 
 animals. They will abandon entirely a place near 
 which the country people have laid snares, with all 
 precaution possible, in which they hope to take 
 them. 
 
 An encounter with them is never dangerous, and 
 we have only heard of three instances in which they 
 have shown any signs of courage. 
 
 A plnchaque pursued by dogs faced round upon 
 them on reaching some water, and as this menacing 
 attitude intimidated the first hunter who presented 
 himself, the tapir ran at him, and threw him head 
 over heels. 
 
 The other instances are reported of two females, 
 when accompanied by their young ones, which they 
 thought to be in danger. They each upset her man. 
 One of these men had taken the liberty of touching 
 the young tapir with his umbrella. 
 
 Once in the water, the innchaque remains there as 
 long as he fancies that he is pursued* 
 
THE TAPIR. 125 
 
 It is related of one, that rather than quit the 
 stream, he allowed himself to be killed with large 
 stones, which the hunter dropped on his head. 
 
 One morning at eight o'clock, at the foot of the 
 Peak of Thoma, on the shore of the Combaymee, in 
 a place situated at 1,918 metres above the sea-level, 
 and called las Juntas, M. Goudot started up a young 
 female pincJiaqiie, which threw itself immediately into 
 the water. Surrounded by dogs, which for the most 
 part kept to the shore, the animal remained for a 
 long time motionless in the midst of the torrent, 
 confining itself to lifting its trunk now and then 
 above the water, and uttering cries which the 
 noise of the stream and the barking of the dogs 
 almost drowned. The dogs, which, in order to reach 
 it, had plunged into the water above the place where 
 the jpinchaque was, were for the most part submerged, 
 but they were not otherwise hurt. The innchaque 
 came to the top of the water with the greatest 
 facility. A ball passed through its aorta, near the 
 heart. After this mortal blow, it had sufficient 
 strength to cross the stream. 
 
 The flesh of this animal is red, like that of the 
 bear, and is excellent eating. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 I. 
 
 Sparrman, accompanied by some farmers and Hot- 
 tentots, had gone for the second time to hunt the 
 hippopotamus : his first attempt had proved unsuccess- 
 ful. This new enterprise took place in the night, and 
 the method adopted was that of lying in ambush. 
 
 Our adventurers were divided, in order to multiply 
 the chances of an encounter. Sparrman, accompanied 
 by two colonists, father and son, was posted on a dry 
 portion of the bed of a river inhabited by hippopotami. 
 A European, and the son-in-law of one of the colo- 
 nists, occupied a second post, and the natives a third. 
 Sparrman and his two companions had behind them 
 the banks of the water-course, which at that spot were 
 very high. The ground was level, and the night 
 sufficiently bright. Moreover, they were on the path 
 made by the hijDpopotami. All the chances were 
 therefore in favour of the hunters. They sat down 
 and waited. Sparrman, tormented by mosg^uitoeS; had 
 
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 127 
 
 covered his face with his pocket-handkerchief, and, half 
 asleep, was philosophising on the boldness of three 
 frail individuals awaiting "the behemoth of the 
 prophet Job," and on the impudence of the insects 
 which were attacking such heroes. 
 
 Suddenly, a hippopotamus came out of the river 
 with the swiftness of an arrow, and dashed into the 
 path, uttering a horrible cry. ^' Hcer Jesus f cries 
 the farmer, firing off his gun ; at the roar of the 
 beast the European and the colonist's son-in-law fled. 
 Sparrman himself had not heard the shot, nor had he 
 seen the beast, — or rather, in the darkness he mistook 
 him for a waterspout, caused by a sudden overflow of 
 the river. He threw down his gun, abandoned his 
 two companions, and rushed desperately to a point high 
 enough to escape the water, knocking himself uselessly 
 against the bluff bank of the river. Astonished that he 
 was not submerged, he asked himself if it was not all a 
 dream? He ran to the farmer's son, whom he found 
 asleep with his fists closed, and snoring lustily, and 
 then to the father, who, entangled in a blanket with 
 which he had enveloped his limbs, was tremblingly en- 
 deavouring to disengage himself. "What direction has 
 the flood taken?" asked Sparrman. He stood speechless 
 for a short time. "Are you become a fool ?•" he said at 
 last. Sparrman retorted. In fact he was not con- 
 vinced of his error until he saw that the farmer's gun 
 
128 THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 
 
 was discharged. Happily, the shot — the flash rather 
 than the hall — had caused the animal to turn round and 
 plunge into the water as precipitately as he had come 
 out of it. Here the hunt finished. Our Nimrods 
 passed the rest of the night in laughing at each other, 
 and smoked their pipes whilst listening to the roaring 
 of the lions. 
 
 This is all ridiculous enough ; but at all events one 
 sees here pictured with naivete the impressions of a 
 novice who for the first time found himself in the 
 presence of a hippopotamus. 
 
 II. 
 
 An encounter with him on land is not without peril. 
 An instance is related of a hippopotamus which pur- 
 sued a native for a long time, who escaped from him 
 with the greatest difficulty. But it is only in cer- 
 tain critical moments, when beasts ordinarily timid 
 become dangerous, that the hippopotamus, unprovoked, 
 shows any aggressive disposition ; it is otherwise 
 when he has been provoked and wounded, — ^then he 
 charges upon the hunter with all his force. Where, 
 however, the species has been subjected to a long and 
 active persecution, they lose all self-confidence ; this 
 is always the case where firearms are generally used. 
 In a locality where the introduction of firearms was 
 
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 129 
 
 still recent, a native fired on a hippopotamus, which 
 he missed, when the latter seized him in his jaws 
 and literally cut him in two. There is less exposure 
 to unpleasantness of this kind when the animal is 
 attacked from behind, seeing that he is so very slow in 
 turning round ; and the negroes usually avail them- 
 selves of this circumstance. 
 
 in. 
 
 Hippopotami live partly in the water and partly on 
 land. They are only found in Africa, in the Nile and 
 in most of the rivers which empty into the Atlantic 
 and Indian Oceans. They abound chiefly south of the 
 equator and in the interior of Africa. They live in 
 herds during the day, in water, where they sleep and 
 yawn, elevating their muzzles from time to time above 
 the water ; at night they come on land to feed, taking 
 always the same path in going and coming. In walk- 
 ing their legs are so short and their paunch so volu- 
 minous, that it almost sweeps the ground. The water 
 is their true home. They are seen descending to the 
 bottom, walking and even running on the mud, rooting 
 up the long grasses with their hooked teeth. Salt, in 
 Abyssinia, saw them walking at the bottom of the Ta- 
 cage, at a depth of twenty feet. Ere long they ascend 
 to the surface, raise their heads out of the water, and 
 
130 THE HIPPOPOTAMUS, 
 
 respire obstreperously, spouting from their nostrils a 
 column of water to the height of five feet ; but they 
 only do this in localities where they have not been 
 disturbed — on the Zambesi, for example. Elsewhere, 
 and particularly in the rivers of Londa, where active 
 warfare has taught them prudence, they only bring 
 their nostrils to the air, and breathe so gently that 
 their presence would not be suspected were it not be- 
 trayed by their footmarks on the shore. The females, 
 when they have little ones very young, come more fre- 
 quently to the surface than others, because their nurs- 
 lings cannot remain under the water so long a time as 
 adults. These little ones cling at first to the neck of 
 their mother, then on her back, and soon they follow 
 her to the pasturage. 
 
 IV. 
 
 One morning Sparrman saw a female with her calf 
 advancing towards him on land ; the calf was lame, 
 and was walking slowly. The mother received a ball 
 in her side, and threw herself into the water. The 
 young one was taken and secured ; he made a great 
 noise, somewhat like a pig when he is being killed. 
 The hunters were very fearful that at these cries the 
 mother would come out of the river, as had happened 
 to Le Vaillant, who had shot a young hippopotamus 
 
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 131 
 
 and broken its thigh. **But we had scarcely reached 
 it/* he writes, *' than at a few yards distance, on the 
 river bank, the mother showed herself, and with fear- 
 ful roars ran towards us, her terrible jaws wide open. 
 This sudden and unexpected apparition so terrified us, 
 that we thought of nothing but flying as quickly as 
 possible; and to prevent any impediment to our speed 
 we even threw down our rifles. For my part, I did 
 not hesitate a moment in doing so with mine, which, 
 being discharged, was useless. The mother, having 
 recovered her young one, did not attempt to follow us, 
 but returned with it peaceably into the water; and 
 her retreat permitted us to go and pick up our guns." 
 Eeturning to Sparrman and his captive: this calf 
 was three feet six inches long and two feet high. Ac- 
 cording to the conjectures of the Hottentots, it could 
 not be more than two or three weeks old. It soon 
 showed signs of a disposition to sociability; but the 
 Hottentots, who have a special liking for its flesh — 
 which, in fact, is agreeable and wholesome, and very 
 like beef — did not give him time to become perfectly 
 tame. 
 
 V. 
 
 The lameness of the young hippopotamus mentioned 
 above leads us to say, that it is very common to find 
 
 K 2 
 
132 THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 
 
 amongst the animals of this species individuals bearing 
 the traces of considerable wounds. It frequently hap- 
 pens, indeed, that they fight furiously. A traveller was 
 witness to a duel between two males, which he records 
 thus : — 
 
 '^It was broad day; and, hidden on the river bank, 
 I had been watching for some time the gambols of 
 a herd of these animals, when all of a sudden two of 
 the largest rose to the surface, and rushed at each 
 other. Their great and hideous jaws were extended 
 wide open, their eyes flaming with rage, each one 
 seeming bent on the destruction of his enemy. They 
 seized each other with their jaws; they stabbed and 
 punched with their strong tusks — by turns advancing 
 and retreating, now at the top of the water and some- 
 times at the bottom of the river. The waves were 
 stained with their blood, and their furious roars were 
 frightful to listen to. They showed very little tact in 
 their movements, but on the other hand they exhibited 
 piggish obstinacy in maintaining their ground, and 
 frightful savageness in their demeanour. The combat 
 lasted for an hour. Evidently they were mutually ope- 
 rating upon armour too hard to admit of their wounds 
 being very dangerous. At last one of them turned his 
 back on his enemy and went away, leaving the other 
 victorious and master of the field of battle." 
 
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 133 
 
 VI. 
 
 NoTWiTHSTxiNDiNO the abundance of hippopotami in 
 certain water-courses, instances of aggression on their 
 part are very rare. 
 
 Mr. Moffat, whilst crossing a river, was pursued by a 
 furious hippopotamus, snorting terribly. It may be 
 said, in passing, that the snorting of males can be 
 heard at a distance of a mile. Our traveller escaped 
 with very great difficulty, and if he had been an instant 
 longer in reaching the bank, he would have been a dead 
 man. 
 
 Ordinarily canoes circulate in the midst of them 
 without being disturbed. A European was sailing on 
 a river, amongst a number of hippopotami. The 
 canoe passed over one of them. The animal moved 
 away, uttering a significant growl. 
 
 A short time ago we read the following, in the 
 recent correspondence of a traveller in Egypt : — 
 
 '^We remarked on the ground numerous traces of 
 the steps of hippopotami. It was evident that we 
 were in a part much frequented by them. We soon 
 noticed on the river a kind of black floating island ; 
 it was the back of an immense hippopotamus. Wo 
 afterwards saw a second and less voluminous one. 
 Our boats were now approaching, and when they 
 passed near the two backs, the sailors shouted in a 
 
134 THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 
 
 peculiar manner, and we saw the hippopotamus first 
 plunge, and then make a sudden spring almost out 
 of the water, exhibiting the body, even to the hind 
 legs. They explained to us that this was a family of 
 hippopotami, which was taking its promenade in the 
 river, and that the mother, believing her young ones 
 were attacked by the boats, had thus elevated herself 
 above the water to see her enemies, and if needful to 
 defend herself.'* 
 
 Here is another picture, taken from the banks of 
 the Kafoue, which is rich in hippopotami : — 
 
 '*In the ignorance of firearms in which they live, 
 these hippopotami are so little timid that they pay 
 not the least attention to us ; the young ones, not 
 much larger than turnspits, and mounted on their 
 mothers' necks, look at us between their ears, and do 
 not appear in the least disturbed by our presence." 
 
 This is the case most frequently ; here, however, is 
 a slight variation : — 
 
 '* About mid-day a hippopotamus struck against 
 the front of our canoe, and almost capsized it. The 
 force of the blow precipitated Mashaouana into the 
 river; the rest, of whom I was one, made for the 
 shore, which was about fifteen yards off. The hippo- 
 potamus remained on the surface of the water, looking 
 curiously at the canoe, as if forming an estimate of 
 the amount of damage she had done. It was a 
 
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 186 
 
 female whose young one had been killed the evening 
 before with a javelin. We were eight in the canoe, 
 and the violence of the shock which she had given us 
 was ample proof to each of us of the enormous 
 strength of the animal which had produced it. Except 
 Mashaouana's ducking, and the bath which all had 
 to take, no other damage was done by the accident. 
 It is such a rare thing to be attacked by one of these 
 animals, when the precaution is taken of sailing near 
 the shore, that my companions cried spontaneously, 
 ' The beast is mad ! ' " 
 
 Here is another, and still more marked instance. 
 M. Knoblecher, head of the Austrian Catholic Mission 
 on the White Kiver, reports, that in one of his voyages 
 his boat separated a female hippopotamus from hei 
 young ones. The mother in a fury rose above the 
 water, just at the same moment that M. Knoblecher' s 
 cook was leaning the upper part of his body over the 
 side: the poor fellow was seized, and disappeared 
 under the waves, carried away by the enormous beast. 
 
 It is not the less true that the principal danger 
 incurred by travellers is not to be imputed to intention 
 on the part of the hippopotamus. 
 
 The most frequent risk is that of being capsized 
 by the pressure of an animal, in rising from tho 
 bottom to the surface without crying " Look out ;'' still 
 it most frequently happens that the sailors come off 
 
136 THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 
 
 at worst with a ducking. Sometirhes, nevertheless, 
 the pachydermatous brute returns in a fury, and 
 destroys the capsized boat. 
 
 VII. 
 
 We have said that in its nocturnal movements the 
 hippopotamus constantly follows the same path. The 
 hunters profit by the custom, and this is the way they 
 take them m the Soudan :— 
 
 Two of the party stand near the path, in the most 
 likely spot ; they are armed with lances, with a hook 
 at the end like a fish hook, to which is attached a cord 
 eight or ten yards long, at the other end of which is 
 a wooden float ; others go in front of the animal where 
 he feeds. They frighten him by shouting, beating 
 drums, and brandishing lighted torches. The alarmed 
 hippopotamus returns to the river, and the nearest 
 hunter throws his barbed javelin into his flanks. The 
 wounded animal carries the dart into the water, and 
 the very rapidity with which he flies contributes to 
 increase his wound by the resistance of the float. 
 
 This piece of wood, which floats on the surface, also 
 enables the hunter to watch the evolutions which the 
 amphibious animal performs under the water. Never- 
 theless, it sometimes happens that it is difficult to 
 follow it in the night-time. To overcome this incon- 
 
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 137 
 
 venience as much as possible, the hunters divide 
 themselves into several groups, and if they lose the 
 animal during the night, they easily find him in the 
 daytime. The hippopotamus, exhausted by his 
 struggles, by loss of blood, and want of food, soon 
 comes to die near the shore, unless the hunters in 
 their boats have in the meantime killed him with the 
 lance; but it sometimes happens that he drags a 
 float for many days, especially when the harpoon has 
 been badly planted. M. Tremaux one day encoun- 
 tered a hippopotamus thus pierced. 
 
 • ' Whilst we were still being towed by the people 
 of Lony, I heard a shout, * The hippopotamus ! the 
 hippopotamus ! ' I surveyed the liquid surface, ex- 
 pecting to see the monstrous head and back of the 
 animal; and I was astonished not to see anything. 
 I observed on the water a kind of Greek cross, 
 formed by two short pieces of wood strongly fixed 
 and bound together in the centre. This cross was 
 cutting through the water, and floating swiftly down 
 the stream, making the water foam, as if moved by 
 some invisible power. As it neared us the float ap- 
 peared to be agitated in an extraordinary degree, and 
 at the same time a formidable snorting, mingled 
 with the noise of the rippling water, was heard close 
 to the boat. We perceived a hippopotamus, which, 
 frightened by the boat, near which he unexpectedly 
 
138 THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 
 
 found himself, gave a great spring half out of the 
 water, and then plunged in again, dragging the float 
 with great fury. 
 
 " A short time afterwards some men hailed us 
 from the shore, inquiring if we had seen the hunted 
 water ox." 
 
 In Abyssinia they hunt the hippopotamus with 
 guns. Salt gives an account of one of these hunts, 
 which was not a very successful one. 
 
 '^ Placed on an elevated and prominent rock, we 
 were not long in perceiving, at a distance of about 
 sixty feet, a hippopotamus, which, without any signs 
 of fear, exhibited his enormous head above the water, 
 and sniffing violently somewhat in the manner of a 
 porpoise. Three of us fired at him, and he was 
 thought to be struck in front ; he looked up, groaning 
 and roaring angrily, and immediately plunged. We 
 expected to see his body floating on the surface of the 
 water, but he reappeared at the same place more 
 cautiously, and without appearing to be at all dis- 
 concerted by what had already happened to him. 
 
 ''We fired again, with no more success than at 
 first. We continuod to fire on many other animals^ 
 but I am not certain that any one of them was wounded. 
 Our leaden balls were too soft to penetrate the skulls 
 of these great animals — they continually rebounded. 
 Nevertheless, towards evening they became more cir- 
 
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 139 
 
 cumspect ; they confined themselves to merely exposing 
 their nostrils above the water, spouting it into the air 
 by the force of their breathing." 
 
 The most common mofe of hunting in South 
 Africa is also with the rifle. In the regions visited 
 by Le Vaillant, Sparrman, and Livingstone, they 
 also dig pits in the paths followed by the animal. 
 M. du Chaillu tells us, on the contrary, that the 
 employment of this trap is unknown on the Gaboon. 
 
 He thus relates one of his hunts : — 
 
 *^ There was here a place in the river shallow 
 enough for them to stand in and play around; and 
 here they remained all day, playing in the deep 
 w^ater or diving, but for the most part standing on 
 the shallow, with only their ugly noses pointed out 
 of the water, and looking for all the world exactly 
 like so many old weatherbeaten logs stranded on 
 a sand-bar. We approached slowly and with caution 
 to within thirty yards of the school, without seeming 
 to attract the slightest attention from the sluggish 
 animals : stopping there, I fired five shots, and, so 
 far as I could see, killed three hippopotami. The 
 ear is one of the most vulnerable spots, and this 
 was my mark every time. The first shot was 
 received with but little attention, but the struggles 
 of the dying animal, which turned over several times 
 and finally sank to the bottom, seemed to rouse the 
 herd, who began to plunge about and dive downnnto 
 
140 THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 
 
 deep water. The blood of my victims discoloured 
 the water all round, and we could not see whether 
 those which escaped were not swimming for us. 
 
 ** Presently the boat received a violent jar, and look- 
 ing overboard, we perceived that we were in the midst of 
 the herd. They did not, however, attack us, but were 
 rather, I imagine, anxious to get away. We, too, pulled 
 out of the way as fast as we could, as I was not anxious 
 to be capsized. Of the dead animals wo recovered but 
 one, which was found two days after on a little island 
 on the river's mouth. I think it likely that the negroes 
 secretly ate up the others as they washed ashore, fear- 
 ing to tell me lest I should claim the prizes. 
 
 '' I afterwards determined to go on a night hunt after 
 hippopotami. We lay down under shelter of a bush 
 and watched. As yet none of the animals had come 
 out of the water. We could hear them snorting and 
 plashing in the distance, the subdued snort-like roars 
 breaking in upon the still night in a very odd way. 
 The moon was nearly down, and the watch was getting 
 tedious, when I was startled by a sudden groan, and 
 peering into the half-light, saw dimly a huge animal 
 looking doubly monstrous in the uncertain light. It 
 was quietly eating grass, which it seemed to nibble off 
 quite close. 
 
 '' Igala and I both took aim; he fired, and without 
 waiting to see the result ran away as swiftly as a good 
 pair of legs could carry him. I was not quite ready, 
 
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 141 
 
 but fired the moment after liim ; and before I could get 
 ready to run, in which I had not Igala's practice, I saw 
 there was no need to do so ; the beast tottered for a 
 moment, and then fell over dead." 
 
 These results are very different from the ineftective 
 shots of Sparrman. 
 
 Le Vaillant, met with success equal to that of M. du 
 Chaillu. An old Namaquois spoke to hina one day of 
 the trouble he was in. 
 
 "He was only a short distance from the river. 
 Hippopotami swarmed there ; his companions and he 
 had wished to take some from time to time for their 
 food ; but although they had dug pits and laid traps 
 along the shore, they had only succeeded in taking 
 three animals during the two years they had dwelt 
 in the canton. 
 
 " The animals, he said, w^ere too sharp for them ; 
 and he did not doubt but that, with my guns, the effect 
 of which he had heard, I might kill as many as I 
 pleased. 
 
 *'My plan was to start in the afternoon of the 
 same day, to pass the night near the river, and to 
 begin the hunt on the following day at dawn, I took 
 vvdth me all my hunters. A detachment of the horde 
 followed me, with some baggage oxen to carry the 
 produce of our sport ; and at day break we were all in 
 active motion. 
 
 " One half of the troop crossed the river by swim- 
 
142 THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 
 
 ming, whilst the other half remained on my side 
 When the swimmers reached the other shore they 
 separated into two bands, one of which went up the 
 river, at a short distance from it, and the other 
 descended. The same was done on my side. The 
 four bands thus embraced three-fourths of the river 
 space ; I alone remained in my place in the centre of 
 the hunters.. At a given signal all had orders to leave 
 their posts slowly and to come towards me, some 
 shouting as loud as they could, others firing their guns 
 at intervals, in order to drive up any hippopotami 
 that might be found in that space of the river to 
 within range of my gun. They encountered eight, and 
 all the bands of hunters being reunited in one common 
 centre, nothing further was wanted but patience and 
 dexterity. 
 
 " In a short time we wounded several of them. Two 
 were already dead, and the people of the horde were 
 transported with joy. But some amongst them having 
 swum out in order to bring to land the two dead 
 beasts, one of the swimmers received from a wounded 
 hippopotamus a blow with his snout, and another had 
 his thigh ripped open by his tusk. This double acci- 
 dent made me fearful of something worse happening. 
 I recalled my people, and, to the great regret of the 
 Namaquois, I terminated a hunt which all said ought 
 to have been more successful, but which could not be 
 continued without very great peril." 
 
CHAPTEll X. 
 
 One traveller says that the sight of a rhinoceros is 
 sufficient to put a lion to flight. Another, without con- 
 tradicting the first, says that the rhinoceros makes the 
 lion fly like a cat ; and a third writes, — " He kills even 
 the elephant, by tearing open his belly with his tusk." 
 A fourth says, — *' Men are the only enemies whom 
 he fears, and this fear ceases when he is wounded or 
 pursued." 
 
 Listen again to another one : — '* He is at once a 
 traitor and an aggressor whom nothing frightens, and 
 a furious brute whom all resistance only renders the 
 more implacable." This animal inhabits both Asia 
 and Africa. 
 
 There are always degrees of character, and thus it 
 appears that the white rhinoceros is relatively gentle 
 and confiding. This mildness, however, must not be 
 exaggerated. A white rhinoceros, having been 
 wounded by Mr. Oswell, threw both horse and rider 
 into the air with one blow of its tusk. 
 
144 THE RHINOCEROS. 
 
 What might one expect after that from the polite- 
 ness of the black rhinoceros ? 
 
 Dr. Livingstone writes : — ** Mr. Osvv^ell was once 
 stalking two of these animals, and as they came 
 slowly to him, he, knowing that there is but little 
 chance of hitting the srrtall brain of this animal by a 
 shot in the head, lay, expecting one of them to give 
 his shoulder, till he was within a few yards. 
 
 " The hunter then thought that by making a rush to 
 his side he might succeed in escaping ; but the rhino- 
 ceros, too quick for that, turned upon him, and, though 
 he discharged his gun close to the animal's head, he 
 was tossed in the air. My friend was insensible for 
 some time, and on recovering found large wounds on 
 the thigh and body. I saw that on the former part 
 still open, and five inches long." 
 
 Mr. Moffat having brought down a black rhinoceros, 
 the natives threw themselves on the beast, shouting 
 with joy ; twelve lances at once penetrated the sides of 
 the victim. The punctures reanimated him; he sprang 
 up in an instant, and, tearing up the earth with his 
 horn after his fashion, rushed upon his conquerors, 
 who promptly showed him their heels. 
 
 The rhinoceros is, after the elephant, the largest 
 mammiferous animal known on the earth. The name 
 is derived from two Greek words, which might be trans- 
 lated liorn on the nose» It is well known, in fact, that 
 
THE RHINOCEROS. 145 
 
 the frontal nasal region is surmountecl, in adults, with 
 one or two horns, according to the species. 
 
 They live on vegetables, and their dental system is 
 perfectly suited to this kind of food. Their neck is so 
 short, and so little flexible, that they are much less 
 fond of grass than of browsing the leaves of branches 
 within their reach, which their very mobile and 
 triangular pointed upper lip easily seizes According 
 to Chardin, the Abyssinians tame the rhinoceros, and 
 make him work like an ox. 
 
 It rarely happens that more than four or five are 
 met with at once, and it is pretty well to encounter 
 one. They are hunted on account of their flesh, which 
 is considered a great treat by the savages. 
 
 In Nubia they hunt him on horeseback, the men 
 being entirely naked. 
 
 They throw themselv^es on him, and irritate without 
 being able to wound him. 
 
 In spite of their dexterity and the agility of their 
 horses they do not always escape the blows of their 
 formidable enemy. The infuriated animal pursues his 
 assailants. Then one of them detaches himself from 
 his companions, and pretends to wait for him. The 
 rhinoceros turns his rage on this one, and abandons 
 the other hunters, who, moving off rapidly, seek a 
 favourable place near somo Large tree, chosen before- 
 hand. 
 
 L 
 
146 THE RHINOCEROS. 
 
 V/lien the horseman who had remained behind, 
 engaged with the animal, supposes that his comrades 
 have attained their retreat, he starts off like a dart, 
 reaches the foot of the tree indicated, leaps from his 
 horse, which gallops off, and climbs swiftly up the 
 branches. 
 
