CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
WE VISIT A NATURAL MENAGERIE, SEE WONDERFUL SIGHTS, AND MEET WITHSTRANGE ADVENTURES.
We observed, on this journey, that the elephants which we met with inour farthest north point were considerably smaller than those farther tothe south, yet though smaller animals, their tusks were much larger thenthose of the south. The weight of those tusks varied from twenty tofifty pounds, and I saw one that was actually upwards of one hundredpounds in weight--equal, in fact, to the weight of a big boy or a littleman. Such tusks, however, were rare.
At nights, when we encamped near to a river or pool of water, we sawimmense numbers of elephants come down to drink and enjoy themselves.They seemed, in fact, to be intoxicated with delight, if not with water;for they screamed with joy, and filling their trunks with water, spurtedit over themselves and each other in copious showers. Of course, wenever disturbed them on such occasions, for we came to the conclusionthat it would be the height of barbarity and selfishness to spoil thepleasure of so many creatures merely for the sake of a shot.
Frequently we were wont to go after our supper to one of those ponds,when we chanced to be in the immediate neighbourhood of one, and lyingconcealed among the bushes, watch by the light of the moon the strangehabits and proceedings of the wild creatures that came there to drink.The hours thus passed were to me the most interesting by far that Ispent in Africa. There was something so romantic in the kind ofscenery, in the dim mysterious light, and in the grand troops of wildcreatures that came there in all the pith and fire of untamed freedom todrink. It was like visiting a natural menagerie on the most magnificentscale; for in places where water is scarce any pool that may exist isthe scene of constant and ever-changing visits during the entire night.
In fact, I used to find it almost impossible to tear myself away,although I knew that repose was absolutely needful, in order to enableme to continue the journey on the succeeding day, and I am quite certainthat had not Peterkin and Jack often dragged me off in a jocular way bymain force, I should have remained there all night, and have fallenasleep probably in my ambush.
One night of this kind that we passed I shall never forget. It wasaltogether a remarkable and tremendously exciting night; and as it is agood type of the style of night entertainment to be found in that wildcountry, I shall describe it.
It happened on a Saturday night. We were then travelling through arather dry district, and had gone a whole day without tasting water. Asevening approached we came, to our satisfaction, to a large pond ofpretty good water, into which we ran knee-deep, and filling our capswith water, drank long and repeated draughts. Then we went into a pieceof jungle about a quarter of a mile distant, and made our encampment,intending to rest there during the whole of the Sabbath.
I may mention here that it was our usual custom to rest on the Sabbathdays. This we did because we thought it right, and we came ere long toknow that it was absolutely needful; for on this journey southward weall agreed that as life and death might depend on the speed with whichwe travelled, we were quite justified in continuing our journey on theSabbath. But we found ourselves at the end of the second week soterribly knocked up that we agreed to devote the whole of the nextSabbath to repose. This we did accordingly, and found the utmostbenefit from it; and we could not avoid remarking, in reference to thison the care and tenderness of our heavenly Father, who has so arrangedthat obedience to His command should not only bring a peculiar blessingto our souls, but, so to speak, a natural and inevitable advantage toour bodies. These reflections seemed to me to throw some light on thepassage, "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath."But as this is not the place for theological disquisition, I shall notrefer further to that subject.
Not having, then, to travel on the following day, we made up our mindsto spend an hour or two in a place of concealment near the margin ofthis pond; and I secretly resolved that I would spend the _whole_ nightthere with my note-book (for the moon, we knew, would be bright), andmake a soft pillow of leaves on which I might drop and go to sleep whenmy eyes refused any longer to keep open.
The moon had just begun to rise when we finished our suppers andprepared to go to our post of observation. We took our rifles with usof course, for although we did not intend to shoot, having more thansufficient food already in camp, we could not tell but that at anymoment those weapons might be required for the defence of our lives.Makarooroo had been too long accustomed to see wild animals tounderstand the pleasure we enjoyed in merely staring at them, so he wasleft in charge of our camp.
"Now, then," said Peterkin, as we left the encampment, "hurrah, for themenagerie!"
"You may well call it that," said Jack, "for there's no lack ofvariety."
"Are we to shoot?" inquired Peterkin.
"Better not, I think. We don't require meat, and there is no use inmurdering the poor things. What a splendid scene!"
We halted to enjoy the view for a few seconds. The forest out of whichwe had emerged bordered an extensive plain, which was dotted here andthere with scattered groups of trees, which gave to the country anexceedingly rich aspect. In the midst of these the pond lay glitteringin the soft moonlight like a sheet of silver. It was surrounded onthree sides by low bushes and a few trees. On the side next to us itwas open and fully exposed to view. The moonlight was sufficientlybright to render every object distinctly visible, yet not so bright asto destroy the pleasant feeling of mysterious solemnity that pervadedthe whole scene. It was wonderfully beautiful. I felt almost as if Ihad reached a new world.
