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'94^

SPORTS AND PASTIMES

EDI'IEI) BY

HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF BEAUFORT, K.G.
ASSISTKI) RV ALFRED E.T.WATSON

B/G GAME SHOOTING

' ,1

o
<

a
o

BKi (;ame shootinc

CIJVi: PHILLIFPS-VVO'LLEY

WITH CONI KI1!':tiONS KY

Slk SAMUEL W BAKER, W C. OSWEI.L, F.J. JACKSCjN
VVARIU KfON PIKi:, AND I'. C. SELOUS

!;■■_ ,

vol,. 1.

..// ii.LUMi^A iUU\S nv i.//AKLhS U'lnMJ'KN, J. WOLF
A, YD H. WII.J.INK, AND FliOM rHOTOGRAPHS

lA.tNJJUN

LONGMANS, C, R.EKN, AND CO.

1 8^4

All

ftgH / 1

A..

BIG GAME SHOOTING

CLIVE PHILLIPPS-WOLLEY

WITH CONTRIBUTIONS BY

SIR SAMUEL W. BAKER. W. C. OSWELL, F. J. JACKSON
WARBL'RTOX PIKE, AND F. C;. SELOUS

VOL. I.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY CHARLES WllVMrER, J. WOLF
AND H. WILLINK, AND FROM PHOTOGRAPHS

LONDON
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.

Alt rights reserveii

I/. /

DEDICATION

H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES

Badminton : J/iy/ 1885.

Having received permission to dedicate these volumes
the Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes,
to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales,
I do so feeling that I am dedicating them to one of the
best and keenest sportsmen of our time. I can say, from
personal observation, that there is no man who can
extricate himself from a bustling and pushing crowd of
horsemen, when a fox breaks covert, more dexterously
and quickly than His Royal Highness ; and that when
hounds run hard over a big country, no man can take a
line of his own and live with them Setter. Also, when
the wind has been blowing hard, often have I seen
His Royal Highness knocking over driven grouse and
partridges and high-rocketing pheasants in first-rate

BIG GAME SHOOTING

workmanlike style. He is held to be a good yachtsman,

and as Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron is

looked up to by those who love that pleasant and

exhilarating pastime. His encouragement of racing is

well known, and his attendance at the University, Public

School, and other important Matches testifies to his

being, like most English gentlemen, fond of all manly

sports. I consider it a great privilege to be allowed to

dedicate these volumes to so eminent a sportsman as

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and I do

so with sincere feelings of respect and esteem and loyal

devotion.

BEAUFORT.

msBB^mm

HADMINTON

PREFACE

A FEW LINES only are necessary to explain the object
with which these volumes are put forth. There is no
modern encyclopjedia to which the inexperienced man,
who seeks guidance in the practice of the various British
Snorts and Pastimes, can turn for information. Some
books there are on Hunting, some on Racing, some
on Lawn Tennis, some on Fishing, and so on ; but one
Library, or succession of volumes, which treats of the
Sports and Pastimes indulged in by Englishmen — and
women — is wanting. The Badminton Library is offered
to supply the want. Of the imperfections which must

X BIG GAME SHOOTING

be found in the execution of such a design \vc are
conscious. Experts often differ. But this we may say,
that those who are seeking for knowledge on any of the
subjects dealt with will find the results of many years'
experience written by men who are in every case adepts
at the Sport or Pastime of which they write. It is to
point the way to success to those who are ignorant of
the sciences they aspire to master, and who have no
friend to help or coach them, that these volumes are
written.

To those who have worked hard to place simply and
clearly before the reader that which he will nnd within,
the best thanks of the Editor are due. That it has been
no slight labour to supervise all that has been written, he
must acknowledge; but it has been a labour of love, and
very much lightened by the courtesy of the Publisher,
by the unflinching, indefatigable assistance of the Sub-
Editor, and by the intelligent and able arrangement
of each subject by the various writers, who are so
thoroughly masters of the subjects of which they treat.
The reward we all hope to reap is that our work may
prove useful to this and future generations.

THE EDITOR.

CONTENTS

THE FIRST VOLUME

CHAl'TEK-

I. On Big Game Shooting Generally .

By Clive Pkillipps. Wolley.

11. South Africa Fifty Years Ago

"^^.sr /^^sr' "^'^^'^-^^ '^-^" "y

HI. Second Expedition to South Africa

By W. Cotton Oswell.

IV. Later Visits to South Africa

By W. Cotton OsTvell.

V. With Livingstone /n South Africa .

By IV. Cotton Osjce//.

VL East Africa-Battery, Dress, Camp gf.k
AND Stores . . _ ' '

^b' ^''- /. /ad'son.

Vn. Game Districts and Koutes
By F. /. Jad'son.

VIU. The Caravan, Headman, Gun-i,earers, etc
IX. HINTS on East African Stalking, Driving, etc

By ^'' /• /ad-son.

I
26

142

'54

166
'76
185

CIIAI'TKR

XI.

XII.

XIII.

XIV.

XV.
XVI.
XVII.
XVIII.

XIX.

BIG GAME SHOOTING

The Elephant.
By F. J. Jackson.

The African Buffalo
By F. J. Jackson.

The Lion . . . •
By F. J. Jackson.

The Rhinoceros . > .
By F. J. Jackson.

The Hippopotamus . , .
By F. J. Jackson.

Ostriches and Giraffes .

■By F. J. Jackson.

Anteloi s. . • . '. •
By F. J. Jackson.

The Lion in South Africa
By F. C. Scions.

BIG Game of North America
By Clivc Phillipps- Wolky

Musk Ox . • • •

By Warhurton Pike

I'ACJE

236
. 269

. 428

INDEX

437

"■'"^sw-i-ii^HBli

^BmmmsBSfSBii,

ILLUSTRATIONS

IN THE

FIRST VOLUME

{Reproduced l,y Messrs. Walker 6* Boutall)

full.pa(;e illustrations

Thk Lion's Last Charor .
A Closk Shot

MOLOPO RiVKR .

' • •

Odds -3 ro i .

' ' • ,

FKRi.iNc; HOTit Horns ok a Dii.kmma

Thk Drop Scenk

• • •

El.KI'HANTS-ZOUr.A Fl.ATS
ThRKATEMNG ok KLKPHANTIAsrs

A DiFKicuLT Stalk

' • •

'Tkicmim; WITH Gamk'

Camp with Boma at sidr

ThR BtrsHMAN's StRATACKM

ARTIST

C. Whymper
Major H. Jones
Joseph IVolf.

»»
»«
»»

C. IVhyinpcr

KKSTI5JG THK 4.,.ORK ON rilK KALI.KN )
Trkk ... f

I From a photograph )
I by E. Ged}^v j

C, Whymper

Frontispiece
to face p. 8

• • ID

M 90
t> 116
I 20

140
166
174

198

aia

xiv

BIG GAME SHOOTING

ARTIST

C. IV/iymper to face p. 244
Good Guides • • • " '

The Rhino raised herself like a ^ ^^ . „ 258

HUGE Pig
A Family Group . • • • •
A Group of South African Ante- \ ^ _ .

Stand!:^ sTiix AS stone IMAGES . C. lVhy,nper .
Moose at Home . • • ' .. • *

■ BR,T,S„ CO>.UMB.A . . ■ ■} t'-i'VP" 1

368
398

402

WOODCUTS IN TEXT

Springbuck, Steinbuck, Blesbuck

AND REEDBUCK . • • • '

Over the fai.een Timber .
SKIN AND Pack. • • •

Interlaced Antlers . ►

Poor Old Sam . • • • "
Vignette . • • • " "
Death OF Superior .
A Night Attack, Lupapi . . •
• Post equitem sedet " fulva " cura'
The Lioness does the scansion

Death of Stael . . • '
MA5ELESS Lions . • • •
Dead Buffalo . . • •

C. Whytnpcr

I From a photograph hy\
I /. Lord >

C. Whymper

H. IVilliiik .

/. IVolf .

!• •

• •

Easy Stalking Country .
At last the Bull took a
steps forward .

( From a photograph by
\ E. Gt'dge
C. Whymper

vv.w

II
14

52
66

102
131
1 54

168

193

ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOLUME I

A Bahv Elephant .

" • •

Dead Elephant ,

Bull Buffalo

Bllssful Icnorance .

*Often attended hy Birds'

The Buffalo was close upon hlm

ARTIST

I C IV., after a photo- ]
y graph by E. Gedge j

( From a photograph by \
i E. Gedge j

C". IVhymper

»» • .

PAGE
204

216
224
226
234

Dead Rhinoceros and Gu.n-hfarfr [^''""^ a photograph by)

( F.J.Jacksoit \ "^52

* I was knocked over '

*I\ THIS AWKWARD POSITION'

Dead Hippos. .

C Harveyi, C. Petersi, N. mon- ]

TANUS, and C. BoHOR . . p'

C. IVhytnper

\ From a photograph by
^ \ E. Gcdge

IVhymp,

)er

F. J. Jackson

TANUS, AND C. BoHOR

Tlax of an Oryx Stalk

I'l^AN OF A (JaZELLA CIrAN III StaLK )

ON KoMHo Plain ,- • . .

I'l.AN OF AN IIaRTEUEEST STALK ....

BuBALIS JacKSONI . r UM

• C. IVhy viper

Okyx Collotis and Buhalls Cokei

KOBUS KOB .

Adult and Immature Gazella )

(iRANTII . (• • . .

The Walleri

B.'sknegalensis

Afv BEST Lion

' ■ • • • .

'SPRINGING UPON HIS VICTIM' . . c. IVhymper
Mv BEST Koodoo

' ' • • • C. IVhymper

C. ".Vhympcr

262
267

269

279
281
282

2«3
291

294
297

298

307
311
326

337
344
349

Wili'vl--",'.W'ff"

XVI

BIG GAME SHOOTING

ARTIST

Dead Grizzly

I From a photograph by
' [A. VVilliainson, Esq.

Specimen Skull of Black Bear ^^^\ pyg,n a photograph
Grizzly Bear . ,•

' Spring in the Woods ' .

Colonel Bedson's herd ok Buflaloes |

C. Whymper
C. IV. , from a photo- »
graph '

C. Whymper

A Pile of Buffalo Bones
A Group of Bighorn .
Mr. Arnold Pike's great Ram
Rocky Mountain Goats

AnTILOCAPRA AMERICANA .

A Herd of Pronghorns
The Record Head .
Abnormal Palmated Wai-iti Head
Woodland and Barren Groun

Caribou Antlers .
TYPICAL MULE DEER (C. macrotis . From a photograph

Abnormal Head of Mule Deer

From a photograph

C. Whymper

»>
From a photograph

^' \c. Whymper

354^

370

379-

380
382.

386

390-

395

39S

397

. 414-

. 419
. 420

The White-tail's Haunt .

GUANACO, C. PALUDOSUS, C. COLUM'
BIANUS . . • • •

Musk Ox .

Vignette . . • • *

(C. W.,from a photo-]
\ graph by J' I^ord \

\ C. Whymper ...
//. Wi/linh .

422

42s

428^
43$

BIG GAME SHOOTING

CHAPTER I •

ON HIG GAME SHOOTING GENERALLY
By Cr.ivK Pim.i.iPi'S-Woi.i.KY

Ir may be asked, as to these volumes, why *Big Game
Shooting ' should find a place in a scries devoted to British
sports and pastimes, whereas, except the red deer, there is no
big game in Great Britain ?

It is true that there is no big game left in Britain ; but if the
game is not British, its hunters are, and it is hardly too much
to say that, out of every ten riflemen wandering about the world
at present from Spitzbergen to Central Africa, nine are of the
Anglo-Saxon breed.

It may be asked, again, what justification there is for the

' Springlnick. ''Steinlnick. ■"• Hiesbuck. ^ Reedbiick.
I. B

ft-

BIG GAME SHOOTING

'^l

animal life taken, and for the time and money spent in the
pursuit of wild sport ?

That, too, is an easy question to answer. Luckily for
England, the old hunting spirit is still strong at home, and
the men who, had they lived in Arthur's time, might have
been knights-errant engaged in some quest at Pentecost, are
now constrained to be mere gunners, asking no more than that
their hunting-grounds should be wild and remote, their quarry
dangerous or all but unapproachable, and the chase such as
shall tax human endurance, human craft, and human courage
to the uttermost.

If in these days of ultra-civilisation an apology is needed
for such as these, let it be that their sport does no man any
harm ; that it exercises all those masculine virtues which set the
race where it is among the nations of the earth, and which but
for such sport would rust from disuse ; that if the hunter of big
game takes life, he often enough stakes his own against the life
he takes ; and if he be one of the right sort, he never wastes
his game.

Incidentally, however, the hunter does a good deal for his
race and for the men who come after him ; something for
science, for exploration, and even for his worst enemy — civili-
sation.

, In Africa, hunting and exploration have gone hand in
hand ; in America the hunters have explored, settled, and de-
veloped much of the country, replacing the buffalo wich the
shorthorn and the Hereford ; while in India, not the least
amongst those latent powers which enable us to govern our
Asiatic fellow-subjects is the respect won by generations of
English hunters from the native shikaries and hillmen.

From Africa to Siberia the story of exploration has never
varied. The world's pioneers have almost invariably belonged to
one of two classes. It has been the love of sport, or the lust of gold,
which has led men first to break in upon those solitudes in
which nature and her wild children have lived alone since the
world's beginning. Hunters or gold prospectors still find the

ON BIG GAME SHOOTING GENERALLY

mountain passes, through which in later days the locomotives
will rush and the world's less venturous spirits come in time to
reap their harvests and make fortunes in the footsteps of those
who ask nothing better than to spend their strength and wealth
in the first encounter with an untrodden world, living as hard
as wolves, and content to think themselves rich in the pos-
session of a few gnarled horns and grizzled hides. As for us
who are Englishmen, it is well for us to remember that in most
lands in which we shoot we are but guests, and the beasts we
hunt are not only the property of the natives, but one of their
most important sources of food supply. Bearing this in mind,
we should be moderate in the toll we take of the great game,
and considerate even of those who may not be strong enough
to enforce their wishes. The recklessness of one man in a
country where foreigners are few may suffice to damn a whole
nation in the eyes of a prejudiced people, and it is worth
while to recollect that any one of us who strays off the world's
beaten tracks may serve for a type of his nation to men who
have never seen another sample of an Englishman.

Looked at from any point of view, the wholesale slaughter
of big game must be condemned by every thinking man. The
sportsman who in one season is lucky enough to c lin a dozen
good heads does no harm to anybody, and probably does good
to the bands of game in his district by killing off the oldest of
the stags or rams. But the man who kills fifty or a hundred
foolish * rhinos ' (beasts, according to Mr. Jackson, which any
man can stalk) in one year, or scores of cariboo at the crossings
during their annual migration in Newfoundland, or deer and
sheep by the hundred in America, shocks humanity and does
a grave injury to his class. The waste of good meat is quite
intolerable ; kindly natured men hate to hear of the infliction
of needless pain, and waste of innocent animal life ; good
sportsmen recoil in disgust from a record of butchery misnamed
sport, for, according to the very first article of their creed, it is
the difficulty of the chase which gives value to the trophies.
If there were no difficulties, no dangers, no hardships, then the

u 2

BIG GAME SHOOTING

sport would have no flavour and its prizes no value. The mere
fact that a man can kill as many of any particular kind of animal
as he pleases should be sufficient to make him let that beast
alone, unless he wants it for food, as soon as he has secured
(say) a couple of fine specimen heads. Finally, to look at this
question from the lowest and most selfish standpoint, the
wholesale slaughter of wild game in foreign countries should
be discouraged unanimously by all who love the rifle, since
men who kill or boast of having killed exceptionally large bags
of big game in any country are extremely likely to arouse the
natural and proper indignation of local legislators, who have it
in their power to close their happy hunting grounds to all
aliens for the fault of a few individuals, not by any means
typical of, or in sympathy with, their class.

On the other hand, it would be well if some of those of our
own race, who should know better, would be less ready to call
other men butchers merely because they have killed large
quantities of game. Everything depends upon the circum-
stances connected with the slaying. If a man needs and can
utilise a hundred antelope, surely he has as good a right to
kill them as if he were killing a hundred sheep for market.
There are occasions when not only does the hunter's skill win
the regard of savages who value nothing in friend or foe
more than real manhood, but it is absolutely necessary to kill
game in order to keep a native following in food. Without
the hunter's skill, food would have to be bought or looted
from hostile natives, a feud engendered which might end in
the shedding of other blood than that of the beasts, and a
serious obstacle be thus raised in the path of the pioneers of
civilisation and trade.

Our big game sportsmen have made more friends than
foes, have always contrived to feed their men, and the very
greatest of them have never shed a drop of native blood.
Where gallant Oswell or Selous have been, there are no blood
feuds against the English to hamper an expedition of their
countr5;nen.

mim^Hm^'

ON BIG GAME SHOOTING GENERALLY

So much for the ethics of Big Game Shooting ; as to the
practical side of it, let it be said at once that it is impossible
upon paper to teach any man to become a successful big
game hunter. Upon the hillside or in the forest, with an
expert to guide him, with the floating mists to teach him some-
thing of the way of the winds, with game tracks or the game
itself before him, each man has to learn for himself, and even
then he learns more from his own mistakes than from anyone
else. To be really successful a man wants so many things ;
he needs so many qualities combined in h''s own person. To
be a good shot means but little. The man who can win prizes
at Wimbledon may be a successful deer-stalker, but it by no
means follows that he will be. He ''as one good quality in his
favour, but even that quality varies wiih the varying conditions
under which he shoots. With his pulses steady, his heart
beating regularly, his wind sound, his digestion unimpaired, his
eyes free from moisture, with the distances measured off for
him, and with a bull's-eye to shoot at, he may make phenomenal
scores ; but when he has been living upon heavy dampers and
strong tea taken at irregular intervals, his digestion may become
impaired. When he has toiled all day and come fast up a steep
incline at the end of a long stalk, his pulse will not be steady,
his sides may be heaving like those of a blown horse, his eye
may be dimmed by a bead of sweat which will cling to his eye-
lash and fall salt and painful into his eye just when it should
be at its clearest. The distances are not marked for him, and the
atmosphere varies so much at different altitudes., that it is not
always easy to judge how far he is from his quarry, and that
quarry, instead of being marked in black and white for his con-
venience, has an awkward trick of being just the colour of the
hillside, with an outline which at 200 yards melts into the
background and becomes one with its surroundings.

Many a ma^ who shoots well at a mark is a poor shot in
the woods ; bu* luckily the converse of this proposition is also
true. Again, strength and endurance, steady nerve and quick

■mmm

SSSSn

BIG GAME SHOOTING

eyes count for much, but they alone will not make a man suc-
cessful.

The strong young hunter is often the worst. Likely enough
he does the work for the work's sake, laughs at mountain-sides,
and, like a friend of our own, starts at dawn, travels all day, tells
us at night of peaks at fabulous distances on which he has
stood, but comes back empty-handed, simply because he is too
strong, too fast, and runs over ground leaving behind him, or
'jumping' out of range, game which a feebler man might have
seen when crawling slowly over the hillside or sitting down for
a frequent rest. One really good Western sportsman we know
advocates a very different system. ' Camp,' he says, ' near where
game is, look out for likely places, and then go and sit about
near them all day long. If the game comes to you, you'll pro-
bably get it ; if it don't you won't, and you wouldn't any way.
Somehows,' he generally adds, 'them bull clicks alius did have
longer legs than mine, d — n 'em.'

Perhaps a knowledge of natural history is almost better than
either great physical powers or exceptional skill with the rifle.
If you watch a first-rate tennis-player, it will seem to you that
tennis is a very easy game. The second-rate player performs
prodigies of activity to get into the right place in time, but the
first-rate man never seems to be obliged to exert himself ;it all.
He always is where he ought to be. So it is with the good man
to hounds. His place at the fence is the easiest, and yet he
never seems to swerve or pick his place. In every case it is
the same. Knowledge of the game helps all the men in the
same way, and each in his own fashion picks his place ; but he
picks it long beforehand. The tennis-player knows where the
return must come, the hunting man sees the weak place by
which he means to go out at the very moment that he comes
in to a field, and in like manner the big game hunter gets to
where the big game is because he has calculated beforehand
where it ought to be, and experience and knowledge of the
beasts' habits, and a certain instinct which some men have, do
not mislead him.

ON BIG GAME SHOOTING GENERALLY

First, then, study the habits of wild animals generally. They
are much the same all the world over, and n man may learn a
great deal by the side of an English covert, when the rabbits
and pheasants are running before the beaters, which he can turn
to good use when hunting bigger game.

Why do you suppose some men always seem to get more
shots than others ; why do the birds always rise better to them
than to you ? Pure luck you think, and they perhaps don't
deny it. Don't believe it. The true sportsman knows by
instinct what tussock of grass will hold a rabbit as he goes by
it, and if a rabbit is tijere he won't let it lie whilst he passes.
You won't see ////// swing round, saving himself a bit and leav-
ing the likeliest corner in a big field unbeaten. The birds
would have sneaked down into the ditch and stopped there
whilst you wheeled by thirty or forty paces off, but our friend
puts them up ; and if when those rabbits at the covert-side were
bolting just out of range between you and him, you think he
dropped his white pocket-handkerchief on the drive by mistake,
you don't know your man. That handkerchief just turned
them enough to bring them close by him, and he had awful
luck you know, and fired six shots to your one.

I'hat is the way in big game shooting too. Partly from ex-
perience, and partly by in:,tinct, some men know where to look
for a beist, and know the ways of it when found. Study then
the habits of beasts generally to begin with, and then those of
the particular beast you are going to hunt. Learn what it feeds
on at different seasons of the year, and where its food is to be
found ; learn at what time of day it feeds, and at what time it
lies down. Most animals feed early and late, just at dawn and
just at the edge of night, sleeping when the sun warms them,
using what Nature sends them instead of supplying the place
of the sun with a blanket as we do. Many beasts are almost
entirely nocturnal in their feeding hours, and these not only
such as one would naturally expect to prowl by night tigers,
lions and suchlike — but ibex and mountain beasts which feed
on nothing worse than grass. J ust at and before dawn most

r.'n:::aimCT??ttar'''!itii'-'; i^'l'llliSHB

BIG GAME SHOOTING

beasts are up and feeding, probably because that is the coldest
time in the twenty-four hours ; the beasts become chilled and
restless, and Nature warns them that food and motion are the
best cures for the evils they are suffering from.

Learn too, with the utmost care for yourself, upon which of
its senses each particular beast relies, for all do not rely upon
the same sense. The sense of smell is perhaps the most uni-
versal safeguard of the beasts which men hunt, but all are not
as keen of scent as the cariboo, nor all as wonderfully cjuick
and loiig-sighted as the antelope, of whom Western men say that
he can tell you what bullet your rifle is loaded with about as
soon as you can make him out on the skyline. A bear is so
short-sighted as to be almost l)lind on occasion, and no beasts
seem capable of quickly identifying objects which arc stationary,
tho'j.orb all catch the least movement in a second. I'his ot
course is where the man who rests often gets an advantage. It
a beast is stationary in timber, for instance, you may often look
at him for a minute after your Indian has found him before
making him out ; but if he but flick his ear or turn a tine of his
antler ever so little, it will catch your eye at once.

In still hunting for wapiti or other timber-loving deer, a
broken stick will warn every beast within a ([uarter of an hour's
tramp ; but on a mountain side, where stones are constantly
falling from the action ot sun and wind and rain, ibex, sheep
and other mountain beasts will often take but little or no notice
of the stones y^u dislodge during your climb. Only be
careful that these stones do not fall too often or at too regular
intervals. ' - .

In Scotland stalking is almost the only form of luinting
deer ; in America and other wild coun cries there are two prin-
cipal forms of .sport — stalking and still hunting; the one prac-
tised in comparatively open country and in the mountains, and
the other in those dense forests where, partly from choice and
partly because it has been much hunted, most of the l)ig game
now harbours. In this scries stalking has already been dealt
with, so that with this form it is only ncccs.sary to deal briefly

::3C

■rmtafcriBu- Si a«'8TOaMin f .1 -

"^fm

ON BIG GAME SHOOTING GENERALLY 9

here. The wind is the stalker's deadhest foe, and in many
of the countries known best to the writer (sheep countries for
the most part) there are days in each week when it is wiser to
scay in camp or hunt in the timber down below, rather than
risk disturbing game when the winds arc playing the devil in
Skuloptin. Take your Indian's advice, and stop at home on
such days as these ; play picquet with your friend, look after
your trophies, or write up your diary.

To any but the youngest hunters it seems superfluous to
say that you must hunt up or across the wind ; to remind
them of what a score of authorities have said before aliout
the lessons to be learnt from the drifting mist-wreaths ; to
warn them to take care that they see the beast before the
beast sees them, and to this end to be careful in coming
over a rise in the ground ; to put only just so much of their
head above the skyline as will enable them to see the country
beyond, and even then to bring that small part of their
body up very slowly and under cover of some friendly bush-
tussock or boulder. In eighteen years' hunting the writer
has met many men who might be forgiven for believing that
wild game never lies down, for whenever they have seen it, it
has been on its feet, looking at them. And nc wonder, for
some of them would even ride up to the top of a bluff before
looking to see what lay in the valley beyond. And yet, even
after such a mistake as this, there is a chance sometimes ot
retrieving your error if the wind is in your favour. If, for in-
stance, in riding f'-om cam[) to camp you suddenly come in full
view of a stag, with a hind or two, walking in the early morning
along the ridge of the next bluff to that upon which you and
your Indians are riding, say a \yord to your men, and let them
either ride slowly on or stop absolutely stationary in the same
sjjot, whilst you slide out of your saddle and creep avvay on
)our belly amongst the grass. Above all, t/icy must keep in fit U
view of the stiig, and if they do thii'. in nine cases out of ten the
stag will not notice that you have gone, and whilst he stares
intently at the strange objects which he knows to be at a safe

wmmmm

BIG GAME SHOOTING

distance from himself, you will have time to get round and make
a successful stalk. Even the hinds will be too intent on watch-
ing the other men to keep a proper look-out in your direction.
And this brings up another point. Take care of the hinds and
of those lean grey-faced ewes. The ram and the stag are
blunderers and reckless, especially in love-time ; but the ewes
are as suspicious and wary as schoolmistresses, and must always
be watched carefully. If for a moment you see the grey faces
turn in your direction, keep still ; keep still as a statue, even
though you have raised yourself upon your hands to peer over
and have found out too late that your palms are pressing upon
the thorny sides of a bunch of prickly pears. It will come to
an end at last, though that fixed regard seems never ending ; but
in any case, if you want a shot you must be still, for if you try
to lower your head and hide whilst they are looking at you,
you might just as well go home. This rule applies in another
instance. If you should by chance come upon a beast un-
awares, stand stock still at once ; don't try to hide if it is a deer ;
don't try to bolt if it is something more dangerous. If you
stand still, beasts are slow to identify objects, and your deer
may not be badly scared or your bear may pass on with only
a suspicious stare ; but if you attempt to hide, your deer will
certainly show you his paces over fallen timber, or your bear
or tiger if bad tempered may charge.

But you ought very seldom to run into beasts in this way, if
you keep your eyes open for ' sign,' i.e. tracks, droppings, freshly
broken twigs, and places where deer have been browsing, and
if, as you ought to, you take a good long time to scan every
valley carefully before you enter it. Of course you must not
keep your eyes on the ground looking for tracks— this is a fatal
trick of a ' tender foot ' — but you can see tracks well enough with
eyes looking well ahead of you ; and indeed, if you are followmg
a trail, you will find it more easily by looking for it yards ahead
of you than you will by searching for it at your feet.

Again, in looking for game you have at first to learn what
to look for. The deer you are likely to see will not be stand-

ON BIG GAME SHOOTING GENERALLY ii

ing broadside on, with head aloft like Landseer's * Monarch,'
but will be a long blur of brown on a hillside, with head
stretched out almost flat upon the ground in front of it, crouch-
ing (if it has seen you) more like a rabbit than a lordly stag, or
else it will be but a patch of brown which moves between the
boles of the pines, or a flickering ear, or a gleaming inch or so of
antler, or, worse than all, a flaunting white flag bobbing over
the fallen timber if it is
a deer, or a dull white
disc moving up towards
the skyline if it is a
sheep which you have
stirred from amongst
those grey boulders for
one of which you mis-
took it.

A common error
which men make is to
depend too much upon
the eyes of their gillie.
That an Indian has
better sight than a white
man is an article of
many a man's creed.

I believe it to be a mistake. The Indian is trained, he knows
what to look for, and is looking for it. The average white
man who takes an Indian with him does not know what to
look for, and is relying upon his Indian's eyes. Consequently
the Indian sees the game first, tries to point it out to his
master, who finds it just about the time that the beast has stood
as long as it means to, and is on the move by the time that the
white man, flurried by his Indian's oft-repeated * Shoot ! shoot ! '
has found out what he is to shoot at. Of course the result is a
miss. If, instead of allowing his Indian to go ahead and do the
spying, the gunner had gone ahead, he ssould in the course of
a few weeks have learnt to find his own game, and when he had

Over the fallen timber

BIG GAME SHOOTING

found it he would have secured for himself those first invalu-
able seconds when the beast was still standing uncertain of
danger and for the moment at his mercy. If only a man is
enough of a woodsman to find his way back to camp and to find
again the game he has killed, he will do far better to go alone
than with the best of guides. Two pair of eyes may be better
than one, but one pair of feet make less noise than two, and
the man who finds his own game, and chooses his own time to
shoot, is far more likely to kill than the man who presses the
trigger at the dictation of an excital)le redskin. That ' Shoot,
shoot ' has lost many a head of game.

Don't be in a hurry when you have sighted game. If it has
not seen you it is not likely to move, and if it has you can't
catch it. Take your time. Light a pipe if the wind is right,
and if it isn't the deer will object to your smell quite as much as
to the smell of tobacco. Having lighted your pipe, con the
ground over carefully, and plan out your stalk at your leisure.
It may be that you have come across sheep in an utterly unap-
proachable position, lying down for their midday siesta. If so,
lie down for yours too, keeping an eye open to watch their
movements. Towards evening first one old ram will get up and
stretch himself (and perhaps turn round and lie down again) and
then another ; but eventually they will feed off slowly over the
brow, and then you can run in and make your stalk. If there is
a good head in the band your patience will not be without its
reward. Again, when you have made your stalk and are
safe behind your boulder at 150 or 200 yards from your beast,
don't br in a hurry. If your eyes are dim and you cannot see your
foresight clearly, shut your eyes and wait. There is no more
reason why the beasts should see you now than half an hour ago.
Wait till your hand is steady and your eye clear ; don't look too
much at the coveted horns (as my gillies always said that I did) ;
shoot not at the whole beast, but at the vital part behind or
through the shoulder ; and remember that you have worked
days perhaps for the chance you will either take or miss in the
next few seconds. Remember that a man shoots over three times

ON BIG GAME SHOOTING GENERALLY 13

for every once he shoots too low. Put your cap under your
rifle if you are going to shoot from a rock rest ; shoot from a
rest whenever you can, and if you miss the first shot, do as the
Frenchman wanted to when pheasant shooting, i.e. wait until
he stops. If it is a ram or a deer, unless he has seen or winded
you, it is a thousand to ten that he will stop within 50 yards or
so to look back to see what frightened him before leaving the
country. When he stops you will get another chance at a
stationary object, and one shot of this kind is worth a good
many ' on the jump.' If a beast does not look likely to stand
again after the first shot, a sharp whistle will sometimes stop him.

You will hear, especially from Americans, who very often
can shoot uncommonly well with the Winchester, and from
Indians, who are the poorest shots in the world, of extra-
ordinary shots at long ranges. Pay no attention to them.
If you cannot gcL wiLljin 200 yards of game, except antelope
in an open country, you are a poor stalker ; and rely upon it
more game is killed within 80 yards than is fired at over 200.
Indians get what game they kill, not by their fine shoot-
ing at long ranges, but by their clever creeping and stalking.
At the same time, there is a limit to everything, and if you
attempt to get too close, a glimpse of your cap, which would
only make a deer stare at 1 50 yards, will make him dash off
as if wolves were after him at 50 yards.

Having dropped your stag, lie still (if you have wounded
him only, this is still more necessary) and reload, as many a
man has been terribly disappointed at seeing a deer which he
considered was ' in the bag ' get up and go off from under the
very muzzle of an unloaded rifle. But your stalk may end with-
out your getting a shot. Some puff of wind of which you had
no suspicion may warn your quarry before you get within range
of him, and if this happens, watch which way he goes, and do
you go by another way, for he will put every beast he passes in
his flight upon the ' qui vive.'

In case of wounded game do not be in too great a hurry
to follow it. A wounded beast which is pressed will go on

.1 " 3L"

^!T^!^?r^^W5B5

RIG GAME SHOOTING

travelling just out of range of you until night falls, even though
you can see a hind leg, broken high up, swinging loosely at
every step he takes ; but the same beast will lie down very soon

Skin and pack

if he has not seen or winded his enemy ; his wound will stiffen,
and in an hour he will be easy enough to stalk again and kill.

When you kill your stag, don't cut his throat, as a Tartar
would do, high up, thereby spoiling the head for mounting, but
plunge your knife into his chest. This will let out the blood

ON BIG GAME SHOOTING GENERALLY i

and not spoil the neck. If, when you kill, you are far from
home, and want to pack your venison home yourself, the
Indian fashion of packing and carrying is the simplest that
I know. It is done thus : —

After grallocking, skin your deer and cut off his head.
Skin well down the legs, cutting off the feet at the fetlock joint,
and spread the skin out with the hair downwa.'-ds. Now cut
from a bush near by a stick about as thick as your thumb,
about three inches shorter than the width of the skin just
behind the forelegs. Lay this on the skin and stretch the skin
over it, driving in the points of the stick so as to hold the skin
taut at the width of the stick. Next cut two or three little holes
in the skin of each hind leg, and sew the two legs together by
pushing a small twig through alternate holes in the skin of either
leg. This will make the hind legs into a loop or handle. Now
cut up what meat you want into joints of convenient size, pack
them neatly on the skin behind the stick, fold up your pack
and bring the stick through your loop, so that the ends of it
overlap and hold against the loop ; put the loop over your
forehead or your shoulders, and there you are with a fairly con-
venient satchel full of meat on your back, the hairy side of the
skin against your coat, and a sufficiently soft strap of skin across
forehead or chest to carry the weight. All this can be done
on the spot with no more adjuncts than your skinning knife
and a bush to cut twigs from. The only difficulty is that the
liead must be arranged as an extra pack or must be called for
on a subsequent occasion.

But your beast, though down, may not be dead, and apart
from the caution already given to load before going up to a
fallen beast, there is another worth giving. Many a man has
lost his life by being too anxious to handle his prize. One
instance of a fine young fellow maimed for life by a panther
whose mate he had killed, and whom he was too anxious to
handle without sufficient investigation of the position, occurs to
me as I write, and an attempt of my own to turn over a wapiti
which was not quite dead elicited such a vigorous kick from the

niG GAME SHOOTING

leg I was hauling upon as sent me flying some yards into the
scrub. If the deer had had free play for his leg, he might have
done worse than make me a laughing stock for my Indians.

When you get your shot be careful where you place it, and
if the beast is moving towards you, let him pass before firing, if
possible. If it is only a deer, a raking shot, striking him even
a little far back and travelling transversely through him, will be
much more likely to go through vital organs and stop him than
one fired from in front ; and, besides, a shot of this kind is not
so likely to reveal the shooter at once to the beast and elicit a
charge, if the beast is a dangerous one, as when fired right into
his face.

Don't, unless absolutely compelled to, fire at dangerous
game above you. A wounded beast naturally comes down
hill, and you are likely to be in its way if you fire from below ;
besides, a wounded beast will come quicker down hill than up.
If your beast should charge you, stand still and go on shooting.
Your chance may be a poor one, but in nine cases out of ten
it is the best you have got.

But if after all your care, and even after you have heard (or
think that you have heard) the bullet smack upon your stag's
shoulder, he should show absolutely no sign of being hit, except
perhaps a slight shiver or contraction of his muscles — if even he
should turn and bolt at headlong speed —do not be at once dis-
couraged ; no, not even i"*" you should follow him for many
hundred yards without finding a single splash of blood upon
the trail. Don't lis'.cu co your Indian, if you have reason to
think that you held straight, even though appearances justify
his assertion that you made a clean miss. That little spasmodic
shiver is a hopeful sign. When you see your stag do this, you
may be very sure that he is hard hit in a vital spot, and he will not
go far. It he starts o/T at racing pace, he will probably pitch
over on his head, dead, at the end of a hundred yards ; and
even if he does not bleed at first, follow him persistently : flesh
wounds often bleed more freely than more dangerous ones,
and it is quite on the cards that you will at last find that your

^1^

ON BIG GAJfE SHOOTING GENERALLY 17

stag was hit after all (far back, perhaps), and you may get

him, although the shot hardly deserved such a prize. In

any case it is your duty as an honest sportsman to do

your utir )st to find

out whether you have

wounded a beast, and,

if so, to do all in your

power to secure him

and put an end to his

pain, rather than leave

him to take a better

chance which may offer.

The greater oart of

what has been written

so far applies either

to shooting big game

generally or to stalk-
ing : a word or two

may well be devoted to

still hunting— a form of the chase much practised in America

and other well-wooded countries.

Still Hunting

Almost every fresh form of sport brings a fresh set of
muscles, a hitherto little used sense or mental quality, into play,
so that an all-round sportsman should be that very exceptional
animal, a man in the full possession of all his faculties.

On the mountains a man depends upon his feet and upon
his eyes ; in the woods he has to place at least as much reliance
upon his ears as upon his eyes ; whilst his feet in still hunting
are to the beginner the very curse and bane of his existence.

Except in wet weather or to a redskin, still hunting is an
impossibility in any true sense of the term. When for weeks
in Colorado there has not fallen one drop of rain, when sun
and wind have parched the whole face of Nature, every twig
and every fallen leaf upon the forest iloor become absolutely

Interlaced antlers

rr-wmm

mt^ i...»

i.B

B/G GAME SHOOTING

explosive, and the merest touch will make them 'go off with a
report loud enough to be heard in London.

Damp weather is, then, the first essential for successful still
hunting ; but even then, when the leaves crush noiselessly under
foot and fallen twigs bend instead of snapping, the utmost
patience and care are necessary.

With a pair of good shooting boots, English made, with
wide welts and plenty of nails in them --boots, for choice, which
would run about two to the acre — with his rifle over his shoulder,
and a handful of loose change in the pocket of his new
American overalls, any average young man may go confidently
into the best woods in America, certain that in a fortnight
of hard work he will see nothing except what Van Dyke calls
' the long jumps ' (i.e. tracks of startled deer) or those waving
white flags popping over the fallen logs which those gunners
only may hope to stop who habitually shoot snipe with a
Winchester.

The man who is generally successful as a still hunter is he
who knows the haunts and habits of the deer, who travels
slowly in the woods, constantly stopping to listen and look
ahead, who not only takes care to wear clothes of the softesi
material, with moccasins or tennis-shoes upon his feet, but who
always has a hand ready to move an obstinate briar or obstruc-
tive rampike gently out of his way before it has time to rasp
against his clothes or trip him and pitch him upon his head.

The first thing to remember in entering upon this sport is
that every live thing in the woods is watching and listening at
least three parts of its waking life, and that your only chance of
success is to catch it off its guard in those rare moments when
it is either feeding or moving, and therefore making a noise
itself. A moving object is more easily seen than a stationary
one, therefore do you stand or sit still from time to time
among thick cover on some ridge or other commanding posi-
tion, and watch the woods, peer througii the thickets, and make
certain that they are untenanted, before you i)lunder through
them. When a log upon which your eyes have been dwelling

ON BIG GAME SHOOTING GENERALLY 19

idly for several minutes gets up as you move, and goes off with
a snort, before you can get your rifle to your shoulder, you will
realise more thoroughly how hard it is to distinguish stationary
game in cover. Keep your ears, too, on the alert : a bear will
move through a dry azalea bush, when he pleases, almost less
noisily than a blackbird, and his great soft ffet make far less
sound on the dead leaves than yours do. Slow ears are almost
as bad as slow eyes in still hunting ; but do not condemn either
your eyes or ears as worse than the natives' until the eyes
have learned from experience what to take note of, and the ears
which are the .iounds worth listening to. In time the language
of the forest will become plain to you, whether it is spoken in
the voices of birds and beasts, in the rustlings and scurryings
amongst the bushes, or written in tracks upon the great white
page of new-fallen snow at your feet ; but at first your ears will
send many a false message to your brain.

In the intensity of the stillness the fircones which the squir-
rels drop make you start, expecting to see the bushes divide
for a bull moose at least to pass through them : at night, when
you are watching by the river for bear, you think that you
hear distinctly the ' splosh, splosh ' of the grizzly's feet as he
wades down the shallows towards you. Not a bit of it : it is
only a foolish kelt who has run himself aground and is trying
to kick himself off again into deep water. On the other hand,
lluu groting of one bou;'.';h against another which you fancied
that you heard may have been a ' bull elk * burnishing his
antlers against a cottonwood-tree, that far-away whistle of the
wind may have been a fragment of a forest monarch's love-call,
and ^Iiat angry squirrel across the canyon was actually chatter-
ing not because he had seen you, but because he was disturbed
l)y a bc^r passing by the log on which he was sitting.

Ikit the language of the woods can only be Kiarnt by resi-
dence amongst them, and this is esi)ecially true of the written
language of tracks, which is to my mind one of the few things
utterly beyond a white man's powers ev<jr thoroughly to master.
Siuh proficieficy as a man may acquire in tracking he must

c 2

10 iiiim;^ hj,, jc*

BIG GAME SHOOTING

acquire for himself in the woods, since any essay upon it
would need more illustrations than words to make the mean-
ing plain.

Fishing is said to require patience. Believe me, still hunting
requires more. Although you have toiled all day and seen
nothing ; although you are hot, 'played out,' and therefore
intensely irr'table (perhaps you have even a touch of fever upon
you) ; although every log on your way home ' barks ' your shins,
and every tendril clings to your ankle — you fnust keep your
temper ; and even when that thorny creeper hooks you hy the
fleshy part of your nose, you must not swear— at least, rot
aloud. If you do, at the very moment that the words lea.
your lips, the only beast you have seen all day will get u[ .viri'
a contemptuous snort from t/ic other side of the bush ir. front
of you.

But when all is written that can be written upon * still hunt-
ing,' there is still much which can only be taught in the woods —
or, if on paper, then it has been done already, as well as man
could possibly do it, in the pages oi" the best book ever written by
an American, Van Dyke's ' Still Hunter.' I am glad to have
a chance of acknowledging my indebtedness to this author.
Whatever I know of still hunting I have learned from his book
and from experience, and have never yet known my two
teachers disagree.

There is only one w(;rd which 1 would add here, but it i^
the most im{)ortaiit that l shall write. There is c/ne danger in
still hunting in Uie wot)ds more terrible than any other which
the big game hunter can encounter : the danger, I men, of
accidentally shooting his fellow-man.

Make a rule for yourself before you go into th.e woods,
and ki'cp it as the iirst of sylvan commandments : Never,
under any pretence whatever, pull your triggc until you knou
not only what you are shooting at, bu) also at what part '
your beast you are shooting.

Once in a while the observance of this rule may ic:;e you a|j
beast which you might have ci'pple(i,an<l eve i)ti. ally secured if you

tnat a

tell at

' shot '

.'ind 1,
I-i

'I'j/itii

ON BIG GAME SHOOTING GENERALLY 21

Imt it '"
ant;er in |
l^rr wliich
luc'.n, ot

\C \VO'K^!>. I

: Never.
you kr.ow

)iad taken a snap shot at the grey thing which you saw moving
in the bushes. But, on the other hand, instead of killing a bear
or a buck, it is much more likely that your snap shot will wound
some poor devil of a hind, who will sneak away to die in
anguish somewhere in the thick covert where none but the
jackal will benefit by her death ; or else you may do as I once
actually did— hit a bear in the seat of his dignity, thereby
arousing his very righteous indignation in a way that is dangerous
to the offending party ; or, worse still, you may (as I nearly did)
fire upon your own gillie or friend, whose moccasined footfall
is very like a bear's tread, and whose sin in wandering across
your beat would be too severely punished by death.

In all seriousness, it has always seemed to me that any man
who, whilst out shooting, kills another in mistake for game de-
serves to be tried for hislife, unless he be avery young beginner —
and young beginners should hunt by themselves. There is no
excuse for shooting a man. If the shooter could not tell that
that at which he fired was a human being, much less could he
tell at what part of his beast he was shooting, anu a random
shot ' into the brown ' of a beast is unsafe, unsportsmanlike,
and brutally cruel.

Finally, do not be tempted to use complicated sights in still
liunting. When you have followed deer under pines heavy
.."th snow, through saM.nl bush which looks like doej) billows
'. . the same, only to find, the first time, that your Lyman sight
If tiv.wn, and the second time that though erect the peephole is
t.. • r ice, you will recognise the merits of a Paradox with the
.'.,)lest sights for wood shooting in any weather as thoroughly

as the writer docs, and whilst .admitting the merits of the
l.yniaii sight for long-raiige shooting in fae open, eschew all
hut such simple sights in timber.

There are, of course, other ways of hunting big game
besides those already dealt with. Almost any game may be
driven, from lions in Somalilan<l and tigers in the Terai to
cha.iiois in the Alps and sheep in North America, and there is
no tloubt that sufficient excitement and a good deal of sport

tnSRNlQmvANMi!

niG GAME SHOOTING

may be got out of the day s work ; but, after all, the beaters who
out-climb the Spanish ibex (as described by Mr. Chapman in
his ' Wild Spain ') and the natives who risk their lives in the
driving, have always seemed to the present writer to be the men
who did the work, and were principally responsible tor the
success of the day's sport. To the guns who are posted by the
organiser of the beat little advice can be given, except to obey
orders, stick to their posts, be careful not to shoot at anything
until it . ' 'XTsed them— or, at any rate, at anything which
is in such ^sition with regard to the beateis nnd other

guns as to mak>. it unsafe to fire -to keep their attention concen-
trated upon the business in hand, to make all arrangements for
concealment and ease in shooting directly they are posted,
and then to keep quiet. There is not quite enough in this
form of sport for the gun to do to please some men, but dc
gustifms non est disputaiidum.

Night shooting is another form of sport, sometimes ren-
dered necessary by the shyness and nocturnal habits of such
beasts as the grizzly and the Caucasian ibex. There are
charms in night watching peculiar to the hour, which appeal
particularly to the naturalist and lover of outdoor life ; there ts
a certain fascination in the mystery of the night, the gloom of
the great woods, and the awful stillness of the white peaks ; while
the children of the forest always seem more natural and less sus-
picious at night than at any other time. But it needs every
charm which the night can boast to tempt a man to sit hour
after hour in the shadow, without stirring, without si)eaking,
without even thinking of anything except the sport in hand,
whilst the rain runs down his spine in a strong stream, or a cold
wind catches his body, heated by the tramp to the ambuscade,
and slowly freezes it. If you must shoot at night, be careful
about the wind : find out as well as you are able from what
quarter you may expect your bear, and take care that your wind
does not reach him before he reaches the carcase by which you are
hidden C'hoose a sjjot where you have some chance of making
out his outline against the sky if he should come, and whether

ON BIG GAME SHOOTING GENERALLY

vou are watching by a carcase or by a salmon, pool, be satisfied,
with a distant inspection of the bait, i.e. — don't go and walk,
about all round it, &c.

Bears arc especially shy of returiiing to a carcase when they
know that men are about, one grizzly that I know of in British
Columbia having defeated a very well-known Indian sportsman
by making a circuit round the carcase before coming in to feed.
If in that circuit he caught no taint of human kind upon the night

air, he used to come in and sup ; but if he found that I y

was on guard, he used to go quietly home to a canyon down
below, and wait for a more favourable opportunity. The tracks
in the morning told the whole stc-y, of course, as plainly as
if the unfortunate sportsman had been a witness of the per-
formance.

The principal ditificulties in this kind of shooting are to
keej) sufficiently quiet to induce your bear to come, and to see
your sights sufficiently to kill him. even at short ranges, when
lie has come.

do to the spot as lightly clad as possible, carrying any spare
tilings you can on your arm ; don't hurry or overheat yourself
on the way to your ambush, and put 0!i a si^re flannel shirt or
coat, or whatever it is you are carrying, befor^^ you begin to feel
chilled. Take a little sheet of macintosh with you to secure you a
dry seat, and if you have no fancy night sights on your rifle, you
can make a rough but serviceable one by twisting white string
or cotton with a large knot in it round the muzzle of youj rifle,
while the thuml) and finger of your left hand, as they embrace
your rille barrels, may be held a little apart to make a very
coarse backsight. This is only a more or less clumsy Indian
device, but it is considerably be'ter than nothing if you get
c;uight in the dark with no better ap[)liances. After all, a sport
which kee[)s you \ip all night, and in camp without any exercise
all day, and which depends for success so entirely upon the good
will ol the bear, is not one to hanker after.

Ily the way, when you have shot your l)ear (if you should
I shoot him), and when you ha\e taken his hide off, be careful

I— ir—i

BIG GAME SHOOTING

how you pack it upon any ordinary pony. A spark applied to
a powder magazine is hardly more astounding in its effects than
the application of a fresh bear-skin to the back of some of the
meekest of cayuses. A perfect Dobbin which belonged to the
writer shook his faith in horseflesh for ever by cutting his legs
from under him as if they had been carried away by a round

Poor old Sam

shot, merely because 1 )()bbin had been asked somewhat sud-
denly to carry the hide of a two-year-old black bear.

In all American sj)ort, dogs are used from time to time by
the trappers and meat hunters who make hunting a business,
and a thoroughly broken collie, such as accompanied the writer
and Mr. Arnold I'ike in an expedition to Colorado, would
be invaluable to any still hunter, as this dog would not run in
without orders, would precede his master at a slow walk in

ON BIG GAME SHOOTING GENERALLY 25

timber, regularly pointing in any direction from which he got
wind of a deer, would take his owner up to it at a walk, would
run a wounded beast to bay, follow and worry at the heels of a
bear, and keep the camp secure from the inroads of inquisitive
strangers or the all-devouring burros of our train. But such dogs
as * Pup ' are rare, and the old gentleman to whom he belonged
informed me that an offer of ^500 for him would not be enter-
tained, though his own whole ambition in life was to make
double that sum to buy a farm and settle down, as at 65 he
was beginning to think that he was almost too old to stay all the
year in the woods. Poor old Sam ! When one is too old for
the woods, it should be almost time to ' turn in ' for that last
sleep.

BIG GAME SHOOTING

CHAPTER II

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

By W. Cotton Oswei.l

WILLIAM COTTON OS WELL: A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
By Sir Samuel \V. Baker

One man alone was left who could describe from personal
experience the vast tracts of Southern Africa and the countless
multitudes of wild animals which existed fifty years ago in
undisturbed seclusion ; the ground untrodden by the Euro-
pean foot ; the native unsuspicious of the guile of a white
intruder. This man, thus solitary in this generation, was the
late William Cotton Oswell. He had scarcely finished the pages
upon the fauna of South Africa when death seized him (May i,
1893) and robbed all those who knew him of their greatest
friend. His name will be remembered with tears of sorrow
and profound respect.

Although Oswell was one of the earliest in the field of South
African discovery, his name was not worla-wide, owing to his
extreme modesty, which induced him to shun the notoriety that
is generally coupled with the achievements of an explorer. Long
before the great David Livingstone became famous, when he
was the simple unknown missionary, doing his duty under
the direction of his principal, the late Rev. Robert Moffat,
whose daughter he married, Oswell made his acquaintance
while in Africa, and became his early friend.

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

At that time Osvvell with his comi)anion Murray allied
themselves with Livingstone to discover a reported lake of the
unknown interior, together with Mrs. Livingstone and their
infantine family. This expedition was at the private cost of
Oswell and Murray ; but, in grateful remembrance of the assist-
ance rendered by Livingstone in communicating with the natives
and in originating the exploration, Oswell sent him a present of
a new waggon and a span of splendid oxen (sixteen animals),
in addition to a thorough outfit for his personal require-
ments,

Livingstone, in the 'Zambesi and its Tributaries,' dwelt
forcibly upon the obligation imposed upon him by Oswell's
generosity ; but, having submitted the manuscript to his friend
for revision, Oswell insisted upon disclaiming the title of a
benefactor. After the discovery of the Lake 'Ngami by Living-
I stone and his party, Oswell received the medal of the French
(Icographical Society ; he was therefore allied with Livingstone,
who was the first explorer of modern times to direct attention
[to the lake system of Africa, which has been developed within
[the last forty years by succesKi\e travellers.

Oswell was not merely a shooter, but he had been attracted
Itowards Africa l)y his natural love of exploration, and the
[investigation of untrodden ground. He was absolutely the
first white man who had appeared upon the scene in many
[)ortions of South Africa which are now well known. His
lliaracter, which combined extreme gentleness with utter
recklessness of danger in the moment of emergency, added to
omplete unselfishness, ensured him friends in every society ;
hut it attracted the native mind to a degree of adoration. As
the first-comer among lands and savage people until then un-
known, he conveyed an impression so favourable to the white
nan that he paved the way for a welcome to his successors.
That is the first duty of an explorer ; and in this Oswell well
^\un'od the proud title of a ' Pioneer of Civilisation.'

As these few lines are not a biography, but merely a faint
testimony to one whose only fault was the shadowing of his

BIG GAME SHOOTING

own light, I can sincerely express a deep regret that his pen
throughout his life was unemployed. No one could describe
a scene more graphically, or with greater vigour ; he could tell
his stories with so vivid a descriptive power that the effect
was mentally pictorial ; and his listeners could feel thoroughly
assured that not one word of his description contained a par-
ticle of exaggeration.

I have always regarded Oswell as the perfection of a
Nimrod. Six feet in height, sinewy and muscular, but
nevertheless light in weight, he was not only powerful, but
enduring. A handsome face, with an eagle glance, but full of
kindliness and fearlessness, bespoke the natural manliness of
character whi( h attracted him to the wild adventures of his
early life.

He was a first-rate horseman, and all his shooting was from
the saddle, or by dismounting for the shot after he had run
his game to bay.

In i86i,when I was about to start on an expedition towards
the Nile sources, Oswell, who had then retired from the field
to the repose of his much-loved home, lent me his favourite
gun, with which he had killed almost every animal during his five
years' hunting in South Africa. This gun was a silent witness
to what its owner had accomplished. In exterior it looked like
an ordinary double-barrelled rifle, weighing exactly ten pounds ;
in reality it was a smooth-bore of great solidity, constructed
specially by Messrs. Purdey «S: Co. for Mr. Oswell. This use-
ful gun was sighted like a rifle, and carried a spherical ball of
the calibre No. to ; the charge was six drachms of fine-grained
powder. There were no breech-loaders in those days, and the
object of a smooth bore was easy loading, which was especially
necessary when shooting from the saddle. The spherical ball
was generally wrapped in either waxed kid or linen patch ; this
was rolled rapidly between the hands with the utmost pressure ;
the folds were then cut off close to the metal with scissors, and
the bullet was again rolled as before. The effect was complete ;
thecovering adhered tightly to the metal, which was now ready for

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

ramming direct upon the powder-charge, without wads or other
substance intervening. In this manner a smooth-bore could
be loaded with great rapidity, provided that the powder-charge
was made up separately in the form of a paper cartridge, the end
of which could be bitten off, and the contents thrust into the
barrel, together with the paper covering. The ball would be
placed above, and the whole could be rammed down by a single
movement with a powerful loading rod if great expedition
should be necessary. Although the actual loading could thus
l)e accomplished easily, the great trouble was the adjustment
of the cap upon the nipple, which with an unsteady horse was
a work of difficulty.

'I'his grand old gun exhibited in an unmistakable degree
the style of hunting which distinguished its determined owner.
The hard walnut stock was completely eaten away for an inch
of surface ; the loss of wood suggested that rats had gnawed
it, as there were minute traces of apparent teeth. This ap-
pearance might perhaps have been produced by an exceedingly
coarse rasp. The fore-portion of the stock into which the
ramrod was inserted was sf) completely worn through by the
same destructive action, that the brass end of the rod was
exposed to view. The whole of this wear and tear was the
result of friction with the ' wait-a-bit ' thorns !

Oswell invariably carried his gun across the pommel of
his saddle when following an rnimal .'t speed. In .this
manner at a gallop he was obliged to face the low scrubby
' wait-a-bits,' and dash through these unsparing thorns, regard-
less of punishment and consequences, if he were to keep the
game in view, which was absolutely essential if t!'. i';imal were
to he ridden down by superior pace and endurance. The
walnut stock thus brought into hasty contact with sharp thorns
became a gauge, through the continual friction, which afforded
a most interesting proof of the untiring perseverance of the
owner, and of the immense distances that he must have tra-
versed at the highest speed during the five years' unremitting
pursuit of game upon the virgin hunting-grounds of Southern

BIG GAME SHOOTING

Africa. I took the greatest care of this gun, and entrusted it
to a very dependable follower throughout my expedition of
more than four years. Although I returned the gun in good
condition, the ramrod was lost during a great emergency. My
man (a native) was attacked, and being mobbed during the act
of loading, he was obliged to fire at the most prominent assailant
before he had time to withdraw his ramrod. This passed
through the attacker's body, and was gone beyond hope of
recovery.

There could not have been a better form of muzzle-loader
than this No. lo double-barrel smooth-bore. It was very
accurate at fifty yards, and the recoil was trifling with the con-
siderable charge of six drams of powder. This could be in-
creased if necessary, but Oswell always remained satisfied, and
condemned himself, but not his gun, whenever r shot was un-
satisfactory. He frequently assured me that, altl h he seldom
fired at a female elephant, one bullet was suffii-i^..c to kill, and
generally two bullets for a large bull of the same species.

Unlike Gordon Gumming, who was accustomed to fire at
seventy and eighty yards, Oswell invariably strove to obtain
the closest quarters with elephants, and all other game. To this
system he owed his great success, as he could make certain
of a mortal point. At the same time the personal risk was
much increased, as the margin for escape was extremely limited
when attacking dangerous game at so short a distance as ten
or fifteen paces. When Oswell hunted in South Africa, the
sound of a rifle had never disturbed the solitudes in districts
which are now occupied by settlers. The wild animals have
now yielded up their territory to domestic sheep and cattle ;
such are the rapid transitions within half a century ! In those
days the multitudes of living creatures at certain seasons and
localities surpassed the bounds of imagination ; they stretched
in countless masses from point to point of the horizon, and
devoured the pasturage like a devastating flight of locusts
Whether they have been destroyed, or whether they have
migrated to far distant sanctuaries, it is impossible to determine ;

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

but it is certain that they have disappeared, and that the
report of the rifle which announces the advance of civiHsation
lias dispersed all those mighty hosts of animals which were
the ornaments of nature, and the glory of the European hunter.
The eyes of modern hunters can never see the wonders of the
past. There may be good sport remaining in distant localities,
but the scenes witnessed by Oswell in his youth can never be
viewed again. Mr. W. F. Webb, of Newstead Abbey, is one of
the few remaining who can remember Oswell when in Africa,
as he was himself shooting during the close of his expedition.
Mr. Webb can corroborate the accounts of the vast herds of
antelopes which at that time occupied the plains, and the
extraordinary numbers of rhinoceros which intruded themselves
upon the explorer's path, and challenged his right of way. In
a comparatively short period the wwite rhinoceros has almost
ceased to exist.

Where such extraordinary changes have taken place, it is

1 deeply interesting to obtain such trustworthy testimony as that

afforded by Mr. Oswell, who has described from personal

[experience all that, to us, resembles history. He was accepted

[at that time as the Nimrod of South Africa, ' par excellence,'

land although his retiring nature tended to self-effacement, all

[those who knew him, either by name or personal acc[uaintnnce,

[regarded him as without a rival ; and certainly without an

jenemy : the greatest hunter ever known in modern times, the

{truest friend, and the most thorough example of an English

gentleman. We sorrowfully exclaim, ' We shall never see his

like again.'

BIG GAME SHOOTING

,■■■ «

INTRODUCTION
V,\ W. CtvnoN OswKi.i,

I have often l)een asked to write the stories of the illustrations
given in the chapters on South Africa, but liave hitherto decUned,
on the plea that the British [lublic had had quite enough of
Africa, and that all I could tell would be very old. As I now
stand midway bet>veen seventy and eighty I trusted I might, In
the ordinary course of nature, escape such an undertaking ; but
in the end of '91 the best shot, sportsman and writer that ever
made Africa his field- I refer to my good friend Sir Samuel Baker
■ -urged me to put my experiences on paper ; and Mr. Noi':on
Longman at the same time promising thai, if suitable, he would
fmd them a place in the Badminton volume on ' Big Clame," I
was over-persuaded, made the attempt, and here is the result.

The ilkistrations are taken from a set of drawings in my
])ossession by the best artist of wild animal life 1 have ever
known Jose|)h Wolf After describing the scene, 1 stood by
him as he drew, occasionally offering a suggestion or venturing
on two or three scrawling lines of my own, and the wonderful
talent of the man produced pictures so like the reality in
all essential i)oints, that I marvel still at his power, and feel
that I owe him most grateful thanks for a daily pleasure. Many
of the scenes it would have been im[)0ssil)le to depict at the
moment of their occurrence, so that ever\ if the chief human
actor had been a draughtsman he must have trusted to his
memory. Hai)pily I was able to givt my impressions into
the hands of a genius who. let them run out at the end of
his fingers. They are rather startling, I know, when looked
through in the space of five minutes ; but it must be re
membered that they have to be spread over five years, and
that these are the few accidents amongst numberless un-
eventful days. I was once asked to bring these sketches to
a house where I was dining. During dinner the servants

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

l^laced them round the drawing-room, and c\x\ coming upstairs
I found two young men examining them intently. ' What's all
tiiis ? ' one asked. ' I don't know,' the other replied. ' Oh,
I see now,' the fust continued, 'a second Haron Munchausen ;
don't you think so ? ' he incjuired, appealing to me. We were
strangers to each other, so I corroborated his bright and
f ertainly pardonable solution ; but they are true nevertheless.
1 have kept them down to the truth : indeed, two of them
fall short of it. I am very well aware that there are two ways
of telling a story, one with a clearly dv^fined boundary, the
other with a hazy one, over which if your reader or hearer pass
but a foot's length he is i', the realms o{ myth. I think I had
'uy full share of mishaps : but 1 was in the saddle from ten
to twt>i'. ^ nours a day for close upon five seasons, and general
immunity, perhaps, induced carelessness. I may say now, I
su[)posL', that I was a good rider, and got cjuickly on terms
with my game. I was, however, never a crack shot, and not very
well armed according to present notions, though I still have
the highest pinion of a Purdey of lo-bore, which burnt five
lor six drachms of fine powder, and at short distances drove
ts !)nll home. This gun did nearly all my work I hr;d
|l)ositlcs a 12-boie \\'estley-Ricliards, a light rifie, and a heavy

ingle-barrelled one carrying twoo/. belted balls. This last
vas a beast of a tool, and once I never gave it a second

hance nearly cost me my life, by stinging, without seriously
ivounding, a Inill elephant. The infuriated brute charged nine

r ten times wickedly, and the number might have been

ouliled had 1 not at last got hold of the I'urdey, when he
ell to tiie first shot, ^\'e had no breech-loaders in t.ose days,
ave the disconnecting one, :;nd that would liave 1 -cn useless,
nrwehad to londas wegallo[)ed ihrough the thick bush, and the
lock and barrel woukl soon have In.en wrenched asundv.'' or so
trained as tu prevent tl»eir coming accura!ely into contact
g;iin.

The I'urdey gun has a second history which gives it more
liue in my eyes than the good work it did for me, I lent it
I. D

BIG GAME SHOOTING

to Baker when he went up the Nile, and it had the honour, I
beh'eve, of being left with Lady Baker to he used, if required,
during her husband's enforced absences. Baker returned it to
me with a note apologising for the homeliness of the ramrod —
a thornstick which still rests in the ferrules — adding that
having to defend themselves from a sudden attack, his man
Richarn, being hard pressed whilst loading, had fired the
original ramrod into a chiefs stomach, from which they had no
opportunity of extracting it.

I am sorry now for all the fine old beasts I have killed ; but
I was young then, there was excitement in the work, I had
large numbers of men to feed, and if these are not considered
sound excuses for slaughter, the regret is lightened by the
knowledge that every animal, save three elephants, was eaten
by man, and so put to a good use. I have no notes, and
though many scenes and adventures stand out sharply enough,
the sequence of events and surroundings is not always very
clear. If my short narrative seems to take too much the
form of a rather bald accownt of personal adventure, I must
apologise j and I may add that the nature and habits generally
of the animals I met with are now so well known, and have
over and over again been so well described by competent
writers, that my relations with a few individuals of their families
must be the burden of my song.

I spent five years in Africa. I was never ill for a single
day — laid up occasionally after an accident, but that was all.
I had the best of companions Murray, Vardon, Living
stone — and capital servants, wiio stuck to me throughout.
I never had occasion to raise a hand against a native, and my
frjt only once, when I found a long lazy fellow poking his
paw into my sugar tin. If I remember right, I never lost any-
thing by theft, and I have had tusks of elephants, shot eighty
miles from the waggons, duly delivered. One chief, and one
only, wanted to hector a little, but he soon gave it up.
And with the rest of the potentates, and people generally, I
was ceitainly a persona grn/(t, for 1 filled their stomachs, and

mmmmmmmmmmmmm

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

tlnis, as they assured me, in some mysterious way made their
hearts white.

There is a fascination to me in the remembrance of the
past in all its connections : the free life, the self-dependence,
the boring into what was then a new country ; the feeling as you
lay under your caross that you were looking at the st'.rs from
a point on the earth whence no other European had ever seen
them ; the hope that every patch of bush, every little rise,
was the only thing between you and some strange sight or
scene — these are with me still ; and were I not a married man
with children and grandchildren, I believe I should head
back into Africa again, and end my days in the o);ieh air. It is
I useless to tell me of the advantages of civilisalfion ; civilised
I man runs wild much easier and sooner than thtf savage becomes
Itamc. I think it desirable, however, thatflie should be suffi-
[cicntly educated, before he doffs his,rClothes, to enjoy the
change by comparison. Take the wrfd of one who has tried
[both states : there are charms in th^vild ; the ever-increasing,
rover-satisfied needs of the tame my soul cannot away with.

r.ut I am writing of close upon fifty years aeo. Africa is
kuarly used up ; she belongs no more to the Afr and the

[leasts ; Boers, gold-seekers, diamond-miners and e.\t»eriuiental
"anuers— all of them (from my point of view) mistakes— 1- ■
changed the face of her. A man must be a first-rate sports-
nan now to keep himself and his family : houses stand where
a' once shot elephants, and the railway train will soon be
[vhisUing and screaming through all hunting-fields south of the
'anil)esi.

I) 2

•immmtmrnm

m>»

BIG GAME SHOOTING

FIRST EXPEDITION TO AFRICA

.i^ii

Reduced from 12 st. 2 lb. to 7 st, 12 lb. by many attacks of
Indian fever caught during a shooting excursion in the valley
of the Bhavany River, I was sent to the Cape as a last chance
by the Madras doctors ; indeed, whilst lying in a semi-comatose
state, I heard one of them declare that I ought to have been
dead a year ago ; so all thanks to South Africa, say 1 ! I
gained strength by the voyage, and, shortly after reaching Cape
Town, hearing that a Mr. Murray, of I-introse, near Cupar
Angus, had come from Scotland for the purpose of making a
shooting expedition to the interior, I determined to join him.
The resolve was carried out early in the spring of 1844 (the
beginning of the Cape winter) ; we started out from Graham's
Town to Colesberg, buying on the way horses, oxen, dogs,
waggons, and stores, crossed the Orange River, aud set our
faces northvards. We were all bitten in those days by Captain
— afterwar.is Sir Cornwallis — Harris, whose book, published
al)out 1837, was the first to give any notion of the capabilities
of South Africa for big game shooting, and, Harris excepted,
* we were the first that ever burst into that "sunny " sea '-as
sportsmen. Murray was an exrellent kind-hearted gentleman,
rather too old perhaps for an expedition of this kind, as he felt
the alternations of the climate very much ; and no wonder, for
T have known the thermometer to register 92° in the shade at
2 P.M., and 30'' at H p.m. I was younger, and though still weak
from the effects of fever, ilio dry air of the uplands daily g.ivo
me vigour, and the absolute freedom of the life "as delighthil
to me. Just at first 1 had to become accustomed to the
many little annoyances of missing oxen, strayed horses, iVc. :
but when our waggons became our /ii>///(\ md our migratt)ry
state our life, all anxious care vanished Things would be
])ul right somehow ; there was no use worr) ing ourselves :
what had been yesterdj'y would be to nu)rrow. What though

mmmmmmmHmmm

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

the flats between the Orange and Molopo Rivers were full of
sameness, they were also full of antelope, gnu, and quagga.
'I'hese, with the bird and insect life, were all fresh, and made
the world very bright around us. These upland flats have
been so often described, that I will not bore the reader un-
necessarily with an account of them, and besides, I am not
writing of the country or its appearance, but have merely under-
taken to try nd give some idea of the game that once held
possession of it ; and, indeed, I doubt very much if I could
r.onvey any no'ion at the present time of what it was some
fifty years ago, for all the glamour of the wildness and abundant
life has long passed away.

On these plains the springbucks were met with in vast
herds ; for an hour's march with the waggons— say two and a
(jL-arter miles— I once saw them to the left of the track, along
a slightly rising ground, thicker than I ever saw sheep. I sup-
'no^e tliey must have been trek hokken ; that is, a collection of
[the herds over an extended area on the move for pasturage.
'J'he Hottentot waggon-drivers shot many of them, frequently
killing; two at a time, they were so closely packed. 'J'hey were
[to bo counted only by tens of thousands. Formerly, they used
|<)t"tcii to invade the northern outlying farms of the Hoers, and
Icstroy their crops ; and though shot in waggon -loads, they
would still hang about as long as there was a green blade of
mything. They were nearly as bad as t' e locusts, a flight of
Iwhich wi' saw, by the wa)', a few days after leaving Kurunian,
[mar tlu' 'C'hooi,' or large natural salt-|)an. We were at break-
fast, when far down on the southeast hcri/on I noticed a
wreath as of dark smoke rising rapidly, broadening as it ad-
haiKH'd. In a very short time it enve'^ped us in the form

a locust storm ; the whole earth and air were full of them ;

ns of myriads settled, and myriads of myriads rode on

ilaiiking in mimicry of armed cavalry, and crackling like

jii llanie devoiuing the stubble. Look which way you woifld -

[nothing but locusts ; they did not hide the sun, but they

[so ol)N( ured his rays liiit )()u co' M look straight at him.

BIG GAME SHOOTING

I ' .'

No simile seems so apt to me as that of a heavy snow-
storm with large '^.akes, and this uninterruptedly for two or
three hours. Though the land before them was not exactly
as the Garden of 1 wen, verily behind them it was a desolate
wilderness. As the told of night came on, they collected on
the bushes in enormous masses, eight or ten feet through, for
warmth, weighing them completely to the ground, and they
took flight again the next morning after the sun was well up.
For two days my oxen never put their heads down ; there
was nothing found for them to eat. The swarms pass through
waste and cultivated land alike, bringing dearth and destruc-
tion, and men's hearts fail ; but the adversary has arrayed his
forces against them, and through the dense flights sweep the
wedge-shaped squadrons of the springkhiin vogc/, or locust
birds : dark and long of wing like swifts, with white patches
beneath the pinion. As squadron after squadron wheels and
passes over you, the husks of the locusts fall like hail. The
birds are in very large numbers and do their work deftly ;
before long the air alcove you is cltar, and though the evidence
of the curse is upon the earth, and remains, the locusts them-
selves are soon got rid of, for everything on two legs and four
eats them. The Bushmen follow the flights, feed on them, dry
them, and keep them in stoie. One night, Livingstone and
I lost our way, and seeing the light of a fire, made for it.
Around it sat a family of liushmen ; so, heralding our
approach from a safe distance, for fear of a flight of arrows,
we introduced ourselves. They welcomed us, and offered us
guides and a snack of dried locusts. I ate two or three, and
they were not so nasty ; something like what old shrii.;,>-shells
without the insides might be. These insects are bad enough
in their winged, but worse in their early wingless, form, when,
as the dreaded ^ foot -gangers^ of the Dutch farmer, they roll in
living waves over his land, defy all attempts at extermination
from their multitude, climb walls, iiuench lines of small firc^
placed in the hopes of turning them, cross rivers, million^
jum[)ing in, and millions getting over on the living raft. \n

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

both the winged and wingless state they are wonderfully
described in chapter ii. of Joel.

On these choois, of which there are many, some of them
twenty miles long and half as broad, the effect of mirage is
more wonderful than I have ever seen it elsewhere. What
seems an antelope grows into an elephant, and with the waving
of the gauze returns to its actual form — a V)ush. By nearly
all these salt-pans there is a sjiring which may perhaps have
once played its part in their formation, or be the relic of
the cause.

At one period of its history, Africa must hr.ve been a
better watered country than it is now. In the diiest tracts,
in the waterless woods, you light unexpectedly on deep
eroded channels, coming no whither and going nowhere. It
gave me the impression that there had been a gradual up-
lifting of the surface, and a consequent sinking away of the
old torrents and streams. 'J'he Bushmen and the elephants
dig in these courses for water, whi.:h is now never seen on the
surface, though the sides are sometimes worn away by its former
action, twenty feet down. Over a large area the ramfall is
exceedingly small, and in it the trees and grass have adapted
themselves to their surrounding conditions. The former all
send down long tap-roots through the upper soil to the close
substratum, utilising them as the Bushman does th reed in his
sucking-holes mentioned elsewhere ; the latter grows with
fleshy roots, and from the joints are thrown out delicate fibre.s
ending in small tubers which, through the excessive drought
and heat, act as reservoirs of moisture, thus sustaining vitality
and enabling a l)right green carjiet to be spread two days
after the fall of the rain. The animals, instinct led, follow the
waterfall of the storm, and migrate to and fro in narrow /ones.
Tlie birds do likewise; one beautiful hawk happily called
Ironi his graceful movement J/^'/<'A^ shotjuan^ 'he flows as he
turns'— is a most assiduous attendant in the green-room of
nature. lUit the thunderstorms are very partial, lor two
days 1 have passetl through country so drv)uglit-strickcn that

ii'

BIG GAME SHOOTING

the bushes were leafless, the twigs dry, the grass dust, the
ground iron, and all ani;iial, bird, and even insect life com-
pletely absent. In those two days we felt and knew the
abomination of desolation, and so did our poor beasts.

Nothing particular happened during our journey between the
two rivers. We shot and trekked - one day much like another
— and stopped a short time at Kuruman, the station of that
grand old patriarch of missionaries, Mr. Moffat, where we re-
ceived all the kindly hospitality, attention and advice possible
from him and Mrs. Moffat — verily the two best friends travel-
lers ever came across. I shall never forget their affectionate
courtesy, their beautifully ordered household, and their earnest
desire to help us on in every way. He advised us to go to
Livingstone, who was then stationed at Mabotse, 220 miles or
so to the northward, and obtain from him guides and counsel
for our further wanderings.

We were once nearly in trouble, however, after leaving Kuru-
man. We had crossed a little stream called, I think, the Merit-
sani, and one of our men, while cooking some tit-bit of an
antelope Murray had shot far away from the can.ip, carelessly
set the grass on fire. Luckily we saw it two miles off, and by
clearing the ground, and burning the stubble round the
waggons, we escaped. It was a wonderful sight to watch the
wall of smoke and tlame as it licked up the grass and bush and
coiled itself in folds about the tree stems ; birds, insects, and
beasts fleeing before it. As it approached our clearing, the
heat was intense, and we had some difflculty in restraining the
frightened horses and oxen ; but the roaring rolling flame
came within thirty yards of us, and then as it touched the edge
of our charmed circle died away into nothingness, its dis-
ai)pointment seeming to goad it onward to right and left.

The flat open country held till we reached the Molopo
River. The sketch very correctly represents this little stream
when we first saw it, and gives a good general idea of ihc
500 or 600 miles we had come. Seven different kinds ol
animals were within view, some, especially^ the (iuagg.i.s

t, the

com-

;\v the

een the
mother
of that
i we re-
iossible
s travel -
ctionate
■ earnest
to go to
miles or
I counsel

ng Kuru-
,c Merit-
bit of an
carelessly
ff, and by
ound the
watch the
[ bush and
isects, and
taring, the
raining the
lling llanu'
xl the edge
:ss, its dis-
i left.

:he Molopo
itlle stream
idea of ih^'
lit kinds ot
he ciuaggas

tV-fi '

it!

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

and the buffaloes, in large herds — springbucks, hartebeests,
iiniis, »S:c., filling in the picture ; together there could not
have been fewer than 3,000. I shot a couple of buffaloes
for the camp, and then inspanning passed ahead towards the
riduc of low hills, fifteen miles beyond, and running east
and west ; they told of a coming change of scenery, and
the next day we stood on the top of them — to the south
r)oo miles of rolling plain, very similar to that immediately
below, lay between us and the southern sea ; but to the
north the scene was changed, the well-wooded and watered
\allty of the Ba-Katla, a broken country full of game, was
>trelched out before us— in those days a hunter's paradise.
I'or the first time tracks of rhinoceros, giraffe, and other
unknown creatures were abundant, and we longed to cultivate
the rlosest relations with them.

Without any just cause I thought myself a better sportsman
tlian my companion, and determined to seek my game alone, in
the hope that I might be the first to bag a rhinoceros. All
day long I followed, with an attendant Hottentot, a trail
of one of these animals, neglecting inferior game, but my
experience in African woodcraft was small then, and I believe
now that the spoor may have been a week old. At last, tired
and disgusted with my want of success in not coming up with
the object of my search, I shot an antelope, and returned rather
earher than usual to the waggons, which had been ordered to
outspan under the range of hills. It was still daylight when
I reached them, and there sat my friend Murray, quiet, cool and
cahn, very calm indeed. He greeted me with a nod and a
smile, and asked me what I had killed ? ' A buck,' I answered.
He said nothing, but kept on smiling serenely. Presently I
noticed a group of Kafirs sitting round their fire, and eating
a> (inly Kafirs can eat. ' What are those brutes gorging them-
selves with?' I asked my (juiet friend. 'Oh, only some of
the rhinoceroses I shot this afternoon.' I noted the plural,
the iron entered into my soul, but I merely said: 'Ah!
iiulecd ' ' in an easy nonchalant way I flattered myself, as if

BIG GAME SHOOTING

'a' ■

11;

•If

the shooting a rhinoceros was a matter of supreme indifference
to me in those days, and walked to my own waggon.

Next morning at breakfast my friend offered to show me
where the rhinoceroses Hved. I was quite meek now, and
ready to be introduced to this entirely imaginary locality. At
that time we had not to go far to find, and had hardly left the
camp a quarter of an hour, when the leading Kafir pointed
out a great ugly beast rubbing itself against a tree eighty yards
from us. I was off my pony in a second, determined to get
to close quarters as soon as, and if possible sooner than, my
companion. We both stalked to within twenty yards without
being seen, and knelt down, I with the sump of a small tree
before me ; we fired together, and while the smoke still hung,
I was aware of an angry and exceedingly plain-looking beast
making straight at me through it. Luckily he had to come
rather uphill to my stump, and his head was a little thrown
back, when, within five feet of the muzzle of my gun, he fell,
with a shot up his nostril, the powder blackening his already
dingy face. This was a i>ori/i (or sour-tempered one) ; as a
rule, the only really troublesome fellow of his family. I
remember thinking my first introduction promised a stormy
acquaintance, and hoping there might be gentler specimens,
who rather liked being shot, or at all events did not resent it so
violently. I got two or three times into serious trouble witli
these lumbering creatures ; but the stories shall be told as
they crop up. I may mention here, however, that success in
rhinoceros shooting depends very greatly upon the sportsman's
kneeling or s(}uatting. I lost many at first by firing from
a standing position. The consequence was, that the ball only
penetrated one lung, and with the other untouched the beast
runs on for miles, unless, of course, the heart happen to bo
pierced ; whereas, fired from a lower level, the ball passes
'through both lungs, and brings him up in loo or 200 yards.
A rhinoceros very seldom drops to the shot. Of all I killed,
but two fell dead in their tracks. K.xclusive of the Quebaaba
{R. Oswel/ii), which was probably a variety of the mahoho,

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

{R. Sunns), and of which we killed three and saw five, there
were three kinds — the Mahoho, the yc". Africanus, and the
R. Keitloa} I say 'were,' for whilst I write I hear that the
dear old mahoho is extinct. I am very sony. He was never,
I believe, found north of the Zambesi, but between that river
and the Molopo, of which we have just spoken, he was
formerly in great force. Poor old stupid fellow, too quiet
as a rule, though, when thoroughly upset (like a good-
natured man in a passion) reckless, he was just the very thing
{<:: young gunners to try their 'prentice hand on, and directly
the Kafirs got muskets he was bound to go ; though, con-
sidering the numbers there used to be, I hoped he would have
lasted longer. He had no enemies to fear, save man and the
hyiena, and the first without fire-arms would have made but
liitlc impression on him ; for, although sometimes taken in
the pitfalls, he was never, so far as I know, killed by spears.
Til. hyrena, when hard pressed for food, would occasionally
alt^'Li: the male, who is formed like the boar, and eat into his
bowels from behind ; but it was a long business, and not by
any means always successful. The 'Cape wolf must have
been very hard set before he attempted it.

I have seen these long-horned, square-nosed creatures in

' Anoliier seems to have teen evolved recently, if I may draw that inference
from a highly-coloured jirint I see in the shop-windows intituled : 'An African
rliinoceros hunt.' A gentleman, on a fiery rearing steed, is engaging the
enemy at very close quarters, and, unless he is a left-handed gunner, on the
impossible side, as he is riding in the same direction as his quarry, and at its
mar shoulder. He may not be answerable for this position of affairs ; it looks
awkward, but he appears content, and holds his gun firmly by the middle,
muzzle in air. The rhinoceros is the interesting figure in the picture, for he is
mttikd, like the Asiatic variety, and is either a late discovery, or an escaped
specimen from the travelling show of some .African W'ombwell.

Rhinoceroses arc puzzles to others Ijesides artists. .\n old yeoman farmer,
many years ago, lay dying near my house ; to amuse him I sent some sketches
and odds and ends, and received a message thanking me, but putting me
straight as to those /Jto-horned creatures being rhinoceroses ; the rhinoceros
had but one horn, he had seen it in a book, and it was no use my saying it had
two, for it hadn't. I suggested to him that we wanderers, who went far
atield for hunting and shooting, had a hand in making the books, but ho
wouldn't have it, and died a firm believer in one horn.

wmmmmmmmmmmmmm imMiH

?";

ii ii

m
(if
I

B/G GAME SHOOTING

■,'! ■ " f '^ \

'III'

herds of six and eight, and when in need of a large supply of
meat for a tribe, have shot six within a quarter of a mile, with
single balls. They had a curious habit which helped the sports-
man, and has no doubt led to their too rapid extinction. If
you found four or five together, and wounded one nior*^ally, he
would run cJt with the others until he fell, and then the survi-
vors would make a circular procession round him until the
gun was again fired, and ahother wounded. Off they would
go again, iialting and repeating the performance when the
second fell, and so on to the end. The female was an affec-
tionate mother, never deserting her calf, but making it trot
before her, until she was mortally wounded, when she seemed
to lose her head and shot on in advance, and we then always
knew she would not go fifty yards further. Tliough they
were a very meditative inoffensive lot, there was a point at
which they drew the line. I once saw N'ardon i)ull a mahoho's
tail ; this, however, was taking too great a liiierty, and if I had
not i)een i...ar he might have suffered, but, as the heavy brute
swung round to give chase, a ball at very close quarters stopi)ed
him. We have often been obliged to ilrive them from the
bush before camping for the night. They apparenti)' mistook
the waggons for st^me huge new beasts, and were Vijry trouble-
some ; l)Ut this hallucination was not conluied to the mahoho.
A borili in a great jjassioii away to the east ci the l,iin])0[)(),
charged I.ivingstonc';^ waggon, smashing his iron bak iig-pot.
The borili is lidgety, apparently alwa\s :n bad health, .ind con-
stantly on tiie look out for a tree to scratch his mangy hide
against. Me has, too, an evil habit of hunting you like a
bloodhound. He is the smallest of the three, with a .short,
snubby head, and a well-delined pn. lensile lij-

Thfj keilloa, or more equal horned variety, is a mixture in
form and leinjier Itetween the mahoho and the borili ; nuicli
arger than the latter, with differently shaped body, head, and
horns, an(J less deveU)pment of liji. "''lie mahoho and (iiiebaab.i
Uve on grass, tlie end of the latter's liorn from its downwanl
curve being abraded by contact with the ground as he feeds.

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

The horiii eats bush alone, and the keitloa a mixed diet of
grass and bush.

I could never understand the great power and strength of
a rhinoceros' horn. It is sessile on the bone of the snout, but
not part of, or aitc~ched to it ; apparently it is only kept in its
])lace by the thickness of the skin, and yet, as I mention here-
after, a white rhinoceros threw me and my horse clear up into
the air. Of course, the enormous muscles of the neck bore
the brunt of the lift, but the horn did not suffer in any way.
It is quite intelligible that the fact of it not being cemented
to the bone would rend t it less liable to fracture at the base,
and in itself it is tough enough, though consisting only of
ai'iglutinated hair ; but I am only wondering that, uUached as
it is, it should possess the necessary rigidity for the work it
does. It is occasiotially u.sed in the most determined way by
rhinoceroses who have mutual difierences to adjust. The
Kafirs pare it down into hafts for their battle-axes. Of strips
of the hide we made horse-whips, as the Egyptians do man-
whips of that of the hippopotamus.

I'or his l)ulk the rhinoceros, especially the borili, is a quick
mover in a hard trot and sometimes a gallop. The whole tribe
are heavies, taking their pleasure, if any, very sadly. The
hip[)()potanuis, an even more ungainly beast, has the decency
jlo remain most of his *ime in the water, but the * chukuru '
thinks it behoves him to bask in the sunlight and parade his
ugliness. vStaiuhng motionless is the routine of his life, a
scrub now and then against a tree his dilasscmcnt- \ very
isolid, st(»lid brute !

These creatures ai)pea'- to me to be out of lime, to have
|bel(tngod to a former state of thing^s, and ti»have been f«)rg()t ten
jwheii the change was made. Often have I sat upon a ridge
and looked at them as they moved solemnly and clumsily on
|llu> plain bilow, wondering ho>v they still came to be in this
! world, and it has occurred to me how delightful it would have
ilicen to watch the pre .Adamite beasts in the san»e way, and
k.un tJK'ir manners— which, I fear, were bad as they came

BIG GAME SHOOTING

and went, no other man to interfere with your preserves, the
world all to yourself and your beastly companions ! How
they would fight, and wallow, and roar, and how very cunning
you would have to be to escape being eaten ! I am afraid in
my dreams two or three large-bored, hard-hitting guns have
figured as desiderata ; indeed, under such circumstances, I
should not see the fun of doing king with a celt for a sceptre
and half a dozen flint-headed arrows as a standing armament.

The rhinoceros would be even easier of approach than he
is were it not for his attendant bird, a black slim-built fellow-
very like the king crow of India, who, in return I take it for
his food, the parasitic insects on the chukuru, watches over
his fat friend and warns him of the coming danger by springing
up in the air and alighting smartly again with a peck on his
back or head. This puts him on the alert, and he does his best,
by sniffing and listening, to find out the point from which
he is threatened, for his ears are quick and his scent excellent ;
but, as you are below wind of him, sound and smell travel badly,
and his vision is by no means first rate. The natives l)y a
figure transfer the connection between the bird and the beast
to themselves, and when they wish to emphasise the great
affection they bear you, or the great care they intend to take
of you, address you as ' my rhinoceros,' an elliptical expres
sion by which they mean to convey that they are your guardian
birds. They are not always quite unfailing. Going out from
Kolobeng after elephants 1 had heard of in the neighbourhood,
I passed an old rain-doctor, whom I knew well, making rain
with his pot on the lire, and his herbs and charms on tin
bubble. 'Chukuru ami, where are you going?' he asked.
* To shoot elephants,' 1 replied. ' I was just making rain,
but as you are my chukuru, I put it off till to-morrow.' Is ii
necessary to say 1 was wet through in half an hour? A fiiu
heavy thunderstorm was brewing whilst he was boiling. 'I'his
rain-n\aking is the Kafir's pet superstition the power is
hereditary believed in by the maker and his fellow-country
men. Conditions difiicult to kct'i) are imposed, such as thai

■m

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY VFARS AGO

the women are not to speak one word when at work in the
fields : if the rain fails, why of course the women spoke !

We travelled very slowly towards Mabotse, Livingstone's
station, and on our arrival there received every kindness and
attention from him and Mrs. Livingstone, guides to the country
10 the north, with advice as to route, &c. Livingstone had
not long got over his lion mishap -get over it altogether, in-
deed, he never did — the overlapping end of the broken
humerus was visible enough when the body was brought home.
The story of the accident was fresh with him and the Kafirs
when we reached Mabotse. A lion had killed an ox near the
1 village, and the Ba-Katla turned out, as they always did when the
I lion deserted his game, and attacked their herds. Each man,
las is usual in a hunt of this kind, carried two or three assegais
and a plume of ostrich feathers on a pointed six-foot stick,
ri'he lion was tracked to his sleeping place, and the men made a
[ring round it. gradually closing the space between man and man
las tlicy advanced. Presently the quarry was roused and sat up,
[and then a spearman, takini, a few steps in advance, threw his
lassegai. The thrower is generally charged, but the animal's
|fittention is immediately taken off l)y a second spearman and
second assegai, and so on until, i)oor beast, it is killed.
[Accidents seldom occur in fairly open ground, as the men
[.support one another very coolly and effectively. In rocky
l])hi(es the sport is dangerous ; sometimes, howe\er, even in
[favourable spots, the man is pressed closely by the beast, and
[ill then as he runs plants the stick with the plume tu-mly in
he j^roundand dodges away from it ; the lion, half-blinded by
rat^e, sees something before him, and springs at the t>strich
feathers, giving the man a chance of escape. In Livingstone's
tasc they had lost the lion after wounding it, and were looking
or it ; the dear old Doctor caught sight of its tail switching ba( k-
[Nvards and forwards. Up and off went a gun that would
hardly have killed a strong tomtit. Livingstone was sjum
(i\cr eif^ht or ten feet, and the lion was standing over him.
jl he l)nite look his arm in its mouth ;uu! put a heavy paw on

BIG GAME SHOOTING

the nape of his neck, from which he pushed it off, for, as he
said, ' It was so heavy, man, and I don't Hke to be stamped on '
— neither did he ! The Hon was then driven off and killed.
Livingstone was so quiet and im[)erturbabie that he would have
made a capital sportsman, but he could neither shoot nor ride
(except on oxback) — this was not his business. I am afraid he
despised the role of a sportsman, and no doubt believed, as he
has stated, that the Kafirs looked upon us as weaklings to be
used for providing them food. Perhaps he was right ; but 1
think he overlooked that we, with no knowledge of the lan-
guage, would have found it very difficult to make our way,
if we had only come to see the country, without shooting. He
could talk to the Kafirs' ears and hearts, we only to their
stomachs ; and I would fiiin believe that his grand work was
occasionally made a little smoother by the guns.

An incident highly creditable to Kafir womanhood occurred
just as we reached Mabotse. 'I'he women, as is their custom,
were working in the fields for they hoe, and the men sew —
and a young man, standing by the edge of the bush, was chatting
with them. A lioness sprang on him and was carrying him
off, when one of the women ran after her, and, catching her by
the tail, was dragged for some little distance. Hampered
with the man in her mouth and the woman behind her, she
slackened her pace, whereupon her assailant straddled over
her back and hit her across the nose and head with a luavv
short-handled hoc till she droppetl her jirey and slunk into
cover. This man was her husband 1 Would Mrs. Smith do
as much for Mr. Smith? Tould she do more?

We pushed on from Livingstone'., station and hunted
through the country of the ISa-Kaila, the people amongst
whom he was living. It was tlicn full of game, and put me m
mind of the children's i)ictures of .Adam naming the beasts in
the Garden of lulen -more animals than bushes. The first
giraffes fell here, Murray again .scoring, and killing No. i. We
seldom shcn tlic^e beautiful-eyed, gentle-looking creatures —
only a cow as a dainty now and then, for the (lesl of the female

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

is the most excellent eating, a kind of venisony beef. They
were to be seen nearly every day in herds of from five to thirty.
Shooting them on foot was a difficult matter, their great height
giving them an extended view. I never stalked but two — a
delicate head peering over a mimosa-tree nearly always detect-
ing the coming danger before I could get within reasonable
distance with my smooth-bore. There is no difficulty in riding
them down (as we had, of course, sometimes to do for the men
when other game was scarce) provided you are a light weight
and a fair rider, for a horse requires more driving up to this
animal than to any other. The towering height and the ungainly
sawing motion appear to terrify him ; and to these must, I think,
be added the scent. Horses have very sensitive noses, and
try to avoid giraffes, as in India they do camels. A good-
couraged beast soon concjuers his fears, l)ut I have had regular
fights with faint-hearted ones, (let as good a start as possible,
press your game as much as you can for 300 or 400 yards - for
press them you must, or you may ride after their tails all day —
and you are alongside ; a shot in the gallop with the gun across
the pommel brings the poor thing to the ground, and you are
ashamed of yourself if it has been done wantonly. Eland
hunting, from horseback, may be classed with giraffe, as very
lame after the novelty is over.

I woulil utter two words of warning with regard to hunting
the giraffe. Do not ride close behind him, for in his i)anic he
sometimes lashes out most vigorously — I have had his heels
whiz very ominously within a few inches of my head ; and
my friend N'ardon, in pistolling one that was standing wounded,
only just missed what might have been serious injury from a
viciiius stamp of the forefoot- and be careful after you have
fired to slacken speed at once, or pull your horse to the right,
lest your victim fall on you.

1 have measured bulls (|uite 18 feet — 6 feet of leg, 6 feet of
body, 6 feet of neck. 1 "or their peculiarity of shape, shared by
other Afrit an animals, there must be a reason. Now we can
understand that * a deer with a neck that was longer by half than

BIG GAME SHOOTING

the rest of his family — try not to laugh — by stretching and
stretching became a giraffe,' to the detriment of his hind-
quarters. But what about the sasaybye, hartebeest, and
elephant — why are they so low behind ? The lion, too, is weak-
quartered in comparison with his forehand, and even the
hyjKna has thought it necessary to follow the fashion. The
animals of South Africa, indeed, are a (jueer lot — all countries
have their specialiti' s, but Africa is all speciality — distinct are
the giraffes, the gnus, the hippos ; adapted plus aquo are the
elephants, rhinoceroses and antelopes.

Buffaloes were abundant, the bravest and most determined
of all animals when wounded and at bay ; courage is the in-
stinct of the buffalo family. Look at the wild cousin in India,
who will charge home upon a line of elephants, and even at his
tame relations in the same country. In €< icgal, an outlying
talook of the district of Coimbatoor, in the Madras Presi-
dency, I have seen the village buffaloes drive a full-grown
tiger helter-skelter up the hills, pursuing him far beyond their
feeding grounds. Again, I have known a misguided tiger
spring into the midst of a herd penned up for the night ; he
was stamped and gored to death, and when taken out from
amongst the half-maddened beasts in the morning he was a j)ulp.
The Bubaliis coffer is a stirring fellow when his blood is up ; you
may shoot a do/en on a flat or in open ground, taking ycjur
own distance for dismounting and shooting, and think them
oxen ; but wound on^ in thickish bush and follow him, and if
alive he'll let you know it ! The Kafirs will hunt a blood
spoor of elephant, lion, rhinoceros, or any other animal right
ahead of you like hounds ; but put them upon wounded
buffalo tracks, they will follow you at a respectful distance ;
they know the ways of him and his character. Wounded
in bush he runs straight on for some little distance, then
turns back and takes a line close to and parallel with his
ui)-tracks, lying down or concealing himself behind a patch of
cover. With his eyes on the ground the s|)ortsman is pickmg
out the trail, when a hard grunting bellow to right or left

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

makes him look up, and he had better l)eware and hold
straight now if ever, for down comes the wounded l)ull, and
nothing l)Ut death or a disabling shot will stop him. I have
seen one with entirely paralysed hind-quarters attempt to
carry out his rush to the bitter end by dragging himself
along with his forefeet. His pluck is splendid ; no single
lion will face him, though, attacked by stealth or numbers, he
occasionally falls a prey. Once I went out in one direction
and Murray in another to shoot elands for fat to make candles
— we carried wicks and tin moulds amongst our stores. I turned
homewards early to throw off my load, and within a mile or two
of the waggons jmt up six lions on a flat surrounded by bush ;
in riding after them for a shot I drove up a couple more, so
I had a ' flock ' of eight before me. Pressing them, the hind-
most, a fine black-maned fellow, who seemed willing to sacri-
fice himself for his friends and relations, turned on me, thus
giving the others time to continue their retreat. Twice
I dismounted to shoot him, but before I could get the chance
I wanted, I was obliged to remount, for the whole of his com-
[)anions, seeing their rear-guard cut off and in difficulties, bore
down upon me. One was all very well, but I felt I was not the
man for the eight ; they were not very far from bush when I
first saw them, and before I could get Ufxjn anything I thought
e(]ual terms they reached cover without a shot.

I fouiui Murray already in camp. He had come upon an
ostrich's nest, and making his after-rider take off his trousers
and tie up the bottoms, he had carefully packed the eggs in
them, put them across a horse, and, with heart set on omelet,
had returned to the cookery pots. Unfortunately, he had not
broken an egg, but taken them in faith, and they all contained
young birds, which the Kafirs were joyfully stirring round in
our big baking-pot ])reparatory to a feast when I appeared on
the scene. My readers may naturally say, ' What has eland
fat and ostrich eggs to do with the courage of buffaloes?'
Well, these are just the incidents of daily camp life, which
have brought up another recollection illustrative of my i)oint.

