As our object is to present every phase of life
in the Continent of
Africa, not merely following those great explorers whose
aim is
to make discoveries, prepare the way for commerce, and
change
the character of the savage races, but to also follow
the adven-
tures of the chase, we present some remarkable incidents
in the life of
William Charles Baldwin, Fellow of the Royal Geographical
Society,
whose graphic description of his life in South Africa
may well be re-pro-
duced here and will certainly be read with absorbing
interest.
Mr. Baldwin was not only a scholarly man, well fitted
by natural attain-
ments to hold the position of member of the Royal Geographical
Society,
but he was a very spirited hunter, a man fond of the
jungle and the plain,
a man of great nerve and endurance, and probably no hunter
in Africa
can tell so many thrilling tales as he. To some of these
we now invite
the reader's attention, and we shall allow Mr. Baldwin
to narrate his
adventures in his own language.
He says : I am now left entirely to my own devices in
the deserts of
South Africa, with three Kaffirs, two Hottentots, a driver
and after-
rider, a wagon, eighteen oxen, a cow and calf, five horses
and seven dogs,
with guns, powder and lead, beads, wire, and supplies
of tea, coffee, meal,
etc., for a twelvemonth at least.
It is a great change to find myself entirely alone after
the row and
racket of hitching up eleven wagons daily, but it is
my own doing, and
from my own choice. This is the beginning of the new
Kaffir chiefs
reign; he is talking very largely, and has succeeded
in frightening my
Hottentots considerably, and they come to me with long
faces to know ?
what I will do. My answer is, " Hitch up at once, and
get through his
country as quick as possible." A full complement of elands
and
giraffes have fallen to our rifles, and a lion killed
one of our oxen one
pitch dark night and escaped unhurt.
Terrible Drought.
I bought for beads about 600 lbs. of Kaffir corn, and
the wagon is
very heavy. The poor oxen are much to be pitied, having
to drag it
through deep, heavy sand, under a broiling sun, without
one drop of
water to cool their throats for two days. We must travel
most of the
night, too, as in the heat of the day they cannot move.
A drop of cold,
clear, sparkling water would be the greatest luxury that
could be set
before me just now; what we do get is stagnant, muddy
stuff, from pits
made by the Kaffirs, which they carefully fence round
with hack-thorns
to keep the game from drinking them dry. Two stately
giraffes walked
yesterday parallel with the wagon, not more than 400
yards off, for
nearly half an hour, and we did not molest theni as we
had a super-
abundance of flesh for men and dogs.
This has been almost the driest season ever known, and
travelling in
in this thirst-land is no easy matter; you must undergo
great hardships
and much anxiety for your poor live-stock. I have sad
misgivings about
my wagon, which is twenty-seven years old, and very shaky
and rickety ;
but perhaps, with the aid of green hides and rhinoceros
skin, she may
hold together. There are hardships enough in travelling
in the thirst-
land without the anxiety of fearing lest your old wagon
should leave you
in the desert far from any human assistance. I believe
I have almost
every other requisite for exploring the continent health,
strength, a con-
stitution well inured to the climate, a constant supply
of good spirits, a
knack of gaining the good-will of the Kaffirs, natives,
and Hottentots,
who will go anywhere and do anything for me, as I always
lend a hand
at anything, and study their comforts as well as my own.
I have no ties
of kindred or friends here to make me wish myself among
them. I never
weary with vain regrets, but always make myself happy,
and endeavor to
make the best of everything, and interest myself in the
journey
throughout.
I have now got a two-grooved rifle, the most perfect weapon
I ever
handled. Jt shoots perfectly frue with any charge of
powder, but the
recoil will, I fear, twist me out of the saddle.
The reader will perceive that Baldwin is narrating events
as they were
recorded in his journal from day to day.
Trouble With an Old Musket.
A Kaffir brought an old musket to be mended, and, in botching
away
at the lock, I succeeded in breaking it in two places
beyond my skill to
mend. Although I tried to explain to him that it was
accidental, and
that I was doing all I could to assist him without any
compensation, and
had worked unremittingly at it for near two days, and
that it was useless
to him when he brought it, and consequendy it was no
worse now, he
would listen to nothing : I had broken his gun, and I
must give him
another; and, being a great man, brother to Chapeau,
the captain, and
having a strong force at command, I was forced to submit,
take his
old useless musket, and give him one three times the
value. There is no
arguing with a Kaffir; he said that Wilson, a white man,
did the same
that is, broke his gun in endeavoring to mend it, and
instantly went to
the wagon and gave him a new one. I do not doubt that
he did so, as
he had a lot of muskets. In the Kaffirs' eyes a gun is
a gun.
A party of Bamangwatos followed the wagon, well armed
with spears,
axes, bows and arrows, and two guns, saying that I must
not hunt in
their country until I first paid them for leave to do
so ; and that if I did
not do so, and persisted in hunting, they would kill
us all. My fellows
talked very big, especially Auguste, a large, powerful
Kaffir, saying that
if they wanted to fight they must come on; we were quite
ready for
them at any moment, having plenty of guns and powder.
I said nothing,
but let things take their course, and merely ordered
the wagon to go on,
and left the Bamangwatos to do whatever they thought
best. At night I
served out plenty of powder and bullets, a watch was
kept, and every
man had his gun handy. My fellows talk largely, but what
they would
do in case of an actual skirmish I don't know. I don't
place much con-
fijjnce in one of them, nor do I fear the Kaffirs, unless
they can catch
luj unprepared and I and my gun are constant companions.
A Land for Brilliant Sport.
This river appears of immense breadth ; nor do I see any
possible way
of crossing it, as I do not know where the stream runs
to, and, as far as
the eye can reach, there is nothing to be seen but reeds
so tall and thick
that it is impossible to force your way through them.
There is safe har-
bor here for all the game and wild animals in South Africa.
I never saw
anything like it, and my Hottentots say it is the same
all the way to
Lake Ngami, about thirteen days from here in a wagon.