 The rhinoceros, which has followed him, dashes 
 furiously against the tree, as if he meant to upset 
 it, and strikes his horn deeply into it. But whilst he 
 is making unheard of efforts to disengage himself, the 
 hunters in ambush fall on him and kill him with their 
 lances. As to the horse, he stands still when he finds 
 that he is no longer pursued, and, attracted by the 
 neighing of his companions, he is not slow in rejoining 
 them. 
 
 The rhinoceros, when attacked, takes voluntarily, 
 as we have seen, a tree for v. hunter, and discharges, 
 his rage on the former. Livingstone attributes this 
 blundering to the fact of the horn being so placed 
 as to obstruct the line of vision; and he gives as a 
 proof that the variety named Kua-haobo, having the 
 horn projecting downwards, and therefore not inter- 
 fering with the sight, was able to be much more 
 w^ary than its neighbours. Be this as it may, the 
 eye at all events is very small, and sunk in the 
 head. On the other hand, the senses of hearing 
 and smell are very subtle; at the least noise the 
 
THE RHINOCEROS. 147 
 
 animal takes alarm, pricks its ears, rises up, and 
 listens, that is, if lie is not asleep, for his sleep 
 is very heavy. 
 
 This has been contradicted, but Sparrman relates 
 as follows : — '^ Two of our Hottentot marksmen per- 
 ceived through the bushes, at a distance of three or four 
 yards, a rhinoceros, lying on his right side, and 
 sleeping so profoundly, that he did not wake up 
 even at the loud noise which they made by chance 
 in striking the guns one against the other. Their 
 first movement was to take aim at him; but as 
 he did not awake, and as they could only see the 
 back part of his body, after a short consultation 
 they made a circuit, and placing themselves in a 
 position to point their guns towards the animal's 
 head, they discharged their two barrels at once into 
 his brisket., 
 
 " As the animal struggled somewhat feebly, they had 
 little fear that he would as yet wake up and pursue 
 them; then, as much for their amusement as pre- 
 caution, they recharged their guns and fired several 
 balls into him." 
 
 Le Vaillant says that two rhinoceroses had stopped 
 side by side in a plain at a little distance from his 
 camp ; he started at once, accompanied by his men. 
 
 " One of the two being much larger than the 
 other, I took them to be male and female. 
 
 L 2 
 
148 TPIE RHINOCEIIOS. 
 
 ** They were holding their noses to the wind, and 
 consequently presented their croups to us. 
 
 *^It is a habit of these quadrupeds, when thus 
 stopping, to place themselves to windward, in order 
 to be warned by scent of any enemies they have to 
 fear. Occasionally, they turn the head to cast a 
 glance behind, to watch for their safety, but it is 
 simply a glance, and the affair of an instant. 
 
 *'We were discussing the disposition to be made 
 for the attack, when Jonker, one of my Hottentots, 
 begged me to allow him to attack the beasts alone, 
 I permitted him to do so. He stripped naked and 
 departed, carrying his gun with him, and crawling 
 on his belly like a serpent. 
 
 *• During this time I placed my hunters in the 
 posts they were to occupy, whilst I remained where 
 I was with two Hottentots — the one held my horse 
 and the other the dogs. We were all three con- 
 cealed behind a bush. I had in my hand an opera- 
 glass, with which I had often watched the jeu cles 
 macJdnes, and the effect of theatrical decorations : 
 but the objects were changed now ! At this moment 
 it exhibited to mo two frightful monsters, turning 
 their hideous heads now on this side, now on that. 
 Soon their movements of observation and of fear 
 became more frequent, and I feared lest they might 
 have heard the motions of my dogs, which, having 
 
THE RHINOCEROS. 149 
 
 p3rceived them, were struggling to escape from their 
 keeper, and to rush towards them. 
 
 " Jonker, on his part, continued to advance, though 
 slowly, keeping his eyes fixed on the two animals, 
 and becoming suddenly motionless the instant they 
 turned their heads in his direction. His crawling, 
 with all its interruptions, lasted for an hour. At 
 length I saw him direct his movements towards a 
 great tuft of milk- wort, which was within about 
 200 yards of the rhinoceroses. 
 
 "Arrived there, and sure of being well concealed, 
 he arose, and after turning his eyes on all sides, to 
 see that his comrades were at their posts, he pre- 
 pared to fire. 
 
 *' During the whole time of his crawling I had 
 followed him with my eyes, and in proportion as 
 he advanced, I felt my heart palpitate involuntarily. 
 But the palpitation redoubled when I saw him so 
 close to the animals, and on the point of firing at 
 one of them, "What would I not have given at that 
 moment to have been in Jonker's place, or at least 
 beside him ! I waited with the most vivid impatience 
 for the shot to be fired, and I could not conceive 
 what prevented his firing ; but the Hottentot who 
 was by my side, and who with his naked eye could 
 distinguish him as perfectly as I with my lorgnette, 
 said that if Jonker did not fire, it was because he was 
 
150 THE RHINOCEROS. 
 
 waiting for one of the rhinoceroses to turn, that he 
 might aim at his head. 
 
 *'At last, the largest of the two having turned 
 his head in our direction, he fired. 
 
 "Wounded with the shot, he uttered a frightful 
 cry, and, followed by the female, ran with fury 
 towards the place whence the noise had come. A 
 cold perspiration came over me, for I expected to 
 see the two monsters break through the bush, crush 
 under their feet the unhappy Jonker, and tear him 
 in pieces; but he had thrown himself flat on the 
 ground, and the ruse succeeded perfectly. They 
 passed near him without seeing him, and came 
 straight towards me. 
 
 "Then my agony was turned into joy, and I 
 prepared to receive them. But the dogs, already 
 excited by the gun-shot which they had heard, 
 became so maddened at their approach, that being un- 
 able to hold them, I unloosed them and let them 
 on them. 
 
 "At this sight they took a turn, and made off in 
 the direction of one of the ambuscades, where they 
 underwent another firing; then in a third direction, 
 where again they were met with another shot. My 
 dogs harassed them beyond measure, which still in- 
 creased their rage. They kicked at them furiously, — 
 they tore up the plain with their horns, and ploughed 
 
THE EHINOCEEOS. 151 
 
 up furrows seven or eight inches deep, throwing around 
 them a shower of stones and pebbles. 
 
 ''During this time we were all approaching, in 
 order to make as close a circle round them as pos- 
 sible, and to bring all our forces against them. 
 This multitude of enemies with which they saw 
 themselves surrounded, threw them into inexpres- 
 sible fury. Suddenly the male stopped, and ceasing 
 to fly before the dogs, turned upon them to attack 
 and rip them up. But whilst he was pursuing them 
 the female got away. 
 
 "I was not sorry for this flight, which was indeed 
 much in our favour, for it is certain, that in spite 
 of our number and our arms, two such formidable 
 enemies would have very much embarrassed us. I 
 must even acknowledge that without my dogs we 
 should not have been able to encounter the risks 
 and perils of the one remaining. The traces of 
 blood which he left on his path told us that he 
 had received more than one wound, which only 
 served to increase his rage. 
 
 ''Nevertheless, after some time occupied in making 
 his furious attack, he beat retreat, and seemed to 
 wish to gain some bushes, apparently to support him- 
 self, and that he might be harassed in front only. I 
 divined his ruse, and with the design of preventing 
 it, I ran towards the bushes, making signs to the 
 
152 THE RHINOCEROS. 
 
 two hunters nearest to mo to go there also. He 
 was not more than thirty yards from us when we 
 gained the post, then all three facing him at the 
 same time, we fired, and he fell, without being able 
 to rise again*'*'* 
 
CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 Many Indians imagine that a human soul dwells in 
 the elephant's body. In Siam and in Pegu white ele- 
 phants are regarded as the living manes of Indian 
 emperors. These animals, exempt from all service, live 
 in palaces, are served by numerous domestics, eat the 
 choicest food out of golden vessels, and are clothed 
 with magnificent ornaments. They must not bend their 
 knees, except before the emperor, who returns their 
 salute. Notwithstanding so much adulation, they re- 
 main gentle and obedient. If the Indians would take 
 the trouble to reflect, this last circumstance would 
 demonstrate to them that elephants are not animated 
 by human inspiration. They are but beasts, in fact, 
 but they are the wisest of all beasts. None surpass 
 them either in intelligence, address, strength, or doci- 
 lity; none leave in the hands of the hunter a spoil 
 more choice or precious ; and hence the motives for 
 which man declares war on them. 
 
 In India the hunting of the elephant has for its end 
 
154 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 sometimes to make prisoners, and sometimes to obtain 
 ivory. In Soutli Africa the latter is always the object 
 in view ; and for the reason that in India the elephant 
 is employed in war, in hunting, and in a variety of 
 works, whilst in Africa he is not so employed at the 
 present day ; besides, the species in this latter region is 
 much smaller and weaker than in the other. 
 
 There are two species, the Indian and African. The 
 Indian elephant has a concave forehead, smaU tusks 
 and ears, teeth formed in serrated laminae, the number 
 of \xbich rise to twenty-six ; five nails to the fore-feet, 
 and four to the hind-feet. It is found all over the con- 
 tinent, from the Indus to the Eastern sea, and in the 
 great islands of Southern Asia. 
 
 The African elephant has a rather convex forehead, 
 large tusks, which attain eight feet in length ; ears 
 so vast that they cover a large part of the shoulder. 
 The teeth are formed of ten laminsB only ; four claws 
 to the fore-feet, and three to the hind-feet. It is found 
 from Senegal and the Niger to the Cape of Good 
 Hope. 
 
 The two species live in large herds in solitary forests. 
 One male conducts the herd. When danger menaces 
 them he takes the lead, the females and the young fol- 
 low. They never attack man or any animal ; but when 
 provoked, they defend themselves with intrepidity, and 
 their weight, their speed, and their tusks, make them 
 
THE ELEPHANT. 155 
 
 the most redoubtable adversaries that a hunter could 
 encounter. 
 
 II. 
 
 There is, however, an exception to what has just been 
 said as to the inoffensive character of the elephant. 
 As the male who conducts a herd never allows a rival 
 to approach it, there exists a certain number of solitary 
 old boys, who are sometimes most wicked brutes. At 
 certain seasons they become quite furious, and during 
 a week or two they kill whatever they encounter. 
 
 Captain Dunlop gives some instances. . He tells us 
 specially of a solitary elephant in the Doon, known by 
 the name of Gunesh, which belonged to the Government 
 Commissariat. Having killed his keeper, he fled to the 
 jungles, carrying, fastened to his leg, a fragment of the 
 chain which had served to attach him. It was there- 
 fore easy to recognize him, and he is said to have killed 
 fifteen persons in fifteen years. 
 
 A pedestrian courier of the English postal service, 
 whilst on his journey from Bagdad, with his bag of 
 despatches on his back, was pursued by a " solitary,'* 
 caught, and crushed beneath his feet. 
 
 Whilst the canal of Beejapore was being made, about 
 three miles from Dehra, an elephant, which had hidden 
 behind a bush, rushed on some native workmen. He 
 
156 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 upset one, and holding the wretch's limbs under his 
 heavy foot, he tore away the upper part of his body, 
 by means of his trunk coiled under the armpits, and 
 continued his route, brandishing this bloody trophy. 
 
 Two woodmen employed in felling trees in the jun- 
 gles of Chandnee-Doon becoming ill, instead of follow- 
 ing their fellow-workmen, remained in the hut, in the 
 company of a Brahmin, who was employed in looking 
 after the domestic arrangements of the company. One 
 of these woodmen, wanting some water, went out to a 
 neighbouring spring : he did not return. The second 
 went afterwards, but never came back. In the evening 
 their bodies were found at a few yards from the spring. 
 From the footprints on the soil it was easy to divine 
 how they had perished. Both had been the victims of 
 a ** solitary." Their bodies did not exhibit any apparent 
 wounds, only a little dust could be seen on their 
 breasts ; but when this place was touched by the hand, 
 t was found that the bones were completely crushed — 
 % gentle pressure of the beast's foot had extinguished 
 (he life of these poor fellows. 
 
 III. 
 
 Elephants are very numerous in certain parts of 
 Africa and Asia. 
 
THE ELEPHANT. 157 
 
 The hunter whom we have just named was encamped 
 on the shores of the Sooswa. There were a number of 
 elephants in the camp ; and towards midnight they 
 showed signs of disquietude, and at first uttered 
 short shrill notes; then they made the jungle resound 
 with their roars, which were almost immediately re- 
 sponded to, first from one point, then from another, 
 till the night appeared to be peopled with their voices. 
 
 Every one was afoot immediately. *' As we were 
 endeavouring to look into the darkness, we suddenly 
 recognized the presence of a great pioneer tusk-bearer, 
 close to our elephants ; then large moving masses in 
 the neighbourhood, which appeared to rise and fall. 
 Sometimes a large opaque body, which we had mistaken 
 for a tree or a bush, and, as such, neglected, would 
 suddenly disappear into space in solemn silence, whilst 
 obscure outlines of arched backs and trunks passed 
 before our eyes, like the phantoms of a dream, which 
 are lost in the night. Suddenly the leader of the 
 herd seemed to take alarm, and we heard a long 
 splashing, during which the elephants were crossing 
 the waves of the Sooswa, from our side. 
 
 " There was a gap in the bank of the river near to 
 us, and, as the leaders of the elephants chose this 
 route, we soon saw the whole sombre column glide to 
 the coast from us in a bluish light, as regularly as tho 
 images in the slides of a magic-lantern. 
 
158 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 " There were, as near as I could manage to ascertain, 
 about seventy of them in . the herd ; and I remarked 
 here and there the pale light of the ivory." 
 
 Such are the pictures which unfold themselves in 
 Asia to the sight of the traveller. In Ceylon they 
 frequently take a hundred elephants or more in one 
 hattue. So much for India. In Africa a like Spectacle 
 is seen. Speke, in the Ounyoro, met a herd of a 
 hundred female elephants ; and Livingstone says that 
 there are a prodigious number on the spot where the 
 Zonga empties into the Lake Ngami. 
 
 Delegorgue estimated that he w^as once in the midst 
 of a herd of six hundred. A hunter has even pre- 
 tended to have seen three thousand at once. 
 
 ; IV. 
 
 In India the methods of taking elephants are very 
 varied (we will describe farther on how they kill them) ; 
 to describe' them all would be tedious. It is well 
 known "what pomp the Eastern princes were used to 
 display in these expeditions. 
 
 One day, as the Count de Forbin, then Grand Ad- 
 miral and General of the armies of the King of Siam, 
 was assisting at a hunt of this kind, the king asked 
 him what he thought of the magnificent display around 
 him. *' Sire," replied Forbin, *^ seeing your majesty 
 
THE ELEPHANT. 159 
 
 surrounded by all this cortege, I imagine that I see 
 the king, my master, at the head of his troops, giving 
 orders and disposing all things for a great battle. 
 
 "This reply,'' he adds, ''gave him great pleasure, 
 as I had foreseen it would; for I knew that he loved 
 nothing in the world better than to be compared to 
 Louis le Grand ; and, if the truth must be written, 
 this comparison, which went no further than the ex- 
 terior grandeur and magnificence of the. two princes, 
 was not absolutely without justice, there being few 
 spectacles in the world more superb than the public 
 processions of the King of Siam.*' 
 
 The following are the modern methods of hunting. 
 In some places they are pursued with tame elephants, 
 trained for the purpose, and very swift. 
 
 When these have come up with one, the hunter 
 throws, with much dexterity, a noose of very stout 
 cord, in such a way that the wild animal finds himself 
 caught by the foot. He falls, and they strap him down 
 before he has time or opportunity for rising. They 
 then fasten him between two strong tame elephants, 
 who beat him with their trunks if he is at all re- 
 fractory, and compel him to walk with them to the 
 stables. 
 
 In Ceylon an elephant hunt is a very important 
 affair. The government assembles a great number of 
 Europeans and Cingalese, who meet in the forest where 
 
160 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 these animals are to be found. All these hunters form 
 a vast circle, which they gradually narrow, advancing 
 and shouting. 
 
 The frightened elephants have but one side to fly, 
 and there is found the *' redan," into which they are 
 forced to enter. This redan is nothing less than a 
 great circle of stakes, terminating in a sort of narrow 
 neck ; once entered into which the elephants can no 
 longer return. In order to force them to enter, shouts 
 are increased, and burning torches are thrown before 
 their eyes; then their fears are redoubled, and they 
 rush into the trap, which encloses them. The first 
 care after the capture is to tame them. 
 
 This is managed by placing one or two tame ele- 
 phants near the opening, by which the wild ones are 
 made to pass out, tied together, as we have said 
 already. Hunger on the one hand, and blows from the 
 trunks of their docile companions on the other, soon 
 inspire them with resignation. 
 
 They are also taken by pitfalls. A path is chosen 
 which is used many times in the year by the elephants, 
 and which probably serves as a route in going from 
 the jungles to some spring in the mountains. 
 
 Across these paths several pits are dug of about 
 twenty feet wide and fifteen to twenty feet deep, and 
 which are then covered over with branches and turf. 
 
 However admirably these pits may be concealed, 
 
THE ELEPHANT. 161 
 
 it does not often happen that the elephants fall 
 therein. Not only do they try with their feet with 
 the greatest care any ground that looks suspicious, 
 but they make constant use of their trunks to prove 
 the solidity of the soil, or to clear out of the way 
 everything which appears to hide a trap. 
 
 It is not an easy matter to draw an elephant out 
 of one of these pits, and it can only be done by the 
 aid of a tame elephant ; otherwise it would be 
 necessary to subdue the animal by hunger before 
 thinking of getting him out. 
 
 Any one getting within reach of the trunk of an 
 elephant just taken, would do so at the risk of his 
 life ; but, singularly enough, a driver mounted on a 
 tame elephant's neck can approach the novice with 
 impunity, and tighten or slacken the noose round 
 his neck or feet. 
 
 The cords placed round the legs sometimes cut 
 them to the bone, and leave marks which endure 
 for the animal's lifetime. No nourishment is given 
 to him for several days. This deprivation of food 
 soon brings down his courage, and then it is thai; 
 his appointed driver insures the friendly recognition 
 of the elephant by bringing him food and unbinding 
 his limbs. 
 
1G2 THE ETJ3^HA:^;T• 
 
 V. 
 
 Once appeased, they become very submissive, and 
 are used as beasts of burden; they are capari- 
 soned for hunting and for war ; they are made to 
 carry heavy loads, and are obedient to the voice and 
 gesture. 
 
 *'The Siamese,'* says Forbin, *' obtain consider- 
 able services from these animals. They use them 
 almost as domestics, and especially for taking care 
 of the children : they take them up with their trunks 
 and put them to bed and rock them • to sleep ; and 
 when mamma wants them, she has only to order the 
 elephant to go and bring them to her.'* 
 
 Numerous instances which testify to their intelli- 
 gence and docility are well known. 
 
 Can one believe this, which a Siamese king reported 
 of one on which he was mounted? — *^ This elephant 
 had not long since a groom who half famished him 
 by depriving him a portion of the food allotted to him. 
 The animal had no other means of complaining but 
 by his cries, and made such a horrible noise that he 
 could be heard all through the palace. Not being 
 able to divine the cause of his crying so loudly, but 
 suspecting the real fact, I gave him another groom, 
 
THE ELEPHANT. 163 
 
 who, being more faithful, and having given him, 
 without wrong, his full measure of rice, the elephant 
 divided it into two parts with his trunk, and when 
 he had eaten one half, he set up his cry again, 
 indicating thereby to all who ran to see what was 
 the matter, the infidelity of the first groom, who 
 acknowledged his crime, for which I caused him to 
 be severely chastised." 
 
 Count de Warren relates the following, which took 
 place in India during the Coorg war, at a time 
 when the writer's brigade was engaged in the bed 
 of a dry mountain torrent : — 
 
 *' This circumstance enabled us to appreciate the 
 intelligence of the elephants, and their usefulness in 
 the mountains. Having reached a point where the 
 bed of the torrent fell in cascades, it became a 
 question as to the mode of raising the guns up the 
 almost vertical declivity of a granite rock, the surface 
 of which the waters had worn and polished. The 
 oxen which drew the cannon gave up the attempt 
 after one or two efforts, and lay down, as they 
 always do in desperate cases. 
 
 *' It was then determined to send for some 
 elephants of the convoy. Two of the most docile 
 were stripped of their loads and led by their guides 
 to the place where the cannons were left^ It was 
 indicated to them by voice and gesture what was 
 
 M 2 
 
164 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 expected from their courage ; and the confidence thus 
 shown in them was not misplaced. One of the 
 colossal beasts, placing himself behind a gun, applied 
 the extremity of his trunk to it, and pushing it 
 before him, whilst the cannoneers guided it, sent it 
 up the rocky chasm. A little farther on, the gun 
 having rolled into a ravine, and being upset, the two 
 elephants lifted it up with their trunks, one on this 
 side, and one on that, and replaced it on its 
 carriage.'* 
 
 A still more remarkable fact occurred duiing the 
 terrible insurrection in India. 
 
 *' One day, during the march on Lucknow, in the 
 month of March, 1858, by the order of General 
 Outram, three howitzers were taken from the backs 
 of the elephants which carried them on the march, 
 and were placed in a battery on a little eminence, for 
 the purpose of annoying the enemy's flank. One 
 of them bears a celebrated name in India, from his 
 mother, of which he is worthy, as we shall see, viz., 
 Kudabar-Moll. 
 
 '* As soon as the pieces were in position, the 
 animal placed himself, according to orders, at a few 
 steps behind, and looked on. Soon the greater part 
 of the artillerymen fell, decimated by the musketry 
 of the enemy; seeing this, Kudabar-Moll II. inter- 
 posed, and taking the cartridges from the waggon 
 
THE ELEPHANT. 165 
 
 with his trunk, ho passed them, one by one, to the 
 few survivors. The moment came when there re- 
 mained only three Englishmen. These brave fellows 
 succeeded, nevertheless, in reloading the howitzers, 
 but before they could fire them they all fell, mortally 
 w^oundcd. 
 
 ** ' Here, my brave Kudabar cried he who held the 
 match. The elephant approached, seized the match, 
 fired the first gun, and w^as ready to continue the 
 manoeuvre, when two companies of infantry came up ' 
 and dislodged the enemy." 
 
 But there is nothing perfect in this w^orld — elephant 
 no more than man ; here is one proof among others : 
 — *' A male elephant, belonging to the commissariat, 
 was drinking at a stream, which passes through the 
 city of Delira. An old w^oman approached to fill 
 her pitcher with water, when the animal, seized 
 v>ith an inexplicable desire for mischief, passed his 
 trunk round the woman, threw her dow^n, and placing 
 her under one of his feet, quietly crushed her, and 
 then began to flap his ears and to drink, as if this 
 little buffoonery had been but an innocent \vander- 
 ing of the- imagination." 
 
 It sometimes happens that domestic elephants 
 escape, and as we have seen some of these become 
 deserters. Others arc not slow in becoming disgusted 
 wdth their liberty, and come back to service of their 
 
166 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 own accord. A large female, named Eam-Kullee, 
 celebrated at Hurdwar for her cleverness in calming 
 and training the elephants taken in the traps, fled 
 into the jungles on two or three occasions, and each 
 time came back of her own accord. 
 
 VI. 
 
 We have described the method of taking elephants in 
 India, let us now show by one or two examples how 
 they kill them. 
 
 In the wild gorges of Sewalik two natives, a Brin- 
 jara and a Ghoorka, accompanied the hunter, who 
 relates as follows : — *' We had just thrown ourselves 
 on the ground, exhausted by the heat and want of 
 water, which is very scarce during summer on the 
 northern side of the mountain chain of the Sewalik, 
 when the silence which surrounded us was suddenly 
 interrupted by the cracking of a broken branch. We 
 advanced gently and silently in the direction indi- 
 cated by the noise, and came upon a herd of six 
 large and several young elephants feeding. They 
 had no wind of us, although I had taken no pre- 
 caution in this respect ; and, flapping their large ears, 
 they continued to browse the bushes of the bamboos 
 and other trees around them. After having placed the 
 
THE ELEPHANT. 167 
 
 Brinjara at a safe distance, and ordered tlie little 
 Ghoorka to keep himself at about twenty or thirty yards 
 behind me with my reserve double-barrelled guns, 
 I began to creep towards the herd with my single 
 carabine. Suddenly a change in the wind caused a 
 number of trunks to be raised into the air. The 
 trunk has a little appendage in the shape of a finger, 
 and in a second each of them was turned towards 
 the bush behind which I was stooping down, as if 
 to indicate the place whence danger might be ex- 
 pected. The herd then began to move off slowly, 
 their frequent encounters with woodmen in the 
 jungles having rendered them less easy to frighten 
 than they would otherwise have been. We did 
 not see any ivory-bearer amongst them; and if 
 the male was not near at hand, the head of the 
 troop would be some great muckna, or tuskless 
 male. 
 
 ** An enormous female was making her repast 
 amongst the branches of a bush of bamboos, at a 
 short distance in front of me. I crept along under 
 the cover, and arrived within four yards of her be- 
 fore she saw me. I aimed at her temples and fired. 
 I had resolved to hasten to the bottom of the escarp- 
 ment as quickly as I could, to see the effects of my 
 shot, and as soon as I had fired I ran straight to 
 the place where my Ghoorka was waiting. A fearful 
 
168 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 fracas in the trees followed the sound of my gun, and 
 I perceived the Brinjara flying through the wood in a 
 terrible fright. 
 
 *^ As I was not pursued, I returned to the place 
 whence I had fired, and I saw the elephant lying 
 dead. 
 
 *^ The ball had pierced the skull, but it had but 
 touched the . brain, although it weighed four ounces, 
 w^as pointed with steel, and I had charged with six 
 drachms of powxler — equal to about four ordinary 
 charges." 
 
 Another example. We are this time in the 
 forest of Dholekote, on the track of a whole herd. 
 The interest of the matter consists in this — that the 
 hunter was mounted on a female elephant provided 
 with a saddle. He had determined to descend as 
 soon as he should be in sight of the game, but he 
 was not slow in -discovering that the old paterfamilias, 
 which was armed with respectable ivories, took the 
 alarm like the rest as soon as the hunter descended 
 fi'om his seat; whereas, on the contrary, he seemed 
 to contemplate fearlessly the elephant carrying his 
 two men. 
 