K 2

52 BIG GAME SHOOTING

That night, half a mile from the waggons, from dark to dawn
a fight was going on. The air rang again and again with the
short snapping bark of attacking lions and the grunting snorts
of buffaloes on the defensive ; and, as soon as it was day, we
went to the field of battle. None of the combatants were to
be seen, but the whole story was clearly told by the trampled
ground. A herd of 40 or 50 buffaloes had evidently been
attacked by a number of lions — the Kafirs said nine, from

Dentil of Su|H'ri<)r

the spoor — but the ground was so torn and trampled I could
not pretend to count. They had taken u|) a position in
front of a very dense patch of thorns, on a curve, and shifted
backwards and forwards as their flanks were threatened ; the
bulls and cows hud come to the front, the calves had been
placed in the rear, and they had hold their own throughout
the night without the loss of a single calf ! The lions I had
.seen in the afternoon were probably the baffled marauders.
We had been unsuccessful up to this time in killing buffaloes

SOUTH A I' RICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

liandsomely. More than half those hit got away — chiefly, I
think, from our not having as yet adopted the squatting posi-
tion ; but this may be a fad of mine, and our bad shooting
have been the cause. Two days after leaving the camping
ground I have just spoken of, whilst the waggons were moving
slowly through the low bush, three bulls crossed the line
of march. I was on my horse, Superior, and, with a shout to
Murray that I intended to make sure of a bag this time,
galloi)ed after them, and singling out one, got alongside of him
within five feet and fired He pitched upon his head and lay
perfectly still. Making sure he was dead, I would not give
him the second barrel, and turned the horse to ride after the
two others which were still in view ; but, before I could get
my animal into his stride, the wounded beast sprang up and
struck him heavily. I felt the thud, but the horse did not
fall, and cantered on for twenty yards, when the whisk of his tail
dabbled my trousers with blood, and, on getting olif, I found a
hole thirty inches deep, and nearly wide enough to get into, in
his flank, for the horn had been driven up to the base. The
bull was too weak to follow up the attack, and died where he
stood ; the horse crawled on for a few yards, and then, seeing it
was a hopeless case, I put a l)all through his head.

This lesson early in shooting experiences made me cautious
in bufialo-hunting throughout the whole of my time, though
I have had a narrow escape or two. Coming homewards one
afternoon, we stumbled into the middle of a herd asleep in
the long grass. Our sudden api)earance startled them from
their dreams, a panic seized them, and away they galloped
in the wildest confusion. One old patriarch had been taking
his siesta a[)art from the rest, in a dense patch of bush
to the right : the sound of the gun and the rush of his com-
panions roused him, and with ')ne barrel loaded, as 1 ran
after his relations, I found myself fnce to face with him, within
ten yartls. He was e\itlently bent o\\ misi hiet. We stared at
one another for a second. 1 fired at his broad chest ; it was
the best I could do, for his nose was up, and the points of his

re GA.]/E SHOOriNG

shoulders were not exposed. He plunged at me instantly. I
fortunately caught a projecting bough of the mimosa-tree
under which I was standing, and, drawing my knees up to my
chin, he passed below me. I have heard of people avoiding a
charge by quickly ste[)ping on one side, but the ground must
have been in their favour, and they must iiave been very cool,
and only resorted to this instinctively, I think, as a last re-
source. A buffalo, it is true, drops his head very low, but only
just before he closes, and he can strike desperately right and left
from the straight line, so you ought to secure four or five feet
side room. I have never been obliged to try this lateral move-
ment, and fear I should have made a mess of it, though I know
it is possible ; for I once travelled •' \n the west coast of
South America with a bull-fighting man and woman, and they
explained to me how, when the ' toro ' charged, they stepped
aside and stuck the banderillos into his neck ; but they had
no bush or smoke to contend with. I have often, however,
had to dodge animals round a tree, and once escaped from a
borili by catching a bough, as in this instance.

On our first journey to Lake 'Ngami, when within a hundred
miles, the oxen wearied, so we selected twelve of the freshest
and started w^ith my waggon only, and some of the men, leaving
the rest to encamp themselves and await our return. During
our absence the drivers had to supply the party with meat.
One of them wounded a buffalo, which immediately charged.
The man, dropping his musket, climbed a tree just in time.
For four hours the i)uffalo watched that tree, walking round
and lying down under it. How Piet got to terra firma again
1 do not remember. Probably the animal grew tired of waiting,
though they are generally very patient, and willing to bide
their time for retaliation. The following short story illustrates
the vengeful nature of the beast ; it is told, I think, in Moffat's
' Missionary Tiavels,' but I have not the book by me, and
cannot vouch for the exact words : A native, sitting by
the water at night, wounded a buffalo, but not mortally.
It made for the shooter, who ran and lay down under a

wmmmm

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

projecting rock. Unable to get its horns to bear, but not
to be baulked, with its long, rough tongue it licked off the
flesh of the exposed part of the man's thigh down to
the bone, and then left its victim, who died early in the
morning.

The smell of blood seems to madden these beasts ; they will
turn on a wounded and bleeding companion and gore him most
savagely. As 1 write recollections come back of scenes that
had left no vivid pictures in my mind, because nothing un-
toward happened ; but why not, and how not, now one thinks
of it, is wonderful. Stalking an antelope, or I know not what,
1 found myself in an immense herd of buffaloes. The bush
was full of them, I was surrounded, and had nothing to
do but stand still. They dashed about me like rooks after
the wireworms in a newly j)loughed field. I had the sensa-
tion of drawing myself in very tightly aljout the waistband.
Till they thinned out into a tail I could not begin to shoot,
but there were such numbers that even then I knocked
over six at exceedingly close quarters. The danger was, being
run over or butted down in the headlong stampede. The same
thing has happened to me, and, I dare say, to many all-round
shots, with elephants. How they avoided or missed you — for
they didn't seem to try to avoid — you can't tell. You come
out of it without a scratch, and therefore, as a rule, think no
more of it.

If I were to write our daily life and shooting, it would be
weary reading. In a few chapters of this kind, all I can do
is to take my readers into some of my scrapes, and let them
fill in the blanks ; but perhaps, once for all, I may put the
abundance of the game in those days in some way intelligibly
before them, if 1 say that in most parts, with horses, one gun
could easily have kept 8oo men 6oo we tried — fattened, and
supplied with a store sufficient to last for months. Fortunately*
in consequence of the excessive dryness of the climate, meat,
cut into long thin strips and hung over the bushes to dry
in the sun, will keep quite good f^r a long time. It needs

BIG GAME SHOOTING

soaking before cooking, and loses much of its flavour, but it
holds body and soul together.

Leaving the valley and rocky hills of the Ba-Katla, we
moved slowly onwards towards the Ba-Wangketsi ; before reach-
ing them, an event occurred which coloured my whole African
life, and will colour my life as long as I live. It is no story
of big game, and perhaps ought not to find a place in these
pages ; but it is so bound up with all my shooting, all my plea-
sure in Africa, that I would ask to be forgiven for telling it. I
should feel a traitor to the memory of a dead friend if I did not.

We were trekking through some low sand-hills covered
with scrub, when three lions crossed about fifty yards ahead of
the oxen. Snatching up a gun, I jumped from the waggon,
calling upon someone to follow me with a heavy rifle which
was always kept loaded as a reserve battery. I pressed so
closely on the leisurely retreating trio that the largest stopped
short. I squatted, intending to take his shoulder as he turned,
looked round for my second gun, and heard the bearer, who
was close to me, whisper in Dutch, * You can get nearer by
the ant-hill.' The move lost me the Hon, as he broke away
after his companions ; and then for the first time I took
notice of the cool, tall, handsome lad who had offered me
advice, and recognised in him at once the stuff" to make a
henchman of. From that day forth he was my right-hand
man in the field, and never failed me.

John Thomas was an Africander, born at the Cape, of
parents probably slaves ; but as a grand specimen of man-
hood, good nature, faithfulness, and cheerful endurance, I
never met his equal, white or black. Plucky to a fault, he was
the least quarrelsome of men, the life and light of our camp
fires, and the pet of the Kafirs, who seemed at once to under-
stand his quiet unpretending nature, and always made their
requests to me through 'bono Johnny.' To tell his good
deeds through a five years' wandering would very often be to
show up my own faults ; let it be enough to say that he was a
perfect servant to a very imperfect master, who, now that his

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

friend is dead, feels that he did not value him half enough,
though he never loved man better. His worth, to those who
know the troubles and difficulties of African travelling, may be
outlined by the following iit!^'e story.

When Livingstone and I made our journey in search of
Lake 'Ngami, we held out to our followers that if we were
successful we would not attempt to press on further, 'i'hey
were, as a rule, a timid folk, dreading the unknown, too ready
to listen to any tale of danger and difficulty that might be
in the world beyond, and always eager to turn colony-wards.
After some hard work we reached the lake, and success bred
in'us the wish to do more ; but we were bound to stand to our
agreement. At last the desire of penetrating deeper into the
land became so strong that I suggested calling a meeimg of the
servants and trying what our eloquence might effect. After
putting before them that we fully recognised our promise ot
not constraining them to go with us any further, I told them
that the Doctor and I had made up our minds to give them
one of the waggons with sufficient stores, supplies and am-
munition for their homeward journey, while we ourselves had
decided to push on ahead. I further explained to them
that they would have no difficulty in reaching the colony,
as they knew the waters, and had the wheel-tracks. I
paused for a minute, and then added, that though we
could not ask them to accompany us, yet that if any one of
them was willing to do so, we should be very glad. I rather
enlarged upon our ignorance of the country in advance, for we
did not wish to influence them unduly to join us. For a few
moments there was silence, and blankness of face ; then out
stepped John, and speaking in Dutch, as he always did when
his feelings were touched, though he at other times spoke
English perfectly, said : ' What you eat I can eat, where you
sleep I can sleep, where you go I will go ; I will come with
you.' The effect was instantaneous. ' \Ve will all go ! ' was
the cry. Do you think after that it was much matter to us
whether our brother was blAck or white ?

JUG GAME SHOOTING

rime wore on. 1 was obliged to Rturn tf England. John
accompanied me to the Cape. I told him, in part, how I
valued his services, and asked him if I could in any way repay
my del)t of gratitude. I hrd taught him to read, in the bush,
but that was the only good I had ever done him. His answer
came, after some hesitation. He had heard so much of
England that lie should like, of all things, to go with me there.
Two days later we were on board ship together. He, as
usual, was e.erything to everybody — hel)>ing the steward,
atters'^'ng tlie sick ladies, nursing the babies ; the idol of the
sailors, to whom he told stories of bush life, the adored of
the nurses. John, with all his virtues, was a flirt - the admirer
and admired cTall womankind. On arriving in >uigland. I left
liim in I ondon and went down to my brother's. He hesitated
aboi t liiy licnchmaii, ttjinking a real live black man would
liarclly suit the household of a country clergyman. But his
coachman fell sick. Could John drive? 1 s'aould think so.
He was the best eighl-in bander in Cape Town. Down he
came, and in half an hour he was perfectly established in the
family. My brother det^lared he never had such a coachman,
and was very kind to him, timidly at first. The cook taught
him writing ; the lady's-maid went on witli h.is reading. I
s iiall not forget meeting liim with the two women, one on
fitter arm, chatting with them in the most accomplished style.
His stay in l-'.ngland was limited to six months, as we had
igreeu, and he we^* bnck to the Cape with a iriend of mine,
who wrote most highly of iiim.

Two years jiasse:! away ; 1 was a wa«iderer again ; .and at
the beginning of the Oimean War founci myself canying secret-
service money to Colonel, now I'ield Marshal, Si Lintorn Sim-
mons, |jolitical agent at Shumla. On my return to the coasi I
fell in with a c.ivalry regiment and the 6oth Ritles encamped
near Devna, a few miles from \;trna. A sergeant of the latter
regiment saluted as 1 passed, and asked for news frtnn ihi-
iVont. Silistria was then besiegid. I turned m)self half
round to the right on my saddle to talk witli him, and j^rc-

SOUTH AFRIC . I'lITY YJIARS AGO

scntly felt a haiul placed very .i^cnt/y, ioTiHo/y, on nn- left
loot. John stood by my stirrup, his face a picture of affec-
tionate triunij)!! at having caught me again. He had taken
service with an officer n{ the 6oth. We threw ourselves
d )wn under a bush and renewed old memories. 'I'he Major,
near whose teiU we were, called John, and, fmding from him
who I was, most courteously .'ntreated me, telling me how
beloved (olm was by the regi.nert, and how well, through
him, they knew my name. I had letters to deliver at Con-
stantinople, and went on. John, I believe, sickened, and was
invalided to England ; but for two or three years I heard no
more of him, for I was away in South America and elsewhere.
Shortly after my return home a letter lame to me, asking if 1
<-ould recommend a bl;ick man named 'John 'i'homas ' as a
biuKr I He had referred the writer to me. I was obliged to say
I knew nothing of his capabilities in this line, but added that,
as a staunch ally in a fight with an elephant and an absolutely
trustworthy man in ail the relations of lite (save that of a
butler, in whi( h 1 had not tried him), I could most highly
recommend him. My friend engaged him, and had an
I'xcellent servant, for such was John's jiower of adapting him
.self to circumstances that nothing ever came amiss to him.
lUit the dark day was coming on ; ami, in the miilst of his affec-
tionate servile, beloved from the head of the house to the
youngest child, trusted and never found wanting, always ready
and always willing, this fine, noble fellow died. I heard of
liis sickness too late to see him alive on i-arth, but T trust
that master and man may hereafter meet as brothers in
Heaven.

\Vc had been sliooting in this Ba-\Vangketsi country for a
fortnight, and the work had been \ery hard. One morning
alter breakfast, my companion, who was busy cleaning the
head of a koodoo, said he would have a day of rest, and finish
what he was about. HIn la/iness was catching. 1 onlered my
horses to be dnsadtlK-d, and was idling about the lamp when
our head man told me there was i.o food for the twelve or

B/G GAME SHOOTING

fourteen dogs, our nig'nt wat( hnicn ; so I took up my gun,
which was only loaded in one barrel, and strolled out on the
chance of a shot ; but as, kill or miss, 1 intended to return
immediately, I did not carry any spare ammunition. A reedy
pond lay close in advance of the waggons in a little opening ;
beyond this, as on every other side, stretched a sea of bush
and mimosa-trees. 'I'wo hundred yards from the outs[)an I
came upon a clump of quagga and wounded one, whi< h
though mortally hit struggled on before falling. I followed,
and marking the place where it fell, set my face as I thought
towards the waggons, meaning to send out men for the
flesh. No doubt of the directic^n crossed my mind -the pool
was certainly not more that 400 yards in a straight line, and
I thought I could walk down upon it without any trouble ;
so taking no notice of my out tracks, which had bent slightly
in following the cjuagga, I started. It was now about 10 a.m. ;
little did I think that 5 r.M. would still find me seeking three
vans nearly as large as Pickford's, and half an acre of water.

In my first cast 1 cannot say whether I gof wide or stopped
short of the mark I was n^aking for, and it was not until I had
wandered about carelessly hither and thither for half an hour,
feeling sure that it was only the one particular bush in front
of me which hid the waggons, that 1 very unwillingly owned
to myself that 1 was drifting without bearings in this bushy
sea. 'I'he sun was nearly overhead, and gave but slight help as
to direction, and the constant turning to avoid thick patches of
thorns rendered it nearly imi)Ossible, in the absence of any guid-
ing point, to hold a fixed course through this ma/e of sameness.

I tried walking in circles in the hopes of i;utting the wheel
tracks, but though on ;i previous occasion this plan had
succeeded, it now failed. As with empty gun 1 plodded on,
(jccasional small herds of rooyebuck and XAwv wildebeest,
evidently very much at home, swept and capered by me, and,
stopping and looking at me with wondering eyes, increased
my feeling of loneliness. I had no doubts of regaining my
party next day at latest, and cari'd but little for |)assing a night

MaBMMMHHHBMII

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

in the jungle ; but, bewildered and baffled, I envied the instinct
of the so-called brutes, which, careless of their ste|)s, were never-
theless quite sure of their ways. Twilight near the tropics is
very short. Just before the sun set, therefore, I iollowed a
game track which 1 knew would lead to water, as it was still
early in the season, and the rain supp-ly had not yet dried up
in the hollows. At dusk I reached a pool similar to the one I
had (juitted in the morning. After a good draught I began
collecting firewood, but for once it was very scarce, and the
night closed in so rapidly, that a bare hour's supply was all my
store. Partly to save fuel, and |)artly in the ho|)e that as the
night crept on signals would be made f om the waggons, I
climbed a tree which stood by the side of the water, and had
not been long perched before 1 heard, though so far off that I
could hardly calch the sound, the smothered boom of guns.
Alarmed at my absence my companions suspected the cause,
and were inviting my return : but it re(|uired a very pressing
invitation indeed to induce a man to walk through two miles
of an African wood in those days on a dark night.

This particular spot, too, was more infested with lions than
any other, save one, I was ever in ; and, though harmless and
cowardly enough as a rule in the day, they were not likely to
prove very acceptable followers at night. Hut J had been wal.cing
all day under a troj)ical sun, my clothini; was wet with per-
spiration, and it now froze hard for freeze it can in Southern
Africa — and I was bitterly cold. I determined to come down
and light \\\\ hre. I knew it would la.st but a short time,
but thought I would make the best of it, and thaw myself
before attemi)ting to return. I g(>t t(') the lowest bough
of my tree, and had placed my hand beside my feet before
jumping off. when from the bush immedi.Uclv under me a
deep note, and the sound of a heavy body slipj)ing through
the thorny si rul , told me that a lion was |)assing. Whether
the creaking of the tree hail roused his attention and caused
him to speak so opjKJrtuncly 1 don't know, but without
the warning, in another half second I should have alighted

lUG GAME SHOOTING

on his back. I very i|uickly put two or three yards more
between the soles of my feet and the ground. Presently,
from the upper end of the pool came the moaning pant of a
questing lion ; it was immediately answered from the lower end
— their majesties were on the look-out for supper, and had
divided the approaches to the water between them. It was
much too dark to see anything, but from the sounds they
seemed to walk in beats, occasionally telling one another of
their whereabouts bj' a low pant ; of my presence I think they
were not aware.

This went on for an hour or more, and I got colder and
colder ; my beard and moustache were stiff with frost. I could
not much longer endure the cramjjcd position in my scraggy tree,
and I felt I must get down and light a fire, when, suddenly
up came the blessed moon, and right under her the '-jund
of three or four muskets fired together. With the help of her
light and partial direction in case my companions got tired
of firing, 1 was not going to stay up a tree to be fro/en.
Waiting, therefore, until she was about ' one tree high,' and until
the lions were far asunder, on their separate beats, as well as I
could make out from the sound, 1 came (Jown, and capping it
was all I could do ; for, as I said, 1 had started without powder
and ball- my empty gun. which was standing against the tree, I
passed at the double r«)und the end of the water and (.lived into
the bush on the opjxisito side. I have no doubt mv desirt-
was to get on as (luickK as possible, but reasons for a atlious
advance soon mad-- thi.inselves heard on all sides. .\n African
forest was then alive at night. I only thought of the Inms,
and esi)ecially of the two 1 hatl left, or perhaps not left, at the
water; but every little novT^jrnal animal that stirred kept me
on the stretch the less m.)ise the more danger. 'I'he movement
of a mouse might well be mistaken for the stealthy tread of the
king of the cats, .\mong die t revs the nH)()n gave but scanty
light, and nearly every minute I had to sto[) and listen as some
unseen animals |)assed near me. Sometin>es I could retogtuse
them by their cry, but mostly it was 'a running that could not

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

be seen of skipping l)easls ' that troubled me, 'I'he onl) animal
I really saw that night was a rhinoceros that, with head and
tail uj) and in a terrible fuss, crossed a few yards before me.
A sound in front, and I strained my eyes into the shadowy
darkness in advance ; the rustling of a leaf told of life to the
right or left ; and the snapping of a twig of possible deatii in
the rear. But I strufjgled on for an hour, I should think,
when, stooping to clear a low bough, four c five muskets fired
together within fifty yards told me I was at home again. I hope
I was thankful then ; 1 know I Zl\w now. Two of my Hottentot
servants and a batch of Kafirs had come some distance into
the bush in the hope of meeting me, and escorted me to
the fire in triumph. As I held my stillonly half-thawed hands
over it, the baulked roar of a disappointed lion rang through the
camp. He had not been heard before that night. ' He has
missed y(ju, 'I'laga,' by a little this time,' said my black friends.
' Let him go back to liis game.' They 'rt-re right, for in the
morning we found his spoor on mine for a long way back.
\\ htther he had come with me from the water or I had
pickicl up a follower in thr bush I never knew. Myconstantlv
stopping and listening probably saved me, for a lion seldom
makes up his mind vt ry suddenly to attack a man unless hard
pressed by hunger. He likes to know all about it first, and
my turning, and slow, jerky p«ogre.ss had probably roused his
suspicions.

Two nights before this we had met with a sad misfortune.
'I'he oxen were ' kraaled '- surrounded, that is. by a hedge of
thorn trees, and bushes strong enough to keep them in and lions
oui, we hoped a mode of defence we always adopted if thci','
was wood enough close to the outspan, or we inteniled staying
any length ot lime in the same place ; though oicasionall),
wht>n w\' only halted for the night anil were distant bum water,
aiyd therefore likeiv to be free from lions, the oxen were instead

' lo my fiio iho Kafirs always <Mtlfd luf ' I'lajj.i,' wliicli. I lirlievr. means
'(111 ilif !o*)k <.»ui, wary, likf Kaiiu- ; iK'hiiui my l)ack, I liavc bvvn luUI, 1 was
i.;»lli'(l nr»ws,* fruiu mv loaniu'ss.

BIG GAME SHOOTING

made fast to the leathern rope, or 'trek tow,' by which they draw
the waggon , each pair -there were five to each waggon -to their
own yoke in the order they worked in the team, so that they
were ready and in right position for inspanning in the morning.
We were lying on this occasion by a large \N'angketsi village,
and the cattle had been kraaled rather to prevent them getting
mixed with those of the Wangketsi, as they were taken out to
graze at sunrise, than from any apprehension of an attack.
The three waggons were drawn up as usual on one side of the
enclosure, and the Kafirs were by their fires on the other. I
was asleep, but was roused by shouts, the discharge of a
musket, and the sudden rush of our pack of dogs. I found a
lion had sprung over a weak place in the thorn fence on to the
back of an ox, and, scared by the shouting, had jumped back
again the same way. According to tradition I know the ox
ought to have been in his mouth, but it wasn't. A lion will
drag ;>n ox by the nape of its neck anywhere, but he can't
carry it, much less jump a 6foot hedge with it in his jaws.
It was (juite dark, but by the gleam of the fires the men,
aroused by ihe panic of the oxen, caught sight of him, and
one of the Hollcnlot drix eis had taken a flying shot. The
dogs pressed hard upon him ; directly he gained the cover he
stood to bay. I suppose the poor things got hampered in the
bush, for presently two crawled up to us mangled and dying.
The hubbub went on for -^i -mc minutes, and then the lion,
frightened jjrobably by the tiring and yelling we could give
no other aid to our allies broke ba\, and ten dogs returned
exclusive of the two that had come in to die ; two were
still missing one of them a brindled bull terrier, which we all
knew must one day come to grief, for he was a most reckless,
determined brute, game to go in to anything. A few days
l)cfore, feeling offended at a pufl" adder — the worst of the Cupe
snakes hissing at him, he had «iei/ed it, and notwithstanding
the snake striking him on the head with its fangs, had stuck
to and killed it. Mis head swelled to an inunense si/e, but
he pulled through and recovered. With day we went to the

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

place where the scrimmage of the night before had occurred,
and there lay ' Tod,' as the Hottentots had named him, with
the other absentee, both dead. ' Tod ' had apparently run
straight into the lion's mouth, for the marks of the teeth were
visible enough over his back and loins. He was a rash fellow,
but he died an honourable death. The loss of dogs was a
very serious one, for it was through their fidelity and watch-
fulness we were able to sleep in comparative ease and safety.
.At the first sound or smell of danger they went to the fore, and
walked barking round and round with the lions, just keeping
clear of their spring or sudden rush, showing them they were
detected and that the camp was not all asleep. In the times
I am writing of 1 don't think it would have been possible,
save with a large number of armed watchers and fires, to have
kept your oxen in anything like safety without dogs. You
went to sleep in peace as soon as the dogwatc h was set and
the fires mad? up for the night. I-'ircwood was abundant after
passing the Molopo. A store of huge h)gs was collected directly
the waggons halted, and the blaze was kept up throughout
the night, the fires being shaken together and replenished
by anyone who chanced to wake ; and as their own safety
depended on it, the men were zealous in this j)art of their
duty.

By this time we had shi>t most of the kinds of game to
be found away from the rivers, in large numljers — Harris'.s
black buck potoquan {Ai^O'-cms uiger), and the beautiful hill
zebra {lu/ims montatius) excepted. The former I only saw
once during my five years in Africa, and never got a chance
at, and the latter I would not have shot if I could -he is
such a pretty, tiny, thoroughbred-looking thmg, the size of a
small Shetland |)ony, and the most playful little fellow imagin-
able, springing about the rocky hill-tops with the surefooted-
ness of an ibex. We had not yet fallen ui with elephants or
even seen their tracks. Three years after the time ot which
1 am writing 1 killed them frcMpiently to the south, but now
they were away to pastures new fur the time, and we decided

I. F

•I'

BIG GAME SHOOTIXG

on going on north to the lia-Mungwato country in the hope
of finding them.

On our way \vc halted at a small spring at the bottom
of a slight depression. It looked as if the water had once
been much larger, and might have occupied the best part
of the area. There was a trickling overflow, which, after
running a few yards, tumbled into a hole and disappeared ;
hence its name ' Lupapi,' or the ' Mouse.' This was the very

■

♦ I

•/ .■ -^^

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ij-

« , ,1 • •

1
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1 .^.

.■\ ni^lit attack — l.iipupi

worst place for lions 1 ever knew ; not st) nuicli fiom their
number as their insolent audacity. I stopped here on three
sep.irate occasions, and each time was molested more than
sufficiently. On this, the first, we had made, luckily, a very
strong kraal. The fires would not burn brightly, as there
was a misty rain falling. At lo p.m. or half-past we had
only just turned in when we were attacked in force by two
hons and a lioness. Our vedettes, the dogs, were driven in,
and the enemy charged down upon the cattle enclosure. The

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

noise, of course, woke us all, and clogs, Kafirs, Hotten-
tots, Murray and myself had our work fully cut out ; our
assailants kejn just outside the firelight, making savage
rushes at the dogs, but never giving us the chance of a
shot. I stood for a long time in very scant attire (some-
one brought me a jacket and trousers later on), my first
entrance to the scene being anything but noble, for on running
from the waggon to the front my foot caught in a creeprr, and
I fell heavily. The Kafirs behaved admirably, never } ielding
an inch, though the lions were very determined. After
half an hour or so wc nursed the fires into brighter glow,
and increased the circle of light around us, and things grew
rather calmer. We could hear every breath and angry purr,
tliough as we were looking into the dark we could see nothing.
I'or some time I made a Kafir stand beside me and throw
brands into the darkness, hoping l)y a gleam to get sufficient
indication of the whereal)outs of our foes for a shot but in vain.
I fired frccjuently as near as I could guess on the sj)ot where
the purring seemed to come from, and could hear the angry
beast make a dash at the pinging ball. Ikit I struck nothing
save the ground. However, we had checked the onset, and
now had only to keep on the alert. Just before the day broke
the siege was raised, and I was on horseback to look out a
better camping-ground for the next night. As I cleared the
low jungle which lay arountl us, a lioness broke away from
the edge of it and took across an opening beyond. She was
eighty yards from me, rather too long a shot for the old Purdey ;
but there was cover ahead from which I coukl not cut iier off,
and 1 was savage enough at her unwishetl-for attentions during
the night, for she was, no doubt, one of the three, and oh I how
glad I was when T heard the ball thud, and saw her stride
short. I mounted and rode her to a standstill in a couple of
hundred yards, when she squattiMl in front of a bush. I got
within twenty or twenty-five yards of her, intending to dis-
mount, but found I had fired all my k)ose balls away during
the night, and that the one in the barrel was ail I had to

1 .:

lUG GAME SHOOTING

rely on. 1 have a weakness for a second bullet, and backing
my pony a little further off I told my after-rider to go to the
waggon and bring me a fresh supply. He was only absent a
few minutes, I keeping watch on the lioness meanwhile On
his return I loaded the empty barrel, and, getting off for a
steady shot, found to my dismay that, although I could see
her well enough whilst sitting on my horse, the long grass
hill her entirely when on my feet. I could not remount,
for the after-rider had removed the horse, and it is not pro-
bable the lioness would have allowed me to do so without
interference. For a moment I was in a fi.x, but about ten
yards to my left I saw a dead mimosa-tree with a fork in it
five feet from the ground. It appeared my only chance,
though a risky one ; and 1 wonder to this day that the beast
did not charge when she saw the scrub moving as I i)assed
through it. She did not, however, and I gained my fork and
could now see her quite plainly, and she me likewise, for she
never took her eyes off for one second. Her head was full
front. I aimed between her eyes, but a twig must have
turned the ball, for I was firing from a rest, and it only bored
a clean hole through her ear. She struck it angrily with her
paw, and then faced me again. The second shot was more
successful, and she dropped dead. I had hit her the first time
very far aft, but I think she must have been more crippled
than I had sui)posed, or she would never have allowed me to
move about so clumsily without attempting a diversion.

The second attack, a year afterwards, was not so prolonged,
but the lions pressed the men so hard that they had to take
refuge between the fires and the hedge of the kraal, and the
beasts twice crossed the line of firelight in pursuit. The third
imbroglio at this water was more serious, but the initiative this
time was with me. John, my after-rider, woke me very early
one morning to tell me a lioness and her cub were drinking at
the sprmg, from which we were lying only 200 yards dis-
tant. Ordering him to saddle two horses -they had not yet
been loosed from the waggon-wheels to which we always

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY VFARS AGO

made them fast in pairs — I slipped on my clothes and, jum|)ing
on the back of one of them, galloped towards the s[)ring,
followed by John, half a dozen Kafirs, and the dogs, hoping
to cue off mother and child from the thick bush behind them.
r>ut they beat me ; and the dogs, taking the scent, followed
them. I'he Kafirs had come with me, [partly to see the fun
and i)artly, in case of my shooting the lioness, to catch the
cub, which, when it is (juite youiig, they manage to do l)y
chasing and dodging it, and throwing their short skin carosses
over it. They then roll it up like a baby in swaddling clothes,

with only its head out at one end and its tail at the other ;
round the bundle they wind a leathern riem or strap, and pass
the snarling though now harmless little beast from one to
another, saying pretty things of its fiithei and mother, aunts
and uncles, i\:c.

The dogs very soon brought the lioness to bay, and I
got within thirty yards, but from the thickness of the bush
could neither see them nor her. I shifted my i)osition once
or twice in the hope of making out what was going on, stand-
ing up in my stirrups looking for an opening, that I might
dismount and get a shot. Suddenly the barking of the dogs
and snapping snarl of the lioness ceased, and I thought she
had broken bay and gone on, but in a second I heard a roar
on the horse's right (juarter, in a different direction from that
into which I had been peering, and, looking round, saw
her with her mouth open, clearing a rather high patch of bush
twenty yards from me. There was no time to get off the
horse, and no possibility of a shot from his back, for the
charf^o was on his r/j,'^/// flank, and you cannot shoot to
till n..:ht. I did the only thing that I could — jammed the
spi i'^ in and tried to make a gallop of it ; but my follower
was itH close, and before 1 could get up full speed [
heard her strike the ground heavily twice in her bound,
and with the third she sat up behind me. She jumped
short, iiowever, and failed to get hold with her mouth, but
drove her front claws well into the horse's (juarters, and a

IMAGE EVALUATION
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Photographic

Sdences

Corporation

33 WrSV MAIN STRUT
WnSTfR.N.V. KS80

(716) 8'/i-;.iO'-

^-^.

BIG GAME SHOOTING

hind foot underneath him, and so clung, but only for a
moment ; for the poor beast, maddened by fright and pain,
and unable to stand up under the extra weight, became un-
manageable, threw his head up, and swerved under the project-
ing bough of a tree which, striking me on the chest, swept me
from the saddle aerainst the lioness, and we rolled to the ground
together. A sharp rap on the head, from my having fallen on a
stump, stunned me for a minute or two, and I woke to life to

' I'ost equitem sedet " fulva " ciini'— 'I'he lioness does the scansion

find John kneeling alongside ot me, asking me if I was dead,
which was a needless question, seeing I was at the time sit-
ting up rubbing my eyes. 'What's the matter?' I said, but
at the same instant I hea.d the dogs again baying fifty yards
off, and recollection came back. Rising to my feet, I stag-
gered like a drunken man, rather than walked towards the
sound, and ]iro[)ped myself up against a tree, for I was still
weak and dazed ; indistinctly I could occasionally see both
dogs and lioness. Presently, something broke through the

■Mi

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

thinner part of the bush, and I fired and wounded one of the
dogs. And the Honess, tired by the protracted worrying, and
startled perhaps by the sound of the gun, bounded off and
escaped without a shot. I have been often asked by those
who have seen the sketch,. 'Oh, but why did you not turn
round and shoot her from the saddle ? ' And all the answer I
could or can give is, ' It's easy to say but difficult to do,' and
that in a second we were on the ground together. The men
told Livingstone that the dogs came out so close upon the
lioness that she, rather flustered at being swept from the horse's
back, turned to fight with them, and took no notice of me.
\Ve caught the horse four miles off, and I sewed up and cured
his wounds, but he was never fit for anything again, bolting
dangerously at a stump or other dark object. A hard spin after
a straight-horned gemsbok killed him.

It was here at Lupapi that I first saw the wild dogs hunting.
I had gone towards the water on the chance of a shot, late
one afternoon, and as I got into the little flat in which the
spring lay, an antelope 'jroke through the bush on my right,
panic-stricken and blown, 'i'hirty yards behind it came the
wild dogs ; before it had gained the middle of the open si)ace
they ran into it, and though I was within 100 yards, they had
torn it nearly to pieces when I got up. They then retired a short
distance, sitting down and watching menacingly whilst I cut
away purt of the hind quarters, and the moment I turned my
back swooped down on their prey, dismembering and putting
it out of sight in an incredibly short time. They are ugly-
looking brutes, more like jackals than dogs, with great endur-
ance in running, and great grip of jaw. Three or four head
the pack, holding the scent. As they tire, three or four
others take their places, the p,ack running loosely after the
leaders.

We reached the kraals of the Ba-Mungwato, but met with a
surly reception. The chief wished to play the part of the great
potentate, and declined seeing us, sending messengers for
presents and specifying what they were to be. His envoys,

BIG GAME SHOOTING

however, returned empty-handed, with a reply that we were not
in the habit of giving without expectation of some return ;
that if we could not see him we would go to the next tribe ; that
we hr d come to hunt elephants in his country^ and to feed his
people ; but that if he did not W'ish us to do so, or would not
help us in our hunting, neither would we send him any gift
in anticipatior or on the chance of changing his mind,
adding that we should mention his politeness to other white
men, who would henceforth avoid him. So the day passed.
Two or three lounging fellows of the tribe told my men yarns
of Secomi's power and of the retaliation he took upon his
enemies, mentioning ifiter alia that we were encamped, having
been led to it by his orders, upon the very spot where last
year he had disposed of a party of Matabili who had come on
an embassage. Hottentots are open to swaggering stories,
but in this instance their credulity was confirmed when shortly
before sunset they rambled out in advance of the waggons,
and found that we were in a cul de sac, the hills closing in
round us 300 yards off and offering no jiassage through
them, and, horror of horrors ! on the ground lay a number
of human skulls.

They came back in great fear, and told us the result of
their explorations. We were not much disturbed, but I
thought it wise to take precautions against surprise, and
served out ammunition to the men, bidding them sleep with
their muskets handy and take their cue from us. The night,
however, passed quietly. About 7 in the morning news was
brought me that the great man was approaching with a number
of his warriors. I ordered the horses to be made fast to the
waggon-wheels and the oxen to be tied, ready for inspanning,
to the trek tow, and then allotted to each man his tree,
intimating very clearly that, in the case of a disturbance, they
were to follow, not set, an example, and that if anyone fired a
shot before I did, I would shoot him.

Secomi came up with his spearmen, and sat down op[)osite
mc, fifteen feet from our fire, where we were taking our morn-

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

ing coffee. Tvivingstone had sent a very fine old Bechuana
fighter with us as a kind of head mr.n, a most dignified superior
fellow, by name Syami (Ang/ia; I believe, 'stand firm'l, who
had won great renown in many a fight, and once, when wounded
badly and left for dead, on coming to had broken off the shafts
of the assegais, and crawled three miles on hands and knees to
a f'iendly village, with the irons still in him. This man we put
u\) as our champion, and for an hour and a half did he argue
in our interests, speaking with all the untrammelled fluency of
uncivilised man. We understood but little of what he said,
and that only by signs, not words ; but he was evidently very
eloquent. The chief at first would hardly listen to him, but
was by degrees brought to treat upon the matter, making sug-
gestions as to what presents would be likely to assuage his
wrath ; but we firmly refused to budge an inch from our
original lines, until he should give us a guide to the next
tribe, for after his conduct we told him we were determined
not to shoot in his country. There was no active sign of
hostility. The position Secomi had placed himself in with
respect to the muzzle of my gun, which lay across my knees,
exercised perhaps a calming influence ; but he would not help
us in any way, and steadily refiised guides. We were wearied
of the long discussion, and I called to the Hottentots to inspan
the oxen and loose the horses ; this operation was watched
intently, without remark, by the chief and his followers. I then
gave orders to turn the waggons, for I had the night before
ascertained the direction of the Bakaa Hills. As the oxen
slowly brought the heavy carts round and faced the other way,
I gave the order to trek, and the faces of the Ba-Mungwato
were a sight to see. 'I'hroughout the preliminary operations
they had watched us eagerly, believing us ignorant of the trap
into which we had been inveigled, and hoping that we should
go further on into it. I do not think they would even then
have attacked us, but their feelings would have been relieved
by our disappointment and the success of their arrangements.
The bird had, however, seen the snare and esca[)ed out of the

BIG GAME SHOOTING

hand of the fowler. They stood stupefied and crestfallen, and
the waggons moved on without a word or sign of opposition.
I brought up the rear with the loose oxen and horses. We had
gained 300 or 400 yards from the camping ground, which was
still in sight, when I heard the sound of running behind me,
and turning saw a man coming on at the top of his speed after
us. He threw up his hands to show he was carrying no arms,
and I grounded my gun and waited for him. 'What is it?'
' I am sent by the chief to take you wherever you like to go ! '
• Lead on to the Bakaa then ! ' and thus ended our first and
only difficulty with the natives.

On our arrival we found this people in a pitiable state ;
the crops had failed, and they were starving. The chief
welcomed us warmly, asked what we had come for, and on
receiving answer to hunt elephants, besought us to take his
people and feed them, putting his country and his services
at our disposal. On condition that his people during their
stay with me were to be my people, I accepted 600 men,
women, and children in the most terrible slate of starvation.
No v.hite man, emaciated as these poor fellows were, could
have walked ten yards the two bones in the lower arm and
leg were distinctly visible, and you could see them working in
the joints and attachments ; in truth, nearly the whole party
were bones covered with .skin, and poor skin too, for from
poverty of blood you could hardly have found a sound patch
large enough to lay a crown piece en. The chief introduced
three of the head men to me, and bade me hold them rtspon-
sii)le for the rest, and I did -and never had the very slightest
trouble.

We started for the hunting grounds next morning, and were
among the elephants in a day or two. There have been dis-
cussions as to who is king among the beasts, and to this day
the lion is generally given the title. Jiut look down that narrow
game-track. A lion is coming up it from the water. As he
turns the curve in the winding path he sees that a rhinoceros
or buffalo is coming down to drink. He slinks into the bush,

L^^

■M

«l

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

lies very low, gives them the road, lets them pass well by, and
then resumes his interrupted way. If this is the king, he is
exceedingly courteous to his subjects — one might even think
just a little in awe of some of them. King of the cats in Africa
he may be, and is ; but king of the beasts he is not.
• Come with me to a desert pool some clear moonlight night
when the shadows are deep and sharply cut, and the moon
herself, in the dry, cloudless air, looks like a ball. All is nearly
as bright as day, only the light is silver, not gold. Sit down on
that rock and watch the thirsty animals as they drink— buffalo,
rhinoceros, antelope, quagga, and occasionally, if the water is
large, lions too. But what has frightened the antelope and
quagga that they throw their heads up for a second and fade
away into the shadows ? The other beasts, too, are listening,
and now leave the sides of the pond. Nothing but the inevit-
able, irrepressible jackal, that gamin amongst wild things,
remains in view. As yet your dull human ears have caught
no sound, but very soon the heavy tread, and low, rumbling
note of an oncoming herd of elephants reaches you. They
are at the water. The jackals have sat down with their tails
straight out behind them, but not another creature is to be
seen. 'J'he king drinks. Not a sound is heard. He squirts the
water over his back, makes the whole pool muddy, and retires
solemnly, leaving his subjects, who now gather round, to make
the best of what he has fouled. This is the king in the
opinion of the beasts. You may think him a nervous monarch,
subject to panic, and 1 do not know that you are not right ;
but he has weight in the animal world, you may be as-
sured.

This African elephant is an uncomely, ragged fellow, with
his bad facial angle, huge ears, long fore legs, sliced off
quarters, and generally untidy appearance ; but he carries
fine tusks, and often givjs you a lot of trouble. I have
ridden nearly twenty nules on his spoor before coming uj) with
him, and liked him all the better for it. He is wanting in
ready wit, but is a wise, thoughtful being in his ponderous

BIG GAME SHOOTING

way, and a great hand at combination. He wishes to feed on
the top of a tree, finds it too strong for him alone, calls on a
friend or two, and, with an all -together swing, they bring it to
the ground. When at bay, he has a fancy for pushing down a
tree on your head and charging through the branches. His
friend tumbles into a pitfall— by the way, males very seldom
do, for, fearing no other animal, they carry their trunks down ;
the sensitiveness of that organ warns them of the danger, and
they will walk securely amongst a nest of these traps and
neatly uncover them, throwing the reeds and grass into the
air with scorn. The cows, however, are frequently taken,
for, anxious about their calves — which are often attacked
by lions — they carry their trunks in the air, feeling for a
chance scent of the enemy. The Kafirs sometimes lie in
wait by the w^ater near to which the pits are dug, and after
the elephants or other game have drunk, raise a shout, and
in the hurry of the retreat the living graves reap their harvest.
'I'hese pitfalls are lo feet long by about 9 deep and 4 wide
at the top, narrowing as they deepen, so that a large beast
gets jammed in them ; they are made larger specially for
elephants, and are most skilfully covered with reeds, grass,
and a few handfuls of sand. I have ridden into them
horse and all, and I have walked into them ; in the first in-
stance, I shook my feet out of the stirrups in time to prevent
my legs being crushed, and managed to scramble out from the
horse's back. In the second, walking on the high bank of the
Zouga River, I was rating one of my drivers in the river-bed
below for punishing his oxen, when I suddenly felt the
ground give way beneath me, and amidst a shower of dust and
broken reeds thought I could catch the sound of laughter from
the waggon — let us hope I was mistaken. Luckily this one
had no stake at the bottom, as many have. But we have left
our elephant in the trap too long ; let us return to him. His
friends at first run off panic-stricken, but often come back
affected by his piteous calls for help ; and, swinging their
heavy forefeet, strike the sandy soil with the front part.

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

cutting away earth from the end or side of the pitfall, quicker
than a navvy could with a spade, and at last successfully freeing
their companion, who stamps all the debris of the broken-
down sides beneath his feet, by helping him with their trunks
up the rough kind of incline they have made. This oc-
curred one night within 300 yards of our waggons ; we, ot
course, did not see the operations, but we heard them being
carried on, and the elephants talking to one another, and these
were the inferences the Kafirs drew next morning from the
foot-marks and appearances, and they assured me the case was
not uncommon. If the wariness of these heavy animals among
pitfalls is wonderful, not less to be admired is the way in which
they manage to clamber up trackless heights, and come down
by impossible-looking paths. A wall of rock 300 feet high is
before me ; immediately along the edge runs a shelf five or
six feet wide, in places so ])recipitous that you could only slip
down it, and even that at considerable risk, but ever it, in
Indian file, come eighteen or twenty elephants making their
way to the jungle below. As they reach the sharp inclines they
sit down, and thrusting their hind legs straight out under them,
as far forward as they can, they *go it,' as Albert Smith used
to say of the Alpine tourist, and everyone comes safely to
the bottom. They take readily to deep water, displacing so
much that only the ridge of the back, and upper part of the
head down to the eyes, show above the surface ; they carry the
trunk up and swim strongly. I have known them come to the
opposite side of a river, and finding the bank too steep to climb,
at once begin pounding it with their forefeet until they had
established a firm resting-j)lace for one gigantic rammer, and
then starting from their fresh point of departure, go on making
steps till the flight was complete— this was in India.

In elephant country we were always obliged to be very
careful, for a single shot at night will sometimes drive a herd far
away. Unlike the rhinoceros and buffalo, elephants seldom
drink twice at the same place in a river. This is partly due to
caution, though perhaps it may chiefly depend on their soon

! V.

BIG GAME SHOOTING

eating up a district, and having to seek new feeding grounds.
With this object they frequently travel great distances — fifty
miles or more — in a night. This will not appear so remarkable
if it is considered that the bulls often stand fifteen miles from
the water, and walk to and fro in the hot nights without
missing, though during the colder season they are contented
with alternate nights. In India, where vegetation is rank
and the forests dense, elephants hold on to the same
locale.

The ears of the African elephant are enormous — six feet in
length, and broad in proportion, though I never measured the
breadth. The lower end just touches the point for the side shot.
I was once hunting these animals in the Ba-Quaina country,
and had killed three, when a tiny dark wreath on the horizon
warned us of a coming thunderstorm. A South African sky is
for nine months quite free of cloud ; for 300 out of the 365 days
of the year the sun rises as glowing copper, and sets as flaming
gold, without a framing of any sort. A happy thought struck
me : I ordered the Kafirs to cut off an ear from one of the
dead elephants, and, lying curled up beneath it, I escaped a
wet jacket, though the rain came down in waterspouts, and
I stood six fp'jt. The scientists of the future may find occu-
pation for some time to come in developing the cause of ab-
normal ears, sloping backs, thorns at the ends of lions' tails,
and a number of other little peculiarities in beasts, birds,
insects and fishes ; but they ought not to delay, for many
types are already on the wane.

The elephant's head is wonderfully constructed. If it were
great masses of bone and muscle, the ligaments of the neck
would need to be of extraordinary power to support it ; but
between the larger bones, and in all admissible parts of the
skull, the spaces are filled in with a cellular, bony structure,
fulfilling both requirements of strength and lightness.

I believe some people suppose the Carthaginians tamed
and used the African elephant ; they could hardly have had
Mahouts Indian fashion, for there is no marked depression in

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

the nape of the neck for a seat, and the hemming of the ears/
when erected, would have half-smothered them. My know-
ledge does not allow me to raise any argument on this
point ; but might not the same market have been open to
the dwellerj^ at Carthage as was afterwards lo Mithridates,
who, I suppose, drew his supply from India, where they
have been broken and made to do man's work from time
immemorial? Vide friezes, carvings, pictures, stories, myths
innumerable — the last running back into obscurity— the ele-
phant holding in them the position of the 'gin' in the Arab
tales. Half the world has at one tiiue been the habitat of this
great pachyderm or its congeners. Siberia, with its fossil ivory
mines, and Europe everywhere, are its tombs. Destroyed or
driven south by some climatic change, India and Africa are
its present homes ; but in Africa the place thereof shall soon
know it no more, and to our great-great-grandchildren the old
' tlou ' will be as the mammoth is to us.

The elephant's age is a disputed point ; but, as no one has
quite decided, let me put it down at 200 years, upon these two
grounds : ist, that most animals live four or five times as long
as they take to attain maturity, and an elephant is certainly
not a ' man ' till he is fifty ; 2ndly, that I had charge for the
Government of a large take of elephants caught in a ' coopum '
in InJia. They were sometimes, while being broken, very
troublesome, and if they got beyond the control of the men
a tame elephant, ' Lachme,' was called in to 'whip' them.
Lachme had been a pagoda elephant sixty years ; we had the
record of her capture as a full-grown female. That makes her
upwards of a hundred, and she was then, in 1847, quite in her
prime, without a sign of old age, and I dare say is very much

' I know in the representations on the medals of I'austina and of Septimius
Severus the ears are African, though the bodies and heads are Indian ; Ijut
these were stnicl< nearly 400 years after Carthaginian times, when the whole
known world had been ransaeked by the Romans for beasts for their public
shows ; and I still think it possible that the Carthaginians — the great trar'.ers
and colonisers of old — niiiy have obtained elephants throtigh some of tiicir
colonies, from India.

BIG GAME SHOOTING

the same still. The young calves, too, are the smallest beasts
for the size they afterwards attain, and must take a long while
growing. Such tinies are they that I have had them run under
my pony, and touched their little pinky bodies with my foot —
poor morsels ! I never could shoot the female with any satis-
faction, and I think I never did at all but twice ; males were
plentiful enough.

Men differ as to the height of the African elephant. I have
seen thousands, and shot the largest one I ever saw. I measured
him, and he was 12 ft. 2 in. I have heard of one 17 feet high,
but I did not see him, and it is long ago, so perhaps he was
the last of the giants ! A tusk was exhibited in the African
Exhibition in Regent Street, in 189c, by Sir Edmund Loder.
It weighed 180 lbs. odd, and was by far the heaviest single
tusk known, I should suppose ; but I have been shown a pair,
303 lbs. and 9 feet in length. My largest ^rophy was rather under
8 feet long, and the pair weighed bt^vveen 230 and 240 lbs.
They belonged to a bull I killed on the Zouga ; he was the
smallest old one I shot in Africa — not more than 9 feet
high. I went out with John one bitter morning to provide
food for the camp, and, having dropped a white rhinoceros,
made for the waggons to get hot coffee and breakfast. On the
way we came across an elephant, its head entirely hidden by a
thick bush. Thinking, from its size, it was a cow, I was passing
it unnoticed, when John, with the desire, I suppose, of adding
to his collection of tails, begged me to shoot it. I fired, and
down went the bush, as, with a shrill trumpet, the elephant
trampled through it, disclosing nearly six feet of naked ivory,
over the curve ; so long were the tusks, and so diminutive tiicir
owner, that the points barely cleared the ground. A second
ball finished him.

The drier the country the smaller the elephants. On the
Limpopo the average height of the bulls was 1 1 feet, on the Zouga
and through the Kalahari 10 feet. The ivory of the smaller kind
was larger and, I am told, closer in grain. These tusks, which
are deposited by a gum, are very slow of growth ; and the molar

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

teeth, to ensure a supply for a long life, have always a young
tooth growing at the back of the alveolar process which pushes
out the old ones as they become worn.

Most of my elephants were killed from horseback with the
shoulder-shot ; the cover is rarely thick enough to allow you
to get within reach on foot. Besides, on foot you can seldom
dispose of more than two at a time; whereas from horseback,
under favourable conditions, you may double or even treble that
number. Sometimes you must crawl in, and then, of course,
you take the head shot if you can get it ; but you ought to i?e
within fifteen yards, on a line parallel with your quarry, just
a trifle in advance, and then a ball in the lower depression.
or temple, will, nineteen times out of twenty, be instant); fatal.
I see Sir S. Bakor does not believe in the front shot for
Africans ; 1 -lit, though as a rule I agree with him entirely, I
certainly have killed them by this. Their heads slope so
much backwards, however, that it often fails. In tolerable
ground there is but little diificulty ; but in thick bush there
is always some danger, more especially if you a^e particular
in choosing your tusks ; and in riding the bull you select out
of the herd there is a certain amount of knack — you settle
to him and then press him individually, disregarding the
rest of the herd for the time. He shoots ahead of his com-
panions, or turns round on you and charges ; in either case
you have gained your object — separation. If he charges, put
the ho- se to the gallop and let him follow you, the farther the
better. Watch as he slacks off, keeping about twenty yards
ahead, and pull up sharp when he comes to a stand. He is
too blown to charge again, and when he turns to go after his
mates he must give you his side ; one or two shots properly
placed at short range are enough, and you are away again after
the flying herd. The oftener you attack the easier the victory,
for the heavy beasts get tired, and in consequence are much
less difficult to kill.

The little elephant is an amusing imitatorof theway.sof his
elders. I have come upon cow herds with a number of very

I. G

BIG GAME 6H00TING

small calves. As the mothers move off, disturbed and trumpet-
ing, the little fellows fancy it their business to follow suit. Up
goes each tiny trunk with a penny trumpet and a fussy waving
to and fro. When frightened they run under their mothers,
and peer out in the most old-fashioned way ; and if you have
been unfortunate enough to kill the parent, they will often
follow your horse — poor little beggars !

The mothers, I think, as a rule, do not show so much
affection for their young as might be expected. They are
too nervous and easily affected to remain mistresses of them-
selves, and, so far as I have experience, forget their off-
spring in troubled times. You have occasionally striking
instances to the contrary, but they are the exceptions. In a
large herd of females I once shot a young bull, believing him a
good tusked cow ; as he dropped, a gaunt old lady, presumably
his mamma, fell out from the herd, and charged me at once.
I was on horseback and galloped away from her, as she had
shabby stumpy tusks, and though I was that day shooting
for the pot, there were plenty of others to choose from. She
turned back to the dead elephant, which lay in the opening
through which I had to pass to get at the others, and stood guard
over it, charging in the most determined way every time I
attempted to get by — which I had to do at last by allowing her to
follow me and then doubling on her. This scene I remember
more clearly than I otherwise perhaps should because of an ex-
traordinary sight. When I caught the elephants again they
were slinging down a hillside. Dismounting, I killed three
of them, two pitching on their heads and rolling over like
rabbits.

We shot through the country of the Bakaa for about seven
weeks, north and south of the rocky hills on which they lived,
and I was here first introduced to that giant tree, the baobab.
I was following elephant spoor on foot, with three or four men,
through thick thorns, when I found that they had led me off
the tracks ; and on looking up for a reason why, quite close to
me stood what at first I took to be the body of an elephant,

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

I threw my gun into my left hand to be in readiness, to the
amusement of my followers, who, knowing I had never as yet
fallen in with the baobab (Adansonia digitata), had led me a
little aside to grin at my astonishment. These quaint, enormous
trees seem to have belonged, like many of the animals of Africa,
to a bygone world, and, finding the present doesn't suit them,
they are taking their leave. A few of the old ones still remain,
but I never saw a young one. The largest I measured was
74 feet girth at four feet from the ground, and the smallest
45 feet, but I perhaps overlooked smaller specimens.

We had very good sport, unbroken by accident or anything
remarkable. Our starvelings had fattened day by day, and
were now shining and very merry and happy in their new skins.
Uncivilised man does not take long to pick up ; he only wants
food, and plenty of it. Shall I be believed if I say that Kafirs
will eat, if you give it them, from 12 lbs. to 15 lbs. of solid meat
in the day? It appears, I know, an impossible feat, but I can
vouch for it and partly explain it, too ; for in a short journey
with Livingstone, between the Chobe and Zambesi rivers, two
or three years after this, we had no sort of meal with us, and
were consequently obliged to live on meat alone. And I cer-
tainly thought the dear old Doctor was very greedy, for he
would eat 4 lbs. for his breakfast and the same or more for his
dinner. On telling him my opinion of his performance, he
retaliated, 'Well, to tell you the truth, I've been thinking just
the same of you ! ' The fact is that a very large quantity
of meat is required if nothing else is eaten. When I got back
to the waggons I tried giving two or three of the men a handful
of beans with their rations, and found they could not possibly
eat more than 3 lbs. ;f tlesh, the smaller mixed diet meeting all
the requirements of the system.

We had harried the country of the Bakaas a good deal,
and decided on seeking a new field along the banks of the
Limpopo, where we heard the game- elephants especially — were
in great abundance ; so, setting our heads about E. by S., we
journeyed '>nwards, and, travelling slowly, came to it on the

Q 2

BIG GAME SHOOTING

third or fourth day — the last twenty-four hours without water
for the cattle.

This day ought to be marked with a very large though dull-
coloured stone in my shooting annals. Murray made a long
detour to the N.E., intending to strike the river lower down
and follow it up to the encampment. I kept within easy
distance of the waggons, as I was anxious to see the cattle
watered and well cared for. I shot two large bull elephants
and a rhinoceros, and one of the drivers killed a giraffe and a
quagga. I think we must have been near the river, for men
were left behind to cut them up and dry the flesh, and I do
not remember any other water within reach. It was about
3 P.M. when we drew up on the bank, and I was sitting down
and enjoying the pleasant sight of the thirsty beasts taking
their fill, when 1 heard three shots in quirk succession three-
quarters of a mile down stream. It could only be Murray, for
there were no guns in the country in those days except our
own and those of the Boers far away to the eastward, and my
Kafirs would have told me soon enough had any stray party of
these been about. Again came shot after shot, and thinking
Murray was either in trouble or had fallen in with a herd
of buffalo, the spoor of which was very plentiful, I caught
one of the ponies, and putting the bit in his mouth, kicked
him along as fast as he could go in his waterlogged con-
dition.

Immediately opposite the sound of the guns the bush was
so thick I could not get through with the horse ; so, tying him
to a tree on the outside, I crawled in, and came upon a kind
of backwater from the main river, very deci), 150 yards long
by fifty wide, with high banks, especially the one opposite me,
on which sat the dear old laird blazing away right merrily his
after-ride'" helping him keep up the cannonade by loading one
of the guns. * What is it ? ' I shouted. * Look at those beasts,' he
replied — bang. * There again ^—Oatig, * Look ! ' he cried. The
pool was alive with monstrous heads, nnd though this was the
first time I had seen the hipi)opotanius in the flesh— fat, per-

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

haps, I ought to say — for we had then no friendly hippo in the
Zoo— there was no mistaking him.

I opened fire at once from my side at heads which showed
for a second above water and then disappeared below, again
to reappear ; and Murray kept pounding away from his. This
went on for a quarter of an hour, and nothing came of it ;
though the hippos were hit every time, not one of them seemed
to die — there was, apparently, the same amount of snorting,
puffing, and blowing — but no results of the thirty or forty shots
that had been fired, and yet the animals were within twenty or
twenty-five yards of us. ' Have you killed any, old fellow?'
I shouted, and the answer came back to me, * No ! ' At the
same moment a big bull made straight for the part of the bSnk
on which I was standing. Letting him get his forelegs clear
of the water, I fired within three feet of his head, blowing him
back, as it seemed, into the stream. ' Well, I'll swear I hit
him ! ' I roared to Murray. * Oh, I've hit all I've fired at,'
was his reply. The evening was closing in, and just before we
started Tor the waggons one hippopotamus floated up dead on
Murray's side. We looked at one another, and did not say
much of our shooting. Next morning, however, on the surface
of the creek lay fourteen huge bodies -a hippopotamus sinks
to the bottom when killed, and only floats when the gas
distends the stomach ; at least, that was our reading of the
riddle. It is the poorest of sport, and I never shot another
except for food. The young are very good eating, the flesh
resembling the most delicate pork.

We knew nothing about the tusks when we shot this first
batch, and so lost some valuable ivory. Large hippopotamus'
teeth were then worth 'ios. a lb., when elephant ivory would
bring only 5^. 6</., the former, I believe, being used for thr:
finest sort of inlaying and artificial teeth.'

The hippopotamus and crocodile live together in the same

• Sir S. Baker tells me these prices are altered now, and that in 189a
elephant ivory fetches from lax. to i8.f. a pound, and hippo's only from sj.
to lor., us the dentists have given up using it.

BIG GAME SHOOTING

rivers, and keep the peace, though on what pact I know not,
for the young of the former would be sucking-pig to the latter ;
I suppose there is a mutual agreement of bear and forbear.
The hippopotamus looks more like a retired publican than a
fighter, but whether he can bite or not, ask the canoes. The
little calves stand on the broad backs of their mothers as the
school moves from one feeding ground to another, and this
may be a precautionary measure, for I fear * Brer ' Crocodile is
not a very honourable fellow. I may mention as a curious
fact that once or twice I found his armoured skeleton fifteen
feet up in the trees by the river's bank. The Kafirs assured
me that it was thrown there by an elephant who had come
down to drink, and on whose trunk the crocodile had fastened,
whereupon the elephant in his fright and fury had kneaded him
to death and then, with a toss from his tusks, treed him. I
could see, and can suggest, no better explanation of his position
— high above even flood mark.

Next morning our now plump Bakaa came as a deputation,
assured us we had made their hearts quite white, and requested
leave to return to their kraals. It was granted, of course, and
a few days later, a*"ter drying their strips of meat and making
it up into large faggots, having requisitioned as carrit s a
number of Ba-Lala — a kind of poor Kafirs who hang on the out-
skirts of the more powerful tribes like pariahs or .mean whites,
and whose position I could never exactly make out — they set
out for their villages, each man, woman, and child staggering
under as much meat as he or she could possibly stand up
under. This one day's shooting of elephants and hippos had
given them over 60,000 lbs. They had large stores beside,
and every few days had sent back men with loads to their
chief throughout the whole time of their being with me. They
all went to their homes. Out of the 600 not one was missing^
sick or feeble.

We shot down the river for a month or five weeks. On
one of the last days, Murray and I rode out together. We
usually took our separate beats, and this is, as a rule, by far
the best plan, for men get jealous shooting against one another

SOUTH AFRICA FIFTY YEARS AGO

— the camp fires dull ; in this way, too, you learn more of the
country through which you are travelling. We had pottered
about, shot a giraffe, and some smaller game, when accident-
ally we lighted upon a herd of elephants. Now you very
seldom come across elephants by chance ; you have nearly
always to follow them for miles from the water ; but here they
were, and eight fine bulls too — nothing very large in tusks,
but all good. Though startled, they stood and fronted us.
We each took one of the flankers, firing at the point of the
shoulder. With a flourish of trumpets the whole eight charged
in a crescent — it was a grand sight — we turned and galloped
right and left, the bulls pressing after Murray, and in their
course driving up an old mahoho, who puffed and snorted,
and putting on full steam managed at last to get clear, in great
alarm. We only bagged a couple ; in after years with more
knowledge I should have got at least four single-handed.

The season was drawing on, and we set our heads south-
ward and westward towards Mabotse, and, shaking the dear
old Doctor and Mrs. Livingstone by the hand, went down to the
Colony, I to refit for next year, Murray to return to England.
I should have managed very well with the stores I had, but
from December to April you cannot keep your horses alive —
the horse sickness kills every one. This mysterious illness,
though an epidemic at the Cape, is endemic through the old
hunting grounds. It is said to be peripneumonia, and to arise
from the rank vegetation springing up after the first rains ; but
I think some other explanation of its cause than this must be
found, X.. he horses suffered just the same once when I was
crossing the Bakalahari desert rather too early in the season,
for I lost six in nine days. Bleeding to exhaustion seems the
only remedy, and one or two I certainly managed to pull
through by opening the veins at both sides of their necks
at once, and letting the blood run till I could push them down
with my hand. Had it not been for this we should never
have taken the trouble of the long journey to and fro, but have
remained quiet for the hot months, and then resumed the
campaign when the weather became cooler.

BIG GAME SHOOTING

CHAPTER III

SECOND EXPEDITION TO SOUTH AFRICA

, By W. Cotton Oswki.i,

Murray returned to England. I threw off my ivory at the
nearest frontier town, and laying in such fresh supplies as were
needed, and buying half a dozen horses to fill up the gaps, was
by the middle of April on my way to the Marique River, a
small tributary of the Limpopo, intending to shoot down it to
its junction, and then follow the main stream as far as I might
be able. The game was very numerous, and John was already
well on with his frieze of elephant tails round the inside of my
waggon. He always cut off the ' tips ' from the elephants I
shot, as a kind of tally ; and now that we did much of the
tracking alone, he was besieged on his return to camp by the
Kafirs, to find out how many tails he had, and whether the late
owners were fat ! They ran heel the next morning and left
men to cut, dry, and despatch the flesh to their respective
kraals ; a large number, and all the head men, remaining with me.
One morning, before I started, a Kafir came in with a letter
fastened in a cleft-stick, from 'a white man shooting on the
Limpopo, three days up stream from the junction of the
Marique'; it was from a Major Frank Vardon, of the 25th
Madras N.L, who, hearing I was within a short distance, pro-
posed to join parties and shoot together. I had been one
whole season and part of another at the work, and 1 thought
that a new comer of whom I knew nothing inight not be the
most desirable of companions ; he would very likely wish to

SECOND EXPEDITION TO SOUTH AFRICA 89

stop when I wished to go on, and vice versa, and I sent an
answer in this spirit; but, 'thanks be praised,' I repented of iny
churHshness in an hour after the depa-ture of the messenger,
and wrote a second letter, begging Major Vardon to ignore the
first, pardon my selfishness, and join me as soon as possible ;
and to the end of my life I shall rejoice that I did so, for in
three days the finest fellow and best comrade a man ever had
made his appearance,

I had been fortunate in finding elephants early, had shot
three fine bulls, and in consequence of having had a very long ride
the day before, after a herd we never came up with (we started
at 8 A.M. one morning and only reached the waggons again next
day at 7 a.m.), I returned to camp about 3 p.m., and introduced
myself to my new companion, who had just arrived. I will not
attempt co describe him — let every man picture for himself the
most perfect fellow traveller he can imaguie, and that's Frank ;
brightest, bravest-hearted of men, with the most unselfish
of dispositions, totally ignorant of jealousy, the most trust-
worthy of mates ; a better sportsman, and better shot than
myself at all kinds of game save elephants, and only a
little behindhand in that, because he was a heavy weight and
poorly armed with a single-barrelled rifle ; yet he was always
rejoicing in my success, and making light of his own dis-
appointments—and this man I had all but missed !

Sometimes we would take a day together after elephant or
buffalo, and occasionally we met by accident, our beats cutting
one another, and the sound of the guns showing our wherer.bouts.
Once having come together in this way, we saw the finest struggle
of brute force I ever witnessed. U'e were making tracks back
to the camp, walking our horses slowly along the bank of the
river, when Frank got off to shoot a waterbuck {Aigoceros el-
lipsiprymmis). A .shout followed ihe report of his rifle. Dis-
mounting, for the bush was thick, 1 soon joined him. In stalk-
ing the waterbuck he had come across buffalo, and had N^ounded
one, which with two others was still in view. 1 started in pursuit
and soon outran Vardon, for he was stout, one Kafir holding with

BIG GAME SHOOTING

I: I

me. Presently I was abreast of his animal, which was leaning,
hard hit, against a tree. I gave it a widish berth, not wishing to
finish Frank's work, and pressed on after the others ; but, just
as I passed, it made a plunge forward, and began to run again ;
at the same instant the bush was streaked with yellow, and
calling out, ' Come along, there's a lion ! ' I put on a spurt to
get first shot, carrying the gun at the trail, for one had to
stoop often under the branches of the thorns. After going
a hundred yards, I could distinctly hear the sharp snort of the
buflfalo, and muffled growl of its assailant, and knew that the
latter had got hold. I still ran on, looking out for a sight
of the combatants, when suddenly the man who had kept up
with me put his hand on my wrist, and, pulling rather harder
than he intended, stooping forwards and running as I was,
down I came over-balanced. * What is it ? ' I asked angrily.
* Look ! ' he answered. Within twenty-five yards a magnificent
fight was going on. Two other male lions had joined the one I
had first seen, and run blood-spoor till they had overtaken and
stopped the buffalo. They were now all standing rampant on
him, teeth and claws both at work, the gallant old bull doing
his utmost to hold his own against odds. He tried to gore
them, but they hugged his side, putting their bodies parallel
with his, and so escaping the thrust ; he swung the lion on
his right completely off" his legs, as you swing a child by his
arms. It was only by glimpses that you saw anything, for it
was an enfolding cloud of dust, out of which came every now
and again the black hide of the bull and the fulvous coats of
the lions. Every muscle of the attackers and attacked was on
the stretch. You felt rather than saw the terrible strain. Had
the buffalo been unwounded, even with the odds of three to
one against him, he would have left his mark. It did not last
much more than a minute — perhaps not even that— and then
the grand, old ' Nairi ' came to the ground, killed by the ball,
not by the lions.

The one of these which had attacked on the right came
round to his fellows, and they all three stood with their fore

SECOND EXPEDITION TO SOUTH AFRICA 91

paws on the carcase, and roared and growled their paean of
victory. Frank had come up ; we were too near to speak,
but I motioned him to take the Hon on the left, while I
covered the middle one. We fired together ; his fell dead
with a broken back, filling its mouth with bush as it rolled
over : my shot was rather a slanting one, went in through
the back ribs, and out somewhere forward ; at all events,
it was not fatal on the spot, for the lion sprang over the
buffalo without stopping to inquire where it came from ; the
third never moved, but kept on shaking the dead bull till I
had loaded again and killed him. I wish we could have
picked up No. 2, but the evening was closing in too rapidly
to allow us to track him any great distance, and we did not
therefore bring him to bag, as we must under other circum-
stances have done, for he was wounded to his death. It was my
clumsy first shot that was in fault, and Frank's want of a second
barrel. When a lion has fast hold of his prey with his mouth,
his eyes are nearly closed, and you may get quite close to
him, the folds of the skin of the face being driven up by
the constriction of the muscles of the jaws against the lower
lids : the Kafirs all recognise this fact.' Vardon was a very
deliberate shot, and used to take me to task for snapping too
much. But our weapons were different, his a finely-sighted
rifle, mine a very open-sighted smooth-bore.

He gave me quite a jobation one day, in the presence of a
living lion, not ten yards from us, when he delivered his text.
It happened on this wise. The waggons were halted for the
night, on the bank of a deep ' nullah.' There were no elephants
to alarm in the neighbourhood, so I strolled out on the chance
of a shot. It was late in the afternoon, 4 p.m., and I could
hear Vardon talking to his men two hundred yards off, as
he came back to camp. Whether roused by his voice, or by

' Mr. Wolfs sketch does not quite bear out this statement ; when he
was drawing it I forgot to mention the peculiarity. I am, however, able
to indicate it in the illustration, thanks to the courtesy of Mr. Caterson
Smith, who altered the plate in accordance with my suggestion.

BIG GAME SHOOTING

sight of me I don't know, but a lion broke from the bottom
of the nullah, and scrambled up the opposite bank. It was
a longish shot, and I think I missed. In two or three
minutes, exactly at the spot the lion had gained the bank,
Vardon and his party appeared ; I ran through the hollow, and
telling him what had just happened, we put the Kafirs on the
trail and followed. We had not gone a hundred yards before
one of the men made signs to us to stop, and through the very
patch of bush in which we were standing the beast came head-
ing down again to the thickly-wooded ravine. He really was
not more than eight feet from us, but a dry bush was between.
I dropped on my knee, and when he was slightly in advance
fired. It is always better to let a. passing lion get a trifle ahead
of you ; there is more chance of a kill, less of a charge. The
ball struck well behind the shoulder and went right tlirough
him. He bounded on, dabbling the bush on either side with
blood, and then dear old Frank began to blow me up for firing
too quickly. In this instance, I really had not done so, but
he had not got his rifle off, not having a clean sight, or he was
desirous that the game should get clear of the partially covering
scrub. We never picked up this lion, for a wind arose in the
night and blurred the spoor, and he had not died in the long
grass, for we burnt it ; his loss was always scored against me.
Opinions are very various about lions. There is the young
lady's lion, a noble generous animal, that always kills his own
mutton, and refuses all butcher's meat ; and the young gentle-
man's, whose experience, perhaps, began at Wombwell's, and
ended at the Zoo. His is a cowardly, sneaking brute, a regular
cur. There must be lions and lions. Those I have met with
are not above eating what may be before them, asking no
questions for conscience sake ; but as a rule, if you will take
my advice, you will hold as straight as you can when you pit
yourself against a lion ; and if you accept all chances without
picking and choosing, you'll now and again find yourself in a
warm corner. Lions are not so plentiful as blackberries, or even
as buffalo, and perhaps it's better so. I do not think his rush is so

SECOND EXPEDITION TO SOUTH AFRICA 93

quick or so resolute as a tiger's, and he has a much better head to
hit ; still, he looks ugly enough when, with mane standing out
as if electrified, and with a short, barking roar, he comes down
to the charge. He will not, except when hard pressed by hunger,
or when accustomed to feed off human carcases lying about after
fights and raids, attack man m the daytime unprovoked. A
surly beast, awakened suddenly from sleep, or disturbed while
feeding, might be nasty ; but he nearly always retreats before
man, for the fear and the dread of one of Noah's family are still
a tradition with wild beasts. But even in the cases above
mentioned his conduct very much depends on yours. In the
daylight wild animals, especially the wildebeest and quagga,
show but little fear, running up to within fifty yards, and gazing
at him as if fascinated.

In my first journey I hunted for many weeks with a party
of Bushmen, and gained many valuable hints about b,asts and
their ways from them ; and, with regard to the lion, I learned
that if you came unarmed on one, your best chance was to
stand still and he would move off, but that if you turned and
ran, he was nearly sure to make after you. Three times in
my shooting life have I tested this advice — once on horseback,
twice on foot. On the first occasion, without a gun, I came
quite unawares upon a sleeping lion. He woke, stood up, and
we looked at each other for a few seconds. Then he turned,
walked away very slowly for thirty or forty yards, as if he
wished to convey the idea that he was only moving to get out
of such low society -throwing his head first over one shoulder,
then the other, to see what impression he was making — and
directly he thought he -/as out of sight broke into a lumber-
ing gallop. If he shows an inclination to hold his own
when met, the Bushmen stoop, and, with their hands resting
on their knees, begin to walk very slowly towards him. He
raises his head and watches the man suspiciously, trying to
find out what he is about, anr' then, turning, retreats. I would
not say that this plan would b always successful, but I firmly
believe it is the best to try nen you are unarmed. I have

ttl

BIG GAME SHOOTING

even stood thus twice opposite a wounded lion with an empty
gun. Had I fallen back I feel certain my vis-a-vis would have
attacked, for he was in neither case so crippled as to be unable
to follow and overtake me. When the cubs are very small the
male will show fight, to give the lioness a chance of making
off with them, but this is rather a demonstration than real
business.

I do not think our South African lion can be nearly so
formidable as the North African, for I had the pleasure of
once meeting the famous P>ench sportsman, M. Gerard, and
the animals he described far exceeded any I ever met with in
size and ferocity ; perhaps the climate and the constant badger-
ing they get from the Arabs may be sufficient to account
for the differences. Of course, if you take the war into his
camp, he will fight, and he is a very dangerous opponent,
from his quickness and strength. I see Sir Samuel Baker
believes that he possesses more power in his paw than the
tiger. I would not be understood as disputing such excellent
authority ; but a tiger can give a tidy pat, too — I have seen
him smash in an ox's head at a blow. Again, I have spoken
of the lion as less resolute in his charge ; but Sir W. C. Harris
asserts that he is never stopped. This is not my experience,
for I have sometimes known him brought up short by com-
paratively trifling wounds, and one actually by the cutting
away of an eye-tooth by the bullet. He has two very distinct
cries besides his roar and charging bark, one when questing,
the other when full. Lying by the fire at night, Kafirs will
start up at once and pile on wood if they hear the low pant-
ing moans of the first ; of the second they take no notice,
unless you call their attention to it. * Oh, he's full ; he's going
home singing.' I have once or twice taken the grunting of the
cock ostrich for the note of the lion. It is much shallower ;
but it has deceived me. The Kafirs never make the mistake.

People looking at the original sketches of the pictures
which are engraved in this book have often asked me how
I felt at the time of the accidents. Much as other men would,

SECOND EXPEDITION TO SOUTH AFRICA 95

I suppose, is all I can reply. We all belong to the same
family. When trouble threatens, you shoot very straight, your
muscles are rigid and steely for the time ; if you come to grief
the whole of your mind is bent upon getting away, and on
that only. Some men have more of their wits about them
than others, no doubt ; but all pale faces must yield to the
black skins in this particular. A man was cutting long grass
to thatch one of Dr. Livingstone's outbuildings when he came
upon a buffalo, which charged. The man ran some little
distance, but noting a slight depression on the ground, like a
shallow ditch, threw himself down flat into it, holding on to
the bush and grass with his hands. The points of the buffalo's
horns turn in, bowing out the middle — there was, from the
man's position, a difficulty in getting the points to bear, and
before the bull could arrange matters satisfactorily to himself
his nose came close to the Kafir's body ; in an instant he
had hold of it, and pinched and wrung it sharply. The nose
is the buffalo's tender spot, and this happy thought of the
native was sufficient to rid him of his assailant. Livingstone
told me this story. 1 did not see it enacted, but I believe it ;
and it is illustrative of such presence of mind as would hardly
be found in the European — living amongst wild animals and
inheriting from generation to generation the instinctive know-
ledge of their natures, tt would be surprising if the blacks were
not in such things our superiors.

The buffaloes were in immense herds along the Marique
River. As we were coining home one night rather later than
usual from hunting, a white rhinoceros with a calf insisted on
stopping the way. It was bright moonlight, and easy to shoot
her J but the country was full of elephants, and I was very unwill-
ing to scare them. We tried every way to get her to move, but
no, she would not. We pelted her with pieces of wood, abused
her roundly, and the men threatened her with their assegais,
all to no purpose. At the last, very unwillingly, I was obliged
to fire. She ran a little distance and dropped dead ; but the
report of the gun had awakened the whole forest to the left of

BIG GAME SHOOTING

\ \

us into life, unheard, unseen before. I rode up to the edge,
it was a mass of struggHng buffaloes jammed together. The
outside ones, startled by the shot, and having got sight of our
party, bore back upon the main body ; hoof and horn, horn
and hoof, rattled one against another, and for some distance
I rode parallel with a heaving stream of wild life. I cannot
pretend with any accuracy to guess their numbers, but there
must have been thousands, for they were packed together like
the pictures of American bison, and any number of ' braves '
might have walked over their backs, so far as I could see, for
any distance. In the moonlight, I could only, to be sure,
make out my side of this seething river.

Two marches from the junction of the Marique we found
elephants in such large herds that we halted a week or ten
days, and the ivory as it was brought in was piled up under my
waggon. Once whilst here, after a long day's tracking, the
night caught us and we had to lie out. We found water, but
had no food - for you never shoot on elenhant spoor for fe"r
of disturbing your game, or losing your men, who settle doA^n
like vultures to eat. Kafirs hunt best hungry. It was a bitterly
cold night, and how the men without clothes got through it I
don't know. I had no extra covering, it is true, save my saddle-
cloth, a square of blanket 3 feet by 3 ; but we made a large fire,
and lay all round it like the spokes of a wheel, and I don't re-
member feeling much inconvenienc ?, though I was a little stiff
in the morning, for the fire had burnt low, and the ground, except
where we had lain, was white with frost. One of the men had
kindly roused me about midnight, with nn invitation to partake
of a tortoise he had caught and was stirring tenderly in its shell
among the warm ashes. I declined with thanks. We were all
quite fresh and merry when the sun thawed us, and as we neared
our waggons we heard shot after shot in the bush around, every
now and then catching sight of a buffalo. I thought Vardon had
turned out with the drivers for an early ' battue ' very much
against his custom, certainly — l)ut who else could it be ? The
mystery was solved directly I reached our encampment, for on

SECOND EXPEDITION TO SOUTH AFRICA 97

the opposite bank of a small stream, which here ran into the
Limpopo, I saw two waggons unmistakably Dutchmen's. I was
disgusted enough that anyone should dare to come poaching
on our manor. But what was to be done ? They were many,
nine or ten, and we were but two. After breakfast one of my
Hottentots, who had been herding the oxen in the direction of
the Boers' waggons, brought a message, or rather an order,
that I was to go over to them. I returned for ansv er that if
they wanted anything they could come to us. They took it
quite in good part, and about ten o'clock, after ascertaining
from my boys of what our party consisted, seven or eight of them
crossed the stream and made their way up to our camp, having
the good taste to leave all their roers behind. We had a
friendly chat, coffee and tobacco playing a considerable part
in it, and filling up the gaps in my rather incomplete Dutch.
Dear old Frank could never be induced to believe that Dutch
was anything but bad English, and would occasionally put in a
word or two of this latter in the worst grammar and pronuncia-
tion he could improvise. We smoked and we drank coffee, and
we were amicable exceedingly, when one of my guests chanced to
see the ivory under the waggon. They all got up to look at
it — where did it come from?— who shot it? I said I had, and
during the last few days. Alone ? Yes, alone. ' That must be a
lie. A poor lean fellow like you could never have shot such a
splendid lot of tusks.' They appealed to my drivers for the truth,
and when we returned to our coffee-pot, made an astonishingly
liberal proposal that I should join and shoot with them, and
take half the ivory killed by the whole party. They were in
earnest, and I had the greatest difficulty in getting off ; but I
have reason to believe it was through the account of these
Boers, and of another paity I met at Livingstone's station at
Mabotse, that I received the most courteous message from
Praetorius, who was then their chief, that he ho|:ed I would
visit Mahalisberg, and that I should find a hearty welcome
throughout Boerland. They had a wholesome dread of traders,
who for ivory might supply the natives with muskets and am-
I. H

BIG GAME SHOOTING

munition, and thus render them recalcitrant, and they had
found out I didn't and wouldn't trade ; indeed, the story
among them was that on a native bringing a tusk to my
waggon for sale I threatened to shoot him then and there !

Vardon was the most enthusiastic rhinoceros hunter j he
filled his waggon with horns as I did mine with ivory ; he used
to shoot four or five every day, and there was always a fresh-
ness about the sport to him which seemed remarkable. He
was an all-round shot, but best at rhinoceros. The mahoho
is not bad eating — by the way, his hump is excellent — but there
is a good deal in the cooking of pachydermata. We had a
capital cook at the waggons, and had eaten elephant's trunk
many and many times. Two or three days farther down the
river the men told me they had heard of a fine herd of bull
elephants, about thirty miles off; as there was little water, or
at all events not sufficient for the oxen, they begged me to take
only a couple of horses and sleep two nights away from the
waggons. John and I started accordingly with our guides, and
at 5 p,M. reached the small spring where we were to halt.
Early next morning news came of two tuskers being close by,
and it was proposed 1 should begin with them and go after the
large herd next day. I soon found and shot them. One, a
very fine l)ull with large tusks, charged viciously after getting
a ball through the thick end of the heart. The men brought
it to me to look at when they opened him. We took a lump of
the trunk, and returned to our sleeping place - only one woman
had remained, the rest were off to the dead elephants. We
were hungry, and John proposed we should cut part of the
trunk into small lumps and boil them. On the fire they went,
and on they were still three hours afterwards. John, who
was a very hungry fellow, kept prodding the pieces with a
pointed stick to see if they were fit to eat, but they were still
springy. At length we voted them done and tried to chew
them, but they were exactly like bits of india-rubber, and we
could make no impression. The woman, seeing our difficulty,
made us scrape a hole under the fire, roll the trunk up in its

SECOND EXPEDITION TO SOUTH AFRICA 99

skin, put it in the hole and draw the ashes and fire over it, and
in two or three hours it was done to a turn and excellent food.

Next day, about 4 p.m., we came up with the herd we were
looking for — eleven bulls, all well furnished with ivory. It
was so late in the day that we were in doubt whether to attack
or leave them till the morrow, but as there was no water for
the horses, I decided to go in at once, the more so as the
elephants were standing lazily among thin bush in an easy
country. Looking for the finest tusks, I rode out and killed
the first bull without any trouble, but the next two gave plenty,
and took more time than I had reckoned on, and the night
closed in so rapidly that I was obliged to give up further
attempts ; had there been sufficient daylight I always thought
I should have shot them all, for they were so tired and dis-
inclined to run that they walked sulkily a little distance and
then stood again. The men never forgave the want of light,
and often asked me afterwards to press a herd till they were
done up and then shoot them all, a programme difficult of
execution as a rule — this might have been the exception.

I had dismounted, and we were making our fires when an
elephant trumpeted fifty yards from us. He had probably lost
his friends in the scrimmage and was trying to find them. I
got within twenty-five yards of him, but could only see very
indistinctly a mass of something, though he stood in rather an
open place. There was no chance of my stalking any nearer.
I might have run forward and got a shot, but it was too dark
to play tricks. John squrUed with the second gun and
whispered to me to do the same, and, gazing steadily against
the sky, I could now make out the elephant enough to tell his
head from his tail-end. I fired — a shoulder-shot —and, stumb-
ling a length or two, down he came. It was a good day's
work, though it might, as I have said, ha\ li been better ; but
four first-rate bulls and at least 500 lbs. of ivory lay within a
space of three or four acres, and there wer°, besides, the two
I had killed the day l)efore, one of which had very heavy teeth.

We lit our pipes and smoked quietly for a time, and then

II 2

[OO

BIG GAME SHOOTING

remembered that we had breakfasted early and that we ought
to be hungry and thirsty. The Kafirs suggested that as the
elephants had probably come from the water in the morning,
we should find some in their stomachs, and they immediately
set to work and opened a large tusker that was lying close to
our bivouac. They found what they sought and, after a good
pull, invited me to partake. I was very thirsty, and they seemed
to ha\e enjoyed their drink, so, by their directions, placing
a small bunch of grass as a filter, I took a mouthful, but —
well ! I immediately got rid of it— it was simply nitric acid.
As the elephant was opened, however, the men were not going
without dinner, and though I dare say it was horrible, there
was at the same time something grand in the sight of the
dark forest, lit sufficiently by the ruddy firelight to deepen the
gloom beyond, with the naked savages, their blazing torches
in their hands, walking about inside the caverncus ribs. A
few choice morsels from the undercut of the sirloin broiled on
the embers made a palatable supper, and, putting our feet to
the blaze, we all fell asleep.

Whiz ! tao ! ' 7vhiz ! woke me some time during the night,
and, sitting up, I found the Kafirs throwing brands from the
fire and shouting. A lion, no doubt attracted by the smell of
blood, was tearing at the inside of the disembowelled elephant.
I just got a glimpse of him, but it was too momentary for a
shot. We slept, and were not again disturbed. I gave the
dead beasts to the Ba Lala who had brought the information,
telling them to send me the tusks, and returned to my waggon.
The dozen were duly delivered in four or five days' time, though
the waggons had gone fifty miles farther down the Limpopo.
It was always so. Once the chief of a large tribe of Bushmen
came running — as we were inspanning for the march — with a
request that I would shoot two elephants, which he had just
seen coming up from the river, for him and his people. I was
very unwilling to stop the trek ; telling the men therefore to go
on, and saying I would overtake tbem, I jumped on a horse and
went off with my Bushman, he keeping well in front, though I

SECOND EXPEDITION TO SOUTH AFRICA loi

was making a sharp canter of it. Through the bush, on to the
open plain, and the game was in view. I dashed ahead. One
had good tusks, and I settled down to him. He soon turned
on me. I had been shooting buffalo the night before, and as
there was only an ordinary charge in the gun, wishing to get rid
of it, I fired at long range — forty yards, I dare say. The horse
was fidgety, and the ball struck eight or ten inches below the
backbone ; to my astonishment, the bull took one stride and
settled down quite dead. The bullet had cut the aorta. His
companion had such small teeth I let him go free, and, making
the carcase over to my Bushman, who was astounded at the
easy way the animal had been disposed of, and telling him to
keep the tusks till I returned, I galloped after my waggons.
Three months passed before I was again in the neighbourhood ;
but while yet thirty miles off, the man, hearing that I was
coming on, brought the ivory to me. I was delighted to
gladden his heart and reward his honesty with a present of
beads and brass wire.

But the saddest of days was at hand. I had one pre-
eminently good horse, the very pick of all I ever had in Africa
— fearless, fast, and most sweet-tempered. Returning to camp
one evening with a number of Kafirs, tired and hungry after
a long day's spooring elephants, which we never overtook, 1
saw a long-horned mahoho standing close to the path. The
ength of his horn, and the hunger of my men, induced
me to get off and fire at him. The shot was rather too
high, and he ran off. I was in the saddle in a moment,
and, passing the wounded beast, pulled up ten yards on one
side of the lino of his retreat, firing the second barrel as he
went by from my horse, when, instead of continuing his course,
he stopped short, and, pausing an instant, began to walk de-
liberately ♦^owards me. This movement was so utterly unlooked
for, as the white rhinoceros nearly always makes off, that,
until he was within five yards, I sat quite still, expecting him
to fall, thinking he was in his ' flurry.' My horse seemed
as much surprised at the behaviour of the old mahoho as

I02

BIG GAME SHOOTING

I was myself, and did not immediately answer the rein, and
the moment's hesitation cost him his life and me the very
best horse I ever had or knew ; for when I got his head round,
a thick bush was against his chest, and before I could free
him, the rhinoceros, still at the walk, drove his hoin in under
his flank, and fairly threw both him and his rider into the
air. As he turned over I rolled off and fell in some way
under the stirrup-iron, which scalped my head for four inches
in length and breadth. I scrambled to my knees, and saw the

Death of Stael

horn of the rhinoceros actually within the bend of my leg ;
but the animal wavered, and, with the energy of self-preser-
vation, I sprang to my feet intending to run, for my gun was
unloaded and had fallen from my hand. Had I been allowed
to do so this story might never have been t'^M, for, dizzy as
I was from the fall, 1 should have been easily caught. Tot-
tering a step or two, I tripped and came to the ground a
little to the right of the creature's track. He passed within
a foot without touching me. As I rose for the second time

SECOND EXPEDITION TO SOUTH AFRICA J03

my after-rider came up with another gun. I half pulled him
from his pony and mounting it caught and killed the rhino-
ceros. The horn now hangs over the entrance to my front
door.

That day Frank happened to lie again hunting in the same
direction as myself, and, hearing the reports of my gun, hoped
I might have come up with the elephants I had started after in
the morning. He found me sitting under a bush, hatless, and
holding up the piece of my scalp with the blood streaming down
my face, or, as he afterwards described it to Livingstone,
* I saw that beggar Oswell sitting under a bush holding on his
head.' A few words told him what had happened, and then
my thoughts turned to Stael. That very morning, as I left
the waggons, I had talked to him affectionately, as a man
can talk to a good horse, telling him how, when the hunting
was over, I would make him fat and happy, and I had played
with him and he with me. It was with a very sore heart I put
a ball through his head, took the saddle from his back, and
started waggonwards, walking half the distance (ten miles), and
making my after-rider do likev/ise. Unless a man has been
situated as I was then, it is difficult to make him understand
all that the loss of a good horse means. You cannot even fill
up his place in quantity, let alone quality. In this part of
Africa, at all events, your success depends enormously upon
your steed, for the country is generally too open for stalking, and
he carries you up to your game, in most instances, as near as
you like, and it is your fault if you don't succeed. Had I been
the best shot that ever looked along a rifle, and made of steel,
I could have done but a trifle without horses, in comparison
with what I accomplished with them. Armed as I was with
a smooth-bore not very true with heavy charges at over thirty
yards, it was a necessity to get as near my game as possible.
I am not vain of my shooting — I can do what I intend pretty
well at from ten to twenty-five yards— but I would have given
the best shot in the world without horses very long odds ;
besides, from the saddle you see so much more of the country.

I04

BIG GAME SHOOTING

and are so much more at your ease, and your attention for
everything that surrounds you is so much more free.

On horseback your whole day is a pleasure to you, mind
and body, whereas on your legs it is often a wearisome, un-
successful tramp. Men going into Africa for shooting should
be very careful in the selection of their mounts, and get the
aid of some local friend or trusty acquaintance in their pur-
chase, remembering always that five good horses are worth
ten moderate ones and five brutes. For a season's shooting eight
to ten trustworthy animals, and five not quite so costly for your
after-rider, will, with luck, be an ample provision. The number
seems large, but there are accidents, sore backs, hard fare, and
hard work to be taken into account. You may sometimes do
with fewer no doubt, but there ought to be a margin for loss.
Men who go to Africa with the idea that the game will come
to them to be shot will find their mistake ; ' Dilly, dilly, come
and be killed ' is not sufficient to fetch the African fauna.

Among my horses, I had many unbroken for riding ; they
had, I fancy, all been driven. I once bought a whole team —
eight — out of a waggon. On my way up from the colony to
the shooting ground I used to amuse myself by breaking them
in. The method was expeditious, though primitive. We
saddled a quiet old stager and tied the young one to him,
neck to neck, allowing about two feet length of coupling, by the
riem, or leathern thong which every horse habitually wears for
knee haltering, or fastening up at night. By degrees, with coax-
ing, we got the saddle and bridle on, and then I mounted the
young one over the back of the old, on which John or one of the
Hottentots got astride. There was a little trouble at fist with
the pupil, but as he could neither rear nor back, and might
kick as long as he liked, I sat quietly until he was tired, and
then, putting the broken horse into a slow walk, persuaded him
to follow suit ; he generally did so, and after a mile or two,
when he had become accustomed to my weight and move-
ment in the saddle, I lengthened the coupling, little by little,
and once or twice I have cast it off altogether and let him

SECOND EXPEDITION TO SOUTH AFRICA 105

go free alongside the other in the first day's march ; but
generally two or three lessons are necessary, and it takes a
week or two to give him anything of a mouth. The principal
trouble with the Cape horses is the inbred trick of bucking, of
which I think they are hardly ever cured ; they may behave
well for a time, but just when you want them at a pinch, the
vice recurs, and they leave you in a hole. Some, when hard
worked and brought low, will go peaceably an ordinary journey,
but anything unforeseen happening is apt to upset them. I
had a very good-looking chestnut I bought out of a team, and
broke to saddle myself, and he went well and steadily. One
day something put him out, and he began bucking, not in the
straightforward style of the trained horses of the Wild West
Exhibition, which is ditificult enough to sit, but in what we
at the Cape call the half- moon, which is much worse, when a
horse, without any warning, while going quite quietly, suddenly
puts his head and neck well down between his forelegs and
bucks right or left in a semicircle. I have heard many men
say they can sit it, and perhaps, if expecting it, you might do
so ; but, in my experience, you nearly always part company.
At all events, I and my chestnut did, four times, in as many
minutes. The first time I was encumbered with the gun, but
the three others were fair spills. I am sorry to say I lost my
temper and meant shooting him, but thought better of it, and
rode him down thin, keeping him so with work, till he was
killed by the fly. Greys are not common at the Cape, and
unless first rate, don't buy one for elephant hunting ; you
will be seen sooner and longer, and pursued further in the
charge. I had a cream-coloured dun, and sometimes it was
very difficult to shake off his followers.

I found a very light S«^cheeked curb bit, single-reined,
work well — you often need to turn quickly. I wore hunting-
spurs, and kept my hands quite free for gun and rein. The
horses were unshod and sure-footed. Introduce them, if
possible, gradually to their work by letting your after-rider use
them a few times. He is always out of danger, and if once

io6

BIG GAME SHOOTING

accustomed to the sight of an animal at a respectable distance,
they can soon be driven up alongside of it, and get as eager in
pursuit of elephant and large game as their riders.

By neglecting this rule, I very nearly came to grief on an
afterwards capital pony. It was his debut, and a wounded
elephant charging with a scream, so terrified him that he was
paralysed with fear, and stood stock-still after turning round ;
spurs had no effect, and how we escaped I cannot now
tell. The bull came within a few feet of his tail and then
wheeled. I can only suppose he got the scent of the human
being, for he was quite near enough to have swept me from
the saddle with his trunk. By a little careful treatment this
pony became a very valuable one, and I once in after days
shot 120/. worth of ivory from his back in half an hour. Have
nothing to do with a vicious or uncertain tempered horse.
If you find you have been taken in with such a one, shoot
him ; the first loss may not be so bad as the last. Never
ride a stumbler up to anything that bites or butts. I had one,
and he twice fell with me before a charging elephant. Luckily
I did not come off, and pulled him up just in time to escape.
Horses used to be cheap enough, but I dare say the price has
risen. I mounted myself well from 7/. 10s. to 15/. apiece.
Your ponies — for they are hardly more — ought to be quick get-
ting their leg;?, and a turn of speed is desirable ; for though in the
open it is easy sailing away from an elephant, in l:.ush or broken
ground for 200 yards he will sometimes pre-s j. slow horse.

I was once, in particular, hard put to it by a smart though
rather small bull. I had fired both barrels, and on he came.
I might have had twenty yards' start, but for the first 100 he
gained on me, and I had to ride as if in a close finish. A
good Hantam horse is an exceptionally tough beast. Whilst
at ' Oologs Poort,' a farm then in the occupation of a Mr.
Nelson, I was buying mounts, when a Hottentot riding a neat
round-ribbed bay came in with a return-letter from the town
of Cradock, as far as I remember, seventy miles distant. The
horse's appearance pleased me much, and though I found the

SECOND EXPEDITION TO SOUTH AFRICA 107

owner, a Mr, Cock, at first unwilling to part with him, I at
last purchased him for 15/. — a large price then ; but he was
worth it. He hac- just done his 140 miles in thirty hours,
including five houis off saddling at Cradock. I was unfortunate
with my horses, and lost this one early in the campaign. I
had shot an eland or two just beyond the first chooi, and,
being alone, had tied ' Vonk ' (spark), as the men called him, to
a tree whilst I gave the coup de grace to the game. This done,
I walked up to loose him and remount ; but as I thought-
lessly placed my hand on the rein he got scent of the blood,
and suddenly starting back, broke away. I followed him a
long while, every moment hoping to catch him, as he let me
come quite close and liien trotted on, feeding quietly till I
came up to him again. At length I grew weary and angry,
and twice covered him with the gun, that I might at all events
save my saddle and bridle ; but twice I relented — the creature
was too good and too tame to shoot, and there was a chance
that I might find him next morning if he were not killed
by a lion during the night. So I let him go, and just before
sundown set my face towards the waggons, the encampment
lying ten miles off. I walked really, I think, for once by
instinct ; it was soon dark, and after three hours, afraid of
going astray, I decided upon making a fire and camping out,
knowing I should find the wheel-tracks next morning if I did
not overshoot them. I took out my tinder-box and trying
to strike a light, dropped the flint, and was on my knees
feeling for it on the ground with my head down, when a
muffled shot, which I at first took for a lion's pant, made me
start to my feet, and within 100 yards of where I was standing,
though hidden by a belt of thorns, by a second shot I vv^as
directed to the waggons. I had come quite straight down upon
them through the night. We searched for the horse next
morning in vain ; his spoor was over-trampled by a large herd
of quaggas, and for two years I never heard any more of him ;
when I ascertained a wandering party of Barolongs had found
him in ihe veldt, and, unable to catch him, had driven him

io8

BIG GAME SHOOTING

before them for thirty miles to their kraal, and had killed many
giraffes and other game from his back, one or two of the tribe
who had gone into the colony for work having learnt to ride.