It is not far,
but the sand is so heavy that the oxen can only take
slow and short
stages. We have plenty of good water now, but the frightful
annoyance
from mosquitoes at night counterbalances this advantage.
I know of no
country in the world that can compare with Africa for
brilliant sport, but
it must be confessed that this part of it is a sandy
desert only fit to keep
a few miserable goats in existence. There is not a bite
of grass now
except along the edge of the reeds, but then it is winter.
Although the
sun is overpowering in the day, it is very cold in the
early mornings and
at nights, and it requires a considerable amount of courage
to get from
under the blankets before sunrise.
I found yesterday the fresh trail of a troop of elephants,
some very
large bulls and cows intermixed, and tracked them to
the water. Last
night all the dogs were made fast, and small fires only
allowed, as we were
by far too near the elephants' trail with the wagon ;
but, luckily, the wind
was right, and John and I went this morning, as soon
as it was light '
enough to see, to find out whether the elephants had
drunk last night,
but they had not. I wait quiet to-day in hopes they may
come
to-night; if not, I shall take the old trail and goinquest
of them to-mor-
row, for if they don't come to-night they must find water
somewhere else,
as they must drink every second night at the longest.
There is plenty of buffalo, giraffe, and rhinoceros, but
this is not what
I want. The elephants are wary, and very hard indeed
to come at, as
they are now so much sought for, and every savage knows
the value of
the ivory. I have tried fishing to-day, as I dare not
fire a shot for fear of
frightening the elephants, who cannot be far away ; but
the water was too
clear and the sun too bright to do any good.
A Little African.
One day I bought, for the identical old musket before
mentioned that I
was forced to take in exchange, and which I had managed
to patch up
with an old nail and the sinews of a buck, a little Masara
boy a
waddling infant, certainly not more than two years old,
but with an intel-
ligent countenance, and not yet starved whom I named
Leche ; and he
is a fine, quick little fellow. I am now quite fond of
him. A gang of
Bamangwatos, returning from hunting jackals, lynxes,
wild cats, and
skins of all kinds, had picked up this poor little urchin.
They remained
all night by my wagon, and the one who called himself
owner brought
him to me. My interpreter told me that if I did not take
him they were
just as hkely to leave him as not, if they got tired
of carrying him across
the desert ; and knowing the fate in store for him, even
if they got liim
home the slave of a Bamangwato, who live from hand
to mouth them-
selves I took compassion on him, and rescued him from
their hands.
One afternoon we unhitched close to the river, within
a few hundred
yards of where elephants had drunk the previous night,
and we made all
ready for a hunt in the morning ; and I was awakened
at dawn by hear-
ing loud cries from the Masaras, over the river, that
the elephants had
drunk there in the night. We swam the horses over with
the aid of a
canoe. The river is about 300 yards across, but the bottom
is good, and
the stream is not strong. The water is deliciously cold
and clear a
great treat in this desert land.
A Huge Monster.
We took up the trail on the opposite side of three bulls,
not, however,
until the bones had been cast, and the witch-doctor or
prophet liad fore-
told that we should find them, and that I should shoot
a fat bull, with
one long and one short tusk. I followed silently in the
rear of the men,
through a thick thorny bush. I had a presentiment that
we were near
them, and took my gun from the Kaffir's hands ; and not
three minutes
afterward I saw, from the gesticulations of the Masaras,
they had seen
them.- The dogs were slipped, and all was quiet for some
time, when I
heard one bark, followed immediately by the trumpeting
of a bull. I
made the best of my way in the direction, when I was
turned by a voice
shouting, " Come here, Natoo," and made for him.
I heard a shot behind me, turned at once, and caught sight
of the
retreating monster. The bush being uncommonly dense,
I was fearful of
losing him, and fired, striking him in the thick of the
thigh, and he took
up a position in a thicket, trumpeting and charging the
dogs in all direc-
tions, making a loud crashing. Unfortunately, the cap
was driven into
the nipple at the first shot, and I lost some time in
trying to get it out,
and broke the point of my knife, but I eventually succeeded
with astrong
needle which I had in my hat. There were five men with
guns, but no
one had ventured into the bush to give him a shot ; and
the Kaffirs, no
doubt, thought me afraid likewise ; but when I was sure
of my gun, I
rode in, taking care to have a clear passage for a speedy
exit. When
within about twenty-five yards, he threw up his trunk
and. came direct
toward me.
The horse stood still as old Time, and I gave him a conical
ball, five to
the pound, backed by six drachms of fine powder, on the
point of the
shoulder-blade. Flesh and blood could not stand before
such a driver ;
and, staggering and stumbling forward a few yards, he
pitched right on
his head within fifteen yards of me ; then my brave followers
immedi-
ately rushed in and gave him a volley as he lay on his
broadside, and it
was all over with him.
Though the other elephants could not have been far off,
all hunting
was over for that day, as the sight of so much fat meat
was irresistible to
the half-starved Masaras; and nothing I could offer would
induce them to
take up the trail of the other bulls, so they will live
to fight another day.
Large Herd of Elephants.
We crossed the river at dawn of day ; not, however, until
I had paid a
bag of powder and a bar of lead for the use of two old
canoes, which,
however, were indispensable to us. We took up the trail
of a large herd
of elephants, and followed it unremittingly till within
two hours of sun-
set, straight away from the river, to a thick grove of
mapani-trees, the
leaves of which very much resemble the beech, and are
even now, in the
depth of winter, green and luxuriant. Here we found a
large herd of
fifty or sixty, all cows and calves. They were feeding,
but, on seeing us,
they disappeared like magic; and when the dogs got among
them, they
spread in all directions. I shot, also, an old bull buffalo,
and the Masa-
ras and Makubas, though well wearied, made a night of
it that is, did
not stop eating until morning; consequently, only two,
that we sent for
water, were able to work the next day.
The next morning we found a troop of eleven or twelve
bull elephants
in a thick hack-thorn bush on the banks of the river.