 ** I determined then, in spite of the many 
 objections of the driver, wiio doubted that my 
 carabine could stop short an elephant in full charge, 
 to go straight to the old male and to fire at him 
 
THE ELEPHANT. 169 
 
 from the back of my elephant. I had an American 
 rifle, the power of which I w^as very desirous of 
 proving, and with this gun I fired at the animal's 
 temples, at a distance of forty paces. At that distance 
 I could easily hit the bottom of a wine-glass, and 
 I was therefore perfectly certain that I had struck 
 the place I aimed at ; but its calibre w^as not 
 sufficient, and the patriarch scampered off, followed 
 by four balls from my battery, which I foolishly fired 
 off, in the vainhope of stopping him. 
 
 ** We then recommenced following the track, 
 assisted here and there by drops of blood. After a 
 pursuit of five miles we discovered that we had 
 changed the route, having lost the wounded elephant 
 and taken that of an elephant which had wTJidered 
 from the path taken by the troop. We v\^ere, in fact, 
 following the fresh footprints of a solitary malOj 
 whose meditations we troubled at about ten milea 
 from the place where our first shot had been fired- 
 We were now in the forest of Horawalla, where one 
 is always sure to find elephants at the time wher 
 tlie rice is ripening. 
 
 *' This time I used my heavy carabine, firing from 
 the back of my elephant at about fifteen paces. My 
 aim was not perfectly certain ; the old male stumbled 
 and fell on his knees, but as he roared furiously, it 
 
170 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 was clear that the brain had not been penetrated. I 
 therefore slipped down, and firing another ball 
 straight into the face of the solitary animal at three 
 yards' distance, I killed him instantly; and climbing 
 upon the enormous carcase, I sat in triumph on "uy 
 dead enemy." 
 
CHAPTEE Xir. 
 
 ^I^pljaub (continued). 
 
 VII. 
 
 In Africa they hunt the elephant not for the purpose 
 of securing a powerful servant, but to procure his 
 tusks. It is, therefore, by his death that all happy 
 expeditions terminate. There are a great variety of 
 ways of ensuring this result. 
 
 Let us pass into Nubia for awhile. 
 
 Before all things, it is necessary that hunters 
 should know the daily habits of that wdiich they 
 wish to make their prey, as w^ell as the places fre- 
 quented by it. This condition being fulfilled, they 
 establish themselves in the thick foliage of the large 
 trees which the elephants browse and being invisible, 
 they await his approach ; when the unsuspecting 
 animal, finds himself underneath them, seizing a 
 favourable instant, they plunge their lances into his 
 eyes and jaws. This proceeding might appear very 
 simple : it is very dangerous ; for if the animal is 
 only wounded, the tree must be a very strong one 
 
172 THE ELEPHAKT. 
 
 tliat lie ^\ill not tear up by the root. Woe, then, to 
 the imprudent one, who, calculating distance badly, 
 shall have placed himself on a branch low enough 
 for the animal to reach him. He will die beneath 
 the weight of his intended prey. 
 
 Those of the Sennaar are taken in a manner which 
 will interest the reader. 
 
 Two men, absolutely naked, mount a horse ; they 
 are naked because it is necessary that not the least 
 rag should be caught by the branches of trees or 
 bushes when they fly before their enemy. 
 
 One of the riders holds a short stick in his right 
 hand, and with his left he holds the bridle carefully. 
 His comrade behind him is armed with a large sabre, 
 the hilt of which he holds in his left hand. Fourteen 
 inches of the blade are covered with twine, so that 
 he can take this part of the blade in his right hand 
 without risk of wounding himself; and, although the 
 blade may be sharp as a razor, he carries it without a 
 sheath. 
 
 As soon as they have discovered the animal brovrs- 
 ing, the man who guides the horse rushes straight at 
 him, shouting, ^' I am such a one; this is my horse, 
 named so-and-so. I have killed your father in such 
 a place, and your grandfather in such another place ; 
 now I am going to kill you ; you are but an ass 
 in comparison with your father." The rider really 
 
THE ELEPHANT. 173 
 
 believes that the elephant comprehends these words, 
 because, irritated by the noise, he endeavours to strike 
 with his trunk, and instead of saving himself, as he 
 might do, by flight, pursues the horse, which turns 
 round and round him unceasingly. At length the 
 rider, galloping close up to the animal, in passing, lets 
 his companion slip down, who, profiting by the moment 
 when the elephant is occupied with the horse, adroitly 
 gives him a sabre cut over the top of the heel, and 
 cuts the tendon which in man is called the ''tendon 
 Achilles." 
 
 This is the moment of difnculty, for the rider must 
 at once get behind to take up his companion, who 
 springs up on the horse's crupper. They then follow 
 the other elephants with the utmost speed, if they 
 have separated more than one of the herd, and 
 sometimes they kill as many as three of the same 
 band. If the sabre is well sharpened, and the man 
 strikes with a sure hand, the tendon is entirely 
 separated; if it is not, the v/eight of the animal 
 Koon completes the work. The elephant, no longer 
 able to advance, falls beneath the javelin, and expires 
 from loss of blood. 
 
 However clever the hunters may be, the elephant 
 sometimes seizes them with his trunk, and with a 
 single blov/ felling horse and rider to the ground, 
 he tears them limb from limb> one after the other. 
 
174 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 Many perish in this manner. Besides this, during 
 the hunting season the earth is so dry from the sun, 
 that there are numerous cracks, and it is then very 
 dangerous for riding on horseback. 
 
 Nevertheless, mention has been made of a man 
 who, regardless of the perils of this sport, had arrived 
 at such perfection, that he acted without the aid of 
 any one else. Let him speak for himself. 
 
 " I rub my body with elephant grease, and conceal 
 myself in the neighbourhood of the places which 
 they frequent. I watch them attentively, and when 
 I see one separated from his companions, I approach 
 him cautiously. The odour which I give out pre- 
 vents the animal from paying any attention to me. 
 I am armed with a sharp-edged sword, and with a 
 vigorous arm I strike the animal on the hind-leg, 
 and as quick as a gazelle I disappear. The blood 
 flows from his wound, and the furious animal utters 
 terrible cries, which make his affrighted companions 
 fly. Irritated by the pain, he strikes the earth with 
 his wounded foot, completes the cut, and falls, over- 
 powered by his own mass, incapable of rising. The 
 elephant is alone, the others having taken their depar- 
 ture ; I can then approach him without fear, knowing 
 that he will not be succoured ; and, provided that I 
 avoid placing myself within reach of his trunk, it is 
 an easy matter to finish him.'* 
 
THE ELEPHANT. 175 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Let us now go to the south, our way enlivened by one 
 of the hunting adventures of the unfortunate Captain 
 Speke. 
 
 This happened in the Oungoro. 
 
 *' Some elephants were signalled in the neighbour- 
 hood. My comrade and I — our guns ready — dis- 
 covered a troop of a hundred females, on a plain 
 covered with tall grass, here and there sprinkled 
 with hillocks, clothed with dwarf shrubs. We fired 
 at a dozen at least without killing one of these 
 enormous beasts, and only one seemed inclined to 
 charge. Profiting by the thickness of the grass, I 
 crept within reach of the herd, and sent a shot at one 
 of the largest, which had separated from the rest while 
 browsing. The others, taking alarm, formed a group, 
 and snufiing the air with their trunks simultaneously 
 raised, finished by satisfying themselves from the smell 
 of the powder that their enemy was in front of them. 
 Then, waving their trunks, they came nearer to the 
 place where I lay screened by a bend in the ground. 
 
 *' When they scented me, their march was at once 
 suspended, and erecting their heads, they surveyed 
 me askaunt from head to foot. The situation was 
 menacing. I could not manage so as to strike one 
 in such a way as that it should fall under the blow, 
 
176 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 and if I deferred for an instant, botli I and my 
 companion would be thrown down and trampled under 
 foot. I hastened to aim at the temple, and the blow 
 not proving mortal, the whole band took flight, and 
 hurried off to the open country more quickly than 
 they came. As, therefore, I could not Gcparato one 
 of the wounded elephants, I gave in, for it seemed 
 to me cruel to hit others in pure sport. On reflection, 
 I thought that I ought to have used more powder ; 
 the small size of these animals, compared with the 
 Indian elephants, had deceived me, and I had loaded 
 my gun as if for rhinoceros shooting." 
 
 IX. 
 
 The same kind of traps is used in South Africa as 
 in Asia. They cover them very cleverly with branches ; 
 but old elephants, at the head of a band, have been 
 known to remove the covering from the pits ; and 
 Livingstone says that he has seen them drawing 
 young ones from the pit, into which they had fallen. 
 
 Travellers also sometimes fall into them; Le Yail- 
 lant, for example, who, by means of repeatedly firing 
 his gun, at last attracted the attention of his people, 
 who delivered him. 
 
 M. du Chaillu met with the same adventure amongst 
 the Apingis. The pit was ten feet deep, and it was 
 night. 
 
THE ELEPHANT. 177 
 
 " For oncG I thought I was lost--alone, abandoned, 
 during the night in this accursed hole. I expected, 
 moreover, to see some great serpent fall on my head. 
 I shouted with all my might, and I had the good for- 
 tune to be heard. My people came, and I got out by 
 means of ropes, which they got in the wood and threw 
 down to me." 
 
 An elephant, pursued by Livingstone's people, fell 
 into one of these pits, and there received the javelins 
 of seventy men who pursued him ; he nevertheless 
 managed to scramble out of the trap, looking like an im- 
 mense porcupine. The hunters having no more javeiins, 
 ran to Livingstone, begging him to finish the animal; 
 he fired two two-ounce balls without killing him. 
 
 There is another method peculiar to this country de- 
 scribed by M. du Chaillu. " The natives discover a 
 walk or path through which it is likely that a herd 
 or single animal will soon pass. Then they take a 
 piece of very heavy wood, which the Bakalai call lianoii, 
 and trice it up into a high tree, where it hangs, with a 
 sharp point armed with iron pointing downwards. It 
 is suspended by a rope, which is so arranged that the 
 instant the elephant touches it — which he cannot help 
 doing, if he passes under the lianoii — it is loosed, and 
 falls with tremendous force on to his back, the iron 
 point wounding him, and the heavy weight generally 
 breaking his spine," 
 
178 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 The mode adopted by the Batongas, and the Ban- 
 yai on the Zambesi, is somewhat like the foregoing. 
 ** They erect stages," says Livingstone, ** on high trees 
 overhanging the path by which the elephants come, and 
 then use a large spear, with a handle nearly as thick as 
 a man's wrist, and four or five feet long. When the 
 animal comes beneath, they throw the spear, and if it 
 enters between the ribs above, as the blade is at least 
 twenty inches long by two broad, the motion of the 
 handle, as it is aided by knocking against the trees, 
 makes frightful gashes within, and soon causes death. 
 They kill them also by means of a spear inserted in a 
 beam of wood, which, being suspended on the branch 
 of a tree by a cord attached to a latch fastened in the 
 path, and intended to be struck by the animal's foot, 
 leads to the fall of the beam, and, the spear being 
 poisoned, causes death in a few hours.** 
 
 X. 
 
 The attack with the javelin, in the open country, 
 seems to be more worthy of the true hunter. Living- 
 stone thus describes it : — *^I had retired from the noise 
 to take an observation among some rocks of laminated 
 girt, when I beheld an elephant and her calf at the end 
 of a valley, about two miles distant. The calf was 
 
THE ELEPHANT. 179 
 
 rolling in the mud, and the dam was standing fanning 
 herself with her great ears. As I looked at them 
 through my glass, I saw a long string of my own men 
 appearing on the other side of them. I then went 
 higher up the side of the valley, in order to have a 
 distinct view of their mode of hunting. The goodly 
 beast, totally unconscious of the approach of an enemy, 
 stood for some time suckling her young one, which 
 seemed about two years old ; they then went into a 
 pit containing mud, and smeared themselves all over 
 with it ; the little one frisking about his dam, flapping 
 his ears, and tossing his trunk incessantly in elephan- 
 tine fashion. She kept flapping her ears and wagging 
 her tail, as if in the height of enjoyment. Then began 
 the piping of her enemies, which was performed by 
 blowing into a tube, or the hands closed together, 
 as boys do into a key. They call out, to attract the 
 animal's attention, — 
 
 * O chief! chief! we have come to Idll you ; 
 O chief! chief! many others will die beside you; 
 The gods have said it,' &c. &c. 
 
 Both animals expanded their ears and listened; 
 then left their bath. As the crowd rushed towards 
 them, the little one ran forward, towards the end of 
 the valley, but seeing the men, returned to his dam. 
 She placed herself on the dangerous side of her calf, 
 and passed her proboscis over it again and again, as if 
 
180 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 to assure it of safety. She frequently looked back to the 
 men, who kept up an incessant shouting, singing, and 
 piping ; then looked at her young one, and ran after it, 
 sometimes sideways, as if her feelings Avere divided 
 between anxiety to protect her offspring and desire to 
 revenge the temerity of her persecutors. The men 
 kept about a hundred yards in her rear, and some that 
 distance from her flanks, and continued thus until she 
 was obliged to cross a rivulet. The time spent in 
 descending and getting up the opposite bank, allov/ed 
 of their coming up to the edge and discharging their 
 spears at about twenty yards' distance. After the first 
 discharge she appeared with her sides red with blood, 
 and beginning to flee for her own life, seemed to think 
 no more of her young. 
 
 *'Ihad previously sent off Sekweba, with orders to 
 spare the calf. He ran very fast, but neither young 
 nor old ever • enter into a gallop. Their quickest pace 
 is only a sharp walk. Before Sekweba could reach 
 them, the calf had taken refuge in the water and was 
 killed. The pace of the dam gradually became slower. 
 She turned with a shriek of rage, and made a furious 
 charge back among the men. They vanished at right 
 angles to her course, or sideways; and as she ran 
 straight on, she went through the whole party, but 
 came near no one, except a man who wore a piece of 
 cloth on his shoulders. Bright clothing is always 
 
THE ELEPHANT. 181 
 
 clangorous in these cases. She charged three or four 
 times, and, except in the first instance, never went 
 farther than 100 yards. She often stood, after she 
 had crossed a rivulet, and faced the men, though 
 she received fresh spears. It was by this process of 
 spearing and loss of blood that she was killed, for at 
 last, making a short charge, she staggered round, and 
 sank down dead in a kneeling posture." 
 
 A traveller thus describes a regular battle, in which 
 500 men were engaged : — 
 
 '^ The forests here are full of rough strong climbing 
 plants, which you will see running up to the tops of 
 the tallest trees. These vines they tear down, and 
 with them ingeniously, but with much labour, construct 
 a kind of huge fence or obstruction, not sufficient to 
 hold the elephant, but quite strong enough to check 
 him in his flight, and entangle him in the meshes, till 
 the hunters can have time to kill him. Once caught, 
 they quietly surround the huge beast, and put an end 
 to his struggles by incessant discharges of their spears 
 or guns. 
 
 ** Presently a kind of hunting-horn was sounded, 
 and the charge began. Parties were stationed at 
 different parts of the barrier, or tangle as we will call 
 it, which had an astonishing extent, and must have 
 cost much toil to make. Others stole through the 
 woods in silence and looked for their prey. 
 
182 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 *^When they find an elephant, they approach very 
 carefully. The ohject is to scare him, and make him 
 run towards some part of the barrier, generally not 
 far off. To accomplish this, they often crawl at their 
 full length along the ground, just like snakes, and with 
 astonishing swiftness. 
 
 ** The first idea of the animal is flight. He rushes 
 ahead almost blindly, but is brought up by the barrier 
 of vines. Enraged and still more terrified, he tears 
 everything with his trunk and feet, but in vain ; and 
 the more he labours, the more fatally he is held. 
 
 *' Meantime, at the first rush of the elephant, the 
 natives crowd round, and while he is struggling in 
 their toils they are plying him with spears, often from 
 trees, till the poor wounded beast looks like a huge 
 porcupine. The spearing does not cease till they have 
 killed their prey. 
 
 '^To-day we killed four elephants in this way. The 
 elephants about here have the reputation of holding 
 man in slight fear, and tho approach and attack are 
 work for the greatest courage and presence of mind. 
 Even then fatal accidents occur. 
 
 ** To-day a man was killed. I was not present at the 
 accident, but he seems to have lost his presence of 
 mind, and when the elephant charged with great fury 
 at a crowd of assailants, he was caught, and instantly 
 trampled under foot." 
 
THE ELEPHANT, • 183 
 
 XI. 
 
 Hunting with the gun, notwithstanding the supe- 
 riority of the weapon, is full of peril. This may be 
 judged of by the situation in which Le Vaillant found 
 himself on the occasion of his first elephant hunt. 
 
 The animal had received fifteen shots, and he was 
 thoroughly enraged; he had led the hunters into 
 brushwood, interspersed with the dead trunks of fallen 
 trees. The elephant, at twenty-five yards from our 
 traveller, charged him. He ran away, the beast at 
 every instant gaining on the man. 
 
 ^^More dead than alive, it only remained for me to 
 lie down flat behind the trunk of a fallen tree. I had 
 scarcely got there when the animal arrived, leaned 
 over the obstacle, and, himself frightened by the noise 
 of my people which he heard before him, stood to 
 listen. 
 
 *' From the place where I was hidden I might have 
 shot him. Fortunately my gun was loaded, but the 
 beast had already received uselessly so many shots, 
 and presenting himself to me in such an unfavour- 
 able position, that, despairing of bringing him down 
 at one shot, I remained motionless waiting my fate. 
 I watched him, nevertheless, resolved to sell my life 
 dearly if I saw him come back to me. My people, 
 uneasy for their master, shouted for me on all sides. I 
 
184 * THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 was careful not to reply, and they, convinced by my 
 silence that they had lost their master, redoubled their 
 cries, and came back in despair. The elephant, 
 frightened, returned immediately, and leaped a second 
 time over the trunk of the tree, at six yards from me, 
 without seeing me : then springing to my feet, burn- 
 ing with impatience, and wishing to give to my Hot- 
 tentots some sign of life, I sent the contents of my 
 gun into his posteriors. He immediately disappeared 
 from my sight, leaving everywhere on his path sure 
 signs of the cruel state in which we had placed 
 him.'' 
 
 Pursued by an elephant, on the shores of the Zouga, 
 Mr. Oswell fell from his horse into the midst of a 
 thicket ; he fell with his face turned towards the ele- 
 phant, which was approaching, and could see the enor- 
 mous foot of the beast about to fall on his limbs. He 
 moved them, holding his breath, and expecting to be 
 crushed by the hind-feet. Tlie animal passed on with- 
 out seeing or touching him. 
 
 Two colonists, having perceived an elephant, resolved 
 to pursue him. Far from being clever in this chase, 
 it was the first time they had seen an animal of that 
 species. The horses were as little experienced as their 
 masters. Nevertheless, they did not evade the attack. 
 They approached to within sixty yards of the elephant 
 without his appearing to take any notice of them. 
 
THE ELEPHANT. 185 
 
 Then he moved away, without much haste, doubling 
 the distance between them. 
 
 One of the farmers descended from his horse, and 
 falling on one knee, and fixing in the ground his 
 musket-standj he fired. 
 
 Scarcely had he time to remount and turn his horse, 
 when the colossal beast was on his track, uttering such 
 a shrill cry that it seemed to pierce the hunter to the 
 very marrow of his bones. Happily he had presence of 
 mind to turn towards a rising ground, the climbing 
 of which slackened the pace of the elephant. . The 
 other hunter seized the moment, dismounted, and 
 fired, then sprang on his saddle again, and spurred off 
 with both heels, having now the terrible game behind 
 him : the tactics which had succeeded with his com- 
 rade saved him. The elephant did not fall until ho 
 had received the eighth ball. 
 
 Another colonist, Claas Volk, being hidden behind 
 a clump of prickly shrubs, flattered himself that he 
 should surprise an elephant. The animal scented him, 
 struck him down with his trunk, and trampled him 
 underneath his feet. 
 
 A band of hunters had surprised two elephants, the 
 one a male, the other a female, in the open plain. Not 
 far off were some thick and prickly bushes : the 
 animals fled towards the thicket, and the male was 
 soon under cover, but the female, having been wounded, 
 
186 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 could not fly with the same rapidity. The hunters, 
 cutting off her retreat, prepared to kill her, when sud- 
 denly the male, rushing with fury from his retreat, 
 and uttering frightful cries, threw himself upon them. 
 His aspect at this moment was so terrible that all the 
 hunters, leaping on their horses, fled to save their lives 
 — all except Cobus Klopper, who had wounded the 
 female, and who, standing up with the bridle of his 
 horse passed over his arm, was reloading his gun at 
 the moment when the furious animal came out of the 
 wood. The elephant rushed upon him, driving his 
 ivory tusks into the body of the poor fellow ; he after- 
 wards trampled him beneath his feet, then lifting him 
 from the ground with his trunk, he threw him to a 
 great height. Having satiated his vengeance he re- 
 turned towards the female, caressed her affectionately 
 with his trunk, helped her to rise, sustained with his 
 shoulder her wounded side, and, without paying any 
 attention to the shots which the hunters fired from a 
 distance, he soon disappeared with her in the impene- 
 trable retreats of the forest. 
 
 Karol Krieger was an indefatigable and bold hunter. 
 He shot with much address, and often found himself 
 in very dangerous situations. Once, with his com- 
 panions, he pursued a wounded elephant ; the animal 
 suddenly turned round, seized him with his trunk, 
 threw him into the air, and trampled him under his 
 
THE ELEPHANT. 187 
 
 feet. The others, struck with horror, fled without 
 daring to look upon the scene of this frightful 
 tragedy. 
 
 They came the following day to perform the last 
 duties to their companion. The elephant had torn the 
 body into pieces and strewed the fragments in the 
 dust : they could only give burial to the scattered 
 remains. 
 
 XII. 
 
 Cooper Eose, in his travels, one day met with a 
 strange hunter ; he was a little meagre and vivacious 
 man, whose sun-burnt figure and piercing eye denoted 
 his hazardous profession. His manners were frank and 
 bold. His eye shone under his peasant's hat; his 
 powder-horn hung from a large black leathern belt, 
 which also supported his bag net ; he rode a small and 
 very spirited horse, and was followed by nine dogs of 
 diflferent breeds. 
 
 The country which they had traversed was entirely 
 wild, elephants alone had made the paths. Men came 
 there for the first time, and it was to destroy. 
 
 They followed in silence the paths of the elephants, 
 over the mountains and into the ravines. Cooper Kose, 
 little used to march thus, began to find himself 
 
.188 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 fatigued. ** We shall soon be near the elephants," 
 said the strange hunter, ^^and then we can sit down 
 and ivatch them." They marched thus for a part of 
 the day, v/hen the guide, looking towards a small hill 
 a long way off, announced that a herd of elephants 
 was there feeding. The company took courage, and 
 with new vigour set off on their march. A straight 
 path conducted th-em very near to the place where the 
 animals were feeding. The guide stopped ; the hunter 
 gave to his companions some lighted torches, and 
 assigned to them the places where they should set fire 
 to the bushes and the grass, in order to insure their 
 retreat if by chance the elephants should show fight. 
 They were browsing in full security, flapping their 
 cheeks with their large ears, and enjoying their pasture 
 with soft indolence. At the moment shots were heard, 
 and an elephant fell, the herd had taken flight ; they 
 ran with the rapidity of which they are capable, upset- 
 ting every obstacle, breaking large trees like young 
 shrubs. The following day they discovered nine or 
 ten. The bushes prevented their being distinctly seen, 
 but they heard them browsing. Guns were fired, and a 
 fearful noise announced the flight of the animals, of 
 v/hich three fell mortally wounded. They were small, 
 the largest not being more than three feet high, Eose 
 made the observation that, considering the frequency of 
 the tracks which they had met with, the country ought 
 
THE ELEPHANT. 189 
 
 to aLouncl with elephants. The hunter told him that 
 he was not deceived ; that three years before he had 
 met with more than three thousand on the banks of 
 the river, but that since that time an immense number 
 had been destroyed. 
 
 Our traveller, who delighted in this life of adven- 
 ture, W'as astonished to hear the hunter express how 
 much he desired to quit this wandering existence, apd 
 to establish himself quietly on his farm. 
 
 "I should have thought," said Eose to him, "that 
 a peaceable life w^ould appear very monotonous to you 
 after so many daily emotions." ''No, truly," replied 
 the hunter; *'I have a wife and little children, and I 
 have been constrained to do this by necessity and by the 
 debts which I have to pay : soon all these difficulties 
 will be surmounted. In the space of twenty months I 
 have killed eight hundred elephants. Four hundred 
 have been brought down by the good gun which I still 
 carry, but it will be with great pleasure that I shall 
 cease to make use of it. How could I count the num- 
 ber of times when the elephants, seeking to take ven- 
 geance on me, have found themselves within a step of 
 the place where I w^as crouching ? One day I had 
 just fired into a numerous group ; the sound was 
 repeated by the echo and deceived the- elephants, 
 whi ch flying in the opposite direction, passed into the 
 bush where my Hottentots and I were concealed The 
 
190 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 most intrepid hunter succumbs at last. Not long 
 since, pursued by a rhinoceros, I was about to leap 
 down a precipice, of the depth of which I was ignorant. 
 No, sir, this life of dangers is not desirable. Would 
 you believe that one day, not having any food, I was 
 obliged to eat the leather of my shoes ?" 
 
CHAPTER Xin, 
 
 t (Sl^pfjani (continued.) 
 
 The Eoyal Elephant Hunt at the Knysna. 
 
 [As an appropriate conclusion, we have ventured to 
 quote from The Ti^^ies' correspondent tlie last recorded 
 elephant hunt in which H.E.H. the Duke of Edinburgh 
 performed the most prominent part. — Translator.] 
 
 As soon as it had become known that His Royal 
 Highness had arrived in Simon's Bay, all the principal 
 places of the colony became anxious to receive a visit 
 from him. In a happy hour the people of the Knysna 
 also sent him an invitation, and, as an inducement to 
 him to accept it, promised, if he came, to provide him 
 with amusement after their own fashion. In every 
 quarter the Duke can find grand dinners and grand 
 balls and suppers; but a dance on the green sward, 
 with an elephant for a partner, is what but few places 
 in the world can afford. Therefore, in the afternoon 
 of Saturday the 7th of September, His Royal Highness, 
 accompanied by the Governor and some other gentle- 
 men, went on board the war-vessel Racoon, in Simon's 
 
192 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 Bay, and steamed down the coast, arriving off the 
 Knysna Heads on Monday morning. As the Racoon 
 draws too much water to permit her to cross the bar, 
 the Dake and his companions transhipped themselves 
 to the Petrel, which entered the river at noon. That 
 morning great numbers had come in from the country, 
 so that the place was crowded with people. About 
 one o'clock the Duke landed, and was received on the 
 jetty by the authorities. He then mounted a horse, 
 and with a large escort, amid cheering and firing of 
 guns, rode into the village, which was handsomely 
 decorated with flags and arches. At one of these the 
 usual loyal address was presented, and then the Duke 
 and his companions retired to the house that had 
 been prepared for their accommodation. That night 
 the village was illuminated, and bonfires blazed on the 
 surrounding hills, for the people of the Knysna felt 
 proud and honoured by the Duke's visit, and did 
 everything in their power to give him a suitable 
 reception. 
 