Round the dead elands there was a typical African breakfast
party — two lions, a dozen jackals, five or six hyenas, and an
innumerable company of vultures. The lions, having fed to
the full, were lying down close to the carcase, the jackals
intently watching them, one of their party every now^ and then,
when he thought the lions' eyes were turned upon his com-
panions or partly closed, running in for a hasty mouthful till a
growl sent him to his seat again. A shambling hygena, after
many tries, for the beast wants dash, gets hold of one of the
outside strings of the entrails and, pulling it taut, backs as
far as he possibly can. Two or three of his friends invite
themselves, and, rushing into breakfast, tug different ways.
Vultures of various kinds stalk about tearing with beak and
claw, and good right have they, for the invitations to the feast
have all come through them. High up in the blue, entirely
beyond your ken, they saw the ganie killed, and before you
left the spot, if you had looked up, you might have seen the
t'tir alive with them. Soaring very high for an extensive view
of anything going on for their advantage upon the earth l)elow,
their keen sight has comprehended the situation at a glance.
Ihose immediately over the spot begin to descend, the
message of there being something 'down' has been aerially
cominunicated from battalion to battalion among the circling
brotherhood, and through miles and miles of eiher a game of
follow my leader is going on. It is sight, not scent. \x\
animal killed in a nullah, or in thick luish and covered up at
once, escapes. The jackal, hytena, and lion follow the birds.
When the beasts of prey do not find the carcase -it may have
l)een shot far from water- and the animal is thickskiimed,
like the rhinoceros and elephant, arid even the giniffe and
buffalo, the beak;; and claws cannot for some time make an
entrance into their larder supply, and the birds sit about in
solemn funereal state on the surrounding trees waiting for the

SECOND EXPEDITION TO SOUTH AFRICA 109

softening'of putrefaction, which is well established in two days,
solacing themselves meantime with an eye or the inside of the
mouth if they can get at it.

In this neighbourhood and between Lake Kamadou and
the Zambesi the works of the ants are marvellous. One variety
builds a dome-shaped nest, which makes a first-rate oven, for it
is hollow inside, and by smoking out the inhabitants and
lighting a fire it becomes thoroughly heated, and bakes well.
So much has been written about the white ant that it needs no
description from m ^ ; but though I was in India for years I
never remember seeing their earthworks hdf the nize they are
in Africa, where I have come across them ten to twelve feet high,
and so large and firm that I have ridden about the roofs, in
and out amongst the pinnacle?, and minarets, which give them
an appearance, let us say, of Milan Cathedral on a small
scale ! And all this is the work of blind architects, who are
obliged to protect themselves from the sun and from enemies
by a covered way they build between their nests and any of
the trees around, which may have dead wood or branches.
How their instinct leads them my reason cannot tell, for they
are eyeless. Where there are no chairs or stools, one sits and
lies upon the earth, and sees much of the kingdoms and com-
munities of the insect world. Here is the ant-lion lurking
at tlie bottom of his inverted cone of a hole, ambushed and
ready to spring upon the itioautious insect that, stepping on
the edge of his trap, is carried to the bottom by the loose,
unstable grains of sand ; here the hard-biting, plunger-
looking red ant, whose holes have been stopped when the
breakfast was prepared and the surface swe]>t for the skins on
which we lie. Up he comes, having wired his way through
his closed front door, sits on end, strokes what would be
his moustache if he had any, and then, with a number of his
rcllow-sufiferers and friends, walks straight io the nest of a
large black species of his own family, and each throwing one

ot the blacks about twice his own size -over his back, away

they go to their own holes, and, pointing out the work to be

BIG GAME SHOOTING

done, stand with a fierce countenance over their slave's until all
is put right, when the inferior race retire. Trapdoor spiders,
too, were very numerous, with their cunning arrangements.

But I have wandered from the Limpopo.

The Bechuana are not of much account in hunting elephant
with the spear, though they talk and bra^j a good deal about
it ; indeed I have known them fairly beaten and forced to come
to me for assistance. I can see a young bull now, walking
about quite strongly, with forty assegais in him, scattering his
assailants by trumpeting and half-charges. ' Would " Tlaga "
come and shoot him for them ? ' Tlaga did. The elephant
looked like a porcupine, but they would never have bagged
him, though he might have died afterwards. It is not so with
the Bushmen. They are past-masters of the art of hunting,
though here I would mention that there are Bushmen and
Bushmen. Those found near the colony and spread over the
barren Kalahari country are a small, stunted race, dwarfed
probably by scarcity of food and hard usage. Th-j others are
upright, tall, sinewy fellows, who with their skill in hunting
and the abundance of game never suffer hunger, and who are
looked upon, though small in number, with a certain amount
of frar by the Bechiumas. I was very fond of the Bushmen.
Tlioy tell the trutii, which the Bechuana do not, and instead
of being mere pot-hunters they are enthusiastic sportsmen,
enjoying the work as much as yourself. When you are hunting
with them, it is true, they leave all to you, and greatly delight
in watching a tough fight with a savage bull, giving you full
credit for your weapon and your use of it ; but their tactics
when alone are as follows. Taking up the si)oor of, say,
five or six tuskers, they follow on until they see their quarry,
which, with their si)lendid sight, they do a long way ou. A
handful of dust thrown u[) gives thein the wind. Some half-
dozen or more men conceal themselves in pairs not fiir apart
in the line they hoi)e the elephants will take. Two or three
of the others, making a long dltour^ give them their wind,
and as they move off, try to head them in the direction of tlo

SECOND EXPEDITION 70 SOUTH AFRICA iii

ambush. The moment an elephant comes within reach of
one of the pairs a man springs up and, running towards him,
throws a very heavy hafted- spear — twelve to fifteen inches in
the iron head — not straight, for it would not penetrate — but in
a sort of curve, and the descending weapon buries itself by
its own weight. The man is in full view, the irritated beast
usually makes for him, and though fleet of foot the hunter
would very often be caught were it not for his mate, who,
immediately the elephant charges, runs up behind him as close
as he can, and sounds a shrill whistle, macic generally of the leg-
bone of a crane, which each wears hung round his neck by a
leathern thong. The elephant hears it, and, cautious even in
his rage, stops sudd .inly to find out what danger is in his rear.
As he turns, anclher spear is thrown ; another charge, and
another whistle ; and this goes on until the animal is exhausted
and winded, when the final coups are given by men running in
and stabbing hiin behind the ribs, while their companions
occupy his attention in front. In this nmnner a dozen Bjsh-
men will often kill two or three out of a herd.

The Boers have an effective, though cruel, way of killing
thcin. Their legs are solid, not hollow with marrow, like
thosf of most animals ; they need to be strong, for a large bull
wCri^hN iM six tons. The jiigers come upon the herd and wish
' 1 i.\>yr iti many as they can ; they are not fond of getting too
ner... vie- bombarding effectively from a distance is a work of
tinv. ^» '.eytake the first shots, if opportunity offer, at the
foreieg.1 >f two or three. The ball splinters and weakens the
limb ; the sagacity of the animal tel's him this a', once, and he
instantly stands immovable, lest his veight should break it.
The hunters follow the rest of the herd and clioot one or two
perhaps, and then return to the cripples, who fall an easy prey
0 the roers at close ciuarters. Nine times out of ten the
. (; :'rfint refuses to stir, but if goaded into attempting a charge,
li.i tione snaps directly weight in motion is thrown upon it,
and the poor brute falls. It is a most pitiful sight to see these
fine, intelligent monsters quietly awaiting death — standings

112

BIG GAME SHOOTING

sadly conscious of their inability to make an effort for attack
or escape. I witnessed this butchery b.ut once, and, willingly,
would never again.

In the open country the Bechuana, though muffs at
elephant hunting, catch large numbers of animals in the hopo.
The Ba-Quaina and Ba-Wangketsi, especially, were clever
at this kind of work. The hopo is a large pit dug in a
favourable spot, generally ju ', .bo other side of a slight rise,
in neighbourhoods where gair abundant, and is often

used year after year. From the :des of it stiff, diverging
hedges of bush and branches are run out for a ccnsiderable
distance, and the beaters, sweeping a large area of country in a
crescent, open at first, but gradually contracting its horns as
the game approaches the hedges, manage to drive slowly
forward large masses of antelope, quagga, and wildebeest.
Men are suitably placed here and there outside the range of
the fences, to indicate gently to the game the way they are
expected to take. When they are well within the lines the
men bear down on them, and by shouts urge them forward
p^ie mele to the hopo, which by the rise in the ground is
hidden from the leaders until too late ; for the weight of the
scared body behind them, always pressing on, carries the fore
most ranks into the pit, which, in a successful drive, is soon filled
with a heaving mass of struggling life. Numbers of the driven
escape through the hedges and through the crowd, by this
time close up, many of them, the cjuagga especially, charging
the drivers, who, sitting or kneeling, cover themselves with
their shields, and ply their assegais as opportunity offers, from
beneath them. I should have said that some of the hunters
are ambushed near tl ! hopo, and these dispose of any animals
that, coming to the surface, seem likely to escape. The
southern tribes manage sometimes to kill the hippopotamus by
suspending a heavy spike of iron, or of wood Ijurnt and sharp-
ened to a point, and weighted with a large stone. This, by an
ingenious contrivance, is fastened to the branch of a tree over-
hanging the animal's path as it leaves the water at night to graze,

SECOND EXPEDITION TO SOUTH AFRICA 113

by a rope attached to a catch, the other end of the rope being
brought down, fixed about a foot from the ground, across the path,
and tied to one of the trees opposite. As the animal presses
against the rope the catch is freed, and down comes the spike.
The northerners, who Hve on the shores of the lakes, Kamadou
particularly, kill them from canoes with spears like harpoons,
which, once firmly fixed, serve to show by their shafts the
direction taken by the wounded beast, and enable the men to
follow him and repeat the attack until, utterly weakened from
loss of blood, he is secured by ropes and drawn ashore. This
plan, which seems to me to have its drawbacks and dangers,
is not attempted on the rivers, and I was never an eye witness
of it, even on the lakes ; but I have two or three of the
harpoon assegais, and this was the story of the hunting as
told to Livingstone.

On the low Siloquana hills near this we made our acquaint-
ance with the Ts^ts(5 fly, which we were the first to bring to
notice ; Vardon taking or sending to England some he caught
on his favourite horse. They have now been thoroughly
discussed entomologically, and I would only very lightly
touch upon them. The Glossina morsiians is a duskv grey, long-
winged, vicious-looking fly, barred on the back with striaf?, and
about the size of the fly you so often see on dogs in summer.
Small as he is, two to three will kill your largest ox, or your
strongest horse — for the poison introduced by the proboscis
' is zymotic ; the victims sicken in a few days, the sub-lingual
glands and muscles thicken, the eyes weep, a defluxion runs
from the nostrils, the coat stares, and in periods varying
from a fortnight to three months death ensues. On examina-
tion after death the blood is found to have diminished won-
derfully in quantity, to have become gelatinous in appear-
ance, and to have parted with its colouring property. You
may plunge your hands into it and it runs off like tapioca, without
staining them. The vital organs, lungs and heart, are flaccid
and anaemic, but show no further sign of disease. The flesh
has a peculiar glairy appearance. Wild animals are not

I. I

114

BIG GAME SHOOTING

affected, but all domesticated ones are, save the ass and the
goat, and the calf as long as it sucks. Man escapes scot free.
The flies settle on and bite him sharply, but no results follow.

Supposing the poison to be alkaline, is it not possible that
the creic— an acid known to be present in the blood of all wild
animals and to disappear as they become domesticated — may
act as an antidote, more especially as man, on whom the
poison is innocuous, shares with the donkey, &c., this prophy-
lactic acid ? This pest, like all others, is held in check by an
antagonist, one of the ichneumons— a rakish-looking creature
which catches and sucks it out on the wing, dropping the
empty cases much as the locust bird does the locusts.

These ts^ts^ have caused me sad search ings of heart.
The Geographical Society of Paris honoured me with their
modal, * pour la d^couverte du lac 'Ngami,' and I, in acknow-
leaging their highly valued distinction, sent them a short sketch
of the country through which we had passed, and a small bottle
of the flies, with an account of their habits, habitat, and the
poisonous nature of their bite. This account — probably from
my confused style — was entirely misunderstood, and when the
copy of the Proceedings of the Society reached me I found
I had been made to attribute the death of a native chief,
Sebitoani, to the poison of these insects, and also to state
that the oxen were maddened by their attacks, whereas the
poor things took their deathbites quite calmly— with a whisk
of their tails, as is their custom with other flies— and, as I
have already stated, human beings sufier no ill. I have tried to
correct this impression, but fear I may not have succeeded.

When I came home I happened to meet Dr. (now Sir
Richard) Quain, the great toxicologist, and by him to be in-
troduced to Dr. Spence, to whom I told the story of the
tsetse, the result being that I was invited to attend a meeting
of the Entomological Society. Doubting my power of giving
any clear account before such an august assembly by word
of mouth, I wrote the few particulars I had to communicate.
When I entered, rather late, a gentleman was explaining the

SECOND EXPEDITION TO SOUTH AFRICA 115

abnormal and interesting peculiarities of a beetle, which had
an extra tarsus— at least I think that was the peculiarity — and
that tarsus was actually fimbriated ! A great deal of very
learned talk and discussion followed, and I thought what a
fortunate fellow I was to have written my description ; but
alas ! my turn came, and the same savant, after holding my
scrawl at every angle in the hope of deciphering the cacography,
at last gave it up, saying he regretted he could not make it out,
but fortunately the writer was in the room, and would perhaps
kindly tell them the history of the flies of which he had sent
a specimen. I longed for a repetition of the days of Korah,
Dathan, and Abiram just to swallow up that old gentleman
and his scarabaeus ; but I had to get up and explain that I was
sorry if they expected me to address them in the very erudite
way I had been listening to for the last hour, as I really had
no idea how many (if any) tarsi my fly had, and, moreover, I
was supremely ignorant whether their tarsi (if existent) were
fimbriated or not. They kindly begged me to tell my tale in
my own words, declaring they should much prefer it, and I
did so, and was dealt with in a most friendly manner. I cer^
tainly would rather have stood the charge of a couple of lions
at once than laid myself open to a catechism on tarsi and
fimbriae.

We pushed down the Limpopo beyond the Siloquana ridge
four or five marches, and then crossing the river near a high
rocky hill returned to the Marique without anything of much
interest occurring ; but half-way between the jTmction of that
river with the main stream and the place where we left it
to get to Livingstone's station, I was again in trouble.

It was three in the afternoon. We had followed a herd of
elephants since 8 a.m., and the traces of the dew of the pre-
vious night were still visible on the trail. Our chances of
coming up with them were so small that we abandoned the
pursuit and turned in the direction of the waggons. After an
hour or two the natives began to make pathetic appeals to the
state of their stomachs, suggesting that they had met with hard

ii6

BIG GAME SHOOTING

usage, and that, as we had not found the elephants, they were
not above breaking their fast upon quagga, giraffe, or even
rhinoceros. I tried to persuade them that elephant was the
only dish worthy of them or likely to fill those almost bottom-
less cavities to which they had alluded ; that we might have
better luck the next day, and that they might put off dining
till then. If you wish to be successful in hunting for large
tusks, it is as well to keep your men on an elephantine diet and
not pamper them with dainties, or they become lazy and care-
less in seeking the larger game. Whether on this particular
occasion I was unusually tender-hearted, or their appeals were
too touching, I do not remember ; but whilst with my very
poor stock of Sechuana words I was trying to explain my views,
in an open glade of the forest through which we were passing,
their hungry eyes fell upon two rhinoceroses of the keitloa
variety, and the eager cry of ' Ugh chukuru, mynai\r ! ' — the last
word a corruption of the Dutch mynheer, lengthened plain-
tively into a kind of prayer— was too much for me, and I dis-
mounted to do their pleasure. 1 ifty yards before the animals
ran a scanty fringe of dwarf thorn -bushes, on outliers of which
they were feeding away from us. I made a long detour, and
came out a hundred yards in front of them, the little scrubby
cover lying between us. A handful of sand thrown into the
air gave the direction of the wind ; worming my way I gained
the thorns, and, lying flat, waited for a side chance.

The rhinoceroses were now within twenty yards of me, but
head on, and in that position they are not to be killed except
at very close quarters, for the horns completely guard the brain,
which is small and lies very low in the head. Though alone
on the present occasion, I was travelling with the best rhinoceros
shot I ever knew, and liis audacity, and our constant success
r '.d impunity alone and together in carrying on the war against
i/iose brutes, had perhaps made me despise them too much. I
had so frequently .seen their ugly noses, when within eight or
ten yards of the gun, turn, tempted by a twig or tuft of grass
to the right or left, and the wished-for broadside thus given,

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SECOND EXPEDITION TO SOUTH AFRICA ii7

that I (lid not think anything was amiss until I saw that if
the nearer of those now in front of me, an old cow, should
forge her own length once more ahead, her foot would be on
me. She was so near that I might possibly have dropped her
with a ball up the nostril, and, had she been alone, I should
probably have tried it ; but the rhinoceros, when he charges,
nearly always makes straight for the smoke of the gun, even
though the hunter is concealed, and I knew that if No. i fell,
No. 2, who was within four or five yards of her, would, in all
probability, be over me before the smoke cleared. In the
hope that my sudden appearance from the ground under her
feet would startle her and give me a chance of escape, I sprang
up ; the old lady was taken aback for a moment and threw
up her head with a snort. I dashed alongside of her to get
in her rear ; my hand was on her as I passed ; but the shock
to her nerves was not strong enough, for before I had made
ten yards she was round, and in full chase.

I should liave done better to fire into her as I went by,
but it had not occurred to me, and it was now too late ; in
my anxiety to escape, to put it as mildly as may be, I had
neglected my best chance, and paid the penalty. 1 was a fast
runner ; the ground was in my favour, but in thirty yards from
the start she was at my heels. A quick turn to the left saved
me for the moment, and, perhaps, by giving my pursuer my
flank instead of my back, my life too. The race vms over in
the next ; as the horned snout came lapping round my thigh
I rested the gun on the long head and, still running, fired
both barrels ; but with the smoke I was sailing through the
air and remember nothing more, for I fell upon my head and
was stunned.

The day was fast drawing to a close when, though in that
addled state which prevents a man from deciding whether to-
day is yesterday or to-morrow, my brain seemed stirring again
in a thick fog. By degrees I became aware that I was on my
horse, that a native was leading it, and another carrying my
gun beside my stirrup. It all appeared strange, but with the

Ii8

BIG GAME SHOOTING

attempt to think it out the mist came eddying thicker, and I
was content to let it be. Presently a dim confused impression
that I was following some animal was with me, as in a dream ;
the power of framing and articulating a sentence returned, and
I drowsily asked the nearest Kafir which way the trail led. He
pointed in the direction we were going ; his manner struck me,
but I had had my say, and no other remark was ready. Men
met us ; among them I recognised two of my Hottentot
drivers carrying a * cartel,' or cane framework, which served as
a swinging bedstead in my waggon. * Where are you going ? ' I
asked in Dutch. They stared stupidly ; ' Why, we heard you
were killed by a rhinoceros ! ' * No,' I answered, ^Vithout a
thought of what had occurred, my right hand fell faintly from
the pommel of my saddle to my thigh ; with the restlessness of
weakness I drew it up a^ain ; a red splash of blood upon my
cuff caught my eye. I raised my arm to see what was the
matter ; findmg no v^ound on it, I sought with my hand for it
down my leg, through a rent in my trousers, and, so numbed
was all sensation, that I actually dabbled down to the bone in
a deep gash, eight inches long, without feeling any pain— the
smaller horn had penetrated a foot higher up, but the wound
was not so serious as the lower one. The limb stiffened after
I reached the waggons, and, unable to get in and out, I made
mv bed for nearly four weeks under a bush — the rip, healing
rapidly, covered with a rag kept constantly wet.

The rhinoceros, as I afterwards learnt from the men who
were with me, was running so fast when she struck me and
lifted me so high, that she had shot ahead before I fell, and,
on their shouting, passed on without stopping. The horns, as is
generally the case in this variety, were of nearly an equal length,
so that one to a certain extent checked the penetration of the
other — as it would be more diflficult to drive a double-spiked
nail than a single one. The bone of the thigh, however,
providentially turned the foremost horn, or it must have passed
close to, even if it had not cut, the femoral artery.

119

CHAPTER IV

LATER VISITS TO SOUTH AFRICA

By W. Cotton Oswem.

Vardon went home to England, I think, and I returned to
India to finish my time before taking furlough in 1847. Early
in 1849 hearing that Livingstone intended mak ig an attempt
to reach Lake 'Ngami, Murray and I again left England to
join him. The Doctor had quitted his old missionary station,
and was now with Sechele at Kolobeng. As we neared
this place, whilst we were lying at a small spring called Le
Mawd, or the needles, from some pointed rocks which over-
hang it, the Kafirs told me there was a shorter way to
Kolobeng through the hills, but they doubted if it would do
for the waggons ; so I volunteered one afternoon to examine
it, and report for the onward move of the next day. I started
at 2 P.M. on a good old horse, and had followed a winding
track through the stony hills around us for an hour or more,
and, as it seemed likely to answer, was thinking of returning
to camp. We were at a slow walk when a low grumbling
growl woke up man and beast, and on looking back I saw a
lion within fifteen yards, coming up at his wicked slouching
trot. He was too near to give me a chance of dismounting,
and I spurred into a gallop ; but he gained on me, and, in
the hope of checking him, I fired a shot Parthianwise from
the saddle. The bough of a tree swept off my hat, and, as
it fell, the lion made a spring at it, giving me a moment's
law. Fifty or sixty yards ahead there was a small, rocky,
but otherwise open space, and to this I pressed at best

''A':-

I20

BIG GAME SHOOriNG

speed. I pulled up, as I could see well around, intending
to load the barrel I had fired, and bring my friend to account ;
but my foot was not out of the stirrup before he was again
on me. 1 was alone, and the horse was so scared I could
hardly hold him ; but, freeing my foot, I caught the reins over
my left arm, fjiced the oncomer, and threw the gun up to
fire ; just as I coveied him, and my finger began to press
the trigger, I was violently pulled back, and my arm jerked
up. The lion still came slowly on, with his body sunk between
his shoulders, and his brisket nearly touching, the ground-
When withm twelve yards, I shouted ai him, instinctively,
hoping to stop him. The human voice acted like a charni ;
he stood, and made as if he would turn away. The horse,
seeing that he no longer advanced, left off tugging at the
rein, and I snatched the opportunity and fired my remaining
barrel. The bullet struck the point of the shoulder, and
rolled him off the little rocky plateau into the bush below,
where he lay roaring, without my being able to ge*: sight of
him. I went forwards to look for and settle him, but had to
give it up, for my horse, which I had tied to a tree, did not
at all approve of being left alone, and tried to break his
riem.. I coaxed him, and as long as I stood by him he was
quiet, but directl\ I turned to leave terror seized him. I could
not afford to lose him, so I mounted, and attempted to ride him
near enough to get a sight and shot ; but the tremendous noise
was too much for him, and neither spur nor hand had any
effect. He stood up on his hind legs, and broke into a white
lather of sweat. I persevered for a time, but had to give it up,
and, breaking a few twigs and leaves from the trees to make
myself a kind of substitute for my lost hat, got back to cami).
Next morning, after putting the waggons on the path I
had looked out the day before, Murray, I, two Kafirs, and
three dogs ' went on ahead to pick up the lion. We had just

' I linve said hut little of our dons, but tlu'y ileservo nu'iition. 1 never
shot with tht'iii ; l)Ut besides Kuardiiij^ the lamp fmiu .surprise, they wenr in-
valuable, as in this instance, in helping us to pic!^ uj) a wounded lion, or in

LATER VISITS TO SOUTH AFRICA

121

reached the place where my hat had been torn off by the tree,
and I turned round to teU the Kafirs that he must be hard by,
when an angry growl to my left and then the shriek of a
man told me that something had gone wrong. Jumping off
my pony, I ran into the scrub, guided by the sound. I had
hardly got fifty yards when, bursting through a thicket in
front of me, a man, covered with blood, fell at my feet, crying
out that he was killed by the lion, and at the same instant I
caught sight of the beast close up on three legs, his mane as if
electrified into an Elizabethan collar, with the Kafir's dog in his
mouth. As his head came clear of the bush I put a ball through
it, and he dropped dead by the native's foot. I looked to the
yelling victim, and found he was terribly bitten in thigh' and
arm ; so, tearing my shirt into strips, I bound him up as well
as I could, never expecting him to live, for large surfaces were
mangled, and I had to replace much a good deal at hazard.
As I finished the waggons came up, and, lifting the wounded
man on a blanket into one of them, I took him honv . made
him over to his wife, gave her a hantlful of beads and a yard
or two of brass wire to purchase food whilst 1^ was laid up,
summoned the chief, said I was very sorry an ac nt should
have happened to one of his men, received his assurance 'hat
it was not of the slightest consequence, especially as i had
killed the lion, and then, as there was no water for the oxen,
I moved on. In se\en weeks I returned to this village.
The first to meet and welcome me was my wounded friend,
quite well and sound, and about to start on a journey. He
brought back the blanket on which we had carried him -I had
left it at his hut cleanly washed ; and when I told him to keep it
his joy was so great that I think he would have had the other
leg bitten for a like reward. The recuperative power of the

telling us iho wheiciihouts of n hard-hit anibuslied buftiilo— in this illustratiDH
thi' (log in the hon's mouth was the Kafir's, and tiie other two were llie best I
ever had (the lilvenesses are admirable). I have known them hold a lion at
bay for nearly an hour, the larger one heading him continually, and the little
rough Skye-looking fellow running in at intervals, nipping him in the rear, and
then scuttling otVtit full sjieed.

122

BIG GAME SHOOTING

wild man is marvellous. A European must have died of the
wounds, or the consequent fever. The native, it appeared, had
stopped behind, as we came through the pass, to m>.,nd his
.sandal, and, taking a short cut to rejoin us, had chanced upon
the wounded lion, which first seized him by the large back
muscles of the thigh, and on his striking him over the head
with his fist, shifted his grip to the arm, which was munched
up to the elbow, though no bones were broken. I have
before said, lions do not attack men in daylight without strong
cause. I opened this one, and found the stomach and nearly
the whole of the intestines absolutely empty ! The beast was
starving - he had evidently bled all night, and was very weak,
a fact which may account for the man's getting off easier thai,
one would expect.

My journey with Livingstone to Lake Ngami, and my sub-
sequent visit to the Zambesi in the same company, have been
fully described by the Doctor himself, and though on both oc-
casions I had to kill game for the camp, they do not fall within
the category of shooting expeditions. They were made with other
ends in view, and would be out of place in a narrative of this
kind ; it will be sufficient to say we were successful in introducing
two new antelopes' the 'Nakong and the Leclie, The latter,
of a dark fawn-colour, with horns annulated and curved like
the waterbuck's, only smaller, was found on the flats between
the shallow lake Kamadou and the Scshoke plains, west of
the Zambesi, the former .about Lake 'Ngami, and in the marshy
land and pools of one of its affluents, the Teoge River. It
is a veritable swamp-liver, about the size of a goat, with long,
brownish hair, and horns resembling those of the koodoo in
miniature. The abnormal elongation of its hoof enables it to
skim over the surface of morasses into which other antelopes
would sink. I have one, which I have just measured, vtry
nearly four inches long — if it were in the ratio of the animal's size,

* We heard of a third antelope which was said to burrow, but \m never
saw it. Has any later traveller anything to say al)out it? or is it a myth.'
'I'he Ka?-i were precise enough in their description.

LATER VISITS TO SOUTH AFRICA

123

one and a half would be its proportion. On hard ground the
'Nakong runs with difficulty — the swamp shoe is a hindrance.
Instead of escapl.ig by flight or concealment in the bush, this
antelope, on being disturbed, makes straight for the water, sits
down in it, and submerges all but the nostrils until tue danger
be overpast.

When Murray and I reached Kolobeng in 1849 we found,
for some reason or other, Livingstone had already started, but
we caught him up beyond the Ba-Mangwato, with the chief of
which tribe we had again a little difficulty. By the way, six
or seven miles south of his kraals we found a hot, brackish
spring, which bubbled up as if laden with gas.

Our trek to the lake was a hard one, and we were very
anxious to see some of the dwellers of the desert, that we
might gain information of the path and waters in advance ; but
messengers from Secomi, chief of the Ba-Mangwato, had gone
through the land ordering all Bushmen and Balala to keep
out of our way, and by no means to give us any assistance.
If they happened to be anywhere near our line of march,
they had instructions to step heavily on their toes, and,
pressing the sand behind them, to make as good an imita-
tion as they could of frightened wildebeest or quagga. We
noticed these tracks, but were never able to use them to
our advantage, though we saw throi gh them, for in that land
of thirst we could not afford time to fjllow the trail of people
hostile to our advance, with perfect knowledge of the country
and its hiding places, and likely to l>;ad us in their flight as
far from water as they possibly could. That they were often
about us, even quite close, we knew ; but we never sighted one.
A little dog strayed one day into our camp : we caught it, and
covered it with rings of beads, brass wire, and tinder boxes,
then loosed it with a sudden crack of the waggon whip, in the
hope of its running back to its ambushed masters and giving
evidence of our friendly intentions ; but nothing came of it.
Again, I tried to lure our uns n watchers through that most
sensitive organ, the stomach. Elephants trooped down one

124

BIG GAME SHOOTING

night to drink ; in the morning I took up the spoor and shot
one immediately, but after wounding a second had much
trouble with him in the thick bus! the horse falling before the
charging bull, and I only just esca^.ing. Months afterwards,
on our return from I-ake 'Ngami, when there was no further
object to be gained by opposition, we were encamped at the
same pool, and were soon surrounded by the children of the
wilderness, who recounted and acted the story of the elephant
hunt ; how they had followed and found number two, which
escaped at the time, and eaten him ; how they had witnessed
it all as invisible spectators ; and now, turning actors, they en-
joyed the play vastly : trumpeted like the elephant, fell like
the horse, and imitated my attack and retreat, and the noise
of the gun.

During this journey, when very hard up for water, I
offered to sacrifice a pony and ride on in advance of the slow-
moving wtiggons, which were to follow on my spoor, on the
chance of finding what we needed so sorely. John and three
or four Kafirs accompanied me, and we had travelled I dare
say twelve miles when I saw a patch of high grass wave as if
something were passing through it. Thinking it might be a
lion, and if a lion then water was near, I cantered to the head
of the ' Jheel,' dismounted, and watched the line of movement.
It came to the edge, and some living thing broke from it.
I covered it, and only just in time saw it was a woman running,
or rather crawling, very fast on all fours. I mounted in an
instant, and shouting to the Kafirs to follow, I headed her
and made signs to her to stop. She fell upon her knees,
and in Sechuana begged me not to kill her. She had never
seen horse or white man before, and evidently took me for a
hi[)pogriff. 1 cahned her apprehensions, cut the metal buttons
off my waistcoat, presented them to her, and asked where the
water was. ' There is no water,' she said, ' I was just making
something to drink ' (she was mashing a watery tuber in a
wooden bowl) ' when I saw the pitsi (horse).' IJushmcn — she
was of that people— we knew, lived for months without real

LATER VISITS TO SOUTH AFRICA

water, but I thought it worth while trying the experiment of
offering her beads and brass wire if she would guide us to some.
It succeeded. ' Well, if you won't kill me, I'll show you where
the elephants drink,' she replied ; I bade her go ahead, and
made her walk just in front. Never did any old lady step out
through prickly bush as did my dame. Her bare legs were
scratched by the thorns ; but what was thi;t to her, expecting
instant death if she stopped a moment ? Ot; she went. Pre-
sently we came upon an elephant. She suggest<,'d by signs that
I should kill it, but I answered, ' Water, then elephant.' We
entered a belt of high trees. I pressed even more closely on
her, lest she should dodge among them and escape ; \yy pony's
nose nearly touched her, and so we went through two n.iles of
woo^.

As we break into the open again, what do I see? The
l^ke ! Can it be that I am the first to catch a glimpse of if ?
We had voted it mean to s^and upon an ant-heap for the
chance of a first view, and here was I engaged on a work of
love for the public weal. I was the happy discoverer, and
under * creditable circumstances.' As far as the eye could
reach, without limit rippled the bright blue water. Up went
n>j' old wide-awake, and I shouted for joy ; down went the old
lady on her knees begging for dear life : she ^eared the hour
of sacrifice had struck. The Kafirs who were with me looked
astonished, and thought I had gone mad. ' What is it ; what
is it, Tlaga ? ' ' The I -ake ! ' I replied. ' Where ? ' ' Here-
under our feet — close by.' ' Why, that's only a chooi ! '
and so it was. The low sun cast a slanting beam over the
incrustations of salt, and they looked like ripples indeed, a
moment before I would have sworn it was water, 'i'he bush-
woman showed us the usual spring by the side of the jjan,
and we got water enough for the cattle ; she was bountifully
rewarded, but she bolted during the night.

As the waggons came up 1 watched to see if Livingstone
would make the same mistake as I ; but one of the Kafirs
had told him the story before, so he posed as Solomon

126

BIG GAME SHOOTING

and I was chaffed. The I^ke was still 200 miles distant.
These choois are remarkable features in South African lands.
This one was fifteen miles long by, say, about four broad ; one
to the immediate north was much larger. The wild animals
visit them as ' licks,' and the Kafirs get their salt from them.

In 1850 I hoped to bring a boat, but found it impos-
sible to carry it through the drought and heat, and launch
it in serviceable condition on the inland waters. The Doctor
and I had arranged to start together, but he had already left
Kolobeng a month when I arrived, Mrs. Livingstone with him.
There was no chance of overtaking him this time, so I decided
upon getting on to the Zouga, the river running out of Lake
'Ngami, and having a quiet shoot by myself. This was our
second journey across the Bakalahari, and knowing the waters,
we made our arrangements accordingly, crossed without much
trouble, and reached our destination.

Let me here record my gratitude for the nearly absolute
perfection of the copper caps I used -Joyce's. I might very
ungratefully have forgotten my debt but for a rather narrow
escape on this journey from the only miss-fire I ever had in
thousands of shots. In mid-desert, attracted perhaps by the
water we had opened, a fine bull elephant came close to tjie
waggons. I rode to meet him, and fired, but failed to do
any serious damage, though he pulled up. I reloaded and
manceuvred for his shoulder ; but before I could get a shot
he charged, and the cap of the right barrel snicked— fortu-
nately the left stopped him with the front shot, and he fell
dead. I dismounted and then looked on the ground. I was
amongst a nest of pitfalls — how the horse and the elephant
had avoided them I don't know. On the Zouga the game
was abundant, and the shooting, as it nearly always was,
peerless.

Eight or ten days from Lake Kaiuadou the camp had been
made, 150 yards from the river, just outside the thick fringe
of t;es, and all was quiet for the night ; even the dogs were
sleeping, I believe, for once, for 1 had not been roused since

LATER VISITS TO SOUTH AFRICA

127

I turned in, when about midnight we were awakened sud-
denly by a tremendous noise, higher up stream, coming towards
us. Crashing trees and a general rushing were the only sounds
we at first heard, but presently the screams and trumpetings of
panic-stricken elephants mingled in the din. The herd came
tearing and breaking its way through the dense jungle straight
for us ; luckily they caught sight of the gleam of the fires and
made a sharp bend to the left, but the outsiders were within
a few yards of my waggon. On they passed into the darkness,
and in five minutes all was again still. By coaxing and
speaking to the horses, which were as usual tied two and two
to the waggon-wheels, we calmed them down ; but every ox
had broken his tethering riem^ for, as luck would have it, they
were fastened to the trek-tow. The two teams with all the
spare beasts had vanished no one knew whither, and five hours
must pass before we could do anything to find out.

Making the best of it I turned in again, and did not wake
until the sun rose, when John, putting his head into the
waggon, told me the oxen were on the flat, with a lion
after them. I was up in a moment, and unslinging a gun
from the side of the waggon tent, went in hot pursuit.
Interrupted in his pastime, the would-be cattle-lifter turned
quickly to bay, and as he gave me a fine open front shot at
fifty yards, I fired for his chest ; but I had been after elephants
the day before, and the heavy charges were still in the barrels.
For accuracy at the distance I had too much powder by half, and
the gun threw up, the ball striking his neck, anc! down he came
on me with a grunting bark. I waited till he was within twenty
yards and fired the second barrel, but it was a poor shot, the
gun kicking violently, and it struck the upper part of the near
foreleg. Two more bounds, snap went the bore, and pitching
heavily forward he lay six yards from me. I liad run out in a
hurry, and had neither powder nor ball. John and another
man stood a short distance off. Keeping my full front to the
lion and never taking my eyes off for a moment— a compliment
he returned in kind — in an undertone I told one of the men to

BIG GAME SHOOTING

go back for ammunition. He may have been away two or
three minutes, but it seemed a long time. When he returned
the difficulty was to get what he had brought to me. There
were two or three small trees on the spot. I was standing
beside one of them, and he managed somehow to climb into it,
and, leaning forward from a bough, to put the powder and
balls into my hand, which I held behind me. I began
very cautiously to load, by feeling not by sight, for I knew I
must keep my eyes fixed. Fortunately the balls went home
easily, though every little push I had to give with the ramrod
brought a twitch and a growl from my neighbour. At last all
was finished except putting on the caps, but this was the crux.
Directly I raised the gun to fix them the lion began to show
signs of waking up in earnest. It was a touchy operation,
and oh ! the relief when it was done ! The first shot rolled
him over, and the second finished him.

I had now time to look about me, and found the ground
trampled by elephants into broad roads. Going back along
the line of the stampede of the previous night, I met a poor
little yearling calf elephant, torn badly by a lion, but still
alive. I put it out of its misery. This was doubtless the
cause of the last night's scare. After a cup of coffee and a
damper I started on the tracks. The herd was of cows, but I
was induced to follow it, as to my surprise there were two
or three bulls consorting with them — a most unusual circum-
stance, for as a rule they herd apart like stags. But there
could be no mistake — there were the great tell-tale feet.

The line of retreat kept widening from the numerous small
parties that had joined the main body till at length it was two
hundred yards broad, and I and John cantered merrily along
it over the flat for ten miles, when we entered a dense belt of
bush, into which we had not penetrated far when our progress
was obstructed by a young bull with small tusks, who seemed
inclined to make himself unpleasant. I did not want him and
tried to drive him off, but he wouldn't go, and at last charged
down on our horses. This was too much, and I shot him.

<
Si

-1

LATER VISITS TO SOUTH AFRICA

129

We pressed on as quickly as possible to the open park-like
country of which I could now and again get glimpses, fearing
that the shot might have disturbed the rest of the herd if they
were within hearing. But I need not have troubled myself, for
as I got clear of the bush I came upori at least 400 elephants
standing drowsily in the shade of the detached clumps of
mimosa-trees.' Such a sight I had never seen before and
never saw again. As far as the eye could reach, in a fairly
opeii country, there was nothing but elephants. I do not mean
in serried masses, but in small separate groups. Lying on
the pony's neck I wormed in and out looking for the bulls
whose spoor we had been following, and while doing so was
charged by a very tall, long-legged, ugly beast, who would
take no denial, and I was obliged to kill him. He was the
bull, but, alas ! he was without tusk^•, and probably being
defenceless had been driven from the bull herd and taken
up \.ith the cows. I did not want any of them, and turned
waggonwards, rather disappointed at not getting ivory, but
well satisfied ,vith the sight my ride had given me.

In the evening a straight-horned gemsbok {Oryx capensis)
coming up from the river passed near the camp ; her horns
struck me as unusually long, and with some of the dogs I
gave chase on foot ; she moved very slowly, soon stood to bay,
and dropped to the shot. She was evidently very old and worn
out. I introduce her to air a theory.

In many of the Bushman caves the head of the oryx is
scratched in profile, and in that position one horn hides the
other entirely. In Syria, even up to the present day, I am
told, a very near relation of the Oryx axpensis i« found ; it is
the habit of man in his hunting stage to try his hand at
delineating the animals he lives upon. Probably the rocks or .
caves of Syria may show, or formerly may have shown, glyphs

* Here, again, my description must liavebcen defective, and Mr. Wolf iiad
not then l)een introduced to Jumbo, or the forelegs of the elcjihants wcnild
have been longer, the backs more sloping, the ears larger, and the facial angle
less; but it is a beautiful piece of drawing and reproduces the surroundings
and heated atmosphere most wonderfully.

I. K

I30

BIG GAME SHOOTING

of the oryx reseml)Hng the work of the African Bushmen, and
an early traveller may easily have taken them for representa-
tions of an animal with one horn, and have started the idea
of the unicorn, Biblical and heraldic. With regard to the
former, the word in the Hebrew in our version rendered
unicorn is ' reem ' ; vi some old English Bibles, indeed, ' reem '
has been preserved in the text untranslated. Again, I am told
that the Syrian congener of the the Cape oryx is called by the

Arabs of to-day ^^j ' reem.' ' Is it not likely then, that the

Biblical Unicorn is the same as the 'reem' of the Arab? As
an herrldic beast, the gemsbok lends himself most gallantly
to the theory ; he is a strongly marked ec^-iine antelope, and is
the one of his family that frecjuently lowers his head to show
fight, it is said even with the lion — and this is confirmed in
song, thougli he certu Jy got the worst of it in poetry, as I
very much think he would in real life.

The gemsbok is scarce, and hardly met with save in the
barren open stretches of country like the Bakalahari desert;
there were moie near the colony in my day than further in.
He can do without water for a long tune certainly— indeed I
believe iiliogether. He digs and eats watery roots sue"' as
luhosl.e, a large tuber, and the l)itter desert gourd ; if rain
falls, or he comes across water, he drinks, no doubt,, but he does
not need it to support life. His country is also the strtjnghold
of the Bushmen, who can, as I have said before, live for months,
under the same conditions, but who generally ol)tain water by
boring with a long pole tliroiigh the sand, in hi ows well known
to them traditionally, down to the hard substratum. Eiilarging
the bottom of the boring as much as they can, by working their
pole on thj slant, and then tying a small ouncli of grass to a
long reed and inserting it m the hole, they suck K\t the water.

' Siiici' wriiing lliu .ihovc I linil (hia subject has been discussed by the
Iciirm-d, and a (l(!«:isioii nrrivt'tl al iiiiravounil)li! u> the oryx ; but I lot ruy r«.
aiiuks Kland, fur 1 ilu not kimw lb:i( anyt'iiuf.; has been said en the i^lyphs in
pro(il(.! theory ■ the idea was first started in luy iiimd by a coiivcrsalioii wilb
ll»e sun ufa lati" Jisliop of Jervisali.'n\

mmmm

L/iTER VISITS TO SOUTH AFRICA

131

These maminas, or sucking holes, are common throughout
the desert, and wherever we found the reeds we found water ;
in two instances, indeed, by digging to a depth of nine feet
we were enabled to supply all our horses and oxen, for though
the water never stood more than eight or ten inches, yet
the oftener the well was emptied the quicker it filled again,
obstructions to its free flow being removed by the continuous
trickling.

Mnnclcss lions

I have mentioned how nuuh the elephants of the Zouga
(lifTer from those of the Lim[)opo, and the more southern and
eastern districts ; the lions too are, I suppose, influenced by
the drier climate and surroundings, for very few of the males
grow manes. I thought at first this might depend on their
age. as the lion of the south is only furnished in this particular
in full lionhood ; but one day whilst lying on the Zouga, a
few days' march from Lake 'Ngami. a horse of mine fell into
a pitfall, and in broad daylight three lions invited themselves

K 3

BIG GAME SHOOTING

II ;

to lunch. I was at the waggons, .nnd ran out with a trader of

the name of Wilson to get a shot at them. They saw us, and,

leaving the horse, got into cover ; as they had retreated very

leisurely and were l^y no means scared, we took for granted

they would come again. A low mound was within twenty

yards of the pitfall, and gave an excellent standing place behind

a double-stemmed tree. Wilson took the right, I the left, and

from our slightly raised position wc commanded the only

approach the lions could well return by. 1 can say that my

eyes were never off that opening, and yet so ([uietly and

glidingly did a lion fill it that I did not see him till he had

come — the coming was a blank to :ne ; he was looking at me.

A ball in the chest killed him. A second closed the gap, halted

inquiringly by his companion, who was stretching in the death

spasm, and raising his head caught sight of us. I covered him,

but let Wilson firer -the ball raked him from chest to tail, and

he dropped dead alongside his mate. After watching some

time vainly for the third, we walked up to the carcases ; they

were both males ; the one I hatl shot was the longest I ever

killed, teeth, claws, skin, perfect, in his very jjrime ; the other

the oldest, most worn-out specimen, no teeth, no claws, stumps

only, his grizzled hide mangy and full of the scars of old

wounds ; in fact, he was, as the Kafirs said, ' Ra le tao,' the

father of lions. Neither had a sign of mane.

A poor young fellow who had come out to shoot, but was
utterly unfitted for the work, lost his companicin on one of the
lower reaches of this river, near where we now were. From
the natives' account, it appeared his friendhad fired at a goose,
which fell in the river. He stripped to go in after it, though
they begged him not, as there were alligators ; he would not
listen to them and swam out. >\'hen two or three yards
from the bird he was observed to strike sideways, as if he saw
something, and in another instant rearing hnnself half out of
the water, with a cry, he sank. There was no doubt what
had happened. I first came across the former of these two
travellers i i a pass not many days" trek from Kolobeng, Living-

LATER VISITS TO SOUTH AFRICA

^11

stone's station ; but the interview was a short one, as I was
inspanned and on the move. Next morning I found all his
men, they were Ba-Quaina and knew me, had followed my
waggons, and upon my questioning them they said they really
could not stay with that white man, as he starved them. They
had found him elephants two or three times, but he never
killed any ; he only rode after their tails, expecting them to
fiill off. Of course I insisted on their going back, and shot a
rhinoceros on their promise of doing so, just for the present
distress. Here was a country swarming with animals, a man
with guns and ammunition in abundance, and yet he couldn't
' keep his camp.' I would not blame him for that ; but why
did he not give up ;it once when he discovered, as he must
soon have done, his utter incapacity? My friend Vardon had
interviewed him before he started, at the Cape, I afterwards
leaint, and asked him what he had come out for. 'To shoot
a lion,' he replied. Was that all ? ' he was asked ; and he
replied, 'Yes ; if he did that he should be quite content.'
'You'd better have given 200/. and shot the one at the Zoo ;
it would have been cheaper, less trouble, and less dangerous
too.' Poor lad ! he picked up another mate and started on
another journey, goodness knows what for ; and on my second
return from the Zouga we found his .skull with a bullet-hole
through it, and some small articles of dress, near an old camp-
fire two or three marches only from where we first met. The
hyainas had dragged away the rest of the bones. Rightly or
wrongly, hisdeath was attributed to his comjianion, and strangely
enough this man, subsetjuently joining himself to an expedition,
met a similar fate himself. I never could get full particulars
of this sad story.

The way in which, according to the Kafirs, the native dogs
worked the alligators on this narrow Zouga River amused ms.
Three or four of them wished to cross, either for better fare,
or to see their friends on the other side ; but, though alligator
is very partial to dog, dog is not so fond of alligator. As-
sembling on the banks, they would run, barking violently, a

134

BIG GAME SHOOTING

I !

quarter of a mile up stream in full view ; halt ; join in a
chorus of barking, yelping, and baying ; suddenly pull up in
the middle of the concert, and dash at the top of their speed,
absolutely mute, out of sight on a lower level, to the point they
hf.d started from, jump into the water and swim across, selling
the alligators, who, hungry after their 'course of bark,' were
eagerly expecting their dinner at the spot where they had had
the largest dose. Whether this was eyes or ears, or both, I could
not make out. One beast has wits, another power ; and so the
balance is pretty fairly kept.

While still in the desert, during our first trip, Livingstone
called my attention to a wonderful bit of instinct in a bird
—he mentions it in his works, hni it is worth telling a second
time. We had been a couple of days without water, and I was
enjoying watching the cattle swell themselves out in a chance
thunder-shower pond we had just come to, and sitting dabbling
my feet, when to me the dear old 1 )octor, ' I say, what do you
think is the greatest proof of conjugal affection you ever knew ? '
' Go along, I'm not occupied with such matters.' * Don't be
cross; come here. Do you see the chink in that tree, and that
large horn-i)illed bird going backwards and forwards to it?
What do you think he's doing?' 'Oh, making a fool of him-
self generally.' ' No, he's feeding his wife and his children,
who are shut in behind it.' And it was so. The ornithological
name of the bird 1 don't know, but he's something between
a toucan and a hornbill, neither one nor the other, about the
size of a large pigeon, though, if 1 remember light, more Hke
a woodpecker in build. After marriage the birds select a hole
in a tree, and gather a few sticks for a nest ; the hen takes
some feathers off her breast to line it and lays her eggs. When
this is done, and incubation liegins, the male bird goes to the
nearest pond, and brings wet clay, with which he sto|)s up the
hole at which his wife went in, leaving one narrow opening in
the centre, and through this the excellent fellow feeds mamma
and liule ones, until the latter are fledged and ready to leave
the nest, then he and she, from outside and in, jointly peck

LATER VISITS TO SOUTH AFRICA

135

away the clay, which has by this time under the dry heat
become as hard as a brick, and madanie and her family make
their dc/mt. The poor monsieur is a rickle of bones, madame
as round as a ball ; the Kafirs, knowing this, always dig her
out as a tit-bit whenever they find the nest. And what's it
done for? An African wood is filled with all sorts of cats,
and without a protection the toucan (that's not right, but let it
stand) family would soon be improved off the earth, for a hole
in a tree comes handy to a cat ; but the clay very soon gets
too hard for his claws, and the bird hatches in security. Now
come with me towards a Kafir kraal, such as those of the Ba-
Quaina or Ba-Wangketsi, permanent tribes. We walk through
the outskirts ; there's our friend the toucan again, but there's
his wife too, and they keep alternately flying to and from that
hole in the tree, out of which many gaping mouths are pro-
truded at each visit. Tliey are the same birds, but the house-
dOor is open. Within a radius of five to six miles of every
large kraal no cat exists. The Kafirs kill everything that runs
upon four legs for food or clothing, the best carosses are made
of cat-skins (I have one with thirty-six pussies in it), and the
birds have found this out — instinct ? or reason ?

1 wandered on at my leisure, and on my return from the higher
reaches of the river unexpectedly came upon the waggons of
Mr. Webb, of Newstead Abbey, and Captain Shelley, and a com-
panion who, I l)elieve, was travelling with them and trading
on his own account. We exchanged friendly greetings, they
going towards the Lake, I homewards. I was returning earlier
than need be, for I was very nearly run out of lead, and though
I knew they were amply provided I had not the face to ask
them for metal more valuable than gold in the middle of Africa.
Next morning, however, I shot three elephants, and it occurred
to me that I might exchange their tusks for lead with Mr.
Webb's companion, and I accordingly sent John on horsel)ack
with a note to Mr. Webb, asking him to mediate for me, and
telling him John would put his Kafirs on our tracks from the
elephants and they might run heel, and take the tusks out.

136

BIG GAME SHOOTING

John overtook them twehe or fifteen miles off, and came
hack to camp with his horse laden with bars of lead and
the prettiest and most courteous letter from Mr. Webb, who
would not hear of my buying lead with ivory, and sent me a
bountiful supply and a number of kind words. It was a most
generous help, most graciously rendered, and enabled me to
enjoy my homeward march. Without it I should have been
troubled to feed my followers for 1,400 miles, for I had only a
very small reserve.

These were the only elephants I shot that were not eaten,
and I hope some wandering Ikishman, vulture led, may have
come across even them. I missed Livingstone. He was
driven back by fever breaking out amongst his [)arty and
returned on the other side of the river, to which I myself
crossed over after a time, but he had then gone by.

Inspanning one morning whilst here, a shout of 'Ingwe'
from the men, a rush of the dogs, and up jumped a leopard in
the midst of us, and made for a large tree, which he climbed.
I was beneath it in a minute with a gun, and for half an hour with
three or four men searched for him along the branches ^vithout
avail. At last we gave it up, and went after the waggons, think-
ing he must have managed to get away unseen by us. One man
however stopped behind for a minute to tie up his bundle, and
before we were a hundred yards off the cunning beast raised
his head from a bough, came down, and made away too quickly
for us to get back, on the man's halloo, in time to shoot him —
he did wondrouslyin hiding himself Leopards were not com-
mon thus far in ; they clung to the rocks and hills in and near
the colony. I only saw four or five of them, but one performed
a cleverish trick. The Kafirs were sitting round their fire under
a large tree, when, climbing along an overhanging branch,
he dropped into the circle, caught a dog, cleared the ring at a
bound, and gt)t safely away. Towards the Colony, where the
baboons are plentiful, the leo|)ard preys on them, though, when
in large herds, the old dog baboons will frequently drive him
off ; their canine teeth are formidable weapons. Most amusing

LATER VISITS TO SOUTH AFRJCA

137

fellows are these noisy ancestors of ours, especially when feed-
ing, spread about, picking up what they can find, lifting stones,
and seizing anything that may be under them, and popping it
into their cheek pouches with a smack. Three or four experi-
enced veterans keep guard, to give warning of the approach
of danger. They cannot forage for themselves, so they have an
eye for the pouches of their brethren, and now and then make
a spring, take a young fellow by the ear, and cuff him well, until
he allows them to put their fingers into his pouch, and transfer
its contents to their own. The hunting leopard, too, was
seldom seen. I once roughly tested his tremendous speed.
1 was on horseback, and caught sight of one in such a posi-
tion that he must pass close to me, if I could gain a point fifty
yards off. To upset my plan he had a hundred and fifty
yards to run, and he beat me hollow, though I went at a full
gallop.

The game was i)lentiful on this north side of the river, but
the country in places was very ugly for hunting from the dense
thickets. Lying lazily one day on a high bank of a beautiful
reach, I was watching the otters below me as they paddled
and fished down stream, when a troop of Bushmen from a
neighbouring kraal came to the \vatering-i)lace, to fill their
gourds and ostrich shells, before starting for the elephants I
had killed the previous day, which were as usual some twelve
or fifteen miles from camp, in a dry and thirsty land where no
water was. After filling their vessels with a supply sufficient
to last them for the two or three days it would take them to
cut up and dry their meat, they proceeded to fill themselves -a
most remarkable process ; each one, whether at the moment
thirsty or not, pouring down a cargo of water to the utmost
limit of his holding capacity, to economise the store he carried
at his back. Like Mr. Weller at Stiggins' lea party, ' I could see
them swelling wisibly before my very eyes," until their usually
shrivelled bodies became shining and distended all over ; and
man, woman and child waddled away — so many different sized
water balloons. The last of the long line had disappearetl in

138

BIG GAME SHOOTING

tht dense forest — my otters were all gone— the country was
not a tempting one for hunting, the thorns by the river being
almost impenetrable, and the jungle further off so matted and
bound together with creepers and monkey-ropes that I had
determined not to try it again. The noonday heat had stilled
the earth of all distinguishable sounds, though the unbroken
monotonous hum of insect life, the never-failing accompaniment
of a piping hot day, seemed to fill and load the head and
sultry air. I had nothing to watch, less to do, and was not
sleepy ; the silence burdened me : and at length, to break it, I
shouted to my after-rider, who was enjoying his siesta some
distance off under the waggons, to saddle the horses, and tak-
ing my gun, I mounted and rode along one of the narrow game
tracks into the thicket, picking up a Bushman who had remained
behind at the encampment. For some time the only living
thing we saw was an old bull buffalo, which with lowered head
seemed inclined to bar the road until, threatened by the Bush,
man's spear, he sulkily withdrew. We had no need of him, and
were content to let him go in peace. A shot would have dis-
turbed the elephants we thought we might fall in with, for
though we were not on a trail, the fresh footprints which were
ever and again crossing the track, and the broken branches
with the sap yet undried, told us they had been there very
lately. Into the thorny barriers on either side of the way we
could not have followed them with our horses, even had we
wished, so we stuck to the path and kept our eyes open.
Presently the ground to our right with its sea of thorns rose
in a long low swell, and as it sank into the little hollow beyond,
five or six colossal bodiless legs stood out amongst the bare
lower stems of the closely woven branches. I slipped from
my pony, and crawling on hands and knees, got within twenty
yards of the legs, without being able to see anything more of
the owners. A large tree was in advance, round who.se stem
the thorns did not press quite so pertinaciously as elsewhere.
Slowly and cautiously I gained its side. An elephant was close
to me, but though I could now see his body he was stern on.

LATER VISITS TO SOUTH AFRICA

139

I broke a twig to attract his attention ; his head swung half
round, but was so guarded by the bush that it would have been
useless to fire at it. His shoulder was more exposed. There
was no time to wait, he was on the move, and the dust flew
from his side as the heavy ball struck him. Screaming angrily,
he turned full front in the direction of the tree by which I stood
motionless. I do not think he made me out, and the bush
was too thick for me to risk giving him further information by
a second shot. For a moment we confronted one another :
and then, the rumbling note of alarm uttered by his companions
decided him on joining them, and the stiff thorns bent before
the weight of seven or eight i)ulls, as a cornfield in the wind.

I regained the path and rode along the line of their retreat,
which, as shown by the yielding bush, was parallel to it.
After a time the thorns thinned out, and I caught sight ot
the wounded elephant holding a course of his own a little
to the left of his fellows ; and when he entered the tropical
forest beyond I was in his wake, and very soon compelled
to follow where he broke away. Lying flat on my pony's neck
and guiding him as I best might by occasional glimpses of the
tail of my now slowly retreating pioneer, I laboured on in the
hope that more open ground might enable me to get up along-
side of him. A most unpleasant ride it was. My constrained
position gave me but little chance of using my hands to save
my head ; I was at one time nearly pulled from the saddle by
the heavy boughs, and at another nearly torn to pieces by the
wicked thorns of the ' wait-a-bit,' which, although no longer
the tree of the jungle, were intolerably scattered through it. I
have killed elephants on very bad ground, but this was the
worst piece of bush I ever rode into in my life. A little extra
noise from the pursuers caused the pursued to stop ; and whilst
clinging like Gilpin to the calender's horse and peering at the
broad stern of the chase, I saw him suddenly put his head
where his tail ought to have been. The trunk was tightly
coiled — an elephant nearly always coils his trunk in thick
bush for fear of pricking it — forward flapped the huge ears.

140

BIG GAME SHOOTING

up went the tail, and down he came like a gigantic bat,
ten feet across. Pinned above and on either side, by dis-
mounting I could neither hope to escape nor to kill my
opponent. I therefore lugged my unfortunate animal round
and urged him along ; but I had not taken into account
with what great difficulties and how slowly I had followed the
bull. He was now in full charge, and the small trees and
bush gave way before him like reeds, whereas I was com-
pelled to keep my head lowered as before and try and
hold the path, such as it was, up which we had come. 1
was well mounted, and my spurs were sharp. Battered and
torn by branch and thorn I managed a kind ol ^^allop, but
it was impossible to keep it up. The elephant thundered
straight through obstacles we were obliged to go round, and
in fifty yards we were fast in a thick bush and he within
fifteen of us. As a last chance I tried to get off, but in
rolling round on my saddle my spur gored the pony's flank,
and the elephant screaming over him at the same moment, he
made a convulsive effort and freed himself, depositing me in a
sitting position immediately in front of the u|)lifted forefoot of
the charging bull. So near was it that 1 mechanically opened
my knees to allow him to put it down, and, throwing myself
back, crossed my hands upon my chest, obstinately puffing
myself out with the idea of trying to resist the gigantic tread, or
at all events of being as troublesome to crush as possible. I
saw the burly brute from chest to tail as he passed directly over
me lengthways, one foot between my knees, and one fourteen
inches beyond my head, and not a graze I Five tons at least !
As he turned from chasing the pony which, without my weight
and left to its own instinct, escaped easily to my after-rider's
horse — he swept by me on his way to rejoin his companions,
and I got another snap shot at his shoulders. As soon as 1
could I followed his spoor, but must have changed it in the
thick bush, for in five minutes I had run into and killed a fresh
ele[)hant in a small open space. The Hushmen found the first,
next morning, dead.

'J
7i

H
A

.,'f ■

LATER VISITS TO SOUTH AFRICA

141

Out of all my narrow escapes this is the only one that
remained with me in recollection for any time. On four or
five other occasions I was half or wholly stunned, and therefore
not very clear about my sensations ; bui on this I was well
aware of what was going on and over me. One hears of night-
mares— well, for a month or more I dare say, 1 had night-
elephants.

My reader will he glad to know that this is the last mishap
I am going to tell him of, and that my contribution to the Big
(lame of Africa is nnished. I beg his pardon for not making
it more interesting, but I began a new trade too late in life.
At starting I only proposed to give the stories of the illustra-
tions ; this I have done as well as I am able, but I have
coupled them together with remarks not strictly within the
subject of ' Big Game,' because in writing of African animals I
could not cjuite get rid of African surroundings ; and, besides,
entirely by themselves they looked too bare. I hope I may
be excused, therefore, for going a little beyond the limits pre-
scribed for this ' accidental ' sketch.

X42

BIG GAME SHOOTING

CHAPTER \'

WITH I,. 'INGSTONE IN SOUTH AlKICA
Bv W. CoTTt^N ()s',vi;i,i.

[The Editors are fully ;)vv;ire that ih' following; cannot be con-
sidered as coming strictly under the head 'if Hig (ianio Shooting.
It is, however, the speci.il wish of the late Mr. Oswell's family that
the whole MS. should appear as he left it, and the Editors willingly
comply with the request. — Ed.]

A FEW lines about iny com[>anion in my Zamhesi journey.
The desrriinion of the route taken may be found in his book,
and of the man lun<:>elf two I,i\es juive been written. }Uit !
knew him weV. personally, and there was one trait in his cha-
racter which, W(judia\ has never been made enough of— a
kmd of firm persistence to do whatever he had set his mind
on. In an Kngli.'h'nan we might, 1 think, have called the
j)hase obstinacy, but with Liv .gstone it was 'Scottishness.'
It was not the sic volo sic jii/n-o style of imperiousness, but a
quiet determination to carry out his own views in his own way,
without feeling himself bound to give ony reason or expla-
nation further than that he intended <loing so and so. Tins
was an mmiense help to him, for ii made him supremely
self-reliant, and if he had not been, he ( ould never have done
half that he did. Me was the I'abius of African travel.
Vicii cun(ta:ido niiglit well be his epita|)h. He l)elieved, as
I do, that the way was to be won, not forced, if any good
results weie to folic w. 1 h;ive sat seven weeks witli him on
the bank of a swamp because he was unwilling to run courUer

in)?

IVITH LIVINGSTONE IN SOUTH AFRICA 143

to the wishes of the i)eoi)le. I pressed him to move on with
the horses ; no active op|)osition would have been offered, but
he would not wound the prejudices of the natives and he was
right. We had our reward, for, after satisfying themselves that
we meant no harm, we were giver free passports, and even
helped on our way, journeying, as an Indian would say, on
'the back of an elei)hant.' With his (juiet endurance, and
entire lack of fussiness and excitability, content to wait and let
})atience have her perfect work, (juite satisfied that the day
should bring forth what it liked, he was .'minently the 'jtistum
ct tenacem propositi Tiruin,' on whom man or elements make
but slight impression, yet strangely withal very enthusiastic.
This nature fittc'd him for the succf^ssful traveller and trustworthy
com[)anion. His inner man and noble aspirations l)eiong to
the his ories of his life. We were the firmest of friends, both
a trifle >bstinate, but we generally agreed to differ, and in all
n.atters concerning the natives, I, of course, waived my c rude
opinions to his matured judgment. I had the management of
trekking and the cattle, after he, with his great knowledge of
the people and their language, had obtained all the infor-
mation he could about the waters and the distances between
them. This worked >vell.

\\'hen we reached the Chobe River, Sebitoani was on an
island thirty miles down stream, but sent his own canoe with
twelve paddlers to bring us to him. It was a pleasant trip, the
men going with the current about eight miles an hour. At
three in the afternoon we reached our destination and landed.
Presently this reallv great chief and man came to meet us, shy
and ill at ease. W\' held out our hands in the accustomed way
ot true Britons, and I was surprised to see that his mother-wit
gave him immediate insight mto what was expected of him, and
the friendly meaning of our salutation ; though he could never
ha\e witnessed it bef()re, he at once followed suit and placed
his hand in ours as if to the manner born. I felt troubled at
the evident nervt)usnessof the famous warrior, for he hail been,
and still.was, a luigiuy fighter, witii \ery remarkable force of

144

lUG GAME SHOOTING

character. Surrounded by his trihesinen, he stood irresoKite
and (juite overcome in the presence of two ordinary-looking
Euro|)cans. Livingstone entered at once into conversation
with him, and by degrees i)arily reassured him ; but throughout
that day and the next, a sad, half-s( arcd look never faded from
his face. He had wished us to visit him, had sent an am-
bassage to Livingstone at Kolobeng, l)ut the reality of our
coming, with all its possibilities, dangers, and advantages seemed
to (lit through the man's mind as in a vision. He killed an o\
for us, and treated us right royally ; he was far and away the
finest Kafir I ever saw in mien and manner.

He had been told that Livingstone a:. u I occasionally wrote
a letter to one another, if by chance we were separated for a day
or two and wished to communicate or arrange a meeting at a
certair. point, and asked us if his information were true that we
could make one nnother hear when far apart, and if we could
give him an example of our power. Livingstone took a man
out of even Katir earshot, four or five hundred yards away, and
then whisjjeringly asked him his own and his wife's nauK, .\\\(\,
writing them on a scrap of paper sent him to me. ' Well.
Kachobe, and how is .Scboni your wife?' I asked. The chief
and his headmen, wh(3 were gathered ex[)ectant round, were
ama/ed and somewhat frightenetl, taking it for magic, though
they soon ^Tot over it.

It does not do to introduce Kafirs too suddenly to the
common things of civilised life. I on(X' lost an admiring
audience by an act of this kind. A laughing circle was
round me, and I was dispensing l)eads, brass wire, and tiny
locking glasses to ingratiate myself with a new tribe, the
Mac«:)ba, when by way of amusing them I took a burning-glass
from my pocket and ignited a pinch of gun])owder strewed on
the waggon-box, telling them >viiat I was g(jing to tlo, and
prei)aring them for it. With the puff, man, woman, and child
vanislvd ; it was days before 1 could regain their confidence,
and throughout my stay with them I was looked upon with awe
as the wizard of the sun. ,

WITH LIVIMGSTOXE JN SOUTH AFRICA 145

Sebitoaiii had allotted to us a bright clean kotla for eating
and sleeping in, and after su|)per we lay down on the grass,
which had been cut for our beds by thf thoughtful attention of
the chief In the dead of the night he paid us a visit alone,
and sat down very cjuietly and mournfully at our fire. Living-
stone and I woke up and greeted him, and th.en he dreamiiy
recounted the history of his life, his wars, escapes, successes
and conquests, and the far-distant wandering in his raids. By
the fire's glow and flicker among the reeds, with that tall dark
earnest speaker and his keenly attentive listeners, it has always
appeared to vne one of the most weird scenes I ever saw.
^\'ith subdued manner and voice Sebitoani went on through
the livelong night till near the dawn, his low tones only occa-
sionally interrupted by an inquiry from Livingstone. He de-
scribed the way in which he had circumvented a strong ' impi '
of Matabili on the raid, and raised his voice for a minute or
two as he recounted how, hearing of their approach, he had sent
men to meet the dreaded warriors of 'Umsilegas, feigning them-
selves traitors to him in order to lure them to destnu tion by
promising to guide them to the bulk of the cows and oxen which
they said, in fear of their coming, had been placed in fancied
security on one of the large islands of tlie Chobe ; how the
Zulus fell into the trap, and allc-wetl themselves to be ferried
over in three or four canoes hidden there for the purpose, and
how when the last trip had been made the boatmen, pulling out
into midstream, tokl them they could remain where they were
till they were feti iied ofl", and in the meantime might search for
the cattle ; how, after leaving them till they were worn and weak
with hunger, for there was nulling to eat on the island, he pa.ised
over, killed the chiefs, and absorbed the soldiers into his own
ranks, providing them with wives, a luxury they were not entitled
to under Zulu military law until their spears had been well
reddened in fight. Then he waved his hand westwards, and
opened out a stor*' of men over whom he had gained an easy
triumph ' away away very far by the bitter waters,' and to whom,
when they asked for food, wishing to bind them with fetters of

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146

BJG CAME S/i'OOTING

kindness, he sent a fat ox, and, "'Would you believe it? they
returned it, saying they didn't eat ox.' " Then what do you
eatr" I asked; " 7£;if like beef btttor than anything." "We
eat ;//^//,'' said they. 1 had never heard of this beibre. V>\M
they were very pressing, so at last I sent them two slaves of
Macobas —the river people — who, as you know, are very dark
in colour, but they i)rought them back, saying they did not
like hlark men, but preferred the redder variety, and as that
meant sending my own fighting men, I told them they mrjM go
without altogether.' This was the only intimation we ever had
that cannibalism existed in our part of Africa.

This chief afterwards died close to our waggons from pneu-
monia set up by the irritation of some old spear wounds in his
chest. He was beloved by the Mnkololo, was the fastest runner
and best fighter among them ; just, though stern, with wonder-
ful power of attaching men to him. He was a gentleman in
thought and manner, well disi)osed to Eurojieans, and very
proud of their visiting him. Had he not died ho might h;)ve
been of the greatest use in civilising and missionary work-
His kingdom has, I am afraid, melted away. 'I'he scei)tre de-
scended to his daughter, who thought. ;is man took a plurality
of wives, a (lueeii might allow herself like liberty in the wa\
of husbands, dickering and strife arose, and though the rule
went to her brother after her resignation, he was not of the
same calibre as his father, and disintegration of the iieterogenc-
ous elements of the carefulh put together and wisely ruled
kingdom soon set in. The -uition lost its unity, and resolved itself
into its separate nationalities in the nnirse, T believe, of a very
few years. Such has been the fare v)f all African kingdoms ;
one great man has made anil h< d iheiii togethet. .'nd at his
death they havereti mi-d t<; the >evoral pett\' tribal royalties out
of whit^h they were wilded.

And now, ha\ing hatl my say on 1'.;^ vlame. one word on
the 'biggest beasts " of Africa- the slave traders and one on
the country, and 1 have done. It was on the Chobe that we
first came across the slaver's w«>rk. \\'e had travelled ail night

WITH UVIXGSTONE IN SOUTH AFRICA 147

throiu^h the slcepinj^ flies. I was in advance with the gun and
half a dozen Kafirs with axes, with which they had been clearing
the way. In the very early morning we reached the river, nar-
row, but deep, with stet;p banks. I asked the guide if we could
cross it. ' Do they swim?' he asked, pointing to the waggons.
' No,' I answered ; ' where's t'e ford ? ' There was none, he said.
* Are there ts(?tse here?' I incpiired, and he replied that there
were plenty. 'What are we to do .vith the animals?' and
he told me to drive them as near as possible to the water,
into the reeds, as the flies were not there, only in the bush.
The pests were beginning to buzz about as the sun rose, so we
t»)ok the man's advice, and while the others lay down for a rest
of an hour or two I volunteered to keep watch. Putting my
back against a tree, I kept my eyes steadfastly fixed on my
charire for a time, and then I suppose I must have closed them,
though (»f course I should deny tliat I was asleep.

Suddenly 1 was roused from my reverie by a salutation in
Sechuana ' Kumehi.' I looked up, and before me stood a tall
stalwart Kalir, clothed ni a larly's dressing-gown. It came
scantily to his knee, and m other i)arts :^eemed hardly to have
been made for him, and his appearamre was so queer that I
burst into a laugh. I saw the blood rise in his dusky face as
hv asked wh;u 1 was laughing at. ' W ny, you have got on a
woman's dress from my country,' 1 told him. ' I don't know
about thit,' he said, ' but I gave a woman for it last year.' We
had come imaware upon the southern limit of the sla\e trade.
It was months since we had last seen any products of European
manufacture oxce|)t those we had brought with us, and here
the\ were in iS' S. l.at., in the middle of South .Africa, i,i;oo
to i,Soo miles froHfriny sea. l,i\ingstone woke up, smoothed
down my visitor, and impiired what we could i\o with the
cattle. \Nc could not leave them where ihey were ; they
would inul nothing to eat, and besides, when the sun got hot
the flies would find th\ n way to them. We must dri\e them
at^ross" the river, as there were no tsetse there, the m;m told
US i anii %v fcHi®d it was so, thv' narrowest liuv* faquently

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148

L'/C7 GAME SHOOTING

defining the limits of safety and danger. Nothing, however,
would persuade them to take the jump from the bank into
the deep black water. Our friend whistled, and from the
fringe of reeds on the opposite side four or five canoes full of
men shot across the narrow channel. As they landed they
presented the most motley appearance. They had evidently
dressed to astonish us, and each bore about his neck or
shoulders some article of European manufacture. Here was a
fellow with a yard and a half of green baize or red diugget
tied with a leathern thong about his throat, the ends streaming
away behind him ; another with a yard or two of sonic cheap
gaudy cloth with a hole cut in the middle, wearing it a la poncho ;
two yards of calico of the commonest adorned the person of a
third ; it was a most ridiculous sight, but was evidently considered
most impressively overwhelming. Still the cattle resisted our
united eflForts. At last, a canoe was paddled over to the other
side, and in three or four minutes appeared again with a tiny
cow and a most diminutive calf as passengers. The little cow
was lifted on to the bank, and tne canoe paddled back with the
calf , we got our oxen as much together in a lump as we could,
close to the river, surrounded them oi^ three sides, loosed the
lowing little mother, who insta;itl\ took a header into the
water, and then by shoutmg, jjushing, and twisting tails induced
our oxen to follow the example set them, and they were safe.
The horses gave no trouble.

On '[ucslioning these Kafirs and their chief (Sebitoai\iy
afterwards as to the mystery of the fme clotht.'s, this was the
interi)retation. ' I )o you see that little hill ? A number of men
with hair like yours and with guns came from the eastwards ami
sat down on that hill. We sent to ask them what they ',>anted,
and they said "to buy men." A\'e explained we had none to-

sell ; it was the first time they liad e\er come to us, though
we had heard of them before. \\'ouldn't they buy ivory
or ostrich feathers ? No, they didn't want anything of that
sort; they had beautiful cloths, which they showed us'.' *I
told them,' said Sebitoani, 'that I thought it was an "ugly" thing.

WITH LIVINGSTONE IN SOUTH AFRICA 149

to sell men, but they sat there day after day, and showed us
fresh cloths so beautiful that you would have sold your grand-
mother for them. 'J'hen I somehow remembered there were
men whom we had taken in our last raid. And I at length
consented to part with them. Hut they were not many, and
they wanted more. I said 1 had none ; if I sold now it
must be my own people, and I would not do that. Then they
asked, " I )on't you want oxen ? " What could I say -doesn't a
chief always want oxen ? " Well, as we came here, about five days
off we passed through a country where the oxen were like the
grass for number. I ,ond us 400 or 500 of your warriors, and
we will help with our guns, and let us attack that tribe. \Ve will
take the men and women, and you shall take the oxen."
What could I say? This appeared a very good plan to me, so
we attacked. They got two great tens (200) of men and
women, and I got all those caltk/ pointing to a plain on which
ii herd of these diminutive little creatures were feeding. I for-
get whether Livingstone described them, but they were most
• remarkably small things, like sturdy I )urham oxen three feet high.
There was not the least difficulty in carrying them about Ixxlily ;
we put one into a waggon, hoi)ing to bring it out, but it died.
Pretty little gentle beasts, I wish I had taken more trouble to
secure specimens. Wh>.'n the men milked them they held them
by the hind leg as you would a goat. On the other hanil, by
the shores of Lake 'Ngami. a gigantic long-horned breed is
found, stolen in a raid from the Ma-Wangketsi thirty years
before our visit. 'I'hey were original. y remarkable for their
heads, but in four or five generations, from feeding on the
silicious coated reetls and succulent grasses near the lake, had
developed wonderfully in horns and height. 'I'hrough Living-
stone 1 obtained one 6 ft. 2 in. high, with horns measuring
fron^ tip to tip 8 ft. 7 in. and 14 ft. 2 in. round from one
point to the other taking in the base of the skull. \Ve had
<leared a way for the waggons through the bush, but had in
many places on our return to widen it for my ox. I ho})ed to
Ifcftvc brought him home and to have presented him to the

T^iiBVRa^naMnaBBi

■PRRi^fnia"

150

BIG GAME SHOOTING

Zoological Gardens, but after driving him 800 miles the grass
got very >hort, and his horns coming to the ground before his
nose, prevented him feeding. I was obliged to shoot him, and
his head now hangs over the sideboard in my dining-room.

These slave-dealers, with their devilish counsels and temp-
tations, were Mambari, a kind of half-caste Portuguese, who
fifty years ago were agents for the export slave-trade. A\'hen the
survivors of the gangs reached the coast they were packed away
in a slave-ship, like herrings in a cask, and transported. Through
the vigilance of English cruisers this iniquitous traffic has been
greatly reduced, and, but for the refusal of the right of search
by the French, would be very small and unremunerative ; but
the Arab curse still continues, and though, now that the sea-
board is partially occupied by Europeans, greater difficulty
will be placed in its way, I am of opmion that through the
avarice and cupidity of man -African and European it will
not entirely disappear so long as there is any ivory left. That
once exhausted, is there anything else worth bringing a ten-
mile journey to the coast?

In the late very cool partitioning of Africa we may con-
gratulate ourselves in having obtained possession of Mashona-
land, a district healthy enough for colonisation, and apparently
rich enough to repay it. The tsetse, that great enemy to the
cattle-breeder, will disappear before the approach of civilisa-
tion, and the killing off of the game, especially the buffalo,
its stanJing dish, as it has done many times already in African
lore. I am speaking of the tracts south of the Zambesi. Of
tropical lands to the north T know nothing, save from what I
read and am told, and I cannot yet see how tiiey are to be
settled, l^'ever and general unhealthiness must weight immi-
gration heavily, and even if the c:ountry is capable of supplying
the needs of the world in the future, what i)hiianthropic society
will subsidise the workers until the industries are developed ?
It must be remembered the greatest projihylactics in an evil
climate are movement, and its conseciueni excitement, and change
of scene — the settler dies where the traveller lives. 'Hie rail-

■■■i

WITH LIVlNGSrONK IX SOUTH AFRICA

^51

way, if made, will help to supjjress slavery, by giving carriage
for the ivory, its only cause at i)resent — no ivory, no slavery.
May the venture turn out better than many another has
done, and not end in that very questionable blessing, a rum-
civilisation 1

The influx of ii"^migrants into Mashonaland will, in time,
with the gold and diamond seeking population further south,
tend to minimise the power of the Hoers over the native tribes.
Dutchmen are slow colonists, and will not be able to hold their
own with the incomers in enterprise, or in a few years in
numbers or power, and the evil influence and oppression they
have at times exercised upon the black race will be at an end.
I hope no worse regime may come in with the new rule.
There were many good points in the Dutch farmers, and I
think they compare very favourably with English squatters in
other lands. Where antagonistic races are brought together,
the minority, the whites, if they are to hold their ground, are
almost inevitably forced for very existence to terrorise the black
majority that would otherwise overwhelm them. I am not
arguing that their conduct is moral or legal, but it has been,
and will continue to be, the rule where whites settle in black
men's lands uninvited. U'e may hold \\\) our hands in a
Pharisaical way, and when we are once secure, I grant we try
to improve our subjects ; but they must be our subjects first.
Hut would Englishmen under similar conditions have done
much better than the Dutchmen? 1 think not. Without the
pale of law, tliey would h.jrdly have been so much of a law unto
themselves. No doubt the Boers have many faults, and with
resped to the native races have shown great cruelty my con-
tention is they could hardly have held their own without.
NN'e must not be too hard on ihem because they have twice got
the better of us in the Held, and twice in diplomacy. English-
meii have not forgotten Laings Nek and ttie Majul)a Hills.
|)il)lomatically, too, we were twice worsted : the Boers had very
troublesome neighbours, and sought the suzerainty of our Queen
for their own ends, not by a unaninfous vote I know ; but

J,Ai-H^,-„ J„J

«??n'TS???Se3XBgBX?89K9C9BS9

153

BIG GAME SHOOTING

there are ' oppositions ' everywhere, and at all events the seekers
were the majority. The troublesome neighl)ours, now we are
masters, call upon us to rectify the frontier line, which had been
greatly encroached upon by the Hocrs. We refuse, or delay,
to set matters right. Boers' troublesome neighbours become
ours. The Zulus are conquered with soiro difficulty, and the
Boers, relieved from their anxieties, demand and obtain the
withdrawal of the suzerainty. This is not my opinion alone.
The Zulus were our fast friends till we refused to undo the
wrongs they had suffered at the hands of the Dutchmen the
whole story, including the subsecjuent withdrawal of our troops,
is a page that one would like to tear out of our annals.

The character of the country in its different stages is well
given in the illustrations. There are no striking features ; no
mountains, no large river, except the Zambesi, and only one
rather uninteresting lake, 'Ngami ; no great forests, no tropical
vegetation ; the rains are scanty, the soil dry, the plains large.
What you see one day you may see for a week. In most
countries you would have to describe nature in her many
phases, but in South Africa one might take a paint-brush and
give a broad, general idea of the land, with four or five streaks
of colou — the widely extending, ascending, nearly treeless
flats from Kuruman to the Molopo River ; the broken, fairly
clothed region of the liakatla ; and the open park-like scenery
between them and the rocky homes of the Bakaaand Ba-Mung-
wato. Throughout this area the prevailing trees are mimosas ;
the flowers are of the same genera and orders, undisturbed by
man — sheets of different kinds are often spread out side by side>
parterre fashion, in se[)arate beds, not mingling even at the
edges. They have fought the battle out amongst themselves, and
it has (Mided in the survival of the fittest, aliens less suited to the
particular border being crowded out by the stronger natives.

From the Ba-Mungwato, however, as you dive into the
Kalahari desert by the Bushmen sucking-holes of 'Serotli,
thirty yards of sand suffice to change the growth and famili'^s
of trees and flowers. On the side we struck the hollo\t, they

WITH L1VINL.ST0NE Ii\ SOUTH AFRICA

153

were old friends : on the other, entire strangers — not even recog-
nised by the Kafirs who had accompanied us from the south.

We had turned over a fresh leaf in Nature's book, and it
lasted us until the sluggish waters of the Zouga River and Lake
Kamadou came in sight, with their lonely palm-trees, and, on
the upper reaches of the river, unusually thick bush. Vou
thence passed through a country cut up with narrow sleepy
streams, or by the dry barren road, eastward of Lake Kamadou,
to the open flats of the Zambesi, the approach froin the side of
the Chobe being studded with euphorbia-trees, quaint of growth,
and excellently named candelabra. Throughout these parts
you hardly see a hillock ; so rare, indeed, is the sight, that
one tiny, isolated mound is named ' Sisalebue ' ' we are still
looking at you'- by the Kafirs, in recognition of the scarcity
of even such haycocks. IJeyond the Zouga the wonderful
abundance of animal life is not maintained. There is game,
but not Jn large herds. The happy hunting grounds in my
time began at the .Molcpo and ended at the Zouga.

Throughout South .\frica the sparseness of the population
has favoured the increase of the game, coupled with the fact
that the people were not adecjuately armed for its destruction.
The massing of animals in particular localities, dependent on
the waters, which are few and far between, may perhaps have
led to an exaggerated idea of the sum total ; but put it as you
will, after all real and imaginary detluctions from whatsoever
cause, there never was a land so full of wild lite since ante-
diluvian days. It will die out before guns and civilisation, and
that quickly, though the fly may bar the way to mounted
sportsmen, f.r ;'n reare no dense jungles or inaccessible ranges
of mountain ff^r iie beasts to fall back ujwn.

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EAST Al'RICA--l!ArTKKV, DRESS, CAMP CEAK AND STORKS

13v V. J. Jackson

The pursuit of big game in the Africa of fifty years ago lias
already been graphically described in the foregoing pages by
the late Nfr. ^\'. C. Oswell ; but, as the eciitor of these volumes
considers that something ought to bi- written here of more
modern sport in that countr)', and as the style of hunting has
altered somewhat since my collaborator's time, I have accei»ted
an invitation to describe I'last African s[)ort as it is to-day, and
to furnish such advic e and guidance as may prove serviceable
to others contemplating a shooting ex])edition lo my old hunt-
ing grounds.

The nature of the big game in I'-ast Africa can have altered
little, cxcei)t in those i)arts of the coimtry which have, within

"PWP

EAST AFRICA

155

I '

the last few years, been visited by luiropeaii sportsmen. In
these places, particularly in the district round Kilimanjaro,
and in the vicinity of well-beaten caravan routes to the interior,
the game has naturally become more cunning and more diffi-
cult to approach than it used to be. Little or nothing has ever
been done or can be done in East Africa without patience
and perseverance, and perhaps the pursuit of big game in that
country will test these virtues more than anything else. Dis-
appointments in such a country are, of course, numerous, and
some of them are unavoidable, but there are others which might
be avoided by the exercise of a little patience and knowledge.

First among the matters requiring the sportman's conside-
ration is his battery.

Without entering into the details of the merits and demerits
of the different rifles and their respective charges, about which
so much has been written, I strongly recommend sportsmen
intending to visit East Africa to arm themselves on the
principle that a big beast, and more particularly a dangerous
one, requires a heavy bullet, and the great shock such a bullet
gives to the system, to disable or kill it, and not to allow them-
selves to be carried away with the idea that a "450 F.xpress
bullet is good enough for anything. There is no doubt what-
ever that the very largest and t0ughe.1t of game can be killed
by a "450 or -500 Express, and there are several well-known
and very experienced sportsmen who use nothing else, but as
it is more than probable that the majority of those men who
use, and advocate the use of, small rilles for all kinds of big
game used heavy rifles when they first began, and while learn-
ing by experience what they now know of the habits of the
beasts, their anatomy, and their most vital spots, I should
reconmieiul beginners to use what these experienced hunters
began with, i.e. heavy rilles for big game. 'This chapter is
>vritten more i)articularly for sportsmen who, though they may
be excellent shots, and possessed of good nerve under ordinary
circumstances in the oi)en, have had little or no experience
with big and dangerous game. Approaching a beast which is

«p

156

BIG GAME SHOOTIXG

quite unconscious of the stalker's presence, even out in the
open where there is little covert, although exciting and often
rather difficult work, is rarely, if ever, dangerous ; but follow-
ing the blood spoor of a wounded buffalo, rhinoceros, or
elephant into places where there is little chance of seeing the
beast excepting at close quarters is quite another thing ; and it
is possible that a man might lose his nerve or become unsteady
through over-excitement when the result of a badly placed
small-bore bullet might end in disaster. The use of heavy rifles,
however, reduces to a minimum the danger of following up
such dangerous game into thick bush or long tangled grass. A
large-bore spherical bullet driven by plenty of powder, even if
it should not strike a vital spot (owing perhaps to the position
of the beast when fired at, or to the stalker being unable in the
thick covert to make out what part of the animal he is aiming
at), will inflict such a tremendous shock upon the system that
the creature is far less likely to charge than when hit with a
small bullet. A big bullet might knock the beast down, and
would also knock out of him any inclination he miglit have to
charge, whereas a small bullet under the same conditions
would have little chance of knocking him down, but would only
inflict further pain and increase his inclination to charge.

The following is the battery used by myself, and it is one
which I have found satisfactory : —

A single 4-bore rifle, weighing 21 lbs., sighted for 50, 100,
and 1 50 yards, shooting 1 2 drums of powder and a spherical
bullet.

A double 8-bore rifle, weighing 15 lbs., sighted for 100
and 200 yards, shooting 12 drams of [)ow(ler and a spherical
bullet.

A double '500 l<>xpress, sighted for 100 and 200 yards,
bored for long bottle-shaped cases, ' Magnum,' shooting 6 drams
of powder and long bullets of three kinils — solid, smail-holc,
and copper-tube.

A 1 2-bore shot-gun.

To the above were added a single -450 I'^xpress with telc-

I '

MMHiPaiW

EAST AFRICA

157

scope sight up to 300 yards for long shots when game was
wild ; a -44 Winchester carbine, a wonderfully accurate and
first-rate little weapon for Gaze/la Thomsoni and such small
game; a -295 rook rifle; and a 12-bore Paradox by Messrs.
Holland. This is an admirable weapon, and cannot be too
highly recommended for shooting in bush where game is gene-
rally to be seen within 100 yards, though it rarely offers more
than a snap shot. A Paradox is particularly useful should
the sportsman's dinner depend on a snap shot at an antelope,
guinea-fowl, or francolin. In a country where transport is diffi-
cult to obtain and also expensive, and where every cartridge
is important and has to be considered, it would be as well to
take a 20-bore Paradox instead of a 12-bore. .

Moreover, for a weapon that would rarely be out of the
hand (except when stalking or following up a wounded beast),
its lightness, especially on the march or when returning to
camp dead beat after a good hard day, would be a great
advantage. Many is the time I have longed for such a handy
little weapon.

A very favourite battery amongst sportsmen, and one which
many recommend, is as follows : -

A double 8-l)ore rifle.

A double -577 Impress rifle.

A double -450 Ivxpress rifle.

A double 2o-b()re shot-gun.

If, hov/ever, I were asked to recommend a first-rate battery
for East Africa, I should say : —

A single 4-bore rifle, as above, with only one sight too
yards.

A double 8-bore, as above, with only one sight 100 yards.

A double -500 l<Ai)ress, as above.

A single -450 Express, as above, or -400 for long cartridge.

A 20-borc ]\iradox.

And a '295 rook rifle.

Hammerless rifles and guns are much safer in the hands of
native gun-bearers than hammered guns, besides having other

158

BIG GAME SHOOTING

and mcst iiriportant advantages, which, however, it is needless
for me to enter upon.

All guns, rifles, and ammunition should be taken out from
England. The ammunition should be packed in tin-lined
boxes with screw-down lids, and should not exceed 65 lbs. in
weight. A strong solid leather cartridge magazine to hold 500
i2-bore cartridges should be taken. It can be filled with an
assortment of cartridges for immediate use, and can be reple-
nished from the tin- lined boxes when necessary or convenient.
To complete the shooting kit, a pair of powerful binoculars,
which are much handier than a telescope, is indispensable.
They should be made of aluminium (which is very light), and
can be carried either in their leather case on the belt or inside
the coat, which I think is by far the handiest place. A
compass, though a good thing to have, is not altogether neces-
sary ; it can if wanted be carried either in a small pocket
(which should be waterproof) between the brace buttons of the
breeches, or let into the lid of the binocular case.

DRl'.SS

In the matter of dress, ^vhich is a very important considera-
tion in big game shooting, when everything has to be done on
foot, regard should be had to the features of the surrounding
country, and the stalker should endeavour to be as little con-
spicuous as possible, ^\'ith this end in view, he caimot do better
than have his clothes made of Kharki, anci Indian Shikar cloth
of mixed green and brown. In the dry weather, when the grass
and bush are withered, Kharki is less conspicuous than Shikar
cloth, as it assimilates better with the ■ urroundings. Shikar
cloth is excellent after the rains have fallen, and the grass and
bush are green. i>oth are very strong, and wear well. I re-
commend the coat to be made Norfolk jacket fashion, loose
and roomy about the chest and sh(nilders, but fitting fairly
close at the waist. There should be one pocket let in on the
left breast, but on no account should there be one of any kind

EAST AFRICA

159

on the right hroast, as it would often interfere with getting the
rifle or gun quickly up to the shoulder. The two pockets, one
on each hip, should be fairly large and roomy, and shoulcl have
a good deep flap to keep wet and dirt out. 'i'he flap should
be made to button, to prevent cartridges, &c., from jumping out
when running ; it should, however, be made to button and un-
button very easily. It is a good thing to have six loops (made
on the same princij)le as a cartridge belt, but of the same material
as the coat), sewn to the left breast, and six or eight on to the
right side, for the cartridges of the two Express rifles most in use.
The loops on the left breast should be about on a level with the
first button, if the coat is worn with an open V front, or the
second button if worn tunic f;^shion, to button up at the throat ;
the loops on the right side should be just above the l)elt. They
are a great convenience, as, if properly made, the cartridges never
shake out, and are far handier than when carried in the [)ocket,
and the stalker is much more independent of his gun-bearers
who carry spare ammunition. The under part of the sleeve,
from above the elbow to the wrist, should be covered with
some kind of soft leather, as a protection against thorns, (S:c.,
when crawling up to game. The shoulders should also be
protected by leather pads. Knickerbocker breeches made
with plenty of room above the knees are perhaps more comfort-
able than anything else. They should be fiiced with soft leather,
extending from the knee to half-way up the thigh, and from the
inside to the outside seam, with an extra thickness just over
the knee-cap. It is a good plan to have a small pocket between
each pair of the front brace buttons to carry a watch and compass
in. These should i)e made waterproof, to prevent perspiration
injuring their contents. I'Acellent clothes can i)e had either at
Mombasa or Zanzibar, anil are far cheaper than at home. It
is as well, however, to have one suit made in England, as a
pattern, for the ( loanese tailors are poor hands at making from
measurements, though they can turn out first-rate work from a
pattern. All under-garments should be of flannel, a mixture
of flannel and cotton, or flannel and silk. Woollen stockings

l6o

/.'/(; GAME SHOOTING

should 1)0 thick, as they not only protect the feet from the
burning heat, but also prevent them from blistering. Merino
socks are very pleasant for camp, but are too thin for marching,
and soon wear out. Boots and shoes should l)e of brown
leather, as it is much cooler than black, and I find that shoes
worn with leggings with ' spat ' feet are undoubtedly cooler
than boots. Leggings of soft sheepskin, or so-called vSambur
leather, are excellent, and as they can ))e made to fit close to
the leg, they afford almost as much support as the Indian ' putti.'
They have one disadvantage, however, as Sambur leather soaks
up and holds water more than other leather. All boots and
shoes should have the soles well studded with nails, of which
an extra supply should be taken, as walking in dry grass very
soon polishes the soles, and slipping about, disagreeable at
any time, becomes very exhausting after a long day. In the
matter of headgear, EUwood's patent Shikar hat of felt and
brown canvas is excellent when the sun is very powerful ; it will
stand any amount of rough usage, and has the advantage of
being waterproof. A solar ' topee,' whether helmet or mushroom
shape, is much too conspicuous ; is apt to be dragged off the
head when passing through thorny bush ; tears and breaks v^ry
easily : and after a downpour of rain soon becomes reduced to
a heavy shapeless pulp. A parson's felt wideawake, covered
with the same material as the shooting suit, is capital for stalk-
ing in, as the lirim is just wide enough to protect the i)ack of
the neck when crawling up to game, and is not so large as to
be conspicuous. .

A waterproof of material s[)ecially made for the tropics is
indispensable. A very convenient shape with kilt and cape,
known as the * Payne-(lallwey,'is made by Messrs. Cording, of
Air Street ; but for Africa I prefer a short coat with a cape
sufficiently Mng to keep a rifle dry when tucked under the arm
to a cape only. The kilt to protect the legs should reach well
below the knees. The advantage of this combination is that
after a heavy shower of rain the legs are still protected from
the wet grass, while the coat can be dispensed with, as it is

EAST AFRICA

\(n

very hot and uncomfortable work walking in a waterproof
in the tropics. An ulster, or warm dressing-gown, should also
he taken for camp use, and a thick boating sweater is invalu-
able in cold or damp weather.

CAM I' CKAK

In regard to camp gear, a thing of vital importance, a lew
hints may prove useful. Comfort in camp should be one of
the first considerations. Some men incur risks unnecessarily,
through ignorance of the dangers they are runnmg, having
probably read that men in South Africa sleep out in the
open with impunity, or with nothing but a 'lean-to' of sticks
and grass as a protection against dew, wind, or rain, and a
bundle of grass and a blanket to lie upon ; but men cannot do
this in East Africa, and I recommend them not to try. The
heavy dews and the sudden changes of temperature during the
night are two of the chief things to be guarded against, and it
is well never to disregard them. A tent is indispensable. A
capital one, known as the * Wissmann,' can be had from
Edgington, of 2 Duke Street, London Bridge. His damp and
insect proof canvas is excellent, and wet increases its weight
very little. This tent, which is 7 ft. by 7 ft., is a very comfort-
able size for one man, and packs into two loads. The outside
fly, however, should be 3 ft. longer on each side of the ridge-pole,
and should nearly touch the ground. If this is done the tent
is much more likely to stand firm in a gale of wind, and the
space underneath affords plenty of room for private gear, and
also a cai)ital slee[)ing-place for the tent boy, provided iie does
not snore. The poles, excei)ting the ridge-poles, should be
solid, and made of deal, which is fairly light ; female bamboo
cracks and breaks when the tent ropes shrink through getting
wet, and male bamboo is heavy and difficult to obtain in
England. Indian-made tents are not to be recommended for
Africa ; they are essentially for hot and dry weather. They
absorb dami), and increase tremendously in weight in wet

I. M

l63

BIG GAME SHOOTING

weather ; tear more easily in transport through bush ; rot
sooner than Enghsh-made tents, and are not proof against the
attacks of white ants. A floorcloth of the same canvas as the
tent, but of a coarser and stronger material, cut to the exact
size of the tent, is a great comfort. This can be packed with
the body of the tent, without making it too heavy a load. A
bathroom attached to the fly on the Indian principle is also a
comfort, and affords extra room for private gear, <S:c. The
bedstead should be of iron ; a first-rate folding one, weighing
about 20 lbs., can be had at the Army and Navy Stores. The
bedding should consist of a cork mattress, three Austrian
coloured blankets, a leather jiillow stuffed with hair, with three
linen cases for the same ; all ])acked in a waterproof W'olseley
valise, procurable at the Army and Navy Stores. Clothing,
books, and all valuables should be carried in air-tight cases,
the most convenient size being 27 in. x 12 in. x 9 in. l.ast,
though not least, is a good bath, and this should be an ordinary
oval one with lid. It is a great convenience to have a wicker-
work lining, to lift in and out, in which clodiing and such-like
light things can be packed to the regulation weight. When it
is required for bathing, the lining, with everything in it, can be
lifted out. This does away with constant packing and unpack-
ing. It is certainly an awkward load for a porter, and one
he dislikes very much, but it is well worth taking. Of course,
india-rubl)er baths of different makes are very portable, but in
case of a severe chill they are not deep enough for a really good
not bath, besides which the risk they run of being damaged
and rendered quite useless by careless African 'boys' is con-
siderable. The moscjuito curtain is another important item.
This should not be bell-shaped, but oblong, and a little longer
and wider than the bedstead. The top should be of calico, and
should be either sewn to the sloping roof of the tent or attached
to it with tapes, to tie and untie. When not in use, it can be
folded up and stowed away flat against the roof, where it is
but of the way, and when wanted can be dropped down over
tlie bed. I strongly recommend everyone at all times to sleep

EAST AFRICA

163

under curtains, as, even if there are no mosquitoes, sand-
flies, or other noxious insects about, curtains help to keep off
miasma to a very great extent. Before having t le mosquito
curtains removed in the morning, it is a good thing to take
a cup of coffee or cocoa before getting out of bed, as I believe
when so fortified a man is less liable to the influences of
miasma, which, if floating about at all, is worse just when
getting up, between 4 and 5 a.m., than at any other time.

