CHAPTER FIVE.
PREPARATIONS FOR A GRAND HUNT.
All was bustle, noise, and activity in the village, or, more correctlyspeaking, in the native town of his Majesty King Jambai, early in themorning after our arrival. A great elephant-hunt had been resolved on.The hunters were brushing up their spears and old guns--all of whichlatter were flint-locks that had been procured from traders, and werenot worth more than a few shillings. The women were busy preparingbreakfast, and the children were playing around their huts.
These huts were of the simplest construction--made of bamboo, roofedwith large palm-leaves, and open in front. The wants of savages aregenerally few; their household furniture is very plain, and there islittle of it. A large hut near to that of his sable majesty had beenset apart for the trader and his party during our residence at the town.In this we had spent the night as pleasantly as we could, but themosquitoes kept up an unceasing warfare upon us, so that daylight waswelcomed gladly when it came.
On going to the hut of King Jambai, who had invited us to breakfast withhim, we found the Princess Oninga alone, seated in the king's armchairand smoking her pipe with uncommon gusto. She had spent the early partof the morning in preparing breakfast for her father and ourselves, andwas now resting from her labours.
"You are early astir, Princess Oninga," said the trader as we enteredand took our seats round the fire, for at that hour the air felt chilly.
The princess took her pipe from her lips and admitted that she was,blowing a long thin cloud of smoke into the air with a sigh ofsatisfaction.
"We are ready for breakfast," added the trader. "Is the king at home?"
"He is in the woods, but will be back quickly." With this remark theprincess rose, and knocking the ashes out of her pipe, left the tent.
"Upon my word, she's a cool beauty," said Peterkin.
"I should rather say a black one," remarked Jack.
"Perhaps an odd one would be the most appropriate term," said I. "Didyou ever see such a headdress?"
The manner in which the Princess Oninga had seen fit to dress her headwas indeed peculiar, I may say ludicrous. Her woolly hair had beenarranged in the form of a cocked hat, with a horn projecting in front,and at a short distance off it might easily have been mistaken for theheadpiece of a general officer minus the feathers. There was little inthe way of artificial ornament about it, but the princess wore a numberof heavy brass rings on her arms and ankles. Those on the latterreached half-way up to her knees, and they were so heavy that her walkwas little better than a clumsy waddle. Before we could pass furthercomment on her appearance, King Jambai entered, and saluted us by takingus each separately and rubbing noses with us. This done, he ordered inbreakfast, which consisted of roast and boiled plantains, ground nuts,roast fowl, and roast pig; so we fell to at once, and being exceedinglyhungry after our long walk of the day before, made a hearty meal.
"Now, sir," said Jack, when our repast was about concluded, "as you aregoing to leave us soon, you had better arrange with the king aboutgetting us an interpreter and supplying us with a few men to carry ourgoods. I think you said there was once a man in the tribe who spoke alittle English. Have you found out whether he is alive?"
"Yes; I have heard that he is alive and well, and is expected in everyday from a hunting expedition. He is a splendid hunter and a capitalfellow. His name is Makarooroo, and if you get him you will befortunate."
"Then ask his black majesty," said Peterkin, "as quick as you please,for, to say truth, I'm rather anxious on this point. I feel that weshould never get on without a good interpreter."
To our satisfaction we found that the king was quite willing to do allthat we wished and a great deal more. In fact, we soon perceived thathe felt highly honoured by our visit, and had boasted not a little of"_his white men_" to the chiefs of neighbouring tribes, some of whom hadcome a considerable distance to see us.
"You have made quite a conquest, gentlemen, of worthy Jambai," said thetrader, after translating the king's favourable reply. "The fact is heis pleased with the liberality you have shown towards him in the way ofgifts, and is proud of the confidence you have placed in him. Had youbeen bent on a trading expedition, he would have opposed your furtherprogress; but knowing that you are simply hunters, he is anxious toassist you by all the means at his command. He is surprised, indeed, atyour taking so much trouble and coming so far merely to kill wildanimals, for he cannot understand the idea of sporting. He himselfhunts for the sake of procuring meat."