As they crashed
away, I rode hard in their rear, shouting lustily, and
singled out the
largest bull. I rode close, and he cleared a path for
me. He turned to
see who had the audacity to ride so near, for the horse's
nose touched
him, when I gave him a bullet behind the shoulder, and
cleared out of
his path. In reloading I lost him, and, cantering on
his trail, he very
nearly caught me, as he had stopped and turned round
just where the
path turned suddenly and sharply to the right, and I
was almost under
his very trunk ere I saw him. He was lying in wait, and
made a ter-
rific charge, trumpeting furiously ; the horse was round
like a top, and
away I went, with both rowels deep in his flauks as I
threw myself on
his neck. It was a very near shave ; his trunk was over
the horse's hind
quarters. I went through bush that, in cool blood, I
should have pro-
nounced impenetrable, but did not come off scathless
; my poor hands
are shockingly torn, and my trowsers, from the knee,
literally in shreds,
though made of goatskin. After giving the elephant two
more bullets I
lost him. The dogs were frightened to death, and would
not leave the
horse's heels.
Boat Crews Drowned.
The country all around appears to be a perfect flat, very
unhealthy and
uninteresting, with a lot of rubbishy reeds at this end,
but it is wooded
to the banks on the other side, and most of the way round.
I gather
from the natives that it is a three days' ride round
the lake, but that the
itsetse render it impossible for horses. The natives
are afraid to cross in
their frail canoes, as when a wind rises the water is
very rough. Three
canoes were swamped not long since, and their crews drowned.
Not
far from the southern point, the road the wagons take
to Walvish Bay,
there is a high ridge of rocks, Lechulatebe's strong-hold
in case of an
attack. These Kaffirs are always at war, cattle being
the prime object.
I could only get a very bad view of one end of the lake,
but I must con-
fess that I was disappointed in it. The chief went with
me, and, by the
aid of an interpreter, gave me all the information he
could, and was very
kind and obliging.
He is not a bad fellow at heart, I think, but a dreadful
beggar and
very covetous. He appears to have no idea of being refused
anything
the fancies, gives you nothing in return, wants your
things on his own
terms, and asks outrageous prices tor his. He is young,
active, an ele-
iphant-hunter himself, a good shot, and possesses good
guns. On our
.return I swam the river, which is about 300 yards wide,
and he invited
me to dinner. We dined in the open air, and were attended'
by the
prettiest girls in the kraal, who knelt before us and
held the dishes from
which we ate.
Kaffir Beauties.
They wear no clothing but a skin around their loins ;
their legs, arms,
:necks, and waists are ornamented with beads of every
variety,
.and ivory, brass, and copper bracelets. Finer-made girls
than some of
the well-fed Kaffirs, I suppose, are not to be found.
They have small
:hands and feet, beautifully-rounded arms, delicate wrists
and ankles ;
their eyes and teeth unsurpassable, and they are lithe
and supple as a
willow wand.
They say perfect happiness does not exist in this world,
but I should
say a Kaffir chief comes nearer to it than any other
mortal; his slightest
wish is law ; he knows no contradiction ; he has the
power of life and
death in his hands at any moment, and can take any quantity
of wives
and put them away at pleasure ; he is waited upon like
an infant, and
every wish, whim, and caprice is indulged in to the fullest
extent; and
he has ivory, feathers, and karosses brought to him from
all quarters,
which he can barter with the traders for every article
of luxury.
Our dinner consisted of roasted giraffe, swimming in fat
and grease.
I always do in Rome as Rome does eat (if I can) whatever
is set before
me, and shut my eyes if I feel qualmish. Nothing approaches
the parts
most relished by the natives in richness of flavor, and
racy, gamy taste.
The Kaffirs know well the best parts of every animal,
and laugh at our
throwing them away. But enough; I enjoyed my dinner.
Perhaps a
person with a delicate stomach might have found fault
with the means
used to fasten on the lids of the different dishes ;
but the native plan is
an excellent one, as everything is kept warm, and nothing
can boil over
or escape. Everything was scrupulously clean ; and jackals'
tails,
waved in abundance by the many slaves in attendance,
kept away the
flies.
Shrewd Rascal.
I afterward exchanged my hat with the captain for a pair
of leather
crackers, but had to give beads, knife, fork, and spoon
into the bargain.
The rascal had no conscience; and after plaguing me till
I promised to
give him some tea for the second time, for I had sent
him about a pound
on my arrival, he immediately dispatched a messenger
for an immense
earthenware jar, which would hold at least two chests,
and was highly
indignant at the pigmy appearance of the tea I put in
it. He then
plagued me for meal ; and when I offered to exchange
with him for
corn, provided he gave me two measures for one, he declared
there was
none in the state ; he lies like a trooper, and only
laughs when you
find him out. He appears to be very good-tempered, however
; but all
Kaffirs have great self-command, and they rarely, if
ever, come to blows.
Continuing his account of exciting adventures of the chase,
Baldwin
says : To-day I have been successful in bringing to bay
a splendid fat
eland cow. Accompanied by January on old Snowdon, two
of my
men, and seven Bakalahari, we sallied forth, and soon
found fresh trails,
which the Kaffirs followed in the most indefatigable
manner ; they led
us in a regular circle. Though we maintained a dead silence,
the elands
must have got our wind, as we found from the trail they
were off at full
speed. January then took up the trail, holding on fast
by the pommel
with one hand, and kept it in the most marvellous manner
at a canter,
wherever the bush would permit of it, for three or four
miles at least. I
followed in his wake, my horse Ferus (fearless), who
is in excellent con-
dition, pulling hard. I should have called a halt, but
the trail led home-
ward. January still kept on at a canter through the thick
bush. At
length I got sight of three cows ; the rest of the party
had done their
duty, it was now my turn : I contented myself by keeping
them in sight
till we got into a much more open part, when I let Ferus
make play, and
we went at a slashing pace over everything. The elands
led me in among
the Kaffir pitfalls, and I steered my nag wherever the
fence was thickest,
as being safest, and he jumped like a stag, and in a
very short brush
singled out and ran right into the best cow, when I fired
from the saddle.
Narrow Escape.
