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African Nature Notes

and

Reminiscences

BY

FREDKRICK COURTKNEV SKLOLS. F.Z.S.

i."l I' MUiAI.I rsT .11 THh Ko\AI. <.► n.k*! MILAl, siM.l> H

WITH A "KOKKWOKD' HY

PRESIDE NT ROOSEVELT

AXIJ) ILLUSTRATIONS liV
E. CALDWELL

MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED

ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON

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THEODORK ROOSKVELJ'

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rHIS HOOK IS RtSI'KCIKULl.V DKIUCATKD

NOT (jNr.V BKCAUSK IT WA.s KNTIKH.Y OWINC. I O HIS

INSPIRATION AND KIM)|\ KNCOr K A(,KMKNT

THAT IT WAS EVIR WklTTKN

l;UT \I.S(J liKCAUSK BOTH IN HIS l>KIV\TK AND PUBLIC I.IKt

HE HAS ALWAYS WON

THK SINCERE ADMIRATION AM) ESTEEM

OF

THE AUTHOR

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PREFACE

I hi: chapters comprised in the present volume
were written at various times during the last ten
years. Some of them have already appeared in
prmt m the pages of the Field, Land and iVater,
and other papers, but the majority have remained
m manuscript until now. The greatest part of the
matter in the chapters on the " Lion " was written
some years ago, and was intended to be the
commencement of a book dealing entirely with the
hfe- history of South African mammals. When
however. I was asked by Mr. Rowland Ward to
contribute to a book he was about to publish on the
Great and Small Game of Africa, all the articles
in which would be written by men whcj had
personally studied the habits of the animals they
described, I gave up the idea of myself writing a
less comprehensive work on similar lines, and
became one of the chief contributors to Mr. Ward's
large and valuable publication.

My manuscript notes on the lion and some other
animab were then consigned to the seclusion of a
drawer in my study, from which thev would
probably never again have emerged had it not been
for the fact that during the autumn of 1905 I had
thehonour to be the guest of President Roosevelt
at mc vX iiiie House in Washington.

VIII

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

I found that President Roosevelt's knowledge of
wild animals was not confined to the big game of
North America, with which he has made himself so
intimately acquainted by long personal experience,
but that he also possessed a most compiehensive
acquaintance with the habits of the fauna of the
whole world, derived from the careful study of
practically every book that has been written on the
subject.

In the course of conversation. President Roosevelt
remarked that he wished I would bring out another
book, adding to the natural history notes which I
had already written on the big game of South
Africa ; and on my telling him that I had some
manuscript notes on the lion and other animals
which I had once intended to publish, but had
subsequently put on one side, he requested me to
let him see them. On my return to ]:ngland I at
once posted these articles to President Roosevelt,
who was kind enough to say that he had found
them so interesting that he earnestly hoped I would
add to them and bring out another book. Thus
encoura'jed, I set about the revision of all my
recent writings dealing with the natural history ol
South African animals which had not been published
in book form, and after arranging them in chapters,
sent the whole of tlie manuscript to President
Roosevelt, at the same time asking him to be good
enough to look through them, if he could find the
time to do so, and telling him that if he thought
them of sufficient interest to publish in the form of
a book, how much I should appreciate it, if he were
able to write me a few lines by way of introduction,
since the publication of the book would be entirely

PREFACE

due to the kind encouragement and inspiration I
had received from himself. This request met with
a most kind and generous response, for which I
shall ever feel most grateful, for, in the midst of
all his multifarious and harassing public duties,
President Roosf-velt contrived to find the time to
write an introduction to my book, which adds to it
a most interesting and valuable chapter.

The title I have given to my book, African
Nature Notes and Reminiscences, though it perhaps
lacks terseness, nevertheless exactly describes its
scope, and although the chapters dealing with the
"Tse-tse" Fly and the subject of Protective Colora-
tion and the Influence of Environment on large
mammals may have no interest except for a small
number of naturalists, I trust that much of the
matter contained in the remaining seventeen articles
will appeal to a much wider public.

I must once more acknowledge my indebtedness
t<J President Roosevelt, not only for the very
interesting " Foreword " he has contributed to this
book, but also for the constant encouragement he
has given me during its preparation.

My best thanks are also due to Mr. Max C.
Meischmann of Cincinnati for the very remarkable
account which will be found at the end of Chapter
X. of the struggle between a crocodile and a
rhinoceros, of which he was an eye-witness; as
well as to my friend Mr. E. Caldwell for the great
pains he has taken to render the ten illustrations
emanating from his able pencil as lifelike as
possible.

As it is possible that some of those who ma'-
glance through this book may be versed in South

X AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

African languages, and may remark that I have
sometimes represented the Masarwa Bushmen as
speaking in the Sech\.ana language, and at others
in the dialect spoken by the Matabele, it may
perhaps be as well to explain that whilst the greater
part of the Bushmen living between the Limpopo
and the Zambesi were the serfs of Bechwana
masters, a few of those livinir near the western
border of Matabeleland had become the vassals of
certain Matabele headmen, by whom they were
employed as hunters and trappers. Besides their
own language — which is almost impossible of
acquirement by a European — all the Bushmen I
ever met spoke that of their masters as well. This
was usually Sechwana, but sometimes Sintabele —
the language of the Matabele people.

F. C. SELOUS.

WORPI.KSDOV, SURREN,

Dec. 31, 1907.

jm^j^.wr'^

FORKWORD

Mr. Selous is the la^ ^i the big-jrame hunters of
bouth Africa ; the 1. .. of the mighty hunters whose
e.xpenences lay in the greatest hunting ground
which this world has seen since civilized" man has
appeared therein. There are still many happv
hunting grounds to be found by adventure-lovine
wilderness wanderers of sufficient hardihood and
prowess; and in Central Africa the hunting
grounds are of a character to satisfy the most
exacting hunter of to-day. Nevertheless, they
none o» them quite equal South Africa as it once
was, whether as regards the extraordinary multitude
ot big-game animals, the extraordinary variety of
the species or the bold attraction of the conditions
under which the hunting was carried on.

Mr. Selous is much more than a mere big-game
hunter however; he is by instinct a keen field
naturalist, an observer with a power of seeing, and
ol remembering what he has seen ; and finally he
IS a writer who possesses to a very marked and
unusual degree the power vividly and accurately
o put on paper his observations. Such a combina-
tion of qualities is rare indeed, and the lack of any
one of them effectually prevents any man from
doing work as valuable as Mr. Selous has done
iNo ordinary naturalist fills the place at all Big
game exists only in the remote wilderness. Thru-
out historic time it has receded steadily hpfnr. t^^
auvance ot civilized man, and now the retrogression

Ml

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

—or, to be more accurate, the extermination— is
jroing on with appalling rapidity. The ordinary
natundist, if he goes into the haunts of big game,
is apt to fmd numerous small animals of mterest.
and he naturally devotes an altogeth(;r dispropor-
tionate share of his time to these. Yet such tmie
is almost wasted ; for the little animals, and especi-
ally the insects and small birds, remain in the land
long after the big game has vanished, and can then
be studied at leisure by hosts of observers. The
observation of the great b(;asts of the marsh and
the mountain, the desert and the forest, must be
made bv those hardy adventurers who, unless ex-
plorers bv profession, are almost certainly men to
whom the chase itself is a dominant attraction. But
the great majority of these hunters have no power
whatever of seeing accurately. There is no fonder
delusion than the belief that the average old hunter
knows all ab(jut the animals of the wilderness.
The Bushman may ; but. as Mr. Selous has shown,
neither the average English, Boer, nor Kafir hunter
iti South .Africa does; and neither does the white
or Indian hunter in North America. Any one who
doubts this can be referred to what Mr. Selous has
elsewhere said concerning the rhinoceroses of South
A^frica and the astounding misinformation about
them which the average South African hunter of
every type believed and perpetuated ; and in my
own experienct; I have found that most white and
Indian hunters in the Rocky Mountains are just as
little to be trusted when, for instance, they speak
of the grizzly bear and the cougar— two animals
which alwavs tend to excite their imaginations.
Finally, the 'few accurate observers among the men
who have seen much of big game are apt wholly
to lack the power of expression, and this means
that their knowledge can benefit no one. The love
of nature, the iove of outdoor life, is growing in

FOREWORD

XIII

our race, and it is well that it should grow. There-
fore we should priz<; exceedingly all contributions
of worth to the life-histories of the great, splendid,
terrible beasts whose lives add an immense majesty
to the far-off wilds, and who inevitably pass away
before the onrush of the greedy, energetic, forceful
men, usually both unscrupulous and shoit-sighteil.
who make up the vanguard of civilization.

Mr. Selous has hunted in many parts of the
world, but his most noteworthy e.xperiences were
in Africa, south of the Zambezi, when the dry up-
lands, and the valleys of the tlwindling rivers, and
the thick coast jungle belt, still held a fauna as
vast and varied as that of the Pleistocene. Mighty
hiniters, Dutch and Knglish, roamed hither and
thither across the land on foot and on horseback,
alone, or guiding the huge white -topped ox-
wagons ; several among their number wrote with
power and charm of their adventures; and at the
very last the man arose who could tell us more of
value than any of his predecessors.

Mr. Selous by his observations illustrates the
great desirability of having the views of the closet
naturalist tested by co.npetent field observers. In
a previous volume he has effectively answered those
amiable closet theorists who once advanced the
Rousseau- like belief that in the state of nature
hunted creatures suffered but little from either pain
or terror ; the truth being that, in the easy con-
ditions of civilized life, we hardly even conceive of
pain and horror as they were in times primeval ;
while it is only in nightmares that we now realize
the maddened, hideous terror which our remote
ancestors so often underwent, and which is a
common incident in the lives of all harmless wild
creatures. In the first two chapters of the present
volume, Mr. Selous' remarks on the fallacy of much
of ilic theory oi protective coioralion are excellent.

J»1

XIV

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

The whole suhj.:cl is om: (r.av^hi with difficulty and
d.-sf-rvinir ot far more careful study than has ever
yet been ^iven it. That the K»-"eral pattern of
coloration, so to speak, of birds and mammals ot
the snowy North as compared to the South, ot a
dry desert as compared to a wet forest region, is
line to the effect of the environment I have no
(luestion- anil Mr. Selous" observations and argu-
ments show that the protective theory has been
ridiculously overworked in tryinti to account tor
coloration like that of the zebra and glrai^fe^ lor
instance; but there is much that as yet it is difficult

to explain. .

The most conspicuous colors ot nature, lor
instance, are, under ordinary circumstances, black
and white. Yet we continually find black, and
sometimes white, animals thriving as well as their
more dull -colored compeers under conditions that
certainly seem as if they ought to favor the latter.
The white goat of the Rocky Mountains may be
helped by its coloration in winter, but in summer
its white coat advertises its presence to every man
or beast within range of vision, and this at the very
time when the little white kids are most in need of
protection. liagles arc formidable foes of these
little kids, and undoubtedly their white color is a
disadvantage to them in the struggle for existence
when they are compared with the dull-coloreci
lambs of the mountain sheep of the same general
habitat. The sheep tend to become mainly or
entirely white at the northern portion of their range
—thereby becoming exceedingly conspicuous in
summer— but change to grays and browns from
the semi -Arctic regions southward. The goats,
however, remain white everywhere.

A'^ain, birds and mammals of the far North tend
to be^white, but one of the typical far northern birds
is the jet black raven. It is hard to believe that the

KORKUORI)

color ot the snowy owl assists it in j4Cttini; its prey,
or that its color hampt-r.; the ravuii. I'hc northtrn
wi.Msels ami n()rth(;rn hares of Aim-rica both turn
white in winter. Thru most of their raiij,'c tin-
various species of these weasels and hares e.\ist sitie
l)y side with the close kinsiiK'H of the we. use!, the
mink and the sai)lc, ami .it the southe-rn boundary
of their ratij^e side by side with the small gray
rabbits ; none of which chaiiL,'e their color any
more ih.ui the lynx and fox do, and yet in the
-Struggle for life seem to Ije put to no disailvantajL^e
thereby. The Arctic hare changes color as does
the ptarmigan. Ihe ordinary snow-shoe r.ibbits
and jack-rabbits of the woods and plains south of
the .Arctic hare region also change their c '!or ;
but the grouse which inhabit the same woods or
open plains, such as the rufled, the sharp- tailed
and the spruce, unlike their northern kinsman, the
ptarmigan, undergo no seasonal change. Around
my nmch on the Little Missouri, the jack-rab'
all turned white in winter ; the little cotton-t;.
rabbits did not ; yet as far as I could see both
species were equally at home and fared equally well.
When a boy, shooting on the edges of the desert
in I'^gypt, I was imprest with the fact that the
sand grouse, rosy bullfinches, sand larks and sand
chats all in the coloration of their upper parts
harmonized strikingly with the surroundings, while
the bold black and white chats were peculiarly
noticeable, and yet as far as 1 couUl see held their
own as well in the struggle for existence. But as
regards the tirst-named birds it seemed to me at the
time that their coloration was probably protective,
for in the breeding season the males of some of
them showed striking colors, but always under-
neath, where they would not attract the attention
of foes.

Mr

Sel

^!OUS

HiSO

SiiOWS

that the

bitznai

or

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AFRICAN NAIURK NO IKS

" miilual r«;i().;nilioM ' theory <>l i olor.uioii h.is
betrn at th<- l<Mst carrii^il to an tMrrim- In closi-t
naturalists. I lu; proiij^ljiick of Norili America has
the power (}( ereclini,' tlie vjlislenin^ white hairs on
its rump until it looks like a chrysaiuhenuini ; but
there seems scarcely any need of this as a sij^nal ;
for pronji;bucl<s live out on the bare plains, nevt;r
seek to avoid ol)servali(Jii. are ver) conspicuous
beasts, and have eyes like t<lescopes, so that one of
them can easily see another a mile or two otf.
Accordinj^ to my experience- but ot course the
experience of any one man is ol limited value,
and affortls li'tle Ljnnmd for L,'eneralizali()n- - the
"chrysanthemum" is shown when the beast is
much aroused by curiosity or excitement.

Mr. Selous' chapters on the lion possess a peculiar
interest, for they repr(!sent without an\ exception
the best study we have of the ^^reat, tawn>, maned
cat. No one observer cm possibly cover the entire
ground in a case such as this, for individual animals
differ markedly from one another in many essential
traits, and all the animals of one sjjccies in one
locality sometimu-s differ markedly from all the
.inimals of the same species in another locality (as
I have myself found, in .some extraordinary par-
ticulars, in th(.- case of the grizzly bear). Therefore,
especially with a beast like the lion, one of the most
interesting of all beasts, it is necessary for the
naturalist to have at haml the observations of many
different men ; but no other single observer has left
a record of the lion of such value to the naturalist
as Mr. Selous.

One of the most interesting of Mr. Selous'
chapters is that containing his notes on wild dogs,
on hunting hounds, and on cheetahs. Especially
noteworthy are his experiences in actually running
ilown and overtaking by sheer speed of horse and
KoimhI both the wild doo- and the- cheetah. These

KORKWORI)

XVII

• xpcricncrs arc liu.Tall) inexplicable witlj our
I.r«;scnt knowledge : ami therelore it is all the
more valuable to have them recorded. Mr. Selous'
own account ol" the speed of wild dogs antl the
statements of many coinpi tent observers .ibout
(heeiahs— as for instance, of thai mi-hty hunter,
Sir .Samuel Baker — make it clear that under
ordinary circumstances both wild dogs and cheetahs,
when running after their game, go at a speed far
surpassing that of .i horse. Vet in the.se instances
given by Mr. .Selous, he and his companions with
their camp dogs once fairly ran down a pack of
wild (logs ; and twice- he fairly ran down full-grown
liieeiah.s. In the last case it is possible that the
hunted cheetah, not at first realizing his danger, did
not put forth his full speed at the beginning, and,
not being a long-winded animal, was exhausted anci
unable to spun when he really discovered his peril.
Hut with the hunting dogs it is hard to ima-ine any
e.xplanation unless the) were gorged with food. In
coursing wolves with grevhounds, I have noticed
that the dogs will speedily run into even an old dog
woll. If he is found lying by a carcase on which he
his feasted, under conditions which would almost
certainly have insured his escape if he had been in
good running trim. I once saw a cougar, an old
male, jump from a ledge of rock surrounded bv
hounds and come down hill for several hundred
yards thru the snow. The hounds started almost
on ..ven terms with him. but he drew awav from
them at once, and when he reached the bottom of
the hill, was a good distance ahead ; but by this
lime he had shot his bolt, and after going up hill
for a very few yards he climbed into a low ever-
green tree, which I reached almost as soon as the
hounds. His lungs were then working like bdlow.s,
ni.ljt was obvious he could have gone no distance

:-: i;:cr

X V 1 1 1

AFRICAN NAI URK NOTtS

The book of nature h;is many clifficuk passaj,res.
and some of them seem mutually contradictory. It
is a '^ood thing to have capable observers who can
record faithfullv vvh.it they find therein, and who are
not in the least afraid of putting down two observa-
tions which are in seeming conflict. Allied species
often differ so radically in their habits that, with our
present knowledge, not ev(-n a guess can be made
as to the reason for lh(> difference ; this makes it all
tlu: more necessary that there should be a multitude
of trustworthy observations. Mr. Selous [)omts
out, for instance, the e.\traordinary difference in
pugnacity b(;tween the fighting roan and sable
anfelopes. on the one hand, and on the other, the
koodoo and the mild eland. There is quite as great
difference between far more closely allied species,
or even between individuals of one species in one-
place and those of the same species in another
place. Sometimes the reasons for the diHerence
are apparent; all carnivores in India, with its dense,
feeble |)opulation, would at times naturally take to
man-killing. In other cases, at least a guess may
be hazarded. The wolf of America has never been
dangerous to man, as his no larger or more formid-
able brother of Asia and Europe has been from
time immemorial; yet the difference may be
accounted for by the difference of environment.
But it is hard to say why the cougar, which is
just about the size of the great spotted cats, and
which preys on practically the same animals, should
not be dangerous to man, while they are singularly
formidable fighters when at bay. The largest cougar
I ever killed was eight feet long and weighed over
two hundred pounds. Very few African leopards
or Indian panthers would surpass these measure-
ments, and this particular animal had been preying
not only on deer, but on horses and cattle ; yet I
killed him with no danger to myself, under circum-

FOREWORD xix

stances which would jji-obably have insured a charge
from one of the big spotted cats of Africa or Asia,
or, for the matter of that, from a South American
jaguar. And by the way. in reading of the ravages
committed by leopards among the hounds of the
sport-loving planters of Ceylon, it has always seemed
to me strange that these planters did not turn the
l.ibles on the aggressors by training jjacks especially
to hunt them. Such a pack as that with which I
have hunted the cougar and the black bear in the
Rocky Mountains would, I am sure, give a g^od
account of any leopard or panther that ever lived.
All that would be needed would be a good pack of
trained hounds and six or eight nrst-class fighting
dogs in ortler. as I thoroly believe, compleK-ly to
clear out the leopard from any given locality.

Mr. Selous' notes on the Cape buffalo and tsetse
lly are e.vtremt'.y interesting. Hut indexed this is
true of all that he has written, both of the great
game beasts themselves and of his adventures in
hunting them. His book is a genuine contribution
.dike to hunting lore and to natural history. It
should be welcomed by every lover of the chase
and by every man who cares for the wild, free life
of the wilderness. It should b<; no less welcome to
all who are interested in the life-histories of the
most formidable and interesting of the beasts that
dw(?ll in our world to-day.

THKODORK ROO.SKVELT.

The Whitk Hr)r>E,

I

1

CONTENTS

CHAI'TER I

NiiTKS ON Tin: (.)l'KsriON> OK PKOTKCTIVK COLORATION-,
RIXOONIIION MARKS, AND THE INH.UKNCE OF KNVIRON-
\IENT ON I.IVINC. OKC.ANIS.MS

ll:irniony of colour in nature Theory of protective ciilorntion — Sexual
■.election — Consiiiciio\is colour^ not harmful The influence of environ
inent The leucoryx — The Harbary sheep -The Sardini ..oulilon
Airican butterflies - Coloration of the nnisk ox ami caribou- .\rctic hares
.ind foxes — Coloration of mammals in the \'ukon Territory — The
chamois in winter — Kxamples of conspicuous coloration in African
luammals-'Coluur not always protective— Carnivorous animals usually
hunt by scent Wild dogs and wolves— Wild dog and sable anlelo|>e-
Sense of smell in herbivorous animals Sight of antelopes — Kx|)erience
with waterbiick Dull sight of caribou— Demeanour of wild animals
when alarmed -Small antelopes — l.ions--l,arge antelo|)CS — Difliculty
of seeing wild animals sometimes exaggerated — Towers of sight ol
liushmen— Colour not protective against animals which hunt by night
and by scent — Animals in motion easy to see — Restlessness of wild
animals — Lions attacking bullocks — Zebras the principal prey of lions
•ince the disappearance of bulfaloes — ApiMjarance of zebras— Undoubtedly
conspicuous animals in open coimtry — Zebras by moonlight — Strong
smell of zebras Conspicuous anteloixjs in Ea»t Africa- F.flect i>(
the juxtaposition of black and white- Bold coloration of the sable
anteloiie Pages 1-23

CHAI'TER II

KUKIHKK Ni)TKS ON IHK c.HT.STIONs Oi PROTKCTIVE COLORA-
HON, RKCOC.MTION MARKS, AND THK INEI.UENCK OK
ENVIRONMENT ON I.IVINC OKGANISM.s

Occasional resemblance of African mammals to natural objects — llartebrcsl-,

i:iephants — Oiraffes — Coloration of the Somali girafTe— (iiraffes not

in need of ^ protective coloration — Koodoos and sable antelopes — Acute

sense of hearinc in the moose- I'ossible explanation of large si?e of

ears in the African tragelajihine an'.elopes — Coloration ol bushbucks.

XXll

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

siuitunnas, .inil iny.il.is Leoparls the Dfily enemies of the .smaller hush-
h.iuntinf; antelopes— Kccnynition marks — Must rendur animals con-
spiciii.iis to frien 1 and fuc alike — Ranges of allied species of antelo[>ej
seld'irn overlap - llylinilisation .sometimes take> place -Wonderfu'
coloration of the bintebok — Coloration distinctly conspicuous ani
therefore no! protective — Kecognition marks unnecessary loluratim
<if the Mesliok — The lilesbok merely a duller coloured bonteliok —
Uifl'.-rence in the habitat of the two sjiecies — The coloration of both
s|>ccies m.iy be due to the influence of their respective environments —
The weak jioint in the theory of protective coloration «hen apjJied
to lart;e mammals — ll.-res and fo\es in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions
— The efficacy of colour protection at once destroyed by movemelt —
Kutfaloes anil lions — (ieneral conclusions regarilinj; the theori of
protective coloration as applied to large mammals. I'oges 24-43

CHAPTER III

NOTK.'i 0\ TIIK I. ION

The lion — Native names for — Character of — Death of P,,- "icture in

(i(jrdon Cumming's book — Death of Hendrik-- Number .cs killed

by lions- I'sual mode of seizure .\ trooper's advcn .. - ^^oisonous
nature of lion's bite-Story of the Tsavo man-eaters — Death of Mr.
Kyall Story of the tragedy — I'recautions by n.itives against lions
Kemains of a lion's victim found— Four w<,nien killed - Lion killed
Carcase burned -Story of the Majili man-eater — Man-eating lions
usually old animals— Strength of lions Large ox killed by single lion
- liutlalces killed ijy lions— Ox slowly killed by family of lions —
Lions usu.dly silent when attacking and killing their prey — Camp
approached by three lions — \arious ways of killing game — Favourite
food of lions llirafl'es rarely killed by lions— Evidence as to lions
attacking elephants— Michael Kngelbreght's story — Mr. Arnot's letter
ilescribing the killing of an el-;phant cow by six lions . 44-66

CHAPTER IV

NOTK,<; ON THE LION (continucif)

Depredations of lions in Mashunaland— Sad death of .Mr. Teale- (Ireal
slaughter of pigs by a lioness— Mode of entering a cattle kraal- -Methoii
of killing jirey— Sharpness of lion's claws --Mode of seizing a horse
in motion - Lion chasing koodoos— Lion.s lying in wait for oxen--IIow
a hon charges— Black Janlje's story — Numbing etTect of lion's bite —
Cruelty in nature — .\ppearunce of wild lions — Colour of eyes — Lions
at bay— .-K crouching lion -.\ lucky shot— The cat a lion in miniature
A danger signal — Social habits of lions — Troops of lions — Lions on the
Maliabi jdain -Difference between cubs of one liitei — Individual
differences in lions (ireal variation in the developm nt of the mane--
Lion probably tirst evolved in a colil climate— Still found in Lurope in
o.e ihv:-.- •_■' }Ir:-, -J-^-;;:- EtTcc: ;f cc'id on growih of lion's lu.ine 07-!i4

CCJNFENTS

XXIU

CHAPTKR V

NoiKs ON nil-; i.iuN (..7/1 ///..■<(/)

Miihcd (.! .ipL-nin^ a ifiuasc Kciiiov.il of |.aimch ami cntr.iiis I.kmis
Ailful butchers — I'aunch ami cnliail> no! usually eaten — I.ion> not
iKine-caters Will eat imtriil meat Will s..nietimes .levr.ur their own
kin<l— Number of cubs at birth — Check on inordinate incre.isc <>t
carnivorous anim.il- The lii>.i's roar- Diversity of opinion conctriiini;
its power - I'rolable exiilan.ilioii- Volume of sound when .several lion.s
roar in uni.son - .\ nerve-sli.ikin^ experience - Lions silent \*lien
appiuachinfj their prey Koar alter killing And in aiiswei to one
another -Lions only roar freely in undisturbed districts Lions cs-senti-
ally yaine-killers- Hut tlianf;e their luibils with circumstances -Killing
lions with spear and shield -. Hamlalelis splendid courage -I. ions
killed by Hushmen with |ioisoned arrows Behaviour of domestic
anim.ils in the presence of lion- ( 'kittle sometimes •erril'ied, at othei
times show no fear . . . . • ''^B'-'^ f^S"")?

CHAPTER VI

NOIF..S ON THK SPOlTEl) HV.V.NA

;stnry illustrating the
LxU was sei/ed and

Character of hy.vnas— Contrasted with that of wolves

strength and audacity of a .sjiotted hy.eiia -How .. „,
carried off— A mean trick— boldness of hy.tnas near native villages
in tiie wilderness \'ery I'.estructive to native live stoc'
huts- (living an old woman to th
of witches benefited the hv ' nas-

More suspicious

—Will sometimes enter native
hy.enas -How the smelling out
"Come out, missionary, and give us the witch" Number of iiy.enas
infesting Mataheleland in olden times- Trials for witchcraft in Mata-
lieleland- -Kood of hya-nas -Strength of jaw. -Charged by a wounded

Killing hyxnas with set guns - Hyxna

hya:na — Heavy trap broken up rMiuiig uy.eMa.s «ilii s>-i. (;".■! ..j.-..^
held by dogs— Uy.ena nitacked by wild dogs—l'ace of hy.enas- Curious
experience on the Ma: .bi plain The hy.enas howl- Rhinoceros calf
killed by hy.enas— .Smell of hya-nas -Hyana meat a delicacy- -Small
cows and donkeys easily kiUeil by hy.euas— Si?e .ind weight of the
~|>otted hy.tna Number of whelps ..... <)8-lIB

CHAPTER VU
NOTr:s ON WILD rxji;s and cmi.tahs

Wild dogs not ier> numerous- Hunt in packs- Attack herd of la.fTaloes
First experience with wikl dogs -Impala antelope killed -Koodoo
cow driven into shed— Koodoo driven to waggm— Wild dogs not
dani;erous to human l»-ings— (ireatly feared by all antelopes— Wild dog
pursuing sable .jitelopc— (.reat pace displayed -Wild dogs capable
of running down every kmd o' Alrican antel-pe— i -enerai oj.iiuou iis

xxn

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

III liu runnirii; poHXT^ of wil'l iioi;s - <.'uriou> inciilcnti Clia-in;; wilil
(lo'^s with tana- oiil's Oni; wilil (iojj galln|H;'l over anil shnr '^ T» i
others lauj^ht ari.l Wi.rricl hy tanii: dugs— Wild dog shaiiiiiiing dea,!
— Clever c-^cape Chi-Uihs overtaken on horsel.ack— Tiirec cl!etah>
seen— TwM leni.iles p;is,ed— Male ;;allo]K'd down — A -ecorid thetah
overtaken ( Irent speed of trained Indian chetahi- -Three chetah cidis
f.mnil liroii-St up hy l.itch I'a^-e. 1 19. i 2y

CHAl'TKR \111

K\1IM IIUN AND IMMINUTION Oh CAME IN SOU ! H AHUCA -
NOTKS ON IHi; CAI'i KLhKAI.O

Kxtinetiun o; the l.|a.i;;wl,..k and the true '(ua^'ija Tliieatened cMeniiinatiui;
ol the lilack and white rhinoceros and the l.iillalo in South Africa
lornier almndance of game — Scene in the valley of Deti witnessed hy
the author in 1.S73— Baflaloes protected by the ( aix; (Jovernmenr
Hut few survivors in other parts of South Africa— Almndance of
butfaloes in former times— Kxtcnt of their range— Still plentiful m
places up to iS'jt')— The terrible epidemic of rinderpest- Character of
the African biiflalo — A matter of individual exiierience- -Comparison ol
burtalo with the lion and elephant Danger of foll.iwing wounded
buffaloes into thick cover— Personal ex[>eriences— Well-known sjKjrt,
man killed by a buflalo— Usual action of buftaloes when wounded
Diflicult to stop when actually charging— The moaning bellow of a
dying buflalo — I'robable reasons for some apparently unprovoled
attacks by buHaloes— Speed of buftaloes— Colour, texture, and abund
ance of roat at difierenl ages— Abundance of bulialoes along the Chi.bi
river— Demeanour of old buffalo bulls --" God's cattle"" Klephants
waiting for a herd of butfaloes to leive a pool of water before then',e!ves
coming down to drink ...... I'oiiS

CHAPTER IX

xori;s ON the tse-t.-i. h.v

Connection between buffaloes and tse-tse flies- -Sir Alfred Sharpe's view,
liufJ'iloes and tse-tse flies both once abundant in the valley of the
I.im|iopo and many other districts south of the Zambesi, in which
iKith have now become extinct — Permanence of all kinds of game othei
than buftaloes in districts from which the tse-tse fly has disappeared -
Kxperience of Mr. Percy Reid-Suilden increase of isc-lse tlies between
Leshumaand Ka/ungula during 1888 -Disappearance of the tsetse Hy
from the country to the north of Lake X'gami after the extermination
of the bulialo— History of the country between the Gwai and Daka
nvers- And of the country beuveen the Chobi and the Zambesi —
Climatic and other conditions necessary to the existence of the t-e-
tse %- -Never found at a high altitude above the sea— Nor on n|)en
plains or in large reed beds "Fly'' areas usually but not always well
defined— Tse-tse flie-> luost numerous in hot weather- liite of the tse-
i-c ..y .a:ai to aii .iou.esm aiiiiiiais, except native goats ana perhaps

CONTENTS

XXV

pips -Dnnkey-i more resi-.tant to tsetse fly |)ois<in than horses or c:ittle

-Tsct>e flics active on warm nights — MtTecl of tsetse fly bites on

lumiaii litinp-. . . ...... ra;.;es 14c) 177

I HAl'l'ER .K

.smKs ON inL i'.\CK Ok I'RKHKNsii.K-i IPIM h khinchi:ko>

li,ir.u:lcr of tlic liUick ihiiioctm^ It-, pr.Ktical e-\ti.riiun.Hion in Soiilli
.\lrica at a very trifling; co.>t to human life No case known to author
.'f a lioer hunter having; licen kille'l by a lil.ick rhinoceros -Acciilent^
to r.nylish hunters — Harris's opinion of anil f\|ietientes witli the black
rhiroceros Seemingly unnecessary slauf;lil<.r of tliese aniuials — L-irge
numbers shot by Uswell and \'ar(lnii Divergence of opinion concerninj;
'lisposition of the two so-called dil'lcrent -|iecies of black rhinoceroses
Kxperienccs of Gordon Cuinmini;, .Xndcri^on, and lialdwin with these
animals — Victims of the ferocity <i( the black rhinoceros extraordinarily
few in South Africa The author's e\perienccs with these animals
.Sudden rise in the value of sliort rhinoceros horns Its fatal eflect
Didl sight of the 1 I.ick rhinoceros Keen scent - Iiir|uisitivene^s Illiml
ru^h of the |j|;ick rhinoceros when wi undeil- An advancing rhinocero-,
shot in the head — .\uthor chaseil by black rhinocerose-. when on hor^e
back — Curious e\periencc iieai Th.iinma-Setjie - lilack rhinocero.se-.
ch:uging through caravans -Coining to camp tires at night --Aulhor\
doid)ts as til the extreme ferocity of black rhinoceroses in general
Tt-,timony of cxjierience I hunters as to the character of the black
rhinoceros in the countries north of the Zambesi — C"aptain Stigand
severely injured by one of these animals — Kxperiences of Mr. Vaughan
Kirby — Extraordinary number of black rhinoceroses in Kast Africa
Experience-, of .\. II. Neumann and K. J. Jackson with these animals -
Views of .Sir lames Hayes-Sadler -(Ireat numliers of rhinoceroses lately
shot in East Africa without lo^s of life to hunters — Superiority ol
movlern weapons President Uoosevelt's letter - Mr. Eleischniann's
remarkable account of a combat between a rhinoceros and a crocodile-
I'ossible explanation of seeming helplessness of the rhinoceros 178-204

CHATTER XI

Ncni.N ON' iHK g:k.\fkk

.\ppeai.ince nf the giraffe -Not a vanishing species -Immense range
Habitat Native mounted hunters destruction of giraffes and other
game by Europeans — Necessity of re-trainitig native hunters -Discussion
as to the possibility of the giraffe existing for long periods without
ilrinking -Wat.r-coiiserving tubers— Wild water-melons Habits of
elephants after much persecution — I'os'^ible explanati'in of the lielicf
that giraftes can liispense with water — (iirafles seen in the act of
drinking — Giraff'es absolutely voiceless — Partial to open, park-like country

— Difficult to approach on foi.t — iliratles very keen-scenfed — Hunting
giraffes with Hushmen trackers-Exhilarating sport — I'ace of the giratte

— The easiest way 10 kill giraiies - P'riving wounded giraiic-, io i:.tiMp —

AFRICAN NAfURK NOTKS

Tw(p cunoji txjicrittiiLS wiih ^jiralfc . '-Slink bulls " — Kxcfllenci- ol
'Ik' nwM i.f a f.it i;iratlt; cdw IlL-itjlii nf giraffes- (iir.illc-. nnly
■ ir a«iiiri.illy killi'l by liiin^ \'c};ini; i^'iraMc attacked tiy !cM|.,irils

I'ai^LS J05-2JI

CHAP 11 ;r Ml

\ lOl-KNi', TO \MAin\(;AI AMI |N SIAKCII Ol INV\I,A

■[■'•H' iny.ila. i rare ami l.oratiful animal >ilil.iin ^lu.t ]>y Kiii;lishmcn
Acc'iini ..f. hy Mr. llaMwin further oliservatiun- ol, hy the lion.
'*\. 11. Ilrummnnil -Iny.ila-shontin;; ami fever alnin'.t synonymous - I)i>
inhiitHii. of the inyala C'liridiis antelope shot Ijy Cantaiii I'aiilkner
.'-^•.ari on |,,iirney in .sean h of inyalas— Reach Delagoa liav Meet Mi.
Wissel- — \'nyat;e to ih.- NTaputa river Depreciations of locust,
f.lvplianti Mill finiml in the Mama district- A .|iiicl, run uji the river-
Keach Hella \ isia Talk with rortut;uese olficer - lti|)popoianiuses soeii
C!ian(;e of weather I.on;4inan engages four laily porters— Start for
Mr. \Vi s,..K', station- Sleeji at Aniatonga kraal -Description of peopl-
-Cross ilie Maputa river- Keeili.iirk ,hot Rainy weather -Reach Mi.
Wis-els's .,;a!ion •■....'.. 222-2JS

CHAPTER XI 11

A lOURNKV lO AM.-.r()Nr..\I.ANI) {ioiicluiled )

iU-ceive information c mcernin- the haunis of the inyala- Heavy thunder
-toim -Start for (in-.iwis kraal -Cross the ' L'smu river Reach
<iu{,'awi's— (;o out hunting; Crested guinea-fowl seen— Two inyalas
shot--Angas".s de.scription of the inyala antelope— Inyala skins prepared
lor moantiiii,' Now sale in Natural History Museum-A third inyala
shot— One iii-s-ed Move faither up the Csutu rivei —Country denudeii
of game -llushlmcks scarce— Hippoi)Olanru-es in river— Heavy thunder-
storm Two more male inyalas sliot— Start on return journey to
Delagi I Day - Tedious journey Intense heat- End of trip- -Slight
attact., of fever 2-,0-2<;3

CHAPTER XIV

NOTKS ON THE (;F.MS)!UCK

Ni.iiilt: ol ,\;,ic\n anteiopes The eland-- Roan and sable antelopes -
Tne greater koodoo ' Ither antelopes—The geirsbuck-- 'limited range
Haljitat— i-;evn sight— Speed and endurance— Cha.sc after four
gemshuck- Two shot -Sight of \ailtures— O.xen frightened- Horse
wounded by lioness- (Jemsbuck bull shot— Vi.sit from natives-^ (Jems
buck and zebras -Causbucks ridden to a standstill— Kine specimens
shot -Length ol horns — Character of the gcmsbuck - I'robably un-

afl'ectcd bv l!lc riridei

1

CONTKN IS

X X '. 1 1

CHAI'IKR XV

SOMK CI'RIOL- HtNIINi. K\ I'KRIKNCK-

('(.iilr.ist between Khi«!isi.i to-il.iy .mil lon^; aRn Tlit: oM .lay* ihu lx?..l
White rhini.ccroM> anil elephants ilrmkini; A niglit im the Sikunii
river- -Atiunilance of Mg garni- -A «liite rhinc«;er<)'; vi-its my camp
My ((luerest c\|i«rieiiCL- Meet with t»ii lilack rliiuocero^e^ A ne.n
approach RhinuceMs kiiocked clown Apjcirently ileaii- (Unimenre
til cut it up kliinoceri)-. rcjjains consci()U-.ne^^-(lets an its lfp>--Anil
runs (iH Another curi■l^l^ esperienco liuffaloes ami t-.et^e tlies
Meetini; with lioness- Hammer of rille lo-.l I'.u^hnien ^eiit iu >earch ot
ii Lions met with — Lion ami lioness >tan(l close to nic — The chance
of .1 lifetime Rille misses tire— Lion-, run oti— Lion again si en Kif^e
uscles,, — Tht^w it at lli? lior— Tlic irony of fate . I'age- :7o-2S.:

CHAl'TKR XVI

Ki i', iHH^; ruKiou^^ mxriNc. kxiki<ii.n'ck>

TraM iling through the wihlerncb-. linil deep pool of wa'ei Meet
with two tsessebe antelopes Shool them both — ("ovei one of them
with dry grass to keep otf vultures - Hide back to waggon — Return
to |)ool of water — Kind tse>sebe antelope gone- Never recovered
Journey to Hamangwato (icni-buck seen Stalk spoilt- I.ong, ,tcri.
chase- < iemsUick wounded- Lost through glare of setting sun

.» . _ _ * :....! f /- 4 4J-1 ;„;■

Wiideliee>t seen -Return to waggon

Lost geni-bvuk found- Two Imrtebeests shot

Arrival of Count von Schweinit/

^; JO-

CHAPTER XVII

INCIDENTS OK A JOUKNKV THROUGH TllK NOR . HERN K.AI.AHAH

Southern Rhodesia- Country farther west still a primeval wiUierne,,- Seldom
traversed by white men — Scarcity of water — Remarkable rainstorm-
Porcupine Hooded out - Every hoUovs tilled witli water- All game in
good condition -Many varieties encountered- -Large herd of elephants
'— Kour large bulls Wariness of elephants— Lions roarini; near camp-
Search for them on the fi>llov. ini; tnornin^ -Large male seen and chai-d
into thick bush — Successful encounter with a scc.jiid male J')i-3oi

CHAPTER Win

THK LAST OK SOUTH AFRICA'S CWIK HAUNTS

iJtcrea^e of game in South Africa — Journey from Mashuiialand to tlie Last
-viiieaii OOi.st- liriu CG'«r.".ry ru:; oi ;;a;nw r-;'jp::a:;i- --re-', iirr:::. 'J.

X \ \ III

AFRICAN SAIL'RK NO IKS

Inifl.iU.,;,- 1 IV. .,1,1 I, nil, llu,t,l,ial.. -OiliiT .lnlelo|)e^ .in.l /rl.ras
I uri,,wtyoftlii.-J;imraniiiinN \Varl-hu(;s, l>ii>,h-|,if;s, an.l hipiN.ixitaniU'.i-,

li,ln^ ,-<;in liiu- male

NunihtT, .,f carniviii.ius .iniiiial, 'I!

«,,;il„|, ,|. .1!! I SUt„c,jlklltl)' killcl

l'.li;C^ J02-,?II

ClIAl'TKR \I\

H. A\ 1 ^IKNI CIIHI^ilM \> IU\ i,S;(y

[•iv-.-liiht; ilir.,uuli ihe <lf,frl- l.urt;i- nuiul.ci ..i l,ull„ck- l.,,n- .liMamus
l.ilAcun iHrmaiuni waters-- 1 Icavy ,ai„l -. Start for .Mahalsal.i Intent-
heal Siitluiinys „f th<: i),„,r „xcn .\,i waUr at MaluiWalji - Scarili
l.,r water «illi lliisl.inen L,'iiiiles -An.ither (li,a|.|,.,intMKiit - Uiilc all
niKht - U.-ach ili.' I.uali river liull..ek» l.,sl— Dick\ account ol the
.alastru|.he 1 ear ihe wor<-Ki.|e to ShoslKm- l,,r u.-istanee Ketiirn
■„ Kl.,!,ala Me,;! «a-t;,,n. .... ;i--3'7

CHAITKR .W

'll.> I.N IHK M\,s,\K\v.\: m;; HUsHMKN
Ol SOflll .\n;ic.\

'i TMl. INIIHIDR

Mi-t I'.iishnieii -ecu l,y a,;ih,)r in 1S72 .\,ine.| huIi 1,„«. aii.i arruw,
Lar^e .ire.u of cimtry itniiiliahitc.t excepi l,y liushincn The Masarvsa

On-Ill ,,l ihe w„r.l " Va.il|.eiis ' -Dwarf race nieniii.iied l.y I'rufes-o.
Keaiie .\„ics on the lanyiiajie ..I the Dushmen north of the Orani^e
rner .Vj.parently very siiiiilar to that spoken by the Koranas - The
a.itli.iis (aithful Kurana servant -The Nero family- -I'hysical ,lis-
similariiy Letween the Koranas ami the Masiirwa -Stature .,f lUi.hmen
met with north ,.f the (Jrat.ye river- I'.ohahly a pure race- The
...ikalahari- l.ivmgstone-s aceount of them - Khama\s Uin.lness to
lhem-Hal.,ts ami ,n,„le of life of the Masarwa -Their weapons--
t.ows ana p.,i.,„ne.i .-.rrows- l-«jd of the liiishnien - liush children
'.rackini; tortoises -1 erril.Ie privations sometimes endured by I'.ushmen

1 rovision a.ua.nst famine-A giraffe hunt Rotten ostrich egg foiin.l
Uy liushmen and eaten -- Fundament.il ditlerence of nature between
Husinan and civtli.sed races not great-Personal e.xperiences »,th
I.ushtnen -Their marvellous endurance -Skill ;i.s hunters and trackers

incident with lion - I-amily atiecti,,n amoni;st Hushm,ii — \ot un-
worthy n.embers ,,r the human race 32S-'4S

fNDIX,

j49

1

ILLUSTRATIONS

" r\KlKILNAlKI.\, DSK (ih TlilSK IKkUllIC lll.f>\\ s, \ 1 K V

!'k()i;.M;i V THi n:;si aimid \i im. l.i (ipvuD which
'■Ki/i.n nil ( \i F. MAI) Mkrck im; i.mr.i. ( kf.xtiki.

ON THK LUI.N^ AM) llRuKKN lis IlACk FroilliiplCt

HK had KVII.KNTl.V HKKN SIITIM: Ol,' rviN(,
KiKI WMKN CAl'dHT'

(■ At 1 N
V.\ A

Cl.ATK MIfiWIM. i)ll 1 KKK.SCI'.s IN llll. I JlAKI.i H'.MKNT Ol

riiK Mam, in Lions inhakitinc a co.mi'ARativi.ia
sMAi.i. Akia Ol C )iNTin IN South Ai kica .

•A I'icKKi) Man ok UAiNTi.i.ss Hfaki

RUSH KOKWARIi AI.ONK . .

\\OUI.I)

"UN IHE SIXOND N'K.HT THEV UNCI. MOKK l.K.KT IT
ALONK, HUT ON THK THIRD THKY DKVOUKID IT"

"Such old IUhai.o in lis wkki vkrv slow auout

i.KTTINl. OUT OF ONK's 'AAV" ...

l'HtlTO(;RAPHS OF A STKUC.C.IK HKTU FI,N A KHINOCF.ROS
AM) A CKOCODUI, :

No. I. Shows tht Khinoccrob holding; its own. !)ut
unable to reach the bank ....

No. J. Shows the Rhinoceros still struKwlin;,'. but in
ileeper water

No. 3. Shows the Khinoccros after it had lurneii
round, and Just before it got into dcefi
water and was pulled under

x.\i\

5.1

76

93

105

146

202

AFRICAN NAIL'RK NO IKS

I KNKW 11 U\- \ MM I. K\AI.\ IHI HR-<I TH M M\

K\ M II M> I \ M I ' ii'KI I> I |i IS '4 -

IHK (.KM'-I.I < 1.^ \^hKh Mi« i.cilNi. \l IIUIK I IMd^l
Sr; IK, AMI WHIN I MM' l\>-H' III! /ii;k\- WKKK
Mill -IMN "F ^I.VINM N \Kli-~ IS I- kn\ 1 i)l- MH

i5«

•Ms (.INC \I<KIH( HlKIHi \Si|IIIK l.lMl' 'IK lUHNlM.

WiMiii \r 'iVK \i'i i"i^ '^ '

rm I.A~: UK Sonii .\ihu\'> (.wu Hvlni- V)'

1

CHAPTER I

NOTKS ON TIIK (JL-KSTIONs OK IKOT.XTIVK. COLOKA-
TION, KKCOOMTION MARKS. ANI. TIIK INKLUKNt K
OK lAVIKONMKNT (IN MVIN(; okGAMSMS

Mannony of colour ,n nature Theory o, prote.nve . ..ior.a.or,
sexual selection - Cons,,,, u.,us colour, not harn.tui The
mtluence of environment The leu,„ryx The liarl.arv sheep
Ihe Sar-lnuan moufiflon Afr.can butterfl.es-Coloratu.n of
he musk ox and canbou-Arct,, hares and foxes Coloration
of mammals ,n the ^■ukon Terr.tory The chamo.s ,n winter
- hxamples of conspicuous coloration m African mammals
Colour not always protective -Carnivorous anunals usually
hun by scent ^W.ld do^s and wolves- AV.ld do^ and sal, e
ante ope .Sense of smell in herbivorous animals Si.ht of
antelopes txpenence u.th waterbuck Dull siKh. of caribou
-Demeanour of wild animals when alarmed- Small antelopes
!ion.-l.a,KO antelo,,- "ifficulty of scemK wild anmials
sometime, exaggerated Powers of si.ht of Hushmen Colou
not protective aKainst animals which hunt by night and by
scent- Ar„mals ,n motion easy to see-Restlessness of wild
animals - I.ions attacking bullocks-Zebras the principal prey

1'""' v"a ;''^f'-'Pf'^■-'^-^« "f bufi-aloes-AppearancL of
zeb.as-Undoubtedly conspicuous animals in open country-
t;r ''>•.'""""''«';• -StronK smell of zebras-ConspicLs
•intelopes in Last Afnca-KtTect of the juxtaposition of black
and white-liold coloration of the sable ailtelope.

Although there are certain striking exceptions to

X If "f 1^ v' y^'' ^''°^^'>' sP'^^J^ing. it cannot be
K-unsaid that hvin^r organisms are usually coloured
in such a way as to make them difficult of detection

iL. t""''"' ""^f, ^'"""g-^^ ^heir natural surround-
a _, ^ -iit.jmoxugii.i Know low

AFRIC.vN NATURE NOTES

CHAP.

closdy certain species of hulternics when resting
with closed win;4s in shady '"orests resemble dead
leaves, or moths the hark of trees. Birds too,
esijecially those which nc-st on the ground, often
harmonise with the-ir surrcMndin-s in a most mar-
vellous W.iV.

in the open treeless re(,dons within the Arctic
Circle, as well as on bare mountain ran^a'S, nearly all
the resident species of animals and biids turn while
in winter. vvh(;n their whole visible world is covered
with an unbroken mantle of pure white snow, and
become brown or grey during the short period of
summer.

In treeless deserts again witliin the tropics,
where the rainfall is very scanty and the climate
e.xcessively hot and dry, with intense sunlight
throughout the year, all resident living organisms,
mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects, are found to
be of a dull coloration which harmonises in the
most \/onderful way with the sandy or stony soil on
which they live. It is also very often the case that
animals w'hich live in forests wh(;re the foliage i.s
not too dense to allow the sun to penetrate are
spotted or striped, whilst those which live in really
thick iungle or amongst deep gloomy ravines are of
a uniform dark coloration.

Now a most interesting question arises as to
the true causes which have brought about the
e.xtraordinary variations of colour to be seen in
living organisms inhab'ting different parts of the
world.

It is, I believe, the general opinion oi modern
natui'alists that, putting aside cases where brilliant
colours may have been produced amongst birds and
insects by the action of the law of sexual selection,
the coloration of all living organisms is protective,
"serving." as that distinguished naturalist Mr

Air 1T-, iiiT.n._

/vilrca IxUiisei \> <iiiULr; ;<•■

...1 j: : — »u-

■,v;ic:! u::>-,.L;s3;i;u -..iic

%

I THE COLORATION OF MAMMALS

subject of the coioralion of mammals, "to conceal
herbivorous species from their enemies, and en-
abling carnivorous animals to approach their prey
unperceived."

Many very striking facts can be adduced in
support of this theory, and no doubt it is of ad-
vantage to most species of mammals, birds, reptiles,
and insects to harmonise in colour with their
surroundings; but there iire many instances in
nature, especially amongst birds and insects, where
a very striking and conspicuous coloration does not
appear to have been prejudicial to the life of a
species.

Th ' highly decorative but very conspicuously
coloured plumage to be seen in the males of many
species of birds, especially during the breeding
season, was considered by the immortal Darwin to
be due to the influence of sexual selection, and
whatever may be urged against the correctness of
this theory, it is supported by a long array of
mdisputable facts.

Great, however, as is the divergence between the
plumage of the males and females in many species
ot birds, not only during the breeding season, but
in a great number of cases at all times of year, and
however gaudy and conspicuous the coloration of
the former may be compared with that of the latter,
such conspicuous coloration never appears to be
prejudicial to the life of a species, though in some
cases the brighter coloured male assists the female
m incubation, and it would thus appear that in all
such cases the sombre coloured plumage of the
femaie was not absolutely necessary for purj)oses of
protection against enemies.

1 therefore think that if it is admitted that bright
and conspicuous colours have been evolved in living
organisms through the action of the law of sexual
scicction, wiiiiuui detriment to the life of the species

AFRICAN NATURK NOTES

CHAP

in which such consi/icuous colours are shown, it
must be conceded that a coloration harmonising
with its surroundings is not a necessity of existence
in all cases to all species of mammals, birds, reptiles,
and insects, and that it is therefore quite possible
that where living organisms agree very closely in
colour with thJir surroundings, such harmonious
coloration may have been produced by some other
agency than the need for protection by colour, and
r"" would suggest that in addition to the intluence
exerted in the evolution of colour in living organisms
by the action of sexual selection, and the necessity
for protection against enemies, a third factor has
also been at work, which 1 will call the intluence
of environment.

It is worthy of remark, I think, that in hot, dry
deserts, where the climatic conditions are stable,
and where the general colour of the landscape is
th<;refore very much the same all the year round,
all the resident species of mammals, birds, reptiles,
and in cts are what is called protectively coloured,
that is to say, they are al> of a dull brown or
greyish coloration,' which harmonises beautifully with
Their parched, dull-coloured environment. In the
leucoryx, the Saharan representative of the gems-
buck of South-Western Africa, all the black mark-
ings which are so conspicuous in the latter animal
ha^ve disappeared or become pale brown, whilst the
(Tcneral colour of the body has been bleached to a
dirty white. Now, no one can persuade me that
if the leucoryx were coloured exactly like its near
relative the' gemsbuck, it would suffer one iota
more, in the open country in which it lives, from the
attacks of carnivorous animals than it does at
present, and I therefore believe that the faded

' The nvk o^tiiih i-. I think, the only exception to thi-> rule, and in the

^ _,_■ ^ 1 11 ;,;-.! ;i-,.- ;;.(!.;;. ..p^ ;;f e.exui! iel'jcti'^n h-i^ pri»!i.iV)ly

l)t'en Inore potent ih.m lh.it nf a liull-coluuieil, nionatunous i-nvironniL-nt.

TWO RACES OK ZKBRAS

colour of the leucoryx, as compared with that of
the gemsbuck or the beisa antelope, has not been
brought about in order to serve as a protection
against enemies, but is directly due to the influence
of its desert environment, and constant exposure to
strong sunlight on treeless plains. Again, from
the point of view of a carnivorous animal hunting
for food by daylight and by sight, no two countries
could be more alike than the open karoos of the
Cape Colony and the plains in the neighbourhood
of Lakes Nakuru and Elmenteita in British East
Africa, where the grass is al./ays kept very short
by the large herds of game, as well as by the cattle,
sheep, and goats belonging to the Masai, which
pasture there. Before the advent of Europeans,
the carnivorous animals inhabiting the Cape Colony
were exactly the same as those foun to-day in
East Africa, viz. lions, leopards, che. ' s, wild
dogs, and hyaenas. In both districts li(;ns were
once numerous, and in both zebras formed the
principal food of these carnivora. But whereas
Eqiiiis _Q-ya}iti, the form of zebra found on the plains
near Lake Nakuru, is the most brilliantly coloured
representative of the genus to which it oelongs,
with jet black stripes on a pure white ground, the
now extinct form of zebra — Jujuits qnai;;i^a — which
once abounded on the plains of the Cape Colony,
was of a tlull grey brown in ground colour, with
darker brown stripes on the head, neck, and fore-
part of the body alone. Now, these two races of
>:ebras, both living on bare, open plains, could not
both have been coloured in the best possible way
to escape being .seen by the lion; which constantly
preyed upon them. If as has been contended, the
juxtaposition of the black and white stripes in
Grant's zebras renders these animals not onlv
inconspicuous, but almost invisible under strong
suiiiight on an open plain, and is, in fact, the

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

CHAr.

supreme triumph of protective ^loration in^ large
mammals, why had the quac^cras of the Cape Colony
become dull brown, for they also lived on open
plains in strong sunlight, and needed protection
from the lions every bit as much as their congeners
of East Africa? Sloreover, I think all naturalists
and embryologists are agreed that Equtis qnagga
was the descendant of boldly striped ancestors.

To my mind the loss of stripes in the quagga
was entirely due to the environment in which
this species' had lived for long ages ; for on the
karoos of the Cape Colony everything is of one dull
brown colour, wh(;ther on hill or plain, and no
shade is to be found anywhere, for the whole
country is without trees. The air, too, is intensely
hot and dry, and the rainfall scanty. In these
semi-deserts of South-Western Africa, not only did
the quaggas lose their black stripes, but the elands
also lost the white stripes of their immediate
ancestors, whilst the blesboks had already lost
much of the white to be seen in the body colouring
of the bonteboks, from which they are descended,
and had become of a much duller colour generally.
In East Africa, however, the plains are surrounded
by well-wooded hills, which give some colour to the
landscape, whilst the rainfall every year is heavy.
If it is not the influence of their several environ-
ments which has brought about the differences
between the well-striped elands and zebras of East
Africa and their dull-coloured relatives that once
lived in the k.iroos of the Cape Colony, the theory
of protective colonition must be equally at fault, for
in sjMte of the fact that in both countries both races
of these animals have been hunted by lions from
time immemorial on open plains, and under precisely
similar conditions, they developed very different
schemes of coloration.

The Barbary sheep, again, which inhabits the dry

FHE SARDINIAN MOUFFLON

hills bordcrini^ the dcstTts of Northern Africa, where
the vegetation is parched and scanty at all seasons
ot the year, and the rocks of a red brown colour, is
itself of a uniform reddish brown which harmonises
exactly with its surroundings, and makes it very
difficult to detect when lying at rest amongst rocks.
This perfect harmony of coloration with its surround-
ings in the Harbary- sheep may have been brought
about by the need of protection from enemies, but
seems to me far more likely to have been caused by
the influence of the colour of its environment, for
its four-footed foes hunt by scent and by night far
more than by sight during the daytime.

The male moufflon of Sardinia, which lives in a
temperate climate where the colours of its surround-
ings are much brighter and more diversified than is
the case in the habitat of the liarbary sheep, is a
much more conspicuously coloured animal than the
latter, or than the females of its own kind. As the
females and young of the Sardinian moufflon, which
are of a uniform brown colour, are more difficult to
see than the males in their somewhat conspicuous
autumn and winter coats, the latter cannot be said
to be protectively coloured. Either through the
influence of sexual selection or that of an environ-
ment the general colour of which varies very greatly
at different seasons of the year, the male of the
Sardinian moufffon becomes during autumn and
winter conspicuously coloured compared with the
female, without detriment, however, to the well-
being of the species.

During my long sojourn in the interior of South
Africa, I made large collections of butterffies.
There was one species (Precis arfaxia, Hewits)
which always puzzled me. This handsome insect
is only found in shiidy forests, is seldom seen Hy-
ing until disturbed, and always sits on the ground
amongst dead leaves. Though handsomely coloured

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

CHAP.

on the upper side, when its wings arc closed i:
closely resembles a dead leaf. It has a little tail
on the lower wing wliich looks exactly like the stalk
of a leaf, and from this tail a dark brown line
runs through both wings (which on the under sides
are light brown) to the apex of the upper wing.
One would naturally be inclined to look upon this
wonderful resemblance t' a dead leaf in a butterfly
sitting with closed wings on the ground amongst
real dead leaves as a remarkable instance of pro-
tective form and coloration. /^ "d of course it may
be that this is the correct explanation. But what
enemy is this butterfly protected against ? Upon
hundreds of different occasions I have ridden and
walked through the forests where Precis artaxia
was numerous, and I have caught and preserved
many specimens of these butterflies, but never once
dill 1 see a bird attempting to catch one of them.
Indeed, birds of all kinds were scarce in the forests
where these insects were to be found. I now think
that the form and colour of the under wings of Precis
artaxia have more probably been produced by the
influence of its environment than by the need for
protection.

Paring the rainy season in South Africa, the
open glades in the forests bordering the rivers are
gay widi multitudes of brightly coloured butterflies
of many different species, and after a night's rain
butterflies of various kinds may often be seen settling
in masses round pools of water along waggon roads.
Most of these butterflies are conspicuously coloured,
though they are in perfect harmony with the sunlit
flowers which spring up at the time of year when
they i.ppear. I cannot, however, believe that the
need for protection against birds or other enemies
has had anything whatever to do with the deter-
mination of their various colours, as in all my
experience (and I have been all mv lite a close

(JIRAFFES AND MUSK OXEN

observer of nature) I have never once seen a bird
feeding upon butterflies in Africa.

The coloration of certain animals in the Arctic
and sub-Arctic Regions is somewhat remarkable, as
at certain seasons it is conspicuously out of harmony
with its surroundings, and cannot therefore be pro-
tective. The musk o.x retains it dark brown coat
the whole year round, although it lives almost con-
stantly amidst a snowy environment. Mr. Wallace
tells us that the reason why the musk o.x does not
turn white is because it has no enemies to fear, and
therefore has no need of a protective coloration.
He says: "Then we have that thoroughly Arctic
animal the musk sheep, which is brown and con-
s[jicuous ; but this animal is gregarious, and its
safety depends on its association in small herds.
It is therefore of more importance for it to be able
to recognise its kind at a distance than to be con-
cealed from its enemies, against which it can well
protect itself so long as it keeps together in a com-
pact body." .'\s, however, according to the experi-
ence of Arctic travellers, large numbers of young
musk o.xen are annually killed by wolves, this ex-
planation of a case in which an animal is manifestly
not protectively coloured does not seem altogether
satisfactory. Air. Wallace, it may be noted, calls
special attention to the coloration of the giraffe,
which he considers lo Oe protective ; yet nothing, I
think, is more certain than that a far smaller
percentage of giraffes are killed annually by lions in
Africa than of musk oxen by wolves in Arctic
America. If this is so, the musk ox has more need
of protective coloration than the giraffe. The
musk ox is, I think, the only one amongst the few
truly Arctic mammals which does not turn white
during the winter months, for, unlike the barren
ground caribou, it does not migrate southwards in
tlie autumn to the u ■•"k spruce iorests, which change

lO

AFRICAN NA'IURF. NOTES

CHAP.

of h.ihit.u no doubt h.is had .m intlucnci; on the
colour of the latter animals ; since I'eary's caribou,
the most northerly form of iht; ^eiuis, whose
habitat lies lar within the Arctic Circle, wher trees
of .uiy kind ar-j non-existent, is almost absolutely
white in colour. In spite, howe\er, of the fact that
lh(; caribou inhabitinir Ellesm<;re Land and the
adjacent IcUid masses are white, and therefore
harmonise wttll in colour with the snowy wastes
amon(,fst which they live, they form the principal
food of the white wolves inhabiting the same re,2;ions,
which hunt them by scent and run them down just
as easily as the grey and black wolves of Alaska
ca[)ture the dark - coloured and very conspicuous
caribou which frequent the mountain ranges of
that country. It appears to me that the colour of a
caribou's coat, whether it be white, black, or brown,
cannot afford it any protection against wolves, which
proijal)ly possess as keen a sense of scent as any
animals in the world, and must surely hunt entirely
by scent during the long dark months of the Arctic
winter. If this is so, then the great diversitv in
the color.ition of the various species of caribou in-
habiting the North American Continent must be due
to some otht;r cause than the necessity for protection
against wolves, practically their only four-footed
enemies.

Speaking of other Arctic animals, IMr. Wallace
believes that the Arctic fox of necessity turns white
in winter in order to enable it to capture the white
Arctic hares upon which it chiefly lives. Very little,
however, is known as to the life-history of these two
animals. But if the Arctic foxes hunt by scent, as
they almost certainly do, during the constant dark-
ness of the long Arctic winter, and. the hares burrow
beneath the snow, and are caught as a rule when
completely hidden from sight below its surface, I

the influence of environment

rnitiL- if it: nrnrtnK]*-* f^'if

I ALASKA AND THE YUKON TKRRI lOR^' ii

has betJii at least as potent a l.ictor in hrini^inj;
about the whiie coloration of these animals in
winter as the necessity for protective coloration.
At any rate, in Alaska and the Yukon Territory of
Canada, where the country is covered with snow for
more than half the year, and where th(- hares are
white throughout the long wintt-r. the foxes are
re-d, black, or a mixture of these two colours, all
the year round, and the lynxes i^rpcy ; yet these two
species of carnivorous animals depend almost
entirely on the hares for their food .-.vipply. It is
somewhat remarkable that in the sub- Arctic forests
ot Alaska and the \'ukon Territory, where the cold
is intense and the j^^round covered with snow for so
many months of every year, only the hares and the
stoats amongst mammals turn whitt; in winter. But
in these countries the land is covered for the most
part with dark spruce forests, the influence of which
— if there is anything in the influence of environ-
ment— may have been greater in determining the
coloration of the mammals of this district than that
of the snow-covered ground.

During winter in the Yukon Territory, moose turn
very dark in colour on the under parts of the bodv,
and at this season of the year leave the thick forests
and live in the comparatively open valleys amongst
w: vv and birch scrub, where they are said to stand
out like haystacks amidst their snowy surroundings.
The local race of caribou {Ravi^ifer osborni), which
live all the year round on the treeless mountain
plateaus, are very dark in colour (with the exception
ot their necks), and, as I myself can testify, stand out
very plainly when the open ground they frequent
is covered with snow. Of the various races of wild
sheep inhabiting the mountains of Ala.ska, the
Yukon Territory, and Northern British Columbia,
some are white all the year round, and therefore
ver)- conspicuous in summer when there is no snow

12

AFRICAN NATURF: NOTES

CHAP.

on ihc ^roiiiiil, ihouLjIi difficult to detect in the
winter ; some arc i/nv, with whitt: heads, necks,
and rumps; whilst oth('rs are nc.irly black, and there-
fore vwry conspicuous in winter. Of tht; predatory
animals the large tiinijer wolves are, as a rule, pale
gn.-vish hrown with hlack hairs on their hacks and
shoulders, but a considerable number arc quite black ;
the fo.\es are either red or black, or of the inter-
mediate coloration known as "cross"; whilst the
wolverines, martens, and minks are rich dark brown,
and the lyn.xes neutral jijrey. The stoat or ermine
is the only carnivorous animal which turns white in
winter in these countries.

1 1 would thus appear that in the sub-Arctic Regions
of North America the coloration of mammals does
not obviously serve the purpose of concealing the
h(;rbivorou.s species from their enemies, or of en-
abling carnivorous animals to approach their jjrey
unperceivetl. To come nearer home, we find that
wh(.'reas in the Alpine regions of Europe the
mountain hare turns white in winter, the chamois
livmg in the same snow-covered ground becomes
deep black. It is true that in winter chamois often
leave the open mountains and live amongst the
higher forests, where it may be said that their
dark colour harmonises well with the dark foliage
of the spruce trees : but I have hunted chamois
in December in the mountains of Transylvania,
when they were in full winter coat, and I certainly
found that their dark coloration often made them
conspicuous.

Turning to Africa, we have many instances of
what seen in the open and at short range cannot
possibly be called anything but conspicuous colora-
tion, such as the jet black and pure white strip 'ng
of the East African form of Burchell's zebra ; the
deep glossy black body and neck, with snow-white
belly and parti-colourcd face, of the sable antelope ;

1 THK INFI.UKNCK OF KNVIR()NMF.N'|- n

the black anil vvhito face of" the t^'cmshuck ; the pure
whitt: fact.: and runij) of the bontcl)ok, cotnhlncil
with the- beautiful dark brown neck and sides and
lilac tinted back ; or the juxtaposition of the black
and white in Thomson's j;a/elle — only to mention
a lew of the most noteworthy examples.

To me it seems that the intluence of environ-
ment mij^ht very well hv. deemeil sufficient of itself
to cause all animals that have lived for lonj^ a!:,'es
in treeless deserts under constant stronjj^ sunlijjjht
to assume the dull brown coloration which they
undoubtedly possess ; whilst Arctic conditions nu\,du
be exi)ected to cause the whiteninin; of an animal's
hair in the winter, or the play of the sun's lii^ht
through the leaves and branches of trees and bushes
to be responsible for a spotted or stripetl coat. In
the case of a combination of black and white — the
two most conspicuous colours in nature — such as
may be seen in the adult cock ostrich or male sable
antelope, why should it not be supposetl that the
law of sexual selection has come into play, as it
probably has done in the jjroduction of the lion's
mane and the exaggerated size of the horns in the
male koodoo.

Having spent many years of my life in the
constant pursuit of African game, I have certainly
been afforded opportunities such as have been
enjoyed by but few civilised men of becoming
intimately acquainted with the habits and life-history
of many species of animals living in that continent,
and all that I have learnt during my long ex{)erience
as a hunter compels me to doubt the correctness
of the now very generally accepted theories that
all the wonderfully diversified colours of mammals
-—the nripes of the zebra, the blotched coat of the
giraffe, the spots of the bushbuck, the white face
and rump of the bontebok, to mention only a few
iiavu uecii evoivca cuncr as a means oi protecliun

«4

Al RIfAN NAIlKi; NOTKS

CHAI'.

from c:iuinics or lor the [nirjjosc ol inutii.il r-coj^ni-
tioii hy animals ol the saintj species in liincs of
SLiildcn alarm. Sexual selection ami llie intluence
of (environment must, 1 think, havit been eijuaiiy
potent factors in the evolution ol colours in mammals,
birds, reptiles, antl inse-cts.

In all recent articles which I have reat! by well-
known naturalists on these subjects, it appears to
be assumed that both carnivorous and herbivorous
animals trust entirely to their sense of sij^ht, the
tormer to tiiul th(-ir prey, and the latter to de-tect
and avoid the appro.ich of their enemies. Y('t
nothing is more certain than th.it all carnivorous
.mimals hunt almost entirt-iy by scent, until they
have closely approached their quarry, and usually
by nijjjht, when all the animals on which they prey
must look very much alike as far as colour is
concerned.

'l"he wild dogs of Africa and the wolves of
northern latitudes are not so completely nocturnal,
it is true, as the lar<i;e I'elidae, but the former I
know, and the latter 1 have every reason to believe,
hunt, as a rule, by night and only occasionally in the
daytime. In both these animals the sense of smell
is enormously developed, and must be of far greater
use to them in procuring food than the .sense of
sight, however acute that may be. In all my
wanderings I have only seen African wild dogs
chasing game in the daytime on four occasions. I
once saw a single wild dog chasing a sable antelope
in the daytime. This wild dog— which was, however,
then too far away to enable me to see what it was
— first ran past the sable antelope and behind it from
where I was watching. It must then have been
running on the trail, w-ith its nose on the ground,
and must have passed quite close to the animal it
was pursuing without seeing it. Its nose, however
kept it

•11 >.:•_ a:n-._:-.„-ijc 3

. t.

J ,- 1 Ui. ■

I III. KYKS OF ANIFI.OPFS

'S

to close (|iiaritrs, and then ol coiirsr it coiitimird
the chase hy si^rlu. \nw if this is the usual pro-
ctiedin^r of African wild do^rs, .md I atn cotiviiK cd
that it is, the value of assimilative coloration to
animals on which the wild di.j^r preys cannot he
very threat.

Hut lint only do all carnivorous animals hunt hy
scent, and rely far more upon their olf.ictory orj^Mns
than upon their keenness of sight to procure food,
hut, as all practical hunters very well know, the
sense of smell is also very highly developed in all,
or at any rate in most, of the\inimals on which the
carnivora prey, ami personally I am persuaded that
all browsing and grazing animals in Africa trust as
much to their noses as to their eyes both to avoid
danger and to hnd members of their own species.
I he eyes of antelopes are (luick to detect a moving
object, but they are by no means quick to notice
any unusu.il colour in a si.itionary object. I will
rel.ite an anecdote illustrating this point.

Early in 1883, I reached the spot on the Hanyani
river in Mashunaland where 1 intended to establish
my hunting camp for the season. Whilst my Kafirs
were chopping down treea to build the cattle en-
closures, 1 climbed to the to{) of the ridge at the
foot of which I was having my camp made.

It was late in the afternoon, and I was sitting on
a rock looking over the open country to the south,
when 1 heard a slight noise, and turning my eves
saw a fine male waterbuck coming towards me up
the ridge. I .sat perfectly still, and it presently
walked slowly past within three yards of me and
then went on along the ridge, into the forest
beyond. As it passed me I noticed its shining wet
nose, and the way in which its nostrils kept
constantly opening and shutting at every step. It
was evidently listening to the noi.se that my Kafirs
•..c*c iiuiKiiig ciio^jping aown srndii trees at the ioot

i6

AFRICAN NATURK NOTFLS

CHAP.

of the fidgc, but as it could not get their wind did
not take alarm.

O*" course, if I had made the very slightest
movement, this waterbuck would have seen me
instantly ; but had it possessed much sense of colour,
the contrast between the red brown of my sunburnt
arms and face and the light-coloured shirt I was
wearing would have attracted its attention, as I
was sitting on a stone, on the top of a ridge which
was quite free from trees or bush. I have never
hail any other African antelopes pass so close to me
as this with(iut .seeing me, but many have fed slowly
past me, as I sat watching them, with a tree or a
bush behind me but nothing between my.self and
them, at distances of from 20 to 50 yards.

Both in Newfoundland and in the Yukon Territory
of Canada, 1 have had caribou walk almost over me
when sitting in front of them on their line of march
on ground devoid of any cover whatever. In such
cases, of course, the wind was blowing from these
animals towards where I was sitting, and I remained
absolutely motionless.

As a rule, when wild animals notice something
suspicious approaching, say a man on horseback,
and cannot get the scent of it, they run off before it
gets near them or circle round to try and get the,
wind of it. But the smal'er African antelopes,
steinbucks, duikers, oribis, and reedbucks will
occasionally, while keeping their eyes fi.xed on the
unfamiliir object, crouch slowly down, and then,
with their necks stretched along the ground, lie
watching. I have ridden past a few oribis, stein-
bucks, and reedbucks within a few yards, as they
lay absolutely motionless on the ground watching
me. To pull in one's horse with the intention of
shooting such a crouching antelope was the instant
signal for it to jump up and bound away. Lions
too, when they see a human being and imagine

I LIONS APPROACHING GAME ,-

that they themselves have not been observed, will
often lie flat on the ground watching, and will not
move until very closely approached. I imagine
that tliese carnivora secure nearly all their prev
by approaching herds of game below the wind
and when they have got pretty near lying flat on
the groLind. perfectly motionless except for the
twitching ot the end of their tails, which they never
seem able to control, and then waitin- till one or
other of the unsuspecting animals feeds close un
to them, when they rush upon and seize it before
It has time to turn. If a lion, however, fails to
niake good his hold with one of his forepaws over
the muzzle of a buffalo or one of the heavier
antelopes, and cannot f^.x his teeth in their throats
or necks, they often manage to throw him ofl^ and
escape.

It is perhaps worthy of remark that I have
never known a case of one of the larger antelopes
trymg to escape observation by lying down
Gemsbucks, roan and sable antelopes, elands!
koodoos, hartebeests, indeed all the large African
antelopes, directly they see anything suspicious,
face towards ,t and stand looking at it. holding
their heads high, and not in any wav shielding
their bodies and only exposing their faces to view
which, when marked with black and white, as in
the ca.se of the gemsbuck and roan antelope, are
supposed, though quite erroneously, to render these
animals invisible.

I am inclined to think, but it is only my personal
opinion, that the difficulty of seeing wild animals in
their natural surroundings has been greatly ex-
aggerated by travellers who were not hunters
and whose eyesight therefore, although of normal'
strength, had not been trained by practice to see
animals quickly in every kind of environment

I am quite sure that to a South-AfVican Bushman

]8

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

CHAP.

there is no such thing :is protective cn'fjration in
n;xture. If an :inim;il is behind a rock or a thick
bush, he of course cannot see it, but his eyes are
so well trained, he knows so exaci'y the appearance
of every animal to be met with in the country in
which he and his ancestors havi; spent their lives
as hunters for countless ages, that he will not miss
seeing any living thing that comes within his range
of vision no mattt r what its surroundings may be.
iiantu Kahrs are often called savages, and their
quickness of sight extolled ; but Kafirs are not real
savages, and though there are good liunters amongst
them, such men will form but a small percentage of
any one tribe. To realise to what a pitch of perfection
the human (ivesight can b»* trained, not in seeing
immense distances but in picking up an animal
within a moderate range immediately it is physically
possible to .see it, it is necessary to hunt with real
savages like tlieMasarvva Bushmen of South-Western
.\frica, who depend on their eyesight for a living.

Now, if carnivorous animals had throughout the
ages depended on their eyesight for tneir daily
food as the Bushmen have done, which is what
naturalists who believe in the value of protective
coloration to large mammals must imagine to be
the case, surely their eyesight would have become
so perfected that no colour or combination of colours
could have concealed any of the animals on which
they habitually preyed from their view. As a
matter of faci, however, carnivorous animals hunt
as a rule by scent and not by sight, and usually
at night when herbivorous animals are moving
about feeding or going to drink. At such a time
it appears to me that the value of a coloration that
assimilated perfectly with an animal's natural sur-
roundings during the daytime would be very small
as a protection from the attacks of carnivora which
hunted bv nii/ht and bv scent.

I

■■n

^

RESTLESSNESS OK WILD ANIMALS

iQ

s
m

Reverting again to the question of quicknes
of eyesight, I will say that, althou<(h a Boer or ai
English hunter can never hope to become as keen-
sighted as a Bushman, his eyes will nevertheless
improve so much in power after a few years spent
in the constant pursuit of game, that the difhcuhy
of distinguishing wild animals amongst their native
haunts will be very much less than it was when
he hrst commenced to hunt, or than it must always
be to a traveller or sportsman who has not had a
long experience of hunting.

However difficult an animal may be to see ;!s
long as it is lying down or standing motionless, as
soon as it moves it becomes very apparent to the
human eye ; and, as I have had ample exf)eriencc
that any movement made by a man is very quickly
noticed by a lion, leopard, hyana, or wild dog, I am
quite sure that all these carnivora, if lying watching
for prey by daylight, v.ould at once see any animal
mo.ing about feeding anywhere near them ; and all
herbivorous animals move about and feed early in
the morning and late in the evening, the very times
when carnivorous animals would be most likely to
be looking for game by daylight.

During the heat of the day carnivorous animals
are very seldom seen, as at that time they sleep,
and most herbivorous animals do the same. Bui
even when resting, wild animals are seldom motion-
less. Elephants and rhinoceroses are constantlj
moving their ears, whilst giraffes, elands, buffaloes',
zebras, and other animals seldom stand for many
seconds together without swishing their tails. All
these movements at once attract the attention of
the trained human eye, and I am very sure would be
equally apparent to the sight of a lion or a leopard,
were these animals to hunt by sight and during the
daytime. But, speaking generally, they do not do

so, tnO""'h doubtless sliouh! .'. ntelritif": rsr nth.i-r

23

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

CHAP.

aiiim;ils unconsciously feed close up to where a
lion happened to be lying resting and waiting for
ni^'ht before commencing active hunting, he would
very likely make a rush and try and seize one
of them if he could. Upon two occasions I have
had my bullocks attacked in the middle of the day,
once by a single lioness, and on the other occasion
by a party of four lions, two lions and two lionesses.
But how many old hunters have seen lions actually
hunting in the full light of day? Personally, in all
the long years I was hunting big game in Africa —
years during which I must have walked or ridden
many thousands of miles through country full of
game, and where lions were often numerous — I only
once saw one of these animals hunting by daylight.
This lion was pursuing four koodoo cows on a cool
cloudy winter's morning.

As a rule, lions do not commence to hunt before
darkness has set in. They then seek their prey by
scent, either smelling the animals directly or follow-
ing their tracks. They understand as well as the
most experienced human hunter the art of approach-
ing game below tht; wind, when hunting singly ;
but when there are .several lions hunting together,
I believe that some of them will sometimes creep
close up to a herd of game below the wind, whilst
one or more of their number go round to the other
side. The buffaloes, zeljras, or antelopes at once
get the scent of these latter, and run off right on
to the lions lying waiting below the wind, which
then get a good chance to seize and pull down one
of the frightened animals. As lions have played
this game with my cattle upon several occasions,
I presume that they often act in the same way with
wild animals.

No matter how dark the night may be, a lion
has no difficulty in seizing an ox, a horse, or a
doiikt'v ex.'ictlv in the rit'ht wav, .nnd ! h.'ive no

BURCHKLL'S ZEBRAS

21

doubt th.-U he does the same in the case of all the
different kinds of game upon which he preys. Now
that the buffaloes have been almost exterminated
by the rinderi)est in most parts of Africa, the zebr.i
undoubtedly forms the favourite food of the lion.
l'"or every zebra that is killed by daylight probably
at least a hundred are killed during the night,
when, except by moonlight, they would appear to a
lion very much the same, as far as coloration goes,
as a black ox, a dark grey wildebeest, or a red
hartebeest, all of which animals look black by ni<,rht
if they are near enough to be seen at all.

I have had innumerable opportunities of looking
at wild zebras, and when met with on open ground
they certainly have always appeared to me to be
very conspicuous animals, except just at dawn and
late in the evening, when they are not so easy to
see as animals of some uniform dark colour, such
as hartebeests.

In Southern Africa, between the Limpopo and
the Zambesi rivers, Burchell's zebras used to be
very plentiful in all the uninhabited part;- of the
country, and although they were often met with
feeding or resting in districts covered with open
forest or scattered bush, I found them alw.iys very
partial to open ground, where they were ;is' plainly
visible as a troop of horses. In Ilast Africa the
local race of Burchell's zebra is remarkable f..r the
whiteness of the ground colour of the body and
the intense blackness of the superimposed stripes.
These beautiful animals congregate in large herds
on the bare open plains traversed by tlu; Luanda
Railway, and probably form the chief UhkI of ilie
Ikjhs living in that district.

When in East Africa a few years ago, 1 took
special note of the appearance of zebras at different
distances on the open plains between Lakes \akiiru
and Elmenteita. I found that in the bright African

22

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

CHAP.

sunlight I could sec with the naked eye the black
and white striping of their coats up to a distance
which I estimated at about 400 yards. Beyond
that distance they looked of a uniform dark colour
when the sun was behind them, and almost white
when the sun was shining on them. But at what-
ever distance they happened to be on the open
plain between myself and the horizon, their forms
showed up quite as distinctly as those of a herd
of cattle or horses, \ever in my life have I seen
the sun shining on zebras in such a way as to
cause them to become invisible or even in any way
inconspicuous on an open plain, and I have seen
thousands upon thou.sands of Burchell's zebras.
Should these animals be approached when standing
amongst trees with the leaf on, they are not at all
easy to see, and the whisking of their tails will
probably be the first thing to catch one's eye ; but
in open ground, and that is where they are usually
met with, no animals could be more conspicuous.
I have seen zebras too by moonlight, but that was
many years ago, and I did not then take any special
note of their appearance ; but my impression is that
they were no more invisible than other animals, but
looked whitish in colour when the moon was shining
(m them, and very dark when it was behind them.
As. however, zebras have a very strong smell, and
lions usually hunt them by scent and at night, I
cannot think that their coloration, whether it be
conspicuous or not, matters very much to them,
though I look upon the theory that the brilliantly
-Striped coats of these animals render them in reality
inconspicuous as absolutely untenable, as it is not
in accordance with fact.

When in Kast .Africa I came to the conclusion
that not only the zebras, but al.so the impala ante-
lo[)es— which are of a much richer and darker red
than in South .Africa — were conspicuously coloured.

^

^^m-^:-i<m:^

CONSPICUOUS COLORATION

23

and therefore very easy to see ; whilst the broad
black lateral band dividing; the snow-white belly
from the fawn-coloured side in Thomson's gazelles
showed these little animals up with the most start-
ling distinctness on the bare open {>lains they
inhabit.

To my eyes, and in the bright sunlight of Africa,
the juxtaposition of black and white markings, so
often seen on the faces of African antelopes, has
never seemed to produce an indistinct blur of colour
except at a considerable distance. At any distance
up to 300 yards the black and white face-markings
of the gemsbuck, the roan, and the sable antelope
always appeared to me to be distinctly visible, and
they have often been the first parts of these animals
to catch my eye.

It is all very well to say that a male sable ante-
lope, in spite of its bold colouring, is often very
difficult to see. That is no doubt the case, but
that only means that there is no colour in nature,
and no possible combination of colours, which at a
certain distance, if stationary, would not be found
to harmonise well with some portions of, or objects
in, an African landscape. Speaking generally,
however, the coloration of a sable antelope bull
makes him a very conspicuous object to a trained
human eye. and also, one would suppose, to that of
a carnivorous animal, were it watching for prey by
daylight.

CHAPTHR II

l-URTHKK NOTES ON THK (jL'KSTIONs OK I'KOTECTIVK
COLOKATIO.V, RECOGNITION MARKS. AM) TMK IN-
KLUKNCK OK KNVIRONMKNT ()N I.|\ IN(; OR(;aNISMS

O.-casional rescinbl.m. c „f Afn, .m ni.im.n.iis lo n.iHir.il objerts -
Hartcbcehts--Klephants — (nr.tffe;, — Colonilion of the .Somali
>,'iraffe— (.iralics not in need of a prole, live < oloiation Koodoos,
and sable amelopes Ac ute .-.enbi.- of beaiin- in ihe moose -
Kossible explanation of la.-e si/c of car, .n the Af, i. an tiagela-
phine antelopes — Coloration of buslibu. k-, sittitungas, and
inyalas — Leopards tlie only enemies of ti.e smaller bush-hau.it-
ing antelopes KeLognition mark. Must render animals con-
spicuous to friend and foe .alike - Kan-e, of .lilied spe les of
.amelopcs seldom overlap- Hybridisation sometimes take, pl.w
—Wonderful coloration of the bontebok Coloration distinctly
conspicuous :ind therefore not protective He. ognition marks
unnecessary— Coloration of the b,e>bok The bleslmk merely
a duller coloured bontebok - Difference m the hab;tat of the
two species— The color.ation of both ,pe( ie, may be due to the
influnn. e of their respective environments Ihe ueak (joint in
the tluory of protective coloration «hen .ipplied to large
mammals - Hares and foxes in the Arctic and ,ub-Arctic Kegicms
— Ihe etfic.-.cy of colour protection .it once destroyed by move
ment— lUitTaloe, and lions— (Jenera! c cmc lusions re-.irding the
theory of inotec tive coloration as applied lo larvae mammal".

Ckrtain obser\ ations have been m.idtj and theories
propoundeil on the occasional resemblance of African
mammals to natural objects, which have never
seemed to me to have much significance, alihouuh
they are often referred to as valuable observations
by writers on natural history.

1 hus it has been s.iid that hart-hppsts, v,hich are

CHAP. 11

HARTEBEESTS

as

red in colour, derive protection from their enemies
owing to their resemblance not only in colour but
also in shape to ant-heaps, and that jjiraffes gain an
advantage in the struggle for life owing to the fact
that their long necks look like tree-trunks and their
heads and horns like broken branches.

Well, hartebeests an- red in colour wherever
they are found ail over Africa. Ant-heaps are onl)"
red wiien they are built of red soil. In parts of the
Bechw inalanJ Protectorate, where the Cape harte-
heest used to be common, the ant-heaps are a glaring
white. In East Africa, in different portions of
which territory hartebeests of three species are very
numerous, all of which are brigh*. red in colour, red
ant-heaps are certainly not a conspicuous feature in
all parts of the country, and there were, if my memory
serves me. very few ant-heaps of any size on the
plains where I met with either Coke's, Neumann's,
or Jackson's hartebeests.' But even in those districts
where the ant-heaps an; red in colour, and neither
ver>' much larger nor smaller than hartebeests, they
are usually of one even roundetl shape, and it would
only be here and there, where two had been thrown
up together forming a double - humped structure,
that anythmg resembling one of these animals could
be seen. Such unusual natural objects must be
anythmg but common, and c.uinot, I believe, have
had any effect in determining the bodily shape of
hartebeests, though, if the coloration of animals is
mlluenced by their environment, red soil and red
ant-heaps may have had their influence on the colour
of the ancestral form from which all the various
but nearly allied s])ecies of hartebeests have been
derived.

1 was once hunting in 1885 with a Boer friend

r JnT'""! '.'"'''"' ^'"?^ ''l'; ?'■**>■ ''"^ l'<--'w«n .Siml« an.i Na>r..l,i, tli.- o|.c.,
country between Lak.'<i Nakuru and Klrm-r.'.!-.:, .,r ;(-,- n-^-^' '-■■••'••••-! -'^
r<'.id UlweL-n l.-.nJiani .-nd Ravine S:aiion. ' ■'■"•'-■■ --J--tnc

26

AFRICAN NATURK NO TKS

CHAI'.

(Cornclis v;in Kooycn) ni:ar the Uinfuli riv(;r in
M.ishiinalancl. W'v were ridinj; slowly alonj;, fol-
lowfd by s(ime Kafirs, and driving a donkt-y carry-
ing com for the horses in front of us, when we saw
what we took to be some boulders of bkick rock in
the open forest ah(;ad, but some distance' away, as
we w(.Te crossing an open vaUey at the time. In
this particular part of the country great boulders of
black rock wen^ a common feature in the landscape.
.Suddenly our donk(;y pricked his ears, and stretch-
ing out his nose, commenced to bray loudly. Im-
in«;diatel\ >nr of the black rocks, as we had thoupiht
them to l)e. moved, and we soon saw that what we
had taken for rocks were elephants. Our donkey
had smelt tlu-m before either my friend or myself
or any of our Kafirs hail been abl(* tf) distinguish
what they were. As. however, elephants are only
occasionally encountered in fon;sts through which
great boulders of black rock are scattered, I do
not h(li(!ve that these huge quadrupeds have been
moulded to tht; shape of rocks by the ne(;d of a
protective resemblance to inanimatt; objects, any
more than I think that the abnormal shape of
certain ant-heaps has had anything to do with the
protluction of tlu; high wither and drooping hintl-
quarters of the hartebeest.

As to the theory that the long neck anil the
peculiarly formed head of the giraffe have been
evolved in order to protect this remarkable animal
ugainst its carnivorous foes, by giving it the appear-
.inceof a (lead or decayed tree, I personally consider
such an idea to be so fantastic and extravagant as to
be unworthy of serious consideration.

In the course of my own hunting experience, I
have shot a great many giraffes to obtain a supply of
food for my native followers, and under the guidance
of Bushmen have followed on the tracks of many
herd-: of these animals until I at length lighted ihcrn.

BUSHMKN AND (JlRAFKKS

»7

l;i ctrt;iin parts of the country frcquentrd by giraflts
in Southern Africa, large canK-l-thorn trees {.Icar/a
'^iraf/ac) grow cither singly or a few logeth( r
aipongst a wide expanse of wait-a-ljit-thorn scrub,
wi/ich is from 6 to i r feet high. I'rom time to
time these large trees die and decay, until nothing
is left but a t.ill straight stem, st.inding up like a tele-
graph pole (only a good deal thicker) amongst the
snrroun<ling scrub. V\'h<-n. whilst following on giraffe
spoor through such country, something suddenly
comes in view protruding from tlu- bush, perhaps a
mile ahead, the Ikishmen will stop and t.ike a good
look at it. Of course at a very great distance it
is impossiblt; for <;ven a lUishman to distinguish
between the tall straight stem of a tlead tree stand-
ing up out of low bush and the neck of a solitary old
bull giraffe. Hut if the I.ilter, it is sure soon to
move, unless it is standing watching its human
enemies approaching, in which case it will not be
very far away, and I have never known a Hushman
to mistake a giraffe for a tnc at any reasonable
distance.

.■\s regards the coloration of the species of giraffe
inhabiting South and South-Western Africa, it assimi-
lates very well with its surroundings, when amongst
trees and bush ; but as giraffes spend a great deal
of their time passing through oi)en stretches of
country on their way from one feeding-ground to
another, they are often very conspicuous animals.