"Can he not understand," said Peterkin, "that _we_ hunt for fun?"
"No, he don't quite see through that. He said to me a few minutes ago,`Have these men no meat at home, that they come all this long way to getit?' I told him that you had plenty, and then endeavoured to explainyour idea of hunting `for fun.' But he shook his head, and I think hedoes not believe you."
At this point in our conversation the king rose and gave the signal toset out on the hunting expedition. Instantly the whole population ofthe town turned out and rushed to the banks of the river, near which itstood, where canoes were prepared for us. Suddenly there arose a greatshout, and the name "Makarooroo, Makarooroo," passed from mouth tomouth. Presently a fine, tall, deep-chested and broad-shouldered negrostepped up to the king and laid a leopard skin at his feet, while thepeople shouted and danced with delight at the success of theircompanion; for, as I have already stated, it is deemed a bold feat toattack and slay a leopard single-handed.
While the commotion caused by this event was going on, I said to thetrader--
"How comes it that Makarooroo can speak English?"
"He spent a couple of years on the coast, in the service of amissionary, and during that time attended the missionary school, wherehe picked up a smattering of English and a trifle of geography andarithmetic; but although a stout, sturdy hunter, and an intelligent man,he was a lazy student, and gave the good missionary much trouble tohammer the little he knows into his thick skull. At last he grew tiredof it, and returned to his tribe; but he brought his Bible with him, andI am told is very diligent in the study of it. His education has gainedfor him a great reputation as a fetishman, or doctor of mysteries, amonghis people. I used often to see him at school hammering away at m-a,ma-b-a, ba, and so on, amid a group of children. He used to sit besidethe king--"
"The king!" said I, in surprise.
"Ay; the king of that district became a Christian, and he and the queen,with one or two others of the royal household, used to attend schoolwith the children every day, and their diligence in studying the A B Cwas beyond all praise. But they were terribly stupid. The childrenbeat them easily, showing how true is the saying that `youth is the timeto learn.' The king was always booby, and Makarooroo was always besidehim."
As the trader spoke, Makarooroo came forward and shook hands with him inthe English fashion. He was then introduced to us, and expressed hiswillingness to become our interpreter in somewhat curious but quitecomprehensible English. As I looked at his intelligent, good-naturedcountenance, I could not help thinking that the trader had underratedhis intellectual powers.
"He's a funny dog that Makarooroo," said Peterkin, as our interpreterhastened away to fetch his rusty old gun and spears; for he meant tojoin our hunting expedition, although he had only that moment arrivedfrom a long and fatiguing chase.
"Do you think so?" said Jack.
"I don't agree with you," said I; "to me he seems rather of a grave andquiet disposition."
"O Ralph, what a bat you are! He was grave enough just now, truly; butdid you not observe the twinkle in his eye when he spoke to us inEnglish? Depend on it he's a funny dog."
"There must be freemasonry, then, among funny dogs," I retorted, "forJack and I don't perceive it."
"Is this our canoe?" inquired Jack of the trader.
"It is."
"Then let's jump in."
In a few seconds the river was crowded with a fleet of small canoes, andwe all paddled quickly u
p the stream, which was sluggish at that part.We did not intend to proceed more than a few miles by water, as theplace where game was expected was at some distance from the river. Ifelt some regret at this, for the trip up the river was to me mostenchanting.
Every yard we advanced new beauties of scenery were revealed to view.The richness of the tropical vegetation seemed in this place toculminate, it was so rank and gorgeous. The day was fine, too, and allthe strange-looking creatures--ugly and beautiful, large and small--peculiar to those regions, seemed to have resolved on a general peace inorder to bask in the sunshine and enjoy the glorious weather. Man alonewas bent on war, and our track, alas! was marked with blood wherever wepassed along. I pondered much on this subject, and wondered at thebloodthirsty spirit which seems to be natural to man in all conditionsand climes. Then I thought of the difficulty these poor Africans haveat times in procuring food, the frequency with which they are reducedalmost to a state of starvation, and I ceased to wonder that they shotand speared everything that came in their way.