One morning I found five bull elephants, gave chase, and
singled and
drove out the largest, and gave him a couple of pills
to make him quiet ;
he shortly turned and stood at bay, about forty yards
off, and then came
on with a terrific charge. My newly-purchased horse,
Kebon, which I
v/as riding for the first time, stood stock still, and
I intended to give the
elephant my favorite shot in the chest, but at every
attempt to raise the
gun for the purpose of so doing my horse commenced tossing
his head
up and down, and entirely prevented me from taking aim.
During my
attempts to pacify and steady him, the bull charged,
and I fired at ran-
dom, and whether the ball whistled uncomfortably near
the horse's ear
or not I can't say, but he gave his head so sudden a
jerk as to throw the
near rein over on to the off side ; the curb-chain came
undone, and the
bit turned right round in his mouth.
The huge monster was less than twenty yards off, ears
erected like
two enormous fans, and trumpeting furiously. Having no
command
whatever of my horse, I dug the long rowels in most savagely,
when
Kebon sprang straightforward for the brute, and I thought
it was all up ;
I leaned over on the off side as far as possible, and
his trunk was within
a few feet of me, as I shot close by him.
I plied the rowels, and was brought again to a sudden
stand by three
trees, in a sort of triangle; a vigorous dig, and he
got through, my right
shoulder coming so violently in contact with one of the
trees as almost
to unhorse me, slewing my right arm behind my back, over
my left hrp.
I know not how I managed to stick to my gun, 14 lbs.
weight, with my
middle finger only hooked through the trigger-guard,
my left hand right
across my chest, holding by the end of the reins, which,
most fortu-
nately, I had in my hand when I fired, and in this fashion
he went at a
tearing gallop through a thick tangled bush and underwood
mostly
hack-thorns, over which my nag jumped like a buck. He
was very
nearly on his head three or four times, as the soil was
very heavy, sandy,
and full of holes.
The monster was all this time close in my wake ; at length
I got clear
from him, and he turned and made off in the opposite
direction at his
best pace. As soon as I could pull up, which I managed
after perform-
ing three or four circles, I jumped off, righted my bridle,
and went after
him like the wind, as he had a long start, and I was
afraid of losing him
in thick bush. After giving him ten shots, and sustaining
three more
savage charges, the last a long and silent one, far from
pleasant, as my
horse had all the puff taken out of him, and he could
only manage to keep
his own before the brute, to my great satisfaction he
at length fell, to rise
no more. I had long been quite exhausted, and could not
even put a
cap on the nipple. One of my men turned up about an hour
after; he
said he fired all his powder away, giving his elephant
sixteen bullets to
no purpose ; but the horse looked quite fresh, and both
barrels were
loaded, and every man has a perfect right to form his
own opinion as to
the reason why and wherefore.
Elephant hunting is the very hardest life a man can chalk
out for him-
self. Two blank days, riding five hours at a foot's pace
to a ravine, where
the Masaras tell you they have drunk ; sleeping in the
bush with nothing
to eat; a drink of muddy water in the morning, out of
a dirty tortoise-
shell, which serves for breakfast, dinner, and supper;
all day in the
saddle, under a broiling sun, following after three half-starved
Masaras in
greasy, tattered skins, who carry a little water, which
is nauseous to a
degree, and never seeing life the whole day. Two days
like this, followed
by two successful ones, is about what you may expect.
Nothing more miserable and dirty can be conceived than
a Masara
encampment. It consists of temporary half-thatched sheds,
and a few
bushes stuck in here and there to break the wind, with
half-putrid dried
flesh, water vessels, and shreds of old skins hung up
in the surrounding
trees. My trusty after-rider brings two or three armfuls
of grass, and
makes my couch in the most eligible corner, with my saddle
for a pillow,
and here I court sleep till daybreak, lying close to
a green wood fire, the
smoke of which passes over you when you lie close to
the ground, and
keeps off the mosquitoes.
There is something quite overpowering in the deathlike
stillness of the
forest at night a brilliant sky, innumerable stars,
bright and twinkling,
dusky figures in all possible attitudes lying around,
the munching of our
faithful horses, which are tied to trees all night, and
frequently the jackal's
cry, the hyena's howl, the occasional low growl of a
lion, or the heavy tramp
and crash in the bush of a herd of elephants, with a
scream which can
be heard at an immense distance. This is the way our
nights are usually
passed in the bush, and the most light-hearted fellow
in the world, when
all alone for months, must have occasional fits of despondency.
A Famous Bird.
Full of thorns and bruises, and half dead from thirst,
I off-saddled
Kebon, knee-haltered him, and then lay under the shade
of a tree, having
not the most remote idea as to my whereabouts, shouting
and firing
blank powder to bring up the Masaras. To add, if possible,
to the many
mishaps, my horse had strayed, and I had to follow his
trail, and did not
overtake him for nearly a mile, and then I was obliged
to retrace my own
footsteps, which was not so easy. I had not long returned
when one of
my men turned up, and he led the way back at a trot on
foot, distancing
all the Masaras, and just at sunset got to the wagon,
where I first got a
drink. Such days as these are rather more than sport.
I was much amused by watching the tickbirds trying to
alarm an old
white rhinoceros that we were approaching from under
the wind, quite
ignorant of his danger. They ran into his ears and fluttered
about his
eyes, keeping up an incessant chirping, but he would
not be warned till
we got above wind, when he elevated head and tail, snuffed,
trotted, and
snorted, and went away in grand style at a swinging trot".
We had better
game in view ; but to-night I am going to watch the water,
as the moon
is high, and then he must be more wary. My fellows have
just made
a hole at the edge of the water, as game is very scarce,
and we are hard
up for meat.
My poor dog Gyp, I grieve to say, was taken by a tiger.
I had rid-
den forward to water, and she came after me. It was night,
and a native
heard the scuffle, and poor Gyp's last breath, which
left her carcase, not
in the shape of a yell, but rather of a fierce angry
whine that she could
not gripe the brute in return. She was the gamest of
the game, and had'
numberless escapes, wonderful, lucky, or providential,
whatever you
like to call them. Except my perfect Juno, I had sooner
the fate had
happened to any other of the pack.