With respect to the .Son X\ giraffe {Ciiraffa reticu-
lata), a photograph taken by the photographer who
accompanied one of Lord Delamere's e.xpeditions,
showing some of these animals feeding amongst
mimosa trees, gives the impre.ssion of a most
marvellous harmonisation of colour and arrange-
ment of marking with their surroundings. But I
cannot help thinking that the facts of the case have
been very much exaggerated in this photograph,

iS

AKRfCAN NATURE NOTKS

LHAP.

which h.is chniiiiatcil ail cohnars Iroin llic picture
.-■xccpi hhick .-.rul white. In Hfc. the foli.i^'c ot the
mimosa is very thin, aiul I think it ].roi)ablf that
the rich dark chestnut l)Iotclies (hviticil l)y wiiite
lines of the Soni.ih ^'irade woiilil show thr()UL;h it
at least as ihstincll)- as would the ccjjours ol th«
southern j^ir.itte in a like position. TIk- Somali
jLcirafie cannot constantly livit amoiiv;st mimosa trees,
as thes(.' only i;row in valleys near streams or drieil-
up watercourses, and only cover .i small proportion
of any country I have yet seen cither in South or
I'-ast Africa.

I nvist say that 1 rather distrust the camera as a
tru(; interjjreter of nature, .is I havt- set-ii so many
photojrra[)hs of the nests of small birds in hushes in
which it was very difficult even ftjr .i trained eye to
tmd the nest at all, although in all prohabilily it
would have been comparatively easy to detect these
nests in the actual bushes in which they were
placed.

Speaking of the Somali giraffe. Colonel J. J.
Harrison, in .i footnote to a photograph of one of
these animals shot by hims<;lf right out in open
country, which appeared in the /iys/amhr for
January ;,o, 1907, s.iys : 'These handsome
coloured giraffes an- very striking when seen
standing in the sun. Of 'a rich bright chestnut
colour, with pure whiir rings, they stand out
si)lendidly as comparetl uiih the dull grey colouring
of the more southern giraffe."

However, it appears to me that to whatever
e.xtent the coloration of the various races of giraffes
harmonises with their surroundings, that result must
have been brought about by the inlluence of their
environment rather than by the iieeil of protective
coloration, for I cannot believe that the struggle for
lite against the attacks of carnivorous animals can
have been suffirientiv severe to have ' ' ' "

,..(1 «,.,J fU..

II

I, IONS AND (JIRAFKKS

*9

rnloiir .mil the ;irrai)g(.-m«Mit ot" markings in j^iraffcs.
Thai lions occasionally attack and kill j^'iratlcs is an
iindoiihtfd fact. and. .is I shall rtlatc in a subsequent
cha[)ttT, I liav(^ also known a case of .i very young
giraMf having hern attacked hy two leopards ; but
in South Africa gir.ifles are found in the greatest
numbers in those p.irts of the country wlu-re, except
during the rainy season, theri; is very little surface
wit(!r. and where other species of game are far from
plentiful. Into such districts lions do not often
penetrate, and when giraffes are foun<l in country
when; there is plenty of water, zebras, buffdoes, and
ante-lopes of v.irious kinds will also be numerous.
and these animals will certainly be preyed upon in
preference. .\t any rate, my own e\|Ktrience would
lead me to believe that although lions can and do
kill giraffes upon occasion, they do not habitually
prey upon these animals. Moreover, when giraffe's
are killed by lions, they are in all probability
followed by scent and killed in the dark.

Altogether, the theory that the colour of the
giratle has been evolved by the necessity for con-
cealment and protection from the attacks (>( car-
nivorous animals does not seem to me to be at all
well supported by the life-history of that animal as
s(;en by a practical hunter ; but the f.ict that the
coloration of this remarkable animal assimilates
very well with the dull and monotonous shades of
the trees and bushes in the parched and waterless
districts it usually frequents, is a strong argument
in favour of there being a law whidi, working
through the ages, tends to bring the colours of all
organic beings into harmony with their surround-
ings, irrespective of any special benefit they may
receive in the way of protection from enemies by
such harmonious coloration.

Turning to the striped and spotted forest ante-
loTipt: Inh^b't'""" v^'-'O"'^ r-i-iffo ,.f AC-: — i .u:_i.

JO

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

CHAP.

then.' is sonu- misconception ;unon>,fst naturalists
who have not visited that country as to the general
surroundings amongst wliich the various species
live. The magnificent koodoo, with his long spiral
horns, striped body. s[jotted cheeks, nose; marked
with a wiiite arrow, and throat adorned with a long
fringe of hair, is often spoken of as an inhabitant
of dense jungle. Tliis is, however, by no means
the case, for although koodoos are never found on
open plains, they are. on the other hand, seldom
met with in really dense jungle.

I'he range of the koodoo to the south of the
Zambesi e.\tends farther to the south and west
than that of the sable antelope, but I think I am
justified in saying that up to the time of the deplor-
able visitation of rindt^rpest in 1896. wherever,
between the Limpopo and the Zambesi, sable
antelopes were to be met with, there koodoos were
also to be found, and outside of districts infested by
the " tse-tse " tly, excepting amongst rocky hills,
I have never met with the latter animals in any
country where I was not able to gallop after them
on horseback.

Living as they do in surroundings so very similar
to those frequented b\' sable antelopes, I have never
been able to understand why koodoos should have
such much larger ears than the former animals. I
have never been struck with the acute sense of
hearing in koodoos as I have been in the case of
the moose of North America, and I should scarcel\-
think that this sense would often save them from
the noiseless approach of such animals as lions or
leopards, to which they very frequently fall a prey,
judging by the number of the remains of koodoo
bulls which I have found that had been killed by
the forTjer animals.

I have often wondered whether the large size of
the ears observable in the African tragelaphine ante-

'M:-'^r''--

II

KOODOOS AND BUSH BUCKS

,:;'

lopes, which are all forests c'-.vellers (with the exception
of the situtunga, which lives in dense beds of reeds),
may not be useful to them by enabling the males
and females to hear one another's calls during the
mating season. The large ears and exquisite
sense of hearing of the moose, which is also a forest-
dwelling animal, have undoubtedly been developed
for the purpose of enabling the males and females
to fmd one another in the breeding se.ison, and
not for protection against the attacks of wolves. 1
have frequently heard both koodoos and biishbucks
calling by night and also in the early morning.
The noise they make is a sort of bark or cough.

Antelopes inhabiting open i)lains are ver\
gregarious, and in the daytime would always be
able to find their mates by sight. 1 have never
heard them making anything but low grunting
noises. As it is often assumed by naturalists that
ill bush-haunting species of antelopes have verv
large ears it is perhaps worth noticing that in the
little blue buck and the red bush duiker of South-
East Africa, which both live in dense jungle near
the coast, the ears are very small ; whilst in the
steinbuck, on the other hand, which is always found
in very open country and never in thick bush, the
ears are very large — both long and broad.

The coloration observable in the different races of
bushbucks inhabiting different localities, as well as
in the situtunga and inyala antelopes, is, I think,
very interesting and suggestive. It may, I think,
be taken for granted that all the races of African
bushbucks have been derived from an ancestral
form which was both striped and ^potted ; but in
the bushbucks found near the c ..-:t of the Cape
Colony and Natal, the adult males are deep dark
brown in colour, often absolutely devoid of any
white spots or strip('s on face or body, whilst the
adult females are yellowish red, with only a fpu

p

AFRICAN NATURF. NOTES

CHAT

whit(j spots on the Hanks. Now these most
southerly of the African biishbucks Hve in really
dense bush, and oi'un in deep ravines, where the
sun never [jenetrates. Their habitat too being
near the sea-coast, the climate must be damper than
in the interior of the continent. In the northern
parts of Mashunalanil and along the Central
Zamijesi and Chobi rivers the bushbucks live in
forest and bush which is seldom very dense, and
throuL,di most oi Which the sunlight plays constantly.
In these districts the males are, when adult, beauti-
fully stri[)ed and spotted, and the ground colour of
their coats is rich red and dark brown, the females
being ol a dark rich red and also well striped and
spotted. The situtunga antelopes live (on the Chobi
<ind Central Zambesi) in immense beds of reeds which
are always of one dull monotonous greyish green or
brown. The adult animals are, as might be ex-
p(;cted by those who believe in the direct influence
of environment, of a uniform light brown colour,
except that the spots on the cheeks and the arrow-
shaped mark across the nose, present in most
tragelaphine antelopes, are still discernible. In the
inyala antelope, which inh;ibits thick jungly tracts
of bush along the south-east coast of Africa, the
adult male is of a deep dark grey in general body
colour, with a few scarcely visible vertical white
stripes. The young males and the adult females
art, however, of a brilliant light red colour, profusely
striped and spottc d with white. The young of all
bushbucks and of the inyala are reddish in ground
colour, striped and si)otted with white. The fcetal
young of the situtunga found in the marshes of
the Chobi are of the colour of a dark moleskin
beautifully banded and spotted with pale yellow,
and it is, I think, a very remarkable fact that these
stripes and spots are identical in position with those
found on the adult Chobi bushbuck. whirh is sti'on"'

11 BUSHHUCKS, INYALAS, & SITUTUNGAS jj

evidence, 1 think, that both these animals arc
descended from one ancestral form.

Now the only animal that preys habitually on
bushbucks. inyalas, and situtungas is the leopard,
and as leopards hunt by night and by scent, 1
cannot believe that the very different outward
appearance of the various races of bushbucks
inhabiting different parts of Africa is to be
accounted for by the theory of protective colora-
tion. The males and females of the Cape bushbuck
and of the inyala antelope are very different one
from another in the colour of their' coats, but this
does not seem to be prejudicial to either se.\,
though there is absolutely no difference in their
habits or their habitat. In all the different races of
bushbucks, however, with which I am acquainted,
the males are much darker in colour tlian the
females, so that it is not so very .surprising that in
the case of the inyala and the Cape bushbuck
the males should have been the first to lose their
stripes and spots in a sombre environment. In the
case of the Cape bushbuck the adult females have
already lost all the stripes and most of the spots
of the ancestral form. The female inyala is, how-
ever, one of the most distinctly striped and spotted
representatives of the tragelaphine group.

I cannot see that facts support the opinion that
the uniform dull brown coloration of both sexes of
the southern race of situtunga has been brought
about for the purpose of protection from carnivorous
enemies. During the daytime these animals live
in the midst of beds of reeds growing in water
where they cannot be approached except by wad-
ing ; but at night they are often killed by leopards,
and perhaps sometimes by lions, whilst feeding just
outside the reed beds, on open ground which has
perhaps been recently swept by a veld fire, and

w

rcrc young reeos and grass are just sprouting.

D

34

AFRICAN NATURE NOTKS

CHAP.

At such a time their actual colour can be of no
more use in the way of protecting them from their
keen-scented feline foes than if it were black or
red or grey. To me it seems far more probable
that the situtunga has gradually lost the stripes
and spots of the ancestral form from which it is
derived, and assumed a uniform dull brown colora-
tion, because it has lived for ages amongst reed beds
of one dull monotonous colour, than because a
uniform brown coat affords it a special protection
against carnivorous foes.

I gather from the writings of Mr. A. R. Wallace
and other well-known naturalists that, whereas the
coloration of all animals is supposed to be due to
the need of [)rotection from carnivorous beasts,
many species have develo[)ed in addition what are
known as recognition marks, to enable them to
distinguish members of their own species from
nearly allied forms, or to help them to quickly
recogni.se and rejoin the members of the herd or
family from which they may have been separated.

That many large mammals belonging to different
genera, and living in widely separated parts of the
globe, are marked with conspicuous patches of white
on the rump, neck, or face, or throw up bushy tails
when running, showing a large white under surface,
is an indispi .table fact, though it is not possible to
say that the possession of such a conspicuous colora-
tion is absolutely necessary to the well-being of any
particular species, because there will nearly always
be other species living in the same country, and
subject to the attacks of the same predatory
animals, in which these so-called recognition marks
are absent. However, o.i the supposition that
carnivorous animals hunt by sight, it seems to me
that no animal can be said to be protectively
coloured which is marked in any way so conspicu-

y

ouslv as

be recognisable c-.' oti;cr:j of ito uwn

^n:-^^fr^:^vm^m^:^

II

RECOGNITION MARKS

35

species at a distance, for it would be eciually
recognisable by all predatory animals, and caribou
and white-tailed deer or African ant(;lopes cannot
escape from wolves or wild dogs by running like
rabbits into burrows.

Personally, I cannot see why large antelopes
which live in herds on open plains should recjuire
special recognition marks, as in such localities the
bulk of an animal's whole body would be plainly
visible at a great distance no matter what its colour
might be. If an antelo[)e became separated from
its fc-llows by night, all so-called recognition marks
would be invisible at a very short iistance. It
must be remembered, however, that ev^ry species
of animal has a peculiar and very distinctive smell
of its own, and my own observations would lead
me to believe that most wild animals recognise
one another, as a rule, more by scent than bv sight,
it seems difficult to believe that there can be
any truth in the theory suggested by Mr. Wallace,
that recognition marks have been developed in
certain species of large mammals because they are
necessary to enable nearly allied species of animals
to know their own kind at a glance, and so prevent
interbreeding ; for the ranges of very nearly allied
forms of one genus, such as the various species of
hartebeests and oryxes, or the bontebok and the
blesbck, very seldom overlap, and so each species
keeps true of necessity and without the help of
special recognition marks. Where the ranges of
two nearly allied species do overlap interbreeding
probably will take place.

There seems little doubt that the species of
hartebeest known as Neumann's hartebeest has
interbred with Jackson's hartebeest in certain dis-
tricts where the ranges of the two species meet.
In the neighbourhood of Lake Nakuru, in Hritish
East Africa, I shot, in February 1903, a hartebeest

3'J

AFRICAN NATURE NOTKS

CHAl',

which u.is not a Jackson's hartcbeest, but which
closely resembled an animal of that species in thii
character of its horns and the measurements of its
skull, whilst all the others in the same herd aj)peared
to be true Neumann's. I have known too of one
undoubted case of the interbreedinii; of the South
African hartebeest (/>. Caania) witii the tsessebe
( Damaliscns Innalus).

This animal (an adult male) was shot by my
friend Cornelis van Rooyen in Western Matabele-
land, wh('re the r.uiges of the two species just
overlap. In coloration it was like a tsessebe, but
had the comparatively bushy tail of the hartebeest.
whilst its skull and horns (which are, I am glad to
say, in the collection of the Natural History Museum
at South Kensington) are exactly intermediate
between those of the two parent speci('s. This
skull has been very unsatisfactorily labelled " sup-
posed hybrid between B. Caavta and D. /utta/iis."
But as, when I presented it to the Natural History
Museum, I gave at the same time a full descrijjtion
of the animal to which it had belonged, which I
got from the man who actually shot it, there is no
supposition in the matter. If the skull and horns
in question are not those of a hybrid between the
South African hartebeest and the tsessebe, then
they must belong to an animal still unknown to
science.

There is, I think, no large mammal in the whole
world whose coat shows a greater richness of bloom
and a more abrupt contrast of colours than the
bontebok, so called by the old Dutch colonists of
the Cape because of its many coloured hide, for
donl means spotted, or blotched, or variegated. The
whole neck, the chest, the sides and under parts
of the head, and the sides of the body of this re-
markable antelope are of a rich dark brown, and
the central part of the back Is of a beautiful purple

1

I

i

\

1

BONTKBOKS AND BLKSBOKS

^/

lilac : whilst, in strong contrast to thehc rich dark
colours, the whole front of the face, a good -sized
patch on the rump, the whole belly, and the legs
are of a pure and brilliant white. In life, and when
they are in good condition, a wf)nderful sheen plays
and shimmers over the glossy coats of these beauti-
fully coloured animals, which fully atones for the
want of grace and refinement in the shape of their
heads and the heavy build of their bodies.

Now, a practical acquaintance with the very
limited extent of country in which the bontebok
has been evolved, and where the survivors of the
race still live, makes it quite imj)ossible for me to
believe that the extraordinarily brilliant colouring
of this species of antelope can have been gradually
developed in order to make it inconspicuous and
therefore difficult of detection by carnivorous
animals, nor can I believe that it has been evolved
for the purpose of mutual recognition between
individuals of the species ; for although the snow-
white blaze down the face or the white rump patch
might very well subserve such a purpose, I see
no necessity, looking to the habitat and the habits
of the bontebok, for special recognition marks.

Now, before proceeding further, I think I ought
to say a word as to the points of resemblance and
the differences between ;he bontebok and its near
ally the blesbok.

In the latter, the wonderful contrasts of colour
to be seen in the former are considerably toned
down ; but the difference between the two species
is merely superficial. The general body colour of
the blesbok is dark brown, but not so dark as on
the neck and sides of the bontebok, and the delicate
purply lilac cc'our of the back in the latter species
is altogether w. ting in the former. In the blesbok.
too, the colour ol the rump iust above the tail,
which in the bontebok is snow-white, is brown.

3«

AFRICAN NATURE NDTES

CHAP.

tlioiij^h of ;i paler shade than any other part of the
body. In the blesbok, too, the white face " blaze " is
not continuous from the horns downwards as in the
bontebok. but is interrupted above the eyes by a
bar of brown. The legs, too. in the blesbok are
not so white as in the bontebok, and whilst the
horns of the latter species are always perfectly
black, in the former th(;y are of a greenish colour.

In a word, the differ^.nces between the bontebok
and the blesbok are confined to the intensity of
the colours on various portions of their hides, the
former being much more brilliantly coloured than
the latter.

Owing to the fact that the early Dutch settlers
at the Cape first met with the antelopes which they
called bonteboks on the plains near Cape Agulhas,
and subsequently at first gave the same name to
the nearly allied species which was discovered
about one hundred years later in the neighbourhood
of the Orange river, although these latter were un-
doubt(;dly blesboks and not bonteboks, a great con-
fusion arose between these two nearly allied species,
which I think that I was the first to clear up, in
the article on the bontebok which I contributed to
the Gnat and S>na/l Game of Africa, published by
Rowland Ward, Limited, in 1899. I cannot go into
all the arguments I then used, but there can be
no doubt that the animals which Captain (after-
wards Sir Cornwallis) Harris first met with on the
bontebok flats near the Orange river, in the
Colesburg division of the Cape Colony, were
blesboks and . ot bonteboks, and that all the
millions of antelopes of the same species which he
subsequently saw to the north of the Orange river
and thought to be bonteboks were also all blesboks,
and that he never saw a bontebok at all until after
his return to^ the Cape, when he made a special
journey to Cape Agulhas to secure specimens of

1

II AN KXCEPTIONAL KNVIRONMKNT 39

that spt;cies, as he was " anxious 10 ascertain whether
the animal ritjoroiisly protected in the neij^hbour-
hood of Ca[)e Agulhas differed in any respect
from that found in the interior, as pretcuikd by the
colonist <■."

I think myself that the correct determination of
the true distribution of these two nearly allied
spt'cies ot antelopes is of the utmost importance to
the question as to the influence of environment on
the coloration of animals.

I imaj^dne that the white -faced bontebok was
evolved from the same ancestral form as the topi
and the tiang of East and Northern Africa, for the
new-born bontebok as well as the blesbok has a
blackish brown face, and I believe- however fan-
tastic this belief may appear to be — that the wonder-
fully rich and varied coloration of this remarkable
antelope has been brought about purely through
the influence of its exceptional environment. The
plains where these animals live lie along the shore
of a deep blue sea, the ground beneath their feet
is at certain seasons of the year carpeted with wild
flowers, which grow in such })rofusion that they give
a distinct colour to the land.scape. whilst above
them rises a range of mountains of a considerable
altitude, the upper parts of which are often covered
with a mantle of pure white snow. I cannot imagine
how any one who has seen bonteboks on the plains
they inhabit can believe that their white rumps,
faces, bellies, and legs, contrasting as they do so
vividly with the dark rich brown of their sides and
necks, can afford them any protection against their
carnivorous foes ; nor, although a white rumj) or face
is a conspicuous mark, can I see the necessity of
recognition marks for animals which live on open
plains where the vegetation is short, and where an
animal's whole body can be seen at a lone distance.

in iTn, ijic-.uwk, wi'm-i'i diso iivcb uil upen plains.

40

AFRICAN NATURK NOTKS

LHAl',

the whhf. rump patch so conspicuous in the bonte-
bok h.is beconu; p.iU: brown, as, I think, through
tht; inllu«;nce of the dull monotonous colours of the
dreary, dull -coloured country in which it lives.
Ajres a<,fo no doubt the bontebok spread north-
wards throu<,rh the karroo into the countries beyond
the ()ranjre and the Vaal rivers, but the gradual
desiccation of the whole of South-Western Africa,
which has been going on for a very long time, must
have gradually d 'en all the bonteboks outside the
Cape peninsula northwards to the Orange river,
an 1 completely separated them from their relatives
still living near Cape Agulhas. These latter have
retained all their richness of coloration brought
about by the influence of their very striking sur-
roundings, the ileep blue of the sea, the snow on
the mountains, and the bloom of innumerable wild
Howers. The northern herds moved into open
plains, in themselves very similar to the plains near
Cape Agulhas, but they are n<-ver carpeted with
wild (lowers, nor are they skirted by a deep blue
sea, nor ev(;r overlooked by snow-covered mountains.
Is it not possible that the differences which exist
to-day between the coloration of the Ijontebok and
the blesbok are entirely the result of the absence
of any kind of colour but various monotonous shades
of brown in the countries in which the latter species
has now been living for a long period of time .^

Not only has the rich and beautifully variegated
body colouring of the bontebok become an almost
uniform dark brown in the blesljok. but the snow-
white disc on the rump of the former animal has
turned to a pale brown in the latter, whilst the
area of white on the face and legs of the bontebok
has already been considerably contracted in the
blesbok.

Personally. I look upon the blesbok as a faded
bontebok : faded bcrauKf. it moved northwards out

if^e

l HK ARCTIC UlNTKR

4'

of the richly coloured tiiviroiiiueiit in which it was
first evolved into the dull -coloured plains of its
present habitat, where it siibseciiienily became
isolatetl owin^^ to the desiccation of the intervening
country.

CouUl the ojjeninjT up of Africa l)y the destructive
civilised races hav been .lelayeil lor a few luindr<:d
or a few th' sand years, the blesbok would no doubt
have lost ii, • white bl.i/e tlown the face as com-
pletely as it has los^ the white disc over the tail,
which is so conspicuous a feature in th«; coloration
of i unmediate mcestor, th(? bontebok. To those
who believe that every spot or stripe* or patch of
colour on every animal is a beautiful illustration
of the truth of the theory of protective coloration,
this niiiy seem a very fanciful idea. Yet I feel
convinced that the influence of environment has
played a greater part than is generally believed in
the evolution of colour in living organisms. The
weak point in the theory of protectiv*.- cloration
when applied to large inamni.ds is the iact that
all carnivorous animals are nocturnal and seek their
prey habitually by night and by '^.en- and only
occasionally by daylight and by sight.

I submit that the beautiful case in the .'entral
llall of the Natural History Museum at South
Kensington — showing an Arctic fo.\, in its white
winter coat, approaching a Polar hare, also in
winter dress, and an ermine (sto.it) hunting for
ptarmigan (evidently by sight)— gives an entirely
talse view of the struggj.; for life as carried on by
animals inhabiting the Arctic Regions, for it conveys
the idea of the carnivorous animals of those snow-
covered wastes hunting for their prey in a bright
light and by eyesight alone.

But the truth is that the Arctic winter, during
the long continuance of which all living resident
creatures, with the exception of the musk o.\, become

42

AFRICAN NAITKK NO'I'KS

tUAl'.

wliitc,' is out; loiif; iiij^lit, in the ^looin of wiiich
ihc wolves .irul the loxes ,iml tiic criniiirs (stoats)
sc.irch tor aiui liiui tlu.-ir prey by scent alone, just
as foxes, stoats, and \veas('ls do in tin's country.
As lon^' as a liare ijives out .my scent at all, a fox
will be able to follow and find it. The fact that the
hare has turned white in the sncnv-covered ground
in which it is livinj^ will not help it as Ioul; as it
throws out th(; scent of its s|)ecies, nor cm it b(;
shown that the foxe.s of the sub-Arctic rej^ions, which
never turn white in winter, have any greater diffi-
culty in appr(jachinjr and killing the- white hares
oi\ which they live than the \vhit<; Arctic foxes
experience in catching the Polar hares.

There is one other [joint regarding the protec-
tion attorded by colour to large nianmials against
carnivorous foes which I think has not b(;en
sufficiently considered by naturalists, and that is,
that no matt(!r how well the colour of an animal
may harmonise with its surroundings as long as it
r(-'mains perfectly still, as soon as it moves " it jumps
to the eyes," as the French say, no matter what
its colour may be. What is called protective colora-
tion to Ije effective must be motionless. Movement,
even very slight mov(*ment, at once destroys its
etticacy. But no herbivorous animals can remain
constantly motionless. They lie down and rest
certainly during the heat of the day, which is,
however, just the time when all carnivorous animals
are sleeping. At night and in the early mornings
and late evenings they move al)out feeding, and it
is at such times that carnivorous animals hunt for
their prey. In the dark thest! \atu:r an- undoubtedly

' I ilu nut ailiiiit that Iht riven i- .i tnily Arctic liir.i. \.insi-n, in t\irthest
-\''nh. allhoui;h lie kept cnrc-Uil r<.-coriU nf ,tII the birds se-n iliiring the ll;rec
year.-, his expcditior, l.i>te(l, never mentions h.ivini; seen .\ raven, which I
lielicye has only penetrated into the .\rctic Regions, as an evrur-innist, in com-
paratively recent limes, follnwini: the vvhalini; ships, and livir.j; on the r.nrrnses
111' the whales and seals killed.

THK CAI'K HUFFALO

43

j^Miiclcd by scent iind not by sight, ami I c.miiot s«:e
that it matters much to th<in whether th<? boasts
f)ii which they prey are bl.ick or red or ^rev or
spotted or striped ; whilst, if they should luippeti
to be still hunting,' after daylij^ht, ;iny antelopes or
other animals fe»;dini,f and nun intj about within
their ran^'e of vision would at once b'' se«-n whatever
their colour mij^ht bt;. I'very old hunter knows
how easy it is to overlook any animal, no matter
what its colour or surroundinj^s, as long as it is
motionless, and how easy it is to see it as soon as
ever it moves.

I have never yet heard any explanation given of
the black, antl therefore most conspicuous, coloration
of the Cape buffalo. If any animals needed pro-
tective coloration buffaloes certainly did, for in the
inttrrior of South Africa they formed the favourite
tood of the lion, and enormous numbers of them
must have been annually killed by these powerful
carnivora, which seemed to live with and follow the
l.irger herds in al! their wanderings.

It certainly seems very strange to me that
giraffes, which are very seldom killed by lions or
other carnivora, should have found it necessary to
evolve a colour which harmonises with their sur-
roundings, as a protection against such foes, whilst
buffaloes, which in many districts used once to form
the principal food for the lions living in the same
countries, have retained throughout the ages a
coloration which is everywhere except in deep
shade singularly conspicuous. Altogether, a very
long experience of the larger mammals inhabiting
Africa and some other parts of the world has
convinced me that neither the need of [)rotection
against carnivorous foes nor the theory of recogni-
tion marks can satisfactorily explain all the wonderful
diversity of colour to be seen in the coats of wild
animals.

chaptp:r III

NOTES ON THE LION

The lion— Native names for— Character of — Death of I'onto^
I'icture in Cordon Cumming's book — Death of Hcndrik -
Number of natives killed by lions— Usual mode of seizure —
A trooper's adventure— I'oisonous nature of lion's bite — Story
of the Tsavo man-eaters — Death of Mr. Kyall— Story of the
tragedy Precautions by natives against lions— Remams of a
lion's victim found— Four women killed — Lion killed ^Carcase
burned — Story of the Majili man-eater — Man-eating lions
usually old animals— Strength of lions — Large ox killed by
single lu.n — ISulTaloes killed by lions— Ox slowly killed by
family of lions— Lions usually silent when attacking and killing
their prey — Camp approached by three lions— Various ways of

killmg game F^ivourite food of lions — Giraffes rarely killed

by lions— Evidence as to lions attacking elephants--- Michael
Kngelbreghfs story — Mr. Arnot's letter describing the killing
of an elephant cow by >iix lions

Ok all the multifarious forms of life with which the
great African Continent has been so bountifully
stocked, none, not even e.xceptin^ the " half-reason-
injr elephant" or the "armed rhinoceros," has
been responsible for such a wealth of anecdote and
story, or has stirred the heart and imagination of
mankind to such a dei:,'ree, as the lion— the great
and terrible meat-eating cat, the monarch of the
African wild-mess, by" night at least, whose life
means constant death to all his fellow-brutes, from
the ponderous buffalo to th<^ light-footed gazelle,
and fear, and often destruction too, to the human
inhabitants of the cotunnes through which he roams.

44

CHAP. Ill

\ TERRIFYING BEAST

45

How o n;is not the single word " Simba,"

•' Tauw," '■ . mba," " Silouan," or any other native
African synon m for the Hon, sent the blood tingh'ng
throuLjh the veins of a European traveller or hunter ;
or when whispered or screamed in the darkness
of the ni,<;ht in a native village or encampment,
brought terror to the hearts of dark-skinned men
and women !

When met in the light of day, a lion may be
bold and aggressive, retiring, or even cowardly,
according to its individual character and the circum-
stances under which it is encountered ; l)ut no one,
I think, who has had anything like a long experience
of the nature and habits ^'' these great carnivora
can doubt that by night, j.articularly on a dark
rainy night, a hungry lion is a terrible and terrifying
beast to deal with.

One day towards the end of the year 187S, my
friend Mr. Alfred Cross left our main camp on the
Umfuli river in Mashunaland, and taking an empty
waggon with him, went off to buy corn at some
native villages about twenty miles distant. That same
afternoon he outspanned early near a small stream
running into the Umfuli. as a heavy thunderstorm
was threatening. A kraal was made for the oxen,
behind which the Kafir boys arranged a shelter for
themselves of boughs and dry grass as a protection
from the anticipated downpour of rain. They also
collected a lot of dry wood in order to be able to
keep up a good fire. The waggon-driver, a native
of the Cape Colony, made his bed under the waggon,
to the front wheel of which Mr. Cross's horse was
fastened. As one of the hind oxen kept breaking
out of the kraal, it was tied up by itself to the hind
yoke close in front of the waggon. The trek chain,
with the other yoices attached to it. was then
stretched straight out along the ground in front of
the WH-jCron. Soon after dark the •h'.indf-r'^torm,

4&

AFRICAN NATURt NOTKS

CHAI*.

which had bticn leathering all the afternoon, burst
forth with terrific violence. The rain lell in sheets,
soon extin'^iiishing the fires that had been lighted
by the Kafirs, and the blinding Hashes of lightning
which continually lit up both heaven and earth with
blue-white liglit were quickly succeeded by crashing
peals of thunder.

The storm had lasted some lime and the rain
had almost ceased, when the ox which was tied up
all alone to the after yoke of the waggon began to
jump backwards and forwards over the disselboom
— the waggon pole.

Cross, who was then lying down inside the
waggon,' raised himself to a sitting position, and
whif-^t calling to the ox to quiet it, crawled forward,
and raising 'the fore sheet, looked out. Just then
a vivid flash of lightning lit up the inky blackness
of the night just for one brief moment. But the
brilliant light revealed to my friend every detail c)f
the surrounding landscape, and showed him with
startling distinctness the form of a big male lion
lying flat on the ground not ten yards in front of
the frightened ox. which it would probably already
have seized, had it not been for Cross's loud shout-
ing. The lion had been no doubt creeping silently
towards its would-be prey, which had already
become aware of its proximity, when my frieml's
voice caused it to halt and lie tlat on the ground
watching. By this time Cross's dog, a wdl-b.-ed
pointer, which had been lying on the driver's
blankets under the waggon, had become aware
that something was wrong— though the lion was
no doubt making its apitroach against the wind—
and was standing just behind the ox. growling.

Directly the position of the lion was revealed to
him by the lightning, Cross seized his rifle, and
calling to the waggon-driver to jump up and hold
his horse, took aim in the direction of the crouching

t

III

ALAS! POOR PONTO

47

brute, waiting for another Hash of lightning. This
was not long delayed, and showed the lion still lying
flat on the ground close in front of the waggon.
Cross fired at once. Encouraged by the report of
the ritle, poor Ponto rushed boldly forward, past
the terrified ox, into the black night, barking loudly.
A yelp of fright or pain suddenly succeeded the
bold barking of the dog, and poor Ponto's voice was
stilled for ever. He had rushed right into the lion's
jaws, and had been instantly k''!ed and carried off.
Fires were then mad>j up a^ain, but the lion,
apparently satisfied with a somewhat light repast,
did not give any further trouble. On the following
morning Cross could find no part of Ponto but the
head. All the rest of him had apparently been
eaten.

1 remember even to-day, and with perfect
distinctness, though I have not seen it for many
years, a certain picture in Gordon Cumming's well-
known book on African hunting, and the fearful
fascination it always had for me when I was a small
boy. That picture represented a great gaunt lion
in the act of seizing one of the hunter's Hottentot
servants — poor Hendrik — as he lay asleep by the
camp fire ; but it left to the imagination all the
horror and agony of mind suffered by the poor
wretch, when so rudely awakened at dead of night
and swiftly dragged away into the darkness to a cruel
death, in spite of the gal'ant attempts of his
comrades to save him.

During the si.xty odd years that iiave elapsed since
this tragedy was enacted on the banks of the
Limpopo, many a similar incident has taken place.
Some of these occurrences have come within the
knowledge of, and been described by, European
travellers and hunters, yet these have been but
isolated cases, and can onl, represent a very small

m

-if f l-i Ck •-* I 1 r*-» l-», . . ..-*• •-»'!•■»

i

+»

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

CHAP.

ar.iL'"-*^^ away from their camp fires, or even killed
i'l their huts, by hungry lions within recent times.

As a rule. I think, a lion seizes a sleepmg man
by the head, and in that case, unless it is a very old
and weakly animal, death must be usually in-
stantaneous, as its ^rreat fan^ teeth will be driven
into the brain through the thickest negro skull.

1 have known of two instances of men having
been seized at night by the shoulder. This, 1
think, is likelv to happen to a sleeping man ying on
his side vvith one shoulder raised, especially it his
recumbent form should hapi^en to be covered with
a Ijlanket, in which case the most prominent part
of him would very likely be mistaken by a lion for

his liead.

In the earlv 'nineties ot tht: hist century, two
troopers ot the liritish South Africa Company's
Police started one afternoon from the neighbourhood
of Lo Magondi's kraal to ride into Salisbury, the
capital of' Mashunaland, a distance of about
seventy miles. They rode until dark, and then oft-
satidling their horses, tied them to a tree, and after
having'had something to eat and cooked a pot of
tea lay down bv the side of the camp fire they nad
kindled, intending to sleep until the moon rose and
then continue their journey by its light. About
midni'>-ht. however, and when it was very dark,
for tire moon had not yet risen, a prowling lion
came up to their lonely bivouac, and, disregarding
their horses, seized one of them by the shoulder
and at once dragged him away into the darkness.
His companion, awakened by his cries, quickly
realised what had happened, and snatching up his
riile, ran to his fri<-nd's assistance and fired two or
three shots into the air in quick succession. This
so starded the lion that it droppt-d its [)rospective
<u.»«T and made; off The- wounded man, it was
found, h.id received a severe bite in the shouiuer

Ill

IHH rSAVO MAN-EATERS

49

when tht; lion first seized him, but fortunately had
not suff«-red any further injuries, and was able to
proceed with his iriend to Salisbury as soon as the
moon had risen He had to be sent to the Hos-
j)ital on bis arrival there, as, althou.t:,rh his hurts were
not very -.erious, any wound inllicicd by the teeth
of a lion is. as a rule, very difficult to heal unless
carefull) attended to at once and cauterised with a
strong; lotion of ^ rboli acid. Dr. Livint;stone has
descrTbeil how he suffered for years from the bite of
a lion : and I have myself seen wounds from the teeth
of one of tl. se animals in a horse's neck, which had
never -en properly attended to, still suppurating;
thirteen months af :r lY y had been intlicted ; whilst,
c ' the other hand, I nave seen wounds from the
biie of a liv.n, which were cauterised at once, heal
up ver\ juickly and never reopen.

Of all the lion stories that I h;ive ever heard or
read, I think none equals in dramatic interest the
thriliing narrative of Mr. J. H. Pattersons' experi-
ences with two man-eaters iliirini; the construc-
tion of the Uganda Railway in 1S9S. This very
remarkable story, a brief account of which I first
read some years ago with the most absorbing
interest in the FicM newspaper, has now. 1 ;• n
glad to say. been incorporated in the record ot his
experiences in I'-ast Africa which Colonel Patterson
has recentlv pul ished under the title of VVif Man-
Haters of'Tsavo. Mr. Patt(;rst)n (as ht: then was)
at last succeeded in ridding the country ot both ot
these dread beasts, but not before they had killed
and eaten twenty-eight Indian coolies emplm d upon
the construction of \he Uganda Railway, ana caused
such a panic through the country-side, that at one
time it looked as if "the building of the railway would
have to be abandoned altogether for the time being.

' Phi. U^-nlloiiiai, ^rcatly .lL-.unt;uishe.l tim.M-K in ihc \.n<- .s.u.i •u.icaii
War. .vnti i^ lU'w Lit';!. <-«'i- i"auci>»'ii. i'.r.v./*.

5^

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

CHAP.

The death of Mr. C. H. Ryall, the Assistant
Su|Hiriiitendent of the I'^ast African Police Force,
who was killed Ijy a man-eating lion inside a rail-
way carriage on the Uganda Railway, is also a
most interesting episode, as it shows how extra-
(jrdinarilv bold a hungry lion may liecome, when in
search of prey during the hours of darkness.

When in East Africa a few years ago, I met
both the other two Europeans (Mr. Jluebner, a
German, and Mr. Parenti, an Italian) who were in
the carriage with Mr. Ryall when he was killed,
and I heard the story of the tragedy from their lips.

The railway carriage in question, which con-
tained a small saloon and an adjoining servants'
compartment, had been pulled on to a siding, close
to a small station on the Uganda Railway, in order
to give its occupants the chance of getting a shot
at a man-eating lion which had lately been giving
trouble in the neighbourhood — either as it came
prowling about during the night or by hunting it
up the ne.xt morning. There was a small window
on each side of the little saloon, and a sliding door
.It the end of tht; carriage. Hoth the windows and
the door were wide open. Mr. Ryall took the first
watch, and seems to have taken up a position on
one of the seats of the carriage, with his back to the
open window. Mis head and shoulders would
therefore probably have been visible to the eves of
a nocturnal animal from outside.

Mr. Huebner turned in and went to sleep on one
of the top berths in the carriage, and Mr. Parenti
made his IkhI on the floor. It is probable, I think,
that Mr. Ryall also went to sleep after a time.
What happened afterw.irds 1 will now reflate as it
was told to me by Mr. Parenti. " I was awakeneil
from a sound sleep by the sensation of a weight
holding me down on the floor, and for a moment
was unable to move. i lien the weight was taken

Ill

MR. RVAl.L KIIJ.KI) HY LION-

S'

off mr, and I raised my head with a jerk. My face
immediately came in contact with a soft hairy body,
.md I became conscious of a disagreeable smell. In
an instant I realised that there was a lion in the
railway carriat^e, and that at that moment it was
killing poor Mr. Ryall, as I heard a sort of gurgling
noise, the only sound he ever iiiad(.'."

Mr. Huebner seems to have awakened at the
^ame time, and to have at once jumped down on to
the lloor of the carriage, where he and Mr. I'arenti
ami th(; li(jn were all mixed up together. At this
time the weight of the lion and the struggling men
I'ombined slightly tipped the carriage to one side,
causing tht; sliding door to close automatically, and
thus materially increasing the horror of the situa-
tion. Mr. Parenti, as soon as he could collect his
thoughts, made his escape from the carriage through
the open window opposite to the one against which
l)Oor Mr. Ryall had been sitting when the lion seized
him, and Mr. Huebner burst open the door com-
municating with the smaller compartment occupied
by Mr. Ryall's two Indian servants, who, having
become aware that there was a lion in the other
room with the " Sahibs," were holding the door
against the crowd with all their strength. Mr.
Huebner, however, who is a heavy, powerful man.
soon overcame th(-ir resistance.

To do it justice, this lion does not seem to have
Had any wish to make itself unnecessarily disagree-
.ihle. It wanted something to (!at. but, having got
hold of Mr. Ryall, seems never to have paid the
smallest attention to any one else. In all proba-
liility. I think, it had seen its victim's back and head
troin outside against the ojx'n window, and. coming
round to the open door, had entered the carriage
and made straight for him, treading on Mr. Parenti's

c-l. .<^. .i.-,. ^ r...-.*^ .... I •- ^ < ^-1 tU,. i] „ . T. * 1 n t

-I -jiii^ :— :i:! a.T i i. -..lusscva ;.;;t: i;uui. :i :,;:w;cLI Mr.

Ryall by the throat just under the jaw, and must

5^

AIRICAN NA'ILRF. SOWS

CHAP.

hiive reared itself ui., probably restni^r ,ts lore-paws
„n the seat ot the carriaj^e. to have done so. Mr.
Kvall must have been killed by the tirst bite almost
instantaneously, as he nev(;r seems to have struggled
or mad<; any noise but a low gurgling sound ^

'Vhv. windows of the carriages on the Luanda
Railway are small, but after having killed Mr. Ryall.
this lion— a big male— succeeded in carrying oft his
body through the comparatively small ojjening. It
probablv never relaxed its hold on his throat until
it had got his dead body safely out of the carri;-.ge
.uul puUeil it awav to some distance.

The half-eaten rcm.iins of the unfortunate man
were recoveretl the ne.\t day nearly a mile a\uiy
from the railway carriage in which he had met his
death • but the lion was nowhere to be lound. and
in spite of a large reward offered for its destruction,
it was some ti'me behire this bold and dangerous
beast was disposed of. At last, however, it was
caught alive in a big cage-tra]) made by a Mr.
Costello, who at that time was the station-master at
Makindu, on the Uganda Railway. Alter having
been photographed, this lion was shot. 1 his
photograph was shown me by Mr. Costello himselt
who told me that the captured animal was old and
mangv, with very worn teeth and claws, and a
short.' scrubbv mane. He thought that there could
be no reasonable doubt that it was the lion that had
killed poor Mr. Ryall, but of course nobody can be
absolutelv certain on this point.

Natives li\ing in very small communities, in
wild districts where game being still abundant,
lions also are mnsequently fairly numerous, are
cften troubled at night by t'hes.- animals. In such
cases a man-eating lion usually proves to be an old
and almost worn out beast, which having grown too

...■■■ .1 f>.-«»- h:i« been

vV('€iK Li* cai

, 1 t.:11

driven by hunger to approach the haunts of men.

pi^-^^ ■ ' ■;^.?^^?

I

V

i

Ill

DKFKNCK A(;AINSr I. IONS

53

rrji;t;d on l)y its desperate need, sucli a lion knows
no lear, .ind will not hesilatt; to inter a small native
village or cvimi to force its wa)- into a hut in search
of food.

In 1S79, whilst hunting (•Icph.ints in the country
to the east of the Chohi or < )uito river, 1 met with
a very primitive tribe of nativ<-s livint,' in families
or very small communities in isolated villai^es alonj^
the bank of the river. TlK-ir huts wt-re of the
tlimsie-st de.scri|)tion, beinj.( forme-d of a lijj[ht Irame-
work ot ])oles, over which a few j^rass mats h id
been stretched; but the two or three, up to half a
dozirn, ill mad<; huts whii:h formed each village were
always surrounded and [jrotectcd by a carefully
nvule stockade, the i)oles forming which wer(' all
sharpened at th(; vnd and hardimed by having been
charred in iIk- fire, and so placed that they slanted
(lutwards and would have be(;n very difficult to
surmount from the outside;. The natives informed
me that they had takim this trouble as a defiance
against lions.

One morning, in this same district, I came upon
most of the skeleton of a man who had been killed
and cnv-n by a lion a few days before. He had
evidently been sitting or lying by a fire when
(aught, and had probably been overtaken by
darkn(;ss when on his wav from one villajre to
another. I his mans spears lay close to his bones,
so that he must have been holding them in his
hand when he was stfized. None of my Kafirs
would touch them. AppanMitly it was not (Etiquette
to meddle with the belongings of a dead man
though I think that most of the members of my
nttinue would not hav(; becm above stealing anything
they might have found lying about, belonging to a
live one.

In April 1878 a lion entered a small Hanvai
•vUiagc near me river L may, in .Northern Maiaix-ie-

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54

AFRICAN NATUr^K NOTKS

CHAP.

land, a short lime after I had left it, and, not beintj
al)l(,' to make its way into any of the huts through
the small doorways, all of which had been very
carefully harricailed, climbed on the roof of one of
ihem, ant! tearing away the grass thatching, f(jrced
its way in from th(; top. There were three or four
women inside th(; hut, and it killed them all ; but,
having gorged itself, was apparently unabU; to make
lis escape through the roof .igain, and was sjieared
t<^ death by tin: mem of the village the next morning
tiirough the- frannwork of the hut, aiter the mud
plaster had been rinio\-(:d in places.

A native servant of my own. whom I had l(;ft
jjehind in this village, was present when this lion
was ki!l(-d, an'! lie told me that, as soon as it was
deatl, ,1 huge Ijonhre was built, on which the c.irca.se
of the man-eater was thrown, and the fire kejjt up
imtil it was quite consumed.

The most cunning and destructive man-eating
lion — probably because it was not an old ancl
weakly animal, but in thv. prime of life- that I ever
heard of in South Africa was on(; which once
liaunted the neighbourhood of th(; Majili river, a
tributary of the central Zambesi from the north. I
gave some account of th(; iloings of this bold and
ferocious be-ast in the course of an article which I
contribut(;d to the pages of the Foiiuij^htly Review
some twenty years ago, and ;.s I have xXw. kind
permission of the? editor and projjrictor of that
publicaiiMii to do s(j, I will now rete-Il the story as
I originally h(,'ard it from one of m\- own native
serv.uus shortly afu-r the occurrences related took
place.

In th(- early part of iSS6 two half-caste el(j[)hant-
hunters, Henry Wall and Hlack bantje — the latter
tor several years both before and after this time a
trusted servant of my own — crossed th(,' Zambesi at
Its luni-tioTi with, th.i* Ouifr^ f^** CThf.l^i

m

order

to

Ill

VHK I>I()\'S HKRK

SS

hum i'le|)hants in the country to the north hetuct-n
the M;ijili ;ui(l Un^wesi rivers.

They soon he.irti from ihe nativt-s that there was
a man-eating lion in the distriet which had already
killed several people, and th(;y were therefore
can-ful to see that a strong,' fe-nce was made every
niuht behind their camjj, and sufficient dry wood
collected to keep up <,rood tires duriii!^^ the hours of
darkness. The two half-civilised hunters were
accustometl to slet;p by themselves within a stron;^
s(;micircular fence, the open end of which was
protected by a lar<;e fire. All but one of their
native boys wild Haton^jas and Masubias slept
to^a-ther. lying in a row with a strong fence behind
them and a succession of fires near their feet. The
boy who would not sle(;i> with the others, alwavs lav
by one or other of the fires by himself.

One night, Henry Wall, 'who was a very light
sleeper, and had perhaps been dreaming ot lions,
w.is awakcmed, as ho afK^wards declared, by the
sound oi a low growl or purr close to ' him.
Springing to his feet, he shf)uted out. " I )e leeuw is
hier'" ("The lion's here!") ; 'wake up, jantje'" liut
jantjeand all tin- Kafirs were fast asleep, ami it was
not until they li.id be<:n .awakened and fiuestion<(i
that it was discoveretl that the man who hatl been
Iving by one of the fires all ,ilon<> w,is gone. Where
he had gone and why was not left long in doubt,
tor almost immedi.iiely ,i lion was heard eating his
remains close behind the encampment. Henry
Wall and Jantje at once fired in the direction of the
sound, (in which th- lion retired to a : afer distance
with its prey.

As soon as it was broad d.iylight, the hunters
took up the spoor of the lion, which was, they told
uie, quite easy to follow through the dewy grass.
It was not long befon; they .saw it walking slowlv
along with its licul half-turned, hoKling the dead

5''

AFRICAN NATURK NOTHS

tHAl'.

man hy one shoulder, so that his lej^s dragged at its
side. As s(jon as it became aware that ii was being
tollowcd, it dropped its prey, and whee-liiig round,
stood looking at its pursuers, twitching its tail and
grf)wling angril).

Henry Wall, who was a very good shot and a
lool <uid c')nrag(;ous man, now trie-d to tin', but the
old, clumsy, nu/zle- loading elephant gun he was
using only snapped the cap. At this juncture
lantje, who was a little to one side, was unable to
tire because th(;re was a bush in his way, and
Ijefore HtMiry W'.ill could get another cap on the
nipple of his gun, the Kafir who carried his second
weapon tired at ami missixl the iion, which instantly
turned and, running into a patch of bush, made
good its escajje.

On ('xamination, it was found that the dead man
had been seized by the head. He must have been
killetl instantaneously, as the two upper canine
teeth had be-en driven through the top of the skull,
whilst one (^f the lower ones had entered beneath
the jaw and brokc-n the bone. During the night
the corpse had been disembowelled and all the
llesh eaten off th<; thighs and buttocks.

A few days later, a native family was attacketl
not tar from the scene of the episode I have
just recounted, and almost certainlv bv the same
lion.

All over Africa, wherever game is plentilul, it is
customarv for the nati\es, at the season when their
crops are ripening, to build huts in their f ads, in
which they spend the night and entleavour to keep
buftaloes, eleph.uits, and all kinds of antelopes out
ot their corn by shouting ami Iv-.iting tom-tom.s.
The huts are ofuMi built on the top of platforms
raised ten or twelve- teel above the groiiiul and
re.iched by a ladder. The native family in (juestion
occupied two huts — a large one ijuiit on the ground

IHA I'S THK I. ION ACAIN '

57

.imi .1 small on(; on the lop of a |)latlorni. I h(^
laru,'(' hut was occupifd hy a woman .md licr two
chilcln-n. whilst her hushand k(|it watch aion*- in
the liillc o|)pn hut above

One. ni^lil the lircad man-eater of the Majili
came prowlinjj^ round, and scenting th ■ native on
the platlorm, either spranj^ up and seized him with
its teeth, or inort- probably, 1 think, half cl.mibered
ap by the help of the ladde-r, and drajr^cd him from
his shelter with its cl.iws. At an\ rate, it bore him
to the ground and spt.-edily killed him, but not
bt;tore he h.ul made a i^ood deal of noise, as reported
alterwards by his children. His wife, awakened by
the cries of her husband, opened the d(K)r of her
hut and rushed out. It-avint; the two children inside.
The lion at once left the man, who was then dead,
and sei/inor the wom.ui, (|uickly killetl her. It
never returned to iht,' body of th(; man at all. but
.ate all the- fleshy parts of the woman, retiring into
the bush before daylight, and never revisiting the
corpses.

All through the dry season this lion kept the
nativf's in the neigldiourhood of the Majili river in
a constant state of ai.irm, antl whilst adding steadily
to the number of its victims, baffled every attempt
mad(; to hunt it down and destroy it. .After having
been away for some months, hunting elephants in
the country farther north, Henry Wall antl Black
jantje once again camped on the Majili river on
liieir way back to the Zambesi, .mil for the- second
time the m.ui-e.iter {)aid them a visit. This time
l.uitje was awak(>, and hearing, .is he told me, a low
,Hirring growl, jumped up, calling out, " Daat's de
le-euw wieder ! " (That's the lion ng.iin ! ").

At the saiiK; lime one of th
holdiivr his hand to his head.

K dirs stood up
"What's the matter with you .^ " asked lantie.

gomg up

to h

mi.

5«

AFRICAN NATURK N()TI>>

CHAI",

" I don't know, ' answered the man ; " somcthinj^j
hit me on tlv luad. '

At this nioincnt |antjc saw hy thr hLjht ot the
tin; hlood runiiin;^ down his neck, antl called out,
" Wake, wake, it was the lion 1 heard ' Wake,
wake, and see it ever\ one is here'

It soon ajipeared that one ot the Katirs was
inissiiiL;, and this is no dfiuht what had li,ii)|><-ned.
The lion ninst have; crept or spruiiL; in amongst the
sleepers, ami s"i/in^ one of them 1))' the head, must
havt; killed him instantly a.nd carried him oft". iUit
in doiiv^r so it must havt; struck the man lyin;.; next
him on the head with one ot its paws, and intlicted
a slight scalp wound with one ot its claws. The
b()d\ of ilie ni.in who h.id Iicii cirried ott u.as not
recovered, Ixciuse, as Henry Wall and Jantje told
me, the rest of the Katirs would givt; them no
assistance in followin;4 up the lion the ne.xt day.

I'his dangerous man-eat(;r was at last mortally
wounded hy the spears of two young men whom it
tittacki (.1 in broatl d,iyliL;ht close to a small native
vilhiLje. ()n(,' of these youths died the same
evening from the mauling he received in th(; en-
coiirier. l)i!t he had dri\cn his spear into the lion's
chest when it attacketl him, and his companion hail
also struck ii in the ^ide with a light throwing
s[K'ar. The ne.xt ilay, ail the men trom tht; two or
three little villages in the neighbourhood turned out
and tollowc d up the- bkuKly tracks ot the woimded
lion. They had not tar to go, tor the grim bca.-t
lay de.ul, with the two spears still sticking in it.
within a sliort distance trom the s[)ot where- it had
attacketl the two young men the previous day. As
is the custom when man-(-,ating lions are killed in
the interior ot .\trica, a great ijuantity of dry wood
was then collected, and a huge tire lighted, on
which the carcase was thrown and utterlv consumed,
l here is one rather curious fact in con-

>1

III

BLTFALO KIM,F.I) H\ lAOK

59

netction with th<- liist'ry of this notorious man-
eatini( h'on which I omitted from the; first account
I wrot(; of its doings, but which I will now rclaK.-.
as it is of int(,Tcst. Soon after dark on the nij^'ht
of the secontl attack on tli<ir camp, Henry Wall
and Jantj<; .ind all their hoys heard the sudden rush
of an affri;4hted herd of lniffaIo<-H. which had been
feedinjj; in the oi>en ground between their camp and
the Majili river. Sud<l,-nly th.-re was the lout! and
agonised bellow of a bulfalo in pain and terror,
and the)- all knew that one of these anim.ils had
been sei/^ed by a lion. The following morning thev
found a buffilo cow lying dead not two hiuidred
yards from their camj), with its head twisted in
under it and its neck dislocated. It had the claw-
marks usual in such cases over the mu/zle and on
the shoulder, showing the maime-r in which it had
been sei/cd. but after having been killed it had not
been touched. The tracks of the lion, however,
led from the carca.se of the buffalo to the hunters'
camp, and 1 think that there can be no doubt that
It was the same animal which killed the buffalo
that a fvw hours later carried off a hum.m being.
If so. it proves two thin-s. Firstly, that this man
eatmg ''on must have be(;n in i'ts prime, for it
requires a strong and vigi)rous male lion to kill a
full-grown buffalo cow or a heavv bullock neatly
and ,]uickly by breaking its neck; and secondly
that It preferred human flesh to that of a buffalo.
It must either ha\e seen the gleam of the camp
fires for the first time immediatelv aft<;r it had
killed the buffalo, and abandoned 'the carcase in
th<; hope of obtaining mor(' succulent food, or, if
It was aware of the neighbourhood of th<- hunters'
camp before it attacked th(,- !)uffilo. it must have
killed the latter out of sheer mischief.

I hough similar cases of lions becoming confirmed
::ia:i crtte,^ uheii in the prime of lite and still in the

(jD

AFRICAN NAlURi: NO IKS

CHAI'.

ri.jovinrin of ilifir mil sinMi;,rth .md vi-our do Irom
linir'lo liiiK; occur- iht- c(jli:bralc(l Ts.ivo in.m-«;al(TS
\vhi( h pl.iyd such havoc ainonjrsl th<- construciion
cimps on ih.: l-anda Railway wm- rcportc-d to
have Ixrii far Iroin old- y<l it cannot be dci.K-d
that in thi: vast majority of c.iscs a lion only takes
to killin- hinnan l.-'in-s in its dcclininn; y<-ars. and
wh(.-n its sirc:nglh is failinj,^.

On this subject, Dr. Livinj^^stonc wrote many
vc-ars a^'o : " A man-cater is invariably an oKl lion,
imd when he overcomes his fear of man so far as
to comi; to villaL;es for ;4oats. the jutople remark,
• J , teeth arc worn, he will soon kill men.' 1 h^ty
at once acknowledi^n- the necessity of instant action
.uid turn out to kill him.

Speakini; generally, nothin;^ truer could have
been written than these sent(MK(.'s ; but there are
exceptions to every rule, and when a stroni^ and
vigorous lion do«-s take to preying upon human
Ix-ings. it is naturally not so easy to hunt down
and 'tlt'stroy as would be an oKl ami weakly beast,
whose "teeth are worn."

.\n adult mal(; lion is probably possessed of greater
strength in proportion to its size and weight than
•any o"ther African animal. It will kill with astonish-
ing ease and ilexterity a full-grown buffalo cow or
the h<:aviest bullock.' and probably sometimes a
buffilo bull or a giraffe;. 1 never remc^mber. how-
ever, to have seen the carcase of an old buffalo bull
that had palpablv been killed by a single lion, whilst
1 have shot s<-veral buffilo bulls that had escaped
from lions after rt:ceiving very severe wounds from
th(Mr teeth and claws. I once had a very good
opportunitv of nc^ing the manner in which a big
male lion killed a heavy ox, which would certainly
have scaletl more than twice its own weight. This
ox was killed during the night, but as the lion was
immediatelv driven from tiie carcase, it had no tune

Ill

ox Kl[,l ID in I. ION

6i

to intlict any woiuul upon it other th.iii those nude
wlien it first seized its victim, .uui the ground heins^
soil tVciu receiu rain, every step taken by l)oth
the ij\ and tlie lion diirinj^ the hrief striii,'}^de
was plainly visible. The lion had e\ itlently crept
close up to where the o\ vsas U inj4 (within lort\
yards of in\ wai-^on), and had either attacked it
where it la\ or just .is it was risiiiL,' to its feet. Ii
had not jumped upon its victim, hut ihrou<.,diout thi-
-struj^jLjle liad always kept its hind-lect on the
|L;round. The only wounds tluit Ii.kI l)een intlicted
on the ox w(!re claw-marks on the nose and on ihi
top of the left shoulder - bhule, and the lion had
evidently seized it by the imi/zle with its left |)aw
and on the top of the shoulder with the riL,du. and
liad simply licld it. pulIiiiLj its head in tovsards its
chest. The o.\ had plunLjed forward. drajfjj;inj.j the
lion with it for a few yards, and had then fallen
with its h(;ad twisKnl rii.^ht under it .md its neck
dislocateil. \\'heth';r the lion had broken the o.x's
neck by its own strenujth, or whether the dislocation
was due to the way in which it fell with its head
twisted in under it, I cannot say; but m\- e\{)erience
is that when ;i sin;j;Ie lion tries to kill an f)\ or a
buffalo, it invariably seizes it over the muz/le with
one paw, and usually succeetis in either breakinj,^
its victim's neck or causing it to bn-ak it itself b\
its own weii;ht in falling. When several lions
.attack an o.\ or buffalo, they will oftf.-n bite and
tear it all over .and take .i lonj.,^ time to kill it.
IJjjon several occasions 1 have listened to the
protr.icied bellowing of buffaloes lieint,' thus m.auled
to tleath. Upon on<,' occasion a [)artv of five lions
stampeded niv o.xen .as thev la\' round th(; wao'tion.
and very soon seized and pullet! down on<; of them.
The wretched creature bellow(;d most fearfully, and
i.iust have been suffering,:; terribly. Hastily light-
mj^ torches of lonii; dry grass, several of my Kafirs

»>2

\l RkAN NAU'RI. no IIS

I HAP.

.111.1 1 r.iii lo i.flj' It. Ill'- l<Mi/nij,^ kT;'^-^ siarcd
ill. lions (lit, .111.1 lh'\ j.u ih<' i).\ lulorc the liijln
ol the ton lies ri-.uliiii ilicm. 1 he uouiul'il .mini.il
iinini 'li.itclv u'"'^ "1' '"^'' rushed oti a^.iin into thu
(l.irkii'-ss, l)Ut Ii.kI not ;^()nc lar Ixlon; it.s loud
Im'Howmi',: told us ill'- lioiis hail got hold oi it onci;
more. 1 hcv look soir.<- time lo kill it. hut its
aiL,'oiiiscd lii-llow in'..;s j^rr.idu.iHy dird away in low
moans, until at li;nL;th all \v,is .i;^ain (luict, I )urinj»
tile .i|i|iro,i(;h ot ilicsc tivc lions to my (am|), and
the siil)s((iucnt iha:ir and loiv^-dr.iwn-out killing
of the o\, not one ot ihem made the slii;lue>t sound ;
and as tar as my own personal e-xperienie goes,
with one exception, win ne\er lions !i,i\-e reconnoitred
or .lUacked my i amp at ni^^ht, and hilten or killetl
.my ot mv native followers or cattle or horses, they
have done all their st.ilkine .md killing without
making a souiui. If tlisturhed, however, they
alw.iys growl hjudl}'. ( )n tin? occasion i have
rclerred to as .in e.xctqjtion to this rule. thre(; lions
as we learnl the next morning by the s].oor —
c.ime i[uite close up to m\- hivou.ic one night in
Northern Mashunal.md, and one ot' them gave a
very loutl roar which woke us all u[). 1 was
tr.ivelling at the time with a small cart and eight
o.xen, which were lied to tlie yokes, ami were right
in liie open, un[»roti:ctetl eith'-r \>y tires or any kind
<jf kr.ial or fence. My two horses were tied to one
ot tile wheels, and my tew native? ^ r\ants and
niy.selt' w(T(.' lying close to them, witli a small fence
of soft hush hehind us. The three lions that cami;
so near us in ihe niuht could not ha\e been verv
hungry, or the-y would assureilly hast- seized one
of my oxen. Perhaps tlie one that sf) suddenly
roared only did so with the idea of tnghtening the
oxen, .ukI if one of them hai! broken the raw liidt!
thong with which it was Listeninl lo the yoke, and
run oii awa\ irtjin our camp, .lii liiree oi llujm

MOW A I. ION KII.I.S

63

■■voiild v.ry liL.^iy li.ivr pursiic.i .iiul kill.-d it.
r(irluii.itfl\ , iirithcr my oxen nor my horses .showed
mi( h fear oti this o( c-.ision, .md aliliou^h the lormer
j»'j|Ied a hit. lhe\- did not i-reak their tlionj^'s. ami
vvL- soon <|iiieted thi'in and then hnJU up some ],\^
tires. I h'- hons passed on up ilie little river near
which we were ( amped, and helop- loiiv^ Ix'Mn to
r.ur loudly, a pretty j^ood sii^n, I think. tha"t they
h.id alre.idy dined and we-re not lumiiii;.;. Why.
A hen a lamiiy of four or five- lion.s are himtin;^
ti-e'ther. one ot thi.-ir numl)er Iicinu an oUI male,
tliey should kill .III ().\ so much less artistically than
tile old male would have done, if he; had Keen alone.
1 do no know. I'os.sihiy the e.i'^erness of each
inembeT of the p.irty renders ;• scientitic: .ittack hy
uiy one of thi-m impossible, or perhaps the older
lions .illovv the youn-er ones to do the killinj^r for
practice. 'Ihere i.s no doubt. I think, that lions
know that the head, ihroit. and the back of the
neck are the most vital spots in all animals on
which they prey. Human beini^^s are nearly always
seized by the head or neck ; horses, donkevs. .ind
/••bras are almost invariably killed by bites 'in the
i>.ick of the ncrk just behind the ears.'or by bites in
the throat ; whilst they either dislocate the;' necks of
he.ivy animals like buffaloes, or hold thein in such
I way that the-y can hardly help fallin'.,' and break-
wil; their own necks. The lion which l^roke- the
neck of one of my o.Ken. as I have described above,
escaped pum'shment when it returned to the carca.se
the lollowinnj evenini,^ owin^' te> my ritle missing fire.
It then visitc;d a mining camp close .it haneC and
t"rcinL,r its w.iy into an enchxsure in which them-
were fourte;en sheep and ^(jats and one calf, ii
killerd (jvery one of these unfortunate animals. I
shot this lie)n e;arly the following morning and the-n
examined its 'ictims. Every one of them, the calf
as we'll as the ';h..(.r. itirl .r^..*,. u..,\ i „ i.:ii 1 1

H

AIRICAN NAll Kl. NO 11^

CH/M"

.1 siiiL;l<' I'in- ill lli»" ii'M'l. Inf.icli ( ,isc tin- ii[»|)fr
I. mini- icrih li.iil Ix'i'ii driven llinni^h ili<- top ot the
skull or the l).ii k ot llif iifck jii .t liriiiiul tin- r.irs.
I (iiiic (.line nil a \i'iin^ (•ifiiiiaiil Dtily .i liw iniiuitrs
.ifHT il ii.iil Ixrii kiilcil by a linii. I'hc only uoiiiuls
I could t'lnd Wire d< fp tooili in.uks in ih<- throat.

Lions kill and cat cvrry knid of wild animal in
Alrii.i with the (;.\Cfi)li()n ot ihr I'ac hydf-miata
ihoii^li th«:\ occasionally can h and kill a youni;
«lf|)lianl or rhinoceros that h.is hcjen separatccl trom
its mother- hilt as lonj; as huttaloLS and zebras are
plentihil in the countries the\- inhabit, th(.'y will
kill tar more oi" these tl,an of .my other animal.
()ua,!L;|,,M> an<l Hurchell's /ebr.is probably torinrd
their chi<;f food on the: plains of the Cape Colony.
the ()ran-(! Kivt.r Colony, and the Transvaal
bc:f<)re those countries were settled by I'.uropeans ;
whilst larther north, where s.^reat numbers ol
l)utl"ali)es tVeiiuented the nei^'hbourhood ot every
river, ihc lions livcul almost entirely on these
anim.ils, follow intj the herds in all their wanderini;s.
just as iu North America the [)rairie wolves were
always in attend, mcc on the- bisons. C.iraftes are
sometimes kilhal by lions, but accordin;^ to mv
experience only verv rarely : no doubt be< ause
ihey must be very awkward .uiimals to pull down,
.uul also for the reason that, i^enerally speakinj;.
they inh.ibit dry, waterless stretches of countr\ .
throuL;houl which L;ame is usually only sparsc;!y
distributed .md into which lions do not penetrate,

.■\lthoii;j;h 1 have excluded the rachyuc-rmat.i
from the list of animals on which lions pre) , there
nevertheless seems to be good evidence that these
carnivora do sometimes attack and kill L^ood-sizcd
cow elephants.

I well remember an old Boer hunter, Michael
F.nL^elbreijjht, telliny; me of an unsuccesstul attack
!ii;i'.ie h\' lions on ;i cow elei)h.iiit within a short

ni KJ.KI'HAM AllACKFI) HV I.IONS

bS

'list.iiKr ..I ih,: sliootiii)^' holi- wh- re h.- w,i^ lyi,,..
one; niirlu watchinj^r for ..-Irphants coming to drink
•It l.imas.mk.i vl. y on th.- oM m.ul to th.- /.irnlH-si
I his iii(i(l.-iit liad (u-ciimHl only ,i frw nights Ixforr
i m.-t F'.n,i;.ll,rt--hl at thr vi.'v in ciurstion lUit
It hapi,.-iw,l so Ion<,r a.^o (in 1S7,,) that I cannot
r.mr,nl,.T anything,' more than that t\w rlt-phant
was h.M np In- th«: hons for som<! hours, ami thit
til.- tniinp<-tiM,- of thf; former was accompanied In-
tiu- loiid -rowlin- ot the latfr. and that when mv
ml..rinant .xamined the gro.m.l wh.-re the combat
h.ul taken place, th.: next mornini:, h.; found a great
deal of thorn bush tram[,!ed down by the ele'phant
and some olood on the ground. The former how-
ever .although probably it had been b.uily bitten
-n the trunk .md l.gs. ha.l kept the lions from its
thro.it. and had fin.dly Inaten th.-m off and m.ule
good Its retreat. Michael l-ngelbreght was at that
timo a man ol over sixty years of age. and as he
had been .1 hunter from his youth upwards, in the
golden days of South African hunting, he must have
had a vast experience of the habits of wild animals
Init I well remember that he sp,;ke of this inci.lent
ot .m elephant having been attacked by lions as
wonderful and almost incredible.

I have, however, heard of another case of an
• lephant havmg been attacked and killed by lions.

When passmg through Kimberley in 1895 I met
•ny old friend Mr. l\ S. Arnot. who has don<- such
splendid work as a pioneer missionary in Central
Africa, and who is an absolutely reliable man. and
he then toKl me a story of an elephant having been
•iilled by lions near Lake Mw.ru Hearing last
year that Mr. Arr.ot was in England. I wrote and
asked him it he would kindly tell me this storv again
as 1 wanted to put it on record. In the course of
his answer to my letter Mr. Arnot wrote- •'The
"■•■■■*> ' ■'"''^ )"" may appear raliier /a/7 to some,

^

tb

AFRICAN NATURK NOIKS chmv m

but when travelling' between Lakes Tanganyika
and Mweru, in November 1S94, and when skirtmg
the northern end of the great Mweru Marsh— a
regular elephants' stronghold— my m.-n suddenly
left me rn masse — they were a raw s<;t of men-
returning presently with elephant llesh. They then
told me that our gu*"des having informed them that
they had that morning seen six hungry lions attack
and pull down a full-grown cow elephaiu, just ahead
of where we then were, they had left mc so suddenly
in order to drive the lions off and gel some meat.
Unfortunatelv, I did not see the lions mysell, but
there could be no doubt about the truth of our
guides' statement, for 1 saw the lions' spoor and
the carcase of the dead elephant. The tusks were
very small, but my men brought them. They may
have weighed from four to five pounds each.'

As the tusks were so small, this elephant coul.'
hardly have been a full-grown cow ; bu'. it must
have been a good-sized animal, probably a young
cow about three-parts grown. It is a great pity
that Mr. Arnot did not e.xamine the carcase care-
fully and ascertain e.xactly how the (dephant had
been killed. As the natives, however, asserted
positively that they had seen si.\ lions attack and
kill it, and as Mr. Arnot is fully convinced that their
story was true, 1 think it ought 10 be accepted as
a fact, «-specially as cases of full-grown elephants
having been killed by tigers in India and Burma
have been put on record.

mw^w^m

CHAPTKR IV

N<iTi;s M\ Tin; lion {loitiiiiiud)

i'tprciUtioii- of lioiii in M.i^himalancl Sad death of Mr. lealc-
(;reat slaughter of pi^s by a honcbs — .Mode of ciiteiin,< a latlli
kraal- Method of killin- pre) Sharpncb;, of lion'-, < laws
Mode of seizing a horse in motion — Lion iliasin^ koodoos
Lions 1) inK m wan for o\cn -How a lion cliar-es Ulai k Jantje -
.tory— Numbing; effen of hons bite — Cruelty in nature -

Aptx;aran(e of wild lion>— Colour of eyes— Lions at bay A

• rourhmK lion— A lucky shot— The cat a lion in miniature- -A
dandier siKnal Social habits of lions -Troops of lions— Lion>
on the Mababi plain - -Difference between cubs of one litter-
Individual differences in lions- (ireat variation in the develo|)
ment of the mane — Lion proba!)ly first evolved in a cold climate
-Still found in Kuropc in the time of Herodotus — tffec t of
cold on Krowth of lion s rnane,

Whkn a ix-cviously uninhabited piece of countrj-
is invaded and settled up by a tribe of natives or by
huropeans, lions are always very troublesome, as they
look upon all the newly introduced domestic animals
as some new species of game specially brought into
the country for their benefit.

I'"or the first few months after Mr. Rhodes's
pioneers entered Mashunaland in 1890, I kept as
accurate an account as 1 could of the number of
horses, donkeys, oxen, sheep, goats, and pigs that
were killed by lions, and it soon amounted to more
than two hundred. During the same time two white
men WL-re killed and several others severely injured
by lions. The saddest case was that of a young
;:;a!i named Teale, who had come to Mashunaland

67

"11

68

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

CHAP.

ill th(; hope of making his f(jrtun(? by marki-t-
^'ardcnint^. 11«' was outsjianned one night near a
native village not tar from I'mtali. where he had
gone to buy grain. His four oxen were tied to
the yokes, and he with his native driver was sleep-
in" on the grovind beneath his two- wheeled cart,
\vhen he was seizetl and carried off by a lion.
What the Hon did not eat of him, the hya-nas
probably got, as nothing was ever found but his
head antl one fool with the. boot still on it.

A rather curious incident happened the following
year at a farm on the Hanyani river about forty
miles from Salisbury. The owner of th(; farm- -from
whom 1 heard this story (which was fully corroborated
by his native servants)— was breeding pigs, and had
a large number of these animals in a series of pens,
separated from one anotht r by low partitions, but
all under one thatched roof. One night a lioness
managed to force her way into the piggery between
two poles, and after having satisfied her hunger,
was apparently unal.le to fnid her way out again.
and either became angry or frightened, or else must
have been overcome with an almost insatiable lust
for killing. At any rate, she wandered backwards
and forwards through the pens and killed almost all
the pigs, over a hundre-d altogether, each one with
a bite in the head or the back of the neck. She
had only eaten portions of two young pigs. She
managt-(,l to effect her escape before daylight, but
returiK'd the following night, and was shot by a
s(-t gun. I saw her skull, which was that ot a full-
grown lioness with good teeth.

There appciirs to be a considerable ditterence of
»)[iinion as to the means usually adopted by lions to
effect an eiitr.mcc by night into a cattle kraal or a
cam[) surrounded by a fence. They are often said
to leap boldly over high fences and stockades. In
my own ex[)erience I have not known them do this.

IV

SHARPNESS OK IJON'S CJ.AWS

bq

They n-ill walk through any opttning in an cnclosuri-.
!)iit in ihc abscncf,' of such a means of ingress, 1
have always founil thai they got inside by creeping
through the fence, even when it was low' anti very
thick and thorny. I have known a hon to walk
round and round a stockaded cattle kraal, and at
last force its way in by j)ressing two poles apart
and squeezing through the opening thus made.
.Should lions, however, be disturbed" and suddenly
fired at whilst feeding on a bullock which they havi-
killed inside an (.-nclosure, they will almost always
jum[) over the fences in their hurry to escai)e.

1 hav(' never seen any evidence of a lion's killing
Its prey by .striking it a heavy blow with one of its
paws, and I believe that it alwavs endeavours to kill
by biting, and only uses its claws for holding or
pidling an animal to its mouth. I have .seen both
a hon and a lioness bayed by dogs repeatedly throw
nut their fore-paws like lightning when one of the.se
latter came near them ; but the movement was not in
the nature of a blow, but rather an attempt to hook
one of the dogs in their claws and draw it to them.
Lions, I think, must often lo.se their T)rey through
the very sharpness of their claws, which cut like
knives through the .skin and (lesh of a heavv animal
in motion. I have known .several instance's of a lion
o\ertaking a horse that had only had a short start,
in such a case .a lion will not 'land with a flying
l'=ap right on to a horse's back. It gallops close
along the ground until it is almost under the horse's
tail, and then, rearing itself up on its hind-legs,
seizes it on either flank, endeavouring to hokrit
with the protruded claws of its great fore -paws.
Hut almost invariably in such a case it fails to stop
a galloping horse, its claws simply cutting great
g.ishes through skin and (lesh. I once' .saw a
lion chasing four koodoos in broad davlieht. thou.jh
on a cold cloudy morning. It was galloping after

' Vlif^"- ^-'Vf^- .'.Li. - .'T^'f'i^j

-o

AFRICAN NATURi: NOTKS

CHAC.

thrm tlal aloiii^ the ^rounil as hare' as it could il,'o.
and looked like an (-normous maslift. especially as,
thnuji;h a male, it had but little mane. On another
occasion, late one eveninc,', I saw a lion and t\v(j
lionesses lyin<r in wait for some cattle of mine which
were; feeding towards them. I', very now and then
one or other of the lions would raise its head for a
moment above the grass to see that the o.xen were
still coming on, lowering it again after one quick
look. I)iit for my intervention, these lions would
probably have lain quite still until one or other of
the oxen had fed close u}) to them, when they would
have seized it by the head before it had time to
turn. As lions nearly always hunt by scent and by
night, they no doubt come up wind and approach
as near as possible to a herd of game before making
an attack, and probably often lie quite still until
some animal feeds right on to them. In a country
where game is plentiful, one would imagine that
on a dark night lions must have but little trouble
in securing food, and this is no doubt the case, as
these carnivora become excessively tat wherever
game is really plentiful.

When a lion charges, it does not come on in
great leaps, nor does it strike its adversary a crush-
ing blow with its paw. it comes along close to the
ground like a great dog and bites, often so low
that its forefeet can hardly be off the ground. Two
Boer hunters of my acquaintance were both ol
them first bitten in the thigh. Shortly after the
ojjening up of Mashunaland, too, an Knglishman
and a Dane were both seized in the same way
by charging lions when hunting near the I'ungwc
river, in Portuguese Hast Africa, the latter dying
from his wounds. In 1S77 an Knglishman was
charged by an unwounded lion in Mashunaland
and severely bitten in the groin ; and in the follow-
iTig year, in the satne lucality, ari uid Hottentot

T^.i^^Sjg^^m:'-^'' ^f^i -^^-ir-vs/ifE, .i-'>y

IV

BUSHMAN KII.I.KI) BY I, ION

servant ot mine was badly bitten in the small of the
l)ack when riinnint,' away from a chargini,^ lion which
he hatl i<revi()usly wounded. AH these wounds
were so low down that they must have been in-
flicted when the lion's forefeet were on the i;round.
( )n the other hand, many cases are on record of men
standing facinc,^ chargintj lions being seized by the
left forearm and sometimes by the shoulder. I do
not remember to have heard of a case of a man
l)eing bitten in the head in a frontal charge, but
one of my old servants. " Black Jantje." described
to me very minut(-Iy the way in which he saw
trom a distance of only a few yards a Bushman
killed by a w()und(;d lion. When the lion charged
•-•very one ran. and just as ' Black Jantje" reached
a small tree, it dashed p.ist him and the ne.\t instant
caught up to a Piushman. It appeared, Jantje told
me, to rear itself up. and placing a forepaw on each
shoulder, gavi' the unfortunate savage a bite in
tlie head. Ihere were no wounds on the man's
shoulders, but his skull was bitten through, and he
was dashed to the ground with such violence that
the skin was knocked off both his knees. The
wounded lion made no further attack, but walking
slowly aw,iy to the foot of a neighbouring tree, lay
down and presently died within' a few yards of its
d(;ad enemy. Two cases have come within my
e.xperience of lions charging home, and after having
thrown their adversaries to the ground with one
severe bite, leaving them without further molesta-
tion. I have known personally a number of men
who had been m.iuled by lions. Every one of them
was bitten, not struck by the lion's paw. Indeed,
most of them were ab.soultely untouched by the
lion s claws.

I once made the acquaintance of a fine old Boer
hunter with whom I subsequently became very
.'iiiimarc, just after lie had been very severely mauled

^^^^^^mm

72

AFRICAN NATURK NOTKS

IHAP.

by ;i lion. On askinij him if he h;ul t'clt much iJ.iin
when the Hon was bilin;^ him — lie had eleven deej'
tooth wounds in th(' (jne thi^jh. besides others in the
left arm and hand, and describe-d the lion as havinj,'
" ch(;W(.'d " him — he answered, "J.i. ik at byung
sair ^(jkrij " (" \'es, 1 felt much jjain ) ; and some
Katirs have also told me that they have suffered
much wlnm bein^; bitten by lions. It is possible
that old Petrus Jacobs and my Kafir informants
did really feel some pain at the time when they
wi.Te bcMU*; bitten, l)Ut in the case of I^uropi^ans.
at any rate, wlu) probably possess very hiL^hlj-
struni^ nervous systems, all the first-hand evidence
I have been able to j.^ather i(oes to ])rove that th»-
bitt; of a lion or a ti^er is practically painless. 1
imai^ine that the reason of this is. that the tre-
mendous ('iier^y e.\erted by a lion in bitintf is
equivalent to a heavy blow, which produces such
a shock to the nervous system that all sttnsation is
for the timc^ iieini; ileadened, as it would be by a
heavy blow from a sltali^e-hammer. I do not think
that any kind ot' wounds irom either blows or
bullets or bites are likely to ,t,dve any appreciable
pain if inflicted swiftly when the blood is up ; but
they become painful enou^di very stjon afterwards.
When animals are killed quickly by lions, they too
probably suffer \ ery little, if at all. but no ont; who
has listeneil, as I ha\e done, to the bi'llowini^^ ,if an
ox or a buttalo l)'!int; killed by inches could possiblv
say that such ;r^ anim.d's sufferings were not verv
great. 1 once hatl a line stallion donkey killed by
a hyana within a short distance of m\- bivouac. It
had first been sei/etl between the hind-Ie<;s by its
toul assailant, and its screams were perfectly heart-
rendint;. and haunted me for a loni^ timi' afterwards.
-My Kafirs and I ran to the poor brute's assistance
at once, but were too late to save it, as a qreat hole
had bcesi turii hi its bcl'v, out 01 which half its

m

VHK kyp:s of lions

73

<;iUr;iils were hariLjin^. No ; it is iiscU^ss for the
scientist or tin- divint- to t<jll an old hunter that
there is no cruelty in natuie. hecuis*.- tiie man who
has spent many years of his life in a wild country
knows by actu.il experience that such an assertion
is not true. But let me return to my hons.

In app'-.irance a fiill-maned. well-proportioned
lion lying in peaceful r(;pose in a luiropean
menagerie, L,M/in,L; pl.icidly ami t'-ouohtfully out of
sleepy, brownish yellow eyt;- the human crowtl

beyond the- bars of its cage, i.s a truly di-iiitied and
niaje-stic-lookinj; animal ; and if a li'n<; specimen of
a wild lion couKl be viewed at clf)se quarters and at
a m()m<.-nt when it was lying or standing with its
massive mane-encircled head well raised, content
with itself and all the; world, after a gofxl meal, and
entirely unconscious of danger, it also would doubt-
less look both dignified and maicstic, though 1 doubt
it it could ever look quite so reposeful as the ty[)ical
lion of the i)icture-books ; for although w ild lions are
sometimes caught fast asleep. tht;y are usuallv .ilert
and watchful. I have spoken of' the eyes of lions
that have grown up in caftiivity as being brownish
m colour and somewhat sleepy in exj)ression, and
that IS the impression I have received from looking
ii the lions in the Zoological Gardens in Regent's
I'lrk. On the other hand, I remembc;r the colour
ol the eyes of wild lions as being of a tlaming yellow,
which retains its fierce brilliancy for many htjurs
alter death. Should a lion b(- shot through the
loins ami injured in such a way that, its hind-
(piarters being paralysed, it can be closely approached
without danger, its tierce eyes seem '.iblaze with
bright yellow llame. and give complete expression
to the awful fury by which ii is possessed. It is
worth mentioning, I think, that when visiting the
Zoological Gardens at Clifton, a couple of years ago.
i noiiLcd that the eyes of the lions and tigers there

74

AFRICAN NATURK NOTF.S

in \iv

w«n; in most c.iscs of a tlamiiii^ yellow, as they are,
according to my experiimce. in wild lions. In some
ot tlu;m. however, the. (-yes were brownish and
sleepy-looking.

When walkin,L(, wild lions hold the head rather
low, lower than the line of tht; hack, and althoiigh,
when suddenly encountered, they will raise it for a
moment to take a look at the intruder, they will
soon lower it ai;ain and (;ither trot ;iway with a low
L;rowl or else stand watching. .\ wild lion looks
his hest and his worst, intensely savage but not at
all majestic, when standing at bay. I hav(; the
pictures of four male lions, that 1 had chased on
horseback and brought to bay, very vividly im-
pressed on my memory. One was wounded, though
only slightly, the other three as yet untouched.
They all stood fairly facing me, their heads held
well down below their mane -crowned shoulders,
their fierce yellow eyes gleaming, and their ears
laid Mat, like the ears of an angry cat or leopard.
All the time they stood at bay they kept up a
constant succession of loud rumbling growls and
flicked their tails continually from side to side,
throwing them suddenly into the air before charg-
ing with louder, hoarser growls.

In one respect the behaviour of these four angry
lions was qm'te different from that of an angry cat
or leopard, or even tiger. There was no sus|iicion
of snarling about them. Their mouths were held
slightly open, but instead of the upper lip being
drawn u\) so as to e.\pose the upper canine teeth, it
was drawn down so as to coinpletely cover them.
They stood thus with their inouths held slightly
open, growling savagely and twitching their tails
trom side to side, until two of them charged before
I fired at them, and the other two I fired at and
killed before they could make up their minds to
chartre. Now this abstention from all susoicion of

.-c'r^'v; r^: --:

.-.iySi-^- ^-5

A LL'CK^ SHOT

-.narliiii; wliich I nnumtx'r so well in the case of
lour (iifrt.Tcin lions when ilrivtii to bay. ami the fact
that I do not carry in my mind the j)ictiirc of an)
iion snarling that 1 have «;ver shot, makes me
wonder whether it is correct to depict an angry lion
IS snarling like an angry cat or leopard. ihis is a
small matter, no doubt, but <nu- which ! think it is
worth while inquiring into, as if an angry lion really
'io<s not snarl, it differs in this respect from all
other members of the cat tribe.

F once galloped almost on to a lion lying tlat on
tht- ground in grass only about a foot in height
i'elore I saw it. When I at last made it out, I w.is
'lirectly in Iront of. ,md probably less than twenty
\ ards aw.iy Irom it. As I [nilled my horse in. this
lion had its ht.'.id pressed down on its outstretched
paws ,ind its eyes were fixed upon me. Had I
ridden by. it would certainly never have moved
until 1 h.id got out of sight. As 1 raised my rille
and looked down the barrel to align thp sights' upon
Its he.id. I saw th(' black tuft of 'hair at the end of
Its tail (licked lightly from side to side, and the fore-
paws, th.-it had been stretcher ' out straight beyond
Its nose, dr.iwn slowly under its breast, without its
head or body being pr.Tceptibly raised. 1 knew the
iion w.ison the very [joir.t of charging, but my horse
kept breathing hard and I could not get my sight
steadily rt.xed below its e-yes. Then, just as I saw
the crouching beast's hind- quarters quivering, or
rather moving gently from side- to side, I f.red, and
luckily my bullet struck it just between the eye.s.
and crashing into its brain, killed it instantly, so
that It never moved, but still lay crouching on the
ground, struck dead at the verv last moment before
starting on its charge. Since 'that time I have on
s<A-eraI occasions watched a cat when stalking a
bird go through every movement made by that lion

the same appor^ntly involuntary twitching uf just

76

AFRICAN N'AirRK NO IKS

>. HAH.

the ciiil ol thf iiil, ilic s.iinc (lr.i\vini(iii of the forc-
ptws Inai'iilh ih'.- chest, .iiid then thr \v,i\ y move
nic'iu ()( till' loins just hfforc the liii.il rush. A>
hoiis arc very nocturnal in their hal)ils and usually
hunt l)y u'u^hx. it is, of ccKirsc. very unu-^ual to sec
ihcm approach and kill their prev, imt from the
above related experietice j inia'^^ine that ever)'
inovemtMit made l)y a lion in approaching,' and
hnally niakini; a rush u|)on an .inielop'- or /eljra is
exactlj- repres'iitftd in miniature hy ,i ( .it st.ilkinjr a
bird or rabbit. It is as well to reiiiend)er that if .i
li(>n. .liter standiiii; for a short time i;ro\vlin^ at you
.uu\ whiskini^' its t.iil backw.irds ,im\ forwards round
its hiiuMeL,'s, suddenly stitfens it and throws it
straiejht into llit- air at riL,dit anodes to th»; line of its
back two or thn^- timt-s. it is a dan,L;t-r-->ii;nal and
means i h.lr(.,Mn<^^ .A lion may often charL;e without
ihrowini; its t.iil straight up, but I believe th.it it
will never throw its tail up without charL,'inj.^.

The Atricin lion appc.-ars to be more j^re^arious
th.m ,in\- otlier of tlie |-"(;lidae, and the mal*- is
(crtainly ,idclict<-d to polyj^Mmy. Often a lion era
lioness ni.iy live antl hunt for a time by itself, and
very old animals are probably always scjlitarv, .is
a:! old lion would \)>t driven aw.iy from the females
byyoun-er mal(;s. and an old fc-m.ilc wouKl probably
be badly treated by youni^er animals of both sexes.
.Sometimes two or even three males will hunt
to.L;ethi-r for a time. More often a male lion
may be met with accomitanietl bv from one to four
fem;iles. some of which latter may be followed bv
cubs of ditfereiu aijes and si/es. A familv party
consist int; of one old male lion, three or four adult
lemales. and several i ubs, some of which m.iv stand
almost as hijjjh at the shoulder as their mothers,
would constitute wh.it the old Hoer hunters would
have called 'en trop leeuws " (a troop of lions).
In parts of .Afric.i wli(_Te' Lr.iim.e i^. or w.is verv

\ '-Ml M MIWU -MM 1 \KH MKv ,N ,, „ ,,, ^IKI, ,.

l-.r,i «lii. Il lh.-v l,«mi ■, (MM Uui .lr..«li ..rr .,11 itl ll». ,«.,v»„<m of ll,r \„lt. ,
mil ir.' .ill ihr.f ih-ix- i.f fiiMv a.liili iinm iN

[.;..n k,n.-,| ,m 111.- n,,|,r II ,i,v ,1,, t,w . ,., M ,-|,„„,,|.„„l n, I,,,,.- idSo.

'■ " ''"''■■' ■'" ''"■ I'.i/iii^A.iiii in.-r n.'ir Ii,i!,|.,v n., ,11 M,,

1 ,l.;.-! iimI ,11 S|,t,

illU I l,"ri-.

1-n k;ll.-.l ,,„ 11„ U,„l,,i„. nu-r n,.,,r ,(,•• \l,,k ,,.1, „, s.,;, |,.,„, ,„ M,, ,8-.,

A.