Continuing our walk we quickly gained the bushes that fringed the marginof the pool, which was nowhere more than thirty yards broad, and on ourarrival heard the hoofs of several animals that we had scared awayclattering on the ground as they retreated.
"There they go already," cried Jack; "now let us look for a hillock ofsome kind on which to take up our position."
"We shall not have to look far," said I, "for here seems a suitable spotready at our hand."
"Your eyes are sharp to-night, Ralph," observed Peterkin; "the place issplendid, so let's to work."
Laying down our rifles, we drew our hunting-knives, and began to cutdown some of the underwood on the top of a small hillock that rose alittle above the surrounding bushes, and commanded a clear view of theentire circumference of the pond. We selected this spot for the doublereason that it was a good point of observation and a safe retreat, asanimals coming to the pond to drink, from whatever quarter they mightarrive, would never think of ascending a hillock covered with bushes, ifthey could pass round it.
Having cleared a space sufficiently large to hold us--leaving, however,a thin screen of shrubs in front through which we intended to peep--westrewed the ground with leaves, and lay down to watch with our loadedrifles close beside us. We felt certain of seeing a good many animals,for even during the process of preparing our unlace of retreat severalarrived, and were scared away by the noise we made.
Presently we heard footsteps approaching.
"There's something," whispered Peterkin.
"Ay," returned Jack. "What I like about this sort o' thing is youruncertainty as to what may turn up. It's like deep-sea fishing. Hist!look out."
The steps were rapid. Sometimes they clattered over what appeared to bepebbly ground, then they became muffled as the animal crossed a grassyspot; at last it trotted out of the shade of the bushes directlyopposite to us into the moonlight, and showed itself to be a beautifullittle antelope of the long-horned kind, with a little fawn by its side.The two looked timidly round for a few seconds, and snuffed the air asif they feared concealed enemies, and then, trotting into the water,slaked their thirst together. I felt as great pleasure in seeing themtake a long, satisfactory draught as if I had been swallowing it myself,and hoped they would continue there for some time; but they had barelyfinished when the rapid gallop of several animals was heard, and scaredthem away instantly.
The newcomers were evidently heavy brutes, for
their tread was loud andquite distinct, as compared with the steps of the antelopes. A fewseconds sufficed to disclose them to our expectant eyes. A large herdof giraffes trotted to the water's edge and began to drink. It was asplendid sight to behold these graceful creatures stooping to drink, andthen raising their heads haughtily to a towering height as they lookedabout from side to side. In the course of a couple of hours we sawelands, springboks, gnus, leopards, and an immense variety of wildcreatures, some of which fawned on and played with each other, whileothers fought and bellowed until the woods resounded with the din.
While we were silently enjoying the sight, and I attempting to make afew entries in my note-book, our attention was attracted to a crackingof the branches close to the right side of our hillock.
"Look out!" whispered Jack; but the warning was scarcely needed, for weinstinctively seized our rifles. A moment after our hearts leapedviolently as we heard a crashing step that betokened the approach ofsome huge creature.
"Are we safe here?" I whispered to Jack.
"Safe enough if we keep still. But we shall have to cut and run if anelephant chances to get sight of us."
I confess that at that moment I felt uneasy. The hillock on the summitof which we lay was only a place of comparative safety, because noanimal was likely to ascend an elevated spot without an object in view,and as the purpose of all the nocturnal visitors to that pond was theprocuring of water, we did not think it probable that any of them wouldapproach unpleasantly near to our citadel; but if any wild beast shouldtake a fancy to do so, there was nothing to prevent him, and the slightscreen of bushes by which we were surrounded would certainly have beenno obstacle in the way.
A hunter in the African wilds, however, has not much time to think.Danger is usually upon him in a moment. We had barely time to full-cockour rifles when the bushes near us were trodden down, and a huge blackrhinoceros sauntered slowly up to us. So near was he that we could havesprung out from our hiding-place and have caught hold of him, had wechosen to do so.
This enormous unwieldy monster seemed to me so large that he resembledan elephant on short legs, and in the dim, mysterious moonlight I couldalmost fancy him to be one of those dreadful monsters of theantediluvian world of which we read so much in these days of geologicalresearch. I held my breath and glanced at my comrades. They layperfectly motionless, with their eyes fixed on the animal, whichhesitated on approaching our hillock. My blood almost stagnated in myveins. I thought that he must have observed us or smelt us, and wasabout to charge. He was only undecided as to which side of the hillockhe should pass by on his way to the pond. Turning to the left, he wentdown to the water with a heavy, rolling gait, crushing the shrubs underhis ponderous feet in a way that filled me with an exalted idea of histremendous power.