A good, well-assorted medicine chest is a sine qua non.
All medicines should be, if possible, ii. compressed tabloid
form. Messrs. Burroughs iS- ^V^ellcome, of Snow Hill, Holborn,
supply every kind of chest suitable for African travel. For
the porters, &c., an extra supply of certain medicines should be
taken out, such as spirits of nitre, quinine, chlorodyne, ipecac-
uanha, Warburgh's tincture, castor oil, laudaimm, extract of
male fern for tapeworm (a common complaint amongst
them), powdered sulphur (for itch, also a common and most
disagreeable complaint), a few bottles of Elliman, iodoform (for
ulcers and sores), and a good cough mixture in a concentrated
form.

STORES, ETC.

Akhough European stores, wines, and spirits of every kind
are obtainable at Mombasa, I should recommend everybody
intending to go out on a sporting trip to take a certain amount
of stores with them, particularly those which would come under
the head of medical comforts, such as lirand's soups and
extracts, arrowroot, champagne, brandy, and port wine. Other
stores for ordinary use which can be purchased at Mombasa are
not always fresh, and as there is very little difference between
the price of those taken from England, including the freight
out, and of those bought on the spot, I am in favour of taking
everything from home. The quantity to be taken depends
entirely on the length of the trip and the individual tastes of
tile sportsmen, 'I'he kinds usually taken are soups, erbswurst

M 3

i64

BIG GAME SHOOTING

(a capital pea-soup in powder), a few tongues and tinned meats^
potted meats in small tins, salt, mustard, pefiper, Worcester
sauce in small bottles, l)aking-powder, oatmeal, tapioca, sago,
pearl barley, essence of lemon for puddings, tea in compressed
form, coffee, cocoa, milk (Nestle's), sugar, saccharine (Allen tS:
Hanbury's), whisky, and candles (Ozokerits), ^c, &c. No
expedition should be undertaken without a few pint bottles of
really good champagne, to be used medicinally, as few things
are more efficacious in pulling a man together in cases of
extreme prostration after fever, or when thoroughly exhausted
and knocked out of time from long and violent exertion. A
tumbler of champagne with a teaspoonful of brandy in it, 1
know from experience, has a marvellous effect in cases of over •
exertion. Of course, although spirits should be taken, they
should be used with extreme moderation in a climate like that
of East Africa, and should not be taken until the sun is down.
Provided a man can eat well — and most men can when in hard
exercise — stimulants of any kind are not necessary ; at the same
time it is always advisable to have them in case of emergencies.
There are times when a man after a long and hard day may be
so tired that he is quite past the hungry stage, and does not
feel inclined to eat. It is then that a whisky ' peg ' with five
grains of quinine in it on arrival in camp, and before having a
bath, will be found a capital ' pick-me-up,' and will not only
enable a man to eat, but render him far less liable to an attack
of fever.

All stores and wines should be packed in boxes up to sixty-
five pounds in weight. The boxes should be made with lock
and key, and then screwed down with brass screws, and a careful
invoice taken of the contents. To prevent the constant open-
ing and re-opening of these boxes day after day, when any one
particular thing is required, it is well to keep two or three for
general use, stocked with such things as candles, tea, coffee,
cocoa, sugar, milk, Worcester sauce, &c., and a bottle of
whisky. As the stores diminish, these boxes can be re-filled
from the general stock at convenient times.

I.WUVI HI

■ - . . •<^'j:v^£iiisMifti^('siiaki3se Mt^«

JtASr AFRICA

165

All trade goods for barter with the natives can be bought
at Moml)asa, the starting-point. It is now of httle use to go
down to Zanzibar, since porters (for transport) are not allowed
to engage themselves for up-country work. Everything can
be done at and from Mombasa, where not only can all trade
goods be purchased, packed into the regulation 65 11). loads,
each load numbered, and an invoice taken of it, but all the
latest information about the most suitable quality and quantity
of goods required for the countries about to be visited can be
better obtained at Mombasa than elsewhere.

To obtain the latest information wili. 'egard to the different
kinds and qualities of cloth and beads is most important.
Fashions change even in East Cenival Africa, and beads of a
certain colour or cloth of a certam qurdity, which were per-
Jiaps in great demand one year, will not even be looked at the
following year. Should the wrong kind of goods be taken up
by mistake, the natives, although they might be willing to ex-
change their products for them, would only do so at such exor-
bitant prices that a trip would have to be curtailed, and all
sorts of annoyances and disappointments incurred on account
of the unlooked-for and ruinous expenditure of goeds, unless
others of the right kind were sent for from the coast, or could be
procured from one of the stations near at hand.

i66

BIG GAME SHOOTING

CHAPTER MI

GAME DISTRICTS AND ROUTES
By 1". J. Jackson

At particular seasons of the year there is a considerable
migration of game beasts, and though all the lines of their
migration are not ascertained, it is quite certain that great
numbers work their way towards the coast between April
and July ; instinct in all probability impelling them in that
direction, where the grass and all other vegetation are
abundant. It would consequently be advisable for the sports-
man to choose the time for his contemplated trip to a certain
district when game is :nost likely to be plentiful there.
Regard should also be had to a place suitable and convenient
for head-(iuarters, where surplus baggage, trophies, &c., can
be stored, and where food for the caravan is procurable. The
Kilimanjaro district, with Taveta as a depot, was at one time,
and perhaps is still, one of the best game districts in East
Africa. Here game of nearly every variety is to l)e found, with
the exception of Kobus defassiis, KoOus Ko/t, Jackson's harte-
beest, sable antelope, Dannxlis Senega/cnsis, and the oribi.
Elephants, though they are numerous in the wet weather, are
confined almost entirely to German territory, at the base of the
mountain below Mochi and Kiboso, and it would be necessary
to get a permit to shoot them, either from the (lerman Com-
missioner at Bagamoyo on the coast, or from the officer in
charge of the district at Mochi. I'rom about August to April
the elephants are confined to the belts of dense forest on the

GAME DISTRICTS AND ROUTES

mountain, at an elevation of from 7,000 to 10,000 feet, where
it would be practically useless to attempt to follow them.
About April they begin to leave this forest belt, and work their
way down to the undulating count-y at the base of the
mountain. This country is covered with bush, long grass
(in places ten to twelve feet high), with plenty of mimosa
and other tiees scattered about, as well as with clumps
of dense bush and large forest trees ; and as it is well watered
by numerous strearrfs flowing from ihe mountain, which,
lower down, form the Kikavo, Weri-weri, and other rivers,
the elephants get plenty of food, and evidently find it alto-
gether congenial to their habits, as very few of them wander
into British territory. Within a few marches round Taveta the
sportsman will come across every kind of country in which
game is to be met with, from the bare, covertless, open plain,
the haunt of the wildebeest, oryx. Grant's gazelle, Thom-
son's gazelle, cS.:c., the ostrich, and the great bustardj, besides
the everlasting zebra and Coke's hartebeest, to the dense and
almost impenetrable forest in which is found the elephant and a
small duykcr-like buck {Cep halo I op hits IfanHyi). The district
is varied i)y open bush, where the stalker can see game when
three or four hundred yards off; dense bush, where it is im-
possible to see anything until pretty close up to it ; and sparsely
timbered country, quite park-like in appearance.

Here every kind of stalking has to be practised. At one
time the stalker must crawl painfully along, flat on his stomach,
for long distances to get a shot at one of the wilder or scarcer
antelopes ; at another he must walk cautiously along in dense
forest, with a thick covering of dead leaves on the ground,
trying his utmost to tread lightly and noiselessly, and to avoid
stepping on some fallen branch hidden away in the leaves, the
snap of which would scare whatever he might bo after, be it
elephant or small duyker buck. In open bush -i.e. bush which
is sufficiently open to enable the stalker to see the game when
about a hundred yards off - stalking is generally easy work, as
there are often [)lenty of ant-hea[)s, besides bushes, to be

'i ■ ' ■

J 68

BIG GAME SHOOTING

taken advantage of. In dense bush, stalking is often unsatis-
factory and mere chance-work, as it is very difficult to avoid
making a noise in getting through it, and disturbing the game
before seeing it. Perhaps the prettiest, and often the easiest,
stalking is done in park-like country, where there are both big
trees, ant-heaps, and bushes dotted about, as well as grass
some 18 inches high, to affora shelter to the stalker. In this
district game is most abundant from September, when the

Easy stalking coiiiilry

yoimg grass is just beginning to shoot after being burnt, to
May, when it is long, coarse, and dry.

The Kapite plains to the west and the Athi plains to the
north-west of the Ukambani hills, with Machako's as head-
(juarters, form another grand country with regard to the cjuantity
of game in it, though it does not afford ([uite such a variety
as the Kilimanjaro district ; and as the game is almost entirely
confined to the vast, undulating, open, grassy iilains, stalking

G/IME DISTRICTS AND ROUTES

169

■

is often both difficult and laborious. I.ions are very plentiful
here, and are seen perhaps more often than elsewhere, owing
to the open nature of the country. The cheetah is by no means
uncommon. Rhinoceroses have here rather a bad reputation
for charging, which may possibly be accounted for by the
fact that they are so much harassed by the Wakamba, who,
when out hunting, and unable to get within bow-shot of game
by fair stalking, have to resort to driving, and wound far more
rhinoceroses than they kill. In the river Athi hippopotami
are very plentiful, and, I think, have finer teeth than those
in the Nzoia river and Victoria Nyanza. September to April
is the best time of the year for a trip to this country.

Further north, the district round Lake Baringo, with
Njemps as a depot, is \Qxy good. Here the natives are
as trustworthy and civil as the Wa Taveta, and all surplus
baggage, &c., can be left at headquarters in charge of a few
men whilst the sportsman is away shooting in the surrounding
country. A few^ marches to the north and north-east elephants
are numerous. The water- buck {Kobiis defassus) takes the place
of the common water-buck {Ko/>us elipsiprymnus), and the lately
described hartebeest {BhIhiUs Jachoni) takes the place of
Bubalis Cokei. The impala carry i)articularly line horns here.
As I have never made a prolonged stay in this district, I am
unable to say which months of the year would be the best to
visit it in ; but from what 1 could judge, when up there in July,
I should say November to May.

The Tana river is another excellent district, both on
account of the variety of game and the ciuantity of certain
species which elsewhere a sportsman might seek day after
day and never come across, though he went out specially
for them. These are ^Valler's gazelle, lesser kudu, oribi,
' toi)e ' {Damalis Scne^alensis) and Hunter's antelope {Dnnia/is
Jluntcri)^ which has hitherto not bt,'en found excepting on
the north bank of the river, some 150 miles from the mouth.
There is also a small antelope found liere which has been
descril)ed as a ilislinct species under the name of Gazeila

I70

BIG GAME SHOOTING

Petersi, but it may possibly be nothing more than a local
variety of Gazella Grantii. This trip is perhaps more easily
undertaken from Lamu, as everything can be shipped by dhow
as far as Kau, on the river Ozi, where canoes can be engaged
with the help of the Arkida, the principal man in the town,
and the whole caravan, baggage and all, transported through
the Belazoni Canal into the Tana river and upwards. If the
start is made direct from Mombasa, it would be necessary to
either march the whole way to Oolbanti, a mission station on
the river, or, to save a good deal of time and trouble, a dhow
could be chartered as far as Melindi, and the rest of the
journey done overland. At Golbanti canoes can be hired and
Wa Pokomo boatmen engaged to transport all goods and food
up the river, whilst the porters can march along the bank
empty-handed if sufficient canoes are not forthcoming for all.
A trip up this river should be undertaken between September
and April, as it is in flood, and a great part of the country
under water, during the remaining months of the year.

There are also many other districts nearer the coast, which
are well \\a3rth visiting, in which game is to be found, though in
more limited quantities. These are— the district round Adda,
on the main road from Vanga on the coast to Mount Kisagau
in the Teita country ; Mount Pika-pika ; Ndara, and Kisagau
in the Teita country; Merereni, north of Melindi on the coast,
all of which are accessible from Mombasa. The mainland to
the north of Lamu, and about opposite the small island of
Tula, is another good place. The best time for any of these
places would be from April to August. All these and the
Tana district would, for the most part, come under the head
of bush country, where stalking is comparatively easy.

So much has been written about tiie different routes into
the interior that it is not necessary to enter ujwn them here.
In the accounts that have been written, each writer's experience
has differed so materially that it would be unadvisable to rely
on the opinion, based on e''\)erience, of one writer more than
another, particularly if taken from the records of expeditions of

GAME DISTRICTS AND ROUTES

171

a few years back. One writer may have experienced no diffi-
culties, as both food and water may have been plentiful when
he passed. Another writer may have had plenty of food and
no water, and another plenty of water but no food, «Scc. The
rainfall in East Africa is uncertain, and the supply of food and
water also uncertain in consequence. Therefore all the very
latest information as to the food and water supply along the
line of march should be obtained at Mombasa, before leaving.
The information of a man who has traversed the route about
to be taken only two months previously cannot be relied upon^
although his veracity is not to be doubted. Only one month's
dry v/cather will make an enormous difference in a water
supply ; but besides this there are other things to reckon
against. Amongst these are the number of caravans which
have subsequently passed up and down, and the number of
natives from Teita and Ukambani, who are constantly going
to and fro, often with herds of cattle, sheep, and goats, all of
which very. soon diminish even the largest supply.

But when once the game country is reached, all anxiety
about food and water is virtually over. It is the getting to
the game countries, when long tracts of foodless and often
waterless wilderness have to be traversed before the sportsman's
Eldorado is reached, that is such trying and often anxious work.
The Teita route is the principal one into the interior, and is
also the principal one from the sportsman's point of view, as
it leads to all the best game countries. This route passes vict
Taru and Mount Maungu. The wilderness between Taru and
Ndara is commonly known as the ' Maungu march,' and it is to
this day more dreaded by l)oth ]'2uroj)jans and natives alike
than any other, and thi;-- more particularly when going up
country, when the [jorters, not having recovered from their
'high old times ' on the coast, are out of training and soft, and
easily become disheartened. Coming down country with their
faces to the coast, and the ' high times ' before them, it is quite
a different thing, and there is little or no anxiety, as the men
w'U fiice almost anything. Unless there has been an exceptional

172

BIG GAME SHOOTIAG

drought or an unusual number of caravans upon the road,
water is generally procurable at Taru and also at Mount
Maungu, where, however, the men have to climb the hill i,ooo
feet above the camping-ground to get it. lietween these two
points, a distance of some thirty-four miles (by the winding
serpentine footpath, and not fifty-three, as some writers main-
tain), there is no water, excepting perhaps for a few days after
heavy rain. This wearisome march can then be broken at a
place called Ziwa Butzuma, and again at Ziwa-wa-tatu. The
best way to get over this wilderness (and it is always l)est to rely
on its being quite waterless) is to take a supply of kerosene oil
tins from the coast, and engage extra men as far as Ndara in
Teita to carry them from 'J'aru, where they can be filled, to
Maungu, where they can again be replenished if necessary.

If Taveta should be the sportsman's destination, 1 should
strongly recommend him to take these tins with him as far
as M'kamcni, the last camp in Teita, before starting into
the Siringeti plains. At this camp he can find oiit from the
natives if there is any water between there and Lanjora,
another long stretch of some thirty-five to forty miles. If
there is no water, natives can be engaged to carry the water-
tins for one march, which should be a good long one. As
these Bura natives are a bad lot and great thieves, and as they
are sure to demand payment in advance and will not stir till
they get it, the askaris should be told to keep a sharp look-out
to prevent any of them bolting. This Siringeti march, and
the Maungu march, when coming down country, can be done
best at night when it is cool ; but it is not advisable to do
any marching at night when going up country, as it is too near
the coast, and night marching offers temptations to a porter to
desert, which some of them could not resist, 'i'here are other
ways of getting over these and other long marches without
the aid of water-tins, but none of them are so comfortable.
One way is to have the men called very early in the morning
and told to cook their food for the day. They can then eat as
much as they like and carry the rest with them ; can c^uench

mim

GAME DISTRICTS AND ROUTES

173

their thirst and fill up their water calabashes before starting,
and then march steadily on throughout the day, with a short
rest every two hours to enable the stragglers to come up ; they
can sleep anywhere in the wilderness, and early next day arrive
at the water before the sun becomes very powerful. Then,
again, there is what is called a ' terageza,' which is a double
march - one inconveniently short, say four miles, and the other
inconveniently long, say sixteen to eighteen miles. This can be
negotiated very much in the same manner as the above, but
with this difference : Instead of beginning the day with a feed,
which an African, as a rule, does not care to do, the men wait
until they arrive at the water, at the end of the first short
march, before cooking their food, and then go on and sleep in
the wilderness without water, except what each man carries for

himself.

The length of a march depends very much, if not
entirely, on the distance between the places where water is
procurable. As a rule, the wiiter— exce) ting, of course, the
running streams— is not good, and should be carefully filtered
and boiled before being used, and it should be the special
duty of one of the tent-boys to see that this is done. Before
being filtered the water should be cleared of all extraneous
matter by the use of alum. This can best be done by getting
a bucket of water and stirring it round a few times with a lump
of alum in the hand, which will soon precipitate all vegetable
and mineral matter.

When on the march, it is a good plan to make a « boma ' '
every night, even if only to keep the men together ; but it is
not really necessary to do so until nearing the outskirts of the
Masai country or wherever the natives are of a thievish dis-
position. In the game country a l)oma is always necessary, not
only for protection and to keep the men together, but to keep
out hyenas, &c., which might carry off or destroy a valuable
trophy, if they did nothing worse.

The tent should be pitched in the shade, more particularly

' Zereba.

1/4

BIG GAME SHOOTING

in a position to get the shade from the afternoon sun, when
the sportsman is most likely to be in camp ; but thick clumps
of dense foliaged trees, under which the ground is thickly
covered with dead and sodden leaves, should be avoided
altogether. Such places are generally unhealthy, as the damp
is pretty certain evidence that the wind does not get at them.
It would be a mistake to have the leaves cleared away -in fact,
care should be taken to avoid disturbing the ground as much as
possible, and all grass, &c., should be cut instead of being pulled
up by the roots. The chances of fever are increased by the
proximity of freshly turned up earth. Rather than sleep in a
place with such surroundings it is far better to camp in the
open altogether, and to have a shed built, which the men can
run up in a few hours, to sit under during the heat of tlie day.
Along the well-beaten caravan routes there is little chance
of getting any sport when on the march, excepting with a shot-
gun. By walking a short way in front of the leading men, a
few shots at francolin, guinea-fowl, &c., can generally be had,
and perhaps an occasional shot at a harteh-^est or impala, but
the chances are that, even if these beasts are seen, they will be
so wild and on the alert, having seen or heard the caravan,
that the sportsman will not feel inclined to leave the footpath
to follow them. He need not therefore expect to see game
in any quantities until he reaches the vicinity of his head-
quarters, excepting on the road to KiUmanjaro, after leaving
]\rkameni, the last camp before striking across the Siringeti
plains, between Teita and Taveta, a stretch of some thirty-five
to forty miles. These plains are often teeming with game, more
particularly when the grass is beginning to shoot after being
burnt. In September iS-ST) this place was Hterally crawling
with hartebeest and zebra, besides im|vala, G. Grantii^ Oryx
col/otis, and a few eland and giraffe, with an occasional stein-
buck and wart-hog. But whatever ([uantity of game there
may lie, it is never advisable to go far fiom the footpath
in pursuit of it when on the march. In places like this
where tiiere is little water, or more often none at all, it is as

GAME DISTRICTS AND ROUTES

much as the porters can do to get through their long march,
and when once they are on the move it is best to keep them
going. The pleasure of bagging a couple of head of game
or so, which will be found further on near headquarters, is
hardly worth the risks of a long delay, which is sure to take
place if a big beast is killed. Headquarters once reached,
all the troubles and petty annoyances which are found so very
trying on the march are at an end, and the sportsman, after
he has overhauled all his gear, stores, &c., can leave them in
perfect safety, as far as the natives are concerned, in charge of
two or three of his men, and can sally forth into the surround-
ing district, changing his camp from time to time, with the
pretty certain prospect of obtaining gooc' trophies of all the
game beasts seen on the road up.

176

/;/(; GAJ/E S /J 0077 AG

CHAPri:R VIII

THi: CARAVAN, HKADMAX, GUN-liKARKRS, I TC.

Bv V. J. Jackson

The s{)ortsman having decided on the districts which he in-
tends to visit, and on the time to be spent approximately in each,
and having obtained all the latest information as to the quantity
and {[uality of goods required for barter purposes, presents, iS:c.,
the caravan (' safari ') must be got together and organised. The
first thing to be done is to engage a really good headman
(' neapara '). Should the sportsman be fortunate enough to have
such a one recommended to him who both knows the country
and his work — the latter being far more important than the
former— it would be advisable to engage him even though the
pay he demands be high, ho much depends on the headman
that a really good one is worth a dozen who call themselves
neapara, but who in reality are little better than [)orters. A
good neai)ara not only knows his position in the caravan, but
will take care to maintain his authority and command respect
from those under him. One who hol)-nol)s and i)lays cards
with the porters— and this is by no means an uncommon prac-
tice—soon loses all control over them, and will become weari-
some with his complaints of their insubordination and indo-
lence. The duties of a headman are not only to look after his
master's property, but to see that everyl)ody else does his duty,
and he is responsible for the general working of the caravan.
The headman superintends the buying of food and the issuing of
' posho' (daily allowance of food) to the men. In this matter,

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THE CARAVAN, HEADMAN, ETC.

177

if he is dishonest, he has every opi)ortunity of pilfering ; but
at the same time it is better to trust him, as should he find
that his master is suspicious, and goes too much into details,
it is quite certain that he will ' do ' him in other ways. All
orders should be given to him direct. Whatever his pay may
be - and there is no fixed rule — he is only entitled by custom
to double a porter's posho, whether it he rice, flour, beans,
potatoes, or bananas, or cloth or beads to buy it with. Once a
week, or every ten days, it is as well to give him a few strings
of beads or a piece of cloth to buy ' kitiweo,' which may be
anything he can get, such as a fowl, honey, <S:c., to nake his
meal of flour or beans more palatable, when there is no meat
in camp. It is a recognised thing that each headman is
allowed one porter to carry his tent (which he supplies and
makes himself), bedding, &c., and if he thinks himself a great
swell he may ask for two porters —if he does, and he is really a
good man, it is as well to let him have them. Besides carrying
his belongings, these porters will cook his food, collect firewood,
and fetch water for him. One neapara is enough for every
fifty ' paga/i ' (porters) and ' askari ' (soldiers).

A caravan askari is in reality a spare man, and there should
be one askari to every ten porters. When the porters have
been divided into comiianies or messes of ten men, each of these
messes is put in charge of an askari. This man receives into his
care one ' sufria ' (cooking pot), one ' senia ' (plate to eat off), and
two axes to cut firewood, ^rc. I le also receives from the headman
the whole of the posho for his company, and is also responsible
for the loads his men carry, and for their general good behaviour.
Apart from seeing that the men of their own companies do
their work, the duties of the askaris are various. They kce[)
watch at night, turn and turn about, superintend the men
building the * boma' (zereba) ; stack thi^ loads in camp, and give
their own men their [iroper loads in the morning ; carry the
load of a porter (not necessarily one of their own comi)any)
into camp, should he be taken ill or become lame on the march,
and run messages, iS:c. Although it is not the custom, it is not

I» N

I '

178

B/G GAME SHOOTING

a bad plan to allow one porter to every four or five askaris, to
carry their food, sleeping mats, &c. This would save a good deal
of grumbling and discontent amongst the porters, as it would
prevent the askaris from taking advantage of them by piling
their private kits and food on to the load of a porter already
heavily laden. By right, askaris should carry their own kits, but
in a shooting trip, when perhaps the sportsman wishes to get
as far and do as much as he can in a given time, it is well to
avoid all causes of friction amongst the men as much as pos-
sible by a little judicious leniency of this kind. The pay of
an askari is 12 rupees per month, and his posho is half as
much again as a porter's — that is, one and a half ' kibaba ' or its
equivalent. On the coast their posho is 12 pice.

The porters (' pagazi '), of whom there are several grades,
good, bad and indifferent, although they often exasperate their
master even to the verge of desperation, are, as a rule, first-
rate fellows. A porter will do, considering his pay and food, what
few other men, if any, will or can do. He is naturally cheerful
and easily pleased, but no one can be more sulky and obstinate.
Provided, however, that his stomach is kept full, it is possible
to do almost anything with him. On the march — and a march
varies considerably, from six to eighteen miles, and sometimes
more — the porter will carry, besides his regulation load of 65
lbs., his sleeping-mat, with ten days' posho on the top of it, a
Snider carbine, and belt with ten rounds of ammunition, and
also his water calabash (' mbuyu '). At the end of the march it
is his duty to cut down thorn-trees and bushes, and drag them
into camp to make the boma, when his work for the day is
over, excepting that he has to collect firewood and water for
himself and his mess Should the sportsman go out to shoot,
he is ever ready to follow his master for the sake of the meat.
1 have known many porters, even at the end of a long, tiring,
waterless march, who, after quenching their thirst, have filled
their calabashes and gone back several miles, of their own
accord, to help the stragglers into camp. A porter's wage is
10 rupees per month and his posho, one ' kibaba' (a measure

THE CARAVAN, HEAPMAN, ETC.

'79

holding about one and a half pound) of whatever can be
bought from the natives— flour, beans, «!v:c. On the coast his
posho is 8 pice per diem. In a trip of six months' duration or
more, all the men in the caravan, from headman to porter,
will demand, and are entitled to, three months' pay in advance.
Three months' wages in advance is the most ever paid, how-
ever long the trip may be. For trips of less than six months,
a proportionate advance is made. The principle is a bad
one from a European point of view, but it is the custom, and
in this respect, as in many others in East Africa, custom is
law.

We now come to the ' safari ' (caravan) as a whole. After
the headman has been engaged and an approximate list of
loads made out, including everything — barter goods of beads,
cloth, and wire, private kit, tents, stores, ammunition — both
private and for defensive purposes, cooking gear, &c,, the
headman should be told how many porters and askaris will be
required, and it is well to let him engage as many of them as
he can himself in order that he may know something of their
antecedents. As they are brought up by the headman to be
engaged, they should be entered in the list in companies often
men, each company under an askari. They ♦^hen receive their
advance pay, and can be cither told off to do any work there
may be for them to do, or they can have their posho given them
at once and may be left to their own devices. As long as they
are in Mombasa, or any coast town, they should be mustered
every mornihg for any work there may be, and again in the
evening to receive their posho. It is always advisable to
jngage two or three extra porters over and above the esti-
mated number of loads, as even in the best organised
caravans, and when all the porters are present at the last
moment, something is sure to turn up that has been over-
looked, such as a bundle of rope, a l)asket of potatoes and
onions, or a crate of fowls. 'I'he two latter comestibles,
although they have never btsn given a tliought since the cook
received the order to get them, are of much importance, and

N 2

i8o

BIG GAME SHOOTL\'G

help considerahly to save the tinned provisions and to recon-
cile a man to the miseries of the first few davs in the wilderness,
after the fleshpots of Mombasa. The first day of getting
vmder way will perhaps be found the most trying of any to the
patience and temper, unless some little troul)le is taken to
minimise the confusion generally attending the start of a
caravan for ' uji-country.' To effect this, the whole of the men
should have at least two days' notice beforehand of their
master's decision to start on a certain day, and the night
before the start the whole caravan should be told, when they
come for their posho, to muster and fall in in the morning at
least a couple of hours before they are actually wanted. The
whole of the loads should then be laid out in lots of ten. The
porters having fallen in to their respective companies with
their askari, and having answered to the roll-call, the rifles and
cartridge-belts should be distributed amongst them. Their posho
in rice should then be issued to them, and may vary in (}uantity
according to the destination of the safa'i ; but should it be
anywhere along the Teita route, ten days' posho is usually given,
which will last them well over the Maungu wilderness, till
Teita is reached, where food of various kinds is procurable.
Ten days' food is as much as a porter can be expected to
carry on leaving the coast, when he is soft and out of training,
though up country, in places like the Masai district, where no
vegetable food is procurable, he will not only carry twelve to
fifteen days' food, but also an extra heavy load into the
bargain. Ivarh company should then be told off to a lot of ten
loads, and cvtM-y man should l)e ordered to put some private
mark of his own on his allotted load so as to recognise it
again. This is im[)ortant, as it not only prevents confusion,
but a good deal of {juarrelling amongst the men when moving
camp each morning, sometimes in the dark, should there be
a long waterless march ahead.

In the matter of food for the men when up country, this
should, when feasible, be bought by the headman and collected
in bulk, as it is much cheaper to buy it so ; but when on the

THE CARAVAN, HEADMAN, ETC.

i8i

march and in a hurry to get on, cloth or beads should be issued
to the men, who will buy whatever they like or can get. Cloth is
given out in piecesof four hands, each of which is called a 'shuka,
this being a measure from the elbow-joint to the tip of the middle
finger. A porter's allowance is one shuka ; an askari's, one and
a half, or six hands ; anda neapara's, two, or eight hands, which is
called a ' dot!.' As, however, the price of food varies in differ-
ent places, and also according to the crops, information should
be obtained on the coast as to the number of days one shuka
will last in a certain district, as it will be a check to a certain
extent on the headman, and will prevent him from taking advan-
tage of his master. In order to curry favour with the porters
— and some headmen do — he might say that one shuka will only
buy four days' food, whereas it might buy six. T'ormerly, at
Taveta, a shuka was equal to six days' food, l)ut it will in all
probability be more expensive now. Beads are given out in
strings, and it is very necessary to ascertain before leaving the
coast how many strings of each different kind of beads are
equal to a shuka.

With regard to the arming of the men in a caravan for
defensive purposes, and the number of rilles it would be neces-
sary to take, it will entirely depend on the country in which the
shooting trip is going to be made and the disposition of the
natives of the country itself, as also of the natives of the
countries or districts the caravan would have to pass through
to get there. I""or a trip up to Taveta and the adjacent country,
as far north as Kimangelia, a short way beyond Useri, twenty-
five rilles would be c[uite enough ; but for a more extended
trip to the Njiri plains and beyond, it would perhaps l)e better
to take fifty, or at the most eighty, armed men.

I have always considered the El Moran or Masai warrior a
very much over-rated individual, neither do I think he ever could
have l)een so awe-inspiring and terrifying as some writers have
represented him. Still, as the porters have a very exaggerated
idea of his fighting and bloodthirsty i)ropensities, it is best to
inspire them with confidence by arming them well, llius assnr-

BIG GAME SHOOTING

ing them that in the event of an attack they are at least in a
position to defend themselves.

For a trip to the Suk country, beyond Lake Baringo, it
would be better to have at least 80 to 100 armed men, as the
natives are not only very treacherous, but much more fear-
less of firearms than other tribes. For the Tana river twenty-
five rifles would be ample, provided the caravan did not go
more than one day's march from the river on the north bank.
If the trip should be extended further north into the Somali
country, it would not be worth while running the risks of entering
the country of such grasping, treacherous, religious fanatics as
the southern Somalis are with an escort of fewer than 150 rifles.

All arms should be breechloading. Carbines are much
handier for the porters tlian long rifles, though the a?kari can be
armed with the latter. It would add to the dignity of the head-
man (at all events in his own opinion) if he were allowed a
Winchester repeater. Sniders are much safer in the hands of
the men than rifles of any other make, and are also cheaper.
Although it is more than probable that the weapons will never
be called into requisition for defensive purposes, the moral effect
of a well-armed party on the natives is good, and they are far
less likely to try any bouncing or bullying if they see that the
party is strong enough not only to defend itself b"t to turn the
tables on them. If there is not a rifle, belt and iiouch for
every porter in the caravan after the headman and askaris have
received theirs, the rest should l)e ecjually distril)utcd amongst
the companies. This should not be done, however, until the
day of starti.ig, and just Ijefore the loads are allotted. On no
account issue ammunition to the porters until nearing the
Masai country, as there is nothing to l)e feared from any other
natives, excepting the Somalis, north of the Tana river ; the
Suks, north of Lake Baringo ; and the Wa Nandi between
Elgeyo and Kavirondo. It is then necessary to be prepared
in the event of falling in with a roving band of warriors and
cattle-lifters. Ten rounds per man is enough for porters ; the
headman and askaris can each have twenty rounds, and these

THE CARAVAN, HEADMAN, ETC.

183

can be issued to them befor • leaving the coast. A small fine,
say half a rupee, should be levied for every cartridge lost, or
supposed to be lost, as the men are much given to selling their
cartridges to the natives for food and ' pombe ' (native beer),
the natives buying them for the sake of the powder and lead.

Gun-bearers are rather difficult to .find ; that is to say, good
ones. Any number of men will come forward and offer their
services, although they have never acted as gun-bearers before,
and know absolutely nothing about their duties. They do this
because they prefer to carry a rifle, waterbottle, and cartridge-
bag (in all some 25 lbs.), rather than a full load of 65 lbs. to
75 lbs., and because they know that they will have altogether
an easier time of it than a porter or askari. On the other
hand, men who have been gun- bearers to Europeans whom
they either know personally or by reputation, and whom they
would follow into any kind of danger, will not volunteer their
services as gun-bearers to men they do not know, and in whom
they have no confidence.

Most Africans are gifted with not only long but very
quick sight, are capital walkers at their own pace, are
often extraordinarily keen about sport, and will wish to go
on after game when their master is dead beat and wants to
return to camp. They are wonderfully patient followers on
a blood spoor, and if they have confidence in their master
will follow him anywhere after wounded game, and can be
relied upon not to run away at a critical moment. Europeans,
however, often complain that their gun-bearers do not keep up
with them when out shooting ; but this is very often their own
fault. East Africa is a land of thorns and prickly spikes of
every description. Europeans who are booted and clothed
cannot well expect an almost bare-footed and bare-legged man,
with only a thin cotton shirt on and a pair of sandals, to follow
close at their heels (the proper place for a good gun-bearer)
through clumps of thorns and sharp spiky aloes. To enable
the two principal gun-bearers to keep in their proper positions
they should each be provided with a suit of clothes, of the same
material and make as their master's, with leather knee-caps, <!v:c.,

i84

BIG GAME SlIOOriNG

and either a pair of boots or, better still, leather socks and
sandals. They should also be provided with any kind of old
shooting cap, but not a red fez or white cap, the common head-
gear of the porters. In fact, a gun-bearer should be as little
conspicuous and as thorn-proof as his master, and if this is
seen to it will prevent disappointments, both from being sighted
by game when stalking it or from losing wounded game
through the gun- bearers being unable to keep in their proper
position with either a spare rifle or ammunition. Gun-bearers
should be provided with a good butcher's knife apiece, and care
should be taken that these are kept sharp, as the African native
is naturally cruel, and will cut and hacic at the throat of a
wounded beast with a knife no sharper than a piece of hoop
iron. A good butcher's steel should be always taken out ; it
can be carried by one of the attmdant porters, as it is rather
an awkward thing for a gun-bearer to carry.

Besides the ordinary duty of gun-bearing when out shooting
andwhen on the march, gun-bearers have otherduties to perform.
First, on arriving in camp they help to i)ut up their master's tent,
and see that a small trench is dug round it to carry off the water
in case of a downpour of rain. They then clean all their master's
rifles and guns, and, as a rule, do this well. It is also their
duty to skin any heads and clean the skulls of the game shot,
and attend generally to the trophies, though they always get
friends to help them. When a beast has been killed, and their
master has had the first choice of the meat, the perquisites to
which gun-bearers are entitled, and which are now looked u[)on
as theirs by ' dusturi ' (custom), are the heart, liver, kidneys, &c.,
and any scraps of inside fat, and they take very good care to
uphold their claims to these tit-bits. After a cold wet day or
a first-rate day's sport, a little tobacco as ' backsheesh ' will
delight them, andean do no harm by causing jealousy amongst
the other men, as gun-bearers are looked upon in a caravan as
favoured individuals.

In the matter of pay, unless other arrangements are made
when engaging them, their wages and food are the same as an
askari's.

185

CHAPTER IX

HINTS ON EAST AFRICAN STALKIXG, DK'VING, ETC.

. By Y. J. Jackson

In East Africa, up to the present, all shooting has been done
entirely on foot, as horses have not yet been introduced into
the country, with the exception of two or three which have been
sent up to Uganda. It is to be hoped that when horses are
more generally employed (and there is no reason at present
known why they should not be, provided the belts of ' fly '
country are avoided), they will not be used in the pursuit of the
herds of game, as they have been and still are in South Africa
and the Somali country. There can be little doubt that
it is owing to this almost universal custom in South Africa
of riding down game that it has been exterminated or driven
away from so many parts of the country ; and it is not
improbable that in the Somali country a similar result will fol-
low from the same cause. "When pursued on horseback, game
is for the most part on the move when shot at, often at lull
gallop, and at much longer ranges than when stalked, and
therefore many more beasts are wounded and lost when horses
are used than when fairly outwitted by the stalker and shot at
when standing still.

It is supposed by a good many people that the tsetse fly
only exists where game beasts, especially buffaloes, are most
plentiful, and that the fly disappears as the game is killed off
or driven away. This may be so in South Africa, but it is
certainly not the case in East Africa, as the belts of fly country

i86

BIG GAME SHOOTING

in East Africa are almost devoid of game, with the exception
of the river Tana. As, however, the open, undulating, grassy
plains of the Masai country, and other places of a like nature,
are the head-quarters of by far the greatest quantity and variety
of game, and are entirely free from the tsetse fly, and as they
are also well adapted to hunting on horseback, the game would
very soon be exterminated if pursuit on horsebajk were per-
mitted, and I trust that when the game laws which will doubtless
be drawn up for this, probably the finest game country in the
world, are drafted, a clause will be introduced which will make
the pursuit of game in this manner altogether illegal.

My first trip to East Africa was undertaken in the years
1884 to 1887, when that country was perhaps at its best with
regard to the quantity of game. Within the last few years, how-
ever, since the country has been opened up, and the terrifying
accounts of the dangers of entering the Masai country have
proved to be absurdly exaggerated, various sporting expeditions
have been undertaken, and large bags have been made.
Some of the game is certainly reduced in quantity, especially
rhinoceroses, owing to the ease with which these beasts can be
stalked.

Buffaloes, too, have been almost destro)ed by a kind of
anthrax, the same disease which carried off nearly all the
native cattle in 1891. This disease, I am told, was fatal to
other rpecies of game, including giraffe, eland, and lesser
kudu, and even elephants ; but i: my informants could not
speak from personal knowledge, but only from native reports,
I am unable to vouch for their accuracy. However, game is
still to be found in enormous quantities — indeed few countries,
if any, can offer such a grand or varied field for sport. Within
the limits of British East Africa there are forty-seven species,
including no fewer than thirty-three species of antelopes
and gazelles, which come under the head of big game. In
addition to big game there are a great number and variety of
game-birds, including ten species of francolin, four species
of guinea-fowl, four of florican, five of sand-grouse, and two

HINTS ON EAST AFRICAN STALKING, ETC. 187

of quail, as well as enormous hosts of duck and geese of
various kinds on the lakes and large lagoons, together with two
species of snipe. All these add very considerably to the charm
of a shooting trip, and afford a pleasant change from the rifle to
the shot-gun, besides agreeably altering the monotonous menu
of antelope venison or tough rhinoceros or buffalo steak.

As then, all the big game in British East Africa should be
killed by honest stalking, without the aid of horses, and as the
first principles of stalking have been dealt with elsewhere in
these volumes, it only remains for me to call attention to a few
points peculiar to stalking in East Africa.

To deal first with the wind, which here, a:- elsewhere, is
the first matter for a stalker to consider, it may be said that in
the plaiiib and fairly open country the wind is generally
steady in one quarter or another between the hours of eight
or nine a.m. and sundown, except when the monsoons are
beginning to change, and then it is constantly chopping and
veering round from point to point throughout the day. In the
early morning, between daylight and about eight o'clock, it is
also steady and constant from one quarter, but between eight
and nine it often chops about before settling into the quarter
from which it will continue to blow for the rest of the day.
That is to say, when the sportsman leaves camp at daylight
the wind may be blowing from the south-east and will, continue
so up to any time between seven and nine o'clock, when, after
chopping about for a short time, it will settle into another
(juarter, say north-east, for the rest of the day. In forest, thick
bush, and long grass, it is often apt, at all times of the day, to
be very changeable and uncertain, and may chop round in
eddies when least expected, and this is what often makes
shooting in these places so disa[)pointing. It is therefore
necessary to constantly test the wind. The most convenient
and effectual way of doing this is to pick up and let fall from
the hand a little sand, dust, or pulverised leaves. On a very
still calm day, when there is not enough wind to affect dust
or dry leaves, a puff of smoke from a pipe or from a match,

i88

B/G GAME SHOOTING

will serve the same purpose if struck and blown out im-
mediately. The smell of the tobacco smoke is in no wa\' likely
to frighten game, as, if a beast is able to detect it, it is equally
certain that he will be able to wind the stalker. Personally, I
use a pipe as a wind-fmder more than anything else, and I have
had a lighted pipe in my mouth at the time of firing at more
than half of the game I have killed.

Before commencing a stalk up to dangerous game, the
stalker should a/ways put two or three cartridges for his big
rifles into his pocket in order to have them handy and to render
him perfectly independent of his gun-bearers. Even the best
gun-bearers might fail him one day when in a critical position,
and the want of a cartridge might be the cause of a very
serious accident.

As elsewhere, so in Africa, one of the great secrets of
success in big game shooting is to be up early and on the
feeding grounds at daylight, when everything is in favour of
the stalker. In the early morning most game will be found
feeding, and will be more easily seen when so occu[)ied than
later on in the day whon lying down in the shade of a tree or
bush, with only one of the herd standing up. This beast, if it
is the sentinel of a herd, will in all probability be a female, or
a male with .m inferior head, as the old bulls and bucks rarely
act sentry ; or it may be a solitary individual not worth
stalking. I'he stalker, being ])ossibly a long way off at the
time of sighting it, and unable to see whether there is a herd
lying concealed near it in the grass or not, may miss a good
chance at a beast with a fust-rate head through a pardonable
dislike to going a long way out of his track on an off-chance.
But when feeding the stalker has a good chance of examining
with liis binoculars each individual beast in the herd, he can
comi)are one with another, and mark those with the best heads.

Then, again, in the early morning the air is fresh and the
ground cool, and a long stalk is not nearly so fatiguing then as
later on ; whilst in the cool hours of the early morning it is
much easier to judge distances, as the air is clear and there is

HnWTS ON EAST AFRICAN STALKING, ETC. 189

no haze. This haze, which only appears after the sun is well
up, is caused by the moisture of the earth being evaporated by
the sun. It is most noticeable after a heavy dew or a shower
of rain, and is not only very apt to deceive even the most
experienced in regard to distances, but as it makes everything
api^ear to be in a perpetual quiver, it renders shooting very
difficult. When taking a sight under such conditions the beast
aimed at will often appear very indistinct, and will seem to
move about in front of the muzzle of the rifle.

"'here is still another argument in favour of early morning
stalks, and that is, that as all game beasts are thoroughly awake,
and on the alert, even though engrossed in feeding, the
stalker knows that he must exercise all his wits to the very
utmost to keep out of sight, not only of the beast or beasts he
may be stalking, but of other game which may be either to the
right or left of him. This knowledge saves a man from care-
lessness, and makes him do his very utmost in that keen rivalry
between animal instincts and human skill, in which lies the whole
charm of big game shootmg. Ikit altiiough the early morning
has its advantages, a good many of which are of the nature of
personal convenience and comfort to the stalker, and has also
its many charms, which are not to be exi)erienced later on in
the day, it certainly has a fair amount of disadvantages. To
begin with, as a rule, game is not so easy to api)roach when
feeding as wlicn standing about or lying down. When feeding
beasts are constantly moving, and although they may be in a
capital position when the stalker first tries to circumvent them,
they very often move into an una[)proachable one by the time
he gets up to within range of where they had been ; and of
(MHU'se, as before suggested, all beasts are very wide awake in
the early hours of the n^oniing, whilst, instead of being protected
by only one sentinel as at other times, the whole herd is more
or less on the </in vivt\ and the stalker may be detected at any
moment by any beast whicji niay ha|)pcn to raise its head,
or which may wander in hi^ direi ticn after some dainty morsel
of grass and keep him waiting in an awkward |K)sition.

t90

BIG GAME SHOOTING

The beast with the best head is not unfrequently in an
awkward position for a shot, or out of range, and the stalker,
being unable to improve his position or get nearer for fear of
being seen by some of the other beasts, has either to risk a
long shot at the best head or content himself with an easier
and more certain shot at an inferior one. In this case, it is far
better to give up the stalk Tor the time, and try your luck another
day.

As an example of what can be done by a little patience and
perseverance, I was successful in bagging the finest specimen
of a bull eland ever shot by a European in East Africa, after
a rery long and tedious stalk on five consecutive days. This
grand beast was accompanied by three cows, and each day they
were found in the same locality, never more than a mile from
the place at which I left them the previous day. This was a
narrow strip of open plain, some two miles long by about a
mile in width, which opened out at each end into a large open
plain. The narrow strip was bordered on each side by thick
bush and clumps of forest trees, and this appeared to be used
by the enormous herds of game as a passage from one plain to
the other. As I always found these four elands standing out
well towards the middle of the strip, where there were only a
few isolated mimosa-trees dotted about, the stalking was very
tedious work, and as there was no covert but grass twelve to
eighteen inches high, it was necessary to make a long crawl from
the very outskirts of the bush. On each of the first three days I
almost succeeded in getting within range, when the elands were
alarmed by a shot fired in the distance and moved off, after-
wards standing in such an exposed position that a stalk was
(|uite impossil)le. On the fourth morning I was stalking them
ai:ross the wind, which was blowing from my left, and was again
nicely reducing the distance between myself and the bull, who
was standing by himself under the shade of a thorn-tree, whil i,
the cows were (luielly feeding some twenty yards beyond him.

As I lay under the shade of a small bush, which was wilhii.
about 300 yards of the elands, taking a short res^ I noliC'ui all

J/LVTS ON EAST AFRICAN STALKING, ETC. 191

four beasts suddenly raise their heads and stare hard up wind,
evidently on the alert. At first I could not see anything to
alarm them, and felt quite sure that they had not got a taint of
my wind. On getting into a sitting position behind the bush,
I saw a dark object in the grass dead to windward of the elands,
and about the same distance from them as I was. My first
idea was that it was a man, and I concluded that the fellow
must be an idiot to attempt to stalk down wind, when I
suddenly got a better view, and with the aid of my binoculars
made out a lion and lioness, and saw that they were actually
on the same business as myself. Wishing to see the result, I sat
still and watched them, and could just manage to follow their
movements, though I could only distinguish a small piece of
the dark mane of the lion above the grass as he crawled slowly
along. When the lions came to a tuft of rather longer grass they
both raised their heads for a second, but the elands apparently
took no notice of them, as they still stood perfectly motionless.
As the lions crept on very slowly they came to another tuft of
slightly taller grass, and the lion again raised his head, but this
time he was seen by the elands, which all turned round and
trotted off straight down wind. The lions then stood up, and
after watching the elands a short time lay down in the grass ;
but before I cou'd crawl u}) to then? and get a sliot, they went
off for the bush on the other side (^f the plain. The elands
were then thoroughly on the alert and in a bad position for a
furihcrstalk, and although I believe I could have got up to within
a couple of hundred yards of them, rather than risk a long shot,
and perhaps only fri;;!iten them away from the locality alto-
gether, I left them in pcixe for t'le fourth time. Returning on
the fifth mor.iing very early, while skirling along outside
the edge of the bush, keeping a shar^) look-out, 1 found them
in a grand position for a stalk, as they were not more than 400
yards from tl»e edge of ihe bush on my side of the plain. 'I'hc
bull was lying down, one cow stood close by him, evidently on
the look-out, whilst the other two were quietly feeding, banter-
ing the bush, 1 skirted along inside the edge until I was just

192

BTG GAME SHOOTING

opposite to the elands. I then saw that between them and the
bush in which I stood, with the wind blowing straight from
them to me, there was a largish piece of bush some twenty
yards long, though rather narrow and very thin, and not more
than eighty yards from where the bull was lying. Between this
patch and myself there was little or no covert of any kind, ex-
cepting grass which was about a foot high and very scanty, and
one small skeleton bush within about twenty yards of the larger
patch. I ma: ; i^'^', however, l)y crawling flat on my stomach,
followed by niy ^ in-bearer, to get up to this scanty covert,
and could just see .rough the larger patch that the bull was
still lying down. At this moment, and before I could get any
nearer, to my di.sgust I heard a shot fired in the distance. The
bull stood up, and- as he stared in the direction from which the
shot had come T heard another report : but, as great good luck
would have it, instead of bolting all four elands began to walk
quietly towards where I lay. Exchanging my -500 I'A[)ress for
the 8-bore, as I wished to make certain of getting the bull, I
waited, and thought they never would appear round the corner
of the bush in front of me, as they ke[)t stO[)ping to look round
every few paces.

In a short time a cow ap[)earcd round the corner within
thirty yards of where 1 lay. I could still see the bull lagging
behind, and was terribly afraid that tb.is cow would detect me
before he appeared ; but she look no notice of me and
walked straight on. Soon after this another cow apj)eared, and T
could see the luill standing just on the other side of the bush,
but would not risk a shot at him through it. At last his grand
head appeared, but nothing more, and he again stopju'd. I
shall never forget my feeling of intense excitement during
those fe ' seconds. 1 was in a most awkward positi(m, lying
flat on my face, and literally aching with suspense and sup-
pressed excitement, and yet I dare not move to get into a
better position for a shot, for fear of being seen by either of
the two cows. At last the. bull took a few ste])s forward,
and 1 wriggled myself into a sitting position, gave him both

HINTS ON EAST AFRICAN STALKING, ETC. 193

barrels, one after the other, and after running about sixty yards
he fell over dead. Never shall I forget my joy when I saw
him drop. He was a grand beast with horns 31 1 and 31 ins.
respectively in length, and 25 ins. from tip to tip. His heart
was encased in a solid piece of fat, which, after the heart had
been cut out of it, and after it had been exposed to the sun
for four hours, was found to weigh 1 8 lbs.

On the fourth day after the lions' visit I went up to where

' .\t last the bull took a few steps forward

they had stood, and followed the
well-marked track which they had

made as they crept along, for a considerable distance. The
track clearly showed what their intentions were. They had
evidently seen the elands from the other side of the plain,
and had attempted to cut them off by stalking across the
wind as I was doing. Had the elands continued their
course up wind and not stopped where they did they would
have passed pretty close to where the lions lay in a thick
patch of grass. On seeing that the elands had stopped, the
lions had crept diagonally across and down the wind, until
the elands detected them.

But to go back to the best time of day for shooting. Of
1, o

194

BIG GAME SHOOTING

course shooting in the heat of the day has its advantages and
disadvantages, and some men advocate it in preference to
the early morning. After feeding, which is ahvays in the early
morning, and again in the evening, as well as throughout the
night (though some species of game, notably zebra and several
antelopes, continue to feed at all hours of the day and
night), game take up their quarters for the day either in the
shade of a tree or bush or quite out in the open. When
once they have found a place to suit them, they will lie
down, or stand about ruminating, and enjoying their siesta,
and are not likely to wander about and get into awkward
positions.

Game, too, is less watchful in the hot hours, and even the
sentinel has every appearance of being drowsy and off guard,
as it stands at ease on three legs (nearly always with its back to
the wind), with ears drooping or lying back, and a look of
general contentment and rei)ose about it, as if conscious that
its feline enemies are not likely to disturb it, and that it has
little else to fear. Even should the herd be lying rather
scattered about, with their heads facing in all directions, they
do not appear to be so keen at detecting the ai)pronch of the
stalker as in the morning. Possibly they pre either dozing or
their senses are dulled from general lassitude, and they rely
mostly on the sentinel ; ur it may be that the haze, which is
thicker close to the ground, anfects their vision in the same
way as it does that of the stalker. \\'hether their sense
are dulled from the effects of the heat, or wheth( r they are
less watchful because their natural enemies are unli cely to be
abroad at that time, is difficult to conjecture. At all events,
if several stalks were made under tlie same conditions with
regard to the place, covert, and wind, some of them up to a
herd feeding in the early morning, and the others when they
were lying down and standing about in the heat of the day, I
think that the stalker would find that he would have to exercise
his wits against the game's instin(-l far le-s, and would also find
the beasts much easier to circumvent during th > heat of tlu'

HLXTS ON EAST AFRICAN STALKING, ETC. 195

day than in the cool of the morning. In the matter of physical
exertion, hosvever, the later stalk.s are much the most trying and
fatiguing. Anyone who has done many long and tedious stalks
will, I think, admit that being compelled to crawl two or three
hundred yards, or more, flat on his stomach in the bare open
plains (where game is generally most (plentiful) is terriijly trying
work during the heat of the day. \\'hat with the sun pouring
down on the back and nape of the neck, and the scorching
heat of the ground striking upwards into the face, together
with the burnt grass dust, <S:c., which get into the mouth and
nostrils, and nearly choke him in his desperate efforts to prevent
coughing or sneezing, such a stalk requires not only great
physical endurance, but the most stoical patience on the part
of the stalker. Moreover, stalks under such trying circum-
stances (and they are by no means uncommon), even though
they may be successful, are apt to end in a splitting headache,
which may develop into an attack of fever, and knock the
sportsman out of time for several days.

And there is yet another argument in favour of early stalks,
altogether apart from their advantages from a stalker's point of
view, and this is that for a few hours after dawn Nature is at her
very best. The air is deliciously cool, and as it is clear, except-
ing at certain seasons and at high altitudes, everything stands
out sharp and well defined, and all the surrounding scenery
is seen to the best advantage. If the sportsman is, as he ought
to be, anything of a naturalist, he will see all nature under the
most interesting asjjccts. liesides the various species of big
game to be met with, he will observe many of the nocturnal
animals still abroad after their night's peregrinations, and these
he will see at no other time. 1 le will see the ubi<iuitous hy;vna,
as he slinks along across the plain to his hiding-place, and will
be able to form no other oiiinion of hi.n than that he ij a
skulking, contemptible-U)()king brute, and will possibly feel a
desire to have a shot at him, but will refrain from doing so,
knowing that he is not worth a bullet, that the shot may
disturb belter game, and that, after all, the beast does little

196

BIG GAME SHOOTING

harm, but, as a scavenger, a vast deal of good. The cunning-
looking little jackal, which by its howling during the night has
disturbed the sportsman's well-earned rest, and called forth
language more forcible than polite, may be seen at dawn
trotting along to his earth, looking as unconcerned and inno-
cent as possible, while various species of the larger ichneumons
and that curious unwieldy creature, the ratel, will also be abroad.
The ratel, by the way, with the porcupine (the latter, though
plentiful, rarely seen) is responsible for the numerous shallow
burrowings that may be observed so frequently, often in the
middle of a well-beaten footpath which is as hard as a brick-
bat. These burrowings are made by the ratel and porcupine
when searching for food. Perhaps, too, in the early morning the
stalker will see a curious little ground squirrel, which is rarely found
far from its retreat, and which on being disturbed scuttles away,
and, if not too frightened, on arriving at its burrow, sits bolt
upright to scrutinise the intruder like a marmot, l)efore finally
disappearing with a flick of its tail. He may see, too, that
quaint and most interesting little beast, the brown mongoose,
which is so common in East Africa, and goes about in large
family parties. This jolly little creature, which is the personi-
fication of curiosity, makes a most amusing and intelligent pet.
As they trot along, sticking their noses into or under everything
that is at all likely to shelter or hide anything that is eatable,
these mongooses keep up a constant low squeaking noise. I have
often watched them, and have had them come close up to me,
sitting up on their hind legs, trying to make out what I was. It
is one of the funniest sights to see them scampering along in a
desj)eratc hurry on being frightened, and diving one after the
other into the chimney-like holes of an ant-heap, in which they
nearly always live. There are scores of other interesting little
animals, too numerous to mention, all of which add consider-
ably to the pleasures of a day's shooting to anyone who is at
all keen to observe the habits of little-known creatures.

Bird life is particularly in evidence in the early morning,
and everything that has a voice seems to make use of it to the

HINTS ON EAST AFRICAN STALKING, ETC. 197

utmost, though with the exception of the yellow-vented bul-bul
and one or two other small birds, few can lay claim to anything
but a call note, which in most instances is neither melodious
nor agreeable to the ears of ordinary people, though to a lover
of nature there is something very pleasant even about these.
The first bird to make itself heard is the bush cuckoo (Centropus
monachus), whose curious guttural rolling note may often be
heard on a moonlight night, and nearly always for a few minutes
about 4 A.M., after which it becomes quiet again till dawn. The
next to wake up is the small kingfisher {Halcyon che/icufensis),
whose pleasant though plaintive voice is also the last to be
heard in the evening, before the nightjar starts his mono-
tonous sewing-machine-like chatter. No sooner is it daylight
than all the game-birds in the vicinity begin to call and answer
each other. There is the grating cackle of the guinea-fowl
{Numida coronatd), which is by far the most plentiful of the
four species, excepting N. ptilorhyncha, which, however, is not
found in any great numbers south of Lake Baringo, where it is
very plentiful. There is the harsh and defiant scream of the
bush francolin {F. Grantii) ; the less harsh and more pleasing
call of the plain francolin {F. coquei) ; the strident guttural
voice of the florican {Otis canicoUis) ; the curious indescribable
call of the yellow-throated spur fowl {Pteniestes infiiscatus) ;
and later on, between eight and nine o'clock, the shrill scream
of the small sand-grouse {Pterocles decoratus) and the guttural
chuckle of the larger kind (/*. gutteralis) as they fly high over-
head on their way to their favourite drinking-place. Most of
the above-mentioned game-birds, besides being heard, will
probably be seen during a morning's tramp, together with
innumerable small birds, which keep up a perpetual chatter.
In fact, everything appears to be full of life and energy. Later
on, in the middle of the day, everything is quiet and skulking
in the shade ; all nature seems dead or asleep, with the
exception of the butterflies which flit about, and the myriads
of other insects which keep up an incessant hum and ' sissing '
noise.

MftONn

■M.i-iwyWi^L*

198

BIG GAME SHOOriNG

Having thus f:iirly considered all the pros and cons, I am
decidedly of opinion that the stalker will get more pleasure and
more game by stalking lietween daylight and 10 or 11 a.m., and
again between 3.30 p.m. and sundown, than at any other time.

There are some places where game, although plentiful, is
so wild, and the ground so absolutely devoid of any covert,
that stalking is an impossibility. Under such circumstances,
and more particularly if the game sought after is scarce, or
carries a particularly fine head, there are ways of circumventing
it which are admissible, and which cannot in any way be con-
sidered unsportsmanlike. 'J'hese are driving, the Bushman's
stratagem of the stalking ostrich, and sitting up at night near a
drinking-place. The two former I have myself tried successfully.

It will be found that most antelopes are very partial to
certain localities, where they are seen day after day in or (juite
near to the same place. They are also sure to have certain
lines of retreat in case of danger ; a habit very much in the
sportsman's favour should he decide on a drive. To find this
line of retreat is very necessary, and it can only be done by
making one or two test drives without either the sportsman or
' stops ' in position. Of course all game should be driven down
or across the wind. The beaters, from ten to fifteen in number,
should be formed into a long line, and should then slowly ad-
vance on the game. On no account should the beaters proceed
too cpiickly, lest the game should become thoroughly scared,
and (if in a herd) split up and driven in different directions.
On the second day the same tactics may be tried again, and
it will be found in all probability that the game will make off
by exactly the same line of retreat. The third day the sportsman
and the 'stops' can take uj) their [)Ositions in the iine which
the game seems likely to take, behind the most convenient
shelter available, which may be artificial if there should be
no natural covert, such as a bush, ant-heap, or tuft of grass
large enough to conceal them. The ' stops,' who are generally
gun-bearers, these being as a rule more intelligent than the
ordinary porters, should be directed to take up their positions on

X'
si

P
tl

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a
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HINTS ON EAST AFRICAN STALKING, ETC. 199

either side of the sportsman, each at a distance of about 200
yards from him. They should be told to keep well out of
sight, and not to show themselves unless they see that the
game is coming too much in their direction, and is likely to
pass out of range of the sportsman. In this case they must show
themselves for about a second, as that will be cjuite enough to
turn the game away from them. Most antelopes, if approached
quietly, start off ar a trot when they are first moved, sometimes
even at a gallop, then settle down into a walk, and finally stop
altogether. This they always do after going a short distance,
to have a look round at the cause of their alarm. As the
beaters draw up, the game will continue to advance in this
manner, and may pull up just out of range of the si)ortsman
to have another look round. The beaters should, therefore,
be told beforehand to stop when th' y see that the game is
approaching within range of the ambushes. Should they
advance instead of stopping at this juncture, the game will
start off again at a trot, possibly at a gallop, and may rush
past the sportsman all huddled together, the best head in the
middle of the herd, and well {protected from a shot by several
intervening females ; whereas, if the beaters stop when they
see the game getting near the ambushes, the game, after having
a good look at the beaters, will continue to advance at a walk,
and may stoj) altogether within range, and give a capital chance
for a successful shot. To a man who is at all excitable this
form of sport is perhaps more trying to the nerves than stalk-
ing. To see a fine bull eland or buck G. Gratitii with a grand
head slowly drawing nearer and nearer, at one time appearing
likely to pass out of range, at another time coming straight for
the ambush behind which the sportsman is concealed, is very
exciting. There is the uncertainty as to whether the beast or
beasts will pass him at a gallop, trot, or walk; as to whether they
will stop altogether when within range : there is the absolute
necessity of keeping still, however imcomfortable the position
the sportsman may be in, combined with his eagerness to
secure a grand trophy ; and all these things tend to intensify

ZCO

BIG GAME SHOOTING

the excitement. In stalking it is different, as the exertion of
crawling and making himself as invisible as possible, a tax
both on body and mind, helps to make the stalker forget
his 'jumpiness.'

The second device for securing game otherwise unapproach-
able is that of the stalking ostrich, which can be made out of
any kind of long thin pliable sticks formed into the shape and
size of an ostrich's body, and covered with the common trade
cloth (Americaiii); dyed the colour of a hen bird with mud
from the nearest stream or puddle. The whole thing when
complete will much resemble the shell of a large tortoise. The
neck and head should be separate from the body, as, v.'hen in
use, the actions of an oijtrich while feeding should be imivated
as nearly as possible. I only used this device twice, but each
time wiih the greatest success, and on both occasions in the
Rombo plains on the eastern side of Kilimanjaro, shortly after
the grass had been burnt, and when there was absolutely no
covert of any kind. The G. Graiitii carry particularly fine
heads on these plains, and would not allow me to approach
nearer than 350 to 400 yards.

Although the construction of this ostrich excited much amuse-
ment amongst the men, and although I noticed a good deal of
grinning and chuckling amongst them as I went out, they were
vory greatly astonished at the result. From the camp I could
see two G. Grantii standing out in the open about a mile
off. Within half a mile of them and on my left Lhere was a
slight rise in the ground, which I took advantage of, and thus got
within about 600 yards of them before donning the ostrich.
Directly I appeared over the top of the rise the gazelles saw
me, but I soon allayed their suspicions by pretending to feed
and pick about. I then went on, stopping every now and
again ' to feed,' and without the least trouble walked up to
within yo yards of them, and got both with a right and left
shot. To show how successful tho imitation was, I passed
two wart-hogs within 60 yards on my right and a cou[)Ie of
greater bustards {Otis kon) within 40 yards on my left, and

HINTS ON EAST AFRICA IV STALKING, ETC. 201

none of them showed the slightest signs of fear until after I
had gone by them, when the wind exposed the deception.

The next day I approached a large herd of some thirty-five
G. Grantii, got within 40 yards, and killed the best buck, a
magnificent beast, in spite of t' ree or four does which stood
within 25 yards of me. After the shot, instead of reveal-
ing myself, I picked up the neck of the ostrich, which I
had been obliged to drop in ordei to take the shot, and rushed
after the retreating herd. When they stopped after going about
600 yards, the feigned alarm of the ostrich was apparently
so real that they allowed me to run straight up to withm 60
yards of them. However, I was so pumped from the run,
and tired by the first long walk up to the herd in a cramped
and stooping position, trying to assimilate my height to that of
an ostrich's body, that I was very unsteady, and a shot at the
next best buck missed him clean, and away went the herd.

I have only twice tried sitting over a water-hole or other
drinking place, a method perhaps less sporting than any other,
although a very favourite way of killing game in South Africa in
former days ; and my attempts at this form of sport met with
such poor success that I know little or nothing about it. There
can be no doubt but that the Kiliiuanjaro district and such-
like places are not favourable to this form of shooting, as there
is .so much water about, that game cannot be relied upon to
diink at the same place two nights running. To be successful,
water should be scarce, and there should certainly not be a
running stream, with its numerous and well-used drinking-
places, within at least eight or tt.i miles of the place to
be watched. Although my tw(j atiempts were failures, this
plan would no doubt be well worth trying, more especially
when there were lions about. Other game, such as rhinoceroses,
'*»u(Talois, and various antelopes, if not to be found on their
feeding grounds in the open ,u daylight, can be tracked into
the bush, vSrc. The spoor of a lion, however, excel ting in soft
ground, is so diificult to see that it is almost useless to attempt
to follow It.

202

BIG GAME SHOOTING

If a well-used water-hole could be found where game was
in sufficient quantities to attract lions, it would be advisable
to watch it on the chance of getting a shot at a lion — a
chiaice which may not be offered for months by daylight, though
lions may be heard roaring near the camp night after night.

And now to deal with the last feature of a stalk — the shot.
It may be taken as a general rule' tliat all l)ig game should be
shot behind the shoulder.

Roughly speaking, a bullet placed in the lateral centre of
the body, or a trifle below the centre, and a few inches behind
the shoulder in a perpendicular line with \\vt back of the foreleg,
will kill anything, provided, of course, the bullet has sufficient
penetration ; as, even if the heart is not touched, the lungs,
which are a much larger mark, and almost eiiually vital,
certainly will be. The chest shot when the beast is facing the
sportsman is equally good. With elephants, however, when at
close quarters, which would be either in 'ong grass or thick
bush, the head shot is preferable, as a bullet in the brain will
be instantly fatal, and the risk of a charge under conditions
unfavourable to the stalker will be avoided. The danger of
a charge in such circumstances, more especially on a calm
day, is greatly increased by the dense cloud of smoke caused
by the explosion of ten or twelve drachms of powder, which
hangs in the air and prevents the stalker from seeing the result
of his shot.

With all one's care to avoid the infliction of needless pain,
cases occur from time to time in jvery sjiortsman's experience
in which it seems almost impossible to despatch a mortally
wou^^-^li'd beast with anything except a shpl in the brain or in
tKe vertebra} of the neck. The wounded animal appears in
these cases quite impervious to all sense of pain, being appar-
ently in a state of semi-consciousness after the first shot, the
shock of each subse(|uent shot seeming to h;ive no further
effect ui)on its nervous system, yet in nineteen cases out of
twenty a beast hit in the same spot and at the same angle
would (lie almost immediately.

HINTS ON EAST AFRICAN STALKING, ETC. 203

Several cases of the kind have come under my own obser-
vation. At one time I thought that this extraordinary vitaHty
was confined to the antelopes, but I have seen the same
pccuharity displayed twice by buffaloes, once l)y an elephant,
once by a rhinoceros, and once by a zebra. I used to be of
opinion that a beast so wounded was reduced to a state of
semiparalysisj, and was incapable of moving from the '•not on
which it was standing when hit, but 1 have proved that this is
not always the case.

\\'hen first struck in such cases, the Ijeast almost invariably
drops its head, and sometimes stands with open mouth in the
same manner that a beast stands after it has been shot through
the stomach.

From my own observations, the shots which have thrown a
beast into this curious condition have invariably struck it low
down, through the lower edge of one or both lungs. The shot,
however, has not necessaiily been fired when the beast has
l)een standing in one particular position, as I have known these
shots fired when the beast was broadside on, stern on, and
facing me.

If there is any doubt as to whether the animal is hit through
the stomach or low tlown in the lungs, the sportsman should
take advantage of the beast as it stands wiili its head down,
and either give it another shot inmiediately <>r rarefuli\ ap-
proach i-earer to make (juite certain of |)lacing his bullet in
the right spot. Should he then be ([uite satisfied that his
second bullet has struck the right s[)ot behind the houlder,
and should the beast still continue to stand in the same jiosi-
tion, or move on only a short distance, he can be pretty ure
that the case is '»ne of those I allude to, and he li.f ctter
either finish with a shot in the brain or the vertebne of the
neck, or leave it to die (|uietly, as it very soon will do. Any
niori' shoulder shots would be simply thrown away. Of course
a beast shot in the stomach should be killeil with the shoulder
shot at once, as it is always likely to pull itself together for a
while and travel for miles.

-*1

CHAPTER X

THE KLKPHAN'T

Hy F. J. Jackson

The African elephant {£. Africanus)^ known to the natives of
Zanzibar as Tembo, to the natives of Mombasa and to the
north as Ndov.i, has, I venture to think, on account of its truly
colossal size, majestic bearing, and sagacity, a much better
claim to the position of king of beasts than the lion. It has
disappeared from many i)arts of Africa since the intioduction
of firearms and tiie advance of civilisation, but in British East
Africa, in certain localities, it is still to l)e found in enormous
numbers. It may be hoped that whoever has the making of
laws for that country will strenuously endeavour to preserve
the elephants and protect them from profts ional hunters, who
shoot everything -bulls, cows, and hali-urown calves alike —
utterly regardless of the size of the ivory, even though the

THE ELEPHANT

30S

tusks be little bigger than the lower incisor teeth of a bull
hippo.

I"' the dry weather elephants take up their quarters in the
thick forests at high altitudes — from 6,000 to 9,000 feet — such
as Kikuyu, Mau, and Lykepia, and in the belts of forest on
Kilimanjaro, Kenia, Elgon, and Ruvvenzori, rather, perhaps,
for the sake of food and water — both plentiful in such places
—than for the sake of the shade. In the wet weather they
leave the forests and roam out into the open, where food and
water have again become abundant, and they are quite as
likely as not to be found during the heat of the day standing
in long grass with no shade of any kind. It is difficult for a
man who has never hunted elephants, or seen places where
they have stopped to feed, to realise the tremendous havoc
they play in those places which are much frequented by them,
and the amount of wilful damage they do for no apparent
reason. When hunting them I have often come across places
where the herd I was following had stopped and scattered
ril)out to feed, and the amount of wreckage created in the
short time before they had again moved on was astounding.
Trees of various kinds had been broken down and ujjrooted
in all directions for the sake of a few twigs and young sheets
which could have been plucked off equally well whilst the
trees stood ; bushes hac' been pulled up and thrown on one
side with scarcely a leaf off ; branches of larger trees had
been torn off without a 1 wig or piece of bark having been
eaten ; wisps of long grass lay all round, {.ulled up by the
roots, but otherwise untouched, whilst the grass where the herd
had stood was knocked down and trampled under foot by
their huge feet. In fact, the whole i)lace had more the
appearance of a playground than of a feeding-place, and I am
inclined to think that a good deal of the damage caused by
elephants is done simply for anmsement. I have come across
other places where an equal amount of damage has befallen
the same kind of" Tees and bushes, but with every proof
that tiie elei)hants really have fed. The trees have been well

2o6

BIG GAME SHOOTING

cropped of their branches and twigs ; bushes that have been
torn up have been devoid of leaves, and their stems well
chewed ; the upper part of the wisps of grass have been missing,
and the branches f' large trees and the trees themselves have
been stripped of their bark, which was left lying about in all
directions after being chewed, t!v:c. When in Uganda I once
had an opportunity of watching a grand old bull elephant
amusing himself. He was one of a large herd which I had no
difficulty in getting within 150 yards of, but which I could not
approach nearer, as they were standing (juite out in the open.
As I sat on the top of an ant-heap waiting for them to gel into
a better position, I watched this bull through my binoculars
for about twenty minutes trying to destroy another ant-heap
for no apparent cause, as he did not pick up the earth to dust
himself, but simply dug his tusks into the heaj), and with a
sideways movement of the head sent the clods of earth Hying
away on each side of him. Had he thrown the earth upwards
on to his back, or picked it up with his trunk to give himself
a sand-bath, there would have been nothing strange about his
proceedings, ^\'hen the herd moved off, I went up to the
ant-heap and found that the bull had knocked it about in a
manner almost incredible even for such a huge and powerful
beast. There can be little doubt that a great deal of the up-
rooted long grass which is found where elephants have stood
is torn up simply for the purpose of dusting themselves, as I
have twice had an excellent o|iporlunity of watching them.
On one occasion I got within 100 yards of five elephants
standing in long grass in a hollow, and watched them for some
time from the top of a rock whilst they had a dust-bath. This
they did by simply twisting their trunks round wisps of grass,
which they pulled up by the roots and threw up into the air
over their backs. The weight of liie earth in the roots caused
these wisps of grass to descend roots downwards, and as they
landed on the elephants' backs, a good shower of dry earth,
sand, and dust was the result.

Tracking in l^ast Africa is rather an unusual method of

THE ELEPHANT

207

finding other kinds of game, excepting in very thick bush, or
when the particular game sought after is scarce, as game Ccin
generally l)e found in the open, provided the sportsman is
on the feeding grounds early enough in the morning. With
elephants the case is different, as they are great wanderers,
and tracking is the universal method of finding them, the
nature of the country in which they are found (generally
forest, bush, or tall cane-like grass) being very unfavourable
for seeing them at any distance, i'^ is therefore necessary to
make an early start, as much time is often lost Ijefore finding
spoor sufficiently fresh to follow. Even when found, and
though it appears to indicate that the elephants have just
passed, the sportsman may have to follow it for several hours
before coming up with them. Perhaps few things will try
perseverance and endurance more than elephant hunting, as
even though the spoor seems not more than a few minutes old,
and though there is ajjijarently every hope of approaching
the beasts very shortly, delays are often caused by having to
pick out the spoor of particular animals from a number of
other tracks, and the knowledge that the beasts are in all |)ro
bability gaining on him durnig these delays is decidedly trying
to a man's patience. After such delays the sportsman may
manage to get on at a good i)ace, which, together with the
rough going, soon tells on him, anU after three or four hours
(by no means an unusual time) he begins to feel a little
down on his luck, and to despair of ever seeing the game
again, when possibly he comes across the |)lace where they
have stood or stoi)[jed to feed. Here he may find fresh dung,
into which some of his men will eagerly thrust their toes to
try whether it is still warm or n t. If it is, he starts off with
renewed energy and buoyed up with fresh hope, l-'urlher on
may be indications that the ele[)hants have again stopped to
feed, and the hunter's spirits go up with a bound at the know-
ledge that he must have gained on them, only to be damped
a little later on wlien he finds that they have again moved on.
Though feeling inclined to throw up the whole thing in despair.

308

BIG GAME SHOOTING

he decides to follow a little longer, realising by this time that a
stern chase is a long one. At last, as he plods wearily along,
he comes across dung that is actually smoking, a sure sign that
he is now pretty close to his game. A little further on the
welcome sound of a branch being snapped, or the rumbling
noise peculiar to the elephant, catches his ear; then he realises
that he may see the beasts themselves at any moment, and is
therefore thoroughly on the alert. Taking one of his heavy
rifles from a gun-bearer and putting two or three spare car-
tridges into his pocket, if he has not already done so, and
telling his gun-bearer to keep close up, while the rest of the
men remain behind until they either hear a shot or a signal
to come on, he pushes forward with the greatest caution, a
curious mixture of coolness and intense excitement.

Should the nature of the ground in which the sportsman
finds them be open, so as to prevent his getting nearer than
40 yards, the shoulder shot is the best to take at elephants,
and I believe is almost universally recommended by all old
elephant hunters. Should the beasts, however, be found
standing in dense bush or tall cane-like grass (and they are
very partial to these places) where it is impossible to see them
until within 20 yards or less, and where even then all but the head
and outline of the back is hidden, the temple is the best shot,
and a shot anywhere between the eye and a little dark mark
which indicates the orifice of the ear would be instantly fatal.
When elephants are standing in thick bush and long grass,
unless a sportsman has had a good deal of experience with
them, the fact of seeing their huge backs towering above the
covert is rather apt to deceive him in regard to the posi-
tion of their heart and lungs. The great depth of their
bodies would probably lead him to shoot too high, and a
bullet placed too high, although it might eventually prove
fatal, would not prevent the beast getting clean away at the
time.

The hunt after the first elephant I ever killed is a very
fair example of many which I have had, though I regret to say

nth: Hu:/'HA\T

log

a very large proportion have not been so successful as this
was.

In May 1887 I was encamped on one of the numerous
streams on the southern slopes of Kilimanjaro, below Kiboso,
with my friend IVfr. H. C. V. Hunter.

I'his country, as I have said elsewhere, is very undulating,
and the covert on it very varied, brush and grass 10 to 12 ft.
high alternating with open forest of table-topped mimosa or
dense clumps of bush and large forest trees. It is, however,
decidedly an unfavourable country for sport, as the wind is very
uncertain and can never be relied upon to keep steady, owing
probably to the proximity of the mountain, which causes the
cross currents and eddies that constantly betray the sports-
man's presence. Mr. Hunter and I were three weeks in this
country, and I think we each came up with elephants nearly
every day we were out ; but one of these cross currents or eddies
in the wind betrayed us before we could see the beasts in the
dense covert. When we did see them, they were nearly always
in the densest bush or long grass, and we got very few good
shots compared with the number of times we were actually within
shooting range. On the morning of the 29th I left camp with
thirteen men, very early, with the intention of following up the
spoor of a grand bull which I had severely wounded the day
before. This beast I had followed up until he brought me round
in a circle to within a couple of miles of camp, and as it was late
in the afternoon and I was pretty well knocked up at the time,
I gave up the hunt for the day, intending to take up the spoor
again on the following morning. Unfortunately, there was
heavy rain during the night, which, however, slipped just about
an hour before we started from camp, and when we picked up
the spoor we found that all traces of blood, which had liecn
very conspicuous the day before, had been completely washed
away. However, there was no mistaking the spoor of this beast
on account of its size ; we managed to get along at a good
[)ace, and had gone about three miles when we found that a
big herd had subsequently got on to the same track, and had

I. 1'

2IO

BIG GAME SHOOTING

completely obliterated the spoor of the wounded bull. As this
herd had passed since the rain had stopped, evidently within
about two hours, I decided to follow them, but had not gone
more than half a mile before we found that they had split
up, five big fellows going off to the left, up wind, whilst the
rest of the herd kept straight on, across the wind. After
a short consultation, we decided to follow these five big ones,
and we went off at a killing pace through the long grass, in
spite of the ploughed-up condition of the path, and at the
end of an hour and a half came to a small dee{i stream which
the elephants had crossed. As I was already wet through from
the grass, and as my boots were worn out and full of holes,
which prevented them holding water and making a ' scjuishing *
noise, I waded across this stream, and ascended the steep bank
on the other side, which was covered with dense bush and
thick forest trees. Here we came across a small mud-hole
where the elephants had rolled, whilst a little further on they
had stopped to rub themselves against the trees. They had
then left this belt of bush and forest, and gone on across un-
dulating country covered with long cane-like grass ami a few
small trees, one or two of which they had torn down, and had
loitered to feed on the young shoots and twigs. ^Ve also found
fresh dung which was still warm inside when I kicked off the
outer surface and tested it with the back of my hand. 'I'his
was decidedly encouraging, and we pushed on as fast as we could
plod through the heavy ground. A little further on we received
a check, as another small herd had got on to the track, but
fortunately had turned off in a different direction after going a
few hundred yards, and we were once more able to get along
and make up for lost time. About eleven o'clock I sat down to
have a short rest, but on starting again and arriving at the toj)
of a big rise, from which I had a good view of the surrounding
country, I felt inclined to give in, as I could see no covert in which
the elephants were likely to take up their ([uarters for the day.
We went on, however, and shortly afterwards came to a
patch of dense Ijush down in a hollow, which I had been

THE ELEPHANT

211

unable to see l)efore, where they had again waited for a
time. At 12.30 we came to the top of another rise, and I
saw a large hit of forest and dense bush lying in the hollow
below us. My spirits began to rise, but before entering it
I sat down for another short rest, feeling quite sure that the
elephants were inside, as we had just found some dung that
was cjuite warm. As I sat smoking a pipe I heard the crack
of a branch being broken ring through the forest. Jumping up
and putting two or three cartridges both for the 4-bore and
S-bore into my pockets, we entered the dense bush, which was
some 15 to 20 ft. high, and soon afterwards heard the crack
of another branch right ahead of us. 'I'hinking the elephants
might l)e scattered about feeding, and not wishing to run the
risk of any of them getting our wind, I sent one of my gun-
bearers up a tall thin tree to see if he could make out their
whereabouts. He soon spotted them, well to windward of us,
about 150 yards off, and on coming down from the tree
reported that they were all together, moving along slowly and
feeding as they went. Taking the 4-bore from the second gun-
bearer, I crept forward with my head gun-bearer carrying the
8-bore, and on coming to a place where the covert was rather
more open, I saw a large dark bush violently shaken some
70 yards ahead of us, and at the same time heard another
branch being torn off a tree more to my right.

I then sent my gun-bearer through a small gap in the bush
on my right to see if he could sight the beast that had broken
the branch, and in a very few seconds he signalled to me
by snapping his fingers (the usual method of attracting atten-
tion). As I crept through the gap I saw two elephants about
70 yards off in a small open hollow, one standing stern end
on, the other, a grand beast, broadside on, but with only
his head showing from behind a big bush. As 70 yards is
too far for a head shot, I crept forward to within 40 yards
of him ; but at that moment he stepped out clear of the
bush, giving me a grand chance, of which I immediately
availed myself, and before he knew where he was he had

1' 2

BIG CAME SHOOTING

received a 4-l)ore bullet beliind the shoulder, but a trille too high.
The dense cloud of smoke hanging in the dam[) heavy
atmosphere prevented me from getting a shot at the other one
before he disap[)eared in the bush. On going u[) to where the
one I shot at had stood there was no difficulty in finding blood,
and on following up his spoor we came across him in about 200
yards, standing in dense bush, e^•i(lently very sick and unable
to move, and another couple of shots killed him. He was a
splendid beast, the fmest T have e\er killed, but as I only had
a small steel yard measure with me I was unable to measure
him properly. His tusks were 7 ft. and 6 ft. 9 in. long
respectively, and weighed about 60 lbs. apiece ; his forefeet
measured 54 in. in circumference, and the length of his car
was 5 ft. 4 in.

Although the hunting of elephants is as a rule very hard and
trying work, there is always the possibility of getting them with-
out much trouble, as happened to myself one day in Turkwel, a
district in the Suk country east of Mount Elgon. While the camp
was being pitched a porter came up to say that when collect-
ing firewood in the bush he had seen elephants close l)y, and
had left them quietly feeding and standing about. Though
it seemed very improbable that I should fmd them after all the
noise that had been and still was going on amongst the men,
I went out and found a herd of some twenty-five elephants,
standing within 600 yards of camp. The country was undulat-
ing and very open, and as the grass had lately been burnt
there was no covert excepting table-topped mimosa trees, while
lo make matters worse the elephants were much scattered and
standing on the other side of a swampy hollow, with the excep-
tion of one bull, which was standing in it. With great difficulty
I managed to crawl up to a fallen tree on the edge of the swamp,
and within about 80 yards of where the bull was standing.
Resting tne 4-bore on the fallen tree. 1 took a steady shot at him
as he was in the act of drinking, and gave him another bullet
from the 8-bore Hir back in the ribs, which, as he turned, raked
forward into his vitals. Running forward into the swamp, 1 gave

HUSTINU -IHIO 4-HORE ON THE I'ALLKN TliKK

THE e/.':p//a.\t

a fine cow a good shot behind the shoulder with the left barrel,
and again getting hold of the 4-l)ore gave another cow a shot,
but too far l>ark and low down, and before I could get through
the swamp the herd went off. 'I'he bull after going less than
Tco yards fell over dead, and another couple of shots finished
the first c<jw : then followed a long chase after the other
cow, which I finally got with a shot almost in the ear-hole,
after givmg her a great number of ineffectual body shots.

I)r;u!

Il^llt

214

/.'/(; GAME SHOOT/NC

CHArrKR XI

THI-: AIKKAN IHI i'AI.O

l!v r. J. Jack

SON

'riiK African buffalo (/^. caffa), known to the natives as ' Mhoga"
or ' Nyati,' is, I consider, on account of its enormous strength
and vitality, combined with great pluck and natural cunning,
the most dangerous beast in I'Last Africa, and I believe this
opinion is shared by the majority of men who have hunted it
to any extent. As it rarely ha[)pens that a beast of any kind
charges without y^rovocation, excepting the rhinoceros, to which
I shall come later on, I use the word ' dangerous ' as applied to
a beast after it has l)een wounded. Compared with an ele-
phant, a buffalo is of course inferior both in si/e and strength :
as com|)ared with a lion, in activity only. \Vhen wounded all
these three i)easts will endeavour to gel into ihii k covert to
hide themselves. 'I'his is greatly in their favour when they
are being tracked by the sportsman, more particularly so in
the case of a buffalo or a lion. All * dangerous ' beasts, such
as elephants, buffaloes, lions, rhinoceroses, ivc., are more likely
to ( harge when taken unawares and at close (luarters, and
under these circumstances a charge by a buffalo is not only
the most dangerous of all, but more probable for the following
reasons. Thick bush s.J, ft. high (whetlu-r in large belts or
small patches and clumps) will hide a buffalo when it is
slandiiig up, even if only a few feet away from the sportsman,
and should it be l)ing down, thick covert otily }^ ft. to 3 ft.
6 in. high will conceal itipiite as efTectually.

\\'ith an elephant, which would newr lie down, the bush

THE AFRICAN liUFFALO

:i5

or loni; i^rass must 1)0 exceptionally high and thick to render
it invisilde at 15 to 20 yards distance. A lion would of
< ourse he more difficult to see than either. A buffalo, whether
it is standing up or lying down, will never give the sjjortsman
the slightest indication of its proximity, and to detect it he
has to trust almost entirely to his own or gun-bearer's eye-
sight, unless perhai)s the beast's lungs are badly injured by
the shot, when it may breathe heavily enough to be heard
at some little distance. The same may be said of an elephant,
but there is a greater chance of seeing it on account (jf its
enormous si/.e. A lion, on the other hand, will very often, if
not always, warn the sportsman of its presence by a low growl
when at a distance of some 15 to 20 yards.

A buffalo has a better chance of seeing the si)ortsman than
the s[)ortsman has of seeing it, as bush is usually thinner a
foot or two from the ground than higher up, and a buffalo, stand-
ing with liis head nuich lower than a man's, can therefore see
under il. A sjtortsman will generally see an ele|)hant first,
and can dodge and creep about in the bush, which, if only
5 feet high or even less, will enable him to keej) out of sight.
A li<m has a still better chance than either, as his head is much
nearer to the ground, whether the beast is standing or lying
<l()wn, ;md he has both a better chance of seeing and of hearing
the sportsman's approach.

A buffalo, if it sees or hears the sportsman api)roaching
at a distance, is as likely to stop to fight it out as to bolt away.
The same with an elephant. .\ lion will generally give a low
growl and slink off. Therefore a sportsman, taking it all round,
is more likely to come unexpectedly to very close (piarlers with
a buffalo than with a lion or an elephant

III the event of a charge by one of these threi' beasts,
covert that would stop a lion would stop neither a buffalo nor
an ele|)hant.

A buffalo may not at all improbably be wirhin a few feet
before a shot can be firetl, owing to tin- sportsman's inability to
see it sooner. 'I'he chances are againsl this with an elephant.

2l6

BIG GAME' S//OOT/X(;

A lion is not likely tu wait until the sportsman is quite close up,
but will come on, if it comes on at all, from a greater distance,
and the greater distance a beast comes from the better chance
the sportsman has of pulling himself together and taking a
steady shot.

When hit, the difficulties of killing, stopping, or even
turning a buffalo are greater than with an elei)hant or lion. A
buffalo holds its head up, with its forehead almost horizontal,
too high to enable one to get a shot at the brain, and there is a

Hull buH.ilo

great chance of the bullet 'icochetling off the horns. A shot
at (he chest when at close (,ua»'ters is ahnost ;in impossibilitv',
as ihe bea^l is so very lo\> on its legs, lii the open this is
the best shot to take, as by kneeling 'iown the sportsman is
more on a level with the animal, ami the head is not so nuK h in
the way. An elepiiant aK(j holds its head up, and the chances
of a shot ai the head proving fatal as the beast (barges arc
so remote as to be almost inlinittsimai. .\n elephant's head,
however, is a large mark, and a bullet striking it in the centre

THE AFRICAN BUFFALO

217

of the base of the trunk, if it does not penetrate to the brain,
will knock it down, or at all events turn it. The chest is a better
mark in the open, but when in thick covert cannot often l)e
taken advantage of. l^ven if this shot should not l)e fatal, it
would nine times out of ten stop or turn the beast. A lion
being a much smaller beast than either, and being more active,
is naturally more difficult to hit, but when hit is more easily
disabled, and not so tenacious of life.

Should a buffalo charge and miss the sportsman, it will hunt
him as a terrier does a rabbit, and will rarely leave him as
long as it can see or smell him. An elephant has poorer eye-
sight than a buffalo, and there is a better chance of escaping
observatit)n in covert after being missed, as an elephant, being
less active, cannot turn so cpiickly and would overrun itself.
It will, however, also hunt him and beat about the covert to
try and catch sight of him or scent him. A lion would be less
easy to dodge than either, but, as it is possessed of less pluck,
would be more easily cowed and less likely to renew the attack.

Buffaloes were at one time exceedingly plentiful tiiroughout
JJritish iCast Africa, and in some districts, where the country
was best suited to their habits, were to be found in enormous
herds. Towards the end of the year 1S90, and in tlie early
part of 1H91, they unfortunately contracted a kind of anthrax,
the same disease which carried off nearly all the native cattle,
and they were almost destroyed by it. On my way down
from I'ganda in July iXcjo, betwein Lakes Haringo and
Naivasha, I saw in oni- day's march as many as six herds of
buffaloes, varying in number from 100 to 600 head in a herd.
In this same district in the following March, my friend
Mr. (ledge, on his way down to the coast, saw nothing but
carcases, and in one day counted as many as fifteen l\ing
rotting in the grass, close to tiie footpath. In iHc;^ the officrrs
of the Mombasa anil Victoria Nyati/a Railway Survey only
saw on two ilifferent occasions the s|)oor of a single beast,
although they traversed a great part of tlu' country where
buffaloes were once so plentiful, .\mongst other places where

1! I

ii8

BIG GAME SHOOTING

this grand beast was particularly abundant was the Arusha-
wachini district, now in (lernian territory, to the south of
Kilimanjaro, and the Njiri plains to the north of the mountain ;
'I'urkwel, in the Suk country to the east of Mount l^lgon ; the
extensive undulating plains on the top of tlie Mau and Elgeyo
escarpments ; I .ykepia, to the west of Mount Kenia ; the banks
of the river I'ana, and the thick bush country on the mainland
near Lamu, 'i'here can be little doubt that it will take many
years for them to recover to any extent, if they ever do so. A
sportsman intending to visit this country must therefore ncjt
be disap[)ointed at being unable to add one of these beasts to
his bag, though of course he may have the luck to meet with
an odd one here and there. It is to l)e hoped, however, that
everyone who goes out to shoot will endea\ \r to give them a
fair chance of increasing i)y scrupulously refraining from shoot-
ing at any cow that may be met with. JUiffaloes feed out in the
ojjen during the night and early morning, and retire to the bush
or other covert where they lie up tluring the heat of the day.
In places where they were unlikely to be disturbed I ha\e seen
them lying out in the open in the middle of the day, although
there was plenty of thick bush within a mile or less. This
may be accounted for, [)artly by the fact that these particular
countries were uninhabited, and therefore undisturbed, but more
|)robably by a desire on the part of tlie buffaloes to escape
from the incessant torments of the various species of noxious
horse-flies.

Old bulls, whether solitary or when in parties of two or three,
as is so often the('ase, have the reputation of being more savage
and dangerous to approach than when in a herd, but I am (juite
sure that this is not so. An old solitary bull when wounded is no
more dangerous than a woundtd one that has been picked out of
a herd, which will then nearly always turn out and go off by itself.
Solitary bulls are much more easily approached than others,
as the cows in a herd, more es|)ecially if they have calves with
them, are very watchful, and when feeding are often scattered
about in all directions. lUil whether in herds or solitary, the

THE AFRICAN BUFFALO

:i9

:li

sportsman must never forget that he is dealing with a most
formidable beast, and should always endeavour to get up to
it (lose enough to insure his putting a bullet as near as pos-
sible to the spot aimed at, in order to kill or render it helpless
at once. 'I'he greatest caution should be exercised in the
approach, and the stalker should endeavour to keep out of sight
not only before but ^{//cr taking a shot, as a beast is far less
likely to charge if it is quite ignorant of the stalker's whereabouts
before it is fired at and wounded than when aware of his
presence beforehand, and though perhaps unable (juite to
decide what he is, is given his exact whereabouts by the
dense cUjud of smoke. Personally I iiave never been charged
at close quarters by buffaloes, although I have had many
encounters with them (juite exciting enough to assure me that
a wounded buffalo is a beast that is not to be trifled with. I
owe this immunity i)rimarily to the fact of my having used very
heavy rifles a single 4-bore for the first shot, with a double
8-bore in reserve, and I have generally succeeded in getting
within 80 yards, far more often indeed within 50 yards of
them before firing. Then again, when a beast has been
wounded, I have always endeavoured to keep it in sight, in
order to save myself from being taken at a disadvantage, and
also to avoid the loss of time spent in following up the blood-
sjjoor. \\'henever a beast has got into thick covert where it
was (|uite impossible to watch its movements, I have nearly
always waited a short time before taking uj) the sjmor to give
it time to lie down, become stiff, and j)artly forget its fear
and trouble. lUit perhaps I owe my safety principally to my
having had the good luck always to see the beast before or at
the same time that it saw me, when I iiave at once saluted it
with a 4-b()re or S-bore bullet, which has knocked out of it,
whatever inclination it may have had to charge.

In buffalo shooting it is perhaps more important to be up early
and on the feetling grounds by daylight than in any other kind
of big game shooting, as it can be taken as a general rule that
buiTaloes, after feeiling in the open plains and glades iliiring

-N/

>20

BIG GAME SHOOTING

the night and early morning, enter and lie up in bush or
other thick covert during the day. In the first place, when
they are in the open they are easier to see, a herd of buffaloes,
or even a single one, being a very conspicuous object at a long
distance. In the very early morning they are generally to be
found, when in a herd, moving along in a fairly compact body
(nearly always led by a cow), and not wasting much time in
feeding on their way from their drinking-place, but heading in
the direction of the covert they intend to lie up in during the
day ; or they may be found on the outskirts of the bush, still
feeding, before turning in for the day. This is the best time
to come across them, as the stalker, when he finds them pretty
close together, has a good oi)portunity of examining them and
marking the best bulls. When found feeding in the open close
to the bush, or in open bush, they are, with an ordinary amount
of care and trouble, easy enough to stalk. It is, however, very
often aggravating work to follow on the outskirts of a herd,
waiting for a favourable opportunity to crawl on to get a shot
at the best bull, but unable to do so from the fact that several
cows are feeding between the stalker and the bull. Should
they, however, be quite out on the open, and unapproachable,
the only thing to i)e done is to wait patiently inside the cover
of the bush they are likely to make for to lie up in, keeping
as near to thein as possible as they move along, and attempt
to cut ihem off as they enter the bush. 1 have tried sending
men round to move them, but only once succeeded in cutting
them off after a long run, and found it much better to wait
patiently, as they will generally give the stalker a fair iilea of
the place at which they will enter the bush. A large hertl of
buffaloes filing slowly past at a steady walk, within a range of
30 or 40 yards of you, is a grand sight, and it is decidedly excit-
ing, after wailing for the bull you have marked, to take your
shot and listen to the tremendous connnolion and crashing of
the bush which follows it as the herd stampedes.