T

IV I.OVK ASr) [KAI.OUSV 77

.il'Uiul.iiu. tlurc arr many .luthirtitic rcconls ol' ovttr
iwtiit) lions liavin^' hccn s«.'eii to^ctluT, In his
article on " The Lion." puhlishcd in the B.ulniinton
Library Scries, Mr. I'. J. Jackson, CM., has noted
th«' lact th.it on Alienist 7. 1.S90. hf am! I)r
.Matkinnon canu; across a troop of twcnty-lhre*-
lions near M.ichakos in I^ast .Mric.i. This troop
consisted ot three- malt; h'ons with splendiil dark
inaiie-s. tut! or si.\ h'onesscs, and the rest cubs. I
h.ive come to the conchision that such lar^^e
.»ssembla;;es of hons .is this, in which there are
s«'Vt.TaI lull L^'row-ii males, are. in all probability, only
oJ .1 very temporary n.iiure, the chance meeting and
tVaternisation of several lamilie.s which, as a rule,
live ,ind hunt apart ; since I ljeli<;ve that the [)assions
ot love and jealousy wouUi not allow two or more
males to live permanentK' in the comp.uiy ol
lionesses without hi,'htini,'. When a troop of lions
is met with, in whi. h. besitles a full j^rrown male a-.d
soiiK.- females .md small cubs, there ,ire also one or
two t^ood-si/ed yon 111,' males with small manes. I
believe that they arc; th(; offspring..; of the old male
and one or other of the adult females, antl thai the)
have lived and hunted with thtt troop since cubhood.
.Such yoimL[ males are probably not driven away
to hunt by themselves until they commence to
aspire to the affections of one of the females of the
party. In 1879 I encountered two pairs of male
lions huiitinti; in comf)any in th<; .NLibahi country to
the north of I^ake \'<^rami. I shot the first pair,
and should certainly have kilh-d both the others
had I only had a ritle and a few cartridt,'es with me
when I first saw the-m. as they wer«: right out on an
open plain from which the gra.ss had been burnt,
far away from the nearest bush, and I was ridiirg
tlu; best hunting horse I ever pos.sessed. Th(; two
lions which I shot were large and htavy, apjjarently
lust ni th'ir nriine. and the fitlier tKi!*" n!';!! ;!!•.

...1
1 '.-'.-I

78

AFRICAN NAlURi; NOIKS

I HAI*.

to be lull - }^ru\vii .iiiinials. Now the Mas.irua
Hushin(tii Hvin:^^ near ihi; Mababi plain - and thcst;
wild people are extraordinarilv acul(; observers —
declared that they knew both tht:sc jjairs of lions
well, and said that (.-ach pair wen- the nibs of one
mother, and had been huntiny; together since cub-
hood. Curiously enough, in the case of both thc-x-
jjairs of h'ons thi; tw(j animals living .md hunting
together diftered from one another very much. In
each cas(! one w.is of a ver\ dark colour all over,
with a dark mane, whilst the !)f)d) of the other was
of a p.ih; yellow, and it had scarcely any mane at
all. A lew <lays after encountering the ^^.econd p.iir
ot lions, a friend and myself came upon two
lionesses on the same ojjen pl.iin, both of which we
shot. One of these lionesses was on the p(;int of
giving birth to three cubs, which we cut out of her
womb. Two of these cubs were males. ,uul lh( v
differed ver\' much one from another iri colour even
before birth. One w.is very dark indeed, owing to
the blackish tint of the tips of the hairs of its
little tUiffy coat. The other was of a reddish
yellow. The fur of the female cub was also of .i
much lighter colour than in the dark male. Now
I cannot but adhere to the ojjinion which 1 \\u)V
down in my diary at the time, tiiat tht;se two male
lion cubs would, had they liv('d, have grown up into
animals differing very much in appearance one from
the other. The dark cub would have become a
dark-skinned, dark-maned lion, the lighter coloured
one a yellow lion with prob.dily v(;ry little mane.

Commenting upon such a case as tht ,djovi\ Mr.
1\. Lydekkcr, in one of his recently published
zoological essays, says that when light- and dark-
maned cubs are met with in the same litter it is due
to crossing between lions of different races. Mr.
Lydekker has also stated that "with regard to tht;
lion, it has now been asrertiiined thit the black-

VARIA'IION IN JJONS

79

mam;d and tawny-maned specimens IjclonK. i" most
cases at any rate, to distinct local races."

The .jbjection to this theory is that \ou cannot
classify all African hons under two heads^ the black-
niancd and the tawny-maned. Dealing with this
subject .n ..S8,. and referring only to the skins oi
l:ons I had seen which had been killed in the
country between the Limpopo and the Zambesi I
UTot.,'as follows: "I cannot s(;e that there is an\
reason for supposing that more than one s,)ecies
lot lion exists, and as out of fifty hon skins scarcely
wo will be found exactly alike in the colour and
Ifjii.LTth of the mane, 1 think it would be as reason-
able to suppose that there ar<= twenty species as
two I he f.ict IS. that between the animal with
hardly a yestige of mane and th(; far handsomer but
much less common beast with a long flowin- black
man(,' ey.-ry possible intermediate variety may b.-
found. .Smcc that time 1 have seen a great many
more skins oi hons shot in the country to the south
of the /:ambesi. as w<-ll as a number from limited
areas ,^f country in Kast Africa and in .Somaliland
and It appe.jrs to me that the liens of these two'
latter very limited areas show exactly the same
variations as regards colour and profuseness of m.me
as their congeners in the more southerly parts of
the continent.

^ ''-^'l^' J7" the skins of many lions and lionesses
m . outh Ai^rica. which seemed to be those of full-
sized aninials though they may have been young
in years, showing very well-defined red-brown spots
on the legs. Hanks, and belly. The old Boer hunters
mdeed, had a name for such lions. - bont pod
leeuws (spotted-footed lions), which some of them
maintained belonged to a distinct sj^ecies. 1 once
however, showed the skins of five lions, which I
had recently shot in Mashunaland. to a w.-ll-known
lioer riunter On^. »..■■'■ •!--•■ _r .. i _.

•■ ^f , - i:;ai ui a iargc maie v\iiii ,i

AFRICAN NATURK NOTES

CHAP.

fine dark mane. This he declared to be • .e skin ot
a "swart voer-leit leeiiw " (Hon with the front
part of the body black) ; whilst the skin of a lioness
which showed a Liood many spots on the legs and
belly, he declared to be that of a " tjont pod leeuw,
de kwai sort" (spotted - footed lion, the vicious
kind). As, however, these two animals were con-
sorting together when I shot them. I do not believe
that they belonged to different species or (txt-n races.
1 am inclined to think that lions .showing spots on
the legs and b(*lly. when adult but still not old.
might very likely lose them in later life.

"^ :i regard to wild T-ms. it may be said, as a
general proposition, that the mane usually grows
round the; neck and on the clM;st only, with a
prolongation from the back of the neck to behind
the slioulder-blades. Sometimes large full-grown
male lions will be practically maneless. Occasionally
specimens will be met with in which the entire;
shoulders as well as the neck will be covered with
mane. When writing of lions in iSSi, I stated that
1 had never seen the skin of a wild lion in which
the whole belly was covered with long hair, as is so
often the case with lions in captivity in this country,
though 1 had seen full-maned wild lions with large
tufts of long dark hair on the elbows and in the
tlanks. A few years later, however, Lo Bengula.
the last chief of the Matabele, gave me the skin ot
a lion which had been killed near the uppctr course
of the Unizingwani river, not far from iiulawayo.
with a verv fine mane. In this specimen the tufts
of hair in the llanks were very [jrofuse. almost
meeting across the bt.lly. and there were a few long
hairs aU over the under parts of the skin. 'Fhere
is also, i think, good evidence to show that in the
more southerly portions of South Africa lions not
intretiuentiy developed a
uvci" the

II.'

.-1

not

1 U VV 1 1 1 I < 1

1 __

iv;ii

1

11

ff

-ill tVic linnt;

I\

-•.J?>^

ilk

I

3

iv^ EKFKCT OF COLD OX LION'S MANE K,

rigured l)y Captain (afterwards Sir Cr^i^M
arns so adorned but there is now in the Junior
United >emce Club in London a mounted sped-
men o. a .South African hon with not on^an
extraordinary wealth ot mane coverin^r the whole
of th.. «ore-,,art of the body, but also with a hkrk
growth oi Ion..,, hair all over its belly. This lion
.s sa,d to have been killed near the Oran^'e river
about ,,S3o, probably. I .should think, ^on he
bontebok dats near CoIesber<r. in the Cape Colony
hou, h possibly on the plains to the north of the
mer. Aow. personally I believe that cold has
more to do with the development of a lion s
mar., han anythint; else. The winter cold of the
...h plateaus of the Cape Colony, the Oran'e
Colony, and the Southern Trans'vaal is much
more severe than in any part of Africa wCre
l.ons exist to-day. and Harris's drawings and he
mountec sp..cimen of the lion I have above ret eS
to. which was killed near the Orange river Ion.
ago show that wild lions sometimes^ttained very
profuse manes and had their bellies covered I^th
long ha.r .n that part of Africa. To-day. ho. s w th
really hne manes are never found e.xcept^n countnes

s:craf t'he'th-^'", ^•"" 'r'.^ ^^^' -mer ZnS
.Tu I , ''^'^' I'^''""^' 'he Uas X'gishu plateau

Ind ;L pT'", "7^'^^^'-'v'-d and ^Mashu^naland.
and the Haud of Somaliland, as well as oth.^r
elevated regions. In the Pungwe river distric
some few hons attain fairly good, but neve
beheve. e.xtraordinarily profuse manes. Only a
certain proportion of the lions found on high and
cold plateaus have, however, fine long dark manes
Many have very poor manes, but it seems To me
.mposs.ble that there can be more than one species
tfri '" T- "T'?'^ '1" '''''■ '" 'he hotter^pa :
d'atr'/V^>\.'f rj*!^,'-^' "^^he more elev^ued
~" ^ ""' ^i;irccc in b..yuig that hons

82

AFRICAN NATURK NOlKS

C H A I'.

iitjvt-r gel fine manes, and the holler the clim;ile,
the poorer on ihe aver.ige the manes will be. '1 he
fact that the hi-h. cold plateaus are always open
grasslands free from thorn-bush, whilst the lower
parts of the country are usui'lly cf)ver(d with
scrubby bush and thorny thickets, has led many
people to think that lions have poor manes in bush-
covered countries becaus(i the thorns tear out the
hair ; but I think that this is quite a mistaken idea,
for in the western part of Matabeleland, in the
neighbourhood of the Kamokwebani and '1 at!
rivers, where the wmter nights are very cold,
although the whole country is covered with forest,
much of it dense thorn-bush, the lions used somo
tiines to grow \ery fnie long manes. Personally,
therefore, 1 am convinced that climate is the main
factor in the protluction of a lion's mane, and
possibly very high feeding may help to jjroduce
certain exc(.'ptionally fme animals. As the high
plateaus of Southern and Eastern Africa have,
before the advent of luiropeans, always teemed with
great multitudes of zebras and antelopes, and in
some cases buffaloes as well, the lions of the high
and cold plateaus have most certainly always been
well fed. The lions living in the Pungwe river
district too must, before the advent of Europeans,
have been exceptionally well fed.

It has always seemed to me that in .Africa and
India, where, although the nights may be cold, the
sun is alwavs hot, a heavy mane must be more or
less of a nuisance and encumbrance to a lion ; and
I believe that such a wonderful growth of hair
must be a reversion to an ancestral adornment hrst
evolved in a cold climate.

The fossil remains of the so-called cave lion
{Feiis spelaca), which have been di.scovered in great
■ ibundance in the cave deposits of Pleistocene times

\v Cott-fii }j,urwpt:,

;aid b

Boyd

IV

ANCIKM CAVK LIONS

H.5

Dawkins to present iibsolutcly ik. ostcoloj^rical or
dental char.icter by which tliey can be dihtiii-uished
from those of existing hons, and I tliink that ue
are therefore justified in believing that the Hon was
first evolved in a cold climate, and that in the
course of ages it gradually spread south and east,
following the migrations of the game on which it
preyed. It probably entered Africa before that
continent was separated from Europe by the
Mediterra- ean Sea. at the .same time as the
ancestors of the giraffes, antelopes, buffaloes,
elephants, and rhinoceroses of to-day. and accom-
panied them through Eastern Africa'right down t..
Cape Agulhas. Some lions remained' in luirope
long after the separation of Africa from that
continent, and even in the time of Herodotus the.se
animals appear to have been still common through-
out South-lia.stern Europe. '^

As the ancient cave lions which roamed the
woods and plains of Western l-iurope co-e.xisted
with bears, m.immoths, reindeer, elk, wild cattle,
and other denizens of a cold countrv. there can be
httle doubt that their coats were thick and furry in
both .sexes, whilst a heavv mane would have been
an adornment to the males without bein<r an en-
cumbrance. "^

That the flowing mane and shagg\ hair <jn the
'>elly of the male lion were first evolved in a cold
climate is, I think, proved by the undoubted fact
that there is an inherited tendencv in all lions to
.grow a mane, which is crippled and dwarfed bv a
hot climate but encourageil by exposun- to cold.
(Juite recently there was a fine lion in the Zoological
Society s Gardens at Regent's Park which 'was
presented by Messrs. Grogan and Sharpe. This
animal was caught near the I'ungwe river, in South-
!^^^!] ^'^^"^^•,^"J brought to England by these
gentlenien when quite a smali cub. Whesi full-

H

AFRICAN NAIL'RK NO IKS chai-. u

-rown it 'li^vrlopi-cl a very muth tint.-r inane than I
believe has ever l»:en srcii in a wild lion that has
come to maturity in the i)art of Africa from which
it was hrou;^'ht. Similarly, some thirty years ago
there was a ve-ry line lion in th(' Society's (jardens
which was hnuiijht by ( olonel Knox from the
Souilan. Colonel Knox took me t(j the Gardens
lo see ll . animal, .unl pointed out to m<; the fact
that it h.itl (|fvcIoi)(;d a far fine-r mane (extending
much firlher back over the shoulders and under
the belly) than any man had ever seen in a wild
lion in tlie country from which it came. Lion cubs
br()UL;ht to this country from India also grow hne
manes, lhou;_;h 1 do not think that there is any
ncord of a lion ever having been shot in India
with anything more than a fairly good mane. 'I he
fact that lion cubs captured in any part ot Africa
or Asia, and brought up in the comparatively cool
and damp climat<; of \V<;stern luiroije. always -or
nearly alwa\s grow fint; manes, v\ hich usually
cover the whole shouklers and often extend all over
tht; nnder-surface of the body, and the further fact
that in the hottiT parts of Africa lions always have
very scanty manes, but on the high, cold plateaus
often develop good, and occasionally very luxuriant
manes, a[)pears to me to show that a heavily maned
lion is a reversion to an ancient ancestral type, first
evolved in Pleistoccnt- times in a cold and inclement
climate.

CHAPTER V

NOTts ON THK l.IOX ((<'/,■,///,/<■</)

Meil,o,l of uprrmK •' ran .i,c Kt-inuval of ,)au,u h an.l rntra,!.- -
-mn. skilful butchers — l',„,n,;h and entrails not usually c-atin
I.mns not bone-eaters Will eat |.utn,l meat Will sonietiine,
(itvour their own kind — Nimibcr of dib, at birth Check on
inordinate increase of (arnivorou, animal -The lions roar
diversity of opinion concerninK its power I'lobable explan ■■
t.on A Glume of sound when several luin, ,„ar in unison- \
nerve-shakin- experience Lions silent when approa. hin^r tlier
prey—Koar after killin- -An.l in answer to one another—
Lions only roar freely in undisturbed distn, i, -- l.on. csscntiallv
«amc-killers-l!ut change tlieir habit, with circumstances--
Kilhng hons with spear and shield --- lUmhalcIi's splendid
courage -Lions killed by liushmen w;th poisoned arrows --
Hehaviour of domestic animals in the presence of lions— Cattle
sometimes terrified, at other times sho» no fear.

Wiii.N once a lion or lions have killed an animal
they almost always open the carcase at the point
where the skm is thinnest, that is. in the Hank just
in Iront of where the thi<,'h joins the belly. Th.-v
then at once tear off and eat this thin skin and the
tlesh attached to it, and all the skin and (iesh
covenng the paunch and entrails, which latter they
then proceed to remove from the carcase Tli<-
neatness and cleanliness with which lions can take
the inside out of an animal they have just kill.-d
has always struck me as little short of marvellous
l^^very one who has had to do much cutting up of
liirge animals^ knows how easy it is to tear the skin
"I the paunch and get .some of its contents on the

85

s>.

AIRICAN NATIRI. NOIKS

CHAP,

nv ,u. ;iii<l African n;itix.-s arc ixarly always very
clumsv aii.l dirty in this n sprct. Lions, howcv.r.
art- .ii)l< to n-niovr the paiinch and entrails from
the ( an asf (.r a lar^c animal as skilfully as a trained
l.ulrhcr. The otial itself i-. <ira^'-ed away to a
disiaiu-.- of ten \ ards or so. and then lovered with
earth .-r '^ras-,, wiiii li i'. scratrhecl up and thrown
over it. As a rule, lioiis certainly do not cat the
paunch and <ntrails of any animals which they may
kill, l„ii I or.;e had uicasion to search lhrou<4h a
r<'fuse-heap I'.tt liv a party of lions near the carcase,
of a huttalo tliey had kilh'd. in the hope ff findin;„'
some scaven-er heetlf-s of a rare species, antl 1
found thai it (oniained nothinjj hut vegetable matter
—the contents of the buffalo's stomach. If the lions
had not eaten the entrails and the covering ot the
[)auncli, I do not kn(. . what had become of them,
■{"his refiis' -lieap as usual had been thickly covered
witli earih and -rass, which had been scratched up
from all around' it. ( 'nee the inside of a carca.se
has l)e(-n reinov(;d, the liver, kidneys, heart, and
lungs are eaten, with all the fat adhering to them.
Then the larcase is again torn open at the anus,
.md the soft me.it of the Inittocks is devoured in
great lumps, which are swallow<'d whole, with the
skin attached. Xo lion will ever scrunch up heavy
bones like a hyana, but should he kill an animal
in good condition, he will swallow all the com-
paratively soft bones of the brisket, and also gnaw-
off the ends of all the rib-bone.s. The idea that
lions will not eat the tlesh of any animal which they
have not killed themselves is quite erroneous. It
would, indeed, be more correct to say that as long
as lions can find dead animals to eat. they will not
t.ike the trouble to hunt. Nor are they at all
particular .is to the condition of any carcase they

inav chance to come across. As long as there is

, ■ • . '11 . •. 1 I J

•uiy meal :ell on it, tncv VviU eat U, ciiici i iia»c

•dammm

lP9i

Nl'MHKR OF CUfJS A I HIRIH

knf)\vn lions to remain for days in the iieij^hboiir-
hood of the |.inri(l carcases oi elephants, on which
they U-d nii^ditly. in preference; to hunting for fresh
meat, aithouirh trame of all kinds was plentiful in the
neii^dihoiirhood. Two instances of lions eatinjr the
flesh ol one of their own kind have come under my
personal observation, and althouijh such a practice
is undoubtedly of unusual occurrence, )et I should
ima'^'ine th.it, provide-d hun-er and opjjortunity were
both pr<-sent. then- are few lions that would disdain
a hkmI oil the carcase of an individual of their own
species.

.\Ithough I atn informed that lionesses in captivity
otten give birth to four, and sometimes to as mani-
as tive or six cubs, in the wild state the usual
luiinber is certainly thr<-e, and of these a large
numlu^r, for some reason which has nev(T been
ascertaine-1, never reach maturity, for it is seldtmi
that lionesses are met with accompanied by more
than two largf; cubs, and they often only rear on«-.

It is an axiom that all birds and mammals living
in countri(;s where the climatic conditions are favour-
able, and where they have no enemies, wili increase
in numbers up to the limit of the food-supply avail-
al)le for them. When the ground becomes over-
stocked, diseases break out, which only the strongest
and healthiest animals are able to resist, and these
survivors perpetuate the race, which will once more
increase ant! mulii[)ly up to a certain point. Hut
what is it that checks the inordinate increase of
carnivorous .uiimals.^ They certainly do not rro
on mcreasing in numbers up to the limit o' their
Io(kI- supply, otherwise there are many parts of
.\frica in which, before the advent of the white
man, lions, leopards, cheetahs, hya-nas, and wild
dogs, not to mention all the smaller carnivora,
would have increased to ^uch an extent that thev

1 » _1 11 1 . ... /

.,, 1 1 _ .} 11

y have UenuUtjti the country of aii

m

AFRICAN NATLRI. NO IKS

IHAI-

herbivorous animals, ami \souM then ha\c ilictl in
large mjinlx-rs thcinsdvi-s, till in the end there
wnulil have been few animals of any kind Icll.
Hut such calasirojjhes never occur. \\ herever,
before the advent of the? wliite man, t;ame was very
plentiful in Africa, lions and all other carnivorous
animals were also numerous, but the me.il • eaters
never incre.isi ij to such an extent as to reduce the
ninnhers of the grass-eaters on which the) preyed.
Let us take- the i'uni,'we district in South - Kast
Africa for example. In iS(»i I lound the country
botli east and west of the I'ungwe river teeming
with game, particularly butlaloes and /(.-bras, the
favourite food of the lion. I'p to th.it time lU)
luiropeans had ever lumted or in >ui)- way disturbi d
the wild beasts in th.it country, and the tew scattert-il
native s living there were timid and ill armed, aiul
certaitdy never kilh'd or interfered with lions, which
animals iheretore were absolut(dy without enemies.
As this stale of things must have irndured tor cen-
turies, or more jirob.ibly lor untold thousands, of
ye.irs, why had not the lions and other carnivorous
annnals, living as they had been doing in such a
well -stocked preserve, increased up to the limit
of their food-supply .■• They certainly had not
done so up to 1801, the year the white man first
entered the countrv, and at once of course changed
all the natural conditions. Many lions certainly
seem to die in early cubhood, and this may be a
provision of nature to check their inordinate in-
crea.se : but that neither they nor any other species
of carnivorous animal in Africa ever become so
numerous, under the most favourable conditions,
as to seriously diminish the numbers of the animals
on which they prey is a well-ascertained fact.

Lionesses, 1 believe, only give birth to cubs at
long intervals, for although I have often seen young

IHK LION'S ROAR

Sg

have b«-LMi at Icist two yi^ars old, I li.ivc mvir si-fii
a lioiK^ss accompanied by cubs of ditrereiit ages.

One ot the most disiinj^uisliing cii.iracteristics ol

the lion, and the one which perhaps differentiates it

more than anything else from all other members o:

tl.e tat trii>e, is its roar. During more tli.ui twent)

y-MPi spent in hunting and pioneering in th.- African

wilderness, I have heard lions roaring under all

sorts of conditions: in the stillntrss of frosty winter

nights, when the cami> fire blazed merrily, ami .is

e.ich Iresh log w.is thrown ujkju it sent up showers

ot sp.irks towards the; cloudless, star-decked sk\- ;

or .imidst the crashing thunder-pe.ils And blinding

dashes of lightning of a stormy night «liiring the

r.iiny s(Mson, when it was bomi'tini'-s (jiiite impos-

sil)le to keep a fire alight at all. On such a night.

w.ien sitting wet and cold amongst one's Kafir

boys, huddled up beneath the scanty shelter of .t

few boughs (lor I never carried a tent with me in

South Africa), the roaring of lions is not altogether

a rcissuring sounil.

On a still night the roaring of lions can be he.ird
at a very gre.it distance, and should a party of thes(-
animals roar loudly quite a mile away, I think most
people would imagine that they wer(; within one
hundred yards, (^e reason, I think, for the diver-
sity of opinion .is to the power an^i volume of the
lion's roar is, that \ery few [K^ople ha\e ever really
heard several lions roaring together cjuite close to
them, although they may beheve they have done
so. In 1891, and .again in 1892, 1 spent some weeks
tr.ivelling and hunting in the countrv between Lake
Sungwc and the Pungwe river, in South-East Africa,
and there w.is scarcely a night on both those trips
when lions were not heard roaring, often as many
as three, and once four, different troops of these
animals apjK-aring to be answering one another

»i»»i.. ^:I::•_:•^::t pui;:tr>wi Ir.C COnt|>as.S ; Out aitnOUi^h

'

E

.)0

AIKICAN N

lU: NOT IS

UlAIV

(III the sfcnntl trip - I was alone in iSqi— my cnm-
|i,mi(iiis, who had not iiad much fxpfTicticf in lh«r
•eld, otiiii thiiiii^hl th<- hous wen; very near us, I
am suK- thr\ u<rc never within a mile ol our oainp.
WIkii .1 |i.irl\ of hons arr toL,'ether, perhaps on
ihf-ir \\a\ to ilriiik atl<r a meal, one of them will
hah and hrrathe out Irom its exp.inihd hm;^s .i full-
toned not'-, whii h rolls alar at ross llu- silent wildt.-r-
ness. As il draus in its Iireath for another effort.
a setond memlier ol the party emulates the leader,
and then a third, a tourth, .iiul .1 tilth |)erl\.ips will
join in, iiiil .til ol them then sc-<-m to vie uith
one .itioiher a-, to which can proiluce the <,'re.itest
volume ot souml. .md il is a tact that at the climax
ol the roarin;,; o| a troop ot lions the whole .lir
seems to xijirate anil tremble. Ot a sudden the
;^ran<l hoominy;. vibralinL; notes cease, and are im-
mediately succeeded l>y a series of short, deep-
toned, cou;..,diint; t^Tunts, which j^radually die away
to ,1 mere hissing expulsion of the breath. I hen
not 1 soiiuil is he.ird until, after an interv.il ot a
t<\v minutes, the <.;rantl compe-titive roarinj; ])eals
across the lonely velil once more. Durin^j ! oi»-
I'ew out ot the thousands of nij.jhts I have lain on
the -ground, beneath the stars, in the interior of
.South .\trit a. 1 have heard lions roarinjj; pretty
near my camp ; l>ut never quite so near as one dark
niijht in 1S70. 1 was nturnini; from the Chobi
river to where 1 had left my wa^j^ons in the
Mababi country, and was alone with hve K.itirs.
( )ne ivenin;..; just at dusk we reached the last w.iter-
hole in the Sunt.i river. We hatl made a lonij
march in intense he. a, as it was the month of
November, and were .ill so tiretl that we made
no camp nor collected much firewood, but just lay
down on the sandy ijround round a very sniall fire.
Not loni; after ilark we hi-ard a troop of lions roar-
ing in the distance : presentlv thev roared attain

A NKRVK-SHAKINC; KXi'KRIK NCK

• vidrntly lujarcr, am' roariiii,' maj;iiiticcntly at int«'r
\ als. tin y contimicil to apjiroa !i until there lonid
lie no »l(nil)t that they were omiriL; (lf)\vn to drink
it thi' water hole clov; to our hivoiiai. This water-
hf)ie was situated in the Jx-d of the river at the fool
1)1 a st(( |) high bank on the top of which we were
lying. A game-path led down into the river I d
some titieen yards away, anil the- lions were coming
down this path. The night wa.s inky hlack. .is the
sky was overcast with heavy clouds, for the rainy
season was clos<- at hanil. Our fire had died down
to a few embers, and it v as useless looking for wood
in such darkness. 1 don't think th<; lions ever
noticf^d our dying fin,', or ever had any idea of our
close proximity to the water-hole, as, afti-r having
roared about a quarter of a mile away, they walked
noiselessly past us along the game-path, and ilescend-
ing to tht; river-bed. commenced to slake their thirst.
We could hear them lapping the water when they
wer. ilrinking. They roared three limes in the
river-betl just below us, and the volume of sound
they emitted when all roaring in unison w.is nerve-
shaking. .My Kafirs sat motionless and silent, hold-
ing their hands over their mouths. 'l"h«Tc >• :re no
trees ol any size near us, only small bushes, so they
lould not make a run for it to any place of safety,
rhey confessed to mt: the ne.xt morning that when
they heard the lions roaring so near them "their
hearts died,' meaning that they were terrified; and
although I myself was not then of a very nervous
dis[)osition. and moreov(T believed that when lions
roared loudly they were not hungry, and would
therefore be unlikely to attack a human being, I was
very glad when they at last left the water and we
lieanl them go roaring back to where they had
probably been feeding on the carcase of a buffalo
or some other animal before they came to drink.
1 <.Cii.-.::;:y uu ;:tji i;ciicve tfial iioHs roaf vvhcn

Q2

AFRICAN NATURK NO IKS

l.HAi'

aiiproacliinir their pr^-y, for surely such a procccdiiij^
would he as toijhslT as it would be lor a bur^^dar 'o
whistle ami sinL( whilst euiiiniiitiiit,' a rol)hery,bLit they
will sometimes roar loudly in the late evenino or
lariy niL,'ht, just as they leave- their lairs and set out to
lof)k for prey. When movino; about at ni_<;ht, lions
som(-timis <:;ive vent to a low ])urrin!^r ;^tow1 — \ er\'
tliffereiu in sound to a roar which may i^e <i call-
note to others of their party, and if driven off by
shots from a horse or an ox the\- have killed in the
nii;ht, they will j^towI loudly. In appioachini; a
camp with the intenti(Mi of killiii;^ o.xen, horses,
doiikeys, or human benn^s. lions are absolutelv
silent, as 1 believe the\- a!\va)S are when ajjprciach-
ini;; any kind of wild J^^'lme. I believe that lions
otten roar aft(,-r they have killed an .uiimal und
I)elore commencing to feed, and at intervals duriii:.,^
th(; night, as they lie round the carcase, and the\
certainly otten roar when on their wav to drink in
the e.irly hours of th(,- night, but |jrol)ably aft<'r the)-
hav<" killed some large animal and made a meal.
Th'' roaring of one lion or party of lions undoubtedly
ixcites other lions within hearing to roar in answer.
1 once heard several lion, roaring loudly throughout
ttie night, and even after the sun had risen the next
morning, ami I fcKind that a .solitary male lion h.ul
.ipproached a i)arty consisting of .mother male, two
females, and two large cul)S, standing as high at
the shoulder as the full-grown females. The single
male was, I imagine, jealous of his married kinsman,
but teared to engage in deadly ct>mbat with him.
and so contented himself by roaring defiance at his
riv.d, who answered with counter roars, in which
his whole family joined. The next morning 1 just
missed getting a shot at the unattached Hon, but
killed the other, a very fme but hasty tempereil
animal, as he charged me at sight without an\-
ur(;\ ocation.

COURACJKOLS SA\ ACIK

111 countries here lions have lonj; livci un-
disturbeil by human beings, and where they havt;
really been the undisputed lords of the wikferness.
they roar very freely, and may often be ht;ard even
alter th( sun has risen. Ikit when white men
suddenly invade a well-stock(^d game-country and
disturb its peac<; by continual shooting, lions
gradually grow more and more sil(;nt, till it becomes
rare to hear one roar at all, though there may still
be a good many of them about. ' The African lion
is essentially a wildern-ss hunter and a game-killer,
but when man, whether savage or civilised, en-
croaches upon his preserves, killing or driving oft
the game, and bringing in cattle, sheep, and goats
in their pi. ice, then he pn-ys uj^on these newly
introduced animals and wars with their guardians
to the death.

Before the introduction of firearms anjongst the
Matabele, these courageous savages, though onlv
armed with shield and spear, were accustomed to
join battle without a moment's hesitation with any
lion or lions that interfered with the cattle given
over to their charge by their king. Full and drowsy
alter his feed of hnvJ, the maniuding lion woukl not
usually go far from the carcase of the o.k or cow
he had killed I efore lying down to sleep. Soon
.liter break of day th(; swarthy cattU? guards would
track him to his lair and silently surround and then
close in on him, heaping every term of abus(; upon
his head as they did so. The lion thus roused, and
seeing all retreat cut off, would st.md at bay, and
growling savagely, with head held low, ears laid
flat, lashing tail, and mouth held slightly open,
would glance from side to side with blazing eyes
upon its foes. Then a picked man of dauntless
heart, armed with a single stabbing spear and a
very large o.x-hide shield, would rush forward alone
towards the lion

{^1 1 re- 1 t-iiir

.... -It-Q

:l u '^

true

94

AFRICAN NATURE NOTKS

tHAl'.

Homeric fashion. The lion, seeing its retreat cut
<>({. ahnost invariably accepted the ch.illcngc and
nisheel upon the advancing savage, whose e-ndcavour
it was to strike one blow at his assailant anil
then fall to the ground beneath his broad shield.
At the satne time, his rri(-nds would rush in from
both sides and (luickly spear the lion to death, but
oil- n not before one or two of them had paid the
penalty for lh(Mr darin- with the:.- lives. Many
lions used to be killed annually in the olden lime
round the outlying cattle posts in Matabelelanil,
and many of I m/iligazi's ' bravest warri(;rs died of
wounds received in these gl.idiatorial games. Man\-
vears ago I us(;d to be very frit.-ndly v, ith the second
I'-nduna of P)ulawayo, one Hambaleli, a splendiil
specimen of a good, bravi-, honest, heathen gentle-
man. He toUl me that on five occasions he had
been chosen to rush in on a lion that had been
surrounded and bnjught to bay. Twice he escaped
without a wound, thanks to the protection afforded
by his great shield and the quickness with which
his comrades had rushed in to his assistance ; but
in the other three encounters he had been severely
bitten, once in th(; right shoulder and twice through
the muscles of his thigh, and he bore the scars ot
.ill these honourable woimds to his grave. The
fact that, on each of the occasions when he was
hurt, his formidable assailant had only been able
to get in one savage l)ite, shows, 1 think, the
quickness with which his friends had come to his
rescue.

Before they were supplied with firearms by their
Uechvvana masters, the Bushmen of the K.ihihari
sometimes killed lions with poisoned arrows. Old
Bushmen have assured me that they had themselves
killed lions by this means. Their plan, they said,
was to creep close up to a lion lying asleep after

V Lie >S KILLED BY POISONKD ARROW'S

fo

a heavy meal, and then to shoot oik- of their little
reed arrows into some part of" its bodv troin behim!
the shelter of a bush or tree. The sharp prick
would awake the h'on but not greatlv alarm it. and
as it would see nothing to account lor the disturb-
ance ol its slumbers, it would probablv think it had
been stun^' by some Hy. It would probably, hov\ever
get up and walk away. The shaft of ' the arrow
would soon fall to the ground, but the bone head
barbed and thickly smeared with poison, would
remam fixed in its victim's hide, and the deadly
compound would gradually permcat,- its blood ami
sap Its strength. The Bushmen averred that a
hon once struck by a poisoned arrow never re-
covered, though it would not die till the third day.

Domestic animals such as horses and oxen some-
tmie.s_ show great alarm at the near proximity of lions
at others they only seem .slightlv scand. and .some-
tmies they do not seem to be frightened at all If
a horse has once been bitten by a lion, or if another
horse tied up clo.se to it has been attacked, it will
probably ever afterwards evince -r<-ai f(.-ar at the
smell ol a lion. But. on tht- other hand. I have hail
several hcjrses in my possession, which I bou<rht in
the Cape Colony or the Orange Fret: .State, which,
when I had trained them to carrv the meat o!
antelopes, never showed the slightest sign of fear
when a reeking lion skin was put on their backs
although they could never possibh have se.-n or
smelt a hon before 1 took them up country 1 had
•some trouble at first to train .some of these hors.-s
to carry the meat of any kind of fresh-killed u.ame
and they always began by smelling it and then
snorting ; but once they became accustomed to the
smell of antelope meat, they showed no further
alarm when the skin of a freshlv killed lion was
thrown over the saddle.

I have known a herd of cattle, after one of their

06

AFRICAN NAIURK NOIKS

CHAP.

iiuinl)er had iK-cn killed by a lion, iravol more than
twenty miles without feeding, evidently in a state
of terror all the time. On the other hand, I was
lying in my blankets at my camp on the Hanyani
river, in Mashunaland, one day early in 1S85, just
in the throes ot a sharp attack of fever and ague,
when my cattle-herd came rushing in, saying that
there was a lion amongst my cattle, and that it was
killing a heifer. This was about two o'clock in liie
afternoon. Pulling myself together. 1 had one of
my horses saddled up. and callii.g my dogs, rode
out to see what had hajjpened. I found my cattle,
over fifty altogether in number, all feeding quietly
not 400 yards away from my camp, just where they
were, my herd-lioy said, when the lion came amongst
ihem. As it turned out. it was a lioness. She had
clawed a three-year-old heifer in the tlanks and on
the hintl-qu.irters, but had either been kicked off
by the heifer itself or driven off by the rest of the
herd. At any rate, the sudden appearance of this
lioness in their midsi had created no panic amongst
the cattle. I had a chase after this lioness with
my dogs, but she crossed the river and got into
some very thick bush, and as I could not get a
sight of her and was feeling very unwell, I returned
to camp.

In '887, one day about noon, four lions — two
males and two females — attacked my o.xen and
killed two of them, but without apparently alarming
the others in the slightest degree, as they never
ran away nor show(;d any sign of having been
frightened. One dark night early in 1892, I was
camped near the Revue river, in South-East Africa,
and my oxen were lying loose round the waggon,
as 1 thought there were no lions in the neighbour-
hood. About midnight five lions came up to
reconnoitre, and my oxen no doubt smelt them, for
liiey jumped up and stampeded in a oouy. As

V CATTLE FOUND FEEDING QUIETLY 9-

they r.in, the lions caught and pulled down one
of them. The next morning I thought I miglit
possibly have to follow my frightened oxen a long
way betore overtaking them, but I found them
feedmg quietly, and showing no signs of having
been terrified, only a few hundred yards away. On
the whole, I do not think that domestic animals
have that ingrained and instinctive fear of lions
with which they are usually credited, though the
smell of these animals is doubtless disagreeable to
them.

*

H

CHArTKK VI

NOTi;'> ON Till- srOTTI It IIV 1 NA

Cli.ir.Ktcr of liy,ina> — Cnntr.i-tnl witli tli.'it nf unUes- -Sioiy
illuhtr.itin- the sticnj;th ami aiui.icity of a -.poittd h\ iiia — I!i>w
a K<>;'t "■'' ^'■i'^*-''-' ^'■"' '•"■'■"■'' "*^ — -^ mean uiik — lioldilt.--- ot
hy.i nas near native vilia^'cs — Mure suspii lou-^ in ihc
wilderness — Very tlc^triii live lo native lue stix k — Will sniiie-
tinie-i enter native liuts -(;ivin„' an old uom.in to the liy.i nas

How the Mnellin^; out of wif lies benetited the hyana--
••Come out, ,:-.sionary, and t;ue us the witi h " Number of
hyanas iiife-,unj; Matabeleland in <ilden times — TnaN foi
witdirraft in Matabeleland food of liy.i nas — Stren„".h of
j;nvs— Char.^ed by a wounded hyana -Heavy trap broken U|)
— Killing hyaenas with set i,'uns — Hy.ina held b\- do-s -
Hyana attacked by wild d()>,'s — I'.i' e of hyanas— Curious
experien'-e on the Maljabi plain The lu'.rna's howl —
Hhinoceros lalf killed by hyanas Smell of hyanas Hyana
meat a delicacy - Small cows and donkey-^ easily killed l)y
hyanas— Sue and weight of the spotted hy;ena — Number of
whelps.

It has alw.iys appeared to me that the quahties and
characteristics of the African spotted hyaena have
met with somewhat scant recognition at the hands
of writers on sport, travel, and natnnil history, for
this anim.d is usually tersely described as a cowardly,
skulking brute, and then dismissed with a few-
contemptuous words.

Yet I think that the spotted hyana of Afric.i
is quite as dangerous and destructive an animal
as the wolf of North America, which is usually
treated with respect, sometimes with sympathy,
by its biographers, though 1 cannot see that

9S

u). M AUDACirV OK A SPOI'ITI) HViNA

QQ

nobler in cl..iiMctrr than
ni.un .iljrcj.ul b\- iiit;lu.

wolves arc iii anv way
hy.L-iias. l')oth breeds

ever crafty, f'ern-. and hungry, and both will bt
equally ready to tear oi)en the j;rav»!S and devour
the (lesh of human l)einj^'s, should th(; opportunity
present itself, whether on the shores of the Arctic
Se.i, where men's skins are yellowy brown, or
Inineath the shadow of the Southern Cross, where
they are sooty black. There is nothin-,'' really
noble, though much that is intttresting, in the n.iture
of either wolves or hyaii.is, but neither of these
animals ought to be despised. Hyamas are big.
powerful, dangerous brutes, and at n'ight (.ften show
great determination and courage in their altemiHs
to obtain food at the e.xpense of human beings.
The following .story will illustrate, I think, both the
strength and the audacity of a spotted hya^na.

I was once camped many years ago near a small
native village on the high ve'ld of Mashun.iland to
the .south-east of the present town of Salisbury. A
piece of ground some fifty yards long by twentx in
breadth had been enclosed by a small light hedge
made of thornless boughs, as it was supposed that
there were no lions in this part of th(; country. In
the midst of this enclosure my wagg(jn was st.'inding
one night with the oxen tied' to the yokes, and my
two shooting horses L ned to the wheels. On
the previous day I had shot three eland bulls, and
had had every scrap of the meat as well as the skins
and heads carried to my waggon, and on the evening
of the following day there were <i l.irge number of
natives in my camj) from the surrounding villages.
These men had brought me an abundant ^sujjjjly of
native beer, ground nuts, pumpkins, sweet potatoes,
maize, etc., and as I, on my side, had given them
-several hundredweights of meat, both they and my
own bovs were preparing to make a nieht of it
in my encampi./.-nt.

100

AIRICAN NAILRK NOTKS

CHAT

Ahoiii an hour .ilicr d.irk, th<; hoywhc looked
.itttT inv h(>rscs slntchtcl oih- oI" tl;c eland liid<.'s
on thr ground behind the \vaj,'^'on, and the-n pouring
a lar-e pot full of halt'-boilcd m.iize upon it, spread
it out to cool before putliiij,' it into th<' horses'
noseb.it^s for th(Mr eveninv; feed. At this time
niy whole camp was lighted up l)y the blazing
tires the natives had lit all alcjng ont; side of the
enclosure, .uid ol course within the hedge. I"'v(.Ty
one w.is liap|)y, with [jlenty of fat meat to eat and
beer to ilrink, and the whole crowd kept up an
ince.isant babble (jt talk and laughter, as only ha[)py
Africans can.

I w.is finite alone, as 1 had been for months,
with these qood-tempen^d primitive people, ami I
may here say that 1 went to sleep every night in
their midst, and always completely in their power
<as I h.'id not a sini^le armetl follower with me),
feeling as absolutely sate, as indeed I was, as if 1
had been in an hot(d in London.

I had jnst tniished my evening meal, and was
sitting by the fire that had been lighted at the foot
of my bed of dry grass, when I saw a big hy;en;i
burst through the lightly made hedge of bou^dis
on the other side of the waggon and advance
btjldly into the centre of the enclosure, where he
stood for a moment looking about him, plainly visible
to every one in the bright light cast by twenty tires.
The ne.xt moment he advanced to where the eland
skin lay spread upon the ground behind the waggon,
and seizing it. dashed back with it through the
fence and disappeared into the darkness of the
night.

I had sevend large dogs with me on this trip,
which were all lying near the tires when the hyama
entered the encampment from the other side, but
as the latter had come up against the wind, they had
not huiell iiim. W hen, however, he appeared wilhlii

VI

A I.ARC^K HY.^-.NA KII.I.Kr)

i?i

• I few yards of thcni, and in the hill \v^]n i>f the tires,
they of course saw him. ami as he sti/cil the- el.int!
skin aiul dasluxl off with it, scattering' in)- hors(-s'
Je(-(1 to the wnuls as h(; did so, ilie do:;s rushed afn i
him, hirkint,' loudly. I do not know e.xailly what
the t,'reen hide of a bi;^ eland bull ina)- weiL,di, but
it is certainly ver)' much heavier th.ui the skin of a
bullock, and of course a very awkward thin},' to
carry off. as the weif:;ht would be distribute-d (jver so
much t^round. Vet, .ilthoujjih this hyana had only
a start of a few yards, my do^'s did not overtake
him, or at any rate did not force him to drcjp th(
skin, until he had reached the little stream of water
th.it nm throuj^h the v.illey more than a hundrt-d y.irds
below my camp. Here we found the doj^'s jjjuardini^
it a few minutes later, and attain draj,f<;ed it back to
the ua^'^on.

1 knew the hya;na would follow, so 1 went and
s.it outside the cam]) behind ;i little bush on the-
trail of the skin, and very soon he walked close u[>
to me. 1 could only just make out a somethinj^
darker than the nij,'ht, but as it moved, 1 knew it
could be nothing but the animal 1 was waiting for,
and when it was very near me I fired and wounded
it. and we killed it in the little creek below the
camp. It proved to be a very large old male
hya,Mia, which the Mashunas said had l.itely killed
several head of cattle, besides many shee[) and goats.

I cannot help thinking that this hyana must
have thrown part of the heavy hide over his
shoulders as he seized it, though I cannot say that
I saw him do this, but if he did not half carry it, 1
don't believe he could possibly have gone off with it
at the pace he did, for the dogs did not overtake him
ui.dl he had nearly reached the stream, more than
a hundred yards clistanl from my camp. I am in-
clined to the view that this hv.:en:i must have half
carried, half dragged this heavy hide, as ! once saw

10?.

AFRICAN NAiriU. NoTKS

CHAIV

.,iv f.f llwM- .mini. .Is s.i/.- .1 -o.il by th.- I^ck of ihr
ur, k ..n.l ihroxMM- il <>vi:r its shoulders, -iilloij olt
uilh it. Ihis w.is just oiitsicU- .1 native kraal in
W.-sicrii Mat ihrl.l.iiul lu-ar th.- rivrr (jwai. 1 hai
oiitsnann.-cl my w.it,'K<>n iIht.- .'Iu: .a .-iimK'. -ind
h.ivin« bought .1 lar^Mi fat -oat. uhuh must havr
wri-h. (1 t'llty pounds as it stood, I »..sicn<'d u by
onc'^of its forclf^'s to on.- of the Iront wh.-.ls ol th.-

my b.'d on lli«- -roun.l alontjsid.- <«f lh<- other Iront
wheel, not six fe.-t dist.uit from when; the j;oat was
faste-ned.

It was ,1 brilliant moonlii^'ht nij^ht and v.ry cokl,
and 1 had not Ion- turned in. and was lyin^' wid.-
a\Nak.-. uhen I h.-.ird th.- L;o.it ^'wv. a loud *• ba.i,
and instantly turning my h.-.ul. saw .i hy.Tn.i sei/t-
it by the back of th.; neck, bre.ik th.- thouK \Mth
which il was ti.-d to the wag^"" ^^''^^'^'l ^^'^^ a J<'rk.
and -o oil .It .1 ^Mo\> with, as uell as 1 .ould s.;e
ih.- IhkIv of th.- i,M)at thrown over his shoulders.^ ;\11
mv do-swere Iving round the tires where; the Katirs
w.'-n: sl..-« i)in- wh.ii the hyana seized the goat, and as
he had com.- up against the wind, had not smelt him.
Hut when the goat "baaed' they all sprang up and
dashed after the marauder, closely followed by my
Kafirs. Th.- .logs caiight up to the hyana after a
short chase and made him drop the goal, which the
Katirs brought back to the waggon. It was quite
alive, but as it had been badly bitH;n behind the ears
I had it killed at once.

A hyana once played me a particularly mean
trick. 1 was outspanned one night towards the
close of the year iSgi in Mashunaland near the
Hanyani river, not many miles from the town of
.Salisbury. It was either the night of the full moon
or within a day or two of it. At any rate, it was
:. .rloriouslv briorht moonlight night. I had shot a
recdbuck that day. and in the evening placed its

VI

SUMMARY JUSTICK

'^i

hind-quarters on a l1at i^ranitc rock, close to where
my cart was standing. I then made my bed on the
i^roiind close to the tlat rock, and, as the moonli<;ht
was so brij^ht, never troublt'd to surround my camj)
wiih any kind of fence. Puliint^ the blankt.-t over
my head, I soon went fast aslee]). Durinj,^ the night
1 \v()k(; ii[), and was astonished to find that it was
dark. This I soon saw was owing to a complete
eclijjse of the moon. When the shadow had jnissed,
and it once more became light, I found that the
choice piece of antelope meat which I had [)laced
on the stone close behind my head was gone, and I
hav(; no doubt that it h.id been ( irried otf by a
hya'na during the eclipse of the moon.

Hy.enas are always far boldt-r and more
dang(;rous in th(^ neighbourhood of native villages
than they are in the uninhabited wilderness.

In the year 1S7J a Bushman Hottentot who had
shot a Kafir in cold blood, was beaten to death with
chilis by friends of the murdered man close to where
my waggon was standing near the Jomani river, in a
wild, uninhabited part of Eastern Matabeleland. I
did not know anything about this summary adminis-
tration of justice until it was over, as it took place at
the waggons of some Griqua hunters who were
camped near me. The body of the Hottentot was
then dragrged to a spot less than three hundred
yards from my waggon, and quite close to the Griqua
encampment. That night several hya-nas laughed
and cackled and howled round the corpse from dark
to daylight, but they never touched it. On the
second night they once more left it alone, but on
the third they devoured it. I do not know why
ihf;se hyamits waited until the third night before
making a meal off the body of this dead Hottentot,
but I imagine that it was because tht'y were hya.nas
of the wilderness, unaccustomed to, and therefore
suspicious ot the sine

of a human being. I have

104

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

CHAP.

noticed, too, that in the wilds hyxnas will often,
though not always, pass the carcase of a freshly
killed lion without touching it.

In any part of the country, however, where there
is a considerable native population, and where con-
sequently there is little or no game, hyaenas have
no fear or suspicion of a dead man. They make
their living out of the natives round whose villages
they patrol nightly. They soon discover any weak
spot in the pens where the goats, sheep, or calves
are kept, and kill and carry off numbers of the.se
animals. They often, too, kill full-grown cows by
tearing their udders open and then disembowelling
them, and will sometimes enter a hut, the door of
which has been left open, and make a snap at the
head of a sleeping man or woman, or carry off a
child. When lying once very weak and ill with
fever in a hut in a small Banyai village near the
Zambesi, I awoke suddenly and saw a hyaena
standing in the open doorway, through which the
moon was shining brightly. I lay quite still and
he came right inside, but he heard me moving as I
caught hold of my rifle, and bolted out, carrj'ing with
him a bundle tied up with raw hide thongs. The
latter he afterwards ate, but we recovered the
coiitents of the bundle the next morning.

Besides being able to dig up the carelessly buried
bod'es of natives who have died a natural death, the
customs of some of the warlike tribes used to pro-
vide hyaenas with many a dainty meal. In 1S73
my old friend the late Mr. Frank Mand) — after-
wards for so many years the manager of De Beers
Compound at Kimberley — saw some natives drag-
ging, with thongs attached to tht; wrists, what he
thought was a dead body across the stony ground
outside the native town of Bulawayo.' On going

from ihe present European city.

,-iy! ^W'jiV'c fPr

r II

VI

WHAT USE IS SHE?

105

nearer he was horrified to find that the body was
that of an old woman, and that she was alive. On
remonstrating with the men who were dragginjj the
poor creature along, and taxing them with their in-
humanity, they seemed quite hurt, and said, " Why,
what use is she ? She's an old slave, and altogether
past work, and we are going to give her to the
hya-nas." They accordingly dragged her down to
the valley below Bulawayo and tied her to a tree.
My friend had followed and watched them, and that
evening, as soon as it was dusk, he and a trader
named Grant — who was murdered in Mashunaland
by the natives during the rising of 1896 — went
down to her with a stretcher, and cutting the thongs
that bound her to the tree, carried her up to Mandy's
hut, where, however, she died during the night.

I do not wish it to be understood that the custom
of tying old and worn-out slaves to trees, whilst still
alive, to be devoured by hyenas, was ver)' common,
but it cannot have been very unusual either, as
Mandy told me that many natives looked on with
absolute indifference whilst the old woman whose
fate I have described was dragged past them ; so
the hya;nas must have got many a good feed in
this way, especially round the larger towns. But
the native custom which was most advantageous
to these animals was the practice of smelling out
witches. In Matabeleland, in the time of Umziligazi
and his son Lo Bengula, people were continually
being tried and convicted of witchcraft, and very
often not only was the actual witch, man or woman,
killed, but thsir families as well, sometimes even

the case of Lotchi, head
Induba, who was put to
number of whose wives,
children, and other relations who were killed with
him amounted to seventy. When the evidence had
been heard the king pronounced the sentence.

all their relations, as in
Enduna of the town of
death in 188S, and the

io6

AFRICAN NATURK NOTES

CHAP.

which was often conveyed by the two words " niga
impisi " (give him, her, or them to the hyaenas).
The wretches were then tak«;n just outside the
kraal fence and clubbinl to death. Their huts were
also |uillt;d down and thrown out. I re'inember I

was once slee})ing at the house of Mr. C , a

missionary in .Matabeleland, when a lot of natives
came to the door very t;arly in the morning, and
kept shouting out in a very e.xcited manner, "Come
out, missionary, .uui give us the witch ; \\<: want to
take him to his mother, who is a witch also, and kill
thcMii both together.' It ajjpeared that the man
they saiil vv.is a witch was a native, who had been
left in charge of another missionary's house during
his mastir's abst^nce in the Cape Colony, and who
by steaily work had .accumulated enough money to
bu\' a few httad of cattle. This man had been
accused of Innvitching .some of the king's cattle,
and Lo Deiigul.i had pronounced sentence of death
upon him. I directly I saw the men outside Mr.

C s house I thought from th(Mr manner that

they had alre.idy killed the f.ilsely accused man,
although they denied having done so; but when

Mr. C and 1 went across the valley towards

the poor fellow's kraal on the other side, they all
left us.

It was as I had surmised; for we found Mr.
H s faithful servant lying on his face just out-
side the fence of his kraal, with his elbows tied
behind his back and his head in much the s.ime
condition as that of H.uuiuo's ghost, as represented
on the London stage. C)n the evening of that day
th(; sun h.ul not b(;(;n long down wh('n we heard the
hy.inas howling, and that night they held high
carniv.U over the murdere-il man's remains.

Some idea of the number of hyanas that used
to infest Matabeleland in the old .savage times may
b(; gathered from the fact that my old friend the

VI

'NANSI IBK/A YAKO'

10-

I:

latt; Mr. G. A. Philips once poisoned with strychnine
twenty-one of these animals round the old town o\
Bulawayo in one night.

I was never able to get a full account of the
proceedings at a trial for witchcraft in Matabelc-
land, but from all I have heard they must have
been strangely similar to those trials for the same
alleged crime which were so common a few centuries
ago in England and Scotland. In recent times in
Matabeleland, just as in mediaeval times in Ene;Iand,
everybody, almost without e.xception, believed in
witchcraft, and there can b(; no doubt that in both
countries men and women existed who firmly
believed themselves to be possessed of the powers
ascribed to 'itches. One of the c<jmmonest accusa-
tions against men accused of witchcraft in Matabele-
land was that they had been seen riding a hya na
at night, and on this account when one of these
animals was killed, it was looked upon as an unfeel-
ing joke to point to it and .say to any native, " Nansi
ibeza yako" ("There lies your horse ).

Although hyanas eat large quantities of soft
meat when they get the chance, they can do very
well on a diet of little else than bones. When a
large animal is killed Ity lions, these purely car-
nivorous animals eat the greater part of the soft
meat, and then leave the carcase to the hycenas,
which are pretty sure to be at hand. These latt( r
then scrunch up and swallow many of the bones.
.So powerful are their jaws that they can break the
leg- bones of buffaloes and giraftes, the ends of
which they gnaw off after e.xtracting the marrow.

I once wounded a large hyana as he ran out of
a patch of long grass, where he had been lying
aslee{). After following on his blood spoor for a
few hundred yards, I came upon him lying under a
bush, evidently bafHv wounded. On the previous
day I had bought a very large-bladed assegai from

io8

AFRICAN NATURH NOTKS

CHAP.

a Mashuna blacksmith, and so, dismounting, I took
this assegai from the Kafir who was carrying it, and
advanced on the wounded liyana to give him the
coup de _!^racc. When 1 was still about ten yards
away from him, he jumped up and came towards me,
not with a rush certainly, but still pretty quickly,
and with the evident intent to do grievcjus bodily
harm. As he advanced he repeatedly clacked his
jaws together, making a loud noise. I stood my
ground with my heavy assegai poised to strike, and
when the hya;na was close to me I drove it witb.
all my force into liis mouth. His jaws closed in-
stantly on the heavy iron blade, nor was I able to
aLjain withdraw it, for although the wounded animal
bit it all over from one end to the other, he opened
and shut his jaws with such surprising (juickness
that he never lost possession of it. b^inally, he i)ullei!
the iron blade of the assegai out of its wooden
shaft, and then, weakening from loss of blood, fell to
the ground, still clashing his jaws on it. He was not
able to rise to his ieet again, and the Kafirs speared
him to death as he lay. 1 found that the hea\\-
assegai blade had been twisted and bent and bitten
in a most e.xtraordinary manner. I kept it for a long
time, and wish I still had it in my possession, as it
w.is a veritable curiosity.

1 once ciught a hy;cna in a very large heavv
iron trap, which it recjuired the strength of two
ordinary men to set. To this trap I had attacheil
a heavy iron waggon chain, but the other end of
this chain was not made fast to anything. I caught
this hya-na by hanging up the hind-leg of a sable
antelope in a tree by the roadside about a hundred
yards from where my waggon was outspaniu'd.
The trap was set .it the foot of the tree without
any bait and carrfully cov(,T(.'(1. The hy;ena must
hav(.' jumped up at the meat and sjjrung the trap
as he came to the ground again. One of the large

VI

my/f:na hkld by dogs

loy

iron spikes which projected from the jaws of the
trap must have gone rii;ht fhrouyh the leg that
had been caught, as it was broken off and there
was a lot of blood on the trap. When the hyaena
was caught he made no noise, at least no one
heard anything, l)ut just dragged the trap with
the heavy chain attached for a distance of about
a hundred yards away from the waggon road and
then broke it up. One jaw of the trap had been
wrenched off, and the soliil iron tongue which
supports the plate when such a trap is set, had
been twisted right round. The trap, which would
probably have held a lion, was of course destroyed
and the hya-na gone.

I have killed many hyaiias both near native
villages and in wild uninhabited parts of the
country by setting guns for them, usually baited
with a lump of meat tied over the muzzle, and
attached with a string to a lever rigged on to the
trigger, so that a straight pull exploded the charge.
Ot course, one arranged the trap in such a way,
with the help of a few thorn bushes, that the hya-na
was obliged to take the meat from in front ; but I
never knew these animals show any hesitation in
doing so, with the result that they received the charge
full in the mouth and were killed instantly. I have
no doubt, however, that if a constant practice were
made of setting guns for hya*nas in a certain district,
they would become wary and suspicious after a few
of their number had been killed.

On one occasion iliy own dogs held a large old
bitch hya*na until the Kafirs came up and speared
her, but this animal had, we afterwards discovered,
been shot some time previously through the lower
Jaw, the end of which, with both the lower canine
teeth, was gone, so that she could not bite. This
hya'na was, however, very fat, and the wound she
had received had long since healed up after all

r 10

AFRICAN NATL'RK NOTKS

CHAl'.

the broken pieces of bone had slouLjhecl out. How
she had manai^ed tf) eat anythinj^ but soft food 1
cannot imagine, for what was left of her lower jaw.
beinpj in two s(tparale pieces, must have l)een use-
less for scrunching ujj bon<.-s.

One moonhght night I wounded a large male
hya'na, [jartialiy jjaralysing his hind-cjuarters, and
my pack of dogs at once ran up to and attacked
him. Several of these dogs were large, powerful
animals, and holding the hyxna by the ears, throat,
and neck, they certa'-dy prev(MUed him from using
his teeth to their disi Miifort, but they seemed quite
unable to pull him to the ground, and whin I at last
drove th<Mr> off, I could not see that they had hurt
him in any way, so 1 shf)t him.

My friend Mr. I'ercy Reid once, when hunting
on the Chobi river, heard a great noise, a mixture
of howls and yells going on near his camp during
the night, and his Kafirs asserted that they could
distinguish the cries both of wild dogs and spotted
hy.enas. The ne.\t morning the weird sounds
were again heard, and appeared to be approaching
the camp, so Mr. Reid went out to see what was
going on. He had only walked a short distance
when he saw a v-ery interesting sight. An old
hy;ena was standing with its back to a large tree,
surrounded by a double circle of some twelve to
fiftetjn wild dogs. The inner circle of these, by
turn, tlew -n on the hyana and tried to bite him.
falling back after they had done so, and fearing
apparently to come to close quarters. At the t-nd
of some five or ten minutes the old hy:vna, seizing
an o])portunity, bolted for an adjacent tree, and.
standing with his back to this, again renewed the
fight. Both the hya-na and his assailants were so
intent on their own concerns that they paid no
heed whatever to my friend's approach, and he
walked up to within fifty yards of them and shot

A PACK OK H V.I.N AS

1 1

two of ihc wild dugs. The remainder of tin- p.ick
lhi;n ran off, leaving the hyaiia alone. Mr. l\t:id
would not .shoot him, because of the brave and
determined fight he had made, and he presently
lumbered olt at a heavy galloj), apparently nnnr
the worse for his all-night encounter with the
wild dogs.

Hy;enas do not always lie up during the d.iy
in taves or in holes in the ground. I have often
found them sleeping in patches of long grass, and
have had many a good gallop after them. 1
always found they ran v<;ry fast, though I h.ive
gall()[)ed right up to several in good opeii ground,
but it was just as much .is my horse could do to
overtake them. Once whilst riding across the
Mababi plain in 1^79, about two hours after sun-
rise 1 heard .some hya^nas howling ; but they were
so far off that I could not see them, though the
pl.iin was perfectly level and open, as all the long
summer grass had been burnt off As the n(jise
they were making, however, was very great and
quite unaccountable by broad daylight, I determined
to see what was going on. antl galloped in the
direction of the strange sounds. After a time I
sighted a regular pack of hya-nas trotting along
towards the belt of thorn bush at the top end of
the plain, and beyond the hya-nas I could see
there were three animals which looked larger .uid
of a different build, and which I thought must
be lions. I then galloped as hard as I could in
order to get up to these three animals beiore
they entered the bush. As I galloped, I pa^ised
and counted fifteen hy;enas, trotting along like
great dogs, most of which stop{)ed and stood
looking at me without any sign of fear as I rode
close past them. All the time some of them kept
howling. I now saw that the thret; larger animals
were lionesses, and that there were several more

I 12

AFRICAN NAIURK NOTKS

CHAP.

hy.inas in front of th(.-ni. so th.it then: must have
het-n more than twiiily of tht-sr animals out on
the plain with the h< messes, two of wliich latter
I succeeded in shootin,i,^ After 1 hatl skinned
them, I rodf- hack over the plain, hut could dis-
cover no sij^n of the carcase of a dead animal, as
I should have done, had it hrm anywhttre near.
by the lli,i;ht of the vultures. Why had all these
liy;L-nas collected round these thret- lionesses, and
why were they escortint,' them back to the bush
again over the open plain ? I can only hazard
the suggestion that they had U )wed the lionesses
in the hojje that they would kill some large animal,
whose bones they would then have jjicked after
the nobler animals had eaten their full. When I
heard them howling, perhaps they were upbraiding
the lionesses for their want of success. Ilyanas
do not live in jjacks. but when a large animal
has be(-n killetl. lht;y scent the blood from afar
and collt:ct tog(;ther for the feast, separating
and going off singly to their several lairs soon
after daybnrak. 1 he rapidity with which hyajnas
sometimes collect round a carcase is truly astonish-
ing, and shows how numerous these animals are in
countries where game is still plentiful.

I remember arriving late one evening, in July
[S73, at a small water-hole in the country to the
west of the river Gwai, in Matabeleland. 1 had left
my waggon at a permanent water called Linquasi
two days previously, but being only armed with two
four- bore muz/le-loading elephant guns, and not
having met with either elephants, rhinoceroses, or
buffaloes, was still without meat for myself and my
Kafirs, as, although I had seen giraffes, elands, and
other antelopes. I had not been able to get within
shot of any of these animals with the archaic
weapons which were the only firearms at that time
in my possession.

VI RHINOCKRCS C()MIN(; K) DRINK iij

I'he water holt- was situ.ited on thv. ed^o of a
larjj;f ()[i«n p.iri, at the back of a small hollow half
beneath a low leilj;*; of rock, and must h.ivc been
fed from an underj^'round sprinj,'. as the IJiishmen
told nu- that it never dried up.

As. on the eveninjj; in (juestion, the moon was
almost at the full. I determined to w.itth the water
durinj.^ the early hours of the nij;ht, in th(^ hope oJ
gettint; a shot at some animal at close quarters as
it came to drink, for there w.is a t^rtral deal of recent
spoor in th«; pan of rhinocerostis. buflaloes, zebras,
and antelopes.

As soon, therefore, .is my Kafirs had made a
" scherm " ' amongst some mopani trees, just beyond
the edge of the open ground. I took one of my
bl.mkets and b(Hh my heavy elephant guns, and
established myself on the ledge just above the pool
of water. 1-ying tlat on my stom.ich, I was com-
pletely hidden from the view of any animal coming
towards me across the open pan by the long coarse
grass, which grew right up to the edge of the rock
ledge beneath which lay the pool of water.

I hail not long t.iken up my position when a
small herd of buffaloes came feeding up tlie valley
behind me. They, however, got my wind when
still .some distance away from the water, and ran off.

About h.ilf .III hour Liter, I suddenly saw a
rhinoceros coming towards me across the open pan,
and as the wind was now right. I thought he would
be sure; to com<! to the water.

He was, however, very suspicious, and kept con-
tinually stopping and turning sideways, apparently
listening. In the brilliant moonlight I had made
him out to be a black rhinoceros almost as soon as
1 saw him, for he held his head well up, whilst as
a white rhinoceros walks along its great square

' A semicircular hnl^t- of tliurn hu^lu
our fcii

wutiin wliicii «c -Ici-t mh I res jl

I

i

«'4

AFRICAN NAIlKh NOTKS

CMAP.

iiiii//li- .iIiiKist touches the ^Touiui. Al List the
j^r'^iil licast scciiKtl to make uj) its iniri<l thai no
tl.in_;ir tlirf.itriicd it. Inr after havin- stood qiiii*-
slill lor some little time ahoiit tifty yards away frcjin
me, it came on without iin hirther hesitation .intl
( oiiiinenced to drink at tlie |ioo| liciiLath th«; le(l^<
oil which I was lyinL;. Its head u.is then hidden
Iroin nie, hut if I had held my old i:un at arms
length I could have tou( hed it on th.e shoulder.
K lisiii'^' my^ell on my i-li)ows, I now lost no time
m liriiiL; nito tht: unsuspectin'^ anim.il, the mu//le
of my !.;un almost touching' it at the junclion of the
neck and the clu'st ,is I pullid the triyL;<'r.

The loud re|)ort of my heaviiy cli.ir;_^ed eleph.int
^'iiu was .mswred l)y th'- puOin'^' snorts oi the
rhinoceros, \vhi( h. although mori.illv wounded, h.id
strength enou!.,'h to swinij round .uid run ahoul lifts
yards across the open ground before talliiiLj dead.

.•\s it was still (juite early, and the nlj^ht was so
'.^doriously ttni', I thoiii,fht I would lie and watch for
.in hour or two lonv^er to see if anvthins^ elsi; caine
to drink al th-- water.

1 don't think thr. rhinoceros had been dead five
minutes when a h- .i ii.i came across the pan and
W'-nt strai'.jhl up to the carcase. This hrsi arrival
u.is soon tollowed l)y others, and in less than half
an hour there were at least a do/en of these r.ivenous
creatures assembled for the pros[)('Ctive fe.ist. .Ml
the limi I w.is w.itchin<4 them they neither howled
nor lauL;hed nor fought amon<j;sl themselves, but
kept contimiallv walkin<j; round the dead rhinoceros,
or watching whilst one or other of their number
,itlempt(td to tear the carcase open. This they
.ilways ;itleni])ted to tlo at the same plac<' — in the
tiank just wlier<- th'' thi^^Ii joins tlie belly. The
soft, thick, sp()n'_,fy skin, however, resisted all their
efforts as loner as I Ic-ft them luidisturbed, thoui^'h
I'i' if icciii i^Piiiini; over ii.T roui^n

I 111

'

IHK HOWI. OK TflK in /V.N A

"S

siirf.Kf. I'P scntly I luMnl .i iroop of lions roaring
ill llic ilislancc, iiid as I ihoui^'lu llicy ini-ht In-
( r)minL,' to ilrink at tin- ])ool of water cUise to wliich
I was lyiii;-; all In tnyst^ll and without any kind ol
slujjter, I stood u|) and shoiitfd to my Katir^. to
come and tut ii|i ihf rhinonTos, and hriiij.; some
dry wood with tluin so that we could make a hr«-
nc.ir lh<- carcisc.

As my luiM'Tv l>o\si-amc running u\>, tlw hy.inas
hastily i.-tiit:d ; i)Ut alter wa; had opcnrd the rarcasf
of thi- rhinoceros and cut out the bt-arl .iiul livir
and some of tii-' ( hoic-ht i'ici:»:s of meat and tarri«.!d
ih'-m to our rami), llu^y returned ami fe.istcd on
what was left to lh«;ir heart's content. The noise
they mad(' durinjf liie remainder of the nij^ht.
howlin:;, lau^hiiiL:. and cacklinj;, was in strani,'e
contrast to their silence when they first came to the
carcase, l)i.il found th(;msel\(;s unable to -^et at the
me.il, owint,' to the thickness of the hide by which
it was covered. The lions which 1 had hearil
ro,irin;4 in the ilisl.uice ditl not come to drink at
the ])<)ol ne.ir which we were encam|)eil. Thi^y
wvire probably on th<-ir way to a much lar^'er pool
(jf water some miles to the eastw.ird.

Spotted hya-nas are very n(jisy animals, and their
e-erie, mournful howlm;^' is the commonest sound to
break the silence of an Afric.ui night.

The ordinary howl of the spotted hyaena
commences with a lon^-dr.iwn-out, mournful mo.ui,
ri.siny; in cadence till it ends in a shriek, altogethe-r
one of the weirdest sounds in nature. It is only
r.irely that one htsirs hy.enas laucjh in the wilds ol
Africa, .is these animals can be m.ide to do in the
Zoological Garilens by t.uitalisinij them with a
piece of meat h<;kl just beyond their reach outside
the b.irs of their cajjje. Hut when a lot of hy;enas
have rrathered t<^c^eth(;r round the carcase of a large

<iniItlLtl, 'TiLiv.

«.!.} «til

ii6

AFRICAN NATURK NOl'KS

tHAl'.

tcistiiitr Oil it undisturbLtl. the noises they make are
most interesting to listen to. They laugh they
shri.-k they howl, and in addition they make- all
kinds 'of gurulinu;. grunting, caekling noises, inv
possihle to describe accurately. Once, late one
evening in 1873. 1 shot a while rhinoceros cow that
had a smallish call, which, however, 1 thought was
large enough to tend tor it.,elf and '^^t^^Y'T'
living. That night, after having cut off all ttie
best and fattest meat of the rhinoceros, w.- camiied
some two hundred yards fn^in the carcase, which
lay in an open valley close to a pool of water.
Soon after dark tin- hya-nas began to collect tor
the feast, and whether the calf returned to its
mothers remains and the hya-nas lorthwith attacked
it or whether it resentt-d their presence and first
attacked them. I do not know : but we first heard it
snorting and then squealing like a pig. and lor halt
the ni<'ht it was rushing about, closely pursued by
some of the hya.nas, which. I fancy, must have
been hanging on to its ears and any other part tfiey
could get hold of. Twice the young rhinoceros
charged almost into our camp, squealing lustily.
Fin;illy, the hyaenas killed it. and had left hardly
anything of it the next morning. I shall never
forget the extraordinary noises these animals made

that night.

Contrarv to generally accepted ideas. 1 have not
found hyai'nas whi-n killed to be more stinking
animals than oth^r carnivorous beasts. The carcase
of a freshly killed hya.-na certainly does not smell as
strongly as that of a lion. I have often had the
raw hide neck straps attached to the ox yokes of
my South African waggon eaten by hya;nas at
night in Matabeleland, and to do this, these animals
must have been rigb* amongst the oxen, gnawing
the raw hide thongs within a few feet of them, yet
1 never remember such a proceeding to have caused

VI

HY/t.NA MtAT A LUXURY

them mv .ilarni. On three occasions, two of which
^: r Im^lu n,oonli,ht n.ghts. 1 ^al y saw
hv;i:nas ri^hl in amon^rst my oxen, and at t.rs
thought they were do^s a. they were sn.fh^g abou
on the urou.id. Two of thes,. hya-nas 1 shot. On
n thes^e occasions n.y oxen did not pay the very
s .hte t atte.ntion to the hyu-nas and 1 cannot
therefore Ix-l.eve that these animals have a more
fetid or disa-.rreeable smell than dogs. I remember
on e shooting, a hyana in the Mabab. country, close
the uermaaent ca.np where my waggons stood all
hroug the dry season of 1879. Several waggons
be onging to Khama's people w;ere stand.ng close
by. and when Tinkarn, the headman of the par^^
saw the dead hyaena he asked me .f he and h.s
nLle might have it. When I in<iu,red w .at they
^Sd it lor, they answered - To eat,' and averred
no other meat obtainable n. the Afr.can veld
equal to f ' of a fat hy.-una. 1 gave them
he co-eted ca.^ase. and they ate .t wilh every
u pJirance of satisfaction. These men were not
1 ravages, but Christian.sed Bechwanas. a 1 o
whom could read and write. I hey had p.ent> of
croud antelope meat, too, at the tm.e. so that they
^ertainlv ate^ the hya na fron. cho.ce. I havc^ how^
rver never come across any other tr.be of Afr.can
natives who would willingly eat the tlesh of a
hv ^-i their objection to it being that .t .s that of
.n animal which eats the bodies of human be.ngs.
Th objection, however, would not apply to the
vas^najority of hya-nas that live .n the w.lderne.s
."from anyhu.nan habitations. Hy.vnas . ;H
attack and kill old and worn-out oxen after th-.y
have become very weak; but 1 have .tever nea-
of a case of an ox or a horse m k-od -nd .t '
being interfered with by these animals. 1 h'-y
ofte.^ kill the small native cows of ^outh-R. st
Vfrica however, always tearing open the.r udders.

iK

AFRICAN NATURK N{)rK> cimc. m

md then (lni.^i;inK^ out th(;ir rntrails ihrou.<;h the
wound thus made. I once started -.n a journey
down th<: northern hank of the central /ambesi m
1S77 lakin- with me tour tme strf)n- donkeys.
Thre*' or these donkeys were killed n.ar lh(t mouth
of the Kafukw.t river l)y hya-nas, and the lourth
badlv lacerated. 'l"h(;se donkeys were so com-
pletely devoured by what, jud^rjn- tn.m the noise
thev made, must have been a regular I'^'ck o
hya'nas, that it was impossible to tell how th.^y had
been killed. In 1SS2. when travelling through the
eastern part of Mashunaland beyond the llanyani
river, I had a very hne large stallion donkey killed
one night cUise to n^y camp by a single hya-na.
We heard the poor creature give a he.irt-ren(hng
screaming cry when it was first sei/ed, and ran to
its assistance ;it once, but when we got to it, it w-as
already dead. Its powerful, strong-jawed assailant
had s<M/ed it between the hind -legs. torr. a great
hole in its abdomen, and dragged out hall its
entrails in .m incredibly short space of time.

I have never measured or weighed any o^" the
hyanas I have shot, but Mr. \\iughan Kirb>
speaks of a very Iaru«- one as having stoo.l thr(-e
feet high at th(t shoulder, and I believe that such .m
animafmust have weighed more than 205 pounds.

Very little is known of the life -history ot the
spotted hy.ena. Hnshmen havi' told me that th(!
femak s g'ivc birth onlv to two whelps at a time.
These are usually born in one; of the Large holes
excavated by the African ant-eaters (/Jardzarks).
Although I have seen a great numlier of hya-nas on
various moonlight nights, I have never seen a very
young or even a half-grown one accompanying it^
mother, and 1 cannot h<.'lp thinking, theretore, that
young spotted hvanas remain in the burrows wht re
they are born. ;uul are there k'd l)y their parents
!!P.til thev are at least ei.Ldit or nine months old.

CHATTKR VII

NOTKS ON Wll.n r)0(;> and ( IIKTA1I^

k^— Attaik herii '>i
,loH- liniial.i antPlo(«"

W,ki doK. not very n.un.nm. I unl n

buffaloes-First ^"P"",'"'^ "'^^„ "',,., ' K'-o^"- ^'"^«^" '"
kUled- K0.HI00 c.w druon mt. ' J^,,",,^, ,. .,i,e,aly

feared by "V-;;|;;'\^ f .J:*: ^;:,e^.f .untnnK down
C.rrat pa. c di,l.laye.i— W ilU ao, i ()„.

every kmd of Alru an antelupe * ■™';^''V ' n wn- w,Ul

:::1k power, of ^^^^ ^^"^^--^-'r^'z:^^:^:^:^^.-

ao,sw,th tanu-ones One wUd ''" .^f ^^ '\ ^^^V ^dd do.
up by hitch

, „„ not think th.t th.. C.,,>e """^^^rj^^Z
^:„t,r^^;%.t. ,., .>nd con..

"'„<.«, or three! p,,k, „( these ""'™f '" ^7'^t,„

oVa ^^r m mS wl-ich was Atsing a s..b e antelope
buU^were in packs of from fifteen t<. thirty

At Times I have come across these an.mals lyn,«

1 10

^.-^■^■'•i' :.^.:'W-:^^-o :*»^i!VHM^*-KVr* ■ ;«i,^;^f-'

12C

AFRICAN NATUKL NOTKS

CHAP.

in the .sh;uk- of scattered trees, on bare ground,
from which all iht; grass had been burnt off, and
they would then trot aw.iy, continu.illy stopping and
looking Ij.ick, hut making no sound. But 1 can
remembi^r distinctly two occasions on which I
suddenly disturb(;d a pack of wild dogs in longish
grass. On both these occasions they were very
near to ine, but could not very well make; me out,
owing to the length of the grass. They retreated
V(;ry slowly, and k(,'pt jumping up, looking at me
incjuisitively, with their large ears cocked fc^rward.
At the same time they gave vent to a kind of bark,
the sound being repe.ited twic(;. This double note
might be represented by the syll.ibles " hoo-hoo."

On one of these two occasions which I say I
remember so well, I was hunting -in 1.S73 — in the
country about half-way between Bulawayo and the
Victoria l'"alls, not very far, 1 fancy, from the
present railway line. After a long march I had
reached a swampy v.dley then known by the name
of I)ett--where there was watir, and where I
intended to camp. Seeing some Iniffaloes drinking
a little way down the valley, and wanting some
fresh meat, I at once proceeded to stalk them. The
stream at which the buffaloes were drinking ran
down the centre of an open valley .some 300 yards
bn:)ad, in which there was no cover, except that
afforded by coarse grass, some 2}^ feet to 3 feet in
length. Being armed with only an old muzzle-
loading four-bore gun, I had to get pretty close to
anything 1 wanted to .shoot, and ' had crawled half-
way to the buffaloes when 1 saw them all suddenly
raise their heads and look down the vallc^y. 1
immediately looked in the .same direction, and then
heard a heavy trampling nois*-, whi:h I knew must
be caused by a herd of large animals running.

This noise came ra})idly nearer, and on raising
myself .so that I could look over the grass, 1 saw

VII

WILD IXXiS AM) BUFFAKOKS

21

a herd of perhaps forty or f.fiy butfal<u-s commR
straight towards 'me at a lu.nbc-r.n^^ K-Uop At
the fame time 1 heard a no>se - -^,-""\^^^ ,^ ,';.^,
V-ak-kak-kak constantly r.p.^ated he butlaloes

came straight on towards n,e, and had 1 rema.ned
quiet would have run ri^ht over me. so when the
iere within twenty yards 1 jnn.p.'d ^'1--^ shouted.
The leaders stopped for a moment, and th.-n. swer%-
i„,. s ightly. dashed close past me. I hred nUo one
Of'them. and in.mediately afterwards saw some wdu
d„gs_a pack of about twenty lumpm;^ up m th.-
,on<^ grass to look .it me.

They had been hangmg on to the rear of w
h.rd of buffaloes, which they had ,indoubtedl>
first put to (lioht. and had they not been chs-
turbed. would. 1 think, have probably succeedec
in pulling down a young annual. '^'^^ ' " '
w .nessed this incident with '"V <>^" 7^-^- l;^"-'
.should have thought u pos.s.ble that a herd ol
buffaloes would have allow.-d thems<-lves to be
stampeded bv a few wild dogs. The.se latter gave
up the chase as soon as they savy me, and . tter
hoo-hooing a little, trotted off. I he bark.ng hoo-
hoo and the clacking kak-kak-kak are the on y
.:oundsthat I have ever heard wdd d..gs make, b
1 cannot claim to have had much cxijerience with
these animals. Wild dogs sometimes hunt by day.
but more usually at night, and m the latter case
must be guided entirely by their acute sense ol
smell. As a rule, thev certainly run mut.-.

On the first occasion on which I ever had an>
thinii to do with wild dogs, they ran nUo and killed
an impala antelope quite close to -"y/^Sf"" "'l
a dark night in .S72. We ran up ^^f.^^^l^'^^^^'^
drove them from the carcase, a good deal <;fjl"^h
they had. however, alr.rady devoured. About a
month later another pack of wild dog^ drove a
koodoo cow into a shed used as a stable, attached

U

m

12/.

AFRICAN NAIURK NOTKS

I.HA1'

to.ision- n.ar ihr Ulur [ackrt i;n\i\ mine at 1 ati,
in MatalM:l.:lan.l. I ua. iht^rr at the time, and <.n
this occasion tlv wiM dot^s wen- clriv«;n oH by some
Katir hoys, who s|nareil the koculoo insifle the

shed.

l-.,r some time rhinn.L; the year |S>S8 my wa^'^'^m
was slandini; at l.eshuma, a water-hole which is
situal<cl just t<n miles from the jimclion of the
Chobi .uul Zambesi rivers. One morninij 1 walked
down to Ka/unKiila, at the junction of the rivers,
and on reluming to my wan;s.;on th.' same <-vening.
was surpriseil to see the m<'at ot a Ireshly killed
koodoo han^in.(r up in my camp, as game ot all
kinds was \'( ry scarce in the district. On asking
my old Oriqua s.rvanl where he had shot the
koodoo, he replied, ' Master, the good Lord g.ive
it us, for ihe wild d(\gs brought it right up to the
waggon." On further inquiry, I found that soon
aftt-r'" midday a j.ack of those animals had chased
the KOodoo to within less than a hundred yards of
the wag'^on. antl then run it in a circle completely
round u" When mv waggon-driver r.m out with
his rille. both ilie'wild dogs and the koodoo
stopped and looked at him. the latter evidently
very much distressed. Jantje at once shot the
antelope, and its pursuers then ran oft.

It has always struck me as somewhat remarkable
that animals so confident in their powers of offence
thai they will sometimes attack a hc-rd of buffaloes,
and that' a single! one of them will occasionally try
conclusions with so fierce and powerful an animal
as a sable antelope bull, should never have turned
their att<;ntion seriously to man as an article ot
diet ; yet in all my experience 1 have never heard
of wild dogs attacking human beings, nor have 1
ever heaicreither Katirs or Hushinen express any
fear of them. This is all the more remarkable
because when they are met with th(-y do not show

VII

Sl'KKD nV WII.I) DOCS

M

any "rcit fear of n.an. but n-trc,it v.;ry UMsurcly,
consuintly hallin- and looking Lack cur.ously befon-
finally trolling oft. \. .,.\u.

All African :mtc\o^>vs proi.ably hv: m dead y
fear of wild dogs, for on ih. occasion vsh.Mi w.lh
tw(, comp.nnions. 1 saw a single wild dog ^^^^^'^^^
a sable intelope bull, ihe lallcr h dlrd and bok.
round when its pursuer was about hliy yards beh
it and then, instead of showing fight, as I should
have expected it to do. threw out Us limbs coiv
vulsively and ran at its utmost speed ; but ihr wild
dog overhaul<-.d it with app.in-nt ease, and twice
jumped up and snapped at its Hank, .-ach timr, 1
Ek. making good its bite. Now this wild dog
must have been running vc-ry much t;^;-^'- /^^^ '
any South African hunting horse- cc.uld do. or
although it is easy enough to gallop up ^- ^^^^^^^T^
roan antelope cows in August and September, wh n
these animals are heavy with cali. 1 have nevt.
been able to run into a bull of either ol th.s.: spccic-s
though I have often attempted to do so, with ver>
good^^orses, on the open downs ot Mashunaland
Wild dogs. too. can run <lown koodoo cows and
impala antelopes, as well as harteb.-ests and t-ssebes,
none of which animals can b-- overtaken on horse -
back, and I believe that the ^^^^^'^^^ .'^^^''''T^ ;;^
opinion amongst African hunters would b- that n..
horse could overtake a wild dog. , . ,

I will, however, relate an experience which shows
that this is not always the case, and which will
probably be read with great surprise, 'f "-^ with
incredulity. !• arly one morning in ^^^^ir'^^'r^'
I was travelling near the source of the ^ ''^'j^.
river in Mashunaland, in company with th. late
Mr ■ H C CoUison, Mr. lames Dawson, and
Cornells van Rooyen. a well-known Boer hunter.
We were all riding togel'v-r in very open country,
iust in front of our four bt ■ )ck waggons, when we

124

AFRICAN NATURK NOTES

CHAP.

saw fiftt;(tn or iwfiUy wild do^s emerge from a
small \val.T(()urs<- thai wc had jusl crossed.

When wc tirsl saw ihem they wrrv nearly abreast
,)1 us. and not more than 300 or 400 yards to
«jm- left. 'ihey trotted quietly alun-. stopping
fnuiuentlv to look at us, as is their '.vonl. We
jxjsbes.Mjd amongst us a large number ol dogs,
most of them l)ig. rough, powerful mongrels, such as
one sees on a l5oer farm in the Transvaal. Calb
in'' to our dogs, we galloped towards their wild
cousins, and twelve or fifteen of the former soon
rushed past our horses and took up the chase at
.1 gnat ijacc. The wild dogs now broke into a
gallop. l:)ut, strange to say. instead oi leaving their
pursuers far Ix-hind them, they did not seem able
to show any great turn of speed. We were .soon
right amongst them with cnir horses, and our dogs
mobbed and jjulled down two. which they held in
such a vvav that they were quite unable to bite.
Personally 'i picked out a fine large wild dog. in
good coat', and rode at him. When my horse's fore-
feet were almost touching him he suddenly rolled
on his back and my horse jumped over him. I
galloi)ed over this wild dog several times, and

finally shot him.

During this lime my companions had occupied

th.miselves in encouraging our dogs to hold on to

the two they had si^ized, and the rest of the wild

pack had g.dloped off. As each of the two wild

dogs that hail been caught had been worried for

some minutes by five or six assailants, all larger

and heavier than itt^elf, we thoi-'.:ht they were

d(,-ad and beat (jfl" our dogs. Their two badly used

r(;latives lay quite still and limp, and we dragged

them, together with the one I had shot, to a tree

near a snilill stream, w here we intended to skin them.

All our dogs tl. .1 went back to the waggons, which

had not halted.

Vll

EXPF.RItNCKS WITH CHK I AHs izs

Wc had just commenced to skin the wild ilog I
had shot when, on looking round. 1 caught the eye
of one of the other two that was lymg dead, .is we
had thought, at th<- foot of the tr<-e. and mstantly
saw that it was alive. It must have b<-en sham-
mine dead all the time in order to recover its
strength, as immediately it caught my eye it sprang
to its feet and dashed off. Two shots wr.vv. tired
at it as it ran, but it got clean away, .ippareiuly
none the worse for lh<; worrying it had endured.
The other one which had been caught by our . ogs
was not quite full-grown, and as it had been held
by the throat by on«: of our most powerful hounds,
was quite dead.

I can offer no explanation as t(. why we were
able to overtake this pack of wild dogs so easily,
after chasing them for less than a mile, but the tacts
are as I have stated them. It is possible. I suppose,
that we disturbed these wild dogs soon after they
had killed some large antelope, and just alter they
had made a heavy meal. I cannot say. but i re-
member that the one I galloped over had its
tongue lolling from its jaws, and showed .:very sign

of distress. . .

I have, however, had two somewhat similar
experiences with chetahs. which are generally
credited with being the swiftest ot all four-footed
animals; yet upon two separate occasions, once
in company with the Boer hunter Cornells van
Rooyen. and again with three Lnglish friends. 1
have galloped after and overtaken a large male
cheiah On each occasion the chetahs squatted
suddenly when the horses were close upon them,
and lay Hat on the ground, in which position they

were both shot.

As I think that these somewhat remarkable .x-
periences ought to be put on record. 1 will briefly
relate the circumstances under which they took place.

126

AFRICAN NATURK NOTKS cHAr.

.„ ,. \, ...in Cnrn.lis van Rn-.y-n n.-ar h.

n uulirivrr. u, Mashunalaml, I n-.l,- out ..I a brli

Innn halt a mil.- to a th.msaivl yards n, .n-a<lth.am
,„„.,.a..,l on .h- farlh.T si.l-- a^a.n w.lh a irar ..
„,„,, i„pst. Dowr. tlv uMUn- oi this o,.,-n vall.-y
ran a small wat.-rrours.-. whi.'n wa,. hnwvcr. n-.
l,.n;. r .umiin- though M^vral .Urp i-M.r. u<T.- Mill
full ol walrr. ,

Mv Iri.'iKl and 1 had only r.dd . .>.. a short
dr.tancr into ih- n,.,. wh.n ihn-r en.tahs. a ..J|
,n;il,. and two anall-r animals whuh wrn- no .loubl
r,.mal.-s rnvrud Irom ih- m.-k. and after trottm^'
a short .lisianc: away In-m us across the op'-n
-round tur;-,. d round and stood l<,okm- at us.
■^ Vm Uoovrn and 1 at oncx rod.- towards th.m.
Ih.-V 1. t us'comr close to th- creek heton- runnnjK
„|f l.ul whM, th.-v did s<,, th.:y l.roke nUo a li-hl
sprin^in^ gallop and ^..t ov.t the t^nnuu at a ^r.-a
,;,,.. The Ion- summer grass had all been h.jrnt
;,ir in this district, and th<- -round in lh<- oijen valley.
l,nn<4 firn^ and hard and .piite free Irom holes, w is
in .-^rcelleni conditif)n for -allopm-.

Wh.-n we co.nmenced t.) race after the ^^helahs
thev had a sun of at le.ist hlty y^^rds 1 thmk
.on'sider.iblv more and the ed-e of th.- forest for
which ihey'wer.- makin- couKl not have been m..re
than t'lv.- hundrt-d yards distant.

Hoih our horses w.:re pretty fa.st anc m j^ood
hard condition, and we raced neck and n^-cl^ '^^
hard as we could -o behind the chelahs. Whether
thes.- latter were'runnin- at their utmost speed 1
rannot say. but, at any rate, we slowly but steadily
,Vn„,-d on them, and w.re on'y a few y-ards behind
Th.-.n when thev re.iched th.- ed-e of the forest,
which was very .)pen and free from underbush.
5,,,ri,.,,jv ,],,. two female chetahs. which were a little

VII

LHKTAH Rl'N DOWN

»*7

luhiiul lK«- 111.1!.:, <am(- to a h ill, and w.- ;_: illop. .1
past wilhm a IfW vanls of lluin, as v.r uaiiU:.! l«>
kill tlu: larK^;st ol the thr.<-. l'li«'^'- '^^" I'inal.-
chctahs (lid not cnaich down, hut stood looknt^ at
us as wr sh(H i-.ist them. \V<- chasrd ih. hi-
mal<- anolluT liliv yards throuKh ihr o|„ii lonsi,
and wv.rv. ([uitc tlosL- up to huit, wli n !.<• su<ld»nl>
stoppt-d and crouch. 'd, all in oii< inoiioii a-, it wen .
and lav with liis I -n- thin h. 'v ,,u- .cd llai to ihr
j,'round. Van R-.oycn and u<n: so n. ir hur
thal, i^oin- at ihit pace- we wtn:. w.,: couUi not pull
in (iur horses until we w.-r.: thirty o. l"tty vartls
beyond when- he lay 'V\u- chrtah however, never
nioved a^Min, but lav p.;rlec:tly still Aauhin: us. and
we dismounted and s..v>t him where he la>. U e
never saw anything more ol the two f.^nial. s. which
must have nai oft" as soon as we had passed them.