Combat wlth Tigers.
Baldwin does not give any extended account of hunting
the tiger, but
we are able to present a spirited account from a traveller
of an exciting^
tiger hunt, which took place in India.
At break of day, he says, we set out in an imposing array.
Twelve-
elephants, brilliantly trapped, bore the rajah, the principal
officers of his
suite, and your humble servant, lying, like the Romans
at their feasts,
on our backs, under the howdahs. Beside us lay several
good rifles,
and behind each of us, his eyes bandaged, a guepard,
or hunting tiger..
This curious animal, half-tiger, half-leopard, is famous
for his extraordi-
nary eyesight, his speed in running, and his courage
in attack. At the same
time he is a thoroughly good-natured and submissive companion,
and
makes a capital hunter besides.
There were some hundred men in the party, besides porters,
servants,
and cooks, and we journeyed by short stages in really
royal style. No-
one ever complains of the sleepy slowness of an elephant's
gait. You
enjoy the scenery, you are rocked by his gentle movement
into the-
happiest frame of mind, and you "get there."
After three days of this ideal travelling, one of our
advance couriers came
in to say that a tiger was reported in the neighborhood
of one of the
near villages, and we all prepared for an exciting day.
I had my rifles
cleaned and my ammunition and knives inspected, and resolved
to give
a good account of myself We found that the tiger carried
off daily a
bull from the fields-, and escaped with it into a densely
grown marsh a few
miles away. At least such, was the story, if we chose
to believe it.
Exciting Events Ahead.
Hardly had we reached the locality before the guepards
gave unequi-
vocal signs that they detected the presence of our game.
Armed with
spears, the men began to beat the bushes, much as if
they were simply
after hares. Still, as they did not seem to mind the
danger, I could not
see why I should worry about them, though I sat ready
with gun in rest
on my elephant's back.
The plan was successful ; for two enormous tigers bounded
out of the
high underbrush like young cats. Our men's cries and
the general hub-
bub confused them and made them lose their heads, and
they ran back
and forth without any plan or method. Suddenly one of
them sprang at:
my elephant, with wild fury, as is their favorite method
of attack. I
came to the rescue with my rifle, and hurled the brute
upon the ground,
and the elephant placed his ponderous feet, one on its
flanks'and one on
its head ! I felt a violent jerk and shock, and heard
the cracking of bones
like the sound of a tree broken by the force of the tempest
; and I saw
the beast flattened under the weight of the massive pachyderm.
The latter, proud of his deed, never lost his dignity
or temper for an
instant, and I showered caresses and sugar upon him in
reward for his
prompt courage. Meanwhile the other tiger had not remained
inactive.
He had succeeded in .bringing down a young elephant,
on which was
mounted a son of the rajah, now on his first hunt ; the
latter, however,
had the good sense to desert his mount, and leave the
poor thing to
its fate.
Desperate Battle.
Immediately we all let loose our guepards, which fell
upon the prey
with their sharp teeth and indomitable courage. The fight
became
general ; the wounded tiger held its own against the
numerous foe, put-
ting several hors du combat, laying them open with its
fearful claws, or
meeting its fangs in their throats. The struggle was
intense, and the
rajah's enjoyment of it was too, for he would not let
me end it with a shot
from my good rifle. After some minutes of this kind of
thing he gave
his men a signal, and they surrounded the combatants
and with their
spears put an end to the tiger, and drew off the limping
guepards.
The foregoing narrative will serve to show what startling
risks are run
by hunters in the Tropics. Baldwin's experiences are
evidence of this,
and we again quote from his thrilling account.
I hardly know, he says, what I have done the last fortnight
; I have
been five consecutive days in the saddle without finding
elephants ; I am
now three days on my road back again a weary, long
journey, without
water so far, and I shall be obliged to wait for rain
before I can get out,
besides which the ravines are now full of a poisonous
herb, which is cer-
tain death in a few hours to oxen, so that we are obliged
to be most
cautious. Painter, one of my horses, was left behind
yesterday for dead;
thirst and the intense heat of the sun had, to all appearance,
finished
him ; but, to my amazement, he turned up again this morning,
having
found his way in the night to our old place.
Chased by an Infuriated Buffalo.
The best of my stud, Ferus, yesterday got desparately
staked in the
breast. A wounded buffalo, which I was trying to drive,
charged me
most savagely, and none other but Ferus could have brought
me safely
out. It was a near thing for about one hundred yards,
and when she
was not two yards from my horse's tail, taking advantage
of an opening
in the bush,' I wheeled half round in the saddle, and
gave her a bullet
through her right ear and grazed the top of her back,
without, however
doing her any harm ; but she shortly gave up the chase,
when T
reloaded, dismounted, and brought her down. It was among
hack-
thorns, and my clothes were completely torn off my body.
We had not:
a bite of anything at all at the wagon, and no near probability
of getting
anything, therefore I was rash, as a buffalo is a beast
you cannot drive.
The nipple of my gun broke short off in the worm the other
day, and
I tried every means to get it out for some time without
effect, only mak-
ing matters worse by breaking a plug short off that I
had been harden-
ing and shaping to fit all day. At last I made a drill
bore, and suc-
ceeded beyond my most sanguine expectations, and she
is now none the
worse. We are obliged to load heavily for South African
game ; six-
drachms are my smallest dose, and my powder this year
is excellent.
I think it hardly possible for the country to be or look
worse than-
now, and my poor oxen and horses have* fallen off fearfully.
All the-
water-courses are dried up, and we only get a small quantity
of water at
the fountains after hard digging, and the little grass
there is terribly dry..
In the early mornings, evenings, and night, it is so
cold that there is ice
in all the water-vessels, while the days are intensely
hot ; from ten to
four it is hardly possible to travel ; we sometimes have
high and often
hot winds ; game of all sorts is as thin as deal boards,
and the fare, con-
sequently, very indifferent.
Chase of the Giraffe.
Let me give an account of a day's adventure with giraffes.