I breathed freely again, and felt as if a mighty load had been liftedoff me. From the suppressed sighs vented by my comrades, I judge thatthey also had experienced somewhat similar relief. We had not, however,had time to utter a whisper before our ears were assailed by the mosttremendous noise that we had yet heard. It came from the opposite sideof the pool, as if a great torrent were rushing towards us. Presently ablack billow seemed to burst out of the jungle and roll down the slopingbank of the pond.
"Elephants!" exclaimed Jack.
"Impossible," said I; "they must be buffaloes."
At that instant they emerged into the full blaze of the moon, and showedthemselves to be a herd of full-grown elephants, with a number ofcalves. There could not have been fewer than one hundred on the marginof the pond; but from the closeness of their ranks and their incessantmovements I found it impossible to count their numbers accurately. Thismagnificent army began to drink and throw water about, waving theirtrunks and trumpeting shrilly at the same time with the utmost delight.The young ones especially seemed enjoy themselves immensely, and Iobserved that their mothers were very attentive to them, caressing themwith their trunks and otherwise showing great fondness for theiroffspring.
"I say," whispered Peterkin, "what a regiment of cavalry these fellowswould make, mounted by gorillas armed with scythe-blades for swords andHighland claymores for dirks!"
"Ay, and cannon-revolvers in their pockets!" added Jack. "But, look--that hideous old rhinoceros. He has been standing there for the lasttwo minutes like a rock, staring intently across the water at theelephants."
"Hush!" said I. "Whisper softly. He may hear us."
"There goes something else on our side," whispered Peterkin, pointing tothe right of our hillock. "Don't you see it? There, against the--I dobelieve it's another giraffe!"
"So it is! Keep still. His ears are sharp," muttered Jack, examiningthe lock of his rifle.
"Come, come!" said I; "no shooting, Jack. You know we came to see, notto shoot."
"Very true; but it's not every day one gets such a close shot at agiraffe. I _must_ procure a specimen for you, Ralph."
Jack smiled as he said this, and raised his rifle. Peterkin at the samemoment quietly raised his, saying, "If that's your game, my boy, thenhere goes at the rhinoceros. Don't hurry your aim; we've lots of time."
As I waited for the reports with breathless attention, I was much struckat that moment by the singularity of the circumstances in which we wereplaced. On our left stood the rhinoceros, not fifteen yards off; on ourright the giraffe raised his long neck above the bushes, about twentyyards distant, apparently uncertain whether it was safe to advance tothe water; while in front lay the lake, reflecting the soft, clearmoonlight, and beyond that the phalanx of elephants, enjoying themselvesvastly. I had but two moments to take it all in at a glance, for Jacksaid "Now!" in a low tone, and instantly the loud report of the tworifles thundered out upon the night air.
Words cannot convey, and the reader certainly cannot conceive, any ideaof the trumpeting, roaring, crashing, shrieking, and general hubbub thatsucceeded to the noise of our firearms. It seemed as if the wild beastsof twenty menageries had simultaneously commenced to smash the woodworkof their cages, and to dash out upon each other in mingled fury andterror; for not only was the crashing of boughs and bushes and smallertrees quite terrific, but the thunderous tread of the large animals wasabsolutely awful.
We were thoroughly scared, for, in addition to all this, from the midstof the horrid turmoil there came forth a royal roar close behind us thattold of a lion having been secretly engaged in watching our proceedings;and we shuddered to think that, but for our firing, he might have sprungupon us as we lay there, little dreaming of his presence.
Since our last adventure with the king of beasts, Makarooroo hadentertained us with many anecdotes of the daring of lions, especially ofthose monsters that are termed man-eaters; so that when we heard theroar above referred to, we all three sprang to our feet and faced aboutwith the utmost alacrity. So intent were we on looking out for thisdreadful foe--for we had made up our minds that it must be a man-eatinglion--that we were utterly indifferent to the other animals. But theywere not indifferent to us; for the wounded rhinoceros, catching sightof us as we stood with our backs towards him, charged at once up thehillock.
To utter three simultaneous yet fearfully distinct yells of terror,spring over the low parapet of bushes, and fly like the wind in threedifferent directions, was the work of a moment. In dashing madly downthe slope my foot caught in a creeping shrub, and I fell heavily to theearth.