We proceeded up the left bank of the river, keeping close in to theshore in order to obtain the protection of the overhanging boughs andfoliage; for the sun soon began to grow hot, and in the middle of theday became so intense that I sometimes feared that I or my companionswould receive a sunstroke. I confess that the subject of health oftencaused me much anxiety; for although I knew that we were all oldexperienced travellers--though young in years--and had become in a greatdegree inured to hardships, I feared that the deadly climate of CentralAfrica might prove too much for our European constitutions. By the freeuse of quinine, however, and careful attention to the roles of health asfar as circumstances would permit, we were fortunate enough to keep inexcellent health and spirits during the whole course of our sojournthere; for which, when I thought of the hundreds of Europeans who hadperished on that deadly coast without even venturing into the interior,I felt very thankful. One of our chief delights, to which I in a greatdegree attribute our uninterrupted health, was bathing daily in thestreams and ponds with which we fell in, or on which we paddled duringour travels. On these occasions we were fain, however, to be exceedingcareful in the selection of our bathing-pool, as crocodiles andalligators, and I know not what other hideous animals, were constantlyon the lookout for prey, and I make no doubt would have been very readyto try the flavour of a morsel of English food had we given them thechance.
On these occasions, when we had made sure of our pool, we were wont topaddle about in the cool refreshing stream, and recall to mind thesplendid dips we had had together six years before in the clear watersof the coral island. Since that time Peterkin had learned to swim well,which was not only a source of much satisfaction and gratification tohimself now, but, he told me, had been the means of preserving not onlyhis own life on more than one occasion, but the life of a little childwhich he had the good fortune to rescue from drowning when cruising offthe island of Madagascar.
Peterkin used to speak very strongly when talking on this subject, and Iobserved, from the unusual seriousness of his manner, that he feltdeeply too.
"Ralph," he said to me one day, "half the world is mad--I am not surethat I might not say three-quarters of the world is mad--and I'm quitecertain that all the _ladies_ in the world are mad with the exception ofthe brown ladies of the South Seas, and a few rare specimens elsewhere;they're all mad together in reference to the matter of swimming. Nowthat I have learned it nothing is so easy, and any one who is not asblind as a rheumatic owl must see that nothing is more important; forevery one almost is subject to being pitched now and then into deepwater, and if he can't swim it's all up with him. Why, every time anangler goes out to _fish_ he runs the chance of slipping and being sweptinto a deep hole, where, if he cannot swim, he is certain to be drowned.And yet five strokes would save his life. _Good_ swimming is by nomeans what is wanted; swimming of any kind, however poor, is all that isdesiderated. Every time a lady goes to have a row on a lake she isliable to be upset by the clumsiness of those who accompany her, andalthough it may be close to shore, if she cannot swim, down she goes tothe bottom. And _floating_ won't do. Some ladies delude themselveswith the idea that floating is of great value. In nine cases out of tenit is of no value at all; for unless water be perfectly smooth andstill, a person cannot float so as to keep the waves from washing overthe face, in which case choking is the certain result. There is noexcuse for not learning to swim. In most large cities there areswimming-baths; if the sea is not available, a river is, everywhere. Itell you what it is, Ralph: people who don't learn to swim are--are--Iwas going to say asses, but that would be an insult to the much-malignedlong-eared animal; and parents who don't teach their offspring to swimdeserve to be drowned in butter-milk; and I wish I saw--no, I _don't_quite wish I saw them all drowned in that way, but I do wish that Icould impress upon mankind over the length and breadth of this rotundworld the great, the immense, the intense importance of boys _and girls_being taught to swim."