Two years l^er, in ( 'Ctober 1SS7, 1 was ridin.L;
on.- day with t'r.ree l-:n-;lish gentlemen (M.'ssrs
J. A. Jamesoi', I- rank Cooper, and A. bountame, all
of whom are aliv-- to-day md will be abl- to corro-
borat.: mv story) thro ^h the country lyin- betwen
the upper waters of the Sebakwe and I nuuati rivers
in Mashunaland. The t^aound w.is not (luile open,
.is it was covered here and there with a -rowth ot
small treses, but as these ^rew very spars.ly ther.-
was nolhin- to stop one from riding at ful; gallop
in every direction. As we rode alon- 1 was on the
k-ft of 'our partv. Suddenly my horse turned his
head and snorted. 1 at once pulled him in, callin«;
t., my companions to stop, as I thought my horse
must have smelt a lion lyini; somewhere Mear us.

1 had scarcely spoken when up jumped a very
lanre male chetah within twenty yards of my horse
and bounded away across the npcn ground, holding
his long, thick, furry tail straigi.l out behind him.

This chetah did not get much of a start, as we
galloped after him as soon as ever we could get

I2H

AFRICAN NAITRK NO I KS

I HAI'

our hnrs.s sl.irtrd. Thf rhas.- may have lasted for
a mile thoii^h 1 think (•.•rlainly not farth.-r. ancl thr
chct ih nrv.-r s.Tme-cl to l.e ablr f. ^;.l away trom
us a.ul if li- was capahl.' of goin^ at .i -re a tor pace.
Icannot uM.l.rstaml why he .lid not <!-> so. At the
,.,1(1 ol a mile, liow.-v.r, Jamison, who was the
liehi w.-i-ht ..I our party, and who was, .norcov.-r.
mounted on a very last liasuto pcmy, was close up
t(, ihr chetah. and the rest of us wen- p. rhaps thirty
virds hehind him. Suddenly the hunt.-.l anunal
sou.itt<-d Mat on ih<- -round. an<l Jamesons pony
was then so dosr to it tluit it jumped clean over it.
■Ih,, .iction of this chetah was exactly the same as
in the case of ih,; ..ne that Van Kooyen and 1 had
chased and overtaken in 1S85. and ui both cases
it was very rem.irkablr now the hunted animals
suddenly stoi.ped when -oing at a ^uM pace and
lav Mat on the ground in a sin-le movem.-nt. as it
se.-med. This "second chetah was shot by Jameson
from his horses back as soon as he could pul in.
and it never moved a-.iin alter hrst crouching

down. , 1.-1 J «f

Now when we read of the wondertul speed ol
the tamed cbetahs kept for hunting purposes in
India it certainly seems very remarkable that in
South Africa these animals can be overtaken in a
short distance by ordinary shooting horses.

In lerdon's Mammals of India a v.-ry interesting
description is given of hunting with trained chetahs
and 1 think there can be no doubt that in that
countrv these animals are able to overtake m a fair
course' antelopes and gazelles which cannot be
ridd<-n down, and whose speed surpasses even that

of ijrevhounds. . , , 1 l ,

Whether the African ch<;tah has lost the great
stx-ed of his Asiatic progenitors, and if so why, are
questions which 1 cannot answer, but the two
animal-^ which were galloped after and overtaken

\ II

CMKI.Ui LlM<S FOUND

ri>*

hv mv trir.uls.uul .nys.lf w.:rr Inuh l.iu- s,..c:nmM,s
oi ih.'ir kiml. in ^'oo-l a.tulilion ami .iiM..in-iUly m.
llu- prmu: of iifr. and why llvy did n..l run away
In.m our hors.-s and so sav.- llv^r skms. .1 tluy wcrr
,iblc to do so, is more tiian 1 can und.r.tand

Personally.

I know V..TV lutlr as to llv lile-

hisiorv of •■haah>. .nul I doubt .1 any one rls.- do. s.
.IS llu'-v .irt- v(-rv r.irclv erncnunti.-n.-d. I ..nc- saw
six of these animals together ne.ir the town o(
Salisbury, in M.ishun.iland. The u-eth <.l the chetah
are very snull and w,-.ik compared with those .-I
the leopard, hv.en.i. ..r wild do^- ■;•»> j^!^ ^•■'."'
r-tr,utilr claws not very sh.irp, so I should nnaK'.ne
thai its chief pr.-y would b.. th.- smaller specu^s ot

antelopes .. i i „ i

When the pioneer cxp.rd.tu.n to Mashunaland

w,.s cro.sin:; the hi^h pl.iteau m.ar the -o'""^;'^ <^;

the Sabi river, in iS^o. one ol the troopers ot the

British South Afrua Police I'orce, who was ruimK

;don.;: l.arallel with and not far from th.- hne o

wa^rrons. cune <m three chetah cubs lym^yn h^

Uni^s and brou^;ht them to me I h..-y c.n.ld only

have been a few days old. as the.r eves wer.- .mt y|a

open I do n.n know what b.xame ,,f th.^se ch.aah

cihs, as my duti.:s as guide and chu-f nUelhgenc.-

officer .)f the pioneer force mad., it unposs.bl.: tor

,ne to attend \n them ; but 1 beh.-v,: they were

suckled bv a bitch .md lived for som.- time.

CHAl'THK VI 11

I-:\ 1 INi HON \Nli KIMIM 1I"N <H <.AMl: IN SjOl'TU
AIKT A -NOTI-.S tiN rill i Ml lUlKAl.'i

KMinction (if ihc l)la:niul«)k and the mic (|U.ij;-,i— 'Ilircalcncd «-.\-
tcrminalion of ihc hl.n k ami v^liiti-- rhiiux uio, ami ihc hnffal"
in Soutli Afrira Kornier ahumlaiK c (if j^anii- — Scene in t!:e
valley nf Uelt witne^^ol by the auUior :n 1S73 Ihirtaloc^ pro
•fried liy the Caiie ( '.dvernmont — l!ul lew ^uiMVors in other
parts 111 South Africa AInindanie of butlal'"- .11 forir.er times
K\tent of their range Still plentiful in pla. e- up to iSgfi

1 he terrible epideinie of , imli rpc>t — < h iracter of the Afri. an

buffalo A matter of indi\Kiual experience — Comparison of

buffalo with the lion and elephant Dan-cr of following
■Aounded butTaloes into tlii^ k .over — I'tisona! experience- —
Well-kno'AH sportsman killed by a bufTalo— I'sual attmn ol
bulTaloes when wounded - 1 )itlii alt to stop when ai tually
. har.;^ing The nioanin.^ Iielluu nt .1 dyin.L; bulY.ilo - I'robahle

reasons for ^oir.e apparently iiii|'io\oked aitac k'- by bufTaloes-

Speed of butTaloes Colour. t'-\liiie, am: abumiam e of ( oat .it

dit'lerent .i^es Abuiid.iiv e of buli.d.ie- .Cinr^ the C'hobi ri\ei

licme.inoin- of old bulT.ilo bull- "(iod - utile Klephants

waiting for .1 lard ul butT.iloe-, to !e.i\e a t'ool of u.iler betntc

them-elve- i oinui.; down to di^nk.

Sim r. tht- first s(ttl<.-ini'nl of luiroiieans ai the Capt;

of (lood HojK in the st^vrnttcnth ceiniir\. two

sjjecics of the !iulij.;;enou.s fauna ol South Alrira

have hccomc- al)solutfly »,'\tiiK-t. These arc the

blaaiiwhok {IIippo/rnL^us /lUiop/uicus) .iiul the true

([uai;!.;.! {/:\//tus ,/:-..^^,!). Hoth ther,e animals,

however, wi-rr nearly relate! 10 species which still

exist in considerable niinihers, fcjr the blaauwbok

..,...^. |r> ,1 .,>f.i!-.n^f-j- IviVi' l'.>i)ke'J verv much hke -i
'* it ■• ■" .. - •- ^

.H. viii KX'IINCTION OF (^.RKAT (JAMK iji

small ro.m <int ■' in which the bl.ick face mark-
irii^s and coiis^ .us white lufts under the eyes
were wanting; ; o>.^l the true cjua-j^a was nothing
iiut the dullest co]v.ured and most southerly form of
liurchell's zebra. Deplorahlr, therefore, as is thtt
loss of these two animals, it is not (juite so distress-
ing .is it would 1)(^ had they been the soh; repre-
sentatives of the. -encra to which they Ix-longed,
and personally 1 look u[)on the disa[)pearance ol the
< "ap^ buffalo and the black and white rhinoceros
from almost (-very part of Southern Africa, over
which these animals once wandered so plentifully,
with f.ir greater regret ; for wlien these- Iiighly
specialised and most interesting creatures have
completely disappean^d from the face of the South
African veld, there will be no living species of
animal left alive in that country which resembles
them in the remotest degree.

Of course, neither the Ca[)(.' butfalo nor cither of
the two spftcies of rhinoceroses indigenous to .\frica
.ire yet absolutely extinct in the coimtry to the
south of the Zambesi rivt^r ; but of the great white
or square-mouthed, grass-e.ating rhinoceroses, the
largest of all terrestrial mammals .ifter the elejjhant.
none an; left alive to-day with the exception of some
half-dozen which still survive in Zululand, and a
ve.ry few which are believed to (-.xist in the neigh-
bourhood of the Angwa river, in Southern Rhodesi.i.
A lev.' of the black or prehensile-lipped spctcies are.
1 should think, still to be found here and there
throughout the gr<;.it stretch of uninhabitt-d countr\
which lies between the high plateaus of .Southern
Rhodesia and the Zambesi river, but, like their
congener th(; white rhinoceros, they .ire now entirely
extinct throughout all but an infinitesimal proportion
of the vast territories >ver which they r.inged so
plentifully only h.df a centur\- ago.

\W the enforcement of LMme laws, and the estab-

AFRICAN NATURK NOTKS

lhap.

I?2

lishmml of Lirgc .sanctu:iri<>s in uninhabited parts of
the country, it will he possible, I think, to preserve-
in considerable numbers all the many spec.es ot
antelopes still inhabiting South Africa, as well as
the handsome striped zebras, for a long time to
come; but never again can such scenes be wit_
nessed as were constantly presented to the eyes ol
the earlier travellers in the intericjr of that country

Then not only were many s]jecies of richly
coloured graceful antelopes and zebras everywhere
to be seen, but in the early mornings and evenings
great herds of rugged horned buHaloes on their
way to or from their drinking-places almost
rivalled the Kisser game in numbtrs, whilst,
scatl.:red amongst all these denizens of the modern
world the numero'is long-iiorned, heavy-headed
white rhinoceroses, together with their more alert
and active-looking cousins of the prehensile-lipped
s (-cies, must have appear d like survivals from a
far-distant epoch of the worlds history.

ICven in mv own time all the great game ot
Southern Africa was in places still abundant, and ;i
scene which I once witnessed in October iS;^ will
never fad(! from mv memory. I was at that time
huntin-^ .■l(-phanis in the country to the south-<',ist
of tlu'^ Victoria I'alls, and one afternoon, when
aoproaching a swampy valley known to the Bush-
men by the name of - Dett," I came une.xpcctrdlv
on a herd of these animals. I had killed one
young bull and sevtirely wounded a second, when
I was" charged by a big cow with long white tusks.
I stood my ground and llred into htr chest as .she
came on, on which she at once stopped screaming
and swerved off, givini; me the op{).)ruinity to place
another shot in her ribs with my s.nond gun. At
that time 1 was only armed with two old mu/.zle
loadint^ four-bore elephant gun.s,^()f the clumsiest
and most .mtuiualed description, nui ..!;::;, iiit ::^;-

VIII WOUNDED tLKPHANT FOUND DEAD 133

nevertheless. Having got rid of the vicious old
cow 1 again followed the wounded bull, which 1^
presently laid low. When my Kafirs had al.
assembled round the carca.-.e. one ol them said
that he had seen the cow .ift.-r I had lired at her.
and that he thought she would not go far, as she
was only walking very slowly and throwing great
quantities of blood from her trunk. I ;a once
resolved to follow her, and sorn found that she. was
heading straight for the valky of Dett, tor which 1
was very thankful, since; the day hac been intensely
hot and my Kafirs and 1 were badly in w.mt ot
water, as we had drunk all we had been able to
carry in our calabashes before we came on the
elephants. ,

The sun was low in the western sky. and
seen through the haze of many grass lires had
already turned from bla/ing yellow to a dull red.
when the spoor of the wovmded elephant led us
suddenly out of the forest into th(; open grassy
valley some thret; or four hunilred yards broad,
through which the little stream of the Dett made
its sluggisli wav, forming many !me jiools of water
along its course. Immediately we (^merged from
the forest we saw th<; carcas(; of the eltq)hant we
had been following Iving in th(; open ground withm
fifty yards of the water for which the poor animal
had been making, liul had not cpiit-- been able to
reach. It was too late to commence chopping out
the tusks, but, leaving some of my Katirs to cut
bushes and grass and prepare a cam; ing-i)lace for
th<- night on th<- edge of the forest. 1 went with the
rest to cut o[>vn the dead elephant and gel thi'
heart out tor mv .->up])<;r.

It was whilst I was so engaged that 1 saw appear
aloi.g the vallev of Dett ll.(; most interesting
collection oi wild animals that ! think 1 have ever
.....^,,. ^f.]U.f.,,.,i tfv.'ether in a -r.uiH extent of ground.

' 5+

AFRICAN NXTL^RK N()TK>

L H A .

I'irst, a f<-\v hiiiuirecl yards hi(;lKr up the valley
than \vh( re we wire wdrkini;, a hf-rd of nine ^nrafles
stalkeil shnvlv ami rnajesticall)- froi.i the forest, and,
inakinL; their way to a i)ool of w.iier. commenced
to drink. 'rhe.-,e giraffes remaineii in the open
valK;y until dark, one or other of theni from liine
to time straddling; out its forelegs in .i most extra-
ordinary manner in order to get its mouth down
to the water. No other animals came to drink in
the p()(jls hiitwcen us and the giraffes. Possibly
some- got our wind before leaving the shelter ot the
forest, though thi; evening was very still. Hut
below us, as far as one could see down the valley,
the oj>en ground was presently alive with game.
One after another, griai herds of buffaloes emerged
from th<' forest on cithc'r side of the valley and fed
slowly down to the water. One of these herds was
prece'ded by alioul fifty ze-bras, and .'nother by a
large herd i4 s;ible antelopes. rresenlly two other
herils of sable antelopes appeared u[)on the scene,
a second herd of zebras, anil live magnificently
hornetl old koodoo bulls, whilst rhinocitroses both
n( th(,' black aiid white species (tht: latt(;r pre-

amongst

dominating in
the other game
down the valley.

numbers) were scatterei
', singly or in twos and threes all
( )f cfuirse ail this great concourse
of wild animals had been collected together in the
neighbourhood of the willey of Dett owing to the
drying u\) of all the vUtys in the surrounding
country, and during the rainy st'a^on wdukl ha\e
been sc.ittered over .i wiiie area.

It is sad to think that of all those buttaloes and
rhinoceroses 1 saw in tin: valley of 1 )eit on that
< )ctober evening, less than fi\ <■ and thirty years ago.
not one single- one nor ,in\ of their tiescendants are
left .ilive to da\. Vhity were all killed off years
o. almost .ill b\ tht natives

jj»_ v.?|yiv." i 'v"Ct i I i I '_' i'v".r»'

ag(

■ iitCT

almost .1.1

, 1 !_.

of Matabeleland
,^vd of tirearms,

VIII

KPIDKMIC OK RINDKRPhST

'iS

purchased for the most part on llu' Diamond

Fields.

As w.ib U> !.e expecttJ. the rhinoceroses were
the first to ^^o. but the buffaloes, in spite ot their
prodiLMOus niinib<rs in in.iny parts of .South Africa
only a generation ago. did not long survive them
for wherever the epidemic o\ rinder[)est penetrated
in 1896 it aln. St completely destroyed all th<-
butlaloes which up till th ha(' scaped the native
hunters. . ,

It is very diftkult to say with any xactitude ho\s
many buffaloes stil! -xist in South .\frica to-day.
There are a c tain number of these animals in
the Addo bu.^h and th(; Ki sn;i forest, in the Cape
Colonv. vMch are protected b> the Cape (.overn-
ment, and .here is ...so a small but increasing herd
inhabiting the ;ame-reserve which has recently
been established in the Eastern 'I ransvaal. Besides
these there may be a few in the Zululand reserve
which surv-ved the rinderi-est, whilst a jwor remnant
of th<- '^reat herds 1 saw in the Pungwe river
district ui 1891 and 1802 undoubtedly stdl survive
in that part of the country, b'arther north it is
ciuite possible that there may sliU be a considerable
number of buffaloes u, the north and north-eiist ot
the high plate.iu of Mashunaland in the neighbour-
hood of Mount 1 )arwin. and also m the valleys ol
the Umsengaisi. Tanyai i. and Sanyati rivers. it
all depends upon whether the rinderpest penetrated
to these regions in 1896 and 1897.

. I h,v.- hlny Ic^rnr/l i\m the mnu: f..lL«f.i Ly ..ittiv whK-h are now
frwulntiv .r Lh. fr..m N.K. KI,o<1.m. t.. s.Usl.ury, w, M.a4umal..n.l ..down

cro,,f.l up the (-..iirs.- n( the l'.mv.im. I- Sah.vlmry. \n l!vh2. .iii'. ^^^<\"'
im I mn.l UutVal..- very ,mnvrou> all alnng ■.)..■ i'anpn,, r.v., irom hr
Sk' , 1.. a ,...in, only u L ...iU-s north .,f 1,„ Ma«on>h . -----'„':
buffaloes were f.mml. !-e tse Hie. were al.o very n.in.er.u.-. I lure u^n .^m
bunaloes w r . un _. , ,, j ,,,^,^. j^.,,,, cortcc.ly inl.m«.l

;^;':a. .: :>:^ i^u^ht ;o^1..1u.n.Uan^ by On, rou... -' '"-e can 1- no
a,:;'. ,he 1."".>I,„., w.re .le^troye.l l.v the epijenuc r.f r.nderpe-t m ikgb ■),.

'i''

AFRICAN NAIURK NOTKS

I HAI'.

To the west of the river Ciw;ii, however, I beheve
that few, if .my, IjiitTaKx's still survive in the interiur
of South Africa, though in my own personal experi-
(;nce I met with thes(,- animals in extraordinary
numbers wherever 1 hunt(;cl between 1S72 and
kSSo m that part of the country, whether to the
south-east of the Victoria F.ills, or farther westwards
alniiL; the Zambesi and as far as I went along the
Choi)i, or in the valleys of the Machabi (<ui overflow
from the Okavango), the Mababi, or the i'.im.ilakaa

In f.-ict, speaking generally, the Cape buffalo was
form(;rly very abundant everywhere throughout
South Africa wherever there was a jjlentiful supply
(jf water ,md grass in close proximity to shady
fon;sts ; for these anim;;!s ni^ver appear to have
frecjuented open country any when; to the south of
the Zambesi. They spre.id themselves all down
the thickly woodeil coast belt of Mast anil South
.Africa as far as Mossel Bay, and along all the
tributaries of the Z.mibesi and the Limpopo rivers,
and it was jirobably from the headwaters of the
Marico and Notwani rivers that they found their
way to the Molopo, and thence through Bechwana-
land to the Orang(; river.

Buffaloes were met with in that district, about
I 783, by the French traveller Le Vaillant, and in
Southern Bechwanaland some five and twenty years
later bv the missionary John Campbell, whilst in
1845 Nlr. W. Cotton Oswell still found large herds
of these animals living in the reed beds of the
Molopo : but it is worthy of remark that, owing to
th(; gradual desiccation of the country, which has
been and still is constantly taking pl.ice in South-
western Africa, thtTe is to-day not enough water to
support a herti of butfaloes either in the Molopo

.111.1 iheir .li.:i(i|>e.-ir.iiui- wa- .|iiK-kly f(illu«c.l. a^ ha~ Iiltii tli<- o.i^i in so ni.-iiiy
i>!lKTiii',lricis ol s.nitli .\tii..i. I.y ilir .lyini; ojt of the tse-Kc 111.--. ! fe.-»r tli.il
\ery few I.uIUI.ks cm now I..- K it in any pari .if NorlliLiii Mashunal.ui.l. i-icf
(he riiiiltT|ii'~r a('|HMr~ 'n have ^\ke| ■ tin -ii;ii .lii liiai .cunii).

v.n CHARACIKR OK FHK CAPK BUFFALO .37

i

river or anywhere to the south ol it, throughout
liechw.iiialaiKl. ,

During the quart..-r of a century succeeding the
vear 1871 (during which 1 first visited South Atrica)
ihe range of the buffalo had been very much
curtailed, but up to 1896 these animals were still
numerous in many of the uninhabited parts ot the
country, and especially so in the I'ungwe river
district of South-I-:ast Africa. In the early i-art ol
that most fatal year, however, the terrible epidemic
of rinderpest crossed the Zainb(;si, and besides
depleting nearly the whole of South Africa ot cattle
before a stop was put to its ravages by Dr. Koch,
almost absolutely exterminated the buflaloes. he
few that remain will probably be gradually killed
otf. I am afraid, and I think it quite likely that
before many more years have passed the only
buffaloes left in South Africa will be those living
in the Addo bush in the Cape Colony.

There was always a considtTable difference o
opinion amongst South African hunters in the old
pre-rinderpest times as to the character of the Cape
buffalo, i)ut there is no doubt that this animal was
lool-ed upon by all experienced nun as a dangerous
antagonist under certain conditions, whilst by some
it was considered to be the most dangerous of al
African game. It is all a matter ol individual
experience. A man who has shot two or three
lions and a few buffaloes, and who. whilst having
had no trouble with the former animals, has been
charged and perhaps only narrowly escaped with
his life from one or more of the latter, will naturally
consider the buffalo to be a mor.: dangerous animal
than a lion, and z'lcc versa.

Personally I consider that, st)eaking generally,
the South African lion is a much mon dangerous
animal than the South African buffalo, lor not only
can a lion hide much more easily and rush on to its

i'

AIRICAN NAlL'kK N()1K>

tHAl'.

ant.is^onist iniuh more fiuickly than a huftalo, but
the iorincr is, I tliink. much more sava;^(: by nature,
on tlie avcr.ii^^e, than the- latter. As re^rards vicious-
ncss I sliould be iiichneil to put the butlalo third
on tlie list ot dangerous Afric.n L,'amc, without
reckoniiv^' the leopard (of which animal 1 have not
had sntlicient experience to ofler an (ijjinion) and
the l)ia(k rhinoceros (whose tru<; character it seems
s'> dilVicult to undt^stand) ; for, whilst puttini; the
lion first, 1 think tht; elephant shouUl come second,
as I believe that of a lumdreil elephants shot, a
L^reater pr()[)ortion will chafL^e than ol the same
number of buHaloes. However, a char^ini; elephant
can almost always be stopped with a bullet, and it is
most ditTicult to stop a cliari,Mn,a; buffalo ; then^fore
the latter is perhaps actually the more dangerous
animal of the two.

'l"o follow a wouiuletl butf.ilo into a bed (A reeds,
or into long grass, where; it is almost impossible to
.see it before getting to very close quarters, is a
most ilangerous, not to say foolhardy, proc(;eding.
It is quite (exciting enough to follow one of the.se
animals when woundeil into thick bush, but there
you have a chance of seeing it as soon as, it not
before, it sees you.

I have had a very considerable experience with
South African buffaloes, li.iving killed 175 of these
animals to my own ritlc, and helped to kill at least
fifty others. When hunting on the Chobi river in
1S77, and again in 1S79, I had to shoot a great
many buffaloes to supply my nativi- followers with
meat, as 1 did not come ;.cross many ■ lephants in
either of those years.

During 1S77 I kill< d to my own riti<- forty-seven
buffaloes, ami in 1S79 I'ifty. .All these buffaloes.
with the e.\i rjition of fivi . which I shot when hunt-
ing on horseback near the M ibabi river in the latf-r

^ I Ml 1 I' . ,1 1 _. , , I. _ _»-

\ III

KXCiriNG KXi'KRlKNCKS

IV*

them were K.UowtHl. alter li.ivin.t; been wpuiuUhI.
into thick l)ush, ami then; finally despatched.

If the CaiK' huffdc. was really such a terocious
and .lialx.iically cunning b'-.i^i ^i- it has <.ttcii be.-n
n-i.rcs.-ntcd to have he.'M, it sec-ins to mc that 1
have I)een very b.idlv treated in the way ..I adven-
tures with these animals. I have, of course, had a
few more or I(-ss exciting experiences with l)uttalo<-s.
but they onlv hai)pened occasionally, and I never
thou-rht it necessary to make my will belore attack -
ini( a herd of the-se animals. In 1S74. when very
yount; and inexperienced, and very badly armed
with a clumsv mu/./le-loadin- elephant -un. my
horse wa^ tossed and killed by an old bull which I
had been cha.sin>(. and 1 aft.-rwards leceivec a blow
from one of its horns on the shoulder as 1 lay on
the srround. 1 was once knocked down. too. !)>•
.mother buffalo, which char-ed from bc-lund a bush
at verv close quarters, but I escaped without serious
injurv' On another occasion an old bull which had
been recenllv mauh^d by lions, and at \^hlch on<- ot
my Kafirs had thrown an asscgin. put me into a
tree, as 1 had not a gun in my hands, when it
charged. 1 once d.)d;^red a chargin- butkdo by
leaping .iside when its outstretched nose w'as ciuite
close to me. and then, swinging myself round a small
tree, ran past its hind-quarters; but I was young
then in perfect training and full of contidenc: in
my.self. Following on th(- blood spoor ot wounded
buffaloes. v(-rv cautiously in soft shoes, and holding
my ritle at the readv and on hill cock. 1 b(dieve 1
have often in thick bush just got a shot in, in time
to prevent a good many of these animals from
char^nng. 1 became used to this work, and niy
eye-^'" through constant practice, could see a buHalo
standing in' thick cover as soon as it was possible to
do so. and as soon as it could see me. My only
pV,th.:ncr too. in those d.nvs used to be a cotton shirt.

'4'-

AFRICAN NAIL'KK NO IKS

I HAP.

a soli fell hat. ami .i jtair of shots. Had I hern
short sii^hl.d or ihill-si^htcd, ami ^oiic bluiuicrinj,'
iiilo ihii k juiil;1c alter woiimlcd l)ullalocs, in heavy
shootin- lioots and thick clollu-s, as im^\|)cri«:nc<'d
s|)ortsiiiiii som<tiiii(s used t<j do. I inii,dit h.ivc mi-l
with more advcMlunts than I havi- dom;.

( )f course;, in the pursuit of any kind of h\^
_L,'anic which Ixtcomcs tlan<,'(;rous when woundcci,
."icridcnls will sonn-tiimts occur to th<' most c.vperi-
cncc-d hunters. Vh*: Hon. Cluy D.iwn.iy, it will be
rc-iMcinixrc'd, was kilU:d many yt.-.irs ai;*) in I'last
.Africa hy a buffalo which he had wounded. This
-cntU-man. whom 1 met in Matabcleland in KS73,
had had a i^^n it deal of e.\i)cricncc in hunting' all
kinds of .\fricui ^ramc l)cforc mcc-tin!:; with the
acciih lU which co-.t him his life, and was an excep-
tionally athletic youn^' lCn<.;lishnian.

In all m\- experience 1 can only remember one
wounded buffalo, when beinij followed throu_i;h open
fon^st, charL,nn_n from a distance of perhaps a
hundred yards, but lions when chased on horseback
will often, even before they have been fired at. turn
and charL^e from t;ven a _t,'rc;ater distance.

When wounded in open country a buffalo will
alwavs make for thick cover. Jiefore it reaches
this, it will i)erha[)S see you sev<;ral times following
on its tr.icks. It will then stop, turn, and, with heail
raised and outstretched nose, stand lookini; .it you
for a few seconds, but if .ibU; to do so will almost
invariably i^^allop <itf a;4ain. When it has reached
the retreat for which it is making, it will presently
halt, but uidess very badly woundt-d will not lie
down for some time. Personally, I have never
known a wounded buffalo to circle round and then
stand watching near its own tracks for its approach-
ing iiiemies ; but 1 can imagine that one of these
animals when wounded might go /igzagging about

IM 4I tillCk piCLC ui Ji-iiigit . TuKi, wiinout uiiy lixeu

Mil

A FKARKUI. WOl'NI)

'+«

iMtontion of waylaying its i.ur.ii.rs. iiuy;lu l.<- i-i-i
about to cross its own tracks at ih.- v.tv point
these latter had .rach.-<l when lollowin.; on its
spoor. Then it wouKi almost certainly charg.-. with
a eood chance of sc«)rin;^' a success.

My own experience has been that in thick cover
wounded butfaloes usually stood l.<-hind a bush at
ri 'ht angles to th( ir tracks. In such a position,
standin<r (luite motionless, they were very ditficull to
see whilst thev had every chanc- ol hearing ..r
seeing anything approaching on thnr spoor belore
bein- themselves observed. In such cases they
would nearly always be broadside on to the hunl-r.
and if one's eyes were trained to i-ick up ganu;
quickly in all kinds of surroundings, there would be
time to get a shot in before the woundeil animals
swung round and started on their charge. Struck
in this way with a heavy bullet somewhere near the
junction of the neck and the shoulder before the
charge had actually commenced, a wounded buttaio
would run off again. Once, however, a buttaio is
actually chargin'^. no bullet will turn or stop it,
unless its brain is pierced or its neck or on»; ni its
legs broken. A charging buffalo comes on grunt-
ing loudly, with outstretched nose and h(jrns aid
back on its neck, and does not lower its head to
strike until close up to its enemy. The outstretched
no.se of the l)uffalo which kill(-d my horse was
within a few inches of my leg betont it dipped its
head. and. with a sweeping blow, inthcted a leartul
wound in the poor animal's tlank.

I once hit a charging buftalo at a distance ol
perhaps thirtv vards." right in the chest, with a
round bullet hred from an old four-bore elephant
gun. This bullet just grazed this old bull s heart,
cutting a groove through one side oi it. and then,
after traversing the whole length ol its body, lodged
undor the skin of one of its hind-legs; yet this

MICROCOPY RESOtUTION TEST CHART

ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No ?

I

■ i j

1.0

i.f

•- m iiji 22

l_ZO
111.8

125 I u

1.6

^ APPLIED IM^GE Inc

'42

AFRICAN NA'JLRK NOTKS

CHAP.

ijiavi ami clctcnniiictl animal still came on, anil
struck a hlou al a l\a!"ir who w.is trying to climb a
irrc close beside me. It th(-n, after running' only a
short distance farther, lay down and died. Almost
always whfMi a biiftalo is dyini,' it L,Mves vent to a
moaning bellow, which cm be heard at a considerable
di-,tance-. It is a .sound which, oner h(;ard, can
n'ver be forgotten.

On June 24, 1877, 1 had a somewhat curious
• •xpericnce with a buffalo on the b.inks of the Chobi
n\rr. Some nativi^s came to my camp on the
morning of that day and informed me th.il ther.:
were three old buifalo bulls in the thick bush along
the ri\er's edge only a few hundred yards away,
and at the same- time begged me to try and shoot,
them, as lh(;y and their people were very badly off
for food, \ielding to their entreaties, I at once
went after the buff,d(jes, and, putting my liushmen
spoorers on their fresh tracks, soon canu- up with
lh(Mn in s(jme thickish bush, and killed two of them
with consecutive; sh(Hs from a single-barrelled ten-
bore rifle. The third ran off towards the river, and
I tlashed atiiM" him in hot pursuit. |ust alone the
'•dge o( the bush, and fringing the" op<-n ground
which skirted the ri^edy swamp, through which the
river ran at this point, there grew a fringe of
[Kihnetto scrub, the large leaves of which hung over
to the ground. Into this the; buffalo dashed, and I
followed clo.se behind him. 1 thought he had gone
through the p.ilmetto scrub, into which one could
not .see a y.ird. into th<- open ground bevond, and
so neveT slackimeil my pace, but went at it at full
speed ; but the old bull had halted suddenly, and
was standing still behiml the .screen formed by the
overhanging leaves of one of the p.dmetto bu'she.s.
lie could only just h.ive turned himself broadside
to listen when I ran full tilt into him, and wa.s
thrown on ilu- ground flat on mv back bv the

'^^^^

vrii

SIX BUFFALO liUI.LS SHOF

U^

viok;nce of the impact. I'roLably the- Ijudalo was
as mu( surprised as I was. At any rate, he mver
stojjped to s<-<: what hail happt-ned, but walloped oH
anraiii across the open ^^rouiul on the other side- of
th(,' pahiietto scrub and pkingiMl into the reeds.

Men \vh(i hunted big game in South .Africa at a
time when that country was worth hving in, are
often charged with wastefuUx' ^^laughlering large
numbers o» wild animals. livery one must answer
this charge for himself. Personally 1 do not plead
guilty. 1 never killed any animal for mere sport ;
but it was often ntxttss.iry to shoot what may seem
to any one wiio does not realise the circumstances
an e.xtravagant amount ot game in onler not onlv
to supply one's own followers with food, but also
to gain the- goodwill of the natives of the country
in which f)ne was travi-liing. I find an entry in
my diary for August 20. iS;9 : "Shot six buffalo
bulls." That without e.\planati(jn seems a big order.
Hut, as it happened, on the previous evening 1
had met my friends Collison and Miller f)n "^th--
banks of the (diobi, and found them both down with
fever, .uid their native followers witiiout food. The
next day it was necessary for me to shoot e-nough
meat not only to supply the inimediaK; wants of
more than fifty men, but to take them to the
waggons on the Mababi rivt.-r. which was s(n-eral
days' journe-y distant.

'I'aking ujj the spmjr of a big herd of buffaloes, 1
killed si.x fmc bulls, not one ounce o( meat of an)
one of which was wasted. Incidentally 1 may say
that I killed these si.x buffalo bulls with ten shots
from a single- barrelled ten-bore ritle, using round
bullets and si.x drachms of powder. 1 had no kind
of adventure with any one of these animals.
Another entry for December O in thi- same year
stands: "Nine Hurchell's zebras; two eland

bulls.

TK..C-..

,,.,1c.

'••!!.-=.!

ifler

'44

AFRICAN NATURK NOTKS

CHAI'.

l»-Mvin'-j thr M;il).'il)i for IJainan^vvato, and with(;iit
thr .su[)[)ly ot meat thus ohtaiiUHl it would have
^onc very hard with the larj^e number of Khama's
people who wt;re tr.ivelHnu with iiie. and who were
ahiiost entirely <le])endent upon me for food. Khama
thanked m(; wry heartily on my return to l>aman^-
wato for the assistance 1 had ^iv< ii to his people.

To H'turn to bulfaloes, old bulls are often said to
be very bad t(jin])ered and Hal)le to charc^e without
th(; s!ii;htest provocation. Many instancies can, no
df)ubt. be cited of men h.ivin;^ suddenly l)ein char<i;ed
and either killetl or badly maimed by one of these
animals. If all these' cases, however, had been
thonniL,diIy in\ estiijated, I believe it wouhl have
been fouiul th.it such unjjrovoked attacks had for
the most part be(;ii made by woumled animals lying
in thick covi'r or long grass, which were sutlering
from injuries indicted either by lions or by human
hunt(;rs. .Such animals woukl naturally be morose
and (kmgerous to ajjproach.

I havi; not shot many buffaloes when hunting on
horseback, as in my tiini- these animals were seldom
found except in countries inti:sted by the tse-tse
(ly. which fatally affects horses and cattle. Mow-
ever. I hav(; galloped aftt-r at least a dozen herds
of buffaloes, ricling alongside of them and continually
dismounting ami tiring at one or other of their
number. Onlvon one occasion ditl an unwounded
buffalo leave the herd and charge me. This
was a cow which g.ive me a smart chase for [)erhaps
a hundnnl yards. It is astonishing at what a speed
a buff do can run when charging. It certainly
takes a good horse to get away from one, although
when following a herd of butfiloes on horseback
one can (-asily keep alongsiile of them at a hand-
gallop, liven on foot I never found any difficulty
in keeping up with ,1 lierd of buftaloes and shooting
-10 •^■*'inv as I rf'r'ujred to su^)n]v mv n.'itive followers

vm FORMER ABUNDANCK OK HUFFALOKS 145

with food. Hut, of course, I he life I led at that time,
and the continual hard walking and running necessary
to earn my living, kept me in jierfect training.

In the interior of South Africa, where the nights
are very cold in the winier-tinie, buffaloes us(!d to
get fairly abundant but never thick coats when in
their prime. The calve;,, which were born during
January, February, and March, were, when very
young, covered with soft hair of ;i reddish brown
colour, but as they grew, the reddish tinge gradually
disappeared and they became dun coloured. Th(;y
did not turn black until they were fully three vears
of age. The hair of the Cape buffalo when full grown
was always quite black and very coarse. The large
ears were bordered with long fringes of soft bl.ick
hair, and the end of the tail carried a good-sized
tassel. When old, both bull and cow buffaloes
lost most of their hair, first on the middle of the
back ; but the baldness gradually increased until
very old animals of this species became .ilmost as
hairless as a rhinoceros.

In the early 'seventies buffaloes were everywhere
very plentiful along the Zambesi and its tributaries,
but nowhere so abundant as along tht; Chobi ri\er.
So numerous were they along b^ i.h banks of this
ri'. r, that one would have thought that they had
reached ihe very limits of their food-supply. Thev
were usually found consorting together in herds of
from fifty or si.xty to two or three hundred individuals.
Once I saw what I think must have b«'en several
large herds collected together, as the total number
of the troop could not have been less than a thousand.
A grass fire had probably destroyed the pasture on
the ground wl < re several herds had lately been
living, and they were all moving up the river
together in search of food. In districts where
buffaloes were plentiful, old bulls, which had either
been driven from th"- herds by ycunger animals

146

AFRICAN NA rURK NOItS

CHAl'

or had voluntarily retired from a society which
bored them, would often be encounterecJ (hither
alone or two or three tf)gether. liut alon^^ the
Chobi I hav(r oft(;n seen from five to ten old buffalo
bulls consorting t(;gether. and I once saw as many
as fifteen very old males in one troop.

Where tht; country had not been much disturi)ed.
such old buHalo bulls wt-rc verv slow ,d)out g(;tting
out ot one's way, and would st.ind i aimly watching
the ajiproach of so unaccustomed a visitor to their
haunts as a human being without showing any sign
of fear. Their demeanour was indeed a[)|jarently
aggressive and truculent ; still, although 1 have
walked u|j to or close past a very large number
in th(; aggn;gate of olil butfalo bulls, I have never
known one to ch.u'ge befon^ biding interfered with.
With (outstretched noses these formidable-looking
creatures would stand gazing at one with sullen
eyes from under their massive rugged horns, and
would not sometimes run off befoa; sticks and
stones were thrown at ihe-m ; but in my experience
they always ilid run off sooner or later. African
buffaloes are. after all, nothing but wild cattle-. My
Matrd)el(; boys used frecjuently to speak of them as
" Izinkomo ka M'limo" ("C.od's cattle"). I have
walked past thousands and thousands of them, and
have never known one to charge when unprovoked.
Hut when a buffalo which has been mauled by lions
or wounded by some hunter, and is lying sick and
sore in long grass or thick bush, suddenly sees a
number of human beings advancing towards its
retreat, it will very likely jump up and charge
through them, inflicting perhaps a deadly blow with
one of its massive crookf.-d horns as it passes. Once
a buffalo has bee.-n wounded and gets into thick
jungle or reeds or long grass, it becomes a most
dangerous animal, .-specially to an inexperienced
sportsman who has not vet acauired the art of

^^■M

VIII

KLKPHANTS AND lU'FFALOKS

u;

sccintr .m .iiiimal standing moiionW-ss \n the bhatc
of d.-nsc bush as soon as it is physically possible
to do so. and who cannot walk noisrI<-ssly on the
tracks of wounded ^'anic.

It has often In^en stated that on tiv approach o
a herd of elephants to drink at a pool of water, all
other animals will at once retire and niak.- way lor
them. Very likelv this may be true a,-, a L^eneral
rule, but I rem<;mber one occasion upon wht.:h a
herd of some thirty .-LphaiUs comin- down to drmk
at a vlev early in the niL,dit. and fmdnii; a lar^.-
herd of butf.ilcjes al the w.iter l.-fon- ihrni, walled
until these latter animals had 'lucnched their thirst
and fed slowly off into the forest before tli.-ms.:lv.:s
i'oing down to the pool.

'I'his happened on a niyht in November 1^73.
when the moon, nearly at the full, was shining in

a chiudless sky. <■ ,- 1

1 was campe<l near a fine vley of fresh ram-
water in the countrv to the west oi the river Gwai.
in Maiabeleland. and had just finished my evening
meal when a lar-e herd of buffaloes came to drink.
md had hardlv reached the water when we saw a
iroop of elephants approaching. 1 hese latter passed
very near to mv encampment, and must have seen
our fires, as one after another they faced towards us
and stood looking in our direction with natspread
ears They did not, liowever. get our wind, and
though thev must have been suspicious they w.-re,
I suppose. C-erv thirsty. liut as long .us the l.utfa oes
P-mained on the open ground round the pool ot
water the elephants did not advance, remaining
about .1 hundn:d yards away, just wiih.n the <-dge ol
a thin forest of mopani trees. Directly, how.tver.
the buffaloes had fed away into the torest on the
other side of the vlev. the greater beasts advanced
verv quickly to the' waters edge, and, arranging
themselves in a row. stood for a long time sucking

.III

'4«

AFRICAN NA'I L'RK NOTKS

l H \1'. \ III

Up ihc Jiiatcliil (inid thnni^'h lluir trunks. As they
w«T(! all cows ami younu; .iniinals, and tlurt: wx-re
some (inr hulls in the liistrict, i did not disturb
them, or course, f cannot say whether or no the
Ijutlaloes were aware of the [)r(..\imity of th«.-
elephants, hut I am (|iiite certain that 'th(! latter
not ()nly saw and smelt the wild c.itti-. hut wailed
until thiv had retired before themse.-lves advancing;
to the water.

CHAPTER IX

NOTIS ON TIIK TSK-TSI H.V

Coniii. tiiiii httwdn l)utT.ili><-^ .iikI t^f-l^r tins Sii Alfrrtl Sharpe s
views lliiffaloes and t^e-t^e riic> both on< c abiiiul.int in the
\.ilk> of the l.iMipotx) ami in.iny other th-.trii t'- south of the
/aiiilM'si. in «hiih both ha\c no« be( omc rxtin<t I'crmaneni c
of all kiniK of yaiiii" other than bnflalocs in ilistri(t- from whi' h
ihc tsetse ily lia-. (hsa|i|)C'are<l K\|Kriciiie of Mr. I'cny Kcid
- SiiiUleii inircasf of tsetse flics l>etwren l.eshutita and
K;i/un^tll.i ilurin;; I.SXS Disappcaram e of the tsi-lsc fly from
the country to the north of Lake N j,Mini after the exttrniination
of the buffalo History of the (ountrx between the (',\\a\ and
Daka livers And of tlie(ountry hctween the Chobi and thi-
/.ainbesi - Chinatu and other conditions nei essary to the exist
ence of the tsetse fly Never found at a hi^h altuude aljovc
the sea —Nor on open plains or in larj;e reed beds - ■• My
areas usually but not always well delined 'i'se tse flies no^t
numerous in hot weather I'.ite of tin- tseise fly fatal to all
domestic animals, except native ^;oats and perhaps pi;;s —
Donkeys more resistant to tsc-tsc fl\ poison than horses or
' attle — Tsetse flies active on uarin ni;.;hts Kflei i of tsetse
tly bi!e.s on human beings.

As it is impossible for any one who had much
experience with buffaloes in the interior of South
Africa in the days when these animals were
excessively plentiful not to have a very lively
remembrance also of the tse-tse flies by which
they were almost invariably accompanied, I think
a few words concerning these insects will not be
out of place. My remarks must, however, be
understood to apply not to all tse-tse flies — for
there are several distinct species of the genus

149

f.

gf

I 50

AFRICAN NAIl KK N()IK>

IHAI'.

iiih.ihitiii- .iifl. nut parts nt Africa but to (ilossvnt
moru/atti ulorie. which, so far as I am awan-. is tht-
only sprcics of ts<; tsr liy as yet known to occur iti
Africa to the south of the Zambesi river.

In the (.ountrics fartlicr nortfi. mm of i;rcat ex-
pcricncf have .xpn-ssc.l the opiiiic.i. that ihcrt: is
no (onncction bctwr.-n tsetse Hi.s and Iniffaloes
or any other kind of wihl animals Writing' on
this siibjec t. Sir Alfred Sharpe has n cditiv stated.
m ilie (ojrse „| n, article published in the Fie/d
newspaper for November :, Kyo; :

S') far as Africa tinrtli of the /.ainbcsi !> c.-ntcnicd

'/.<■. Hritish LLHtral Africa. North -Kastcrn KhrKlcsia.

l''>rtii;,'iic^L- I'.ist Africa, the south-west [jorti.-ii of Ccrniaii

Kast Africa, .iiid the -outh-cast corner of the Con^r,, State,

I am .able to speak with some ovperiencc. havin;^ spent

twenty years ii, those re;^ions. The results of the last

tew years' careful observation h.ivo led mc to a decided

opinion that the existence of tse-tsc is not dependent on

wild ijamc of .my description. Tsetse (mostly C.lossina

morsitam in Mritish < entral Africa;, when it has the

opportunity, sucks the blood of ail such atn'mals as it can

:;ct at m tracts of country in which it exists, but I think

that blood is an exceptional diet f.is in the c.ise of the

nios(]uito '.

The y^reat <-.\perience which Sir Alfred SliarjM-
has enjoyed in Hritish Central Africa - which
territory he has so ably administered for many
years — etititl<-s any views he mav e.xjjress on any
subject concerninj,r that country to' the v<Ty j^n-.-itest
respect ; but it must, nevertheless, be said that
the conclusions he has arrived at conct mine the
requirements ami life-history of the tse-tse Hy (of
the s[jecies d'/ossimi worsi'/ans). in the countrie.s
lying to the norti, of the Zambesi river, in which
his obser\ ations have been made, are diametricallv
-P_i.s. i. ... ..,,._ ,.-.acnin-j^v, ;;! Instory throughout

IX

TSK-TSK H.\ IN IHK IRANSVAAI. 151

tht; whole of Afric.i to the s(juih of the Zainhrsi,
whore' not only woiilil it s(-cm thai thcs*- inserts
livt: <tntir«'ly niinn m.unnialian lilood, hut that ihry
h^ve beconii- so hiijhiy sprcialistd that tht-y t.iii
only maintain iht-ir vitality on tht- blood of
biittal()(;s ; lor it can he shown that whcrcvrr tse-
tse tlies were tirst encounteretl by the earliest
Kuropean tra\«ll«-rs in South Africa, there also
biitlaloes were either constantly present or visited
such districts diirinj^ certain months of every year ;
and that as soon .is the buffaIo<-s were either
extermin.ited or drivtm out of any such territories,
a remarkable diminution in the numbers of the
ise-tse flies was at once observed ; whilst in a
very few years after tne complete extinction of
the buffaloes these insects entirely c«'ased to «!xist,
ev(;n thoui,'h other kinils of i;ame remained in the
country for years afterwards. A few facts bearing
on this subject, which, being historical, can neither
be questiont'd nor. I think, explained away as
coincidences, are well worth enumerating.

In 1845 Mr. William Cotton (Jswell — the well-
known traveller ami huriter encountered tse-t.se
fly on the Maghaliquain river, a tributary of the
Limpopo running through the Northern Transvaal,
and it is an historical fact that at that tinu; the
whole of the Northern Transvaal 1) ing between
the Waterberg and Zoutpansberg ranges and th«-
Limpopo, as well as a large area of country lying
to the north of that river, was the haunt of great
herds of buffaloes, and that the banks of every
river draining this large territory, as well as
many tracts of forest lying between these rivers,
were at the saaie time infested with tse-tse flies.

In 1871 the well-known traveller Mr. Thomas
Baines. as he nas recorded in his book T/ic
Gold Rfi^ions of South- East Africa, still found
ti;C tse tse fly nunieruus on i'k: Maghaiiqu.iiii

'\

I 52

AFRICAN NAIURK NOTES

CHAP.

river as well as in the neighbourhood of the
Macloutsie and Shashi rivers, and in many other
places throughout the valley of the Limpopo.

hn/f [°"^-^'"^' y^«'-- '«72. I visited Matabele-
and for the hrst tmie. and it is within my own
knowledge that at that time buffaloes were
•Mil plern.ful m many parts of the valley of
tlie central I.nnj)opo.

So.'.n^Ar •''"' ''"''' '^^. "^'^'^'^^ "' '-■^•'''■^- '"b^' i"
;, il '"'''''■ ■/^n">nng guns and ammunition

erZT''"'r ^"""^'\'^^\!" P'-iynient for -vork in the
reccnti) discovered diamond miners. The first
T.K V , •^'^nuisition of firearms bv the natives
o he .Norther.. I ransvaal and the countries farther

Ir n..h''''''. !'' ^'^-';>^'-"ction of all the buffaloes

hroughout the valley of the Limpopo to the

.St of the 1 uli river, and it is a' vLll-known

that ma very few years after the disappear-

.mce of the buffaloes from this large area of cointry

the se-tse (ly had also absolutely ceased to

>

exist.

W-t for years after the disappearance of both

cenrr;T'l ''"""'^ '^'■"-'^ ^''"'" th. valley of the

central Linipopo and its tributaries, oth.'r -.ame

imnVr' ' ff- tu^'^r'' ^^'''^^beests, waterbucks.'
S tl '" '^"•^'^bucks. continued to exist in con:
siderable nuinbers. I myself found all these
a. .n.als still fairly numerous in r886 along he

a, d Sh V "•^' '^" ^'T' ^"""-^'^ "f the Macloutiie
c-i l"^ n^V'r^'^"^'-'' ^"^'"^•'^ to me that there
can be no doubt that after th<- buffaloes had been
exterminated the tse-tsc- .lies gradually died out

th^hr , ?■ i"""',"^- "'"^ '"^'"*^''^'" th.ms.Ives on
the blocd of oth.M- kinds of gaiiu-

Again, it is an historical fact ^hai uh.n .rold
was first discovered in the Lydenburg district o
the Transvaal ,n the early 'seventies of the last
c.-ntury. the whole of the low-lying belt nf Vn'mtr'

IX TSE-TSE FLY NEAR DEL AGO A BAY 153

n<;ar Delagoa bay was infested with tse-tse fly.
and that Ijuffaloes were also very plentitui in the
same district.

Very heavy losses in cattle were the result of
the first attempts to carry j^oods by ox waggon
from Lourenqo Marquez 'to the Transvaal goUl-
helds. Ox-waggon transport was then abamloned
and a service of donkey waggons established by, I
think, ;: Mr. Abbot. Donkeys, however, though far
more resistant to tse-tse tly poi-son than cattle, wen-
found to soon grow weak from, and sooner or later
to succumb to, its effects, (irailuallj-, how(;ver, the
buffaloes got killed off throughout the low country
lying between the Leboinbo range and tht- sea,
:'nd the tse-tse lly then gradually diminished in
numbers, until, though many other kinds of game
remained in the country, the waggon road leading
from Harberton to Delagoa Bay at last became
juite free from these insects.

It is a well-known fact, too, that up to the year
187S buffaloes were plentiful on the Botletlie river
to the .south of Lake N 'garni in tlie neighbourhood
of the Tamalakan. where Livingstone and Oswell
lost so many of their oxen from tse-tse tlv bites
in 1853.

Up to the year 1S7S, too. there wer-j still two
"fly "-infested tracts of forest to the west of the
Hotletlie, through which the waggon road to Lake
N garni from Hamangwato passed. ' These "fly" belts
were always crossed during the coldest hours of
the night by traders and hunters travelling to or
from Lake N'gami with cattle and horses. During
the year 187S a number of emigrant Boer families,
on their way from the Transvaal to Portuguese
West .Africa, spent .several months camped along
the Botletlie river. The men belonging to these
families were all hunters, and they killed a great
many bulTalues, and drove those they did not kill

-:%-

'54

AKRICAN NATURh NOTES

CfJAP.

far up thr 1 amalakaii. Attt-r 1.S7S no bufValo was
(-•vcr SCUM aj^rain on the Botlctlic- river, and soon
alter the di.sai)p(-araiic(! of th(> liuOaloes the tse-
tse tli<s, which had up to that time constantly
mlested two helts of forest near the western bank
ol the river, ceased to exist. 'rh(;r«- are neither
ts(;-tse Dies nor buffaloes along the Hotletlie river
to-day, thou-h several species of antelopes as well
as zebras were a few years ai^o, and are probably
still, «-.\isl( in there.

Again, in th«- early seventies ot the last century
there wt.-re two '• tly " belts lying across the road from
Hamangwato to the Zambesi, the first a tract of
forested country some twtdve miles broad, situated
to the south ot Dak.i. and the second occupying
a le.s.ser extent o( ground of similar character
betwe(-n I'andamatenka and the Zambesi. At the
same date, all along the .southern Ijank of the
Zambesi and Chobi rivers to the we: tward ol' the
Victoria I'alls, tse-t.se Hies were present in such
numbers that it was no e.\aggerati(ii to speak of
them as swarming, or as resembling a swarm of
bees, whilst protligious numbers of buffaloes were
likewise to be found all the year round in the
•same localit). The buffaloes seld(mi went more
than a niik; or so away from the river, and it was
my experience- that where the buffaloes did not
penetrate, the country was entirely free from '•fly."
Both the on.- and the other were conhned in
this part of the country to the near vicinity of
the river, where, however, both literally swarmed.
In th(- ••fly" belts aforementioned, crossed by the
waggon road to the Zambesi, buffaloes wen-' only
present during the wct s(-ason and the early part
ol the dry season, retiring eastwards as the' vleys
dried up. In these "fly' belt.s. however, t.se-t.se were
not nearly so numerous as along the Zamb(-si and
Chobi, where the buffaloes were oresent all the

IX DISAPPEARANCP: of buffaloes .^ 'FLV 1^5

year round. Constant [)ersecution from about 1S76
onwards, chiefly by natives armed witli guns, soon
stofjped the buffaloes from conu'nq into the " tiy "
belts crossed by the waggon road to the Zambesi,
and a few years later these animals had also entirely
ceased to visit the southern bank of the Zambesi
between the Victoria balls and the mouth of the
Chobi. After the buffaloes ct^ased to visit ihr.
tracts of forests infested by "fly" on the road to
the Zambesi, these insects very soop entirely died
out, though other kinds of game still remained in
both those districts. Along the southern bank of
the Zambesi to the west of the \'ictoria I-alls the
tse-tse flies began to diminish in numbers as soon
as the buffaloes ceased to frequent this part of the
country. It took somt- years certainly before the
tsetse had cjuite died out in this strip of country,
but for many years past now neithtr buffaloes nor
tse-tse flies have been seen in that <listrici, where,
however, game of various kinds other than buffaloes
continued to exist long alter the tse-tse flics had
completely disappeared.

Wiien e.xactly the buffaloes ceased to visit the
neighbourhood of the Victoria Falls and the two
tracts of country that were once known as "fly " belts
on the road to the Zambesi, and how long it was
after the disa[)pearance of th(;se animals th.il the
tse-tse flies entirely died out in these sann; districts,
I have been unable to ascertain. In 1S74 I found
both buffaloes and tse-tse flies in all these districts,
and ;p. 1X77, on my second visit to th(; Zambttsi.
although I did not see any buffaloes or their fresh
tracks in the two " fly " belts crossed by the waggon
road, tse-tse flies still haunted both these ioralities,
as I myself observed, and as has also been recorded
by the late Dr. B. I''. Bradshaw. I believe, how-
ever, that these insects were at that time rapidly
diminishing in numbers in both those districts,

i56

Al-RiCAN NAIfRK NOTKS

tii.AI .

owinj^'

eased lo couv

".ict th.ii th(t iJuMalof's h;Kl almost
• miotiL'si th<.-ni. In October iS;; I

accompani.-d Dr. Uradshaw from Kaxuni,Mila— where
'he ( hol.i joms th.- /aml)e.si--t(. the \ictoria Falls
ae vvalke.l th<- who!.- way alon^r ,he hank of the
/-aml,,.-si and found ise - tse (ly very numerous
•v-rywhcre. .^specially near the Falls. At this time
iMidaloes were aintady becoming scarce to the
.^.stuard ,,f the junction of the Chobi with the
/ani!;e-,i most of ih,.m having aln,,jj. ,„,„.,.,,
westw.irds up Ov- course of the former river.

I-leven years later, in iSS,S. I iravejle-d over the
old waggon road to the Zamb.-si for ih.- last time
both buttaloes Am] ise-tse (lies had then long since
disappeared Ir-nn the slr.-tch of country to the south
ot \hu.A a. ue;; as from the - tly ' l,elt' to the north
o 1 anoamatenka. whilst they were also entirek
absent In.ni th.- southc-rn bank of the Zambesi near
th.- \ Kiona 1-- alls. There was still, howev.-r. a
c.-riam amount of ^,„ne zebras and sev.-ral species
o( antelopes— left in all th.-^e districts.

In December 1888 I t-.ok two horses to the Fails
and rode one ol them all along th.,- narrow strip of
open ground between th.- Rain l-.^rest and th.- edge
<>! the chasm into whicli the river falls. It seemed
strange noi 10 s.x- a single •• lly " in this district,
wh.-re these death - d.aling insects had literally
swarmed only el(-ven years earlier.

Farther westwards/however, tse-tse dies continued
to haunt th.; southern bank of the iower Chobi river
in great numb.-rs long afti^r th.- buffalo.;s had ceased
t<; li.e th.-re constantly, though th..-.se animals still
visited the district during the rainy sea.sons At
such tunes they prr)bablv graz..-d down the river in
gr.-at nunibers to within a f.-w miles of its junction
with the Zambesi.

r ■ '"^i tr"^ n ' ^'i' "^^ '■''•■'>■ •••^^■'^'■v'-^l from my old
Iriend Mr. F.-rcv Keid, who h !<= m >,1» ,«..,,. h..^-*;^ ,

' ^ ^'- ifiii^^ Hunting

IX

LEI'TKR FROM MR. RKII)

trips to the Chobi and Zambesi rivers, the last two
of which wen- undertaken, the one the year before
and the other three years after the epidemic of
rinder[)est had killed off all the buffaloes on the
lower c()iirs(; of the Chobi river, throws a great
deal of Hi/ht on the disputed question as to whether
or no there is or has ever been any conne( tion
between the buffalo and the tse-tse tiv in South
Africa.

In the course of his letter .Mr. Reid s.tys :

I was at Ka/.uti-ula the junction i.f tiic ( l-.obi .iiul
Zambesi rivers) in 1885, i.S.SS, 1895. ami 1809. In
1S85 I did not take my o.xcii beyond randamatenka, .is
it was not considered safe to take thcni to Ka/un-ula ;
but even in that year I saw lu. " fly ' bctv^ccn I e.hmna '
and the junction of the rivers, thou-li 1 icnieinbcr that a
few were said to ^tiii e\i>t there at that time. There
were no buffalo there tlien. and the !"..ct tii.it the " fl\- "
still lingered in thi-, district was put down. thou;.,di [ do
not know with how much truth, to the :,'reat number of
baboons which. ;is you will remember, alw,iy> frcouented
the bush near Kaxun<;ula.

In 1 888 and subsccjuent \ears I seat oxen arul h( r->es
backwards and forwards from the river to I.eshuma at ;dl
hours of the da>, and never !o>t an>- from " tly " bites.

In 1895 there were pi- nt>- of both ily and buffalo up
the IMajili,-' and sioarnis or fly uj) tiie Cliobi, hut I did not
go very far, and .saw no buf'aio there.

In 1899, only three years after the riiuieri)est had
swept off all tile buffaloes, I went alon;^' the north bank
of the Chobi ri^'ht past Linyanti, and. crossin;.,r ;,bove the
swamps, came back alon^j the south bank. There was
not a fly lo be seen where, onl>- four year-> before, I had
counted thirty or forty on a nativc'> back at one time,
and we had actually to light fires and Mt in the smoke to

' I.f.lmii;:i i-, '.en mile, m nth of Kaiiint;->.la.
- .■X river runiiinK inti) tlie /aiiiln.>i fr.mt the rmrtli. in
rti!:i ;in rliui.i.

.'.r al>me

158

AFRICAN NAFURK NOTKS

(.HAP.

protect ourscIvL-s from thcin. On tin; whole trip we saw
no buffalo, a;i(l only ^ot fairly old -,p(,()|- (jf one viry small
lot on the north bank I certainly always understoo<l
that in a very few years after the buffalo ('isai)peared
from any district the 'fly" followed suit. All the old
hunter-, uj) on the Zambesi were a^'reed on that point,
and 1 recollect (leor^'e \\\>tbeech ' sayiuL,' the same
thini;.

This Icnicr conclu.sivi:ly proves that althoiij^rh tse-
tse flies contimn.-d to swarm alony; the southern
l)ank of the Chobi to within a short tlisiance above
Kazunj^ula for some years .ifter the buffalo.'s had
ceased to hve all the y('ar round in this district (as
they used to do ujj to the <-arly 'eit,dities of the last
century), and only spent th(' rainy season there, these
insects absolutely disappeared within three years
alter the final destruction of the buffaloes by rinder-
pest in i8(;().

Mr. Keids letter also seems U) show that if
buMaloi-s liv(; in .^^rcat numbers all aloni; the bank
of a certain river where tse-tsc- (lies also swarm, and
that if throui^di p(.-rse(:uti(>n the buff.iloes should be
• Iriven f.ir up tht. riv(;r at certain times of yt-ar, only
returning to th(;ir old haunts during the rains, when
ail hunters have left the country, a large proportion
ol the tse-l.se llif^s do not migrate backwards and
forwards with the- buffaloes, but remain constantly
on the s(;ction of the river where they hrst appeared
as perfect insects, not appn^ciably decreasing in
numbers as long .is the bu'Taloes couk; amongst
ihem periodically, but gr .du.illy ilwindling ' in
numbers, and at last altogether disappearing within
a few years ol the fmal t.-xtinction (if those animals,
m spite of the conlinuetl presence of oilier kinds iA'
gam<'.

Although Mr. Keid saw no •• tlies " between

.\:t uM /aniiiiM :r.-. l-i ul ;:i.,at

t.Tjjeriecie.

IX SUDDEN INCREASE OF TSE-TSE KLIES ,59

Leshuma and Kazungula eith«ir in 1S85 or <" 1S8S.
tht;rc were still a few linj^erinj; there in the latter
year. There wen; so few in tlie early part of 1S8.S.
however, that probably none were to be seen durinir
June and July, when the nit^hts were very cold, but
later on in this same year th<;y increased very
rapidly in numbers, as 1 think, owin'4 to the fact
that my own and Mr. Reid's rattle" deposited a
j,'reat dea! of dnng all .ilong the waj^rjTon track
leading down to Kazunj^'ul.i. It was in |une of that
year (1S88), after 1 myself had cross.-d the Zambesi
on an e.xpedition to the north, that Jan Wevers. an
old Dutch hunter, took my waggon by night through
the old " fly " belt between Leshuma and Ka/ungula
in onicr to trade with the natives living on the
Zambesi, sending the o.xe-n back to Leshuma the
lollowing night. In the same month, or a little
Iat(T, Mr. P.^rcy Reid and his partv brouglit their
waggons to Leshuma, .md their oxtii pulled them
backwards and forwards several times between that
place and Kazungula. There was thus a great deal
ot cattle dung, which is. of course, precisely the same
as buffalo dung, all along this short stn.-lch of
waggon road. Lor some reason thi , driving of
cattle backwards and forwards between Leshum.i
and the Chobi cau.sed an «.\traordinarv increase in
the number of tse-t.se Hies. All the 'natives who
travelled thi: road remarkeil iij^on it. and both the\-
and I an Weyers assured m(> that they had though't
the "fly" was almost absolut(.'ly extinct in this
district, as in the previous year,' evtn in the hot
weather before the rains, very few hail been seen.

However, when I went down to the river in
August (1888) on my w.iy to the Harot.se country I
found a good many tse-ise (lies along the track, and
by November they had become very numerous.
As Mr. Reid and his partv did not return to I^anda-
matenka bv w.^v (-.f ! < --K, =,-=-. = »..., ., .,!^^ . •,.

1^

i
I

i6o

AFRICAN NAILRK NOFKS

CH \1'.

soiithcni Ij.ink of the Zambesi to the l*"alls, they
wen; unaware ot this sucicK;n increase in the nnniber.s
of the tsetse Hies.

1 am still ([uite unable to account tor the sudden
and rapid increase in the nuinlnT of tse-tsi- Mies
alniitr the waLjc^on track between Leshuma and
Ka/.un^ul.i l)etween August and Xoveniber iS88,
as it is (|uil(; ctMtain that up to the latter month
they had taken no toll uf blood from iht; cattle
which had been driven backwards and forwards
alon<4 ihv. ro.id either by nisjjht or during the cold
weather in June or July.

I knew that my friend the late |)r. liradshaw
used to hold the view that the tse-tse tly dejjosited
its eggs in buffalo dung, and I thought at the
time that the cattle dung had been take-n as a
substitute. I'lu; very important researches, however,
of I.ieutenant-Colonel Bruce in Zululand havt; shown
tliat "///(' '/svV.sf' //r (/()«' V fio/ /tiyexi;s <fs do the majority
of the Diptcra, but ixtiiides a yr/Anu eoloured hifZ'ci,
nearly as hiri^t' (is the abdoiiieit oj the mother." The
perfect insect does not hatch out lor si.\ weeks, so that
the increase; by gcMieration tiom a small number of
individuals in the course of a lew months would not
be very gre.it. I can only think, therefore, that all
the tse tse tlies throughout the bush through which
the tell miles of road led from I^eshuma to the Chobi
must have been attracted to its neighbourhood by
the smell of lh<- cattle dung, which no douljt they
mistook for that of butfakn.'s, the animals with which
they have .ilways been so closely .associated in the
countries to the south of the Z.mibesi. I am,
however, not at all satistied with this e.\planation.

I was obliged to kerjj my w.iggcjn stantling on
the bank of the Zambesi (waiting for ivory to be
brought down from the Banjtse v.illey) imtil late in
November i8S8, so that when I was at last able to
5^..i<j .-i-iy oxen d.'.iwn to thtt nver to bring it tlirough

IX

FHK BA PAL WAN A

i6i

the " tly. which now inl(.st»;cl the wajri^on track
Icadini,^ trom Leshuriia to Kazmigula in coiisiilerabl*;
niiinlMtrs. the uiglits liad Ix-coinc v«,'ry warm, antl
akhoui,'h wi; did not start til! alter eleven o'clock,
and ran the oxen to the river and hrous^rht the
waggon back as quickly as possible, every one ot
theni, twenty-one in all. got " fly-stuck " and died
within six inonlhs.

After iS.SH the tse - tse ni(.-s ag.iin rapidly
dmiinished in numbers between Leshuma ami
Kazungula. and have long sinct; absolutely ceased
to exist there ; so that here again we have another
instance of a country in which, at no very distant
time, both buffaloes and tse -tse flies literally
sw.irrned, but from which both have now long since
coni[ilett;ly disap[;eart'd, although other animals, such
as antelopes of various kinds and baboons, cannot
yet be altogether extinct.

The same diminution iuid eventual disajjpearance
of tile tse-tse lly has also followed the extinction of
the buffalo on th(; Okavango to th(; north of Lake
N'gaiiii.

As has been reconled by C. J. Andersson and
other travellers and hunters, both butfali s and
ts^e-ise flies existed in great numbers along the
Teoge (Okavango) river between Lake X'gami and
Libebe's in the early 'fifties of the last c<;ntury. At
that time the Batauwaua trib(! were living at Lake
N 'garni. These people gr.idually .iccpiired firearms
and (.irove the buffidoes northwards up the Okavango.
and the fly did not long remain in the countries
which these animals ceased to visit. In 1S84, af"tt:r
having been twice attacked by the Matabele. the
Hat.iuwana abandoned their settlements at Lake
N -ami and retreated several days' journey to the
iKjrth along the Okavango. where they built a new
towi,, which they named Denukani (on the river).
From t!)!s •■sf^! ' "

j:aV e

now tit

M

\ I

rJ

l62

AFRICAN NAIL'RK NOTKS

in AC.

thr<nii;h all tli<- (oiintry farther north for inorr than
lu<;nty years, ami i h.ivi.- hem lately informed that
a \vaL;<.M)n road has been rut frotn I HMiukani to
l.ii.che s, and from thence to the (Jiiito. the whole
Icn^'th ol which is entirely free from ts»; - tse Hy,
which insets then- seems every reason to hclicrvc
hav(; died om owiny to the disappearance of the
liiiltaloes Irorn their former haunt ..

I5ut the facts which I have .iln ad) stated, .and
which seem to me to show that in Africa to the
south of the Zambesi there has alw.iys been a
close connection b<.'tween the buffalo aiid'the tse tse
lly, by no means exhaust the evidence on this
|)oint.

Whin Sebitwau(-, the _c;reat chief of the Makololo,
.md I'm/ilij^a/i, ih.e fountk;r of the Matabele nation!
led their clans, the ,,ne to l.iny.uiti between lh(-
Chobi and Z.imbesi rivers, the other to the liigh
plateau near the sources of the (iwaiand I'mzingwani
rivers, they found the whoir- country south of the
Zambesi, between the Daka ar.d the (.wai, occupied
by an unwarlike and aL,rricultural iieople akin to the
Makalaka, and if any value can be plac(,-d on native
testimony, these people were rich in cattle.

Attacked first by the M.ikololo and latter on by
die Matabele, the"; unfortunate; jHople W(;re killed
Ml 1,'reat numbers and ^^radually dispossessed of
th<;ir lands, all their cattle beini,/ taken from them.
Those that escaped death (led acro.ss the Zamb(;si,
where their descendants .ire living to this day.

Xow 1 have no doubt that lonir at^o, before the
country betwe(;n the Gwai and the Daka rivers was
settled U]) by natives, it had been a " fly "-infested
country full of buffalois. At any rate, as soon as
the natives had been kil](;d or driven out of it,
buffaloes and all other kinds of j^ame took possessiori
of it. moving in no doubt from the countries both
to the east and the west, and with them came a fnv.

IX

I. AS I visn TO i.o HKN(;ri.A

">i

t-.i-tsr lli.>, whith must soon have incrcascil ami
imjlti])Iir(l in so f,i\ oimmMc an cnvironrnL-nt.

In iS;,? I w.is hiMuin- elephants at the junction
ot the dual and Shanj;ani rivers, and tlirouf,di all
the country westwards to beyond the site of the
present eoal-min.- at Wankirs. At that time all
this coantry was lull of huffalo.s and ts. -tse llirs.

l-ilte.-n y.ars Iat(.r. how«:ver, the Matabele, who
had then for a Ion- time been in the possession of
hrearms. had driven the buflaloes out of all the
country on <-ither side ,,f the river (iwai, an«l as
ihe-se annuals W(.'nt lartiier north and east, the tse-
tse lly ^r.idiially disappeared.

The last time I saw Lo IJen^rula alive early in

i'<<)0 I spent the -reat(-r part of two davs lalkine

to him on many subjects, especially j;ame, for he

loved to talk about wild animals, having been a

great hunter in his youth. lie told n;e that there

were then no more buff.does any when' in the

neighbourhood of the Gwai and Shangani riv.-rs

and that with the buffaloes the -(ly" had gone too"

and that as the Ijuftaloes and the '• (Iv ' had died

out he- had gradually pushed his c.ittl.' j.osts down

both the (.wai and Shangani rivers, and that at

that time, i .S90. he had actually got a cattle post

at the junction of the two rivers, where sevent.-en

years before I had found buflaloes and tse-tse (lies

both very numerous.

'Ihc history of the country lying between the
lower course of th(,- Chobi river and the Zambesi
has been very similar to that of the territory to the
south of the Zambesi between the (nvai and the
Daka.

When Livingstone and Oswell visited th.- chief
Sebitwane in 1S5;,, they first took their waggon
during the night through the narrow strip of "fly ■-
infested country which ran along the southc-rn bank
^ ..--.. -^u'-i =v-.^n; ihcir buiiocK:, lu liie other

164

Al RICAN NA'IURK NO'IKS

i II Al

sitkt ol llu: rivt r lurlon- .sunrise the luxi inortiiiif^.
Just whinr tlify struck the stuithcrii hraiiih ot the
Cliohi iIhtl: wen: no trees or l»u,hes on its iiorlherii
bank, only optni i^r.iss iaiuls .iiid rud hcJs to which
the ts(! tst: lli(;s iK:vt;r crossed, aUhou^h the river
was only lilty yards bro.id, and tht:y simply swarn.ed
all .iloUL,' the wooded southern Ijank.

At this time, 1S5',, Schitwane, who possfssed
great numhers of cattle, was liviiiL; not in thi,- open
jfrass country, which lias always been iVi e from " tly, "
hut at Linyanli. which was situated l)e)oncl the
northern branch ol the Chobi and was surroui. leii
on all sides by sandy ridj,(es on which i;rew forest
trees ;.nd i)ushes. In iSoi l.inyanti was aj^.iin
visited by Dr. l.ivinL^'stone. in comjj.my with his
brother L'harl<s and I )r. (now Sir b'hn) Kirk.
Seke-letu, the son ot .Sebitwane, was tiien the chief
of the Makololo, anil these people were still rich in
cattle-. .\fler S(;keletu s death a civil war brok(;
out Ijctween two rival ( laimants to the ( hieftainshi[)
which so we.ikened the M.ikololo, that a coalition
of the reninants of the various tribes they had
contiuered a-ul reduced to servitude some forty
years previousU- rose in rebellion aj^^iinst their
rulers, and uiuler the leailership of .St^popo, the
uncle of I.ewanika, the present chief of the Harotse,
absolutely destroyed them as a [jcoph-, killing; every
male down to the new-born infants, but sparinL,' all
the youn;^r tcmales and ^drl children, who were
subse(iu(!nily taken as wives by their cai)tors.

Aft(;r th(; destruction of the Makololo tribe, the
country between the Chc>bi and the Zambesi was
once more i^iven back to nature.

In 1S79 I crossed both branches of the Chobi
and visited the site of the once important native
town of Linyaiiti. I thi-re found s(;veral relics of
the ill-fated Makololo mission parlv (sent to that
tribe by Dr. I.ivingstone's advice), in the shape ol

i'^^£*4i':**=

IK CA'i"ll,K RKIM.ACfl) H\ MrKFAI.()K>

,f,S

ihi- iniii t)n>, ami ri.ivf hands of wai^jron wheels.
Al that tirtK- thi- surnniiidiii:,' country iiail l)c<n im.
inhabited for some hftcin years, and I found j,'real
herds of hutlalocs .L;ra/mi^ iin(hsturl)cd all round
.uu\ ov.r the site ol IJnyanti, wlim- once had
pictured the cattle of tilt' Makololo. With the
huftalocs loo had ( onv tln' tsc tsc tlics, which
swarmed all over this district, thou-h wIk n the
former h.-ft the forrst and hush and \v<nt into th<:
reed l»eds and ojx-n -rass lands between the two
main branches of the Cliobi, th.- latt. r did not
lollow them. Ihere can be no doubt, howevi-r,
that when the Makololo first crossed from Sesheki"
on the Zambesi to the northern br.uich of the Chobi
river, they must have found both bullaloes and tse
ts(; llies num(T()us in the district where lat<'r oi.
ih.'ir chief Sebitwane built his |.rincii.al town. The
buttaloes must ha\i' first bc.n driven to the west,
and the lly must subse.ju. ntl\ li vc died out, before
the natives were able to introduce cattle into this
part of the country, .\fier the destruction of the
n.itive population about iSC,.}, tiir bullaloes moved
back into the country from which thi y had whilom
l)een driv<n, and tlie tse-tse llies came with them.
I h(- rinderpest which passed throu<,rh the country
in i.Sf,6, I believe, killed all the bur'faloes left any-
where near Linyanti. .uid probably the tse-tsc fly
has also lonj,' since died out in that district,' inti)
which cattle may have I)een once more intrcKJuced
l)\ the natives, thouLjh 1 <lo not know that this is
the. case.

Hut although it would seem, from the historical
facts 1 have just related, that in Africa, to the
south of the Zambesi river, d'/ossina n.oysitans has
always b«,'en dependent upon the Cajn- buffalo for

' A rcf.T. .,, . I., ,1.,. \..^^^j 1 |,avi.alr..i<ly q,i..t>.l !.,.,„ ,i.) lric.,.l M,. Icrcy

/'" '. " .^, ^t}j:;--. '.T.-rrr-.-- :;;;:. -a\ ."C vcr)' nutu [wv..-» t.u iii< ■•vLaan-ii

• >1 in> \w\ IM i,S74.

m^

1 66

AIKiCAN NATURt NOTKS

CHAl'

its continniMl (.'xistcncc, certain climatic and other
conditions which have never yet been satisfactorily
explained have always pn-vented tsotse Hies from
spreading into all parts of the country in which
buffaloes wen- once found. In Southern Africa
the tse-tse tly has always been confined to a strip
of country alonjj^ the south-east coast, and the hot.
well-wooded vali(;ys of the Z.unbesi anti Limpopo
riv(;rs and their tributaries. .Apparently the tse-
tse tly {C/ossi)ia morsi/ans) requires a certain de,!.,free
ol heat in the atmos])h(;re, or can only stand a
certain dejijrcte of cold ; for aloni; the east coast
it seems never to have existed to the south of .St.
Lucia liay, in the 2Sth parallel of south latitudtf,
althout;h buffaloes were once plentiful far beyond
this limit, all through the coast lands of \atal
and the Cape Colony, as far as Mosse! I>ay. Xor
arc; these; insects ever found at a high altitude
abovt.' the sea. " b'ly " country is usually less than
3000 feet above sea-level, though in places such
as the district to the north of Hartley Hills, in
Mashunaland, ise-t.se lh(;s ascend to a height of
nearly 3500 feet. Nearer the equator, they are
<ible to livt; at a higher level, and I have m\self
met with tse - tse flies near the upper Kafukwe
river at an altitude of at least 4000 f(;et abf)ve
the s('a.

The tse-ts«; flies spread with the buPaloc's f.'om
the sea-coast all along the Limpopo to beyond
its junction with the Maghaliquain. but were not
able to accompany them to higher ground. The
buffaloes, however, s[)read right up to iiear the
sources of the Limpopo and its tributaries, crossed
the watershed t<i the reed beds of the Molopo.
and from thenc<-' spread through Hechwanaland as
far south as the Orange river, hundreds of miles
away from the nearest " fly "-infested area. Even

r..n „i

uuuriiOt::.,

IX

FLV BELTS

rb-

arul, speaking generally, full of tse-tse Hies as well,
ail open pieces of grass country, where there are
neither trees nor bushes, and .ill reed beds of any
si/e, will be found to be free from these insects.
When buff.ilues te(td out into such places from
the surrounding forests, the " tiies " soon leave
them and return to the shelter of the trees.
Similarly, if one side of a river be coveretl with
bush and forest down to the water's edge, and if,
along this forest-covered bank, tse-tse tiies swarm,
these insects will never cross even a narrow channel
to open reed beds or grass land on the f)ther side.
Dr. Livingstone has mentioned how, though he
found tse-tse (lies swarming along the southern bank
of the Chobi river in 1853, his oxen were perfectly
safe from these insects in the open grass lands
on the other side of the river ; and in my own
expedience, although I havt; often crossed this
same part of the Chobi by canoe, and seen
numbers of "flies " on meat, or on the natives or
myself, as we left the soutliern bank, I never knew
one of them to cross the river with us. As soon
as we got to a short distance from the southern
bank, they all left us and flew back to the shelter
of the trees and bushes. But the most e.xtra
ordinary thing about the tse-tse fly is. that in certain
low-lying countries away from the wooded banks
of the hirger rivers, these insects were not found
everywhere, but only in certain forest areas, known
to the early South African pioneers as " fly " belts.
I am speaking now, of course, of the time when
natural conditions and the balance of nature had
not been upset by North Europeans , for no
charge of this kind can be made against the
Portuguese, who were always poor hunters.

No one. I think, has ever been able to e.xplain
why the tse tse flies never spread from the " fly "

waggon road

K„U

;,U,V.k

was

,, 1 u..

1 1
Oiti

1 68

AFRICAN NATURK NOTES

CHAT.

to the Zamln^si, a few miles to the; south of Daka, to
the; " t]y "-inlcsted forest, which lay across the same
road a httlc to th<; north of I\iiu]amatenka. The
country Ijetwecn these two '• tly "-infested areas was
exactly similar in its vej^e^tation, its altitude above
the sea, and in every other i.articular, as far as
one could s(;e, to the " fly " belts which bounded
it to the iKirth and south, and duriiifr the rainy
seas )n Initlaloes must have wandi;red throuj^h tiie
intermediate country, as well as through the two
"tly" belts. That tse-tse tiies used to l)e found
in th<; j^reatest numb«;rs aIon<r th<; wooded banks
of rivers such as the Cht)bi, the Zambesi and
many of its tribi: iritis, was owini;, ! 'hink, to the
fact that buffaloes had become e.-xcessively plentiful
in the same districts, not because the near nei';h-
bourhood of water was nec(;ssary to them ; for many
"tly" b(;]ts, f.;'. those extendin;^ across the; road to
the Zami)esi, were absolutely d(;stitiite of water
during sev<;ral months of every year.

I he tenacity with which tse-tse tiies cling to
certain tracts of country, or even narrow be-lts of
forest, is wonderful, but they sometimes move
beyond their usual limits nevertheless. About
forty year'- ago, a Avaggon track was made by
elephant hunters from iMatab(;IeIand to Hartley
Hills in Mashunaland. Not more tiian ten mile's
to the north of the points where this waggon road
cut the Umzweswe and Umfuli rivers, the country
was always frequented by buffaloes and inf(;st(,(i
with tse-tse tiies. In my gw;i exj)erience, I have
often known large lu^rds of InitValoes to come south
.ilong the Umfuli river uj) to and be\(md the
waggon road. 1 hunted and shot them there on
horseback tor the last time in 18S5, and used my
waggon and oxen to l)ring the me.it and skins to
my camp ; and as my cattle (.lid not suffer in any
wav, there could not have been a.nv " flies about.

IX

'FLY'-INFKSTKD ARKAS

169

The tse-ts(' flies, however, used .ilways to come
with the buffaloes for several riiil(,s beyond their
usual boundary, but j^r.ulually left them, and in
my own experience 1 never knew them to (juite
reach the wac,fgon road.

It will thus be seen that althoui^h " lly "infested
areas are, as a rule, well defined and w(;ll known
to the natives, the movements of large; henls of
buffaloes may carry these insects — sometimes in
great numbers for a short period of time, for a
few miles beyonil their usual limits. Within a
larjre ar(;a ot ^')untry thnnighout which tse - tse
Hies exist, such as the level forest country in the
valley of the '' unbesi intersecKu' by the lower
courses of the .^.uiyati and Panyami rivers, or the
country near th;; e.ist coast, in the neighbourhood
of the Pimgwe river, tse-lse llies used to move
about, so that in a place where they were found
in great numbers on a certain date, h.irdly any
would sometimes be met with in the same place
a -nonth later. In my e.\p(.'rience, in such cases
the tse-tse llies always moved .ibout with the
buffaloes, within these areas, wlu;re all other con-
ditions were suitable to their e'.xistenc*;.

In "fly "-infested anas where these insects are not
very numerous, comparativc^ly few or possibly none
at all will be seen during the months of May, June,
and July, when the days are short and not e.\-
cessively hot and the nights are bitterly cold. In
fact, it is quite possible to pass through a good deal
of " lly " country during these months without ever
becoming aware of the existence of th(;se in.sects.
Hut as the days get longer and hotter, and the
nights less cold, if there are any tse-tse tlies in a
district at all they will be tovmd to increas(; very
rapidly in numbers. They become most numerous
and most troublesome, I think, in October and

i < ('•> ciiiuer, jusi oc

fort:

tne curnnieuceiiieiil ul iiw

170

AFRICAN NAIURK S'OTK^

CHAP.

r.niiy s(i,on. DuripL; the rainy scasi^n tht-y an-
perhaps not fjnitc so c-xaspcra'ting, but my ex-
pericncr iias l;cen that they \v<tre bnih niiin< rous and
trouhlcsdMic at that season too. 'Ihr.v arc not so
active Ml cloudy weather as in hri-^dit sunshine, and
il a stronj,^ winil is Ijlowin.; they harulv show them-
selves at all.

It IS perhaps worth mentioninij that the (act of
the disappearance of the tsetse tiy from all countries
to the south of the Zambesi, very soon after the
complete extinction of bntfaloes in the same regions,
cannot be attributed to the settling; ujj and cultivatiori
ot th.- land by Europeans; for'th" tsetse tiv has
never existed in any part of Africa south of the
Zambesi where malarial fever was not and is not
still rife. Whatever may be thi; case to-day, uj) to
1896. Ion;.; after tho disappearance of both buffaloes
and tse-tse Hies, the Boers had never been able to
establish th(Mnselv(;s and live all the year round in
the \orthi-rn Transvaal alon^,^ the Valley ( f the
Limpopo, alt]iou,L,di they used 'to trraze their cattle
there durin^r the winter ; nor, as far as I am aware,
although minins.; operations have been carried on
tor nearly twenty years within what was once
"lly" country to the north of Hartley Mills in
Mashunalanil, lias there been any s<-ttlement of
families on the land in that district.

I he word "tse-tse" (i)ronounced by the natives
" tsa\ -tsay " and by colonists "tetsy") is simply
the word useil Ijy natives of the Hechwana clans for
the deadly lly known to scientists as (i/oss:,i,i
morsitans. The .Matabele— as well. 1 believe, as
the Zulu— name for the sariK- insect is •' impuejan."
Uith the Matabele any kind of fly is an "impu^an,"
but it is the only word they .-ver einplov for the
ts(j-tse.

.As is well known, the tse-tse tly, when with
Us lonf nrohfisc!'-; ■ • • ••

....•„i.,.

i.s the ijucr.s sa

>'■

tx

SYMPTOMS OF ' KLV ' BITKS

I - 1

ilonu'stic animal, iiitroduccs into tlic blood of the
latter certain minute blood parasites (Trypanosoma),
which, thoiiL,']' const.intly present in the l)lood of wild
iinirnals livini; in the "tK "-infested rep;ions of Africa,
does them no harm. These Try[)anos()mes, if intro
diiced intf) the blood of domestic animals in ,iny
quantity, at once set up a disease, which .ilmost
always ends fatally. Cattle when "fly-stuck " soon
bt^i^in to run at the eyes, and the pjhinds behind the
ears and in the throat swell. Although coiiiinuint;
to Ui'd well, they become thinner .unl weaker day
by day, and should th(;y \h: (-.xposed to cold or wet
weather, their coats stare, as if they were suffering
from lung sickness. .According to the number of
Trypanosomes in their l)l()od. cattli; will live a
s "T or longer time. They will succumb within
; ith if kept constantly in country where tse-tse

tiles are numerous during that time. On the other
hand, they will sometimes live for nt-arly a year if
only "stuck" I)y one or a few tlies whilst passing
through a "fly -infest.xl belt of forest of small extent.
I have known a young ox, though it showed every
sign of having been impregnated with the " tly "
disease — possibly it had only been "stuck " by one
'rty" — to recover completely after remaining very
thin for more than a year. Horses and donkeys,
when "f]y-stuck," run at the eyes and swell at the
navel, and soon get thin and lose all their strength.

In 1S77 I took three donkeys with me u{) the
Chobi. 'I'hey lived in a swarm of tse-tse Hies day
after day and all day long. Thr first of them to
succumb only lived a fortnight ; the second died in
five weeks ; but the third lived for nearly three
months, and cirried a buffalo head back to my
waggons at Daka — .some eighty miles from the
Chobi.

For about ten days before th(! second donkey
died I remained in the same camp. By tiiis time

172

AFRICAN NATURK NOTKS

CHAP.

It Ii;ul -rown v.t\ thin and was too wak to carry-
anvthinw, |,ut it .lui not svi-.m to suffer in any way
aiui wh.ncv.T I could ol.serv.- it. was always frrdmrr
on ih(- youn- -recn ^rrass at tin- river's cdcr,. ]
n«v.-r lird It up at t;i,i,rhts. hut every evenin- il used
to (o,ne and roll in a lar-e heap of ashes hehin.l my
camp. < )n(: ev(;nni- it came and rolled in the ashe.s
as usual but was u>n weak to jret on its lerrs atrain
and on the toll..win- m.nin^ was dead. .Apparently
It enjoyed its lit<- to the very last.

Dui-in- iXS; some iViends an<i i took four horses
and live donkeys into th..- "fly" countrvon the Anc^wa
river, in th(- northern part ..f Mashunaland. There
were a -oocl many huttal<H-s and a lair number of
is'-tse flies m this district at th.it time, but not
one (or every hundred of either that I had met with
alon^r the (,hobi riv.r in the .arly 'seventies My
own horse cut its cuv.-,- short by ^^llopin- with me
"Uo ,.n (.pen -.ime pitfall and breakin<,r' its back
atu the other ihr.'e. althou-h they were well led
with mai/e morninLj .„k1 evenin<,r, were too weak to
.t;allop alt(,T ^rame in a forlni-ht. After a month
i!iey wen: too weak to carry a man at all. and they
were tnen shot The five donkevs all got thin,
and swelled at the navel, and ran at the ey,-s but
none ..1 them died, although thev remained in the
My country for more than a month. IJy the cm] of
the loliowing r.aii.y season they had (,uite recovered
their condition and were well and strong a^-ain
lh<.>.se same five donkeys were taken down to
/umbo on the Zambesi the following year bv the
late Bishop knight-Bruce. But they all died' from
the etl.xns ol this journ<:y. during which they must
have suffered great hardships and also been exposed
to the attacks of thousands of tse-t.se flies on the
lower ranvami river.

/

When vi.siting the old Portuguese settlement ot
J'nb'"> f<" »"" /-i.,,! : :^. _ <><i » .- , .

' "'-"^■"'•' ''• i-^-J^, i IduiiU liie lew

IX 'FLY' NUMEROUS NEAR ZUMBO 17 j

Portu,<,nicse residents as well as the nativ( s living
there in the possession of ^reat nuinlxrs ot pi^s
I hese animals wjrc sent out every iiioriiinL; into
the country round the settlement, and call(;d back
in the evenint;; — those which helons^ed to the
Portuguese -by a few notes on a horn. A httle
maize was then scattered on the ground for ih«-in
to pici< up, after which they were shut up for the
night in a walled enclosure-. As tsetse (lies were
numerous along the bank of tht; Zambesi on both sides
of Zumbo. and it was (juite impossible to keep cattle
there on account of them, or any other domestic
animals l^esides the [jigs, e.xcept the small native goats,
the former must have been equally as resistant to 'lly"
poison as the latter. These domrstic pi-s certainly
did not f)we their immunity to the " tlv " disease to
the fact that they wert; fat, for they were miserably
thin long-snouted looking brutes. Although tlu- pigs
I saw at Zumbo probably did not go very far away
from the settlement during the daytime, I feel sure
that they must havt.- been constantly bitten by tse-tse
flies, as these insects were numerous quite close up
to the native vill.ige, which is built amongst the ruins
of the old i*ortuguese town.