 The next morning, Tuesday the 10th of September, 
 was very fine at the Knysna, and shortly after sun- 
 rise a goodly cavalcade of some forty horsemen, with 
 His Koyal Highness at their head, and attended by 
 seven bullock-waggons, started for elephant shooting 
 at Middle Erf, which is about a good hour's ride from 
 the village. There one of the scouts met us with 
 
THE EOYAL ELEPHANT HUNT AT THE KNYSNA. 193 
 
 the information that the old bull elephant, which 
 the Duke was desirous of shooting, had left that 
 quarter only the night before. They had that morning 
 traced him from his usual haunts into the great forest, 
 so there was nothing for it but to rightabout face, and, 
 with left shoulders forward, we abandoned the road 
 we had come and dashed across the country. In less 
 than an hour we came again on the new road at the 
 entrance to the forest, where, as soon as the waggons 
 arrived, we camped near a pretty stream and had 
 breakfast. At this place we remained about an hour, 
 and then proceeded for ten miles, with the forest 
 bordering the road all the way on either hand. 
 Forest, forest, far as the eye could reach, nothing 
 but forest. It was really a fine ride, and afforded very 
 great enjoyment to all the party not accustomed to 
 such scenery. Then we arrived at the former convict 
 station, called Yzen Nek, where there is now a road- 
 side hotel, at which we halted and got some forage 
 for our horses. After a considerable delay we started 
 again, leaving the forest behind us, only patches of it 
 being seen in the ravines here and there as we rode 
 along. It is about four miles from Yzen Nek to 
 Buffers Nek, which is a very elevated site, and from 
 which there is a splendid view of mountain scenery. 
 Arrived at Buffers Nek and the waggons having come 
 up, the camp was pitched, and *' all went merry as a 
 
 o 
 
194 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 marriage bell," but unfortunately, about nine o'clock, 
 it began to rain heavily, accompanied with a strong 
 wind. All who were under canvas made it out pretty 
 well, but those who had to rough it, with mother 
 earth for a bed and little beside the canopy of heaven 
 for a blanket, had a hard time of it. Some crept 
 under the waggons, in the hope of finding that 
 shelter which they sought in vain, w^hile others sat 
 cowering over the fires, shivering from the cold and 
 wishing for daylight, with nothing but a blanket or an 
 extra coat thrown over their shoulders to protect them 
 from the pelting storm. The poor horses, too, suffered 
 a good deal, for they were tied up at sunset in the 
 open air, and with but a very scanty allowance of 
 forage to appease their hunger. But a stormy night, 
 like every other trouble, must come to an end at last, 
 and at the very first peep of early dawn the camp 
 was astir. All were in good spirits, notwithstanding 
 the discomfort many of us had undergone; but the 
 rain still continued at intervals, and therefore it was 
 past noon before the horses were saddled and we made 
 a start. After riding for more than an hour along 
 a high ridge, one of the scouts came up to say that 
 eleven elephants were grazing in the valley at a short 
 distance, and on advancing a little farther we saw them 
 very distinctly. A messenger was now sent back to 
 the Governor^ who was a considerable way behind, to 
 
THE ROYAL ELEPHANT HX3NT AT THE KNYSNA* 195 
 
 tell him to hasten up, for the Duke was anxious that 
 his Excellency should enjoy the sight, and certainly it 
 was a sight in every way worth enjoying. 
 
 There we sat, high up on the ridge, with the valley 
 helow us, in which the elephants were quietly grazing 
 and little dreaming that enemies were near, while on 
 the further side of the valley the scenery was splendid, 
 mountain upon mountain, in every conceivable shape, 
 stretching away before us to the verge of the horizon. 
 It was truly a noble prospect, and no doubt Mr. 
 Brierley, the Duke's artist, will do it justice. The 
 Governor having come up, and a considerable time 
 having been spent in watching the elephants, the 
 Duke made a move, and, followed by the hunters, 
 descended into the valley. Here the party separated, 
 the Duke, escorted by a few specially selected men, 
 under the command of Mr. George Eex, taking the 
 direction which was considered most likely to bring 
 him near the elephants, while the others placed them- 
 selves in such spots as they thought would enable 
 them also to get a shot. But things did not turn out 
 according to our wishes, for, after spending more 
 than an hour in vain attempts to find the elephants, 
 which were now hidden from view by the bush, the 
 Duke did not obtain a sight of them until they had 
 got to the farther side of a broad and deep ravine, 
 and he was therefore compelled to fire at a long range. 
 
196 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 He discliarged six shots, all of whicli took efiect;, and 
 then the others also blazed away ; but though three 
 elephants were wounded, and two of them very 
 severely, they managed to effect their escape. It was 
 thought, however, that they were not far off, and 
 therefore young Atkinson, who was one of the Duke's 
 personal escort, entered the bush alone, which was a 
 service of no little danger, to ascertain if they ^vero 
 to be found ; but it was all to no purpose, and so, as it 
 was then getting dark, there was nothing for it but 
 to retrace our steps to the camp. As we continued to 
 wend our way back, we found the vast difference 
 between the same path by day and the same path by 
 night. In the morning, when we were fresh for the 
 work before us, and elated with the prospect of a good 
 day's sport, we thought nothing of the rugged hillside 
 track, with its ups and downs, and fords and swamps, 
 but the same track proved very miserable when we 
 were hungry, weary, and exhausted. All, too, felt dis- 
 appointment more or less, because things had not 
 turned out according to our hopes ; but, notwithstand- 
 ing that, the Duke was greatly pleased. He had seen 
 the elephants, and proved himself to be a crack shot, 
 and he declared that, if nothing more was to come of 
 his hunting, he would still derive the highest gratifica- 
 tion from his visit. That night there was a little rain 
 and a cold cutting wind, but nothing like what there 
 
THE ROYAL ELEPHANT HUNT AT THE K^YSNA. 197 
 
 was the night before, so those who had to rough it in 
 the open air managed to get some repose. The camp, 
 as usual, was astir at peep of day next morning, and 
 the scouts and hunters made a start to look for the 
 elephants that had been wounded the da}^ before, but 
 the Duke did not join their party. He kept about the 
 camp, merely going a short distance alone with a light 
 gun to get a shot at small birds. The others who did 
 not accompany the hunters amused themselves as they 
 best could. The Governor wrote letters, Mr. Brierly 
 made some sketches, and the officers of the Petrel 
 (with the exception of Captain Gordon, who had gone 
 after the elephants) took their guns and crossed to the 
 opposite hill to try and shoot bucks; but on the 
 whole, some of us that day found it rather slow work. 
 In the evening the scouts and hunters returned 
 without having seen anything of the elephants, and 
 therefore the Duke, whose time was limited, as he had 
 arranged to leave the Knysna on Saturday, determinecl 
 to return to Middle Erf in the morning, and make 
 another attempt to shoot the old bull. That night there 
 was no rain, but we had a repetition of a strong, cold, 
 and biting blast, only it was from another quarter ; 
 and, indeed, Buffcl's Nek is so elevated and exposed to 
 the west and east that I much doubt whether it would 
 be possible to find any night in the year there without 
 the same annoyance. The next morning tlierc was a 
 
198 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 new arrival in the camp, who had ridden through from 
 . the Knysna during the night to inform the Duke that 
 some of the scouts had seen the elephants the previous 
 evening on the edge of a detached piece of forest, 
 which is situated on Middle Erf. This news confirmed 
 the Duke in his determination to leave Buff el's Nek, 
 and it was therefore yet very early when word was 
 passed along to saddle up and mount. Prior to start- 
 ing we had nothing but coffee, for we expected to make 
 a halt at the other side of the forest, and have some- 
 thing to eat on the same spot where we had previously 
 breakfasted. . That hope, however, we were not 
 destined to realize, for we were still a couple of miles 
 from where we proposed to saddle off, when a scout 
 came galloping up to let the Duke know that it was 
 hardly an hour since he had seen the elephants at 
 Middle Erf. Of course there was then an end of all 
 thoughts of breakfast, necessary though it was — for 
 who would delay for such a purpose with, it might be 
 said, the game in view ? On, therefore, we dashed ; 
 but, prior to entering on the final act of the drama, 
 permit me to say a few words descriptive of the site 
 of the Duke's exploit. Middle Erf forest, then, 
 which will be famous in the annals of the Knysna for 
 all time to come, crowns the summit of a gentle hill, 
 within two hundred yards of the public road leading to 
 Plettenberg's Bay, It is not more than a mile in 
 
THE ROYAL ELEPHAKT HUNT AT THE KNYSNA. 199 
 
 circumference, and stands completely detached from 
 the great forest, which is about six hundred yards 
 distant at the nearest point. It is admirably situated 
 for holding an elephant at br.y; and, in fact, if the 
 Duke had had the choice of every part of the colony, 
 he could not have selected a spot better adapted for 
 his purpose. As soon as we reached Middle Erf, 
 straps were put on the dogs, and they were held fast ; 
 for the Duke intended to stalk the elephants if he 
 should still find them in the open country; but on 
 reconnoitering he could see nothing of them, and 
 therefore the dogs were turned loose again, while most 
 of the hunters were directed to go to the rear of the 
 detached piece of forest and drive the elephants out 
 of the north side, where the Duke and his personal 
 escort were stationed. Presently one elephant showed 
 himself at the Duke's side, trumpeting and fighting 
 with the dogs. This elephant disappeared and came 
 in view again half-a-dozen times, on two of which he 
 raised his head and held up his trunk perpendicularly, 
 as if trying to discover by that means what chance ho 
 had of making his escape. He evidently wanted tp 
 break covert, but hesitated to do so from seeing tne 
 Duke and his party, who had stationed themselves 
 directly across the path usually taken by the elephants 
 in passing from Middle Erf to the great forest. The 
 Duke had been hitherto standin^: about three hundred 
 
200 TUB ELEPHANT. 
 
 yards from the edge of the detached loieco of forest, but 
 he and his escort now decided to advance within close 
 range and fire at the elej^hant the next time he made 
 his appearance. An advance was accordingly made by 
 the party, but, to their surprise, no elephant or dogs 
 w^ere then to be seen. All had become suddenly quiet 
 at that side, and it was very evident, from the direction 
 in which their barking was heard, that the dogs had 
 gone towards the rear. The fact is, there were three 
 elephants afoot, and the particular one which had 
 appeared repeatedly to the Duke and his party had 
 managed to elude the dogs and conceal himself from 
 view. Mr. George Rex, the captain of the hunt, now 
 called to a. boy at a little distance, and told him to 
 mount his horse and ride to ascertain what was going 
 on in the rear. It is right, however, here to remark 
 that Middle Erf is intersected by a narrow road, 
 each side of which is thickly overgrown with fine bush. 
 Along this road the boy had to proceed, but he had 
 not gone far into the fine bush when we saw him 
 returning at full speed with the elephant after him in 
 hot pursuit. The monster, which has great speed 
 when he chooses to use it, was evidently gaining on 
 the horse, while the boy, calling out in Dutch, ^* Fire, 
 fire! for God's sake fire, or I shall be killed!" rode 
 for protection towards the Duke's party, and galloped 
 round their flank. Upon that the elephant did not 
 
THE ROyAL ELEPHA^'T HUNT AT THE KNYSNA. 201 
 
 slacken his pace, but with ears and tail erect he 
 rushed on right in the direction of the Duke, who was 
 standing in the centre of his line. 'Jhere was something . 
 very peculiar in the way the elephant advanced. It 
 did not look like either a trot or a gallop, but more 
 resembled the gliding motion of a ship in smooth 
 v>'ater, as if the immense monster were bearing down 
 under a press of sail before the wind. It has been 
 put into the Cape papers that the Duke w^ent on ^ 
 his knee to fire, but nothing of the kind occurred. 
 He coolly took his large gun from the hand of young 
 Atkinson, who had been carrying it for him, and 
 did not pull a trigger until the elephant was within 
 less than twenty yards. He then discharged both 
 barrels in quick succession, sending one bullet into 
 the animal's head just above the right eye, and then 
 hitting him with the second bullet a little lower 
 down, between the trunk and the root of the right 
 tusk. No one could possibly have been more steady 
 and deliberate than the Duke was ^/hen he fired, 
 and it was fortunate for himself that he was able to 
 display such pluck ; for he allowed the elephant to get 
 so close, that if he had been at all nervous, and his aim 
 less sure, his own life and the lives of some of those at 
 his side would inevitably have been sacrificed. As 
 soon as the elephant received the Duke's two bullets 
 he stopped in his career, shook his head, and reeled 
 
202 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 round, presenting his broadside; he then staggered 
 a few yards further, and when he was in the act of 
 falHng, some of the others fired; but these shots 
 were superfluous, for the Duke had given the poor 
 brute his quietus, and he would have died on the 
 spot if not a second gun had been discharged. On 
 either hand of the Duke on this occasion stood the 
 five good men and true who were his personal 
 escort throughout the whole hunt — Messrs. G. and 
 T. Eex, A. H. and J. Duthie, and G. R. Atkinson. 
 Besides these there were on the spot Sir W. Currie, 
 General Bisset, Captain Gordon of the Petrel, and 
 Captain Taylor. The Duke's own man^ Smith — his 
 fidus Achates, who is ahvays near his master — was 
 also present. The Governor and some others, who had 
 been watching what took place from a hill at a little 
 distance, now galloped up, and every one congra- 
 tulated the Duko on his success. His escort then 
 assisted him to get on the top of the elephant, 
 where he stood, while all gave three lusty cheers, 
 which were taken up by the hunters at the rear. 
 The Duke then took off his jacket, and began skin- 
 ning the elephant, in which all present joined. 
 Meantime the officers of the Petrel and some others 
 went to the rear, where the hunters had got a 
 second elephant at bay, which was despatched after 
 receiving not less than forty shots. Around this 
 
THE ROYAL ELEPHANT HUNT AT THE KNYSNA. 203 
 
 second elephant, after the first one had been skinned, 
 the Duke, who had the necessary apparatus with him, 
 placed his personal escort, and took a photograph of 
 the group, which, it is to be regretted, was afterwards 
 found to be a failure. He then sat upon the elephant, 
 with Mr. G. Eex beside him, and the.y had theii: pho- 
 tographs taken, but that did not turn out more suc- 
 cessful. Before the elephants were skinned the Duke 
 measured them both, and they were found to be 
 just the same size — interesting twins, perhaps, who 
 were wandering from forest to forest to complete 
 their education. Their measurement was ten feet in 
 height, twenty-four feet from the tip of the trunk to 
 the tip of the tail, and seventeen feet round the 
 body. Whatever one may think of the elephant 
 when ranging at large in his native wilds — and he 
 is then certainly a noble-looking object — there can 
 be no more ugly animal when dead; but his flesh, 
 if he is in condition, is good eating, as I can 
 testify from experience. 
 
 The Duke passed that night a short distance from 
 Middle Erf, where the camp had been pitched, and 
 the next morning rode into the village before noon, 
 escorted by the hunters and a number of other 
 horsemen. Shortly afterwards the waggons came in 
 with the heads and skins of the elephants, and the 
 whole place crowded round to have a sight. The 
 
204 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 Duke walked about biglily eko-ted, and evidently 
 pleased that his trophies attracted so much notice. 
 x\bout one o'clock he started to go on board the 
 Petrel, a great many accompanying him to the jetty. 
 Here he took a warm farewell of those with whom 
 he had become personally acquainted. As he shook 
 hands with the Messi's. Eex, Duthies, and G. E. 
 Atkinson, he thanked them in the kindest manner 
 for having exerted themselves so much to render 
 his hunt successful. He then got into the boat and 
 was pulled off to the Petrel, which in about an hour 
 afterwards steamed out to sea, amid the mingled 
 cheers and regrets of all the inhabitants of the 
 Knysna. 
 
 Before leaving the village the Duke gave a liberal 
 gratuity to each of the scouts, and after his arrival 
 in Cape Town he forwarded presents to those who 
 had been his personal escort. To one of them, who 
 acted, as captain of the hunt, he sent a handsome 
 gold watch, and the others received valuable rings, 
 which they will always highly prize on account of 
 the donor. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 I. 
 
 A VOLUMINOUS massive body mounted on tall legs of 
 four feet or more, and carrying a neck as long as 
 its legs ; a very small head and very large feet ; 
 great floating feathers ; a tail in the form of a plume — 
 such are, in the physiognomy of the ostrich, the traits 
 which, even at a distance, the least attentive look 
 embraces. 
 
 Approaching nearer, one sees that the head is bald 
 and flat ; the eye large and bright ; the beak short, 
 blunt, and depressed ; the neck slender, covered with 
 grey down ; that the feathers which cover the body 
 are large, soft, half curled, and glossy, of a magni- 
 ficent colour and brilliancy in the male ; the wings 
 themselves, composed of feathers with flexible stems, 
 are out of all proportion with the dimensions of the 
 animal : they evidently cannot serve them for flying, 
 and they seem to be there only as a kind of apology. 
 If we examine one of these feathers, we discover, in 
 
206 THE OSTRICH. 
 
 fact, that the barbules do not adhere together, as is 
 the case with ahuost all other birds. 
 
 No sooner does the ostrich begin to walk, than 
 wo are struck with the suppleness of his body; his 
 long neck balances itself gracefully, his trunk takes 
 a kind of pitching motion, his stumps of Vv^ings 
 open as if to catch the wind; and the ease of his 
 march, the elasticity of his step, the extent and 
 quickness of his strides, soon teach us that he is as 
 generously endowed as a terrestrial, as he is deprived 
 as an aerial animal. Besides, every one knows that 
 the ostrich is one of the swiftest pedestrians that 
 exist, perhaps the swiftest, for if, when he is hunted, 
 he had sense enough to direct his flight in a straight 
 line, the best horse would be incapable of running 
 him down. 
 
 II. 
 
 One can understand that such a singular animal has 
 given rise to many fables. *' There is scarcely any 
 subject of natural history about which more absurdities 
 have been spoken," writes BufFon. The Arabs believe 
 the ostrich to be the issue of a camel and a bird ; 
 Suidas gave him the neck and feet of a donkey; 
 G. Warren made an aquatic bird of him ; others 
 assure us that he never drinks. Leon L'Africain 
 
THE OSTRICH. 207 
 
 refuses him the sense of hearing. It has been said 
 that he feeds principally on stones, wood, and iron. 
 Aldrovande represents him enjoying a horse-shoe ; it 
 has even been pretended that he would swallow red- 
 hot coals. Marmol, in his *' Description de I'Afrique," 
 says that he digests red-hot iron. "I would not 
 deny," writes Buffon, " that they migiit sometimes 
 even swallow red-hot iron, provided it was in very 
 small quantities, but I do not think that even that 
 could be done with impunity." They have been called 
 the worst of mothers: Strutliio dura est in pullos 
 suos quasi non sint sui. 
 
 They have been denied all intelligence, even to the 
 extent of being too stupid to seek their safety by 
 flight; ^' and," says Belon, *^if by chance it finds a 
 bush, they say that it is such a foolish bird, that 
 in hiding its head therein it imagines its whole 
 body to be safe." Belon had taken that from Pliny; 
 Kolbe repeats it in his '^Description du Cap de Bonne 
 Esperance." A stone extracted from its stomach pro- 
 cures good digestion to him who hangs it round 
 his neck. But enough of fiction ; let us now go to 
 facts. 
 
 III. 
 
 The ostrich has the sense of sight very fully deve- 
 loped. It can see, it is said, six miles. It hears 
 
208 THE OSTEICH. 
 
 equally well, and can never be approacliecl except by 
 surprise. 
 
 It is quite otherwise with its sense of taste ; and 
 the want of nicety in this sense, joined to the 
 voracity and to the instinct common among birds, 
 which leads it to introduce hard substances into its 
 stomach, to augment the strength of trituration of 
 that organ^ causes it, in captivity at least, to swallow 
 vv^ithout discernment all objects, whatever they may 
 be, which are presented to it, or which come within 
 reach of its beak. Wood, bone, stones, metals, glass, 
 paper, pieces of money^ nails — all are good for it. 
 As soon as it is seized, the object is forced down 
 the throat by a backward movement. 
 
 M. Henri Aucapitaine reports that the JBurecm des 
 Affaires Puhliqiies, at Cherchell, possessed an ostrich 
 penned in one of the interior courts. "Every even- 
 ing," says he, " we amused ourselves by feeding him 
 with old papers, envelopes, and pieces of news- 
 papers, which he swallowed greedily, and with evident 
 gusto." 
 
 The traveller Eichardson saw an ostrich in ah 
 African village, where it wandered about in full 
 liberty, gathering up everything, like a ragman. 
 
 MM. Verreaux relate, that at the Cape, one 
 of the ostriches which they possessed swallowed, 
 one after the other, a large piece of soap and a 
 
THE OSTRICH. 209 
 
 copper candlestick, wliich latter was some time after- 
 wards ejected quite flattened. 
 
 Ostriches were being exhibited at St. Quentin. 
 One gentleman, on whose breast shone a beautiful 
 gold chain, having approached within reach of the 
 beak of one of these birds, saw, in the twinkling 
 of an eye, his chain and watch pass from the neck 
 and pocket of their proprietor, into the stomach of 
 the gluttonous animal. 
 
 An ostrich preserved in the Museum of Natural 
 History had in its body, when it died, about a pound 
 of stones, pieces of iron and copper, and half-worn 
 coins. Vallisnieri dissected one of these animals, 
 and here is the inventory of the objects which he 
 found there : cords, stones, glass, iron, copper, 
 pewter, and above all a lump of lead, the last thing 
 swallowed, and which did not weigh less than a 
 pound. One individual, opened by Perrault, had 
 swallowed seventy pieces of copper money, already 
 reduced to three-fourths by their sojourn in the robust 
 organ which contained them. Perrault attributed their 
 wear to a mechanical action. Vallisnieri, on the con- 
 trary, without excluding the action of friction, saw 
 there also a particular chemical action. This is the 
 true opinion. Cuvier confirms it in these words : — 
 "The bits of iron found in the stomach" — speaking 
 of an ostrich which had lived in a menagerie — ^' were 
 
 P 
 
210 THE OSTRICH. 
 
 not only worn as they would have been by trituration 
 with other hard bodies, but they had evidently been 
 corroded by some juice, which could be seen above 
 all by the inequality of the chinks which had been 
 produced. The fragments of nails presented all 
 the appearance of true corrosion." 
 
 Most frequently these errors of regime have no 
 serious inconvenience. One ostrich had a nail im- 
 planted in the inner sides of the gizzard ; another had 
 two nails lodged in the t])ick part of the mesentery 
 (where they could only have reached by -perforating the 
 stomach), and they had caused a very hard greenish 
 concretion, with which they were entirely coated. Nei- 
 ther of these animals appeared' iu the least unwell. 
 But it often happens to those in captivity to become 
 the victims of their avidity. One ostrich is mentioned 
 which died from having swallowed a large quantity of 
 quick-lime. The menagerie of Paris possessed, twelve 
 3'ears since, a magnificent couple, which it was hoped 
 would breed ; but a stone having fallen on the glass 
 roof of the den, the male and female hastened to swal- 
 low the broken glass, which lacerated their entrails. 
 In the same establishment an ostrich succumbed, after 
 thirty-four days, to an attack of indigestion, caused by 
 a dose of a pound and a half of nails. Dr. Berg men- 
 tions one which was killed by swallowing an enormous 
 shop-key. 
 
THE OSTRICH. 211 
 
 IV. 
 
 Grass is their favourite nourishment, as well in the 
 wild state as in captivity; but to the aromatic and salty 
 vegetation of the desert they constantly add molluscs, 
 insects, and reptiles. A report addressed by Laghouat 
 to the Socicte cV Acclimatation states that they eat rats, 
 jerboas, serpents, lizards, and slugs; he adds, that 
 they are very fond of grasshoppers at the Cape. The 
 ostriches bred by the farmers sometimes swallow the 
 chickens. M. Aucapitaine reports that molluscs formed 
 the favourite food of the ostrich before referred to. 
 
 The Arabs say that the ostrich kills the viper with a 
 blow of its beak, and eats it. It eats also serpents, 
 insects, grasshoppers, scorpions, lizards, large fruits 
 called liaclj, abounding in the desert, and proceeding 
 from a creeping plant, bitter as turpentine, with leaves 
 like those of the water-melon. As soon as they come 
 out of the egg the young ostriches begin to seek insects 
 and small reptiles, and it appears that they feed them- 
 selves exclusively. 
 
 It is agreed that ostriches support long fasts, which 
 must be the case, for the desert can only have for its 
 inhabitants beings inured to all privations ; but it is 
 not so well agreed as to the limit of time during which 
 they can remain without food. It would seem probable 
 that the limit varies according to times and places 
 
 p 2 
 
212 THE OSTRICH. 
 
 (it must not be forgotten that the ostrich is nomadic), 
 and also whether the animal is free, tame, or captive. 
 
 If we examine the reports sent to the Zoological 
 Society from different parts of Africa, and collected with 
 talent by M. Gosse, of Geneva, we are at first struck 
 by seeing these reports differing often in the most nota- 
 ble manner on almost all points. As to the regime of 
 the ostrich, its character, its conjugal manners, the con- 
 struction of its nest ; of the period of laying, the num- 
 ber of eggs, their arrangement, the duration and tho 
 circumstances of incubation ; the numeric proportion 
 of the sexes; of the manner in which the ostrich is 
 affected by the changes of time, or of the duration of its 
 life, these reports are quite contradictory of each other. 
 But most frequently the contradiction is but apparent ; 
 and on a little reflection one is convinced that, apart 
 from some badly observed facts and some individual 
 cases maladroitly generalized, the numerous divergen- 
 ces of the reports simply attest changes to which, in 
 order to accommodate itself to the variations of time and 
 place, the ostrich in its peregrinations is constraiiii^d 
 to conform its habits ,- so that, in fact, far from contra- 
 dicting, these reports really agree with each other. It 
 is simply this, that the habits of a wandering species 
 have not in all their details an absolutely fixed charac- 
 ter. A crowd of special cases depart from the rule, 
 this departure being confined within certain limits, at 
 
THE OSTRICH. 218 
 
 least for long periods of time. In a word, in tliis 
 matter our formulas have but the value of means. 
 