"You make use of strong language," said I.
"Quite a powerful orator," added Jack, laughing.
"Bah!" exclaimed Peterkin; "your reception of this grand truth is but atype of the manner in which it will be received by the pig-headed world.What's the use of preaching common sense? I'm a perfect donkey!"
"Nay, Peterkin," said Jack; "I appreciate what you say, and have nodoubt whatever that your remarks, if made public, would create quite arevolution in the juvenile world, and convert them speedily into aquaticanimals. Did you ever think of sending your views on that subject tothe _Times_?"
"The _Times_!" cried Peterkin.
"Yes, the _Times_; why not?"
"Because," said Peterkin slowly, "I once sent a letter to that great butinsolent periodical, and what do you think it did?"
"Can't tell, I'm sure."
"_Took no notice of it whatever_!" said Peterkin, with a look ofineffable disgust.
But to return from this digression. I was much struck with the splendidcontrast of colours that met my eye everywhere here. The rich varietyof greens in the different trees harmonised with the bright pink plumsand scarlet berries, and these latter were almost dimmed in their lustreby the bright plumage of the birds, which I felt intense longing toprocure, many of them being quite new to me, and, I am certain, totallyunknown to naturalists, while others I recognised with delight asbelonging to several of the species of which I had read inornithological works. I tried hard to shoot several of these lovelycreatures, intending to stuff them, but, to my regret, was utterlyunable to hit them. Seeing this, Peterkin took pity on me, and sittingdown in the bow of our canoe, picked off all the birds I pointed out tohim as we passed, with unerring precision. Most of them fell into thewater, and were easily secured, while one or two toppled off thebranches into the canoe. Several of them he shot on the wing--a featwhich even filled Jack with surprise, and so astounded the natives thatthey surrounded our canoe at last, and gazed open-mouthed at my friend,whom they evidently regarded as the greatest fetishman that had evercome amongst them.
He was obliged to stop at last and lay down his gun in order to make thenatives cease from crowding round us and delaying our voyage. A numberof iguanas were observed on the branches of the trees that overhung thestream. They dropped into the water as we approached; but the nativessucceeded in spearing a good many, and I afterwards found that theyconsidered them excellent food.
If I was charmed with the birds, Peterkin was no less delighted with themonkeys that chattered at us as we passed along. I never saw a manlaugh as he did that day. He almost became hysterical, so much was hetickled with their antics; and the natives, who have a keen sense of theludicrous, seemed quite to sympathise with his spirit, although, ofcourse, what amused him could not have similarly affected them, seeingthat they were used to monkeys from infancy.
"There's something new!" exclaimed Jack, as we rounded a bend in theriver and came in view of an open flat where it assumed somewhat theaspect of a pond or small lake.
He pointed to a flock of birds standingon a low rock, which I instantly recognised to be pelicans.
"Surely," said I, "pelicans are not new to you!"
"Certainly not; but if you look a little more attentively, I think youwill find material for your note-book."
Jack was right. I observed a very fine fish-hawk circling over the headof one of the pelicans. Its head and neck were white, and its body wasof a reddish chocolate colour. Just as we came in sight, the pelicancaught a fine fish, which it stowed away safe in the pouch under itschin. The sly hawk, which had been watching for this, immediately madea descent towards its victim, making a considerable noise with its wingsas it came down. Hearing this, the pelican looked hastily up, andsupposing that a terrible and deadly assault was about to be made,opened its mouth and screamed in terror. This was just what the hawkwanted. The open bill revealed the fish in the pouch. Down he swooped,snatched it out, and then soared away with his ill-gotten gains in histalons.
"Oh, what a thief!" exclaimed Peterkin.
"And the pelican seems to take his loss in a remarkably philosophicalmanner," observed Jack.