I took a cup of coffee and a biscuit, and .saddled up.
I rode old Bryan,,
a tall, narrow-built, ewe-necked, remarkably long, blue-skimmel
horse,
resembling very much in appearance the animal we went
to hunt, but with.
a great depth of shoulder and breadth of chest, and good
girth, and some-
capital points about him, though an ungainly, ugly brute,
and very heavy
in hand, with a tender mouth. We shortly met six Kaffirs,
Avho told,
us they had seen fresh trail of a troop of giraffes,
and turned back to
show us. We followed the trail some four miles, through
thorns, and
very stony and bad travelling, ascending the different
heights to try to
see them, but always following the trail as fast as the
Kaffirs could keep
up. I saw them first, full 500 yards off, seven or eight
of them, and, on
whistling for Swartz, one of my men, they immediately
took right away,
with a tremendous start.
We made good play, at a swinging gallop, right through
bush and;
stones, and, after a long burst, I came within twenty
yards of them, when.
Bryan stopped in fear and trembling of the huge unwieldy
brutefe. 1
plied him sharply with the spurs, and got him once more
under way,,
keeping above the wind, as the giraffes have a strong
effluvia, which
Frighten horses unused to them. We came out on the clearing,
Swartz-
forty or fifty yards in advance of me, and as far behind
the giraffes. The
sight of the other horse gave Bryan confidence, and he
bounded away in.
good style, and was alongside instantly, when they again
dashed
into thick bush ; here Swartz turned out a cow, the very
one I had set
my mind on, and I at once took after a large bull. Now
he bounded away
with his tail screwed round like a corkscrew, and going
in one bound as
far as I went in three.
He Went Bang into a Busli.
Bryan crashed through everything, and I lost my hat and
tore
my hands, arms, and shirt to pieces. At length 1 got
nearly
alongside him, and fired, hitting him high in the neck,
and taking no effect
whatever on him. Here I got a pull on Bryan and managed
to reload
still going on at a smart gallop, and once more got alongside,
and, in
trying to pull up to dismount, he went bang into a bush,
which brought'
him up short, and he went to back out, the giraffe getting
lOO yards in
advance. I soon made up the lost ground, and headed him,
endeavoring
to turn him, but he slewed round like a vessel in full
sail, bearing down
almost on the top of me, with his huge fore legs as high
in the air as the
horse's back. I had lots of chances to dismount, but
had no command
of my nag ; his mouth was dead ; but not a sign of flagging
about him.
I steered him close alongside on the near side, held
out my gun in one
hand, within two yards of the giraffe's shoulder, and
fired. The gun shot
over my head, half breaking my middle finger, and down
came the
giraffe, with a tremendous crash, with his shoulder smashed
to atoms.
I must have had a heavy charge of powder in, as I loaded
at random.
Bryan was as still as a post instantly, and I lost not
a moment in off-
saddling him ere I inspected my giraffe, and then put
the saddle-cloth
over my bare head, as the sun was intensely hot. I must
have run nearly
five miles through hack-thorns and stones of all sizes,
as straight as the
crow flies. Swartz killed his cow, about a mile back,
with one shot,
about one hundred yards off. We cut off his mane and
tail as a trophy,
and the tongue and marrow-bone for immediate use ; and
Swartz and
John coming up, we went to his giraffe, which was the
fattest, for meat.
The Kaffirs were there, and I offered them some beads
to find my
hat.
I dispatched all the Kaffirs and dogs for meat early in
the morning, as
it was late when we got back the previous night. The
meat is really
tender and good. I followed my giraffe about twenty yards
in the rear
for a mile at least, the stones rattling past my head
occasionally. When-
ever the ground favored, and I made a spurt, he did the
same, appearing-
to have no end of bottom ; and Bryan could not come up
with him,
though he strained every nerve, and he has a long, swinging
gallop, and
leaves the ground fast behind him.
Till within the last century, the very existence of this
magnificent
animal was doubted by civilized peoples at least, it
was no more believed
in than the unicorn. Who can wonder at the incredulity
of the people ?
I have seen an animal, said a traveller, with the skin
of a leopard, the
head of a deer, a neck graceful as the swan's ; so tall,
that if three tall
men should stand on each other's shoulders, the topmost
one could
scarcely reach its forehead ; and so timid and gentle
that the merest
puppy by its bark could compel the enormous creature
to its utmost
speed, which excels that of the hare or greyhound !
This was all the traveller knew of the giraffe, and he
told it, and when
folks heard or read, they winked, wagged their heads,
as do knowing
people while exercising their leading faculty, and flatly
refused to be
" gulled " by any such " traveller's tale." Suppose,
however, the traveller
had known as much about the giraffe as we know, and related
it?
Suppose, in addition to the particulars respecting the
animal's shape and
size, the traveller had told our great grandfathers that
the tongue of the
giraffe was such a wonderful instrument that, protruded
a foot from the
mouth, it was used as a grasper, a feeler, and an organ
of taste ; that the
giraffe's tongue was what in many respects the elephant's
proboscis is to
that ponderous animal ? That the giraffe's nostrils,
oblique and narrow,
were defended even to their margins by strong hairs,
and surrounded by
muscular fibres, by which they can be hermetically sealed,
effectually
ypreventing the entrance of the fine sand which the suffocating
storms of
the desert raise in such clouds that man, with all the
appliances sug-
gested by his invention, must flee from or die ? That
the giraffe's beau-
tiful eyes, lustrous and prominent, were so situated
that he could, without
moving his head, sweep the whole circle of the horizon
on all sides,
behind, before, every way, so that for any enemy to approach
unawares
was impossible ?
I much question, if the traveller had related these wonders
to our
great grandfather who was a stout-headed man and not
to be trifled
with whether he would not have found himself behind
a bedlam-grating
in a very short time.
Besides these mentioned, the giraffe possesses other features
equally
peculiar. The first impression one receives on viewing
the animal is,
that its fore-legs are considerably longer than its hinder
ones. This,
however, is illusory. The walk of the giraffe is not
majestic, the neck
Stretched in a line with its back giving it an awkward
appearance.