 Ostriches support thirst perfectly, but nothing is 
 more false than to say that they never drink. 
 
 The Arabs say that they drink a little every day 
 when there is any water to be had. Messieurs 
 Verreaux have seen them drinking in the Elephant 
 River. 
 
 General Daumas reports that he has known them 
 make many days' journey in search of ^ water. It 
 is said that those which have been deprived of 
 water for a long time show extraordinary joy at the 
 approach of a storm. They are then seen running 
 about in every direction, with their wings extended, 
 turning themselves about, and at last rushing off in 
 the direction of the lightning. 
 
 They bathe, always taking care to choose water 
 sufficiently shallow, so that when they sit down their 
 heads may still be above water; but they cannot 
 swim. An English traveller in South Africa, Mr. 
 Gordon Gumming, says that they are exceedingly 
 fond of salt. Barley is the food which those seem 
 to prefer which the Arabs do not send out into the 
 pasture fields. 
 
214 THE OSTRICH, 
 
 V. 
 
 The muscular strength of the ostrich is extraordi- 
 nary. '*In the desert," says M. Daumas, '*it has 
 no other enemy to fear but man. It resists the 
 dog, the jackal, the hyaena, and the eagle : man alone 
 triumphs over it.'* 
 
 Livingstone remarks that he saw one, pursued by 
 dogs, break the spine of the one nearest to it with 
 a blow of •its foot. M. Edouard Yerreaux saw a 
 negro die from a blow received in the stomach 
 from the foot of an ostrich. An Arab hunter, of 
 whom more presently, narrowly escaped a similar 
 fate. 
 
 No better idea of its strength can be given than 
 the fact of its having been employed for riding 
 from the remotest period. Mounted ostriches figured 
 in the Roman circus. 
 
 A certain tyrant of Egypt, named Firmin, employed 
 them for his use ; and the natives of Africa often 
 do the same. 
 
 *^ One sees at the Cape," says Sparrman, "in the 
 Government menagerie, several tame ostriches. These 
 easily allow themselves to be mounted by those who 
 wish to make the attempt." 
 
 We read that an English traveller, Mr. Moore, 
 encountered in the Sahara an Arab mounted on an 
 
THE OSTRICH. 215 
 
 ostrich crossing the desert. He took the bird to 
 Fatatenda, whence M. Connor sent him to the 
 Governor of Jamesfort, on the. Gambia. 
 
 Examples are abundant. We will only stop to 
 relate that cited by Adanson, the truth of which is 
 above suspicion. 
 
 '* The same day two ostriches, which had been 
 kept for about two years in this district (Podor), 
 gave me a spectacle which is too rare not to merit 
 being reported. 
 
 *^ These gigantic birds, which I had never seen 
 except in the burning and sandy country on the 
 left of the Niger, I saw there at my ease. Though 
 still young, these ostriches almost equalled in size 
 the largest. They were so tame that two little 
 negroes mounted together the larger of the two; 
 this one no sooner felt their weight than it started 
 off full speed, and carried them several times round 
 the village; and it seemed only possible to stop it^ 
 by barring the passage. This trial pleased me so 
 much that I wished to have it repeated ; and in 
 order to try their strength I mounted a full-grown 
 negro on the smallest, and two others on the largest. 
 This load did not ^eem disproportioned to their 
 vigour. At first they started off at a cautious canter, 
 but presently, when they had got excited, they 
 spread their wings, as if to catch the wind, and went 
 
216 THE OSTrtlCH. 
 
 off at such a speed that they seemed scarcely to 
 jouch the ground. 
 
 ''Every one has seen a partridge runnmg, and knows 
 that no man is capahle of catching it ; and it is not 
 difficult to imagine that if it had a greater stride its 
 speed would be considerably augmented. 
 
 *' The ostrich runs like the partridge, and I am 
 persuaded that they could leave far behind them 
 the swiftest English horse that could be put in 
 pursuit of them. It is true they could not keep up 
 as long a race as the horses, but undoubtedly they 
 would accomplish a short one more quickly. I have 
 been many times witness of this spectacle, which 
 should give some idea of the prodigious strength 
 of the ostrich, and the use which could be made 
 of it if means could be found of mastering and 
 instructing it as horses are taught." 
 
 The largest of these two ostriches must then have 
 carried upwards of 300 pounds weight without 
 apparent inconvenience. 
 
 M. Edouard Verreaux relates, on the contrary, that 
 having mounted a captive ostrich in a shed, the bird 
 had the greatest difficulty in carrying him. But this 
 experience by no means invalidates contrary testi- 
 mony. M. Gosse makes the reasonable observation 
 that this faculty which the ostrich possesses of carrying 
 weights so disproportioned to the size of its body, is 
 
THE OSTRICH. 217 
 
 doubtless due to a physiological phenomenon, which is 
 common to birds which rise into the air, viz., that 
 not only are the greater part of its bones vacuous, and 
 in direct communication with the lungs, but the bird 
 can also at will fill with warm air many membranous 
 reservoirs, which are found near the wings, under the 
 stomach, and around the thighs — veritable air balloons, 
 which lighten the weight borne by the legs. When it 
 is not racing or otherwise excited, these sacks are not 
 inflated, and consequently the ostrich cannot support 
 so considerable a weight. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Th^ speed of the animal does not yield to its strength, 
 Cuvier says that it surpasses that of all known 
 animals. ''It is such," adds he, *'that those who 
 mount the ostrich without having become accustomed 
 to it, are soon suffocated, not being able to get their 
 breath." This nearly happened to an inhabitant of 
 Paris, M. Notre, who being at Marseilles in the 
 year 1819, then weighing 1401bs., mounted a male 
 Egyptian ostrich of large size. It took him such an 
 astounding race, that he contemplates it even to this 
 day with affright. Happily, he clung tightly round the 
 neck of the bird, which at last stopped in some brush- 
 
218 THE OSTRICH. 
 
 wood. Adanson says that the two ostriches of which 
 we have before spoken, although they had not attained 
 all the strength which age and liberty would have given 
 them, and although laden with a considerable weight, 
 *Svould have left far behind them the swiftest 
 English horse that could have been sent in pursuit 
 of them.'* 
 
 *'Lhave seen them," says Sparrman, "sometimes 
 within two gun-shots of me, and I have started in 
 pursuit, but always without success." 
 
 Xenophon relates that the cavaliers of Cyrus were 
 not more happy. Livingstone says that one can no 
 more distinguish the legs of an ostrich when at its full 
 speed, than one can see the spokes of the wheels of a 
 carriage driven at full gallop ; and he estimates that 
 the bird can make twenty-seven miles an hour. 
 
 VII. 
 
 The ostrich shines less in point of intelligence ; but 
 it by no means merits the reputation for stupidity 
 which authors vie with each other in making for it. 
 It is a gentle bird, gay, pacific, vigilant, eminently 
 sociable, and not wanting, whatever may be said, in 
 any of the family instincts. 
 
 Gumming one day surprised a flock of twelve 
 
THE OSTRICH. 219 
 
 ostriches, which were no larger than guineafowls. 
 ** The mother," says he, '^ sought to deceive us after 
 the manner of the wild duck. She started oS, ex- 
 tending her wings, then let herself fall to the ground 
 as though she were wounded; whilst the male cun- 
 ningly departed with the little ones in an opposite 
 direction." 
 
 Livingstone frequently mentions young coveys going 
 under the conduct of a male, which endeavoured to 
 appear lame, in order to turn upon himself the 
 attention of the hunters. 
 
 We read in the Clievaux die Sahara that when the 
 hunters catch up the young ones, in sight of the male, 
 he becomes excessively agitated and manifests the most 
 vivid grief ; but he does not give himself up to moan- 
 ing. He is not wanting in courage. 
 
 Here is an instance which proves it. It is related in 
 a report, addressed from Geryville to the Zoological 
 Society (Paris). " Si-Djelloul-Ben-Hamza, and his bro- 
 ther Si-Mohammed-Ben-Hamza, one day, whilst hunt- 
 ing the ostrich, came upon the track of a whole family, 
 conducted by one male and two females. Si-Moham- 
 med, having come first in sight of the ostriches, fired 
 and wounded one of the females. The male then 
 rushed at him, and struck the horse on the chest with 
 his leg, on which the latter threw his rider and fled. 
 The ostrich then turned its blows against Si-Moham- 
 
220 THE OSTRICH. 
 
 med, and only left him, deprived of consciousness, 
 on seeing Si-Djelloul coming to the assistance of his 
 brother." 
 
 '^Whilst riding out one morning," says Thunberg, 
 who was then at the Cape, ^^I passed near to a female 
 ostrich, which was brooding ; she rose, and started in 
 pursuit of me, in order to prevent my seeing her eggs, 
 or young ones. As soon as I turned my horse's head 
 round she fled, but when I continued my journey she 
 commenced again to pursue me. " 
 
 The excessive timidity with which they are re- 
 proached is but the result of the incessant hunting to 
 which they are subjected. Those kept in captivity are 
 not in the slightest degree timid, nor are those which 
 have no know^ledge of man. 
 
 Kichardson relates, that having reached the plateau 
 of Hamala, where the ostriches have not been dis- 
 turbed, he had -the grand sight of a flock of eleven 
 of these birds feeding tranquilly like sheep, without 
 showing any disposition to fly. 
 
 I have said that they are very sociable. A flock of 
 from two to three hundred has occasionally been met 
 with in* the desert, mingling with giraffes, cougas, 
 zebras, and antelopes. This sociability renders it an 
 easy matter to tame them. 
 
 ''Young ostriches are easily tamed," says General 
 Daumas; "they play with the children, and sleep in 
 
THE OSTRICH. 221 
 
 tlio tent. When removing, they follow the camels; 
 there is no example of one of these thus trained ever 
 taking flight. They are very gay, they frolic with 
 the horsemen, clogs, &;c. Should a hare start up, all 
 the people are off in pursuit ; and the ostrich becomes 
 excited, and takes part in the chase. When it meets 
 a child having any food in its hand, ib quietly throws 
 the child on the ground, and tries to take away what- 
 ever it was carrying. The ostrich is a great thief, 
 or rather it wants to swallow whatever it sees. The 
 Arabs are very watchful of it when they are counting 
 their money. It would soon cause the disappearance 
 of a few dollars." 
 
 It is by no means rare to see a tired child, at a 
 short distance from the douar, placed on the back of 
 an ostrich, which with its little load directs its steps 
 straight to the tent, the little cavalier holding on by 
 the feathers. On journeys, when it is wished to pre- 
 vent its running to right or left, a cord is passed round 
 its legs, and it is held by another cord attached to 
 this one. 
 
 In the Senaar country, they are bred in the same 
 way as poultry is bred elsewhere. 
 
 According to Dr. Berg, in many black villages on the 
 banks of the Senegal, and in most of the camps of the 
 Maures, on the right bank of the river, one ostrich 
 at least is counted among their indispensables. Thcso 
 
222 THE OSTRICH. 
 
 birds are not intended as objects of commerce ; they 
 never kill them ; they form, in fact, part of the tribe, 
 or of the village. 
 
 Sometimes they are hatched in the tent by artificial 
 means. 
 
 As soon as they are six months old, no further 
 trouble is taken with them, and they go to seek 
 nourishment in the neighbouring pastures, taking care, 
 however, always to find themselves close to the tent 
 at meal times. The farmers in the neighbourhood of 
 the Cape allow them to feed in their fields, and they 
 never attempt to fly. 
 
 Amongst the ahiades of the Sahara, flocks of twenty 
 or thirty individuals follow the cattle to the pastures, 
 and return with them every evening. One traveller 
 saw at Esne some ostriches belonging to the Gover- 
 nor promenading freely in the town, visiting the 
 markets and returning to the palace in the evening. 
 
 This attachment and obedience is obtained by 
 treating the ostrich with kindness. It is necessary to 
 caress them often when they are young, to be careful 
 not to frighten them, and never to be sharp with them. 
 It has been stated that ostriches which have been 
 given away and taken a very long distance from their 
 » domicile, have returned to their first master. 
 
 '^I find them," says M. Bouteille, director of the 
 Zoological Gardens at Grenoble, **more susceptible of 
 
THE OSTRICH. 223 
 
 attacliment than most of our domestic animals. They 
 allow themselves to be touched and caressed by the 
 persons who have the care of them, and they appear 
 quite sensible of the pleasure. I can take our young 
 ostriches into my hands and carry them away, without 
 the parents making the least hostile demonstration, 
 whilst the sight alone of a strange man or animal is 
 sufficient to put them in a fury; then they set up 
 their feathers and lower their heads, like hens defend- 
 ing their brood.** 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 ®Ij^ ©^kixlj {continued). 
 
 VIII. 
 
 During tlie period of laying, this pacific humour, with 
 the male at least, gives place to a violent character. 
 The males are then said to exhibit such rage that it is 
 difficult to approach them; and sometimes even their 
 masters have been obliged to defend themselves against 
 them with stones, clubs, and even guns. North of 
 the equator the laying season begins towards the end of 
 autumn, and continues until spring. Its period and 
 duration depend on the degree of fertility of the year ; 
 but in any case it takes up a large share of the lifo 
 of an ostrich. The Arabs say even that if food is 
 abundant this troubled period is prolonged through a 
 great portion of the year. It is then that the male 
 takes that roseate tint on his legs and neck, which is 
 caused by the activity acquired by circulation ; he puts 
 himself in pursuit of the female, and closing his beak 
 and drawing up his neck, the top of which is prodi- 
 giously dilated, he gives utterance to repeated hoarse 
 
THE OSTRICH. 225 
 
 guttural cries, which so much resemble the roaring of a 
 lion, though more feeble, that the Hottentots are some- 
 times deceived ; and one of the employes of the mena- 
 gerie of Paris mistook it many times in the night. 
 Mr. Hardy confirms this fact. The female flies before 
 the male. The pursuit continues four or five days, 
 during which the male neither eats nor drinks. The 
 female does not separate from the male, and only quits 
 him when the education of the family is completed. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Both sexes take part in making the nest; some say 
 that the nest is built on flat ground, and in open 
 places, others on ground a little elevated and sur- 
 rounded. These differences evidently arise out o 
 local conditions. 
 
 The nest is dug out of the sand by the beak ; the 
 thrown-out sand is disposed all round, forming a 
 projecting rim ; on the outside a trench is dug for 
 carrying off the water. Laying is rapid or slovv^, 
 according to the greater or less abundance of food, and 
 even according to its quality. All the females of tho 
 same household lay their eggs in the same nest. 
 
 One female will lay from twenty-five to thirty eggs, 
 each egg being equal in weight to about twenty-fivo 
 
 Q 
 
226 THE OSTRICH. 
 
 hen-eggs. Besides the eggs sat upon, others are placed 
 outside of the nest, often in little cavities dug out 
 specially. 
 
 What is their destination ? It is a discovery of M. 
 Vaillant, to whom we owe the first exact ideas we have 
 had as to the hahits of the ostrich. 
 
 A female had got up about twenty yards from him : 
 ** Suspecting that it was a sitter, I hastened to reach 
 the place from which she had risen, and I found eleven 
 eggs, still warm, and four others dispersed at tw^o or 
 three feet from the nest. I called my companions, who 
 came up at once. I broke one of the eggs, and found 
 a young one already formed, the size of a chicken, 
 ready to come out of its shell. I supposed all the eggs 
 were rotten ; my people thought very differently : each 
 one hastened to fall on the nest ; but Amirdo took 
 possession of four others, desiring to give me a feast, 
 and assuring me that I should find them excellent. It 
 was then I learnt from this savage that which the 
 Hottentots themselves are ignorant of, and which is not 
 known to naturalists, since no one that I am aware of 
 has spoken of it, and which I have had more than one 
 opportunity of verifying, viz., that the ostrich always 
 places within reach of the nest a certain number of 
 eggs proportioned to those which she destines for in- 
 cubation. These eggs not being sat upon are preserved 
 fresh for a long time, and the provident instinct of the 
 
THE OSTBICH. 227 
 
 mother destines tliem for the first nourishment of those 
 which are about to be hatched. Experience has con- 
 vinced me of the truth of this assertion ; and whenever 
 I have found the nests of ostriches, many eggs have 
 been found separated in this way." 
 
 The information of M. Vaillant is confirmed by 
 that which Achmet, quartermaster of the spahis, 
 related to M. Aucapitaine in 1856. '' At the moment/' 
 says he, '^when the young are hatched, the mother 
 goes to seek one of the supernumerary eggs, breaks 
 it, and makes the young ones partake of the nourish- 
 ment." According to other natives, she conducts her 
 young ones to the nutritious eggs, and makes them 
 open them. The report sent from Geryville to the 
 Zoological Society (Paris), asserts beyond this, that 
 if the ostrich should break one of the eggs on which 
 she is sitting, she replaces it by one of the outside 
 eggs. Livingstone says that, according to the natives 
 of South Africa, the supernumerary eggs are intended 
 for the need of those first hatched, *' in order that 
 they may wait until the others are hatched, and that 
 all may then go together to pasture elsewhere ; " an 
 explanation which has some appearance of truth, as 
 the hatching takes place successivel3\ 
 
 Incubation takes place day and night, or at night 
 only, according to the degree of the circumambient 
 temperature. The carcases of jackals, which are 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 THE OSTRICH. 
 
 found in the neighbourliood, bear witness to the 
 vigilance as well as to the strength of the male. 
 The hatching of the young takes place successively, 
 as we shall see. It is pretty generally agreed that 
 the number of females is about double that of males. 
 Their size at the time of hatching is about that of 
 a small hen. It would appear that they continue 
 with their parents until they are full grown. 
 
 X. 
 
 uElian relates that the ostrich is hunted in two 
 ways : — 
 
 *' The ostrich is taken by running down. It de- 
 scribes in its flight an exterior circle, whilst the 
 hunters close up its route by following it in an 
 interior circle, and thus, by tiring it out, they at last 
 catch it. 
 
 *' The following mana3uvre is also employed in 
 taking it. "When it has been discovered by a clever 
 man accustomed to this kind of chase, he fixes somiO 
 very sharp-pointed spears round the nest, in a 
 vertical position; the steel shines, and the hunter, 
 retired to a distance, awaits in ambush the upshot of 
 the event. Meanwhile the ostrich returns from her 
 pasture full of tenderness for her young, and burning 
 with the desire to rejoin them". At first she examines 
 
THE OSTRICH. 229 
 
 here and there, and casts her looks all round for fear 
 that some one should observe her ; at last, overcome, 
 and yearning with maternal love, she spreads her 
 wings like a sail, and, carried away in a blundering 
 , blind * career, she rushes upon her ' nest, but — oh, 
 [ touching specLacle ! — she encountors the spears, and 
 perishes, pierced through and through. The hunter 
 then comes up and takes the little ones with their 
 mother." 
 
 Let us now pass on to more positive facts. At 
 Khartoum, an old negro, who in his youth had been 
 one of the most intrepid buccaneers of the country, 
 thus described the hunt of the ostrich, as it is now 
 practised by the natives : — - 
 
 '' The ostrich is hunted on horseback, and the riders 
 are obliged to be accompanied by camels laden with 
 provisions. When one is discovered, they follow it 
 slowly without losing sight of it : the colossal bird 
 is not slow in leaving them far behind; but having 
 reached a certain distance, as if to bid defiance to 
 the hunters, it stands and awaits them; when they 
 are on the point of coming up with it, it starts off 
 on its rapid course, and then again waits for them. 
 The riders always follow it slowly. It is usually at 
 daybreak that the hunters commence the campaign, 
 and whilst the heat is not too much felt the ostrich 
 can, without danger, make parade of its superior 
 
230 THE OSTRICH. 
 
 speed; nevertheless, these repeated races fatigue it 
 insensibly, and when the sun becomes more powerful, 
 the animal, which has already several times renewed 
 the same plan, begins to exhibit signs of fatigue; 
 and then the hunters, who have hitherto restrained 
 their steeds, rush after it with fall speed, and are not. 
 long in exhausting and overcoming it. The first of 
 the hunters that arrives within reach of it deals it 
 a heavy blow with a club, and fells it to the ground. 
 The riders leap from their horses, and one of them 
 cuts the animal's neck, and puts its foot in the 
 wound in order to prevent its plumes being soiled 
 in the blood whilst it is fluttering about. "When the 
 bird has ceased to live they despoil it of its plumage, 
 and if the horses and provisions permit, the chase is 
 continued.'* 
 
 The same method appears to be in use at the 
 Cape, as Sparrman relates: — "I have been told that 
 a man mounted on the best horse could never reach 
 the ostriches when they are off; but the hunter 
 must nevertheless continue his chase, taking care to 
 look after his horse, and prevent him from galloping 
 too fast, whilst he can still perceive the bird from 
 the summit of some hill. Then the ostrich, which 
 has descended it running, cools down when it reaches 
 the bottom, its joints stiffen, and it rarely fails, 
 by at least the third race, in allowing itself to 
 
THE OSTRICH. 231 
 
 be taken, either alive or by a shot from the hunter's 
 gun." 
 
 The Arabs of the Great Desert adopt a quite 
 different plan. General Daumas has given us on 
 this point, in the '^ Chevaux du Sahara," details full 
 of interest, which he obtained from a professional 
 hunter. We cannot do better than reproduce them, 
 always abridging considerably. 
 
 There are in the desert two methods of hunting 
 the ostrich : on horseback, and by watching. 
 
 ''The real hunt is that on horseback. It is an 
 excursion which lasts for seven or eight days. The 
 most favourable period is that of great heat. A 
 dozen hunters join together ; each of them is accom- 
 panied by a servant, mounted on a camel, which 
 carries water, barley for the horses, wheat flour, 
 dates, a saucepan, and divers utensils. The horse 
 has undergone for seven or eight days a special 
 training. The rider has no other weapon than a club 
 of wild olive or rosemary, from four to five feet long, 
 and very heavy at one end. 
 
 " They start in the morning, and after one or two 
 days* march, when they have arrived near the place 
 where the ostriches have been signalled, and they 
 begin to find traces of them, they stop and encamp. 
 The next day two intelligent servants, entirely naked 
 (with the exception of a handkerchief, used as drawers), 
 
232 THE OSTRICH. 
 
 are sent to reconnoitre. They carry a goat- skin full 
 of water and a little bread, and they walk on until 
 they discover the ostriches. As soon as they have 
 perceived them, they lie down and watch them; 
 then one of them remains, and the other goes to 
 warn the company. 
 
 *' The horsemen, guided by the man, proceed slowly 
 towards the place where the ostriches are. . Arrived 
 at the last rising ground which can conceal them, 
 they dismount. Two scouts creep forward to assure 
 themselves that the birds are still in the same 
 place. If these confirm the first informants, each 
 one gives his horse a drink, but moderately, from 
 the water carried on his camel's back. They deposit 
 all the baggage on the spot where they had stopped, 
 and without leaving any one in charge of it. Each 
 horseman carries a goat - skin at his side. The 
 servants and the camels follow in the tracks of the 
 horses ; each camel carries no more than the horse's 
 barley supper, its own supper, and water for the men 
 and animals. 
 
 '* The hunters then separate and form a circle round 
 the chase at a very great distance, and in such a 
 manner as not to be perceived. The servants wait 
 on the spot where their masters separated until 
 they see them at their posts, then they march 
 straight on: the ostriches fly in terror, but they 
 
THE OSTRICH. 233 
 
 encounter the horsemen, who at first only endeavour 
 to drive them back into the circle. The ostriches 
 thus begin to spend their strength in a rapid race, 
 for as soon as they are surprised they do not husband 
 their breath. They several times renew these man- 
 oeuvres, always seeking to get out of the circle, and 
 always returning, frightened by the horsemen. At 
 the first signs of fatigue the hunters fall upon them. 
 After some time the Hock begins to disperse, and 
 to show signs of weakness and lassitude by open- 
 ing their wings; the horsemen then, certain of their 
 prey, slacken their pace. 
 
 *' Each one chooses an ostrich and follows it, and 
 when he reaches it he deals it a heavy blow on the 
 head, either from behind or the side, which fells it. 
 The rider then dismounts in order to bleed it, taking 
 care to hold the throat away from the body, so as not 
 to soil the feathers. When the ostrich is on the point 
 of being caught, it is so fatigued that, if the hunter 
 does not wish to kill it, it is a very easy matter to 
 bring it back quietly, directing it with the stick; it can 
 then scarcely walk." 
 
 - The ostrich is taken by watching for it when it has 
 laid its eggs, that is about the middle of the month of 
 November. Five or six hunters take with them two 
 camels laden with provisions for a month at least, and 
 begin by looking out for places where water has recently 
 
234 THE OSTRICH. 
 
 fallen. They are furnished on this occasion with guns 
 and an abundant supply of ammunition. "When they 
 have discovered traces of the ostrich, the hunters 
 examine them carefully ; if they cross to and fro, and 
 the grass is trampled under foot and not eaten, the 
 bird has for certain made its nest in the neighbour- 
 hood. 
 
 In the morning, whilst the female is sitting, the 
 hunters dig a hole on each side of the nest, and at 
 twenty yards' distance, sufficiently deep to contain a 
 man ; they then cover it up with the long grass, so 
 well known in the desert, in such a manner that the 
 gun only shall appear: in these holes two of the 
 best marksmen are lodged. 
 
 At the sight of this work the frightened female runs 
 to rejoin the male, but he beats her and forces her to 
 return to her nest. If these preparations were made 
 whilst the male is sitting, he would go off in search 
 of the female, and neither of them would be met 
 with again. 
 
 They are careful not to disturb the returned female, 
 the rule being to kill the male first ; they therefore 
 wait his return from pasture. Towards midday he 
 arrives, and the hunter makes ready. The ostrich 
 when sitting extends its wings in such a manner as to 
 cover all the eggs; in this position it has bent up its 
 extremely long legs under its thighs, a very favourable 
 
THE OSTRICH. 235 
 
 position for the marksman, wKo aims always in such a 
 manner as to break the animal's legs, for if only 
 wounded elsewhere it would still have a chance of 
 making its escape. '* Immediately the ostrich is 
 struck down, they run up to it and bleed it. The 
 marks of blood are covered over with sand, the body 
 is carefully hidden." 
 