All the nativ(;s living in " (ly "-infested districts of
South Africa keep small, miserable-looking dogs, as
well as goats of a small, indigenous breed, and the
natives outside such infested districts also keep
goats of the same kind. These goats take no harm
from the tse-tse Hies; but the large Cape goats,
which are descended from Murope.ui breeds, .is
well as Angora goats, are not resistant to the "i]y"
disease. Nor are any dogs of I^uropean breeds.

In iSoi my two horses were suddenly attacked

by tse-tse flies as I was riding with a com[)anion

along the bank of the Revue river, where th*; local

Kafirs had told me these insects did not exist.

f I •. 1 .1 I-

;«.>_u vviiii iiie pecuiiiir

'74

Al RICAN NATURK NOIKS

I HAP.

"buzz" m.'ulf by ;i tse-tsc fly, I bclitjvc I hi-ard
tli(' first oih' lliat caiiK; to my horse, ami ininiccliatcly
ili'-inoui'.tril. In the iKxt few inimJt(;s vvr caut,'ht
si.\tc(;n flics on ihc two hors(,'s, most of th(;m bv
|)iiitiiii;^r their feet with a knife blade, as tht;y are
very diffkiilt to catch with the hand. I then made
the Katirs cut branches, witli which they kei)t the
tiles ott the horses until we had j^ot them away from
ihi- ri\er. and beyond tile " fly " i)e-it. Most of these
flies were caii,!.;lu iniiiK-diately they settled on th«.'
liorses, Init two or liiree m;inai;ed to fill themselves
with l)ln(Ki. My liorses, iiowever, which were in
very Ljood condition, wcri: never afft-cteti in any
way.

'1 se-tse flies are most active and troublesome in
lv)t weather. DuriiiLj the winter nujnths in South
Africa (May, June, and July) noni: will be .seen
until tile sun is hiL,'h aljove the- iiori/.(Mi, Ijut later in
the ;;eas()ii they i)(;-in to liite early in the morning.
.After sunset in the evtniing they seem to become
lethargic, and will often crawl no i)etween one's
legs or under one's c(jat as if for shelter, and from
such positions will oft(;n "stick" on*; long after
• lark. On cold nights they probably be':ome c]uite
beniMnl)ed, and do not move at ail, but on warm
nights they are sometimes very active and hungry.
.\s b(itore related, I lost twenty-one o.xen by
driving them backwanis and forwards in one night
through a 'fly" belt ten miles in width. This was
in the month of Noxemlier, and the night was very
warm.

On th(; 25th of August ICS74, when returning
from the jnirsuit of a wounded ele[)hant. I struck
the Chobi river late at night, and had to walk
.several miles along the Iiank l)efore gettin"- to mv
camp. It was a bright moonlight night, and fairly-
warm. My only clothing consisted Of a shirt, a
hat. and a pair of veld shoes, and as I walked niona

IHK HI IK OK I HK KSK-TSK

•75

iH'.ir th<- water's nh^v the tsc-ts«; lli«;s krpt tl\ iiil; up
Irom ihf- -round and hitini; my Ij.uc Ic^s, and Prom
the loud slaps ht-liind um- i knew they \V(.t<.- paying
similar attentions to my Kafirs. Now, tlicsc •'(iK-s"
wvrv undoiihtcdiy rcstint,' on the han- -round, lor
wc wvrr walking;, not through Injshcs, but a!on_;
th(; strij) ol opc-n jj;round between the forest and the
water's ed«,re. The bite of the tsc-tse is very sliarp,
lik<; the prick of a needle, i)ut in a healthv man it
causes no swellinn; or after irrit.ition, like \h(- bite
«>l a midtre or a mosquitoe. Speaking ^r,.nerali\,
die bites of a moderate number of tst^-tse'^flii.s m.iy
br said to have no appreciable etfect on a human
bemg. Still, 1 am of opinion that if ont; is exposed
to the attentions of swarms of these insects for
months at a time, the strongest of human beings
will find himself growing gradually w(.'aker. lix
fjlorers or traders may sometimes be exposed to the
bites of great numbers of ts(.--tse Hies for a few days
togethe-r, but they will soon pass through such
districts. Only an elephant hunfr, I think, would
<n'er be likely to remain for any consitierable [ criod
ot time in a country where tse-tse flies were verv
numerous. I cannot think that many Miirojieans
have suffered from tsetse fly bites as much as I
have. In 1874, and again in 1S7;. 1 spent the
whole of the dry season, from lunc; till November
on the southern bank of the Chobi river, and lived
during the greater pan of thos«; two seasons in a
swarm ol tse-tse flies. Up to that time I had had
no fever, and my constitution was unimpaired in any
way. 'lowards the end of both those seasons
however, not only I myself but all my Kafn- attend-
ants became- e.\cessiv(;Iy thin, and seemed to be
getting rather weak. The natives, too, who lived
in the reed beds where there were no tse-tse Hies,
but who used to come to the southern bank of the-
r.\e: t.-^- v.„u-^i.i nrcwuud ana igok al their game

lyb

AFRICAN NAIURK NOTKS

CtlAf

traps, ail s.iid that iht-y could not Uvv. there because
of th«- tsc-tsf, which made thcni thin and weak, or,
as ihey (Njiressed it, tlie tse-tse "kill("d them,' just
as they say in times of famine that hunger is kilhnj,;
them.

In 1SS2 I mci with a curious experience-, for
which I cannot (juitt; account. During,' that year I
h.id matle ,u\ expeilitiun Ircjm the liij^h phiteau of
Mashun.ilanti to Zumbo, on the Zambesi, and had
had a some-what hard time and j.^one through a
si;vere altac k ol lever. I iiail also been vi;ry much
bittc:ii by tsetse flies on the lower i'anyami and
UmseiiLjaisi rivers. Towards the end ot the \ear
I got back to the Mission .Station of Umshlaiij^'eni
in Malalielehuui. and was given a warm welcome
liy my old friends the Rev. W . A. I'dlicnt and his
wile. 1 reacheil the Mission .Station Lite in tht;
evening, after a ritle of (ilty miles in the hot sun. I
was tairly well, having recovered from the attack of
fever, but |)(rlia[)s a little run down.

Soon alter I iiad turned in on the bed Mrs.
Elliott had arrani^td for me, I felt my nose coming
on to bleed. N'(Jt wanting to disturb any one, I
pulled a nev.spajjer 1 had b(;en reatling from the
chair by my i)edside, and spreading it on the tloor,
let my nose bleed on to it. It bled a good deal,
and the next morning 1 was surprised to see that
tht; blood which iiail come from me was not like
blood .It all, but slimv. yellow-looking stuff. When
I sh(n\cd it to Mr. b'lliott, I said to him that it
looked to me exactly like the blood ot a " tly-stuck "
donkey which I had shot some years before at
Daka, and I laughingly suggested that I was " fly-
stuck " too. That something had affected the red
corpuscles of my l.ilood seems certain, but whether
innumerable tse-tse fly bites or fever, or both
combined, had done it I cannot say. Iwer since I
received an iniurv in the head in 1S80, I havt- been

IX

BLKKDINC; KROM RIGHT NOSIRII.

177

r;ith<T siibjtcl to Ijlttdint; iVoin tin- ri>,'ht nostril, but
I have never ag.iin lost any blood whith bor<! the
slightest r»scmblan( (^ to th.it which came from me
in Mr b'.lliott's house after my trip to Ziiml)o in

N

cnAi'Ti:k X

.\')ii-.> i)S nil. iii.Ai K OK rKiiir.-N^ii.i.-i.in i:i>

RIIINOCKKOS

Cli.irai irr (jf the lil.ii k liniKhrto-. — It-^ |]ra>lu.il fxtcnnm.ituin n
Soiilli Afrii .1 .It ,1 wry tntim^ mhi tii luim.in life No i .i-.<.-
known to aiitlioi ol ,i lloer hunter lia\ in.; bcfii killnl h\ a hi, irk
iliinoi i-ro^, .\iMil(;nt> to lin>;li>,li iuinlir^ — H.iiris\ opinion nt
.m'l ixpi ricn< fs witli ilic 1)1. k k rliino( fm^ .Stcuiiiij;!) iiiinci c^
-.iiy ->l.iii^;liti-r of these animals l-.ir;;e numbers shot by Oswell
ami Winlon — I>uerf;en(e of opinion i om crnin;; ilispusiiion of
the l»o so-i alliil ilifferenl spciies of bl.ii k rlnnoi erost-s — Kxpeti
iri(e~ of (lordon rmnii\in^;. .An'lcrs^on, .md li.iMuiii \Mth these
.inini.ils \'i( linis of the fcr.Kity of the bla' k rhino( eros e\tia
oriiin.irily few iti .South .\fni.i- The author's fxperiem es with
these riniinals — .Siiilileti rise iti the value of short rhino( cros
horns Its fitil ( iTei t Dull si-ht of the hl.i, k rhiiioi eros -
Keen scent — Inquisitiveness — liliml rush of the l)l,i< k rhino
ceros when uoiindeil An ail\ .incinj; rlunoi eros shot in the
head -.\uthor i h.isud by bl.u k rhnux eroses uhen on liorscb.ii k
- -Curious experienie near Thamnia Setjic lilai k rhinorero^es
charjjin;; throu^'li i .ir.ivans - CoininK to (amp tires at ni^hl
.Author's doubts as to the extreme feroi ity of blai k ihinoieroses
in >;encral -Testimony of expentnced hunters as to the i har-
aeter of the black rhmoceros in the c oiintnes north of the
Zambesi C.ipt.iin Sti^jand severeU injured by one of these
aiiim.ils -Experiences of Mr. \au^'han Kirby - lAtraordinary
number of blai k rhinoceroses in East Afrua Expcneines
of A. H. Neiun.mn and K. J. J.irkson with these animals —
Views of Sir James Hayes-Sadler— dreai numbers of rhino-
ceroses l.itely shot m Hast Afric.i without loss of life to hunters
— .Superiority of modern weapons — President Koose\elt's leltui
— Mr. Kleischmann s rem.irkable account of a combat between
.1 rhinoceros and a crocodile - Possible explanation of seetnint;
helplessness of the rhinoceros.

In a previous chapter I have .snokj-n of the ditifi-

• 78

OiAI>. X

NOIKI) HOIK HLNTKRS

'74

I iiliy ol iindcrstaiuliiig lh«: true ( har.ict«r ol ihr
African Mack or prcht iisil<-lipi)i'(l rhiiU)C«Ti)s ; but
ix-rhaps I (lu^hl id have said " my <iwn ' 'itticiillj .
lor iicvtr liaviii^ had my lite seriously indan^ercd
by any one ot lli<- many anini.ils ol this species
which I met witli at a tinv uhiti th<y were still
tairly nunierous in tht; inte-rior ol South Atrica, I
h.ive always found il veTy (hfrunh to credit the v.i-,t
majority of these stupidly infjuisitive but dull-sighted
brutes with the vintlictiveness and feroi ity ot tils-
position that has often been attril)Uted to the whole
race. I am, it must be und<rstood, now spe.ik-
in^ only of llie black rhinoceros in Africa to the-
south of the Zambesi. In other parts of the
continent 1 have had no experit-nce of these
animals.

In Southern Africa the black as well .is the
white rhinoceros has been almost absolutely e\ier-
minateil during' the hist sixty years. During' thai
perioti, thousands upon thousands of th(fse animals
liave been killed, at a cost lo human life so trilling,
tiiat I submit it is impossible to contend that, spir.ik-
\n^ ^renerally, th»; hunting; and sluujtinj^' of black
:hinoceroses was an exceptionally danijerous under-
takint;.

W'iien a youn^; man I was personally acquainted
with several of the most noted of tiie old Hoer
hunters — I'etrus Jacobs, Jan Viljoen, Martinus
.iwart, Michael Enj^elbn-j^ht, .ind others — who
were amongst the first white men to |)enetraie to
the wondrous hunting-grounds beyond the Lim-
po[jo : but I never heard of any Boer hunter having
been killed by a black rhinoceros.

.\niongst the early English hunters, who were
prob.ibly more reckless and less experienced than
the Boers, a f(-w accidents certainly happened, but,
considering the number of rhinoceroses th<;y killeil

l:ie\ HiUoL ;;,.

I.

. .„ f„,.^ 1 .

•ci: l^\ \jui'^:.: ITU

*tt I - ^

i8o

Al RICAN NATURK NOTK^

Lfl ■,['.

<40od luck to have; j^^ot off as clu'a[)ly as they did,
it anytliiiiu; like a larj^c proportion of these: animals
had liahiiiially attacked them without provocation,
as soon as they saw or scented them, or even made
a point ot thari^in;^ iminctUately they were interten-d
with.

l)urint; his uontliirful hunting expedition to tlie
interior of South Africa in 1.S3O-37, Captain (after-
wards Sir Cornwalh's) Harris met with an extra-
ordinary number of rhinoc{,Toses of Ijoth the bhick and

• white species, lit- shot grea.t numbers of both,
never seems himself to have b<;en in any serious
vlanf'^r from a black rhinoceros, though one of his
io, Mitot servants was knocked over bv oiu- of
these .animals and his comp;;nion, Mr. kichardsoii,
seems to have had a V(,r\ narrow escape from
another.

Speaking ot this incident. H.irris says : " My com-
panion the next morning achieved a 'gentle passage
of arms' with the ver\ duplicate of this gentle-
man ; ' but /lis antagonist coultl not b(; prevailed
upon to surrender to superior weapons, until it had
considt;rably disfigured with the point of its horn
the stock ot the ritle em|)loyed in its reduction.
Arous('d from a siesta in a thick busli by the smart-
mg ot a gunshot wound, th(,' exasperated beast pur-
sued its human assailant so closely, that Richardson
was tain in selt'-defence to discharge the second barrel
down its onen throat ! "

In a turlher p.iragraph I birris wrote: "As we
advanced, the .species (the black rhinoceros) became
daily more antl more abund.mt, and I shall hardly
gain credence when I ass(-'rt that in the valley of
the Limpopo specim<Mis were so numerous that
on arriving in the afternoon .at our new ground
it was no uncommon thing to [lerceive a dozen
horned snouts protruded al once from bushes in the

si;nski,kss si.aucjii ikr

t8i

immediate vicinity. Xo suoncr were the teams un-
)()k('cl tli.m the whole party, in the reL,nilar routine
of business, havint; assumed th(Mr weapons, j)ro-
ceeded to dislotigf the enem\-, and riL;lit stoutly
oftttn was the field contested. Hut where is the
(juadruped thai can stand before du: grooved ritle.'*
it will lake the conceit out of the most contumacious,
and like a sedative, will calm his ruffled temper in
a minute. I'^very individual came in for a share
of cold lead and quicksilver ; and tht: stubbf)rn
brute that would not cjuietly withdraw, s.itisfied with
the mercurial dose he had received, was ultimately
badgt.-red to de;ath as a matter of course. Daily
almost two or three wt-re thus annihilated within
view of the- camp."

Personally. I find it impossible to believe, nor
doe-s it seem to be implied, that any great danger
attended this oft-repeateil and senseless slaughter
of anim.ds, which were uiuioubtedly attractc.'d to the
w.iggons by n )thing mon; reprehensible than in-
quisitiveness ; just as, when crossing the high downs
between the Zambesi and Kafukwe rivers with a
train of pack-donkeys in 1888, I was upon several
occasions accompanied by h«'rds of wildebeests,
which ran alongside of my caravan for ccmsiderable
(listanc(?s, their sense of dange-r entirely overcome
by the stronger passion of curiosity.

It is very evident tVom Harris's description of
the white rhinoceros that he considered this sjxxies
to be almost equallv as dangerous as the black.
He states that hv. found it "subject to the same
paroxysms of reckless and unprovoked fury, and
"often fully as iroublesomt- as its sable relative."

Ihe black rhinoceros is often spioken of as a
b,-ast of so savage and morose a iemi)er that it
will not only .ittack any animal which may approach
it, but in defiult of anything better, will vent its
senseless rage on bushes (jr other inanimate objects.

lS2

AFRICAN NATLRK NOTKS

CHAP.

But is there ,iny authority for such a charge ^
Harris says: "Nineteen times out of twenty shall
you see the crusty old fellow siaiuling listlessly in
the; society of, c,Mi()()s, (luag^as, and hartc-beests " ; and
I myself have; i>\u-n seen black rhinoceroses drinkint;
peaceably in close proximity to bultaloes and oiheV
animals.

Mr. William Cotton Oswell. who between the
years (844 ,uul 1S5;, made h\e huntini; e.xpeditions
into the interior of South Africa, met with and shot
great numbers of rhinoceroses of both the bkick and
the white species. In one season alone, he and his
companion Mr. Vardon shot no less than ei-hty-nine
of these animals. Oswell, who was a man of ,1 very
bold and tearless disposition, was badly injured by
a black rhinoceros on one occasion, ancl on another
had his horse; gored to death by a wound(;d animal
of tht; white species.

It is worthy of remark i think, that Harris took
the correct view that all the prehensile- lipped
rhmocero.ses h(; enc.iunt(;red belonged to one and
the same species, although showing idividually
very great divergencies in the relative length of
the two horns. In a footnote to his description of
the black rhinoceros he says: '-In no two speci-
mens ot this animal which came under my observa-
tion were the horns built e.x.ictly upon the same
model. Disease or accident had not unfrequenllv
rendered the ;interior horn the s//or/cr of thtt two."'
Oswell, how(;ver, as well as many other travellers
and hunters, .idoptetl the native view that those pre-
hensiledipped rhinoceroses in which the posterior
horn was e(|ual or nearly pqual in length to the
anterior belonged to a distinct species, and in view
ot the t.ict that all naturalists and sportsmen are
now agreed that all prehensile -lipped rhinoceroses
throughout .Africa belong to one and the same

VARIKFItS OF BLACK RHINOCKROS iSj

individual variations of ni specitic value, it is in-
teresting to note tlie diven, nc(; of <)[)inion between
well-known writers as to the comparative aggressive-
ness of the two supposed species.

( )swell speaks of the horili — the prehensile-lipped
rhin(.)ceros in which the seccMid horn was short — as
being "as a rule the only really troublesome member
of his family," whilst Andersson and Chapman con-
sidered the keitioa — the variety in which both horns
were of equal or nearly equal length — as the mor«'
dangerous variety.

Gordon (.umming speaks of both varieties of
th(; black rhinoci;ros as " extremely fierce and
dange-rous," and says "they rush headlong and
un[)rovok<d at any object which attracts thtir
attention.' .-Vlthough, however, this great hunter
must have seen and shot large numbers ot these
animals. I cannot gather from his writings that he
ever treated them with the respect which the
character he gives them ought to have inspired,
or ever s<;< nied to think there was much danger
to be aj)prehendeil in attacking them. Having
approached the first black rhinoceros he ever saw-
very closely, it heard him and advanced towards
where he was hiding. (iordon Gumming then,
" knowing well that a frontal shot would not prove
deadly, " sprang to his feet and ran for cover, upon
which th(; rhinoceros charged and chased him
round a bush. The animal then stood eyeing the
hunter, but '\i^e(iin_ii a lohiff of his wiriJ, at once
became alarmed and r.m off." This last remark is
interesting to me because it h<.r so often been stated
that black rhinoceroses charge as a rule immediately
they scent a human being, whereas my own experi-
ence agrees in this particular with that of Gordon
Cumniing. With the e.xception of tliis adventure, a
careful perusal of Gordon Cumming's writings does
nut ie\eiti Hie laci tnat ne wa.i ever agani "ni a.;.

PR

1^4

AFRICAN NATURK NOTKS

tUAP.

^n-.in (I.irige-r from a l)lack rliiiioccros. He w.is
oiicc chased whc-ii on h.;r.st;l)ack l.v niu- which he
had wouiuled, but from the accoiiiu he oacs of this
■ ncKle.ii h.- could hardly have expected anvlhmP
else He wnies : " Becomin,^ at last amuned at
the len-th of the chase . . . | defrinined to' brintr
matters to a crisis : so. spurrin<r niv horse, I da.shed
ahead and rode; riuht in his path.' Upon this the
hideous monster instantly char-ed m.- in U.c most
resolute manner, blowing loudlv throuth his nostrils '■
C. J. And(-rsson, who travelled in W'esi.ni South
Africa m the early fifties of the last r< nturv. was
also a miirhty hunter. He state, that he 'kill.-d
'many scores" of rhinoceroses- as many as sixty
in one season alone. He ^;ives the black rhinocen.'s
a very bad character, saying that animals .-f this
species are not only of "'a very sullen and inorr.se dis-
position, but that they are also - subject to sudden
paro.xysms ot unprovok.-d furv, rushing and ciiarLdinr
with inconceivable fierceness animals.'stones, l),;shes
-in short, any object th.it comes in their way."

-except, however, upon one occasion, when Anders-
son was^ badly injured one night and iK^arK lost his
hte as the result of clos<>ly approachin- ami throw
ing a stone at a black rhinoceros which he had pre-
viously wounded, he does not .seem to hav.- met
with any further advenlures or suffered any incon-
venience from the unprovoked furv of .un other
individual of the .species.

About the .same time that y\ndersson w.r. travel-
ling and hunting in Damaraland and Ovampoland
H.ddw.n was leading an almost preci.selv similar life
first in /ululand and Amatongaland. and later on in
the countries lying to the north ;md north-west of
the 1 rar.svaal as far as the Zambe-si riv(-r and 1 .ike
>J garni Baldwin must have encountered a con-
sidenible number of rhinoceroses of both tin- black

.ind the wfiif.' ci>ti,-i<.c. .,.wi . ,. I .11.

■TniJiiiii HI of a

the white soecjeQ

.1;:^ rtrci.i!;:, i;;(

F 1SONAL KXPKRIKNCK

.85

j^'iHxl m.iiiy of these- .minial^ in ihc mo^t iii;Ut(;r-()t-
iact way. Vrom cover U) cover of the very iiiterest-
iiiL^ book he wrote (.le.scril)in^ his hiiiiliiig adventures,
Afruan IIitntinjr from Xntn/ to the Zambesi, ht?
iK'ver speaks of the black rhinoceros as bein^ a
sava:;e and ferocious animal, Ljiven to sudden
paroxysms of fury, nor does he ever appear to have
thouL;;ht it a more dan;4erous animal to attack than
o:ie of the white species. Indeed, on several
occasions he simply records the fact thai he shot .1
rhinoceros, without sayinj.; to which sjjecies it
belonijed. One rhinoceros came at him after hav-
ini^' bren woundeil, but was stopped l)y a shot in the
forehead. As this animal — a cow with a very small
calf — is s])oken of as havin^^ a very lon'^^ horn, it
was probably a white rhinoceros, which would have
charged with its nose close to the ground, and would
therefore have been much easier to kill with a shot
in the forehead than one of the black species, whose
head would nec(?ssarily have been hrld somewhat
higher owing to the shortness of Its neck.

My own personal e.\perlence of tht- black
rhinoceros in Southern Africa compels me to
believe that, although a small pr()|)ortIon of animals
of this species may have been e.vcessively ill-
tempered, and were always ready to charge any-
thing and everything they saw moving, and even to
hunt a human being by scent, that was never the
character (jf the great majority of these animals.
At any nite, the rage of tb.e black rhinoceros in t'ne
countries to the south of the Zambesi has been
singularly impotent and ine'Hective. In the thirty-
five years which elapsed between the date of
Harris's travels through Bechwanaland and the
north-western portions of what is now the 'I rans-
vaal Colony and my own first visit to South Africa
in 1 87 I, thousands of black rhinoc<?roses must have
been killed ; a very large proportion oi them by

i«6

AFRICAN NAfLRK NOTLS

CHAP.

whiK; [principally I5(x;r— hiint«,Ts. for up to the
latter date; th(; natives only possessed a very few
firearnis. V,l how many hunters were killed or
injured during the killin^r.,)tt „f thj^ t;normous
numljer ot creatures, which have been so often
descrii)ed as not only excessively savaj,re and
• langerous when interfered with, but also'subject
to sudd<-n paroxysms ot un[)rovoked fury .^ I think
I have read all recent books on Sfjuth African
huntinjj^, but I cannot recall any mention of a white
man or a black man having been killed bv a black
rhinoceros in any one of them, though both Oswell
and Andersson were badly injured and came very
near losing their lives in encounters with individual's
of th/s sp,cies. I do not say that between iS;b
and 1S71 no human being was killed by a black
rhmoceros in South Africa. All I wish to convey is
tha*- ruch incidents must have been exceedingly
rare, for I cannot remember either to have re^ad
any account of such a catastrophe or to have heard
any of th(^ okl Ikx-r hunters mc-ntion such a case.

Between 1872 and 1890, the period durin.!; which
both black and white rhinoceroses were practically
extermmated in all the countries between the
Lmipopo and the Zambesi rivers, I can. however
positively assert that no white hunter was killed or
ev(Mi injured by a black rhinoceros in any part of
the immense territories comprised in the present
Southern Rhodesia and the Hechwanaland Pro-
tectorate, tor no such accident could have happeneti
without my having heard (jf it ; nor did I ever hear
of a native hunter having been killed by one of
these aiumals during that time, althoui^di one of the
old traders— George Kirton'— told me that in 186S
a black rhinoceros had charged ihroui^h his strin^r
of porters, and driven its horn through both

m'h^M'.'.SJw'l'V;'.;^'^'"' K..lon, whn^sa, U,li.,l with Ail.n W.U„n

AN I'NPROVOKKI) CHAR(JK

.87

thii^hs of oik; of th(;m, throwing him up in thv. air.
l""ortunat<ly no bones were broki;n .ind the injureil
man quickly recovered from his wounds. Anoth»-r
instance of the same kind happened in the ex-
perience of my old hur.tin<^' companion, Lieorj^e
Wood. One day, as he and two companions —
David Nai)ier and, I think. James Clifford were
ridini:^ alontj on elephant .v,.oor in Mashunaland, a
black rhinoceros suddenly charged throut^h them,
overturnini; Napier's horse and throwin;^ it and its
rider to the ground. Napier was not hurt, but I
fori;et whether or no the horse was killed. The^se.
two incidents serve to show that in the parts of
Africa in which my own experience was j^^ained,
certain black rhinoceroses wen' undoubtedly dan-
gerous and aggressive ; but such animals were. I
am convinced, exceptional. I do not think that
rhinoceroses were; ever so plentiful on the northern
watershed between the Limpo[)o and Zambesi
rivers as Harris found them in the valley of the
former river in iS;,;, but n(;vertheless in the early
seventies, throughout all the uninhabited portions ol
the territory now known as Southe-rn Rhodesia,
rhinoceroses of both the black and the white species
were very plentiful. The countries through which
1 hunted in 1872 and 1873 were practically virgin
ground, as the Matabele were then only just
iieginning to acquire firearms in any quantity. A -,
I have recorded in my book ^/ Hunter s Wandering i.,'
when hunting elephants during those two years I
encountered almost daily one or more prehensile-
lipped rhinoceroses, often seeing five. six. or even
eight in one day, and in addition to these, I met
with many of the square-mouthed or white species as
well. As 1 was hunting elephants for a living and
could not therefore afford to run the risk of ilisturb-
ing these valuable animals by firing indiscriminately

' Kir>t publishrd in iSSl.

i8S

AFRICAN NAIL'KK NO'IKS

i-HAI

at any other kitui of ^ani.-, unl..^ | re-ally wanted
m.Mt, I M:l(loin killed rhiiioctToses. Hut had these
animals ]„-rn valiuMc. and had I been hnntin<' ihcm
Jora hvin- instea! ol , jephants, I think that hv
waichin- at then- dnnkin-places, an.l toliowin.r up
Insh tracks, as well as shootinir all those I came
across casually, I uiiKht easily have killed a hundred of
<:a. h species durui<r thos.- two years. [ )urin^ri.ach of
the years 1S74. 1S77, ,878. 1S79, i SSo, iSSj, iSS-,.
fS.^vand i,SS7. 1 came across black rhinoceroses'
I'ut n.-ver m any on.' ..f those years in anvthinp like
llie numbers I had m..-l.with thes.- animals in 1 87"
and 1S73. '

In th<: country to the north-east i,f Matabeleland
between the Sebakwe and th.,- Hanyani rivers!
both black and white rhinoceroses were still i lirlv
numc;rous in 1S7S, dnrin- which vear I <.ne day'saw
five of the latUT all t Mther. and it was only after
i.S.So that the numb(Ts ot both species commenced
to be seriously reduced in this part of South Atrica
About that time rhinoceros horns— of all sorts and
sizes altamed a considerable commercial value
probably throu-h som.; freak of fashion in knife-
handles or combs or what not in iuirope. Hut what-
«;ver was the cause of it, this sudden rise in the
value of small rhinoceros horns souncKd the death-
knell ol thes(.' creatures in thcf interior of South
Africa. Hy the year 1880, ivory had become very
scare; m that portion of the continent, and the
traders in Matabeleland then lor the first time
be-an to employ nativ hunters to shoot rhinoceroses
or the sake ol tluMr horns — no -natter of what
It^ngth and their hides, which latter were made into
wa-gon whips and sjamboks. ( )ne trader alone told
mv. that he h.ul supplied four hundred Matabele
hunters with guns and ammuniti.ai, and between 1880
and 1884 his large store alv\;iys contained great rules

of

J »• t n> "^*_ 1 '/.I 11;/: iir

r 11 ' , . o . I

-^i aii sores .uiu hi/es, oiten the

IICK.-HIRI)S

i8q

spoils of ()V(.r ;i huruircil ot' these .mim.ils .ii one time,
.ilthoiif^h tlicv were constantly hein^ sold to other
traders .md carried south to Kimlx-rley on their
way t( luirope. I do iiot know for a hict that all
these .hinoceros horns wen; sent to l'"uro|je. They
may have been shi[)p<;d to China or India.

Although inan\' hundreds ot native hunters —
poorly armed with smooth -l)ore muskets tor the
most part must have taken part in the practical
extermination of both the black and the white
rhinoceros, throtii^hout all the uninhabited tracts of
country lyin^r between the hi<;h plateau of Matabele-
land antl th(; Zambesi river, as far as I know no sinj,de
man was either killed or injured in the process,
althou<^'h they must have killed between them .it least
a thousand black rhinoceroses alone ilurin;^^ the five
years before iS86. After that there were very few
rhinoc(Toses left to shoot to thr west of tht; Umhili
river, beyoml which the Matabele hunters seldom
ventured.

Black rhinoceroses always appeared to me to In-
very dull of si^ht, but quick of hearing; and ex-
cessively keen scenteil, and I have never known an
instance of one not immediately running off on getting
my wind. I have often seen them, too, take alarm
.111(1 run off when warned by the tick -birds that so
often accompanied them, althouidi they had neither
seen nor smelt me These tic birds, which may
often be seen accompanying buffaloes and other
animals as well as rhinoceroses, always flutter about
and give well -understood warning cries on the
approach of a human being. On the other hand, I
h.ive seen many black rhinoceroses, when suddenly
disturbed by the; noise made by my Kafirs and
myself, as we walked past them, come trotting up
towards us snorting loudly. Such animals had not
got our wind or they would have run off — at least

1 think

W'lenf ver rhinoceroses came trotting

igo

Al RICAN NA'IL'RK NO IKS

(.HAC,

towards us siiortiii'^, my K.itirs uscil lo run to lh<_-
iicarrst trees .uul (all to me to ilo the; sam«- ; but I
never did so, and I was never charijed hy one.
These animals, alter first trottiiij; cjuickly towards
me, would stand looking; intently at what must have
been to them the uiiatx ustcjmed si_^du of a fij^nire-
with a shirt and a hat on it, then .snort aj.;ain .md
iroi up nearer; but with one (-.xception ihev always
turned round and trotted olT sooner or later, carryinj^
their heads and tails hiijh in the air. Sometimes I
had to shout and throw sticks and stones at them
I)(."(ore they wheeled rouiul and made oil".

It sonietimes happened that a ihiiK^ceros which
I had disturbed came trotting towards mi-, at a time
when I wantetl me, it, and 1 then took advantaj^e of"
the opportunity, ami kneeling; ilown, fired a four-
ounce b.ill into its chest from my muz/le-Ioadinjf
elephant f^un. In such casi:s they would usuallv
come rushini^ straight forwards at a gallop, puffing
anil snorting furiously, and on several occasions
have j)assed within a few yards of where I was
standing. However, I never thought that these
wounded animals were charging, l)iit believed them
to be rushing blindly forwards after having received
a mortal wouml. I have, however, oftf^i heard such
bliiul rushes di-scribeil as terrific charges.

The one occasion on which I hacl to tire at an
.idvancing black rhinoceros because I could not
make it turn was on April 25, 1S7S. At that
time 1 was making my way from the Zambesi river
to Matabeland, through an uninhabited piece of
country which had never previously been traversed
by a white m;-n. I was very weak and ill from
fever and privation, and on meeting with a
black rhinoceros early in the morning, was an.xious
to kill it for the .sake of the meat. When the
animal, however, an oKl bull, first came trotting
Towards me, I did not tire at it, ;is ! thought I could

BLACK RHINOCKROS KII.I.H)

191

iii.tkc iniinj c;i rt.iiii of killing; it witli .i shut ihroiij^h
ihi: lunj^s as it turned to run oil. Hut it would not
turn, hut kept adv.iiicini; stt-.idily lowanis mv with-
out taking any notice; ol my shouts, until it was so
near that 1 dcliTinint-il to ti\- and kill it with .1 shot
In the front of the head. 1 was at th.it tinu: armed
with a '■ingle- barrelled ten -bore rilk;, which was
carefully sighted and shot very accurately, and when
the rhinoceros was within fiftt-en yards of when,' I
stood, and still slowly but steadily advancing, I put
a bullet past its horns and into its forehead. It
fill to the shot and rolled on its side, but almost
ininiediat('ly raised its head and brought it ilown
again on the ground with a thump. 1 saw that it
was only stunned, just as the one had been which
1 had lost some tive years previously, after having
hit it in almost exactly the same plact: with a four-
ounce bullet ; so I ran close up to it antl killed it
with a Iiullet behind the shoulder, just as it swung
its(;lf iij) into a sitting position. What this rhinoceros
would have done if I had not tired I do not know.
1 think it very likely, however, that had I turned
and run for a tree, ii might have rusheil .ifter me
and struck at me with its horn. Some of thi: others,
too, which had trotted up towards me in previous
years might have done the same thing, if they had
suddenly seen me running close in front of them.
1 have twice had the same e.xperience as that
described by Gordon Cumming when he galloped
in front of a black rhinoceros which he had wounded,
that is to say, I have been smartly chased by two
of these animals. The first was a cow with a
nearly full - grown calf. These two animals went
off at a swift trot as soon as they scented me,
br(;ak.ing into a gallop when I pressed them. I then
tried to p: s them, so as to get a '^roadside shot ;
but directly my horse drew level witli her, the cow
char!"''ed in the n'tost determined rn.-inner sporfip,'.*'

192

AKRICAN NATIRF NOTKS

1 MAI

hiri<Hi-il\ .mil i li.isiiiL; me Idr a (cuisidcr.ililc <list.mt«'.
'I'his in(i(!(iU cxinrrcd in iSSo. In i.SS^, wh<Mi
hiinliiiL,' on lujrstlMck jiisl ouisiilr tin- "lly" country
()i\ lh<- iippci- S,il-i river, ! one il.iy c.im«- .icross Jin
old hull 1)1.1(1; rhin(jc«To>, wiiicli, llioiit^li it rati off in
tlif lir^t inst.mii' as soon as it saw or sccntici mi-,
turn* (1 and ili.iMtj nic sm.irtly, with the iisii.d
ac'( oiiiii.iniinrnt ol snorts and |>utls. .is soon .is my
horse dnu Icvil with it. It(h.iscd inc c crt.iinU tor
over a himdreij yards, ami prrsscil m_\ horse pnity
hard. As it s\ver\cd otf .md stopped snortiiiir, I
br(>iij,,dit my lior^e round, and dismouniiiii^r, j,Mve it
.1 shot in till- rilis; hut on j^jallopini; u|) near it at^.un.
it Ljave me another sni.irt chasi-. I" wo more bullets.
howe\er, tinished this phu ky old animal.

liesiiles these two. I lan only e.ill to mind ei^ht
oth(-r hi. Ilk rhinoceroses which I ch.ised on horse
h.uk, ;ind none ot thise- show(;cl anv hi^ht at all, but
kept continually slieeriiiL; ott'as the horse drew level
with ihem, making' it almost impossible to j^et any-
thing' but a stern shot. In November 1.S74 I chased
a black rhinoceros l>ull out into .in open exftanse
of L,'rounil near rh.imma-.Setjie, on the old wai^gon
road to the /ambusi, and in trying to t;et .1 broad-
sid<' shot, rode it rountl ,ind round in a l.irge circlt;,
until it presently stood sti'l with its mouth open,
evitleiuly completeK done. I^veii when I tlis-
mounled and shot it at close rani^e — I onlv had an
oltl smooth-bore L;un it never attempted to charge.
Several times, when hunting; elephants in the
eari\' seventies ot the last century, black rhino-
ceroses rushed snortini.; either close in front of
or close behind myself and m\' small partv of
Katirs. They h.id uadoubtt-dly been alarmed' bv
hearing or smelling us, and were, I think, trying
to ge-t out of danger ; but I bt;Iieve that, slunild a
rhinoceros get the wind of the foremost man
amongst a long string of porters, and on starting

X RHINOCF.ROSKS AITACKINC; CARAVANS i<)j

off to run away from the disacjrcoahle smell,
suddenly lind itsrlf confronted by anotlx-r poriioti
of ihf caravan, it will not turn back, but rush
snorlinj^ ihrouLjh the line, somctinu-s pirli.ips
injurinj.; a man in its passage. It is, I tliink,
owinj4 to the fact that travellers, traders, and
hunters in l*-ast Africa h.ive always em|jloy<'il
very large numbers of porters, who m.irched in
single file in a line often extending to sev<Tal
hundri:d yards in length, that incidents of this
kind have been so fretjuent in that country. Mtit
when a ijjack rhinoceros just rushes through a long
line of f)oriers without singling out and following
any [)articular man, 1 think such a proc(;eding is
more the result of panic than .ujylhing else. My
view is that the wind blowing obli(|uely across
the line b(!ing taken by a caravan may reach a
rhinoceros lying or standing some distance aw.iy.
Tiiis animal at once takes alarm and runs off, at
first perhaps at right angles to thi- direction from
which the wind is blowing ; but on again turning
up wind, as rhinoceroses almost invariably do, it
comes right on to another portion of the straggling
line of porters. Conlronted by this lin<; of men,
whom it had at first tried to avoid, it will probably
nut turn back, but rather charge through them and
continue its flight. 'I"he sight of the black rhinoceros
is certainly very b;>d, and in cases where these
animals have charged against waggons in South
Africa, and trains on the Ugand.i Railway, it is
difficult to say whether they wer(! animated by
pure bad temper or ran against the.se obstacles
because they suddenly saw them moving right
across their path, when they were endeavouring
to escape from some other danger.

Upon thn^e occasions during 1873 black
rhinoceroses came close up to my camp at night,
snorting loudly, and upon one occasion, as i shall

o

"H

AFRICAN N.\ lURh NOTES

(.HAP.

relate in a substMiiuMit chapter, a white one did the
same thin^;. On all this(; occasions, I think the
curiosity of these rhinocc-roses must liave been
aroused' by the- si_L,du of the camp fires, or else the
smell of blood and meat mu^t have excited them.
I fir<;d into one of the black rhinoceroses as he was
cominL,' V(-ry close, and drove off tlie other two
l)V shoiiin^' at them.

'I'h a a certain proportion of the vanidied race
of South African rhinoceroses of the prehensile-
lipped sj)t;cies ui^re of a morose and sava;_,"- temper,
and theretore dan;4erous animals to encountt^r, I
will not for one moment attempt to deny, for there
is a ^^reat deal of eviilence that lliis was the case.
Hut what I do think is that many writers have
taken the character of the e.xceptionally vicious
animals they met with as typical of that ot the
whole sp(-cies. i!ut, unless at least .i very con-
siderable proportion of black rhinoceroses were
neither sava;_;e nor danojerous, I fail to understand
whv it was that none of tliose tliat ! mysell en-
countered behaved in a manner beliliinLj their
reput.ilion : how it has com<.' about that the whole
race has been practically exterminated in South
Africa at so inhnitesimal a cost to human life ; why
(iordon Cun-'niin:^', who shot so many ot ihc-se
■'hideous moiisti rs," only appears to have met
with two advc'nlures--both of a viTy mild character

wilii tliese animals; and why lialdwin never

seemed to have the least idea that ihey were either
d.uii^erous to attack or subject to sudden [)aroxysms
of unprovokeil lury.

llithi'rto I have only sjx^ken of the black
rhinoceros \n South .Xirica ; but the testimony of
the most ('Xijeriencetl hunters, in other parts of
the continent, seems to show that the character
of this animal has always Ijet-n essentially the same
ihrou^liout il^ entire range. LvcrywiiCie it iiccms

CAPTAIN STKJANDS ADVENTURK

'95

lo have Ineii and to be a stupid, blundering, bad-
sij^litc'l. but keen-scented beast; in the great
majority of cases doin^^ its best to avoid human
beiiiLTS, but always liable to beroinr savage when
wounded, like- elephants, li'jns, and buflaloes, and
sonieliines being re-ally batJ -tempered and savage
i.iy nature, and ready to charge unprovoked at the
sigiit or scent of any one a[)proaching it. My own
experience jjroves at least that it is (piite |)ossible
to come across a great number ol black rhinoceroses
wilhoiil ever encountering a really vicious one.

In ihosL- countries which now form part of
North-Western Rhodesia, tlirough which 1 travelled
many years ago. black rhinoceroses were by no
means plentiful. In tact, though I from time to
time came across their tracks, 1 never actually saw
;. rliinoceros in tin; Hesh to th(* north of the
Zambesi. Throughcnit Hritish Central Africa, too,
I believe 1 am correct in stating that these animals
have never ix-en lound in any great number. It
was somewhrre in this territory that my hicnd
Captain C. 11. Stigand was severely injuri-d by a
black rhinoceros. 1 have Ivard the story of this
nusadvt.'nture from his own li[is, and I think there
can be no doulit that t'le animal which suddenly
cii.irgtnl anil tossed him without provocation was
one of those \'icious, d.mgerous brutes whose <'x-
icpiionaliy savage tempers have given a bad name
to tht; wholfj species.

in a footnote to the article on the lilack rhinoceros
coniriiailetl to tiie iircat and Small (ianic oj .-l/rica
b\ Mr. l-\ \'au'ihan Kirb\, that writer savs, in
speaking of the character oi this animal : " I know
<m instan( • of a native being charged and killed,
and anoiiier whom 1 nvt personally who was
chased and rejul irly hunted by a woimdetl one,

which cui"

I ..1

u

ht
if by

anil

fearhiilv mutilated him.'

er:<vji:a; experience,

,q6 AFRICAN NATURE NOTES chap.

Kirby came to the conclusion that, "although
naturally timid, and certainly not dangerously ag-
eressive the black rhinoceros is of most uncertam
temper, and when wounded and encountered at
close (luarl.^rs, can and will char-e most herc-Jy.
and occasionally is as vindictive ^'f ^^"V ^L^Halo.
The adjective "vindictive" here used by Mr. Kirby
does not api.ear to me- to b(= ciuite the right or lair
one If In elephant, buffalo, lion, or rhinoceros
should be attacked and grievously injured by a
human being, and is brave and stubborn enough to
resent such' treatment and make a f^ght for its lite,
it seems like adding insult to injury to speak ot U
as vindictive. .

In many parts of both British and German hast
Africa black rhinoceroses were quite r(xentiy, and
in some cases probably still are, extraordinarily
numerous. Here, as m other parts ot Airica. a
certain number of accidents have occurred in
hunting these animals, and there hav.- been a good
many instances of their charging through a line ol
native porters. However, although it is unquestion-
able that in East Africa, as elsewhere, black
rhinoceroses have sometimes shown themselves to
be really vicious, and therefore very dangerous
animals, there seems to br a concensus of opinion
amon-st those n..-n who have had the greatest
expeiT-nce with them, that these were the ex-
ceptions to the gener.d rule.

Few men, if anv. could have had a wider
experience- with the black .hinoceros in hast Africa
than my friend the late A. II. Neumann, whose
recent death 1 shall ne^•er cease to deplore, and 1
thereiore make no apology for (pioling a tew
sent<-nces from the very interesting and int^orming
article contributed by him to the (, real and Smat
Game of Africa on the subject of this animal.
Neumann says :

A. H. NKUMANN'S EXPERIKNCK

'97

As lias often been point( d out, the rhino is the most
intensely stupid of animals, and marvellously blind. So
much -o, that it may often be approached even on a
bare [)lain with little trouble up wiyid. It is their vcr>'
stupidity and blindness which makes these be.ists a source
of dan^^er to passing; caravans ; for should the wind be
blowing; Jyom them, and unless they be accompanied by
tick -birds, as they often are, which alarm them and
cause them to make off, they frecjuently remain un-
conscious of the approach of a caravan until it is close
to them, when, bcinj^ suddcnl)- confronted with a lonjj
line of porters, they will sometimes charj^e straight
throuj^h it, apparcntlj' under the iinpression that there is
wo other way of escape oi)en. On the other hand, they
are keen-scented ; and if the wind be blowing in their
ilircction they start away at a tjuick trot as soon as the
taint reaches them, and while yet a lon^ way off.

.\s regards the much-disputed question, to what deforce
the rhinoceros is a dan<jerous beast, the result of my
ixpcricncc and observations is very C cidedly to convince
me that, under ordinar)- circumstances and with proper
ca tion, there is not very much risk in shooting him, and
that the danger is not to be compared in any way with
that attending the pursuit of the elephant. At the same
lime, there is always a possibility that one may charge,
and there is therefore a certain amount of e.xcitemci't in
the sport ; and instances arc not rare <jf men having
been badly injurcil by these beasts. . . .

Thi- Ndorobos kill these animals with their elephant
haijioons, or trap them in the same manner as elephants.
Those I have been among have far less fear of rhino-
ecroses than (/ elephants, and as a consequence it is a
r.ire thing to see a rhino in country much frequented by
such (jf these people as have much skill and courage in
elephant-hunting. The same applies to Swahilis, many
of whom think nothing of shooting a " faro," though they
would not dream of attacking elephants.

iqS

AFRICAN NATURK NO IKS

(.HAP.

The only otli'T man whosr c.xpcriuiicc with
rhinncciMst^.s in i'.asl Africa lias lj(Mjn (•([iial to that
of .\ilhiir Xcuniann is Mr. 1'". j. Jackson, C.B.,
who for scjinc ye ^rs [jasi has l^cun a most able
administrator of the territories in which he tirst
made a name as .i hunter and a naturalist. Mr.
Jackson's ttislimony concernint; the character of the
black rhinoceros as h<: has kn')wn that animal
a])])ears to me to coincide very closely with that
arrived at by Neumann, his j^'reat Irieml ami only
rival as a hunter in Mast Africa. Like Neumann,
Jackson fully realises that black rhinoceroses are
somi.'times vicious and dangerous, but his experience
has been that, as ,i ruji-, these animals avoid and run
a\v.i\ from iium.ui b(_-inL;s if lh(-y can. .md that even
when they rush snortinL,^ thr(.>UL;h i Umij, line ot
native i)orters, they are usually trying,' to escajje
from rather than viciously attackinu; thoe men. In
the course of th(.- very inlerestin-j. artiile on the
bl.ick rhinoce-ros contributed \>y Mr. b. J. Jackson
to vol. i. on Jii'j^ (laaii' S/iOu/in^ t)^ the liadminton
Library, he states: "When alarmed, the rhinoceros
becomes easily flurried, .ipjjears to do lliinifs on
impulse which othei animals tmdowed with more
sa'_;aritv would not do, and is by no m(;ani the
vicious and vinilictive brute which some writers
have found him to i)e in South .Alric.i ani.1 the
Soudan. in th(- m.ijority of cases, wIktc .i rhino-
ceros is s.iid, bv men who perhaps have not been
very well acipiainteil with his pecuii.irities, to have
char^id in a most deten iin(;d and \icious manner,
I believe this so-called c!i.irL;e to hav been nothing
more than the first headlong; and im])etuous rush
of the beast in a i..'mida/fd state, cnde.ivourine; to
avoid an encounter rath< r than court one.

In the course of the Keport made to the ICarl of
El<_rin on the lnuuc of the ilast .\lrica I'roctectorate
bv the Chief Commissioner, Captain (now Sir

MR. KASIVVOOO'S ADVKNIURK

1)9

1

Jam('s) Haycs-Sadlcr, dated 'Commissioner's Office.
Nairohi, September 2S, 1906," the following passag<'
occurs ; " 1 his interf^stinj^ I'achyderm (the black
rhinoceros), thoiii;h sometimes a ti.ingerous, is always
a stupid animal, and, from his bulk and th(; nature
of the country he inhabits, with but few excejitions
falls an easy i)rey. My experience of him, too. is
that in fairly open country he is easily driven away,
and that therefore the necessity of shooting to
protect life is not nearly so fr(--quent as has some-
times been alleged."

The opinion expressed in the above paragraj)h
concerning the black rhinoceros and the danger of
its pursuit has, I think, been proved to be fairly
accurate by the ex; rience of tht; many sportsmen
(most of tht.'m utterly inexperienced in hunting
large and danger(>us animals) who havt; visited
British East Africa in recent years ; for since Mr.
]\. ICastwofxl was very l>adly injured, and indeed
had a most miraculous escape-, near Lake Hariiigo. in
October 1002, from a rhinoceros which he thought
he had kill(Ml, but which '^ot on to its feet again
and charged him after he had walked close up to
where it was lying. I have not heard of any other
accident having occurred in the hunting of thi.-se
animals, although during the three years ending
on March 31. 1906, no less than ;,o8 black rhino-
ceroses were killed under Sfiorf-men's and settlers'
licences in British East Africa, besides twentv-
three others which were shot on th(! border of the
same territory by the members of the Anglo-(jerman
Bound.iry Commission.

The bi'^-game hunter of to-day is armed with
wcNipons which an- vastly superior to those which
the old pione-er hunters of .South Africa had to
rely upon in bygone times, and the dangers of
big-game hunting art-, in consequence, now very
much less than they were then ; but stiii. judging

200

AFRICAN NATURK NOTKS

CHAP.

from my own cxpt^ric^nci; (and in 1.S73, 1873, and
1874 the clumsy old four-ljorc j^uns 1 used were
very inferior even to the iwo-tjrooved ritles
possessetl Ijy Il;irris, Oswell, or (jordon Cuniminy;)
and all 1 heard from many old I'>oer antl native
hunters, I feel convinced that the character of
the black rhinoceros w.is ori^jinally painted Ijy
picturesque writers in colours which, although
they ni.iy have b(;en appropriate to a certain small
proportion of these animals, were quite undeserved
by the ^reat majf)rity of the species. I will con-
clude th(;sc notes on the black rhinoceros with a
letter which I have lately received from I'resident
Roosevelt, covering a most remarkable and ex-
cessively interesting description of a struggle
between .1 crocodile and a rhinoceros in the 'lana
riv(;r, in British Mast Africa. Hefore making any
conunenls on this extraordinary incident, I will
f.rst giv(,- both President Roosevelt's letter to myself
and his corr(;spondent's communication, as 1 have full
permission to do.

Tin. Wiiiri Hoi'SK, WAsmN(;TON,

Stfitemhrr 27, 1 907.

Mv DKAK Mk. Sklous — I don't ktKiW whether the
enclosed letter and photographs will be of any value to
you in your book or not. Hoth relate to an occurrence
so remarkable that I thought I would send them to you.
Flci.schmann is a man of good standing, entirely truthful,
and he had no conception of the importance of what
he was telling me. I told hirn that the " authorities in
Africa" who informed hiai that the crocodile might have
gotten a purchase by wrapping its tail around something
;-iunken were doubtless in error, and advised him to leave
it out of the letter which he wrote me, which I told him I
was going to send to you. Hut he put it in, and I am
sending it along. It is the on!)- part of his letter which
is mere hearsay or guesswork. I liad no conception iJial

CROCODILK AITACKS RHINOCKROS 201

crocodiles would tackle a rhinoceros. Hut you may
rcmcnbcr in Samuel Hakcr's IV:7/ Ht-asif and Their
Ways that he speaks of sceintj crocodiles in Africa
with the 1,'irth of a hippopotamus. In any event I send
you the letter.

The other day, in readin<; ///.V Game, in the
Hadminton Library, I noticed that Oswell, the .South
African hunter, speaks of tryin}^ to cut off a cheetah,
and that the latter distanced his horse with the utmost
ease. This tends to confirm me in the opinion that the
cheetah for a half mile or so can readily distance a horse,
and that when pursued by you the two animals you
overtook at first simply tried to keep ahead of you, not
tr>'ing to exert themselves, and that after a half mile
w.is pas.sed their wind was j^one and then they gave out.

When do you think you will publish your book ?

Sincerely yours,

TllKOUOkE ROOSEVKl.T.
Mr. Frederick C. Sei.ous,
Heather.sidc, Worplesdon,
Surrey, England.

tlNCINNATJ, Sfptrmher 33. J9°7

Mv DKAk Mr. Fkksidem — I take pleasure in sending
you under separate cover to-day, ;is per your request, the
enlarged photographs of the encounter between a rhino-
ceros and crocodiles in the Tana river, Hritish East
Africa ; al.so another photograph showing a large herd of
hi[)popotami in the Tana river, wliich I believe may [)rove
of interest to you.

I shall also undertake to give you a brief description
of the attack of the crocodile upon the rhino, which
resulted in the latter's death. While encamped on the
Thika river, about one hundred yards above its junction
with the Tana, the attention of the members of our hunt-
ing party was called to the loud cries of the porters. A
Miomenl later Ah," the Somaii headman, came running

202

AFRICAN NATURK NOIKS

CHAIV

in to t'.-ll 11- that n mainba (crocodile) had seized a faro
(rhiii(H( ros,, as tlic- latter strppcd into the river to drink
"Ah" ua-, I'aicialcd in t!ir hushes on the Mdc of the
river oiiixjsjtc tht; scene at the time the rhino came down
to drink Ulicti (.ur party arrived, about fifty of our
porter-, were dn a sandbank leadinj; out into the 'I'ana
liver The riiitio was lieid by its left hind-Iei,', which
had been sei/ed by the crocodile just as the bij; bea.t
was leavin;,; the river after drini.ii!;.;. At least half a
dozen <>{ the porters, who had been lyirifr i,, the bushes
near tlie scene, in reply to in\ (|uestions, ai,'recd as to the
manner the rhino was attac i.

VVlicn we neared the point <.f attack, the rhino
api.eared panic-stricken, :i;al;in- very little noise— simply
strainin:; and heavin- in its efforts to release its \v^ from
the j.iws uf the crocodile. While uiakint^r but little head-
way, the rhino did for a time succeed in holcbiii; its own,
kcci):ii;.j in shallow water, as the jjliotos i and 2 show.
A moment or two later, however, blood appeared on the
surlace of the water, leadin- us to believe that the
crocodile h.id been reinforced by other mambas uhicli
iiad t)cen attracted to the scene by the blood an<l lashing
of tile w.iter. The stru,t;.;le continued on down the
stream, the combatants havin- moved quite a distance
from the ori-in.d point of attack. The rliino still
maii.i-eil to keep on its feet, facin<,' eitlier down stream
or tou.ird the oppositr i^nk, and for a distance of at
least one Inmdre.i yards down stream had made no
percepti!)!.- l.,ss of -r.-und. Shortly aftcrwarii, however,
apparently ma.ldened by the pain it was undoubtedly
sufferin;^' (for now imidi more blood and ])i^ccs of flesh
appeaud on the -urlace of the water), the rhino evidently
lo.st its head and attempted to cn.ss throu-h the deep
water to the oi>posite shore, as shown in photo 3. This
move was tiic ix-innin- of the rhino's end, for as soon
as it tutnei,! and met with deeper water, it lost the
advanta<j;c of a ilrm toothold in the sliallow water, anil

r 1 1 ' I ' ■ I \ I 1 1 ~ ■ 1 A -^ I K I ' . ' . I 1 , I I I W 1 I N \ K 11 I S ■ " I 1 ' \ S I ' \ < ■ K hill.

/i* ' I ' /*'»V'' ^-fJ'

till- kiiiii'Ki-,

ift.-r It li.i'l luripil r'lni.l

«l U t'.ir 11 !;•.! lilt'. •]■• [• w il' I

m

A MOST INTKRESTING STORY

2^3

The rhino was ;i full-'^'rown frni.ilc wit!', a l-.orn which
we estimated to !)c about twenty inches in length. it
was the opinion of authorities in Afric.i to whom I told
the story of tile stru<;i;le, that a very ian^e crocodile had
taken hold of the rhino's le;^ .uid wrapped its tail around
some sunken obstacle, thus ^'ivin;^' it a purchase, as it
were, which enabled it to >ucces>fully hold on until
reinforced by other crocodiles.

These enlarged photographs were made from },[ x 4.|,
negatives, the " -najis ' bcinr taken by my valet, who
was actin;^' in charge of the com.mis.sary department ot
the caravan.

I trust that thc>e photos will reach you in t^ootl

condition.

With my sincere regards, I have the hf)nour to be,

Yours respectfully,

M.vv C. I'l.KI.SCllMANN.

To HONOR.MM.I TUF.OUORK KOOSEVKI.l,
Wasiiin^jton, 1).C.

Remarkable anil unusual as was the occurrence
witnessed by Mr. I-'lcischniann. there can be no
doubt as to the truth of his most interesting^ story.
The thrre photoi^raphs- all of which are repro-
dacf^d in this book— showing' the rhinoceros strain-
ing against soinethincf which was gradually pulling
its hind-quarters det^per and deeper into the water,
must convince the most sce[jlical. I fully agree
with IVesident Roosevelt that the theory, that the
crocodile held the rhinoceros by getting a purchase
with its tail round some sunken log, is not tenable,
especially as Mr. Meischmann states that 'the
struggle continued on down the stream, the com-
batants having moved quite a distance from the
original point of attack."

T'erbonally, i nnd no difficulty :n be:;cving that ii

204

AFRICAN NATURK NOTES

CHAP. X

a vi;ry larjjjc crocodik' were to seize a rhinoceros by
the one hiIKl-Ie':^^ and was suftkiently powerful to
hold that limb ofl the ground, the larsrest of these
animals would In-come almost helpless ; for if either
hind-Iec; of a rhinoceros be broken by a bullet, the
animal is rendered immediately almost incapable of
movement, and very soon assunuis a sitting ptjsition.
I imagine- that a rhinoceros would e.isily be able to
pull the largest of crocodiles out of water, if it was
harnessed to one of thesf.* n-piiles, and so could gel
a fair pull at it from the chest and shoulders ; but I
think that the paralysing effect of the crocodile's
hold on one of its hind-legs would be sufficietit to
account for the heljjlessness of the animal whose
struggles and ultimate death Mr. Fleischmann
witnessed in the Tana river.

CHAPTER XI

NOTES ON THE GIRAFFE

Appcirance of the ^irafTe — Not a vanishiriK' species — Immense
range — Habitat — Native mounted hunters — Destruction of
giiatTes and other jjame by Kuropeans — Necessity of restrain-
ing; native hunters — Discussion a-> lO the possibdity of the
^iraft'e existing; for lony periods without drinking — Water-con-
serving' tubers — Wild water-melons — H.iliits of elephants after
much peisecution — Possible explan.ition of the belief that
girafTes can dispense with water — (iiraffes seen in the act
of drinking — {'iiraffes absolutely voiceless — I'artial to open,
park like country — Difficult to ap[)r(ia( h on foot — (iirafTes very
keen-scented — Iluntiiij; giralTe^ with ISushnien trackers —
Kxhilarating .->port — I'ace of the giraffe — '1 he easiest way to
kill giraffes — Driving wounded giraffes to camp — Two curious
experiences with y itVes — "Stink bulls" — KxccUence of the
meat of a fat giralie cow — Height of giratTes- Ciraffes only
occasionally killed by lions - Young giratTe attac ked by leopards.

"Ungainly" is an epithet which has often been
applied to the j^iraffe ; but "stately," I think, would
be a far more truly descriptive word, and there is
certainly no animal in Africa which adds so much
to the interest of the parched and waterless wastes
in which it is usually found as this tallest of
mammals. The sight of a herd of giraffes walking
leisurely across an open piece of ground, or feeding
through a park-like country of scattered trees and
bush, is one which, once seen, must ever linger in
the memory ; for there is a something about the
appearance of some few of the largest mammals
sliii extant upon the earth which stirs the imagina-

205

20b

AKRICAN NAIURK NOTtS

CHAP.

lion .IS lilt- M^iii <)l sinall'-r Imt more hcauliful
, mini, lis ( .ui never do. When waichinj.^ a moose
iiull stamliii^ knee-decj) on t!;c vd'j^c of some
swamuy lake, amiilsL the silence ami the _t;Ioom of
sub-Arctic ]iine loreiis, 1 always sfjcni to I)e carried
hack to some tar distant period of the world's
historv ; ami 1 rc-memher thai uhen Inmtins^' with
liushiien amidst the dull monotony of the sun-
scorclu'd, silent waste-, ol Western South Africa, the
siL;'iU ol Ljiraltes always stirred the sanie thought.
My rude (ompanions were ])ala olitiiit men, and
we were liuiuiiiLj straUL^c Ixasts m the hot dry
atmosplr ri- ol a lon^; past L;<--olo;_jic,d era.

Cjiratles are ojten spoken of as a scarce and fast
vanishiivj; species, lait tins I cannot i)elie\e to be
really li.e case. '1 h^:re .ire vast areas of country,
«'.\tendi:i)_; riujlu across the '.vhole width of the
l)roadesi pa't of .Ahdca from .Sen( ;^amljia to Somali-
' and, and (mm thence soutliwartis to the nortb.ern
bor.ler ol iiritidi Central Africa, tk.r. i^hout the
whole of which ciie or ot'/r of the different races
mto which -^iratlcs ha\-e lately been divided is to be
found, often ii-; ereat abutulance. Throutjiliout the
■^'rc.L.r ()art of this inunense ran^^e, thes(; maj^nifl-
cetU, str.ui^cly be.uitiful creatures will, in my
opinion, lontinui; to li\e and thrive for centuries
yet to come ; lor the ^dratfe is, as a rule, an 'nhabit-
ant only of countries which, owin^ to the extreme
scarcity ot wat(-r, can never be si'ttled up by
Iuiro!)eans, n(jr support anylhini; l)ut a sparse and
scattered jopula'.ion of n.itive herdsmen. lUre
ihey will never i)e hunted to .mv ^rreat extent by
Muropeans on liorseback, nor shot down in lart^e
numbers for the s.ike of their hides, whilst th(;ir keen-
ness ol sieht anil -reat r.mee of vision will protect
them v('ry etiectuallv iroiii ad d,aiio(;r of extermina-
tion at the hands of native hunti-rs as lon^; .is these
i.itlt i' .lie oi'iiv lu'iiicii wiiii piuiiilive vve.ipoiis.

NATIVh MOUNTKI) HUN IKRS

207

l:veii in llic counttit's lo liu; south and west ot
lh(; Zambesi riv(?r, thouL;!] tlurc the ran^,' oj' the
giraffe has been s.kIIv curtailed .siiiri- the tiiiit: when
the cniit,'r.int l^orrs tirst crossed the Oraii-'- ri\(T
in 1S36, these animals arc far from beini^^ a vanished
species, or one; whicii is on llie virL:e ot extermin.i-
tioii. Tnic, there arc now no i^iraffes left in hir^^e
areas of country where thirty years ai^o they weic
pl-'ntiful, but these animabs are still U> in- foeiul in
\\'('stern Matabeleland, ihn^u^hout the L^'reater part
ol K llamas untry, as well as in the .Xcrth^-rn
Kalahari, an> thence northwards to far within the
bf)unilaries of tiic I'orlu^niese j)rovince of An^i.'a.
The whole of this vast extent of country is, like so
nuich of Northern Africa to the south of the Sahara
and Abyssinia, a semidesert, impossible of settle
ineni b>y Muropea s; for althouiLjh it is covered for
the most j)art with trees of various kinds, or thorn
scrub varying in hei<;ht from two or three to twelve
or fifteen feet, the soil is almost everywhere deep
soft santl, and for sc'verai months in tlie vtsir there
is little or no surface water, exce-pt in the Iwm-
rivers, which are few in number and f.ir apart.
■I'hroughout the greater [^i'.rt of these; arid, sim-
scorched wastes, giraffes .are, I think, likely to iiold
their own for a long time tf) come, if only some
check can be put upon the o[)er,uions of the native
mounted hunters, l)elonging to the iJakwen.i.
Hainangwato, and Hatauwana tribes, who are now
practically their only enemies.

I'Or the extermination (jf the giraffe in the Trans-
vaal, liechwanaland, and the country immediately to
the north ot th(.' Limijojio, l-airoi)eans are entirely
responsible. The Boers killed most of them, (if
course, because u[) to 1 8go lioer himtirs were
always in the proportion of at le.ist ten to one to
white hunters of any other nationality. jiut. man
ior man, J-.nglish hunters were qujtt; .is d(;struciive

208

AFRICAN NATURK NOTES

CHAl'.

as Hoers. The fact is, the pioneers of all the white
races of Norih-Wf sK.-rn luirope in new countries
are tarred with the same brush, .is far as tlie ex-
termination oi wiKi animals is conciTiicd. in North
America the western Ironticrs-mi ii, wlio were largely
of British desciiit, cxterminati-d in a h-w short years
the countK;ss henls of hison ; in South Alrica the
Hoers have exK^rniinated or l)rout4ht to the verge; of
extinction many s[)ecies of anim.ils which but a few
decades aL,ro were spread over tlie face of the land
in seemingly inexhaustible numbers; and to-day
the inhabitants of Newfoundl.uul are hard at work
destroying as fast as they can the great herds of
seals which annually assemble in the early spring
to bring iorth their young on the ice floes off the
coast of Labrador.

WIk'U huni.m gre^etl ot gain is ailded to the old love
of hunting, .iiul l)otii are unrestrained by legislation,
the speedy extermination of any beast or bird which
has any market value must necessarily follow. The
errors of the past can never be retrieved, but it is to
be hoped that now that every part of the world has
been taken untler the [)rolection of some civilised
state, no species of animal or bird which still sur-
vives in any considerable numbers will be allowed
to become extinct. The white man, whether lioer
or Britain, is now effectually restrained from taking
any further })art in lessening the numbers of the
giraffes in the countries to the west of Southern
Rhodesia and to the north of the Limpopo, which
are undc-r British protection, and if only the native
IJechwana hunters from Moli[;ololi, Palapye, and
Denukana who ,ire well-nionnteil and armed with
breech-lo.iiiing rifles — were forbicklen by their chiefs
to kill more tiian a certain fixed number of giraffes
annually, and severely punished for exceeding the
limit allowed, I see no reason why the.se most in-
teresting aninials should not survive i"or ail time.

XI

WATKR-CONSKRVINd TUHKRS

2oq

thnnij,rhoiit all those great areas of South-\V«:stern
Africa ulK.re. owini,^ to the scarcity of water, no
human bein;^s othf-r than a few scattered families of
uamleriii^^ Hiishmen can ever make the-ir home.

The beli(ff is very oreneral. both amon,<;st white
and native hunters in South Africa, that ^'iraffes
are capahl- of Ljoing for months at a timt; without
<I^Hlkln.L,^ and th.- fact that they an; to he found during
the driest season of the year in the most arid dis-
tricts, far away from any place where surface water
exists. lends colour to this belief Hut yet it seems
to me impossibh; that an animal of the size of the
,L;iiMtfc-. which during the dry season is exposed day
alter d.iy to a sun-heat of ih^ (I'ahrenheit). and
which browses on leaves and twigs which at that
time of year contain but little moisture, can really
hve for long periods without drinking. When hunt-
ing with Bushmen in the country to the south of
the .Mabaiji river, which towards the end of the dry
•season is (piite waterless, my savage comj)anions
would olten halt suddenly on perceiving a certain
thin, grass-like leaf protruding from th(; ground, and
squatting down, commence digging vigorously with
their spears in the .soft .sandy soil. They would
presently unearth great white tubers often as big
a.s a man's head--white in colour and looking .some^-
tliing like very large turnips. These tubers contained
as much water as a juicy orange, and were, as the
Hushmrn said. " metsi hela " (that is. " nothing but
\yater '). They told me, and I think with truth?that
they were able to live and hunt in the country where
these tulxrs grew without requiring water to drink.
1 hey also informed me that eland.s, gemsbucks. and
other antelopes which live in the desert were in the
habit of pawing away the sand from and then eating
lh<;se tubers, which rendered them indeijenu-nt of
actual drinking water. There are probably , .her
water con:.cTving tubers, known to animals wtu^U

I'

210

AFRICAN NAILRK NOl KS

CHAI*.

hcuv^'s can

liv(- in thr. waterless parts of \Vcst(-rii South Africa ;
anil at certain times of year a kimi ot small w.iter-
inelon j^rows in the Kalahari in j;reat prolu-
sion, which, as Ion:; as it Lists, renders all wild
animals entirely independent of drinkini; water.
Oxen and iiorses soon j^et .iccustomed to these wild
melons and thrive on them, and liuman
make tea or coftei- from their juice.

\ow, the occurrence of wild nvlons and tubers
winch contain a j^reat deal of w.Uer, probably ex-
plains the othitrwise unaccountable fact that lar^e
antelopes and othi^r animals are able to exist in the
most arid portions of South-West Africa at a time
of year when there is absolutely no surtace water ;
but in the country to the south of the Mababi the
Bushmen staled einpliatically that iL,Mraties never
dujr up the water-containin^f tubers of which 1 have
spoken. My own belief is that, allhou-h they must
he able to ^o without water for a much longer time
than most animals, they must nevertheless drink
periodically throut^hout the year. It is possible
that in the recesses of the Kalahari the giraties may
obtain the tluid they require from the wild water-
melons like other animals, or in periods of prolonged
drought they ni.iy migrate to the neighl)ourhood ol
the Hotletlie and other rivers. To the east and north
of the Hotletlie, a glance at a good map will show
that giraffes could never be more than fitt\ or sixty
miles from permanent water. When I was hunting
elephants on the Chobi river, in the 'seventies of
last century, elephants were in the habit of drinking
early one night in that river, and then tr.'.elling
straight away into the waterless country to the west,
and I am sure they got their next drink, either
twentv-four or ])Ossibiy forty -eight hours later, in
the overflow of the Okavango, known by the natives
living on the Mababi ,i ihe Machabi. These ele-
phants, which had become excessive' y wary, through

(JlkAKFKS \()iCKI.KSS

211

muc h hiimiiii^r, 1 Ijrlifv,: never (imnclu:il ihcir ihirst
twice ruiiiiini^ in thr same riv«-r ; and as giratft-s would
iiot rcquirr to ilritik nearly as frcqucnily as elephants,
they woiikl Le able to ranL;e over lar more exten-
sive areas ol" country than those animals, drinkini;
at mtervais at points far distant one from another!
and between which there was absolutely no surfacd
water. J cannot help thinking; th.it the idea that
Kirarfes can go lor months io-et'h<;r without drinkin-,
in counlric's where there is but a small p.rcentaj,M;
"f tluid in the food they eat, and in which the heal
and dryness of the atmosphere are so intense that
ones nails beccjini- as brittle as trlass ami the hairs
of one's beard are constantly si")litting. must be a
mistaken one. It i.s. however, uidv right to say
that many very e.\|)erienced .African hunters hold
the view that giraffes are ciuilc independent <jf
water, and that they can and do e.xisl for months
at a tinut without drinking.

(jiratte-s certainly show no aversion to water, as
I have frequently .seen them drinking, and watched
them as they gradually straddled their forelegs wide-
apart, by a series of little je-rks, until they at^'length
got their mouths down to the surface of the pool.'"

Many herbivorous animals are, as a rule, verv
silent, but all ant(;lopes are capable of making, and
do occasionally mak(;. certain vocal souiuls.'^' liut
the giralfe appears to be absolutely voiceless. At
any rate. I have never heard one niake anv kind of
noise, and that was the e-.xperience of my friend the
late Mr. .\. H. Neumann; whilst .Mr. JI.A. lir\den,
as well as other men who hav<- hunt(!d th.se
anim.ds, have put the same fact on recc^rd.

Although giraffes often feed through dense
thickets ot wait-a bit thorns (ni their wav fnjin one-
p.ui ol a countr) to another, they are more partial.
I thmk. to open p .rk-like surroundings than to thick
'■■ p.iruw;, i i)i i\iuuuas couiur\' — both lu.ir

212

AKKICAN NATl'kK NO IKS

I H \ !•

1,()|)(:|);: ami Mclsi hiilliiku — 1 li.ivi- U])<)U more th.m
Diic occasion seen ;4irart<-\ and sjniiii^'lnicks at th<'
saiiK: lime. In such districts, hcttjn: the days ot
the modern l(mu;-rani^f. small -Iton! rillcs, it was
vcr\ difticult to ^ct within shot of the tormer
animals on loot. as. owinij to the ^rcat heij^ht
of tlu'ir hcails .ihovc iht- around and thi-ir f|uick-
tvss ot si:^ht. they were always ahle to see an)
ihint,' apjjro.ichinj^' tlum. when still a lonu; way oti.
liirattes an! also very keen-scenfd. as any one will
a^rec who has often followed on their spoor . ..h
Irishmen trackers. Pointing t- the i^round. on
which they have read as in a bo->k that just here the
i^ir.iHt.'S have comnuMUed to run, these qiiick-siLdited
savai,f(-s will smUlenly dash off alon;4 the spour with
ri.i^ht arms extended, cryini;, '"S.ihili: ootlili pi-vu" '
^'•They've run away ; they've- j.,'ot our wind "). Run-
n'm^ on the tracks of the disturb«-d animals at a pace
which it recjuires a sh.ir|) canter to keep up with, it is
seldom that these wiry sons ot the desert will not
hnu^ the mounleil hunter in sight ot tht; giant
cjuarry. " Tulla. tutla ki-o" ('•The giraffes; there
are the- giraffes "). they cry, pointing eagerly forwards
with glistening eyes. Ami then it is for the white
man to do his part and secure a plentiful supply of
meat for his savage Iriends.

The chase of the girafte on horseback lacks, uf
course, the lu.-rce joy and the soul-stirring excite-
ment which accompanietl elephant- and lion-hunting,
with the ruile muzzle-loading guns used by profes-
sional African hunters some forty years ago ; for
the girafle is a most harmless and inoffensive animal,
in no way dangerous to human life. The same
thing may, however, be said of the fox and the wild
red deer of E.xmoor. the pursuit of which animals,
it is generally conceded, affords some of the most
exhilarating sport procurable in this country.

^m^

^PU^^P^^^T^

XI

KXmi.ARATIN^; SPOkl-

213

!'•

'.rsonally. i„ th,- nM J.,vs vvh. n -^M-r.itfrs w.-rc
v..;ry pK-ntiluI. .ni.l uh-.ii. with th,- ih„i,.^lul.-ss opti-
-nisni nl youth. ,„„• f.ulcd t.. nsilis,- tliat th.-v vv.'uli!
•v.r in:c(.m<; scarce, .md when. ni.,n(.vcr .1 Lir-c
supply o( meat was coristantlv n-<iuind u. iVe.I ..11."^
'Kitiv,- followers, I always I.u.k.d „,„,„ .-, .^uml n. k".
i'.'ss. I.n.MKneck ^.iWop .,fur .. h.-nl ot KimH-s as
•' most exhilarati.,,- .xp.rie.u-, . Ih.. .'i. ' .mar"
nipcds ookcd so splendid as thev d.ish'.-d , on'r 't
tre-mendous sp,,-ed. with their 'ici^r l,|,,,^ 7.^11,
-crewe^l up „ver their I,acks. .\„ihi„L( ch<rked
their pace, us they tore th.ir wa^ throu-h deps,-
horn jun-l,..s. .,r crashed through' th.- l.ranch.-s of
lor,^st tr.:..'s. ever and anon .h'ppin:, their I..ttv liea.ls
with the most unerrin- ju<I,<,r„u:nt so as ju.t'lo pass
iHM.eath some horizontal limh. which almost seemed
'o K-ra.e their shoukL-rs. ( )n,. .00k lot,, of chances
'••1^ -iralle-huntin,<,r. .md o,,t ,:iany a heavy fall
wnen K.tllopniK^ :.v//;r ,; /,■;-;,■ across ..pen jrround
pll ol ant-hear hoh.s. or .le.-p sun -cracks hidden
<rom view by thick tussocky .^.r.iss. .nd wh.n one
saw the branches of two nei-hbourin-^ w.iit-a-bit
thorn Inishes, each covered with lu.n.Ireds of little
hard black hooks, sndd.-nly clos.t t...,r,,thc,r with a
sw.sh behind the disappearing st.-rn' of a ^'iraffe,
.t needed considerabi,- n^solution to follow in its
wake.

I have often had the greater part of my shirt—
lor J never wore a coat -torn off and my bare arms
very severe y scratched whilst chasing .riraffes
through thick wait-a-bit thorn scrub. I have had
some heavy falls too, and once knocked one of my
• rent teeth clean out of the socket, through -rallon
lag into an ant-eater's hole and falling on my'he ,w
ten-bore rifle. On another .occasion mv horse rolled
over on nie. and cracked the tibia of mv ritrht le-
so that s..me of the serum ran out and formed "la
iump on in.: b.;ne. However, 1 never hurt mvself

"mm

L i-^fcTti''??'- -fl

iU

AIRICAN NA 1 I'Kl NO'IhS

CM/- I'.

scriiiuily. .iii'I ihf risk ol such littl-' iiiis.i(lv«nluns
whrii j^'allojiini,' ,ili'T Ljirattcs ihroiij^h thick t'orcsts
ami <iv(r L;r()iiml whrrc thr hol'S were hidden b\
l(ur4 },'rass al\va\s acMfil /fst to th.«- pursuit <>t ttics<-
• uiinials.

The |).m- ot the Lliratfc, \\h<n pn^sscd. is vcrj
t^pMl, ami in my own cxpfrifnt'', wliich has liccn
coiisiilcraljlc, I ha\<- loiiiid that it is onl\ an
cxcciitiiiiially fast South Atrican shooting horse
which tan actually gallop past an unbounded j^dratfc
in open L;rouiid. Ilu: \(niiig jiocr luinKTS uscil
always to think a lot of a horse which was fast
cnouLlh to cnahlc thcin to "iirant," i.e. " hum," a
giratlc. This nu-ant firing into one of these animals
when galloping Ii\il with it and at a tlistance ol
only a few paces. Such a practice is, h()wev<rr, noi
to be recommended, as it takes too much out ol a
horse, upon whi( h one has to depend to ke(!p ones
cam]> in meat throughout a long hunting season,
and the (easiest way of killing giraffes is not to
press them too hard, hut to jump off liehind them
whencv(;r a suitable opportunity occurs and aim
for the root of the tail. .\ l)ullet so placed, ev<;n
from one of the old low V(*locity rifles of forty years
ago. would p(;netrate to tile heart and lungs, and
soon prove fatal.

A woundetl giraffe will usualK . if not invariably,
rim against the wind, and if one's waggon or camp
is anywhere in the tlirection for which it is heading,
it is possible. i)y galloping alongside and shouting,
to alter its course to a c«Ttain extent, and so drive
the unsuspecting animal close up to the [jlace where
it can be most conveniently killed .uul cut up, I
have driv(Mi many giraffes quite close up to my
waggons before killing them ; but I liave also found
that if a wounded crirafte takes a course exactlv
op[)ositi; to that in which you want it to go, no
power on earth will make it turn right round and

\l

A Cl'Riors FXI'KRIKNCK

2IS

run 111 the oih.-r- .lirrclioii. In tin; natiirc ol tliint,'s
nnt- raiinot have an adventure with a ^Mrafle. hut
F have liail two somewhat ciirious experiences
with these animal-,.

Durinjr iSjo, when my Irieiul Geor^'e Dorchill
and I were hiintinj; in Western M,.tal)cklami. some
lUishmen one day came to our camp and asked us
to shoot them a giraffe lor tiie sake ol the meat;
so. on the foIIo\vinj.( mornini,', we went out with
ihem. and iH-fon- loiv..,' crossinj^r the fresh tracks
ot a hi^r ,,|,1 hull^ tollowed them, and presently came
up with the animal its( IT. Alt.r ,i short j^allop, 1
wounihxi it, .md it ih(fn very soon came to a halt
and stood quite still. Wish'inj.,' to drive it to our
camp. I rode slowly toward , it. w.iving my hat
and shoutinj,r, hut it never moved. I was .sitting'
on my horse (juite close to where the j,Mant heast
stood tow(Ting ahove me. when I heard the crack ol
my Iriend's ritle close hehind me. At the .same
nistant, the whole seventeen feet of giraffe lurched
over and came tumhling towards me. perfectly
rigid and without a hend in legs or neck. 1
don't think I had hold of my hr)rse's reins when
my friend fired and shot the giraffe through the
head Iroin hehind. .md the sudden fall of the huge
he.ist was so une.xpected that my horse never
moved till th(t great head crashed \o the ground
close to its forefeet. I am sure that I am not
e.xaggerating when I say that the short thick
horns of this dead giraffe only missed my horse's
neck hy less than six inches. Had the- giraffe
only heen a little taller, or had my horse and I
heeii a little nearer to it. there would have been
more than one dead animal on the ground soon
after my friend's very accurate shot.

On another occasion, during the same year.
Dorehill wounded a giraffe— a good-sized but not

full-nrrowp I^"" »»-htVK ->r»..^ ^. .„„:„, — .lUti. ai t

u.. j^i_«i i!-_.i, aiu-_t iiiiiiiing a jittic uibtancc,

2l6

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

CHA/'.

Stopped and then knelt down, in the position of" an
ox or a camel at rest, and never moved when we
rode up and dismounted close to it. •• I'll bet you
you won't get on to its back," said mv friend. \VV
were both of us very young men' then, which
perhaj.s does not excu.se the thoughtless crueitv
of th(; act : bPt m answer to inv friend's challenge
1 at once \aulted on to the giraffe's back, and sat
astride it just behind the withers. Immediately
1 touched It the startled animal struggled to its feet
and started off at a gallop. Clasping it round the
neck. 1 had no difficulty in rjtaining mv seat, and
my remembrance is that the motion of my tall steed
was easy. I was not carried very far, however
arid there were fortunately no trees, but onlv a
low growth of scrubby bush for a good distance
HI front of us After carrying me at a swinging
c.mter for a sh.;rt distance, the giraffe once more
kneft gently down, and I hastily dismounted. This
giraffe was not mortally wounded, but a bullet had
injured its hij) or pelvis, th<,ugh. as far as I can
remembcT, no bone was actually broken.

The body of an old bull giraffe gives out an
exces.sively strong, pungent odour, which can be
sineit by .a human being at a considerable distance
hese old bills, which are always so dark in colour
ttiat tliey look almost black, u.sed to Ije called by
the old Boer hunters ".stink bulks." The meat of
such .inimals was ncxer eate-n bv white hunters, but
every .scrap of it was (Miher consumed when fresh
or d.-ied for future consumption, by one's Kafir or
liushman followers. The tongue of an old bull
gu-aHe, which IS the only part of such an animal
that 1 have e\er eaten, I have, how(-ver, always
found to be excrllent.

Ourinj; the rainy se;ason. when giraffes are able
lo obtain without much e.xenion a" plentiful supplv
of sw.ct and nourishing fo.Hi. the full-grown cows

XI

HEIGHT OF Gf^.^TES

21-

get into very good condition, arc sometimes so

<at ni the early part of thc^ d, reason— May and
June— that they prohably never < (t into bad order
tor the remainder of the year. I have shot giraffe
cows whose sides when the hide was peeled off
them were covered with a thick layer of white fat.
»rom half an inch to over two inches in thickness
from shoiikier to rump. There is no finer meat to
be got m the whole world than that of a fat giraffe
cow and the soft white fat when rendered out is
equal to the best lard. The tongue and marrow-
bones are also great delicacies. 'and the hide is
valuable for waggon whips, sjamboks, and the soles
of boots. No wonder the South African frontiers-
men whether Boers or iiritons, were alwavs keen
giraffe hunters.

'^^a^ often been stated that giraffe bulls in
bouth Africa grow to a height of 19 feet, whilst the
cows attain to a stature of from 16 to 17 feet I
unfortunately only measured the standing height of
two bull giraffes ; both of which, howeveV, were ol.I
animals, and seemed to me to be fine specimens of
their kind. One of these, the head of which I still
have in my collection, measured, when his legs and
neck had been pulled out into as straight a "line as
possible, just 1 7 feet, the measurement having been
taken between two stakes, the one driven into the
ground at the base of the forefoot, the other at the
top of the short horns. This giraffe was undoubtedlv
a very large animal, and 1 remember verv well Mr
Rowland Ward remarking on the size of its skull
compared to one whi.h had lately been brou-rhi
Irom Somaliland by the late Mr. F. L. James "a,
they both lay side by side in Piccadillv. The oth.-r
gir-aff,- I m<:asured— also a big bull, oV. a* an)- rate
an old one could only have stood 16 feet 6 inches in
height, in a strai<,rht line frt)in the heel uf the forefoot
to the too (if file lirvro..- 'i't,„ ,,-:~:....i 11 ^• .1

..r\^\:-.--.\

1 I
OiCi

2l8

AFRICAN NATURK NOTKS

eiJA"

A trie. in hull ginifte. too. which onct; uscil to stand
ill tilt; Mammalian (jallery of the Natural History
Museum ai .South Kcnsinj^ion, and which always
appeared to me to be a magnificent specimen in
point of si/e, only measured as set up 17 feet 5
inches from th(; ground to the top of the horns. I
look this measurem(;nt mys(;lf with the aid of a
l.idder. I know th.it in the Tring Museum the
1 Ion. Walter Rothschild has a specimen of a
giraffe from Southern .Angola, which measures 18
feet 4 inches as it stands. Hut I am not convinced
that the animal actually stood that height when
alive. In modern ta.xidermv a framework model of
an animal is first built, and the skin then stretched
oveT it. Vhv. man who shot and preserved the skin
of the giraffe now in the Tring Museum said that it
stood 18 feel 4 inches, and it has b(;en set up to
that height ; but if the measurement was taken
carelessly, or iver the curves of the ai inal's body,
there would ue no difficulty in stretching the skin
so as to obtain th(; height reriuired. My esteemed
friend the late Mr. A. H. Neumann, than whom
diere never lived ,a better authority upon African
game, when sj)e;iking of the north<.Tn giraffe in
YV/i' (j'lra/ and S)>ia// Gatnc of .-Ifrica. says : "It
may possibly be somewhat smaller (than the southern
species), for the hiMght of the full-grown males I
have shot averaged about 16 feet, that of the cows
I 4 feet." .And he- further says : " And though I ha\ e
not found these dimensions exceeded respectively
in any of the; southern specimens of either sex I
have; myself killed anywhere, I have read in the
accounts ol (Jther hunters of considerably taller
anim.ils being obtained in parts of South Africa."

Personally, grounding my belief on the size of
tiif magniric(;nt old bull giraH(; which once stood in
the M.immalian (iall(;ry of the Natural History
.Miseum at South Kcnsin<aon, and the measure-

XI GIRAFFK ATTACKKD BY LKOPARDS 219

ment I myself took, inuncdiiitcly il was dead, of a
very fine old bull which I shot in Western Matabele-
land in iSSo, I should say that the average height,
at any rate of giraffe hulls in Soutli Africa, cannot
be more than i 7 feet, and that of the cows about 2
leet less. I have never measured a cow giraffe, but
in a herd of these animals an old black bull always
towers above the tallest cows. F^xceptiond speci-
mens in both sexes may, of cf)urse, grow much
taller than the averag(- height of the speci( s.

CiiraHes are, I think, less troubled by lions or
other carnivorous animals than any other African
mammal, with the exception of' the elephant,
rhinoceros, and hippopotamus. That giraffes are
occasionally killed by lions is, of course, a well-
known fact, but my own experience leads me to
be]i('ve that such cases are quite exceptional. There
are two reasons, I think, for this, the tirst being
that giraffes spend most of their time in very dry.
semidesert countries, far away from water, into
which lions do not often penetrate : and the second,
that, owing to their great size and strength and the
thickness of tlu^ir hides, giraffes cannot be easy
animals for even lions to pull down, and. as a matter
ot fact, 1 think lh(;y are seldom mol<.'sted in parts of
the country where game of other kinds, such as
zebras, buflaioes. or large antelopes, are plentiful.

An instance of a young giraffe being attacked by
two leopards once came within my own (experience.
I w.is riding with some Bushmen- more than thirty
years ago now— near the course of the Upper Tati
river in Western Malabeleland, when a single giraffe-
cow ran out into the open from ;• cluster of mimosa
trees through which we were passing. Immediately
1 saw the giraffe, I put spurs to my horse and
galloped aftfr it, but had only just reached die
edge of the mimosa grove when my horse , ui his

d/^f imiK^^L. ...1,1 .,,>». .-, 1.. 1*11 1 . ". 1

2.20

AKKICAN NATURE NOTKS

CHAP.

m(.', Lreakinj,' the thin thoiiL^ dttached to my bell
from a riiiL; on the hrklU:. 1 was not hurl, but 1
was unable to extricate myself and ret^.iin mv feet
as quickly as my horse, and he. not bein- a' very
wil-trained animal, trotted away in the direction
taken by the -iratfe b- lore I could ,iret hold oi' the
!)ridle. 1 now lor the first time saw a very younp
.;,'iral1e calf. whi( h 1 do not think c(julil have been
:nore than .i day or two old, runnin,L( between my
horse and its mother, but much nearer to the former
than the latter. I suppose this little calf, bein>,r so
very youni;, had been purposely left by its moUier
lyintj; hidden amongst the bushes to await her return,
but that we had fri-htened it and caused it to jump
uiJ .uid run off. As we watched it we saw it run
close up to my horse, and as long as it was in view
It ai)p(tared to be running close behind it.

I now told tvo of my Bushmen to run after my
hors(.', and try and get in front of it and then catch
It and bring it jjack to me. This they .succeeded in
doing b(-fore very io/ig, as, aftf-r having trotted
.iway for a mile or so, m\ recreant steed had com-
menced to feed. When we met, the liushmen told
me that the giraffe cow had come round and taken
oil the calf before they came up with mv horse.