Shooting buffaloes in thick bush, when the only means of
finding them is by tracking, is not only intensely exciting works

THE AFRICAN BUFFALO

221

but most dangerous, and as a rule most unsatisfactory. It is
exciting because in thick covert the stalker mi'st make up his
mind that there will be little chance of his seeing a beast until
he is pretty close up to it, and if he is at all 'jumpy,' as he
steals carefully along, avoiding sticks and dry crackling leaves
and loose stones, or brushing up against the bush, he has
ample time to think about and realise the dangers he is possibly
running. Most men will agree that the deep guttural grunts of
buffaloes, as they stand and lie about, which can be heard at
long distances in the stillness of the bush, are not calculated
to soothe the nerves of even the coolest and most experienced,
while doubtless a good many have felt their hearts thumping
against their ril)S to an extent which is not conducive to good
shooting. Again, as the herd is probably scattered about, there
is a possibility that some of them may be on either side of the
tracks you are following, and there is also some uncertainty as
to whether in their first stampede on detecting danger some of
the buffaloes which have neither seen nor smelt you may not
be coming towards you instead of rushing away from you.
This kind of sport is dangerous, as the chances are for the
most part in favour of the buffalo, 'should it turn vicious. The
stalker may not see it until at close quarters, when it has pro-
bably already seen or heard him, and a beast which has become
aware of the enemy is far more likely to charge on being fired
at and wounded (unless of course it is disabled) than it would
be if it was altogether unaware of his presence. As it is quite
imjwssible to tell where beasts may or may not be when the herd
is scattered, there is the possibility that some of them are on
either side of the tracks which the stalker is following, and should
one of these l)e a bad-tempered old bull, or a cow with a calf, he
or she might, on being taken by surprise at close (juarters, charge
in self-defence from a ciuarter from which the stalker least ex-
pects attack. As I have said before, the charge of an infuriated
buffalo is very difficult to stop, owing to the position in which
it carries its head, and if the stalker fails to stop or turn it,
and has to bolt, he may be so hampered in his movements

)

BIG GAME SHOOTING

by the bush, a single creeper, like so much packthread to a
buffalo and yet (juite strong enough to hold the stalker fast or
trip him up, that he may be unable to get out of the way.
Following buffaloes into bush sufficiently open to enable the
stalker to see and get a shot at them at a range of 30 or 40
yards is not attended with nearly so much danger as following
them into dense bush, where, owing to the dark shadows, it is
almost impossible to distinguish a beast from its surroundings.
Although the spoor of a beast may be seen leading directly
up to a bush, which looks a likely spot for a buffalo to lie down
in, the stalker may not be able to discover whether the beast
is there or not, and if it is there, he niM'- be (juite sure that the
buffalo, as it is standing or lying dowi. in the shade, has a far
better chance of seeing him, as he stands more or less in the
open, than he has of seeing it. As the chances are so much
against the stalker seeing the beast until he gets within a few
yards of it ; as the difficulties of stopi)ing it should it charge are
so great ; and as, if it misses him in the first charge, it will hunt
him, I rei)eat, as a terrier does a rabbit, it remains for the sports-
man, however keen he may be, to consider whether these risks
are worth running, even on the chance of being rewarded by an
exceptionally fme trophy. In any case he should not attempt
to follow ui) a buffalo unless he is properly armed with a heavy
rifle.

.Again, such sport is unsatisfactory, because in thick c()\«rt
the wind is very changeable, and is apt to chop round when
least expected. .Such a change in the wind, even though (piite
imperceptible to the stalker, is quite enough to reveal his
presence to the buffaloes, and away they will crash with-
out giving him a chance, just at the critical moment when
he is close up and expecting to see one of them at any
moment. .\s a buffalo is a very difficult beast to see when
standing or lying in the dark shade, the stalker has in most cases
to fire as soon as he sees it, and even though he kills it, it may
as often as not turn out that the beast is only a cow or a young
bull, with a head not worth keeping as a trophy.

THE A FRICA N IS UJFA I. O

!^3

I think there can be little doubt that very old bulls, which
are almost iin.iriably solitary, become nearly if not quite deaf,
and It is partly owing to this infirmity that many accidents
have happened to unarmed natives, and occasionally to caravan
porters prowling in the bush in search of firewood, t^c. The
buffalo, being deaf, is not aware of the api)roach of an cnemv,
and when he perceives one close to him is so startled that
he charges in self-defence, his onslaught being so quick and
furious that the man (eciually taken by surprise) is unable to
get out of the way. In support of this theory as to deaf-
ness I remember when in Turkwel, in the Suk country, on
December 14, 1889, the camp had been pitched at least
two hours, and some 400 porters had been roaming about
collecting fiiewood and water, shouting and yelling, as their
custom is, when a man came into camp to say that a buffalo
was lying under a tree within 200 yards of us. The man's
story appeared so imi)robal)le, although 1 c pointed out the
exact tree, which I could see as I .sat in my tent, that I did
not credit it in spite of his earnest protestations of ' (^)ueli,
bwana, queli ' (True, master, true), .so I sent my head gun-
bearer to verify it. In a few minutes he returned and reported
that a bull buffalo was certainly there apparently lying asleep at
till' foot of an ant-heap under the tree. I immediately went
out, and walked straight up to the ant-heap, on the top of which
there was a large leafless bush, and on crawling u|) the side
of the heaj) 1 saw the buffalo within five yards of me. Just at
that moment he turned his head, and, seeing me, stood up,
had a look at me, and turned to bolt, but before he had got
many yards I knocked him over all in a heap with an S-bore
bullet which raked him from stern to stem. On another
occasion, in the Kidong Valley (July 30, 1890), when camp
was being jiitched with its attentlant turmoil, a porter came
in to say that a buffalo was lying asleep close at hand.
Accompanied by Dr. Mackinnon, medical officer to the expedi-
tion, I went out, and we were led by the man direct to the
beast, which was lying evidently asleep under a small bush, and

224

bh; game shooting

so close to canii) that \vc rould distinctly hear the orders being
given to the men. We were within 20 yards of him before we
could see him, and at first thought that he was dead, he lay so
still, and I could detect no movement of his side even with the

Blissful ignorance

aid of binoculars; but a bullet from an 8-bore brought him to his
feet with a plunge, and two more killed him. l>oth these beasts
were very old, judging from the smoothness of the frc^ntlet or
])alm of their horns, the usual ruggedness being quite worn away.

THE AFRICAN BUFFALO 225

Buffoloes, like rhinoceroses, are very often attended by birds
{Bitphtiii^a cryt/irorhy/ic/ia), when they are much more difficult
to stalk than at other times, liesides the rhinoceros bird,
buffaloes, particularly when ''n herds, are often attended by a
flock of little egrets {//erodins };;arzetta), which, like the former,
are attracted by the great numbers of ticks on these animals.
They do not, however, render tlie stalking more difficult, as
they do not warn the game of the stalker's presence like the
rhinoceros bird, but are rather a source of danger to the herd
than otherwise, more particularly in bush country, their habit
of rising and circling round in the air before again settling i)eing
often a means of indicating the position of a herd, which would
otherwise have been passed unnoticed ; whilst, should they rise
on detecting the sportsman, the buffiiloes are so used to these
sudden and short flights that the occurrence causes them little
or no alarm.

When single, or in twos and threes, buffaloes are cjuite as
easy to approach as a rhinoceros.

To kill a buffalo the shoulder shot is the best. This should
be rather low down, if anything, below the central lateral line
on the body, as the enormously thick neck and the high dorsal
I ridge are rather apt to deceive the sportsman as to the actual

depth of the beast's body, more especially when standing in
grass or low bush, so that the legs and lower outline of the
body cannot be discerned. Should a beast be standing behind
a thick tree or bush, so as to present only its head and neck,
a shot in the neck, rather far back to avoid the backward
curve of the h(jrns, and about half-way down, would be almost
instantly fatal ; but this shot should not be attempted if the
. beast, although standing broadside on, has its head facing
the sportsman, as the near horn will probably be in the way.
This reminds me of a curious shot which I once made at a
buffalo standing in this position behind a small thorn-tree,
which, when I came to measure it, I found to be 11 ins. in cir-
cumference, and which just covered the best spot for a shot at
the shoulder. On getting up to a small bush within seventy ■

1- Q 1]

226

lilG CAME SHOOTING

- ■'Vy/-.

yards of it, 1 decided to lake tlic
neck shot ; hut just as 1 was getting
into position to lire the beast saw
n)e. I'"".'aring it would holt on dis-
covering me. I took a quu:k aim at
the shoulder, rather than risk the
nerr. shot, knowing that u the hulkt
did not hit the tree it would he

Often atlond'Ml bv MkN '

iwP

mmm.

/■///•; AIKICAN liUFFALO

!27

])rctty sure to go somewhere near tlie lungs. Directly the
smoke cleared, my gun-hearer told me that he had seen
the tree fall, and on gcing u[) to it I found the bullet, an
8-l)ore, had (\aught i: exactly in the centre and so shattered
it that th(; heavy table-top had caused it to break off where
the bullet entered. Whilst iii -asuring it I heard a deep groan
in the direction the buffalo tiad taken, and on taking up the
spoor found my beast (juite dead, lying in the grass about
150 yards off, shot through the shoulder. On cutting it open
1 found the bullet had gone through both lungs, and was
sticking in the ribs on the other side. A shot at the head, even
with an 8-bore, with hardened bullet and twelve ilrachms of
powder, would in most cases have little effect on a buffalo,
unless, of course, the beast should be sufficiently near to enable
the sportsman to make -.ure of i)Utting his bullet just under the
frontlet of the horns i !t.o the brain : but I think that most men
who have shot buffaU^es would say that such a range would be
far too near to be pleasant. As the chances that a head sl;ot
at a buffalo will prove fatal are so very small, this shot should
be avoided altogether except in the case of a charge, where it
may be the only one offered.

Although 1 iiave killed a good many buffliloes, and under
nil scrls of conditions, 1 have only once had recourse to the
head shot. This was in the district lying between Kahe and
Taveta, where I was shooting in l-'ebruary 18S7. The coimtry
was here fairly open, with numerous |)alches i)f bush dotted
about, and a few suu.ll isolated rocky iiills, appropriately called
by one writer 'earth boils.' On climbing up one of these to
get a l)ettcr view of the surrounding country, I .spied an old
bull buffalo about a mile off, (juietly feeding close to a patch
ofb.i'ih, which was about 150 yards long and about 50 yards
wide, and, as the wind was favourable, I felt pretty sure of
getting him without much ditH'culty. On arriving at the bush,
I found a small low ant-heap just opposite the place where
I had last seen the buffalo, and I stei)ped on to it to try and
see exactly where he was on the other side (>f the bush, but

0 3

228

BIG GAME SHOOTIXG

could see nothing of liim. As I stood on tlicani-lKap consult
ing with my gun-bearer in a low whisper, I heard the well-
known hissing cry of a rhinoceros bird, and saw it fly up out of
the bush on the farther side of it, a little to the left of me.
The buffalo, though disturbed by the warning cry of the bird,
was evidently not much alarmed, as he began to move across
my front at a slow walk, and I could follow his movenieiits by
the shaking of the bush as he passed through it, but could not
see him. When he was just about opposite to wlu^re I stood,
he changed his course and <-amc straight towards me, still at a
slow walk, and when he arrived within a few yards of the edge
immediately opposite to mc, 1 slipped out of sight behind the
ant-heap and waited for iiim to appear. He came to the very
edge of the bush, stopped for about half a minute, and I then
began to fear that he had either seen me, as I was quite out in
the open, or had heard a slight noise I made in exchanging the
•500 Express (always loaded on such occasions with solid bullets)
for the S-bore, when the barrels struck together. Whilst I lay
on the side of the ant-heap, peeping over the top, he moved
forward, and I covered the place where I saw the bush move,
in readiness to fire, as he was then only i^) yards from me.
At last I saw his grand head, which he held high, come through
the bush, but was unable to get a good view of his chest, as
directly his head was clear of the bush he lowered it, and my
only chance was at his heatl. 1 )rawing a bead on his forehead,
1 pulled the trigger, but the cartridge missed U\(:. He, how-
ever, did not hear the click of the hannner, and before he was
clear of the bush I dropjjcd him dead in his tracks with the left
barrel at a distance ot exactly 14 yards, the bullet entering
the centre of his forehead about an inch below the frontlet of
the horns.

As I have said before, a iuiffali) when it ( harges does not
come on with its head down, but always with its nose held
straight out, and its forehead almost hori/onfal ; and it does
not even lower its head when at striking distance, but turns it
to one side, and, with a rapid sidelong sweep of the horn.s,

THE A F NIC AX lUJFFAI.O

229

impales or knocks down its foe as it passes. The fact that it
df)'js not lower its head when about to strike not only makes the
rhari,'e difticult to stop or turn, l)Ut also lessens the stalker's
< hanee of getting out of its way, as the heast is able to see
where it is going, and see also any movement on the sportsman's
I)art. As buffaloes stand very low on their legs, a shot at the
throat or chest is very (lifficult, unless there is time for the
stalker to kneel or sit down, when he would be more on a level
with and better able to get a shot at either of these spots.

.\fter a stalk and a successful shot every sportsman should
avoid firing at the retreating herd, on the chance uf bagging
another by a fluke, unless he is prci)ared to follow uj) all the
bea .ts that are wounded. A[)art from the cruelty of this prac-
tice, the fact of several wounded buffaloes being in the vicinity
of a shooting ground, and the uncertainty of their whereabouts,
is a source of great danger not only to the sportsman himself
and his mrn, but to other men, sportsmen or otherwise, who
come after him. When a buffalo is down, it should always be
approached with the utmost caution, and on no account should
the stalker go up to it without a heavy rifle in his hand, as
there is no knowing what a buffalo is capable of, however far
gone he may appear to be so long as its side heaves, or it
gives any other indication that life is not cpiite extinct.

Should a buffalv) after biing wounded enter thick bush
or other covert, it is a good j)lan (and one I always adopt
myself) to wait ff/r a (juarter or half an hour before taking up
tin- ipoor, as the beast will be almost certain to lie down, and
will not only become weak and stiff from the effects of the
wound, more '.'specially if a leg is damaged or broken, but its
suspi« ions wi'l be to a certain extent allayed.

The .'\fric:'n nati\es, whether professional hunters or only
porters, \rc,, 'vith their exlraord'nanly sharp sight, are, as a
rule, so much (piicker in dettrting the slightest sign of a beast
having [Kissed, be it a minute speck of blood, a bruised blade
of grass, or a fragment of freshly turned Uj) earth, that T must
advise the sportsm.m to kt his gun bearers take up the

230

BIG GAME SHOOTING

spoor, whilst ho, a yard or so in advance, with rifle at full
cock and ready for instant use, keeps a sharp look-out aliead
of hirn.

A buffalo very often — but not always, as some writers main-
tain—gives a deep bellowing groan when just on the point of
dying, and the sportsman should always be on the alert for
such an indication, as much time can be saved by walking
straight up to it without fear, instead of cautiously jioking and
peering about in the bush, as is generally don- when following
up a wounded buffalo.

The following account of a hunt I once had in the Arusha-
wa-chini district in March 1887 will serve as an illustration of
a buffalo's cunning, ferocity, and vitality.

I was encamped on the river WVri-weri, a short di'itancc
above the native villages, but as the people were airaid to
prowl far from their homes on ac( ount of the Masai and other
• ■nemies, game was not only very pUiitiful but less wild than
elsewhere. IJuffaloes were very numerous, in huge herds,
besides a good many old bulls, either solitary or in small bands
of two or three. This country was also one of the best I was ever
in, from a stalker's point of view, as the alluvial plains on
both banks of the river, though open, were tiolted about with
trees of various kinds and si/.i-s, and wiie in places quite
park-like in a|>pearanee. Ihen; were also numerous ant-
heaps, and occasit^nally small bushes dotteil about, besitles
the grass, about i«^ niches high, all of whiih affor^ieil capital
covert. 'J'he plain on the left or eastern bank of tin- river
varied from a mile to a mile and a half m widtli, ind was
bordered on its eastern sut^ie by a belt of thick l)usii and clumps
of forest trees, in wh»ch the buffahjes took up their ijuancrs
during the boat of the day, conung out again in the evening to
feed in the open diM'ing the is^h' ;ind early morning. The
bush, like most Afiican bush which iiorders on open plain,
wns fairly thin on the oiUskirts, and was what is ( onunonly
known as opm bush. Here was a very favourite feeding-
grcniiul for water bin li,, impala, andotiur Imsh loving antelopes,

THE AFRICAN BUFFALO

231

besides hufTaloes, which were generally found feeding in the
early morning before the sun became too hot.

As I walked over the i)lain on the left bank of the river I
passed great quantities of game— including eland, water-buck,
ini|)ala, and a troop of thirteen ostriches (which I had tried
many times to circumvent, but always unsuccessfully until I drove
them, when I got a Hne old cock bird), besides the everlasting
zebra and 'kongoni" (hartebeest;. After going about three
miles up the river, I at last saw two old bull buffaloes on the
opposite side of the plain, (juietly feeding close to an isolated
patch of bush which stood some little distance from the main
belt out in the plain. As buffaloes have rather poor sight,
and as there were two or three big trees between the beasts
and myself, about 400 yards from them, I told my men,
some twenty-five in nunii)er, to follow me in single file, and
we all got up to a tree without the least trouble. At that
moment a herd of zebras, which had hitherto taken no notice
of us, suddenly took fright on getting oui wind, and galloped
round betv^ei 11 us and the buffaloes. The latter, being thus
disturbed, lumbered off into the isolated clump of thick bush
close by. Alter giving them time to settle down and forget
their fe.irs, I proceeded more cautiously with my two gun-
bearers, leaving the rest of the men under the tree with orders
to come (»n when they heartl a shot or other signal. The
buffaloes, however, were evidently on the alert, and as ihcy
were standing in the shade, they discovered us when we were
still 100 yards off as we crossed the open, and bolted out
oi> the opposite side, making for the main bush. Ivunnuig
round tiie clump to try and keep them in sight, I was jus' in
time to see them enter the open bush and disa[ipear from view.

This made it necessary for us to take up their spoor, and
while ihe gun l)earers were so engaged I kepi a look-out ahead.
After going a short distance, 1 suddenly saw one of the brutes
trotting back towards us, and when about 100 yards off it dived
into a vtnall densi- clump of bush some 20 yards square,
followed almost inmiediatelv alterw.nds bv \W other one.

232

lUG GAME SHOOTING

This proceeding on the part of l)ufraloes I have read of,
though it was the first and only instance in my own experience,
and as my suspicions were aroused, instead of making straight
for them along their spoor, I made a detour through the
low straggling l)ush and stalked up to a small tree within
60 yards of the clump they were in. At first I could see
nothing of them, the clump being too thic^k, hut with the aid
of binoculars I made out part of the head and the outline of
the neck of one of them as it stood broadside on. Taking the
8-l)ore, I fired at the [)lace where 1 thought his shoulder
ought to be, and be fell with a deep groan, which at first led
me to believe that he was either dead or dying. The other
one ]iromptly lloundercd out of the bush and stood broadside
on, looking in my direction sutirtciently long to enable me to
change ritles and plant a 4-bore l)ullet in his shoulder ; but it
was too high and too far back, and off he went. In th*} mean-
time the other one in the clump, after kicking and plunging
about, picked himself uj) and went after hiscom])anion, and as
I saw that he was very lame, I made so certain that he would
not go far that 1 did not fire at him again. 'Jefore following
them I took a hasty survey of the ground and found my
suspicions confirmed. They had returned on their own sjjoor
when I first saw them trotting back, and had I not setMi them,
1 should have followed up their spoor, which I found led close
jKist the i)ush they were in. and the)' might have made them
selves disagreeable and taken me at ;i tlisadxantage. 1 then
hurried after them with the S-bore, and, outrunning my gun-
bearers, soon overtook them, as they were botli lame, getting
within 70 yards, when the one which had receivvil the 4 bore
bullet, and was a trifle behind the other, evideniiy heard me
coming along behind him, as he whisked round atul stood
staring at me, brondside on, whilst the other continued lo re
treat. Sitting down (my favouiiti' shooting ])osilion, and as I
was much blown after my run with a heavy rille), 1 took a
steady sh(n at his shoulder, and distinctly heard the bullet
strike, but it had absolutely no effect, and the beast never

THE AFRICAN BUFFALO

233

even flinched. Hastily jamming in another cartridge in order
to have one in reserve in case he should charge, I again fired
at his shoulder, and he dropped as if struck by lightning ;
he fell so (luickly that I did not see him fall. He was,
however, not dead, as I could see his side heaving above
the top of the grass as he lay. By this time the gun-
bearers had come up, followed shortly afterwards i)y the
rest of the men, who had come on when they had heard
the first two shots, and who, on seeing that the beast was
down, ran up like a pack of wolves to 'chinja' it i.e. to cut
its throat. Knowing, however, that it was not dead, I ran
forward and shouted to them not to go near ; but they were
too excited to ])ay heed to my warning, and were standing all
round ii, when, after a desperate effort to regain its legs, it
jmnped up, the men flying in all directions. Catching sight of
my second gun-bearer, who had also gone U[) to it, and who at
the time was carrying my 4-bore rifle, it went straight for him.
The man bolted, and, finding that the buffalo was close upon
him, dropped the rifle— the stock of which was snapped short
off at the grip by the bufl"alo treading on it -ami ran for dear
life, the beast being within a few Miches of him, and giving
vent to a furious grunt at each step. I'or some little time I
was unable to shoot, as the rest of the men were scattered and
(l('<lging abcut between myself and the buffalo, so I shouted to
the gun-bearer to run round towards me, which he did, and I
was able to fire, but the S-bore bullet had apparently no eflect
on the infuriated beast. At the same moment the man
doubled and ran straight away from me, making for a small
tree about 100 yards (>ff, t\nsting and turning as he ran, but
the buffalo still stuck close to him and doubled as quickly as
the man did. All this time I was tearing along in j)ursm't,
ho])ing to get a shot, but dared not firi' for fear of hitting the
man, who was dodging about from side to side, ami 1 was
some 60 yards behind when they reached t!ie tri'C. This the
man endeavoured to catch hold of so as to swing himself round,
but he was going so fast that the impetus caused his hand

(

-j4

lUG GAME SHOOTING

to slip, and he tripped up and fell lorward llat on his fac:e
into the grass, which was some 2], feet high under the shade
of the tree. The luiffalo, Ijeing so close to him at the
time, overshot him, but whipped round, and I twice saw it
give a vicious dig at him with its Y.qmX and then kneel down
two or three times, when I could only see its stern above the
grass. By the time I got close U[) the buffalo was in a kneel-
ing position ; and, thinking the man was probably dead, I
raised my rille to lire, when the man, whom I could not see in
the longish grass, raised his head and shoulders from under-

'I'hi' l)uir.ilii was iloM' ii| nil liim

neath the beast's stomach directly in tiie line of fue, obliging me
to divert the mu//le until he wriggled himself out of line, wjieti
a coupl of bullets ai close (juarlers settled this cunning,
savage, yet plucky beast. 'I'he man's back and the calves of
his legs were covered with blood trom the bufl'alo's mouth
and nostrils during the run, showing how \er)- close it had
been to him all the lime. He told me afterwards that when he
cU he turned over on to his back, and the buffalo made a bad
shot each time it lunged at him with its head, or tried to
kneel on him, owing perhaps to the fact that it was weak and

THE Al-RICAN BUFFALO

235

da/cd from the loss of blood, and he was therefore able to
twist himself out of the way. It, however, caught him a very
severe blow on the knee, which nearly dislocated it, and made
it necessary to carry him into camp on a litter ; but after a little
careful doctoring and complete rest he was able to take the
field again in three weeks.

On cutting ui) the beast, I found the 4-bore bullet was too
nu l)ack, and also too high. The first 8-bore bullet had caught
the beast fair behind the shoulder, and had gone through both
lungs rather low down, and I think, if the beast had been left alone
after it hatl been knocked down by the next shot, it woukl very
soon have died ([uietly; but, as it was, the men rushing up and
standing round it seemed to inspire it with a final desire for
revenge-. The second 8-bore bullet was, as I expected, too
high, and had passed through the dorsal ridge just above the
vertebrae. The shot fired at it as it ran past me caught it in
the proper place, went through both lungs and just grazed the
heart, and it is more than probable that it was this shot which
prevented what might have been a serious accident.

The other old bull, although we followed him for a long
way, eager for revenge, got clean ;iway.

236

/>'/(/ GAME SnOOTL\'G

CHAPTER XII

'IIIK l.ION

15V !■'. J. I \( KSON

TiiK lion (/''. /co), known lo ihc natives as ' Sinil)a,' when
described as ' King of the African forests,' is, I venture lo say,
altogether misnamed, as he has neither the awe-inspiring and
majestic bearing of the elephant, nor the viciousness and in-
domitable [)luck of the buffalo. His roar when heard i)relty
close to camp on a still night is certainly very grand, more
particularly when two or more li(jns are together, and this must
be heard to be thoroughly appreciated. 1 have twice heard a
trooi) of lions roaring inside thick forest, close io my camp,
which was pitched just outside in the open. 'The continucnis
chorus of roars they emitted was ()uite extraordinary, as it
vibrated and rolled along through the trees, the foliage of
which ai)[)earcd to confine and intensify the volume of
sound.

When seen out in the o[)en there is absolutely nothing ma-
jestic in the bearing of lions ; their heads are carried low down
below the line of their backs, as they slouch along their hinil-
quarters have an appearance of weakness, and wlu.'n seen from
behind sway and wobble from side to side, while the up-and-
down movement of their shoulder-blades at each step, and their
general a[)i)earance of looseness, tlo not add to their dignity.
Certainly a maned lion, when standing broadside on or facing,
with head erect, is a grand-looking beast ; but when galloping
or trotting away on being disturbed, with head held low down,

THE LION

237

tlurc is nothing of the niajcstir al)f)Ut him- indeed he even corn-
pares unfivonrahly with a rhinoceros, which, as it trots away
with tail held erect, has the merit of looking defiant, if not
altogether dignified. I'erhaps lions are seen at their worst after
being woinided and brought to bay, when as they lie crouching
flat to the earth, with head slightly rai>ed, ears held i)ack, and
mouth oi)en, giving vent to low snarling growls, the\- by no
means jjresent a noble or awe-inspiring ap[)earance. In East
Africa the lion is essentially a game-killer. There are, how-
ever, a few cases on record of lions having turned cattle-killers :
but I am inclined to think that in most instances they have
been d''iven to it by force of circumstances, on account of
the scarcity and wililness of the game. As I have said else-
where, nearly all the game beasts migrate from their favourite
haunts where they ha\e been concentrated in large herds as
long as food was plentiful. Between March and the end of
July they disperse, many of them work their way towards the
coast, become scattered over a much larger area, and are found
in smaller herds. These herds of game are naturally followed by
the lions, some of which doubtless stray away occasionally from
where the game is to be found, and are driven to'killing cattle, or
donkeys, or whatever else they come across. Within the last
ten years several lions have strayed as far as .Mombasa, and
have even crossed over from the mainland to the island, where
they have done considerable damage amongst the « attle, iVc.
In 18.S7 a large lion which had been on the island for several
months was killed within joo yards of the town by Count
E. de Kegl, who tied up a bullock as a bait and shot the lion
fron". a tree at night. Another one was killed early in the
ytai iSi>3. In L'kambani ;Mid the Masai country a few cattle
ar. ocf isionally carried off by lions, but I do not think this
is ., CO anion occurrence. I have never heard of any well-
authenticated instance of lions becon\ing man eaters, though I
know of two cases in which a porter has disai)peared on the
march, and on men being sent back next morning to l(;ok for
him, they only found his remains, and reported the .spoor of a

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BIG CAME SHOOriNG

lion close by ; but native report is not to be relied on in cases
like this.

Lions when in the game country rarely go a night without
something to eat, and I venture to think that in most instances
of attacks on camps the reason is not so much their reputed
natural boldness and daring, but that they are driven to it
by the pangs of hunger. Ihit even the cowardly skulking
hyaena will enter a camp within the ring of fires under such cir-
cumstances. Although there is, as a rule, plenty of game in the
districts in which lions are fourid, they no doubt, for reasons
stated above, occasionally and of necessity retire foodless
and hungry. This may also be accounted for by old age and
inability to catch and kill game. iUit whatever the cause of
their hunger, they will always make for the nearest water, not
only to quench their thirst, but also as being a likely place to
find their prey ; and in the event of a camp being [)itched
close by, in which there may be cattle, donkeys, or something
equally attractive, they are prompted to attack it.

i only know of one instance of a camp being attac-ked at
night by a lion, and this was within my own exi)erience. It
occurred in the waterless and also .i,7/wM'.v^ wilderness between
Mount Kisigao and Mitati in the Teita country, when on my
way to Kilimanjaro. The night before the attack the lion was
seen close to camp by some porters-who were lying under a tree
rather outside the ring of fires, and it was evidently intent on
a white donkey tied to a tree close by, which belonged to a
missionary who was travelling ui) witii me for the sake of pro-
tection. Tiie donkey was therefore brought into the (xntre of
the camp, and the lion was only heard at intervals during
the night as it prowled around. The following night when we
encamped without a 'boma,' the men being too tired to make
one, we merely formed a circle of fires, round which the mem-
bers of each mess were for the most part lying asleep. About
midnight I was awakened by a tremendous commotion
with cries of 'Simba ! vSimba ! ' (lion !), and on rushing out of
my tent to investigate was told that a lion had attempted to

'ivm'"!" ipii^iijii

T//E LION

239

carry off one of my men. It appeared that this man was out-
side the ring of fires, when the Hon came up and gral)l)ed him
by the head as he was lying on his back with his feet to the
fire. Fortunately for him his head was enveloped in several
pieces of cloth, which he used during the day as a pad, to pro-
tect his head when carrying a load. This cloth evidently
slipped and prevented the beast from getting a good grip of the
man's head, and probably killing him on the spot. As it was,
he received a nasty gash just above the eyebrow, beginning at
the temple and extending to above the bridge of his nose, with
another long gash across the top of his head, corresponding
to the large canine teeth, and other smaller scratches between
these two gashes There were also cuts, though less serious,
on the other side of his head, which had been done by the
teeth of the lower jaw. Curious to say, the lion carried off the
pieces of cloth, and we never succeeded in finding them when
following the spoor for a considerable way next morning.

I aiso know of two cases of attacks being made on man in
open daylight, both cjuite unprovoked. The first was also an
experience of my own.

At the time I was in command of a large caravan, and was
accompanied by Dr. A. I). Mackinnon, who was walking ahead
with me on the march through dense bush, the men straggling
along in single file, doing what is called a 'teregeza.' As we
walked along, we noticed the spoor of a lion on the footpath
for a considerable distance, and saw where he had left the track,
and entered the bush just before coming to a small o[)ening, but
we thought nothing of it. Some quarter of a mile or so further
on we were startled by a terrific yell nnd continued screaming in
the rear, and thinking that a prowling band of Masai warriors
had attacked the caravan, I snatched a Winchester repeating
carbine from my boy in exchange for a shot-gun I was carrying,
and ran back followed by the doctor with a Snider. As we ran,
we met the cook and my small tent-boy, who had been carrying
my "500 Express in its waterproof case, as I did not expect to
meet with any big game in such dense bush, which extended

III. 1 will iinii|ip»i.iiw»^i^np(y?^w«^wPT»ir»*ww

240

BIG GAME SHOOTING

for miles ahead of us, and my gun-bearers had somehow lagged
behind and given the boy my rifle to carry. Both the cook
and boy were in a most abject state of speechless terror, and
could only gasp out ' Simba ! ' but when they were able to speak,
they told us that a Hon had bounded out of the bush across the
small open space we had shortly l)efore passed and had chased
them. With the yell we had heard the cook dropped the kettle
with our precious supply of water, and the boy the rifle, and
both ran after us screaming all the time, too afraid to look
behind them to see whether the lion was following them or not.
Hurrying back to the scene of their adventure, we found the
kettle on the footpath, but the rifle was nowhere to be seen.
However, one of the men soon found the lion lying in the
shade of a bush within 15 yards of us, though for some little
time I was unable to see it, until I looked along the man's arm
as he pointed at it. When I made it out, I saw it was crouch-
ing flat on the ground facing us, but could not get a good view
of its head, as there was a thick aloe sticking up just in front
of it, and I could see littli' else but its eyes on either side of
the stem. As my gun-bearers had not come up, I had nothing
more powerful than a -44 ^\'inchester 12-shot carbine, so 1
asked the Doctor to stand ready, told my boy to keep behind
me with the shot-gun in case of a charge, and risked a shot
at its bead, when away it floundered out of the bush. As
it leapt over a clump of aloes to the left I again fired, and it
answered to the shot with a growl, and disa[)peared from sight.
When I went up to see the effect of my lust shot, which I
found had gone through the aloe, one of the men discovered
my rifle lying close to where the lion had been, having been
carried thither by the lion from the place where it was dropped
by the boy, a distance of 15 yards, and I had the mortification
of finding that the brute had not only destroyed the cover, but
had broken both triggers short off, twisted and broken the
trigger-guard, and severely mauled the stock, from which it had
taken a i)iecc out.

As this happened late in the afternoon, there was no

THE LION

241

prospect of reaching water that night, so I gave orders to pitch
camp, and not wishing to build a ' boma,' which was hardly
necessary, was anxious to satisfy myself as to whether the lion
was wounded, since a beast that dared to attack in daylight
might prove an unpleasant neighbour during the night if not
already wounded, more especially as we had several donkeys
with us. When the gun-l^earers came up I took my 12-bore
Paradox, and, followed l)y the Doctor, entered the bush, and was
flicking the sharp points off the aloes with a knife, never thinking
for a moment that 'John Bounder' was close ac hand. After
going a few yards we found a thick drop of blood on a leaf,
and I felt fairly satisfied that he would give us no further
trouble during the night. However, as there was still an hour
or so of daylight we decided to go on a little further, and I was
.still flickin^^ off the aloe points and talking to the Doctor, when
we came to a sm.all green bush, which I took the precaution of
peeping round before advancing. 'J'here lay the lion crouched
flat on the ground, within seven feet of me, with his head
between his paws.

The lion was unfortunately on my right, so that I could
not fire except from my left shoulder, a shot which I did not
care to risk, any more than I cared to walk backwards and
expose the whole of my body at such close quarters before I
could get a sufficiently good view to enable me to shoot from my
right shoulder. Stepi)ing back, I whisi)ered to the Do('tor that
the liop was quite close, and asked him to stand ready, whilst I
cre{)t back to try and got a better view of it from anotlier point,
but by the time I had struggled through a dense clump of aloes
the beast had slunk away under the shade of a black bush two
or three yards off, and I could only see the tijiof its tail twitch-
ing from side to side. It was quite impossible to make out which
way the lion's body lay, even with binoculars, and a shot fired at
the place where 1 thought and hoped it might be had no effect.
This made the beast move (;ff to more favourable ground, and
after a short hunt one of my gun-bearers saw it lying under a
tree in a small opening. .\t the same moment that 1 saw the

I. K

243

BIG GAME SHOOTING

lion it saw me, and stood up with a growl broadside on, and I
sent a Paradox bullet clean through both shoulders, which
dropped it dead on the spot. It was a fine full-grown beast, with
first-rate teeth and claws, but was remarkably thin. As the
country for many miles round was absolutely devoid of game,
excepting a few Neotragus Kirkii, this lion had in ill proba-
bility wandered about for several days without food, and was
goaded on by hunger to make the attack on the boy. On ex-
amination, I found my second shot with the Winchester had
only caught it in the hind foot as it leapt over the aloe
clump. The first shot which had gone through the aloe had
missed it clean, or had lost all power of penetration — at all
events, there was no mark of a bullet about its face or
head.

The other instance of men being attacked in open daylight
occurred near Machako's, in Ukambani, when a small caravan
of some twenty porters was attacked by a troop of twelve or
thirteen lions, which they came upon when on the march.
When the lions charged out of the grass the men dropped their
loads and bolted, though, after the men had fired about 150
rounds of ammunition at them from a respectful distance, the
lions retired. After waiting an hour or two, the men plucked
up courage and returned for their loads. My friend. Captain
J. W. Pringle, R.E., saw the loads when they were brought
into the station, and found that several of them had been
severely mauled by the lions. In this instance I am unable to
account for such an unprovoked attack, unless the lions, whilst
lying asleep in the grass close to the footpath, were taken by
surprise and charged in self-defence, it being very improbable
that they were prompted by hunge, as game was very plentiful
at the time.

Only two cases of lions charging after being wounded and
followed up have come under my notice. The first happened
to Sir Robert Harvey when following up a wounded lioness.
This beast, which he failed to stop as it came at him, jumped
clean over him as he bobbed down to see the result of his shot

'T^'

THE LION

243

under the smoke, but fortunately missed him, and he killed it
with his second barrel.

The above instances of lions proving at all aggressive are>
I think, quite exceptional, and at all events form a very small
percentage, considering the great number of lions in the country,
the fair number that have been killed, and the still greater
number that have been wounded and got away, and I am
inclined to think that both the boldness and pluck of East
African lions compare very poorly with those of South Africa
and the Somali country. Even when wounded, I have found
them anything but plucky or savage beasts. Three out of the
four lions I have myself bagged, and three others which got away
wounded, never attempted to charge, although they were
all followed up into bush where it was impossible to see them
until fairly close, and in each instance they could see me
some time before I could see them, but they merely lay and
snarled, or slunk away altogether.

Lions in East Africa, when found near the coast, which is
mostly thick bush country, are for the most part maneless, or
nearly so. 1 have heard it suggested that the thick bnsh has
something to do with this, as the long hairs of the mane get
pulled out and worn away, and it is quite possible that this
may be so, for the buffaloes on the coast are also very scantily
covered with hair, and are of a dull slate colour from the skin
showing through. In the Masai country lions have very often
splendid manes, and the buffaloes, even the old bulls, are
well covered with h§ir. This, however, may be accounted for
more reasonably by the great difference in the temperature
than by the more open nature of the country, the air of
the higher altitudes being bracing and cool, not to say cold,
whilst that on the coast is moist and muggy. Lions with both
dark and li^ht coloured manes are found in East Africa, those
found north of Machako's being darker as a rule than those
further south.

Buffaloes and zebras are the two species of game on which
lions mostly prey. In my own experience I have come across

K 2

'■U

BIG GAME SHOOTING

the remains of more buffaloes which have been killed by lions
than anything else. The zebra comes next, and then the
hartebeest. Since, however, the buffaloes have been decimated
by disease, the zebra, of which there are still countless herds,
will probably stand first. Although I have carefully examined
the carcases of several buffaloes and zebras, I have never been
able to discover anything about them to warrant my expressing
an opinion as to how they had actually been killed by the
lions. The most noticeable thing about two freshly killed
buffaloes and one zebra was the terrible way in which they were
lacerated about the hind-quarters, evidently by the lions at their
first spring and during the subsequent desperate struggle before
they actually killed them. In every case when I found a fresh
kill the stomach had been torn open, and the liver, heart, and
entrails had formed the first meal. On one occasion I was
attracted by vultures to the spot where a lion and two lionesses
had shortly before killed a cow buffalo, and I had a good
opportunity of watching them before I fired, as I was well con-
cealed. The lion was devouring the entrails, &c., and one
lioness was tearing at the throat, whilst the other, which I did
not see at the time, was lying under a bush close by, eating
a fcetus calf which she had dragged out of the cow. After
shooting the lion and severely wounding a lioness, which
unfortunately got away, I carefully examined the buffalo, which
was lying on its right side, with its head twisted round until the
back of its head, and the curved points of both horns were
resting on the ground, with its nose upwryds. The soft part
of the nose had been eaten off, the tongue torn out by the
gullet underneath the lower jaw, and the flesh under the
uppermost foreleg was also eaten away ; the tail had been bitten
short off at the root and was lying on the ground, and a small
piece of each hind-quarter just below the tail had also gone.
The stomach was torn open, the liver, heart, and part of the
entrails eaten, and the fijetus calf was also half eaten. When
my men had cut the remainder of the beast up to sell to the
natives for Hour, &c., I examined ihe vertebrx of the neck, but

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I I

THE LION

245

could find no signs of dislocation. When I shot the Hon he
disgorged in his dying struggles large pieces of buffalo skin,
pieces of liver, entrails, and clots of blood, and his stomach was
blown out to almost bursting point with a further accumulation
of entrails, liver, blood, and pieces of flesh and skin, besides
a piece of heart so large that it is a wonder that he managed
to get it down. The zebra that I found about two hours after
it had been killed by a lion and lioness, which latter I shot
after a long hunt, had absolutely no marks on it to show how
it had been killed. One ear had been bitten off, and its hind-
quarters and hocks were torn and lacerated as if gashed by a
knife, the cuts being so clean, but there were no marks on the
throat or back of the neck. With the exception of a small
piece of entrail lying on the ground, which had the appearance
of having been chewed, the whole of the inside and the soft flesh
and skin of the stomach were gone ; the rest was untouched.

In the extensive game countries of Masailand and
Turkwel, a district in the Suk country, lions are very plentiful,
and may be heard at night ; but though undoubtedly numerous
it is quite by chance that they are met with. The greatest
number seen at one time by myself and Dr. Mackinnon was
twenty-three. This troop was seen near Machako's, in
Ukambani, on August 7, 1890. It consisted of three lions with
splendid dark manes, five or six lionesses and the rest cubs
from three parts grown down to the size of a fox terrier.
Another large troop of eleven was seen near Rombo, to the
east of Kilimanjaro, by Mr. T. W. H. Clreenfield in 1888.
Perhaps the best guides to thi; whereabouts of a lion are
vultures. Should these birds be sen soaring high up in the
air, gradually getting lower and lower, and finally going off in
a bee line, the sportsman should certainly foflow them, as it is
a sure sign that they have detected the carcase of a dead beast.
If, however, as he proceeds in the direction they have taken,
sees the vultures, marabou storks, <!v:c., sitting in trees, or circling
round a few hundred feet up i.i the air, in the event of there
being no trees, it is n jiretty certain sign that a beast of prey is

^ »..<>>>> I J-l -Jl MS,

246

£IG GAME SHOOTING

still at the carcase, and although it may turn out to be only a
hyaena or a lot of jackals, it is always advisable to go up and
have a look on the chance of there being lions. I was myself
attracted by vultures to three out of the four lions which I killed,
and on other occasions when I was less successful vultures were
my guides. Sitting up at night near a water-hole, provided
there is no other water nearer than 8 or 10 miles, might be
well worth trying, also sitting up a tree near a bullock or
donkey tied up as a bait ; but as I have never tried either way
I cannot speak from experience. For lions I prefer a hollow
Express bullet with copper tube, as they are soft beasts, and the
smashing power and shock to the system of a bullet that flies
to pieces inside a beast is tremendwus. The bullet should, how-
ever, be much longer and heavier, with longer solid base, than
Eley's ordinary Express bullet, which often flies to pieces before
it can penetrate to the vitals of even a soft beast like a lion, as
I have found to my cost on more than one occasion.

In support of my contention that the lion of East Africa is
by no means plucky or savage when wounded, I will give two
examples. On both occasions I was attracted to the lions by vul-
tures. On the first I found that a lion and lioness had killed a
zebra in the open, and had dragged it into a large belt of dense
bush. Leaving the men outside, and being closely followed by
two gun-bearers, I got within 15 yards of the lions before I
could make out the form of the dead zebra in the dark shade,
but could see no lions. The lioness, which had been lying
down behind the kill, at that moment stood up, but as I only
saw a small patch of tawny colour through the dense foliage,
I could not tell whether it was a lion or lioness, still less
whether it was a chest, shoulder, or hind-quarter in the gloom.
As, however, the lions were evidently aware of my presence, there
was no time to be lost, so, kneeling down, I took a deliberate
shot at the tawny patch. The result was fairly satisfactory,
though decidedly alarming, as she— for it was the lioness —
reared up on her hind legs with a terrific roar, fell backward.s,
and disappeared from view behind the carcase of the zebra.

THE LION

247

Not knowing whether she was dead or not, or whether she
was still behind the zebra, I listened for some time, but could
hear nothing on account of the buzzing of swarms of large
red-headed bluebottle flies, and then crawled forward very
cautiously to the carcase, but found she had gone. As there
was a considerable amount of blood about, I lost no time
in followint^ her. For a long time the lion stuck to his mate,
but finally left her, and went off by himself, after being harassed
and kept constantly on the move, which was in all probability
distasteful to him after his feed. Frcn 12.30 to 5.30, most
of the time on my hands and knees owing to the denseness of
the bush, I followed the lioness, ai; i kep*: putting her up with
n low growl every 100 yards or so ; but T only once saw her -
a mere glimpse when she was on the move and about 20 yards
off — as she kept down wind nearly the whole time, and never
allowed me to come near enough to see her well, but slunk away
with a low growl. Finally it became too dark to sec anything,
so I had to abandon the hunt for that day.

Next morning I was back at daylight, and visited a small
water-hole just outside the bush, close to where I had left her,
and found from her spoor and faint traces of blood that she
had been there to drink during the night. She had afterwards
re-entered the bush and was lying down just inside, but was
disturbed by our talking, as we heard her growl and move off.
She must then have skirted along just inside the edge of the
bush, for whilst we were consulting as to the best means of
following her up, or whether we should attempt to drive her
out, she left the covert some 300 yards off on our side, and went
limping away across a small tongue of open ground towards a
narrow strip of bush, which she entered. Hurrying round with
my gun-bearers in a wide circuit to the other side, I was just
in time to see her come to the edge of the bush, but at the
same time she saw me, and lay down facing me, with her head
well raised. This gave me a cai ital chance ; a shot in the
chest rendered her hors de combat^ and another at close quarters
finished her off. The Express bullet of the day before had

iXCtiiiii^'?

RPM

248

BIG GAME SHOOTING

caught her on the point of the shoulder as she faced me,
smashing the blade-bone into fragments and tearing the flesh
to a frightful extent. This wound may have knocked all in-
clination to charge out of her, if she ever had any ; otherwise,
considering the way she was harassed and the reputation lions
have for charging under such circumstances, she might have
done so, more especially as the nature of the covert in many
places was decidedly favourable for such a demonstration on
her part.

The second time I was attracted to where a lion and two
lionesses had killed a cow buffalo, mentioned above. As the
vulture§ and marabou storks were sitting patiently waiting in a
large leafless tree, 1 felt pretty sure that lions were still at the
kill, and I also knew before I actually saw them that they had
killed a buffalo, as the ground was cut up in all directions by the
fresh spoor of a large herd of these beasts as they stampeded.
On crawling up to a bush and looking through it, I saw the
head of the lion, as he stood on the far side of the dead buffalo.
As there was nothing but the lion's head showing, and as 1
could only get an indistinct view of one lioness as she lay, I sat
and watched them with the aid of b'inoculars for a considerable
time, until the lion stepped clear of the carcase and stood
broadside on, offering me a splendid shot. Aiming at his
shoulder, I fired at a range of a trifle over 100 yards, and he
answered to the shot with a growl, bounded forward a few
yards, and stood behind a small skeleton bush. At the shot
the lioness stood up and looked hard in my direction, but could
not see me. and I then noticed for the first time that there was
another lioness standing under a small bush close by ; but as I
could only make out the head of either of them, and could not
see the effect of my shot on the lion, I reloaded and waited. In
a short time I had the satisfaction of seeing the lion limp back
to the buffalo, dead lame, and feeling pretty confident that he
would not go far (in which I was greatly mistaken), I took a
shot at the nearest lioness, as she stood facing me. She also
answered to the shot with a grand roar, reared up iii the air

THE LION

249

and fell backwards, but picked herself up and bolted in one
direction, whilst the lion and the other lioness went off in
another. These two I followed, and after a sharp run got up
to within about 80 yards of them, when the lioness turned
round, having evidently heard me. A shot at her head,
which was all I could see of her over the grass, missed
her clean, and off she went, leaving her lord and master
to take care of himself. As, however, I had lost sight of him
in the grass, my gun-bearers took up the si)oor, whilst I kept a
look-out ahead, and after going a short way I saw him get up
from under a bush about 1 20 yards off and bound away across
my front, evidently very angry, judging from the noise he made.
With the right barrel I missed him clean, and with the left
merely broke his tail, but he only went a short way and lay down.
As I approached within 80 yards he stood up and growled, but
dropped down again so ([uickly that I could not get a shot, and
as he did this several times I told two of my gun-bearers to
stand biill, so as to divert his attention from my own move-
ments, whilst I and my head gun bearer crei)t round to a small
ant-heap on the right, which was also a little nearer to him,
from which position I hoped to get a shot at his shoulder.
He, however, saw me all the time, as there was very little covert,
and as I peeped over the lo[) of the ant-heap, some 60 yards
from him, he again stood up and growled, but nothing more,
aiid as he had turned and was still facing me, I took a shot at
his head with a solid bullet, not wishing to smash his skull
more than I could help. This shot, which knocked him
down, hit him a little under the right eye, broke off two of his
uyiper molar teeth, and lodged in the flesh of the neck, but he
picked himself up, bolted to another bush and again lay down.
As he lay facing me, and crouching close to the ground, I
walked up, this time l<- within 40 yards of hini, and sat down
to get another shot at his head ; but just as I did so he raised
his head, and not wishing to damage his skin more than pos-
sible with a '500 Express bullet, I took my "360 double Ivxpress
from the gun-bearer and fired at the centre of his throat, when

250

BIG GAME SHOOTING

the poor beast dropped his head and lay still. On going up
to him I found he was not quite dead, but choking fast from
my last shot, and as I stood over him his side gave two or
three mighty heaves, like a dog's when in the act of disgorging
something, and out gushed part of his last meal, an accumula-
tion of buffalo skin, flesh, entrails, and clots of blood. This
was his last effort, and \\>t never moved again. Leaving some
of the men to skin him, I went back to the buffalo and took
up the blood-spoor of the wounded lioness, and came across
the place where she had been lying down. She had evidently
just left as I came up, as the blood leading to the spot was
quite dry from the heat of the sun, whereas that leading away
was fresh and wet.

She unfortunately kept down wind, and although desperately
wounded, she eventually managed, after going about two miles,
to get into some hard stony ground, where, as her wound had
almost stopped bleeding, I had most reluctantly to {jive her up.
Several times I came ac oss places where she had rested and
bled profusely, and in one small pool of blood I picked up a
piece of flat bone, about half an inch square, with a ridge down
the centre, evidently part of her shoulder-blade, which had
worked out of the bullet hole ; but she never allowed me to
approach near enough to see her in the thick covert.

251

CHAPTER XIII

THE RHINOCEROS

By F. J. Jackson-
Mr. F. C. Selous has proved beyond a doubt that there is
only one species of the so-called black rhinoceros (^. bicornis)
in South Africa, and his arguments apply equally to thf East
African beast. There can be no doubt that the range of this
beast extends from the Soudan to South Africa, and that there
is only one distinct species of prehensile-lipped rhinoceros
known throughout Africa. If the classification of the black
rhinoceros depended on the comparative size of the horns (and
this appears to have been the principal basis of former argu-
ments), then there would certainly be no difficulty in making
two or even more species. Adult rhinoceroses are to be found
in East Africa (and perhaps there is no place where they
exist in greater numbers at the present day), varying in size,
temperament, and in the length and shape of their horns. I
have myself shot them with almost every variety of horns,
from a beast with front horn 27 ins. and second horn only
9 ins. in length, to one with front horn 21 ins. and the
other horn 22 ins. in length. The latter specimen, together
with the one in the illustration, answers to the so-called s/^ccies
J?. Keitloa.

Few beasts, if any, vary so much in temi)erament as rhino-
ceroses, and no rule can be laid down as to their general
behaviour, though in most cases they will retreat before the
presence of man. Personally, I ctmsider the 'kifaru ' (Swahili

25:

BIG GAME SHOOTING

for rhinoceros) to be by nature an extremely stupid beast, and
were it not for the birds [Buphagii €ryt/iror/iy^tiha)\\h\c\\ne^x\y
ahvays accompany it, and act as sentinels for it, the rhino-

Dead rhinocoio.'i and giin-ljoarci

ceros would be (juite the easiest of all game to stalk, and
would, in consequence, be far less plentiful than it is. If not
iccomi)anicd by these birds, there would be no difficulty in
approaching sleeping rhinoceroses to within r. few yards ; in fact,

THE RHINOCEROS

253

if so inclined, I believe one might kick them up. I have olten
got to within 30 or 40 yards of one, have then failed to rouse
it by whistling and shouting, and have had to throw sticks,
stones, or bits of earth at it before it would get up. Should
the birds detect the stalker, however, they will fly up in the air
and give vent to a curious and prolonged shrill hissing note,
not unlike the call of our missel-thrush, and away the rhino-
ceros will go before ^he stalker can get within range. These
birds follow the rhinoceroses for the sake of the ticks which
are always plentiful on them.

When alarmed, the rhinoceros becomes easily flurried,
appears to do things on impulse which other animals endowed
with more sagacity would not do, and is by no means the
vicious and vindictive l)rute which some writers have found him
to be in South Africa and the Soudan. In the majority of
cases, where a rhinoceros is said, by men who perhaps have
not been very well acijuainted with his peculiarities, to have
charged in a most determined and vicious manner, I believe
this so-called charge to have been nothing more than the first
headlong and impetuous rush of the beast in a semi-dazed
state, endeavouring to avoid an encounter rather than court
one.

In spite of the flict that buffaloes are generally con-
sidered the most dangerous of all big game, rhinoceroses
will test the nerve of a beginner more perhaps than any
other big beast. In the first place, 'rhinos' are generally
found standing or lying down (juite out in the open plain,
often under the shade of a small thorn tree, where there is
very little covert of any kind, excej)!, perhaps, a few scanty
bushes and low ant-hea[)s (the majority of which would afford
little or no protection in the event of a charge), and grass
from 12 to 18 inches in height. Again, there is no know-
ing what ' rhinos ' will do when shot at and wounded, and
their behaviour is sometimes decidedly embarrassing, as they
will often spin round and round, and these gyrations, accom-
panied by violent snorting, are rather alarming until one gets

254

BIG GAME SHOOTING

used to them. Rhinoceroses, when at rest, ahiiost invariably
stand and lie with their sterns to the wind — i.e. the beasts
face more or less in the direction from which the stalker
approaches them.

They also nearly always retreat up wind when alarmed, as,
being gifted with very poor sight, they depend almost entirely
on their extraordinary sense of smell for any warning of the
presence of danger.

I have on several occasions passed to leeward within loo
yards of one, even in the open, and, though followed by
several men, it was evidently quite unable to make us out,
though it saw us, and showed no signs of fear by running away
or of curiosity by advancing towards us for a closer insj)ection,
the latter a common feature in the behaviour of some game.
On one occasion, however, I walked close past to leeward of a
rhino which haunted a certain plain in the Arusha-wa-chini
district, and which I knew well by sight, as he had a very short
stumpy horn. I was after a herd of buffaloes at the time I
passed him ; on my return I saw him standing in almost the
same position, and, v/ishing to see what he would do on getting
my wind, I walked past to windward of him within 300 yards.

As I had only a double -360 Express in my hand, with no
gun-bearer nearer than 100 yards, every man being engaged in
carrying the meat of a buffalo I had shot, I was not quite pre-
pared for the change in his demeanour as he came straight for
me. When about 80 yards off, a shot at his head only had the
effect of increasing his pace, and when within 20 yards the
second barrel failed to turn him, as I had hoped. I was forced
to make a bolt for it, but he never attempted to follow me.
After this experience I did not try any more experiments on
the different temperaments of rhinoceroses under varying cir-
cumstances, nor would I recommend others to try any, unless
they have an 8-bore rifle in their hands and a trustworthy
gun-bearer at their heels.

This habit of retreating up wind is one of the reasons,
if not the principal one, that rhinoceroses have gained for

THE RHINOCEROS

255

themselves the reputation for charging more often than other
beasts, not only from the natives, but from many European
sportsmen. To begin with, a rhinoceros rarely drops on
the spot to the shoulder-shot, even when hit with a 4-bore
bullet, but will dash forward whichever way his head may be
pointing in at the time of being fired at, which, as I have said
before, may be in the direction of the sportsman. If they
should spin round and round, which they very often do, par-
ticularly when shot through the lungs, they will rush off in the
direction their heads are in when they cease their gyrations.
Should they, however, start off down wind in their first rush,
they v;ill very quickly turn up into the wind, and either in so
doing, or in rushing straight forward, they are quite as likely
as not to come in the sportsman's direction, who, as he will
probably be within 80 to 90 yards of the beast before firing,
might be led to mistake this headlong rush for a charge.

1 have many times experienced this myself, and have had a
rhinoceros come tearing along, snorting like a steam-engine, to
within 10 or 15 yards of me ; but with three exceptions, when I
was unable for want of covert to keep out of sight, they always
turned off to the right or left of me, and did not charge.

Although I do not consider rhinoceroses very dangerous
beasts, I have always had a certain amount of respect for them,
and have been careful to use heavy rifles ; still I have had
more really exciting encounters with these beasts than with any
other of the larger game, and have thice times been charged
in a determined manner. I account for two of these charges
by the fact that I was very close up before firing, failed to knock
the beasts down, and was unable to keep out of sight. The third
charge, which is the only one worth recording here, occurred
in Turkwel on January 25, 1890. I had shot three antelopes
on the march, some distance from the footpath, and as there
were a great number of vultures about I left a gun bearer with
each beast to keep them off. The last one -a G. Gravtii—hdid
given me a long run, so I left my Winchester carbine with the
gun-bearer in charge, as the natives were a treacherous lot and

256

BIG GAME SHOOTING

had caused us much trouble. When I was returning to the
caravan track to call men to carry the meat, having only a 12-bore
shot-gun in my hand, loaded with No. S shot, there being a good
many sand-grouse about, out floundered a cow rhino and calf
from behind a bush 25 yards off. To slip behind two small
mimosa saplings, within a few feet of me, was the work of a
second, but I was not quick enough to prevent the rhino catching
sight of me, when she came straight at me with her head down.
When within 15 yards, which I thought quite close enough, I
fired at her head with splendid effect, as she lunged forward
and stumbled on to her knees, ploughing up the ground with
her chin ; but quickly recovering herself swung round on her
hind legs and bolted, followed by the calf. Stopping a charging
rhino with No. 8 shot is perhaps unique.

Rhinoceroses will often charge through a caravan without
any apparent provocation, but in most cases, if not in all, I
believe the cause to be stupidity rather than viciousness, and
also their almost invariable habit of retreating up wind. 1
have never known of a case in which a rhinoceros has charged a
caravan down the wind, except once, when the beast was in such
close proximity to the footpath that, being suddenly aroused
from sleep by the noise of the men, and seeing them, it charged
in self-defence. I know, however, of several cases cf a rhino-
ceros charging through caravans from a considerable distance,
but always up wind, and, from what I observed, can only
account for it in one way. The rhinoceros is generally lying
asleep, perhaps several yards off, when the caravan passes to wind-
ward of it, and as the countries where these beasts are found
a'e for the most part uninhabited, the caravans on the march
are often of considerable length, as the men straggle along
much more when there is little fear of trouble from natives.

The beast on being aroused will start up, stare about, sniff
the wind with head raised, and trot off to the right or left, by
which time the caravan, moving on, is extended in a long line
well across the wind, and the rhinoceros, linding that which-
ever way he turns he is unable to get clear of the men's scent,

THE RHINOCEROS

!57

and possibly imagining himself surrounded, becomes more and
more confused, and rushes up wind rather than down. Should
the beast, however, happen to get clear of the scent of the
foremost men in the caravan as it first starts off on being dis-
turbed, it will circle round in front of them and make off with
tail erect in its usual grotesque manner rather than go out of
its way to charge.

It is a curious fact that natives are, as a rule, more afraid of
a rhinoceros than of either an elephant or buffalo. They also
find him more difficult to kill, but this is entirely owing to his
tough hide, and the primitive nature of their weapons. The
people of Turkwel, in the Suk country, who live by hunting,
and who kill large quantities of game, including elephants^
all of which they kill at close quarters with spears, told me
that they feared a rhinoceros more than anything else, and
rarely cared to attack him. This I can understand, as he is a
much more active beast, and, owing to his tougher hide, is more
difficult to kill than a buffalo. I may mention that these people
first of all snare all their game in the manner described by
Sir Samuel Baker in his 'Wild Beasts and their Ways,' vol. ii.
p. 94 ; otherwise, having only the most primitive of spears
(made out of iron found in or near their country, and not out
of trade iron wire), they could not hope to kill anything, as they
use neither pitfalls nor bows and arrows. With the exception
of the elephant, the rhinoceros has fewer enemies, except man,
than any other game, as it is very doubtful whether lions, were
they to attack him, could do any harm beyond giving him a
severe clawing, and I think they can scarcely be counted as
enemies.

The facts that he is generally found in the open, that he
stands stern to the wind when at rest, and that he is usually
attended by bird sentinels, obviously prevent him from being
taken at a disadvantage. This security from surprise, together
with his immunity from enemies (the natives rarely attacking
him in the open), may account to a certain extent for his>
indolent and sleepy nature. .

I. 8

:58

BIG GAME SHOOTING

Rhinoceroses {R. bicornis) are exclusively bush -feeders.
The various species of mimosa form their favourite and prin-
cipal food. During the day, from about 9 a.m. till about 5 p.m.,
they rest and sleep, and are then generally found in the
open, though I have come across them quite unexpectedly in
thick bush, enjoying their midday siesta, even though an open
plain was close by. About 5 J'.m. they begin to wend their
way in the direction of their drinking place, feeding here and
there as they go on any tem[)ting-looking mimosa bush, but
they do not drink until after sundown. They then make for
their feeding grounds, browse throughout the night, drink
again just before sunrise, often have a roll in a mud-hole, and
then make their way to the place where they intend to lie up
for the day. It is when on their way to or on their arrival at
their quartei » for the day that the sportsman will generally see
them.

Should a rhinoceros be found standing in open country
where there is but little coverl, and .:,!'ould it be accompanied
by birds, which are easily seen with the aid of binoculars,
the sportsman should wait at a distance until it lies down
before beginning to crawl in. He will then have to stalk
the birds rather than the rhinoceros. This reminds me of
an incident which occurred to me before I had had much
experience with these beasts, when I stalked a rhino un-
attended by birds, and got up to it raliier closer than I should
otherwise have done, but was betrayed at the last moment by
the sudden appearance of birds. This happened in December
1886, when encamped on the river Lumi, one march above
Taveta to the east of Kilimanjaro, in a delightful spot, which is
now known as ' Kampi ya Simba ' (lion camp) from my having
shot two lions there. On the 29th I went out, and was making
for the foot of the mountain when I saw two rhinos under
a tree about a mile and a half off. I was on my way to
circumvent them when another one, which I had not seen,
appeared from the left, and walked across my front, about 300
yards off. By the length and thinness of its front horn I knew

THE RHINOCEROS

!S9

It to be a cow, so I sat down in the grass, as ♦^here was no other
covert, and waited until she walked under a small thorn -tree
about half a mile off. Under the shade of this tree the grass
was considerably longer ; she soon lay down, and I walked
straight up to within about 200 yards, when she got up, obliging
me and my gun-bearer to droi) down into the grass and lie
still till she again lay down.

Although she had no birds on her back, she appeared rest-
less, and kept raising her head, which I attributed to the fact
that she was dead to leeward of the other two rhinos, some
quarter of a mile off, and as she was almost facing us, we
lay still to give her time to settle down and go to sleep.
I was particularly anxious to make sure of h^^r, as she had the
best horn I had seen up to that time. As the grass was some
18 ins. long, though there was not a particle of other covert, we
crawled forward on hands and knees and had little difficulty
in getting within 100 yards of her, when we took a short rest,
as grovelling through the grass was hot work. We then crawled
on, flat on our stomachs, and when within about 50 yards
I raised my head, saw that some 20 yards further on there was
a tuft of slightly longer grass, and determined to get up to
this before firing. However, just before we reached it, some
half-dozen birds came from the direction of the other two rhinos,
and settled on our cow's back, but we eventually succeeded in
reaching the tuft. The difficulty now was to get into a sitting
position and ready to shoot without being seen by the birds.
To do this I worked my legs towards the rhino as I lay on
my side, and gradually raised myself into a sitting position, but
at that instant the birds saw me, and flew up with their usual
cry of alarm. At the same moment the rhino raised herself on her
forelegs like a huge pig, and I then realised that I was nearer
than I intended to get, only about 20 yards separating us, but
she did not appear to see me. As she remained sitting in this
position, withoL moving my body, which I knew might attract
attention, I strr .ohed out my arm behind me for the 4-bore,
but did not feel it at first, and thought that for once my faithful

8 2

"'■jj.i«>f>'wm»'iiiiiiMi

260

BIG GAME SHOOTING

Ramazan had received rather a shock to his nerves on finding
himself at such close quarters. However, he put it into my hand
at last, after a delay of perhaps two seconds, which appeared to
me much longer, and I (luickly planted a bullet on the point of
her left slioulder which knocked her over. Reloading before
I moved, I saw she was still down, but making des]ierate
efforts to get up ; but as she was lying on her left side with her
broken shoulder under her, she was unable to do so, and I ran
up and despatched her with a shot in the neck. This was the
only time I ever knocked a rhino down on the spot with the
shoulder shot, but I took it here because she was too much
end on for the neck shot, which I always prefer for these beasts
when within a range of 35 yards, as when struck in the right
spot they drop dead, and the chances of a charge are removed.

A rhinoceros when once started is a difficult beast to stop,
though a shot from a heavy ride will generally turn it. 'IMieir
most determined charge is less to be feared than that of a
buffalo or elephant, as they rarely if ever hunt a man, but rush
straight on, whether they miss him or knock him down. The
only instance I have ever heard of in which a rhinoceros renewed
the attack under any circumstances (i.e. wounded or un-
wounded) after it had dispersed or knocked down its enemy,
hapi)ened to Captain Pringle, R.R , when returning from
Uganda in 1892. This occurred between Machako's and Kib-
wezi, in Ukambani. 'I'he beast — which, by the way, was not
wounded —repeatedly charged the men, who were, however,
too nimble for it, and it finally amused itself by tossing
Pringle's load of bedding about, ventilating it in some half-
dozen places with its horn before being driven off.

When within range, which may be any distance between <So
and 30 yards, unless safely ensconced behind a small tree or ant-
heaf», the stalker should cast a look round immediately to
leeward of his position, to see that there is no wart-hog hole or
other obstruction, in which he might come to grief, should it
be necessary to dodge in case of a charge. The stalker should
always endeavour to get within a range of 80 yards, to ensure

THE RHINOCEROS

35r

a vital shot at the shoulder. If the country is favourable and
the beast can be approached within 35 yards or less, a shot in
the neck, a trifle below and a few inches behind the base of
the ear. >vould be instantly fatal. Although the object of this
shot is to break the vertebrae of the neck, it is better to aim
rather low than too high, as there is always a chance of the
bullet severing the main arteries of the neck or jugular vein
should the vertebrge be missed, whereas a shot above the
vertel)rcE might go clean through the neck and the beast be
none the worse.

Every sportsman will probably have his own ideas as to
shooting positions, and as most shooting (except elephant
shooting) in East Africa is done in fairly open country, he can
please himself, and will in most cases be able to adopt the
position most convenient, whether it be standing, kneeling,
sitting, or lying. Personally I prefer to sit down, and always
fire even a 4- or 8-bore in this position, provided the grass is
not too high to obscure my view of the beast. The recoil of
such rifles —a push, rather than a kick — is too much for any
man, except a Hercules, in this position, and always pushes
me back and causes my legs to go up in the air, if it does not
send me actually on to my back. When 80 yards from a beast
I do not mind it, but when within 40 yards or less it is better
not to have one's equilibrium upset in this manner, and I there-
fore make my gun-bearer sit behind me with his hands within an
inch or so of my back to iiold me up. This is a capital plan, but
on no account must the gun-bearer touch the sportsman's back,
as he might give a slight push just as the trigger is being
pressed. I remember once coming rather to grief, and being
in a ludicrous though not critical position, owing to my gun-
bearer being unable to get behind me. I was out shooting
with Dr. Mackinnon at Machako's on March 30, 1889, and
as he hail not then killed a rhino and was anxious to do so, we
kei)t together and came across two of them in a capital i)osition.
["ollowed by our gun-bearers we got \\\t to a bush within 60
yards of them, when the Doctor gave the larger one, a cow, a

262

BIG GAME SHOOTING

' )

good shot behind the shoulder and another one as she ran
away. The second rhino I missed clean with both barrels.
After running about a quarter of a mile, they both pulled up
close to a bush, and, swaying about two or three times, the
wounded one sat down and subsided, looking just as if she
was asleep, while the other one stood close by her. Within
about 20 yards of them there was a large ant-heap with very
steep sides, and as the wind was fair I went round and got up
to th's heap without the least trouble. After crawling up and
peeping over the top, I could only see the nose and front horn

' I was kiKxki'd over'

of the one standing, to the 'eft of the bush, but, I saw that
the other one wis quite dead. As T did not wish to risk a
shot through the bush, I crept round to the left side of the
ant-heap, and could then see the head and quite enough neck
to afford a good shot ; !iut the difilculty was to get into a
steady shooting position, as I could neither stand up nor sit
down. I at last managed to squat down on my right heel,
with my left leg also tucked up under me, and in this awkward
position fired at the beast's neck. 'I'he result was rather more
startling than J expected with regard to myself, as 1 was
knocked over by the recoil of the rille, ar.d sent flying back-

THE RHINOCEROS

263

wards \o the bottom of the ant-heap, where I nearly turned a
complete somersault, but quickly recovering myself I had the
satisfaction of seeing that the rhino was still more completely
knocked over than myself I

Among many and varied experiences with East African
big game, two rhinoceros fights, of which I was a witness,
were perhaps not the least interesting. The first I saw on a
short trip from Taveta, with my friend Sir Robert Harvey, to
the Rombo and Useri i)lains early in January 1887. On New
Year's Day we were changing camps from Kampi ya Simba .0
Rombo, both on the I -umi river, and we euch took different
beats, Harvey keeping to the plains on the right bank, whilst I
took the left bank. Shortly after separating, I managed by
great good luck, rather than by good management, to get
within about 70 yards of three ostriches, all of which 1 succeeded
in bagging. After skinning them and taking their thighs, the
only meat there is on an ostrich, I went on keeping close to
the river, and came across a rhino standing in the open ; but
the ground was so devoid of covert that I could not get nearer
than 100 yards, and a sliot with the 4-bore struck her too low,
as I foolishly forgot to raise the back sight, and only wounded
her high u[) in the forelegs, which, however, soon caused her
to settle down into a walk. As she headed for a patch of grass
that had not been burnt, with several bushes and ant-heaps
dotted about, I kept within 150 yards of her, intending to
get nearer when she entered this covert. After she had
entered it, 1 took advantage of a bush and drew up to
within 100 yards of her, when another rhino jumped out of
the grass where it had been lying to leeward of her, and made
straight for her. She, however, heard him (for it was a bull),
andwhip[)ed round to face him ; and so they stood about three
yards apart, giving vent to a succession of scjucals and low
guttural roars, the latter not unlike the roars of a lion. For
ciuite twenty minutes 1 watched them, and a most interesting
sight it was. At first they did not close, but alternately rushed
at each other ; as each in turn charged, the other backed

264

BIG GAME SHOOTING

away, and I observed that neither of them ever raised its
head, but held its snout close to the ground, keeping up a
continuous roar and squealing the whole time. At last they
closed ; but not for long, for after a few most violent and
vicious digs at each other, they separated and again stood
facing. As this sort of thing went on for about a quarter of
an hour, their bouts becoming more and more vicious and
prolonged, and as they were entirely engrossed in themselves,
I exchanged my Express for the 8-bore, and, followed by
Ramazan with the 4-bore, crept up to a large ant-heap within
40 yards of them, and lay watching them for another five
minutes. How long they would have kept up this fight there
is no knowing, but, as it was becoming somewhat monotonous,
I whispered to Ramazan that I was going to shoot, and, follow-
ing his advice, fired at the wounded one, planting a bullet
behind her shoulder. The result was rather curious : she
dashed at her op|)onent nnd attacked him with great fury, this
being quite their best 'round,' lasting more than a minute,
until my shot began to take effect on her, and she had to
give way to the now sui)erior strength of the bull. As the cow
stood this time with her head held high, snorting blood from
her nostrils, she swayed from side to side and then dropped
over dead.

The bull went up and stood over her, prodding her in the
stomach with his horn, offering me a good broadside shot, which
I took, placing a bullet in his shoulder. From his subsequent
behaviour one might have imagined that he thought that the
defunct cow was the cause of his discomfort, for nothing could
have exceeded the furious way in which he attacked her.
He dashed at her as she lay on her side, and dug with extra-
ordinary rapidity at her between the forelegs, when I put an
end to his ferocity with a bullet in his neck, which dropped
him. On going up I found him lying with his head under the
uppermost foreleg of the cow, but with the exception of a small
jagged wound in her armpit, neither of them bore traces of their
combat, l)eyoiul innumerable wiiite-looking surface scratches on

THE RHINOCEROS

265

their heads, the sides of their necks, and front of their shoulders.
It is quite evident that they held their heads low throughout
the encounter on purpose to protect their throats, the softest,
and perhaps most vulnerable, parts of their bodies. In this
case, as also in the other fight I witnessed, one beast was
wounded, and was attacked by an unwounded one.

I think there can be little doubt that when rhinoceroses
do fight, it is in a most determined and dogged manner, though
it is highly improbable that they ever kill each other. I once
shot a rhino which was terribly scored about the face and
neck, with several of the abrasions still bleeding. As the grass
had been quite lately burnt I followed back on its spoor, which
was very distinct, and came to the spot where it had fought with
another rhino. The ground for a space of 30 yards showed
unmistakable signs of the severe and evidently prolonged com-
bat. It was cut up, and loose stones a foot or more in diameter
displaced and scattered in all directions. One large boulder,
some 3.'} ft. high, near which the encounter seemed to have
been most severe, was smeared and splashed with blood,
'i'wo or three times I have shot rhinoceroses with only one
ear, the other one most probably having been bitten off in a
fight.

The following experience with a rhinoceros has the merit
of being a curious one, though attended by absolutely no
danger to myself.

Having successfully stalked three rhinoceroses— a bull, a cow,
and a thrce-parts-grown calf all standing together, I gave the
bull a shot behind the shoulder, which knocked him clown.
1 was so certain he was shot through the lungs, and would not
go far, that I did not fire again when he picked himself uj) and
galloped off. In this I was mistaken, as he went away across
the open plain apparently unhurt, the other two going off in
another direction. As I sat down on an ant-heap, feeling by
no means pleased with myself, I watched the bull for a long
time, and saw him pull up about two miles off and walk under
the shade of what 1 took at the distance to be a low bush,

266

BIG GAME SHOOTING

close to the bank of a dry watercourse. On following him up,
keeping along the watercourse, I got within about 500 yards
of him, and made out that he was in reality stand'ng in the shade
cast by a table-topped mimosa-tree which was growing in
the bed of the watercourse, and that he was within a few feet
of the edge of the bank, which was quite preci[)itous and soine
ten feet high.

I immediately saw from the open nature of the ground
that my only chance of getting near him was to cross the water-
course where I stood, and make a detour on the opposite bank
until I got the top of the mimosa-tree between myself and the
rhino. On arriving back at the edge of the bank, and being
now immediately opposite the beast, which was quite hidden
by the top of the tree, I found that the watercourse, which was
just here very wide — as the banks had given way when the stream
was in flood — was full of tall dry cane-grass. Climbing down
into this grass, which was al)out eight feet high, I crept along very
slowly, and as noiselessly as I could, the grass being very brittle,
until I came to a narrow strip of sand, the actual watercourse ;
but on raising myself I found that 1 had come too near, and was
unable to cee the rhino, as he was standing a little back from
the edge of the bank. Retracing my steps a short wav, I was
still unable to see him, this time on account of the tall grass ;
but being determined, if possible, not to be done, I again went
forward and got up to the foot of the tree, which stood within
four feet of the precipitous bank. At that moment the beast
must have heard me, as 1 could hear him give two or three
snorts, and stamps with his feet, which sounded unpleasantly
near. Feeling, however, that I was perfectly safe, I very quietly
swarmed a few feet up the tree, and saw the rhino was standing
facing me, with head up, about eight feet from the edge of the
bank. At the same moment he saw me and came forward to
the extreme edge. Slipi)ing down the tree, I gave Ramazan,
my gun-bearer, to understand by signs what to do, and again
swarmed up the tree, caught hold of a small branch with
my left hand, and luing on to the trunk with my legs ; Ramazan,

THE RHINOCEROS

167

268

lUG GAME SHOOTING

clean asvay. Although disappointed ' at the result after all my
trouble and excitement, it was perhaps as well for me— as like-
wise for the rhinoceros — that the rifle did not go off, as the
heavy recoil might have had very unpleasant results to myself.

' This was one of many disappointments from the same cause, as at the
time I was using a consignment of cartridges lately received from England, out
of which 45 per cent, missed fire ; and after 1 had had rather a ^lisagrecable
encounter with an old bull-buffalo, and had twice failed to stop a charging
rhinoceros, my nerve was so shaken that I gave up using the 8-bore until 1
had sent to the coast for and received another lot (Messrs. Eley's) which I
had left behind, and which never once failed me, although they had been in
the country, and in a moist atmosphere, over two years.

Dead hipjios

CHAPTER XTV

THE HIPPOPOTAMUS

V,\ V. J. jACKsnx

Thk hip[)Oj)otamus (//. amphibius)^ known to the Swahili
people as ' Kiboko,' is found nearly everywhere in East Africa
where there is a sufficiency of water.

In 1885 hippos were very plentiful in the river Tana, at
the mouth, and for a few miles further up, but I am told that
they have since then been either killed off by the Wapokomo,
or been driven away, and have taken up their (juarters either
in the O/i river or the salt-water creeks. They arc still, however,
very j^lentiful in the upper waters of this river beyond Koro-
Koro, where the Wapokomo dare not go to hunt them for fear
of other natives more warlike than themselves. In the Ozi,
near Kipini, at the mouth of the river, they are to be found in
fair numbers, and again further up beyond Kau, as also in the

-70

BIG GAME SHOOTJXG

Sabaki river. There would, however, be Httle chance of getting
a shot at one in any of these places, except in the upper reaches
of the Tana, without the aid of a boat or canoe. In the small
lakes at Jipi, on the mainland opposite the island of Lamu,
the}' are found, at Mpecatoni near Kipini, and also at Jilori
near Melindi, besides in several of the salt-water creeks.
Further inland there are a good many in l^ake Jipi near
Taveta, and also in a large ' Ziwa ' (swamp) to the east of
Kilimanjaro and in Lakes Naivasha and Uaringo. 'J'hey are,
however, far more plentiful in the river N/.oia in Northern
Kavirondo than in any other place that I know of. In the
Nile, both above and below the Ripon Falls, they are also
numerous. The river Athi, to the north of Machako's, is
another good place. I have sliot them there with finer teeth
than anywhere else, and this is the experience of others besides
myself.

The food of the hippo consists of coarse grass, reeds,
-and other plants growing in damj) and wet places. In places
like Kavirondo, where the natives cultivate the ground to a
large extent and where hippos abound, they are a source of
great annoyance, as during the night they do much damage
to the crops. With the exception of a few caught in pitfalls,
these beasts are rarely killed by natives, except by the Wapo-
komo of the river Tana.

At night when in search of food hii)pos will wander long
distances, and 1 have seen their spoor as much as three miles
away from the nearest water. On one occasion, at Merereni,
on the coast, I followed the spoor of an old bull hippo for
overweight miles and then gave it up, os 1 found it was leading
in the direction of a salt-water creek, which I knew to be some
two miles ahead. 1 did not follow up the spoor with any idea
of coming across the beast on land, but simply to see where
he was going. As I often saw him for three or four days run-
ning in the creek close to my camp, then saw nothing at all
of him for the next few days, and afterwards noticed his fresh
si)oor leading away from the creek, but could find no signs

(

THE HIPPOPOTAMUS

a/i

showing that he had returned, I thought he might have gone
off to some fresh-water pool he knew of in the bush, and this
I was anxious to find, as being a likely spot to attract other
game.

As it was, I came to the conclusion that he was merely
changing his quarters, and this supposivion was confirmed by
his reappearance in the creek a day or two afterwards.

Hippo-shooting, compared with othe- sport, is poor. In
the first place it depends more on accuracy of aim and pro-
ficiency in quick shooting than on stalking. 'i'o crawl up
to the edge of a high bank, probably several feet above the
surface of the water, in which a school of these huge beasts
is lying basking in the sun on the shallows, requires little
skill provided the wind is fair. Neither is a steady pot
shot at a range of 25 yards, at a well-defined mark such as
the beast's eye and ear, or in a line between the two, as he lies
perfectly still, half out of the water and possibly asleep, or float-
ing quite motionless on the top of the water, a great test of
prowess in shooting. When once scared, however, the conditions
are changed, as hippos then become very cunning and take
a great deal of circumventing, and will test the sportsman's
patience as well as the accuracy and quickness of his aim to the
utmost. If they have not been much shot at or disturbed, they
will show up again in a few minutes after the first shot. After
this first shot the sportsman should not be in a hurry to fire
at the first head that appears above water, but should wait
patiently, concealed from their view if possible, and let them
settle down again, as they soon will do, when they will keep
their heads above water for some considerable time, gazing
round to try and detect the cause of their fright.

It is reckless firing, utterly reguidless of the position of the
beast's head, that is the cause of so many of these poor brutes
being wounded and lost,when by the exercise of a little patience
the sportsman would be able to pick out a good head, get
another steady shot, and kill his beast clean.

My friend, Mr. A. H. Newmann, who is well known both

272

BIG GAME SHOOTING

in South and East Africa, not only as a splendid shot, but also
a most careful one, when on his way to Uganda with a large
caravan shot four hippos in four consecutive shots, and, what
is perhaps still better, with the next seven shots, fired a little
further on, he killed five elephants. In the same river Nzoia,
in 1889, when 500 men depended on our rifles for food, on
November 10 I killed nine hii)pos in ten consecutive shots,
only one of them requiring a second bullet. Should hippos,
however, detect the sportsman or get a whiff of his wind,
they display the most extraordinary cunning, rarel}' rising
twice in the same place, and then only showing for so short a
time that he, not knowing where a head will next appear, has no
time to bring his rifle to bear on a vital spot and fire before the
head again disappears. More often than not, they pop up the
top of their snouts, the two nostrils only appearing above the
surface, when it is useless to fire at them. If the water is
deep enough to allow of it, they will often swim up to the
bank and put up their nostrils under an overhanging ledge, or
anything floating on the surface of the water, such as reeds,
&c., and as they will breathe very silently under such circum-
stances, and do not make the slightesc disturbance in the
water, it is often quite impossible to tell where they have
gone to. I once had a first-rate opportunity of watching a
hippo, and observing how he managed to raise his nostrils
above water without showing the rest of his head. As I came
round a bend of the river in sighi of the pool he was in, I saw
him floating on the surface. ')vt*, having got my wind, he never
afterwards showed more than his nostrils. The water being
quite clear and the surface like a sheet of glass, 1 sat down on
the bank opposite to and within 15 yards of him and watched
him for a long time. Each time he rose I could see him some
little time before he came slowly to the surface, and saw
that he raised his body at an angle until his two nostrils only
appeared above water and almost instantly disappeared again,
as I could distinctly see his head, the fore part of his body
and forelegs, but not his hind-quarters. In fact, he reared up,

!IWUa^J_:

THE HIPPOPOTAMUS

273

but whether his hind-legs were resting on the bottom or not I
was unable to make out, as I had no means of testing the
epth of the water. ' ;

The spots at which to aim in order to penetrate the brain
are various, and depend entirely on the position of the beast's
head when fired at. If it should be facing the sportsman, he
should aim between the eyes or at the eye ; if broadside on,
in a line between the eye and the ear ; if diagonally towards
him, at the eye ; if diagonally away from him, behind the ear ;
and if straight away from him, at the base of the big lump of
flesh that shows up at the back of the head between the ears.
Either -^n accurate Martini or a '450 Express with a solid
bullet is a first-rate weapon for this sport. When killed,
hippos always sink, and the time that elapses before they rise
may vary considerably from one to as much as six hours,
depending both on the temperature and depth of the water and
also on the condition of the animal. Hippos, when shot in
the head and not killed outright, often behave in an extra-
ordinary way. They will rear up out of the water, fall back-
wards, and float, belly upwards, on the surface, lashing out
with their short stumpy legs, or rolling over and over, churn-
ing up the water in a marvellous manner, and will drown
through being unable to raise their heads, in this stunned con-
dition, above water. Their movements are, however, so rapid
that it is seldom they offer a chance for a shot at the head,
though they often expose the greater part of the body. The
sportsman should therefore always have a heavy rifle with him
to enable him to dispatch them with a shot through the lungs,
as the beasts, being only stunned by the bullet passing close
to the brain, will often recover sufficiently to enable them to
escape for the time, though they will probably die in the end.

I have only once had a wounded hippo attempt to get out
of the water at me, i)ut as I was on the river bank, a foot or i\\\'
above it, it never had a chance, and drop[)ed dead to a shot
between the eyes. My friend Mr. Cledge was once charged
in a most determined manner bv a wounded cow. As it was

— i^pujj^i.

274

BIG GAME SHOOTING

only stunned by the first shot, and went floundering and plung-
ing down stream, he ran along the bank, a little below the beast,
and tiot on to a rock, in order to have a better shot with his
8-bore as it passed him. It, however, recovered itself before
it got to him, and seeing him so close to the water's edge, came
straight at him, but he dropped it dead with a bullet in the
head when within a few feet of him. I'he only case I know of
a man being killed by a hi[)po was at Mumia's, in Kavirondo.
This man was an envoy, sent by Mwanga of Uganda to meet
us, and he was so severely hurt that he died next day. He had
gone out with other men, one of whom managed to wound
a hipi)0, and, as it kicked and plunged about, he waded out
into the water waist deep, when, having recovered, it charged
him with open mouth, catching him by the face in its jaws,
and crushing it to such a frightful extent that he was (luite
unrecognisable.

I do not think that a hippo would ever attempt to follow a
man on dry land, though I once read of a case where one
of a school, living in a small lake near Mombasa, and
having a very bad reputation for viciousness, actually left the
water before being shot at and chased tlie man three hundred
yards. As this sporting scribe al.'^o stated that he shot
buffaloes, lions, giraffes, elands, <S:c. ^:c. within ten miles of
Mombasa town so late as 1890, and ih.nt he used to send the
meat into the town to sell, 1 think that this, with other startling
facts (!) mentioned i)y him, may be taken cum grauo salis.

mmmmmm

^75

CHAPTER X\'

OSTRICHI.S AND GIRAFFES

liV V. 1. iMK,

SON

1"hk two species of game most difficult to approach are tho
giraffe and the ostrich. Their watchfulness and powers ot scent
equal those oi other game, and if anything their sight is even
more extraordinary. Besides these wonderfully developed
senses, they possess a iremen(k)u.. ndvantnge over other game
in their great height, being able to easily see over covert amply
sufficient to conceal the approach oi' the stalker from the view
of other animals.

(Iiraffes {Gii-affa canielopardaUs)\\Q.XQ. a few years ago fairly
numerous in places suited to their habits, but I am told that
;i good many of them have fallen victims to the same disease
which has destroyed the buffaloes. Still there are plenty left.
Cliraffes are very partial to the table-topped mimosas, on which
they principally {i^^i^X, and should be sought for in places where
these trees abound. As a rule, they are found in small herds
of six or eight, sometimes ui) to twenty or more, but solitary
individuals are occasionally met with.

Giraffes kept in confmement give very little idea of the adult
beast in a wikl state. The wild one is not only much taller,
but very much more bulky, an 1 would weigh at least half
as nmch again as any beast that was until hitely to be
seen in the Zoological (lardens. They are also very much
darker in colour. 'I'he meat of the giraffe is not, as a rule,
nmch appreciated by the /an/.ibari porters, and some of them
will not touch it. This is not from any religious or superstitious

176

BIG GAME SHOOTING

scruples, but on account of its causing a rash, a kind of herpes,
of a most irritating nature to break out upon them. My
head gun-bearer, Ramazan, and some of the porters once
suffered for a fortnight after eating the meat of the first giraffe
1 shot, when there had been no other meat in cam[) for three
or four days previously. He assured me that it is a well-known
fact that it affects some men and not others.

The meat of the lesser kudu also affects certain constitutions
only, but in a different way, as it acts as a salivant, and causes
great pain in the mouth and gums. Several times my tent-bov,
Sadala, was unable to eat anything but a little rice for ,<;.'
days after eating the meat of this beast. 1 mention ti-.i.;se
facts solely to induce sportsmen to avoid shooting ihese
beautiful beasts (except as trophies) when meat is required
for the men and other game is to be obtained. The marrow-
bones of a giraffe, which are considered by some epicure
sportsmen to be the greatest delicacy in Africa, not excepting
elephant's heart, I have always found very inferior to those
of the eland, or even the l)uffalo.

Amongst the places where 1 have seen the giraffe in fair
numbers are the caravan routes between Vanga and Teitn,
especially at Adda and Kisagao, and between Ndara in Teita,
and Nzoi in Ukambani, particularly near Ndi, Mto Ndai,
and Mto Chumvi. In i<S87 the open bush and sparsely mi-
mosa-wooded country just outside Taveta forest, on the road
to Langora, was a ;ure find for these stately beasts.

Unless giraffes are found in ground fairly well wooded witli
mimosa and other trees, with also a f;iir undergrowth of bush,
there is little chance of approaching to within range of them ;
but if found in such covert, and not too mu(-h scattered, the
stalker, by dodging from bush to bush and by being carcfiil to
keej) thethickly foliaged crown of a mimosa or othertree between
the bt-ast and himself, or.ght with ordinary care to ha"' lit' e
difficulty in getting a shot. If an ]'Apr(\ss rifie is used on these
beasts, it must only be with solid bullets, as their 1 ifle is very

thick and tougl

ersona

lly I pr

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■' '11

OSTRICHES AND GIRAFFES

!77

1 once watched a small herd of giraffes from the top of an .
'earth boil,' and from my elevated position got a splendid
view of them. They were standing about 500 yards off, in
fairly open bush of uniform dark green, which in the distance
ai)peared to be pretty thick, and formed a good Jjackground
to the numerous mimosa-trees with their table-tops of a much
brighter green, on which the giraffes were feeding. The strongly
marked colouring of these gigantic and stately creatures tower-
ing above the bush made them stand out in clear contrast to
their surroundings, as they slowly moved from tree to tree,
gracefully twisting and turning their long necks to enable them
to nibble the tender shoots of the mimosas in their usual deli-
cate manner, giving me the impression that they might indeed
be 'monarchs of all they surveyed.'

The ostrich {Stnit/iio Diolybdophancs) of East and Central
Africa is distinguished from the South African bird by its greater
size, and by the cock bird having a blue neck. The feathers at
any time are inferior and of little ot no market value. The only
two birds that I have ever seen with feathers that were at all
good were killed by Mr. H. C. \'. Tunter at Kilimanjaro in
1SS7, when he had the good forti'.ne to bag them shortly after
they had UKJulted, and bi.'fore ihey had rubbed and damaged
their wisig-feathers when dusting themselves. The ostrich is
plentiful in many parts of the country, and goes about in small
troops, generally three or four together, though 1 have twice
seen a tr()o[) of thirteen, once in the Arusha-wa-Chini country,
an.l once at Machako's. .\n adult cock ostrich, when standing
upright, would measure (piite 10 ft. to the crown of his head,
the hen being rather smaller. How far this bird ranges to the
south I am unable to say, but to the north I have seen it near
Lake Maringo. The Swahili and Arab traders, who now go up
to Lake Rudolph, occasionally bring down small bunches t)f
feathers, which, however, are probably of another species.
Throughout the Masai coimlry and east of it to the coast
ostri("hes are to be ft)und in most of the plains and open bush
country, where they '(\\\(\ [)lenly of green he'bage to feed on,

ilv

278

BIG GAME SHOOTING

whether grass or the leaves of various bushes. At Merereni,
on the coast, in 1886, where I bagged three, two cocks and a
hen, the hen bird was feeding on the young shoots of a small -
leaved mangrove bush by the side of a creek. Each of these
birds when cut open was found to have about 3 lbs. weight of
pebbles inside its gizzard.

Ostriches are even more difficult to stalk than giraffes, as
they are mostly found out in the open, and unless the sports-
man can get a bush sufficiently tall to prevent their seeing him
over it, or can take advantage of the dry bed of a watercourse,
should there be one near, it is almost hopeless to try to stalk
them. They are, however, not ditificult to drive, and I have
twice succeeded in circumventing them in this way, once with
Sir Robeit Harvey, and another time when alone. Once I
tried to approach a troop of five by using my imitation ostrich,
the Bushman's stratagem (with which I was so successful
with G. Graniii), but failed so hopelessly — the birds at
once detecting the fraud and never allowing me to get
within 500 yards of them - that I never tried it again. The
best day I ever had with these birds was when I came across
three, which I saw from a long way off, feeding amongst some
small scattered bushes on a slope in undulating ground. By
taking advantage of the low ground on the other side of the
undulation, I succeeded, after a long and painful crawl, in
getting up to a bush near the top. Here I could see the long
neck and head of one of them over the brow, and was pier "d
to notice that they had altered their position and w ?re feeding in
my direction. Sitting quite still, I waited until thej were within
seventy yards of me, and got two of them with a right and left
shot. The other one bolted down the slope of the hill away
from me and disappeared for a few seconds, but api)arently lost
its head ; for on standing wys I saw it coming back ; as it had
not seen me, 1 stooped down behind the bush, and when it
raced past about seventy or eighty yards off, with heatl held
back and wings extended, I knocked it over.

CHAPTER XVI

A\'ii:i.orEs

Bv F. J. Jackson

Antelope shooting is unattended with danger, and yet
antelopes afford if anything better sport than any of the
dangerous game-beasts found in Africa. Creatures such as
rhinos, buffaloes, and elepliants have not so many enemies
as the antelopes, and can therefore afford to be L\v less
watchful than these beasts, whose natural shyness and
marvellously developetl senses test the stalker's skill to the
very utmost, if, as it seems to me, sport should be measured
not so nmch by the amount of danger incurred as by the

' ('. ll;uvfvi.

" (i. I'ctorsi.

■* X. momanUH.

•• C. biilior.

28o

BIG GAME SHOOTING

degree of skill required, there is more sport to be had i?i out-
witting the ever- watchful oryx or wildebeest or eland than in
killing either a rhinoceros or buffalo— beasts peculiarly easy to
stalk unless accompanied by birds, as already descril)ed. In
antelope stalking, from the beginning to the end of the business
the greatest care has to be exercised, lest an incautious move-
ment, either of the stalker or the gun-bearer who crawls behind
him, should alarm the watchful game ; and the anxiety lest
something of this kind should occur, coupled with the [)hysical
strain in crawling on the hands and knees or flat upon the
stomach during a long stalk, intensifies the satisfaction when
the hunter does succeed in outwitting them.

At certain seasons of the year, when the grass has grown
iS ins. or 2 ft. high, stalking is comparatively easy even in
the 0[)en plains, and rec^uires then nothing but endurance on
the stalker's [)art to enable him to succeed. But stalking is a
very different business when the grass has been burnt and there
is no covert excej)! a few skeleton luishes and small ant-hea[)s,
or a few patches of grass which have escaped the fire.

Hut perhaps the accompanying diagrams of three stalks
which I made myself will give a better idea of the way to take
advantage of very scanty covert than any written advice.

In the alluvial plains, which extend for a considerable
distance on each side of the banks of a perennial river, the
country is often interspersed with large shady trees which give
it a park-like a{;pearance. In such places, among scattered
mimosa- trees, occasional bushes, and a few ant-heaps, stalking
is not difficult, and it is in such places that elands, water-
bucks, impalas, and buffaloes are often found. In open bush,
where game is frequently seen by the sportsman within a couple
of hundred yards, a stalk, though sometimes rather difficult, is
generally short. To approach within range of antelopes in
thick bush is not nearly so much a test of skUI in stalking as
of quick sight and ability to walk fiuietly and to pass through
bush without making a noise. (^)uick shooting is also necessary,
and the rest depends a good deal on whether one's lucky star

ANTELOPES

381

Small low ant-heap c^sacari^

Bush

Wind

W'i^'!i!!:^.n6Mi^^^ thin

bush

/■"i^-. Bush

Bush

Savi anl-heap was too low to afford \ is^'^ri Craulci /!at \^

skelter. Game could sec over it.

.'■.ff.

Oryx Stalking
Oct. 1st, 1886

' '■■r:ti,\1 flat .'„ St ,.

-<«<«

macn ff ^y. y^. ^^,^-^,^ ^j^,, ^,,^^./^ „j,^^ j,^,^, ^;^,-.^^
could see ,t;iiii!e through it.

Caiitc first aeeii
y'rom t'his point.

ill

282

BIG GAME SHOOTING

Position of gaiitt.

'% Small skeleton

Small ant-hill

Wind

Small ant-hill

On arri-.'iui:. at this point ^ahn- rt/z'cnv;' V j,^ Vf^ .to'
imposition, iutd took a few st^'fs forioafdV \ o^'

to So.^. Stalker exposed to '■ieiu. ) NT-

Small ant hill

Patch of
unbunit grass

Fair-sized bush;>;^

O'l

Stalking Gazella Grantii

Rombo plain

Nov. 1886

iiaine seen froiii a ioni; nuiY off.

ANTELOPES

--H

■wvSfo upjju^ ^,^^^^^

110 />.'/.nv.tj

:S4

BIG GAME SHOOTIXG

hapi)ens to be in the ascendent or otherwise. Provided the
sjjortsnian keeps up wind and walks quietly, and is always
thoroughly on the alert and prepared for a snap shot, a good
day's work may be done ; but if he does not exercise these pre-
cautions, although he may come across any amount of fresh
spoor, and may now and again catch sight of an antelope, he
may go out day after day only to be disappointed, and will
possibly blame everything and everybody but himself. Ante-
lopes when in thick bush have often great difficulty in making
out the direction whence a shot is fired, and I know of many
instances when out shooting for the 'pot,' when, shortly after
having fired at partridges or guinea-fowl, I have suddenly
come across an antelope, standing intently listening, evidently
on the qui vive, but apparently unable to make out from
where my last shot was fired. Remembering this, the sp
man should never throw away a chance of shooting an anU ,
not already added to the bag through fancying that a shot
or two will lessen his chance of procuring a particular and
perhaps rarer species which he may be in quest of at the time.

If the sportsman should come across the spoor of an ante-
lope he is particularly anxious to get, and sees that the beast
has been disturbed by his last shot, he should wait a quarter of
an hour or so before following it, to allow it to settle down and
forget its fear ; and as antelopes rarely go far away, he will have
a very good chance of eventually getting a shot. For this sort
of shooting one of Messrs. Holland cV Holland's Paradox
guns will be found invaluable, as one barrel can be loaded with
a bullet and the other with a charge of shot, when the sports-
man is prepared for anything from a kudu or waterbuck to a
duyker or ' [laa ' (TV! Kirkii).

Zebras, wart-hogs, &c. may be stalked in the same manner
as antelopes.

The following is a complete list of the antelopes at present
known to exist in British l^ast Africa : —

Antelopes, from the sportsman's point of view, can be divided
into two kinds : those which frequent the open jilains, and those

ANTELOPES

285

which are found in the bush. The antelopes coming under tlie
first head would include the

1. Eland {Orcas cnnna JJi'inj^siotici).

2. Wildebeest, white-throated {Connochcetcs taiiriniis (tlha-
jiib(ttiis).

3. Hartebeest, Coke's {JUtbulis Co/cci).

4. Hartcljeest, Lichtenstein's {Hitba/i's Liclitcnstcini). The
/?. Icitcopryinnus of Dr. Matschi.

5. Hartebeest, Jackson's {lUibcxlis Jacksoni).

6. ' TopP {DaniaUs scncgalcnsis). TheAy/wrAiof Dr. Matschi.