 At sunset the female returns : the absence of the 
 male does not disquiet it ; she believes it to be feed- 
 ing, and sits on her nest. She is lulled by the one of 
 the two hunters who had not fired at the male. 
 
 They also shoot the ostrich when it goes to drink. 
 The hunters simply make a hole near the water, and 
 lie in ambush till the animal comes to quench its 
 thirst. 
 
 The Arabs of the desert say of a good thing, that 
 ''it is like hunting the ostrich." 
 
 Bruce relates that the Arabs of Fazolp hunt the 
 ostrich with dogs ; they carry it off dead or alive, 
 when the bird, which they have pursued without 
 relaxation, falls from sheer exhaustion. 
 
 On the other extremity of Africa the bushmen 
 have recourse to strategy. 
 
 They disguise themselves as ostriches. *' This dis- 
 guise," says a traveller, " is composed of a kind of 
 saddle, the lower part of which is furnished with 
 ostrich feathers in such a manner as to imitate the 
 
236 THE OSTBICH. 
 
 body of the bird, to which is added a head and 
 neck of an ostrich stuffed with straw. 
 
 " The hunter begins by painting his legs white ; 
 then he places the saddle of feathers on his shoul- 
 ders, and holding with his right hand the lower part 
 of the neck, in his left he carries his bow and poi- 
 soned arrows. *I have seen,' says our author, * the 
 ostrich so perfectly imitated, that at a few yards' 
 distance it was impossible to discover the fraud.' 
 
 ** This human bird pretends to browse the grass, 
 turns his head from side to side with an air of 
 intelligence, shakes his feathers, walks and runs 
 alternately, until he arrives within bow- shot of the 
 flock; and when the ostriches take flight on seeing one 
 of their number struck by an arrow, he flies with 
 them. Sometimes the male ostriches give chase to 
 this singular bird ; then he manoeuvres to avoid 
 them, taking care that they shall not scent him, 
 for from the moment he finds himself so placed as 
 to cross their scent, the charm is broken ; then it 
 only remains for him to throw away his saddle 
 and to fly with all speed, in order to avoid a wing 
 blow, which would knock him down instantly.'* 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 €xotobxhB inxH Caiimmis, 
 
 I. — The Scene and the Actors. 
 
 There are three species or sub-species of crocodiles ; 
 first, the cayman, also called the alligator; second, 
 the crocodile; and third, the gavial. 
 
 The cayman, or alligator, may be thus recognized : 
 when the mouth is closed the fourth tooth on each 
 side of the lower jaw passes into a hole in * the 
 upper jaw. \ 
 
 - In the crocodile, in place of the hole just mentioned 
 there is only an indentation, so that the fourth 
 lower tooth remains visible when the mouth is 
 closed. 
 
 , Lastly, in the gavial the upper jaw on each side 
 is hollowed, not by a hole, as in the cayman, nor by 
 one indentation, as with the crocodile, but with two 
 indentations, in which the first and fourth lower 
 teeth lodge. Moreover, the gavial has very straight 
 and lengthy jaws, which form a kind of beak, moro 
 or less cylindrical. 
 
238 CROCODILES AND CAYMANS. 
 
 Should you happen to encounter one of the croco- 
 dilian species on your journey, you are now in a 
 position to determine at once to what species your 
 friend belongs, whether he is a cayman, crocodile, 
 or gavial. 
 
 The caymans belong to America, gavials to Asia, 
 and crocodiles to America, Asia., Africa, and Oceanica. 
 
 All are inhabitants of hot regions, some even are 
 found in the hot — almost boiling — mineral waters 
 of Florida. The greater part live in the soft waters 
 of rivers and lakes. A small number frequent the 
 sea. Europe and Australia* are exempt. 
 
 II. — ^Numbers. 
 
 Count Foebin, in his '^Voyage a Siam," cays that 
 he saw a great number in the neighbourhood of 
 Bancok. 
 
 *^The rivers of Java, both at their mouths and in 
 the interior, are infested," says Thunberg ('* Voyages 
 en Japon"), ''with crocodiles of a monstrous size. 
 Often in my botanic excursions I saw them asleep 
 in the sun.'* 
 
 * Alligators were found in the river Burdekin, North Aus- 
 tralia, by McKinlay, some of which were nearly twenty feet 
 long. — Translator. 
 
NUMBERS. 239 
 
 A recent account states that the rivers and lakes of 
 Ceylon are stocked with crocodiles. Their hideous 
 heads come out of the water ten or a dozen at a time. 
 They are very common in Jamaica. La Condamine 
 has seen a multitude of caymans from twelve to fifteen 
 feet long, and even longer, in the Guayaquil; some 
 stretched on the mud in the sun, others floating on 
 the water like trunks of trees covered with a knotty 
 desiccated hark. They ahound in the Amazon, in the 
 Oyapoc, in the Bay de Vincent Pincon, and in the lakes 
 of that region, to such an extent that, according to 
 Lacepede, they impede by their multitude the navi- 
 gation of the boats. M. de la Borde relates, that 
 whilst running along the eastern shores of South 
 America in a canoe, he encountered a dozen great 
 caymans at the mouth of a little river which he 
 wished to enter. As these animals were obstructing 
 the passage, several shots were fired, in the hope of 
 dispersing them. This was useless, and the narrator 
 was obliged to wait for two hours before they thought 
 proper to retire. 
 
 Let us pass now into Africa. The Dutch traveller 
 Hamel (''Hist. Gene des Voyages") reports, that the 
 rivers of the Corea are infested with crocodiles. Bosman, 
 in his ''Description de la Guinee," says that they are 
 found in all the rivers of that country, and that he has 
 
240 CROCODILES AND CAYMANS. 
 
 seen as many as fifty in a day, and some of them 
 twenty feet long. " The crocodile," writes M. de Gol- 
 berry, in his '* Fragments d'un Voyage en Afrique,'* 
 *^is fonnd in all the rivers which empty into the sea 
 between Cape Blanc and Cape de Palmes, and even 
 V in a great number of lagoons." Adanson has seen 
 nearly two ' hundred at one time on the great Senegal 
 river, floating together, which might easily be 
 mistaken for the trunks of trees borne along by the 
 stream. 
 
 M. du Chaillu thus describes a scene presented to 
 him on the Anengue, a river of the Gaboon, at its 
 junction with the Ogabay. **We then entered the 
 Anengae. Its surface was covered with black mud 
 banks, on which swarmed an incredible number o 
 crocodiles. There were many hundreds of these dis- 
 gusting monsters sunning themselves or wallowing 
 in the mud, and diving to the bottom of the water in 
 S3arch of food. I have never seen a more hideous 
 spectacle. Some of them were at least twenty feet 
 long, and when they opened their horrible jaws, one 
 might have said that -they could have swallowed our 
 "^ little boats without any difficulty." 
 
 Livingstone has met with them in many of tho 
 rivers of South Africa. The quantity of them living 
 on the Liambye is prodigious. ** Every instant," ho 
 
NUMBERS. 241 
 
 writes, "we see them sunning themselves on the 
 sand-banks." 
 
 The traveller ascending the Nile does not encounter 
 them until he reaches Upper Egypt. Mr. Combes 
 (*' Voyage en Egypte, en Nubie," &c.) reports, that the 
 first he met with on his route was found above Syout. 
 ** I had but just embarked when they pointed out to 
 me a crocodile stretched out in the sun. He was, as 
 it v>^ere, embedded in the sand, and appeared to be 
 asleep. Nevertheless, he lifted his head at our ap- 
 proach, and slipped slowly into the Nile." According 
 to the people of the country, these animals do not 
 pass below Said, because a venerable sheik had said, 
 *' You may come here, but you must not pass this bar- 
 rier." But above this point they rapidly become very 
 numerous, as may be judged by the following little 
 picture, in the neighbourhood of Keneh : — ^' Some of 
 the palm trees in the neighbourhood of the towil 
 were bending under the weight of enormous crocodiles 
 suspended from their branches, and swinging in the 
 wind. The hunters, who had made a successful war 
 on these formidable animals, had left them to dry in 
 the sun, in order afterwards to offer them to the gentry 
 of the country." Having passed Luxor and proceed- 
 ing towards Emeh, Mr. Combes remarks that, — 
 
 ** Since we left Djirjeh, when the weather was calm 
 and the sun hot, the numerous sand-banks scattered 
 
 B 
 
242 CROCODILES AND CAYMANS. 
 
 about in the river were covered with crocodiles. If 
 the boats approached them, they would move into the 
 water slowly, and allowing sufficient time to observe 
 them leisurely. At length," he writes, ^-when we 
 reached Upper Nubia, the Nile was sprinkled with 
 small islands covered with pelicans ; on some we per- 
 ceived monstrous crocodiles asleep, and which awoke 
 at our approach. Often, in the midst of the river, we 
 saw the heads of these formidable amphibia, which 
 would disappear under the waves after inhaling a little 
 air." 
 
 We have said enough to prove to our readers, and 
 those hunters whose courage is but ill satisfied with 
 the perilless exploits accomplished in the suburbs of 
 our cities, that for many a year to come game will not 
 be wanting for those who will undertake the enterprise 
 of purging the earth of those monsters which defile 
 and oppress it. 
 
 III. — Habits. 
 
 Crocodiles live on land and in the water, with a 
 decided preference for the latter. They swim with 
 extreme rapidity, aided by their powerful compressed 
 tail. Nevertheless, all are not equally aquatic. The 
 caymans are less so than the others. The gavials 
 
HABITS. 243 
 
 are the most aquatic, a fact which could only be dis- 
 covered by an ins^Dection of the hind-legs. In the 
 gavial, the toes of the hind-feet are webbed to the tip, 
 and these feet are denticulated the whole length of the 
 external side : they are evidently intended to perform 
 the functions of fins; whereas with the caymans, not 
 only does this denticulation not exist, but the toes are 
 only webbed half their length. 
 
 Eivers which overflow, and whose shores are covered 
 with mud, marshy lakes, sw^ampy savannahs — these 
 are their favourite haunts. It is said that the gavial 
 sometimes quits the waters of the Ganges, and will 
 venture almost into the sea. 
 
 All are carnivorous and extremely voracious. Living- 
 stone says that they generally seek their prey at- night ; 
 Du Chaillu reports that they do so in the morning 
 and evening; but the upshot shows clearly that the 
 crocodilian appetite is equally good at all hours of day 
 or night. 
 
 Hidden amongst the aquatic plants or squatting in 
 the mud, at other times motionless on the surface of 
 the water, or floating silently, like the trunks of trees, 
 stranded on the mud, or carried on by the current, they 
 aw^ait patiently their prey, or they go to meet it with 
 their jaws extended, their eyes sweeping the liquid 
 expanse and its muddy shores. *' One does not see 
 the slightest motion,'* says Plumier. ** We perceive that 
 
 R 2 
 
244 CROCODILES AND CAYMANS. 
 
 it lias changed its place, but in a manner almost 
 imperceptible, so quiet are its movements ; it might 
 then be taken for a piece of floating wood, and I have 
 many times been so deceived." This comparison has 
 presented itself to the minds of Adanson, of La Con- 
 damine, and of all travellers who have seen crocodiles 
 in their wild state. Their colour, their elongated form, 
 their immobility, the silence which they keep, deceive 
 their victims. Fish constitute their ordinary diet; 
 as extras they occasionally add any of the animals 
 which come to repose on the water, or to quench their 
 thirst on its shores. 
 
 When the saurian perceives its prey it dives, and 
 proceeds under the water towards it, and seizing it by 
 the legs or the muzzle, drags it down to the bottom 
 of the water. To use the words of the missionary just 
 quoted, "the unsuspecting game allows itself to be 
 approached so near that it is snapped up before it has 
 time to spread its wings for flight." Large cattle are 
 not safe from their voracity. " It very rarely hap- 
 pens," says Livingstone, *Hhat a herd of cows crosses 
 the Liambye without some of the young becoming the 
 prey of the monster." M. du Chaillu witnessed the 
 following scene: — As we were paddling along I per- 
 ceived in the distance ahead a beautiful gazelle looking 
 meditatively into the waters of the lagoon, of which 
 from time to time it took a drink. I stood up to get a 
 
HABITS. 245 
 
 shot, and we approached with the utmost silence, but 
 just as I raised my gun to fire a crocodile leaped 
 out of the water, and like a flash dived back again 
 with the struggling animal in his powerful jaws. So 
 quickly did the beast take his prey, that though I fired 
 at him I was too late. I do not think my bullet hit 
 him ; if it did, it struck some impenetrable part of his 
 mail. I would not have believed that this huge and 
 unwieldy animal could move with such velocity; but 
 the natives told me that the deer often falls a prey to 
 the crocodile. Sometimes he even catches the leopard, 
 but then there is a harder battle than the poor little 
 deer* could make.'' 
 
 In America the cayman will attack the jaguar, which 
 in the New World is the most powerful of his enemies ; 
 and a struggle between these two monsters would be a 
 stirring spectacle to witness. The jaguar, knowing the 
 vulnerable place, plunges his claws into the eyes of 
 the reptile ; the latter dives, dragging down the jaguar, 
 which, it is said, allows itself to be drowned rather 
 than let go its hold. 
 
 Crocodiles do not generally devour large animals 
 until they have drowned them. ** The noise they 
 make in eating," says Livingstone, "when once heard, 
 will never be forgotten." 
 
 '>' " Poor little deer ! " says the hunter who was prexmring to 
 kill liim ! Talk of crocodiles* tears after that ! 
 
246 CROCODILES AND CAYMANS. 
 
 Their activity abates during the hottest hours of the 
 day. They then retire amongst the reeds or extend 
 themselves on the sand or in the mud. La Condamine 
 reports that they have been seen sunning themselves 
 on the banks of the Guayaquil and the Amazon for 
 whole days. M. Tremaux, being in Ethiopia, above 
 the cataract of Senadaoui, had the opportunity of 
 examining at leisure a crocodile which was thus 
 taking his siesta extended on the river-bank. *' Pro- 
 fiting by his immobility, I had approached him," he 
 says, *' under cover of a clump of trees. When my 
 curiosity was satisfied, I walked straight up . to the 
 animal, which, without disturbing itself, slightly raised 
 its great head and appeared scarcely to notice me. I 
 was not a little surprised to see at the bottom of the 
 slope in the bed of the river, and close to the ferocious 
 beast, two donkeys feeding peaceably and quite undis- 
 turbed by his proximity. The crocodile, which until 
 that moment had seemed to me not larger than a man, 
 then showed his real size by offering me a point of 
 comparison : he was from eighteen to twenty feet long. 
 Some minutes afterwards the enormous beast slowly 
 glided into the water, lifting one leg after the other in 
 a torpid manner; but no sooner had he reached his 
 favourite element than, with a powerful stroke of his 
 tail, he disappeared like a dart." 
 
 It is, in fact, only in tjiis element that they enjoy 
 
HABITS. 247 
 
 the full liberty of movement ; but it lias been more 
 than once shown that, at least in certain seasons 
 and in certain countries, crocodiles (although less 
 active on the land than in the water) are still capa- 
 ble of moving very quickly on level ground, but in 
 a straight line only, for the short ribs of the neck 
 touching each other prevent these animals from 
 turning easily. Hence there is one chance of safety 
 for those whom they pursue. This knowledge was 
 made use of by an Englishman, who, having at his 
 heels a monstrous crocodile, wdiich had sprung from 
 the lake of Nicaragua, was nearly caught, when the 
 Spaniards who were with him shouted to him to 
 quit the direct path and to run in zigzag. He fol- 
 lowed this counsel, and found it valuable. 
 
 It rarely happens, according to Livingstone, that 
 the crocodile comes out of the water to seek food. 
 On one occasion, nevertheless, on the banks of the 
 Zouga, he met with one which, although still small 
 (about three feet long), made a dash at his feet, and 
 compelled him to fly in another direction ; but the 
 traveller adds, ''this is unusual, for I never heard 
 of a similar instance.'' 
 
 These examples, however, are not rare elsewhere. 
 
 . The Count de Forbin, in his ''Voyage a Siam," reports 
 
 that the crocodiles sometimes come close up to the 
 
 houses at Bancok. La Condamine tells us that 
 
248 CROCODILES AND CAYMANS. 
 
 the caymans of the Amazon enter the huts of the 
 Indians ; and Lacepede reports, that in South America, 
 when the lakes inhabited by caymans become dry, 
 these animals, condemned thenceforward to a terres- 
 trial life, live on game for months together. 
 
 It is whilst the crocodile is on land that that 
 extraordinary and charming scene, related by Hero- 
 dotus, occurs, which has been treated as a fable by 
 moderns, and which was only definitively assigned to 
 science when Geoffrey Saint Hilaire witnessed it 
 during his residence in Egypt. 
 
 Whilst the crocodile is going through the water, 
 leeches pass into its gaping mouth, and when on 
 land ants and gnats introduce themselves there. 
 The shortness of its tongue leaves it powerless 
 against these enemies. But a small bird, a plover 
 {Charadrkis Mgyptus), comes to its aid. The monster 
 opens its mouth, the bird enters, picks the animal's 
 teeth with its beak, cleanses the gums, palate, and 
 tongue, and having performed its task departs. 
 
 *' The crocodile," says iElian, *^ profiting by this 
 service, endures the operation with patience, and 
 remains motionless, so that the plover finds a good 
 meal in the leeches ; and the crocodile, rejoicing in 
 its assistance, thinks that he recompenses it suffi- 
 ciently in allowing it to depart in peace." 
 
 In the Antilles another bird (the humming great 
 
HABITS. 249 
 
 renders the same service to the crocodiles of that 
 place as the plover to the common crocodile. 
 
 Notwithstanding their voracity, crocodiles can re- 
 main for several months without food. Brown, in his 
 ''Natural History of Jamaica," reports that he had 
 satisfied himself on this point by tying up the 
 muzzles of several of them with wire. 
 
 Some species pass a part of the year in a lethargic 
 sleep. The pike-muzzled cayman, which inhabits 
 South America, and ascends the Mississippi and its 
 affluents as far as the 32nd degree, buries itself in the 
 mud as soon as cold weather comes, and passes the 
 whole winter season in a state of torpor. The rising of 
 the temperature in South America produces the same 
 effect as its falling in North America. At Cayenne 
 and Bahia, in the half-dry marshes, troops of caymans 
 buried in the slime, their backs only visible, await 
 in a lethargic state the return of the rains. Travellers 
 say that some caymans dig holes on the margins of 
 the marshes, into which they retire to sleep the long 
 deep. Pliny writes, that crocodiles pass the four 
 months of winter in caverns. This w^as perhaps true 
 of the crocodiles inhabiting the Delta ; now-a-days the 
 Nile crocodiles do not become torpid. 
 
 All crocodiles are oviparous. The female deposits 
 her eggs, covered with an elastic calcareous shell, in 
 holes, which it digs on the banks of rivers. Living- 
 
250 CROCODILES AND CAYMANS, 
 
 stone one day made his fire on one of tliese deserted 
 nests, which was strewed all over with the broken 
 shells. This nest was situated about six yards from 
 the river Zouga, with w4iich it communicated by a 
 broad path. This traveller has seen sixty eggs taken 
 from a single nest. The cayman a lunettes of 
 Cayenne, and the common crocodile on the banks of 
 the Nile, deposit a similar number of eggs; the latter 
 lay in February, the others in April. The common 
 crocodile confines itself to simply burying its eggs 
 in the sand ; the cayman a lunettes deposits them 
 between a double bed of leaves and straw. These 
 eggs are about the same size as those of a goose. 
 
 They do not sit on their eggs, although Pliny states 
 the contrary, and pretends even that the male shares 
 with the female the cares of incubation. Solar heat, 
 and in certain cases that which results from the fer- 
 mentation of vegetable matter massed round the eggs, 
 suffices to bring them to perfection. The female of 
 the common crocodile even abandons her eggs after 
 she has buried them ; and at St. Domingo that of the 
 taper-nosed crocodile does the same ; but the female 
 of the cayman a lunettes (Guinea and Brazil) w^atches 
 over hers. *' She always remains," says M. de la Borde, 
 " at a certain distance from her eggs, which she defends 
 with fury, should any one attempt to touch them." 
 
 The eggs of these reptiles have indeed great need 
 
HABITS. 251 
 
 of protection, for they have many enemies. In Egypt 
 the mangouste, in America apes, everywhere water- 
 fowls, and in some places men destroy an immense 
 number. Livingstone reports that the Barotses and 
 the Bayeyes, tribes of Southern Africa, are very fond 
 of crocodiles' eggs. '* They eat the yolk, rejecting the 
 white, which does not coagulate." 
 
 '^ In proportion to the increase of the population," 
 •says this writer, '^the nests of these odious reptiles will 
 be more and more sought after, and the species will 
 become less numerous." May it be so ! 
 
 Lacepede writes, that in America the apes break 
 a very large number of eggs, not merely to eat them, 
 but in some measure apparently for the mere fun of 
 the thing. 
 
 Even with the species which abandon their eggs 
 immediately after laying them the cares of maternity 
 are not always con^fined to nidification. When instinct 
 warns it that its eggs are about to be hatched, the 
 female of the taper-nosed crocodile returns to its nest, 
 unearths its brood, and conducts the young ones to 
 the water. . 
 
 Lacepede denies this, but he is wrong ; the same 
 facts occurred in the countries explored by Livingstone. 
 The negroes even told the latter that the female aids 
 its little ones in coming out of their shells — assistance 
 
252 CROCODILES AND CAYMANS. 
 
 which, as we shall see, is exceeded by those of the 
 Blue Nile. 
 
 " It appeared to me," says Livingstone, " quite 
 needful that their mother should come to their assist- 
 ance at the time of their birth, for it is a question with 
 them not merely of breaking the membrane with which 
 the shell is lined, but also of digging them out of a bed 
 covered with about four inches of earth." 
 
 It is doubtless this last circumstance which neces- 
 sitates the maternal intervention. 
 
 The young go into the water at the instant of their 
 birth. They feed on insects and larvae ; but voracious 
 fishes make great destruction among them, and it is 
 said that the little crocodiles are by no means safe 
 amongst the large ones. During three months the 
 female of the taper-nosed species nourishes and protects 
 its young. 
 
 Don Kamon Paez, in his ** Travels and Adventures 
 in South and Central America," says: "Despite their 
 great voracity, the mother exhibits some degree of ten- 
 derness towards her offspring. Possessed, in this case, 
 of an instinct almost infallible, she returns at a period 
 when incubation is completed, and assists her young in 
 extricating themselves from the shell. Unlike the eggs 
 of birds, crocodiles' eggs are soft and pliable as those 
 of the turtle, yielding, when handled, to the pressure of 
 
HABITS. 253 
 
 the fingers, yet so tough that it is difficult to break 
 them, and in appearance resembling white parchment. 
 At the very moment of liberation the young crocodiles 
 display their savage nature in a wonderful degree, 
 biting at every object within reach ; the same vicious 
 propensity is also exhibited by those extricated even 
 before the completion of incubation. I was once 
 greatly amused in watching a struggle between two 
 caricaris and one of these youngsters, not larger than a 
 good-sized lizard. Each time the birds made a dash 
 at him, this little saurian, grunting savagely, darted 
 forward with wide-open jaws, looking for all the world 
 like a young dragon. During ten minutes the 
 struggle continued without decided advantage on either 
 side, when one of the assailants, changing his tactics, 
 suddenly seized the crocodile by the neck with his 
 sharp claws, and soared triumphantly with him into 
 high air. There, loosing his hold, the bird followed 
 his descent with wonderful rapidity, prepared, when he 
 reached the ground, to repeat the blow ; but, already 
 half stunned, the victim soon yielded to superior 
 cunning." 
 
 Catesby, in his ** Natural History of Carolina," 
 shows us young crocodiles seeking refuge against the 
 voracity of their elder brethren in the thickest parts of 
 the marshy forests. 
 
254 CKOCODILES AXD CAYMANS. 
 
 " These aquatic woods are filled with animals which 
 eat each other ; half-devoured carcases are seen floating 
 on the water." Lying in ambush on the banks of the 
 lakes and rivers, the tiger in India and the jaguar in 
 America watch the moment when the young saurians 
 approach the shore, seize them with their powerful 
 claws, and devour them. 
 
 Livingstone relates, that on arriving one evening 
 on the banks of the Libaye, he put to flight two 
 broods of crocodiles ; they were about ten inches 
 in length. Their bodies were marked with alternate 
 brown and pale green bands ; their eyes were 
 yellow. When speared, they bit the weapon savagely, 
 yelping all the while like a whelp just beginning 
 to bark. 
 
 Added to the testimony of Caillaud, this last fact, 
 reported by a traveller so trustworthy as Livingstone, 
 would suffice to solve the controverted question as to 
 whether crocodiles have a voice. Captain Jobson 
 (^^ Hist. Gen. des Voy.") assures us that those of the 
 river Gambia, called humhos by the negroes, utter cries 
 which appear to come out of a pit, and which can be 
 heard at a great distance. Catesby reports that the 
 caymans of Carolina, on coming out of their lethargic 
 slumber, make horrible roarings. Bosc, who has 
 visited the same country, says that the caymans make 
 
HABITS. 255 
 
 in the evening a frightful hubbub, and that he had 
 frequent opportunities of hearing it. M. de Courdi- 
 niere, in his '^ Observations sur le Crocodile de laLoui- 
 siane," and M. dela Borde, in the notes already quoted, 
 make analogous depositions. These testimonies can- 
 not be weakened by the otherwise undeniable fact 
 that, during a residence of many years on the banks 
 of the Orinoco, Humboldt, although surrounded every 
 night by crocodiles, never heard the voice of these 
 animals. 
 
 Herodotus has stated, with truth, that of all the 
 animals which come out of an egg, the crocodile is of 
 the largest dimensions. 
 
 The common crocodile is generally from eighteen to 
 twenty feet in length, but they have been seen nearly 
 forty feet long; the size of the cayman a lunettes 
 varies from twelve to fourteen feet, that of the, taper- 
 nosed cayman attains the same length. The great 
 gavial of the Ganges is from twenty-five to thirty 
 feet in length, and is said sometimes to exceed forty 
 feet. Their growth is very slow. Aristotle thought 
 that it continued during the whole life of the animal. 
 It is now thought that it continues for twenty 
 years. Viscount de Fontange, Commandant of the 
 island of St. Domingo, kept for twenty-six months 
 some crocodiles which he had seen hatched. Their 
 
256 CROCODILES AND CAYMANS. 
 
 length was not then more than twenty inches. It 
 is asserted that crocodiles live for a hundred 
 years. 
 