To my surprise the great stupid bird, instead of flying away, as I hadexpected, quietly resumed his fishing as if nothing had happened. Nodoubt he was well pleased to find himself still alive, and it is notimprobable that the hawk made several more meals at the expense of hislong-beaked friend after we had passed by.
We soon put him to flight, however, by landing near the spot where hestood, this being the place where we were to quit our canoes and passthrough the jungle on foot. The hunters now prepared themselves foraction, for the recent tracks of elephants were seen on the bank of thestream, and the natives said they could not be far off. Jack andPeterkin were armed with immensely heavy rifles, which carried balls ofthe weight of six-ounces. I carried my trusty, double-barrelledfowling-piece, which is of the largest size, and which I preferred to arifle, because, not being a good shot, I resolved, on all occasions, toreserve my fire until we should come to close quarters with game,leaving my more expert comrades to take the longer shots. We had alsotwo natives--one being our guide, Makarooroo, who carried Jack andPeterkin's double-barrelled guns as a reserve. These were loaded, ofcourse, with ball.
"This looks something like business," said Jack, as he leaned on hisheavy rifle and looked at the natives, who were selecting their spearsand otherwise making preparations.
"It does," replied Peterkin. "Are you loaded?"
"Ay, and I have just examined the caps to see that they are dry; forit's not like grouse-shooting on the Scottish hills this Africanhunting, depend upon it. A snapping cap might cost us our lives,--Ralph, my boy, you must keep well in rear. I don't want to hurt yourfeelings, but it won't do to go in front when you cannot depend on yournerves."
I experienced a feeling of sadness not unmingled with shame as my friendsaid this, but I could not question the justness of his remark, and Iknew well that he would not have made it at all, but for his anxietylest I should run recklessly into danger, which I might find myself,when too late, unable to cope with. I was careful, however, to concealmy feelings as I replied with a smile--
"You are right, Jack. I shall act the part of a support, while you andPeterkin skirmish in advance."
"And be careful," said Peterkin, solemnly, "that you don't fire into usby mistake."
Somewhat of Peterkin's own spirit came over me as I replied, "Indeed, Ihave been thinking of that, and I'm not sure that I can restrain myselfwhen I see a chimpanzee monkey and a gorilla walking through the woodsbefore me."
"I think we'd better take his gun from him," suggested Jack.
At this moment the king gave the signal to advance, so we shouldered ourweapons and joined him. As we walked rapidly along, Jack suggested thatwe should allow the natives to kill any elephants we might fall in within their own way, so as to observe how they managed it, rather than tryto push ourselves forward on this our first expedition. We all agreedto this, and shortly after we came to the place which elephants wereknown to frequent.
Here great preparations had evidently been made for them. A space ofmore than a mile was partially enclosed by what might be termed a vinewall. The huge, thorny, creeping vines had been torn down from thetrees and woven into a rude sort of network, through which it was almostimpossible for any animal except an elephant to break. This wasintended--not to stop the elephant altogether, but to entangle andretard him in his flight, until the hunters could kill him with theirspears. The work, we were given to understand, was attended withconsiderable danger, for some of the natives were occasionally caught bythe thorny vines when flying from the charge of the infuriated animal,and were instantly stamped to death by his ponderous feet.
I felt a new and powerful excitement creep over me as I saw the nativesextend themselves in a wide semicircle of nearly two miles in extent,and begin to advance with loud shouts and cries, in order to drive thegame towards the vines, and the flashing eyes and compressed lips of mytwo companions showed that they were similarly affected. We determinedto keep together and follow close on that part of the line where theking was.
"You no be 'fraid?" said Makarooroo, looking down at Peterkin, who, heevidently supposed, was neither mentally nor physically adapted for anAfrican hunter.
Peterkin was so tickled with the question that he suddenly began totremble like an aspen leaf, and to chatter with his teeth and displayall the symptoms of abject terror. Pointing over Makarooroo's shoulderinto the bush behind him, he gasped, "The leopard!"