7. Damalis Huntc}-i.

8. Roan antelope (?) { Hippotragus cquinus). Seen north of
Mount Elgon.

9. Sable antelope {Hippotragus ni'gcr).

10. Oryx, East African [Oryv collotis).
\ I . Kflbiis /cob.

1 2. Lesser Reed-buck {Ccrvicapra bohor).

13. Gazclla Grantii.

14. G(i3tila Thomsoni.
I 5. Gaaclla Peter si.

16. Oribi, Abyssinian {Naiwtragus viontanus).

17. Oribi, East African {Nanotragus Juistatus).

18. ^r^lcwA^wf^ {Nanotragus axDipcstris).

Those found in thick bush, open bush, or on the outskirts of the
bush, and which take to the bush when disturbed, include :

1. \Vn.iQrh\xc\i {Kflbus clipsipryinnus).

2. Sing-Sing {Kobiis dcfassus).

3. Kudu {Strcpsiceros kudu).

4. Lesser Kudu {Strcpsiceros iniberbis).

5. Hush-buck {TragclapJius sylvaticus Rouahyni).

6. Impala {.Kpyccros iiie/diufius).

7. Gercnook {Lit/iocranius lVa//eri).

8. Duykcr {Cephalolophus Grimmii),

9. Red Duyker {Cephalolophus Han'cyi).

10. Mountain Duyker {Cephalolophus spadix). This duyker is
found on Kilimanjaro at high altitudes.

1 1 . Cephalolophus inclanorhcus.

I 2, Klipspringcr {Oreotragus saltator).

1 3. Neotragus Kirkii.

14. Nanoiragus uwscJiatus.

15. The Sitatunga {Tragelaphus Spehei).

286

BIG GAME SHOOTING

ELAND

The striped variety of the eland is the only one found in
I'^ast Africa. It is known to the Swahilis as ' Mpofu,' and is
decidedly a local beast. It is seen more often in open hush
.and country thinly wooded with mimosa-trees than quite out
in the open. In 18H7 it was plentiful round Taveta, where \
b.n\ (• seen as many as sixty to seventy in one herd. In the open
hush country west of Mouni Kisigao elands are fairly numerous.
Other places in which they are found are the i)ark-like country
below Ndi in Teita ; the open country east of Ndara and north
of Mount xMaunjiju ; and the Siringeti plains. I hive also
seen them between Lakes Nakuro and Baringo, and again in
Turkwel, in theSuk country. Asa rule they go about in herds
of four or five up to fifteen or twenty. Sometimes two or three
bulls will be ^ound together, and very often an old bull quite
by himself.

\'ery old beasts, both bulls and cows, are of a dark slatey-
hlue colour, owing to the skin shovving through their scanty
covering of hair, and these old fellows lose all trace of the
white stripes. The bulls grow to a huge si/e and become
enormously fat. inlands are decidedly difficult to stalk, both
on account of the watchfulness of the cows and the nature of
the ground they generally lre(iuent. They are. However, fairly
easy to drive. I remember having one eland drive which was
one of the grandest sights I ever witnessed, on account of the
enormous number of game which passed close to me.

1 b.ad gone uj) to the top of a large ' earth boil ' to reconnoitre
the country, and from it saw a large heril of some fifiy elands, a
herd of about 1 20 buffaloes, besides innumerable hartebeests
and zebras, two rhinos, and a small herd of live giraffes.
Although they were all well to windward, a stalk was out of the
<luestion, as the grass had lately l)een burnt and the zebras and
hartebeests were scattered in all directions.

.\s I JKid not yet shot a good eland, and was particularly
an\it)us to get one. I decided on a drive, for which the counliy

ANTELOPES

287

was well adapted. About 300 yards from the foot of the earth
boil there was a dee]), dry watercourse, and it was through the
passage between the two that 1 decided to drive everything if
possible. About half-way across there were several thorn-irees
and a few low ant-heaps which commanded the whole of the
passage.

After directing the beaters to work round in a circuit, to
get well to windward of the game, and telling off two other
men to act as 'stops' on the other side of the ' boil," I took up
my position on one of the ant-heaps, and lay flat on the sloping
side, sufficiently near the top to enable me to look over it.
Ramazan, my gun-bearer, lay at the foot of it. 'J'he first beasts
to ai)pear were the five giraffes, which had seen the beaters
long l)cfore anv of the other game could do so, and came
striding along in their stately fashion, stopping every now and
again to have a look round. The old bull was an enormous
beast, and one of the darkest in colour 1 have ever seen. When
just level with me, and about eighty yards off, as there was still no
other game in sight, I could not resist the temptation of startling
them, as they seemed to be taking things so easily, and there-
fore jumped up and showed myself, shouting as T did so,
' Hi ! Vambo !' (a Swahili salutation), after which they went off
at a gallop, with their tails screwed up, their long necks
swaying backwards and forwards at each stride, and were soon
lost to view in a cloud of black dust. Shortly after this little
interlude I saw a dense cloud of dust rising in the distance to
winciwaid of me, heard a low ; nibling noise from the same
direction, and knew at t)nce liiat the beaters had l)egun their
work. Sevf-ral zebras which stood out well against the dark
background came cantering along, 'ogether with a few harte-
beests, but I soon lost -ight of these, as they shortly afterwards
pulled up, and the clouds of dust drifting before the wind
obscured them from lU) view. 1 began to fear I should be
unable tg see anythiiuv Imt as the game apj roached, I could
distinguish several zebras and hartebeests, and could see them
fairly well v.heii about 100 yarils off, some of them even walking

288

BIG GAME SHOOTING

and trotting past within thirty yards of me. As I had not ihe
remotest idea where the elands were, on account of the dust, I
whispered to Ramazan to keep a sharp look-out on the right,
whilst I kept watch on the left, the side towards the watercourse.
Suddenly I was rather taken aback by hearing the buffaloes
advancing apparently straight towards me, as I could distinctly
hear them grunting, some of the cows, probably those with
calves, being particularly noisy. Thinking it better to be well
prepared for them, and on the safe side, I turned round and
beckoned to Ramazan to crawl up nearer to me with the 4-bore,
although I already had the 8-boreand '500 I'Apress by my side.
Shortly afterwards I felt him grip me by the leg, but on turning
my head saw, not the elands, hut several cow buffaloes, the
leaders of the herd, advancing towards us, a little to the right
of our position, and I confess I breathed more freely ; not that
I think there was much danger, but I was so anxious if possible
to avoid firing at anything but eland, as it would have lessened
my chance of getting one of these beasts. As it was, the
buffaloes all passed at acjuick shambling walk within sixty yards
of me, and I was at one time sorely tempted to have a shot at
a grand bull with beautiful wide spreading horns, which passed
within forty yards. I may mention that I believe 1 got this
identical bull a day or two afterwards— if so, my forbearance was
rewarded.

When the buffaloes had gone jiast, the air became a little
(blearer, and I had the satisfaction df seeing the elands bringing
up the rearguard at a gentle trot, still some 200 yards off,
coming in such a direction that they would pass between
myself and the watercourse. On they came, (juite unconscious
ot \\\) presence, and stopped just about 100 yards from my left
front, alllunigh all the other game had stampeded after passing us
and getting our wind. There were two good bulls in the herd,
but the best one had lagged behind with two cows, which provok-
ingly stood between him and myself and jirevented my taking
a shot as tlicy stood, so that I had to wait until they moved on
again. 'I'his they did at a walk, as my men were fairly good at

ANTELOPES

>89

driving, and had stopped directly they saw the elands were close
to my position. As the three last beasts came just level with
me and within seventy yards, one of the cows was still between
the bull and myself, and fearing that if I waited longer I might
not get a shot at him at all, I gave the cow a bullet behind
the she jlder with the Express to make her get out of the way,
and betoiethe bull had gone many yards gave him both barrels
of the 8-bore— the first shot a good one behind the shoulder
which went clean through him ; the other a poor one, which,
however, knocked him over. The cow went on about a
quarter of a mile, and was found dead behind a bush. The
two rhinos I never saw at all, although the beaters told me
they had passed. They must have escaped my observation
owing to the clouds of dust. Several other zebras and harte-
beests broke past the two stops, but everything else passed
within 150 yards of me, and had there been a little grass,
which would have prevented the du A rising, I should have had
a still better view of this grand sight.

BRINDLi:i> WILDEBEF.ST

The Brindled or Blue Wildebeest(bwahili name, 'Xyumbo')
is essentially an antelope of the plains, though it is occasionally
seen in thin open bush. It is more plentiful in the ' seri
district to the north-east of Kilimanjaro, and theAthi plains to
the north and west of Machako's, ilian anywhere rise. In the
latter place on August 5, 1S90, Dr. Mackinnon and 1 saw an
enormous herd of 1,500, but this is quite unusual, ns ' ,ey are
rarely found in herds of more than from twenty to .y.

A single bull is often seen either by himself or with other
antelopes and zebras. Wildebeests are amongst the most
difficult beasts to stalk, owing to the open nature of the
country in which they are found, and will probably try the
si)ortsman's patience more than any other antelope. They will
stand gazing at him, and will sonielimes allow him to get
within a range of 200 yards, if he pretends to walk past them,

I. u

290

BIG GAME SHOOTING

though in reality closing in upon them in u semicircle ; but
directly he stops to take a shot they will shake their heads in
the most defiant way, and, with a few snorts and flicks of their
mule-like tails, kick up their heels and caper off jauntily. As
they will, as a rule, pull up a short way off, the sportsman will
have the annoyance of again adopting the same tactics, with
probably like results, until he might almost believe that the
wildebeest is enjoying itself at his expense. He should, how-
ever, avoid risking a long shot (the wildebeest is an extremely
tough brute, and will go for miles when wounded in such a
way as would soon bring other game to a standstill), since after
two or three fruitless attempts if no shot is fired its suspicions
will become allayed, and it will probably stand sufficiently long
to give him a L!;ood chance,

COKl'.'S IIAR'ri'.BKKST

Coke's Hartelx'e.st(S'.vahili, 'Kongoni')isbyfar the common-
est antelope in Ivist Africa, and is found almost everywhere in
fairly open country, c\ce[)ting in the (lalla country and north
of Lake Baringo. It may be met with from Ai)ril to August
as near the coast as Maji Chumvi, three marches from Mom-
basa, and ranges throughout the year as far north as Dorcta, a
little to the south of Njenips, where Jackson's hartebeesi; tnkes
its place. Mr. (ledge oluained a hybrid between the two
species somewhere near Dorcta, on iiis way down from Uganda
in 1892.

LICIITKNSTKIN'S I lAKTl'MFl'ST

Lichtenstein's Hartebeest, also known to the Swahilis as
' Kongoni,' though they Hn not cunlound the two s[)ecies, T in-
clude as a British Ivist African antelope on the authority of
(leneral Lloyd Mathews, who told mt that he had shot some
of these beasts (one skull of which he i^howed me) on his way
down from Kilimanjaro to I'angani, but whether actually in
jjritish territory I am unable to say. It is a common beast
south of the I'angani river, and in tlu' beautiful undulating

ANTELOPES

291

park-like country on the banks of the river Wami, where I shot
several in February 1887. It is, therefore, quite possible that
a few range as far north as the river Umba, the boundary line
between German and British territcy.

This beast has lately been described as a new species by
Dr. Matschi under the name of B. leucoprymuua.

JACKSON'S HARTEBEEST

Jackson's Hartebeest, also called ' Kongoni ' by the Zanzibar
porters, is first met with near Lake Harjngo, and on Mau
escarpment west of 1 .ake
Naivasha, which is, per-
haps, its most southern
limit. It is quite the
commonest antelope in
Turkwel, and also in the
undulating country west
of I'^lgeyo, where it is
found in the plains, open
bush, and thin mimosa-
wooded country.

THE TOI'I

The ''lopi ' is, I be-
lieve, not found sout 1
of the Sabaki river. I:
is, however, the com-
monest antelo])e in the
(lalla country, antl it
ranges from the coast
right away N.E. to
Ugand;), i)assing round
to the north of Mouiu
Kenia. but 1 ilo . l think it is known either in I ykepia or south

of Lake I'aringo.

V t

Uul)ulis IiK'ksoiii

mmmm.

■i. ;

292

B/G GAME SHOOTING

The topi found in Uganda has been lately described as a
distinct species {Damalis jiineld) by Dr. Matschi, but whether
it is really so or is only a local and somewhat larger variety
of D. seru .:u knsis I am unable to say. It is found both
in plains and open bush, and is plentiful at Merereni and on
the mainland near Lamu, where I have shot it within a quarter
of a mile of the sea. I believe the topi to be capable of greater
pace than any other East African antelope. One of the pecu-
liarities of this beast is the way it varies in colour when seen
standing at different angles in bright sunlight, at one time
appearing quite black and at others a slatey-bhie or stone-grey,

DAMALIS IIUNTERI

D. Hiinferi, first obtained by my friend Mr. H. C. V. Hunter
in 1888, is only found north of the Tana river, but how
far north it ranges into the Somali country is at present un-
known. In habits it resembles the topi.

ROAN ANTELOPE

The Roan Antelope I have added to the list with a query
after its name. I do not believe that it exists anywhere in
British East Africa south of Turkwel.' On the northern slopes
of Mount Elgon I saw two beasts which, as they stood facing
me some 400 yards off, I took to be waterbucks, but on being
alarmed at my firing at a hartebeest which crossed the footpath
just in front of me, I at once ])erceived, as they cantered off, that
they were animals which T had never seen before. As they
appeared to tally at that distance with the roan, in respect of
size, colour, shape of the horns, and length of ears, I have put
them down as tiie roan, though I think it is more than probable
that they may some day prove to be quite a different species,
possibly IIif>f>t)trai^us Bakcri.

' Since this was written the roan antelopo has In-cn killi-d near the c ist by
Mr. jL'niii;r. It is evidently very lucul.

ANTELOPES

SABLE ANTELOPE

293

The Sable Antelope, known to the Swahilisas * Pala-hala,' is
very rare, and up to the present has not been bagged in British
East Africa by a European. Sir John Willoughby, in his book
' East Africa and its Big Game,' mentions that he saw a small
herd of five near Maji Chamvi. Mr. Gedge and I also saw a
herd of about ten or twelve near Gulu Gulu in November 1888.
Both of these places were open bush and thinly-wooded
country. The sable antelope is fairly plentiful in the undu-
lating park-like country on the banks of the river Wami, near
Kidudwe, in German territory.

EAST AFRICAN ORYX

The East African Oryx is known to the Swahilis as ' Cheroa/
This oryx was- for a long time confounded with the Oryx beisa
of the Somali country, which, however, does not range south of
the Tana river. The cheroa is easily distinguished from the
other by the presence of a tuft of long black hair on the ears.
It is found in the Kilimanjarodistrict in greater numbers (parti-
cularly near Useri) than elsewhere. It is also plentiful in the
Galla country, between theSn*'>aki and Tana rivers, and I have
myself seen it within a mile of the sea at Merereni.

It is found more often in open bush countr)' than in the
bare arid plains. It is not only a beautiful beast, but is very
shy, difficult to approach, and exceedingly tough, and for these
reasons many sportsmen covet its head more than the trophies
of any other kind of antelope. The skin of its neck is extra-
ordinarily thick, and a propos of this, all head- skins preserved as
troph.ies should have the skin of the neck shaved down to at
least half its thickness to ensure its being properly cured. The
oryx is found in herds varying in number from six or eight up to
thirty or forty. A l)ull oryx is very often found entirely by him-
self,andoccasionallywitha herdof G. ^><?////yor other antelopes.

It is perhaps as well to warn sportsmen to approach oryx,

i= f-

"■ti JWln*l»^^uui".i»#4<imiPWM«^m»THfiwww«irrB'f^P»ie : ■ ie-"ww«n»

294

B/G GAME SHOOTING

when lying wounded, with caution, as on one occasion my gun-
bearer, on going up to cut the throat of an oryx, received a

Oryx collotis and Huhalis Cokei

severe blow on the thigh
from the side of one of the
wounded beast's horns. The
blow might have been very
serious had the oryx caught
him with the point of his
horns instead of with the Hat.
One of my most memor-
able stalks was up to a herd
of some twenty-five of these
grand beasts near the Useri
river, in May 1887. The country was for the most p.Mt undulat-

ANTELOPES

295

ing and covered with open thorn bush, the ground in many
places was very rough and stony, and, to add to the discomforts
of the stalk, carpeted with a creeping plant, the long ten-
drils of which were covered witn large and very hard seeds
with sharp spikes on them, These seeds, whichever way they
lay on the ground, always had a si)ike uppermost which went
completely through coat-sleeves and breeches when crawling up
to game. I was returning to camp about midday, feeling rather
disappointed at having wounded and lost a fine bull oryx, when
I saw the herd standing in an open space surrounded by thin
bush. As there was an 'earth boil ' close by, I walked partly up it
to reconnoitre the country, and saw that immediately to leeward
of the herd, about 100 yards off, there was a clump of table-
topped mimosa-trees ; but between the edge of the bush and this
clump, a distance of 200 yards, there was absolutely no covert
with the exception of one or two stunted shrubs and a few large
stones. Seeing that a long and very hot crawl was my only
chance, I went round, keeping out of sight in the bush, and got
the clump between myself and the oryx, when I began ([uitc
the most painful and trying stalk I have ever made. I
started by crawling on hands and knees from bush to bush until
I arrived at the last outlying one, and was rejoiced on looking
round it to find that the greater i)art of the herd had lain down. I
then knew that I had plenty of time before me. The ground be-
tween myself and theclump, with the exception of one small bush
some twenty yards on my side of it, was so bare that it seemed
almost hopeless to attempt to get over it without being seen.
However, I decided to try, and, leaving my gun-bearer behind
the bush, began crawling slowly forward flat on my stomach.
At every movement several cf the sharp-spiked seeds penetrated
through my breeches and coat-sleeves, causing me considerable
pain ; moreover, as they stuck to the cloth, it was necessary to
brush them off every two or three yards— no easy matter in my
position. To make things still more discomforting, the heat
reflected from the hard stony ground was almost unbearable.
On reaching a large stone I was tempted to risk a siiot. at

i- r

296

BIG GAME SHOOTING

about 200 yards, at a bull with a fair head that was standing
up, and should have done so had I not at that moment caught
sight of a grand cow lying down just behind him. Still creep-
ing, in time I succeeded in reaching the bush, lay with my
head in the shade of it, glad of a few minutes' rest, and had a
good look at the herd through my binoculars.

There was no doubt that the cow I had noticed had quite
the best head of the whole herd, and as I was not more than
125 yards off, I decided to take a shot from where I was and
not run the risk of being seen in attempting to creep nearer.

After waiting about ten minutes in the hope that the cow
would get up, I could no longer stand the heat of the sun
pouring down on my back, and so carefully sat up and
worked myself round to the right of the bush. Aiming at her as
she lay I gave a whistle, which brought all the oryx to their feet,
and as she stood up pressed the trigger and heard the welcome
' phut ' of the bullet as it struck her ; but I could not see the
result of the shot, as the recoil of the rifle caused several beads
of perspiration to run down my spectacles, and I was unable to
see anything. My gun-bearer now came running up, and in
answer to my question if the beast was down or not, said,
'Umianguka' (It has fallen), and my joy was unbounded.
It was a splendid beast, the best I have ever shot, and well
worth the trouble I had taken to get it.

KOBUS KOB

The Kobus Kob is first met with in British East Africa near
Mumia's, in Upper Kavirondo. Here I saw a small herd on
three consecutive days on the banks of the N/.oia (luite near to
the same place. As I was after hippos at the time, and never
got near the antelopes, I mistook them for impalas, and paid no
further attention to them, until one day Mr. dedge brought
in the head of one he had shot, and I at once recognised my
mistake. On going out specially to get one or two I found
them fairly jilentiful. This beast is rarely seen more than
300 or 400 yards from water. It is very shy, and unless found

ANTELOPES

297

in long grass (about the only covert there is, excepting ant-heaps,
in the places it haunts) is very difficult to stalk. It is extra-
ordinarily tough, and re-
([uires a great deal of
killing. When wounded
it will take to the reeds
along the river banks and
in swampy hollows ; but
when only alarmed pre-
fers to keep to the open
for safety. This antelope
is evidently plentiful near
the shores of Victoria
Nyanza, as nearly all the
Waganda canoes are or-
namented on their high
projecting prow with its
frontlet and its horns.
These beasts are usually
found iii small herds, con-

o'.siing of a buck and three or four does. I have also seen
one herd of some twenty-five, consisting entirely of bucks.

' ''*^k

Kobus Kob

LESSER UEl'iD-HUCK

The Lesser Reed-buck (Swahili,'Toi'or'Tohi ')is verylocal,
and as a rule only frequents the vicinity of rivers and swamps
which are never dry. These bucks are found on the shores of
Lake Jipi and theZiwa to the east of Kilimanjaro, and in a few
other places. I also saw several small herds of them, out of
which I shot two bucks, on the top of the hills to the north-west
of Machako's station. These had evidently been driven u]) into
the hills by the grass fires in the plains, which had destroyed
every particle of covert. The reed-bucks give a shrill whistle
when disturbed, and are very shy and difficult to stalk. Fhey,
however, lie close when in long grass, and will sometimes allow

■

V t

298

BIG GAME SHOOTING

the sportsman to approach within twenty or thirty yards of them,
when they rush off at such a pace that, as their colour very
closely resembles the dry grass, they are difficult to hit. 'Vhey
go about in small herds of three or four, but more often in
couples or quite alone.

GRANT'S GAZELLE

The Grantii (Swahili name, ' .Sala,' or ' Swara ') is met with
almost everywhere in the plains and open bush country. It
and the impala are perhaps the most beautiful of all the smaller
antelopes, and both arc among the most coveted trophies of the
sportsman.

In the Rombo and Useri plains the horns of this antelope

grow to a much greater length
than anywhere else that I
know of. Thirty inches along
the curve is the length of the
record head, but horns of
26 ins. in length are by no
means unusual in this locality.
In other parts of the country
a buck with horns 24 ins. in
length would be considered
to carry a first-rate head.

These antelopes are found
in herds of from three or four
up to fifteen or twenty, though
I have seen as many as sixty
in one herd at Machako's.

Adult and iiiiinatiiro (iazclla (Jrantii

TIIOMSON'.S GAZELLE

The ' ThomsoHi' in habits is very like the G. Grantii^ but
as a rule is found in rather larger herds. Single bucks of this
species are, however, more often seen than single Grantii
bucks. At Lake Naivasha, in July 1890, 1 saw a large herd of
some sixty head, conii)osc'<l entirely of docs, and in the same

ANTELOPES

299

place, in September of the previous year, I saw a herd of some
thirty or forty beasts, every one of which was a buck ; but I do
not think that this can be taken as evidence that the bucks and
does separate at certain seasons of the year, as on the same
days on which I saw these two herds I also saw others in which
the bucks and does were together. A Thomsoiii is a confiding
little beast, and, except in places close to a well-beaten
caravan route, where it has been constantly shot at, can be
easily approached within 120 yards with ordinary care and
perseverance, even in the most open and covertless places.
These beasts appear to be confined almost entirely to the
Masai country, as I have not heard of their having been seen
east of the Sigarari plains to the south of Kilimanjaro, or
south of the Useri river and the head-waters of the Tsavo.
I saw none at Njemps near Lake Baringo, or in Turkwel and
Ngaboto in the Suk country, though G. Grantii was plentiful in
all these places.

I'KTERS' GAZELLE

Gazel/ci Fctcrsi (known to the Swahilis also as ' Sala ')
may be a local variety of G. Grantii rather than a distinct
species. It used to be jilentiful nt Merereni on the coast, and
is still found further inland in the Galla country. It is cer-
tainly a smaller beast than G. Grantii from Kilimanjaro or
Machako's, but in other respects is almost identical, excepting
in the shape and size of the horns, which I have never known
to exceed 22 ins. in length measured along the curve. Their
horns are also straighter, and have not nearly such a pronounced
backward curve as those of the (P/vf ///■//, neither do they diverge
towards the points so much, being rarely more than seven or
eight inches apart at the widest parts. G. Petersi is found in
the small open plains and open scrub.

',«■:■

ABVSSINL\N ORIBI

'I'he Abyssinian C)ribi(Swahili, 'Taya')is, I ijelieve, not found
l(j the s(Hith of U[)[)er Kavirondo. Between the river Nzoia

;oo

BIG GAME SHOOTING

and the base of Mount l^^lgon it is fairly i)lentiful, as also in
Turkwel. In habits it differs from its East African congener
in one respect only, not appearing to be so partial to long grass, .
but being confined nioie to rough stony ground and short
scrubby bush. This gives the sportsman a chance of seeing it
at a distance, and an opportunity of stalking it which the oribi
of the coast very rarely affords, unless the grass in which they
usually lie has lately been burnt.

KAST AFRICAN ORII'.I

'I'he Kast African Oribi (also known to the Swahilis as 'Taya')
I have found more plentiful on the mainland near Lainu than
anywhere else. Sir llobert Harvey and Mi. Hunter, in October
and November i88S, also found it in fair numbers u[) the Tana
river. 1 have never seen it myself south of the Sabaki, though
d-'^-'btless it is to be met in suitable places. At Merereni
where the country seems admirably suited to its habits,
although 1 was shooting there fur some time in i<SS5 and i8S6,
I never saw one, though some lifteen miles further south, near
Mambrui, I observed its spoor. This confirmed me in my theory
that the oribi is very |)artial to the vicinity of cultivated tracts,
and I do not remember having seen Jiie in an uninhabited
district. .\t Taka, a small village on the m.. inland ooposite
Patta island, I saw great nunrners in 1885.

In the vicinity of this village there was u great deal of land
which at one time had been under cultivation, but was then
lying fallow and cover 2d with coarse dry grass, about two feet
high. This aflorded excelK ' covert, and, as the colour of these
little antelopes closely resembles that of dry grass, it was very
difficult to see them. Ilxcept in one wa\', stalking them was
(juile hopeless. I found that the only [ilan to get them was
to walk them Uf) with one or tv. .) beater:; on each side of me,
and shoot them vvith a gun loaded with S.S.( 1. shot. They lie so
close that they will let the sportsman get within ten or fifteen
yards of them before they will move, but they rarely gi\e him a
chance of a shol under forty to f'fty yards. When they first get

ANTELOPES

.301

up it is only possible to follow their movements by the waving
of the grass. It is necessary, however, always to be prepared
for a snap-shot, as after going some twenty to thirty yards they
will bound up into the air, offering a capital chance, which may
be the only one, as they will be out of range before they again
appear in a like manner. This bounding into the air is, I
believe, to enable them to see where they are going to, and
it is a curious fact that when they alight they invariably do so
on their liind legs, not unlike a kangaroo.

An oribi, even when only slightly wounded, will, as a rule,
go a very short distance before lying down, and the sportsman
should, therefore, be careful to follow up all those that bethinks
he may have touched.

STEI.nDUCK

The Steinbuck (Swahili name, ' Ishah ') is better known to
some sportsmen as the 'grass antelope.' It is more plentiful
at Kilimanjaro than elsewhere, though I have seen a good
many all along the caravan route, wherever it passes through
opt.T grass country, between Moml.a'^aand Nzoi in Ukambani.
This little anteloiie is the smallest found in the oj)en plain. It is
a stupid little beast, and re(}uires very little stalking to outwit it.
It will often stand gazing at anyone wiio approaches, and allow
him to walk up to within 100 yards of it. I once witnessed a
most interesting sight in which one of these little bucks played
an important part. It was being hunted by two cheetahs
(hunting leopards). This occurred on the low hills west of
Machako's. As I was walking along the side of a steep hill, I
saw four cheetahs cross a dry watercourse at the bottom and
ascend i\alf-way up the side of the opposite hill, when they lay
down and began gambolling like kittens. .\bout half-way
belwi'cn the top of th ' hill wwd the cheetahs was a pile of huge
rocky boulders, and thinking that they would in all probability
make for these, and lie up in the shade of them during the heat
of the day, 1 hurried roimd, making a wide circuit, to tht; back
of the hill. On looking down from the top I had the satis-

jl
li

ill

302

BIG GAMF. SHOOTING

faction of seeing the cheetahs still in the same place, and gained
the boulders without any difliculty. My gun-bearer and I then
took up our position under a small thorn-tree, which was
growing in a crevice of the largest boulder. As this afforded
us a certain amount of shade, we awaited events there, hoi)ing
that the cheetahs would come in our direction when it became
too hot for them in the ojien. In about half an hour, during
which time they still continued to play and roll about, I noticed
that their attitude sudilenly changed. All four stood up and
gazed fixedly in my direction, and I feared that an eddy in
the wind had caused them to scent us ; but on having a U.ok at
them with my binoculars I was delighted to see that they were
not looking directly at me, but rather to the left of me, and on
turning my head I saw a steinbuck (juietly feeding some 150
yards off to my left, on the same level as myself. I then turned
my attention to the cheetahs, which for a short time stood nil
together, and 1 concluded, from the difference in their si/e, that
there was one male and three females. Only two of them,
however, took up the hunt, the male and a female. These
advanced by short rushes, and not by a stealthy <rawl like a
couple of lions which I saw stalking some elands, described else-
where, neither did they both advance at the s.ime time ; the
male always took the lead, and after each rush, in a crouch-
ing i)osition, squatted down and waited until the female saw
her op[)ortunity to get u|i level with him. In this manner they
approached within 160 yards of the steinbuck (it struck me
they could have easily got (onsiderably nearer) when they both
ran in, and were within 100 yards before the little buck looked
up, and, seeing them ( oming, without the slightest hesitation
bolted straight uphill as hard as it could go. The cheetahs,
however, were more than a match for it in pace. As tliey laid
themselves out llat to the ground they gained at each stride,
and I expected every second to see the male, which was leading
by some few yards, run into the buck ; but when only about
ten yards off the plucky little buck doubled sharp tt» the left,
th.rowing off its pursuer, which iimnediately gave u|) the chj.ije.

ANTELOPES

303

The female, however, then took up the running, but had not
the pace of her companion, and the httle antelope, which now
kept a diagonal course up the hillside, gained the top, still
followed 1))' the cheetah, which was only a few yards behind,
and they both disapi)eared from view on the other side. As
the male lay where he had given up the running, the other two
females which had remained behind joined him, and the ground
being far too open to attempt a stalk I waited, still in the
hope that they would make for the boulders. In this I was dis-
appointed, for in a few minutes I saw the female reapi)ear over
the top of the hill, about 300 yards off, and was delighted to
see that she had failed to catch the steinbuck ; but, instead of
coming down to the others, she took up a position on the top
of an ant-heap, sitting up like a huge cat, when her companions
saw her and went up to her ; they all disappeared over the
top of the hill, and I eventually lost them in the bush and long
grass on the other side.

WATKRIJUCK

The \Vaterbuck (Swahili name, ' Kuru ') is common every-
where south of Lake IJaringo, near fresh water, and is also
found in the vicinity of a good many of the salt-water creeks on
the coast. It is particularly plentiful on the banks of the Tana
river, and in the Kilimanjaro district on the banks of the
Weri W'eri. Like most bush-loving antelopes, it is fairly easy
to stalk, but is a very tough beast and takes a good deal of killing
if not hit in the right place. Its llesh, though much relisheil by
the natives, is coarse and exceedingly rank — indeed that of an old
bull is almost uneatable. Near the coast it is generally found in
thick bush, unless the s[)orlsman is up very early and out by
daylight, when he may find it on its feeding-ground in the open.
Up country, where it is less hunted, it is more partial to park-
liki' and open bush country. On the banks of the W'eri W'eri
herds t)f fifteen to twenty were not unconunon, but the ordinary
herd consists of a bull and three or four cows. Single bulls are
also constantly met with. The waterbuck is a grass feeder.

v.\

304

BIG GAME SHOOTING

THE SING-SING
The Sing-Sing (also known to the natives as ' Kuru ')
resembles the waterbuck in habits, but is easily distinguished
from it by its darker colour, and by a considerable amount of
rufous hair on the top of the head, as well as by an entirely
white rump in place of the elliptical white band of the other.
The horns are also as a rule longer and more massive than
those of the waterbuck, the horns of the latter never growing
to the size they do in South Africa. It is not met with until
near Lake Baringo, and extends west to Ugandn, where it was
first obtained by Captains Si)eke and Grant. It is fairly
plentiful in the open bush country of Turkwel ; but it does not
appear to go about in such large herds as the waterbuck. I
have nevei jcen more than five or six together, and more often
a bull and two or three cows.

TIIK GRKATEK KUDU

The Greater Kudu is a rare beast in East Africa, and is only
found in certain places. 'I'here are always a few in the Teita
country west of Ndara and Kisigao and on the banks of the
Tsavo river, down which it ranges from the head- waters to
the Sabaki, and then north up the .\thi river. All these places
are more or less undulating, very rough, dry, and stony, and
covered with thick bush.

LKSSEK KUDU

The Lesser Kudu (Swahili, 'Kungu') is very plentiful on tiie
banks of the Tana river. In 1885 86 it was also numerous at
Merereni, on the coast. A few are found in suitable places
near Taveta, and as far west as the Sogonoi hills in German
territory. They a|)i)ear, however, to be confineil [)rincipally to
the belt of dry bush country extending from the coast for
about 100 miles inland, and I think that very few of them
range west of the Masai country. 1 was told by Messrs.
Ilobley and liird-Thoinpson, on their return from a trip up the

ANTELOPES

305

Tana river in 1891, that many of these antelopes had fallen
victims to the cattle disease (anthrax), and that they found
several dead in the bush between the river and the northern
boundaries of Ukambani. These beautiful beasts are bush feeders.
They should be sought for in the early morning, and again in the
evening in the open bush which usually fringes thick bush, in
which they take up their quarters for the day. They are gene-
rally found in small parties of two or three does and a buck,
though, like the bush-buck, both single bucks and does are
often seen by themselves. At Merereni, in 1886, I witnessed
a light between two bucks. On emerging from the bush I
suddenly came across them, and watched them for about a
(piarler of an hour as they fought with great fury, in spite of
my being to windward of them, and not more than 400 yards
off at the time. 'i'hey fought so furiously, and kept their
heads together so l(jng, that I thought they had got their horns
locked together, and I attempted to take advantage of them
whilst in this position, and ran across the sandy open space
intervening between us, but before I got within range they
separated and bolted. The jumping powers of the lesser
kudu are simply marvellous. When 1 first went to Africa, I
kept a rei:ord of the length of the strides of the various
game-beasts when at full galIo[), but unfortunately lost it, and
never took it up again. 1 rememlier, however, measuring the
jump of one of these beasts, which struck me at the time as
being very wonderful. She had been chased by a ln;v.'na
along a narrow footpath in dense bush. In the middle of the
path there was a thick green bush about 5 ft. high, round
which the [)ath took a turn, and then went straight on again.
The kudu had taken a llying leap over this bush, ami the
distance between the spoor of her hind feel where she took off
and the edge of the bush was 15 ft. The diameter cf the bush
was () ft., and the distance from the edge of the bush on the
further sitle to where she l.mded — i.e. to the spoor marks of
her hind feet — another 10 ft., in all 31 ft. The hy;ena had
given up the chase some thirty yards further on, where the
I. X

^1)

3o6

BIG GAME SHOOTING

kudu had entered the bush. The note of alarm of this beast
is a distinct and loud bark, much resembling that of an ' old
man ' baboon. Lesser kudu appear to bark only when they
scent danger but are unable to see it. As I have said before,
many natives will not touch the flesh of this beast, as it causes
them great pain in the mouth and gums.

BUSH-HUCK

The Bush-buck (Swahili, 'Mbawara') is common everywhere
on the coast, and I have seen it as far west as the edge of Mau
forest. In habits it much resembles the lesser kudu, but, as a
rule, is found in much thicker bush, and where all vegetation
is more luxuriant. Although 1 have seen great numbers of
bush-bucks, I have never noticed nv j than two together, except
on one occasion wheai I saw a male and two females ; but
animals of either sex are more usually found by themselves.
They are rarely seen out in the open or far from thick covert.
They are often found day after day in, or quite near to, the
same spot.

IMPALA

The Impala (Swahili name, ' Nswala ') is not, I believe, known
on the coast, though some sixty miles inland it is met with in
small herds. At Adda and in the Teita country it is plentiful,
and is found as far north as Turkwel, in suitable localities. It
is never seen very far from water, and is partial to park-like,
open bush and thinly-wooded country. The best heads I have
ever seen have been obtained between Lakes Naivasha and
Baringo, particularly in the vicinity of the small salt lake Elma-
teita, where these beautiful beasts inhabit the open woods of
juniper-trees.

Impalas congregate in herds varying from eight or ten up
to 150 in number. In the small herds there is usually only
one adult buck, but in the larger herds there are several.
I have seen herds cxiinposed entirely of bucks. On account of
the nature of the ground which they usually frequent they are

ANTELOPES

307

fairly easy to stalk. When alarmed they have a curious habit
of bounding up into the air, and present an amusing sight when
many of them are jumping about at the same time. In common
with many other bush-loving antelopes, they often have diffi-
culty in making out the direction whence a shot comes,
and if the sportsman takes care to keep out of sight he may
get several shots before they finally make off. The impala is a
grass feeder,

LITIIOCRANIUS WALLEKI

The Walleri is plentiful on the banks of the Tana river,
and there are a fair number at Merereni. It is also found
in the Kilimanjaro district. The
East African walleri is very much
smaller than the one found in the
Somali country. There is no mis-
taking this antelope for any other,
on account of its extraordinarily long
and thin neck, which in a fully adult
buck, killed by myself at Merereni,
was only 10 ins. in circumference ;
two females measured 7 ins. each
round the neck. When walking and
seen at a distance they look not un-
like pigmy giraffes, as they carry their
long necks stretched out at an angle. The Walleri

They fretjuent the open bush fringing

the outskirts of dense thickets, into which they at once retreat
on being disturbed. Their note of alarm is a low short 'buzz !'
The Walleri is essentially a bush feeder. At Merereni I once
watched a doe feeding on a small-leaved bush, not unlike
the privet in appearance, and several times saw her rear u[) on
her hind-legs, bend down a branch with her forelegs, and
feed on the leaves in this upright position like a goat. This
quaint- looking little antelope, like the bush-buck, will haunt
one particular spot, and may be seen in or ([uite near to

3o8

BIG GAME SHOOTING

it for weeks together. The sportsman, if encamped near a
place where he has seen one of them in the morning, but has
been unable to get a shot at it, may have a very fair chance
of finding it feeding about the same place if he goes out again
in the evening between five o'clock and sundown, keeping
close to the edge of thick bush. These bucks are very shy,
and by no means easy to stalk ; and as they have a happy
knack of hiding behind bushes in the most effective manner,
they are very ditficult to see.

THE DUVKER

The Duyker (Swahili name, ' Ngruvu ') is found throughout
British East Africa, and I have shot it as far west as Tunga's
in Upper Kavirondo. At Taveta it frequents the low stony
hills covered with long grass and short scrub. On the coast
it is found in open bush country, and also in low scrub and
grass some eighteen inches high. Unless this covert has been
lately burnt, the duyker rarely gives the sportsman the chance
of stalking it. All the duyker I have myself got have been
killed with a shot gun and B.B. shot ; but as a duyker is very
tough I should recommend sportsmen to use S.S.O., which
would lessen the chance of their getting away wounded. A
duyker when in covert lies very close, and will almost allow
itself to be trodden on, when it will go off with such a rush and
noise through the long grass that the sportsman nu'ght be led
to believe that it was a bush-pig or something ecjually large
until he caught a glimpse of it thirty to forty yards off. This
glimpse will probably be his only chance of a shot at it.

The Red Duyker, or ' bush-buck,' as it is more commonly
called liy the few sportsmen who have shot it, was iirst
ol)tained by Sir Robert Harvey in 1887 on the forest-clad
banks of the river Lumi. He unfortunately blew its head off
with the '577 Express bullet and did not keep the skin. Later
on 1 devoted ten days exclusively to hunting this rare and very
local little beast m Kahe forest west of Taveta, and had the

tarn

ANTELOPES

3C9

good fortune to bag two good bucks, from which this new
species was dcscril)ed. This buck is entirely confined to dense
forests or forest-clad watercourses. It is very shy, and owing
to the nature of the ground it frequents is very difficult to ap-
proach, as the sportsman has great difficulty in moving along
silently on account of the ground being thickly covered with
dead leaves. Added to this it is very hard to see, as its
colour, in the shade, assimilates so closely to its surroundings.
It is very solitary in its habits, and I have never come across
more than one nt .1 time.

The Mountain Duyker has so far only been obtained by Dr.
Abbot, the x\merican naturalist, who secured one specimen on
Kilimanjaro at an elevation of 9,000 to 10,000 ft. It is highly
probable that it may also be found at high altitudes on Mounts
Renia, Elgon, and Ruwenzori, and on this sui)position I include
it as a British East African species.

BLUE BUCK

The Blue Buck is a little beast which I have only found
in one place — in the dense undergrowth of bush in the Witu
forest near Lamu. I believe it is also met with in the small
forest belts in Uganda.' In habits it much resembles the paa
{Aeotragus Kirkii and Naaotra^us moschafus), and is known to
the natives of Lamu and Witu by that name.

Till-: RLIl'Sl'RINCER

The Klipspringer is only found in rocky broken ground on
the slopes of some of the hills and large ' earth boils ' from
Teita to Turkwel. It would probably have to be specially
sought for, as there is little or no other game to attract the
s[)ortsman to its rocky strongholds.

' Tlu' sniiill Cdalolop/ius tVuiii L'g.uul.i lias lately Ijei'ti ilescribod as a new
species of C. Ci/uoforialis.

3IO

BIG GAME SHOOTING

THE I 'A A

The Paa {N. Kirkii) is found throughout East Africa in
thick and open bush on dry sandy soil. It is exceedingly
plentiful on Manda island opposite Lamu, Merereni, the thick
bush east of Taveta, and again in Ngaboto in the Suk country.
It is the smallest of the East African antelopes, and is usually
bagged with a shot-gun and No. 5 shot, as it darts about
among the bush and scrub like a rabbit. The flesh of this
little beast has a strong flavour of musk and is very disagreeable
to eat at all times, but in the rutting season is altogether un-
eatable ; the natives, howev r, revel in it. Its note of alarm
's between a shrill whistle and a scream. It feeds on the
leaves of various shrubs, and doubtless its curious little pre-
hensile nose is admirably adapted to securing its food. The
paa is found throughout the year in the driest and most arid
wildernesses, where for several months there is neither rain nor
even a drop of standing water for many miles round. It is
therefore quite evident that the juices of the vegetation on
which it feeds and the dews at night are sufficient for its
requirements. The best way to obtain this little beast is to take
three or four men to act as beaters, and they must thoroughly
beat every bush at all likely to hold a buck, as it is in the habit
of lying very close and takes a good deal to move it, but when
once started affords capital snap shots.

(JRAVE ISLAND CAZKLLE

The N. moschatiis, commonly known as ' Clrave Island
gazelle,' derives this name from being for a long time only
obtained on a small island in Zanzibar harbour on which the
English cemetery is situated. How this little antelope got on
to this and another small island no one knows, as it is not at
present known to exist on the islands of Zanzibar or Pemba.
It is, however, found in the thick bush behind Frere Town,
the Church Mission station al Mombasa, and also in the

ANTELOPES

311

Durum. I country. It is, like the paa, a bush-feeder, and requires
little or no water.

THE SITATUNGA

I might add another species to the already long list of British
East African antelopes— the Sitatunga {Trage/aphtis Spekei).
My friend Mr. Gedge, in a letter to the ' Times ' from Uganda,
mentions that he shot several antelopes of a species which he
concludes to be the sitatunga on an island in Victoria Nyanza,
but until he returns t:o England
with a specimen his inference
cannot be verified.'

In conclusion, a few remarks
on the climate of British East
Africa and the expenses of a
shooting trip may be of use.

The climate, taking it all
round, is good. On the coast,
where the temperature in the
shade ranges between 82° and
86° (Fahr.) throughout the year,
the climate is, on account of
the moist atmosphere, rather re-
laxing. In the vicinity of man-
grove swamps it is malarious, more especially if there are large
expanses of reeking mud-flats exposed at low tide, alive with
thousands of small crabs, which bore into the mud and let out
the poisonous gases. When an elevation of 1,200 to 3,000 ft.
is reached the climate is delightful, as between eight and
nine o'clock a.m., if not before, a cool breeze generally springs
up, and the heat is rarely excessive, excepting in such places as
are sheltered from the wind. The nights are cool and refresh-
ing, often (juite chilly, when an ulster or warm dressing-gown

B. sencgalensis

' It lias now been vt-ritiod U\m\ s|H>cinieiis obt.iincil liy C'a|)tiiiii W. II.
Williams. R.A.

mmsm

3»3

n/G GAME SHOOTING

is almost a necessity. Higher up still, from 5,000 to 6,000 ft.
(the altitudes of the Athi plains and vicinity of Lake Naivasha),
and up to- 8,000 and 9,000 ft. (the altitudes of Lykepia and
Mau), it is quite cold at night. At Mianzini in Se[)tcml)cr
1 889 the thermometer registered 6° of frost.

In the matter of health the amount of exercise that the sports-
man will have to take will do far more to keep him fit and well
than anything else. Care should, however, be taken to avoid
chills, and any unnecessary exposure to the sun, as fever con-
tracted up country is more often to be attributed to one of these
causes than to malaria. The com[)laints to which Europeans
are most liable are fever, dysentery, diarrhcca, sun headache
(which often develops into fever), for which Anti-pyrine is an
excellent remedy, and ulcerated sores from scratches and
abrasions.

With regard to snakes and other noxious creatures, there
are many of them, and of many varieties. Most of the snakes
are non-poisonous, but there are several, including a species of
green whip-snake, a large black water- snake, a cobra, a small
viper, and the puff-adder, which are very poisonous. The last
of these, and perhaps the most deadly, is also the most common,
and is often met with both when out shooting and when the
ground is being cleared for camping. These little * disagree-
ables,' however, are rarely, if ever, thought about, otherwise
life in East Africa would be intolerable. It is very rarely that
one hears of anyone being bitten, and I only know of three
instances, all the victims being porters, who are of course
more liable to such misfortunes owing to their going about
bare-legged. In case of an accident a bottle of ammonia
should always be included in the medicine-chest, and perman-
ganate of potash used hypodermically is also said to be an
excellent remedy. A syringe and glass cylinder to hold a
solution of the latter, fitted into a handy little pocket-case,
can always be carried.

The expense of an expedition entirely depends on the
number of sportsmen forming the party, and on their individual

ANTELOPES

313

re(][uirements, some men being more luxurious than others.
Roughly speaking a caravan of fifty porters, five askaris, and a
headman will cost ''S^. a month, and this will include cost of
trade-goods to buy food. It does not, however, include inter-
])rcters, cook, tent-boy, or gun- bearers, whose wages vary
according to their qualifications ; neither does it include arms
and ammunition for the men. Interpreters receive the same
food allowance (' posho ')as head-men ; cooks and tent-l)oys the
same as askaris. If two or more sportsmen go out together,
their individual expenses would be a little less than if they had
gone alone. There are very few places, however, where four
men can comfortably shoot from the same camp without
interfering with each other's sport, although it can be managed
by three. If a party is made up of four guns, I should recom-
mend them to divide, on arriving at their head-quarters, and
shoot in different localities from two camps.

»■

314

/i/h uAAfE SHOOTJNG

CHAITER WII

THl. I.ION IX SOUTH AlKK A
My F. C. Ski.oL'S

I\ liiosc districts of Southern Africa vDailc hisiuric by the
st'/rring nairativcs of Sir CornwalHs Ilanis and Gordon
Cununing, where but half a century ago every species of wild
game native to iha'. part of the world, from the ponderous
elephant to the graceful springbuck, was to be niet witii in
such surprising nmnbers tlvil vast tracts of country assumed
vlho ap[)earancc of huge zoological gardens, one may now tra\el
for days without seeing a single wild animal. In IJritish Hedi-
uanalaiul the elephant and the rhinoceros are as extinct as the
nianiinoth in i''ng!;\nd, and the myrivids of zel)ras and ante
lopes wliich Sir (Jornwallis Harris saw dail) scouring the plains
in conminglcd herds are now only represented by a few
Rcaltered f^utebeests, blesbucks, and gemsbucks, which still
exist in the country bordermg on the Kalahari desert. 'I'he
high veldt of the Transvaal too, once black with innmnerable
herds of rvildebeests, blesbuck ,, and springbucks, is at the
present day for the sportsman or the na uralist a dn-ary waste,
more devoid of animal life probably thar. an\ otlier sparsily
po{iul"ted country in the world. Witii the antelopes and
buffaloes the beasts of prey have disappeari-d too, and \\\ many
districts where fifty years ago (he magnificent music of tlh.^ lions
roar was the travt-ller's constant lullaby, no sound now dis-
turbs the silence of the night, esrriit indeed the ceaseless
'•attic of the (iuart/.-<rushing machinery in the mining districts.

onOOr OF aODtll AHKICAN ANIKLOrKsi

■^

rilE LION IN SOUTH J r RICA

515

Yet, HI si)itc t)f the total disaijpcarance of the game in
certain districts, it would he a great mistake to say that there
is no more big game in Southern Africa ; for if we take, as I
think one fairly may, South Africa to mean all the country
south of the great Zambesi river, then with the single excep-
tion of the true quagga {E</uns (juagga), which is vmdoubtedly
extinct, every wiid animal encountered by travellers in the
early j)art of this century may still be met with ; for the great
S(iuare-mouthed rhinoceros (K. Simus) yet lingers in northern
Mashonaland ; elephants and blrrk rhinoceros (A*, hiconiis)
are still numerous in certain districts ; whilst as for buffaloes,
zebras, and various species of antelopes, it is difficult to
believe that these animals ever existed in greater numbers in
Tiechuanaiand than may still be seen in South-I'Lastern Africa,
in the neighbourhood of the Pungwe river. Here, too, lions
are still numerous ; so much so that during a period of six
weeks spent by the writer in this district last year, 1S92, not one
single night passed that they wen.- not heard roaring, whilst upon
several occasions three or four different troops of them roared
round the camp at the same time.

As it is impossible within the limits of a single chapter to
give a detailed account of all the rich and varied fauna of
ScMth Africa, I will now proceed to say a few words concerning
the animal to vdiich I have twice refern.'d, and whose skin is
the trophy most coveted by sportsmen. I am often asked, ' Is
tht lu)n .1 dangerous beast, or is he a cur ? " This is a difticult
question to answer, for not only do lions differ much individu-
ally in char icter one when encountered showing himself to be
an animal of a very cowardly nature, whilst another may prove
to be very hokl and savage but it would e\en seem that the
disposition of lions, in general, varies in the different large areas
of C(»untry ( ver which they range. Notliing has struck me more
than the differeni behaviour exhibited by lions encountered
i'i I'Aistern Africa during several years of travel by a frienil of
my own and thosi whiih I have* myst'If met . with in South
Africa. My friend is a careiul naturalist, an experienced

.: t

3i6

BIG GAMK S//OOT/AG

hunter, and a man of absolute reliability, and what he has told
me concerning the lions he has met with in Eastern Africa is
so different from my own ex[)erience that I can only conclude
that, speaking generally, those animals differ, as I say, in
character in different ])ortions of the continent ; and if that is
the case, my remarks will only apply to lions in Southern Africa,

I ought first to say, however, that though my experience
of lions is considerable, it is not as great as many peoi)le
might suppose. 1 have ne\er ml.sed an o[)portunity of
shooting them when it i)resented itself, but I have never
systematically hunted these animals. Thus, although I have
spent twenty years in the wilds of Africa, I have only shot
twenty-five lions when entirely by myself, though besides these
I have assisted at the shooting of eleven others, md helpetl to
skin eight more in whii:h there were no bullets of mine. The
greatest number '.f lions I have shot in one season is only
seven. Altogether this is a very poor record (•<)mi)ared to the
prodigious bags of lions made of late years in Somaliland by
Colonel Arthur I'aget. Lord Delanure, Clolonel Curtis, Lord
W'olverton and other llnglish sportsmen ; though I think that
there are portions of South [^astern Africa where e(iually large
bags nu;4lu be made, if one devoted oneself systematically to lion
hunting. Such as my experience has Ik-cu, however, 1 will
give it.

When lion^ .ire encountered in thedaytin>c, they will almo>t
invariably gi\c way. before the presence of man, even when
several re together feetling ui)on the caicase ol an animal
they have just killed, .md at a tinii when the'y are presumably
hungry. In jwrt- >f the country where firearms have bei'n
much used. lion> will sometimes ri-treat so rapidly when they
arc disturbed that it is next lo an impossibility to u^t a sh«' at
one. I remember one co! 1 cloudy winter's morning m Mashona
land cotnuig suddenly upon a male lion, as he was chasing a
small herd of koodoo cows. When he observed me. heat v'mhv
stopped .md ga/.ed fixedly at me for just one instant of <i»iK*,
and then, wheeling round, went olT through the forest at su« h a

rilE LION IN SOUTH AFRICA

317

pace that, had T not been well mounted, I should never have
seen him again. As it was I galloped after him, and when he
found that my horse was gaining on him. he stopped and stood
at bay, when I shot him. In {)nrls of the country where they
have been but little disturbed, lions will only walk slowly away
when unexpectedly encountered in the daytime, often turning
round and ga/ing fixedly at the intruder, and scmLtimcs growl-
ing .savagely and twitching their tails angrily the while. A
lioness with cubs, or a savage lion feeding at a carcase, will
occasionally come rushing forwards when disturbed, with every
demonstration of anger, and an apparent determination to
cha'-ge home. But in the great majority of even these excep-
tional cases such a demeanour would i)e nothing more than a
demonstration, only made in order to frighten the intruder
away ; and if the man were to stand his ground, the lion would
retreat. I remember an instam e of this. Two friends of
mine having shot some elephants on a Saturday, resolved to
take a rest on the following day. Early on the Sunday morn-
ing some of their Kafirs having gone up to cut some meat from
the carcase of one of the elephants, returned with the news that
there was a lion there that would not let them come near it.
Wood and Clarkson thereupon at once took their heavy old
muz/le-lt)a(ling elephaciguns, the only weapons they posses.scd,
and went to investigate. As they a])proa(hed the carcase,
Clarkson told me they could see nothing of the intruder and
thougiu he had decamped, but when they were .till some
hundred and fifl) yards distant, a magnificent ilark-m mcd lion
suddenly appeared from behind the dead elephani, and came
rushing towards them, holding his head low between his
.shoulders, twitching his tail from side to side and growling
Shivagely, and looking as if he meant to chaige hone. He only
came on for about fifty yards however, and then stood growl-
ing, and:, as my friends said, looked grand in his fury.

(%rkson had dropped on his knee to get a steadier shot
w#J his heavy elephant gun, but Wood, who was an old and
very experienced hunter, said, ' l>on'lfire, Malt ; lei him come

3i8

BIG GAME SHOOTING

nearer.' Clarkson thereupon took his gun from his shoulder
and waited. Suddenly he told me the lion, after having stood
for some seconds looking the picture of rage and determination
not to give way, stopped growling, and turning (juickly round,
made a bolt through the forest, past the carcase of the elephant,
just as hard as he could go. No one fired at him, as heavy
elephant guns were not suitable weapons for shooting ([uickly
at a comparatively small animal moving rapidly amongst the
stems of trees, and so .his lion got off scot free. He had only
tried to frighten my friends away from the carcase at which he
was feeding, but whether if a single unarmed man had come
near him he might not have bitten him it is hard to say.
During the second year of the occupation of Mashonaland,
a prospector named Jones, having lost a donkey, walked out
from Salisbury along the main road to look for it. Before he
had proceeded far, and when he was still in sight of the huts
and houses of the township, he came upon a dead donkey
lying near the roadside, and thinking it might be the animal he
was in search of, went to examine it, when a lioness by whom the
ass had been killed, and who was lying near the carcase, sprang
upon him, and seizing him by the shoulder, with her teeth
dragged him to the ground, and stood over him growling.
Fortunately for Mr. Jones, a young colonist named Swanapool,
a lad only fourtem years of age, was at that moment coming
along the road wiili a rifle in his hands, and he at once fired at
and killed the lioness before she had inflicted any further
injuries on her victim. Mr. Jones, however, had been badly
bitten in the shoulder, and was an inmate of the hospital at
Salisbury for some considerable time in consetiuence, Ihe
two anecdotes I have just related will serve to show that in
Southern Africa lions tlo not invariably at once Ix'at a retreat
when brought face to face with man in the daytnne. These
cases are, however, exceptional, and it may fairly be said that,
speaking generally, these great cats have a most whoksome
dread of the human biped, and avoid him as much as possible
by daylight, but when once the sun has set and I'ne darkness

THE LION IN SOUTH AFRICA

3'9

of night has come on, lions become bold and fearless, and
often, when urged on by hunger, incredibly reckless and daring.
It is by no means unusual for oxen to be seized at the yokes or
horses to be killed inside a stable, or when tied to the wheel of
a waggon ; whilst in Mashonaland alone four men were carried
off and eaten by lions during the first two years of the occupa-
tion of that country. One of these unfortunates was a young
man who was about to start a market-garden in the neighbour-
hoov.' of Umtali settlement. He had gone away with a cart and
four oxen to buy some native meal at one of the Kafir kraals,
and had outspaniied for the night at a spot about six miles dis-
tant from the little tow^nship. The oxen were tied up to the
yokes, and Mr. 'I'eale was lying asleej) under the cart, alongside
of a native, when a lion walked up, and, seizing him by the
shoulder, carried him off and killed and ate him. This lion, be
it noted, showed a refined taste in disregarding the oxen ana
the Kafir, and seizing the European. It is supposed that a
lion and a lioness took part in the feast. The lioness was sub-
sequently shot, and the head and one of the feet of the unfor-
tunate market-gardener recovered, but the lion escaped.

As an example of much greater boldness, let me relate the
following anecdote. In August 1892, Captain (xraham, the
resident magistrate of Umtali, visited Marauka's kraal with a
[)atrol of twelve mounted white men and a small native con-
tingent. A large camp was formed at the foot of the hill on
which Marauka's village was situated, the horses were tied on
a picket-line, and se\eral large fires were lighted in different
parts of the cam[). \\ the middle of the night a lioness walked
right past the outside fires, })assed close by two white men
who were covered by their blankets, and seized a native who
was lying alongside of a fire in the centre of the cam|). She
caught him by thr shoulder, dragged him past the outside fires,
and then dropping him, gave him some terrible bites about the
head and arm. The man had, of course, shouted out when he
was seized, and he retained his presence of mind in a marvel
lous manner, for when some o'i the white men approached

320

JUG GAME SHOOTING

with a lantern, he called out, 'Don't sh.oot now, the lion is lying
on me ' ; this was translated by the interpreter, and presently
the plucky fellow again spoke and said, ' Now fire, she's standing
up over me.' Three shots were then fired into the lioness, which
was very badly wounded, and ultimately killed the next morn-
ing. The wounded native was then pulled back into the camp,
but, though conscious, he was so terribly mutilated that he died
early the next day. The lioness was now /lors de combat, but two
young lions that were with her soon afterwards invaded the camp
and oltacked the horses tied on the ])icket-line. Five of these
broke away all tied together, and all '(wo. were more or less
scratched and bitten, two of them very severely. None were
killed, however, and ultimately all of them recovered. Later
on one of the young lions came back to the cami), and carried
off a saddle, which it tore all to pieces. When day broke, the
wounded lioness was shot, but the young lions had made off.
and were not seen. I have given this anecdote because I was
in Umtali shortly after the return of the patrol and sp(^ke with
all the men who had taken |)art in it, and saw the horses wuh
their wounds still unhealed, and the remnants of the saddle
that had been torn all to pieces. However, although in the
interior of South .Africa a certain number of natives are killed
annually i)y hungry lions, 1 do not think that these animals are
so destructive to human life as are tigers in India. Although
cases do occur, I think it very eACej)tional tor a lion to kill
human beings for food except when driven to it by hunger.
In the neighbourhood of the Pungwe river, where game of all
kinds abounds, and where lions are also very numerous, the
natives assured me that the licjns never troubled them ; l)ut in
Northern Mashonaland, where game is comi)aratively scarce, the
lions in i8S6 became so dangerous, and carried off so many
women whilst they were working in their cornfields, that the
few scattered fanulies of Mashunas living in the district to the
ntjrlhof i,o Magondi's deserted the country. Old lions, whose
bodily powers are on the wane, are probably the most dan-
gerous. When they can no longer catch and pull down wild

THE LION IN SOUTH AFRICA

531

animals, they approach the native villages and prey on the
goats and dogs, and if they are not destroyed soon take to
killing women and children. In countries where both game
and lions abound, I presume that the old and weakly lions can
always get a living, like the hyainas, on the remains of the
carcases of animals killed by younger and more vigorous
animals. As man is not the lion's usual food, most lions
would probably give way before a human being even on a (la:k
night and allow him to pass unmolested, provided they were
not hungry ; but were a man to come within the ken of a
hungry lion under such circumstances I should look upon him
as a dead man whether he were armed or not, for tlie lion
would probably spring upon him suddenly from behind and
give him no time to make use of his weapon. Therefore I
look upon it as foolhardy in the extreme to walk along a road
or a native fo()tj)ath, on a dark night, in countries which are
'nfested by lions, if you can avoid doing so. \'ou may walk
twenty times at night before meeting a lion at all ; and you
may meet twenty lions before encountering a re.dly hungry
animal ; but when you do at last meet him, he will, most
assuredly, be the last lion that you will have any knowledge of
in this world.

There is an old fable, still believed in more or less, that the
lion is a very clean feeder, and that he will eat nothing but the
flesh of an animal that he has killed himself. That has not
been my experience. On the c(jntrary, 1 have found that, even
where game abounds, lions will seldom pass the carcase of an
animal killed l)y a hunter, but will almost invariably feed on
it, even though the flesh be ([uite putrid. Sometimes when
.several elephants have been shot, lions will feast on the stink-
ing carcases as long as there is any soft meat left, and I have
known this to happen in a country where game of various kinds
was plentiful, es])ecially zebras, which are always a favourite
food of lions. However, although the lion is not a clean feeder
in the sense that he will only eat fresh meat, he is wonderfully
dexterous in disembowelling a carcase, without messing the

I. V

■IPF

322

BIG GAME SHOOTING

meat. When Kafirs kill an animal and out it up, they almost
invariably tear open the paunch and intestines and spill the
contents over the meat, making everNthiiiLj; in such a filthy
mess that some people- would lose all ajjpetite at the very
sight of it ; but lions invariably remove the interior economy
of their victims with a surprising neatness, and without defiling
the meat in any way. When they have killed an animal, they
will sometimes commence feeding on the soft meat of the
inside of the buttocks, tearing the carcase open at the anus ;
but in nine cases out of ten they work through the thin skin
of the tlank, at the inside of the hind leg, and then '■emove the
paunch and entrails. After this they eat the heart, liver, lungs,
and kidneys ; next, as a rule, they attack the buttocks and tear
off the soft meat in mouthfuls, swallowing it in great lumps,
often with the skin attached. If the animal they have killed
is Hit, they will eat the whole brisket, bones and all, and also
chew off all the ends of the ribs, but they never swallow any of
the larger and harder bones. Tie i)aunch and entrails are
almost invariably left untouched, atu! are often covered over
with earth and grass. lUit there are exceptions to every rule,
and I think it is indis|)utable that in some cases lions will eat
both the entrails and the paunch of an animal they have
killed.

In .March 1.S92, whilst examining the couiur) between
Manica and the East coast, in company with Mr. JesserCoope,
wiib. a view to laying out a m.-w waggon road between Umtali
township and tlie railwa\' terminus, we came suddenly upon
the remains of a buffalo which had been killed only a few
hours i)reviously by a number of lions. These animals must
hvive heard us a[)i)roaching, and only retreated into the long
grass just as we rode up, and as the whole country was covered
with grass eight feet high all pursuit was hopeless. Judging
by the number of distinct ' lay places ' round the carcase of
the buffalo, which were ten in number, there must eitiier have
been ten lions, or five, each of whi(_h had lain down in two
different places. 'I'he latter number, I think, is ihe true esti-

THE LION IN SOUTH AFRICA

323

mate, and the party prol)ably consisted of an old lion and four
lionesses, as there were no cub spoors. The carcase of the
buffalo, from which almost all the meat had been eaten, had
been disembowelled in the usual neat and cleanly manner, and
at a distance of some ten yards off it stood two mounds, ap-
parently of earth and grass. I pointed these out to my young
friend, and said, ' The lions have buried the paunch and entrails
of the buffalo beneath those mounds.' This work had been
done most effectually, a space of several yards scjuare having
i)een cleared of grass, all of which, together with a great deal of
earth, had been piled up on the two mounds. Wishing to sit
up that night and watch over the carcase, we did not at the
moment disturb the earth and grass-covered heaps or do any-
thing which might have aroused the suspicions of the lions, but
rode back to our waggon, and returning at once with some
Kafirs built a shelter at the foot of a tree, a few yards from the
carcase of the buffalo, in which Mr. Jesser Coope and myself
took up our positions for the night, the Kafirs returning to the
waggon. However, strange to say, the lions never put in an
appearance, and so our watch was in vain and we neither saw
nor heard anything more of them. On the following morning
I commenced to turn over the heaps in which I thc^ught the
paunch and entrails were hidden, in order to get some of the
large horned dung beetles which are common in this part of
Africa, and I very soon found to my surpris- that, though the
vegetable contents of the paunch and entrails had been hidden
from view, there was no animal matter there whatever, so that
I cannot but conclude that in this instance, at any rate, the
liens had eaten all the animal |)ortions of the paunch and
ei trails of a recentlv killed animal.

Two instances have come under my notice of lions eating
the remains of one of their own species, and I think that when
hungry they would never be above such acts of cannibalism, but
they would probably prefer something else, just as a shipwrecked
sailor would prefer Polar bear to a steak off the comrade who
had drawn the fatal lot. But with lions, as with shipwrecked

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BIG GAME SHOOTING

sailors, necessity knows no law, and I don't think any the
worse of them because they are occasionally driven to canni-
balism.

There has been much discussion as to the manner in which
lions kill their prey. In ' Wild Beasts and their ^V^1ys,' the
last of the many interesting works on travel, sport and natural
history for which Englishmen are indel)ted to Sir Samuel Baker,
that great authority says that the lion uses his paw in attack
with which to deal a crushing blow in contradistinction to the
tiger, which only makes use of its claws to hold its prey. Now
it is always possible that in a vast continent like Africa animals
of one species may develop different habits in widely separated
portions of the country ; but, however that may be, all my ex-
perience goes lo show that, in Southern Africa, lions kill their
prey very much in the same way as Sir Samuel Baker tells us
tigers do in India • that is, they use their claws to hold their
victim, and do the killing with their teeth. A single large male
lion will sometimes kill a heavy ox or a buffalo cow, without
using his teeth at all, by breaking its neck, or rather causing the
frightened oeast to break its own neck. Almost invariably
when an ox or a buffalo has been killed by a single lion, deej)
claw marks will be found on the muzzle of the animal, and whec
that is the case, it will usually be found that the neck has been
dislocated. Such animals have been killed in the following
manner. We will suppose that a large heavy ox weighing
I, coo lbs. is seized by a lion, whilst grozing or walking, the
attack being made from the left side. In that case the lion
seizes the ox by the muzzle with its left paw, pulling its head in
under it. At the same time with the extended claws of the
right paw it holds its victim by the top of the shoulder, its
hind feet being firmly planted on the ground. The ox plunges
madly forward, and from the position in which its head is held
not seeing where it is going, and lianipered by 'he weight of
the lion, soon AiUs, and rolling over, as often as not oreaks its
neck by the weight of its own body.

When several lions attai k an o\ in concert, they do not

THE LION IN SOUTH AFRICA

325

kill the animal as quickly and artistically as a single old
male lion would have done, but bite it and claw it all over,
especially on the back of the neck, the tops of the shoulder-
blades, and on the elbow-joint and the insides of the thighs.
This inartistic work may possibly be owing to the fact that
when a family of lions is together the old lions leave the
younger animals to do the killing, in order to allow them to
learn their trade, or else because as soon as an old lion has
seized an ox, or a buffalo, or whatever animal it may be, the
young ones, being unable to restrain themselves, spring on to it,
and bite it all over, with the result that the unfortunate animal is
not so cleanly killed as he would have been had he been left to
one old lion. Horses, donkeys and zebras are killed by lions
by being bitten at the back of the neck, just behind the ears,
or else in the throat ; but always just round the head. As far
as my memory serves me, it is not usual for them to hold a
horse by the nose with one paw as they do an ox, and this ruse
is, I think, employed by them with horned animals in order to
prevent them making use of their horns. Full-grown giraffes
are sometimes killed by lions, though not very often. When
they do fall victims they are probably seized, and bitten high
up in the neck near the head, whilst lying down. Human
beings when carried off by lions are usually seized by the head,
and in that case are killed instantaneously, the canine teeth
being driven through the skull at the first bite. If the head is
not the part first bitten it will be the shoulder, and in that case
the man will probably have been lying on his side with the one
shoulder exposed.

As far as my experience goes, I have never known an in-
stance of a lion carrying its prey raised from the ground. Even
such small and light animals as goats, impala antelopes, and
young wart-hogs are always held by the head or neck, and
dragged along the ground at the side of the lion. When a heavy
animal like a horse or an ox is dragged, it is always held by the
neck. 1 simply cannot believe in the possibility ofa lion's springing
over a palisade and carrying the carcase of an ox with him.

mmmmm

326

/i/G GAME SHOOTING

When lions break into cattle kraals at night, they never or very
seldom spring over the fence even when it is a low one, but
work their way through the bottom of the fence. They will

My host lion

sometimes walk round and round a stockaded kraal, that one
would have expected them to leap over at once without
difficulty, and finally effect an entrance by forcing two poles
apart and squeezing through. If suddenly disturbed or fired at

THE LION IN SOUTH AFRICA

at night whilst inside a kraal, they will often spring over the
fence in their hurry to get out.

The wild lion of Southern Africa seldom presents the
majestic appearance of the picture-book animal, because as a
rule he does not carry a long shaggy mane, like the lions one
often sees in menageries. Occasionally, however, one sees a
wild lion with a fine full dark mane, and then he is a magni-
ficent animal, and one of the noblest prizes that can fall to the
sportsman's rifle. I have been much struck by the beauty of
the manes of many of the lions shot by Colonel Arthur Paget.
Lord Wolverton, Lord Delamere and other sportsmen in
Somaliland, and I think there can be no doubt that in that part
of Africa the lions grow better manes on an average than in
South Africa. The dark parts are, too, of a deeper black.
But I have not yet seen a lion's skin from Somaliland with so
full a mane as in the three best skins I have seen from South
Africa. None of these three splendid animals were, alas !
shot by myself. One was killed by the natives in Matabele-
land and its skin given me by Lo Ikngula, and I still have
it in my possession ; the second was killed at the Umfuli
river in Mashonaland by my friend Cornelis van Rooyen,
and the third two years ago within a few miles of the same
spot by Hans Lee, the young Boer hunter who accompanied
Lord Randolph Churchill on his recent expedition to South
Africa.

Although I have seen a very large number of skins of wild
lions, I have never yet seen one with long hair growing on the
belly as is so common in menagerie lions and invariable in the
picture-book animal. A wild lion with a very fine mane will
have a tuft of long hair in the arm-pit, another on the elbow,
and in some cases a tuft in the flank, but the hair of the belly
is always short and close, as on the rest of the body. In the
great majority of cases the mane of the wild lion is sinijily a
ruff round the neck with an extension down the back between
the shoulders. In very rare and exceptional cases the angle
formed between the end of this extension and the i)oint of the

328

BIG GAME SHOOTING

shoulder is covered with mane, as it is very commonly in the
menagerie lion ; but, as a rule, the whole shoulder of the wild
lion is devoid of mane. Very often a large heavy full-grown
male lion, a splendid animal in strength and symmetry, will
have scarcely any mane at all, and his skin is not then a hand-
some trophy.

There are very few authentic statistics regarding the weight
of lions, and I am unfortunately not able to cast much light
on this subject. Sir Samuel Baker, in ' Wild Beasts and their
\Vays,' gives no actual statistics regarding the weight of any
particular lions, but appears to think that full-grown well-fed
males of this species would on an average weigh from five to
six hundred pounds. Not long ago a question was asked at
my suggestion through the columns of the ' Field ' newspaper on
this very subject, but with one exception no satisfactory infor-
mation was elicited. The exception to which I refer was a
communication from Mr. William Yellowly, of South Shields,
and ran as follows :—

In reply to the query in last wec'.:'s issue of the ' Field ' anent
the weight of lions, I beg to state that a fine black-maned lion,
which died in the late Mrs. Edmond's menagerie at Warrington
on February i8, 1875, ^^^s sent to me the next day. The following
measurements before skinning will give an idea of its magnificent
proportions : Length from nose to root of tail, 6 ft. 10 ins. ; from
nose to tip of tail, 10 ft. ; girth behind shoulder, 4 ft. 9 ins. ; girth
of upper arm, i ft. 10 ins. ; height at shoulder 3 ft. 6 ins. ; and its
dead weight was 3 1 stone or 434 lbs.

These statistics appear to me to be perfectly reliable, and I
regard them as the carefully taken weight and measurements
of a large well-fed menagerie lion. How the measurement for
length was taken from nose to tip of tail i do not know, but I
should fancy along the curves of the head and back, which
would make it an inch or two more than if it had been taken
in a perfectly straight line between two pegs, one driven into
the ground at the nose, and the other at the extremity of the
tail of the dead animal. I will now give the few statistics

THE LION IN SOUTH AFRICA

329

regarding the weight and measurements of wild Hons which I
can vouch for as being authentic.

Many years ago a lion was shot one night at Kati in
Western Matabeleland inside the cattle kraal, where it had
killed an ox, and the next morning early the carcase was placed
on the large scale used for weighing ivory, which stood under
the verandah of one of the traders' houses at only a few yards
distance from the cattle kraal. This lion weighed 376 lbs. ; it
was a large full-grown animal, but in low condition.

In 1887 a lion, shot by myself and friends close to our
waggon, was carried into camp and carefully weighed, and was
found to turn the scale at 385 lbs. This was a fine animal in
good condition but with no fat about him, and my impression
at the time was that he would have grown bigger and heavier,
as his mane was short, and did not appear to have reached its
full length and beauty.

In the end of 1891 I shot a very large lion at Hartley Hills
in Mashonaland, and weighed and measured it carefully, as it
was killed within three hundred yards of the settlement. This
animal, which was a remarkably fine specimen of a wild lion,
was in excellent condition, its whole belly being covered with a
layer of fat quite half an inch in thickness ; it was also a very
large animal, as its measurements will show, and I was much
surprised to find that its weight was not greater than it proved
to be. As the scale on which I weighed it only registered
a weight of 220 lbs., I had to skin and cut the lion up, and
weigh him by instalments, and the aggregate of the weights
was 408 lbs. As a good deal of blood was lost when his head
was cut off, I will add two pounds to this figure, and say that this
lion's dead weight was not less than 410 lbs. I was much dis-
appointed with this lion, as I expected him to weigh 500 lbs.
He was an old animal, and might have weighed more when he
was a few years younger, as in spite of being fat and well fed,
I don't think his quarters were so rounded and muscular as
they might have been. The measurements of his skull which
is now in the collection of the Natural History Museum at South

Jj"-

BIG GAME SHOOTING

Kensington — are identical with those of the skull of the largest
lion shot by Colonel Arthur Paget in Somaliland, as given in
Mr. Ward's book of game measurements; the weight of the skull
is 5^ lbs., or \ lb. in excess of the weight of the ver.y large skull
of a lion shot by Mr. Geddes in Eastern Africa, the measure-
ments of which are recorded in the same book. I took the ex-
treme length and the standing height of this lion very carefully;
taking the distance with a tape line between pegs driven in firstly
at the point of the nose and the tip of the tail, and secondly at
the top of the shoulder-blade and the ball of the forefoot, the
limb being held straight the while. These measurements give his
extreme length in a straight line as he lay dead as 9 ft. 11 ins., and
his vertical standing height to the top of the shoulder-blade as
3 ft. 8 ins. The height to the top of the mane, however, with
which his shoulders were thickly covered and which was his
apparent standing height, was exactly 4 ft. When the skin of
this lion was pegged out on the ground it measured 1 1 ft. 9 ins.
in extreme length from nose to tip of tail.

The last lion which I shot, on October 3, 1892, near the
Pungwe river in South- Eastern Africa, was a very thick-set,
massive animal, and enormously fat. He would, I think, have
weighed very heavy, but unfortunately I had no scale with me.
I took a few careful measurements, however, which are as follows:
Length as he lay in a straight line between pegs driven into
the ground at the nose and tip of the tail, 9 ft. i in.; vertical
standing height at shoulder, 3 ft. 4 ins. ; girth of body behind
the shoulders, 4 ft. o\ ins.; girth of forearm, 17 ins.; length
of pegged-out skin exactly 1 1 ft. If any conclusion can be
drawn from these few statistics, it is I think that a lion which
weighs much over 400 lbs. is an exceptionally heavy animal.

One of the most striking characteristics of the lion is his
roar, for there is no more magnificent sound in Nature than the
volume of sound produced by a party of lions roaring in unison,
that is, if one is fortunate enough to be very near to them. It
is, however, a rare occurrence to hear lions roar loudly within a
short distance of one's camp, and in all my experience, though

THE LION IN SOUTH AFRICA

11^

I have heard these animals roaring upon hundreds of different
occasions, I can count the nights on the fingers of one hand
when, all unconscious of my near vicinity, a party of several
lions has roared freely within loo yards of where I was lying.
Last year, whilst hunting with two companions in the neighbour-
hood of the Pimgwe river, I don't think a single night passed
during the six weeks we remained in that part of the country
that we did not hear lions, and sometimes three different parties
of these animals were roaring round our camp at the same time.
But on no single occasion were they ever within a mile of where
we were sleeping, and as there are probably few parts of
Africa where lions are more plentiful than in this particular
district, I think it is quite possible to have had a very consider-
able experience c " African travel and yet never to have heard
lions roaring freely at very close quarters. If ever experi-
enced, such a serenade can never be forgotten, for it is at once
magnificent yet calculated to fill the soul with awe.

It is a fact I think which admits of no dispute that lions
only roar freely in countries where they have not been much
disturbed, and where they are practically the masters of the
situation, and as soon as a district in which these animals exist
is much hunted over, they become comparatively silent. Thus,
although lions are still fairly numerous in the neighbourhood
of the outlying mining camps in Mashonaland, where they con-
tinually make their presence disagreeably felt by killing the
donkeys, oxen and horses of the prospectors, they are seldom
heard to roar at nights, and I have noticed this same peculi-
arity in other newly settled districts. Loud roaring is usually, I
think, a sign of happiness and contentment, and is indulged in
very often when on the way down to drink, after a good meal.
Naturally, when hungry and on the look out for their prey,
lions do not roar, but remain perfectly silent, and when they
attack one's camp at night, the first intimation received of their
presence will be given by the cries and struggles of the animal
they seize. When standing at bay lions do not roar, but keep

332

BIG GAME SHOOTING

up a continuous loud hoarse growling, which can be heard at a
considerable distance

It has always appeared to me that lions succumb more
quickly to wounds in the front part of the body, in the neigh-
bourhood of the heart and lungs, than do any of the antelopes
living in the same country ; but, as with all other animals, shots
through the stomach, intestines, or hind-quarters do them little
immediate harm, unless indeed the back or leg bones are
injured, when they are at once disabled. Although, as I have
said earlier in this chapter, lions almost always retreat before
the presence of man, they become very savage when wounded,
and it is undoubtedly highly dangerous work following them
into long grass or thick cover without dogs. My experience in
Southern Africa has shown me that wounded lions are far
more likely to charge than wounded buffaloes, and although
they may be more easily stopped, they are much quicker and
more difficult to hit than those animals.

I have only shot lions with two kinds of rifles, a single lo-
bore carrying a spherical bullet and six drachms of powder, and
a •45o-bore Metford rifle by George (iibbs of Bristol, carrying
either a 360-grain expanding bullet and ninety grains of
powder, or a 540-grain solid bullet and seventy-five grains of
powder ; and in my opinion the •450-bore with the heavy 360-
grain expanding bullet was the more deadly weapon. These
expanding bullets, having but a very small hole at the point and
a good solid base, possess great penetrating power, as may be
believed when I say that they will reach the brain of a hippopo-
tamus, should they enter at the side of the head between the
ear and the eye. They will go clean through a lion behind the
shoulders, after first making a very large hole through his
lungs ; and if the animal be struck in the shoulder, the bones
will be smashed and the solid end of the bullet will go right
through the cavity of the chest, probably piercing the heart, and
lodge in the further shoulder. I think that the effectiveness of
a rifle depends more on the bullet it carries than on its bore,
and should consider a ■450-bore rifle such as I have described

THE LION IN SOUTH AFRICA

III

carrying a 360-grain expanding bullet, with only a small hollow
and a good solid end, a more trustworthy weapon than a rifle of a
much larger bore carrying a short light bullet with a very iarge
hollow. Doubtless a good •577-bore rifle is a much more
powerful weapon than any "450 ; but the latter if carrying a
good heavy bullet will be found very effective for lion shooting,
and is not only lighter and handier than the larger rifle, but
has no recoil, as the charge of powder is comparatively small.

I will now conclude this chapter by giving an account of
the death of the largest lion that it has been 1. y fortune to
bag —the same animal whose weight and dimensions I have
given on p. 329.

Towards the end of the second year of the occupation of
Mashonaland by the British South Africa Company, I was
sent to some of the mining camps to the north and west of
Salisbury, in order to make a report upon the roads in those
districts. On December 8, 1891, 1 reached Hartley Hills, one
of the outlying stations of the British South Africa Company,
where, at the time of my visit, there were about twenty
Europeans living, most of whom were employed in mining
work. Among the company's officials were Mr. Woodthorpe
Graham, the gold commissioner and chief magistrate of the
district, and Dr. Edgelow, the district surgeon. For some
days previous to my arrival at the station, the weather had
been very rainy, and the sky dull and cloudy. Hartley Hills
are, I may here say, two small ' kopjes,' formed of granite
boulders piled up one upon another to a height of perhaps
100 feet above the surrounding country. On one of these
hills stood the stores and dwelling houses of Frank Johnson &
Co., while the Gold Commissioner and the Doctor occupied
the other ; and it was at the foot of the latter hill that I out-
spanned my waggon at a distance of not more than twenty
yards from Mr. Graham's compound. As I knew that a great
deal of damage had been done lately by one particular lion,
which had been seen on several occasions, and which was
always described as a very large animal with a fine mane, I

iiJI

334

BIG GAME SHOOTING

was in hopes that he might still be about, and thought that if
he would only be good enough to pay a visit to the settlement
whilst I was there, I might get a good chance of shooting him,
as the wet weather, I imagined, would make the ground suffi-
ciently soft to enable me to track him. Not content with
killing oxen and donkeys at some little distance from the
settlement, this lion had one night so frightened two valuable
horses belonging to Mr. Frank Johnson that they had rushed
at the door of their stable, and breaking the thongs with which
it was secured, broken out, and run up the hill, where they
were both killed within a few yards of a dwelling hut usually
occupied by Mr. Johnson, who was, however, absent at the
time. The carcase of the one horse was left entirely untouched,
I was informed, the animal having been killed by a bite at the
back of the head, the l:on making his meal off his other
victim, which was possibly in better condition.

My first question r.fter my arrival at Hartley Hills was as
to whether this lion was still in the district, and I was much
disappointed to learn that nothing had been heard of him
lately. I found my old friend Mr. Graham just packing up
for a three days' trip into the country to the west of the
Umfuli river, where some rich gold reefs had been discovered,
on which he was anxious to report. That evening I had
dinner with Dr. Edgelow, and a long chat afterwards, and
as, when it was time to turn in, a drizzly rain was falling, I
resolved to take possession of Mr. Graham's hut for the night,
instead of going down to my waggon. As it wanted about
three days to full moon, it would have been a bright moon-
light night had the weather been fine, bu^ as it was the sky
was thickly overcast with clouds. Before quitting Dr. Edgelow
I remarked to him what a beautiful night it was for a lion,
regarded, of course, from a lion's point of view, as these
animals are always most dangerous on dark, rainy nights. My
waggon, as I have said before, was standing just at the foot of
the rocks, the oxen being tied two and two in the yokes ; but
besides the working cattle I had a spare animal that always

THE LION IN SOUTH AFRICA

335

lay loose at no great distance from the others. My old shoot-
ing horse was tied to the forewheel of the waggon, on the side
nearest to the hill, whilst my old servant and waggon-driver,
John, and two Kafirs, were sleeping under a shelter which
they had made on the other side of the waggon.

I had sat up till a late hour talking with Dr. Edgelow, and
when I at last went to bed in Mr. Graham's hut the camp was
perfectly quiet, everyone being fast asleep, an example which I
was not long in following. I must have slept for some hours
when I was suddenly awakened by the di' enlarge of a rifle.
Being inside the hut I awoke without any disinct idea of the
direction in which the shot had been fired ; but the first report
was quickly followed by a second which I Vaew mast have been
firel fr-mi my waggon. Jumping up I at onc^* made for the
door of the hut and opened it just as a third shot was fired.
' What's the matter? ' I called out in DuLch to John. ' It's a
lion, sir ; he has killed the loose o.x,' he answered, and again
fired. This time the shot was answered by a low hoarse growl,
the bullet, I suppose, having passed very close to the marauder,
i was soon down at the waggon alongside of John, but nothing
was to be either seen or heard. The rain had ceased, but as
the moon was now down, and it was very cloudy, the darkness
was intense, and it was evident that nothing could be done till
daylight. John felt sure the ox was dead, as he had heard it
make a short rush and fall heavily twice, after which all was
still, and as we could now hear nothing, we both thought the
lion had been scared away from the carcase by the last shot.
It is worthy of remark that, although this ox was seized and
killed by a lion within thirty yards of fourteen other oxen that
were tied to the yokes, not one of them evinced the slightest
alarm, and the greater part of them lay quietly chewing the cud
till daylight, undisturbed either by the near proximity of the
lion or by the shots fired by John. I suppose the lion had
come up below the wind, and never having scented him, they
did not realise what had happened. M^ old horse, however,
which was always very nervous and fidgetty in the presence of

336

BIG GAME SHOOTING

lions, seemed fully aware of what had occurred, as with ears
pricked forwards, and looking in the direction whence the low
hoarse growl of the lion had proceeded, he kept shifting his feet
uneasily, every now and again snorting loudly.

It did not want more than an hour to daylight, so I had a
kettle of coffee made, and then sat over the fire talking with
John, and discussing the probabilities of getting a shot at the
lion in the morning. As the ground was so wet from the heavy
rain that had been falling during the last few days, we both
thought we should be able to follow the lion's tracks and come
up with him without the aid of dogs, and I was in great hopes
that our visitor would prove to be a fine male with a good
mane whose skin would fully compensate mc for the loss of
the ox.

When at last the morning broke dull and misty I went and
examined the carcase of the ox, which, as soon as there was a
little light, we could see lying just on the edge of the waggon-
road coming from Salisbury, at a distance of about thirty yards
from the waggon. The ground being so soft from the recent
rains we had an excellent opportunity of seeing exactly how
this ox had been seized and killed. The lion had evidently
approached the unsuspecting animal very quietly whilst it was
lying asleep within twenty yards of the other oxen, and seized
it unawares, or just as it was rising to its feet after becoming
conscious of the unwelcome presence. Then springing upon
his victim, with his left paw he had seized it by the muzzle,
holding it by the top of the shoulder-blade with the claws of the
right paw, and at the same time keeping his hind feet on the
ground. Thus held, the ox — a large heavy animal weighing as
he stood 900 or 1,000 lbs.- had plunged madly forwards for a
few yards, rolled over, regained his feet, and after another
plunge again fallen, apparently breaking his neck by his own
weight. The lion seemed never to have relaxed the first hold
he had taken of the muzzle and siiuulder of the ox, and the
marks of his hind feet, stamped deep into the muddy ground
with outstretched claws, were plainly discernible alongside the

t^mammiasx

THE LION IN SOUTH AFRICA

ihl

tracks of the ox. The ox was ultimately killed by having his
neck broken, and lay with his head doubled in under him, there
being no mark of a wound upon him but the claw marks on
the muzzle and shoulder. Except that one ear had been bitten
off", the carcase was untouched, the lion having been scared
away by John's bullets, which must have whizzed unpleasantly
near him, and caused him to beat a hasty retreat.

As soon as it was fairly light I saddled my horse, and

' Springing upon his victim '

John and I took up the spoor, which led us down to the little
river Simbo, a small stream, about three hundred yards from
my waggon, which runs into the Umfuli River, just below
Hartley Hills. For about a mile beyond the Simbo we were
able to follow without difficulty the tracks of what was evidently
a large male lion, as the ground was low-lying and soft from
the recent heavy rains ; but after this the spoor got into soil
cf a different nature, thickly covered with short grass, where
I. z

338

BIG GAME SHOOTING

the footprints left but little trace. Sufifice it to say that we
followed the tracks for over three hours, and finally lost them
in stony ground, and could not manage to pick them up again.
For another hour I rode about examining all the patches of bush
in the neighbourhood, as I felt sure the lion was somewhere near
at hand, waiting for night, to return to the carcase of the ox he
had killed. However, as I could not discover his whereabouts
or find any further trace of him, I was obliged to give up the
pursuit and returned to camp, resolved to sit up and watch
the carcase that night.

On again reaching the settlement, Mr. Somerville, who was
in charge of Mr. Johnson's compound, informed me that the
lion had walked past his cattle kraal, in which there were a
few goats, sheep, and calves, and had killed one of the goats
by putting his paw between the poles of which the enclosure
was made. Seizing the animal by the throat, which he had
torn open, the lion had severed the jugular vein, so tbra tlio
beast bled to death. Thi.' had evidently been done before
my ox was killed, and apparently out of sheer exuberance of
spirits, as no attempt had been made to pull the carcase out
of the kraal by forcing two of the poles forming the palisade
apart from one another.

After breakfast, I went and examined the ground round
the dead ox, with a view to choosing a position from which
to watch for the lion. 'I'ho carcase was lying with its back
on the edge of the waggon-road, the hind ([uarters being
nearest to my camp. A sniall tree was growing close to the
extended legs of the dead ox, and actually within six feet of
either the fore or hind feet. This tree branched into two main
stems at about two feet from the ground, and as a rifle pro-
truded between them would be within three yards of any part
of the carcase, I resolved to make a small shelter behind its
trunk. I wished to be as near as possible to the carcase,
benuse, on a former occasion, T had lain for several hours one
night within ten yards of a dead ox at which lions were feeding
without being able to see anything of them, and as they left

THE LION IN SOUTH AFRICA

339

before daylight I never got a shot at them at all. This time,
as I thought it possible that the lion might not come back until
after the moon had set, when it would be intensely dark, I was
determined to be as close to him as possible. There being
only one lion to deal with, I was not much afraid of his inter-
fering with me, at any rate before he was fired at, and so made
my shelter as small as possible in order that it should not
attract his attention. We first chopped a few straight poles,
and leant them together at the back of the tree, and then covered
them with some leafy branches.

That evening I had dinner with Dr. Edgelow, and about
half-past seven, just as night was closing in, took my rifle and
blankets and crawled into my shelter, in which I had only just
room to sit upright. John then closed the entrance behind me,
and I prepared for a long vigil. As the moon was now within
two nights of the full, it would have been a lovely moonlight
night had it not been that the sky was overcast with clouds ;
but these clouds were light and fleecy, so that the moon gave a
strong light through them. Looking through the side of my
leafy shelter, 1 could very distinctly see John and the two Kafir
boys sitting by their fire at the side of the waggon, as well as
the head of my old horse, which was tied to the forewheel on
the further side ; my oxen, too, I could clearly distinguish, so
clearly indeed, that I could make out their colours, and see
the raw-hide thongs with which they were tied to the yokes.
Some were standing up, and every now and again one of these
would move about and rattle the iron trek-chain as he did so,
but the greater part of them were lying down chewing the cud
contentedly, after a good day's feed. Besides my waggon, I
could see, too, all the huts on the hill-side within Mr. (Iraham's
compound, and hear the Kafir workboys talking and laughing
noisily, as is their wont while sitting round the camp fire of an
evening.

As the shooting-hole between the diverging branches of
the tree behind which I sat only allov/ed me to get a view
directly over the carcase of the ox, I arranged another opening

34P

BIG GAME SHOOTING

to the right which gave me a good view up the waggon road
along which I thought the lion would most likely come, and
I placed the muzzle of my rifle in this opening when I entered
my shelter. As the night was so light, I thought it very likely
that my vigil might be a long one ; for even if he did not wait
until the moon had set, I never imagined that the lion would put
in an appearance until after midnight when the camp would
be quite quiet. Under this impression, I had just finished the
arrangement of my blankets, placing some behind me md
the rest beneath me, so as to make myself as comfortable as
possible in so confined a space, and was just leaning back,
and dreamily wondering whether I could keep awake all night,
when, still as in a dream, I saw the form of a magnificent lioii
pass rapidly and noiselessly as a phantom of the night across
the moonlit disc of the shooting-hole 1 had made to the right
of the tree stem. In another instant he had passed and was
hidden by the tree, but a moment later his shaggy head again
appeared before the opening formed by the diverging stems.
Momentary as had been the glimpse I had of him as he passed
the right-hand opening, I had marked him as a magnificent
blac'c-maned lion with neck and shoulders well covered with long
shaggy hair. He now stood with his foreleg.-, right against the
breast of the dead ox, and with his head held high, gazed fixedly
towards my waggon and oxen, every one of which he could of
course see very distinctly, as well as my boy John and the
Kafirs beside him. I heard my horse snort, and knew he had
seen the lion, but the oxen, although they must have seen him
too, showed no sign of fear. The Kafirs were still laughing
and talking noisily not fifty yards away, and, bold as he was, the
lion must have felt a little anxious as he stood silently gazing
in the direction from which he thought danger might be appre-
hended. ,, ... .... ;

All this time, but without ever taking my eyes off the
lion, I was noiselessly moving the muzzle of my little rifle from
the right-hand side o[)ening to the space that commanded a
view of his head. This 1 was obliged to do very cautiously, for

THE LION IN SOUTH AFRICA

341

fear of touching a branch behind me and making a noise. I
could see the black crest of mane between his ears move
lightly in the wind, for he was so near that had I held my rifle
by the small of the stock I could have touched him with the
muzzle by holding it at arm's length. Once only he turned
his head and looked round right into my eyr':, but of course
without seeing rhe, as I was in the dark, and apparently
without taking the slightest alarm, as he again turned his
head and stood looking at the waggon as before. I could
only see his head, his shoulder being hidden by the right-hand
stem of the tree, and I had made up my mind to try and blow
his brains out, thinking I was so near that I could not fail
to do so even without being able to see the sight of my rifle.
I had just got the muz/le of my rifle into the fork of the tree,
and was about to raise it quite leisurely, the lion having
hitherto showed no signs of uneasiness. I was working as
cautiously as possible, when without the slightest warning he
suddenly gave a low grating growl, and turned round, his head
disappearing instantly from view. With a jerk, I pulled the
muzzle of my rifle from the one opening and pushed it through
the other, just as the lion walked rapidly past in the direction
from which he had come. He was not more than four or
five yards from me, and I should certainly have given him a
mortal ^vound, had not my rifle missed fire at this most criti-
cal juncture, the hammer giving a loud click in the stillness of
the night. At the sound the lion broke into a gallop, and was
almost instantlj out of sight. •-

For a moment I was almost paralysed by the magnitude of
the misfortune that had befalien me. That a magnificent
black-maned lion should have been within six feet of the muzzle
of my rifle, and should yet have escaped, owing to a miss-fire,
seemed the very irony of fate. I could scarcely believe that the
whole scene was not an illusion or a vivid dream ; but when I
called out in Dutch, ' Myn Oott, John, myn roer het dopje
afgeklap ' (' My God, John, my gun has missed fire '), and heard
him answer, ' Ik hor em, Sir' (' I heard it, Sir'), then I knew

342

BIG GAME SHOOTING

that I had really experienced a most extraordinary piece of
ill-luck. It was not yet half-past eight, and the first thing I
did was to go up to Dr. Edgelow's hut, and take my rifle to
pieces. The cap had been untouched by the striker, and I
thought at first that the point of the latter was broken, but I
found it in perfect order. Finally I discovered that the miss-fire
was owing to the safety-bolt having got so loose that it must
have shifted up a little when I jerked the rifle rapidly from one
opening to another, and thus prevented the striker from coming
down on the cap. After fixing the safety-bolt down to full
cock I went to my waggon. I felt sure the lion would not now
return, if he came back at all, till just before daybreak, when the
moon would have set and it would be very dark. ,

I was so upset and exasperated by the cruel experience I
had met with that I could not lie still or sleep, and so spent
the greater part of the night in walking about round my
waggon. At last the moon went down, and I then turned In
and lay listening, hoping to hear the lion at the carcase, but he
did not return, and presently, just as the day was breaking,
John brought me the usual early cup of cofiee. As I had not
slept at all, I told him to see if he could follow the lion's spoor
and see in which direction he had gone, and then tried to doze
a bit. Presently I got up, when John came up with a broad
grin on his face, and said, 'Sir, after the lion went off when
your rifle missed fire, he went up to Mr. Johnson's kraal and
killed a lot of sheep and goats. One of these he ate in the
kraal, and he has taken another away with him. I can see
the spoor plainly where he has dragged it along towards the
little stream running below Hartley Hills.'