Since this giraffe calf was evulently very young
and weak, I thought it would be an easy matter to
catch It alive, .so I told my lUishmen to take up its
spoor at once. We had been following the tracks
of both the cow .and the c.ilf for perhaps a mile
when I saw the head and neck of the latter rising
out ot sonv tussocky grass m an opening in the
lorest. Galloping up to it, 1 found that the poor
Iitth- creature's hind legs were stretched out straight
behind it, as if it^ back were broken. It was also
bleeding from a few .scratches. Mv Hushnien were
now examining the -round round the injured calf;
and I h' '■ ' -^rf ril • in s.iv- ■ [n.iMvi. irvrvi' .^v:!:-''-- '

XI

A IKRRIFIC Hf.OW

221

(•• Leof)ards, two leopards ' ). Ihey soon explained
to me exactly what had h.ipp-jned. As the j^nratTc
calf was followincf its mother, two Nopards had
attack d it. They must, however, have been
driven from their pre> very ., licklv, as I could
only find a f(;w claw-marks u[)on the body of the
calf. Its mother had evid. ;tly struck ' at the
leofjards with her forefeet, as we fo .d s< era!
ireshly-made marks where her sharp hoofs had
struck the hard ground. Untortunatelv. one oi
these terrific blows. ver>- probabb the first aimed
at the leopard which had att -ked the calf, had
struck the little creature oii t..c: loins ai : br )ken
Its back, or at any rate j.aralysed its hind-quarters
1 searched all round fo the leojards. but could
not find them, and was obliV d to kill the calf
for It could only have died a lingerin- death if
1 had not done so, or been torn to pieces sooner or
later by leopards or hya-nns.

I don't think giraffes ever give birth to more
than one cal* at a time. The calves are born, in
bouth-V\^:stern Africa, towards the end of the dry
season or early in the rainy season, that is, chiring
the months of September. October, Novemb(tr, or
iJecember.

CHAPIHR XII

A JOUKNhV W> AMATOM. ALAND IN SKARCII
O! INVAl.A

Tlic un:i'..i, a raic and Ix-.iuHlul ,1111111. il Sfldoin ^liol by Kii>;lisli-
nun A< I (lunl ol. by Mr. li.iUlwin Further oljservalions nf,
by the Hiin. \V. H. DrumniDnd Iny.d.i-sliootinj; and fi;ver
;iliTi(nt synonymous -Disiribulitin of the inyaia — Curious .mte-
lope shot by C.iplain Faulkner — St.irt on journey in search of
iny.il.is Ki u h l)el.i,L;oa Bay Meet Mr. W'issels Voyage to
the .Maput.i nvcr — iJepredatio.is of locusts- F^lephants still
found in the .Matuta (Uslrii t .\ quick run up the river -Keaih
(Sella Vist.i — I'.dk with l'ortuj;uebe otTi< cr — 1 1 ifipopotaiiiuses
seen — Change of wc.ither — l,oii).;nian enj.;a;.;es four l.idy porters
St.irt for .Mr. Wissels's station — Sli^cp at .Xniatonga kr.ial —
Description of people Cro^s the M.iputa river Keetlbuck
^hot — K. liny weather Ke.u !i Mr, Wissels's station.

Of all the varimis s[K:cit;s of antelopes still to be
found in the southern portion of the great African
continent, the inyaia is perhaps at once the most
beautiful and the least known to naturalists and
sportsmen. This handsome animal. althouL,di it had
been pn?viously shot by some; f(;\v Boer hunters,
was first described and brought to the notice of
European naturalists by Mr. Douglas Angas, by
whom it was named Truirelaphui anoasi, or Angas's
bushbuck, though it is more generally known at
the present day by its native Zulu name of inyaia.

Inyaia horns are often met with in collections,
hut such trophies, ii will be lound, have almost
invariably been obtained Irom the natives, few

HAi'. Ml A TOUGH OJJ) SPORISMAN

>2 .

living Hn^rlishmttii having actually shot this very
local and retiring animal ; whilst, as far as I ain
aware, but two of the-sc have, since Angas's first
description, given us any information concerning
its haunts and habits.

Th.it tough old sportsman the late Mr. William
Charles Haldwin met with the inyala on his first
visit to Amatongaland in 1^54. lie writes:

Hcarintj from the Kaffirs that thcic wcic inyal.is in
tlie bush, I sallied out, but without success, until iiearly
siiuset, when, as I vv-as rcturniii.; home, the Amaton-ras
showed mc two inyalas feeding, the first I had ever seen.
I succeeded in bagging the .stag, a most beautiful dark
silver-grey buck, with lout; mane and very long hair
like a j^oat. He is of the bushbuck specie's, button a
much larger .scale than the inkonka of the colony, with
long spiral horns, tanned legs, very long hair on his
breast and quarters— a beautiful animal, weighing from
250 Ib.s. to 300 Ib.s., and very fierce when^ wounded.
They inhabit the coast from this to Delagoa Hay, and
are numerous. The does are often to be seen in lar.Te
herds, and ,ire likewise very beautiful, resembling '".i
fallow deer, but arc of a much darker red, striped ^and
spotted with white. They have no horns, and are half
the size of the stag; and nowhere else in .Afrira have
1 met with them.

Haldwm was evidently very much struck with
the beauty of these antelopes, for, referring to the
lirst of the species which he .shot, he .says : " \\ hen
I at last secured him I thought I should never
sufhciently admire him." On another occasion he
says: "I wounded an inyala doe, and had a long
chase after her, but eventually lost her. They art-
wild and wary, and it requires the greatest caution
to get a shot at them."

The oiilv other author, lie.sir?*'; Anr^.c „., i

224

AFRICAN NA'IURK NO IKS

CHAP.

Baldwin, wlio, as tar as I know, has written any
liiiML; concerning; llie inyala trom personal cxperi-
enc(; is the Hon. W. II. l)rumnionci, who was
travellinjuj iincl huntiiiLJ in Xululand and Ainatonj,M-
!and from 1867 to 1872, and who suhst'qncnliy
recorded his observations on the wild animals he
nu I with in those countries in a bo(jk entitled The
l.ariic (t'aiiic and Xatural I lislory of South and
SoHth-Ha>l .-Ifiiia. As his n.-marks concerning; the
invala are very much to th(" point, I think they are
well worth quotinLj. He writes concernint; this
.mtelope as follows :

I'crhaps the most beautifii! of all the aiitclopts tliat I
h,i\c seen is the inyala, the wiiitc lines uitii which it is
stiiped bcin:4 more numerous, more rej^uLir, and much
liclter dcfuicd than those of citlicr the ktjodoo or the striped
eland, which, as far as 1 know, arc the onl)- two animals
which possess them at all. Unfortunately, it d' 'cs not
exist except in the low, :e\er-stricken districts of the
H(jmb<) ran;_jc, about the j.Sth tictjree of south latitude.
It frequents the densest thickets it can (md, and is wary
.ind difficult to stall; ; indeed, I should fancy that more
I)co])le have cau;4ht fever by huntintj this antelope than
in the pursuit of any other animal in Africa, except per-
il.ips the elephant. Of course, as with most j;ame, early
morniuL; and evening are the best times durini^ which to
look for it, and early dawn implies bein^ wet thr(jut;h to
.ibove the uai-t by the heavy dew and the subsequent
dryiiiL; of one's thint^s by tiie heat of the sun — a jiretty
certain method of getting fever ; evening, on the other
hand, means not 'getting home till hours after dark, and
breathing during that period the fatal miasma, which, a.s
soon as the sun sets, begins to rise from all over the great
lagoons and liotted plains where thi-. anteloi)e is chietly
found. Inyala-shooting and fever are all but sytioiiyinous;
but to those who have ahcid}' had the latter, and with whom
the mischief as regards constitution is already done, ample

XII

RANGE OF THE INYALA

225

amends are made by the ^^raceful beauty of the antelope
and the maleficence of its skin. Its horns almost exactly
resemble those of a koodoo of ei^^hteen months or two years
old. though, if anything, they have a broader spread.

The range of this beautiful animal is very hniited

t'^L^rV' ^""^ "^' ^"'"" '1"''^^ accurately asceri
lamed. An<;as first met with it on the northern
shores of St. Luc.a Bay. in latitude .8 dejjrees

Wh fi' "7""' "'. '^^^ ''' ^''^^^'"^^ ««-^hern rJnge
North of St. I uca Bay it is, or was. plentiful in
he neighbourhood of all the rivers which flow
through the wooded plains that lie between the
Lebombo Hills and the sea as far north as Delagoa

wiTh T"^i P''"''['''',^'>' """^^•'■""^ in the thickets
which border the I'ongolo. Usutu. and Tembe
nvers. North of Delagoa Hay its distributions
very imperfectly known ; but, as it has been shot on
the lower course of the Oliphants river, it doubtless
exis s along the Limpopo between the point where
the former river joms it and the sea. To the north
ot the Limpopo it is probably found along the
coast-l.ne wherever conditions suitable to its habits
ex.st name y. dense jungle in the immediate neigh!
bourhood of swamps and rivers, as far north as fhe
Sreat Sab. river. At any rate, several Kafirs whom
I have questioned m the De Beers compound Tt
K.mberley, and who were natives of the coas
country near Inyambani, were evidently well ac
cjuunted with it. describing it accurately and giving
U the Zulu name of inyala. ^ ^

North of the Sabi, and between that river and
the Zambesi the myala has, I believe, never been
met with. Personally. I have never come acros"
any tr..ce ot ,t, nor obtained any information con^

Tih^^ru V ""? "?>■ ^'■^''^'■'^ °" 'he lower course of
e. her the Zambesi, Pungwe, or Buzi rivers, the

latter heinrr fh,^ u^^-t : ,-^- ■ „_

o • "= - i.::poiiaiu .^.trcaiu met with

226

AFRICAN NATURK NOTKS

CHAP.

HowinR inio the Indian Ocean north of the great
Sabi river.

Thus, until quite lately the ran^r^ of Anjras's
bushbuck was suj)i)Osed to be confined to the coast-
line between St. Lucia Hav and a point somewhere
to the s(;uth of the great Sai^i river ; but amon<'st
a parcel of skins sent from Xyasaland in 1.S91 by
Mr. (now Sir Alfred) Sharpe to Dr. ]\ L. Sclater,
the well-known zoologist, was the; unmistakable
hide of a male inyala. and subsequent research has
brought to light the fact that this beautiful antelope
whose habitat had hitherto been supposed to be
confined entirely to the country immediately north
and souih of Delagoa Bay, is also an inhabitant of
the jungles on the central course of the Shire river.
In a consular report concerning the state of Nyasa-
land, published some years ago, Sir H. H. Johnston,
amongst his most interesting notes on the fauna of
the country which he had so ably administered
wrote: " In the west Shire and lower Shire districts
only IS found the very handsome inyala antelope."

Concernmg the skin previously mentioned, which
was obtained by Mr. (now Sir Alfred) Sharpe. Dr.
1 . L. Sclater wrote as follows :—

Mr. Sharpe brings a flat skin of what is apparently a
male of this antelope (the inyala), hitherto not known to
occur so far north. He gives the following notes on it •
" This antelope is found in a piece of thick, scrubby country
bordering the Moanza. which enters the Shir.!- on the ricrht
bank near the Murchison cataracts. I have never seen it
al.vc myself, but have heard of it freciucntly from the
natives, by whom it is called bo, the ' o ' being pronounced
very long. It frequents the thick scrub, and only occa-
sionally comes out to the edges of the grass flats. I have
never heard of it in any other part of Xyasaland."

However, although the fact of the existence of
the inyala in Xyasaland was only established as

X" ANTELOPE SHOT NEA^CAPE MACLEAR .,;

lately as 1S91. 1 think that a si)ecim,-ri of th;r~ .
lope was undoubtedly shot nei C^ '. M I ""

the shores of Lake Nvas 1 .Wif T'L' '^'■''-■'^'"■- ""
■n is not now ^noJl^^^^^^^'i^lJ^^^^fy

LaJ.L I\yasa. in connect on with thi- I i„;« .
search expedition sent out fronV Fnihnd ^.^ ."^
command of Lieutenant Youn" in tha vLrcT /^'
I'aulkner has written in -. lift ," l ^ : ^'^I'^'""

w^out seein, anything, and'arit was ^e^^ ^
aas about returnintr. when I siw . K^.,,»t ^ '

as covered wirh cr.^fc r . ' "r^^'^'^'ng the anima

liorns, and tl,e slandint- hei-ht it th/.lf^ fi "-■

to show that it was It cen.^!^ , shoulder seem
buck, with which anij; SS.^^lSr A."-^,"
-quamteu , and as the Kafirs choppe.roffits ho^s!

I. ^

MICROCOPY SESOIUTION TEST CHART

ANSI :)'"J ISO TEST rMARI No 2

1.0

I.I

". |[| 2.2

i: H£ illllM

1.25 llili.4

ii! 1.8

1.6

^ APPLIED irvVIGE inc

— V

228

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

CHAP.

and the skin went rotten and was not preserved, and
the description of the animal in question may have
been written from memory by a man who was not
a trained observer, some want of accuracy was to
be expected. The fact that the shaggy hair which
hangs from the neck and chest, and fringes the
tlanks of the male inyala, and is such a very notice-
able characteristic of this species of antelope, was
not mentioned by Captain Faulkner, is certainly
very curious ; still, I am inclined to the belief that
the animal which he shot on the shore of Lake
Nyasa was an inyala. If not, there exists in that
district a nearly allied species still unknown to
science, which I do not think is likely, though it
would be worth while to make careful inquiries
amongst the natives living near Cape Maclear as
to all the antelopes of the bushbuck tribe with spiral
horns with which they are acquainted, in order to
clear up the mystery.

The foregoing notes represent all the information
I have been able to gather from the works of
travellers and sportsmen concerning the habits and
distribution of the inyala, and I will now give a
short account of a journey undertaken by myself
to the Usutu river, in Amatongaland, in search
of these antelopes, during which I was able to
obtain some knowledge of them at first hand.

It had long been my ambition to add the head of
an inyala, shot by myself, to my collection of hunting
trophies, but year after year had rolled by, without
my having been able to spare the time to under-
take a special journey to the country near Delagoa
Bay in search of it, until I recognised that, unless
I made a determined effort, my large collection of
Souih African antelope head^. would for ever remain
incomplete and unsatisfactory, ungraced as it would
have been by the spoils of one of the handsomest
species.

wm^mm^im:m>WT '^^^^^:mm^

XII

A FIXED RESOLVE

229

Thus ' ;jft iMatabeldand in September 1896 at
the conclusion of the native rebellion in that country
with the tixed resolve to do my best to kill a male
myaia before quitting South Africa.

Leaving my wife in the care of kind friends at
Kimberley, I proceeded by the shortest route, viz
by rail e7.^ Pretoria to Delagoa Bay, and found
myself in the now important town of Lourenco
Marques on the evening of Monday, September 2'i.
1 here 1 was fortunate enough to make the ac-
quaintance of Messrs. Gould and Edixhoven two
gentlemen who were most kind and obliging to me
in every way. and who spared no pains to render
me all the assistance in their power to enable me
to carry out the object I had in view. They intro-
duced me at once to a trader from Amatongaland.
who had lately come down to Delagoa Bay and
who was just about to return to his station near the
junction of the Pongolo and Usutu rivers. Mr
VV issels (the gentleman in question), a Cape colonist
ot German extraction, I found was about to return
to his station by boat on the following day and
when he heard that I wished to shoot an invala.
he told me that these animals were plentiful in the
neighbourhood of his station. Then he most kindly
offered to take me there with him, and to find
Kahrs who knew the haunts and habits of the
antelopes in question to go hunting with me.

I had but very little preparation to make for the
journey before me, but before I could leave Delagoa
Bay It was necessary for me to get a passport from
the authorities to travel in Portuguese territory and
also to obtain a licence to carry arms. Thanks to
the reauy kindness of Mr. B. Cohen.' and the courtesy
ol the Portuguese governor of Lourenco Marques
i obtaineo all the necessary licences in an unusually
•short space of time, and was ready to embark on

■ At that time the liritiah Consul at Delagoa Hay.

230

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

CHAP.

Mr. Wisscls's large, open sailing-boat by four o'clock
on the afternoon of Tuesday, September 22. The
same evening, after a good dinner at a small hotel
on the op[)osite side (jf the bay, we ran out to sea
with the tide, by the light of a most glorious full
moon, and after f)assing a reef of rocks which
projects into the sea from the southern shore of
the- bay immediately opposite Reuben Point, on
which there is a lighthouse, we anchored about
midnight in quite shallow water to wait for the
morning breeze, by the help of which Mr. Wissels
ex[)ected we would be able to run right into the
mouth of the Maputa river, in time to catch the
intlowing tide.

After a not too comfortable night, passed on
mealie bags which had not been arranged to serve
as a bed, wc awoke just as the day was breaking, but
before the moon had quite set, and found that a
strong breeze had sprung up, before which we ran
right into the mouth of the Maputa river in a very
short space of time. The Maputa is the name
given to the united streams of the Pongolo and
Usutu, below their conlluence, and carries to the
sea the muddy water of the former commingled with
the clear stream of the latter, which takes its rise
amongst the far-off hills of Swaziland. As the
height of the country above sea-level at the junction
of these rivers is, I believe, under 400 feet, it follows
that the Maputa runs through a very level tract of
country. Like all rivers Mowing into the Indian
Ocean, on the east coast of Africa, it is a tidal
stream fringed on both banks along its lower course
by monotonous, dismal -looking mangrove swamps.

The country between the Maputa and the Tembe
— which latter is the river flowing into the southern
portion of Delagoa Bay — is reputed to be very
fruitful, and to carry a large native population, who,
however, have suffered terribly of late years owing'

XII

ARRIVAL AT BKLLA VISTA

231

to the depredations of locusts. The district is called
Matuta. To the south the land does not appear
to be so rich, and must be more sparsely populated,
as elephants are said to still maintain a precarious
footinn: there. After entering the mouth of the
Maputa, both wind and tide bein^r favourable, we
ran up its course at racing speed, and by ten o'clock
had passed the limit of the manqrove swamps. So
far the only sign of life we had seen was numerous
large Hocks of curlews feeding on the mud-banks on
both sides of the river. These birds appeared very
'imilar to the species so familiar to British shore-
shooters, and were equally wary and shy of close
acquaintanceship.

About eleven o'clock we reached the Portuguese
military station of Bella Vista, in charge of an
ofificer, who, after he had inspected my papers and
found them all in order, was very civil, and invited
us to join him at the late breakfast which is one
of the two substantial meals partaken of by the
Portuguese in Africa.

Our host seemed to be something more of a
sportsman than most of his countrymen, and only
the day previous to our arrival had shot a fine
reedl ick ram, and a short time before a bushbuck
ram, having killed both with buck shot. He also
possessed a good pair of inyala horns, which, he
told me, had been obtained from the natives on the
Pongolo river. We remained at Bella Vista for a
couple of hours, conversing in French on various
topics, especially the late Matabele rebellion, in
which our host seemed to take a great interest.
He was very emp' atic in his condemnation of the
policy of raising a police force from amongst the
natives of a conquered country. " However, " said
he, "it is the English way; they have done it in
Natal and Zululand too, and may yet live to regret

it • niil \'i\rri xrort—^ " " p,.«. " _-,."J T ..

"■ ' ^ ver^^. uiit, aiiu 2, ■you

Porti

232

AFRICAN NATURE NOTKS

CHAP.

guose surely do the same thing, for wherever I
have travelled in your possessions, I have always
met with your black soldiers." "That is true,"
said he, "but still our policy is very different from
yours ; for we never employ natives as police or
soldiers in their own country ; all the black troops
you see in our East African possessions being re-
cruited in Angola, and vice versa, and thus all
native levies in the Portuguese service are Kioked
upon as foreigners by, and are themselves out of
sympathy with, the tribes amongst whom they find
themselves."

After bidding adieu to our host and resuming
our journey, we continued to make very good
progress, with the help of wind and tide, and
although we now and then lost .i little time by
sticking on a sandbank, we had done so well by
sundown that Mr. Wissels e.xpected to make a
record run up to his station. During the afternoon
we passed a few hippopotamuses and an odd
crocodile ; but they were few and far between, and
appeared to be very wild and wary. Our luck,
however, was not to last, for during the hour which
intervened between the setting of' the sun and the
rising of the moon (which was now but one day
beyond the full) the wind veered right round, and
commenced to blow fresh and cool from the south.
We soon found it impossible to make any further
progress, even with the oars, after the sail, which
had done us such good service throughout the day,
had been lowered ; for the strength of the wind
blew us in under the bank. So, yielding to neces-
sity, we made our heavy craft fast to a tree for the
night, and then, after having made a hasty meal,
washed down by a cup of tea, we turned in under
our blankets, which were once more spread on the
top of the mealie bags.

On the following mo-ning, just at daybreak, two

xir

WOMEN CARRIERS

^33

hippos passed down the river close to our boat.
They were very wary, however, and gave but little
chance of a shot, even had we wished to kill them,
which I, at any rate, did not. The weather had
now completely changed, the sky being overcast
with an unbroken sheet of cloud, whilst the tempera-
ture had become quite cool and pleasant, with a
strong breeze blowing from the south. It looked
to me as if we were going to have a tlay or two of
cloudy weather, which would end in rain when the
wind dropped; but as it was verv early in the
season for rain, Mr. Wissels thought it was only a
cool spell which would blow off again in a day or
two. However, all progress by boat being im-
possible as long as the southerly wind lasted, my
companion, knowing that my time was limited,
advised me to get some carriers and push on at
once on foot to his station, which was about thirty
miles distant, and in the vicinity of which inyala
were to be found. This proposition entirely co-
inciding with my own wishes, one of o-r two Zulu
boatmen, an excellent fellow named Longman, was
sent off to engage four carriers, and soon after mid-
day returned with four Amatonga women ; for, in
in this part of the countr- the women act almost
exclusively as porters.

Of the ladies who, after a considerable amount
of haggling, at length agreed to carry my baggage
to the junction of the Usutu and Pongolo rivers,
three were already in the afternoon of life -gaunt
bony, wrinkled, hideous hags. The fourth was a
yo^figer and pleasanter- looking woman, who. in
addition to her load, which weighed about forty
pounds, carried a two-year-old child, slung in a goat-
skin, at her back. It took some time to arrange the
pnce which was to be paid for their services, but
at last, after testing the weight of the loads, they
agreed to carry ihem to Mr. Wissels s store for a

234

AFRICAN NATURE NOTP:S

CHAP.

certain [)rice. This, however, had to be paid in
advance, in accordance with a custom which is
general throughout every portion of the Portuguese
dominions in South- Kast Africa— a custom which is
most humiliating to the pride of an Englishman, as
it seems to say, " IJy bitter experience we black
people have learnt that white men will cheat us if
they can, and therefore we do not trust them."

At last everything was ready, and I was able to
start on my journey at about two o'clock, accom-
panied by my four lady carriers and Longman, the
Zulu, whom Mr. Wissels had most kindly given me
to act as guide and headman. That afternoon we
walked for about tl. -; hours, and slept at a small
Amatonga kraal on a nse above the Maputa river.
The country through which we travelled was neither
Hat nor hilly, but consisted of a succession of un-
dulating rises separated by boggy streams. The
soil on the surface was of pure "white sand, which
rendered the walking very heavy. These sandy
rises were for the most part free of trees or bush,
though patches of thorny scrub were to be seen
here and there, as well as some large thorn trees in
the hollows.

The Amatonga about here seem to live in families
rather than in large communities, as we passed several
kraals, none of which contained more than half-a-
dozen huts. Each little community seemed to
possess a few head of cattle of a small breed, which
IS probably identical with that found throughout
Eastern and South Central Africa, though in certain
localitie.s it has become very dwarfed. At the time
of my visit to Amatongaland the people were very
badly off for food, as for several successive years
their crops had more or less been destroyed by a
wing of that mighty army of locusts by which the
whole of South-Eastern and South Central Africa
has been devastated continually ever since iSoo.

XII

REACH THE MAPUTA RIVER

23s

Arrived at our destination for the nij^ht, a hut
was placed at my disposal by the headman of the
village, which I found perfectly clean, and free
from anything which might have made it interest-
ing to an entomologist. Indeed. I will here say
that I found all the Amatonga huts in which I slept
during this trip perfectly clean and comfortable.
1 he people themselves are too well known to need
any detailed description. They are nearly allied to
the Zulus in race, language, and general appear-
ance, and most of them understand and speak pure
Zulu. In their own dialect, which I was not able
to follow, the letter "h" is very noticeable; for
instance, the Zulu word " inkuku," a fowl, becomes
"huku" in Satonga. I found no difficulty in
understanding them when they spoke Zulu, or in
making them understand "Sintabele." the native
language with which I am best acquainted, and
which IS Itself a dialect of Zulu.

On waking the following morning. I found that
the weather looked very threatening, as the clouds
had become quite thick, and rain was evidently near
at hand. However, after a good deal of opposition
on the part of my lady porters had been overcome.
we made a fairly early start, and soon reached the
Maputa river at the place where we had to cross it
in a native ferry boat, which proved to be merely a
very disreputable-looking old dug-out canoe.

On our way here we passed along the edge of a
marsh, and as we were doing so I heard a reedbuck
whistle, but as the morning was very dull and
misty, neither Longman nor 'l could at first see any
sign of the animal that had thus needlessly betrayed
its existence. However, after walking a short
distance in the direction from which the sound had
proceeded, we made out three reedbucks, which, as
they ran from behind some reeds into the open
ground, I saw were a ram and two ewes. They

236

AFRICAN NATURF. NOIKS

CHAi*.

almost immediately stood, the ram with his hind-
qiiarti-Ts towards us ; so, jiid^rin^r ih,.. iljstance between
us to be about thnrt; hundred yards, I put up the
third siLjht, and sitting; tlown took a careful shot at
him. 1 th()ui,du I heard the bull<t strike, but as he
ran li^ditly b(;hinil the two ewes without showinLj
any si^m <jf b(;in^r hit, I bep;aii to think 1 must have
been niistak< n. licfore };oing far, however, he
stopped suddenly for a few moments, and then
rolled over on his side, apparently dead. On walk-
ing up to him, however, we found him still alive,
although on e.xamination the bullet proved to have
passeil through the lower [)art of his heart, having
first hit him in the belly between the hind-legs and
gone forwards through the whole length of his body.

Whilst Longman ami I were cutting up the
reedbuck, the lady porters took their loads to the
ferry, which was close at hand, and then returned
for the meat ; and when we had got everything
down to the river, we shouted for the ferryman
to take s to the other side.

It was some time before the native Charon made
his appearance, and, whilst we were waiting for
him, my lady porters ate up about half the reed-
buck. and I also made a good breakfast, and skinned
the head, which was a pretty good one. Just where
we crossed the river we saw some elephant spoor
which looked fairly recent, and the natives told
us that a herd of these animals roamed over the
country between the Temhe and Maputa rivers,
and sometimes passed close to their kraal on their
way to drink in the latter stream. The banks
of the river presented a very pretty appearance
at the time of our crossing, as all the bushes were
covered with convolvulus creepers in full bloom.

It was past midday when we again resumed
our journey, and light showers had already begun
to fall, and continued to do so dvirin^ the remainder

XII

A SOAKINC; SHOWKR

ij;

of the clay, h(;c()inint; heavier towards «.'venin}T. so
that by the time we reached the little kraai where
we intended to pass the nij4ht, I was prt tty tiamp,
though not exactly wet through. With the aid of
a big fire, however, I got my things dry again before
nightfall, and spent a comfortabI(! night in a clean
native hut.

During the night it rained a good deal, but
when day broke no rain was actually falling,
although heavy watery-looking clouds were coming
up fast from the south. Taking advantage of the
temporary respite, I managed to get my traps
packed up. and my unwilling porters under way.
as I knew that I should not be able to ()ersuade
them to start if rain were actually falling. We had
not proceeded far, however, before being caught in
a soaking shower, which soon wetted me to the
skin, as, not e.xpecting rain. I had not brought a
waterproof coat with me, and was only lightly clad.
There was nothing for it but to push on to Mr.
Wissels's store. It proved to be farther off than
I had anticipated, as it was one o'clock before
Longman and I arrived there, whilst my lady
porters did not turn up until three hours later,
in a very bedraggled condition.

During the morning's walk we had passed a
large fresh-water lake or lagoon, on which there
were numbers of spur-winged geese, one of which
I should have tried to shoot for food, had I not
been so cold and wet that my one idea was t(j
reach Mr. Wissels's store as soon as possible. After
passing the lagoon we crossed a broad marshy
plam, where I saw three reedbucks, and also the
spoor of two waterbucks, which I am afraid are
almost the last of their .species in this part of the
country, where not many years ago these animals
must have been very numerous. On at length
reaching the siore, i found that the white man —

238

AFRICAN NATURK NOTKS

CMAI>. XII

a Gorman sailor, whom Mr. Wissels had left in
char;,'f, and whom I had expected to fmd then-—
had ^onc down to the Maputa river with carriers
to hrinj,' up some ba.i.;s of maize, and was not
expected b.ick till the following,' day. 'rhu.s, I
only found some Amaton-a natives kxjkin^' after
the store, who, althouj^di they were civil and
ohlij^in^r eiiou-h after Lonirman had told them all
about me, were yet unable to i,dve me the .same
kind of welcome that one white man always extends
to another in the wilds of Africa. I-'or instance,
had Mr. Wis.sels's friend been at home I should
have borrowed a shirt and trousers from him whilst
I dried my own; Ijut. in the nature of thinj^'s, the
naked Amatoni^'a were unable to oblitre me in this
way; h<)wev(;r. they did the ne.xt best thintj, and
built a bit,' fire beneath a large thick-foliagec'l tree :
and by the help of this I managed to get mvself
tolerably dry in the course of the afternoon.

ch.\pti:r xin

A IOtK.\r:v TO VMATONCAI.AM. (dnu/udai)

Kc.c.y.- .nf„nn,„,.,n . .,„■ .nunK tho l.aunt. ..f ,„e ■ny,.l..-H. .vy
.hu.ulc.r,t„r,„-surt lor (;u,au,s k.a.l Co.. the U,u, . e

.cen Two ,n,,,las .ho, -A„Ka. , .l.-scripfon of'.he n"^
antel,,,..- Inyala .k,ns p,cpar.,l fo, „.nm„nK-.\ow s ?, „
Natural I ,.„„y Mu^oum-A th.rcl ,n>ala sho.^L,,,,,. n„ ed-
Move farUur up ,he LNut. nvcr -Country .l.nu-kd of ^I „e-
I u.hl,u.-ks .car, c-M,ppopo,amu.e, ,n r.ver Heavy .hunder-

1 MKKi: were now aburulant si-ns that I wis
approachm. the haunts of the beautiful antelope
I had come so far to seek, as inyala skins and horns
were very much in evidence round Mr Wissels's
store, and several of the latter had nuinifcstlv b.en
but recently killed. All these animals. Lon^^man
assured me. had been shot by the Ama'onga
withm a short distance of the store, in the dense
jungles lying in the angle between the Usutu and
\ ongo lo rivers, which 1 couid now see covering
some low ridges at a distance of not n.ore than
SIX or seven miles from where we stood. Had it
not been for the rain. I should have gone on the
same afternoon ; howeve-, I gathered a good deal
of mformation and arranged for a start with fre^h
earners as early as possible the following day-mv
objective point being the kraal of an Amatonca

»39

!

240

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

CHAP.

headman named Giigawi, who, I was told, lived
a few miles up the Usutu river, on the very edge
of the jungle where inyalas were said to be plentiful.
I noticed, however, that my informants were not
over confid(;nt about my being likely to shoot any
of these animals. When I asked if I should be sure
to see some, they replied, " The imbala-intendi
(the local name in this part of Am.tongaland for
the inyala) is very cunning ; he lives in the very
densest jungle, and never comes mto the open
except at nights; he is very cunning; he is a
witch is the imbala-intendi." They all agreed,
however, in declaring that there were plenty of
them, although they were difficult to get a sight
of. Well, there was nothing for it but to do
my best, and deserve success even if I could not
attain it.

That night we had a most tremendous thunder-
storm, the rain falling in torrents ; and as the
place in which I was sleeping was not water-tight,
I had rather a bad time of it, and was very glad
when day broke.

The thunderstorm had cleared the air, and
Sunday, September 27, dawned bright and clear.
with every prospect of its being a fine day. I had
all my things packed up pretty early, and with four
new women carriers, and accompanied by two men
who knew the way to (iugawi's kraal, managed to
get off about an hour after sunrise, and reached my
destination before ten o'clock. On our way we crossed
the Usutu river — here a clear, swift-flowing stream,
about two hundred yards in bn.Muth, running over
a bed of sand. We waded across it, and found the
water quite shallow for the most i)art, and never
more than three feet deep.

On reaching the kraal we were making for, I
told Longman to cook me some breakfast ; and
whilst he was frying me some reedbuck steaks, I

XIJI

CRESTED GUINEA-EOWL

24 '

[lad a talk with the headman Gugawi and told
liim the reason of my visit. He rephed that the
imbala-mtendi ' were numerous in the jungle just
behmd h,s kraal, and promised to do his best to
Help me to secure the specimens I wanted, though
I'ke every one else, he said the animals were verv
cunnmg and difficult to get a sight of. As soon
as 1 had had my breakfast, I asked Gugawi to give
iiie a man who was well acquainted with the habits
o» the inyala, as I wished to go into the bush after
them without any loss of time. He gave me one
Of his sons, and. accompanied by Longman and
one of the Kafirs who had come from Mr
Uisselss store, we forthwith entered the jungle'
which , tended to within a few yards of the kraal'
iTom this we were not distant more than two
hundred yards before we saw fresh inyala spoor
pl.'"ni) imprinted in the wet ground. The rain
at least nad done us this .service, that it had washed
out all old spoor and rendered any fresh tracks quite
conspicuou.s. ^

.u ^^\"°^' ,tommenced to creep very cautiously
through the thick thorny bush, making our way for
the most part through tunnels made by hippo-
potamuses during their night excursions in search of
food. We had usually to walk bent nearly double
olten having to creep on our hands and kne«-s • and'
as the air was very hot and steamy, we were
soon bathed in perspiration. Now and again we
came to little open spaces in the bush, and in one
ot these, which we passed through soon after leavinL^
the kraal. I .saw a very handsome crested guinea
tow! the same species, no doubt (6/.//rra v^ouar^i)

east n?r.r V-""'^ "l? n^' '''"''■^' ^^'"'^'-'^'- ^° ^^e
east of the V ictoria Falls.

We had been creeping about the bush in the
uncomfortable manner I have described for about
an hour, when we came suddenly upon a iiiiic circular

K

242

AFRICAN NAIURK NOTES

CHAI".

opening some fifly or sixty yards in diameter.
As we approached' the edge of this open space,
advancing very cautiously in a stooping attitude
down a hippopotamus path, my ^uide suddenly
dropped to the ground. As he did so. I got a clear
view past him, and saw, standing amongst the grass
and bush, just on the further side of the opening,
what I knew was an inyala doe, as I could distinctly
see it was reddish in colour. I could s(h- no other
animal near her, and as I required two specimens
of inyala does, the one for the British and the
other for the .South African Museum, I lost no time
about firing at the animal in question, which I saw
drop instantly lo the shot. Hut even as .^h(.• did so,
there appeared in lu^r place, or very clos(; to where
she had stood, ;i great black shaggy form, which,
indistinctly as I could see it in the deep shadow of
the bush, I knew was a m.ile inyala— the first that
my eyes had ever looked upon in the tlesh. My
rifle was a single-barrelled one ; and b(;fore I could
fire the shot that might make that rare and beautiful
beast mine, I had to open the breech of my rille,
take anotlier cartridge; from my bell, slip it into the
chamber, close the bre(;ch again, and then raise the
riflti to my shoulder and take aim. All this meant
lime and noise. Would the inyala, which stood
like a statue by the dead body of his mate, give me
the few sixonds I required to take his own life too .'*
1 little thought he would, but he did ; and as I
raised my rillc; once more, and took a quick but
careful sight on his dark shoulder, i felt, as I pulled
the trigger, that he was miiu,-.

As the report of the ritle sounded, he plunged
madly forward, and was instantly lost to sight in
the thick scrub. l)Ut 1 felt sure he carried death
with him ; and so it proved, for we found him lying
dead not twenty yards from where he had stood
when the bullet struck him, The fatal missih; had

?*^.^^

I

ma-^"

ia^

l^.-i'!^

xm

GLORIOUS GOOF) FORTUNK

24,>

passed rij^rht thn.u-h his shouldc-rs. and having
expanded on unpact. had torn his heart to [.icccr
I had the dead femah: brought to where the male
had fallen and laid them side by side: then stood
admirmg them lor a long time before I coukl bring
myself to skin them. To thus secure a very
handsome pair of inyala antelopes whose ex-
eelienily mounted skins are now safe in the
Mammalian Gallery of the Natural History Museum
at .South Kensmgton on the very first day I had
ever hunted for them, and after little more than an
hours search was inde.^d a most glorious and ex-
ceptional piece of good fortune, which, however, has
I'een balanced by many and many a day that I can
r(-member of unrequited labour in search of (rame

I think 1 had here better give Mr. Anga^ss very
caretul descriptions of the invala antelope, male
and female, as they are so detailed and precise that
they cannot be improved upon-except that, for a
reason which I shall refer to presentlv. I imagine
that the male whos(> skin he described could not
have been fully adult.

Mr. Angas tells us that his notes -were drawn
up from recently killed specimens which he in vain
attempted to purchase from the Boers who
possessed them," and are as follows : - The adult
male is about 7 feet 6 inches in total len-th and :;
ieet 4 inches high at the shoulder. Though elegan'J
ill form, and with much of the grace of the solitary
koodoo, the robust and shaggy aspect of th(= male
bears considenible resemblance to that of the <roat
Legs clean, hoois pointed and black, with two'^oval
cream-coloured spots in from of each f.tlock
inmiediately above the hoof. Horns of the speci-
men in question, 1 foot 10 inches long,' twisted and

l.-,',i!' '"■''* "^- ■••■■Meml.trc.l ihat the uniclrnt,ta-,i ante!,,,,.- ,!iut liv Caulau.
'" '" "- ••--'■-•. *"">' lilt: ici.Lin .if Its horn,, wa- i |.,ol 9 inclici.

-^44

AFRICAN NATURK NOTES

CHAP.

siiblyraic, very similar to thuset of the; bushbuck.
but rathir mon- spiral ; vt-ry sharp polished ex-
trtMiiities of a pale straw colour, rest of horns
brownish black, dcu^ply ridj,'ed from the forehead to
about half the lenj^th of the horn. Prevailing
colour, ^rreyish black, tinged with purplish brown
anil ochre ; on the neck, tlanks, and cheeks marked
with several white stripes like the koodoo. I-'ore-
head brilliant sienna brown, almost approaching to
orange : mane black down the neck, and white from
the withers to the insertion of the tail ; ears, 8
inciies long, (jval. rufous, tipjjed with black, and
fringed insiile with white hairs. A pale ochreous
circk; round the eyes, which are connected by two
white spots, lorming an arrow-shaped mark on a
black ground ; nose black : a white spot on each
side of th<- upper lip ; chin and gullet white ; and
three white marks under each eye ; neck covered
with long shaggy hair, extending also under the
belK and fringing the haunches to the knees ; two
white spois on the tlanks, and a patch of long white
hair on the interior portion of the thigh ; a white
tuft und(tr the belly, and another on the dewlap.
On the outer side of the forelegs is a black patch
above the knee surrounded by three white spots ;
legs bi;lo\v the knee bright rufous colour ; tail, i foot
8 inchtts long, black above, with tip and inside
white." This most detailed description is, I think,
that of an animal not fully adult, as in the three
full-grown male inyaias wh: h 1 saw in the flesh all
the buff, ochreous, and orange tints described by
Mr. Angas had turned to greyish black, e.xcept to a
slight extent below tht; knees, whilst none of them
had any white stripes on the cheeks or neck ; and,
as the general ground colour of the young male is
reddish brown, and that of a full-grown male greyish
black, it goes without saying that, as the young
.u-iim.d grows from kidhood to maturity, the former

XIII

DESCRIPTION OK INYALA

^ + S

colour j^rr.uiually •^ivvs place to the latter- -till, in a
V(try old male, there is no huff or ochre left exce[)t
on the leas below th<- knees. Of the femrxle, Mr.
Anga-ss de.scription is as follows: ■ Smaller than the
male, and without horns ; total l(;njrth. 6 feet : nose
to in.sertion of <-ar, lo inches; leni^rth of ear. 6.'.
inches; height from forefoot to shoulder. 2 feet o
inches; tail, r foot 3 inches in lent^ah ; becomini;
very p.ale on the helly and lower p;irts and white
mside th(; thicrhs ; a black dorsal ridge of bristly
hair e.xtends from the back of th.- crown to the tail';
no.se black ; the white sjjots on various parts of the
body nearly resembling those of the male, onlv the
white stripes on both sides are more nuinerou.s and
ch.arly defined, amounting to twelve or thirteen in
number ; tail, rufous above and white below tipped
With black."

As soon as I had stripped the skins, with the
leg-bones still attached, from my two beautiful
specimens, I had them carried, together with the
skulls, to Gugawi's kraal, on the edge of the bush,
and ther(? spent the remainder of the dav in prepar-
ing them for mounting. ()f the meat, which was all
brought m, I .sent a couple of haunches over to
Mr. W is.sels, and th(.-n. after keeping a small piece
for myself, gave the remainder to Gugawi. to
divide amongst his people as he thought fit.

Next morning I was up and out in the bush
jusi as day was breaking, accompanied only bv
my guide of yesterday and Longman, who, how'-
«'v«'f, kejn some distance behind, in order to allow
my guide and myself to api)roach our game as
noiselessly as possible. We had been creejiing
about in the dense jungle for some three hours
without having .seen anvthing, althou^di

good deal of fresh .spoor about, and
had heard inyalas dash

th

%vith

UUl

ere was

twice we

away through the bush

getting a ;,igiu oi them, when suddenly

24<>

AFRICAN NAFURK NOTKS

tHAP.

my
tiiiK

out

undergrowth

th<

tin- ground, at tli<; sanic
; lare*' ant-heap growing

i^iiiilc crouched to
pointinjj; towards
of the tl(!nse srrul), and its<-If cov(!red with
I'olkjwin^ the direction of his arm,
I mad(' out a reddish patch not fifteen yards away
in !ic _tj;loom of the hush; and. taking it for an
inyala doe, I fired into it poinld>lank, as I required
.'.nother specimen for mounting. At the shot, the
animal fell, and on cree[)ing up to it. 1 found
that it was .i young male. It was something less
in .size than a full-grown female, from which it did
not differ in any way in coloration and the number
and distribution of wlute stripis and spots. It was
thus interesting, as showing that the male injala
chanL;es in general colour from bright red to dark
grey, only losing the rufous ;uid orange tints on
the ears and foreh(;ad which were still Cf)nspicuous
in the type specim<-n described by Mr. Anga.s —
when fully adult.

As it was now getting on for midday, 1 had the
young inyala carried forth witii to the kraal, v, here
I remained until about four o'clock, then again sallied
forth, and tlid another two hours' jungle-creeping
befon; (.lark. 1 saw an inyala doe, and could have
tired at her, but, thinking there might have been
a male accompanying her, did not care to do so
too hurriedly, and whilst I was straining my eyes
peering into the bush all around her, she either saw
or winded me, and bounded off cjuite alone as far
as I could make out.

Karly the following morning I was again in the
bush, and just after sunrise came on a male inyala
close to the river. He was standing behind a mass
of tree stems, with just his tail showing on one side
and part of his head on the other. He was evidently
looking at us, and as I knew he would be off in
a moment, giving but little chance of a shot, I
thought I had better try and put a bullet into him

^^^:^^^i^^^^iim

XIII

rnK usuru rivkr

247

I

lhroiit,'h an iiu.-rsiia- amongst th«; tree stems, where
I c.Hjlil see what I took to l.e part of his neck.
I niade a bad ^hot, however, as my Inillet, instead
ol ivissmjr through the (jpeniiig. imbedded itself
III the wo<xi ot one of the tree ste-ms, and the inyala
went ofl uninjured.

On returning to tlie kraal, Gugawi proposed
to take me to a spot some few miles higher up the
Usutu, when- he said there were plenty of inyalas.
whilst at the same time the bush was not so dense
as near his kraal. Being by this time thoroughly
sick of crawling about i)ent nearly double, I hailed
with delight the idea of finding the game I was
seeking in a country where I could walk upright,
and visions of inyalas feeding through open glades
passeil through my mind visions, alas, which were
never realised, for in my small e.xperience I never
found these antelopes anywhere e.\cept in dense
bush. HowevtT, I was glad of the change, and
soon had everything ready for a move.

In th(; afternoon we travelled some five or six
miles up the river, and pitched camp in a bit of
jungle near the water's edge. The Usutu river
IS here very broad, and reminded me strongly of
parts ol the Chobi ; but whereas the banks of the
latter river, as I knew it in the early 'seventies,
abounded in game of many descriptions, from the
elephant downwards, th(-re was not a track to be
seen along the Usutu of any kind of animal with
tile exception of the invala. All the wealth of
wild life which Baldwin saw in this same district
in 1854 had melted away before the guns of the
native Amatonga hunters; for, be it noted, this
IS a country in which but verv little game has
been killed by white men. Rhinoceroses, buffaloes
koodoos, waterbucks, impalas. lions,— all are gone,
the only game left being the inyalas, which owe
their preservation tc. the dense iuni^les In which

ise juijg

248

AFRICAN NATURK NOTKS

IHAC.

ihcy live ; and even they aa; being rapidly killed
off, as the natives are always after them, lyinj,'
in wait for them in the p.iths made by the
hip[)op()tamuses or creeping stealthily through the
bush in iheir pursuit.

Curiously enough, in these thickrts, when- iny.das
are so nuini rous, there .ire very few bushbucks,
although the surroundings are in every resp(;ct
suited to lhe;ir rccjuirements. I can only account
for tht; scarcity of the bushbucks, where inyalas
art; plentiful, by supjjosing that the latter animals
will not tolerate tlie former — considering them too
nearly akin to themselves to make good neighbours;
for a male bushbuck might be (excused, 1 think, for
making love to an inyala doe. which .scarcely ditlers
from one of his own lemales in any way except
size, and that probably not to a sufficient degree to
.stop his advances during the rutting season ; which,
of course, would be resented by the male inyala,
and the latter being the more powerful animal, has
been able to drive his rival out of his preserves.
If jealousy is not answerable for the scarcity of
bushbucks in these jungles where inyalas are so
plentiful, I fail to understand why the former
animals should be so numerous lower down the
river under e.xactly : imilar conditions, except that
there then; are no inyalas.

In the open expanse of water, some half a mile
in breadth, just opijosite our camp, several hippo-
potamuses were grunting and playing about on our
arrival, and as long as we remained here there were
always some of these animals in sight. In the even-
ing I went out after inyala, but though I saw plenty
of spoor, I did not catch sight of one of the animals
themselves. Soon after dark a heavy thunderstorm
came up from the south, and continued with much
lightning and torrents of rain till long after midnight.
HavinfT neither a tent nor a waterproof sheet, I.

XIII

FKMALK INYAF.A SHOI'

H'i

likf? my native companions, of course j;ot soakint;
W('t ; .mil we had to sit shivering; in our lircnched
blankets until ciayiii^'ht. as the heavy rains had put
our fins out and we could not j^et another alight,
everythinff being wet.

.Soon after tiawn, however, we managed to g( t
a lire under way. and I tlicn had a cup of w.irm
coffee. Just as the sun was rising F went out into
the dripping bush, ami returned to camp liry and
warm before midday. In spin- of what (iugawi had
said as to the bush being more open round this camp
than near his own kra.il, I found but little diff-n-nce.
and should describe all the bush in which I hunted
on the Usutii river as dense jungle. In the course
of the morning I just caught a glimpse of an inyala —
a male evidently by his colour — but failed to get a
shot at him. I also saw a large number of the
b(;autiful crested guinea-fowls, which in this district
seem to be- more numerous than the common South
African species. During the heat of the day I re-
mained at our bivouac, and, as the sun was inten.sely
hot, managetl to thoroughly dry .ill my belongings,
which had got so wet during the previous night's
rain. In the evening I again went out into the bush,
and just at dusk caught sight of the hind-quarters of
an antelope amongst the thick scrub ahead of me.
The light was fast failing, and although I felt sure
it was an inyala, as there were .ipparently no other
kinds of antelopes in the district, yet I could not
in the least tell whether it was a male or femah;.
but. hoping for the best, fired, and saw nothing more.

On forcing my way through the scrub to where
the animal had been when I fired, I found a fine
inyala doe lying on the ground, just on the [)oiiu of
death, the bullet having struck her in the left thigh
and passed through the whole length of her body
into the cavity of the chest. Although disappointed
that it was not a male, I skinned her carefullv for

2JO

Al-KICAN NA 1 I'kK NOTi^

CilAt'.

inniitiiiii:^ ; ;iiul sli«- now tonus pari of the fiiu!
rollrc lion of South African mammalia which is in
the. Miisf'iim at Cape Town.

It woiilil l)c hill tcthous rcathn:^ were: I to con-
timii; to (Ic'scrihc in detail my further hush crawlinj^
experiences in search of inyalas. Suffice ii to say
that, on October i and 2. I secured two more fint!
males, whose heads 1 preserved for my own collec-
tion. Althouj^h I should have liked to have got a
fourth male for the South African Museum, I did
not think it prudent to remain any lonj^'er in my
camp on the «clj^e of a swamp, where 1 knew the
air must he reeking with malarial poison, as, hesides
the exhalations from the marsh, the ground (from
which I was only separated at nij^hls by ,i little ilry
grass and a bl.ink(;t) had been soaked to tht; dt pth
of two f(;el by the recent rain, thus rentlerins^ the
conditions iTH)re than usually unhealthy. I'he
weath(;r, too, was Ijow again looking vttry threaten-
ing, anil I did not r(;lish the idea of any further lying
out in the rain ; as I knew, from former experience,
that I should pnjbably have to pay for the wettings
I had already suffered, by some attacks of fever —
a disi;as<: from which I had been entirely exempt
for sev<;n yi:ars, but lh(; |)oison of which I knew
was still in my blood, and would be likely to be
again stirred into activity by my recent exposure
to unhealthy conditions.

Hence, on Saturday, October 3, I packed up my
things and returned to (iugawi s kraal, walking on
in the afternoon to Mr. Wissels s store. At Ciugawi's
[ met an I'.nglishman. who inlormed me that he
hail come down from Harberton, and was travel-
ling about amongst the .Aniatonga, buying skins of
wild cats, jackals, etc., which he hoped to sell again
at a profit to the Kafirs working in the mines in
the Transvaal. He seemed much surprised when
i told him that I had onlv come to Amatoncaland

XUl

LIVINGS lONK'S AN IKI.Ol'h

iS"

ill order to slioot .m inyala. and fn-fiucntly rrmarkrd
ill the cf)ursi' ol" our lonvrrsalion. " Well, I'm - ;

so you'vt; conic all this way to shoot .1 —

l)iick. ' Ho also intoriiK'd nu- that he was not v«t)
well, as ht: had b»cn "on th«: hurst" lor the last
three days ; hut this contulrnce was sup'-rlluous,
as no one could have a|)|)roached witliin ten yards
ol him without rfaHsiujr his comhtion.

On my arrival at the store I was dis-ippoiined t<.
find that Mr. Wissels w.is ahse-nt. having' a^ain
returned to Delaj^oa I5ay for another carL^o of
in.ii/e. Had he been at home, I shouUl havtr en-
deavoured to obtain a specimen of laviiij^jstone's
antelope — a species which I iiave never shot, and
which Mr. Wissels had informed me was numerous
in most of the junj^les near his store These little
.mimals are very similar in habits to the iliminutive
blue buck of Natal, and as the'y inhabit dense bush,
are not olten shot, except by drivini^, and Mr.
Wissels had promiseil that wlien I returned to his
station he would collect a lot of Kafirs and get up a
drive for me. How(!ver, as I did not know when ht;
would return, and was an.xious to j^^et back to Kim-
berley as soon as possible now that I had accom-
plished the main object of my journey, 1 did not
care about ■vaitinj.; for him, but determined to gel
on as (juickly as possible. Had Mr. Wissels been
at home I should probably have returned to Delago.i
Bay by boat, but now 1 had the prospect of an
eighty -mile walk. 1 had no difficulty in getting
carriers, as Gugawi's men, who had brought my
things to the store, and with whom I had b«;eii
associated lor the last week, volunteered to go on
with me to Deiagoa Bay ; and it pleased me very
much to fmd that they did not insist on being paid
beforehand, but trustetl to my honour to deal fairly
with them.

(^n th.e evf'ii!!)cr of th^ day op, whlih ! retiirp.ed

^52

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

CHAP.

to Mr. Wisscls's storf, the wcatlur looked very un-
settled ; l)ut on the following morning all signs ol rain
had clearetl off, and the sun rose red and fiery in a
cloudless sky. 1 got away early, and on the even-
ing of the third day slept within sight of the lights
amongst the shipping in Delagoa Bay. During thos-i
three days the heat had been intense, and in those
t:ighty miles I never put my foot on a piece of firm
ground, but plodded painfullv through deep white
sand, like the soft sand (jf the sea-shore. Indeed,
all this llat country to the south of Delagoa Bay
must once have: been at the bottom of the sea — from
which it has been uplu:a\-ed probably at no very
distant time, geologically speaking, as I noticed
that the patches of sandy soil which were under
cultivation were full (jf oyster and other sea-shells.
Water seemed to be everywhere close below the
surface, but was not good — having an unhealthy,
slimy taste, and making bad tea. Indeed, e.xcept
in the actual stream of the I'sutu river, I never
tasted anything but swamp water during this trip.
As I tramped along mile after mile in the deep sand
and beneath the bla;<ing sun, I could not but think
regretfully of my elephant- hunting days of over
tv^■entv vears before, when I used to do the same
sort Ol work day after ilay and month after month
without feeling it. and got up every morning with-
out an ache or pain, fresh and ready for the next
tlay's work. But one cannot last for ever ; and on
this long weary tramp there were moments when I
would have given a good deal for a horse, or even
a donkey, and on the first day's walk the sun gave
me a bad headache.

On the evening of the first and the morning of
the Second day we- passed through some (juite un-
inhabited country, .uid here I shot two duiker ante-
lopes and a steinbuck. I also saw some quite fresh

XIII

AiMPLK AMENDS

25i

Livingstone's antelope, whose local name is "schlcn-
garn," in a patch of tliich bush. The country was
looking fresh and green, with the sprouting grass
after the recent heavy rains ; and hundreds of
beetles were now running over the sand, which was
a good deal more than warm. Indeed, it was so
hot that I think a baboon would have hesitated to
sit down on it.

But my weary tramp came to an end .it last, and
early on the morning of October 7 I crossed the
Bay of Delagoa to the town of Lourenco Marques,
and, thanks to the kind assistance of Mr. I^di.xhoven,
got all my specimens packed and conveyed on
board the Petubrokc Castle the same- day, for trans-
port to England, where they duly arrived in very
good order.

The same evening 1 left Delagoa Bay by train
for the Trans\aal, and fmally reached Kimberle)
on October 10. Here I had a slight attack of
malarial fever — a matter of a few hours only — suc-
ceeded by two more in Cape Town, and a final
attack on board shij) on my way to England. But
these attacks were very slight and only lasted for
a few hours at a time, and I can only say, with
Drummond, that ample amends have been made
for any little inconveniences I may have suffered,
by the pleasure of the thought that I have not only
added a pair of inyala heads to my own private
collection, but have also enriched our National
Museum of Natural History with two beautiful
specimens of this rare and handsome antelope.

CHAPTRR XIV

NOIKS ON Till-: m.MSI'.rik

Nuiiihfr of Afncin ;inlelo|Hb — 'I'lur tl.md — Koan ami salile antoiopcs
Tlie greatc'i kooilun ( )iln_r antLli'pcs 'I lie j,'enK->l)Ui:k -
I.iiniipil range — Habitat — Keen si<4ht Sjiced and cnduiam f

-Cliasc after four

i^liui ks — luo slidi

of \ ultliics-

Oxeii frightened — lloi^r u()iind<d hy lioness t '.eiii^lnitk bull
■iliol Visit from nativr, ( ;cni-l);;i k^ and zebras — ( ienisbuck-^
ridden to a '-landstill 1- iiu- spei miens shot — l.enj^th of horn->
— Character of the ^;emsbu< k I'robably unatfei ted by the
riinier])ebt I.ikrly to :-urvi\e lur lon^ time.

TiiKKK is such a wealth ol splcndiii-looking antelopes
to be found on the j^reat African continent that it is
hard, nay, impossible to say which amon^^st them
is the grandest prize of all that can fall to a hunter's
rifle. In bulk nothing ap[)roaches the eland, and
an old bull c.f this species, with his massive form,
low-hanging dewlap, and great neck surmounted by
a striking and beautifully proportioned head, is in
truth a noble animal, but at the same time one that
looks filter in every way to adorn a park than to be
hunted to the death. The eland is, in fact, one of
those beasts that ought to have been trained to the
service of man, and would have been in all proba-
bilit\- had it e.xisted in Asi.i insteatl of in Africa.
Such an animal few can slay without a certain feel-
ing of regret, for even when tlesper.itely wounded,
nothing but reproach can be read in its mild tiark
eyes.

1T/-»nr *1iff#'rMn? . .^ tn#» niui't rMcurtt-i f i#-»n cKo^i^" '•'*

; o •• ' ;

■!54

imy^

yi'^'^-:'^^-

CH. XIV GRANDEST OF ORYSK FAMILY

255

the dying eland to the fierce defiance of every look
and gesture of a roan or sable antelope brought to
bay and fighting desperately to the very last.
These two latter animals are amongst the finest of
.ill the African antelopes, and by many sportsmen
the last named is considered the noblest of them all.
The magnificent greater koodoo, too, has many
warm admirers, whilst the inyala, lesser koodoo, and
Grant's gazelle, if not amongst the grandest of th<.'
several genera to which they belong, are certainly
some of the most beautiful.

Hut then; is yet .:nother species, whose praises
have of late years be'-n sung by few, the successful
pur.suit of which ha' always given me more satis-
faction than that of any other of the larger antelopes
of .Southern Africa. This is the gemsbuck, the
grandest of all the handsome oryx family. Corn-
wallis Harris, Gordon Gumming, Oswell, Baldwin,
and oth(;rs of those fortunate Englishmen who
travelled and hunted in .South Africa when the last
century was only middle-aged have all written
enthusia.uically of the chase of the gemsbuck and
the joy of securing a good head of this species.

But with the spread of European settlements and
the steady advance of civilisation, these beautiful
animals have been driven from many of their
former haunts, and are now only to be found in the
most .irid districts of Western South Africa ; and
though their range extends from the north-western
portion of the Gape Colony in the south to the
southern part of the Portuguese province of Angola
in the north, there can, I think, be but few districts
left where they are to be met with at the present
day in anything but small and widely .scattered
herds. At least, a herd of about fifteen is the
j^reatest number that I have ever seen together,
though it must be remembered that I have only
met with the gemsbuck in the more easterly

256

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

CHAP.

portions ot its r.in^c, and it is quite possible that
in the recesses ol the Kalahari it may at certain
seasf)ns of the year collect into larger droves than
anythini; that I have ever seen.

Compared with other South African game, I
have shot but few gemsbuck — only twenty-five, I
find by reference to m^ note-books — partly because
I have done the greater part of my hunting in the
more easterly parts of the country where these
animals are unknown, but also for the reason that
even when in countries where they existed I never
found them anything but scarce.

The gemsbuck, as I have said before, is an in-
habitant of Western South Africa, and lives and
thrives in parts of the country where not only are
there no runiiing streams, but where for montlis
together every year there is absolutely no surface
water at all. In such districts there are almost
limitless ex[)anses of level plains covered with low-
scrub and thorny bush studded with small glittering
white salt-pans, and intersected by forest-covered
country, with sometimes a thick undergrowth
amongst the trees, and it is in such surroundings
that the gemsbuck is at home.

As a rule, they confine themselves to the arid,
scrub-covered plains, but sometimes wander into
the forests. If the sun is not shining full upon
them —when they look almost white -the pale grey
colour of their coats harmonises wonderfully well
with all their surroundings, for the soil on which
they stand is generally much the colour of their
hides, whilst the parched and thorny scrub around
them is always of a pale neutral tint, for it is usually
leafless, and even when in leaf the leaves are rather
grey than green.

Like the striping of the zebra, the brilliant black
and white markings of the gemsbuck's face can be
plainly seen -.Viica aear at hand, but are incon-

XIV SPEED k ENDURANCE OF ANTEL(3PES 257

si)icu()us at any distance over lour hundred yards,
and the presence ot these animals is otuii tirst
betrayed by thf- sun glintin<,f on their long black
horns. 'Ihe sight of the gemsbuck is very keen,
and the liushnien say that, like the ostrich, h(,' trusts
more to this sense; for his safety than to scent,
which is no doubt the case as long as he is in
country of an open character. There is no more
splendid sight than that of a heid of gemsbucks
galloping over the arid wastes of their desert home ;
for, owing to the fact that the cows have longer
horns than the bulls, every individual member of
the herd looks as if it carried a head worth winning.
1 hey run at a steadier pace than any other animal
with which I am acquainted, holding their heads
rather lo- ' o that their long black horns stand well
up, only iting slightly backwards. As they

gallop, tl , .r long bushy black tails almost sweep
the ground, as they swing from side to side.

In comparing the speed and endurance of
various species of South African antelopes, it is
first of all necessary to eliminate al! cows heavy
with calf, as these are so heavily handicapped that
they do not afford any criterion of the real powers,
under ordinary circum^.:ances, of the species to
which they belong. E!very one who has ridden
after sable and roan antelopes in August or
September knows how easy it is at that time of
year to bring the heavier cows to a standstill, but
I have never yet been able to gallop down a bull of
either species, though I have had many a good try.

The gemsbuck is often spoken of as the fleetest
and most enduring of all the South African antelopes.
My own tt.\})erience is not sufficient to justify me in
dogmatising on this subject, but all those I have
shot 1 have galloped after, and 1 have also had a
consid'-'-able experience in riding after most other
Soutli African antelopes; and my verdict i;,, tha:

258

AFRICAN NATURE NOTKS

CHAl'.

althouf^fh gtjinsbuck run with great speed and
(endurance, they are inferior in tliese respects to
the tsessebe, Cajie hartebeest, Lichtenstein s liarte-
beest, blue and black vvild(;beest, and to the blesbok.
I should put their running ])owers much on a par
with those ot ihe sable and roan antelope.

Gemsbucks being usually found in open country,
as a rule get a good start, and I can well Ix-lievc;
that a man mounted on a horse in low condition or
only grass-fed would never get up to them at all ;
i)ut a good South African shooting pony, in hard
condition and h;d regularly morning and evening on
maize, ought to carry a twelve-stone man up to a
herd of gemsbucks every time.

I have twice found gemsbucks in compain with
a herd of Hurchcll's zebras, and on both occasions
in very o[)en ground. On sighting me the former
animals at once took the lead and galloped off,
closely followed by the latter. On the first occasion
they had a long start, and husbanding my horse, I
only drew up to them gradually. There were only
four gemsbucks — three cows and a bull — and about
a dozen zebras ; and these latter, when I at !t;ngth
drew U[) within a hundred yards, entirely prevented
my getting a shot at the more coveted game. The
horse I was riding had a very good turn of speed,
so I then Ic^t him out as hard as he could go, anil
galloped right through the zebras, which scattered
to either side of me, and then reforming in one
herd, weni off by themselves. The gemsbucks
were now going ai their utmost speed, and when I
had passed the zebras were still sixty or seventy
yards in front of me. The bull was only to be
distinguished from the cows by his somewhat
heavier build and shorter though stouter horns.
Pulling my horse in as quickly as possible, I jumped
to the ground, and aiming for the centre of the
black natch which bedecks the h.in.d -Quarters of

m

m

m

XIV

A LAST KFFDRl'

^59

thcsf anttjlopes, tin-il. My shot, as it turiKcl <iut,
struck liim uxactlv rii/ht, an iiuh or so ahovf the
root of the tail, ami must have I)rokcii or injured
th(' vertebral loliinin, as his liiiul-(]uarter.s ^av»; way
at once, brinsjjing the doomed .minial into .i sitlinj.,'
oosition, from which he was unabli; to n-cover
himself. .My afi<,-r-ridcr, a liu;ht-w(ML;hl Ciri(iu,i lad.
•vas now clo^e u|) be^liind me, so shoutinj.^ to him to
despatch the; bull (whose hfMcl I wantetl for my own
collection), 1 (^'alloijed on after the cows, iht: best of
which I wished to secure for our National Museum
ol Natural History, lor which I had .ilready <;ot a
j.,'ood bull.

rhey had now, how(jvir, L^ot a lon;^ start, and
as the chase soon le*d me acro.ss a succession of
broad sandy ridges enlirelv free from all vegetation
but a litth.' coarse grass, the going became terribly
heavy, and I began to thir.k I should never get
within shooting distance again. .At last, however,
tlie gemsbucks got out of the heavy sand and raced
into a broad open p^lain, where the ground was
fairly firm. They were still going strong, and were
some three hundred yards ahead of me. I now
made what I knew would have to be my last effort,
and gradually drew rjarer and nearer lo the hind-
most antelope, until at length I was not more than
1 20 yards behind it. Just then the leading
gemsbuck swerved somewhat to the It-ft, and the
other two following in its tracks, gave me — for 1
had pulled in and jumped to the ground direct!)
I saw the leader turn — a somewhat better chance
for a shot than had been offered as long as the
chase had remained exactly tail-on-end. Had 1
missed I should have pulled in and given up the
hunt, as I did not want to overtire my hor.se ; but
I distinctly heard the bullet tell, and so remounted
and galloped on again. For the ne.xt half-mile the
wounded animal showed no ::,lgns of being hit, but

}.()0

AFRICAN NATl'RK NOTKS

IH \P.

h«;l(l on close iK'hiiul In-r companions. I'rcscntly,
however. sh(- In-«,r,in lo f.ill Ix-hind, ;incl suddenly
coniin'4 to a halt, turned Wro.nKide and slooil lookinjj;
iit her^pursiier. She let me ride u\> U) within tilty
yards of her without movins;, and it was f)Tily when,
after h iving [)ulU;d in and dismounted. I had given
her a shot ihrou'^di the heart, that she made a short
rush forward and the'U rolled over dead.

1 w.is now at least two miles from where I had
tlisabled lh(; hull, and as 1 knew that it would he
.1 lon^' lime before my atler-rider could come up
with the IJushmen, 1 set to work to skin the. animal
just killed. She was a beautiful beast, but it was a
t«rrribly iiot job skinnin- so lari^e an animal without
any assist, mce in the o[)en shadeless plain, tor it
was alnMcly past midil.iy and thi; heat of the sun
was simply inten.se, and I was som<nvhat hungry
and very thirsty as well, since 1 had left my waggon
(which was standing at a pool of water on the road
between Hamangwato and the Mababi) just at
daybreak. At last my task was ended, and I then
disembowelled the carcase of the dead antelope,
and covered it .•s well as I could with dry grass,
an operation that took some time, as grass only
grew in scanty tussocks anywhere near at hand.
1 was also careful to throw sand over all the blood-
stains on the ground. th(;se precautions being
necessary lo k(tep off vultures, for although none
of these birds w<M-e at the moment in sight. I was
afraitl that they might collect and destroy the meat
after 1 had l(;ft. and before the Irishmen came for it.

I have satisfied myself over and over again that.

in South Africa at least, vultures are guided to

their food entirely by sight, and not at all by scent ;

for should an animal be killed in the midst of dense

bush, it will often lie there for days, untouched by

vultures, no matter how manv of these birds may

. ,. . . 1 i' 1 .1

be CliCiU'ii

i 1 .\

aooiic o\ eriieavi

rccisc

XIV

SK;nr ok vilturks

ihi

f.r an animal killi'd on an open plain should be
cjuickly hidden from view with branches of trees or
^rass. it will not remain jon^' iinvisited. for one
or other of the vultures constantly \\y\n^ rouiul,
Ijerhajis at such a hei<;ht as to he invisible to the
human eye, is sure to spy it ere lon<^'. d\u\ th(;n—
somethitifr jn its mode of lliL,du no doubt su^^L^estin^
that it is bent on s(;rious business is its(;lf seen
and follow<;iI by others, which in their turn are
observed, till all the vultures in the neit^'hbourhood
are presently ass<-mbled at the fe.ist. The Bush-
men say that it is useh-ss covering; up .i carcase
and leavini^ blood-stains on the j^^round round about,
as vultures can see these sij,ais of sl,iUL;luc;r at an
incredible distance, and will always come down to
investi5;ate such tell-tale marks, whether th(; meat
of the sl.iin animal h.is been remo\ed or not.

Havin,;j[ secured the skin of the i^emsbuck ^witli
the skull and le.i,'-bones still attached) to my s.uklle,
I commfMiced to lead my horse- aloii^r his back
tr.icks. but had not |)roc(;edeil far when I met my
after- rider, who, .ifter having; despatched the
jjjemsbuck bull, had followed me up with half a
dozen of the Hushmen. These latter I sent on to
brin.i; in the meat of the cow, and thev overtook us
again just as we had fmishttd cuttinj^' up the bull.
It was late in the afternoon when we got back to
the waggon, but after a good meal, washed down
with the best part of a kettleful of tea, 1 set to
work, and before turning in got the headskin of
the bull, as well as the complete skin of the cow,
cleaned and prepared for mounting, with arsenical
soap. 'I'he latter now stands in 'the Mammalian
(iallery of the Natural History Museum .it South
Kensington, and the former is in my own collection.

As there was but little game in the desert
country surrounding the pool where I was en-
>.auipcd — uulhing, in fact, but a few giraffes, ostriches.

}.h.

AIRICAN \A I IKl NO'l F.

Ui \l'.

!^riiisl)ia.k--, -^|iriii_;lnn:k'-.. .ui'l ii.irul"! ^i~. .iiul ll;»*
Miisliinrn ii.id lolcl inc thai ihiTc were .ihsoliitcly
no lions in tin- district. I hail allowed my cattle,
donkeys, and li<jrs(.-s to tied atid lie loose at nii^lits.
On this evening: I was lyin- re.idin- in th«- waj^^on
after having |>rc'part;il the uemsbuik skins, when 1
sudden!) heard my troo]' ot c.iiile (some thirty in
nuinlx-r, includini; cows) ,L;allol)in},^ I hey must
have Iieeii leedin;^ or lyin^ down a !< w hundred
yards hchind the walL,'^^)n. when sonirtliiiiL,' startled
them and they caint- rushini,^ louanl-. the waL^i^on
in .1 solid |)hal.in\ : hnt on llie driver and sonut of
the i>o\s nninini; towards them and shoiitinL(, they
h.dled close down lo the etly[e of the pool. That
soinethint; had frightened them, there rould he no
doiiht. and as I have never known oxen show ,m\
fear of hvivnas. 1 couldn't help liiinkint^ that, in
spite of what the- Bushmen had said, there was a
lion about. I therefore I.atl my oxen at once tied
up, and takini; the lantern, called up some of the
Bushmen and went out to look for the n^st of my
live stock. We soon found the twf) horses that had
been ridden that ilay and the donkeys, hut ol my
third horse, a ver\ jiowirful stallion, we could find
no trace, though he hail had his feed of maize at
sundown with the others. 1 went back to ihe
wa^^on, therefore, feciino very anxious about him.

At daylij^ht th(^ next morning I saddled up my
best horse, and accompanied by some of the Hush-
men, rode round to the spot from which the oxen
had stampeded. The L^round was very hard, as the
pool of water by which wc were encamped was
situateil in a limestone formation, and tor some
time we could discover nothing; , but on riding back
along the waggon track for al)out a mile to sandy
ground, we there at once found the spoor of a lion,
or mon; jjrobably a lioness, as the tracks looked
small. These tracks e\cii liie liusiinieii uei'e un-

XI .

I UK lUi;. OK A KION

."<

{

ahli- to t(»Ili.\v over the liinistoin' ; but alxml a milr
.uvay on tlir ()ih«T side of iIk; pool we louiul the
stailion lyini; dowi), and soon distovtrfd that 'u-
Ii.kI lj<(n both bitten and clawctl du-'n:; the ni^'ht.
1 bclicvr that his assailant must have been ,i v(t>-
old and weakly lionc^ss, which had toiind him iyin^
down Ant\ attacked him wliilst he was in that
position. lie had been somewhat severely bitten
ill the l).iok ot the neck, anil clawed on th«; left
shouM< r and in both llanks. but bein^ a ve-ry
|)oweilul animal, he h.id niana<,'ed to throw his
ass.iilant oti. I at once syrinL,'e(l out the stallion's
wouiuls with .1 very stronu canterisinL; solution of
carbolic acid, and they never slouj^died at all. but
healed up very ra[)idly. thoutrh if the bite of a lion
is not c.iuterised it takes a Unv^ time to heal.

i'he strangest part of this experience is that I
tiever saw or hitard anythini; more of this lion or
lion(;ss. With a do/en of the fmesi inickers in thr
world to h(;lp me, nothing could be done on tin;
hard liinestf)nG ground, which in one direction ex-
tended for miles ; nor, though 1 remained in *he
same ramp for a week, did the baffled beast ever
make any further attempt to interfere w ith my cattle.
Possibly the stallion, after shaking his assailant off.
had giv(tn him or her a kick. The Hushmen told
me that this was the first lion that had visited the
neighbourhood of their camp for years, though a lion
and lioness had together killed a cow giraffe near
another permanent water, some thirty miles to the
west, about a month before. No doubt the brute that
had attacked my stallion— probaI)ly an old and half-
lamis!.ed lioness — had corae a long way on the spoor
of my cattle.

I secured my most beautiful gemsbuck head in
April 1 888, in the desert country between the lower
course of the Nata river and the northern extremity
of the great Makari-kari Sait-pan.

2^)4

AFRICAN NAIURK NOTES

CHAT.

On the previous d.iy 1 h.id conic across a solitary
bull in an open rolling sandy plain, destitute; ot any
kind of v(;t^n:lalion but coarse tussocky _i;rass.
r)wir,^ to the very opcMi nature of the jrround in
which I found him, this ^emsbuck spied me fiom
afar and went off with a very lon^ start. I was,
however, very well mounted, and after a lont; and
(txciting chas(% at length got within shot ot and
killed him. Whilst lacing along in full pursuit of
thi vll, I had seen in tht; distance cjuite a large
ht; . gemsbucks, and as I knew th.it there must
* some fme hf^ads among tliem, i hail half a mind
, V-'it their tracks later in the day. liut gave up
ih .dea, as I only had a suffici<'nt numlier o'"
fiushmen with me to carry the; meat ot the animal
already shot.

Un arriving it my wagi;on, I found a party of
Matabele Kafirs there who hail come to the Makari-
kari to collect njck salt, wiiich th(;y find there
ile[)osited in layers a couple of inchi s in thickness.
This rock salt is n.-ddish brown in colour, and very
impure, containing api)arently a great deal ot lime.
Although most of these Matabele carried guns,
they told me they had .scarcely seen a head of game
since leaving home, and having shot nothing, had
consequently had nothing to eat, aft(!r they had e.\-
hausted the ,' mall stock of grain with which they
had started on their journey, but berries and
tortoises, eked out with whatever they had been
able to steal from the Hushmen. Th<;y certainly
looketl half starved, and on my presenting them
with a hind-l(.'g of the gemsbuck I had just shot,
they very speedily devoured it, and then begged
me to try and shoot them something on the follow-
ing day, that they might lay in a stock of meat for
their journey back tf> IVlatabelelmd.

1 promised to do my best for them, and at day-
iigiit tnc nexi rnciriiiSig, .ic;.x;;!:p-.i!i;cu uv ^ uw.-.cH

XIV

GEMSBUCKS AND ZKBRAS

M£>tab(-le and several Bushmen, rode nut in s(;arcti

of the herd of genisbucks 1 had seen the j)r<-

vious (hiy whilst chasing the bull. We took up

their yesterday's tracks, and after following them

tor several hours, found that tli<;y had joined

comp.iny with a herd of Burchell's zebras, with

which animals they went still feeding wh<-n we at

last overtook them. There were about tifteeii

gemsbucks (the largest number of these .mimals

1^ have ever see-n together) antl ,is many zebras.

The country where we found them being pcrfectK

open, they, of course, saw us when we were still ;i

long way off and at once went off, with a long start,

the gemsbucks leading and the zebras running

close behind them.

The horse I was riding— the same with which I

had chased the gemsbuck bull on the- previous ilav

— was one of the finest shooting horses I ever

owned, and though no longer youn^, was both fast

and possessed of gieat staying power. \{c. was.

too, a wonderfully sure-footed animal, and just now

in splendid hard condition. Had the zebras been

alone, they would have gone off at a leisurely pace,

but being led by the gemsbucks, they kept close on

th(!ir hf-els. These latter animals, according to my

e.xperlence, wh(Mi disturbed n('ver run off in a

leisurely way, nor even, if not pressed, do they keep

stop{)ing and looking back at tlieir ])ursuer n'ke

almost cdl other antelopes, but ;;o off at once at such

a tearing pace, that although it is not the utmost

speed they are cajjable of when h,u-d j^ressed, is yet

sufficiently fast to niake it impossible to get near

them at all without hard galloping. Owing to the

long start they had got, I daresay I h.id galloped

two, perhaps three, miles before my horse had

carried me close up behind the zebras. These

latter, running well together some fiftv vards behind
.1 11 •» . i '

• u

. _I I I ^ ^ 1 I

iijLyLiCK;^, r.iise;; a trcintXiGou.-? viu.-it, aiUi, .is ui

260

AFRICAN NATUKK NO IKS

CHAP.

tlu; forim-r instance- I h.ivc (Icscrihecl, (■ftt.'ctually hid
tine loiiLj-iioniecl antelopes from my view. In tact,
it was ([iiiie inipossiljle tf) shoot a '^'(.•nisbuci< without
[jassin;^ the zebras. This 1 set myself to do, and
b(tfore lonij; 1 was L^alloping alont^^side of the hind
most animals, k(.'epin<^ above the wintl so as to
escape the dust they raised as much as possible.

In anotht^r few moments I think I should have
fairly Ljalloped past all the /(;bras, but they did not
wait for tne to do so, for suddenly the whole troop
of th(;ni swervei.1 off down ^vi^d and left me alone
with the L^emsbucks. These latter were all cows,
and most of them carried i^ood heads, but the horns
of one seemed specially long and thm, and these I
det(;rminetl to secure. For some time, however,
she kept well in front, ami I could not get a chance
of ;i shot at her, as she was always covered by one
or other of her companions. When I passed the
zebras, the gemsljucks were. I believe, going nt their
utmost s[)eed. and 1 had kei)t them at it fv)r another
half-mile' or so, when suddenly one of them swerved
out from the rest, and facing round, came l( t halt.
I [)assed within ten yards of her, and she stood
looking at me as I [)assed, and as she remained in
thi- sanv place for some time, I think I may tairly
say that she was ridden to a standstill. She
ap])ear(Hl to be a fine full-grown cow. and was
probably in calf: but as it would have been at least
si.\ months before she wouUi have ilropped her call,
this could hardly have aftccled her running powers.
This is the seconfl gemsbuck I have overtaken on
horseback, tlie first having been a bull (with only
one horn) which I fairly rode to a standstill in 1879.

At last I uoi a LTOod chance at th( long-horned
cow as she swerved olf to one side in the van of the
herd, and my bullet, hitting her at the back of the
ribs, and ranging forwards to the neighbourhood of

»u.

eart,

1 .i,» 1 — »„

.,1 ,1,....I U,.Ci^

I

Xl\

LENGTH OFGKMSHUCK HORNS

26-

she had run anothfn- hunclred vards. She was
indeed a beautiful animal, ai, her horns the
handsomest, thout^^h by no means the longest, that
I have ever seen. They were most perfectly
symmetric.il, and measurcii ^;, inches in length ; but
being very thin and absolutely straight — gemsbuck
horns usually have a slight turn backwards — looketl
longer than they actuallv were.

In 1879 1 shot another gemsbuck cow near the
liotletli(,' river with horns of exactly the sanu^
length ; but these latter, being much thicker and
having a strong bend backwards, do not look their
full length. J think that I am correct in saying
that gemsbuck horns measuring over 42 inches in
length are quite exceptional. At any rate, I only
remember to have seen three pairs exceeding 43
inches. The one measuring 44! inches was shot
by a Hoer on the Botletlie river" and I purchased
it from him for our Natural History Museum,
where it now is : whilst I have seen another pair
slightly longer which was shot in the Kalahari
many years ago by the late Mr. W. Cotton Osweli.
liut the longest pair I have ever seen I fountl in
the possession of a trader at Barclay \\'( st in
December i8<So. He told me that lie had got them
from a native hunter at Moroquain in the Southern
Kalahari, and gave them to me, and 1 ga\ e them
to th(; late .Mr. J. S. Jameson. I belie. -e that this
is the longest pair of gemsbuck horns known, their
length b(Mng recorded in Mr. Rowland W'.ird's last
book of horn measurements as 47^ inches. Besides
these heads I have mentioned, a Few more pairs are
known in various collections which measure between
44 and 46 inches, but these are a few exceptionally
long pairs that have been j)icked out in the course
ot many years from amongst the large number of
gemsbuck horns which are annually shot by natives
• !, I, ,::•., re. ii p.-.: -.3 •.,1 iHt; \\i:^l Kaiaiiar; (icsc:rt, luui

268

AFRICAN NATURK NOTES

CHAP.

bn)u;^ht cither to Kimbcrlcy or to Cape Town via
Waltiscli Bay : aiul these few exceptions to the
jfeneral rule only serve to show how very rarely
^;emsl)iick liorns attain to a leii-th of 44 inches and
upwards. 'I'he horns of the bulls sometimes attain
a length of 42 inches, but are, as a rule, several
inches shorter and a good deal stouter than those of
the cows.

.Xlihough gemsbucks, when brought to bay. are
doubtless dangerous antagonists to dogs, and v(;ry
|)Ossil)ly sometimes kill lions which have attacked
them incautiously, 1 should doubt their being as
fierce .m animal by nature as either the sable or
roan antelope. At least, I have never seen any of
those I have vvound(,'d in.ike th(; sann.* thr(!atening
demonstrations as the last-named animals always do
when closely approached. I once ured at a bull
g(rmsbuck which was galloping obliqu<;Iy prtst me,
and dro[)ped him ins'.antly, and as he was still lying
motionless when I cantered up to him, I thought hi;
was dead. 1 noted tht; position of the bullet-mark,
rather high up just bcjuiid the shoulder, and thought
it must ha\e smashed the vertebral column and so
cau.sed instant death. I then dismounted beneath
a neighbouring tree, anil, placing my rifle against
the stem, walked towards the deail animal— as 1
thought. I was within a few yards of its head,
when suddenly, with scarcely a preliminary kick, it
rose to its feet and stood facing me. I was so near
it that I thought it would be sure to charge, as
almost any roan or sal^le antelope bull would have
done so in similar circumstances. Hut, much to my
relief, after eyeing me st»;a(lily for a few seconds, it
turned and galloped off, and might easily have got
away altogether, had niy horse not been a good
one. When I eventually killed it, I found that my
t'lrst bullet had only grazed the vertebral column,
.ind moinen t an ] V !>ar.'ilvsef! th.e !*f~!or anirnri! Hv.*"

XIV

A CHANCK "OR VKNGEANCK

2&9

-ad a splendid chance lor vengeance, of which it
i.to^^ether failed to take advantage, and I certainly
would not care to afford another of its kind a similar
o[)portunity.

I have not heard whether or not the plague of
rinderpest which swept through South Africa in
1896, and worked such terrible havoc amongst
both the cattle and game of that vast territory,
affected the gemsbucks. But. isolated as they are
in the arid wastes of the Kalahari, I should imagine
not ; and since they are protected from constant
persecution by the inhospitable nature of their
surroundings, I fancy that they will Ion- outlive
many other species of South African game, which
but a few years ago were far more numerous.
May this be so ; for, though the gem.sbuck will
always be hard to find, and by no means easy to
bring to bag when found, these difficulties enhance
his value, whilst his head will ever be one of the
most beautiful and coveted trophies to be won in
the hunting-fields of Africa.

en API HR XV

so.Mi: cLKioi's lU'NTiNc; Kxi'Ki;n ntks

'intr^isl Ijctwccii Kl.jcipsi.i t(i-(l,iy ;iii(l Idfi^^ iy^ti The iilii Ja)^ the
best -Wliilf rhmoccro-,es anil flcpli.'.nt^ ilnnkin^— A iii;^li; i>n
the Sikutni rive'-- Ahundaiuo of hi^' jjanu- A while fliinoicio^
viaits my (:ain|) My i|ULcrest tx[n;iicncc — Meet with iwo black
rliinoi cin-.os A near approac h — Kliinoi er<i> knotkiil doun
Apparmtly dcid CoinMitnci; to i ui it up — Khinocfros regain.-.
< onsi loiisne-h (lets on its Ic--, And rinib olT - Anotlier
mnoUN expcninii- liiilTaloos and tsi! tsc flics -Meeting with
luin ■ ilainuHT of niK- !i>->t Hu!,hnien sent in search of it
I. ions met vuth — Lion and honess stand close to me — Thf
chance of a lifetime -Rifle misses fire I. ions run off I. ion
a^ain seen -Rifle useless — Throw it at the lion — The ironv of
fate.

As 1 read almost weekly, in one or other of tiie
papt I's devot(.-d to South Africa, some account of
all the marvttllous chani^es which have recentlv been
br<>iiL,'ht alx)iit, ihroiij^h tht; energy and intelligence
of Britons, in the spacious country now known
as Rhodesia, my thoughts often go back to the days
when 1 first wandered and hunted throu;^h that
land of stirring memories.

That was nearly forty years ago ncnv, and
Matabeleland was less known and more inaccessible
then than is any part of Central Africa to-day,
for at that time not a yard of railway had been
l.iid from any coast town of the Cape Colony or
Natal towards the interior of the country. Lo
Bengula, a powerful chief of Zulu race, had
but recentlv been elected kins/ of the \T.itabH!f>

270

tliAi'. XV

THK (}OOD OlA) DAYS

and savai^rcry seemed so firmly (-stablisht d tlir()u_<,rh-
oiit .dl the teniiory Lxtueen the Limpojio and The
Zandicsi that 1 iiev.r dreamt I should live to see
the destruction oi that threat chiefs far-reachiiur
power, and the defeat and dispersal of his hrave
but barbarous tribesmen, to be quickly followed
by the foundin- of a l^urofjean town near the site
of the old native " ^rreat place,' and tiie buiklinjr
ot a radway tiircju^di the wilderness to th(- north.

Ah ! but the old days were the Ix-st, after all^ -
or at any rate I think so. Die traveller bv rail to
the Victori.i Falls will journ<-y at his ea.se, it is true.
in a saloon carria,c,re, with plent\- to eat and drink'
throui,rh seemingly endless wasters of hnv forest and
scrubby bush, and will probably think it a terriblv
monotonous and unintere.stin- country , but no man
will ever again sit by a camp fire near otu; of the
little rivers the railway will cross, eating prime
pieces of fat elephant's heart, roasted on a forked
stick, nor watch th-' great white rhinocero.ses coming
to drink just before dark, nor lie and listen to herd
after herd ol elephants drinking and bathing in the
river near their camp. On one i)articular night in
1873 which 1 shall n.^ver forget, the splashing and
trumpeting of troop after troop of hot and thirstv
elephants was kept uj) from soon after dark till Ion',
past midnight. This was at the little river Sikumf
which the traveller of to-day will cross by an Iron
bridge. 1 here was no monotony a!;oui the countrv
between^ Bulawayo and the Victoria J-alls in those
days. The abundance of big game— elephants, black
and white rhinoceroses, giraffes, buffaloes, zebras,
and many varieties of antelopes — made it always
interestmg alike to the hunter and the lover of
nature. As I think of my early wanderings through
those once well -stocked hunting-grounds in the
days when^I made my living by shooting elephants,
. can recai; inany Uilcrcsting eApericiices, some of

272

AFRICAN NATURE NO lES

CHAP.

;i decidt;clly t:.\citin_L; natu: <■, olht.Ts only curious. I
never hatl any narrow escapes from rhinoceroses,
althoiiL^h I encounler«Ml numbers of these prchistorit-
lookiiiLj animals, hut I do not think that ih<; hla( k
rhinoceros of the interior of South Africa was ever of
so aL,'ji;ressiv<; a nature as he appt%-irs to be in many
districts ol Mast Africa to-day, tliouj^h a wounded
one was always hkeiy to become sava'^'e.

One nii^'iit in 1S7;,, wlien camped on the bortlers
of tlie hills which skirt the southern bank of the
Zambesi to the east of the- Victoria I'alls, a white
rtiinoceros canii; to ins[ject my camp about an hour
alter dark. 1 had hatl my evening meal, and was
sittin*,' talking; by .1 cheery loj^ I'lre to one of my native
attendants — tor 1 had no white companion when wc.
he.ird a rhinoceros snort not faraway, and soon after-
wards, liy llie lii,du of a youn<4 moon, we perceived one
ot these animals slowly ap; roachins^' our camp. I told
ni) boys to k(H;p (|uite cpiu t, and we then .sat watch-
inj^ our visitor. It advanced very slowly, holdinj,;
its i^reat square nose close to thf- jjjround, and every
now .uid then stopped and snorted loudly. At last
it was within tw( nty yards of our fires, and seemed
determined to come closer still. Several of my
Kafirs had by this time crept round to the back of
the bushes which shi^Uered our cam[j and made for
the nearest tree, whilst my favourite gun-carrier put
my bii; tour-bore elcph.int L^iin into my hands, .md
begged me to shoot the inquisitive beast betore it
charged in amongst us.

lUit in those days I was hunting elephants for
a living, and as we were camped nec'r a favourite
drinking-place of these animals, and a shot in the
nigiit might have disturbed a h(;rd approaching the
water. I was determined not to fire .it the rhinoceros
if I could possibly avoid doing so.

However, something had to be done to stop it,
as I was at'raid that if it came anv nearer the smeli

<

XV

MV OUKKKKST KXPKRIKNCF

^7{

of meal might cxcit.- it. aiul causr it to run amuck
throu-h th.. camp; so. plucking a good-sized piecr
of wood (rom the tin-. I threw it with all my strength
and. just missing the rhinoceros's great ugly head
hit It on the neck or should.T. and covered it with
a shower o» sparks. As the hiazing hrand (ell to the
ground, the rhuioceros backed a step or two and
then seemed to be snifTing at it. At this mom.-nt
my gun-carrier hurl.-d another lump of burnin.- wood
at (>ur visitor, uith a som.;what better aiin than
mine, for he struck it Aill in the lace-apparently
right on the front horn— and lit up its head with ..
cataract of sparks. This was more than the
rhmocero.s could stand, and its curiosity beiuL'
evidently fully satisfied, it spun round with a snort
and trotted off into the night, nor did it ever visit
our camp again.