The negro uttered a hideous yell, and springing nearly his own heightinto the air, darted behind a tree with the agility of a wild-cat.
Instantly Peterkin resumed his composure, and turning round with a lookof cool surprise, said--
"What! you're not afraid, Makarooroo?" The good-humoured fellow burstinto a loud laugh on perceiving the practical joke that had been passedon him, and it was evident that the incident, trifling though it was,had suddenly raised his estimation of Peterkin to a very exalted pitch.
We now began to draw near to the enclosure, and I was beginning to fearthat our hunt was to prove unsuccessful that day. A considerablequantity of small game had passed us, alarmed by the cries of thenatives; but we purposely withheld our fire, although I saw that Jackwas sorely tempted once or twice, when several beautiful gazelles andone or two wild pigs ran past within shot. Presently we heard a shrilltrumpeting sound, which Peterkin, who had hunted in the forests ofCeylon, told us, in an excited voice, was the cry of the elephant. Wehastened forward with our utmost speed, when suddenly we were brought toa stand by hearing a tremendous roar close in front of us. Immediatelyafter, a large male lion bounded from among the bushes, and with onestroke of his enormous paw struck down a negro who stood not twentyyards from us. The terrible brute stood for an instant or two, lashinghis sides with his tail and glaring defiance. It chanced that Ihappened to be nearest to him, and that the position of the tangledunderwood prevented my companions from taking good aim; so withoutwaiting for them, being anxious to save, if possible, the life of theprostrate negro, I fired both barrels into the lion's side. Givingutterance to another terrible roar, he bounded away into the bush,scattering the negroes who came in his way, and made his escape, to ourgreat disappointment.
We found, to our horror, on going up to the fallen hunter, that he wasquite dead. His skull had been literally smashed in, as if it hadreceived a blow from a sledge-hammer.
I cannot describe my feelings on beholding thus, for the first time, theking of beasts in all the savage majesty of strength and freedom,coupled with the terrible death of a human being. My brain was in awhirl of excitement; I scarce knew what I was doing. But I had no timeto think, for almost immediately after firing the shots at the lion, twoelephants came crashing through the bushes. One was between ten andeleven feet high, the other could not have been less than twelve feet.I had never seen anything like this in the menageries of England, andtheir appearance, as t
hey burst thus suddenly on my vision, wassomething absolutely appalling.
Those who have only seen the comparatively small and sluggish animalsthat are wont to ring their bells to attract attention, and to feed ongingerbread nuts from the hands of little boys, can form no idea of theterrible appearance of the gigantic monsters of Africa as they gotearing in mad fury through the forests with their enormous ears, andtails, and trunks erect, their ponderous tusks glistening in thesunshine, and their wicked little eyes flashing like balls of fire asthey knock down, rend asunder, and overturn all that comes in their way.
The two that now approached us in full career were flying before a crowdof negroes who had already fixed a number of spears in their sides, fromwhich the blood was flowing copiously. To say that the bushes went downbefore them like grass would not give a correct idea of the ponderousrush of these creatures. Trees of three and four inches diameter wererun against and snapped off like twigs, without proving in any degreeobstructive.
By this time the negroes had crowded in from all sides, and as theelephants approached the place where we stood, a perfect cloud of spearsand javelins descended on their devoted sides. I observed that many ofthe active natives had leaped up into the trees and discharged theirspears from above, while others, crouching behind fallen trees orbushes, threw them from below, so that in a few seconds dozens of spearsentered their bodies at every conceivable angle, and they appeared as ifsuddenly transformed into monstrous porcupines or hedgehogs. There wassomething almost ludicrous in this, but the magnitude and aspect of theanimals were too terrible, and our danger was too imminent, to permitanything like comic ideas to enter our brains. I observed, too, thatthe natives were perfectly wild with excitement. Their black facesworked convulsively, and their white eyes and teeth glittered as theyleaped and darted about in a state of almost perfect nudity, so thattheir aspect was quite demoniacal.