I felt there was yet a chance, and a good one, of retrieving
my evil fortune of the previous evening, and at once had
my horse saddled up. 'i'hc s[)oor of the lion himself was easy
enough to follow in the soft ground at the foot of the hill, and
the tracking was made all the easier by the fact that he had
dragged the goat alongside, of him, hokliiigit, I suppose, by the
back of the neck, and trailing its hind-quarters on the ground,

THE LION IN SOUTH AFRICA

343

In less than five minutes after I had put the saddle on my horse
we were down at the little stream across which we had followed
the lion on the preceding day. Here the ground became stony,
and we lost the spoor. John was looking about near the edge
of the shallow water, and I had turned my horse's head to look
along the bank higher up, when the unmistakable growl of a
lion issued from the bushes beyond the rivulet, and at the same
time John said ' Daar's hij ' (' There he is '). I was off my horse
in an instant to be ready for a shot, when he turned round and
trotted away, and John ran to try and catch him. I thought
the luck was all against me, as I expected the lion would make
off and get clean away; but I ran forward, trying to get a sight
of him, when he suddenly made his appearance in the bush
about fifty yards away, and catching sight of me, came straight
towards me at a rapid pace, holding his head low and growling
savagely. I suppose he wanted to frighten me, but he could
not have done a kinder thing. He came right on to the further
bank of the little stream just where it formed a pool of water,
and stood there amongst some rocks growling and whisking
his tail about, and always keeping his eyes fixed upon me. Of
course he gave me a splendid shot, and in another instant I
hit him, between the neck and the shoulder in the side of his
chest, with a 360-grain expanding bullet. As I pulled the
trigger I felt pretty sure he was mine. With a loud roar he
reared right up, and coming over sideways fell off the rock on
which he had been standing into the pool of water below him.
The water was over three feet deep, and fo'- an instant he dis-
appeared entirely from view, but the next instant regaining his
feet, stood on the bottom with his head and shoulders above
the surface. I now came towards him, when again seeing me
he came plunging through the water towards me growling
angrily. But his strength was fast failing him, and I saw it
was all he could do to reach the bank, so I did not fire, as I was
anxious not to make holes in his skin. He just managed to
get up the bank, when I finished him with a shot through the
lungs, to which he instantly succumbed. He proved tj be a

444

BIG GAME SHOOTING

splendid specimen of a wild lion, an old animal, but in good
condition, with an excellent coat and a full, long, and silky
black mane.

This is the largest lion it has yet been my good fortune to
kill, and I have given his weight and dimensions in a former

My best koodoo

part of this chapter. After leaving the carcase of the ox he
had killed, which I suppose he considered to be too near to my
waggon to be altogether safe, he had gone up to Mr. Johnson's
kraal, and, forcing his way in by separating two of the poles
that formed the palisade, had deliberately killed seven sheep,
seven goats, and one calf. These poor animals had evidently

THE LION IN SOUTH AFRICA

345

all huddled into a corner, where they had stood paralysed by
terror. I examined all the carcases carefully, and found that
every one had been killed by a single bite in the head. In
every case the long fang-teeth had been driven deep into the
brains, which in several cases protruded from the fractured skulls.
One sheep had been eaten in the kraal, and a goat had been
dragged away to be devoured at leisure ; and the assurance of
this lion may be imagined when I say that the spot where he
had taken up his quarters for the day was within three hundred
yards of the compound on the top of the hill.

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BIG GAME SHOOTING

CHAPTER XVIII

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA
Bv Clive Phillipps-Wolley

Many statements to the contrary notwithstanding, I venture to
assert that, in spite of the evil doings of the ' scallawag ' and
the meat-hunter, there is still quite enough big game in many
parts of the American continent to amply satisfy the desires of
any reasonable big game hunter, meaning by that term one
who is content to work moderately hard in an exquisite climate,
free from fever and other Oriental troub''^s, for a few good
trophies every season, and enough meat to keep his camp
supplied.

It is undoubtedly true that you cannot any longer kill
hundreds of head of big game to your own rifle in one season ;
it is also true that the game laws of Canada and the United
States have somewhat curtailed the liberty of the sportsman ;
but it is true too that amongst English sportsmen the number
of those who would care to shoot down hundreds of stags, &c.
in one season is limited, and that not a few of them realise
that the game laws of America, though often ill-framed and
always badly enforced, are still in the best interests of those
whom they control. There are, of course, mistakes in every
code of laws. For instance, it is a mistake I think to protect
sheep absolutely in Colorado, while wapiti are not similarly
protected ; for sheep are now more numerous there than wapiti,
are much less easily obtained by the meat-hunter, and are less
profitable to him when he has obtained them.

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

547

Still, if the Americans would enforce their own laws as
rigidly against the native meat-hunter who makes a profit out
of shooting as against the alien who pays for his sport, I think
no one could justly complain.

Of course the buffalo has disappeared, and the antelope
is not as plentiful as he was, while some of the old shooting
grounds dear to the memories of the fortunate hunters of
twenty years ago have been very much shot out. This is true ;
but it is also true that if the successors of the Williamsons,
Buxtons, Jamiesons, and others of an earlier day would display
as much enterprise as those gentlemen did before them, they
would probably find fairly good sport still.

The man who follows another to an old shooting ground,
getting there by a well-cut trail, or even by railway, to find
camps made and the country thoroughly surveyed, naturally
does not get as good sport as the ' first man in,' and does not
deserve it.

An old friend, whose reputation as an Indian sportsman
stands as high as any man's, told me that, though the old
grounds were certainly a good deal shot out in India, he knew
that close to them were other grounds unvisited which were
almost as good (if not quite as good) as the old ones, and this
he proved by sending a subaltern nephew off an old route for
a very short distance into a country usually passed by, with
the result that he got almost as good sport in the nineties as his
uncle had had in the sixties.

So it is in America to-day. One man follows another, as
sheep follow their leader, and if you trust to guides they will,
of course, take you to the places they know from experience,
an experience which has been obtained at considerable cost to
the game of the district.

As I write I am reminded of an excellent example of that of
which I am writing. There is in British Columbia a certain Irish
baronet, a most excellent sportsman, who has probably had
better sport with caiiboo and grizzly than anyone else in the
country. His »^^wo favourite grounds are now overrun by his

34«

BIG GAME SHOOTING

followers, but in the year that he ait the trail to his cariboo
ground (it took him several days) he had excellent sport, and
in Alaska he did so well with bear that next year a friend and
myself found that all the skin-hunters in the country were on
Sir Richard's tracks. Of course we went elsewhere. So it is
always. On the grounds which you find for yourself you may
get excellent sport : on the grounds found for you by other
people you have hardly a right to expect it.

Before dealing then with the game list of North America in
detail, let me say to the intending sportsman, Don't be dis-
couraged by every evil report : go and see for yourself : if pos-
sible get a hint as to where game is likely to be and then look
for a country yourself, not slavishly following your predecessors
or entirely depending upon men whom perhaps you don't know
very well to present a stranger with an accurate chart of the best
hunting grounds they are acquainted with, the way to which
they have discovered by their own hard work.

As in everything else in life, so it is in sport : if you want
to get anything worth having, you have got to earn it yourself
in one way or another. - .

There is no royal road to success in the mountains, but there
is the old road still for the self-reliant and adventurous who
don't stick to old trails and the railroad, and there is still plenty
of game, for those who know how to seek it, in Colorado, British
Columbia, Washington Territory, Ontario, Alaska, and even in
parts of the province of Quebec. So much I dare personally
guarantee.

I. PANTHER {^Felis comolor)

The American Panther {Felis concolor) is a beast of many
aliases but of few virtues. He is the ' painter,' ' catamount,'
* mountain lion,' ' cougar,' ' Californian lion,' or ' puma ' of early
American legends ; but, in spite of his many high-sounding
titles, he is a mean, sneaking beast, hiding in dense timber by
day, stealing or destroying more sheep in one night than he
can eat in six months, affording no sport to anyone, and very

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

little profit even to the fur dealer. Those who hunt the panther
generally hunt him with dogs, and no dog is too small for the
work, for the American lion will tree before a terrier and let
himself l)e shot by a boy with ' bird-shot.' I am not traducing
the beast, for I have myself hunted him with terriers in the States.
But let an American authority be heard upon the question.

L •

Puma {Feiis concolor)

A book was published in 1890 called 'Big Game of North
America,' to which several well-known authorities contributed,
such as Caton, Van Dyke, and Fannin. The authority referred
to, however, is not one of these three, but a Mr. Perry, who
maintains that the American lion is not a cowardly animal, and
cites in support / his contention six or seven instances in

35°

BIG GAME SHOOTING

which panthers attacked human beings unprovoked. In the
first instance (p. 413) the ferocious animal was defeated and
driven off by an heroic boy of twelve armed with an empty
brandy-bottle. In the second case a blue-jacket who had
deserted from Esquimault and 'found his way through the
woods until he rested under the domain of the starry flag,' killed
the* panther which attacked him there by a ' gladiatorial
thrust 'with a spade (p. 415). The third and fourth of Mr.
Perry's pugnacious panthers behaved somewhat differently —
one followed a gentleman, the other followed a lady, and in
both cases showed the human beings somewhat marked
attentions, licking their hands, gazing ' intently' into their eyes,
and tearing off most of their clothes, but nothing more. The
fifth panther was caned by a gentleman from Snohomish, and
the sixth was stared out of countenance and put to flight by
someone from Brownsville, whom the panther had knocked
off his horse ; but it was reserved for another hero from Snoho-
mish to perform the marvellous feat of catching a panther on
the wing (' as it was passing in the air ') with ' his left arm round
its body just behind the forelegs.' Of course, having got his
grip, the gentleman from Snohomish thumped the head of that
poor panther with his gun-barrels till it died. In this Homeric
struggle the victor lost nothing but the tail of his night-shirt.

Now, no doubt all these stories are quite true, and they
undoubtedly prove great courage in someone, but not, it seems,
in the panther ; so that in spite of Mr. Perry I am obliged to
accept the general opinion upon this subject as the correct one,
backed as it is by a statement just made to me by Mr. John
I'annin, the curator of the Tiritish Columbian Museum — an
accepted authority in the American press upon such matters,
and an ' old timer ' who has had many opportunities of observing
this beast- that he had never come across a well-authenticated
story of a panther showing fight to (much less attacking) a man.
From Mr. Fannin I obtained the measurements of the largest
panthers out of the twenty-five or so which have been sent to
him in late years to be skinned. The longest of these was a

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

351

male from the mainland of British Columbia, killed on the
Frazer river, which measured 8 ft. 2 ins. from the tip of the
nose to the tip of the tail. The largest killed upon the island
and sent to my friend was also a male which measured 7 ft.
3 ins. One hundred and fifty pounds is the weight of a large
panther as given by Mr. J. E. Harting, in some notes published
by him upon American mammalia, and I have no doubt that
this is about what an average male would weigh, but I am
only judging by my eye, and not from any accepted record of
the actual weight of any particular beast.

The panther's food consists of small game of all kinds, deer,
and more especially sheep and pigs, and other farm produce.
In nine cases out of ten the panthers which are killed are
found near a sheep ranch, and it is notorious that the men who
get panthers are not hunters, explorers, or men on a survey
party where only wild game is likely to be found, but rather
farmers and others who have stock to look after near a settle-
ment.

It may be that in Montana and Wyoming the panther grows
larger and is moie courageous than he is on the Pacific coast ;
but even there he is held in some contempt by the mountain-
men who know him. He h-is a habit, it is said, of following a
belated himter to camp howling in the most diabolical manner,
but he never proceeds to extremities.

Some idea of the number of these beasts upon Vancouver
Island and in British Columbia generally may be derived from
the fact that the British Columbian Government paid bounties
for the scalps of seventy-two in 1893, all but two, I believe.
having been killed upc n the island.

II. TIIK (".RIZZLV {Ursus hort-miis)

' Mr. Sclater, the Secretary of the Zoological Society of London,
writes me that the best naturalists only recognise three species
of bears in North America, namely : the (iri/./.ly ( Ursus horri-
bilis)^ the Black Bear ( Ursus ainerimnus), and the Polar Bear

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BIG GAME SHOOTING

{Ursus viaritimus). My correspondent adds that 'a lot of
varieties and sub-species have been made, but not upon any
certain characters.' Among these varieties and sub-species
may, I suppose, be reckoned Ursus Richardsonii^ the Alaskan
grizzly, as 'well as a whole host of bears, best known to
Western trappers as cinnamon bears, silver-tips, roach-backs,
bald-faces, and range bears.

Luckily for me, the question of species is one for naturalists
rather than for sportsmen to decide ; the claim to rank as a

,::;-r

Dead grizzly

distinct si)ecies appearmg to rest rather upon a beast's anatomy
than upon his outward appearance and mnnner of life.

Having studied bears with some care and under favourable
circumstances in more than one portion of the globe, I incline
to the belief that the different species cross almost as freely as
do different breeds of dogs ; and certainly it seems probable
that upon the North American continent all the different
varieties owe their origin to the grizzly or the black, or to
a union between the two. In this view I am supported by

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

353

such a practical field naturalist and sportsman as Dr. Rains -
ford, as well as by a number of the best hunters and trapi)ers
whom I have met, and by certain very significant facts. Dr.
Rainsford alludes to the first of these facts in his admirable
article upon the Grizzly Btar in 'The Big (lame of North
America.' He says : ' I myself have shot three young bears going
with one sow, one almost yellow, one almost black, and another
nearly grey. I have seen ordinary black bears, with year-old
grizzly cubs, shaped differently from the mother, unmistakably
owing both their shape and colour to the parentage of the male
grizzly.' This is the evidence of Dr. Rainsford, and I have
heard similar statements as to the occurrence of different
coloured cubs in the same litter, not once but a score of times,
from Indians and white men who had passed their lives in the
mountains ; and I have round me in my house at the present
moment a number of skins of bears killed by myself, which, if
colour be any criterion as to species, represent almost as many
species as there are skins.

But if anyone wishes to judge of the futility of trying to
* place ' a bear by his colour, he should visit the drying-yard of
our principal merchant in furs, here in Victoria. In that yard
on a sunny day, when the bear skins are laid out to air, he uill
see skins of every shade l)etween black, white, and red, all
collected from a comparatively limited district, and all shading
so gradually into one another, that you cannot yourself decide
where the smoky gre) of the true grizzly has changed into the
reddish brown of the cinnamon, or where that has become
dark enough to be considered a rather brownish l)la( k.

As it is with the colour so it is with the shape of the beasts,
and with the shape and colour of their claws. The typical
grizzly should be higher at the shoulder, somewhat shorter in
the back, and generally more massive than the black bear. He
should be so high at the shoulder as to appear almost hump-
backed, whilst his head should be heavy and massive, broad
between the ears, short in proportion to its size as comj)ared to
the head of the black bear, sharp at the snout, and somewhat
I. A .\

354

BIG GAME SHOOTING

flat behind the eyes ; the whole expression of the head being
as unmistakably pugnacious and dangerous as the expression
of the long shallow head of the black bear is weak and inoffen-
sive. As most people are aware, naturalists rely for purposes
of identification more upon the shape of a bear's skull than
upon any external characteristics, and for that reason I have
inserted here an engraving from a photograph of two skulls
placed side by side, the larger one being that of a medium-
sized grizzly bitch (or sow) from Alaska, the other that of a
very large black bear (male) from British Columbia.

As far as the general expression of the beast goes, it seems

Black bear

Grizzly bear

to me that that is no better guide than his colour, for even
amongst grizzlies I have in one trip come across one specimen
with a head as full of vice as a viper's, and another as mild as
a Chinese cook's. It is true that the sexes differed ; the mild
face naturally belonging to the lady.

As to the claws again, the typical Californian grizzly should
have extremely long flat claws of a bony whiteness claws
obviously meant for digging and not for climbing ; while the
genuine l)lack bear should have claws to climb and fish with,
shar|)ly curved, small and dark coloured.

But here again the characteristics are not constant. The
Alaskan grizzly (if it is a true grizzly) has claws far too

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

355

arched or curved to be typical ; whilst in colour, all those which
I have seen were a light brown or slate colour growing white
towards the tips. A bear shot by me in the Hoi)e Mountains
is a good illustration of the strange varieties which sometimes
arise from crosses between black bear and grizzly. This little
fellow would have weighed about 350 lbs. live weight, and was
a full-grown bear when killed. His head was a typical black
bear's as far as shape went, and he had not a distinctly marked
' lift ' or hump at the shoulder ; his claws were very light
coloured (almost white) ; his face and shoulders were a rich
straw colour, fading into a very light grey towards the rump,
whilst his arms, belly, cheeks and ears were a deep rich brown,
almost black in places.

The Indians said he was a grizzly ; the trapper who was with
me called him a cinnamon ; a friend who wished to belittle my
bear said he was only 'a rum-coloured black and a little one at
that.' I only venture to suggest that he was ' very much mixed.'

But perhaps I have already said too much upon this point,
and I will therefore only pause to add this significant fact. No
cinnamon or other similar variety seems to be found where
both black and grizzly do not exist together, l-'or example,
upon \'ancouver Island, no grizzly has ever \tQ.\\ heard of, no
cinnamon has ever been reported, but black bears swarm. The
same, I believe, may be said of the island of Anticosli, and
elsewhere. In habits bears differ, of course, considerably, and
yet even here the points in which they resemble one another
are more nuii.erous than those in which they differ.

All bears appear to be omnivorous, but the grizzly is said
to be more of a flesh-eater than Ursiis amcricanus. Perhaps
he is. No doubt he dearly loves to gorge himself upon a
carcase, and he does occasionally kill a weak beast or a young
one for himself ; but like his cousin he is a great vegetarian,
grubbing up roots and devouring berries by the gallon. But a
black bear is not by any means a total abstainer from meat
diet, more especially if that meat be pork ; indeed, if the pig
needs killing, and the farmer neglects to play the initchcr, the

A A 2

356

BIG GAME SHOOTING

mild-mannered gentleman in black will not be slow to do the
killing and help himself.

To furnish an exhaustive or even adequate list of the
things upon which bears feed is by no means an easy task, but
it is so essential to success that a man should know where to
look for his game (game always being where its food is) that
this must be attempted.

Let me begin at the beginning of the bear's year. As most
men know, all bears on this continent (except, perhaps, the
Polar) lie dormant during the winter. The den, as a rule, is at
the head of one of the hundred gulches which seem to radiate
from a common source amongst the snow peaks, the grizzly
and the cinnamon choosing their lairs at a higher altitude than
the black bear.

The road to a grizzly's den, as I remember it, is generally
up a snow-slide, through a dense belt of noisy brush, which the
weight of the winter's snow has laid as a thunderstorm lays ripe
wheat ; and above this belt, under a sheer bluff, sheltered from
the wind and hidden by the snow, lies the den itself.

Up here, mist and snow, a few stunted pines, and the sleeping
bear have the world to themselves from November to April,
thf» exact date of the bear's retirement to winter qua/ters,
as well as of his reappearance above ground, depending some-
what upon the seasons This much, at any rate, seems to be
generally admitted amongst mountain men that, sometime in
November bears begin to ''hole up,' the black bears being first
and the grizzlies following a week or two later ; whilst in spring
the grizzlies are up and out before their ' softer ' cousins.

When they first come out of their dens both bears feed
entirely upon vegetable matter, even the grizzly being too
weak to wander round to look for the carcases of beasts which
have j)erished during the past winter. This he becomes strong
enough to do a week or so later, but at first he is every bit as
sorry a spectacle as Ursus americanus under similar conditions,
being almost too weak to stand, and sitting down to groan and
wag his old head from sheer exhaustion after every few yards he

^w^

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

357

walks. If at this time the weather looks unproj^itious, both
bears not infrequently come to the conclusion that it is not yet
time to get up, and therefore turn in for one more nap.

In early April (that is, on first leaving their dens) both Ursus
amencanus and Ursus horrilnlis fre(iuent the river bottoms to
feed upon the rank herbage which grows there ; and a little later
find food very much to their taste in the young mountain grass
which springs wherever the snow leaves the hill-sides bare.

It is in April that the hunter gets some of his l)est chances
at bear, for if he be lucky enough to find one of the earliest of
these mountain pastures, and patient enough to watch it for a
few days, he is almost certain of his reward.

At this time, too, a bear is worth killing, for his hide is at
its very best when he leaves his winter (juarters, though it de-
teriorates very rapidly as summer advances.

Towards the end of April (in an average year) when the
bear has purged his system with a diet of mountain grasses,
Nature provides him with somewhat stronger food, in the buds
of the olali bushes (service berry, cVc), in the roots of the wild
parsnip, and a little later in the catkins which come upon the
willows. Later still (in May), when the woods begin to swarm
with ticks and other insects, the bears follow the snow in its
retreat to the high places, finding at its very edge great patches
of golden lilies {Erythroniuni giga/ifeinn) and the small pinkish
blossom of C/ayfonia carolincivux (Indian potato), both blossoms
springing from i)ulbs of which bears are as fond as the Indians,
with whose women folk the former not seldom clash in their
morning ooerations in these wild potato fields.

Iiut to find the bear feeding either upon bulbs or grasses,
or any stronger meat, the hunter must be out early and up late,
for bears are reasonable beings, rarely if ever feeding grossly
at midday, but breakfasting at dawn and dining after dark.

Indeed, bears are more or less nocturnal in their habits, and
this is especially true of gri/.zlies, who, when much hunted, be-
come purely nocturnal in their feeding and in their wanderings.

I know a country (the name of it 1 prefer to keep to mvself

358

niG GAME SHOOTING

for a year or two yet) which appears to be a high tableland,
densely timbered and full of caribou, and from this innu-
merable gullies and clefts lead down to lower levels, where, at
the bottom of steep canyons, are piled rock and stone slide,
and debris of dead pine wood. There are opens among the
pmes at the top, and here in snow-time, if you leave a caribou
carcase for a couple of days, you will find plenty of bear-tracks
going to and fro. Every day the number of them increases,
until it seems to you that the place must be alive with grizzlies ;
but you will never see one of the track-makers by day. The
bears here have been a good deal hunted, and have become as
cunning as monkeys, coming up from the gullies at night but
vanishing like spectres at the first peep of day. It was here
that a friend of mine killed and left a mule deer, hanging its
head up in a tree hard by, to be called for on some future
occasion. ^Vhen that occasion came, the head was missing,
and was found a little further on, laid with the carcase and
carefully covered up with moss and sticks and snow.

This, of course, is a common trick of the grizzly's, but it
was quaint of this particular beast to gather up the fragments
so carefully. By the way, whilst I am on the subject of
' carcases,' I may as well say that it is not my own experience
that grizzlies are very gluttonous feeders, upon nesh at any
rate. Indeed, it seemed to me that a deer's carcase lasted
some bears whom I have known almost as long as it would
have lasted an ordinary camp Indian. I knew, for instance, of
a mule's carcase in the spring of 1892 which served as an attrac-
tion to four bears (two black and two grizzlies) for at least a
fortnight in the Kootenay country.

But to come back to the bear's menu. About the same
time that the Erytlironiuin is in bloom, black bears feed freely
upon a plant called ' arpa ' by our British Columbian Indians
{Heracleum lauatuiii), upon skunk v .bbage, and upon a plant
which Professor Macoun has kindly identified for me as Peuce-
danum triternaftiin.

What the black bear eats from choice, the grizzly will eat

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

359

from necessity ; so that if tl ore are no carcases about, and few
or no bulbs in the country, the hunter may expect to find
U. horribilis making the best of ' arpa ' and skunk cabbage.
As the season advances, the bear changes his diet somewhat,
and before his great autumn harvests of fish, fruits and nuts,
we find him tearing up rotten logs for ants and beetles,
turning over boulders for the larvae which lie below them,
digging up yellow jackets' (wasps, (S:c.) nests for the sake of
the grubs inside, and occasionally burrowing in the hill-sides
for marmots or ground hogs.

The bear's season of plenty begins with the ripening of the
first fruits on the flats by the river bottoms, when those who
care to shoot game out of season may find some sport in kill-
ing both varieties of bear as they wander over the sand bars of
Alaskan rivers, looking for fruit and a cold bath to allay the
irritation of their bald and mangy-looking hides.

The berry season in British Columbia begins at midsummer,
and from that time until late in the fall there is always plenty
of l)ear food in the woods : raspberries (which bears love
beyond all things), currants, gooseberries, soapberries, service,
wine, salmon, bil- and black-berries, strawberries, choke-
cherries, and a score of others, whose flavour I can remember
but whose names I never knew.

I have never seen, except in the Caucasus, such a land
for wild fruit as British Columbia. Compared with it, Colorado,
for instance, is a most unfruitful coiyitry ; but, to make
amends, Colorado abounds in acorns and pine nuts, of which
there are few, if any, in British Columbia. Where the acorns
are, there will the bears be also, but acorns are an uncertain
crop, failing utterly one year and abounding another.

By the way, just before the acorn crop comes in, the silver-
tips of Colorado seem to devote a good deal of their time to
digging in woodland bogs, but \vhether they dig for roots or
insects I am not sure. In Alaska, in British Columbia, and
all along the Pacific Coast the bear's bonne bouchc is kept
until nearly the end of the year. In spring the ' tyhee ' salmon

3^^

BIG GAME SHOOTING

{O. chouicha) turns up the streams, and a few of this 'run'
stay all through the season ; later on come the humpies
{Or'chorhynchus gorbuscha), and of these, the Indians say, none
return to the sea. In October, then, in Alaska and elsewhere,
the glacial streams, tributary to the main rivers, are full of
these misshapen salmon, crimson and purple, and patched
with all manner of vivid leprous patches, their dorsal fins
frayed and rotting as they swim. The streams stink of them ;
your paddle strikes one which is already broken up and drift-
ing seaward ; others, swollen with decay, are standing, tail
upwards, on the river bottom ; whilst others, driven by some
strange madness, diseased and dying, still struggle up the
shallows towards the glacier.

At this time of year, the dense woods of grey and mildewed
pines and prickly devil's club, which croVvd down to the river's
edge, are full of bears ; the mud flats between forest and
stream are pitted with huge tracks (I have measured many
12 ins. by 9 ins.), and the filthy gorged American eagle sits
puking and moping with ruffled feathers among cleaned back
bones and rejected heads and tails of humpies, left over from
the grizzlies' last meal.

And here, at the end of their year's feeding, it seems appro-
priate to say something of the weight to which grizzlies attain,
and the size to which they grow. Like human beings, they
seem to fatten most in a civilised or domestic state, the great
grizzly of San Francisco having really attained to the enormous
weight of 1,500 lbs.,' presumably upon hog food. It is said that
the Californian grizzly grows larger than any other, but 1 doubt
whether he much exceeds the Alaskan in size, and I am abso-
lutely certain that all the largest grizzlies have grown to their
fabulous proportions in the whisky-scented atmosphere of
\Vestern saloons. ' If you will hear them,' as the 'boys 'say,

' Tradition lails this brar at 1,900 itis,, liut Mr. John Coirs writes mo tliat
he saw the Ijcar cxliibitoil by a man named .Adams in San Francisco; it was
then said to weigh 1,500 lbs., and Mr. C.dles adds, ' I ni'V(.'r heard any doubt
expressed as to its weight.' — ('. I'.-W.

RIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

361

2,000-lb. grizzlies are quite common, and 'as big as a bull' is
but a mild way of describing nine bears out of ten shot by
them.

As a matter of fact, I am by no means prepared to doubt
all their stories. There are unquestionably some exceptional
monsters met with now and again, but too many of those in-
stanced have been described merely from the impression made
on the hunter's mind by the sight of a gigantic track which
has spread in soft snow or mud. The largest grizzly of which
I have had anything like trustworthy information in my own
wanderings was shot in Alaska, at English Bay, Kodak Island,
by Mr. J. C. Tolman, now Customs officer at Wrangel. As
Mr. Tolman allows his name to appear, and as he enjoyed an
enviable reputation for verat:ity among men who had known
him for years, I give the dimensions of his big bear as he gave
them to me, extracted from notes made in his diary at the
time at which he killed him. The l)ear was killed only a few
miles from a settlement, and was actually weighed, turning the
scales at 1,656 lbs. dead weight not cleaned : his hide when
freshly skinned measured 13 ft. 6 ins. from nose to anus ;
from ear to ear he measured 13 ins. ; from poll to nose,
20 ins.; the length of the hind-foot was 18 ins, and the
breadth of the forefoot 12 ins. He was killed by a single
shot in the head from a Winchester rifle.

The largest bear which I have myself shot was also an
iMaskan, but infinitely smaller than the above ; still, even this
bear gave four strong men all they could do, with a roi^c round
her neck, to drag her, when dead, down a sloping mud bank
into a canoe laid over on its side to receive her. Her forearm,
when skinned, measured 23 ins., fair measurement, the tape
being stretched as tight as it would go. The Indians put this
bear at from 1,000 to 1,500 lbs., and 1 dare say she really
weighed nearly 800 or possibly 000 lbs., but I am no judge of
an animal's weight, and had no means of weighing her, I
have myself measured skins in Mr. IJoscowitz's store at \'ictoria
(also brought down from Alaska) which measured 9 ft. 10 ins.

362

BIG GAME SHOOTING

from end to end, but then some 6 ins. must be allowed for
on all American skins, as they are skinned up the hind legs in
such a way as to give quite that length of hide beyond the
anus. Of course, too, a skin may be so laced and strained upon
its frame in skinning as to stretch it a good deal beyond its
natural dimensions.

In Colorado the bears appear to be mostly silver-tips, and
if you can rely upon the verdict of the local hunters whom I
met (and I have no reason to doubt their word) a Colorado
■iilver-tip weighing 600 lbs. would be a big bear.

The stories of the ferocity of U. horribilis owe something
to the vivid imaginations of hunters and the sombre sur-
roundings in which they meet their prey ; but there can be no
doubt that on occasion this bear will face a man (or men),
and fight with intense ferocity. As a rule, like all bears, the
grizzly will run rather than fight, and very rarely attacks with-
out provocation, biit when surprised near a carcase, when
cornered, when wounded, or with cubs, U. /lorri/nlis is apt to
be dangerous. I know of a good many deaths due to bears
under such circumstances, and only last year (1891) a very
well-known meat-hunter in Colorado was attacked in green
timber by a silver-tip and regularly worried by him, although
the man had a companion with him, and had not even seen
the bear until he was charged. I have myself seen the
marks of this bear's teeth in the )eg and forearm of my old
guide, who explained the unprov( ked attack by saying that
the bear had supped on a cir. .1 e poisoned for coyotes, and
was ' feelin' pretty mean from belly-ache ' when found. The
Alaskan grizzly has a peculiarly bad reputation among the
Indians in that country, who upon dry land can hardly be
induced to face ' Hoots ' or ' Noon,' as they call the grizzly and
cinnamon. Most of the skins sent to Wrangel are those of
bears strangled in nooses, like big rabbit-snares, which are set
in their paths, or else of bears shot down by men on snow-shoes
in the deep snow of early spring, or shot on the river banks from
a canoe. Here it is as well to say that I know of two instances in

lilG GAME OF NOR 77/ AMERICA

5^^3

which grizzly bitches have, when hunted, deserted their cubs,
and left them up a tree at the mercy of the hunters ; but this is,
of course, unusual. As a rule, grizzlies are distinctly 'ugly' when
they have young with them, and will defend them to the last.
However, 7vith cubs or without, a man with a good rifle and a
steady nerve need never let a bear go in che open. In thick
brush there are times when caution is better than courage. As
I write, a picture comes before my eyes of a willow swamp,
high up on the head-waters of a mountain stream in the
States. An old guide of mine is on the edge of the timber
watching, whilst the brush swings and rattles, and an unseen
form shakes down the yellow leaves and fills the gulch with
her growls. It is only a Ijitch silver-tip, who has got the man's
wind and is trying to collect her cubs ; but, although it is
exasperating to stand while the old lady makes her escape
up the gully, there is nothing else to be done. If she does
not mean to face the open, none but a greenhorn would
attempt to go to her when she was ' fighting mad,' in bush
too thick to walk through, and in places over six feet high.
All the old authorities talk of grizzlies rising to an upright
position on closing with a man, but I have never met a man
who had seen anything of this habit, although I have known
more than one man who has been struck down by a bear.
I have myself come suddenly upon a grizzly, and seen him
rise and face me in the [)Osition I refer to, but he did not stop
in that position long enough for me to dismount and fire, and
I am convinced that his only object in rising upon his hind
legs was to get a better view of the intruder, not to attack him-

There is no doubt that a bear's sight is his weak point.
In bright moonlight I have had one walk past myself and
another man in the open at forty yards without seeing us ; but
if his sight is indifferent, he has the ears of a hare and the nose
of a caribou, and this is especially the case with the black
bear, whose timidity has possibly somewhat sharpened his
senses.

That grizzlies do not climb, except as cubs, appears to be

364

BIG GAME SHOOTING

true ; not that it matters much to the hunter, as anyone will
allow who gets his friend to give him 100 or 150 yards' start
and then tries to ' tree ' in time to escaj)e hiin. The right tree
never grows in the right place, and climbing in a hurry sounds
easier than it is. It will be found that most men can run
100 yards in less time than they can choose their tree and
climb ii: to such a height that their feet are ten feet above the
ground. A beai, too, travels faster even than a frightened
man on the flat. If you are charged, the best thing you can
do is to stand fast and go on shooting ; and if there are two of
you, and both of one mind, and not standi /ii^' too close toi:;et/ier.
there should not be much danger : but better than that is to
take pains about your first shot : or go close to your bear and
shoot him in the head or neck, as the natives do. If you hit
him in either of these places, you can kill him at once with
an ordinary Winchester (45 '90) ; whilst if you are using a
Paradox or a big English Express, a shot ranging forward
from behind the shoulder or (with a solid bullet) through the
shoulder is good enough.

Don't shoot at a bear ai)Ove you unless you are sure of
killing him ; a wounded beast will almost always come down
hill and may take you on the way ; and don't shoot at a bear
in the brush as if you were ' browning ' a covey of partridges ;
nor follow a wounded bear into thi( k covert unless you are
well insured, about to be married, or at the cud of your ordi-
nary resources for sujjporting your family.

Opinions vary as to the comparative ferocity and vitality of
the different sjjecies, but jjcrhajis individuals vary at least w^
much as species. I have known a ijlack bear take a l)ullet from
an English rifle fired by me jjoint blank into her chest at ten
paces, and then turn and gallop uphill for 200 yards before
dying ; and I have known a two-year-old black bear take
three bullets, scattered indiscriminately over his l)ack by my
friend's Paradox (12-bore), and then turn and charge like a
hero. He charged the wrong man, though, and got shot in ihc
head for his impudence.

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

365

To finish these remarks, and convey, if possible, some idea
of hunting the grizzly, let me take a leaf from my note-book,
kept in Alaska in the autumn of 1891. whilst hunting with my
friend Mr. Arnold Pike.

Nature has a way of always suiting her creatures to their
environments, but none of her creatures are more exactly
suited to their surroundings than U. horrihilis. Savage and
silent and grey as the grizzly is, the forests and waters amongst
which he chooses to dwell are more grim, more savage, and
mor'^ forbidding than himself. The part of Alaska in which
we were hunting in i8()i ap[)ears to have escaped from that
process described in (lenesis by which the waters which were
above the firmament were divided from the waters whi(^h were
under the firmament. On the Stickeen river there is no
firmament. As a lule, a damp darkness broods up.on the face
of the deep, and the waters which should be above touch and
mingle with the waters which should be below. There is no
dry belt ijetween the bottom of the sea and the roof of heaven,
at ieasi in that district which lies between Wrangel and Tele-
graph Creek, in the month of October. A\"e were out for forty
days and forty nights, and I cani^.ot swear to more than three
and a half moderately fine days in that time : a fine day in
Alaska being one in which you wear oilskins and gum boots.
and go to bed in a dry shirt ; whilst on a wet one you wear
gum boots nnd oilskins, and go to bed to dry your shirt.
The river Sti('keen runs its rapid course between dank forests,
grey at tlie top with mildew, and hung with dark mosses, in
which the devil's club forms an impenetrable undergrowth, and
even the pines are thorny. The pace of the river is such that
you make as much in one day, drifting down it, as you made
in five pulling and poling up it ; and your camping-grounds are
of necessity upon barren sands5)its, for nothing but a bear
could force its way into this timber. In this land no gentle
things live : there are no deer, no small birtls, no squirrels, no
sunlight nothing but a f>w wolves, a stray seal, which comes
whistling up on the tide in ihc grey ol the morning, great

366

BIG GAME SHOOTING

flights of Canada geese, and dying salmon. All along the
course of the main river are the mouths of its ice-fed tributaries,
little streams of greenish-blue water, rising in a glacier and
fringed with narrow strips of glacial mud, upon which a rank
growth of Eqidsetum (horse-tail) flourishes. These banks are
the hunting grounds, and the number of huge tracks upon
them, as well as the debris of half-eaten salmon, proclaim that
there is no scarcity of game ; but if the hunter would get a shot
he must haunt them at all unseasonable hours, when winds
are most chill, and nature is at her gloomiest : for ' Hoots ' only
creeps out upon the creek's edges with the first shadows of the
night, and vanishes from them with the earliest rising mists of
morning.

In this land it was that one evening we pitched our tents
upon a sandspit; cut wet brush in the rain to make our bedding
for the night, and then, tired with a hard day and dispirited by
weeks of failure, stepped once more into the canoe and paddled
for all we were worth up and across the stream to the mouth
of a salmon creek.

Once in the green water, pipes were put out, conversation
ceased. Pike and I laid down our paddles and took up our
rifles, and only the Indian worked, the canoe gliding up the
still waters without a sound. ,

At the mouth of the stream, a few flashing shadows beneath
the water attracted our Indian's attention, and a few cjuick
thrusts with his spear provided us with enough fresh salmon
to last us for a day or two. A blow or two with the axe
silenced them, and again the c^nnoe stole up stream, the men
in it noting fresh tracks upon the banks, and peering into the
shadowy woods, whicl: grew darker and more impenetrable
every minute. ' •

Once or twice on our way up stream the canoe ran
aground, and all hands had to get out to push their c aft
through the sands (cjuicksands as often as not) into which .v^
sank over the tops of our waders.

lUit these are small matters. Pike ! itlin? ^vilh iue leg

BIG GAME OF NORTH A ME NIC A

367

dangling over the side, always ready to junp out, seemed
rather to like it —it reminded him of days among the ice near
Spitzbergen— and all of us had long since become amphibious.

At last the stream ceased to be navigable even for our
shallow craft, which we beached ui)on certain muddy shallows,
among stunted bushes and dead equisetum, and our watch
began. All round us stretched the swamp, and above it rose
the densely timbered hills, while far above them again towered
the triple peaks of snowy Sacocle. For an hour and a half
no one stirred, though o;:r fingers were numb, and we were
too cold to feel cold. A good Siwash (Indian) won't move a
muscle for hours, nor sneeze, nor cough, nor do any of the
hundred and one things which no one ever wants to do except
upon such a vigil as this. For an hour and a half the rain
went on, the darkness deepened, and the silence became
intense, broken only by the occasional splash of a ' humpy '
who had run himself aground, and could not get off again into
deep water.

At last Jim came to the conclusion that no bears would
come that night, and as a glance at our sights proved to us that
we should probably miss them even if they came, we signalled
him to push off, and in a minute the canoe was again fleeting
over the waters in breathless silence, the thin line of forest
seeming to glide by us while we stood still. An Indian in the
bows was looking out for 'snags ahead ' or shallows, and for
my pari I had played this game so often before that I had
given up hope, and was dreaming of other things. All at once

the canoe was violently sliaken >rom stem to stem, ' 1)

the fellow,' I muttcretl. 'I su[)i*ose he has run aground,' and
1 went on d'eaming. .\ga'P the canoe trembled under me,
and this time 1 remembered that this was to be the signal for
game ahead. At the same moment I noticed that the Siwash 's
face was wo»"king, and his hands were drawing his Winchester
from its case, when my friend crept up to him, and made him
iMulerstand that if he fired it would hurl him more than the
bears, and then at last I saw f/itiii. Until then the Indian's

368

BIG GAME SHOOTING

body had been in my way, but now they were in full view,
standing almost up to their shoulders in the stream, still as
stone images in the dark shadow of the overhanging bank,
their heads turned over their shoulders looking in our direc-
tion, and the long silvery ripples running from their legs down
stream. It was lucky for me that night that I carried a
Paradox, with which a man can shoot at short ranges as if he
were snap-shooting at rabbits in covert, for I had to stand up
to get a clean .-> ^ had not a second to lose, and the oanoe
rocked horribly u my feet. The big beast of the two fell

to my first barrel, smking where she stood, while her mate got
my second barrel in the back as he scrambled up the bank,
making good his escape for the moment into the dense scrub.

I don't suppose that the whole incident, from the find until
we began to fish up my bear, took a minute, and yet into that
minute was crowded a third of the reward for forty days of
hard work, short commons and general misery. Is the game
worth the candle ? I think it is, but I don't want to i)ersuade
any man to be of my way of thinking, nor do I want to convey
the impression that all bear hunting is necessarily as grim and
miserable as it is in Alaska. But in places where bear hunting
is ea.sy, bears are getting scarce (at least, grizzlies are), for their
hides l)ring a good price and there is a bounty upon their
scalps as well. The result is that more bears are trapped in
one year than would be shot in five under ordinary circum-
stances. For instance, two brothers whom I know killed
thirty-five boars in 1S90 within a radius of eighty miles of their
cabin. Of course, this sort of thing cannot last.

It seems a pity, as, whether you hunt him among the mists
and storms of an Alaskan autunm, or watch for him by a hill
at the t Jge of some dark canyon, until even the bird chiijuetta
stops her noisy little song, and the outlines of all objects
become indistinct and moving, Ursus hornhilis is better worth
hunting than any other beast, except i)erhaps the bighorn, in
all America.

I'.S. Since writing this, Sir (ieorge Lampson has kindly

■■

9
c
it
t'

lUCi GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

369

furnished mc with the length of eleven American grizzly skins
in his warehouse at one time — 8;, 89, 90, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97,
98, TO I and T03 ins. respectively. On the day these parti-
culars were furnished I myself pat the tape over a grizzly skin
in Sir Oeorge Lampson's possession which measured 9 ft. from
the eyes to the tail.

III. V,\.\C.V. \\Y.\\^ {Ursus amcvhaiuts)

I have said so much incidentally about the black bear
while writing of his congener the grizzly, that I have very little
left to say of liim in the proper place. A recent American
authority describes this bear's habitat as being confined now-
adays ' to some portions of the various ranges of mountains
south of the St. Lawrence river, the Great Lakes, and (east of
the Mississippi river) to parts of those portions of the Mis-
sissippi riv(.'r and its tributaries which are yet unsettled,' and
to ' the dense thickets of the Colorado, Trinity, and Brayos
rivers.* Colonel (i. I). Alexander should have bethought him
of those countries west of the Rockies (Alaska, British Columbia,
AVashington Territory, Vancouver Island, and Oregon) which
are at present the principal stronghold of Urstis amcricauus ;
and as I am informed the chief source from which the fur-traders
draw their supplies of black bear skins. Unfortunately for
the black bear, the price of his hide has gone up lately in the
fur market. Ten years ago ,515 was a long price to pay for
a bear's skin ; this year a trader out here paid as much as ,<(35
for one. \\'hatever the ultimate result of this rise in value may
be, the immediate consecjuence of it has been to show the
world what a vast number of bears can be killed in America
if they are wanted.

Mere are some statistics of recent crops of bear in America
which speak for themselves.

The Hudson Bay Company, of course, draws all its supply
of hides from this continent, and I am assured that the same
may be said (with scarcely any allowance for Russian, Norwegian,

I. ■ B B

370

/.'/(; c;aa/e shooting

Indian, or other skins) of the great firm of C. M. Lampr.on
«S: Co. These two firms collected in 1891 and offered for sale
in 1892 no fewer than 29,081 bear hides, to which enormous
total the Hudson Bay Company contributed 11,027 hides.

Some idea of the proportion of black to other skins at
these sales may be obtained by looking at the Hudson Bay
Company's lists for 1891, in which we find 11,414 black, 1,875
brown, 253 grey, and 130 white bear skins offered for sale.

' W'luMi Spring in llie wooils ■

There can be little doubt, then, that there were plenty of
black bear in America in 1890 and 1891 ; and, in spite of the
immense harvest of hides wliich is annually gathered in, 1
venture to proi)hesy that until Alaskan river bottoms and the
dense timber districts of Vancouver Island, Oregon, and Wash-
ington Territory are cleared and ready for the plough, there
will be plenty of bear left for those who care to look for them.

■■

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

yi^

Here on Vancouver Island and on the north-west coast of

British Columbia black bears are especially plentiful, one of

our 'great fur-dealers (Mr. Boscowitz) having taken in over

i,ooo hides last year, whilst I see by a newspaper (' Colonist,'

Dec. 6, 1892) that at Sumas in the New Westminster District

(one of our best farming districts) seven bears have lately fallen

to one rifle and three to another ; and I am well convinced

that a salmon -canning friend of mine told me the truth when

he asserted that about dawn, one day during the great annual

salmon run, he saw seventeen black bears at one coup d'oiil^

feeding along the bank of one of the northern rivers of British

Columl)ia.

But it must not be inferred from these facts that every
tenderfoot who comes along will run up against bears the first
time he goes in search of them. On the contrary, an old friend
of mine (every inch an English sportsman) has been out in this
country for twenty-five years, travelling from time to time all
over the province, and has never yet seen a bear alive in the
woods. The reason is simply that my friend uses a shot-gun,
and doesn't look for bears ; and if you want to see these beasts
you must look for them at the right time and in the right place,
and even then be thankful if you see more than their fresh tracks,
for Nature has given them noses as keen as the pose of a caribou,
and ears which are always on the alert, as well as an impreg-
nable sanctuary in the dense timber and tangled woodfall of
their native forests. To those who live upon the Pacific coast
the black bear is an animal to be thankful for, affording as he
does an excuse for carrying a rifle when spring is in the woods ;
when the cedar swamps smell heavy with the musk of the
skunk cabbage, and are lit in their green darkness by stray beams
of May sunshine ; when Cormus NnttaUi'\^ white with blooms
as big as the i)alm of a man's hand, and underfoot all is bright
with the red and orange of columbine and ' Indian pink,' or
white with the delicate petals of the dog violet. To me the black
glossy hide beneath my feet always brings back memories of
spring-time, either here on the island, or on the mainland by

li I! 2

Zl^

BIG GAME SHOOTING

the Frazer, where the beautiful olahs are smothered in white
blossom, and where the great yellow swallow-tails and plum-
coloured Camberwell Beauties sail and sun themselves upon
the stone slides round the lake.

But though the black bear affords an excellent excuse for
bolting out of town in spring-time, it cannot be said that he is
a very sporting beast. He hasn't got an ounce of ' fight ' in
him, and stalking is of course impossible in such districts as
those which he frequents. Even 'still hunting' is very nearly
useless in such timber as exists on this coast ; so that unless
you use hounds to hunt him with, your best chance of meeting
Ursus americanus is to take a canoe and paddlt (luielly up
untravelled streams, where fish are plentiful, or where in
autumn the berry bushes grow thickly. In spring you may get
a shot by watching woodland swamps winere the skunk cabbage
grows, or hill-sides when th'^ Indian potato is ripe, but you are
nearly as likely to have your chance if you are out early upon
the best trail in the country, which runs near such feeding
places, for the black bear appreciates a good road as much as
a man does, and always uses one when he can.

In Eastern America the black bear is principally hunted
with hounds, and even here a good dog which will tree a bear
is useful ; but my own experience of such sport has been, that
in nine cases out of ten the hounds' music ceased just as I had
done the hardest mile on record up hill and over fallen timber,
and the hounds themselves turned up ten minutes later, meek
and dejected, their muzzles full of porcupine quills, which they
evidently expected me to pull out for them.

Most of the skins sent in to Victoria from Alaska are taken
by trapping (by noose, gin, or deadfall), or by hunting with
dogs, between the time the bears leave their dens and the
time the snow leaves the river bottoms. It is a short season
and an uncertain one, but I am assured by those who have
tried it, that for a man who is a good goer upon snow-shoes, it
is excellent fun whilst it lasts. The dogs used for bears are of
every breed and combination of breeds, but perhaps the best

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

are collies. It does not ref[uire a big dog or a powerful dog
for the work, for no dog is big enough to close with, whilst any
dog is big enough to frighten, a black bear. I remember upon
one occasion seeing three dogs, two small Pomeranians and
a cross-bred setter, run a two-year-old black bear to bay on the
ford of a river. The dogs had to swim, but by standing uj)
the bear could rest upon firm ground, and keep his arms and
jaws free for fighting above water.

The bear had already received a shot in the stomach be-
fore the dogs tackled him, but when they ran him to bay he
seemed strong and well. Neither dogs nor bear took any
notice of me, though I was standing up to my knees in the
water of the ford within a few paces of them ; and in five
minutes the fight was over without interference on my part-
At first the ijear cuffed the dogs as they swam u}) to him, as a
man might cuff who knew nothing of hitting out from the
shoulder, and once he took the big dog in his jaws and went
right under with him. However, the setter came up smiling,
and shortly afterwards poor old Bruin was floating down stream,
his head under water, and the dogs tugging with impunity at
his flanks. I suppose that this bear weighed less than 200 lbs.

Captain Baldwin in his excellent book on the game of
Bengal describes two kinds of bears : U. labiaius and U. tibet-
anus ; and almost everything that he says of the Indian black
bear would apply ecjually well lO U. a/ncricanus (even to his
weakness for _)r/A;?£/ raspberries), except that C/". /rz/vrtf/z/jr appears
to fight upon occasion, whereas U. oniericaniis is hardly ever
known to fight even in self-defence, and has never, as far as I
know, been accused of making an unjjrovok', ,■ .'ssault upon a
human being.

Baldwin seems to have been somewhat surprised when he dis-
covered that the Indian black bear fed upon carrion. No one in
America would be surprised at anything which U. amcricanus
considered good for him. I have seen a cub take rotten melon,
a i)iece of meat, a cake of chocolate, a plug of T. l^ B. tobacco,
and the end of a half-smoked cigar for breakfast. Being

574

BIG GAME SHOOTING

a true American, the cub naturally showed a preference for the
plug of T. <!v: B., but none of the other things came amiss to
him. In a wild state a black ijear will eat any garbage, putrid
fish, dead animals, or anything else which comes in his way.
In fact, the poor black bear is in all his tastes and habits a
thorough hog : a pig without a pig's pugnacity.

As a rule he is a lowland beast, living in swamps and river-
bottoms, but I have seen him once or twice even in a mountain
sheep country, probably crossing over the divide from one
river-bed to another. It is well for him that he generally
eschews the open, for once out of the timber everything which
has eyes must see him. A man may mistake a burnt log for a
bear, but no man could mistake a bear for a burnt log. The
intense blackness and gloss of a bear's coat is not thoroughly
appreciated until you see it contrasted with other objects which
you are accustomed to call black.

AVhere the sportsman runs any chance of seeing tra(
both black and grizzly in one and the same piece of countr\-,
ic IS as well to be able to distinguish the one from the other.

It is not easy to do this, but, as a general rule, if the ground
on which the track is made is soft, you should be able to see
the long cuts made by the grizzly's claws, as contrasted with the
little holes made by the points of the black bears. I am talk-
ing now of the forepaws, and it will be remembered that the
claws of the black are much arched, and therefore only touch
at the tip, whereas the grizzly's claw is flat and should touch
almost along its whole length.

Again, there is no doubt that the heel of the grizzly is
much broader and squarer than that of the black bear, which
makes a very narrow impression, even upon soft clay.

Like the grizzly, the black bear varies greatly in size and
weight. Oh Vancouver Island 1 am inclined to think that the
average black bear would not weigh 300 lbs. ; but no doubt
there are many exceptional bears, even upon the island, which
greatly exceed that weight ; and I have myself seen an old
male upon the mainland which, if I am any judge of weight,

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

375

was not an ounce less than 500 ll)s., and probably weighed
more ; while there are from time to time black bear skins in
the warehouses of Mr. Boscowit/, the principal fur-dealer in
\'ictoria, which would measure nearly 9 ft. from end to end
(if allowance were made for the mask beyond the eyes), and
6 ft. from side to side below the arms.

In 1 89 1 I measured in this store a black bear's skin which
did not seem unduly stretched, the length of which was, to the
best of my recollection, S ft. 6 ins. from eyes to tail, or 8 ft.
10 ins. as measured.

Amongst the skins for sale by Messrs. C. M. Lampson i!v:
Co., at their small summer sale, June 12, 1893, at which I was
told that the black bear skins were small, I measured one
skin 93 ins. from eyes to tr.il, and one of the employes of
the house assured me that a bla' k bear skin measuring 8 ft.
6 ins. was not uncommon.

Before leaving the subject of bears altogether, I should
like to refer to an extraordinary skin which I saw among
Mr. Boscowitz's consignments from the upper country last
year. In size this skin is considerably larger than the average
bear hide ; the colour of it is white, with a few straw-coloured
patches (little more than a few hairs in each) on the head and
about the rump. The paws and claws of the annual were attached
to the skin, and from the jaws and skin of the head I should
imagine that the beast had a long shallow head like a black
bear's, though the skin is more like the skin of a Polar in
summer season, except that whereas other bear hides are of
hair, this is distinctly woolly, more like the fleece of a sheep
than the hide of a bear.

I am informed that this skin was sent to Mr. Rowland
^^■ard's. The bear was killed on one of the inlets of the
north-west coast, and is the only one of the kind ever seen in
our British Columbia fur market.

3/6

BIG GAME SHOOTING

IV. BISON OR LUl'FALO (Bi.<on anicruanus)

In writing of big game in North America, it is impossible
to wri!.e for more than the immediate present. That which
was ten years ago has ah-eady ceased to be, and it is probable
that the conditions, both of game and country, will change
alinG:;t .is much in the coming decade as they have done in
that which has just passed.

Ten years ago, as I travelled along Uie Northern Pacific
Railway line, the skin-luinters were at work in the neighbour-
hood of Glendive and Little Missouri, and I had an opportunity
of killing my buffalo like my predecessors. Unfortuni.tely for
me, T agreed with (Jolonel Dodge's plainsmen in ' scarcely
considering the buffalo game.' Now the herds are gone, and
neither I nor any other man will see the [dairies again *all one
vast robe.' All that remains of the vast herds which used to
roam ' over the whole of the Eastern United States to tb.e
Atlantic Ocean, and southward into Florida,' are two or three
half-domesticated herds (one whic h was Colonel IJedson's and
one in the Kootenay country among tlie Flat head Indians),
and a small band of wild beasts, protected by the United
States, in the \'ellowstone Park. ' I'orest and Stream,'
January 29, 1892, jnits this last herd at about 400 head, with
an increase of 100 head per annum. \\'est of Winnipeg the
buffalo paths are still visible, worn dee[) in the g''ey [irairies by
milHcns of passing feet ; but the herds have gone, and the men
and beasts who lived ui)on them. All that is left are a few
piles of bleaching bones and a few weather-worn skulls, and
even these have almost all been gathered and turned into
dol'ars by the manure manufacturer and the trophy-monger.
In this practical moncygrubl)ing age it does not do to lament
the good old days, unless you want to be laughed nt ; but
it is hard, nevertheless, to look on the ocean of grassland
when the spring llowers are commg. and not regret the great
waves of animal life which used to sweej) over it. Such

BIG GAME i)f^ NORTH AMERICA

Z77

evidence as I can offer as to the mode in which the huffalo
was hunted must of necessity be hearsay evidence, collected,
however, at first hand, princijjally from an Indian confined, at
the time I saw him, at the Stony Mountain Penitentiary, and
from a white skin-hunter, w!ose last hunts were conducted in
1880, 1 88 1 and 1882, in Montana and North Dacota.

A white skin-hunter's ' outfit ' of the most mode.it kind
consisted in those days of one hunter carrying a Sharp's rifle
(with i)ullets weighing 500 grains), two skinners, and an extra
man for camp work and odd jobs.

l>ufing the rutting season (from July 20 to September 16)
the bufHiloes all ran together, but during the rest of the year
the old bulls kept together, apart from the cows and young
bulls. Except during the rutting season, the bands were com-
paratively small from 20 to 200 - led, if consisting of cows and
young beasts, by an old cow. In hot weather the bands would
lie quiet during the heat of the day, but in windy weather they
would kee[) travelling all day against the >vind, feeding as they
went. As soon as the herds had been found the hunter would
begin operations, shooting at long ranges, and keeping out
of sight as nun h as possible. The first beast shot was the
leader of the band, and as often as the band seemed to ha^e
selected another h^der he, too, had to be dropped in his tracks.
Without a leader, and with no enemy in sight, the remainder
of the herd would generally become confused, and allow the
hunter to shoot down a large numl)er ' at a stand,' as he called
it. Having killed as many as he could, the hunter left the
carcases where tliey lay, his assisi ints coming to skin them the
next day. Fifteen head a da' was, so my informant stated, a
fair a\-erage for one man to kill and two to skin, although in
the fall of 1880 wvA ;[^ring of 1881 lie and his [)arty averaged
twenty -four heads per diem.

'I'he best shot was low down behind the shoukler, about
ten inches fron^. the biiskit. A ball placed thcc would pene-
trate the lungs, and, alter a few plunges, the beast would dro[)
and die.

578

BIG GAME SHOOTING

The price of all the blood shed by the skin-hunters may
be summed up briefly as 2 dollars 75 cents each for ' leather
liides '—i.e. hides of old bulls all the year round and young
beasts during the summer season — and y^o cents for 'robe
hides.'

My informant told me that if it would pay him he thought
that he could still find bufAilo on the northern tributaries of
the Saskatchewan, east of the Rockies, as some friends of his,
trapping 'away back ' in t886, had seen plenty of them, though
the difficulty of bringing the robes out had prevented their
shooting any.

The last buffalo killed by a white man to my own certain
knowledge was shot by Mr. Warburton J'ike {a.x away to the
North, near the (Ireat Slave Lake, when out after musk ox.'

Some idea of the number of the buffaloes in early days
may be gathered from the well-attested fact that the pioneer
settlers often drove through the herds for days and days with
buffalo in sight all round them all day long, as well as from the
statistics collected by Colonel Dodge, in his ' Plains of the
(ireat West.' That author states that, from information fur-
nished to him by the Atcheson, Topeka and Santa l"'e Railway
Company, he concludes that not less than a million and a half
were killed in the Stales from 1872 to 1874.

Colonel Dodge mentions a moimtain buffalo as a variety of
the common buffalo, and Mr. J. V.. Darting, in some remarks
j)ublished originally in the ' Field,' alludes to a beast of the
same class, which he calls ' /acateca.'

'i"he Zacatecas, of which specimens were exhibited at the
American Exhibition of 1887, inhabit the mountainous regions
of iNoilhern Mexico ; they are smaller than the buffalo, are
hornless, and have tails more like the tails of yaks than like
those of the connnon buffalo, who by the way is, proi)erly
speaking, a bison (/A'.v americaniis). I have taken the liberty
of calling him a buffalo because in his native haunts he has

' Cf. W. I'ikc's Ihiririi Croiindf of Northern t'aihuia.

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

379

been so called, and
as such he will go
down to posterity in
the legends of thcjse
great plains which
knowhiin no longer.

The V ood liuf-
fiilo and ttic Moun-
tain Buffalo appear
to be almost, if not
(]uite, identical with
the common type of
Ji. amcrica)ius, from
which they differ
only in habitat, in
the (juality of their
coat, and in that
they are of some-
what smaller si/e
than their kinsmen
of the plains.

A better idea of
the api)earance of
the subject of these

remarks may

be ob

lained by a glance
at the illustrations
than could possibl\
be gi\en by an)
amount of descrip
live writing, the il-
lustrations having

I )een

drawn

l)V

Mr. Whymper fiom
photographs of tin-

pure

-bred

beasts m

•73

?8o

lUG GAME SHOOTING

Colonel Hedson's herd, taken by Lody Alice Stanley, and by
a photographer at Winnipeg, Manitoba.

An idea of the size of a buffalo bull may be conveyed by
the fact that, in 1889, one of the bu.te in Colonel Bedson's herd
was estimated at 2,000 lbs., and a much smaller beast, a half-
bred bull, was killed, which dressed without the head r,Too lbs.
This was a fcnir-year-oid, by a buffalo bull out of a Durham cow.

r.S. Since writing the above, I have spent a season with
an old-time buffnlo hunter, who '"onfirmed all the statements
made to me by others ; and added that, as an instance of the
numbers killed by individuals, he himself accounted for 3,500
head in four years, whilst a friend of his, .\. C. Myers, killed
4,200 buffiiloes in the Pan Handle Country, in Texas, in one
year, 'about the time Hayes was Presidenl.'

My old friend S. W. explained to me why men used such
a gigantic weapon as the 'okl reliable " Sharj), which used to weigh
16 lbs. and upwatds, although the bullet -.vas but a small one.

In buffalo shooting, he said, you had often to fire a deuce of
a lot of shots one after another ; the weather was hotter than
' the hcitest part of the hot place,' and as you were shooting at
long ranges, if the barrel got hot, a sort of mist would get be-
tween yvun- eyeandthe sights, which hel[)ed the buffalo somewhat.
Besides where shooting was your trade, you didn't want to get
your shoulder 'kicked 'at every shot; and as for the weight
of your ride, that didn't matti, 1 to you, for your pony packed it.

>-*' --^f-

V*^v. y" •*

' A jiili' of hiilTiilo liiiiics'

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

?8i

W TIIK r.IGIIORN (Or/.*- moiiiana)

To a man who loves the hill-tops, wliere the winds blow
keen and i)ure over the red gold of sun-dried grass and the
deep blue of snow-fed tarns, there is no game in America to
compare with the bighorn of the Rocky Mountains. Other
beasts may hide away in the dense timber of Oregon, Wash-
ington Territory, and Vancouver Island ; other beasts may
sneak out only at dusk and dawn, but the gallant bighorn still
lives out in the open, trusting for safety to the grey-faced ewes
who watch over him, or to his own marve'lously keen sight
and scent. In s])ite of this, the man who kills a i6-in. ram
generally deserves his good luck, for there is no beast better
able to take care of himself than an old l)ighorn, nor any more
difficult to stalk, ^\'here he lives the wind seems never still,
and never constant in any given direction ; at night it strains
at the hunter's tent-rope and makes his fire roar and blaze like
a mad thing, and in the morning it curls round the hill-tops and
heralds the stalker's comitig from every (juarter. It is the fashion
in books of sport to describe the haunts of Om's motitixna as being
' the highest, raggedest, and most forbidding mountain ranges."
Nothing could be further from the truth than this, if the state-
ment is intended to br general. Sheep are undoubtedly some-
times found in diffi.u.U and even dangerous places, but to
describe sheep shootirg as anything like ibex or chantois
hunting is pure folly. The first sheep it was ever my good
fortune to see was in the IJad Lands, on an eminence not
200 ft. above the level of the Northern Pacific Raihva}- line,
and the last I shot in 1892 was not 1,000 ft. above the level
of the l"'razer. As a rule, sheep in early autumn keep to the
bald knolls a!)ove the timber-line (where |)atches of snow still
linger), seeking refiige when disturbed in the abrui)t rock
faces with which the hills abound. When the snow comes
they retire to the edge of the timber, sheltering among the
junii)er bushes and stunted balsams from the early winter

382

/.'a; l;ame shootimg

storms. Later on, when the deep snows have covered all their
U[)land pastures, the sheep come down to the benches

indeed, one ram which I shot in
iS()2 was llrst sij^hted feedin}/ in
the middle of a small hand of cattle
on the Mat. iUit winter is not the
limef(}r siieej) hunting, nor the Hats

■M

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

383

above the river the proper places to hunt them in To
enjoy sheep shooting to perfection a man should leave the
Pacific coast in September, pass through the belt of water
meadows and pine forests, where the pink fireweed contrasts
vividly with the grey stems of the i)ines and the soft green of
the ferns, and through the country of sage brush and rolling
yellow bluffs. From this point his road will lie steadily upwards,
over the rolling prairie, througi: belts of green timber where the
(leer swarm in winter, and then i)y thread-like trails over side-
hills and stone-slides along the course of some tributary of the
Frazer, until at last a great yellow cone, patched here and
there with snow, rises clear above the timber-line in front of
him. This is sheejj-land, the land of the roaring wind (Skul-
loptin), but it will take him a good long day to reach it, and
both he and his horses will be dead tired by the time they stop
to camp. At first a sheer rock wall rises from the river ; on the
top of the rock is a bench of golden grass, and then again there
is a sharp ascent and another bench of grass. Finally the
ladder of benches is lost in the forest, which goes climbing away
uphill in resolute fashion until towards nightfall the hunter
reaches the land of stone-slides and burnt timber, and passing
through that comes out upon the edge of the shee[) downs,
where the stream becomes no more than a succession of small
l)ools amongst the moss, and the only trees still left are dwarfed,
stunted, and twisted into all manner of forms by the violence of
the mountain winds. If the sun has left the lanascape when the
lumter first sees it, the effect is weird and cheerless. The great
brown wastes above, the soft silent mosses underfoot, the trees
huddled together in little groups as if for mutual support, the
hanging fringes of blackened beard moss, all helj) to accentuate
the bleakness of the lam.l over which the mountain wind sobs
or shrieks. lUit in the morning all chatiges as if at a magician's
word. The skies are cloudless, the sunlight dances on snow-
field and streamlet, and even the grey stems of the trees are
beautiful when contrasted with the ruddy orange of the Inilian
pinks at their feet — bett(!r than all, the hunter's lungs are

384

lUG GAME SHOOTING

filled with air which acts on him like champagne, and on the
skyline, as likely as not, he sees the great white sterns
of" half a dozen sheep feeding quietly on their way back to their
sleeping ground. l}y ten o'clock at latest those sheep will lie
down, and then where they lie down they \vill stay, motionless
as the grey rocks they lie amongst, until nearly four o'clock,
their eyes apparently open the whole time and fixed steadily
upon the nearest skyline. Generally, sheep will choose a
little sheltered meadow at the foot of a small glacier, lying
down in the very middle of it, each old ram with his head
turned in a different direction, and each with his eyes fixed on
a different skyline. When sheep have chosen such a position
as this, the only thing to be done is to lie and watch them until
they move away to some more accessiiile country. Many a time
have I lain like this waiting until first one old ram and then
another rose, stretched himself, and then lay down again for
another forty winks. It is very exasperating, but when at last
the whole band gets upon its legs and feeds slowly over a ridge
from behind which it is possible to stalk them, verily you have
your reward.

As illustrative of the nature of the country in which sheep
west of the Rockies are killed, I have seen a well-known
British Columbian rancher ride up to a band of ewes in the
highlands of the Ashnoki country, galloping after them until
within range, then dismounting and killing two out of the
l)and. This was in early autumn, and in what I consider the
easiest country I have ever seen ; in winter, of course, when
the snows are heavy on the mountains, the sheep come right
down on to the flat, by the edge of the Fra/.er river. Indeed,
in the winter (end of November 1S90) I found a Hiir-sized
ram feeding amongst a band of cattle, and killed him before
he had put a hundred yards between himself and them.
Another recent statement to which I must take exception is
that 'a man who can find a band of ten or fifteen (sheej))
after a week's riding and climbing is a fortunate man.' Sheep
extend from the Missouri to Alaska, and whatever their

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

385

numbers may be east of the Rockies, they are certainly
plentiful enough west of that range. In Cassiar they are very
numerous, and along the banks of the Frazer I have in one
season (1889) seen one band of seventy, one of sixty, and on
another occasion, late in the fall, a ^iend of mine and myself
came upon an immense band feeding in little bunches of
fifteen and twenty, aggregating, I should think, at least 150.
I did not and could not count them, but should imagine
my estimate was absurdly within the limit. M. 1). and I took
them at first sight for strayed cattle from a neighbouring
ranche. Later on we met a portion of this band going uphill,
and watched them file past us, within twenty yards of us, each
beast coming up on to a little mound immediately below our
ambush, pausing for a moment to look downhill, and then
making place for the next. In this procession the barren
ewes led, the ewes and lambs came next, and the rams brought
up the rear, with the biggest ram, for whom we were waiting,
last of all. But though the Frazer River country contains
plenty of sheep, neither this country nor Alaska seems to
])roduce such fine heads as are found east of the Rockies. •
A 16-inch head (honest measurement) is an exceptionally
good head for British Columbia. Let those who doubt this
statement tape their trophies and judge for themselves. East
of the Rockies larger heads are not uncommon ; the largest
of which I have any accurate information having been bought
at Morley by my friend Mr. Arnold Pike. This head
measured 17-25 ins. round the base of the horn, being, there-
fore, considerably bigger than the fine heads exhibited by
Messrs. Y. Cooper and H. Seton Karr in the American Ex-
hibition. The record sheep head, according to Ward's excellent
book, is 41 ins. in length and 17] in circumference.

Of course, there are stor es of heads which measure far
more than this — of giant heads with two twists to the horns ;
but they are never seen, although, like most sportsmen, I have
myself once seen a head, which I did not secure, that will haunt
me until my shooting days are done.

I. c c

386

BIG GAME SHOOTING

There is a tiny sheep district very far up in the mountains
at the head of one of the Trazer's tributaries to which my
Indian guide alone knew the trail. He had blazed it three
years before, and burnt some timber whilst he was up there,
in order that another year the sweet grasses which would
spring in the bruli' might attract plenty of deer to this his
private hunting ground. From the bald top of Siyah, as I prefer
to call this ground, we could see the great hills round the

Mr. Arnold I'ikf's great ram

Frazer rolling down fold upon fold into their river-beds, their
sides red-brown in the sunlight, a rich dark purple in the
shadows. We were lying on the very highest ground, spying
into a hollow below us in which a solitary sheep was feeding.
' Voharlequin,' muttered the Siwash, 'it is a ewe.' Just as he
spoke we both crouched close to the ground, though we were
safe enough even from a bighorn's marvellously all-seeing eyes,
for at that moment five more sheep walked slowly into sight.

■iBIMfdiiri

BIG CAME OF NORTH AMERICA

387

'I'here was no doubt as to the new-comers. We were looking
upon the finest l>it of sheep ground I had ever seen, and the
five were worthy of it. There was one enormous ram, two
which would have satisfied any man, a fourth such as I had
often killed before, and a small fellow.

Everything seemed to favour us at first. The little glacier
at the head of the dark gulch had sent a snow-stream tearing
through the hollow, and this had cut a deep course up which
we could sneak unseen. I suppose the water must have becp.
Ijitterly cold, but we crawled through it for ten minutes without
so much as noticing that when we had to come down to our
knees the icy current ran into our trousers pockets, and
though the wind blew off the glacier it was welcome, because for
once it was right in our teeth. In the middle of the gulch was a
big mound, and 240 yards from this (I measured the distance
afterwards) stood the glorious three. Unless we could have
burrowed, no man could have crept closer unseen, so that from
this [)oint I had to fire. But why tell the story, and what is
the good of trying to instruct others when I so often break every
rule myself? Three things I did on that day which I ought
not to have done, and I paid the penalty for my folly. First, I
took my Indian with me on the stalk, and, of course, at the
critical moment he flurried me with his accursed ' Shoot, shoot ! '
He knew what the ram was like upon which 1 was trying slowly
to draw a l)ead. Then I took two rifles with me upon that
trip, and shot sometimes with one, sometimes v ith another.
The result was that L shot badly with both, and knew no-
thing of either of them. Lastly, when 1 had missed or only
wounded the l)ig ram, I lost my head, and instead of waiting
until the beasts should pause for a moment to look back, I fired
three fluky shots at them ' on the run.' Not until the big beasts
were behind a piece of rolling ground did I realise what a fool 1
had made of myself, and then, as we wanted meat badly, I took
a quiet steady shot at the little ram which had hung behind,
and killed him neatly at a good 400 yards — a shot which under
ordinary circumstances I should never dream of attempting.

c c 2

388

BIG GAME SHOOT/NG

After waiting for awhile we followed the wounded beast,
hoping that as we had given him time he would lie down and
afford us a chance of another stalk. Jiut, as the Indian said,
' there was no lie down in that ram.' He could only go very
slowly (at a walk), but he could keep going, and over the
ground to which he took us we could do no more.

We tried everything that we could think of to circumvent
him, but it was no good. When the dusk was falling I got
my last view of his great white quarters, lurching slowly over
yet another ridge. He was evidently bound for a far country,
and had no intention of stopping until he reached it ; I was
limping almost as badly as he was, and was far more ' done.'
I had left a nasty piece of rock and ice behind me to recross
on my way to camp, I had not a notion how far I had come,
where my Indian was, or which was the nearest way to my
cam[), so with a heart full of bitterness I turned back, vowing
to track him on the morrow and stay with him as long as he
stayed in British Columbia.

But then 1 knew only that he was a very big ram. When
I stood beside the beast which the Indian and myself had
taken for a two-year-old at most, and taped his horns at 14^
ins., I had a better idea what the beast must have been like
beside which this fair ram had seemed a pigmy. Of course,
that night enough snow fell to hide the tracks of a mammoth !
I try sometimes to console myself with the reflection that after
all he was probably only a 16- or, at most, 17-in. ram, but it
won't do. I know better. From blood-stains upon the rocks
(my Indian had my glass) I am pretty sure that I shot through
the withers the first time, and probably hit him very far back
with one of the others.

It is an extraordinary thing that though sheep so often turn
and l)olt downhill when merely frightened, a wounded ram,
especially a big one, will struggle on higher and higher as long
as life and the possibility of ascending lasts.

I have noticed the same habit in Caucasian inr ; but, of
course, my experience may be exceptional.

ifi^K^HI

n/c; GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

389

Sheej) rut in October, but the season varies somewhat in
different locaHties, being a Httle later in some than in others.
However, in a good sheep country the hunter may be pretty
sure of hearing the hollow clang of the horns of fighting rams
some time in October, and, at least, he may be sure that in
that month he ha. the i>est chance of coming across the really
big beasts, which, his Indian will tell him, retire during the rest
of the year to the very highest peaks. This I doubt myself, as
I have always tried the highest ground, and never done any
better there with the big rams than elsewhere. My own belief
is that all the sheep frequent the open tops in July and August,
when the grass is fresh where the snow has but recently dis-
appeared ; that in September they come down nearer the timber,
and even into it, in search of sweeter feed than that which the
sunburnt tops afford ; that during this time the old rams are
away by themselves hiding in the bush ; and that in October,
when the uplands have been revived by the late autumn rains,
the ewes seek the hill-tops again, and the amorous rams follow
the ewes.

But at whatever season you seek the bighorn, remember
that he is very easily driven away, that all his senses are
exceptionally keen, and that from his vantage ground above
he incessantly watches the valley beneath. Therefore, if you
are changing camp, do not arrange matters so as to arrive in
a new country, which you intend to hunt, about nightfall, or if
you do, reduce the chopping which has to be done to a
minimum ; don't light big fires, and let those you light be as
much hidden as possible from the ridges upon which you ex-
pect to find game. If possible, it is better to get to a fresh
shooting ground so early that you can do a day's hunting before
there is any necessity for cutting timber or lighting a fire.

As it is not easy to weigh large game in camp, and as I am
no lieliever in guess-weights, I shall not attempt to estimate
the weight of a bighorn ram ; but, bearing in mind that the
O. montixna is one of the most compactly built animals in the
world, the curious in such matters may form an approximate

390

y>V(; CAME SHOOTING

,'!

idea of the beast's weight from the following nieasurenicnts of
a i6-in. ram, which I took myself within an hour of his death.
Measuring him as he lay, this ram was 3 ft. 6 ins. from (he root
of his tail to where the neck is set on to the shoulder : his
girth under his forelegs was 3 ft. 9 ins. : and his height, as
nearly as I con'd get it, 3 ft. 2 ins. at the shoulder.

VI. Tin-: IU:)CK\ M(iUXT.\l\ (;<^.\T {Huf/oaros mon/an>is)

III'' Rocky Mountain (lo.Ji may, like
otIi'T animals, vary in its liabiis a
good denl in different localities. In
British l!oluml)ia, which ajipears to
Ih.' |)..'<nliarly its home, I am hound
to say that it appears to he the t)iggest
fool that walks on four legs. 1 am aware that some authorities
upon sport, whose ojiinions deserve consideration, differ from
meui'/on this j)oint, but living as I doat present amongst llritish
Columbians, I am not afraid of being contradicted by local

llM...

mmim

ma C.AME OF \ORTH AMERICA

391

sportsmen when I aver that there is no wild animal easier to
stalk than Ifaploceros. There are many men out here who,
afcer having killed their first few heads, will have nothing more
to do with goat hunting, regarding it as unworthy the name of
sport. I remember well one old goat which I stalked in the
]jridge River country. The beast was a very big one, and was
first seen feeding ui)on a bare hillside. He was on one side
of an ami)hitheatre, we were on the other. Between us lay over
half a mile of rattling shale and moraine, and there was no cover
for. mou?e. However, there was nothing else to hunt, and the
goat was thelargest I had ever seen, so with my Indian behind me
I began the stalk. I am confiJont that any other beast would
have seen us before we had gone a hundred yards ; we slipped
and fell, we rattled the stones about, and the whole tiling was
.so ludicrous tb.at I had to sit down and laugh more than once ;
but in spite of all this I got witiiin forty yards of the poor stupid
br,ite, who had been looking in our direction in a pu/zlcd way
for the last ten minutes, antl felt thoroughly ashamed of myself
when I put an end to his doubts with a bullet. 'i\) give an
idea of the tameness of these brutes, I took six or seven photo-
graplis of goats in one day last }-ear with a very elaborate
■photographic apparatus, the photographs unfortunately lieing
destroyed before they could be developed, when the whole
apjtaratus, together with my guide, went rolling ilown a steej)
incline almost into the Bridge River.

'I'hough not worth stalking, tliese goats are ([uaint beasts
and worth watching. .\s a rule, they live where nothing else
would care to, on precipitous rock faces overhanging a stream
where no grass grows, and where there is very little even to browse
upon, just at dawn you may see them crossing a wall of rock
high above your camp in single file, or wending their way slowly
from their feeding grounds to the timl)er patches in which they
lie all (lay. They are very local in their distribution antl very
cf)nservalive in their habits, infesting one small mountain in
great numbers and never seeming to stray into the neighbouring
heights. Day after day they appear to seek the same feeding

392

BIG GAME SHOOTING

if.

grounds, and retire to the same lairs, with a punctualit) which
would be becoming in a postman. Their meat is so poor tiiat
Indians will hardly eat it, and the market value of their hides
is only 3^. 6^. to a tourist. They occupy onl}' such localities as
other beasts would despise, and altogether seem somewhat
justified in the mute protest of their wondering regard when
attacked, which seems to say as plainly as dumb beasts can
speak, ' Surely you are not going to meddle with us ; we, at
least, are beasts of no account.' To obtain a good si)ecimcn
head their haunts ought to be visited as late in the year as
possible, as the coats are not so white or the beards so long in
early autumn as they are in November, and a goat's head with-
out the long patriarchal beard is a {)Oor affair. They abound
all over British Columbia, especially in such places as Bute
Inlet, and 1 have even seen them on the islands in the Straits
of San Juan, from which I am inclined to infer that they had
swum over from the mainland. An old billy which I shot
girthed 56 ins. round the chest after he had been skinned,
and the longest horns of which I have any record measured
iiljins. from base to tip. The accom|)anying [)late gives a
better idea of the queer old-world a[)pearance of the Rocky
Mountain goat than any word-painting of mine could do. In
old days, llie Indians used to make blankets of their fleece,
but the industry appears to be nearly dead, now that ICnglish
blankets have become cheap and plentiful in British Columbia,
so that there appears to be no reason why the white goat should
not be allowed to remain unmolested for many years to come.
1 have seen Jlaf'loceros in Alaska as well as in British Columbia,
and ex})ect that my friend Mr. John I'atmin, curator of the
British Columl)ian Museum, is right in inferring that the goats
go as far north ;is the mountains do. The skin, measured by
Mr. I'annin, and mentioned in his article upon goats in the
'Big (lame of North America,' is far and away the largest I
have ever heard ot, a .skin 5 ft. from horns to tail, 1)\ 40 ins.
from side to siile, being an ex("c.[)tionally large one, whereas
Mr. Fannin's large skin measured 7 ft. by 4 ft. 10 ins.

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

393

The track of the goat is not unlike that of a large bighorn
ram, but squarer and blunter.

VII. THE PRONGIIOKN ANTELOPE {Anlihcapra americana)

The scheme of these volumes does not allow for a full "and
detailed account of the shooting of every variety of game found

Aiililocapra aiiuTiciina

in each country. It may therefore suftice to say of this
antelojjc that it may be killed as any other antelo|)C is killed,
either by stalking, the sliots being taken as a rule at long ranges,
or by coursing. 'I'here are very few parts of America, if any,
in whicli the antelope has been so little hunted as to allow
the old ruse of flagging (i.e. of attnicting them within range by

394

BIG GAME SHOOTING

the exhibition of strange objects which arouse their curiosity)
to be practised with success. Ten or fifteen years ago, antelope
might be seen from the windows of ahiiost every train running
west of Chicago, but now their range is vastly curtailed, and
though a few small herds may still be found in most of their
old haunts, they are not really abundant except in Texas,
in the neighbourhood of the National Park, and in Assine-
boia, where in 1893 I saw two considerable bands in April
from the carriage windows of the Canadian Pacific Railway
train.

In Texas, a friend who was there in November 1892
wrote me : ' There seems to be plenty of antelope round
here, as they are frcHjuently brought into town, sometimes by
thecartloa-' to be siiipped.' In California antelopes have been
almost exterminated, and the same may be said of Oregon,
whilst in Colorado the districts in which they occur are not
numerous, nor even in these does the beast exist in any numbers,
except where it has been preserved. It seems likely that the
pronghorn will be the next of the American mammals to dis-
appear before the arms of the white man. Like the buffalo,
the antelope is a dweller on the plains, seldom seeking refuge
either in the tinil)er or in the high mountains, although he is
found at a very considerable altitude on the high tablelands
near (Junnison, Colorado, for example (6,000 to 7,000 It. at
least above sea level). The season for antelope shooting should
be from August to the middle or end of October, alter which
time the oldest of the bucks will have shed the shell-like
covering of their horns, 'i'ne rutting season lasts for about six
weeks, beginning in Sejjtember and ending in October. The
Ijronghorn, though an inhabitant of the great plains, is not a
wanderer as most deni/ens of such countries are, but seems to
attach himself to a certain distri("t, and to remain there or near
there imtil his tribe has been exterminated. I'or instance, there
is a small band which may be seen almost any day in winter
within a few miles of one of the i)ig cities of (.'olorado. The
band grows smaller year by year, but it never alters its winter

niG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

395

quarters in conse(iuence of man's persecution. The jjronghorn
has, moreover, other enemies to contend against l)esides man
and his Winchester, the great eagles of the North-^^'e3t occa-
sionally taking toll from the herds. An instance of this was
seen by Mr. A. Pike in Colorado last year, when the buck.

A In 1 1 1 of pionghorns

after dodging the eagle's attacks for some time, escaped into
some brush ; but such attacks are said by the plainsmen to be
fairly frecjuent and often successful.

Mr. Rowland Ward gi\es i^] ins. as the length of the
longest horn of tlie pronghorn within his knowledge.

Mil. riiK i)i;i:r kw a.mkkka

Judge ( 'aton, an authority upon the deer of his own country,
describes eight wcll-denned species as inhabiting the North
American continent. These are the wapiti (C lUtuuk'/isis),

396

lUG CAME smnrriNi;

the moose (C aiies), the woodland caril)ou (C. hirandus), the
Barren Ground caribou (f. tarandus an/icus), the mule deer
(C macrotis), the Columbian black-tailed deer (C columbianus),
the N'irginian or white-tailed deer {C. virginianus), and a little-
known beast called by Caton C. acapuheiisis.

With the last-named a sportsman is likely to have very
little to do, as its range is extremely limited and its size in-
significant (^weight from 30 to 40 lbs., height 24 ins. at the
shoulder, and length from the end of the nose to the root
of the tail 44 ins. '; cf. Caton's ' Deer of America,' pp. 121,
122), whilst its antlers, though quaint, are hardly worth taking
as a trophy. Caton gives a cut of the antlers of a full-grown
buck of this species. Of the originals of that cut Caton says
that they measure in length 7 in-^ and 3 lines, in circum-
ference above the burr 2 ins., and that they are more
pahnated than the horns of any other American deer except
moose and caribou. For further information on this deer the
reader is referred to Caton's work, which should be in the library
of every man interested in natural history. Of ihe other seven
species of American cervidiu there is much to be said, and
little space left to say it in.

(i) MoosK (C alci's)

Of all deer extant to-day, the moose is the largest. Of all
earth's animals, except perha|)s old J/ap/ociros, he bears most
plainly still the impress of Nature's prentice hand when she
made things huge and roughhewn, and had no time to polish
her work and smooth off the corners. Evolution does not seem
to have affected the moose, for to-day he wanders along that
great chain of lakes from the Arctic to the Atlantic, from the
mouth of the Mackenzie River to the St. Lawrence — a survival
of the earth's dawn rather than a commonplace nineteenth-
century deer. All sorts of stories are told as to his weight and
size. Caton, who is always careful not to exaggerate, puts the
weight of a bull mot)se at frcjm yooto 1,400 lbs., and his height
at 6 ft. at the withers. The largest |)air of horns of which we

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

397

have any authentic record (the cut is from a photograph of
them) measures in span 66 ins. (or 5 ft, 6 ins.) from tip to
tip, but a recent writer in an American work upon sport and
natural history (Mr. Hihl is) describes a moose which he saw
dead in the Teton Basin, whose antlers spanned 8 ft. 6 ins. from
tip to tip, making an arch when inverted under which a man
'slightly stooping' could walk. This Titan of the Tetons stood,

The record head

'■'iVit/iout his /i\i;s under Jn in, 15 hands high,' so that, allowing
for the fact that a moose has, according to Caton, ' very long
legs, to which he is indebted for his great height,' he must have
stood in life, -ivith his h'gs under him, from 8 to 9 ft. high at
the withers. This seems rather tali, even for a moose from the
Rocky Mountains. As before stated, this great deer ranges
from the Arctic Ocean to the St. Lawrence, and in spite of the

398

BIG CAME SHOOTING

persecution of man still abounds as far east as the provinces of
Quebec and Ontario ; is reported to exist in large numbers on
the head-waters of the Clear Water River, in Idaho ; is found in
Montana and Wyoming, and flourishes exceedingly in the
North-Western portions of British Columbia as well as in the
adjoining territory of Alaska.

With great wisdom the Legislatures both of Canada and
the States have taken the moose under their protection, but the
great deer would be in no danger of extermination even if the
law had overlooked him, as he has haunts still remote, and
except in deep snow can take very fair care of himself ; indeed,
even as lately as 1887 I could have killed seven bull moose in
six days' hunting in Ontario had I been butcher enough to do
so, whilst in i8gi I saw two canoes (big freight canoes) come
down loaded with magnificent moose horns from a district
where almost the only residents are a few Siwashes (Indians)
and some Chinese miners ! Where Chinese kill game, game
must be fairly plentiful still.

Although as big as a haystack, the moose is not (juitc as
easy to hit, nor is he everybody's ' meat.' His favourite haunts
are the dense thickets round lakes and about river-bottoms,
the dark balsam groves, hardwood hills, and i)rule patches
of Ontario, and wherever the lily pads, moose wood, swamj)
maple, alder bushes, coarse grasses or mosses upon which he
feeds are most luxuriant.

]]y some strange fatality, wherever things are most con-
venient for the moose they appear to be least convenient for
the hunter. The scrub over which the moose looks without
raising his ugly head cl(^es over and drowns the unfortunate
biped who tries to follow him ; the fallen trees and huge logs
which the moose takes comfortably in his stride must be
climbed by the hunter, and yet, in sjjite of his size, when the
1 has answered your call and has come cr;

big

iiig

igh

the alder and swamp tea to within twenty yards of you, he is
likely enough to halt in the shadow, detect the fraud, and steal
away without a sound.

/.■/(/ GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

399

Like other deer, the moose seems slow to identify objects
with his e\es, but there is no doubt about the keenness of his
other senses. If it pleases him to answer your call, though his
answer may be all but inaudible to you, you need not call again
unless you like. Through a mile of brush which to you appears
a pathless tangle he will steer straight to the square yard from
which your call came, unless a bough sliould scrape against
your overalls or a tiny puff of wind carry the faintest suggestion
of your presence to him. If either of these things happen, the
moose will make up his mind without stopping to think. In
addition to the keenness of his senses the bull moose is
credited with considerable pugnacity when pursued and
' cornered,' and he undoubtedly is a bit of a strategist, choosing
his c:ou(h, for instance, invariably in such a position as to
command the country all round. The Indians, when following
a moose's track, will, oftener than not, keep describing a
succession of semicircles, so that, instead of walking in the bull's
tracks, thev cut them from time to time. This is done to out-
wit the bull, who, they say, when he means to lie down will
turn aside and walk back parallel to his trail, and lie down with
his head towards his back tracks, so that either his e3es or his
nose must give him warning of anyone who attempts to follow
him.

There are three principal methods of hunting the moose
besides the foul i)ractice of snaring him with a loop in his run
ways or of butchering him in his yards (i.e. in those camj)s and
feeding grounds which moose stamp out for themselves in the
deepest snows of winter). The favourite method (in Canada, at
any rate) is 'calling,' a birch-bark horn being used night and
morning fo imitate either the cry of the bull or of the cow, and
so lure a would-be mate or rival (as the case may be) to his
ruin. Sei)tember is the season of :he rut in Lower Canada,
and during the earlier part of this season the bull seems nearly
beside himself with rage and unrecjuited passion, wandering
constantly in search of a mate or a rival, and filling the woods
with hoarse calls or hoarser challenges. About one man in a

400

lUa CAME SHOOTING

million is clever enough to mimic these calls, and if you
are lucky enough either to be that man or his employer,
you may take advantage of the moonlight and lie out be-
hind some log or bush watching the skyline and listening
while the half-breed (it will probably be a French half-
breed) grunts and roars upon the horn, imitates the thrashing
of the bull's antlers amongst the alder-bushes. Experts
disagree as to the amount of skill reciuired to call a moose.
Some say that any noise is good enough when he is really on
the war-path, that the chopping of an axe or the bray of a
donkey will ' fetch ' him ; others again affirm that the nicest
accuracy is necessary in imitating every pall, and I am bound
to admit that, though I have never met a man who had seen a
moose drawn to his ruin by the sound of chopping, I have more
than once known that a moose owed his life to the fact that
my overalls were made of a peculiarly harsh material from which
the brush in passing managed to elicit a very penetrating sound.

If all goes well with the caller, it may be that at last he will
hear, faint and far off, a hoarse response from the depths of the
swamp below him, a response repeated from time to time, and
growing each time nearer, untii at last, if he can hear anything
but the beating of his own heart, he will hear the scrub crunched
under the foot of the advancing monster. As long as all goes
well, the quiet night betrays the bull's every movement to the
hidden man, almost as clearly as if the hunter could watch the
whole play with his naked eyes. Now the bull comes crashing
up from the swamp through the alder-bushes, now he is stand-
ing listening half in doubt as to whether to come on or go
back, but the half-breed is prepared for the emergency. Good
as he is, he dare not try a call at such close quarters, but
he strikes the horn against the scrub and the bull comes on
again, thinking that he has heard the rattle of his enemy's
weapons.

When at last, with strangely litde warning it seems to you,
and much closer to you than you had expected, that monstrous
form looms up against the half-light, remcml)er to look at its

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

¥}

shoulder, and try not to merit my Indian's reproof to me when
a bullet went six inches too high - ' All same again, you alius
look at the horns instead of the bull, cap.'

Moose calling has i 'most every attribute of true sport. To
succeed, a man must kno» the habits of his quarry and have
admirable opportunities for studying them ; if he ' calls ' him-
self, he must have an excellent ear and be a perfect mimic,
and for him the morning and the evening, moonlight and the
grey of dawn, lend their beauty to the beauty of the silent
woods. But for some men, ' calling ' hardly gives the man
enough to do. To these men I recommend still hunting over
the hardwood hills about the time of the first snowfall, when
there is enough snow to track in, with a good French Canadian
half-breed as a guide. To my mind there is hardly any better
sport on earth than to follow the great tracks through the new-
fallen snow, through woods beautiful beyond all description
with the beauty of a Canadian winter, over hardwood hills, and
through patches of brule, and then down into a bed of frozen
willows, silvered by the frost, and jewelled by the sun, through
swamps of tea-bush off which the frost falls in showers of crisp
scales, until late in the afternoon you run up to your beast in
a heavy grove of balsam, looking intensely black against the
blinding purity of the snow. But for this sport you want young
limbs and strong ones, and the wind and endurance of a tem-
perate and clean liver. You want these for any sport worih
the name.

There is yet another way of hunting moose, when the snows
are down and the crust upon them is strong enough to bear a
man on snow-shoes, but not strong enough to carry the moose.
Of course, all the odds are against the animal, but still this is
exciting sport, making tremendous demands upon the man's
endurance ; and it is moreover when pursued in this way that
the moose is said to turn ' ugly ' and sometimes hunt the hunter.
Provided that a man only kills old bulls, and not too many of
them, I see no objection to this form of pursuit. The percentage
of men who can run to within shooting distance of a bull moose

I, D D

402

BIG GAME r.}{ DOTING

when tryinf^^ to e.sca[)c throui.';!! his native forest, even when
the snow is at its worst for the l)uli, will never he very great,
and the excitement of the sport must he intense. I have never
yet had a chance of trying' it.

Even wlien a man is in the best of luck, what he generally
has to shoot at, arid that in a hurry, is not a l)east 8 ft. high,
weighing 1,400 lbs., standing broadside on in the open, but
a small piece of brown passing between the boles of the pine-
trees in deep shadow, one or two hundred yards off. The
liidian may tell him that what he sees is a mooso. Nine men
out of tei^ would not have discovered tiie fact for '.hemselves.

(:;) 'I'm; W.m'ii i (C cauadcmis)

The creatures of the nineteenth (xntury are the children of
the earth's old age. The days of the -giants arc over, and the
days of the pigmies are upon us. \\"hen our naked forefathers
were armed only with bows and arrows, there were elk in
Ireland who-o antlers spanned 11 ft. from tip to tij), and even
in ihe more recent days of the Hudson Hay musket, there were
(so n;en say) wapiti in Wyoming whose antlers when inverted
formed arches under which a six-foot man might pass without
stooping.

Alas I there are no such wapiti nowadays, and indeed,
althoi'; i there are scores of men in the States who will assure
yea that they r»ave themselves walked under such arches, it
is very h.ird to believe that they are not mistaken, in the face
of the fact that r. J'our-Joo. inav could not walk uniler the
largest head known to be in existen e at the present moment,
though the longest wapiti head in the American Exhibition
ot 18.S7 (belonging to Mr. I'>ank Cooper, and numi)ered 89 in
the catalogue) is described as measuring f)2,|i ins. along the back
of the beam from b.isc to tip of the longest tini, with an ex-
panse between the antlers of 48!, ins.

It is not -asy, either in .\merica or elsewhere, to find a head
(dead or alivi) which will Inat diis b)- ;in in( h inany direction ;

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mF^mmmmtf^m

IIIG GAME OF Nim/'H AMERICA

403

and yet, if this head were inverted, no four-foot man could walk
without stooping under the arch so made. During st-veral years
spent in wandering about C'anada and the States, I have heard
again and again of gigantic wapiti heads ; I have even met men
who own such trophies, and have actually bought them for
,<{5oo, the money to be [)aid when the ' head ' was delivered.
Unfortunately, my cash was never claimed, and I confess that
I never expected that it would be, yet some of the trophy-
owners wanted money ' in the worst way.'

But though the ' bull elk ' of to-day is neither as large as
the Irish elk nor as the 'elk ' of pioneer legends, he is still a
magnificent beast, not quite as big as the moose and not
carrying a very much larger head on the average than the
Caucasian stag ; but still, take him all in all, he is the grandest
stag left on earth. To an unscientific eye, the wapiti differs
from the Scotch red deer in three points only : he is larger
of course, his antlers as a rule lack the cup peculiar to the Scotch
royal, and his call in the rutting season is a whistle, whilst the
red deer's is a roar. His range in America is still a wide one,
although the encroachments of civilization are driving him
ever further and further ))ack into that ilense timber of which
he is always too fond. It is this love of the timber which
has enabled the wapiti to outlive his old comrade the bison,
and will probab'.y enable him \.o survive the antelope, which
seems likely to Ik* one of the next animals wiped off the face
of the great American continent. In the mountain forests of
Wyoming and Montana, of Idaho and Colorado, wapiti are
s'.ill fairly | lentiful ; in California, I have heard that there are
a good maiy in the red-wood districts, though of this I have
no certain knowledge ; but there is no doubt that the home,
/>ar t:\re//t >ii(\, o\ ihe wapiti to-day is in the dense timber of
the Olympian range, in \\'ashington Territory, in Oregon, and
to a certa'ii extent in Vancouver Islantl. Itritish Columbia.
In the early part of this century there were wapiti on the main
I'.nd of British (lolumliia, and their bones mav still be found
pretty frequentl) \u the Chilcolin country ; but the annuals

1) n 2

¥#

404

BIG GAME SHOOTING

themselves arc said to have been exterminated by the Indians
or starved to death dining an exceptionally severe winter sixty
or seventy years ago. Be that as it may, there are no wapiti
on the mainland of British Coiuml)ia to-day, nor are there
anywhere (unless it be in the fastnesses of the Olympian range)
any vast herds of this splendid beast such as we read of in the
books of the pioneer sportsmen of the North-West. For this
change for the worse we have to thank the meat-hunter, the
skin-hunter, and the ranchman about ocjually, although perhaps
the advent of cattle does more to drive deer out of a country
than anything else. As an exam[)le of what was as compared
to what is, I may cite the case of my old camp man, Sam Wells,
who, when the Union Pacific Railway was being built to the
west of Cheyenne, killed, in his capacity of meat-hunter to the
construction party, 84 anteloj)e, 24 elk, and iS deer during one
autumn : whereaii this year, in the best bit of covmtry known to
him in Colorado, our camp was many days without meat, and my-
self and my friend were looked ui)on as exceptionally fortunate
in having secured three good heads (wapiti) in three weeks'
hunting. It is fair to add that the country hunted, although
comparatively little disturbed, was very near to a good-sized
town.

It is said that before the advent of the white man the wapiti
frecpiented the plains, where the rich bunch grass hcl[)ed to
build up tl^o enormous antlers of which we hear so much
and -^ic - little. Nowadays men and csttle have driven the
wapit from the bunch-grass plains, ami he has Inx-ome almost
entirely a deni/en of the dense lin.ber distrin>.