The fall probably saved my life, for before I could rise the rhinocerossprang completely over me in its headlong charge. So narrow was myescape that the edge of one of its ponderous feet alighted on the firstjoint of the little finger of my left hand, and crushed it severely.Indeed, had the ground not been very soft, it must infallibly havebruised it off altogether. The moment it had passed I jumped up, andturning round, ran in the opposite direction. I had scarcely gone tenpaces when a furious growl behind me, and the grappling sound as of twoanimals in deadly conflict, followed by a fierce howl, led me toconclude that the lion and the rhinoceros had unexpe
ctedly met eachother, and that in their brief conflict the former had come off secondbest.
But I gave little heed to that. My principal thought at that moment wasmy personal safety; so I ran on as fast as I could in the direction ofour encampment, for which point, I had no doubt, my companions wouldalso make.
I had not run far when the growl of a lion, apparently in front, causedme to stop abruptly. Uncertain of the exact position of the brute, Iturned off to one side, and retreated cautiously and with as littlenoise as possible, yet with a feeling of anxiety lest he should springupon me unawares. But my next step showed me that the lion wasotherwise engaged. Pushing aside a few leaves that obstructed myvision, I suddenly beheld a lion in the midst of an open space, crouchedas if for a spring. Instinctively I threw forward the muzzle of myrifle; but a single glance showed me that his tail, not his head, wastowards me. On looking beyond, I observed the head and shoulders ofJack, who, like the lion, was also in a crouching position, staringfixedly in the face of his foe. They were both perfectly motionless,and there could not have been more than fifteen or twenty yards betweenthem.
The true position of affairs at once flashed across me. Jack in hisflight had unwittingly run almost into the jaws of the lion; and I nowfelt convinced that this must be a second lion, for it could not havebeen the one that was disturbed by the rhinoceros, as I had been runningdirectly away from the spot where these two brutes had met. Jack hadcrouched at once. We had often talked, over our camp-fire, of such anevent as unexpectedly meeting a lion face to face; and Peterkin, whoknew a good deal about such matters, had said that in such a case aman's only chance was to crouch and stare the lion out of countenance.We laughed at this; but he assured us positively that he had himselfseen it done to tigers in India, and added that if a man turned and ranhis destruction would be certain. To fire straight in the face of alion in such a position would be excessively dangerous; for while thebullet _might_ kill, it was more than probable it would glance off thebone of the forehead, which would be presented at an angle to thehunter. The best thing to do, he said, was to stare steadily at thecreature until it began to wince, which, if not a wounded beast, itwould certainly do; and then, when it turned slowly round, to slinkaway, take aim at its heart, and fire instantly.
The moon was shining full in Jack's face, which wore an expression ofintense ferocity I had never before witnessed, and had not believed itpossible that such a look could have been called up by him. The lowerpart of his face, being shrouded in his black beard, was undiscernible;but his cheeks and forehead were like cold marble. His dark brows werecompressed so tightly that they seemed knotted, and beneath them hiseyes glittered with an intensity that seemed to me supernatural. Not amuscle moved; his gaze was fixed; and it was not difficult to fancy thathe was actually, instead of apparently, petrified.
I could not, of course, observe the visage of the lion, and, to saytruth, I had no curiosity on that point; for just then it occurred to methat I was directly in the line of fire, and that if my friend missedthe lion there was every probability of his killing me. I was now in anagony of uncertainty. I knew not what to do. If I were to endeavour toget out of the way, I might perhaps cause Jack to glance aside, and soinduce the lion to spring. If, on the other hand, I should remain whereI was, I might be shot. In this dilemma it occurred to me that, as Jackwas a good shot and the lion was very close, it was extremely unlikelythat I should be hit; so I resolved to bide my chance, and offering up asilent prayer, awaited the issue.
It was not long of coming. The fixed gaze of a bold human eye cowed atlast even the king of the woods. The lion slowly and almostimperceptibly rose, and sidled gently round, with the intention,doubtless, of bounding into the jungle. I saw that if it did so itwould pass very close to me so I cocked both barrels and held my piecein readiness.
The click of my locks attracted the lion's attention; its head turnedslightly round. At that instant Jack's rifle sprang to his shoulder,and the loud crack of its report was mingled with and drowned by theroar of the lion, as he sprang with a terrible bound, not past me, butstraight towards me. I had no time to aim, but throwing the gun quicklyto my shoulder, drew both triggers at once.
I had forgotten, in my perturbation, that I carried Peterkin's heavyelephant rifle, charged with an immense quantity of powder and a coupleof six-ounce balls. My shoulder was almost dislocated by the recoil,and I was fairly knocked head over heels. A confused sound of yells androars filled my ear for a moment. I struggled to collect my faculties.
"Hollo! Jack!--Ralph! where are you?" shouted a voice that I well knewto be that of Peterkin. "Hurrah I'm coming. Don't give in! I'vekilled him! The rhinoceros is dead as a door-nail! Where have you--"
I heard no more, having swooned away.