 Now let us see the crocodile in his connection with 
 man. On this important point authors show singular 
 differences ; possibly we may succeed in bringing them 
 into accord. 
 
CHAPTER XVn. 
 
 ClWairilcS (continued). 
 IV. — ToucHiNa THE Ferocity of Crocodiles. 
 
 Dampier assumes that caymans never attack man, and 
 that they never make victims, except amongst those 
 who provoke and irritate them. It has frequently 
 happened to him to drink in ponds filled with these 
 animals, and although they were then close to him, 
 they never attempted to injure him. 
 
 M, de la Borde says, that in the neighbourhood of 
 Cayenne, the negroes sometimes take caymans five or 
 six feet long, tie their legs, and that the animals suffer 
 themselves to be handled and carried without attempt- 
 ing to bite. From excess of prudence, the jaws are 
 sometimes tied up, or a large metal plate fixed in the 
 mouth. It is better still in some of the rivers of 
 St. Domingo. The pursued animal hides his head and 
 a part of his body in a hole. A slip-knot is fixed to 
 one of his hind feet, and many negroes, pulling at the 
 
 s 
 
258 CROCODILES. 
 
 rope, draw liim about, even into the houses, without 
 his exhibiting any desire to defend himself. 
 
 Bosc, a traveller in Carolina, agrees with Dampier ; 
 he has been quite close to caymans without their 
 making any attempt to bite him. 
 
 Audubon goes farther, and says that these animals 
 are so gentle, during the summer and autumn, that the 
 people get on their backs and compel them to carry 
 them. 
 
 So much for caymans. Now let us turn to crocodiles. 
 Corneille de Pengu, in his '^Voyage aux Indes Orien- 
 tales," relates that a crocodile was taken sixteen feet and 
 a half in length, and six feet and a half round, which 
 had devoured thirty-two persons, and that on his body 
 being opened, a human skeleton was found therein. 
 
 Seba, who reproduced that story, regards it as 
 impossible ; and he adds, that the crocodile, far from 
 devouring man, holds him in such fear as to make 
 his escape as soon as he sees or hears him. 
 
 Bosman (** Histoire de la Guinee Orientale ") agrees 
 with Seba. '* They lie in the sun, on the banks of 
 rivers, and the moment they perceive a man, they are 
 so frightened that they precipitate themselves to the 
 bottom of the water." Bosman has never heard of 
 these animals attacking a man, or even a beast. 
 
 Thunberg writes : " The presence of crocodiles does 
 not prevent the natives of -Batavia, as well as the 
 
THE FErwOCITY OF CROCODILES. 259 
 
 slaves of both sexes, from plunging pell-mell, once or 
 twice a day, into the rivers or canals/' 
 
 Forbin relates that '^ the crocodiles sometimes come 
 close up to the houses at Bancok, and as they are 
 very timid, they are easily frightened off by shouting 
 or firing a gun at them, when they immediately escape 
 to the bottom of the w^ater." 
 
 The same kind of sport which Audubon describes 
 with the caymans, is practised with the crocodiles on 
 the river Senegambia, San Domingo. According to 
 M. de Brue (^^Hist. Gen. des Voyages "), not only do 
 the crocodiles of this river not injure any one, but even 
 *'the children can play with them, mount their backs, 
 and beat them, without perceiving any signs of resent- 
 ment." 
 
 Pliny remarks, that the crocodile flies before those 
 who pursue it, and that it permits itself to be guided 
 by men bold enough to leap on its back. 
 
 A contemporary traveller, Mr. Combes, writes : *' The 
 ferocity of the crocodile has been much exaggerated. 
 I have never seen a boatman hesitate to leap into the 
 water when it was necessary. At almost every turn 
 of our route we saw them up to their waists in the 
 water, endeavouring to disengage their heavily laden 
 barges, which had got aground. And on all sides 
 we saw children coming to fill their pitchers, or to 
 wash themselves, on the banks of the Nile.'* 
 
 s 2 
 
260 CBOCODILES. 
 
 Let us not forget the gavial. His reputation was 
 never better than that of caymans and crocodiles. 
 Modern travellers have however undertaken to re-estab- 
 lish his character. According to these travellers, the 
 gavial never attempts to attack men or animals. 
 
 We have heard witnesses for the defence : let us 
 now listen to others. 
 
 La Condamine reports that the crocodiles of the 
 Amazon seize the Indians in their huts and in their 
 canoes. 
 
 In the Grambo, according to an old traveller, Jobson, 
 the negroes are so suspicious of crocodiles, that they 
 will not venture to swim or wade across rivers fre- 
 quented by these animals. 
 
 -We read in the '^Description de I'lle Celebes (Hist. 
 Gen. des Voyages),'* that the crocodiles of the great 
 Macassar river do not confine themselves to making 
 war upon the fish, but - that they sometimes assemble 
 in troops at the bottom of the water to await the 
 passage of the small boats, which they stop, and using 
 their tails as hooks, upset them, and then seize the 
 men and animals and drag them into their retreat. 
 
 Hasselquist (*'Voy. en Palestine") writes, that in 
 Upper Egypt, crocodiles very frequently devour the 
 women who come to carry water from the Nile, and 
 children playing on its banks. 
 
 Geofiroy Saint Hilairo reports that it is by no 
 
THE FEROCITY OF CROCODILES. 261 
 
 means rare to meet with Arabs in the Thebaide, some 
 wanting an arm, and others a leg, which had been 
 carried away by crocodiles. 
 
 Listen to Livingstone : — ''Every year many victims 
 are made amongst the children wdio have the impru- 
 dence to play on the banks of the Liambye, when 
 they go for water. The crocodile stuns his prey with 
 a blow of his tail, and drags it into the water, where 
 it is soon drowned. 
 
 ''Fish is the principal food of both small and large, 
 and they are much assisted in catching them by 
 their broad scaly tails. Sometimes an alligator, 
 viewing a man in the water from the opposite bank, 
 rushes acfoss the stream with wonderful agility, ^s 
 is seen by the high ripple he makes on the surface, 
 caused by his rapid motion at the bottom ; but in 
 general they act by stealth, sinking underneath as 
 soon as they see a man. A wounded antelope chased 
 into any of the lagoons in the Barotse valley, or a 
 man or dog going in for the purpose of bringing 
 out a dead one, is almost sure to be seized, though 
 the alligators may not appear on the surface. After 
 dancing long in the moonlight night, young men run 
 down to the water to wash off the dust, and cool 
 themselves before going 'to bed, and are thus often 
 carried away. One w^onders they are not afraid-; 
 but the fact is, they have as little sense of danger 
 
262 CROCODILES. 
 
 impending over them as the hare has when not 
 actually pursued by the hound ; and in many ren- 
 contres, in which they escape, they had not time 
 to be afraid, and only laugh at the circumstance 
 afterwards : there is a want of calm reflection. In 
 many cases not referred to in this book, I feel more 
 horror now in thinking on dangers I have run, than 
 I did at the time of their occurrence." 
 
 He goes on to say, *' I never could avoid shudder- 
 ing on seeing my men swimming across these 
 branches, after one of them had been caught by the 
 thigh and taken below ; he, however, retained his full 
 presence of mind, and having a small square ragged- 
 edged javelin with him when dragged to the bottom, 
 gave the alligator a stab behind the shoulder. The 
 alligator, writhing in pain, left him, and he came 
 out with the deep marks of the reptile's teeth on 
 his thigh." 
 
 We have seen that, according to Mr. Combes, 
 the ferocity of the crocodile has been much exag- 
 gerated, and he has shown us, in fact, the bargemen 
 going into the water up to their middle, and children 
 filling their pitchers on the banks of the Nile. 
 ** Nevertheless," he adds, '' accidents are rare, and 
 it is easy to understand that if the inhabitants of 
 Egypt were not satisfied by long experience, they 
 would not show themselves so confiding.'* This 
 
THE FEROCITY OF CROCODILES. 263 
 
 argument would appear to prove little after what 
 Livingstone reports of the improvidence of the 
 riverains of the Liambye ; and the following fact 
 goes to show the same carelessness on the banks of 
 the Nile, at the same time that it exhibits the croco- 
 dile at his work: — 
 
 M. Tremeaux was on the Nile, in the eastern 
 Soudan, between Senaar and Lony. Several men 
 were on the sand hauling the boat, when they 
 came upon a hollow filled with water from the 
 river; one of them took the cord in his mouth 
 to swim across the hollow, whilst the rest went r 
 round the obstacle. *' Suddenly I heard many 
 voices shouting, ' He is seized ! he is carried off ! ' 
 One sailor cried out, * The crocodile ! the croco- 
 dile ! ' a third, ' A gun ! bring a gun ! ' Throwing 
 aside the notes which I was writing, I seized a gun 
 and hurried precipitately from the cabin. Looking 
 to that point of the river to which all eyes were 
 turned, I could only see a circle of undulations, 
 like that which is caused when a body disappears 
 beneath the water. All the haulers were shouting, 
 gesticulating, and advancing cautiously into the water, 
 each pressing against the other, no one daring to 
 detach himself, from the group. The doctor ex- 
 ended his hand towards my gun. * We must make 
 a noise — fire ! * said he. I gave him the gun, and 
 
264 CROCODILES. 
 
 seizing a pistol which I had at my belt, we fired. 
 An instant afterwards the man reappeared on the 
 surface of the water, half suffocated, gesticulating 
 painfully, and exhibiting signs of frightful anguish. 
 The wretch was but a few yards in front of the 
 haulers, but not one of them dared to advance to 
 his assistance. The doctor again fired a shot at 
 hazard into the water, to drive away the monster. 
 During this time the boat was rowed quickly towards 
 the poor fellow, and we threw him the end of tho 
 cord, which he was still able to seize, and by its 
 aid we drew him on board — one of his legs was 
 crunched ! 
 
 '^ The monstrous amphibian, deceived by the float- 
 ing ferclah of the man, had, it appeared, first seized 
 him by the foot, which he raised up, then seizing 
 him a second time by the leg, above the knee, ho 
 dragged him underneath the water. It was then 
 that the crocodile — who is as cowardly as he is 
 ferocious — frightened by the detonations of the fire- 
 arms, and by the shouting of the men, had let go 
 his prey. 
 
 '' The wound was considerable ; the articulation of 
 the knee was crushed ; the flesh of the thick part of 
 the leg ripped open for a great length, exposing to 
 sight the naked bone. The teeth of the monster had 
 left deep marks. From the foot to the middle of the 
 
THE FEEOCITY OF CROCODILES. 265 
 
 thigh we counted seven or eight on each side, each 
 of which was sufficiently open to receive three fingers. 
 Others were united by the same rent. A single blow 
 of the powerful jaws of the crocodile appeared to have 
 produced all these wounds." 
 
 The poor fellow was carried to land, and remained 
 extended on the sand in the sun, whilst a man went 
 to the neighbouring village in search of some means 
 of transport. Far from complaining, '^It was writ- 
 ten ! " he said, and he thanked God for having saved 
 his life. The boat continued its voyage. 
 
 Near there the traveller saw in the sand the remains 
 of a crocodile killed by the natives, who were re- 
 proaching it as the cause of the death of many of 
 their friends. 
 
 For many hours crocodiles were the subject of 
 conversation of all on board. *' Some of our men, who 
 were from Khartoum, stated that the approaches to 
 that city had for some time past become very dangerous, 
 and that many people had perished there. The croco- 
 diles wander near the places where the people come 
 to draw water, and if an isolated person advances too 
 far into the river, in order to get purer water, he runs 
 very great risk." 
 
 Among other stories, one is related which is not 
 without analogy with that of the crocodile whose fero- 
 city Seba denied the existence of entirely. Here it is. 
 
266 CROCODILES. 
 
 *^ Quite recently a fine tall woman, knowing that the 
 principal victims of the carnivorous monster of the 
 Nile were women and children, thought probably to 
 awe him by her fine and imposing deportment. She 
 walked into the water up to her waist, and there, whilst 
 filling her leathern bottle v/ith the limpid water, she 
 was suddenly upset by a blow from the tail of a 
 crocodile and carried away immediately. 
 
 '^This event brought a great number of the curious 
 to the banks of the river, and some time afterwards 
 there was seen floating on the water a monstrous 
 crocodile, with a stomach so enormous as to prevent 
 it remaining constantly under the water. Then boats 
 v/ere got together, and they attacked it. Th^ crocodile, 
 in that state, being anything but active, plunged, then 
 soon reappeared on the surface, and as the river was 
 now studded with boats, those who were within reach 
 planted their lances between the openings of his scaly 
 armour. He was soon killed, and they dragged him 
 ashore, and quickly opened him. The animal, by 
 means of his great mouth, which opened to the 
 shoulders, had swallowed his prey whole, and, added 
 the narrators, the victim of this monster had only a 
 few bruises — her wounds were so trifling, that she 
 must have died of suffocation in the crocodile's belly. 
 They hoped even to see her come to life again. 
 With the exception of some of the details," adds 
 
THE FEROCITY OP CROCODILES. 267 
 
 M. Tremeaux, "the foundation of this story seemed 
 to me to be true, for not only was it confirmed by 
 many persons on our boat, but I heard it related in 
 terms almost identical during our last residence at 
 Khartoum." 
 
 During that residence the author witnessed another 
 catastrophe, which he reports in the following 
 terms : — 
 
 "From the window of the house where we were 
 installed, on the quay, I was occupied in observing 
 the movement of the animated scene in the harbour. 
 A little negro, twelve years of age, had been bought at 
 Kagane by our maitre cV hotel. This young boy was 
 standing on the edge of our boat. A kind of hand- 
 kerchief of coloured cotton had just been given to 
 him by his master. Delighted with such a treasure, 
 after examining it minutely, the child shook it in 
 the air. This movement, which attracted my attention, 
 awoke probably also that of a crocodile, for the little 
 gargon having let fall his handkerchief into the water, 
 immediately jumped in to regain it, and never 
 reappeared. The water was suddenly agitated, then 
 a series of undulations, which could be seen towards 
 the middle of the river, were for me the only percep- 
 tible traces of his being carried away by the crocodile. 
 The sailors who were on the boat, said that they had 
 
268 CROCODILES. 
 
 seen the animal nedr there, and they recognized on the 
 other shore, where he had gone at once, the agitation 
 produced hy his efforts in swallowing his prey." 
 
 I must remark, nevertheless, that crocodiles are 
 said not to be able to swallow in the water, and it 
 is so stated by Mr. Milne Edwards in his '^ Elements 
 of Zoology." 
 
 M. Tremeaux relates stiil, as an eye-witness, an 
 accident which was comic, but which might easily 
 have turned out serious. 
 
 '^ It was near Cliendy, on our return. One of the 
 Eussians, a servant of Colonel Kovalwski, was sitting 
 on a bank by the river, his legs dangling in the water ; 
 he was engaged in washing his feet. All at once 
 he was seen cutting a caper backwards, as if he had 
 been suddenly hurled by a powerful shock. He had 
 described a complete somersault, and found himself 
 sitting on the ground pretty far back. The crocodile 
 had prowled up cunningly, and by slow movements, 
 in front of him. On suddenly perceiving him, the man 
 had not had time to retire. A powerful blow Avith 
 his tail, by which the monster had endeavoured 
 to throw him into the water, succeeded only in causing 
 him to describe i\iQ lyirouettc we saw." 
 
 Let us now return to Mr. Combes, according to vv^hom 
 the ferocity of the crocodile has been much exaggo- 
 
THE FEROCITY OF CROCODILES. 269 
 
 rated. This opinion appears to agree badly with the 
 sentiments he expresses in the interesting story we 
 are about to quote. 
 
 It was in the desert of Wady Haifa (Lower 
 Nubia). Our traveller was proceeding to Dongolah. 
 It was near the end of the month Kamadan. In 
 the caravan was a Turkish merchant, who wished 
 to procure a sheep, or at least a goat, at any 
 price, which he would have carried on one of his 
 camels, in order to offer it up as a sacrifice at the 
 moment when the crescent should shine forth in the * 
 skies. *^But,'* says Mr. Combes, ** we were then on 
 the desert side of the Nile, and it would have been 
 necessary to cross over to the opposite shore to find 
 any living animals. 
 
 ^' The Turk went up and down the river, in the 
 hope of discovering some rafts; he shouted to the 
 inhabitants on the opposite shore, but his searching 
 and his cries were vain. He then resorted to the 
 camel-drivers, and promised them a recompense if 
 they would consent to swim across the Nile, and 
 endeavour to bring back a sheep with them. Sobriety 
 is a necessary virtue in the desert, but it was a 
 question of celebrating a feast, and our conductors, 
 like zealous Mussulmans, could not have been better 
 pleased than to be able to comply with the wishes 
 of the pious traveller. Unhappily, crocodiles were 
 
270 CROCODILES. 
 
 numerous in those parts, and in throwing themselves 
 into the river, they would run great risk of being 
 devoured by. these terrible animals. This was re- 
 marked to the Turkish merchant, but he, far from 
 being touched by so grave a consideration, proposed 
 a still higher reward, sufficient to tempt the cupidity 
 of the camel- drivers. In spite of the danger which 
 menaced him, one of them, the oldest, suffered him- 
 self to be seduced. He took off his clothes and 
 leaped into the Nile, uttering loud shouts. He was 
 not yet two lengths from the shore, when, towards 
 the middle of the river, a monstrous crocodile 
 elevated his hideous head above the w^ater, and then 
 plunged almost immediately. The swimmer had not 
 perceived the animal, but the apparition had not 
 escaped the anxious looks of the other camel- drivers 
 standing upon the shore. These hastened to call 
 to their companion, signalling the imminence of his 
 danger. We w^ere all in a state of the most cruel 
 anxiety, fearing at each instant to see the rash 
 fellow become the prey of the formidable amphibian. 
 But, thank God ! it was not so ; at the first warning ^ 
 of the camel- drivers the swimmer turned round, and 
 it was with the most vivid satisfaction that I saw 
 him regain the shore, and he was not slow in 
 securing his safety. He was received jeeringly by 
 the merchant, who perhaps regretted the horrible 
 
THE FEROCITY OF CKOCODILES. 271 
 
 spectacle which the appearance of the monster 
 seemed to promise us ; but, except the merchant, all 
 congratulated the Nubian in having escaped so great 
 a peril. The crocodile reappeared several times on 
 the surface of the river, and allowed himself to float 
 down with the current." 
 
 Later, at Khartoum, Mr. Combes was witness of 
 facts which served to convince him that the fears he 
 experienced under the circumstances we are going to 
 relate were by no means without cause ; but how 
 can one reconcile these facts with the opinions ex- 
 pressed by him on the nature of the crocodile ? 
 
 '^ I was walking," says he, ''on the banks of the 
 Blue Nile, whilst many persons were bathing in the 
 river. I was astonished at their imprudence, but the 
 swimmers, assured by their number and the noise 
 which they made, did not seem to experience the 
 least disquietude ; nevertheless, at the moment when 
 they least expected it, I heard a great cry, and a man 
 disappeared. The other swimmers, seized with fright, 
 regained the shore with precipitation, and threw into 
 the river whatever they could put their hands on, 
 redoubling their clamour. We were in a state of mortal 
 anxiety, seeking on all sides traces of the man who 
 had disappeared. On looking attentively, we discovered 
 a slight furrow, which cut the river crosswise, and 
 after a moment of cruel suspense, we saw an immense 
 
272 CROCODILES. 
 
 crocodile emerge on the opposite shore, holding in 
 his blood-stained mouth the unfortunate swimmer, 
 who no longer exhibited any sign of life. At this 
 sight the companions of the victim uttered terrible 
 cries, in the hope of compelling the monster to 
 abandon his prey ; but the crocodile squatted down on 
 the desert shore, and, scarcely sensible of this tumult, 
 was grinding between his teeth the body extended 
 before him. Some guns had been hastily procured, 
 which were discharged at the* ferocious beast; and 
 whether they had any effect, or the monster, frightened 
 by this brisk detonation, wished to shelter himself 
 from a new attack, he plunged into the river, carrying 
 with him the remains of his victim in the presence 
 of a numerous crowd, which had run together from 
 all parts, and which followed in breathless consterna- 
 tion the different phases of this exciting and terrible 
 drama. We remained still for some time on the 
 banks of the river, but the crocodile did not reappear, 
 and we retired in silence." 
 
 We have already seen Mr. Combes' argument against 
 the ferocity of the crocodile, in the facts he mentions 
 of the sailors not fearing to go into the Nile, and the 
 women and children taking water and washing therein. 
 What shall we think of this argument when we shall 
 presently see our traveller himself, his mind still 
 filled with the catastrophe which we have just related, 
 
THE FEROCITY OF CROCODILES. 273 
 
 going into the Nile for the pleasure of swimming? 
 He says : — 
 
 '* Some days after this cruel event, I myself bathed 
 in the Nile, with the doctor of Khartoum, his slaves, 
 and some Turks who had joined us. We had chosen 
 a safe place, or at all events one so reputed, and in 
 which it was asserted crocodiles had never shown 
 themselves ; besides, we had sufficient prudence not 
 to go far into the river, in order, on the least alarm, 
 to regain the shore promptly ; and, notwithstanding 
 the assurances which had been given us, the slaves 
 threw stones all round us, and kept up a continual 
 noise, to avert all danger. We had hoped, thanks to 
 these precautions, that we were safe from any surprise: 
 unhappily, it was not so. One of our companions, 
 having had the temerity to advance into the middle 
 of the stream, was seized by a crocodile, at the very 
 moment when he was swimming towards us to regain 
 the shore. He immediately uttered a heartrending 
 cry, extending his arms in every direction. Notwith- 
 standing the peril w^hich menaced us, we rushed 
 towards him just in time to seize hold of him, and 
 to contend with the monster, which w^as just on the 
 point of dragging him under. A severe struggle 
 ensued, and we thought for an instant that we had 
 come off with a brilliant victory. We had brought 
 our companion fainting to the shore, but a trail of 
 
 T 
 
274 CROCODILES. 
 
 blood Wiiicli lie left behind him began to frighten 
 us, and after having got him quite out of the water, we 
 were thunderstruck to perceive that the crocodile had 
 smashed his thigh, and had very nearly succeeded in 
 severing that member from the trunk. The doctor 
 sent his black slaves to the hospital, from which they 
 soon returned with a hand-barrow, on which the 
 wounded man, still in a swoon, was placed. We had 
 him transported to his dwelling, whither we followed 
 him, overwhelmed with sorrow. Notwithstanding the 
 most attentive care, the poor fellow died three days 
 afterwards, a prey to the most poignant suffering.'' 
 
 I have done, as they say at the court, the cause 
 is heard. Enough has been said to form an opinion 
 on the crocodilian family. Before concluding, how- 
 ever, one last fact remains to be established, which 
 will be the object of the following chapter. 
 
 V. — On the Possibility of Educating Crocodiles. 
 
 The crocodiles brought up in the temples of Egypt 
 allowed themselves to be approached and handled. 
 They were adorned with bracelets and ear-pendants, 
 and, thus decked off, they discreetly took their place in 
 the relif^ious ceremonies. The abundant nourishment 
 
THE POSSIBILITY OF EDUCATING CROCODILES. 275 
 
 which they received as divinities explains this man- 
 suetude and familiarity. They willingly permitted 
 those to open their teeth whose intention they knew 
 was to fill their mouths. 
 
 Aristotle says that the want of food alone renders 
 crocodiles very dangerous; and what he has said of 
 crocodiles is true of the whole crocodilian race ; there 
 is nothing ferocious in them but their appetite. For 
 the rest, except man, I know of no animal (I am 
 speaking of the superior animals, about which we know 
 a little) that sheds blood merely for the pleasure of 
 shedding it ; and the tiger himself, in spite of his 
 wicked reputation, is no exception to this rule. 
 
 Aristotle says again, that it is an easy matter to 
 tame crocodiles, and to do that it is only necessary to 
 feed them well. Nothing can be more true, and it is 
 equally true of all members of the family we are dis- 
 cussing. We have a report in the " Histoire Generale 
 des Voyages " (the responsibility for the truth of which 
 we leave to that work), that on the shores of the Eio 
 San Domingo, in Africa, crocodiles are such kind 
 creatures that the children, who are there badly off for 
 toys, use the backs of these saurians instead of tho 
 wooden horse, which is not known in that country. 
 This playful humour on the part of the crocodiles is to 
 be attributed to the fact that, owing to their generous 
 nourishment by their fellow-citizens the negroes, they 
 
 T 2 
 
27G CROCODILES. 
 
 have yet to learn what is meant by pinchmg the 
 stomach. 
 
 There was at Pompeii, in the Temple of Isis, a paint- 
 ing showing an analogous scene to this which is every 
 day enacted on the banks of the San Domingo. Chil- 
 dren are there represented playing with crocodiles. 
 Doubtless it was wished to symbolize the confidence 
 felt in these animals, which, being the objects of 
 worship, found a table always ready served for them 
 in the temples. Imperial Eome saw crocodiles led 
 within its walls by inhabitants of Tentyre (modern 
 Denderah), playing innocently with their guardians. 
 
 In some of the primitive countries visited by Cook, 
 tame crocodiles lived in the family with their savage 
 masters. M. de la Borde reported to Lacepede that, at 
 Cayenne, the caymans, fed from the superabundance of 
 a good kitchen, carried their love of peace to such an 
 extent as to leave in safety the turtles placed in the 
 basin where they took their sports. It is said that, at 
 Boutan, in the Moluccas (Spice Islands), they are used 
 as domestic animals and fattened for the table, and 
 that in proportion as they become plump, they become 
 as inoffensive as poodles. At Seba, on the slave coast 
 of Africa, the king of the place keeps in his gardens 
 two tanks filled, not as they are in the basins of the 
 Tuileries, with gold fish, but with crocodiles, — which 
 is not so vulgar. 
 
THE POSSIBILITY OF EDUCATING CROCODILES. 277 
 
 This negro king, although a barbarian, has the 
 same tastes as some of these ancient masters of the 
 civilized world, whose fortunes were founded by the 
 great man that bore the name of Caesar ; he is likewise 
 on an equal footing with the divine Heliogabalus, who 
 also kept and fed crocodiles, confirming the adage, 
 *' birds of a feather flock together."* 
 
 All this goes to prove that the crocodilians are not 
 mere machines, that they can remember, and regulate 
 themselves according to circumstances, and can show 
 themselves very different at different times and r.t 
 different places. 
 