In ColoratK.. where 1 hunted wapiti in uSy2, wc found our
game in the timh r at an e'-vation of 10,000 ft- above sea
level, but 1 have shot them in e([ually dense timficr on \ an-
couver Island at littk above sea level. Speak'ng brosully, the
habits of the wapiti and of the Scotch red deer are identical,
except for the former's detestable predilection for timln-T.
About the beginning of Se{)tember the 'bull elk.' av all
Americans insist on calling him, has rubbetl the \el\v. oil his

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

405

antlers, and ten days later these antlers are dry and hard and
fit for fighting. The rubbing, or 'fi-aying,' is generally done
against the stem of a quaking asp or young green pine, the
wapiti never using a dry stick fo- his rubbing-post. As soon
as his horns are dry, the bull begins whistling or bugling, this
whistling being kept up until about the middle of October. 1
am inclined to t'link that the whistling (i.e. the rutting) season
varies a good deal in dilu:rent districts according to the seasons
and the altitude at which the bulls find themselves. In Colo-
rado in 1892 we heard the first whistle on September i6th,
and the last about three weeks later ; and although our old
guide considered 1892 an exceptionally early season, I iancy
that from the middle of September to the middle of October
may be looked upon as the ordinary rutting season of Cervus
iiinadensis.

1 here is nothing about the wapiti more characteristic or
more striking than his whistle, a call wild enough and weird
enough to haruKJuise with the savaucry of the beast's sur-
roundings. I have never yet met a man who could imitate the
whistle <jr even adequately describe it ; but if I must attempt
to give some idea of it, J should say that it was a long tlute-
like sound, sometimes rising and falling, antl ending more
often than not in two or three hoarse, angry grunts. Like the
Scotch red deer, the wapiti carries his horns until March, m\
friend Mr. Arnold Tike having seen two old bulls with gooti
heads on the jyth of Martli oi this year. In Colorado as
in \'an((>uver Island, each band of wapiti seems to coiiNne
itself pretty cK)sel) to a particular district, never moving more
than twenty or thirl) miles from one place, but travelliiv., on
ociasion from one side to another of its domains with a rapidity
which is exasperating to the hunter who has to follow with a
p«^'k train. Karly in September the principal food of the
wapiti a|)pears to be the pink (lowered fire-weed {phlox), whiih
grows in nnxk luxuriance amongsi the burnt timber ; and later
on, wlva the frost has nipped the tops of ihi \oung eldei
bus'K's, these seem to attract a good deal t^l the great deer's

4o6

BIG GAME SHOOTING

attention. But Cen'us canadensis is a somewhat promiscuous
feeder, all grasses and most weeds and hushes seeming to he
included in his list of things to he eaten. The young tops of
the quaking asp, of the willow, and of a low creeping shruh
locally known as elk weed, all seem favourites in their season.

On such food as this the wapiti grows to prodigious propor-
tions, of which the following measurements, sujiplied hy Mr.
Andrew Williamson, give the hest idea. Mr. Williamson killed
sixteen hulls in one season in Colorado in iHjcS, of which the
largest measured 9 ft. from the tip of the nose to the tail, stood
1 7 hands at the shoulder, and girthed 6 ft. 8 ins. round the heart.
The average measurements of eight out of the sixteen hulls
were as folk as : i-ength from nose to tail, S ft. 5 ins. ;
height at shoulders, 16 hands and '^ in. : girih round the
heart, 6 ft. i in. Compare these measurements with those
of the largest racehorse on record, and you get some idea
of the si/e of the wapiti, though even then the figure whi<-h
you will conjure up will he small comp;ired with the apparition
which sometimes confronts a Western hunter upon the skyline,
or to a ' hull elk ' at i)ay with his luad down, his hristles u|),
and his eyes glaring angrily at the insignificant collie yapping
round hin). The average length of the antlers of Mr. William-
son's hulls is given as 53 ins., antl the span of these antlers,
measured iiisii/r the heam, as 44 ins. .\s to the weight of a
wapiti, it is unhirtunate that the man who kill> one has very
rarely any ap|)aratus at hand for weighing his pri/.e ; and even
Mr. Caton, the great American authority upon the Gvt'^/c- of
North .\merica, gives neither measurements nor weights of full
grown hulls.

In his work u|)on the deer of ,\menca, this writer mentions
a hull once in his possession which when killed, as \\ fii'c-year-
^V^ weighed i^oo Ihs. live weight : and adds ll»ai 'as the elk
grows till he is eight or nine years old, he (this hull) would,
had hic lived to liis tiill age, have attainetl to tin \s right of
i,oooor 1, 100 Ihs.' Colonel Dodge, in his ' Plains of the (la'at
West,' puts the weight of an average ' elk ' ?A only 500 Ihs.,

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

407

although he (luahfies this l)y adding that one has been killed
which weighed 800 lbs. ; while Mr. Andrew Williamson, in his
' Sport and Photogra[)hy in the Rockies,' guesses the weight of
his big bull at 1,200 lbs. But most of this is guesswork. The
nearest approach to an accurate record of weight in my posses-
sion is taken from a statement made to me by an old Western
meat-hunter in whose truthfulness I have every confidence. This
man told me that the hind-cjuarters of the largest bull he ever
killed (' and I cut 'em off jvretty high up,' he added) weighed,
when taken into town, a little over 400 lbs. From this it would
ajjpear that the live weight of the whole annual could not have
fallen far short of Mr. Williamson's estimate of the weight of
his i)ig bull.

In spite of the fact that no large areas of food i)asture are
known on Vancouver Island, the wapiti found upon it do
not, in point of size, fall far short of those ui)on the mainland
of the American continent. I have myself, at the head of
the Salmon River on this island, shot a bull which measured
rather over 16 hands and i in. at the shoulder, and apjieared
to be a heavy stag for his si/e. Indeed, if the wapiti (jf \'an-
couver Island vary at all from deer of the same species on
the mainland, it is in their antlers, which have always seemed
to me t(» be peculiarly heavy in the beam and narrow in the
span, whilst amongst them I have more than once noticed
specimens having cups similar 10 those of a Scotch royal : a
somewhat remarkable fact, as this formation is exceptionally
rare amongst the wapiti on the mainland of America.

To anyone wh(. Ins read this chapter thus far believing
what he read, it n.ust appear that Cfn'i/s iivnufrnsis is as fine a
game animal as the heart of a hunter rould desire. Hut I have
onlv presented hithcrt(» the fair side of the picture : of course
it has another. The wapiti is superb, but iiis habits are beneath
contempt. While the gallant mountain ram lives out on the
open hill-tops, .-.taking his life boldly upon the keenness of his
own senses, the great 'bull elk' sneaks aboiU in the shadows
of the densest timber he can I'md just below the edue of the

4o8

B/a GAME SHOOTING

sheep ground, pottering about the beds of mountain streams,
poking his head noiselessly through the thickets of willow
round the parks, picking his way gingerly over chaotic wind-
falls of burnt timber, and dozing by day on the top of some
woodland ridge which a shadow in moccasins could hardly
reach unheard.

But ' what's the good of gassing ? ' as old Sam Wells would
say. Come away to my camp in Colorado and see the bull
elk for yourself. And first let me warn you that here in his
own land, Ctrvus canadensis is ' elk,' or ' bull click ' on occasion,
but never wapiti. The ' boys ' don't know what a wapiti is ;
never ' heerd tell on him ' as like as not. Cervus canadensis is,
of course, the wapiti of the naturalists and a few thousand
Englishmen and scientific gentlemen, just as the buffalo is the
bison of the same well-informed circle ; but to sixty or seventy
millions of white men these beasts are elk and buffalo, now,
henceforth, and for ever. The 'boys' round camp are rude
en(jugh to say thai ' they know what a bull elk is, and if they

don't, who the does ? ' and as I hate arguing (where

arguments are sometimes six-chambered), it may be as well
to call Cervus canadensis by his local name for the next few
pages.

Our can^), then, is pitched at an altitude of nearly 1 0,000 ft.
above sea level, on the edge of a great i)ark or ' open ' of
rank yellow grass, through which a mountain stream twists and
turns. Years ago, before Sam Wells cleared them out, beavers
had dammed tliis stream, and the park stills owes a good de;d
of its richness' to liieir operations. Above the park in a great
circle the dark ranks of the pine-trees close in ; whilst above
them again rise the i)are ridges and strangely castellated tops
of the ' divide.'

In the early summer the elk may have wandered upon those
bare ridges (their tracks prove it, and a natural desire to avoid
their insect tormentors accounts f(jr it), but they are not upon
those ridges now. .\s the rutting season approaches the elk
come down fr(;m the lii.i^li places, and in September every

BI(J GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

409

one of the forty or fifty beasts which live all the year round in
this little district is within that dark belt of timber, worse luck
to it !

Since June there has been no rain in the State of Colorado,
nor can even the most sanguine of us sec any promise of rain
to come in the crystal clear vault above us.

By day the sun is hot enough to make men sit about in
their shirt-sleeves, but by night the frost makes us draw our
blankets closer, and almost wish for another pair. It is perfect
weather for picnicing in the woods, but it is impossible weather
{or still hunting.

Between them, sun and frost and mountain air have made
the woods dry as a chip and crisj) as a biscuit. The woodland
solitudes are more noisy than Chinatown at New Year : the
leaves rattle like dead men's bones, and the twigs seem to
explode like fire-crackers under your feet.

But it is September ; the hunter's moon has begun, and
now and again, just about dawn or towards evening, there is a
hollow whistle from the depths of the pine forests, followed by
a succession of hoarse choking grunts. This is the Ifjve song
of the great bull, and for the moment he is careless of rustling
leaves and snapped twigs, and, being in love, is as great a fool
as a biped under similar circumstances. Nor is love the bull
elk's only excuse for imprudence just now. In summer the
great woods are still, but for the hum of insect life ; in winter
they are still as death ; but now, in late autumn, they are full
of sounds. \\'inter is coming, and everything that has breath
is busy laying in stores for the approaching snow-time. All
day long there is a rattle among the brush as creatures bustle
through it ; all day long the great fir-cones come thumping
down from the pine-tops, while the scjuirrels who are gathering
them chatter and swear at one another with the vigour and
bitterness of ri\als in business. Chi[)munks, engaged in the
same work of harvest, skip like long-legged streaks of light
along the logs, and the sht)rt-taileil grey rats are as busy as
eithei s(|uirrels (jr chipmunks. As you cross the hill-side, your

4IO

B/G GAAfF. SHl)()//iVG

foot sinks deep into the lii^ht soil, for tlic earth is full of little
tunnels, and every tunnel is choked with garnered pine-cones ;
whilst in the high places amongst the rocks you come now and
again upon a miniature haystack, neatly cut, and made of dried
Alpine flowers and grasses, i)repared for winter use by one of
Nature's invisible workers.

As you lie upon the hill-side in the warm sun at noon, with
the timber all below you and a good day's work behind you,
jcu will have time to note these things ; but just now, though
the stars are still visible, you should not be 'foolin' around
camp' any longer, if you want to get a shot at a bull before
sundown.

It is no good pleading that you have toiled for a fortnight
and seen nothing ; that your limbs ache, your clothes are torn
to rags, and your hands and feet wounded by the beastly dead
tiniber. Such heads as bull elk wear in Colorado can only be
earned nowadays by early rising, long patience, and honest
hard work ; so off with you, while the rime is on the sage
brush, in spite of the temjnation to stop until Sam has cooked
just one rasher of sow-belly. The first crossing of the brook,
before you are a hundred yards from camp, will eflectually
wake you up and make yo\x step out, unless you want to ' freeze
solid,' for the ste[)ping-stones at this early h(jur are coated with
ice, and neither courage nor caution, neither moccasins, nails,
nor even sand, can save \ou from a cold plunge. Great
Cresar"s ghost ! how cold it is ; and how warm even the wood-
land bogs strike after that running water I

Here, within half a mile of your camp, is the first sign oi
elk ; a great wallow made in the marsh late yesterday evening,
and running from the wallow is a trail, well beaten, which
leads, as you know, by a very circuitous route to that bare
))atch of red mud where the elk lick for alkali. Hut we have
no time to folU)w the trail to-day, more especially as the elk
seem to leave the lick before dawn. Our hunting ground is in
a belt of burnt timber very near the toj) of the divide, and to
reach it in time we nuist climb str.;ight up one ridge after

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

411

another without staying to look for trails and easy places,
iioni camp the belt of timher looks as if it lay upon a smooth,
gently rising hill-side. Once within it, you learn that the belt
is composed of densely timbered ridges rising (jne behind
another like waves in a choppy sea, and as you toil through
and over these ridges, you wish, if you are an ordinary man,
that you had never heard of elk.

Everywhere the trees crowd one another for light and
breathing room, but so long as they are standing (unless they
are young green pines) a man may walk at ease among them.
It is when fire and wind have swept through them and left
them in chaotic tangles upon the ground that the trouble
begins. Then it is that the elk hunter has to rival the squirrel
or Bl()ndi/<, tacking from [)oint to point along the pine logs,
now straining every muscle to get a grip on the slippery trunk
of a pine which offers a bridge u[)hill across the prone carcases
of its fellows, now manfully suppressing an oath as his feet slip
and he sits down inadvertently upon the 'business end' of a
rami)ike.

For an hour, perhaps, or two, there is little or no change in
your work. Your road may lie through dense green timber
at one moment, through half-lit mossy glades at another, and
the next through hollows full of burnt timber, amongst which
the elk tracks are thick, and the pink fire-flower blooms ; but it
is always uphill work, and almost always in places where still
hunting is impossible. Now and again there is something to
cheer ycni up and encourage you to make fresh exertions.
Now it is a great track like a deer's, but larger and blunter ;
now it is the stem of a young ([uakingasi) with its bark hanging
ill ribbons, which makes your heart bdit quicker ; or perhaps
it 'i only the freshly nibbled buds of a young elder bush.
'Hu're is no doubt that there are elk about, and a good
inary of them, and as you stretch in vain to reach the scars
upon the ([uaking asp, you realise thai there are big bulls
among them ; but what is the use of the biggest bull if you
are never to see him within two hundred yards ? Once to-day

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you heard a bough break several hundred yards below you,
and a few minutes later you saw the warm lair from which an
elk had stolen away ; but you never saw him, never even heard
him, until he was well out of range.

'Hang the luck ! ' you mutter ; in another hour the wind that
rises about noon will get up and then the odds will be doubled
against you. Will the luck never change? ^Vell, yes. Just as
you are deciding for the twentieth time that you never will
hunt elk again, there is a long hollow whistle among the pines
below you. The whistle is faint and far off, and if you had not
been sitting down and at rest you would never have heard it.
You have, as a matter of fiict, failed to hear two or three similar
whistles during the morning - whistles which a better woods-
man would have heard, and which even you would never have
missed had you taken Sam's advice and gone slow, ' settin'
down once in a while to listen.'

You are not likely to see a motionless stag when you are
scrambling through the brush, or to hear a IjuH's stealthy tread
upon the trail, or his distant call, whilst you are forcing your
way through a barricade of burnt timber.

Well, luck, which after all counts for more in hunting than
all the skill and experience of the best hunter- luck has favoured
you at last, and there the whistle comes again, and directly after
it another, followed this time by deep, hoarse grunts, so deep
and hoarse and so close to you that, as Sam puts it, ' your liair
almost lifts your cap off your head.' That last bull was within
five hundred yards of you, and there can be no doubt about his
size. Creeping forward, you look cautiously over the brow of
a little ridge on to a flat, where amongst the black, burnt stems
of the dead pines the tall jungle of fireweed is vivid with every
shade from fresh green to roya! purple, scarlet, and orange, and
even as you look, without a sound, a great head is pushed out
from a bunch of ([uaking asp. For what seems to you an age
the cow stares straight at you, and tlien, when you are almost
in despair, moves quietly into the open followed by her calf.
In anollur moment the bull appears on the cow's trail, without

BTG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

413

any display of that caution shown by her. There are others,
you think, still in the timber, and a gleam of brown moving
between the pine stems convinces you that you are right ; but
there is no doubt that this is the master bull of the herd, and
you fairly catch your breath at the sight of his vast antlers.

As he stands there, sounding again his weird, unearthly
challenge, you realise that you are looking upon one of Nature's
masterpieces set in a fitting frame. When your finger presses
the trigger it will destroy the picture, and yet if you hesitate
much longer all your labour will be lost, and you will have no
royal trophy to remind you of this day, when the good rifle is
rusting with disuse and your limbs are stiff with old age.

For my part, if I could get a camera which would do good
work at a hundred yards, I would rather press a button than
a trigger. However, like the rest of us, the bull must die some
day ; if you don't kill him there is a ' prominent citizen ' some-
where who made a pile in hardware, who will give a hundred
dollars for those splendid antlers, and the bar-tender in the
same city (a gentleman 'way up in the Order of the Elks') will
give five dollars apiece for his tushes, so that, after all, you
may as well fire the shot and take the spoils yourself.

For a moment the woods ring with the report ; the other
elk vanish like the figures of a dream, but the bull stands
unflinching, as if he had neither heard the shot no; felt the
sting of the bullet.

A little shiver creeps over him, and he seems to draw him-
self together. A moment he stands a royal figure amongst the
grey mosses of his native forest, above his head a haze of
golden aspen leaves, like drops of pale gold in a sea of deep
amethyst, and then he staggers and crashes down amongst the
giant pines lying dead like himself athwart the forest floor.

The sport is over ; there is nothing left to do but butcher's
work ; the forest which a moment ago seemed full of moving
forms is empty and still again and are you (juite sure that
there is no reproach in the silence ? It seems almost a pity
that sport must \:w(\. in the death of such a noble victim.

414

BIG GAME SHOOTING

The largest wapiti head of which I have been able to obtain
trustworthy dimensions belongs to Messrs. Schoverling tV
Daly of New York. This head measures in length along the
beam, 64 ins. (left) and 65 ins. (right) ; its greatest width is
48 ins. The circumference of the beam is ;§ ins. It is a head of
14 points. A cut of an abnormal wapiti head from Boseman

Abnormal pnlmated Wiipiti head

is here given, and it is perhaps worth mentioning that this
apparent tendency to become palmated is not rare in the
horns of wapiti. An exceptionally fine head in the possession
of Mr. G. B. Wrey is a good instance of this tendency and has
also the remarkai)lc girth of nearly 9 ins. in the beam. The
boast was, 1 believe, killed in Montana.

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

415

(3) Woodland CARiiiOU (C tarandus).

If we except C. canadensis, the woodland caribou comes next
in size to the moose, amongst American cervidce. Luckily
I have been able to obtain some accurate measurements of a
bull caribou, taken while the beast was still in the flesh by
a man who knew the value of i)recision. This bull, killed
in 1890 by Mr. John Fannin, measured from the nose to the
root of the tail 6 ft. 7 ins. ; stood 4 ft. 5 ins. at the shoulder,
and 4 ft. 7 ins. behind the saddle on the rump ; his girth just
behind the forelegs was 5 ft. i in., and the length of his
neck (measured along the top) was i ft. 5 ins. His weight was

I 2

I, Wooclliiiul caribou ; 2, IJiirreii tiround caribou

never accurately ascertained, but a fair estimate would be
400 lbs. live weight. These dimensions seem to me to give
a better idea of this long, low, heavily-built beast than any
which I could pen, but I freely confess that one of them
comes as a surprise to me. I should never have imagined
that a caribou stood higher behind than he does in front,
but I know my authority too well to doubt his accuracy in
such a matter. Our British Columbian caribou is reputed
to grow larger than the caril)ou of Eastern Canada, and those
heads which I have seen in the east were certainly not nearly
as fine as heads which I have seen out here. It is said, too,

4j6

BIG GAME SHOOTING

that the British Columbian caribou is darker in colour than his
eastern cousin : a bull killed here in September is nearly as
black as a bull moose, and a cow set up in the British Colum-
bian Museum is even blacker than the bull. This seems worth
noting, as Caton says of C. farandus, 'the colour lighter
than any of the other deer.' The head figured is from
a photograph of one killed in British Columi)ia, and may be
considered fairly typical, except perhaps that it is too sym-
metrical, and that the ploughs are too even. As a rule, one
plough is large and much palmated, whilst the other is a mere
spike. A large British Columbian caribou head measured
3 ft. 6 ins. in length, 3 ft. in span, and 6 ins. in circum-
ference above the big tine, but I have no record of any ex-
ceptional head. As most men know, both male and female
caribou have antlers, but the antlers of the cow are light and
insignificant compared with those of the bull. The antlers are
clear of velvet some little time before the rut, which begins in
British Columbia when the first snow begins to fly (in September)
in those high upland districts which the caribou inhabit.

The two or three haunts of this deer known to me in
British Columbia are all Similar in character, lying very high at
the top of the timber-line, where dark groves of balsam and
other conifers, hung with immense quantities of beard moss,
alternate with open glades of yellow swamp grass. The snow
in these districts remains unthawed in the timber till late in
May, and begins to fall again about the middle or end of
September, but the exposed tv.ps of the rolling highland above
the timber are said to be free from snow a little earlier than
the timl)er. In early summer the caribou frequent these high
grassy downs, lying close to the large patches of snow left in
the hollows, seeking as far as may be to avoid that pc-st created
for their special annoyance, the caribou fly. Later on, in
August, the caribou are hard to find, having left the hills and
sought (so the Indians say) the seclusion of the densest brush
to rub off their old coats, clean and burnish their antlers, and
generally make ready for the rut. The best time to hunt the

lUG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

417

bulls is in the rutting season, when they are a little less cautious
than usual, and when there is generally a good ' tracking snow '
to help the hunter, who requires all the help he can get in his
match with the keenest-scented beast on earth. Dull-witted
the caribou may be, and I very much doubt whether his eyes
are any better than a man's, but his nose is, as our neighbours
say, a ' holy terror.' I have seen a caribou allow a man to
walk almost up to him in very thin covert, and have had his
congener, the Spitzbergen reindeer, walk straight back to me
when I crouched (after 'jumping ' him) to see what I was. I
shot him at ten paces to save myself from being run over by
the inquisitive fool. The last caribou shot by friends of mine
out here were killed by the lazy one of the party, while satisfying
an inordinate appetite at the unreasonable hour of mid-day,
and in camp. Captain L., like an honest hunter, was scouring
the hills ; Major P. was feeding contentedly in camp. L., of
course, never got a shot during the expedition, but three cari-
bou walked up to lunch with P. and were shot.

But if the eyes of caribou are not very trustworthy, their
ears are about as good as the ears of other forest beasts, and
their noses are matchless. 1 have known a herd strike the
track of a man in the snow a day old, and turn as if their noses
had touched hot iron ; and once a caribou has satisfied himself
that there is a man about, he will not stop travelling for half a
day ; good feed won't tempt him, deep snow won't stop him,
snow-shoes can't catch him — in fact, the hunter had better looi:
for another, and keep on the right side of him when he finds
him.

Caribou feed upon very much the same food as the moose,
browsing for the most part, and depending largely during the
depth of winter upon beartl moss and other lichens for support.
(Jaribou hunting in British Columbia is sufficiently fascinating
in itseir, but for some of us it has an added charm from the
fact that the best chance of getting a grizzly occurs when the
bones and offal of two or three of these deer are lying about in
the upland forest. Where the caribou are, there also are the

!• E E

4i8

BIG GAME SHOOTING

grizzlies, in British Columbia at least ; and the man who revisits
a caribou carcase after a few days' absence is likely enough to
find big tracks going in front of him, and a big, bad-tempered
beast suffering from a surfeit of venison lying not far from the
body.

Mr. Rowland ^V'ard mentions a head 60 ins. long, with a
span of 41^ ins., having 15 tines on the one side and 22 tines on
the other.

(4) Barken Ground Carimou (C tarandus arcticus)

Almost all that I know of the Barren Ground Caribou
{C. taratidics arcticus) has been derived from the writings of
my friend Mr. Warburton Pike, who has enjoyed exceptional
opportunities of studying this beast recently in its native
haunts, the l)arren lands of Upper Canada. According to him,
the Barren (iround caribou is about one-third smaller than its
woodland cousin. This seems fairly conclusive, coming from a
man who has seen and shot so many Barren Ground caribou as
Mr. Pike has.

The range of this beast is, according to my authority, ' from
the islands in the Arctic Sea to the southern pr'-t of Hudson
Bay, while the Mackenzie river is the limit of its average
western wanderings.'

The Barren Ground caribou appears to rut at about the
same season as the woodland variety, and masses up into those
huge herds known locally as ' la foule ' for its winter migration
southwards, late in October. A month later the males and
females separate, the latter beginning to work their way north
again as early as the end of February ; they reach the edge of
the woods in April, and drop their young far out towards the
sea-coast in June. The males stay in the woods until May and
never reach the coast, but meet the females on their way inland
at the end of July ; from this '.me they stay together till the
rutting season is over, and it is time to seek the woods once
more. The horns are mostly clear of velvet towards the end of
September, and are shed by the old bulls early in December.

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

419

As to hunting this beast, Mr. Pike says in his ' liarren
Ground of Northern Canada,' 'It is no hard matter to kill
caribou in the open country, for the rolling hills usually give
ample cover for a stalk, and even on flat ground they are easily
approached at a run, as they will almost invariably circle head
to wind and give the hunter a chance to cut them off.'

(5) Mule Deer (C macrotis)

To my mind the best deer we have in North America for
sport is the beast whose head is here represented, C. macrotis,
the mule deer of British Columbia
and the naturalists, and the Black-tail
of Colcrido and elsewhere in the
States. More than any other of his
kin in this country, C. macroiis\\di\\.vA.i\
the open uplands, the largest bucks
being found oftener than not right up
by the little snow patches, in and on
the edge of the sheep land, or if not
there, then in the small patches of
starved and moss-grown forest at the
top of the timber range. Thanks to
his predilection for high places and
the open, it is often possible to stalk
C. macrotis in ' old country ' fashion,
instead of crawling about after him in choking timber as a man
must after C. columbianus or almost any other American deer ;
but to get mule deer a man should rise early in order to see them
moving up to their beds for the day.

The mule deer ruts about the middle of October, his horns
being clean as a rule about a foi might earlier, although I have
seen a big buck very high up (10,000 ft.) in Colorado who had
not />e,(^Hn to rub in the third week of September.

One of the writers in a recent book on American big game
speaks of the whistli/i}^- o^ this deer during the rutting season ;

E I-, 2

I'ypiciil mule deer
(C macrotis)

^2o JirCr GAME SHOOTING

but though I have spent many seasons amongst mule deer, m
British Columbia and elsewhere, I have never yet heard them
whistle, nor heard any mention of this habit from, the natives
or white hunters. However, I am not prepared to say that they

do not whistle.

More than any other American deer with which I am

Ahiioniuil in-acl of mule (Uvr

acciuainted, C. vmcrotis migrates with the seasons, passing in
large numbers fromhis summer feeding grounds on the uplands
to the green timber districts of the lower country. This migra-
tion seems to begin with the first heavy snows, but it is not an
invariable rule, for I have seen big bucks in the Chilcotin

BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA

421

country, nearly as high up as they could climb, at the beginning
of December, with snow a foot deep and the thermometer 10°
below zero. There is no deer in the country, I fancy, whose
antlers are subject to such great variation as those of C
macrotis. The pair figured on p. 419 is typical, although
distinctly above the average in size (25J,-in. span); another
pair (obtained by Mr. H. A. James in Colorado) had 41-in.
span, but the abnormal head figured on p. 420 is that of a
mule deer, and it has no fewer than 59 points in place
of the ordinary 10 points. This stag was killed in British
Columbia. I have also seen another pair, old and thick
and covered with well-marked pearls, with no tines at all
except at the top. The average weight of a male mule deer
is about 200 lbs., though they sometimes run much larger,
individuals having been killed weighing as much as 250 and
300 lbs.

Some idea of the number of these deer in British Columbia
may be gathered from the fact that in one district I have had
a chance of killing seventeen separate stags in an hour's still
hunt, whilst one settler in the Similkameen country fed his
hogs on deer-meat through a whole winter. , . •

(6) The White-Tail (C virginianus)

Of the White- tail or Virginian deer I have very little to say.
Every quality which a deer ought not to possess from a sporting
point of view this exasperating little beast possesses in the
most highly developed form. He lives very often in close
I)roximity to men, and seems to have caught some of their
cunning. His habitat is from the Atlantic to the Pacific, his
haunts are in river bottoms, in choking, blinding brush, and his
habits aie beastly. No one need ever expect to stalk a white-tail.
If you want to get one, you must crawl al)out in places where
the big boughs swing back and lash you across the eyes, where
the rampikes catch in your clothes or rise up under your feet and
trip you more cleverly than a professional wrestler, where hidden

422 lilG GAME SHOOTING

logs break your shins, and every other device of inanimate
Nature is found to obstruct and annoy you with what seems
almost live personal malice. After a long course of such sport
as this, after having become dumb because you have no more
' swear words ' left to say, after having grown sick of hearing
that abominable ' thump, thump,' which means that you have
jumped another buck without seeing him, you may catch a
glimpse of a waving white tail going over the logs, and if you

The White-tail's haunt

are a good wing-shot with a rifle you may get the beast which
wears it, but the betting is you won't ; or you may some day be
astounded by the sight of a creature, apparently about as big
as a good-sized jack rabbit, close to you, sneaking along under
the brush, with its head craned forward, intent on escaping
observation. If you move to fire, that sneaking beast will at
once convert itself into the white-tailed timber jumper you have
seen once or twice before.

BIG CAME OF \(lK77f AMERICA

423

>rt
re

Let me be honest to the Httle beast. On nearly every occa-
sion C. virgiHianus has got the best of me (I never hunted him
with dogs or torches, or any other such abomination, and never
mean to), but once on a red-letter day I caught a big buck of
his kind dreaming on a hardwood hill. He was two hundred
yards off, and though the bullet from my Express broke his
foreleg, he jumped 'at a stand ' a log by his side over which I
could n<jt look, though I stand nearly six feet in my boots, and
gave mc an hour's excessively hard work before I killed him.
I should think that about 150 lbs. would be the extreme weight
of the largest bucks of this variety ^l.fin cleaned, but there are
stories of exceptionally large white-tc^ii bucks in the Okanagau
district of British Columbia, and the heads which come from
that country are certainly very .'■ te. Ivir. Rowland Ward gives
27^ ins. as the length and ly ins. as the span of the best head
of this deer known to him.

(7) Thk Bi.ack-Taii, {C. coluinbianus)

Although not quite so exasperating on animal as C. virginia-
nus^ this, the common deer of Vancouver Island, of the islands
all along the Pacific coast from Victoria to Alaska, and of the
Pacific slope generally, is desperately fond of thick timber and
the deep jungles of noisy sal lal bush. In size C. columbiaiius is
considerably smaller than the mule deer ; a buck which would
weigh 175 lbs. would be a big buck for Vancouver Island, and
I am not aware that the deer of this island are smaller than
those of the mainland. But if C columbianus is small, he is
at least abundant. A week from the date of writing this, a
friend of mine and myself saw fourteen deer in two days' still
hunting within a drive of Victoria, and a grateful memory ot
my dinner reminds me that the venison of a yearling buck
hung for one week is as good meat as any Esau ever brought
home to Isaac. In 1892 a couple of half-breeds sold over
eighty bucks in Victoria in two months, and in 1893 the same
two (excellent shots and woodsi" on) are reported to have killed

424

BIG GAME SHOOTING

twenty-two deer in one day. But to hunt deer or anything
else upon Vancouver Island a man must be a born woodsman.
Where the deer are thickest the woods fairly swallow a man up :
every rolling hill is exactly like its neighbour, high peaks are
scarce and landmarks very few.

Fortunately the island deer are not as wary as the white-
tail, and will generally stand to gaze for a moment after having
jumped from their lair amongst the sal lal. Early in the
season the neighbourhood of swamps is the likeliest place to
find deer, but during the rutting season (middle of October)
the old bucks seem to keep to the higher grounds. Like other
deer, the black-tail browses on all manner of shrubs and
deciduous trees, and, unfortunately for farmers, has a decided
weakness for growing crops.

The largest head I have seen was shot in 1892 near
Cowitchan Lake, Vancouver Island. It measures along the
beam from skull to extreme point 21 ins., and in span it is
1 9 ins. from tip to tip. A typical head appears in the illustration
on the next page.

Mr. Rowland Ward records a head of this deer measuring
28^ ins. in length, with a span of 26 ins.

Guanaco
C. paludosub C. columhijiniis

NOTE ON CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICAN BIG GAME

There is no lack of game either upon the Pampas or in
the forests and along the river-beds of Central and South
America, but as yet very few English sportsmen appear to
have visited either the seas of grass or the luxuriant tropical
forests of Patagonia, Paraguay and the Amazon. Admiral
Kennedy, indeed, in his recent book, * Sporting Sketches in
South America,' is, I fancy, the first sportsman pure and
simple who has visited these regions and described the sport
to be found therein, and it is to be regretted that even he has
not had the luck to secure specimens of all the [principal beasts
known in the country. Others have, of course, written of the
Amazon and of .the Pampas, but they have been naturalists;
who cared more to secure a new mouse than mere trophies ot
the" chase, however fine.

According to Admiral Kennedy, the game list of South
y\merica includes the guanaco, five kinds of deer, the ostrich
or ihea, the jaguar, puma, tapir, wild cattle, and the wild pig.
The last two species are, of course, representatives of domestic
animals which have become wild, but, unless report belies them,

426

niG GAME SHOOT/NG

there are wild cattle in the world (e.g. in the Galapagos Islands)
which are as well worth hunting as the biggest buffaloes.

The jaguar, though a much larger beast than the puma
(identical with the panther of the West), appears to be anything
but a sporting beast, haunting river jungles and dense swamps,
and being unable, according to Mr. Hudson (the ' Naturalist
on La Plata ') to hold his own even against his smaller cousin,
the puma, who is described by the same authority as a ' bold
hunter,' invariably preferring large to small game, which he
kills as a tiger does, by dislocating the neck. The puma is,
according to the same authority, a persistent persecutor of the
jaguar. Both Mr. Hudson and Admiral Kennedy seem agreed
that the puma is a very dnngerous enemy to the guanaco, and
a scourge to everything living upon the I'ampas, except man
and the gama (C cainpcsfris)^ which protects itself as the skunk
does, by its unpleasant smell. Mr. Hudson's stories of the
strange affection of the puma for man, although calculated
to excite incredulity at first, coincide somo'-.liai strangely with
some of the \\ ^stern stories of the panvher (or puma) already
narrated ; but it must be borne in mind that the panther of
the West does attack man in a few rare instances, according to
the evidence of Mr. Perry.

Of all the beasts in South America Admiral Kennedy writes
most enthusiastically of the guanaco, an animal nearly allied
to the camel, weighing about i<So lbs., abundant from the Rio
Colorado to the Straits of Magellan, and affording good sport
to the stalker.

But a beast which carries no 'head,' which, according even
to its admirers, 'neighs like a horse 'when giving warning of
danger, and ' ([uacks like a duck ' when alarmed, seems to one
who knows neither guanaco nor ciervo a very unattractive
creature compared with the really fme deer, C.pnludosus^ which
is found upon the Chaco of Paraguay and in the Argentine
Republic, 'i'his deer somewhat resembles the red deer of Scot-
land, but grows to large dimensions. The horns figured are
from .some in the British Museum.

CENTRAL AND SOUTIf AMERICAN BIG GAME 427

Besides the ciervo, South America boasts, according to
Admiral Kennedy, of four other species of deer, the gama
(C campestris), a beast rather larger than the Scotch roe deer,
common all over the Pampas, the ghazu vira or swamp deer,
the ghazu Colorado, and the venadillo. It is a pity that some
enterprising sportsman does not devote a year or so to sport
in South America. Jaguar and ciervo (to say nothing of the
possil)ility of bagging deer almost unknown to his brother
sportsmen in England) should be bait enough to tempt some
one to more thoroughly investigate the sporting possibilities
of South America.

l-"or a fuller knowledge of South American game beasts,
the reader is referred to Admiral Kennedy's book, and to Mr.
Hudson's 'N.ituralist on 1. a Plata.'

MiisU i)x

CHAPTER XIX

Mu >: ox
By War burton Piki:

In a work dealing with the sport of the present day there '"s
no necessity to inquire into the past history of the Musk Ox
(Ovi/'os moschatiis)^ or to speak of its extensive distribution
during the early ages of the world. It is enough to pay a visit
to the South Kensington Museum and wonder at the specimens
of musk-ox heads dug out of the brick earth at Maidenhead
and Ilford, differing but slightly from the bleached heads that
may be picked up any day in the Barren Ground, and leave
to scientists the task of describing the methods by which pre-
historic man hunted the musk ox in what is now the pleasant
valley of the Thames. I shall only attempt t-^ describe the

MUSK UX

429

musk ox of to-day, and give a short account of the manner in
which many of them are annually killed by the Northern Indians.
Whoever invented the word ovibos to classify the musk ox
hit the nail squarely on the head, and this single word de-
scribes so exactly the strange mixture of sheep and bull that
there is little left to be said upon the subject. I am indebted
to Messrs. Rowland Ward & Co. for the following dimensions,
which were taken from an adult bull, not a particularly large
one, but a fair average specimen : —

ft. ins.

Length from nose to tip of tail
Height from ground to shoulder
Height from ground to top of rump
Height from ground to belly .
Round body over hair
Depth of base of horn
Length of hair under neck
Length of hair under belly

-1

The long hair is never shed, but underneath it lies a thick
fleece, which comes off every year and hangs in sheets from the
rocks and small bushes against which the animals have been
rubbing ; and herein lies the distinction between a prime musk-
ox robe and one killed out of season. The hair varies from
brown to black in different parts of the body, but a saddle of
light yellow shows up very conspicuously in the middle of the
back. The cows are smaller than the bulls, and their horns
never grow together into the solid boss that is to be seen in
the case of a bull at the age of six years. In the young, the
horns grow straight out from the head after the manner of a
barn-yard calf, and do not show the downward curve till the
second year.

The present range of the musk ox is limited to the North
American continent and the outlying islands in the Arctic
Ocean ; it is perhaps best defined as lying to the north and
east of a line drawn from the mouth of the Mackenzie river
to h'ort Churchill on Hudson Hay. Latitude 60° is generally

430

BIG CAME SHOOTING

accepted as its southern boundary, whilst the musk ox seems
capable of existing very far north, as some are recorded to have
been killed on Cirinnell Land, latitude 82° 27', within a mile of
the winter quarters of H.^^.S. 'Alert,' in July 1876, but I can
find no record of any having been seen in Greenland.

Now, all these places are necessarily hard of access, and to
make a successful musk-ox hunt means spending many months
in northern latitudes, and undergoing the hardships and risks
which Arctic explorers have found only too plentiful in cross-
ing the liarren Ground A mistaken theory exists among the
officers of the Hudson Bay Company, that the musk ox come
into the woods in the winter ; but as a matter of fact the Indians
have to push out far beyond the timber, hauling wood for fuel
on their dog-sleighs, and as the robes are not prime till the snow
has fallen and the cold is intense, it will be easily understood
that the difficulty of getting out to the musk-ox country, find-
ing a band, and hauling in the robes, is a thing to be well
considered before starting. In addition to this, it must be
remembered that if a party of men and dogs fail to find their
game when they are far from timber, the chances are ten to
one that nobody will reach the woods alive, as the caribou
which roam the Barren Ground in vast herds during the summer
seek the better shelter of the thick forest directly the winter
sets in, and it is perfectly impossible to haul sufficient provi-
sions for men and dogs in addition to fuel.

My personal experience of the musk ox is derived from two
expeditions, one in the autumn and early winter and the other
in summer, which I made with some half-breeds from Fort
Resolution, a Hudson Bay trading post on the south shore
of the Great Slave Lake. We left with canoes in the middle
of August, and after travelling 150 miles towards the north-east
end of the lake, portaged over a range of mountains on the
north shore, and passing through a chain of small lakes reached
the end of the dwarf timber by the middle of September. At
this point, roughly three hundred miles from Resolution, we
established a permanent camp, and, reduced to four in number,

MUSK OX

431

set out on foot into the Barren ('.round, expecting to find musk
ox at any time. We travelled hard towards the north, but only
fell in with two solitary bulls, both of which were killed ; the
rutting season was just coming on, and the bulls were apparently
seeking the cows. Winter was approaching, the small lakes
were frozen up and the ground covered with snow ; we were
unprovided with dogs and all the outfit necessary for winter
travel, and were forced to abandon the hunt, reaching our camp
after three weeks' absence early in October. On this journey we
found the caribou plentiful, and had little trouble from short
rations.

The next five weeks were passed at the edge of the woods,
and it was well on in November when we started on another ex-
pedition ; this time I went with a band of Yellow Knife Indians,
as most of the half-breeds had deserted. Six sleighs hauled
by twenty-four dogs carried a sui)ply of firewood sufficient for
three weeks with the strictest economy, and a little dried meat
which was to last us till we reached the nmsk ox. Luckily,
we had left a few meat caches on our first trip, or I think we
could hardly have made a successful hunt, as men and dogs
require more than the usual rations in the excessive cold which
prevails in the Barren Oround during the early winter. After
ten days' fair travelling, with some delays from wind storms and
the trouble of cutting the meat caches out of the ice in which
we had stored them, just as we had come to the end of our
provisions two bands of musk ox were discovered. By rough
guessing, one band contained a hundred and the other sixty
animals, bulls and cows of all ages. The usual methods of
winter hunting were employed, and a wholesale slaughter began ;
the dogs let loose from the sleighs rounded up as many of the
animals as they could hold, and, going close up, we killed them
as easily as cattle at the shambles.

The musk ox took no notice of the men, and seemed to
suppose that the dogs were their oi.ly danger ; and it is to be
presumed that by herding together in this manner they resist
the attacks of wolves, which follow the caribou, and probably

43^

BIG GAME SHOOTING

make an attempt on the musk ox when the more timid caribou
are scarce. The animals we killed were all in good condition,
and an examination of their stomachs showed that they had
been feeding on the different mosses that grow in profusion
in the Barren Ground. The snow had drifted away from the
ridges, leaving the ground bare in many places, so that the
moss was easily obtainable without pawing away the snow.

We killed over forty, as the Indians were, of course, anxious
to get as many robes as they could haul, to trade for ammuni-
tion and blankets at the Fort, and after we had loaded the
sleighs with skins and meat we made the best of our way back
to the woods, which we reached on December 2, after various
mishaps through getting lost and the dogs playing out in the
soft snow. Shortly afterwards we fell in with the caribou
again, and reached Fort Resolution a few days before Christ-
mas. -

The short Arctic summer was at its height when I saw the
musk ox again, at the head waters of the Great Fish ruer, after
a long and tedious journey with dog sleighs, and as we spent
six weeks in the heart of the Barren Ground I had every
opportunity to notice the habits of these strange animals.
Between the hunting grounds of the Yellow Knives and those
of the Esquimaux, farther down stream, lies a debatable land of
perhaps sixty miles in width, which affords the musk ox a
sanctuary, and here there were scattered bands in every direc-
tion. At this season the big bulls were usually found alone,
the cows and calves keeping together in small bands of ten to
twenty. Their natural increase seems to be small, and calves
were scarce in proportion to the number of cows. The Indians
told me that a cow only calves once in two years, and this is
probably true, as among the animals that we killed for food
we found none that had lost a calf.

I have often been asked whether the flesh of the musk ex
is good to eat, but people do not reflect that in the north, where
the supply of provisions is uncertain, any kind of food is good.
A fat cow killed in the fall hardly smells or tastes of musk,

MUSK OX

433

and I think its flesh would be palatable anywhere ; but an old
bull, especially in the rutting season, is a thing to be palmed
off on your neighbour if there is any choice in the matter. The
flesh of the calves we found insipid, and, eaten as it was with-
out bread or vegetables, it failed to satisfy the appetite or to
keep up the strength.

In the summer the musk ox live almost entirely on the
green leaves of the small willows that grow in patches in the
Barren Ground, and do not in this part of the country confine
themselves entirely to moss all the year round, as I have seen
stated. They fatten up in a wonderful manner during the short
time they have for feasting, and begin the winter in splendid
condition, though, according to the Indians, they are poor
enough at the time of the spring hunt in April.

In summer hunting no dogs are used, but the still more
destructive method of driving the musk ox into the water is
often put into practice. When a band is discovered, a con-
venient place is chosen for the slaughter, md piles of rocks
adorned with coats and gun-covers are set up a short dis-
tance apart, at right angles to the small lake that has been
selected. Men are stationed at intervals to head the animals
off, while others, making a detour, start the band in the right
direction. On coming to the barricade the animals are afraid
to pass the line of rocks, and, seeing themselves surrounded,
take to the water as their best chance. Then the little canoes
are launched and the whole band is quickly exterminated.
The musk ox is a poor swimmer. He seems to have some
difficulty in keeping his head above water, and never leaves
the land except under compulsion.

If the animals are at a long distance from water, or only one
or two are required for meat, they are easily approached under
cover of the rolling ground, and, being naturally of an unwary
disposition, are a sure prey for the Indian if he can persuade
his long muzzle-loader to go off at the right moment. It might
naturally i)e supposed that the musk ox is being rapidly exter-
minated, but I doubt if this is really the case. The head of

I. F F

434

BIG GAME SHOOTING

the Great Fish River has always been the summer hunting
ground of the Yellow Knives ; and yet their chief told me
that he had never known these animals more numerous than
at the present day, and certainly a great many were killed
while we were waiting for the ice in the river to break up.
But this is only the edge of the musk-ox country : the rocky
wilderness stretches far towards the north and east to the
Arctic Ocean, uninhabited except by a few wandering Esqui-
maux close to the coast. Into this desert the winter hunters
can never penetrate, as it lies too far beyond the tree-line to
admit of wood being hauled on dog-sleighs. It is true that the
number of hides exported by the Hudson Bay Company is
greater than it used to be, but this is easily accounted for by
the fact that the robes have increased in value, and the price
now paid to the Indians in the north is sufficient to encourage
them to haul the skins to the Fort, instead of using them for
moccasins, as was formerly the case. -

In spite of the many stories that the Indians told me, and
the evident dread in which they hold the musk ox, I could not
see anything to justify the belief that it is a dangerous animal
to attack. I never saw anything resembling a charge, although
I have often been close up to a badly wounded bull on pur-
pose to see if there was any truth in these reports. But the
Indians are given to superstition, and attribute miraculous
powers to the musk ox, and probably the ferocious appearance
of an old bull has worked upon their timid imaginations till
they are ready to believe thoroughly in these traditions.

On expeditions of this kind there is really no sport in the
ordinary acceptance of the term, and under any circumstances
the musk ox is so easily ajjproached that one soon tires of the
slaughter ; the same thing applies to the caribou, which are
sometimes found in almost incredible numbers in the Barren
Ground in summer or the woods in winter. But it is never a
certainty that the game will be forthcoming when most re-
quired for meat, and the knowledge that starvation, even to
the last extremes, may come upon you at any time, goes far

MUSK OX

435

to counterbalance the tameness of the sport when once you
have reached the land of plenty. Sufficient excitement and
danger will always be found in penetrating the little known
desert of the north to satisfy the most enthusiastic sportsman
explorer.

INDEX

THE FIRST VOLUME

ABli

Abbot, Dr., 309

Abyssinian o.ibi, 299

Adda, East Africa, 170, 276, .506

Africa. See East Africa and

South Africa
Aigoceros niger (Harris's black

buck potoquan), 65
Alaska, game in, 348; t'^'ars,
354, 359-362 ; the home ol
the grizzly, 365 ; black bear,
369, 372 ; goats, 392 ; moose,
398 ; deer, 423
Alexander, Colonel (1. D., 369
Alligators, South African, 132;
killing man, 132; tricked by
dogs, 133 : : .

Amazon, the, 425
America. See North America
Ant, African, works of the, 109
Antelopes, South African, 41.
75 ; East African, 169, 186,
19^, 198, 199' 230; stalking,
280; illustrative diagrams of
three stalks, 28 1-28 J ; list <>t
those found in open plains
and in bush, 285 ; eland,
■'286; the lirindled >>r l)lue
wildebeest. 289 ; Coke's
, and Lichtenstein's hartebecst,
. 290; Jai "son's hartebecst,
291 ; the V ^i, 291 ; Damalis
Ilunteri, )2 ; roan, 292 ;

ASK

sable, 293 ; oryx, 293 ; the
Kol us Kob, 296 ; lesser reed-
buck, 297; Grant's gazelle,
298 ; Thomson's gazelle,
298 ; Peters' gazelle, 299 ;
oribi, 300 ; steinbuck, 301 ;
waterbuck, 303 ; Sing-Sing,
304 ; greater arid lesser kudu,
304 ; bush-buck, 306 ; impala,
306; L. Walleri, 307; the
duyker, 308 ; blue buck, 309 ;
klipspringer, 309; the paa,

, 310; Grave Island gazelle,

' 310; the sitatunga, 311;
North American, 393; their

' approaching extinction in
America, 403

Ant-hills, 109

Anthrax, 186, 217, 305

Anticosti Island, black bears in,

355
Ant-lion, the, 109
xVrctic Ocean, 418, 429, 434
Argentine Republic, deer in

the, 426
Arpa (Heracleum lanatum), 358
Arusha-wa-Chini, East Africa,

218, 230, 254, 277
Ashnola country, ISorth

America, 384
Askari (East Afvican caravan

soldiers), 177-181, 313

SI:

438

BIG GAME SHOOTING

ASS

Assineboia, 394

Athi plains, East Africa, 168,

289, 312
Athl river, 169, 270, 304

Baboons, 136

Bad Lands, North America, 381

Bagamoyo, East Africa, 166

Bakaa, the (South African
tribe), 74, 82, 152

Bakalahari desert, South Africa,
87, 126, 130

Ba-Katla, the (South African
tribe), 47, 56, 152

Ba-Katla, valley of the. South
Africa, 41

Baker, Lady, 34

Baker, Sir Samuel W., his bio-
graphical sketch of William
Cotton Oswell, 26-31 ; urges
Oswell to write his sporting
career, 32 ; experience with
the Purdey gun, 34 ; on ele-
phant shooting. Si ; on the
price of elephant ivory, 85
note ; on lions, 94, 324, 328 ;
on native methods of snaring
game, 257

Ba-Lala, the (degenerate Kafirs),
86, 100, 123

Baldwin, Captain, on bears, 373

Ba-Mungwato, the (South Afri-
can tribe), 66, 71-73. 123,

152
Baobab tree (Adansonia digi-

tata), 83
Ba-Quaina, the (South African

tribe), 78, 112, 133, 135
Barolongs, the (South African

tribe), 107
Barren (iround caribou ( C.

tarandus arcticus), 396, 418 ;

musk ox, 430-434
Barter goods for lOast Africa,

179-181
Baths, portable, 162
Battery, for big game shooting,

28. 33. 155-158, 182, 219,

23s, 246, 26S, 273, 284, 308,

332

BIN

Ba-\Vangketsi, the (Soutii Afri-
can tribe), 56, 59, 112, 135,
149

Boars, North American, 19, 21-
24; vaiious species, 351 :
the grizzly, 351 ; colour,
353 ; claws. 354 ; dens, 356 ;
hil)ernation, 356 : cinnamon,
355. 356, 362: food, 357-
360 ; nocturnal habits, 357 ;
size and weight, 360, 361 \
ferocity, 362 ; sight, 363 ;
vitality, 364 ; hunting, 365-
368 : the black bear, 351,
353-357 ; price of hide, 369 :
use of (logs in hunting, 372 ;
habits, 374. ; tracks of the
grizzly and black, 374 ; skins,

375
Beaver, 40S

Bechuana, the, as elephant
hunters, 1 10 ; their mode of
trapping animals in the hoix>
(I'it), 112

Bechuanaland, 314

Bedson, CoKmicI, 376, 380

Bedsteads and bedding for a
sporting expedition in East
Africa, 162

Beetles, horned, 323

Bengal, 373

' Hig Game of North America,'

.349. 353. 392

Big game shooting, its justifica-
tion, 2 ; wholesale slaughter,
3 ; qualities of a successful
sportsman, 5 ; advantage of a
knowledge of natural history,
6; hints on stalking, 8; ' sign,'
ID ;• the Indian scout, 1 1 ;
sightingganie, 1 2; dealing with
wounded game, 13, 15; killing
and packing venison, 15; still
hunting, 17, 18; language of the
Woods, 19; woodland shooting,
20; night shooting, 22 ; use of
dogs, 24

Bighorn (Ovis montana). North
American, its haunts, 381 ;
stalking, 387 ; weight, 389

Binocular glasses, 158

INDEX TO THE EIRST VOLUME

439

n-
5S»

17-

P.IR

Birds (African), instinct of,
anecdote of, 134

Bird-Thompson, Mr., 304

Bison, North American, 376 ;
habits :ind chase, 377; extinc-
tion, 403

Black bear (Ursus americanus),

35i> 353-357. 369-375
Blacli-tail (Cervus columbianus),

419, 423
fUue buclc, 309

Boers, 97 ; their manner of kill-
ing elephants, III ; innuence
over the black races, 151 ;
English attitude toss ar Is, 151
B )mas (zerebas), 173
Boots, I'vnglish shooting, iS
Borili (rhinoceros), 42, 44
Boscowitz'sstore, Victoria, British

Columbia, 361. 371, 375
Brayos river, North America,

369
Bridge River country, British

Columbia, 391
British Columbia, bears in, 23,

347, 35>. 354, 359, 369.371,
:>1l'< 390 ; moose, 398 ;
svai)iti, 403 ; woodland cari-
bou, 415; mule deer, 419;
white-tail, 421

British Columl)ian Museum. 416

British Museum, 426

British South Africa Ci)mpany,

333

Bubalis leucoprymnus (harte-

beesl), 291
Bucking horses, Cajie, 105
Buffalo, '•'outh African, heids of,
41 ; ci)urage, 51 ; ba)Hin;j:
attack by lions, 52 ; itsciiarge,
54 : vengeful nature, 54 ; stam-
peding, 55 ; three lions at-
tacking one, 90 ; its tender
spot, <)5 ; a ssvarm of, 96 ; -
East African, destroyed by
anthrax, 186, 217 ; vitality,
203 ; ferocity, 214 ; bunting,

216 ; large numbers formerly,

217 ; habits. 218 ; stalking,
219 225 ; biids attendant on,
225 ; best mode of killing,

CAR

225-229 ; a typical instance of
the animal's cunning and fero-
city, 230-235 ; prey for lions,
243-245, 248, 288, 322

Bul-bul, the, 197

Buphaga erythrorhyncha (birds
attendant on rhinoceros), 225,
252

Bura natives (African tribe),
172

Burros, 25

Burrouglis & Wellcome's medi-
cine chests, 163

Hush cuckoo (Centropus mon-
achus), 197

Bush-buck, 306

Bush francolin, 197

Bushmen, locust food of, 38 ;
digging for water, 39 ; advice
regarding lions, 93 ; honesty,
loi ; as sportsmen, 1 10 ;
powers of restraining thirst,
124 ; sketches of the oryx in
their caves, 129 ; mode of
boring for water, 130; ca])a-
cityfor absorbing water, 137 ;
mode of stalking the ostrich,
278

Bustard (Otis kori), 167, 200

Bute Inlet, British Columl)i:i,
392

Cai.ikokma, 394

Camp gear, 161

Canada, game lasvs of, 346 ;

nv.ose himting, 399 ; caribou,

415-418-
Canada geese, 366
Cannibalism in Souti^ Africa,

146
Cape horses, 105
Cape oryx, 130
Caravan, the sportsman's, 176;

duties of the headman, 1 76 ;

the soldiers, 177 ; the porters,

1 78- 181 ; goods for barter,

179; food, 180; number of

armed men recpdred, 181 ;

arms and annn\H)ition, 182 ;

gun-bearers, 18 j

440

BIG GAME SHOOTING

CAR

Carbines, 182

Caribou, North American, 347,

348 ; woodland (C. tarandus),

396 ; measurements, 415 ;

haunts, 416 ; character, 417 ;

food, 417 ; Barren Clround

(C. tarandus arcticus), 396,

418, 431.432, 434
Caiibou fly, 416
Carosses of cat-skins, 135
Cassiar, 385
Caton, Mr. , 349 ; on the cervida;

of North America, 396, 397,

406
' Cats, 13s
Cayuses, 24
Celalolophus (Uganda antelope),

309, note
Central America, big game in,

425, 427
(\'rvus acapulcensis, 396
("ervus paludosus, 426
Chaco of Paraguay, the, deer in,

426
Champagne, use of, in cases of

over-exertion, 164
Chapman's 'Wild Spain,' 22
Cheetah, East African, 169,301-

303
Chcroa (East African oryx), 293
(fhoyenne, 404
Chilcotin country, the, 403,

4?o
Cliiimiunks, 409
Chobe r'ver. South Africa, 83,

143, 145, 153 ; slave traders

on, 146
Chooi (natural salt pan), 37,39,

126
Chukuru (rhinoceros), 45
Churchill, Lord Kandoljjh, 327
Ciervo, the, 426, 427
Cinnamfm bear, 355, 356, 362
Clarkson, Mr. , 317, 318
Claytonia carolineana (Indian

l)otato), 357
Clear Water river, Idaho, 398
("liinatt; of East Africa, 311
(-"lothinj; for .sporting, 23
Coat, s|i()rtin|,', 158
Cock, Mr., 107

DUV

Coke's hartebeest, 167, 290

Coles, John, on the grizzly,
360

Collies, 24

Colorado, still hunting in, 17,
24 ; State protection of sheep,
346 ; food for bears in, 359 ;
grizzlies, 362 ; antelopes, 394,
395; wajiiti, 403-406 ; black-
tail, 419,423

Colorado river, 369

Columbian black-tailed deer^C.
columbianus), 396

Compasses, 1 58

Coope, Jesser, 322, 323

Coo])er, I'rank, 385, 402

Cording's ' l'ayne-(iall\vey '

waterproof, 160

Cowitchan Lake, Vancouver
Island, 424

Cradock, 106

Crocodile, 86

Cuckoo, the, 197

Curti.s, Colonel, 316

D.\(OT.\, North, 377

Damalis llunteti, 292

1 )amalis jiniela (topi), 292

I )amalis senegalensis, 292

' Deer of America,' 396

Deer, North American, varieties

"f, 396 ; moose, 396-402;

wapiti, 402-414 ; caribou,

415-419 ; mule, 419-421 ;

white-tail, 421 ; black-tail,

423
Delamere, Lord, 316, 327
Diseases in East Africa, 312
Dodge, Colonel, on buffalo, 376,

3^8; on the wapiti, 406
Dogs used in hunting, 24, 64, 66,

69-71, 120, 123, 126, 332,

372, 430-434; native, tricking

alligators, 133
I )oretn. East Africa. 290
Dress, si)orting, 158 161
Duck, 187
Duruma country. East Africa,

3"
Duyker, 167, 285, 308, 309

INDEX TO THE FIRST VOLUME

441

KA( ;

Eaci.ks, 395

East Africa, sport to-day in, 154;
};uns suitable, 1 55- 158 ; game
districts and routes, 160-172 ;
camp gear, 161-163 ; stores,
163 ; goods for barter, 165 ;
elephant stalking, 166-168 ;
length of marches, 172, 173;
water, 173; details of a sports-
man's caravan, 176-184; hints
un stalking, 185-203 ; the
wind, 187 ; early morning,
195 ; elephant hunting, 204-
213; buffalo hunting, 214-235;
the lion, his apjiearance,
habits, and chase, 236-250 ;
stalking and killing rhinoceros,
251 268; hippopotamus, 269-
274; girafle, 275-277; ostrich,
277, 278 ; stalking antelopes,
279-284; list of antelopes,
285 ; eland, 286 ; brindled or
blue wildebeest, 289 ; Coke's,
Lichtenstein's and Jackson's
hartebeot, 290, 291 ; topi,
291 ; Damalis llunteri, 292;
roan antelope, 292 ; sable
antelojie, 293 ; oryx, 293 ;
Kobus K(jb, 296; lesser reed-
buck, 297 ; (irant's gazelle,
298; Thomson's gazelle, 298,
i'eters' gazelle, 299 ; orijji,
300 ; the steinbuck, 301 ;
cheetahs, 301 ; waterbiick,
303; Sing-Sing, 304 ; greater
and lesser kudu, 304 ; bush-
lutck, 306; impala, 306;
L. Walleri, 307; duyker, 308;
blue buck, 309; kiipspiingcr,
309 ; paa, 310 ; (Irave Island
gazelle, 310; sitatunga, 311 ;
character of climate, 311 ;
snakes, iVc, 312 ; expenses of
an expedition, 312 ; lions,3l5

iMUelow, Dr., 333 335. h'h
342

l''dgington's • NVissmann ' tent,
161

I'ldmonds' menagerie, Warring-
ton, 328

Jlgrets (llerodias gnrzetta), 225

EXP

Eland., South African, 49, 51,
107, 108 ; Kast African. 174,
190-193, 231, 286-289

Elephant, South African, guns
suitable for hunting, 33 ; dig-
ging for water, 39 ; uncouth
appearance and habits, 75 ;
jiitfalls for catching, 76 ;
releasing trapped comrades,
76 ; wariness, 77 ; climljing
and swimming jiowers, 77 ;
size of ears and head, 78;
range of habitat, 79 ; length
of years, 79 ; height, 80 ;
killing on horseback, Ji ;
mothers and :alve-, 82 ; tree-
ing crocodiles, 86 ; an experi-
ment with fried trunk, 98 ; a
good day's kill, 99 ; Kafirs
drinking water fr jm stomach,
100 ; Kafirs delivering ivory,
100 ; liechuana and Bushman
modes of hunting, no, ill;
Hoer manner of killing, ill ;
effects on natives of eating
flesh, 1 16 ; jianic-stricken,
127 ; baby elephant killed by
lion, 128 ; a grand assend)lage,
129 ; narrow escape of Oswell
from charge, 140 ; — East
African, best shot to kill,
202 ; (juarters in dry weather,

205 ; destructive i)ranks, 205,

206 ; tracking, 207 ; a tyjjical
hunt, 209-212 ; easy stalking,
212

Eley, Messrs , 268

Elgeyo, Kast Africa, 182, 218,

291
Elk, Irish, 402, 403
I'lll wood's Shikar hat, 160
English Hay, Kodak Island, 361
Entomological Society, the,

Oswell's lectiue at, 114
E(|uus niontanus (hill zei)ra), 65
Es(|uin\aux, 434
Euphorbia-trees, 153
Express bullets, 155
Express ritle, 15.S 157- 102,273,

276, 288, 289, 364, 423. ii€e

Battery

442

BIG GAME SHOOTING

FAN

Fannin, John, Curator of the
■ British Columbian Museum,

349, 35^. 392, 415
Fever, 174
Florican (Otis canicoliis), 186,

197
Foot gangers (locusts), 38
Fort Resolution, Great Slave

Lake, 430, 432
Francolin (F. coquei), 174, 186,

197
Frazer river, British Columbia,

351, 382, 386
Frere Town, 310

Gai,ai'A(;os Islands, 426
Galla country, 290, 293, 299
Gama (C. campeslris), 426,

427
Gazella Grantii, 199-201, 255,

278, 282, 293, 298, 299
Ciazella I'etersi, 299
Gazelles, East African, 16;', 186,

199-201, 255, 278, 28:!, 293,

298, 299, 310
Geddes, Mr., 330
Gedge, Mr., 217, 273, 290, 293,

296, 311
Geese, East African, 187 ;

Canada, 366
Gemsbok (Oryx capensis), 129,

130 . .

Geographical Society of i'aris,

award medal to Oswell, 114
Gerard, M., on lions, 94
Gerenook ( Litliocranius Walleri)

285
Ghazu Colorado (South American

deer), 427
Ghazu vira (South American

swamp deer), 427
Gibbs, George, of Bristol, 332
Giraffe, South African, 48, 84,

108; East African, 174:

haunts, 275, 276 ; effect of

eating its meat, 275, 276
Glendive, Missouri, 376
tjlossina morsitans (tsetse fly),

113

(inus, 41

HAR

Goat, Rocky Mountain (Haplo-

ceroH montanus), 390-392
(ioll)anti (Tana river), 170
Gordon Cumming, 30, 314
Gourd, the bitter desert, 136
(Jraham, Captain (resident
magistrate of Umtali), 319,

333-335, 339
Grant, Cajitain, 304
Grant's gazelle. See Gazella

(jrantii
Grass anlchjpe, 301
( irass fires, 40
Grave Island gazelle (N. mos-

chatus), 310
' Ireat Fish river, 432, 434
Great Lakes, North America, 369
(ireat Slave Lake, Canada, 378,

, 430, 432
Greater kudu, 304
Greenfield, T. \V. li. , 245
(ireenland, 430
(irinnell Land, 430
Cirizzly bear (Ursus horribilis),

the, 351 ; colour and shape,

353 ; clows, 354 ; den of,

356 ; hil)ernation, 356 ; food,
357-360 ; nocturnal habits,

357 ; size and weight, 360,
361 ; ferocity, 362 ; sight,
363 ; vitality, 364 ; hunting
in Alaska, 365-368; 417, 418

Ciuanaco, 425, 426
(iuinea-fowl (Numidacoronata),

the, 174, 186, 197
Gulu Gulu, East Africa, 293
Gun-l)L'arers, native, 183
Gunnison, Colorado, 394
Guns. Sci- IJatlery

IlANl AM horses, 106

Harris, Sir W. Cornwallis, on
South African big game shoot-
ing, 36 ; on lions, 94 ; im the
plenitude of game in South
Africa, 314

Harris's black buck potoquan,

65
Hartebeest, tiie, 41, 50, 166,
167, 174, 231, 283, 287;

INDEX TO THE FIRST VOLUME

44:

HAK

Coke's, 290 ; Jackson's, 291 ;

Lichtcnstein's, 290
Harting, J. K., 351, 37S
Hartley Hills, Maslimialand,

329, 333. 337, 342

Harvey, Sir Robert, 242, 278,
300, 308

Head-dress, 160

Headman, duties of, to a sport-
ing expedition in Kast Africa,

176; 313
Herodias f^arzetta (ej^ret), 225
Hihljs, Mr., on the moose, 397
Hill zebra (Ecjuus moiitaniis),

HipiJopotamus, South African,
the, 84 ; a battue, 85 ; tusks,
85 ; niotle of huntinjr i)y na-
tives, 112, li3;~l",ast Afri-
can, 169 ; haunts, 269 ; food,
270 ; its shooting considered as
a sport, 271 ; cunning, 272

Hippotragus Hakeri, 292

Hobley, Mr., 304

Holland i\. Holland, 157. 284

Hope Mountains, North Anic-
rit^a, 355

Hopo (i)it), for trapping wild
animals, 112

Horn of the rhinoceros, 45

Horses, sickness of 87; value
of, in African spirting, 103;
number re(|uired for a shooting
expedition, 104 ; price, 106 ;
used in hunting l)igganie, 185

Hottentots, 72

Hudson Bay, 418, 429

Hudson Bay Company, 369,
370, 430, 434

Hudson, Mr., on South Ameri-
can game, 426, 427

Humpies (C)nchorhynchus gor-
buscha), 360

Hunter, H. C. \'., 209, 277,
292, 300

Hunter's antelope, 1O9

Hya>nas, 43, 108, 195, 23S

Idaho, 39S ; wapiti in, 403
Imitation ostrich, 27S

JOH

Impala (antelope), 169, 174,

230, 231, 306, 325
Indian scouts, 1 1 ; secret of

their succeis, 13 ; mode of

packing venison, 15
Interpreters, 313
Ishah (steinbuck), 301

Jackals, 75, 108, 196

Jackson, F. J., on stalking the
rhinoceros, 3 ; on the battery
for sporting in Kast Africa,
155-158 ; on dress, 158-161;
on camp gear, 161-163 ; on
stores, 163-165 ; on game
districts and routes, 166-175 ;
on the caravan and its
adjuncts, 176- 184 ; his hints
on stalking and driving, 185-
203; stalking bull eland, 190-
193 ; driving antelope, 198-
200 ; device of the imitation
ostrich, 200 ; on where to place
the shot, 202 ; hunting ele-
))hants, 205 ; in a typical ele-
phant hunt, 208 ; in C(jmpany
with Mr. Hunter, 209-213 ;
shooting buffalo, 214-230 ; a
buffalo hunt in the Arushr<.-wa-
Chini district, 230-235 ; lion
k/ling, 236-250 ; personal
experiences of the rhinoceros,
251-268; views on hippo-
hunting, 269-274 ; on os-
triches and giraffes, 275-278 ;
description of Kast African
antelopes, 279-311; cm the
climate of East Africa, 31 1

Jackson's hartebeest, 166, 291

Jaguar, South American, 426,
427

James, 1 1. A., 421

Jenner, Mr., 292, note

Jilori, East Africa, 270

John (Selous' waggon driver),

335-343
John Thomas (Oswell's Afri;:an-
der servant), sketch of his ca-
reer, 56-59 ; sporting incidentii
connected with, 68, 69, 70,

444

inc. GAME SHOOTING

JOH
80, 88, 98, 99, 104, 124, 127,

135
Johnson, trank, 333, 334

Johnson & Co. 's stores, Ma-

shonaland, 333, 342
Jones, Mr., attacked by a

lioness, 318
Joyce's copper caps, 1 26

Kafirs, South African, fhtir
eating powers, 41, 83; use
of the horn of the rhint)ceros,
45 ; rain doctors, 46 ; idea
of a sportsman, 48 ; heroism
of a woman, 48 ; fear of Inif-
faloes, 50 ; theirdevotion, 57 ;
mode of entrapping elephants,
76 ; kindness in camp, 96 :
honesty, 100 ; drinking water
from elephants' stomachs,
100 ; recuperative power from
wounds, 121 ; gratitude, 122;
their kraals, 135
Kahe, East Africa, 227, 309
Kalahari country. South Africa,

80, 1 10
Kalahari desert, 152, 314
Kampi ya Simba, luisl .\frica,

263
Kajiite plains. East Africa, 168
Karki cloth, 158
Kati, Matabeleland, 329
Kau (on the O/i), 170, 269
Kavirondo, East Africa, 182,

270, 274, 296, 299, 308
Kegl, Count E. de, 237
Kennedy, Admiral, on South

American game, 425- 427
Kil)ok() (hippoi)otamus), 269
Kiboso, East Africa, 209
Kibwe/.i, Ukambani, 260
Kidong valley, IOas» Africa,

223
Kidudwe, East Africa, 293
Kifaru (rhinoceros), 251
Kikavo river. East Africa, 1O7
Kikuyu, East Africa, 205
Kilimanjaro, game at ami near,
155, 1O8, 174, 200, 201,205,
■_ 209, 238, 245, 258, 277, 289,

LAM

290, 293, 297, 299, 303, 307,

309
Kimangclia, l8l
King of che beasts, the true, 74
Kingfisher (Halcyon chelicu-

tensis), 197
Kipini, l\ast Africa, 269
Kisigao, East Africa, 170, 238,

276, 286, 304
Klipspringer (antelope), 309
Knickerbockers, 159
Kobus Kob (antelope), 296
Kolobeng, South Africa, Eiving-

stone's station, 119, 126, 132,

144
Kongoni (hartebeest), 231, 290
Koodoo, South African, 316
Kootenay country, the. North

America, 376
Koro-koro, East Africa, 269
Kudu, greater and lesser, 169,

276, 304, 305
Kungu (lesser kudu), 304
Kuru (waterbuck), 303
Kuruman (Moffat's station), 37,

40, 152

Eacumi'; (tamo elephant), 79

Laings Nek, 151

Lake Baringo, VCast Africa, 169,

182, 197, 21'/, 270, 271, 286,

290, 291, 299, 304. 306
EakeElmateita, lOast Africa, 306
Lawe Jijn, East Africa, 270, 297
Lake Kamadou, South Africa,

109, 113, 122, 126, 153
Lake Naivasha, East Africa,

217, 270, 291, 298, 306, 312
Lake Nakuro, East .\frica, 286
Lake 'N'gami, South Africa, 27,

54, 57, 114, 119, 122, 124,

126, 131, 149, 152
Lake Rudolph, East Africa, 277
Lake Ruzenvvori, l'",ast Africa,

205
Lampson, C M. , iV Co., 370,

375
Lampson, Sir (leorge, 368
Lamu, East Africa, 170, 2l8,

292, 300, 309 310

INDEX TO THE FIRST VOLUME

445

LAN

Liingora, East Africa, 172, 276

Le Mavvc, South Africa, 119

Leche (antelope), 122

Lee, Hans (Boer hunter), 327

I-eggings, 160

Leopards, South African, 136

Lesser kudu, effect of eating its

meat, 276 ; 304, 305
Lesser reed-buck, 297
Lichtenstein's hartebcest, 290
Limpopo, the, 80, S3, 88, 100,

no, IIS, 131
Lion, South African, native
mode of killing, 47 ; Living-
stone's adventure, 47 ; a
woman's courage with a
lioness, 48 ; attacking buffa-
loes, 52, 90 ; killing oxen in
camp, 64, 66 ; bayed l)y dogs,
64, 69 ; Mr. Oswell's narrow
escape from, 69 ; the (|uesti(iii
of its courage or cowardice,
92, 315-319 ; fear of man,
93 ; not so formidabli; as the
North African, 94 ; quickness
and strength, 94; cries and
bark, 98 ; at a typical break-
fast, 108 ; Oswell's encounter
again with one, 119 ; fear of
the horse for, 120 ; attack on
a Katir, 121 ; starving, 122 ;
chasing oxen, 127 ; killing
babyelephanl, 128; maneless,
131 ; instances of its bold-
ness and ferocity, 319, 320 ;
dangerous • nature of old
animals, 320 ; not a clean
feeder, 321 ; burying paunch
and entrails of prey, 322,
323 ; cannibalism, 323 ; mode
of killing prey, 324 ; physical
appearance, 327 ; mane, 327 ;
weight of, 328 ; measurements
of, 329 ; its roar, 331 ; be-
haviour when wounded, 332 ;
guns for killing, 332 ; Selous'
kill of the largest in his
experience, 333-344 ". l-i-^t
African, stalking eland, 191 ;
conduct when woundeil, 215 ;
his 'kingly' title (luestioncd,

MAC

236 ; appearance, 236 ; habits,

237 ; attacking camj)s, 238 ;
attacks on man, 239-242 ;
charging, 242 ; the manek.-ss,
243 ; animals on which he
preys, 243-245 ; signs of
l)rescnce, 245 ; instances of
want of courage, 246-250

Lithocranius Walleri, 307

Livingstone, David, 26 ; rela-
tions with Oswell, in lake
exploration, 27 ; as a com-
panion, 34 ; with the Bush-
men, 38 ; station at Mabotse,
40> 95' 97 ; misadventure
with a lion, 47 ; dealing with
timid natives, 57 ; on Oswell's
escape from a lioness, 71 ; his
Bechuanaheadman, 73 ; meat-
eating powers, 83 ; parting
with Oswell, 87; on native
mode of killing hippojiotannis,
113; with Secheie at Kolo-
beng, 119 ; journey to Lake
'Ngami and Zambesi, 125 ;
ol)servation of instinct in a
bird, 134 ; character, 142 ;
interview with Sel)itoani,
144 ; astonishes Sebitoani by
a written message, 144 ;
Sebitoani narrates his career
to him, 145 ; meets with slave
traders, 147

Livingstone, Mrs., 47, 87, 126

Lo Bengula, 327

Lo Magondi's, South Africa ,320

Locusts, 2)7

Loder, Sir Edmund, 80

Lumi river, East Africa, 258,
308

Lupai)i spring, 66, 71

Luhoshe (a tuber), 130

Lykepia, 205, 218, 291!, 312

Lyman sight, the, 21

Maiioisi';, Livingstone's mission
station, 47, 48, 87, 97

Machako's, East Africa, 168,
242, 243, 260, 261, 270, 277,
289, 297-299, 301

446

BIG GAME SHOOTING

m'ka

M'Kameni, East Africa, 172, 174
Mackenzie river, 396, 429
Mackinnon, Dr., 223, 239, 245,

261, 289
Macoba (South African tribe), the

144
Macoun, Professor, 358
Mahalisberi;;, South Africa, 97
Mahoho (R. simus), 42-44, 87,

98, lOI
Maji Chumvi, East Africa, 290,

293
Majuba, 151
Makololo, the, 146
Mambari (half-caste Portuguese

slave-dealers), 150
Mambrui, East Africa, 300
Maminas (sucking holes), 131
Manda Island, East Africa, 310
Manica, 322
Marabou storks, 245
Marauka's kraal, Mashonaland,

319

Marches, length of, in East

Africa, 172, 173
Marique river. South Africa,

88, 95, 96, 115
Martini rifles, 273
Masai country, the, 173, 180,

186, 237, 243, 24s, 277, 299,

304
Masai warriors (El Moran), 181,

239

Masailand, 245

Mashonaland, its colonising
prospects, 150, 151 ; game
in, 315. 3J6, 318, 319. 320,

329. 331. 333
Matabeleland, 327
Matahili, the, circumvented by

Sebitoani, 145
Mathews, General Lloyd, 290
Matschi, Dr., 291, 292
Mau, East Africa, 205, 218,306,

312
' Maungu march,' character of

the, 171, 180
Mboga (buffalo), 214
Mbuyu (water calabash), the,

178
ISll)wara (bush-buck), the, 306

MOU

Medicine chests, 163

Medicine for African expeditions,

163
Melindi, East Africa, 270
Merereni, East Africa, 170,270,

278, 292, 293, 299, 300, 304,

305. 307, 310
Meritsani, the, South Africa,

40
Metford rifle, 332
Mexico, Northern, 378
Mianzini, East Africa, 312
Miasma, 163
Mimosa-trees, 276, 277
Mirage in the desert, 39, 125
Mississippi river, 369
Mitati, ICast Africa, 238
Moccasins, 18
Mochi, East Africa, 166
Moffat, Mrs., 40
Moffat, Rev. Robert, 26,40
Molela shoquan (hawk), 39
Molopo river, South Africa, 37,

40, 43, 65, 152, 153
Mombasa, 159, 163, 165, 170,

171, 179, 180, 204, 237,274,

290. 301. 310
Mongoose, the, 196
Montana, panther in, 351 ;

buffalo, 377 ; moose, 398 ;

wapiti, 403, 414
Moo.->t, 396 ; habitat, 396 ;

weight, 396 ; size, 397 ; State

protection of, 398 ; haunts,

398 ; hunting, 398 ; calling,

399-401
Morley, North America, 385
Mosc|uito curtains, 162
Mount l*"-lg(m. East Africa, 205,

212, 2i8, 292, 299, 309
Mount Kenia, East Africa, 205,

218, 291, 309
Mount Kisigao, East Africa,

170, 238, 276, 286, 304
Mount ^laungu. East Africa,

171, 172, 286

Mount Pika-pika, East Africa,

170
Mount Ruwenzori, l\ast Afri'.a,

309
Mountain buffalo, 378, 379

INfEX

MOU

TO THE FIRST VOLUMi:

447

Mountain duyker (Cei)hiilolo-
phus spadix), 285, 309

Mpecatoni, East Africa, 270

Mpofii (eland), 286

Mto Chiimvi, East Africa, 276

Mto Ndai, East Africa, 276

Mule deer (C. macrotis), 396 ;
haunts and habits, 419 ;
antlers, 421 ; weight, 421

Muniia's, Upper Kavirondcj,
274, 296

Murray, Mr., of Lintrose (Os-
well's sporting companion),
incidents connected with, 27,
34, 36, 40, 41,48, 51,53,67,
84-88, 119, 120, 123

Musk ox (Ovibos moschatus),
428 ; dimensions, 429 ; present
range, 429 ; hunting, 430-
434 ; its flesh, 432 ; food, 433

Alyers, A. C, 380

Mwanga, of Uganda, 274

Naari (buffalo), 90
'Nakong (antelope), 122, 123
National Park, Texas, 394
Natural History Museum, South

Kensington, 329
' Naturalist on La Plata,' 426,

427
Ndara, East Africa, 170-172,

286, 304
Ndi, East Africa, 276, 286
Ndovu (elephant), 204
Neapara (headman), the, 176
Nelson, Mr., of Oologs Poort,

106
Neotragus Kirkii, 242
Newmann, A. II., 271
Ngaboto, East Africa, 299, 310
Ngruvu (duyker), 308
Night shf>oting, 22
Nightjar, the, 197
Njemps, East Africa, 169, 290,

299
Njiri plains. East Africa, 181,

218
Norfolk jacket for sporting, 158
North America, caribou in, 347 ;

panther, 348 ; grizzly bear.

OSW

351-369; Wack bear, 369-
375 ; bison, 376-380 ; big-
horn, 381-389 ; Kocky Moun-
tain goat, 390-392; prong-
horn antelope, 393-395 ;
moose. 396-402 ; wapiti, 402-
414; woodland caribou, 415-
418 ; Barren (i round caribou,
418 ; mule deer, 419 ; musk
ox, 428-435

Nswala (impala), 306

Numida coronata (guinea-fowl),
197 ; ptilorhyncha, 197

Nyati (buffalo), 214

Nyumbo (brindled or blue wilde-
beest), 289

Nzoi, East Africa, 276, 301

Nzoia river, East Africa, 169
270, 272, 296, 299

Okanacau, British Columbia,

423
Olympian Range, Washington

Territory, wapiti in, 403, 404
Ontario, moose in, 398
Oologs Poort farm. South Africa,

106
Orange river, South Africa, 36,

Oregon, bear in, 369, 370 ;
antelopes, 394 ; wapiti, 403

Oribi, 169 ; Abyssinian, 299 ;
East African, 300

Oryx beisa, 293

Oryx collotis, 174, 294

Oryx, East African, stalking,
281, 293-296 ; Syrian, 129

Ostrich, 167 ; stalking, 198,
200, 201 ; driving, 231 ;
haunts, 277 ; the imitation,
278 ; South American, 425

O well, William Cotton, bio-
graphical sketch of, 26 ; re-
lations with Livingstone, 27 ;
receives medal of French
Geographical Society, 27,
114 ; character, 27 ; personal
ajijiearance, 28 ; battery used
by him, 28, 33 ; on animal
slaughter, 34 ; summary of

448

BIG GAME SHOOTING

osw

his African experiences, 34 ;
first African expedition, 36 ;
joins Mr. Murray of Lintrose,
36 ; on the locust, 38 ; Moft'at's
hospitality to him, 40 ; in a
grass Hre, 40 ; first kill of a
rhino, 42 ; on the rhinoceros,
45 ; the girafife, 48 ; the buf-
falo, 50 ; close encounters
with buffaloes, 53 ; meeting
with John Thomas, 56 ; bush
night adventure, 60 ; his
Kafir name, 63, note ; repel-
ling night attack of lions, 67 ;
encounters with lions, 68-71 ;
reception by Seccmi, 71 ;
hunting elephants, 74-87 ;
astonished at Livingstone's
meat-eating. 83 ; first sight of
hippopotami, 84 ; second ex-
pedition to South Africa, 88 ;
joins Major Vardon, 88 ; on
lions, 92 ; meeting with Boers,
97 ; on the cooking of jmchy-
dermata, 98 ; tries water from
an elejihant's stomach, lOO ;
charged by a -rhinoceros,

102 ; loss of his horse Stael,

103 ; on horses for African
sporting, 104 ; another night
adventure, 107 ; description
of a typical African breakfast,
108 ; on ants, 109 ; on Hush-
men and Bechuana as hunters,
no; on the tsetse fly, 113;
lectures before Entomological
.Society, 114; tossed by a
rhino, 116; encounter with
a lion, 119; gratitude shown
him by a wounded Kafir, 121;
joins Livingstone again, 123 ;
difficulty with Secomi, 123 ;
deceived by mirage, 125 ;
description of a camp stam-
pede, 127 ; lion killing, 127 ;
.sights a big herd of elephants,
129 ; shooting maneless lions,
132 ; meets an inefficient
sportsman, 133 ; anecdote of
dogs and alligators, 133 ;
observation of bird instinct,

IMT

134 ; meets Mr. Webb and
Captain Shelley, 135 ; on leo-
pards and baboons, 136 ; nar-
row escape from an elephant,
139 ; his opinion of Living-
stone, 142 ; introduced to
Sebitoani, 143 ; alarms the
Macolia with a burning-glass,
144 ; .Sebitoani visits him and
relates his life, 145 ; on Afri-
can colonisation, 150; on the
Boers, 151

Otters, 137

Ovis montam, 381

Oxen, .South African, 127, 149

Ozi river, East Africa, 170, 269

I'AA (\. Kirkii), 309, 310

Pacific coast, 423

Tacking boxes, 164

Pagazi (East African porters),

177-181
Paget, Colonel Arthur, 316, 327,

330
Pala-hala (sable antelope), 293
Pampas, the, 425-427
Pan Handle country, Texas, 380
Pangani river. East Africa, 290
Panther, 15; American (Felis

concolor), 348-351
Paradox gun, 21, 157, 281,364,

365, 368, See Battery
Paraguay, 425
Patagonia, 425

Patta Island, East Africa, 300
i'ayne-Gallwey waterproof, the,

160
Pemba, East Africa, 310
I'erry, Mr., on the North Ameri-
can panther, 349, 350 ; on the

puma, 426
Phillipps-Wolley, Clive, on big

game and its habitat, in North

America, 346-424
I'iet, his adventure with a buffalo,

54
F'ike, Arnold, 24, 365-368, 385,

395. 405
Pike, VVarburton, 378, 418, 419
Pit si (horse), 124

INDEX TO THE FIRST VOLUME

449

PLA

' Plains of the Great West,' 378,

406
I'olar hear (Ursus maritimus),

352, 356
Porcupine, 196
Porters, Kast African, 177-181,

275.313
Posho (food), 176, 313
Pototjuan (Harris's black buck),

65
Pringle, Capt. J. W., R.Iv,

242, 260
Pronghorn antelope ( Antilocapra

americana), 393-395
Puma, American, 349, 426
Pungwe river, East xVfrica, 315,

320, 330, 331
' Pup ' (sporting collie), 25
Purdey lO-hore, t,}^
Purdey & Co., 28

(2rA(;(:A, 40, 60, 75, 84, 93,

112, 315
Quail, 187

Quain, Sir Richard, 114
Quebaaba (R. Oswellii), 42, 44
Quebec province, 398

Rain doctors, African, 46
Rainfall in South Africa, 39
Rainsford, Dr., on North

American bears, 353
Rama/.an (gun-bearer), 264,

266, 276, 287, 288
Ratel, the, 196
Red ants, 109
Red deer, Scotch, 403, 404
Red duyker (Cephalolophus

Ifarvcyi), 285, 308
Recd-buck, lesser, 297
Remedies for snake-bites, 312
Rhea, South American, 425
Rhinoceros, South African, 41,
42 ; rapid extinction, 44 ; its
horn, 45 ; habits, 45 ; atten-
dant bird, 46, 252 ; shooting,
84, 95 ; Oswell's horse killed
by, loi ; Oswell's narrow
escape from, 117 ; — Ecist
African, 169 ; vitality, 203 ;

S-CH

charges, 214 ;rangeof habitat,
251 ; character, 251 ; easy
stalking, 253 ; native fear of,
257 ; bush feeders, 258 ; saved
by sentinel birds, 257, 258 ;
how to kill, 261 ; fights be-
tween, 263.

Rhinoceros africanus, 43 ;
bicornis, 251, 315 ; keitloa,
43. 44. 251 ; simus, 315

Rhino :eros attendant birds, 46,
252, 257, 258

Rio Colorado, 426

Kipon Falls (Nile), 270

Roan antelope, 292

Rocky Mountain goat (Haplo-
ceros niontanus), habitat, 390,
391 ; stalking, 391 ; measure-
ment, 392

Rocky Mountains, buffalo in,
378; bighorn, 381, 384;
goats, 390-302 ; m(i( • e, 397

Rombo plains, Kast Afrji i, 2CO,

245. 29«
Rooyebuck, 60

Rooyen, Cornelius van, 327

Sabaki river, Kast Africa, 270,

291, 293, 300, 304
Sable antelope, 293
Sacocle mountain, Alaska, 367
Sadala (tent-l)oy), 276
Safari (caravan), 176
St. Lawrence river, 369, 396, 397
Sala (dazclia Petersi), 299
Sala or Swara fdrant's gazel]e\

298
Salisbury, Mashonaland, 318,

333. 336
Salmon, 360, 366
Salmon river, Vancouver

Island, 407
Sambur leather leggings, 160
San Francisco, grizzly of, 360
San Juan, Straits of, 392
Sand-grouse (Pterocles decor-

atus), 186, 197
Sasaybye, the, 50
Saskatchewan, the, 378
S-cheeked curb-bits, 105

G G

' !|

450

BIG GAME SHOOTING

SCH

S:hoverling i\: Daly, of New

York, 414
Sclater, Mr. (Se.rotiiry of the

London Zoological Society),

351

Scotch red deer, 403, 404

Scotland, 426

Sebiiuani (South African chief),
114, 143; narrates his career
to Livingstone, 145 ; en-
counters a cannibal race, 146 ;
compact with slave traders,
148, 149

Sechele (South African chief),
119

Sechuana language, 116, 124,

147

Secomi (chief of the B.x-Mung-
wato), 72, 73, 123

Selous, F. C. , 4 ; on the rhino-
ceros, 251 ; on the character-
istics of, and on hunting the
South African lion, 314-345

Serotli, Bushman sucking holes
of, 152

Sesheke plains, South Africa,
122

Seton Karr, H., 385

Sharp's ritle, 377, 380

Shelley, Captain, 134, 135

Shikar cloth, 158

Shoes, for sporting, 160

Shooting, deadly, 202 ; posi-
tions, 261

Sigarari plains, East Afrir;i, :2o<)

' Sign,' sporting, 10

Siloquana hills. South ,\f'xa,

113. 115
Simba (lion), 236, 238
Simbo river, South Africa, 337
Similkameen country, British

Columbia, 421
Sing-Sing (antelope), 304
Siringeti plains, East Africa, 172,

286
Sitatunga (Tragelaphus Spekei),

the, 311
Si wash (North American

Indian hunter), 367, 386, 398
Skulloptin (land of the roaring

wind), 383

STA

Slave traders in South Africa,

147
Smith, Catcrson, 91, note
Snake-bites, 312
Snakes, in East Africa, 312
Snide rs, 182
Snipe, 187

Sogonr- hi'ls, East Africa, 304
Solar topees, 160
Somali country, 182, 185, 292,

293. 307
Somaliland, 316, 320, 327
Somerville, Mr., 338
Soudan, the, 253
South Africa, former abundance

of game in, 55 ; cannibalism

in, 146; slave trading, 147 ;

swapping a native woman for

a dressing-gown, 147 ; oxen,

149
South African buffaloes. See

Buffaloes
South .Vfrican elephants. See

I'lephants
South African hippopotamus.

Si^e Hippopotamus
South African lions. Sc'e

Licms
South African rhinoceros. Scd

Rhinoceros
South America, ])ig game in,

425-427
South Kensington Museum,

London, 428
Spence, Dr., 1 14
Speke, Captain, 304
Spirits, use of, 164
Spitzbergen reindeer, 417
' Sport and i'hotography in the

Rockies, '407
' Sporting Sketches in South

America,' 425
Springbucks, 37, 41
Springkhiin Vogel, tlie (locust

bird), 38
Spur fowl (I'ternestes infusca-

tus), the, 197
Squirrels, 196, 409
Stael (Oswell's horse), death of,

102, 103
Stalking, 8 ; in the early morn*

INDEX TO THE FIRST VOIA'ME

451

S'lA

in^, 1H8, i<)4, 195 ; Nlrata^cm
of the iinitiitioii ostrich, 19S,
200, 201

Stanley, Lady Alice, 380

Steinlnick, 174, 301

Stickccn river, Alaska, 365

Still hunting, 17, 18, 24

Stockings, 159, 160

Stores, iVc. , 163

Storks, 245

Straits of Magellan, 426

Sucking-holes, 39, 152

Suk country, East Africa, 182,
212, 218, 223, J45, 257, 286,
299, 310

Sunias, New Westminster dis-
trict, 371

Super:'. r (Oswell's horse), death

of. 53
Swahili, the, 269. 277, 286, 287
Svvanapool, his adventure with a

lioness, 318
Sweaters, boating, 161
Syami (a Bcchuana), 73
Syria, the oryx in, 129

T.MIA (Abysinian oribi). 299

'I'aka, East Africa, 300

Tana river, Kast Africa, 169,

170, 182, 186, 218, 269, 270,

292, 293, 303, 304, 307
Taru, P^ast Africa, 171, 172
Taveta, Fast Africa, 166, 167,

172, 174, 181, 227, 258, 270,

276, 28O, 304, 308, 310
Taya (East African oribi), 300 •
Teale, Mr. , killed by a lion, 319
Teita, East Africa, 170- 172,

174, 180, 238, 276, 286, 304,

306, 309
Telegraph Creek, Alaska, 365
Tembo (elephant), 204
Tent-pitching, 173 %

Tents, 161

Teoge river. South Africa, 122
Teregeza (a double march in

Africa), 173, 239
Teton IJasin, North America,

397
Texas, National Park, 394

I'RS

Thomson's gazelle, 167, 298

Tigers, 94

Tlaga (Oswell's Kafir name), 63.
1 10, 125

Tol.>acc(), indulgence in, in stalk-
ing, 1 88

Tod (a dog), 65

Toi (lesser reed-buck), 297

Tolman, J. C, 361

Tope (Damalis .senegalensis),
169

Topi ( Damalis jimela), 291, 292

Tortoise, 96

Transvaal, the, 314

Trinity river. North America,

369
Tsavo river. East Africa, 299,

304

Tsetse fly (Glossina morsitans),
113, 147, 150, 185, 186

Tula island. East Africa, 170

Tunga's, Kavirondo, East
Africa, 308

Tur, Caucasian, 388

Turkwel, F!ast Africa, big game
in, 212, 218, 223, 245, 255,
257, 286, 291, 292,299,304,
306, 309

Tusks, elephant, 80 ; hippo-
potamus, 85

Tyhee salmon (O. chouicha),
360

UCANDA, 185, 206, 217, 260,
272, 274, 290, 291, 304, 311

I'kambani, East Africa, 168,
237,242, 245, 301, 305

Ulsters for sporting expeditions,
161

Uniba river. East Africa, 291

Umfuli river, Mashonaland,

327. 334. 337
'Umsilegas, 145
Umtali, Mashonaland, 319, 320,

322
United States, game laws of,

346

Ursus labiatus, 373
Ursus Richardsonii (A'.askan
grizzly), 352

452

BIG GAME SHOOTING

URS

Ursus tibetanus, 373

Useri, East Africa, l8l, 289,

293, 298
Useri river, 294, 299

Valises for a sporting expedi-
tion, 162

Van Dyke, Mr., 349 ; his ' vStill
Hunter,' 20

Vancouver Island, 350, 355
369-371.374. 381 ; wapiti in,
403, 404, 405, 407, 423, 424

Vanga, East Africa, 170, 276

Vardon, Major Frank, 34; auda-
cious treatment of a mahoho,
44 ; narrow escape from a
giraffe, 49 ; his meeting with
Oswald, 89; Oswald's opinion
of him, 89; his impressions
of the Dutch language, 97 ;
an entliusiastic rhinoceros
hunter, 98 ; his account of
( )swald's narrow esca] le fr( )m a
rhino, 103 ; sends ypecimens
of tsetse fly to l'"ngland, 113;
his skill a* rhinoceros hunting,
116; returns to England,
119; interviews an incapable
lion hunter, 133
Venadillo (South American

(leer), 427
Victoria, Biitish Columbia, 372,

.423.
Victoria Nyanza, 169, 297,311
Virginian or white-tailed deer

(C. virginianus), 396
Vonk (Oswell's pony), 107
Vultures, 108, 245, 246

Wa Nandi (East African tribe),

182
Wa Pokomo boatmen, 170
Wa Taveta (East African tribe),

169
Waganda (I-'.ast African tribe),

297
Wait-a-bits, 29
Wakamba (East African tribe),

169

WIL

Waller's gazelle, 169

Wami river, East Africa, 291,

293
Wangketsi (South African tribe) ,

64
Wapiti (Cervus canadensis), 15,

395 ; size of antlers, 402 ;

haunts, 403 ; rutting season,

405 ; food, 405 ; size and

weight, 406, 407 ; habits, 407 ;

name, 408; stalking, 409-413;

heads, 414
Wapokomo (East African tribe),

269, 270
Ward, Rowland, cited, 379,

385. 395. 41S1 423. 424
Ward, Rowland, tV' Co., 429
Wart-hogs, 174, 200, 284,

325
Washington Territory, 369,

370, 381, 403
Water in East Africa, 172, 173,

201
Waterbuck, the, 89, 122, 169,

230, 231, 303
Water calabash, the, 1 7S
Water-holes, 201, 202
Waterproofs in a sporling ex-
pedition, 160
Water-tins, 172
Webb, W. F.. of Newstead

Abbey, 31, 135
Wells, Sam (meat hunter), 404,

408, 410, 412
Weri-weri river, Fast Africa,

167, 230, 303
Westley-Richards 12-borc, 33
White-tail (C. virginianus), habi-
tat and haunts, 421 ; weight
and head, 423
'Wild Heasts and their Ways,'

257. 324. 328
Wild cattle, 425, 426
Wild dogs, 71
Wildebeest, 60, 93, 1 12 ; lirind-

led or blue', 280
Williams, Capt. W. 11.. R..\.,

311

Williamson, Andrew, on w.T]iiti,

406, 407
Willoughliy, Sir John, 293

INDEX TO THE FIRST VOLUME

453

WIL

Wilson (a trader), killiii.4 lions

Willi Oswell, 132
Winchester rifle, 182, 3O1
Wind, the, in East Africa, 187
Winnipe.;,', 376
Wissmann tent, the 161
Witu, 309
Wolf, Joseph (artist), his

sketches, 32, 91 note, 129

note
Wolseley valise, the, 162
Wolverton, Lord, his hag of

lions in Sonialiland, 316,

327
Wood buffalo, 379

Wood, Mr., 317

Woodland caribou (C. tarandus),

396; 'ize and weight, 415;

haunts 416 ; food, 417
Wrangel, Alaska, 361, 362,

365
Wrey, (1. B., 414

Wyoming, 351 ; moose in, 39b ;
wapiti, 402, 403

zoir

Vi'.i.i.ow Knii'k Indians, 431,

432, 434
Yellowly, William, of South

Shields, 328
Yellowstone lark, 376

Zaca'IECa (mountain buffalo),

the, 378
Z.imbesi, the, 43, 83, 109, 122,

150-152,315 ,^ .,
'Zambesi and its Tributanes,

Livingstone's, 27
Zanzibar, 159, 165, 204, 310
Zanzibari porters, 275
Zebras, 167, 174, i94, 203,

231, 242-246, 284, 287, 321
Ziwa, the. Last Africa, 297
Ziwi-wa-tatu, Last Africa, 172
Ziwi Hulzuma, Kast Africa, 172
Zoological C.ardens, London,

275
Zouga river, Soulii Africa, 76,

80, 126, 131, 153

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