But the queerest experience I think I (;ver had
with a rhinoceros was one wliich happened not far
from the scene of the last adventure, and durine the
same year 1S73. '^

Not having come across (elephants for some time,
my Kahrs and I were just out of meat for in those
days 1 seldom shot other animals as lon.r as I hid
elephant meat to eat, for lear of disturbing the mo're
valuable g.uiie— when we came one day on the fresh
tnicks of two black rhinoceroses, and after following
the sjjoor for a short distance, suddenlv si<rhted the
animals thems(^lves lying down in a' rather open
Rras.sy piece of coimtry. We all crouched d.Iwn
instantly and as the rhinoceroses never moved and
the wind was favourable, it was soon evident that
they had neither seen nor heard us, and were still
quite unconscious of danger. Taking one of my
heavy, clumsy, old --our-bore muzzle-loading c'-phant
guns— the only weapons I then possessed— I at once
commenced to creep slowly towards them throutrh

^1- a.:3 iL\ji

Vci\

\ 1

ung.

MRICAN NAIURK NOlKS

I MAI'

274

^ U^l .M-pronched t., vvilhin iw.aiy y.nls <,r so ot

walking sl.mly u.w.'r.ls .iK ,t >..i-, n.c.^'...r)
""'t'T.l*' l„.ul w.s h,:l.l in such .. ,..siu,m ,lMt il

'r;"' run bak /.' ,l„ Kaf.rs ;nul K« n,y s«„na
„„„ bcio,.: il thon^lH ..r charging.

When 1 tired, iho rluniK.Tos s lc!;s hu.m< u w
.ivfway under it, and i. jus. s,,nk '".'h..-""; ■

Ld .hen*, r,.:,ing ..n >^i- ,- ,'- j^JH *e' Kahr^
as thou<ihl, cUMd. miu, ^"*''^'>- ,

.,11 of lh,m can,,- ruuuuiK u., ' "•, '^."", "'^ h,
jum,„Hl u,, an,l mad.- off in,n,.-dial.ly 1 Hred .a h. r

'°'X"n." all walked together to where the fallen

ushed our iu^vxH as far as ih.-y wouUl -o. U «•

u n wen to the nearest tree, some s.xty or seven y

vlrds away and after resting my tvNO .lephan. guns

yards a\vay, a. ...,,,_,*,„■„.. ts stem, and

— the eine

.-t;ii ...nloaded— atiainst its stem,

RfllNOCKRO.s KK(;AIN^ (.( )N^CI()^SN^.SS 27S

pl.uiii- all mil- scanu 1mj;-.ik«- <>n the -rouiul in its
sh.i<ii-,^r.'lurnc<l to < ut iii) wh.ii wf iiclicv.-d to he
the c.irc.isi' of a d'-.n! aiiiiiial.

One nf iiu- Kafirs, hy naiiK- So^a. a l.i;,; stron^r
Makalak.i. at oiu <• phm^'.Hl his asscj^ai into tli<-
bodv ol" the |)rostrat«; rliiiioctros and coiiirnciui-d to
cut ihroui;ii ihr thick skin, pnliinLi th<- hlad.- of thr
• isst-Ljai towards him with a sawins; motion. I Ins
incisTon shoulil hav.- cxttMuU-il from ii.'ar thr top o|
the hack behind the shouldcrdjlade to th<; hottom
of the chrst. and Would have httcn I'lr tirsl step in
[)LT.linj4 the wliole hide from th«; ui)|)er surface ot
the hody, preparatory to disemhowellinj^ the carcase
and cutting' up tht' nie-at ; l)ul when So^'a had made
.1 cut about two and a half feel lon^ in its side, th--
limbs of the rhinoceros be-an to move spasmodically,
and it suildenly raised its head and brought it down
attain with .i ihinnp on the i^round.

l->om that moment it commencttd to slru^'j,de
frantically, and was 'violently fast re,L,'ainin^' con-
sciousness. I shouted to So^a to try and sl.ib it m
ihe heart befon- it i^ol on its legs ; but as he only
m.ide a verv teeble .ittemj)! to do so, I ran up, ami
snatching the- assegai from him, eiideavounxl to stab
the ^trug^ling animal to tleath myselt. Hut it was
now l.i.i regaining strength, and with every eftort
to rise it threw up its he.ul and brought it dfiwn
on the ground again with a thumj).

1 managed to plunge the he.ivy assegai through
the cut in its skin and det;p into its side, hut with a
sudden spasmodic movement it broke the shaft in
two, leaving a short piece att.iched to the blade
sticking in its body. In another moment it was
standing on its legs, but kept reeling about like a
drunken man. I now r.ui to the tree where the
guns had been left, and taking the loaded one,
aimed a shot at the still staggering rhinoceros, hut,
as not infrecjuently happened in the eld muzzle-

l-]b

AFRICAN NATUKK NOTFS

CMAf.

loauine days, a .n.sscd fire. I quicklv put on a
rcrcap bu a. that missed l.re t..o. I concluded
;;::;\h;.^.l,>lc had got stopped up m^^^^^^^^
ukI so took up the Run with which I h<id ori< n U>
wounded the Rhinoceros, and commenced to rdoad

'^ 1u;;tV;:;:^the bullet rammed d.nvn. however.
UK el re r could put the cap on the n.pp e. the
rh m^ros: which all this tune h.l been n^k.ng a
series of she^rt runs, first in one u.r.cfon and th n
n another, but had always been qtnte close to us
s"art"d off in a straight line, puttn.g on more pace
u\-verv step- and although we ran as hard as ^^e
' ou d w. nlver overtook it. and 1 did not t,re at
it aw in. Mv bullet no doubt passed above he
anh^al's brain-pan, and must have lodged n, the
3es of its L:k. onlv stunnmg .t tenMK^r^^^^^

, U r.dly --^X ;^: ^h^ -unX t£t Z
loner ;i tmie alter laiimg lo "-"^ o _ .
ecoverv and eventual escape, alter rece.vmg a four-
ounce bullet through the upper V-^^ ^^ ^-J^^^
MH.l havin.- a-ash cut in its side at least two lee
iongno'to mention a deep stab in the region oi
heVart. is, I think, one of the n.ost remarkable
incidents I have ever witnessed during a .ong
rxtierience of African hunting,
^^lother equally curious, but ktr "-re exas^K-r^tt-
in.r cxnerirncr occurred to me early '" ^''\>., "^"J
when was hunting with two friends. DorehilUmd
Kin.^sley. on one of the tributaries o the river Daka.
S silty miles to the sou.h of the \ ictona ?all.
if he Zambesi. At the time of which I am writmg
bu^loes literally swarmed all over th.s part o the
country, and it was in order to -^--yj^^ ^^^
these 'animals and lay in a suppK of good ta
„,■• t that we had U-ft ovir waggons standing at
"place known .ts the Ik^obab vley. and made an
^xcuSon to the east, necessarily on foot because

XV

KINGSLEY MEETS A LIONESS

of thi; ise-tse tiy. Both biitYalocs and tse-tsc flics,
1 may say, ceased to exist in tiiis district long long

One evening I w.is coming home, ami within a
mile of cam[> — all my Kafirs and Bushmen carrying
heavy loads of m'.;at cut from two fat buffalo cows
which 1 had shot during the day — when, whilst we
were passing through a thick patch of scrubby
thorn bush, a shot was fired a short distance to
our right, immediately followed by a loud [)urring
growl ; then all was (juiet again.

Calling to my Bushman gun-carrier to keep close.
1 ran in the direction of the sound, and soon came
upon Kingsley quite alone anil looking rather scared.
Having a sore heel, he had rttmained in camp ; but
it appeared that having seen a buffalo bull crossing
the open valley on the (Jther sid(' of which our
camp was situated, he hail gone after it all by him-
self. Being quite strange to the country and know-
ing nothing about hunting, Kingsley had lost sight of
the buffalo amongst the thorn scrub, and not being
,ible to follow its tracks, was making his way back
to camp, when he suddenly saw an animal moving
through the bush about twenty yards ahead of him,
which he took to be an impala antelope, as he could
only see it very indistinctly. He immediately
fired at it through the scrub, when, to his horror, a
lioness thrust her head into the open, and staring
fixedly at him, gave a low growl. Kingsley said he
stood quite still, but was afraid to reload his rifle or
make any movement for fear of further e.xciting the
savage-looking animal. The latter, however, after
having gazed steadily at him for a few moments,
turned and trotted off.

We now examined the place where the lioness
had been standing when Kingsle\ fired at her, but
could find no blood, and I have no doubt that h<'
missed her. We then tried to track her ; but her

2:S

AFRICAN NATl'Ri: V')TKS cHAr.

soft feet had lefl so little trace on ih.- hard ^Tound
that .■veil my Bushmen could not lollow it, so we
cave it up and all returned to camp loirether.^

As I took mv ritle from the Bushman w.io had
been carrying it'. I saw that the hammer was gone.
This ritl<" was a singU^barrelled ten-bore, with under
lever action and a hammer. On examining it. 1
found that the screw that had held the hammer in
place on the tumbler had evidently worked loose
!md fallen out. with the n-sult th.it th(. hammer had
dropped off. Now I felt sun- that just before I had
heard Kingsley's shot I had seen the hammer on
the rille. and believed that it must have fallen oh
whilst we were running a distance ot not more than
four hundred vards. I was very much annoyed at
the prospect of having my favourite ritle put out ot
action indehnitelv. although the Bushmen were
confident that they would be able to find the lost
hammer the ne.xt day. Th<y said the>- wou d
follow the tracks of my gun -carrier and myseli.
where we had been running, inch by inch on their
hands and knees, burning the scanty grass a:; they
went along. In spite of their contidence, 1 mi^st
sav 1 had verv little hope that they would be
successful, and 'lav down to sleep that night with
a heavy heart, for I thought that my well-tried
and favourite ritle would have to be laid on the
shelf for the .emainder of the year.

On the following dav. after having sent my gun-
carrier and two other Bushmen to look for tne
hammer of my ritle, Dorehill and 1 went out hunting,
leaving Kingsley in charge of the camp. On this
occasion I took with me. in place of my t^n-bore
a single-barrelled eight-bore weapon, which 1 had
often used before, as I had only lately sold it to
Dorehill. This ritle was fitted with a hair trigger
which one set bv pushing the trigger forwards. 1
knew liiat my incnci iuiu uiiven ^-c t--.. •'• >■'■>■ "-—

XV

ISII>OUAN, ISILOUAN

279

to pieces, and cleaned and oiled it just before we left
the waggons, but I did not know that he had done
anything more than this. It afterwards turned out.
however, that he had, as he said, "just touched the
detenter " with a fine file, but unfortunately had taken
enough off it to throw the mechanism connected with
the hair trigger out of order. This, however. I only
found out to mv sorrow later on.

About two 'hours after we had lett camp, we
emerged from the open forest, with which most
of the country was covered, upon a broad open
valley, devoid of bush, but covered with a thick
growth of yellow grass some four feet high. This
open vallev was bounded on its further side by
a rocky ridg*^ some twenty feet in height, which
formed the edge of a level expanse of country
covered with small scattered trees, and a very
scanty growth of fine grass, of quite a different
character to that growing in the valley below
Down the centre of the open ground ran a small
stream of water, a tributary of the Daka river.
We ha-' just crossed this stream, and were within
fifty yards of the steep ridge that bounded the
further side of the valley, when two of our Kafirs,
who had been after a honey-bird, and who were
coming diagonally towards us through the long
grass, and had just reached the stream about one
hundred yards below us. suddenly shouted out
••Isilouan. isilouan ! " ("Lions, lions!"), and came
running towards us. Seizing the eight-bore rifle
from the shoulder of the Kafir who was carrying it
just behind me, I ran towards them, calling out.
" Where are they ? Which way have they gone ?
" They jumped out of the bed of the stream." they
replied, "and went forward through the grass
towards the ridge."

I did not wait to hear anything more, but ran
to the ridge as hard as I could, closely followed

28o

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

CHAP.

by the Kafir who h.ul been carrying; my ritle.
Climbing quickly to the top, I turned and looked
'■agerly for the lions, which I had hoped to b(; able
to see from my vantag< ground in the grass below
me. But I saw nothing, and s<j began to walk
quickly along the edge of the low bluff, keeping
my eyes as wide open as possible. .Suddenly I
heard a slight noise a little ahead of me, as of a
small stone being moved ; and turning my eyes
in the direction of the .sound, saw a lioness just
em<;rging from the grass at the foot of the ridge.
She was on a little game - path, and evidently
intending to come up to th(.' higher ground where
1 was standing ; so, whispering the one word
"aima" ("stand") to the Kafir behind me — a good
staunch boy — I remained perfectly still, scarc(;ly
daring to breathe. The lioness walkeil slowly up-
wards and was immediately followed by a fme- lion.
One behind tht; other, these two magnificent brutes
strolled leisurely n\) the steep i)aih until they stood
on the level ground above.

Just as they came to the top, the lion walked
partially behind the lioness, whose hind-quarters
then covennl most of his head and shoulders. 1
don't think 1 was more than from twenty to thirty
yards away from them, and there was not a bush
or anything els(; between us but a scanty crop of
short grass less than a foot in height, yet neither
of them seemed at first to notice anything. I, on
my |)art, remained absolutely motionless, not wish-
ing to fire until I (-ould get a ( lear view of the lion.
After they h.ul walked broadside on to me, tor
perhaps fifteen yards from the edge of the bluff,
the lioness stopjied. and turning hi-r head, looked
towards where 1 and the K.ifir stood. The lion
took another step or two forwards, and then also
stopped and looked at us. They were standing

XV

A UNiyUK OPPORTUNITY

281

another, the lion perhaps a foot in advance, so
that he looked at us from just beyond his com-
panion's head.

Now was myopportunity, and did ever hunter have
such a chance before, I wonder ? The eii^^ht-bore
elephant ritle I carried could certainly have driven
a bullet ihrouojh two lions, and had 1 hit the lioness
in the middl-; of the shoulder and at thirty yards
I could hardly have helped dn\n^^ so — the bullet
would have passed clean through her, and caught
the lion just behind the shoulders, an equally fatal
shot, as it would have passed through the big
blood-vessels of both lungs. My ritl(i was already
on full cock and the hair trigger set, and. raising
it to my shoulder, I f^ok a cool and careful aim
and pulled the triggei. Click went the hammer,
and just came down to the half-cock. This per-
formance I repeated at least half-a-dozen times,
but always with the same result.

All this time the lions stood perfectly still,
watching me quietly and in rather a sleepy kind
of way. Then the lioness walked forwards again,
closely followHtd by her companion, but after taking
a few steps they broke into a trot, which soon
changed to a heavy lumbering canter. I ran .ittcr
them as hard as 1 could, but soon lost sight of them
amongst some small bushy shrubs.

Running into and through these bushes, 1 found
myself close to th(; edge of the bluff again which
skirted the open grass valley, for the lions had
run round in a half-circle. Feeling sure they hail
descended to the lower ground, I ran on to the
edge of the ridge, and at once saw the lion standing
just below me at the foot of the bluff, and close
to the edge of the long grass. The lioness I could
not see. I don't think the lion was ten yards away
from me. He had evidently heard me coming, and
stood (luite still looking m me whilst 1 tried three

282

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES chap, xv

times to fire at him, but the hammer would not
go beyond the half-cock.

Then realisinjj; my helplessness, and mad with
r.i^e and mortification, I caught my useless rifle
by the barr(-l with both hands and threw it at
the lion below me. It clattered down amongst the
stones close to him, causing him to throw up his
tail with a loud purr and disappear into the long
grass. The ritle. though somewhat bruised and
ilinted, was not much the worse for its fall. 1
think this episode is about the worst piece of bad
luck I have ever met with. No such chance of
shooting two lions at one shot had ever been offered
to me before or has ever occurred since, and it
was surely the very irony of fate that this unique
opportunity should have fallen to my lot on the
one and only day when my favourite old ten-bore
was useless to me, for the Bushmen not only found
the hammer which I had lost the day before but
the little screw that held it on the tumbler as
well !

CHAPTKR XVI

KUKTIIKR CURIOUS IIUNTINC KXI'KKIKNC ES

TnivellinK' throuKh the wilderness— Find dcc|> pool of water -Meet
with two tsessebc antelopes— Shoot them both Cover one of
them with dry yrass to keep off vultures— R.de back tr) waggon
— Return to pool of water— Kind t-,es>-:ebf antelope i;one
Never rerovered -Journey tn Hamangwato— (.emsbuck seen-^
Stalk spoilt Lonu, -tern chase— (;emsbu.k wounded— Lost
throUKh glare of setting sun Wildebeest seen — Return to
waggon -Arrival of Count von Srhwcmit/ l.ost Kemsbuck
found Two hartebeests shot.

Towards the end of May 1884. 1 was travelling
westwards through the uninhabited stretch of
wilderness which lies between the Gwai and the
Botletlie rivers. I had a roomy waggon for a
home, a good span of oxen, some spare cattle and
milch cows, and three salted' shooting horses. I
had bade good-bye a month previously to the few
Englishmen who were at that time living near the
native town of Bulawayo. and was not destined to
see another white face or hear my mother-tongue
spoken for many months to come. My servants
were a Griqua waggon-driver, a lad of the same
nationality who looked after the horses, and two
Kaf^r boys. But, besides these. I had with me,
at the lime of which I am writing, a few Masarwa
Bushmen, who had accompanied me in the hope of

' That is. horsL-. which IutI contracted and rcov.rcJ Irom the n.o-t virulent
futn; -..•f hofjr -i.-!;r,rv..

283

284

AFRICAN NATURK NOTES

CHAP.

I^cuinjj; ii supi)!)' ot jjjanK' meat, and whom I found
vi:ry ust;ful as ;^'uidcs from orn; pool of water to
anolhur, as well as lo clt-ar ,i path for the; wa^<ron
by chopping down sm.ill trees and bushes wherever
this was necessary ; for we wen- travellinjj; across
( ouiury. towards the settint; sun. without a road or
track ol any kind, where- never a waggon had
pas.sed before.

One afternoon, leaving tlie Ikishineii with the
waggon, as there were .i few bushes and small trees
to be chopped down hen; .uul t' ere, I rode on
ahe.id, telling them to fiy,low on ni. horse's tracks.
Aflt;r having ridden slowly forwards for about an
hour .nid a lialf through country sparsely covered
with low bushes and small trees. I waited until the
waggon came in sight, and then rode on again.
About an hour before sunset, 1 found myself
approaching a deep d(;[:)ression in the- ground,
.iround whicii grew several large trees. Keeling
sun- th.ii this hollow would prove to hold a good
sup|)ly of water, I rode towards it, and suddenly
caught sight of thi- head of a tsessebe antelo}>e
through the fringe of long grass which surrounded
tht; pool. 1 immediately ducked down, and slipping
off my horst;'s back, left him standing in the long
grass, and crawh-d cautiously forwards.

On reaching the (.-dge of the cup-shaped hollow,
1 s.iw beneath me a deep pool of water, some thirty
y.irds in diameter, and 'jc^ween the circumference
of the water and the ring of long grass which grew
all round the top edgt- of the hollow was a piece
Ol sloping ground some ten yards in width, free of
grass or .uiy vegetation whatever. On this bare
ground, just opposite- to me, stood two t.sessebe
antelopes. They wer<- both standing motionless,
with th(Mr heads turned away from me. Being on
sloping ground, their hind-cpiarters were lower than

not Hccn an antelope of any

litrr

,1, ..1.1

I U...1
J

XVI

TWO rSKSSKBES SHOT

28s

size for some days, .mJ wanted meat badly lor m>
native servants and tlogs, ar.d much rei;retted that
my ritle was not a doiible-barrelKel one, so that i
miglit have secured them both.

One of the tsessebes was standing; witli its rumi.
more squarely towards me th.m the other, so aiming
just at the root of its tail, I tired, and saw at once
that I had struck the unfortunate animal <xactly
right, as its hind-quarters immediately Ljave way.
though it struggled towards the grass with the help
of its forelei^s. At the re{)()rl of my ritle th*-
unwounded antelope came galloping round the open
ground surrountling the pool to within a short
distance of when- 1 was sitting, then, halting for an
instant, turned and galloped back again. Just as it
reached its stricken comrade. I hail relo.ided and
was ready to fire again. Although this tsessebe
was galloping pretty fast, it oftered an easy shot,
for it^was almost bro.idside to me when I tired, and
within sixtv yards' range. As 1 pulled the trigger,
down it went as if struck by lightning, and 1 telt
very pleased at having secured a much needed
supply of meat, close to the pool of water by which
I had made up my mind we would camp that night.
in order that none of it should be wasted.

On walking round to where the tsessebe last
shot had fallen- the other one had struggled into
the long grass— I found it l>ing flat on its side, and
apparendy just expiring. My bullet— a 360-grain
hollow-pointed projectile. lired from a 150- bore
Metford ritle had struck it some six inches behind
the right shoulder, and rather below the central line
of the body. I turned the animal over, and seeing
a bulge in the skin in the middle of its left shoulder,
felt it^with mv fingers, and squeezed up the tiattened
and expanded cone of lead, which had mushroomed
out to the width of a halfpenny, under the skin. As
far as 1 could see, the prostrate antelope could not

2 86

AKKILAS NAIURK NOTKS

vHAP,

possibly liavc bijcn llii: vicliiu ol a more jjcrfrct or
inorf (l(;adly shol. \Vli<:n I reached it, it was still
brealhinj;, but w.is limp antl app.iniitl) at its last
gasp. Sei/.injj; it by the lovvt-r jaw, I pulled its
head backwards, .md was abcnit to cut its throat,
wh<;ii a dark shadow passed over the water below
me. Lookiujr up, I saw a vulture sweeping through
the sky, whilst half a dozen more ol these keen-
eyed scavengers were- close ,it h.md. No, it would
not do lo cut the antelope's throat, and leave .i
great |>ool of blood on the bare ground where it lay ;
f(jr I knew that h.id I done so the vultures \ luld
hiive torn the carcase to pieces whilst 1 was riding
back to hurry up the waggon. 1 therefore let the
animal's head swing back ami fall to the ground,
anil set to work to cut grass with my pocket knife.
In ten minutes I had completely covered what 1
believed was the carcase of a dead animal with
sheaves of long grass. Then I looked for the one
1 had first sliot, and found it lying dead just beneath
a small bush. I prop|)etl it up against the stem of
the bush to make it look as if it was lying asleej),
which I thought woulil protect it from vultures for
the time being ; and then mounting my horse, rode
back to the waggon, which I brought to the pool
about half an hour later, just as the sun was going
down.

My men and the Masarwas h.id been extremely
delighted to hiar that I had killed two tsessebe
antelopes. We [)ulled the waggon close up to the
carcase of the one first shot, and then leaving the
driver and one of the Kafirs to outspan the o.\en,
I led the way to where the other one was lying by
the water all covered up with grass. There was
the grass right enough, but it now I.iy on the bare
ground, and there was no tsessebe antelope be-
neath it. The incomprehensible beast had got up

copf' off \t firw;r I fhniifrht i lif^n mnot K-,,-,.

.m<

XVI WOUNDKD ANIKLOPE KSCAPKS 2«7

dragged thr dead .nimal away iminK-'iatt^ly alter I
h.-ni left it. All exainimatioii of the ^uniiui. liowe.ver.
soon showed that no lion had heen there, hut that
ihti tsesscbe. which I could have sworn was at the
Ijoint of death, had got u[) and walked oM. \V«li,
1 thought it couldn : have goiu; inai.y yards, so wc
at once set about following it.

We followed it till dusk, but never set <!yes on
it .igain. At first \vc found blood here and there
on the tracks, but after a time this ceased altogether.
Then the spoor got mixed up with the tracks of other
tsessebe antelopes, and then it got ilark ; so w«-
returned to camp, and only cut up one animal after
all. 1 went after the resurrected one the ne.M
morning with the Hushinen, hut not knowing exactly
which spoor to follow, v.\; never got it. I have no
theory to account for the escape of this animal. All
I know is th.it the incident happened e.xactly as !
have described it.

Nearly four years after the date of the incident
which I have just relateil, in March iSSS, 1 was
travelling from Secheli's station towards Khama's
old town of Bamangwato. Leaving my waggon
in the shade of a cluster of tall, ft-ather) foliaged
mimosa trees which grew beside a pretty minia-
ture lake of fresh, sweet rain-vvater, I rode out late
one afternoon to look for game, and heatliiig to-
wards a long low line of ridg^js which ran parallel
with the waggon road a few miles to the east of
Selinya vley, rode slowly across an undulating ex-
I)anse of country, everywhere studded, hut nowhere
thickly covered with thorn hushes of various kinds,
.sometimt's growing singly, at oth«'rs in clusters.
The soil was soft and sandy, and irregularly covered
with tufts of thick, tussocky grass ; ve^ry ht;avy
ground to gallop over.

I had ridden less than a couple of miles when I
suddenly espied a single gemshuck feeding amongst

<8K

AFRICAN NATURK NOIKS

I HAP.

ihr sc.au-n<l l.ushcs. about hv(- huiulr.a yards ah«-ad.
Mclorc the .mim.il rais.d its hca<i I slipixd In.m thr
sad.U.- and WA my hors.- out to ..in; sid.-, till 1 ^'ot
I thick cluster oi thorn hush.-s hctwct n niyscll and
ilu- iM-autilul, lonK-hornrd anfloi-.-. l hrn remouni-
inu. I cantt;r.:d .luickly up t<. th.- cover, and a^jain
disni..unlinK'. I'lilU-d ihr hri.ilc ov.r my hors<- s head
and Iftt liiin stamhni;. . .

On . ncpin^' round the hushes, and raising' my
h»-ad cautiously ijhove a thick tussock o\ ^rass. i
^aw that the j;.'msl.uck was still Icedin^ quif un-
su'^piiiously .ibout iNNo hundred yards auay trom my
hidin-'-i'l.tce ; and as there s.-emed to be ab.s'.luK-ly
no \nn(l 1 at ouci; commenced to crawl on my
li.uulsand kne<:s lowar.ls a bush that 1 judged to
b« within easv shot ot my intended viclun. On
n-achin- this 'l a-ain looke-d up. .md at tirst could
not see' the -emsbuck, but the next mstant I saw
it uallopin- "away, and about three hundred yards
„tf Cilancin- towards where 1 had left my horsx-.
1 saw it hail walked out from the cover ol the
bushes b.;hind which I had left it. and by so dom^r
had doubtless spoilt my stalk. RunnuiK back to
ii. 1 mounted hastily .uid commenced a lon;^r, stern

The .^emsbuck. a hne old bull, kept up a stroni,^.
stc-adv pace, its lonK'. bushy black tail sw.ngm^r
from 'side to side as it ran. The soft sandy soil
and tussocky ^va-'^ made the goini; very heavy.
but I was well mounted and gradually -amed upon
the desert-born antelope I was pursumg, till at length
little more than two huiulred yards separ.ited us.
I'erh.ips I should never have got up to this gems-
buck at all h.id it run straight away trom m<^ but
it had continuallv kept swerving inwards, and this
had enabled m<; to cut in on it. I wice I pulled in
my panting horse, and jumping to the ground,
.- . 1 ., ., 'K.-fio--.. of C.M11C --CO vards. noth these

XVI KVIR^ rHINC SKKMKI) A RKI) MI.IR 280

shots missed ; hut the tliird tiiiu: I firt'il. haviti},'
held well ahead of the tleeiii^^r antelope, .is it swcrvetl
siuldrnly iiiw.irds, 1 heard the tiiiul ol my hullet
that meant a hit, aiul soon alter this the wounded
aniin.il hei^Mn to slacken its |i.ice very sensihly.
fhen the hunted beast led me into hard <,4rounil
of limestone lorm.ition, he.idinj^ strai^dit down an
()|)«;n valley leadinj^ to a thickish j^rove of mimos.i
thorns, and exactly facin^^ th(! j^reat fiery <lisc ot
the- settinjr sun, now vt^ry near the horixon. (lather-
ing up the rtMiis antl encoura<fin<j[ my ^ood horse
with \()ice and s|)ur, I pressi-d it to its utmost s|)eed
on th'- hard ^routul, and raced up to within thirty
y.irds of the ^emshuck, whose strenj^th was now
evidently failinj.; fast.

I (:)u;>ht to have scalloped rii;ht past it, as I could,
notloubt, very e.isii\ ha\e'done; but I foolishly pulled
in to ^et a shot before it j^ot in amoni^'st the mimosa
tre.es towards which it was heading. When I raised
my rille to tire, the red ^lare of the setting; sun
was full in my eyes, but I thouj^ht that as 1 pr«ssed
the trit;t(er the foresight of my rille was just on the
black patch above tht; i^c^msbuck's tail. Then every-
thing seemed a red l)lur, and tor st)me lew moments
after I had r(?mounted and aj^ain L,MlIoiK;d forwards
amongst the trees which the wounded antelope had
just reached as I lired, I could see nothing dis-
tinctly. Not havinL,-^ heard my bullet thud, I did
not know wheth(;r 1 had hit or missetl, but galloped
straight ahead through the open forest, and soon
rode out into a broad valley quite free from trees
or bush for a distance of several hundred yards.
No gemsl)uck was in sight, and as 1 knew thai
the wounded anin:ai 1 was looking for could not
have crossed this open piece ot ground whilst I was
riding through the narrow belt of thorn trees, 1
thought it must have turned either to the right or
left in the shelter of the wood.

u

«i

290

AFRICAN NAIURK NOIKS

CilAl*.

I first U)<>k ;i uirn to the rii^^it. and \v;is just
comiiiff round ag;un to cut my liorsc's spoor in
the oi;cn valK-y down which I had jijalloijed just
before my last shot, when 1 saw an animal runnin;^'
amonL,fst the trees ahead of me. The sun had now
set, and the, Vv^ht was already bad, c;s])(-cially beneath
the shade of the trees; and as I went in pursuit,
1 thought I was after the wounded ^emsinjck once
more. I was, however, soon undeceived, tor on
gallopiuLJ out into an open ijlace, I saw an f)ld blue
wildebeest bull lumbering along in front of me. 1
at once pulled up, and again rode round to cut the
gemsbuck's spoor : l)ut it was now fist getting dusk,
and 1 had somewhat lost my exact bearings, so I
gave it up as a bad job and rode otf westwards till
I cut th(; waggon track, and fmally reached my
camp.

I was much annoytul, for a genisbuck bull is
always a beast worth shooting, and this particular
one. which I had so unaccountably lost, had, I felt
sure, carried a very tine head.

1 had my supper and turned in, but I could not
sleep for annoyance at losing the gemsbuck. Could
I, I wondered, with the sun shining full in my eyes,
have fired a little too high, and instead of hitting
the gemsbuck at the root of the tail, have struck it
in the back of the head or neck.'' Had I done so
it would, of course, have fallen to the ground as if
struck by lightning, and I might then have galloped
close past it without seeing it, both because I was
looking on ahead through the trees and because
my sight was still blurred by the sun. Anyhow, I
thought I would go back anci solve the mystery the
next morning.

It must have been about ten o'clock at night
when my dogs began to bark, and prese ly I heard
some one ride up to my waggon, it proved to be
Count von Schweinitz. a German gentleman whom

XVI

(JEAISBLCK KOUM; DKAD

291

I had met a short time before, and wlio, I kiieu.
was about to proceed on a shooting trip lo
Mashuiialand. He told me that he had left his
waggons some twe/nty miles aw.iy at H.itlanarma
vley, and ridden on, as he knew 1 was not far
ahead, and he wanted to have a couple of days'
hunting with me.

I soon got my visitor sonvjthing to eat. and
^vhilst a sleeping place was being pre-pared for him,
told him how I had lost a tu.e gemsbuck through
tiring at it witli the- setting sun full in my eyes.
Count von Schwi-init/ wanted particularlv to .see
some gemsbucks and hartebeests, as he knew that
these animals were not to be got in Mashunaland.
I mtormed him that 1 thought "we would be sure to
hnd hart';beests, but could not answer for gemsbucks.
though I told him that if we could find the one 1
had wounded and lost, I hoped ' would take its
head.

At daylight the next morning we rode 01 with
lour of tny Kafirs, and took my horse's track to
where I had galloped after the wildebeest. Then 1
took a sweep round and cut the tracks of the gems-
buck, intermingled with those of my pursuing horse,
and following them up, came on the beautiful
antelope, lying dead just on the edge of the thorn
trees where I had last seen it. It was just as I
had surmised. My last bullet had gone .1 little
high, and striking the gemsbuck in the back of the
neck, had sh.ittered the vertebrae and killed it
instantly. It had, of course, fallen all of a heap in
Its tracks, and, impossible as it may seem, I had
galloped past, and within three yards of the dead
antelope, without seeing it. This, of course, could
not have happened had not my sight been blurred
for the moment by the glare of the sun. My horse
probably saw the gemsbuck fall, and so did not shy
as it passed it.

m^

^^^

AFRICAN NATURK NOTES lhai-. wi

My first bullet. 1 found, had entered the gemsbuck's
right flank, and ranging forwards, must have inflicted
a wound which by itself would soon have proved
fatal. The dead antelope carried a remarkably fine
pair of horns, massive, widespread, and symmetrical.
They measured 3 feet 3 inches, which is quite an un-
usual length for the horns of a bull gemsbuck. which
are, as a rule, much shorter than those of the cow's.
The horns of the latter seldom measure more than
3 feet 6 inches, though they have been known to
reach a length of within half an inch of 4 feet.

After cutting off the head of the gemsbuck, which
I gave to Count von Schweinitz, and leaving two
boys to cut up the meat, we rode off to look for
harteb(;e.sts. \Ve soon found a small herd of these
animals, and shot two of them, a bull and a cow. I
then sent one of the two natives who had accom-
panied us to my waggon for four pack donkeys, and
with their help carried all the meat, both of the
gemsbuck and the hartebeests, to camp, which we
reached early in the afternoon.

CHAPTER XVII

INCIDKN'TS OK A JOURNKV TIIROLC.II THK
NORTHERN KALAHARI

Southern KlKKlcsi.i— Country farther west still a primeval wilderness

— Seldom traversed by white men — Scarcity of water

Kciiiarkable rain-storm —Porcupine flooded out -Even,- hollow
lilltd with water— All jjame in KOod condition— Many varieties
encountered Large herd of elephants— Four large bulls- W.^n-
ness of elephants— Lions roaring near camp— Search for them on
the following morning— Large male ^een and chased into thick
bush — Suc( essful encounter with a second male.

SouTHKRN RiiODKSLx, in which vast territory is
comprised Matabelelancl, Mashunaland, Manicaland,
and part of Gazaland, i- low a well-known country
traversed by railways and supportinir a considerable
white population, the bulk of which, however, is
confined to the mining districts and to the towns
of Bulawayo, Salisbury, Umtali, and Gwelo. But
between the western frontier of Southern Rhodesia
and the swamps of the Okavango river there
stretches a broad expanse of primeval wilderness
which the recent development of European activity
in all parts of Africa has left entirely untouched.

The reason for this is not far to seek, since ihe
whole of this country is, in the first place, entirely
without hills or indeed stone of any kind, and there-
fore cannot contain gold ; and in the second, entirely
without rivers, and therefore as a rule a sun-scorched
waste, almost destitute of surface water, except
during the rainy season.

•!93

]ifiEEI«;Sc3S^K.

2f)4

AFRICAN NATURK NOIKS

CHAi'.

Thus it has hcten left an uncxpIorfHl wildernc-ss
which has si-Idoin hcen travcrs(;d by white men,
exc(;j)t (Jii certain well-known routes, such as the old
wa^rgon trails from Tati to Pandamatenka and
from Hamanjjjwato to the Mal)abi river, and even
on th(,'se I have travelled in dry seasons seventy
and a huntlred and tw(;nty miles resjiectively with-
out water.

Occasionally, however, when exceptionally heavv
ri'.ins have fallen during th(; [xist wet season, this
desert land becomes a very pleasant country to travel
in. Such a year was 18S4. Towards the end of
May of that year, a full six weeks after the usual
close of the wet season, the most extraordinary
rain-storm I hnvi- ever experienced swept over th<-
desert to the west of MatalieU.land. 1 was at that
time travelling slowly westwards by bullock waggon,
following no track, but making my way across
country under the guiiiance of iMasarwa I5ushmen
from one f)Ool of water tf) another.

Ont; afternoon dense masses of black clouds
gathered in the west, and presently spread over the
whole sk\- There was neither thunder nor lightning,
but towards evening a strong wind sprang up, and
soon afterwards a steady rain began to fa'l, at first
light, but ever increasing in intensity, until soon
after dark it was coming down in such a way that I
thought it impossible that it could last long. Hut
all through that night and until midday the following
day, the heavy rain never ceased to fall. During
the afternoon, however, the sky again grew lighter
and the rain gradually ceased. I>y midnight the
stars were shining from a cloudless sky.

Early the following morning I rode out to see
the effect of this unpn.'cedentetl downj)our, and
found the face of the country completely changed.
On the sand ridges no differcMicc was apparent, as
:hc thirsty soil had easily absorbed all the rain that

XVII

A VKRV P I. K AS ANT COUNIR^

2Q5

had fallen on it, hut the intcrvt-ninj; spaces where
the Mopani trees lluurish, and where the soil is a
sort ot li^lu cl.iy, had been transformed into broad,
shallow lakes, from a few inches to two feet in
de{)th. Ridinj^ across one of these flooded valleys,
I came upon a porcupine seated disconsolately on
the stem of a fallen Mopani tree- the first of these
animals I had ever come across in the daytime.

The surface floods soon soaked away on the
level around, bur -very holKnv became a lake or
pond which held .ter for a longer or shorter time
accordin^r to its uepth. and when retraversin^' this
same tract of country some five months later. I still
found all the larger hollows fairly full, and was
therefore able to travel at my leisure with ease and
comfort through a '-ountry which, in ordinary
seasons, would have been quite impassable by
bullock waggon at that time of the year.

Under these conditions, I found this usually
arid waste a very pleasant place to wander over.
Game, though not very abundant, was still in
suflici(;nt numbers to enable me to keep my own
people and the several families of Ikishmen who
had attached themselves to me in rude plenty.
Owing to the favourable season, all grazing and
browsing animals, including my own cattle, were in
very good condition, and my larder seldom lacked
the choicest portions of the giraffe, eland, gemsbuck,
and .springbuck, four of the best animals for the
table, when in prime condition, which South Africa,
or any other part of ihe world, can produce. Blue
wildebeests were more plentiful than all other
species of game, and on the broad, grassy plains
which stretch westwards from Metsibutluku— the
bitter water — often congregate.-d in herds of from one
to two hundred individuals. Here, too, large troops
of zebras -Chapman's variety of Burchell's zebra —
Were L^keii iu be met with, as well as small herds of

2(^b

AFRICAN NATURE NOTKS

eHAl>.

the Cape hartt:b(jcst. now cjuitc a scarc(; animal, as
it has been cither i;xterininale<i in most parts oi its
tormer ran^e or driven into the waterless deserts of
South -\\'<-sl(Tn Africa.

In the dense thorn junjj[les which lay a little to
the north of my route, a larL^e herd of elephants
sptMit the whole y(tar, as I saw their tracks when
tr.ivelling westwards from Mataheleland, and ai;ain
on my return (eastwards some live months later.
These animals were, however, very wary, never
drinkint^ twice running at one pool, and travellinjj;
immense distances every night. 1 twice followed
th(Mr spoor for a whole day and slept on it without
coming Jp with them. But besides this large herd
ot cow and young bull elephants, there were four
immense old bulls (judging from their tracks), which
frequented the same jungles but liveii by th<;mselves
apart from the herd.

These old patriarchs I tried hard but unsuccess-
fully to find in the daytime, and I also watched for
them at nights on several occasions at vleys at
which they had been in the habit of drinking, but I
never had the luck to hit off the right |<ool of water
on the right night. Once they drank at a vley
within a mile of the one at which I was watching,
and I heard them at the water, but on this occasion
I think they must have got my wiiul, as, although I
was early on their tracks antl followed them all day
with the best Bushmen spoorers, I never got near
them, and the ne.xt day rode home, shooting a fat
giraffe cow on the way.

I may here remark that it is of little use, if you
ilo not come up with elephants which have been
frightened on the first day, to follow them any
larther, as, when alarmed, these animals travel very
f.ist .md far at nights, and on the morning of the
second day will, in all probability, be much farther

/»H fn'jf^ fn#»\r \tr«t-*j HTn*-»r» <•/->'• fir.--f tr\/~\\r itf\ tnt.

x.ii (^RANDESr OF ALL KARIHLY MUSIC

^v7

(^1 lions there were a few, but nut very many,
in this [jart of the country, and niy one successful
encounter with one of these animals clurin«r this
season occurred late in the year, when I was once
more nearin.i,^ the western frontier of Matabeleland.
My wai^r^ron was then stanclinj>; beneath sonu? tall,
feathery leaved ihorn trees near a large vley of
water, beyond which stretched an open plain covered
with a rather short -rowth of yellow i^^rass for South
Africa as it was not more than about two feet in
length. This open [)lain was skirted to the north
by dense jungles of wait -a-liit thorns, and on its
other three sid(;s by open Mopani forest and scrub.
My camp was on the north(,'rn side of the plain,
quite close to the thorn jungles.

At this time I had been long absent from the
farthest outpost of civilisation, and had not seen a
white iii.m s face or spoken a word of English for
more than six months ; but I never felt lonely or
low spirited, for I liad plenty of books with me to
r...id at nights, and hunting and collecting specinK.-ns
of natural history filled all my time bv day. I was,
too. in perfect health.

One night 1 was reading in the waggon rather
late, when a lion— the first I had heard for a long
time--cominenced to roar loudly appan.-ntly no*!
very far away, and was imnn-diately answered bv
several other lions roaring in unison. After this,
and until I went to sleep, this roaring became almost
continuous, but 1 could tell that there was one lion
which always roared alone, and was answered by
several others which all roared together. Presently,
lulled by this grandest of all earthly music, I went
to slee[).

1 awoke just before daylight, and as the lions
were siill roaring. a[)parentl\ within a mile oi .he
waggon, I at once got up, ,uul after drinking a ci;/
ol coffee, rode out jubl al dayiigiii. accompanied by

2(-)S

AFRICAN NAIURK NO'FKS

V. H \P.

.1 inouiitcci (Iriquii lac! and several ol my best
I'lishnifti. to look for them. Twice after we had
Ifit the watTLTon their deep, int^nacint: voices rolled
out over lh(.' silent veld, and assured us that they
were still in the open ,i,'rass plain, hut after the sun
rose they became silent.

We- had ridden for jierhaps a mile and a half
ai:r(j.ss the open plain, when I sudde.-nly saw some-
thing dark a[)pear above the ioni; yellow c^rass some
lour hundred yards aliead of me, and kiu-w at once
that what I had seen was the maned shoulder of a
lion. At this time I do not think he had seen us,
but had just risen from the spot wh(.Te he had been
lately lyini^ roarinsj^, with the intention of makinjrhis
way to the thorn jun(,d(.-s ahead of him. I was
mounted on a vt^ry j^ood, well-trained shooting horse.
in splendid hard condition, and very fast, and I at
once put spurs to him, and rode as hard as he could
{TO, in the hope of iL^'ettint; up to the lion before the
latter ,t,'ained the shelter of the thorn jungle, where
no horse could have followed him.

I he noble cjuarry gave but one quick look
towards the approaching horse, and then turned and
galloi;ed away through the grass at a great pace,
making straight for a smalf island of forest and
jungle lying in the open plain ju.st outside the main
bush. I was now going at racing speed, and was
gaining fast on the lion, who did not appear to
be e.xerting himself, though he got over the ground
I)retty quickly, going at an easy gallojj, and looking
like an enormous mastiff. fie was very dark in
colour, with a full dark mane.

Just before he got to th(? edge of the small
isolated piece of bush, I ought to have pulled in
and takcMi a shcjt at him at about 150 yards, but I
thought lie wouUl halt at the ed "- of the cover and
turn round and look at me, as lions, after having
hv-.-r. rhasj-d :!cr'^ss an open place 0:1 horseback,

:.:-,-.% A I y\_

XV n MIK I,()()K;KI) I. IKK AN KI,ANI) HUM,"

2fi(i

often do; hut this one ^alloprd straiiijht into th<-
cover, and I lost th'- chance. 'l"hc [Mtcli of bush
in which he now was, was not more th.ui ickj yards
hm^ by 50 Ijroad, but was only sep.irated from the
main junjj;le by an open [M(;ce of ground quite
destitute of cover and about 60 yariis .icross at the
narrowest point. Having ridden round this isolated
piece of bush without seeing anything more of the
lion, I thought hi; must be hiding within it, and
de'terniinetl to send tu the waggon for my dogs,
which I knew would soon show me his whereabouts,
as soon as the Bushmen c.uik; up.

They soon appeared with my mounted after-
rider, who at once told me that, after I galloped
forward, he had come on behind me across the
plain, and had ridden right on to hve lions lying in
the grass, a big male and four females, which had
trotted slowly away tf) a tongue of bush extending
into the plain from the main jungle about a mile
back.

I now rode round the piece of bush again, in
which I thought that the lion I had chased was still
hiding, with the Bushmen, in order to make sure
that he was still there, and had not run straight
through it and across the o[jen into the solid jungle
beyond, which he might just have had time to do
without my seeing him, for I had pulled in for a
moment near where he had disappeared.

Sure enough, we found his tracks emerging from
the top end of the bush, and loilowed them across
the open to the thick cover beyond, and as it would
have be(;n useless to look for him here without
dogs, 1 galloped back at once with my .ifter-ritler
to where the latter had last seen the other lions.
"Was the male a big one^" I asked him. "Sir,"
he answered, " wheti he turned and stood lookin;^
at me trom th(f top ■)f that piece of rising grourui
lie looked iike an eland bull .

^00

AFRICAN NATIRI, NO'IKS

I haiv

\Vl- h.id jiisl jt.i^scil th( |,()iru of lh(; loii^uc of
i)iish I li,iv(; |)rcviousIy alludril to, when my boy
said in Diitcii. " ] )aar's hij ; pass oj) : liij zai ons
ia,i,^d " (" I'hcrr lir is ; look out : he will chase us"),
and luniinLr his horse's head. L;aIIo|)ed away. I had
not yet seen the lion, hut I soon made him out stand-
in;; lookini,^ at nie. with his head held low. He was
not more than eiL,'hty yards off. .ind 1 was just going
to dismount and have a shot at him. wh<n out he
lanie with mouth held half op<;n and ears laid back,
jerking out wiiii ever\ hn-alh ,i rolling tliunderous
growl. My horse km-.w the- business wi-ll. and was
round and off with the promptitude and speed of a
well-trained polo pony, the lion close behind.

I think he got up jirelty nt-ar i>s with his first
iurious rush, but then my horse gf)t into his stride
and gradually ilrew away from him, and when he
had chased us for about 150 yards, he pulled up,
at the same time ceasing to growl. It was the
cessation of the ro.iring that let me know he had
given up the chase, and pulling my horse in. I
brought him round again as quickly as possible.

The Vum was then standing looking at me, and
as I approaclK'd he lowered his head.' .md at once
commenced to growl again, whisking his tail raiMdly
Irom siile to sidi; without cessation. I knew he
would charge again in a moment, so gave him no
time to get his wintl, but dismounting as (]uickly
as possible, raised my ritle- and took a quick shot
lor his open mouth. The bullet must have passed
just below or on one side of his lower jaw, as it
struck him in the ch(;^t, causing him to stand
straight up on his hind -legs, and fall over back-
wards. He recovered himself immediately, but
abandoning for the moment .ill thought of again
charging, turned .and trotted b.ick towards the
shelter of the trees hi; had left a short time before.

I w.'is fjnirkb

ti-,.. .-.,,).n,. „,_..:_ 3 _ .1

gaiiuping

:'.t^ls.

XVII

A FINK LI()\ Kll JFF)

P'

up bohiiul him. .is I l«arc(l t.(> lose siglii ot him in
tJK' hush. H(; ht-anl mc commj^^. and whipping
round with an anL,'ry roar, char^id aijain in finf
styh-. this time. ho\\<v<r, chasini,' mc for less than a
hundred yards, and comin}^ to a hah as h.lorc ri<,'hl
in the open. I brou^'ht my horse round as cpnckly
as I could, antl ai^ain dismoimtin. . tired as he stood
facintj me, and attain hit him in th^ihcst. when le
at one..' turned and made for the hush, on reachinL,^
which he lay down under a l.ir^e thorn tree. T
now walk(;d my horse towards ' him, and findini4
that he was apparently too far jrone to ^.-t on his
legs airain, though h<' raised his -rea-^ead and
growled savagely as I approached. I came quite
near to him. and gave him a third shot in the chest
which killed him. He proved to he i fine lie n just
in his prime, in beautiful coat and wth a very fair
man(;. He was. too. extraordinarily fat. ' The
Bushmen took every particle of fat from the slain
monarch, but left the nst of the carcase for the
hya;nas and vultures, which the\- would not have
done had they been short of meat' of other kinds.

I imagine that this lion was the lord and master
of the four lionesses who were with him wh(;n my
after-rider disturbed them, and that the single lion
1 had chased and lost was a deprav(;tl animal who
wished to interfere with this dom<;stic arrangement,
but had been unable to allure anv of the lionesses
away from their rightful lord, and'had not dared to
put the matter to the ordeal of combat. Thi-,
explanation would. I think, account for the con-
tinuous roaring which had gone on during the
whole of the previous night.

CHAl'Ti: k XVIII

Till I \s| Ol sOlTll \1 l.l( \s (,\Ml: IIMNIs

lH(ic.i^<- ol j,aiiiC' III SouUl Afiii.i (ciurniA lri>in M.i-h .ii.il.iii.l t"
llii' K.i^t Afrii .11) I II 1-1 I'ltiil i'iuiilr> full i>( ^j.iiiic KIcph.int.
drtat liiiils (if liiill.iiiic^ luciilii bulU lluilibui l-.^ ( )tlii i
.inl<l()|H's aiul zel)r.iv — (uiioMty iif tlie l.ittir aniin.iK W.irt
ho^;-., Iiii-ili |iif;s, .iii'l lii]i;ii);.(i!.iinu'-(> -Nuiiilicr-- ni i arnivcirous
animals 'I'Ihcl- Ihhi'- ^ciii Kiiic iiiak- uoumliil, .iiul subsi-
iiiicntlv kilk'il.

DluiM. the iwiMity \iais sucLCcilitT,; my tirsi
arrival in South Alric.i in 1S71, I had constantly
wan(U;rLcI and huiitiid (jvur vast areas of country,
from the Cape C(jlony to far away north of the
Zambesi, ami in that time had seen Ljame of
all kimls — from the elc-pliants, rhinoceroses, and
butfaloes of the forest reujions north of the Limpopo
river to the wildebeests, blesboks, and sprinj^bucks
of the .southern plains — gradually decrc.ise and
dwiiuUe in numlnrrs to such an extent that I
thouj,'ht th.it nowhere south of the j^reat lakes
could there be a corner of Africa left where the
wild animals had not been very much thiimed out.
either as a result ol the opening up and settlement
of the country by Iiurope.ms or owinc,' to the
extensive ac(juisition of firearms by the native
tribes.

In the year 1S91, however, when attempting;, on
behalf of the British South Africa Company, to

#ri.|. fr,\1t^ tli«. fc«._t..-*» tlir Kt.t ii-'-...'^

<!is

1^==' \.^

cH. xviii COUNTRY TKEMINC; VVI

;AMK p7

Mashunaland and the Hast African -i, 1 walked
into a country still teeming with bl..; :\ime, for no
w! 'U: man, as far as I am aware, had ever hunted
there before the time of my visit,' and the fell
plague of rinderpest, more potent for mischief than
many legions of human game-destroyers, had only
recently commenced its ravages, thousands of miles
away on the plains of MasailrUid. Moreover, the
natives living in this low-lying, fever-haunted district
were few in number and almost destitute of firearms.

Elephants still wandered over this tract of
country, often in large herds, as their tracks and
pathways leading in all directions plainly showed.
But these animals, whose fatal possession of ivory
has made them an object of pursuit to man in
South- East Africa ever since the days when the
ancient Arabian traders carried gold and ivory to
King Solomon, appeared to have inherited a timid
and restless disposition, which, in spite of a present
immunity from persecution, kept them always on
the move.

All other animals were, however, singularly tame
and confiding. Great herds of buHaloes feeding in
the reed beds along the rivers or lying in the shade
of the scattered thorn trees allowed a near approach
before taking alarm, and some of the old bulls which
were; frequently encountered f.-ither alone or in little
bands of four or five together would scarcely take
the tr(3uble to get out of one's way. I remember,
when first descending from the broken country at
the head of the Mutachiri river, where there was
but little game, into the level coast plains, the first
buffaloes I encountered were five old bulls, which
were lying in the shade of some palm scrub on tht;
bank ol the river, whose course I was following.

' Tiic rurtugucM-' »;.n travollcil occasion.illy IxMwci-n Iln- runywe rivt-i
*ntl M:^^■■i■k^■^^i nivir huntf.l or lelt the ftx^tjiath. along which ihry wen-
cntnt'ii in li:;in'iu rf-L ^,

304

AFRICAN NATURE NOTES

CHAP.

As I walked towards them they raised their y^reat
armoured hi ads and looked curiously at the first
human beinif with a hai and shirt on they had
pro!)al)ly i-ver seen. My small retinue of native
servants was just then some little distance behind,
and not until I was within fifty yards of them did
first o,i(.', ihen another of thesi; massive black bulls
rise from his bed. l>ut not immediately to run off,
for they stooil their <fround and still for some time
stared inquisitively — one mijj[ht almost have said
menacingly — with outstretched noses and horns laid
back on thtMr necks. However, in a long experi-
<;nce of African buffaloes, I have not found old bulls
ot this s[)ecies either savage or agL,'ressive when not
molested —at any rate, when they are feedin;^ or
resting in ground sufficiently open to allow them to
S(;e anything approaching ; though a sudden charge
by a buif.ilo lyir ; in long grass or thick jungle,
which has eitlie. been previously wounded by a
hunter or mauU;d by lions, is not an uncommon
incident of African travel.

On th(^ occasion of which I am speaking, when I
was not more than thirty yards from the five old
bulls, one ot them actually came trotting towards me.
I then took off my hat and waved it. shouting out at
the same time. Then the old fellow turned and
trotted away, and soon breaking into a heavy,
lumbering gallop, was quickly followed by his com-
panions. Later on, the same day, another solitary
old buffalo bull allowed me and my native followers
to walk past within eighty yards of where he lay
without even troubling himself to get up.

After the butfaloes. the bushbucks were the
tamest animals in this gre.it natural game -park.
These lovely little animals, whose rich dark brown
coats are in this part of Africa most beautifully
banded and spotted with white, would stand ''azini>-
at me, amongst the scrubby bush or open forest

xvni GALLANT-LOOKING OLD STALLION 305

they frequent, and often allow a very near approach.
The denizens of the open plains — blue wildebeests,
tsessebes, Lichtenstein's hartebeests — were wilder
and mon; wary than the buffaloes and bushbucks,
but still tame compared with their much-hunted
relatives in other parts of South Africa; whilst water-
bucks, recdbucks, oribis, and zebras (Burchells)
were all very t.ime and confiding, and the latter, i"
th"y did not get one's wind, very intiuisitive, as
I have found them to be in other unfrequented
districts.

One day I was resting with my native attendants
and taking a midday m(;al on one of the large ant-
heaps with which many parts of South-East Africa
are studded, when a herd of perhaps a hundred
zebras came up over the open plain to see what was
going on. Led by a gallant-looking old stallion,
the whole trcjop advanced slowly to within about a
hundred yards of where I and my boys were sitting.
Then they halted, and for a long time all stood (|uite
still with ears pricked and eyes turned towards us.
After a time the leader came walking slowly forward,
and was .soon followed by a few other adventurous
spirits, the mass of the herd remaining where they
were. 1 was myself so absorbetl in watching this
novel and interestlpg sight that 1 did not observe
that one of my Kafirs (who took no interest in any-
thing but dead zebras) had stood up behind me.
until I saw the most venturesome of our visitors turn
round and trot back to their comjjanions. I then
told all my boys to sit down and ke( p quite qui<'t ;
but akhouL^h the oUl stallion and a f(!w of the bolder
spirits amongst his followers came forward again,
they would not approach nearer than about seventy
yards from us, the whole troop moving u[.' slowly
behind th('m.

I suppose 1 must have sat watching these beautifu'

atlim.lls fnr lll)\v;irflc: <>( ;iii hrMit- 111,1 flioi- ();,1 ti/~,

3o6

AFRICAN NATURK NOIKS

(. HAI'.

finally trot away iiiuil we had i^ot our things packed
up and wen- preparing lo move in their direction.

I found both the w.irt-hogs and the bush-pigs,
too, either very tame or very stupid ; and several
hippopotamuses, which were disporting th«'ms(;lves
in small muddy l.igoons, were at m\ merc\, had I
wished to inK-rfere with them : but on this trip 1
killed very few animals, n(jr ever tired a single shot
except when obligc'd to do so, in order to secure a
supply of meat for myself and my native .ittendants.
In a country so well stocked with antelopes,
z(;bras, ,ind buffaloes, carnivorous animals, it may
well be supposed, were not wanting, ,iiid, indeed, iii
no part of Africa prob.d)ly wen; lions. Icopanls.
hy.x-nas, wild dogs, and jackals more plentiful than
they were in the neighbourhood of the lower
Pungwe river at the time wh<n Mr. Rhodes's
pioneers first entered Mashunaland.

But all carnivorous anim.ils are almost entirely
nocturnal in their habits, aiul then'fon- only occa-
sionally encount(;n'd ii; the daytime : and on the
occasion of my first visit to this district I .--aw
neither lions, hya.'nas, nor lt;opards, though the
two former animals n)ared and howled iiightly
round my camp, .md the grunting cry of the latter
was often heard. Nor w.is I much more fortunate
in this nspect on my second visit to the same pdvi
of the country in 1892 ; for though 1 spent six weeks
travelling and hunting between the Tung we river
and Lake Sungwe during October and November
oi that year. I only saw three lions, though then-
was not a single night during the trip on which 1
tlid rujt hear some of these animals n)aring, some-
times close to camp, at others in the distance. On
several occasions, too, I he.ird time diften lU tnsops
or families of lions ro.iring un the same night.

On the day when 1 .saw the three lions, I h.ul
lefi camp with a few ralive followers verv enrlv- \n

THRKK I,IC)\^ SFKN

307

ihc morning;, .uid was walkin- acr(..-,s ar, op :i plain
stuildcd with lar^'c ant-heaps, from whicli the lono-
Ljrass had hittm for th(; most f)art Inirnt oft. On mv
ri|L,'ht was a small river whose banl , were frin-^f.-d
with a thick growth of scrubl)y husii. My course
lay parallel to this river, but oui Me the strip of
bush. Suddenly I came in si_<,du (jI two li. s at
distance of 400 or 500 yards out on the ojje., plain.
They were advancing,' at a slow walk towards the
river and had be(.Mi previously hidden fmrn our view
by some large ant-heaps. These 'wo iions .saw us
at the .same moment that we saw ti m. and a- )nc'-
halted and stood watching us. 'I'elling mv uatiw
attentlants to sit down and n ain whe • thev were
until my return, I commenced to w Ik towards the
lions, hoping that the\ would allow me to approach
within shot before running off, as I kn<'w that these
animals, which in many parts of .Africa are very
shy and wary, had very littl. fear of man in the
Pungwe river d-strict at that time. However,
before 1 had advanced fifty p.ices, both lions turned
round and commenced to walk slowlv towards a small
patch of long yellow grass which had (^scaped thtt
last grass tire. They walked away from me at a
very slow and leisurely pace. One seemed a
monster, the other either a female or a youn" male
with no mane.

I now commenced to run towards them, but had
not gone far. when a third lion, that had previously
been hidden by a large ant-heap, was suddenly
revealed to me. He had evidently been walking
over the plain about a hundred yards to the right
of the other two lions, and not having se-en me,
did not understand why these latter had first come
to a halt and then turned roimd and walked back
again in the direction from which they had just come.
When 1 first saw the third lion he was standing
lurneti away irom me and looking at the other two.

.r«

AFRICAN NATURK NOCKS

CHAP.

Ouickly sw(Tviii|,r to the lett, but without stopping,
I almost iinmediately put a largt- ant -heap between
us, and th( ti ran to it at my utmost speed. This
ant-heap nas quite twenty feet in diameter at the
base, and ten or twelve f(-et in h(;ight. I quickly
climbed half-way u|j it and then looked round the
side, ami saw that the; single lion was still standing
watching the other two, which were at that moment
just entering the patch of long grass of which I have
already spoken.

I now edged myself in a sitting position to the
side of the ant-heap nearest the lion and prepared
for a shot. He was facing half away from me and
something more than two hundred yards off; but
there; was not so much as a blade of grass in the
sha])e of cover on the level burnt plain between
us, and had 1 attempted to gee nearer to him he
would certainly have seen me at once and then
tnjtted after his com[)anions. So, steadying mysedf
and taking a careful aim with the 200-yards' sight,
I fired. My bullet must have passed close beneath
the brute's chest — I think behind his forelegs
as I saw it knock u[) the dust just beyond him.
He at once sprang to the spot where the bullet
struck the ground and again stood still, facing now
exactly away from me, without apparently having
taken any notice of the report of my rifle- a 450-
bnre single-barrelled Gibbs-Metford.

I'^xtracting the empty cartridge and pushing a
fresh one into the breech, as silently and quickly
as possible, I fired again, this time taking a fuller
sight and aiming for the centre of the lion's some-
what narrow hind-quarters. The tlull thud which
answered the report of the ritle assured me that I
had hit him, but I never saw a lion before make
so littU; fii.ss about a wountl. He gave one spring
forwards, accompanied bv a loud growl, and then
jiijuu siiii ligain. Dui oiii\ lui' a iiujineui. 1 hen

XVIII

MON WOUNDKI)

309

ht; came irotliii'Lj; round towards vviierL- I sat on tlie
side of the aiit-lnap, turniii^r first to one side then
to the other. ,uu\ cvideiilly searching for what had
hurt him, and I am sure that had he made me out
he would have char-ed instantly. However. I was
dn?ssed only in an old felt hat! a cotton shirt, and
a pair of shoes, and my scanty garments and bare,
sunburnt limbs were all so weather-stained, and
harmonised so well with ilv- neutral tints of my
immediate surroundings, that he never saw nie.

I had thrown th(; empty cartridge out of my
rille before the lion turned, but had no time to
reload before he commenced to trot towards me,
for. knowing that th(; very slightest movement on
my part would attract his .ittenticjn. 1 sat jjerfectly
still, feeling sun; that in cise of ,1 chargt; I should
have ample time to slip the cartridge;, which I held
ready in my hand, into the breech of my ritle before
he got to me. However, he never discovered me,
though he approached to within a hundred yards
of the ant-heap on the side of which I was sitting.
He then stopped, and after first looking towards
mc, turned round ami once more stood facing
exactly away from me.

This was my chance, so hastily loading and put-
ling down the 200-yards' leaf sight, I again fired
at him, and again h(!ard my bullet strike. With a
loud growl he sprang forwards, and then went off at
a gallop. He turned almost immediately and, run-
ning almost broadside to me. made for a large ant-
heap with some bushes growing at the top of it.
Before he reached it I fired again and knocked him
down, but after having lain still for a few moments
he got up and half-ran. half-dragg(;d him.self to the
ant-heap and disappeared behind the bush on its
summit.

1 iiow\vaIked round and reconnoitred the ant-
heap beiiiii.l vviiicii the lion h.id disappeared, and

JIO

AFRICAN NAIURi; NO IKS

C MAI'

f()iin<l that just beyond it there was a small |)atch
ot unliuriu irr.uss quite six te-et hi!:;h, in which, no
doubt, he was hiding;. To have approached this
patch ol lontj grass across the open plain would. 1
telt sure, have meant facing a tierce charge at clos'j
quarters, for the wounded lion had shown every
sign of being a savage and determined animal.

About two hundred yards to the left of the place
where the lion was lying was ancnher ant-heap, at
the foot of which grew two good-sized trees, and
as I thought I nu'ght be able to see something from
the top of one of them, 1 went back to where I had
lelt my Kafirs, and taking one of them with me.
iiKule a circuit and came up behind the trees. My
native attendant (juickly climbed to the top of one of
them, but declared he could sc.-e nothing of th(; lion,
although he said that the; patch of grass in which
it was lying was very small. He then began to
come- down the tree again, talking all the time.

He had got about half-way down when two wart-
hogs which had been lying aslee[) somewhere near
us. disturbetl by his voice, got up and went trotting
straight towards the spot where the lion was lying.
rh(;y did not enter the grass, but passed close to it,
and the lion must have heard them coming and made
ready at onct^ to repel another attack, for the Kafir
suddenly saw it standing just within the edge of
the grass. "Sir. sir, 1 can see the lion," he called
to me in his own language. " I can see nothing," I
answeretl. "Come up the tree' a little way," he
said, "and \-ou will be able to see it." I told him
to come tlown low enough to reach the ride i
handed to him. and then climbed into the k^wer
branches of the tree. When about ten feet above
the ground I could see the lion's head and the
outline of its back indistincth through the grass,
h'irst aroused by the near .ipproach of the \vart-

hofS. he W.is no (lonlif nou li^^tcm'n.r (,, n.. t-.Uin.r

\\ III

MON KHJ.KI)

i"

I got .1 littU; hi^^ht-r up the tree, but although
Iroin this position I commaiuied a somewhat clearer
view, I c(Hiid not st'-ady myself to fire, so I came
lower down and fired a shot with the 200-yards'
sight. This shot missed the lion altogether, but it
had an excellent efftxt, as the angry brute at once
chargfjd out of the grass and c.ime straight towards
where he had heard the t.dking. At first he showed
signs of partial paralysis of the hind-quarters, but
gathering strt-ngth witli every stride, he was soon
coming ahaig at a great pace, growling savagely
and evidently prepared to make things uncomfort-
able for the first human Ixting he met. I let him
come on to within about fifty yards of the tree in
which I was perched, anil then sh<jt him right in the
chest with an e.xpanding bullet, which tore open his
heart and killed him almost immediately.

This was the last of the thirty-one lions I have
shot, and the first and only one of these animals
that I ever shot from a tree. He was a fine full-
grown animal, just in his prime, with a good mane
for a coast lion, very thick set and heavy in build,
and enormously fat. My first two bullets had
struck him close together just below the tail, and
either would probably have killed him had it been a
solid proj(;ct:le, but being expanding bullets they
had prot)ably not penetrated beyond the stomach.

We found subsequently, on examining the place
where he had b(;en lying in the grass at the foot of
the ,int-hill, that he had vomited great lumps of the
meat and skin of a wildebeest on which he had been
feasting,' the preceding night. My third bullet had
struck him too far back. Lchind the kidneys, and
passing just below the backbone, had momentarily
paralysed his hind-(iiiarters, causing him to fall
\vlu;n hit and subsequently to show weakness in the
hind-legs.

CHAI'TP.R XIX

now I sr'lNT ( IIKISTMAS DAY 1X79

rr.ivfllin^ through the .lesirt- I.arj-e niimb.r of b.ill.Hks--I.,„.K
<ii>tanrcs l)etuccn permanent waters Ilcavy ^and Start for
Mahakabi— Int.nso heat .Sufrcrin«s of the ],,»., oxen- No
water at Malialcabi - Scar, h for water with lUishnien Kuiiies—
Another (h^appointment- Hide all ninht Reach the I.uali
river -Hullo, k^ lo^t ~ l)i< ks a. toimt of the < atastrophc Kear
the worst- K„le to Shoshone for asMstan. e Ncturn to Klahala
Meet wa>;j;on-.

rKAVKi.MNG south through thtf ih-sert countries Ivintr
between the Mababi nvrr and Khamas old town of
Shoshonn, (hiring the month of Dt-ccmber 1S79. we
had found water plentiful as far as the Hotletlie
Farther south, how(;v(-r. but little rain appeared to
have fallen, and it was not without liitlicultv that we
crossed the desert stretch between that river and
the wells of Tlakani.

Our party was a large ont;, as we were travelling
in ctjmpany with a number of Khama's j.eople who
had been liunting in the Mababi country during the
past season, and with whom we were on very good
terms. Thi-st- people- were under the command of
1 inkarn, one of Khama's inost trusted chiefs, a man
who had been a hunter from his vouth upwards, and
who from the life he hid led had always been closely
associated with the wild Hushmen of the desert
whose language he spoke llue-ntly, and over whom
he exercised a strong influence.

.^^- -M£^-.f^r^^^^

CHAP. XIX

SCARCITY OF WATKR

3'i

Tinkarn and his peopU- had »ivc wa^j^ons with
them and we whitr men four, two of uliich belonged
t») inc. one to Mr. II. C. Collison, .md one to a
mutual friend, who had lost himself and died of
thirst, poor fellow, some few months previously in
the dreary wastes which lie between th*- Chohi and
the Zambesi rivers.

1 hail with me two younj; Capt; colonists, Messrs.
Miller and Sell, so th.it we were four white men
together. Havint,'^ full spans of si.xteen o.xen for
each waggon, as well as some s])are animals, we had
some 150 bullocks with us altogether, as we-ll as
eight or ten shooting horses

South ot Tlakani there was no permanent water
nearer than th(t wells of Klabala; the de<;p pit of
Inkowani having ceasc.-d to hold water since the
emigrant Hocrs had deepened it during their
memorable but disastrous journey through these
same deserts in the winter of rS;8.

In this country of railways, the distance between
Tlakani and Klabala — not much ov>'r one hundred
miles probably— may seem very small, but as the
track between the two places lies through a level
expanse of soft desert sand through which ,1 heavy
South African bullock waggon can only be dragged
at an average rate of from a mile and a half t<) two
miles an hour, it meant four days and four nights at
least of constant travel to get through it. Tinkarn,
however, had learned from the iiushmen that good
rains had fallen not long before between Inkowani
and Klabala, and felt sure that our live stock would
get a drink at th(; pools of Mahakabi, in which we
had found a good supply of water in the previous
April.

As it would be a terrible pull to get our waggons
through even as far as these pools, we gave our
cattle a three days' rest at Tlakani, where the wells

*i.'f*f"#* iii*-»l»«K^ I".. 11 u,.i'„- — _« . .. • . .11.

MICRCXOPY RESOIUIION TEST CHART

iNSI cry iSC 'Ei' i:h;.P' Nr. ?

1.0

I.I

II 1!^

'' IIIIIM

mil 1.8

III 1-25 !!!!i.4 i!.6

^ ^P.-PLIED IKMGE Inc

'^^z'^'^^:

3'4

af:<ican natlrk notks

I. H A :

1 must here say thai in the wiiUi-r season, whei:
the nit^hls are IcMii; and cold, and the sun not
intensely h<jt diirinj; the daytime, a j)icked span ot
bullocks in t,rood hard condition will sometimes
manaj^je to pull a waggon along for four days and
four "nights without drinking, hut in very hot
weather no bullocks that I have ev(;r seen can work
for more than half this time pulling heavy waggons
in deep sand and without water.

Christmas time is .ibout the hottest season of tht:
year in South Africa, unless heav) rains happen to
be falling, and at the time of which 1 am writing
the; heat was simply terrific. The country around
us was an absolutely dead level in all directions,
everywhere clothed with a sparse covering of low-
thorny bushes, whose little grey-green leaves and
hard black twigs, over which little hook-shaped
thorns are profusely scattered, afforded but little
protection from the cruel sun. I'"arly in the day
the sand became so hot that it was cjuite impossible
to kc;ep the palm of one's hand upon it lor more
than a few seconds at a time, nor was it possible to
hold one's hand on any pi(xe of iron exposed to the
sun's rays. The sand itself was so deep and soit,
that our heavy bullock waggons sank in it to a depth
of several inches, over the fellot;s ot the wheels, in
fact ; and as our long caravan moved slowly and
painfully forwards, both bullocks and waggons were
almost hidden from sight in a thick cloud ot tme
dust which rose from the trampled ground into the
still hot air. When the sun set the relief was
immcMise, but still the heat thrown up from the
scorcht^d sand was vt;ry great, and it was only tor
one; short hour b(;tween dawn and sunrise that the
temperature became [)leasaiuly cool.

It was about four t)'clock on the afternoon ot
December 23 that we finally left Tlakani, after
na\'irig v_circ!iUii\ iiiK-\-i our Wiiiei -ciIoKo tujci j^i\e4i

r^^;^"

■-.>:f:

all th(; bullocks and horses a good drink. At
sundown we outspanned. made a hasty meal of
dried eland meat roasted on the ashes, washed
down with a cup of tea, and then inspanned attain.
All that night we trekked on with only two short
intervals of rest, and when day broke on the
morning of December 24, our oxen had done ten
hours' actual pulling through the heavy sand and
covered some fifteen miles since leaving Tlakani.
All this day we travelled slowly onwards through
the frightful heat, giving the bullocks an hour's rest
after every two hours' pull. The terrific heat of thir
cruel pitiless sun told upon the straining oxen very
rapidly, for it must be remembered that nothing but
steady hard pulling by every member of each span,
all pulling in unison, could move the heavy waggons
through the deep sand, and nothing made of tlesh
and blood could work very long in such a tempera-
ture without drinking.

Towards the close of the long day it became a
pitiful sight to look at the poor oxen, as they toiled
slowly and painfully along, with lowered heads and
tongues hanging from their gasping mouths. The
hot air they breathed was full of fiery dust, which
rose in clouds from their feet and hung suspended
in the breathless atmosphere long after the last
waggon had passed. This hot dust no doubt very
much aggravated the terrible thirst from which our
bullocks were now suffering, and kept them continu-
ally gasping and coughing.

.\t last the dreadful sun turned blood-red as it
neared the western horizon, and then soon sank from
view behind the interminable landscape of stunted
thorn bushes. When outspanned during the day,
the bullocks had made no attempt to U\i::{.\, but had
only stood about in clusters amongst the shadeless
thorn scrub ; I was in hopes, however, that they

wouiu gra/c

litttC at sunset, aiueit tiie ijrass

3i6

AFRICAN NA'I'URK NOTKS

CHAP.

scorched and scani. Hut they wvic. too parched to
do so ; and so, huni^ry, weary, and lerribly thirsty,
th-: poor Ijrulcs were once more yoked to the heavy
waL,^i(ons just as the short twilij^du of the early tropic
nit^lit was i^ivin*:; place to a bright nioonli'^ht, for it
want<;d but a coiii)l(; of days to full moon. 'I he
whole of this second night we travelled slowly
southwards, with short intervals ot rest.

I kept awake once more throughout the night, in
order to lime thr; periods of travel and the intervals
of rest. As we w('re four I*luropeans, we might
have ke|)t awake turn .ind turn about, and turned
in for a sleei) in one of the waggons when not on
duty ; but when travelling through the desert I am
always too anxious to be able to sleep, whilst
making a push from one water to another, and
always make a point of timing the treks myself, and
keeping the w.iggon- drivers antl leaders up to the
mark ; for these latter naturally get worn out during
such journeys, and often are so tired that when a
hall is called, they just throw themselves down
when- they stand and lii- there like logs till it is
time to move on again.

During the night we passed the; deep limestone
well and .shallow pan of Inkowani. both i. which
wt:re perfectly dry, and presently Christmas Day
1879 dawned upon us, and the cruel sun was soon
once more shining over the desolate wilderness
around us. By this time it had become evident
that our bullocks could not possibly pull the heavy
waggons much farther. Oi.., or other of them
was constantly lying down, and had to be mercilessly
beaten or its tail twisted or bitten before it could
be induced to get up again and struggle on a little
farther. Although th<; waggons of our Bamang-
wato friends were; much less heavily laden than
ours, their bullocks were much inferior, and on the

whole in quite ;is Swrry a pli"'"*

"b'

XIX

CATTLE DRIVKN TO MAHAKABI

.?'7

About ten o'clock it became impossible to get
the wnggons ulong at all, and we had to givi; up
the idea of reaching the pools of Mahakabi, Irom
which we were only about six miles distant, with
them, as we had hoped to have done. We there-
fore outspanned, and prepared to drive all our
cattle and horses to the w.iler. let them have a
good drink and feed there, and return to fetch the
waggons in the afternoon. Collison was not very
well, so he and Sell remained with tht: waggons,
whilst Miller and I — both of us mounted — and all
our coloured boys, w ith the exception of the waggon-
drivers, accompanied Tinkarn and his people to
Mahakabi, taking all our cattle, horses, and dogs
with us. Tinkarn, I think, only left a couple of boys
to look after the five waggons belonging to his
people. I let him start first with all his people and
their troop of cattle, Miller and 1 following with
our own herd, driven by our own boys, about a
quarter of an hour or twenty minutes later. I rode
my own favourite shooting horse " Bob," and l(;d
Collison's best nag " Big Bles," his after-rider, a
Mangwaio boy, named Dick, being mounted on his
second horse. I had had a cup of coffi;e when we
outspanned just before daylight, but had eaten
nothing since the previous evening, and h.id not
even tied a piece of "biltong" on my saddle, when
leaving the waggons with the oxen, as I had hoped
to get back again before sundown, and was besides
too full of anxiety to think much about food just
then.

Although the bullocks were u:iaV>le to drag our
heavy waggons any farther through the deep sand,
they stepped out briskly enough along the road
when unencumberetl, and evid'-ntiy knew that they
were being taken to water. We wtre just appro.ich-
ing the first of the two pools of Mahakabi, ami could
fjce the cattle of our M;:ngwato friend.-; .standing

li^

3'8

AFRICAN NAFURK NfVFFS

I HAI'.

rnuml aboul it, when 1 saw linkarii coming ridini;
hack to in(<t me. " M(;tsi utiii ? " ("Is there
water?"), I asked. •' Metsi haio " (" There is no
water"), he answered; alinusl inimtnh'alely adding,
'• liul we shall find water : I have two Ikishmen
here who will show us water." From the appear-
ance of the i^rass, it was evident that a heavy
shower of r.iin must have fallen over this part of
the country aliout a month before our arrival, and
'I'inkarn told me that then* must then have been
a j^ood supply of water in the Mahakabi vleys,
which, however, had been very rapidly sucked up by
the intense; heat which had lately prevailed. When
the .Mangwatos' troo[) of cattle first reached tlu;
nearest and biggest vley, there was still a little
water in it, but the thirsty beasts just rushed into
the shallow pool, and of course soon trampled it into
mud. Two Bushmen, however, had been found at
the water, who, of course, knew Tinkarn and feared
him, as one of Khama's most influential headmen,
and these savages reported that heavy rain had
fallen farther to the east during the last moon,
and thought that a certain vley they knew of would
probably still have some water in it. If there should
prove to be no water there, said they, they would
guide us to the place where the road from Shoshung
to Pandamatenka crossed the Luali river.

It was now past midday, and the heat intense.
Our horses, as wi-11 as the o.xen, had been nearly
forty-eight hours without drinking, but as they had
done no work during that time, they were not suffer-
ing like the latter animals. However, I did not like
to go away with the cattle, and perhaps have to take
them right through to Luali, without letting Collison
know what h.id happened, so I sent Miller back to
the waggons, telling him to give the horse he was
riding a few pannikins of water as soon as he got
there, as our two largest cask;; had, I knew, been

XIX

A nor AND W'KARY TRAMP

;'')

scarcely touched. ShouKl ih • vicy spokt-n of by
the Bushmen prove to contain .i good siipplv of
water. I told Miller 1 would rest the oxen there
until after midday on the 26th, and drive them back-
to the waggons, after they had had a good drink, on
the afternoon of that day, in time to btart for Klal)ala
the same evening. Should 1 not turn up by that
time, however, I told him not to e.xpect me for at
least another twenty-four hours, as he would then
know I had had to go on to Luali.

Having bade good-bye to Miller, I started Dick
(who was mounted) and all our boys with our cattle
on the track of those belonging to Tink.ini and his
people, who had already set off ei'.stwards under the
guidance of the Bushmen. After a very hot and
weary tramp, we at last reached the vicy where our
guides had hoped to be able to show us water. As
in the pools of Mahakabi, so here there were still
a few gallons of liquid left, but not enough, un-
fortunately, to be of any use, as the thirsty oxen
just rushed into it and trampled it into mud
immediately.

There was now nothing for it but to push on for
Luali as speedily as possible during the cool of the
night. Soon the scorching sun once more went
down, but as the moon was near the full, we had
no difficulty in keeping a good line through the
open thorn scrub, and got on at a good quick
walk, as our thirsty cattle stepped out briskly, and
weary though they must have been, showed no
signs now of flagging. About midnight we called
a halt, and off-saddling the horses — about si.x of
Khama's headmen were mounted — lit fires, round
about which the oxen were collected in two herds,
the one composed of those belonging to the Mang-
watos. from which I kept ours a little separate. We
rested for about an hour, during which time I sat
talking With rinkarn. My hoys had all lain down

A^"

AFRICAN NATURK NOTF.S

CHAl'.

iKj.ir the r.rt^s and gone last asltep, as soon as
iliey had s(M:n th<; cattlt^ hc<^Mn to lie down, and I
would fain hav(; followed their ex.iniple, but was
afraid to do so Ust any of the thirsty beasts should
wand< r away, l-uckily, the brii^ht moonli^^ht en-
abled me to' keep an eye on all th(; cattle as they
lay scattered about in the thiii bush, from where
I sat. Presently Tinkarn sugi^'estcd that wt- should
saddle up attain and gel on towards the river. He
had been giving me .i lot of interesting informa-
tion about tlu; des(;rt Bushmen, their modes of
hunting, etc., and asked me to ride with him,
instead of remaining behind with my own troop
of cattle.

This I agreed to do: so. after waking up Dick
and all mv boys and telling them to come on with
the cattle at once, 1 rode lorw.irds, alw.iys leading
CoUisons horse " P.ig P.les." on the tracks of the
Mangwatos' cattle, which had trampled broad paths
in tin: soft sandy ground, that were very plainly
discernii)le in the moonligiit. 1 soon joined Tinkarn,
who was right in front with the two Irishmen, and
his pleasant com])anionship anil cheery talk helped
very materially to relif^ve the tedium of the long,
weary ride. At last, just as day was dawning on
the 'morning of December 25, w- reached the
little Luali river just wht;re the waggon road cro.ssed
it. Hert- there was plenty of gooa water, so
Tinkarn. the lUishmen. and I had a refreshing drink,
before ih( thirsty cattle had fouled it. for thi)ugh
there were several good-sized pools amongst the
rocks of the river's bed, there was no running
str<!am. The Mangwatos' cattle were close behind
us, and mv own troop 1 thought would not be far
behind them. 1 lowever, when an hour had passed
and they had not arrived, 1 began to feel uneasy ;
but Tinkarn reassured me, saying that Dick and
tile neni - bo\ s must t"i.t\ ^ KJUercei ici^iu^ luc mc^

XIX

DICK'S srORY

321

•ifter wc had l(;lt, l)Ut wi;re liound to he. here before
very loii^', as they had drunk noihinj^ since leaving
the waggons, .md their very Hves now therefore
depended on their getting to the water quickly. I
said I woukl wait till midday, and then, if they had
not turned up hy that time, ride b.ick on the catlk'
tracks to locjk f(jr them. In the meantime the only
tiling to d(} was to rest, as we had no food of any
sort with MS, and were therefore unable to satisfy
our hunger. I was very tired .md sleepy, as well
as hungry, having had no rest whatever for three
consecutive nights, nor any food for more than
thirty-six hours, so when I lay down in a .sort of
little cave amongst the rocks, where the sun would
not reach me the whole day, I soon went off into
a dt;ep tireamless sleep, from which I was .iwakened
late in the aft(;rnoon by Tinkarn, who informed me
that Dick had just turned up, riding CollLson's spare
horse, but without the cattle.

I soon le.irned what had happened. " After you
wok(! me and the herd-boys at the place where we
rested in the night." said Dick, " I saildh-d up my
horse, and then said to my companions, ' Let us
go ; the master has gone on with Tinkarn, and
all the Mangwato cattle have started.' But some
of the herd-boys said, ' No, Dick, let us rest a little
longer, for we are very tired. Th(;n we will drive
the cattle on fast, as we can see the tracks of the
big herd that has gone on ahead very plainly in
the moonlight.' I was tired too," said Dick, "and
did not think a little delay would matttrr, so I tied
my horse to a tret; and .sat down again by one of
the fires. Our cattle were still all lying down then.
It was very foolish of me to sit down again, for, as
you know, I had led mv master's oxen for two
nights previously through the deep sand, and was
therefore very tired and sl(>epy. After sitting down
again I don t remember anything, sleep must have

V

ill

AIRICAN NAll'RK NO IKS

I MM".

f)vi ridinc inc, as well a-, my c(iiiii)ani()iis. W'hiMi
.11 lasl 1 woki; aL;ain, ihc tires had all goiu- out, .uul
I could scti that tht: tliwii was just Ijnrakin^,'. 'Ihc
oxen wen; (,'(iiic. Wake, wakr.' I cri(.-d to my
com|)anioiis. • lh<: oxt;n h.ivc };ol up and L;»>nc
away.' Then w<- took up their tracks, which led
us away to the- north ami liad not followed on the
spoor of the Mant^'watos' cattle. 1 remained with
th(: rest of the hoys, followin;^ <>n the tracks ot th<'
cattle until the sun stood then" pointing,' to a part
of the heavens which the sun must ha\<- reached
It about lO A.M. -"and then 1 thouijht 1 must let
the whitt; man, my master's friend, know v hat h.id
happened. Ki peto " ("that is all '). " .\nd how
.d)out the herd l)oys, uill they not all die of thirst .•• "'
1 asked I )ick ; for, as they had been walking.,' 'n the
sun for the ^^reater [)art of the precetlinii day, I
knew from experience that, if they had not yet
reached water, they were probably all dead by now :
as, althou^'h a man may live for three or four days
without water duriiii; the winter season, no man
that is born of a woman can live much more than
two tlays, if walkini; hard all th(; time, when exposed
to the inten.se heat of the sun during the hottest
time of year in the; deserts of Western Africa. " If
(iod wishes it, ' said Dick, " the sun has now killeil
them all ; but I do not think they are dead. When
w(' all halted in the middle of the nii,^ht, you
remember there was no wind ; but when I awoke
before dawn this morning there was a light wind
blowing from the north ; and our oxen, on getting
up from where they had been lying, instead ot
following on the tracks of the other cattle, went
off in a bee line dead against the wind. I think,
therefore, that they must have smelt water and
were making straight for it. The boys that I left
following them up on foot thought so too. They
were iciiibi\ iliiirity when i Icii thei.i, but tnought

XIX

CAiri.K SCKMINd UA rP.R

3M

tlifir only chance for lili- was to stick to tin- ( altU-
tracks th(;y vvn- follouini,'. as tin y did not think
th(;y would have- tin- strcn^'th to ntracc their steps
to where uc r'stixl last nij^ht and th(-n follow up
the tracks of the .M,inL,'watu cattle to the l.uali river,
as I have done on horseback. "

I his was Dick's story, and how much or how
little to believe of it, I diil not know. He had
al\va\s l)ce:i a -ood, trustworthy hoy, and a i;r<-ai
lavourite with his master. I never ima^dned that
he and all my boys would have j,'one to sleep aj^ain
after I hail roused them, but I felt mort: angry with
myselt than with them, for not h.ivini; actually
seen my cattle started before riding forviard. As,
according' to Dick's account, ht; must have riiKlen
at least twelve miles on the tracks of our cattle
without their havint; come- to the w.itcr which he
thouj,dit they had smelt whilst the herd-boys .slept,
I could not believe it possible that they h.id really
scented water. Tinkirn. how(n'er, whose e,\i>erience
was far greater than mine in such matters, stoutly
maintained that cattle, when thirsty, could .scent
water at (extraordinary distances, and arguing from
the abstract to the concrete, thought that had the
lost oxen not done so. they would assuredly have
followed up the tracks of his ow n herd and arrived
by themselves at the Luali river.

I inkarn and his peo[)le were now, after the day's
rest, about to start back with their cattle to the
place where their waggons h.id been left standing
in the desert, but I did not care to go with them,
and tak(; the chance of my oxen having found
water, and having then been tlriven b.ick to the
waggons. Supposing the oxen and the herd-boys
had died of thirst or been killed by the sun, as
the Kafirs express it — what was to happen to
our waggons then .^ CoUison, Miller, Sell, and the
lour waggon -drivers would, I knew, be all right.

-rf^:^^^'

^=y :

<^ +

AKRICAN NAIl'RF NOIK.S

( H A I*

.IS a«-ll .IS til'- horsi tli.il Mili<^T hail ritkU-ii. as
ihry would i;<) "n to Klah.il.i with 1 iiikarn,
but our waj4L;"iis wouM in that ( as«: havt- to finain
standing in the desert with no one to look aft«_T
them tor s«;vtjral days at hast. Ihi.; would he
known to tlu two Hushmen who had ^uiided us
to th<' l-u.di, .iiul he communicated by them to
other IJushineii, who, I feared, nii^ht roh the
stranded wa^'i^ons Ix-torc 1 could ^et hack to them
with iVe^h t.illle trom Shoshon;;.

1 soon made up my niimi what to do. Shoshong
itself was about sixty miles from where I then was
at the rrossini; of the l.uali river, -md there was
a ^ood w,iL,^i;on ir.ick leadint^ to it, so I resolved
to ride there th.it ni<,du. borrow four spans of
bullocks either from the white traders livinj,' on
the station or from Kh.ima. .md after j^ctting
something; to eat. start b.ick with them at once
on the desert road by which we had been travellinjr
from the liotletlie river. Should my oxen have
found water, and after havini,' drunk, been driven
back to the w.igj^'ons on the nij^ht of the 27th, 1
should me(;t them on the road, and no harm would
have l)<:en done ; whilst, on the other hand, should
the worst have- happened, and our four spans of
bullocks and the poor herd-boys [)rove to have
succumbed to thirst, he.it, and fatigue. I should
be able to re.ich our watrj^ons before they had
been long deserted, and take them into Shoshong
with the sp.uis that had been lent to me.

Sixty miles, much of it in heavy, sandy ground,
is a good long ride, so 1 resolved to take my
friend's horse " Big Hies, a very powerful animal,
in excellent condition. My own horse " Hob" I
entrusted to Tinkarn, and sent Dick back to the
waggons with him also.

The full moon was just rising as I bade good-

Tlic chi.t ;m»ui ..1 Kl..ui'..i^ iiv,.!f. lie I'.iiiiangwato.

XIX

RKACM SflOSIlONd

<^S

of
irn, as

!)>•«• U) riiik.irii .m.i my M.ii)i;\v.it.) IntiKis, aiul
rode oil oil my loncK joiiriify. All our shooting
horses h.iil Ih'cii wtll lonkfii .itHT duriiiL; tin- p.ist
season, and udl fi-il daily on liall'd)oi!fd mai/'-. and
" Big Hies" w.is not only a vi-ry powcrtnl animal,
but accustoni<(l to hard work, and in s|)lc-ndi(i
hard condition. Kcipin;^' up an .ivcraj;c pace of
about s<;v(:n miles ,m hour a v«.-ry ^mkhI one in
heavy, sandy ^'roimd— and only oti-saddlinf,' twice
during,' the whoh* jonrncy. I rtacheil Shoslu)n}4
about an hour before daylij.,dn on the mornin- of
December :;. I rode straij^ht to the siorc^
a trad<r named Jim 'Iruscotl. and roused h
well as another old friend named l-reti Drake.
My story w.is soon told. No food had passi-d
n-.y lips since the evening.; of I )< rember 24
— some sixty hours- ^and with th«' exception of
the sh-ep 1 had hail at the Luali river durini; the
26th, I had had no rest either durinj.; all that time.
I was thin anil hard naturally from the lift; I had
been leading', but I supi)os<; I looked unusually
worn and lia<^r(rard. as Truscott insisted on my
lyinj,; ilown on his bed at once, whilst he had
some food pr(;pared for me, and 1- red Dr.ike under-
took to jret the oxen totreiher that ! required, and
kindly offered to ^o back with uk; to where 1 had
left the waj,rj,rons beyond Klabala.