The suddenness and violence of the attack made near to us had the effectof turning the elephants aside, and the next instant they were tearingand wrenching themselves through the meshes of the tough and thornyvines. The natives closed in with wild cries and with redoubled energy.Nothing surprised me so much as to observe the incredible number ofspears that were sticking all over these creatures, and the amount ofblood that they lost, without any apparent diminution of strengthresulting. It seemed as if no human power could kill them, and at thatmoment I almost doubted Peterkin's assertion that he had, while inCeylon, actually killed elephants with a single ball.
While Jack and Peterkin and I were gazing in deep interest and surpriseat the curious struggle going on before us, and holding ourselves inreadiness to act, should there be any chance of our game escaping, thelarger of the two elephants succeeded in disentangling himself bybacking out of the snare. He then wheeled round and charged straight atKing Jambai, who stood close to us, with incredible fury. The beast, asit came on with the bristling spears all over it, the blood spirtingfrom its innumerable wounds, and trumpeting shrill with rage, seemed tome like some huge unearthly phantom. It was with difficulty I couldbelieve the whole scene other than a hideous dream. Jambai launched hisjavelin into the animal's chest, and then turned and fled. The othernatives also darted and scattered hither and thither, so that theelephant could not make up its mind on which of its enemies to wreak itsvengeance. We, too, turned and took to our heels at once with rightgood will. All at once I heard Jack utter a wild shout or yell, veryunlike to anything I ever heard from him before. I looked back, and sawthat his foot had got entangled in a thorny shrub, and that the elephantwas making at him.
To this day I have never been able to account for the remarkablecondition of mind and body that ensued on this occasion. Instead ofbeing paralysed as I had been when Peterkin was in imminent danger, allsensation of fear or hesitancy seemed to vanish on thine instant. Ifelt my nerves and muscles strung, as it were, and rendered firm as arock, and with calm deliberation, yet with the utmost rapidity of whichI was capable, I turned round, sprang between Jack and the enragedbeast, and presented my piece at his head.
"Right in the centre of his forehead," gasped Jack, as he endeavoured towrench his foot from the entanglement.
At that moment I observed Peterkin leap to my side; the next instant thereport of both our guns rang through the woods; the elephant boundedcompletely over Jack, as Peterkin and I leaped to either side to let itpass, and fell to the ground with such violence that a tree about sixinches thick, against which it struck, went down before it like a willowwand.
We immediately assisted Jack to extricate himself; but we had no time tocongratulate ourselves on our narrow escape, for mingled shouts andyells from the men in the bushes ahead apprised us that some new dangermenaced them in that direction.
Reloading as fast as we could, we hastened forward, and soon gained thenew scene of battle. Here stood the other elephant, trying to breakdown a small tree up which King Jambai had climbed, partly for safetyand partly in order to dart a javelin down on the brute as it passed.
This was a common custom of the natives; but the king, who was a bold,reckless man, had neglected to take the very necessary precaution ofselecting a strong tree. The elephant seemed actually to have observedthis, for instead of passing on, it suddenly rushed headlong against thetree and began to break it down. When we came up the beast was heavingand straining with all its might, the stout tree was cracking andrending fearfully, so that the king could scarcely retain his positionon it. The natives were plying their spears with the utmost vigour; butalthough mortally wounded, it was evident that in a few more seconds theelephant would succeed in throwing down the tree and trample the king todeath.
Peterkin instantly sprang forward, but Jack laid his hand on hisshoulder.
"It's my turn this time, lad," he cried, and leaping towards themonster, he placed the muzzle of his rifle close to its shoulder andsent a six-ounce ball right through its heart.
The effect was instantaneous. The elephant fell to the ground, amountain of dead flesh.
The delight of the negroes at this happy termination of the battle wasexcessive. They leaped and laughed and danced like insane men, and wehad much ado to prevent them seizing us in their arms and rubbing noseswith us.