 But the change is never so great as to render un- 
 recognizable the portrait, sufficiently true, which ^lian 
 has traced of the crocodilian species whilst painting 
 only that of the crocodile. 
 
 The Greek author thus expresses himself: — ** The 
 crocodile, naturally timid, wicked, knavish, and very 
 cunning, displays much quickness and subtlety 
 whether it be in carrying off a prey, or in laying a 
 
 * Scaurus, the edile, was the first Roman who exhibited cro- 
 codiles to the people. He showed five. This magnificence was 
 far surpassed afterwards by Augustus, Antoninus, and by the 
 above-named brilliant Emperor. Clement Augustus carried 
 the luxury so far as to bring together into the circus of Flami- 
 nius, expressly filled with water, no less than thirty- six crocodiles, 
 on which he let loose a proper number of combatants — unless it 
 were better to say the crocodiles were let loose upon the men. 
 
278 CROCODILES. 
 
 snare for it. He trembles at every noise, but he fears, 
 above all, the loud shouts of man. In spite of his 
 strength, a bold attack strikes him with terror, &c. 
 
 This granted, if we add, or rather if we recollect, 
 that the water is the true element of the crocodile, we 
 shall have, I think, all that is needful to bring into 
 accord the apparently contradictory statements of the 
 travellers and naturalists whose opinions have been 
 reported in the preceding chapter. 
 
 VI. — All are Agreed. 
 
 First of all, w^e must put the gavial aside altogether. 
 It aj)pears certain that he has been defamed by those 
 who have made a cannibal of him. It is sufficient to 
 see his slender snout to be convinced that he could 
 never take such a prey as man. All modern travellers 
 are in opposition to their predecessors on this point, 
 and assure us that they respect man, and have a like 
 regard for large animals. But, in acquitting the gavial, 
 they charge the crocodile. This is the one which is 
 the author of the misdeeds attributed to the gavial. 
 
 iElian had already remarked that in the Ganges there 
 are two kinds of crocodiles, the one gentle and innocent, 
 the other cruel. This remark is correct. The inno- 
 cent crocodiles are the gavials ; the cruel belong to ono 
 or other of two species, one of which is the crocodile 
 
ALL ARE AGREED. 279 
 
 a deux aretes, t!ie other the crocodile of the marshes, 
 both of which inhabit the Ganges. 
 
 The gavials being dismissed, a word on the cay- 
 mans. Undoubtedly these caxmot be absolutely ac- 
 quitted ; but it has, nevertheless, been agreed to regard 
 them as much less dangerous than the crocodiles. 
 
 The latter have now principally to be considered. 
 Let us pass on, then, to the crocodiles. 
 
 Let us remark, in the first place, that there are 
 several kinds of them. We should be certainly de- 
 ceived were we to extend to the entire race observa- 
 tions made on such and such a species. There are 
 degrees in everything. One species might be very dan- 
 gerous to man, and another only slightly. Geoffroy 
 Saint Hilaire thought that there w^ere two species of 
 crocodiles in the Nile — the Vulgaris and the Suchus ; 
 and that opinion, after having been contested by 
 naturalists, has now been adopted by them. Now, 
 according to Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, the SucJms has 
 a much more friendly disposition than the common 
 crocodile. Travellers who blacken the characters of 
 the crocodiles of the great river of Macassar, and the 
 Sieur de Brue, who paint couleur de rose those of the 
 Eio San Domingo, make no pretence of describing the 
 whole genus. The first, on the contrary, states that 
 *' crocodiles are more dangerous in the Macassar river 
 than in the other great rivers of the East/' 
 
*280 CROCODILES. 
 
 And the second writes : '^ We have observed with 
 astonishment in the river of San Domingo, that the 
 crocodiles,* or caymans, which are generally such 
 terrible animals, are here quite harmless." And 
 Livingstone, referring to those of the Liambye, 
 remarks that '^ they commit more excesses than those 
 of any other rivers." 
 
 Before accusing travellers of contradicting each 
 other on the subject of crocodiles, it is necessary to 
 know if their descriptions apply to the same or to 
 different species. But that is not all, and the most 
 opposite statements might be equally correct, even 
 when applied to individuals of the same species. We 
 will go farther, and say even when applied to the same 
 individual. 
 
 One can conceive, in fact, that a traveller would 
 form a totally different idea of a species according 
 to whether he found himself in the neighbourhood of 
 a crocodile famished or satiated. 
 
 It is said that at certain times of the year the 
 males of the taper-nosed crocodiles give themselves up 
 to most desperate combats. I imagine that it would 
 be more disadvantageous to encounter them at those 
 periods than at others. And the same may be said 
 
 * Crocodile is the proper term. America has the monopoly 
 of caymans. 
 
ALL ARE AGREED. 281 
 
 of the female of that species, which takes such good 
 care of her eggs, and watches her young with so much 
 solicitude; she might exhibit quite a different dispo- 
 sition when she has her progeny to nourish and pro- 
 tect, than before she has known or after she has 
 passed the cares of maternity. 
 
 There is also a difference between encountering a 
 crocodile on land and in the water ; still, no general 
 rule can be established in either of these two cases. 
 
 We have seen, in the statements of MM. Combes 
 and Tremeaux, great crocodiles extended in the sun, 
 on the banks of the Nile, gliding into the river on 
 the approach of man. On the other hand, we 
 must recall that young crocodile in the neigh- 
 bourhood of the Liambye which put Livingstone 
 to flight. Females leading their newly hatched 
 young to the river, and the crocodiles which, in 
 South America, the drying up of the lakes condemns 
 for several months to lead the life of a terrestrial 
 animal, might be more dangerous on land at those 
 times than when they have only come to enjoy their 
 siesta. Whence it follows that, according to species, 
 place, and season, the man who finds himself on the 
 path of a crocodile, out of his ordinary element, 
 runs a variety of chances ; and it is the same if 
 the encounter takes place in the water. 
 
 After the accident which happened to the unfor- 
 
282 CROCODILES. 
 
 tunate hauler who had his thigh hroken, the sailors 
 told M. Tremeanx that ''the crocodile, when he is on 
 land, never attacks man, and that he always flies 
 at his approach to throw himself into the river, 
 which is his favourite element." 
 
 We have just seen that, if that is always true od 
 the banks of the Nile, it is not invariably the same 
 elsewhere. They added that, '' even in that elelnent 
 (the w^ater) he does not always attack man ; " and 
 that is correct. 
 
 In fact, the crocodile can be rendered inoffensive 
 by two methods, either by teaching him to fear man, 
 or by teaching him to love him; if, indeed, the 
 crocodile is susceptible of affection for any living 
 being but those of his own family. 
 
 But why not ? He knows how to appreciate the 
 services which the plover renders him, and shows 
 his recognition thereof in the crocodilian fashion, 
 by not rendering evil for good. "Why should not 
 repeated kindnesses inspire him with the same toler- 
 ance towards man ? That it should be so with 
 captive crocodiles is a thing neither doubtful nor 
 extraordinary ; where the difficulty begins, we agree, 
 is when it becomes a question of explaining by the 
 same cause the presumed meekness of crocodiles en- 
 joying the fall liberty of the waves. We have seen, 
 nevertheless, that the traveller De Brue explains 
 
ALL AEE AGREED. 283 
 
 the sweet temper of those of Eio San Domingo 
 by *Hhe care which the inhabitants take to feed 
 them and treat them wxlL" I confess that this 
 explanation does not satisfy me, and that the inhabi- 
 tants of the Eio appear to me to turn in a vicious 
 circle. It seems that the feeding and care which 
 they lavish on the crocodile, by tending to the 
 multiplication of the species, would have as its result 
 to give birth to a number of empty, and there- 
 fore dangerous, stomachs. For this reason, I 
 regard as much safer the other method, which 
 consists in inspiring the crocodile with a wholesome 
 terror. Its very nature suggests this treatment, 
 and the effect is unfailing. This great animal 
 is by no means courageous in proportion to its 
 size. 
 
 iElian says that it dreads the loud shouts of man. 
 Of this we have had more than one proof in the 
 anecdotes already reported. 
 
 After mentioning the accident to the hauler, M. 
 Tremeaux adds : *^ Our men continued, nevertheless, 
 to throw themselves into the water, when the neces- 
 sity arose, as if nothing had happened; to our 
 observations they replied that there w^as no danger 
 so long as they kept close to the boats, or when 
 men remained in groups in the w^ater/* That is 
 
284 CROCODILES. 
 
 to say, there is no danger when the waters are 
 splashed and a noise is made. This is explained 
 by the cowardice of the crocodile, which by no 
 means invalidates the fact of its voracity. 
 
 If gunshots, shouts, and stones cast into the water 
 can intimidate the crocodile, put him to flight, and 
 make him abandon the prey which he has already 
 seized, surely a serious war made upon him would have 
 the effect of curing him of his desire for mischief. 
 
 The Tentyrites arrived at this result. " The 
 hunters," says^lian, *'make such a furious war 
 upon them, that the river, cleared of this brigand, 
 flows through the country in profound peace ; and 
 the riverains trust themselves with safety to swim 
 in its waters, and much enjoy the exercise.'* 
 
 In lieu of cramming the crocodiles, as the people of 
 San Domingo do, or hunting them like the Tentyrites, 
 man sometimes carries his folly even to the extent 
 of regarding crocodiles as gods, and esteems himself 
 honoured in being swallowed by them ; and these beasts 
 will never refuse to accord him that distinction. At 
 Ombros, Coptos, and Arsinoe, where this superstition 
 flourished, ''one could not with any comfort wash one's 
 feet in the river, draw water, or even walk on the 
 banks, without being always on the look-out." 
 
 Wherever man has neglected, or has not had occa- 
 
ALL ARE" AGREED. 285 
 
 sion to make his power felt, the crocodile has made 
 frequent victims ; and La Condamine thinks that the 
 boldness of those of the Amazon arises from their 
 being so little hunted. 
 
 There is still another and last distinction to be 
 made between crocodiles, viz., those which have already 
 eaten a man, and those which are not yet • ac- 
 quainted with his flavour. Those which have once 
 eaten a man form a taste that way, and become 
 excessively dangerous. The misfortune and shame of 
 our race is, that in many places men devote themselves 
 to giving to the crocodile an appetite for man. 
 
 It was told M. Tremeaux that, in certain places 
 inhabited by crocodiles, accidents never happened. 
 But if the monstrous amphibian, by any chance, has 
 tasted human flesh, the place from that time becomes 
 dangerous ; for not only has this animal acquired the 
 taste, and lies in wait for his prey, but sometimes 
 others share it with him, and thus become terrible 
 to man. Thus it is always by the same animal or at 
 most by two or three that certain spots of the river 
 are rendered formidable. 
 
 Mr. Combes, having reported the sad events of which 
 he had been witness, adds, ''An inhabitant of Khar- 
 toum, whom I had asked if such accidents frequently 
 occurred, assured me that before the arrival of the 
 
286 CROCODILES. 
 
 Egyptian troops, that is to say, before the horrors 
 committed by the defterdah,^ the crocodiles showed 
 but little taste for human flesh, but since the drown- 
 ings ordered by Mehemet Bey, said the man whom 
 I interrogated, since the Nile has borne the corpses 
 of my brethren, the monsters which inhabit it have 
 become accustomed to a substantial food, which they 
 scarcely knew before, and now we are exposed to 
 imminent danger from swimming in the river, or even 
 from bathing on its shores.'* 
 
 This defterdah, or governor of Soudan, more fero- 
 cious, says Mr. Combes, than the tigers and lions with 
 which he loved to surround himself, made sport of 
 the lives of his fellow-men. To cut off the ears of the 
 conquered, and to burn out their eyes with a red-hot 
 iron, were his recreations. Empalement was in con- 
 stant operation, and the negroes were thrown to the 
 crocodiles in the Nile. There was only wanting to this 
 atrocious man the means of exercising his power on 
 a wider field to have nothing to envy in the celebrity 
 of the most famous successors of CaBsar. Mehemet AH 
 recalled him at last, but the crocodiles had formed 
 habits which they could not lose in a day, and which. 
 
 * Mehemet Bey is here referred to ; he had been governor of 
 the Soudan some time before the journey of Mr. Combes. 
 
ALL ARE AGEEED. 287 
 
 thanks to the jcllahs, or slave-mercliants, tliey have 
 probably preserved to the present day. A projjos of 
 this is one of the scenes related by the traveller V'O 
 are going to quote. It was in Upper Nubia. Mr, 
 Combes, coming from Khartoum and descending the 
 Nile, had taken his place on board a boat chartered 
 by some jellabs, the cargo being chiefly composed of 
 slaves. Let the witness relate these horrors : — • 
 
 ** A great misfortune had just fallen upon the slaves, 
 already wretched enough ; small-pox had broken out on 
 board, and each day made some victims. We were 
 always crowded one upon another, and in this cruel 
 position the malady spread with fearful rapidity. The 
 jellabs, powerless to arrest the progress of the plague, 
 were compelled to appear resigned, and every time that 
 death snatched from them a slave, they threw him into 
 the Nile, repeating scntentiously the words * Miss 
 Allah /^ — It is the will of God. The sick expired and 
 became cold in the midst of their terrified companions ; 
 their masters, under the rule of the most senseless 
 fatalism, made no effort to overcome the terrible effects 
 of the contagion. They stopped less frequently than 
 usual; the dying rested their heads on the knees of those 
 who were yet in good health, and these unfortunates, 
 who were being suffocated by the fever, and who required 
 to breathe free and pure air, passed the great part of the 
 day, and even of the night, in the midst of deleterious 
 
288 CROCODILES. 
 
 miasmas and the most baneful exhalations. Their dead 
 bodies, thrown into the Nile, served to feed the crocodiles, 
 and these famished monsters followed our boat ready to 
 seize the new prey, for which they had not long to 
 wait.'* This, however, is nothing to what follows : — 
 
 *^ The disease had thrived vigorously for many days, 
 and exhibited no signs of dying out. The jellabs, 
 whose disheartening impassibility had already revolted 
 me, now sometimes showed their ferocity. When the 
 sick were in a desperate state, they did not wait for 
 their last breath, but threw them into the river, where 
 the crocodiles devoured them alive. One cannot form 
 an idea of the sombre grief of the slaves at sight of 
 such horrors. I was myself a prey to inexpressible 
 agitation ; and, overcome by my indignation, I loaded 
 the merchants with reproaches, which did not appear 
 to have any effect on them. In their cold-blooded bar- 
 barity they could not comprehend my anger ; and 
 wLen I threatened to denounce their unworthy conduct 
 to the local authorities, they replied carelessly, that 
 they were doubtless at liberty to do as they liked with 
 their own property," 
 
 After such abominations, one sees the need that the 
 rights of humanity should be protected with an ener- 
 getic hand. 
 
 Mr. Combes had a black servant named Hassan, a 
 very good fellow, but unable to comprehend the gene- 
 
ALL ARE AGREED. 289 
 
 rous fits of anger of his master. **A11 Europeans/' 
 he said to me one day, just after I had been reprimand- 
 ing the jellabs (who never bore me any malice), ''take 
 a lively interest in the slaves. Some years ago I was 
 in the service of an Englishman who w^as visiting the 
 antiquities of Egypt and of the country of the Bara- 
 brahs. Between the first and second cataract we met 
 a boat laden wdth slaves, whom the small-pox was deci- 
 mating, as in this instance. The English traveller 
 wished to see them more closely, and he offered a sum 
 of money to the jellab to allow him to embark with 
 him. The malady was maJdng fearful ravages; the 
 slaves were closely packed together, and no time w^as 
 lost in throwing the dead bodies, still warm, into the 
 river to make room for the living. The want of space 
 contributed to augment the evil. Then when they had. 
 satisfied themselves that a man w^as mortally attacked, 
 he was got rid of at once. One case of this kind having 
 presented itself a little time after the embarkation of 
 my master, the sufferer w^as thrown into the river ; and, 
 doubtless roused by the coolness of the w^ater, he uttered 
 a feeble cry, extending his arms towards us, but he 
 disappeared almost immediately. The Englishman, 
 instead of remonstrating with the jellab, threw himself 
 suddenly upon him, and pitched him, astoundeed as he 
 was, into the Nile. This iellab was a powerful swim- 
 mer, and he soon reappeared on the surface of the river 
 
 u 
 
290 CROCODILES. 
 
 and made for tlie boat ; but the traveller, far from being 
 disconcerted, took np liis double-barrelled gun, and told 
 the swimmer that if he dared to ai3proach he would 
 blow his brains out, and send him to rejoin the wretched 
 slave. The frightened merchant remained for a mo- 
 ment undecided, and seeing the cool and determined 
 air of the Englishman, he thought it prudent to gain 
 the shore and to follow the boat on foot, in the hope 
 that the terrible traveller would soon show himself 
 more reasonable. He rejoined us at the station. The 
 Englishman had grown caim, and returned into his 
 own boat, which was macie fast to that of the jellab. 
 He pretended not to pay any attention to the arrival of 
 the merchant ; but on the following day, when he was 
 on the point of starting, he w^ent into his boat, and told 
 him that he was going to sail alongside of him until 
 they reached Cairo, and that if he did not treat his 
 slaves with more humanity he should take upon himself 
 to revenge them. We set sail the same time as the 
 jellab, and followed him up to Cairo. In spite of tho 
 irritation and anger of their master, the slaves enjoyed 
 some repose, and, thanks to the rough but energetic 
 intervention of the English traveller, none but dead 
 bodies w^ere afterwards thrown to the crocodiles.'* 
 
 Enough of this : let us now see man in his character 
 as the destroyer of monsters. 
 
CROCODILES. 291 
 
 VII. 
 
 Notwithstanding liis thick and hard covering, the 
 crocodile is not invuhierable ; that armour has its 
 defects ; the weak points are the eyes, the throat, the 
 joints of the fore-legs, and the belly, and with a well- 
 aimed shot the hunter can soon finish him. 
 
 One of the three jellabs with whom Mr. Combes was 
 travelling was an excellent shot, and with a common 
 matchlock he had already brought down two pelicans, 
 with which the slaves were regaling themselves. 
 Nevertheless, he had several times exercised his. skill 
 in vain against the crocodiles dozing on the islands or 
 floating on the streaipi ; his balls glided off the scales 
 of the saurians almost without disturbing them. At 
 length, a short distance above Carari, he was more 
 fortunate. The wind, which the night before was 
 contrary, had now fallen, and the Nile flowed gently 
 towards the sea. *^ On the middle of its smooth surface 
 we had seen," says Mr. Combes, *^ for some minutes an 
 enormous crocodile rising at intervals above the water, 
 his head constantly turned towards us, as if he had 
 been swimming backwards. The jellab who was posted 
 in the prow of the boat watched him attentively, and 
 after having followed and studied his movements, ho 
 aimed rapidly at the moment he showed himself and 
 fired : the animal made a somersault and disappeared 
 
 u 2 
 
292 CBOCODILES. 
 
 under tlie waves, leaving large traces of blood on the 
 water. Our boat, carried along by the current, soon 
 passed the spot where the crocodile had been struck, 
 and we discovered near the shore fresh traces of blood. 
 The pilot turned the prow towards land, and after 
 sailing for half an hour along the shore, we saw the 
 monster extended on the bank and expiring. We 
 landed immediately and hauled him on board.'' 
 
 The negroes in the country watered by the Anengue 
 hunt the crocodile vigorously, sometimes with the 
 gun, but more frequently with a kind of harpoon : 
 they aim near the joints of the fore-legs. 
 
 It will be recollected, that when Du Chaillu entered 
 this river the crocodiles were iv)t in the least afraid. 
 The traveller manoeuvred his boat so as to isolate 
 the largest of the troop, and lodged a ball in his 
 body in the place wo have just indicated. The animal 
 turned over heavily, and after beating the water for a 
 few instants, he sank into the mud. The others turned 
 their stupid eyes towards him for a moment, and 
 then resumed their torpor. The hunter shot a second, 
 which buried itself in the mud like the preceding. 
 They did not take away either one or the other, as the 
 men did not care to go to seek them in the black 
 mud. 
 
 Some days afterwards M. du Chaillu took part in 
 a groat crocodile hunt. They went in canoes of a 
 
CROCODILES. 293 
 
 very singular construction, quite flat-bottomed, of very 
 light draught, about fifty feet long, and not more than 
 two broad. The oarsmen stand up and handle these 
 boats very ably. Thus equipped, they went into the 
 very midst of the crocodiles. Some were swimming, 
 others basking in the sun on the mud-banks. They 
 took no notice whatever of the boat. M. du Chaillu 
 killed two, one eighteen feet long, the other twenty. 
 
 There are in Egypt some people bold enough to 
 swim underneath a crocodile, and stab him in the 
 belly with a poniard ; and the negroes of the Senegal 
 do the same. '* One Lapot, of Fort St. Louis, 
 amused himself in this way almost every day, and 
 for a long time was very successful, as we read in the 
 * Voyage of De Brue ; ' but he at length received such 
 wounds in one of these combats, that had he not 
 been assisted by his companions, he would have lost 
 his life in the jaws of the monster.** 
 
 At other times, in the same country, the negroes 
 surprise the crocodile in places where there is not 
 sufficient water left for him to swim in, and attack 
 him with a lance, the left arm being protected by a 
 shield of ox-hide. They thrust the lance into the 
 eyes and throat, placing the left arm in his mouth, 
 preventing him from closing it, and holding it open 
 until the animal is suffocated, or until he expires 
 under their blows. 
 
294 CROCODILES. 
 
 On land they kill them more easily still, as may be 
 judged of by the following relation of Adanson : — 
 
 '' One of my negroes," he writes, ** killed a crocodile 
 seven feet long. He had found him asleep in some 
 bushes at the foot of a tree, on the bank of a river; 
 lie approaclied him gently, not to wake him, and very 
 adroitly stabbed him with a knife in the side of the 
 neck. Just bolow the bones of the head and ear, and 
 pierced him almost through and through. The animal, 
 wounded to death, drew himself up painfully and 
 struck the negroes legs with his tail so violently, that 
 it felled him to the earth. But this one, without 
 loosing his hold, rose ins-^antly, and in order to have 
 nothing to fear from the wounded mouth of the 
 animal, he enveloped it in a pair of cotton drawers, 
 whilst his comrade held the tail. Tlie negi-o then with- 
 drew his knife and separated the head from the trunk." 
 
 *'In Egypt, *^ says Lacepede, *' they dig deep holes 
 on the paths of this inordinate brute, which they cover 
 over with the branches of trees. Tliey are aftenvards 
 a -oased by the cries of the crocodile, which, taking 
 on its return to the river the same route which it had 
 followed in wandering from its banks, passes over the 
 pit, fidls into it, and is at once beaten to death or 
 taken in nets. Others attach one end of a strong cord 
 to a tree ; on the other end they fix a hook and a lamb, 
 whose cries attract the crocodile, which, in carrying 
 
GBOCODILES. 295 
 
 off the choice halt, swallows the hook also. The more 
 he struggles the fai'ther the hoo'c penetrates the flc3h. 
 They follow all his m3vein3nts, slackening the cord, 
 and wait till he is dead to draw him up from the 
 bottom of the water." 
 
 This latter pro3e3ding is the same as that which 
 is employed by the negroes of Carolina, against the 
 caymans, except that they attach the bait and the hook 
 to a tree by an iron chain. 
 
 The negroes of Florida join together to the number 
 of ten or twelve, take a large stake, and seizing the 
 moment when the saurian is on the land, they go in 
 front of the beast, and force the stake into his mouth, 
 after which it is not difficult to finish him. Thunberg 
 also reports that the Javanese use baits for the purpose 
 of taldiig him. *'They attach a wooden hook to the 
 end of a cord slightly twisted, and bait it with a piece 
 of carrion. No sooner has the crocodile swallowed 
 this bait, than he struggles uselessly to cut the cord. 
 It gets between his teeth. Besides, the hook which 
 he has in his throat prevents him from closing his 
 mouth, and the hunters, well armed, soon put him to 
 death." 
 
 Lastly, the Siamese take the crocodile by two 
 methods, which the Count de Forbin describes in these 
 terms : — ** For the first they take a live duck, and 
 under it they attach a piece of wood about six inches 
 
296 CROCODILES. 
 
 long, proportionately thick, and pointed at both ends* 
 To this piece of wood they tie a fine but very strong 
 cord, to which are attached pieces of bamboo, which 
 serve for floats. They then put the duck in the middle 
 of the river, and the bird, finding itself embarrassed by 
 the piece of wood, struggles to get rid of it. The cro- 
 codile seeing it, dives into the water, attempts to takp 
 it from below, and seizes instead the piece of wood, 
 which s'acks crosswise in its throat. As soon as they 
 perceive tha^ he is taken, which is seen by the shaking 
 of the cord and the agitation of the bamboo, the signal 
 is given, and the animal is drawn to the top of the 
 water in spite of the efforts he makes to get free. 
 When he appears, the fishermen dart their harpoons 
 into him. These are a kind of dart, the iron point of 
 which is shaped like an arrow, attached to a handle 
 about five feet long. To the iron part, which is 
 pierced' in the socket, is attached a very fine cord, 
 twisted round the stick, which detaches itself from the 
 iron, and which, floating on the water, indicates the 
 spot where the animal is. "When they have planted a 
 sufficient number of harpoons in his body, they drag 
 him ashore and dispatch him with their hatchets. 
 
 *' There is a second method of taking them. These 
 animals sometimes come close up to the dwellings. 
 As they are very timid, there is an endeavour to prevent 
 them by making a noise, either by shouting or firing 
 
CROCODILES. 297 
 
 guns. The affrighted crococlile flies for safety towards the 
 water. At once the river is covered with boats, which 
 wait to see him come up to respire, for he cannot re- 
 main below longer than half an hour without taking 
 breath. As he rises he opens his great mouth, and 
 then from all sides harpoons are launched at him. If he 
 receives any in his mouth (and the Siamese are very 
 adroit) he is taken. The handle of the harpoon which 
 floats, serves as a signal. He who holds the cord 
 knows when the animal quits the bottom, and wa ns 
 the fishermen, who do not fail, the moment he re- 
 appears, to launch more harpoons at him. When he 
 has received a sufficient number to be dragged to land, 
 they haul him in and cut him to pieces. This second 
 mode of fishing is more amusing than the first.** 
 
 THE END. 
 
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