When, however, the animal commences to run, all symptoms
of awkward-
ness vanish, though its progression is somewhat peculiar.
The hind-legs
are lifted alternately with the fore, and are carried
outside of and far
beyond them; while the long black tail, tufted at the
end like a
buffalo's, is curled above the back, and moves pendulum
fashion exactly
as the neck moves, giving the creature the appearance
of a curious and
nicely-adjusted piece of machinery.
Elegant Roan Antelope.
Soon after my adventure with the giraffes I fell in with
a single roan
antelope, and cannot deny myself the pleasure of giving
a full account of
the chase froni first to last, as it will long live in
my remembrance. I
:saw him first coming along at a swinging gallop, evidently
startled by
something, and endeavored to cut him off, galloping hard
and keeping a
tree between us. I got within 100 yards, jumped off,
and missed him
like a man going broadside past me ; swallowed my disgust
as well as I
could, reloaded, and gave chase.
A stern chase is always a long one, and at the end of
about three
miles I could not perceive I had gained a yard on him.
The bush get-
ting thicker, I rode lOO yards wide of him, hoping I
might gain ground
on him unperceived, and as he burst once more into the
clearing I had
bettered my position fully lOO yards, which he perceived,
and put on the
steam once more, and I was just pulling up in despair,
when I saw his
mouth open, and heard his breath coming thick and fast
on the wind.
He was evidently much blown, but my good nag had likewise
nearly all
the putf taken out of him. The ground being frightfully
stony, he had
to change his legs, alter his stride, and hop about like
peas on a platter ;
still I had faint hopes, if I was favored by the ground,
I might get a long
shot at him. I nursed my nag to the best of my judgment,
roweling
him well, but holding him fast by the head, and endeavoring
still to keep
a spurt in him whenever the ground favored, and in this
manner I main-
tained my distance, about 200 yards behind the antelope,
which I now
perceived to be shortening his stroke as he was nearing
the steep bank.
of a dry river.
Crisis of Fate.
Now or never ! I spurred my horse, and he put on a capital
spurt
and, as he is an admirably-trained shooting horse, I
could rely on his
pulling up in ten yards, and I never checked him till
within twenty yards
of the bank. The magnificent old buck seemed to know,
by instinct, that,
this was the crisis of his fate, and tore away on the
opposite bank. harder
than ever, making the stones clatter and fly behind him.
In the twink-
ling of an eye I stood alongside of my nag, steadied
myself, gave one
deep-drawn breath, planted my left foot firmly in front,
raised my gun,
and fired the moment I got the ivory sight to bear upon
him, making an
admirable shot.
Not long after this I had a glorious day on my horse Jack.
He
carried me well up to a troop of roan antelopes, when
my gun, unfortu-
nately, missed fire. Saw a splendid old bull harrisbuck,
but lost sight of
him in trying to get below the wind, and never saw him
again. Rode
far, climbing to the top of the hills ; at length saw
about twenty-two
harrisbucks ; got below the wind and within 300 yards,
when they took
the alarm. I had a very long chase of five miles, at
least. The ground
being so bad, and my horse blind, I could only go steadily;
at length,
got them at advantage, and put Jack's powers to the test.
He galloped strong and well, and as they were thundering
down a pass
between two mountains, through a dry ravine, I got within
three lengths
of the hindmost buck. The pace was tremendoiis. One magnificent
old bull I had set my heart on, and was close to him.
Jack drew up
short just on the brink of the ravine, and, in my hurry
to jump off, I got
my foot fast in the stirrup. I had my back to the bucks,
and when I had
extricated my foot I had lost my bull, I fired at a large
black and tan
cow, and either missed her altogether or gave her a bad
shot.
It was Fine Work at Times.
In the middle of the chase I almost jumped into an ostrich
nest, but I
could not think about eggs then. On returning to the
wagons I heard
my horse Bryan was very sick ; he had wandered away from
the wagons,
and we lost him, though I followed the trail till dark,
I luckily heard
from two Kaffirs that they had seen a horse's trail on
the path going back
at the break of day. Inyous, one of my party, and myself
started in the
direction the Kaffirs told us, and, thinking it not improbable
we might
be away three or four days, I put a cap, box of salt,
and a dry eland's
tongue in my pocket, and Iiiyous carried two pounds of
beads. On
finding the trail eighteen hours gone, I pressed two
Kaffirs from a kraal
near by into the service. It was fine work, at times,
tracking him out.
We had many checks, and all spread out and made our casts
in a most
systematic style, your humble servant hitting off the
trail three times,
but Inyous and one Bushman Kaffir did the most of the
hunting.
Once I had all but given him up on flinty, rocky ground:
we cast
around in every direction for an hour and a half to no
purpose, and fol-
lowed the trail for more than 300 yards on our hands
and knees, the
faintest imaginable track being all we had to guide us
a small stone dis-
placed or a blade of grass cut off; so we kept on till
we again got to
sandy ground, when we took up the running four miles
an hour, and
about midday we found him. I need not say how rejoiced
I was to see
him.
The Plumed Ostrich.
Respecting the degree of intelligence displayed by the
wild ostrich,
the opinions of travellers are at variance, some ascribing
to it the most
complete stupidity, and others giving it credit for unusual
vivacity and
cunning. Livingstone evidently inclines to the former
opinion. He
says, " It is generally seen feeding on some quiet spot
wdiere no one can
approach him without being detected by his wary eye.
As the wagon
moves along far to the windward, he thinks it is intending
to circumvent
hini, so he rushes up a mile or so from the leeward,
and so near to the
front oxen that one sometimes gets a shot at the silly
bird. When he
begins to run, all the game in sight follow his example.
I have seen
seen this folly taken advantage of when he was quietly
feeding in a val-
ley open at both ends. A number of men would commence
running as
if to cut off his retreat from the end through which
the wind came, and
although he had the whole country, hundreds of miles,
before him by
going to the other end, on he madly rushed to get past
the men, and so
was speared. He never swerves from the course he once
adopts, but
only increases his speed."