As we had not commenced the hunt until well on in the day, evening wasnow closing in; so the king gave orders to encamp on a dry rising groundnot far distant, where the jungle was less dense, and thither we allrepaired, the natives bringing in all the game, and cutting up theelephants in a very short space of time.
"Your shot was not such a bad one this time, Ralph," observed Peterkin,as we three stood looking at the large elephant which the natives werecutting up. "There they are, just above the proboscis. But let me warnyou never again to venture on such a foolhardy thing as to fire in theface of a charging elephant unless you are a dead shot."
"Thank you, Peterkin, for your advice, which, however, I will not takewhen a comrade's life may depend on my doing so."
"I give you full credit for the excellence of your intention," rejoinedmy friend; "but if Jack's life had depended on those two shots from yourdouble-barrel, he would have been but a dead man now. There is only onevulnerable spot in the front of an elephant's head; that is, exactly inthe centre of the forehead. The spot is not bigger than a saucer, andthe bone is comparatively thin there. If you cannot make _sure_ ofhitting that, you simply face certain death. I would not have tried iton any account whatever, had I not seen that both you and Jack wouldhave been killed had I not done so."
On examination we found that the heavy ball from Peterkin's rifle hadindeed penetrated the exact spot referred to, and had been the means ofkilling the elephant, while my two bullets were found embedded in thebone.
The tusks of this animal were magnificent. I do not know what theirexact weight was, not having the means wherewith to weigh them. Theywere probably worth a considerable sum of money in the British market.Of course we did not lay claim to any part of the spoil of that day,with the exce
ption of a few of the beautiful birds shot on the voyage upthe river, which were of no value to the natives, although priceless tome. Alas! when I came to examine them next morning, I found that thosedestructive creatures the white ants had totally destroyed the greaterpart of them, and the few that were worth stuffing were very muchdamaged.
Experience is a good though sometimes a severe teacher. Never again didI, after that, put off the stuffing of any valuable creature till thenext day. I always stuffed it in the evening of the day on which it waskilled; and thus, although the practice cost me many a sleepless night,I preserved, and ultimately brought home, many specimens of rare andbeautiful birds and beasts, which would otherwise have been destroyed bythose rapacious insects.
That night the scene of our camp was indescribably romantic and wild.Numerous huge fires were lighted, and round these the negroes circledand cooked elephant and venison steaks, while they talked over theevents of the day or recounted the adventures of former hunts with noisyvolubility and gesticulation.
The negro has a particular love for a fire. The nights in his warmclimate are chill to him, though not so to Europeans, and he luxuriatesin the heat of a fire as a cat does in the rays of the sun. The warmblaze seems to draw out his whole soul, and causes his eyes to sparklewith delight. A good supper and a warm fire render him almost perfectlyhappy. There is but one thing wanting to render him supremely so, andthat is--a pipe! No doubt, under similar circumstances, the white manalso is in a state of enviable felicity, but he does not show his joylike the negro, who seems to forget his cares and sorrows, the miserieswhich his gross superstitions entail on him, the frequency with which heis exposed to sudden destruction; everything, in short, is forgottensave the present, and he enjoys himself with unmitigated fervour.
It really did my heart good as I sat with my comrades beside our fireand looked around me on their happy faces, which were rendered stillhappier by the gift from us of a small quantity of tobacco, with whichwe had taken care to provide ourselves for this very purpose.
I could scarcely believe that the jovial, kindly, hearty fellows werethe very men who are well-known to be such cruel, bloodthirsty fiendswhen under the influence of their dreadful superstitions, and who, but afew hours before, had been darting through the woods besmeared withblood and yelling like maniacs or demons. In fact, the whole scenebefore me, and the day's proceedings, seemed to me, at that time, like avivid dream instead of a reality. Moreover, after I lay down, thereality became a dream, and I spent that night, as I had spent the day,shooting gazelles, lions, wild pigs, and elephants in imagination.