At the time of which I am writint,'. South Africa
was a very different country to the South Africa of
to-day. (iold had not then been discovered on
the VVitwaters Rand, and there were therefore
comparatively but few Knglishmim living even
in the I ransvaal ; whilst north of the Limpof)o
there wt re no Kunjpean settlements whatever,
and the few white traders and hunters who earned
a precarious livelihood amongst the native tribes
might have been counted (Jii th(,' fmg.rrs of one's
I wo hands. .Amongst these few scattered whites

v

AFRICAN NAIT'RK NOTKS

CH.MV

;i bond of hrothLThood existed such as cannot
cndun; under more civilised conditions. Any while
man in distress was sure of the warmest sympathy
and most tjeiierous assistance on the part o» all
the few others of the same colour scattered here
and there over a vast country. Hut now the times
an-, chanired. What was once the - far interior "
has been opened up to th(; civilisation ot Western
Europe, and thi; old-time traders antl hunters, with
their indifferent morals, unbusiness-like habits, but
hearts of i;old. have passed aw.iy from South .Xirica

for e\-er.

By ten o'clock Fred Drake had got together
four spans of good oxen, all lent by the U - white
men on the station, and had also got a cart and
eight oxen to carr\- some water-casks and pro-
visions. I had gone fast asleej) on Truscott's bed
as soon as I had had something to eat, d they
let me sleep on till midday. Then I had another
meal, and at about i r.M. started back for my
waggons with Fred Drake. We travelled very
quickly with the light cart and fresh oxen, even
during the heat of the afternoon, and keeping at
it all'^through the night <ind the next day. were
nearing the wells cA Klabala on the afternoon
of December 29 when we heard a waggon whij)
crack close ahead of us, and presently saw the fine
cloud of dust rising above the low trees which
we knew portended the arrival of a waggon. I
thought it must be Tinkarn's waggons. We pulled
up, "and Drake and I jumi)ed ofi the cart and
walked on ahead. As soon as we. saw the front
oxer I knew them for the leaders of my own tine
Damara span, ami very soon we were shaking
hands with Colli.son, Miller, and Sell.

The explanation w is simple. Our oxen, when
they wanilered away from the resting-place on
the niiihi of December 25, hiid found their way

XIX

ALi;S WELL THAT KM)S VVKM.

ir

to water at last before midday on the 26th.
Whether they really smelt it, or wen- made aw. ire
by a certain freshness in the air that water lay in
the direction from which the wind was blowinj;, or
whether they only hit off the water by chance, I
cannot say, but they reached .1 vley or pool in
which there was a good supply of rpcent rain-water.
The herd-boys who followed them had. it appeareil,
had a very hard time of it, and on coming to a
small vley in which then; was only mud but no
water, a short time before reaching the larger pool,
two of them had declared that they could go
no farther, and had thrown themselves down and
rolled in the mud, and would doubtless have died
there, had not their comrades, who shortly after-
wards reachetl the larger jkhjI with the catth-,
carried them back some water in a calabash and
revived them. The cattle were driven back to the
waggons on the night of the 26th, and arrived there
before Tinkarn's cattle returned from the Luali
river. Collison at once gave the order to inspan,
and pushing on through the heat of the day.
reached Klabala on the night of the 27th. Tinkarn
and his people turning up a few hours later. At
Klabala the cait'.e were given a rest till the after-
noon of the 29th, and soon after again making a
start for Shoshong, met me coming back with my
unnecessary relief spans — as it turned out.

Well, all's well that ends well ; though I hope
I may never experience such an uncomfortable
Christmas again as the one I spent in the desert
in the year 1H79.

CHAPTER XX

NOTFS ON Tin: MASAKWA ' TIIK HUSIIMKN OK TllK
INTKRIOK OK SOrxn AKKKA

K.rst IU,.l>men -een by author m 187^ Anne.i will, hows and
irrows l-ar^e areas of roiintry uninhabitcl cxctpl l)y Husli
men The Masarwa Origin of the word '• \aalpcns Uwarl
rate mentioned bv I'rofe^sor Keanc-Notes on the lanmiaijt-
„f the Hushnun north of the Orange riv.-r Apparently very
similar to that spoken bv the K-ranas The auth.,r s faithful
Korana -erN.mt -Ihe Nero family I'hysical .1,-similarily
between the Koranas and the Masarv a- Stature of Bushn.en
met with north of the Orange river— I'robably a pure rare
The Bakalahari— l.ivinKstones account of them— Kliama .
kindness to them - Habits and mode of life of the Masarwa
Their weapons liows and poisoned arrows Kood of the
Hushmen - lUish . hildren tracking; tortoises -Terrible priva-
tions sometime, endured by liushmen I i..-. ision against
famine A K'vatTe hunt- Rotten ostrich v^^ found by K.ushmen
ind eaten Fundamental difference of nature between Hush-
men and < ivilised races not K'reat Personal experiences with
Hushiren- Their marvellous endurance Skill as hunters ano
trackers Incident with lion- Family affection amongst Hush
men— Not unworthy members of the human race.

In previous chapters 1 have often referred lu the
Masarwa Bushmen, the remnants probably ot one of
the oldest and most primitive races ol mankmd still
survivinir on the earth, and as my personal know-
ledge of^these people is very considerable. I thmk
that a few notes concerning their habits, language,
and mode of life will prove of interest, if not to all
who arc likely to glance over the pages of this

book, at anv rate In ;>oi:;-o s^-a .t:::-..^-. «"—

328

cH. XX FIRST MKKTINC; WITH BUSHMKN J29

believe that " the noblest study of mankind is
man."

The first Bushmen 1 ever saw wen; met with on
tile banks of the Orange river on January 4, 1S72,
in the country then occu[)ied by th<' Korana chief
Klas Lucas and his people.

In my diary of that date 1 made the following
notes of this experience :

''January 4, 1872. Whilst poking about along
the river, looking for guinea-fowls, I came upon a
Bushman's lair amongst the trees by the water's
edge. A few boughs woven together and forming
a sort of canopy was all they had in the way of a
habitation ; the only weapons they possessed were
rude -looking bows and neatly made poisoned
•>rrows, some about two and a half feet in length,
fashioned from reeds, whilst others were only a foot
long. Their language seemed even fuller ol clicks
and clucks than the Korana, and altogether to a
casual observer they appeared to be very few steps
removed from the brute creation. The following
day three more Bushmen came to the waggon
begging for tobacco ; they were taller and better
looking than those I had first seen."

During the following month (I'Cbruary 1S72) I
met with a good many more Bushmen, and hunted
with them in the Southern Kalahari to the west of
the Scurfde Berg. At that time; these people had
no firearms of any kind, but they all carried small
toy-like bows and bark quivers containing poisoned
arrows.

During the twenty years succeeding my first
meeting with Bushmen on the banks of the ()range
river, 1 met with scattered com;nunities of this
primitive race throughout every portion of the
interior of the country, where Bantu tribes had not
been able to establish themselves owing to the

aridity

\i I .^ « ,1 * u #.

tU.-

xTZ'iXy

i30

AFRICAN NATURK NOTES

LHAP.

sufficieiu fiuiiiuitics to satisfy tin: n(;c(ls of a settled
populalidP possessed of larj^e herds ol cattle, sheep,
and floats.

Thus at least ninetee:i-twenlielhs of the whole
of tht; enormous area of country included in the
l^echwanaland Protectorate are entirely uninhabited
<'xcepi by th(; descendants of the aboriginal Bush-
men, the more civilisc^d Bantu living crowded
together in a few large towns. Khama's old town
of Shoshong. which v/as abandoned more than
twenty years agf). was said to contain 20,000
inhabitants, jjractically his whole tribe.

in the last Annual Report of the Transvaal
Native Aff.iirs Department, it is stated that the
Bushmen living in the valley of the Limpopo in the
North(;rn Transvaal ar(' known as Maseroa. and are
distinct from tlu' ordinary South African Bushmen.

All the I^ushmen I have seen, whether those
living on or near the Orange nver, or along the
eastern border of the Kalahari, or throughout the
Bechwanaland Protectorate, from the Chobi river
to Lake N'gami and the Botletlie, and from thence
10 the Limpopo, ap[)eared to me to be very much
the same in ap[)earanc(; and absolutely identical in
their ways of life and the fashion of their dress and
wt!,ipons'. 1 lere and there no doubt there has been
a certain admixture of liantu blood amongst them ;
but seeing how little they vary as a rule both in
appearance and in habits and manner of life in
widely separated areas, I think that for the most
part they must be a pure and distinct race throughout
the greater pan of the countries they inhabit.

'i'he name given by Khama's people to the Bush-
men living in the country ruled over by that chief,
which is spelt "Maseroa ' in the Report above
referred to, is pronounced — at least so it always
seemed to mv. — Ma-sarr-wa (with the "r' very
much rolled), and the singular— the word signify-

XX

THK VAALPKNS

3V

ing "a Bushman" — ought, I should tliiiik, to be
Li-sar-wa.

The name " Vaalpens," often applied by the
Boers to Bushmen, signifies "grey belly," and has
been given to them because, having no huts, but
sleeping as they do in the open, they often lie so
close to th(; fire on cold nights that they blister
themselves on their shins and abdomens. The
skin thus burnt peels off and is re[)laced by new-
skin of a lighter colour than that of the rest of the
body. Bushmen may often be seen with their legs
and bellies covered with such unsightly scars, and
it is such blistered patches of skin on their
abdomens which has earned them the name of
" Vaalpens," or "grey belly."

Although I have; travelled in tb.c Zoutpansberg.
Waterberg, and Dwarsberg districts of tht- Northern
Transvaal, I have never met with or heard of the
dwart rac(; spoken of by Professor Keane in his
book on T/ic Boer States. Thesf- people, I'rofessor
Keane says, are the only genuine Vaalpens, and are
almost entirely conhned to the above-named and
adjacent districts of tht: North Transvaal as far as
the banks of the Limpopo. Professor Keant- further
says that these people call themselves " Kattea,"
and that they are almost pitch-black in colour, only
about four feet high, and quite distinct both from
their tall Bantu neighbours and from the yellowish
Bushmen.

It would be interesting to learn where Professor
Keane got his information concerning this remark-
able race of people. Personally, I find it difficult to
believe in their existence, as I have been acquainted
with so many Pioers who had hunted fur years in
the very districts in which they are said to exist, or
to have existed, anu yet have never heard any one
of them speak of a dwarf race of black Bushmen.
Moreover. 1 have myself met with Bushmen o\ the

m^

v^^i

332

AFRICAN NATUKK NOTES

(.HAf.

same type- as ihost: I have seen in other parts of
South Africa, hnth in the Waterber^^ ihstrict of the
Transvaal to the south of the Lim[)oi)o and also in
the desert country not lar to the west of the
Dwarsberg.

1 beHeve that the researches of the late Dr.
Hleek, the well-known philologist, tended to show
that there was little or no affinity between the lan-
guages spoken by the Hushmen inhabiting the
south-w(;stern districts of th(; Capt; ("olony and
the Hottentot tribes living in the same part of the
country. On tht.- other hand, the well-known mis-
sionary, the late Dr. Robert Moflat, wrote: "Genuine
Hottentots, Koran.is, and Namaqnas meeting for
the tirst time from their respective antl distant
tribes could converse with scarcely any difiiculty. '
The Hushmen, however, Dr. Moffat said, "speak
a variety of languages, even when nothing but a
range of hills or a river intervenes between the
tribes, and none of these dialects is understood by
the Hottentots." As bt^aring upon the subject of
tht.' affinity or otherwise of the language spoken by
the Koranas living in Griqualand and along the
Orange river witii that of the Bushmen of the
interior of South Africa, I must now make an ex-
tract from a book written by mvself and published
in 1S93 {'J'raz'c/ and Adventure hi South- East
Africa) relating to this question.

Although I cannot but consider that the facts
whi^-h I ihi-n brought forward were really of some
value, I tlo not think that they have ever been
noticed by any one interested in the study of the
origin and affinities t)f the various native races in
South Afric.i, and I am an.\iou3, therefore, to put
them on record once more.

The passage I refer to reads as follows : — " In
1 87 1 a Korana boy named John entered my ser-
vice, and went to the interior with me the following

XX

LANGUAGK OF THK MASARWA

Ui

year ; and as he had pa-viously It^arrird to sjjcak
Dutch from .i (iricju.i master, I could converse
freely with him. !n 1873, when elephant -huiitiiij^
in the Lin(iuasi district to the west of Matalxleland.
we saw a great many M.isarwas (Bushmen), and
noticing that their language, full of clicks and clucks
and curious intonations of tlu- voice, was similar in
ch.iracter to that I had heard spoken by the Koranas
on the banks of the Orange river in 1N71, I asked
John if he coukl understand them, but he only
laughed and said, • No, sir.' During the next
two years, however, John had a lot to do with
the Masarwas ; and one day, towards the end of
1874, as we were returning from the Zambesi to
Matabeleland, I heard him conversing quite familiarly
with some of these people. ' Hullo, John,' I said,
' 1 thought you told me that you could not under-
stand the Bushmen?' 'Well, sir,' he answeretl,
'at first I thought I couldn't, but gradually I found
that I could understand them, and that they under-
stood me, and, in fact, I can say that with a few
slight differences these Bushmen spe^ak the same
language as my people on the Orange river.' A
Griqua family too, the Neros, who for many years
lived in Matabeleland, all spoke Sasarwa (the lan-
guage of the Masarwas) with i)erfect tluency. and
they all a.ssured me that they had had no difficulty
in learning it, as it was almost the same language
as that spoken by the Koranas." Now surely these
facts are worthy of note. My boy John (who ran
away from the Griqua master whose slave he then
was and came to me in 187 1) followed my fortunes
for twenty-five years, and was .dways a most faith-
ful servant, and in his younger days a very good
elephant hunter. He is still alive to-day, and long
ago christened himself John Selous.

John was born (probably about the middle of the
last century) and brought up on the banks of the

r^^j;^Js^j^^'^W^'^jp:fr'

334

AFRICAN NATL'RK NOTKS

<.HM'.

()ran<4«.' river, hciu^ a incmlx-r of the Koraiia clan
ruled over l>y Klas Luc. is. 1 It: is an ahsoluu-ly pur(,-
Korana by blixx!, of ,i pale yellow hruwn in colour,
heaulirully i)ro|K)rtion«d, with binall, delicately made
hands and teii, and lli«; sparse--ro\vinL( pe|i[)iTcorn
hair which 1 have often se<n anion,L,'st tull-blooded
Koran. IS. but only r.irely .mioiiL^st the IkishniiMi
liviiiLj in tin- couiuricts north ,intl uest ol the I rans-
v.ial, who are, moreover, ii.uker skinned than the
majority of the Kor.inas of lh(; Oranj^e river, though
vi:ry much lighter, .is a rule, than ILintu Kafirs.

John, spe.ikin'4 as his n.itive tongue one of the.
most extr.iortlinary of known languages — a language
lull of clicks ,ind clucks and curious intonations of
the- voice, and absolutely impossible of ac(juirement
bv a full-grown lairopean travell<-d with me somt;
eight hundred nules to the north of the country
whent he w.is born on the b.uiks of the Orange
river, and there met with a race of wild peoj^le
living in the desert country immediately south of
the Zambesi, who he found, much to his surf)rise,
spoke a language so similar to his own mother-
tongue that, after a very little intercourse with
them, h(; was not only able to understand what
they said, but to talk to them with perfect fluency.
Is not this a most remarkable fact, well worthy the
attention of philologists ?

When John first told me that, by listening
attentively to the Bushmen inhabiting the country
immediately to the south of the Cdiobi and Zambesi
rivers, he soon discovered that they were speaking
a langu.age very similar to his own, he concluded
iiis explanation by saying in Dutch : " Ik kan maar
say d.iat's de selde taal'":"! can just say it's tht^
same language ").

The Nero family, with their dependents, numbered
some ei<Tht or ten persons, amongst whom was a

{jurc - Liiuudeu i^.cTa

1

.Tt i t itt,

x\

JOHN AM) IHK MASARVVA

^^5

lady most bouiuiliilly endowed with .dl tli<- pliysit.al
chara>:tcTistics ix-ciiliar to the 1 Iott<:iu«H race, 'ihcsc
people .ill came ori,i,dnally trom (iri(|ualand. and they
all spoke Dutch in ailditioii lo SintaJjcle (the lan-
},'iiage of the Matabele) and their mother- toiij^iie,
which they told me was Kor.ma. I ha\-c heard all
thest- peoi)le over ami ov<t a;;aiii talkini^r with the
most perfect ease ami ihieiity with ti.e Ma-^arwa
Hushmen inhabiting ihi; country to the west of
Matabeleland, .ind they all assuretl me that ihey
had had no difficulty in learning Sasarwa, as it was
practically th(; same as the language spoken by the
Koranas living in Ciriqualand an^! along the Orange
river.

The apjjarent unitormity of the language spoken
by the scattered families of Hushnien living in
widely separated areas of country in tiie interior
of South Africa is somewhat remarkable. My bov
John could converse without any difficulty not only
with the Masarwas we met with in th<- valley of
the Limpopo, but also with tlu)^e W(- came across
in the country between the Chobi and Mababi rivers,
several hundred mi! , farther north, although there
was never any intercourse betwe'-n these widel\
separated clans.

In 1.S79 I became very well accjuainted with
Tinkarn, one of Kham is headmen, w ho has a verv
thorough knowh'dge of, and great influence over,
the Hushmen living throughout the country ovec
which that chief exercises jurisdiction. 1 first met
Tinkarn in the neighbourhood of the Mababi river,
and subsequently travelled with him from there to
Shoshong, and later on again met him on the
Limpopo. Tile .^Llsarwa in the .Mababi un-
doubtedly spoke the same language as those living
only a couple of days' journey farther north, with
whom I heard my boy John talking in 1874. .md
•-.".c^-- lattv.:. at-v-ufuing to joiin, spoke lilt: .same

fr^

--r^'T-Ji;

w>

AFRICAN NAITRK NOTKS

CHAP.

I.inijiiaj^t; as lln- liushinm liviiij^ in thi,' Limpopo
valicv iK'ar tin- mouth of tli': Shashi. I'arlluT w«-st,
1 havr likened to Tiiikani ( MiiviTsiiv^' n( i only
willi till' Masarwa of the Maliahi, hiil also with
BushiiKii liviiiLf on the Hotlcllie rivi:r, and in many
plac's in tin- destTt ht-twfcn th<Te and Shoshoiiuj,
and ,ilso with some ol these people living on tint
Limpopo. rinkarn told me that he had leirned
the Ian Mia'^^e ot the irishmen whin he was a ciiild,
and 1 always tiiouj^'hl thai he spoke to all ol lh(-m
in lh<; sanv l.mijuaj^M.-. not in a number of dialects.
At am rate, he was pcrfertly (luent with .ill of

them.

Although, however, there would s<i'm to he
stroiv^ presMm[)tivi- evidence that all the various
fainili<s or tribes of I'ushmen livini; scattered (jver
the more .iritl n-ions of South-Western .Africa to
the north of the OranL^c river speak a lan^nia^'e.
or di.ilects of a lan;4ua,t,a-, which is essentially the
same as that sj)oken by the Koranas, yet. sjjeaking
trenerally, all the Bushmen 1 have seen differ con-
siderablv in ])hysical ai)pearance not only from pure-
blooded Koranas — very few of whom are left to-day
- but also from the descriptions I have read of the
dwarf race of Bushmen that usetl to inhabit the
Cape Colony. It is thesr latter whose lan^uaije
was stiulied'by Dr. iileek, and pronouncf tl to be
fundamentally different to that of the Hottentot
tribt-s inhabitin;^ the country near Cape Town.
That, prior to the incursion of the tall, dark-coloured
Bantu tribes from the north, the whole of Africa
south of the Zambesi was inhabited by a race akin
to the Bushmen of the Cape Colony is, I think,
proved by the similarity of the rock-jiaintinj^s in
Mashunafand .uul ALmicaland — which I think that
I was thi- first to discover to those existinj.^ in
caves in many parts of the Orani^e and Cape

V^UiOiiic:^.

.\x

si\n RK ()^ rnK m.\>.\r\v'a

^r

I have never v eii ,my pimiu iJiishm.-n. I'hos.-
I met with on the ()r,inj,'e river and in the tountr)
to ihr west ot (iri(|ual.in<l in iS;2, as wt:ll as .i small
numl)t r I saw near thi- \'aal riv«-r ahovr its junction
with the Oranj^e in the same year, may not have
been ,is tall as the averaj^e of ihe Masarwa farther
north. Init I feel sure that all the men were well
over five feet in hiij^ht.

S[)eakinj,r ^rcnerally. 1 should sa\ that the lUish-
men that i iiave seen and they were many— whilst
they were cons.'dt.Tahly litjhier in colour and shorter
and mt)re sli-htly built than Katn... were at the same
time d.irker skinned than most Koranas, and neither
so thickset nor so short of stature as th(! avcra^'e of

those |)cojile.

The average h(;i-ht of the Masarwa m.n I have
met with in the country e-xtending from the western
border of Matabeleland to L.ike N'^rami would
certainly, I think, be over 5 fe.,t 4 inches, ar lave

seen many of these |)eopI«; stamlinj^r quite ^ ,-et S
or Q inches, and a few even 6 feet.

I have, however, occasionally seen men amonj^'st
them ol a distinctly Korana tyjie, short and stout
built in h.t,rure, very light in colour, with small black
ghttermg eyes, high cheek-bones, and hair growing
m small tufts. There were two young men of this
type amongst the Masarwa Bushmen living near the
Mababi river in 18S4. They remindecfme very
forcibly of th(; life-si/.ed figure of a Cape Colonv
Bushman in the Museum of the Jardin d<s I'lante's
in Paris, though they were. 1 think, nearly if not
quite five feet in height. From time to t'im<^ no
doubt. memb(Ts of various Bantu tribes have- tied
to the desert for refuge from their enemies and
amalgamated with the liushnieii, .uul this mav
account for the greater stature observable amongst
certain clans of Masarwas, when compared with full-

bloofled Kor:)n.->« nr u-itK tU,. I{...-U. _f ,u ^■•

z

<.'

AFRICAN NAITRK NO IKS

IH \i

Colony, anil tin- v<ry j^i-iier.il ahsL-iuc ol lli«; iK-pptr-
corn j^roulh <>t" tli'- hair in lln- (ornuT which is
•^.inT.il in the LiiK-r ; i'ul il liuih- r inv{jsti_v<atiuii
sliouKl clclmiKly .slahhsh th. lact ihat lh-T< is
a vcrv closi' siniil.iriiy hrlwon the very j.ctuliar
lan^'i.ai,'<s spokin l)y lh<" Koran. is on the Oran^f
ri\<r A\\i\ all the scainn-d MasTwa clans ihil
vv.iniltr <)\(r tlif arid louniry sintchiiiir Ironi the
Liinpiipo to the C'hohi rivt;r thrn; must Ix- a very
i;()S(' racial conntction hdwi m tln' two pcoi.lcs.
( )n ihr whol(.-, I ,uu inclined lo hclicvc that tin:
^nsiltr part ol tin- Hushir.cn 1 ha\i- met with were
of pure race, with very litti<-. il iiy

admixture- of

with very litti<'. il
IJantu blood in their veins.

I never remember to have noticed .ui\ marked
tendency to that wondertul developnicni ol the
buttocks (.s/i-a/(>/>jx''i) hi Masarwa women which is
so ch.irat teristii .i feature in pure bred Korana
women alter ihey have n-ached midillc age. i'.ush-
m»n and liushwomen, however. lead terribly hard
lives, and ilo n(jt often _L;et the i hanct; to 1 cconi'-
really fat, in the districts in wliich I have met with
theni. Sh(juld they do so, the men noticeably far
more so than the women — put on mor»- tlesh on the
buttocks than do well-fed Europeans ; but this is
the case with the m<n of all the 15.mtu r.ices as well.
All the members of the royal family of Matabele-
land. both male and fem.iU-, who had passed middle
.is^e showed a most e.xtraordinary develojiment of
the thighs and buttocks.

In.iddition to the- \ ellow-skinned Bushmen, how
ever, who are without tioubt the oldi:st aboriginal
race in .South Africa, thertt are or were — also to be
found living in the eastern part of the Kalahari a
few scatltrred communities of a race known to the
Ik'chwanas as Bakalahari — they of the desert.

Speaking of these people, Dr. Livingstone wrote
1 ..,,. '^...ff, i'» ^h.it most iidrnu'able book .Missio^'.'j.fv

XX

IMK HAKALAHAkI

13<>

1 ravels • Ihr H.ik.ilahari art." iraclitioti.illy rrportrd
to he llx- oldest ol the Hcfhw.iiia trihcs, and thrv
art; said to \\.\\v posscsse-d inorinous herds of the
lar^'c horned cattle mentioned liy Hruce, until they
were despoiled of thetn and <!riv«-n int«) the desert
by a fresh niitjration of their own nation. I.ivitij^
ever since on the same plains with the Hushmeii,
subjected to th'* same inthiences of climat<', endiir-
inij the same thirst and subsistinj^ on similar food
tor centuries, they seem to sup|)ly .i standing prottf
that locality is not alw.iys sufficient of itself to
account for ilifference \\\ races. The Hakalahari
retain in undyini,' vigour th<! Hechwana love for
agriculturt! ami domestic animals. They hoe their
gardens annu.illy, ti'a)ugh olt«Mi all they can hope
for is a supply of unions at.d pumpkins. Ami they
carflully rear small herds of goats, though I have
seen them lift water for them out of sm.ill wells with
a bit of ostrich egg-shell or by spoonfu's."

I used to think that the l^akalahari wen; a
mixed rut; formed ijy the amalgamation of broken
Hechwana tribes with the; desert Bushmen. Ikit I
believ<; there is no warrant for this. Though all
those I have S(;en spoke the languagi; of the
Hushmen as well as Sechwana, there cm be no
doubt that 1 )r. Livingstone was quite right in
saying that, although the liakalahari have lived a
life ot terril)l(; hardship and privation for c(;nturies
in the desert, they still remain in character true
M(.*chwanas, with all the love of that race for agricul
ture and stock-t)reeding.

Untl(;r the kind and just ruk: of Khama manv
Hakalahari have given uj> their nomadic life and
once more become a settl<;d agricultural tribe.
They were; su[j]>lied with seed-corn and given cattle,
sheep, and goats to look after, and in 1S79 I found
large communities of these once miseralih; outcasts
living near the wells of K'^'fi^'l' f-n1ii<--in'.i.r l-,—,..

340

AFRICAN NATURK NOTES

cH \1'.

;ir(.';is of ground, .iiid j^rowinj^ so much Kahr corn
ami mai/c that, i-xciq^t in seasons of seven- diought,
they would never again have been likely to sutler
from the famine against which their immediate
ancestors had constantly struggled. These people,
too, were tending considerable herds of cattle,
sheep, and goats belonging to Khama, a portion ot
the increase of which was given to them evt.'ry year.

I do not think there is any instance on record
of a tribe or family of the aboriginal yellow Hush-
men having given u|) their wild free lite in the
desert and taken to agricultural or pastor.al pursuits.

In habits and mode of life true Bushmen seem
to be the same wherever they .ue met with, and
the Masarwa— the Bushmen of the interior ot South
Af.ica certainly resemble very closely in these
respects the descriptions 1 have read ui their now
almost extinct kinsmen of the Cape Colony. 1 hey
build no huts, but merely erect temporary smail
shelters of boughs with a little dry grass thrown
on the to|). 'rh(;y neither sow nor reap any kind
of grain, nor do they possess any kind of domestic
animals, except small jackal-likt; dogs, which cannot
bark. They obtain fire very rajiidly with two pieces
of wood. One of these is held tlai on the ground
by the feet of a man silting down, whilst th(! othe-.
the end of which has been placed in a sm.ill notch
cut for its reception, is whirled ra[)idly round
between the open hands, until the fine wood dust
produced by the friction begins to smoulder, when
it is placed amongst some dry grass and blown
into tlame.

The dress for men, women, .uid girls amongst
the Masarwa is the same as that which used to
be worn by the i5echwana and Makalaka tribes
before these latter had come in contact with
Europeans. They obtain iron-headed spears and
f. -irtH>'n\i-ir/» rvinkiinr nnis from the iieiLrhbourinPT

XX

FOOD OF THE BUSHMEN

34 »

k

Kafir iribf-s in exchange for the skins of wild
animals, their only native weapon being the bow
and arrow. Their bows are very small and weak-
looking, and their arrows are unfeathered, being
made of light reeds into the ends -jf which bone
heads are inserted. These bone arrow-heads are
.ilw.iys thickly smeared with poison, which seems to
be made from the body of a grub or caterpillar
mixed with gum. At le.ist, in the bark ([uivers of
the Bushmen whose beltjngings I have examined, I
have usually found, b(;sides their arrows antl fire-
sticks, a small bark cylinder closed at one end, in
which were the bodies of grubs or caterpillars pre-
served in gum, which 1 was told contained the
poison they smeared on their arrows.

'I'he Masarw.i living immediately to tlie west
of Matabele-land have long since discarded their
bows and poisoned arrows in favour of firearms,
but twenty or thirty years ago these curiously toy-
like but very effective weapons were in general
use amongst the Bushmen living in the deserts to
the south and west of the Botletiie river.

Kxcept that they do not eat grass, Bushmen are
almost as omnivorous as bears. Besides the tiesh
of every kind of animal from an elephant to a mouse
(which is acceptable to them in any and every stage
of decomposition), they e.it certain kinds of snakes,
hsh. li/ards, frogs, tortoises, grubs, locusts, flying
ants, wild honey, young bees, ostrich eggs, nestlin"-
birds of all sorts, and various kinds of berries, bulbs,
and roots. Bushwomen may often be met with
miles away from their encampments, wandering
alone over the desert wastes they inhabit, searching
for edible roots and bulbs, which they dig ujj with
pointed sticks. The children, too, begin to forage
lor themselves at a very early age, and I have seen
little mites, ajjparently not more than two or three
years old, cravvlincr on their h^inds Jind krif**'-: o"

3+2

AFRICAN NATURK NOTES

CHAP-

the tracks of tortoises. It wa explained to mi;
that these rejjtiles make h'<;ht scratches on tht:
■ground with their claws as they walk along, and
these almost imperceptible marks the infant Hush-
men are taught to follow. No wonder they grow-
up to be good game trackers !

In many parts of the countries the Bushmen
inhabit not only does game periodically become
scarce or almost non-existent, but all other sources
of food supply are liable at times to fail them as
well.

At such times these wild pe(;ple sometimes en-
dure the mo;-v terrible privations, and no doubt
numbers of them succumb yearly to slow starva-
tion.

I have often met with families of Hushmen all
the members of which were in such a terrible state
of emaciation that it seemed a marvel that they
were still alive. In such cases the llesh appeared
to have almost com[)letely wasted away from their
legs and arms, leaving nothing but the bones en
cased in dry yellow-brown skin, whilst their faces
looked like skulls covered with parchment, though
the small black eyes still glittered from the depths
of their sockets.

Whenever I have encountered Bushmen in this
condition, they were never actually without food,
but, in default of anything better, seemed to have
been living for a long time past on certain kinds of
berries, which were so innutritious that very large
quantities had to be eaten to support life at ail.
1 he consequence was that the bellies of these slowly
starving savages were always enormously distended,
giving them a most grotesque though pitiable
appearance.

If some large animal such as a giraffe or elephant
be killed and given to a starving Bushman family

,1-.-,. ,.-.'11 ..n ...^ .. « .. ^^-. ♦ ^v ,.-,.* ♦■^-» tU^* ^■. •»»-.-.'■. (-,» tK^inrri

XX

A PROVISION AGAINST KAMINH

U.}

it be miles aw.iy and they appear to he in the
last stage of emaciation. Once there, it is with
the men a case of " J'y suis, j'y reste," aii'l they .vill
not move again until every bit of the i -at is
eaten. The women and children have to fetch
water every day, though it may be miles distant.
llowever wasted and app.:;.rently near death Hush-
men may be, once they get alongside of a dead
'.lephant they recover tlesh and regain their strength
in a marvellously short space of time.

\Vh'.

l^,..

,u..

Li.'iquasi district to the

west of Matabeleland, in 1873, I often noticed large
pieces of rhinoceros and giraffe hide which had
evidendy been placed by human hands high up
in the branches of trees. Thi-se slabs of hide, the
Hush men told me, had belonged to animals kiT
by their people, and had been placed in the trees
out of the reach of hya.-nas as a provision against
starvation in times of famine.

I was once riding behind some hungry Bushmen
looking for giraffe in the country between the
Mababi and Hotletlie rivers, when they came on a
single ostrich egg lying on the ground. It was
then late in September, and this egg had in all
probability been laid in the previous May or June,
and had lain on the ground in the broiling sun ever
since.

My gaunt and hungry guides seemed greatly
excited over their find, and each of them in tur.i
held it up and shook it close to his ear. Then I
saw they were going to break it, so I moved to one
side, as F expected it would go off with a loud
explosion. It was, however, long past that stage,
all the contents of the «;gg having solidified into
<i thick brown -coloured paste at the one end. I
never would have believed, if I had not experienced
it, that so much smell could have been given off by
so smaii an amount of matter. As i once heard an

>44

AFRICAN NATURP: NOTES

CHAP.

American lady remark of the atmosphere of a small
mosciu(t in which we had been watching some dancinj^f
I )cr\ishes at Constantinople, it ^nxe off "a poor
odour "-on<; of tli(^ poor(:st, I think, I have ever
encouniercd, in her sense of the word, though by
many people it might have been thought too rich.

\Vith the Bushmen, however, an egg in the
hand was evidently considered to be worth more
than a problematical animal in the bush, and they
at once sat down, and taking turn and turn about,
slowly and with evident relish lick(;d up the fcL-tid
contents of die treasure which fortune had thrown
in their way. Up to tliis time we hail not even
se<'n the fresh track of a giraffe, but not long after-
wards we sighted a magnificent old bull, which ■
managed to kill for them after a hard gallop throu^^
some very thick and thorny bush.

When I met with the first lUishmen I ever
saw on the banks of the Orange river, in 1872,
I was a very young man, and regarding them
with some repugnance, wrote in my diary that
they appeared to be very few steps removed from
the brute cn^atiiw. That was a very foolish and
ignorant remark to make, and I have since found out
that though Bushmen may possibly be to-day in tht;
same l)ackward state of material development and
knowledge as once were the palaolithic ancestors
of th(' most highly cultured F.uropean races in pre-
historic limes, yet fundamentally there is very little
difference between the natures of jjrimiti'-e and
civilised men. so that it is quite possible for a
member of one of the more cultured races to live
for a time quite happily and contentedly amongst
beings who are often described as degraded savages,
and from whom he is separated by thousands of
years in all that is implied by the word "civilisation."
I have hunteil a great deal with Bushmen, and
during 1884 I lived amongst these people con-

XX

KNDURANCK OF BUSHMKN

345

tinuously for st-veral months together. On many
and manyaniL,^ht I have sl<;pt in thi ir encampments
without even any Kafir attendants, ami thoiiL;h I was
entirely in their power, I always felt perfectly safe
amongst iheni. As most of the men spoke Sechwana,
1 was able to converse with them, and found them
very intelligent companions, full of knowle-dge con-
cerning the habits of all the wild animals inhabiting
the country in which they lived. I found the
Hus.imen very good-tem|)er('d |jeople, and they arc-
undoubtedly th(* best of all the natives of South
Africa to have with one. when in p^ursuit of game, as
they are such wonderful tr.ickers, and so intimately
.icquainted with the habits of every kind of wild
animal. To be seen at their best they must be
hungry, but not starving. Ihey will then be capable
of marvellous teats of endurance. I have known a
Bushman run on elephant spoor in front of my horse
for five hours, (jnlv verv occasionallv slowing: down
to a walk for a few minutes. He ran till it
got dark, and as we had neither blankets nor food,
which had been left with the Kafirs far behind, we
lit a big fire, beside which we sat all night, not
daring to lie. down and sleep, for fear lest lions
should kill my horse, which we had to watch whilst
it fed round near the fire. When we took up the
elephant tracks again th( next morning, we had
been twenty-four hours without food, and it was
late in the afternoon before we were making a
meal off elephant's heart. During the two days
this Bushman must have walked and run for at
least eighty miles without food or slee[), and he
never showed the least sign of exhaustion. Living
as they do in families or small communities, Bushmen
have not developed any warlike qualities, and I
cannot imagine any of them I have known being
anxious "to seek the bul)ble glory at the cannon's
mouth ; i^ui tor all that they are certainly more

J46

AFRICAN NAIURK Ncn'KS

CHAP.

courageous with dani^^'crous j^anic than the g(;nerality
of Kafirs. A frit-iul of ininc was once out lookinj^
for 5j;aine on horseback, acconijjrUiied by a single
Hushniaii. 'Ihe liushman, who was walking in front
of the horse, suddenly spied a lit n lying Hat on
the ground watching them, and lf;ss than titty yards
away. Raising his left hand as a siL;n to my friend
to stop, he pointed at tlie crouching animal with his
spear, at the same time retiring sKnvIy backwards
until he stood beside the horse. " Tauw ki-o"
{" There is a lion"), he- cjuietly said ; but my frit;nd
for the life of him could not see it. The Bushman
then again advanced, and taking the h(jrse by the
bridle, led it a few ])acc^ forwards, when his master
at last saw the lion, and tiring from the saddle,
disabled it with th(; tirst shot, and finished it with a
second. It w.is a tin*; big animal, but without much
mane. My friend said it w.is the lion's eyes that
he first saw, and then the twitching of its tail. He
was very much pleased with the coolness ami
staunchness of the Bushman, quite a young man.
Oh, if I had only had that Bushman for a gun-
carrier on a certain day in 1877, when the most
magnificently maned lion I ever saw in my life
suddenly showed himself within twenty yards of
me, and the wretched Makalaka who was carrying
my rifle and was just behind me. instead of putting
it into my outstretched hand, turned and ran otf
with it! Had I killeii that lion, its skin would have
been my trophy of trophies, but — kismet ! it was
not to be.

In 1S74, 1877, and again in 1S79, during
which years I shot a great number of buffaloes
.dong the Chobi river, and followed many of them
into very thick cover after having wounded them, I
always employed Bushmen to act as my gun-carriers,
and better men for such work it would have been

impossible to find.

not o

'>■

wer

,1 I

tiicy i.ii wiiy;

XX FUNIMMKNTAL NATURK OF MAN

.^47

cool Jincl self-possessed in any emerL,'ency. hut tlu'
([uickness of their eyesijj;ht, and their intimate
knowledge of the animals we were l)ursuinJ^^ gave
them a great advantage over the staunchest of
gun-carriers drawn from any Kafir tribe.

Although tlie wives and children of Bushmen
lead very hard lives, especially when food is scarce,
and have always to keejj the encampment supplied
with water no matter how far it has to Ik; carried,
I hav(; never seen them ill-treated, and I have seen
both the men and the women show affection for
their children. In fact, the Bushmen of South
Africa, although tliey have never advanced beyond
the primitive stage of culture attained to by their
distant ancestors at a very remote period of the
world's history, are (-thically much the same on the
average as the members of all other races of man-
kind, which shows how little the fundamental nature
ot man has changed throughout the ages, and
during the evolution and destruction of many
civilisations. I have known Bushmen to be very
grasping and avaricious, and to show an utter want
of sympathy or kindness towards a fellow-man in
distress; but has civilisation eliminated such defects
of character in all members of the most highly
cultured societies? Murder, robbery, rape, adultery,
are crimes against the Bushman's code of morals,
just as they are with more civilised peoples, and
they are probably less frequently practised amongst
primitive than amongst civilised races. A Bush-
man will resent an injury and be grateful for a
kiiulness just like an Knglishman. a Hindu, or a
Red Indian. Whenever I was told, as I often was
in South Africa, that all natives were black brutes
who could not understand kindness and were in-
capable of gratitude, I always knew that the master-
ful gentleman or fair lady who was speaking to me
nad no kindness m iheir own natures, and that

}4«

AFRICAN NATL'RK NOTKS (.map. xx

iu:v<r ill ail the'ir livtjs had the)' jj;ivcn any native
the sli;^ht(;st reason to he jfratelul to them.

'1 "he- lUislimen are the only really primitive rac<'
in South Africa, but, rude and uncultured thou!,'h
they may Ix-, I cannot look upon them as dep[rad(;d
savai^es, hut rather as a race whose development
was arrested lonL,^ aijo, by th(; circumstances of their
surroundincjs ; but whose members, nevertheless,
are ht-ini^s whose human hearts can h<- tf)uched and
whose sympathies can hi; aroused by the kinilness
of another human being, however widely separated
the latter may be from themselves in race and
ileLjree of culture. Well and truly has it been said
jjy one of I'-ngland's most illustrious sons, "One
touch of nature makes the whole world kin."

IXDIiX

Al'licri, Mr , clmikcy w.lRKr.n >i.ivii-i- ii.
Tran^ivnal, . ,talji-.h.-(| l,y. 153

\Mo liiish, ( .iiH(',.|,,ny, wilil.uiitiMl-
in ih.'. I 55 : Initial. >i'^ m, 1 57

Alriitiii 1 1 Ilia 11} ^ troiii iWihli /,i fl.
/.ami, i, l.y lial.lwin, \S\

Alaska, ti.li.atini; .if ihc «i!.I aiiinul-
.if, in wiiut r. 1 1

Aiiialimj^alatiij. xW a\ill,..r> j..uriu)
t.i, 222 : ill\ala~ follll.l III. 22J

.\i;.lrrss(>ii. C. I , his ..|.iiii.in nn
!iutlal'<.-s am! t>,c-t--.c tlics, 161 ; (us
.■|>ini..n .111 tin- Ki-illi.a rliiii.ici.ri-.
i.Sj: i.n tht hlack rhinixfros, 1X4

An(ja>, O.Hi^las. ihe iinala first
.lcscriln.1l l.y, 222: Ill's furtlicr
ilrsrrii'lion ..f ihc inypb, 24J

Aiij;wa river, in .Vniilurn Klujilisi...
a few rhiiiiK'tT.iscs Ufi near, Iji

AniniaN. Willi, niluur nf, xiii, i f. ; the
anthi.r's ii|iini,in on the colour of, 4
tl'. ; (litterent inloiirin^ of. in the
same rej^iops. 12 : enses \i,eil l,y,
whtn luiiitiiij;, 14: inthience i.t
siirroiin(linj;s .ni the loloralion of.
39; restlessness of. 19. 42 : rollecliii
in the Dett valley. 13; : Afiiran,
unhariiieil liy the t'se-tse iK's hitinj;.

'7.;

Antelci|K-, Colour of an, 23, 29: si/e
of ears in .African, 30; ililferenee
between male ami female, I),. S,,-
Blesiiok. r.ontcUik, I "uiker, ( '.ems-
Imck, lm|.ala. Inyala. Ko.hI.hi,
Situtun^ja. sainijini^, Tsessdie.
Keeiil'iu k

.\nt-hea|.s, common in .South .Africa,
25

.\rms of Hush men, 341

Arniil, K. .S., his ilescription of the
death of an elejili lit killeil l,y
lions, 65

Arr..«-, |--:---::j;i, -.TrTsriy ;:,>.; i.j
Kushmen when hunting li.ms, 04;

foriii.-rly the .hly arn.s . ,f I;u,li
men, 329

IJain'-s. Til. .mas, an. I the t-e tse Hie-
in the I,im|i<'|«i valley, I.S71, rt
conleil in hi- l...ok O'..// K, ^om ,•/
.■^•ii/Zi- /■:,.■ .' .t/nr.i. 151
I'.akalahaii inl.e-, I ir l.ivin),'st,ine on

'lie, 339

l!alilwin,,//>7,,;;/ J/iiiiliii^' /roi/i .\,il i

/■' I'l, /anihi J, l.y, 1^4 : ami the

inyala, IX54, 223

Ilaml.aleli, Kniluna ..f lUilawayo,

cnirnj^e ..f, when lii^htinj; lions, <)4

Ifantu, an .\friran race. 334 : 1 harac-

tcristics of llie, 33S
Harliary -heep. S,; >.hee|i
Hariiij;... Lake. niir.ncuI..Us escafu ..f

Mr. I'astwooil mar. 1()<|
liarkint; .f wil.l .lot;-, 120
|!ar.)tse country, tse-tse flies in, I 59
Hatnuwana. the, trilieal Lake N'i,'ami.

KM
lieclmaiia, a Han'u triLe of S,,ul|i

.\lri, a, y-^Kf
Bti'hwanalai:.! I'rote crate, ant
heaps loiiimon in, J5 : inhal.ite.i
l.y liusliiiien, 330
Hellowini;, a ilyinjj liutlal.i's, 142
/>'/.,' Ci;w,- .V/((iii/;>/;,'of the I'ailmint. .11

Lilirary, 19X
liirils, Darwin's opinion of i|n.- lol.nr
of. 3 ; ravens not .Arctic, 42 //. :
lick-, wu '11^ rhinoceroses. lS<j
Hite 111 a lio.i, [■niisonous natuie ol
the. 49, 71, 2'J3 : of a t-et-e flv,
'o
iil.iauwl.ok. exiinci in >oiith .Atrica,

•30
Hleek, Dr., on the lanjiuaj^e- -lokeii
in .South .\frica. 332; on the
lan^u.ige ..f the ilwarHsh lUishmcn.

lilesliok, description of a, \- ; mi--

.>49

V^'

AFRICAN NAllRI. NOTKs

ruKrn for UititfUilvs, JS ; i in -i'li r- -I
a-. .1 failvil t,.iriirU.l,, 40
Jii.r .suiti-. J I,, !■) I'M'ti-w^iir Kf.in,-.

'(..iitrlHik. .|. V ii|'li.ii i.t .1. ;(. :

I.I. -I...I. riM-iikni f.,r. iS
I'l.iiili, .1 \:\rii ly ..f iIhium itm,, |S ;
l',..ilcllir rivir, l.iillali.i-s ati.l l-r \-r

Mm . |.li-iililiil nil the, 1S7.S. 1; ;
lU.i.Miaw, Dr. li. I ., ..11 '^c 1-' ll., ,,

1 >=;. Km)
llrii' 1-, 1.11 i:irnaiii <'iiliiriil. jii Zulu

l.in.l. Ill- niiiark^ ..n \\,r t,f i,i- llv.

llryil.ri, II. .\.,,.ii tlv t;ii,illi s.-xK,, lu .

of v.. II .-. JII

Hiitl.ilii, ( \\o\ .. .It'll) ■.! ihi-, I ;i ;
I'll iiiiful 111 ih/.i. I i2 ; .Iai 1-
■ ■]iiiiic,ii, (111 ilic <|,iiiijir- 'i| liiimin.;
'h'-. I ;7 ; ill <ri|it|oii m) ,1, I, (5

r.ultalMi ~. ri.liiratiiin nf, 4) ; liiiMfl
I'V »iM ilo^js, 120; wlitri- Mill
fi.iiiiil, I ;() ; inuiil.ir-. of, Uilliil 1.)
Ilic aiilhcr, 1 ;S : «.iys ..f hiintr.i
aiul winiiiilcl, 140; lulmir "I ilini
I'alvis. 145; lUpliant-.' i.uiri'S)
t'lwanis. 147 : ami Wi-lsf tlii.^. 140 ;
ilfslnirli.ili iif, 1X72, 15J; friilllli;
in hiiiN, 503

Hiilawu)!., in Malalitlcl.iiiil, Su :
lOiiihm.i nf, a ilij;iiity in M.ualiflf
l.uiil. 1)4

Hiiri-hrH's /I !.ia. Se, /cl.r.is

liiislilnu k, i..li)r.uinii nl, !i ; mall .
ilarktr tlian iLiiiaU', ii; -i ari v
wlari.- inyala~ ari- iiliiiiiliil, J4S

liusliiiun, knn -it;lii nf, 19; li.ni^
kilK-ii with pnisi'iu-d arrow-. l»y,
04; ili-scri|)liiiii iif, 1.^72, .;.''):
laM^;iint;r nf, .?J3, J35 : |'iL;iny,
j37 ; iiioili.' Ill lili ii(. 340; |iiiva-
linn-. siiHiiLiI liy. 342; ch.ii.i.Iit
I't. 344: allii timialr timariN tlifii
rliililriii, 347: iiiily juiiiiilivv rari-
III .Siiiiili Afiii a, 34iS

Hii-li-|>ij;'-, 300

liultt-rrtif^, ,\friraii. 7

liii/i rivir, 225

/>j'>/, ;«,/',;, llii', nil llic f^ir.ltlc, jS

I ainplii il. Joliii, iiiiM-mnary in Nmilli-

trn Iki Imanal.inil, 1S45. 130
('ajK- Ciilnny, Imshlmcks fnuml in, 31
("arav.ui-^ Lliart^uil liy rliiniMcrnvcs,

I arilHill, CnlnuilllL; nf tllf, o, II ;

itrKMiisoinu^ nt human iiciiiL;^' prts-

riu'f. it)
L'attU-, 'li'incanniir of, in ihc prn,\iinily

nl Imn... 1)5 ; " <,n.| , i-alllr," ii.ili»i-
11,1111. ..r liiiljalni-, I %u ; ••(!) ■

still k," I'm; -yilljit iTIls nl "'(K
-111 k, " 171; -nil. tlllli-. Ill .IV. I

liniii till stin^; nf till- I'l-tM- liy, 17.::
-ultiriii;;- nf. 111 hni wc.iilii r. in llii-
.|i-.i,.rt .if .Sniiih Afrua, ;i;; in-
slim t nf, .ill. I water. 322

' )i,i|iinan, Iun n|..ni..n ..11 lli.' k..ill..a
rliin..,-.i..>. 1S3

'hit. ill-, I'.iri .11- ir;.!iin^' an. I cMUiti-
in^ 1.1, 12^11 ; -willii. >s .1! Iii.lian,
12.S

I li.ili rivi-r, lm-!il.iirks l.nin.l mar.
;2 ; ("nlliviin Imniini,' Imllalm > iwar
til.'. 14;; l.iitfal.iis (.Iriililiii iii'ai,
1 1^ ; t-. 1-. llirs alniii; till-, 1 54,
I 5/ ; In I Imiii I... ■t-.r llks, 1115

l"hri>tiiia-, deal in ."muhIi .Sin .1 .U
tlir tinu nt, 314

I la-silii'atinn nl Imii^, 7.S

' ■l.itliin;^ ..f a '>..uili .\liii .11 l.iiiilcr,

I '.lal niiii. .1; W .iiikii N, II13

(;i.ki 's h.irl. 1.1 1 St. ^., ir.irli.|i..i-sl

I nil N^^.■t^:. in <'a|«- Cnlnny, .Si

I ..Ui-.in. II. I '., anil tin- wiM .lij;-'

123; liunlin.; Iiullalm. >, IH71), al

Tl.ik.iiii, ;i3
I ■ Iniir nf Willi aiiiiiial>, \iii, xvi. 1 I. :

till- aiiili..r'> npininii mi tin, .t :

\S .illai'>'> ..|,ininn nn tlu', u ;

ilitkri-nt, in tlie -..iiiii.' rij^inii-., 12 ;

nf li..n>' 1 ). s, 73 ; nl l.utlal.i . alvo.

'■1.S
( nluinliia, N.. Ilium Diiii^h. 1 1
C.nliis, l'j;an.la Railway. kilKil l.y

man Latirs, 40
('nn|Kr, Krank, ami tlu ilal.ili. 127
( n-.tilln, .Mr., trap nia.ii li>. ;o

catLli a ni.m-. alcr, 52
I nU:;ar, l'rr>i.Kiu K. 1. .-. v..!r> ex-

p.ritncr whin hiintini; a, wii
CnKnilik-s. rhimicirns kiUnl !.y. 20I
('rn~^, Alfrcil, his aiKi-ii'iir ■ with a

lim. 45
(nils, .lifVi iLiiit s liitwiiii li.iii.-.', 77 ;

ii-ual iiuiiil.i.'r nf a linncss'.s, S7 ;

cliit.ih. rcarnl by a »!i.:-il.)t;, I2y
I "uniinini^, imrilnii. liis Umk on
\trican humiiii;. 47; ..11 tin.- liLatk

rliin..! rr..-. t.^;. 1.14

l).ika, 154

Daniaralaml, .\iiiKrs;.>n liuininy in,
! l.'<4

Darwin. Iiis ..|..iii..n on the enlora-

11. I 'MiiU. {

Darwin. Mnuiil. hultalne-s near, 135

INDKX

iV

I>awl,ins, I'l, ! I;, y.l. ,.■! Ill, • ,.il

r).iwr,:l>. I lull, Cliy. l.lllrl I,) .1

fiiiii.il". r^i)
I).iw-..ii. I.iiiic's, ,11. •! 'h.- uil'l .|..r^,

I),- 111 < rt ('.iin|Kiiin.| .It KiimUtI'..

104
DrtuiUniii. t.,»ri I'viil' in ih, li.ii.iii

w.in.i. Mil
Dfsi(i-.iti..n .,| S. .will .\fr;.-,i. i ;ii
r>(tt. sw;lm|,y \,i|l > -.illli l.l^t ..1

\t' I'TM l-.ll|,, I ;j : wiM ,,„i|,l.ll«

riillirti il in, I ji
Pii-k. \l;ini;».ai., I,., v. ( 'lIIivii'^ .illcr-

ri.l'.r, ;i7
Dcjf., wil.l, luiiilmji tmtTalc.rs, no;

til. iiiMiiy In man, 122; -wiIUkss

iif, I.:.?; umiuH cx|>cric'ni<> »iili,

125 f.
Dnnlviy »a},'^'iMi x-rvin- ill Tr.m^va.il,

Don lull, ilfcr;^!-, and lli.- ^iratKs.
215: hu ^r„n a,„j |(,^ .luilii.rs
acKiiitiire vnih Ihc ivmi li.in^. 27S

Drakr, I rt.l, .11 .shci^li,.n^;, \i^ ; l,i,
kinilniss lij the .niitliiir, ;,;i,

Dress "(a .S,,iiit|.Afriiaii luiiii. t. 139 ;
of liiisliiiiin. wimu-n, ami j;irls, 340

nrunnnoii.l, II. ,11. W. II.. //;,• /,j,;v
t;,i"if a?i,i Xiiliiral Uiil,ny of
Siiiith ami SjHihK.ist .Ifii.; l,y,
his iliscription ..f the inyala, j.'4 '

DuiUrr, a small amilo]i.-,'io

Dust, sulli rings causi,! i.. i-nnic l.y,
3>5

DwarsI.iTi,', ill Tran-vaal, i;i

Firs, vi/i- i.r. in .\frirait anlclojn,. 30
KisIwchmI, |{.. w.iundL-d by a Mark

rhin*n"cr»»s, i(^j
Kduli.ivtn. Mr,, hi,, kindnrss to the

aullior, 2ji), 253
'•-KKi "striih, iMimd by liushnion, 34;
Kland, dcscri|.liciii of .m, 254
l',lc|ih.ints, an. I lions, 64; cvanipk- of

their courtesy towards biilfaloes,

147 '• 'Iri'ikin^; a! .■sikvinii river,

271
hUfftanl ' Ihiinit-, by Captain

I aulkner, .^27 ;

Uliott, Rev, \V, .\,.al L'iiishlan(jfni,

the author s e.\|»-rience when stay-

injj with, |^,X2, 176 '

KImenlcita, in lintish i;.a,t Africa, 5 ;

zebras near, 21
r.ndun.i, adij^-nity in Matalfleland, 04
Kni,'ellire[;ht, .Michael, lloer hunter.

l.ii|..|if, lions c. mm. Ill ,\

of llennlolu,, ,Sj

I')es. Kil.iur .if a Ih.ii \,

Kyi-sii;hl, nerr„il) .1 .1

hiintrrs. 17 ; ii-m,|i

.(I ill.- till

iriiii'd, f..
I l:aiiiini; ...

■ K.MI

I ill-, \iil..ri., ivt; 1;

valley >..uih .-,1,1 ,.|. I ;j
Harm .Uvaslal.-.l by ■ li,,„e„ :n

^I.i.hmialan.l, d.S
Kaulkrirr. <'.il.t., iiiy.il.i ,hot l.y, „,,,,

<',i])t; .\Iai bar, i.Mrf., 22:
/■''/./, (he, Nil .\H>,.|' sluri.- ,

opinion on the !,.■ i,,- ily p„|,h,lu. ;

ill, 150
Heisi hiii.iiui. Max ( ,. hi, | tier 1.,

rresi.leiil k.i.i

II, \'*>T, 2.JI

Hies. .SVr Tse tsf tly

Food, favourite, ..1 h..iis, <,.j ; ,,|

hyan.is, 103: ,,f |!u-linun, {,1'
■• Korew.ird '• by br. -idei,! 1;...,m-

vill, xi-xix
I'lrtni^utly /\'.: i.-:r, 5}
K.iuntaine, \.. an, I tlu 1 lietah, 127
Kox, .'.r.ti,-, humiii),; ..f ih,-, k :

wlii'.e r.iai ..fan, 41

(la/clle, TlioiiiM.n ,, ,ol.,r,iii.iii of,

13 ; niarkiii^js of, 23
Cienisbuck, des. iipti.m ..f il..., 2i(»f. :

the auth.ir's luinl .fier, 25.S, 2<.,,

2l>r, 2,S7 : nature of the, 20.S
(iirarte, shajn- and e..l..ration of a.

20 ; the .s.imali, 2,S ; ,el,lom kille.l

by li.iiis, 64; staleliness of th. ,

J 15 ; a little. driiikiiio animal, 201) ;

.1 voiecles, animal, 211; viiiie"

.idventures of the author with. 21 ;.

215: strop;.,' sm.,|| ,,f ,h,.. 2,1, '.

allacke.l by |«,, l,..,par.ls. 21.)

ealv.s. 221
(,'!,>i<ina i<h>rut,ins. S,-- Tx-l^e (ly
li.ials. .\lricaii. unafTe. le.l bv t-e-tv

tly disease. 173
(lold fouii.l in the Transvaal. 152,

in Witwaters kan.j, 325
CM AVi'!.<iir of South kait Afri.r,

The, by .Mr. Th.miis Haines, 151
• iould. his kin.lnes, t,, the auth.ir,

22<)
I'lr.int's zebra. .s>^ /el.ra
Grrat attti Small Cumf of .l/rt.j,

published by Kowland Ward', 3s':

.Mr Vaut,'han Kirby's eontributi.m

to the, 195; Mr, A, II, Neumann

on the giraffe in the. 21 S
<;ii.|ualani|, 337
i.iogaii and .-iiiar|v, .Messrs., t,xv

{S^

AN NA'ITRK NO'IKS

\fri. .111 Im.Ii l.fiu-li' I.i I iii;lii:.l

( ii:;^.iwi, llii .\ni.il..in;;i In .I'liii.iii. J4"

I .lUiu a f'twl-, miimfiiii- nil lln I' u'.ii

li\».u mil. Ill M.il.il" li I ml. 1"-' ;
l« l^i (lie- iH'.u, 1*^7 i. I ''.5

ll.in>.ini iivii, in M.i-liuii il I'l.l, is;
t.wii .K\,i,t, I I'* .1 h.iiii -- in--.\r.

11.11' , I'.'l II, wliiii- Miiil.r I ii.ii III, .;i

I I iiii . ''11 ' ..rnw.illi-. .iii'l llii' 1111-
i.iki . "Ill 1 mini; ln-nii \>'\- .mi
I li ■.U.U-, ;S : 111- ili.min^- ■!

Ili.TW, S| ; lii> lilllilinj; r\|N .iiti.ill

111 Siiiiili .Mil' .1. !*■;" .i7' '■'^'
ll.itrisi.ii. t'l.l. J. I.. i|ii"i.iii 111 li-iii.

. mil 1 tiling; lln .Si.iii.ili i;ii.ilti-, iS
Il.ir1il«i -t, r..l..r.iliiin nf .i, iA '■

iiiixi'l -l-i • - '■(. .»>: liyi'iiil li.iil'

Ik'<'>i -III ' I'V ' "Hull- v.ui Ivi'H' I,

ll.irili-v llill.. lu M.i-!iiui.il.ui'l, iiiti
lUyr- .s.iilli r. >ir J.niirs, h'\- i,|»ii!

Mil lil.li k lllilH><'lTiiv>, li»(|

llrariii',;. kiiii m iisf nl. in .miil..;.' -.

^o ; Uf .1111. -- "I. Ill rliiiio i-iii-i -,

I fit)
Henri .iii'l ll^< r. i li"i. i | 'H n - "I

nival in .i " ill .mnnil. ' I> : "I

.K|.l..inl, .1- I l..l.!,i

1 |iti"liilii-. ll ''1- inllini'.n in 1 iili'|i'

at the Iniif .'I. Sj
lliili- 1.1 llu- i;ir.\tli, 217
lli|.|».|-.t.iniii-L>. 1,(10
lliirii-. lini;lli nl ^;i-iii-iiiuk-', JI17 :

I Miiiimi. i.il \alur III i!iiii."T|.i-i - ,

I.SS
I lotM'. Iiiiiiii li> .1 l;"n, Z'lj : m. an

m^; ..(a " >.-.l!r.|. ' ^'^ ; /.'.
H.iitt iitiiN, l.m^;u.ll;^■ "U vi-
lli.»1 i.f llu- li\.iiia, 115 : 1.1 ill. wil.l

,1,.;;, \2l

Ilml.n. r, Mr., aii.l ili.- il.ath ..f Mi.
K\all, >o

///»;/, •'. ll'Jit rrn>.\- , ./. jiil .li-li' .1 ni
iSSl. I.S7

1 1) i-na, >|«.lti .1. I h.ir.icti.T ..I llu-. O.'. ;
'.•xaini.k.,ililKanil.icil> 1 if llu, 9*9 t. :
prclcrrnl I....1I ..f llu'. loj : "M
^lasi-- ami «itilus i;ivcn t.., 104:
sinn^lh 1.1 iIk- .|.i«-- 'if, 107 :
-.irciijiili 1.1, \oS: i..urai;c ..f, no:
howl -.f, 115 : tU--li ..I, a clu.i'i'
iiuat, 1 17 ; vklul|.> 'll, 1 iS

iin|..il.! anklipL', kilk'l !.) wiM .1 .^-,

Iny.ili, i..|.ii.T.i"n • .f, {I ; a v.triil>
I'l' .mil |ii|» , :ii ; il " ri|i!iiin of
iIm , Z2\, 227 ; haliii.ii "I. Jio :
-li'.l 11. ir <'.\]-< Mai |. II. lM><i. 227 '•

'!'« 111. I Ml ll' -ll"' I'V li.i .iiiiliDr,
-I-

l.uk~.li. K !.,< .1!.. lli-alli.l. •• rill-
I.i'iii," "11 tin- ti.iii|iiiii{ ill li.'n«.
77: In. ii|iiiiiiiii 1.1 iliin.'ifTi.-o,

l.ii k-..ii - li.ut. liii-i. >.. Il.irii !xi«t
1.1. nil,, rrlni-. li'ii 1 Innii. 1. 171)
I.iiiirv. I . I.., tjir.illr killi'l ll). 217
jam. ■-'.11. I. .\.. .111. I tin- 1 li't.ih, 127
l.inii.-. Hi.i'U, 1 1. i 'lain liiiiitir, .iii'l

ill'- li'.ii. s; ; In- .u.-.innt "f a Hu-h-

nun l.illi .1 1.) a li.m, 71
Kr.l.iii, Af.imin.:! ,•> Ithiia l.y, 12S
l"liii-I..n. ''ir II. II.. I'll llu- li.il>il.1t

..f tin- ii:y.il.'.. ;:'.
I' iiiiaiii i.M f . I . ;

' Kalii-.i." ri.i'iii ..f I'li^iiiy llii-!iiiun,

iii'iili'iiu-'l l.v I'r'.f. K' an. . i;i
Ka/inii;nl.i. (i. . Ii..:ii 1 -. '- • lli' - in

l.S.SS, I ;7, 1 ;i»
Isr.m-'. ri'..f., /'■/. /.'.w .SV.i,'. . l.y, \},\
K'itl...i. ,1 lariily .if rliin.K . i"-, iSj
Kliani.i. hi- |.r..|.li'N lilviiij; f..r liy.uia
nil at. 1 17 ; lln' autlLn's lulp in \\\-%
|....;.li. 1(4; link.irn, .me i.f his
1 liu(> \\2 ; ].ra:-r .1 In.- i^'Hirr.
iinnt. \\<\
Kiinl.. rK'>. ' I. '■ r- < 'n.iiH.i.ii.l at,

'"■* . ,

Kin;;-Io>, liinuinj; i-xpi'Li n. r "I, with

a li.iiit— , 27''

Kirliy. Wiiijjiiin. hi- .U'.iml .i| a

tiyiri.i, ll.S; ci>nlril.mi..n .li. to

(//,.;/ an. I ."i '.■/./.'.' ijiini, if .//r/.i/,

i')S
Kiik, '-ir |..lin. .It l.iiuanii, w.tl; Dr.

l.iiinn-t.int-. 1S61, 104
Kirt..n. I ir. .ri;i-, In- .11. mint ..f a

l.l.uk rhin.icfr..-., i.SiaS. iSfj
Kl.il.ala, -afi- arrival nl llu .iirnurs

|.,uly at, 1S70, 327
Kl.i- l.ina-. Ki.ian.i rliii I. JJi). ^34
Knii;lit - llriin', liivli.i)., in- linnki'ys

kill.-il 1.) l-.-t-i- lly Lite-, 172
Kn.ix, Col., an. I lii> S. mlaiK'-i- lion,

I **■»

I Kny-na f .ti-! in i'^n: ( ..l..ny. 135

j K.>cli, I n., ..ii'l ill., I [.i.K line ol ri.ulcr-

, !'<-■-'. IJ7

I K.ioiliio, iles.ri|.tiiin ot a. 30; kfin

; -t-nse of hrarini; of tilt:. ,0; hiintfd

INDKX

<S{

K>>i.^li.i>, l.'.n;;i!,\, I ilii . jjt,

JJ2. n,5

I iirgr (i.mr ,.;■; .\, 1/111,1. /// /.i v ,/
Si.ulH .111./ .s I /■_.,/ If, 1,1. '■//:,,
l.y ll'ii. W . li. I ifi.riiriii.iiil, 224

I < 1». filial Mli;;.-. hult.ll.'. ^ l.ill- il ..II

Ul..» tl..-, is;

l.'i.(iar.N, liunlir> ..I :m.1. !..]«., ;;;

V'lUii^; >:ir.ill. [1UI1I..I I >, JKi
I.txhtiiiJi. H.ili rh.il.' .11. l.'J; i: > !•■

ur 111'-. 11. .ir, IS7
l.f \'.iill.i:il, |iu(l.i|.n> ■• I'll ;.y, .cii

the < 'r.iiiRi- rivr (. 17.S;. I ;ii
I-iIkIk.'*, ri.,-.. I It.. Ill n.niikaiii 1... Kn
l.iiii|«t|". i.ill. V, l;iir( tl. Il's /, l.r 1

plintiliil III, Ji ; Is, t> Hi' ~ ri.

1S7I, l\2, 100
l.in.|ii.i-i in. r, 1 \i
I.m).iii!i. . Ih' 1 ii.«ii ,.f til. \l,iU..|.il..,

I (.4
I. inn, clriiii.in.iiir of :> vi.ii, liin^. 17 ;

hunting; slr,Hi;;y ,,( ttu-, Jn, t<j, (Xl ;

Afri" III ii.iiuis .ii 111.-, 45; 111,
ii-u.il w.iy i.f . ,ii.liiii(; III. jiri), 4.S,
70: |«.iv.n..iis nalurr ..l lii, liitf,
;<), 71, 20i ; . I, Mill 1.1 Mr. Kynll,
■-.ill. 'I l.y .1 111,111 .f,it.-r, 50; lln-
M,iiili iii.-iii ■ cii. r. 54-59; liis
l.iv,.uriii- l.i.»l. (14: 111, 111, nil, ,r "1
ri.trriii^; a latil.- kr.ial. bS ; i,.|>;iir
.'f hi-, lyts, 7 ; : hk. m -> .,f ,1
Nt.ilkin-. 1.1 .1 sialkiii- lal, 75:
iii.iiir 1.1 a. 7X L liiij;tli i.f hair ol a.
So: li'^i i-v.ilviil in a n.l.l liiniat.-,
S,i , Ills I Iv.ViiiK',, ;■- a l.i'l. hii, S; :
liis mat, Sq

'■l.iiin, Thf," laikv.n's ariii ]■■ nn lli
trmii'inL; •>( (i.,n,, yj

I. inn-, < '.il.inti rai;iT»..ii aii.l ihc tii,.ii
raUT>, 49; 1 lassilicali..ii nf, 7S :
killfl willi|...ivin.-il arr.irts l.y liusli
iiit-n, 94 ; thi- luith.ir- ill-liick with
iIk' tw.i, 279 f, ; last ..I iIh- lliirt)
..fR- killtil l.y thf aiitliiii, 307 tl.

I.iviiij,'.sti.nf, l)r., Iii> npiiiLin ..11 iiiaii-
rati-rs, (kj ; his \isil l.i >i l.it»,iiu-,
1S5J, lOj : hia ri-iiiarkh uii the isr-
tsc ily, :(J7 ; iin tin- Husliiiuii, jj.S

I.ivinijsi.iiu- s.-arch i-\|.iilitii.ii, i..iii
iii,inilfii l.y l.ii-iucnaiit \ .luiii;, iStib,
2-7

I." Ik-n^iil.i. hi- arioiii!; m" i!,^- tsc-
isf tly s ilisapiKatanci-. luj ; Kiiii;
of thf MataUk', i-o

l.iicusts in .\Ialiila, 2.JI :, in Si.iilh
(\nlral .Mrici, iSiio. Jj4

I

I', /lllll ;jui.li. ..I ih. ,^l!:|l..l.

I... I. Ill, II. .1.1 I ii.luna ..I 11 .l.il.a. ...ii-

VI. i.-.l ..I Mil. Ill taft. 1(1^
l.uurcn.,.. M.ii.|iiis, li.laj;.... |;.iv.

I.V.Ifkk. , k., his i|l,,il. |t|,.(| . ,l'

■|i..i-.. :s

Mal.a'i |.l.iin. 7S : iini, 1 ;e(
Maih,il.i tiM-r. .1 •.vfttl.w iinni ihc

, < Ikavaiii;. ., I \(i

I Maikiiini.n, I'l.. .mi il,,- ii,,,., ,1
li..i;s, 77

I \1ai It .ir, I '.!]■'■, iMv.il , i|.,- I . ,11, |,y

I < apt, I .uilkii. r, KSt*., jj;

I \!a. I..UUU- ri\.i, '.uti.il „ s' | I; m'.il

' al.iii^ ill. , 152

. Ma^;hal;.|ii iin rivii, ;..iiiH f.iuiil .ih.ni;

I ill.', iK.So, 152

j Maiiliriv. r, a iril.injn .,| ||„ /,iiiii,si,

1 54

Makari kail, i..ik sal: |..iimI ,it, joi

I Mak..l..l.., \|is-i..ii sent 1.1, 104

Mamn,,,: ,■/ /<■,/;,!, |,j I.r,l,,|:, ..|i

liuiitini; I lui.ilis, ij.s
Manil> , I rank, aii.l i),. .,M ,|.:v,.

^i\i II I., ihf In 1 iia-. IU4
MaHE,il,i .'t J'utij. I II, . \'\ <'.il..iu-|

rattt-rs..ii, 49
M.lMts, 1 1.11 is', .liMi ten. . - I- l\\. t-i;, 7,S
.Mani.alan.i, r...k).aiiiliii^'s n.. 530
M,i|.iila ii\. r, l..iiii,,| \\ ilu- |',.,ij^,,|.,

aii.i tilt* I "siitii, J Jo
.Matic. . riM r, I ;i)
.Masatw.i. ..I .Nlas.Ti.,!, i.nn,' -mn

i'\ K' .111 .'s |,-.,i,|, ,,. r.i.,|,Mi,„.

.M.i>huiialaiul, tr. .uM, s . aii,v.l ly
liuiis in, iS<XJ. 07 ; f. k |.aii.liii..s

ill, j30

,MalaU-li-, . ..iit.ii;.- ..I ih, , in ,iii,,i V\n\;:_

Il..ns, 9J; I lll/i|ii;.i/i, l..iin.l.i ..|

till- iiati.iii, ;(j2
M.italK-li-lan.l, lal..- nf wii, h,., m, iq- ;

I o i'.fni;iila, kinj; of, 2-0
.Matula, |..i u,is in, 251
Mi-at, hy.t na M.-sh .-..nsiilin.,! a. h.iicf,

1.) Kiiaiiia's iKjdpIc, 11^
NU-l..iis,»au-F-. kii..Hnt..»il,JaiiiiiiaI-

an.l iiscil iiisica.i ..| wati-r, 2IO
Milhr. .\It., luiiili. 4lnillal..is mar tlu-

<h.il.i, I.S79, 14;: travc-llini,' «ii!i

till- auth..i It. .111 Tlakani, ;ij, -,17
\Iiin-, dial-, at Wankits, i6j
Mis,i.,n M-iit t.. Mak.jlulo, f.Ut- •.! i!u-.

It>4
Ml i 1011,11 y '/'lli-,;!., l.y !>,. l..\iii^-

1S4

AFRICAN NATURF. NOIFS

^1.lM.ll, I >r. l.iih.rl, ..11 ill. l,ini;iKij^.-s

>]..ikii) in S.iii'Ji Atiii-.'ii. ;52
Mc.li["iU.|i, Iniiit. t^ Ir'.in, JoS
M.i|..|.<i riviT, ■litlnl. ..- |..uiiri lu-.ir

llii-. 13')
Mii..-r, (.-"Luriii^ ..t, in wiiilir. 11 ;

IviiTi ■-. n:M. .if hiariiii; ..1 llu-, ji
M. ),.«■! R.y, l.ult:l^..■^ i.m!..l ^'.i. I j6
Miiutll.in nf .s:ir.liiii;i. I'.il.mr i.t', 7
Milium, N:mir:il History. .11 S.'iilli
Kinsin^;l..ii. h) l.tal anti |..|«j at, v :
;_;ir.ili<- .It, 21 S : ^;. niil.iu k .it. j'W
M«<:u. l..\V,: ..;

N.ilaini. l..ikr, 5 ; /il.r.is iirar, 21
N'misin. i.ivcn 11.. I ncliiiii l:y, in tin-

Aritii: ni^ii.ns, 42 n.
N.T|.i. r, ll.ivi.l, lii-i .AjKricm^ witli a

l.l.ii'k rliinii. riiis, i,S7
Nal.il, l.iisliljui ks Imiii.i1 in. ;i
Xilnrii'i.... tlu-ir w.iy nl' killing iliiii.^

(IT. PM-, 107
Ni-miMun, .\. II.. i;u..t iii..ii fr..iii. '.n

rliiiiiHrri.sf^, 11)) : .'ii tlir j^iratlc-'s

.'.lisiiu'r'.i viii. >■, 21 r ; ..11 till- j^'iialk-,

21S
Ncuin.nnn'^ li .rt.-l.. r^t, > ■ ll.ulr

U'.--t
N'l^aiiii. I..ik', tiu' I'.atanw.ma liiliu

at, Kil
Ni.lwani rivn. 1 jii
Nsa^.i, l.akr, < .iptaiii |-,iulkiKr\

j..\iriHy In, J27
Nya-.ikiiicl, skills -riit Iniiii. I.y >ir

.\Hri.l >li,Uj..-. 22i>

Okavaii'.;.. riv.r, 1. ~ ipjKMianrr ..f
I iilialiHS :iiiil IM- Kc iln s Mil tin-. Hit

( )raiii;e rivir, I'li-liok^ f..iiiul lu.ir
thi-, j(S ; l.ulT.iloo (muiii! iR-.ir tin,

i)ril'i>, .--niall aiUclo|H'. Hi

i)sttrll, Willi. im < .ili..ii. lun.il.H-,
fnun.l l.y, iioar tli.- .M >1mji,,, i y, ;
III! i!ii. t-.' tsc tli. s 111 N.irtturn
Trari^v.i.il. i>4> i^i : i 1- vi^il t.>
Si-liitwaiii . iSxv Hij : hi- rhiii..
ciTMs liuiuinj,', i.'^.u. l^.v^. '.^2:
on ttic IktiIi rliiiioi . IMS. i.^;; .111.!
Itu- ilii'lali, 2.ji

( )vami».l.inil. .\ii'|. 1 -- .ii liuntinL; in,
1S4

I )\, niusk, lul.nirint; ..i llir, 9;
ihan^iU-s- •....i! i.f tlir. 41

i'.iiiitiii^;^, r.ick , in M.i-hunala;'..! am!

Maiiu..l;inil. J36
rakiliyt', liunl<r> frMin. 2u.S

r.in\ .11111 I IV. r. 1^5

I'ar- !.;i, Mr., .ml Mr. Kyalts ik-alli,

I'atliT- .n, < .il.inci, l.i- r\|«rii-nrc-,

vMth tvvM iii.ir.-f.Tlir-, 4<)
l'-":irc,kc C'lJ.//'', Ilif, aiilliMr's <i|K-ii-

nil Ti- srnt iiMT tin, 25;
I'lsl. .SVr Kin'lcr|*st
rhili].s, ( ;. .\. niiinliir .f 'ly.vn.i.

|«.i..in'.l witli -try. liiinv in miil-

ni(;!.t l.y, 107
!'i^;niy l;u-l:nicn, ; ;7
l'ij;s, iniiiiiuiity ..t, trn'ii i-.'-t-c riy

ili-f.1-1 , I7j
l'.ini;i.|n riMT, iny.il.T- mai, 2J>
rri.nt;l.U(k ..1 Nnrth .\inrrj, i, tin-

" crysanth.-imiin " ol lin , wi
runi;ttu rivir, li. ii-»!:li in.im- fiiuml

III Mr till'. Si ; .i! uii'lai t ^.uiic in the

.li-lri- 1 l.i :hi', .VS

i^iuai^'ija, I vlii. ■: .11 ^..ut!i .\trii.i, I ■,()
• JiiilM rivii. S,,- I li.il.i

l\.iiiii)kwi ; ..iiii nv; r. ,^2

KaVLii, lint .111 .\iiiii- I. jr.;. 4-' ■•.

Kijcillai.k, -ill. ill ai.t. Ii.j»- 10; killi-.l
liy Ihf aiilli.ir, 2(5

kiiil, I'll y, 111- kiii'lti-s ti, an .lil
liy.i.iia, no; litter lr..in. (..nririiiiiy
t-cl-c llics, 157

UrstU— nes^ iif »il i ar.iinal-, U), 42

Kiviu- rivir, 'ji. ; t-c-l-f llii's im th.',
iSoi. 173

Kliinoii-r.i-, i.n.iin^ ;.< lirink, 113:
hy.inas ai.'l thr, 114: lalf kill.-il
l.y liy.ina-, 1 10 ; whit.j, ilriv.-ii
away Irimi tlu- aullnr's camp, 272 :
wdnikrful i-siipc nf a t'lnrk. 273

KliiiiM. iTiisc-. I ' .' k .iiiil ivhili-,
.-aiiily 1.1 thr. 131. 179: pKntilul
in 1^.73, 132; >ir I iTwalii- I larrw
anil tin-, lX3t., I.So. -Mr. ( )-wcH\
iiuiiun^' Ihi.-, 1S2 ; l.oiiliaml kntlna,
I.S;; .hlii-ri-ni'.s l.iiwnn tin Mliiti.'
.mil tin' tilack, I.S5 ; coniiiK-r. ial
valur ..f lii.rns nl, incrra-til in «.
I.S.Vj, iSS; -iipp.-iil 1 liari^v- nf,
11^1 ; rxplaiialiMii of thr i liart;iJi, ot,
192 : killcil l.y I rotoihK-, 201

Kliudr-ia, North \Vc-!i rii, -car. ily of
rhini.cLroM-s in, 105

K!iiiiir-ia, .'-ii;.tlii.iii, rnuntrio- in-
. hi.l.il in, 3i»3

Richariisun, .'-ir ('Mrnw.iUi.i llarri-'.s
i-i'iiipani.in in hi- hiiiuint; fxpi-ili-
li.iii in .'Eolith .Alma, ihjO, I.So

Rir.i!i.r]N..-t, ii iSiK>, 30, 135 : Dr.

1NI3KX

;55

ki>.ii;~, «.it,;;"i!, ilir"UL;h l") iiift^tfi'

countries, 15; f.
Kiiariiii^ of liiin>. Sii
ki)ck~. Si, I'aiTitnii;-.
R(Ki-.i.-vi-It, I'li ^i.lcin, ■• Imii rt.iril "

liy. \i \i\ ; I'-'l' r ffiii. In the

aiillii ir, 1007. -'i>i
k'Miyfii, ( ■(.riii.-li-i vai:. Ini.ri'l harti-

licist -li(.t liy, \(> ; and ihu cliasr of

I)r- « ill! iKi;;-. 1:; ; ; ami th. : litiah>,

Kiilli>. h:!.!. IImm. WalUi. -ii.illf ..f,
in thf Irini; Mdmiimi. :?iS

Kyall. C II.. killiil iiy .1 inan-iaier.
50

SaM river, clic.ah cul>-. fiiun.l near,

12(} : inyalas f..vin.l m-ar, ;;;5
.'^t. I.UL'ia liay, l(A> : inyalas m/ar. 225
Sali^liury, laj'ilal ol Ma-.l-,iin.i!an(l, 4S
Sail, nH.k, found a! Makari kari. 204
.'^anyali riv'-r, 155
Sct-nl. ' .uniV'^Mi^ .iiiitn.iU iiuntiTii;

by, 14. iS; ki' nnt-.^ of ihintu rm^'^.

u>'i : ;Ik ,:;irafk''- kct-iiin^^ i>f. 212
Sc hwiinit/. ''ouiil Son, and llii-

jjcrn-l'iK k, joo
.^.lalir, '. 'r., ii.yaka -kin ^irit to. I.y

■>ir Alficd >i ..r|«', I.Syi, 22U
.Vl,ak«t.' riviT. in .Ma>luuiakTnd, 12;
Scbitwan.-. iliirf of ihf .Makol,,!..,

:62 ; Dr. I,iv:ii;;-iiinr'~ \i-ii lo.

1S5,;. loj
Sikclrtii, .Schr.u.UR-'.-- sop, Dr.

Livingstone's visit to, 1861, l()4
.•^ill. \lr., travillini; witli the author

Ironi TIakani, Ji;
"Selous," John, ill -(lij.lio;: ,)f, j j_i :

his native lant;aa^'e. 534
.^hani^ani tisei. I~else tiie- ..i the,

i>S73, loj
Sharpe. .^-v (iroj'an and .'^liar|>e
>hari>o. Sir .\!fred. liis opinion^ on

the Isf-lse tl\. I i;l lisheii ni the

Fi,!'i\ 150 ; ijiyaki -kin -ml to Dr.

SekT.er liy, i.'^yi. 22tt
Sha-lii river, Imttalofs pKn'.ihd neai

the, 152
.Sheep, llarliary. colour of, O
Shoshcjn^. chief loun (jf Kl ania-

peo[ile. ^24 ; the anthor at, 325
■Si^ht, -mall use of, in arnivorcus

.ininials, 14. iS; ihilnesr. r. of rhino-

rero-es, 1S9 ; -troni;, of the giraffe.

20(1 : keen. jI the ^^enisiaick, j;; ;

keen, oi vultures, 2fxj
Sikiind rivii. elephat-.t- drinkiii; al,

271

■-nirll. -io'hl;, of /I '.1.1-. 22; ' f lion-,

Mi-ai;re<ali|e to dome-tir animals,

07 : ol hya na-, 1 ili ; of j^ir.ilir-, 210

Meinlnick, small antelo|ie. id

."stii^and, ('apt., injure.! I>y a Ma( k

rhincK'ero>, 10^
Mfwkadc made ly native-, .1- ,1 i!e-

lem e ai;ain-l lion-, 5;
^unj;we. Lake. .S<i
Mirroiindin(4-, inthnnie of, en the

c oloiired 1 oats o| anim.il-, _;i)
>«a!iili-. huntini; rhinoeer..se-. 1117
Siiail, Marlinu-, lioerhuntii. I7'_i
"symptoms ..f the di-ea-e eau-td l>
1-el-e t!y 1 ite-, 171

Taiiialakaii L\ei. ijo; ■.-el.-, llie-

numeron- near the. in iS;^. k;
Tana liv.r. wild anim.il- in lii. , Jul
■J'aiij;:.iiyika, Lake, (Kj
I'ati, river. .'^2
Teal,:, de.itii .,\, killed hy a li >m 111

Mashunaland. (17
'lemU- liver, inyala- neai. 22\
Teo);e. .V,, ( )kavanj;o
rhanima ■ >et;ie. .,11 ihe ro,\ ! i,

/ainU-i, |i|2
'Miom-on- L;a/elle. ,V,, t n/. ile
Tnil.arn. heal o; Khama'- pe-ple.

Ills preferenei' lor liy.ina iie at. 1 17 ;

one of Khaina's I l.ief.s, 312 : li.ivel

lini,' «iih the author, ;i ; ; hi-

iiiMueiiee over lai-hmen, ;;;
TIakani. journey , if the .le.tlini ind

lii- Iriend- Iriii, o. KlaiMl.:

(hri-tieas lS7(), _ilj-;27
Tran,s\a.al, Northein, mfe-ted liyi-i

I-' flies, 1S4;, 151 : ;old l.iuild Ml.

Trap, made 1.) .\Ii. (nstell.i. to 1 .iieli

a man-eater, 52; ii).tna l.reak!nt;a

iar^e iron trap, io8
I :ii-;i iiitii Ath, iitiirt in .Sou: ■]■ Ktiu'

Ain..:. 5^2
Tiinj; -Museum, f;iralie al, 21S
Tripanosome-. t-e-t-i iH i.i.nd

parasite-, 171
Tiusciitt, Inn, tr.idr in >ho,|;i,i;;,

1-e— elies, hunline i'.iid -lii'iiiini;.
2S4 1.

T-e ■ l-e tlie-. Connection lietween
I iillaloe- ,ind, 149; Sir .\lfred
Sharpe on the. i V-i ; disajipeaiance
of tlie, 151 I'.. 15(1; causes of the
inerea-e of, 130; dangers of the
-tini; of, to cattle, loi ; it- con-
ditions III evislence, 16O ; Di.

is'

AKRICAN NAIURI. NOTKS

1 Hl nl, 170 ; will II iiiiis! triuil I. -
^iimi-. 174; li'.ii.iu-. rtficl '>f 'h'-
l>il, - .1. 17I)
Tulur-. \s.itir-i •ii.M rvii.i.;. kr."«i< "
ii;MiM'- anil wilii :ir.inial-. Ji.'M

Ui;;uul.i K.uhi.i; .li. - 1 iHi'i 1\

nian-iatiT^. 4'1
I'nia) river, in Ma'.al'.K l.ii:'l. 5;
I'lnliili nvir, in Masliunala;i i. Zh
Um- M'^.xWi liv' r, I j5
(Jni-lilaiii;. ni. Mi-.i..ii Masp n M. 17(1
Uiiuiliua'/i, tatlii'r ■ f I," r.rnL;iila. (14 ;

|..i!n.i.T ..r 111. Maljl'.lr iiati-n.

11/2
L'iii/in_L:»aiii rivti, Nj
L'ni?«c>«i- rivi-r. Im -l-i tlii - M-ar \hc.

lo.S
l'nj;«t-i ri\ir. 55
L'-utv rivir, iinahu pii-iitilul nrar

Ihi.', 247 ; i;iiiiKa !.)« I- nn lli. , J49

Vaal riv r. 4(j
Naiiljifii^, iiuari.n;;oi, ;;i
Vili'rii, Jan. r.iitr liiini 1. I7>i
Vultiui -. ~U.ini; ^i'jlil mI. 21»j

WalliMh liaj. JO,S

Wall, llenr), ili|'lian! liunur. ami

llic lidii, 54
Wallace, AllVeM K;;--rl. !ra..!ati..n

from, on the 1 1 ol \ul.l animaU.

2 ; on tlie (ol a of -.v if I animal-,

0. 34

WaiiLie-, i-ual-niine al. idi

Ward, Kowlanil, Gi<ii/ ti/ul Si,,,:,',
(.iani,- 0/ Ah',,'. I'lilili^heil liv. ;,S :
and a i;irnlle killed 1 1) llie au'.iior.

•:i7

\\art-hoi;s. JOO

\\ater, vegetal. le -uli-tilutu loi. -\,ci :
■^irattCN >aid to Ke iiidep( r,t!ei,l ..|,
lor nionlh'-al a 'inie. 2;: : -ul'eMi;^-

1 au-ed l.y -.rareiiy ol. ;i 5 t, :
travellini; aflei, },\'i f. : ii)-!ii;Ct .f
ear.le afl. I. -,22
\\ au ri.ei;,'. in Norlli. in Tr, O'-va.d,

■31
W aterlan l.>, ;os
We-llieeih. I.eorjje. Iii- oiiiniou on

dv di>a]i]« .11 ,inee o) the t-e-t-t.' rly.

Whelp, ol hy.. n.i-. ii.S

/(■//,/ A'lir.'.'j till,/ rif.ii l\',:\ . I.)

Samuel llaker, 201
Willi, r. ■ olourint; o! wild aniui.d- in.

11.41
\\ i.-mN. Ml . 'he aiithoiV joiiii,..\

with. lo .\li:.l'e I;oalaild,, I.Sq(>. 22(1.

-51

Winhcrali. ].iir,i~linu n: ol. in Ati;.:'.
105; ;iiaN f.i. in Malahi lefind

Uiiwater- Kaiid. ;.;o|d (ound in. 32^
Women ii^eil a- ooiter^ in ,\iiia;"ni;a
land. 2V;
■ Wo..d. <e-.irL;e, Imi.di.L; expeiienei
I of. iS7 V

' N'ouni;, l.ieiUei.aiil, ll.e I ,i\ inL;«',om
-eareli espediii'n eomin.indi', dy
I.SdO. 227
\'ukon Teiii'oi). eof'.niiio ol ihi
wild aniivaK of. :r. winter, 1 I

/amlic^i inei, lliir. I.ell- /.d.ra
|i|enli!ul near. 21 : lr,>hdiKk> ioum
near. .^2 : l-^e-t^u tlii- alon:; tlie. .

1S7S, '154
/.eliia>. Colon rii;; ol .lilkri ni race- ol
5; l.rant'> yel)ra>. 5; Leaaty i
t'.urehell'., /elira. 2! ; ^irony -mcl
of. 22; friciulh inc|i,idtivcni — oi

/oiiti.aii-deit;. :ii N.'Klarn I r.!...-va.

/niid'o. on till /anihe-i. 1 70

IHK I.N

fmn't,! '-y R. iv K. CuAi^k, l.r.'i.i ■ td-n^v*^

,1 III,

!...-varl.