In taking the eggs, the natives, if they wish to continue
drawing on
the nest, are obliged to use considerable caution. It
is common enough,
even when the hatching period is close at hand, for the
whole of the
proprietors of a nest to wander away from it in search
of food, a circum-
stance that has doubtless given ground for the erroneous
supposition
that the bird in question leaves her eggs in the sand,
trusting to the sun
for their vivification. When the native finds a nest
of eggs so aband-
oned, he procures a long stick and rakes them out all
but one or two ; if
this is managed cleverly, and the wind has been favorable,
the bereaved
bird will neither scent the thief nor be aware of her
loss, but go on lay-
ing for months, from June to October, supplying the Bushman
with new-
laid eggs with the precision and regularity of the hens
of our own farms
and homesteads.
Ingenious Method for Getting Water.
Even the shell of the ostrich egg is an item of the utmost
importance
in the domestic economy of the wandering Bushman. It
provides him
with plates and dishes and drinking-cups, and, more important
still, with
a convenient vessel in which to carry that first essential
to existence,
water, across the vast and thirsty plains of Africa.
The singular and
ingenious method of collecting water into these shells
from the reedy
and shallow pools is thus graphically described by Dr.
Livingstone:
" The constant dread of visits from strange tribes causes'
the Bat-
kalahari to choose their residence far from water, and
they not unfre-
quently hide their supplies by filling the pits with
sand and making a fire
over the spot. When they wish to draw water for use the
women come
with twenty or thirty of their water-vessels in a bag
or net on their
backs. The water-vessels consist of ostrich egg-shells,
with a hole in
the end of each, such as would admit one's finger. The
women tie a
bunch of grass to one end of a reed about two feet long,
and insert it in a
hole as deep as the arm will reach ; then ram down the
wet sand firmly
round it. Then applying the mouth to the thin end of
the reed they
form a vacuum in the grass beneath, in which the water
collects, and in a
short time rises into the mouth. An egg-shell is placeci
on the ground
alongside the reed, some inches below the mouth of the
sucker. A straw
guides the water into the hole of the vessel as she draws
mouthful after
mouthful from below. The water is made to pass along
the outside, not
through the straw.
"An intelligent Bakwain related to me how the Bushmen
effectually
baulked a party of his tribe which lighted on their village
in a state of
burning thirst. Believing, as he said, that nothing human
could subsist
without water, they demanded some, but were coolly told
by these
Bushmen that they had none, and never drank any. Expecting
to find
them out, they resolved to watch them night and day.
They persevered
for some days, thinking that at last the water must come
forth; but, not-
withstanding their watchfulness, kept alive by most tormenting
thirst, the
Bakwains were compelled to exclaim, ' Yak ! yak ! these
are not men ; let
us go.' Probably the Bushmen had been subsisting on a
store hidden
underground, which had eluded the vigilance of their
visitors."
Ostrich Chicks.
The newly-hatched chicks are about as large as pullets,
and as soon
as they escape from the shell are able to walk about
and follow their
parents. The cock-bird, it seems, is just as able and
certainly as willing to
take charge of his children as the hen. Dr. Livingstone
says, " I have sev-
eral times seen newly-hatched young in the charge of
the cock, who made
a very good attempt at appearing lame in the plover fashion,
in order to
draw off the attention of pursuers. The young squat down
and remain
immovable when too small to run far, but attain a wonderful
degree of
speed when about the size of common fowls. The color
of the ostrich
chick is a blending of gray and white, and harmonizes
admirably with
the color of the plains it is in the habit of traversing.
Its external cover-
ing at this stage of its existence is neither down nor
feathers, but a sub-
stance more resembling the bristles of the hedgehog spread
scantily
over its body."
Should a Bushman discover a nest when a long distance
from home,
he is of course desirous of securing the precious eggs;
but how is he to
carry them ? Pockets he has not, he is equally barren
of pocket-hand-
kerchief, and he does not invariably wear either a hat
or a cap. Under
such circumstances, dear reader, you or I would just
take one in each
hand and one under each arm, and walk off, regretting
that we were
unable to secure any more. But the Bushman has a " dodge
" almost as
ingenious as it is unscrupulous. He takes off his trowsers,
tears a strip
off the waistband, secures the bottom of each leg therewith,
and is at
once provided with a commodious double bag which he fills
with eggs,
and contentedly trots home with his bare legs scorching
in the sun. The
Bushman has implicit confidence in powdered ostrich egg-shell
as a pre-
ventive of eye diseases, and should his cattle be afflicted
with strangury-
he will grind up a bit of the potent shell, mix it with
vinegar, pour it
down the throat of the ox, and next morning the brute
is sound again
at least, so says the Bushman.
Although there are no authenticated instances on record
of the ostrich
ever having eaten so indigestible a thing as a " great
horse-shoe," the
obtuseness of taste displayed by the giant bird is very
remarkable.
Methuen in his " Life in the Wilderness," when speaking
of a female
ostrich that came under'his immediate attention, says
: " One day a Mus-
covy duck brought a promising brood of ducklings into
the world, and
with maternal pride conducted them forth into the yard.
Up with
solemn and measured strides marched the ostrich, and,
wearing the most
?mild, benignant cast of face, swallowed them all one
after another like so
many oysters, regarding the indignant hissings and bristling
plumage
of the hapless mother with stoical indifference."
Although it has always been known that the ostrich could
be domesti-
cated, it was not until within a comparatively recent
period that this bird
was supposed to possess any utility. Now the world is
wearing ostrich
feathers. These, which certainly are very graceful and
attractive, are
sold in all the great markets of the world, and are worn
very extensively.
'Of course there is a fashion in feathers as there is
in everything else, and
at certain periods there is a greater demand for ostrich
plumes than at
others.
An attempt has been made in California to domesticate
the ostrich,
and on a limited scale there are farms on the Pacific
coast for the pur-
pose of raising ostriches with a view to obtaining their
feathers. These
farms have been, so far, attended with a good degree
of success.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
GALAXY OF RENOWNED EXPLORERS.
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