fisherman, and had brought a good assortment of hooks and strong sea
lines. We were seldom out of fish. As soon as we arrived at the camping
ground W. and the boys would bait their hooks with teal-guts or a piece
of buck meat, and in a very short time either the tackle was broken or a
fine fish landed. W. could never resist for long the temptation to bait a
hook with a small fish of ½ lb. or so, in the hope of catching that most
sporting and excellent fish the tiger or “capitaine.” It always ended
in his hooking a tiger, but it also ended in the complete loss of hook
and most of the line. No gear, however strong, seemed capable of holding
this fish. We often admired them as they leapt feet into the air when in
hot pursuit of some smaller fish. They presented such an air of activity
and energy on these occasions as to make the movements of running salmon
appear quite tame and slow in comparison. That they are equally good on
the table we had many opportunities of testing, as we always chose them
in preference to the others when buying from the natives, who catch them
in clever traps. We once had a “capitaine” served up with mayonnaise and
the most perfect wine; this was when we lunched with the Governor, and a
more delicious fish could not be imagined. We were told, as a tribute to
its excellent qualities, that it derived its name from the fact that it
was considered that no one below the rank of “capitaine” was worthy to
eat it.
Time accomplishes wonders even in Africa, and at last we were actually
about to enter the Bahr Aouck. We were deeply laden with foodstuffs,
ready for anything that might turn up. W. had a ·318 Mauser, a ·450 D.B.,
and a 12-bore shot-gun. I had a ·318 and a ·22. Stacks of ammunition
for these lay snugly packed in tins in the canoe hold. Then we had six
“boys,” all pretty expert with canoes by this time. We had these boys
in splendid order. They were of no particular tribe or caste—in fact,
they were all of different tribes or castes. We paid them well, but,
what was of far greater importance, we kept them in tip-top condition.
Living ourselves, as we were by this time, entirely upon native food, we
appreciated at their correct value the many and various grains, nuts,
oils, etc., and whatever we had our boys also shared. Fish and meat,
millet or maize meal, rice and ground-nuts, palm oil, sim-sim oil,
ground-nut meal and honey, all were to be found in the capacious hold of
our cargo canoe, and all at a trifling cost. Whenever we were compelled
to replenish our store of foodstuffs we killed a hippo or two, rolled it
up on a sand-bank, and immediately a market would spring up.
The consequence of this high living was a state of high efficiency and
contentment among the crew. As none of them had ever been with white men
except the cook, who had been with a German, they were all unspoiled and
all willing to do anything that turned up. The cooks were boys one day,
tusk-choppers the next, canoe carriers the next, and so on. Everybody had
to turn their hands to anything, and all were crew.
When, therefore, we sighted the junction of the Bahr Aouck with the
Shari, against whose sluggish current we had paddled so many weary miles,
we all felt keen and ready to tackle anything that might turn up. We had
been careful to keep our destination secret, so that when we actually
steered our canoes into the Bahr Aouck our boys had not the slightest
inkling of our intention to ascend this river. All being strangers to
this country they had never heard of the Bahr Aouck—or, indeed, of any
other of the many “bahrs” there. But had they known the name, through our
having mentioned that we were going there, it is almost certain that they
would have made enquiries among the natives we had already met with, and
that from them they would have received such dreadful reports as would
have led them to desert rather than penetrate the unknown. Consequently,
when we paddled vigorously into the swifter current of the Bahr Aouck
we were all a merry crew; the boys were merry because they did not know
where they were, and W. and I were merry because we did know where
we were, and also because the water which bore us at that moment was
obviously that of a considerable river, and we thought that if it did not
split up into many smaller streams we would go far, and perhaps discover
something worth while. I do not know what W. would have considered worth
while, as he never showed feeling of any sort and he did not tell me.
Although all this was quite new to him, one would have said, on seeing
him at this moment, that he must have been exploring unknown country all
his life and had grown tired of it. To me, the moment of our entry into
the Bahr Aouck was most exhilarating. I had visions of immense herds of
unsophisticated elephant with enormous ivory; perhaps new tribes, gold,
diamonds, stores of dead ivory waiting for someone to pick them up, new
animals, water-elephants, and a thousand and one other visions. As usual
with visions, none of these materialised.
[Illustration: NATIVE DECOYS: BUNDLES OF GRASS, THE ENDS WHITEWASHED,
STUCK ON STICKS. SHARI RIVER.]
[Illustration: WHISTLING TEAL AND LOCUST STORKS: BAHR AOUCK.]
[Illustration: ROLLING UP HIPPO.]
[Illustration: THE SMALL CANOE UP-STREAMING: BAHR AOUCK. THE PACKAGE IS
DRIED FISH.]
As we poled up-stream I took soundings. There were eight feet of water in
some places, in spite of it being the dry season. For the first few days
we saw very little game. A few kob and water buck, baboons and duiker.
Once we saw some fishing natives with their traps. They sold us some
excellent smoked fish, and told us that there was one village ahead of
us, but beyond that nothing. The next day we saw where a herd of elephant
had crossed the river some days before. Hippo now became more common, and
at one place where the river formed a large pool there must have been
about a hundred of them bobbing up and down. A mile or two further and
we came to the village mentioned by the fishermen. It was not actually
on the banks, but we knew we were close to it by the canoes and paths.
Here we camped, hoping to get some information of the river ahead of us.
This was not forthcoming to any extent. When asked, the natives generally
appeared uneasy, said they had never been up-stream, or muttered
something vague about bad people further on. All agreed, however, that
there were no more villages. This determined us to lay in a large cargo
of foodstuffs. In order to do this I dropped down-stream to the hippo
pool with the small Canadian, now empty. I paddled to a sand-spit which
stuck out conveniently into the pool. It was literally covered with
fowl of various kinds as we approached. From the sand-spit I proceeded
to shoot hippo in the brain, and had no difficulty in killing enough to
provide us with sufficient food for a month or two, when the meat had
been exchanged for flour, etc. Hippo sink to the bottom when shot in the
brain, remaining there for a variable time, depending on the temperature
of the water, the stage of fermentation reached by the stomach contents,
the inflation or otherwise of the lungs at the moment of death, and the
state of the river bottom. Generally this period ranges between twenty
minutes and one and a half hours. Shortly after the first carcase had
floated to the surface the natives began to arrive. Some of these I sent
off hot-foot to tell the whole village that there was meat and fat for
all who should bring food in exchange. Meanwhile the carcases were towed
to land and rolled up as soon as they floated. When the last had been so
dealt with the cutting up commenced, and when that was completed there
were already dozens of women waiting with calabashes of meal, etc., to
exchange for meat. Such a feast I dare say they had never seen before.
It is seldom that more than one hippo is killed at one time by native
methods, except on the Upper Nile, where they have a kind of grand battue
in which hundreds of canoes take part. Presently our market became very
big. No sooner did the natives see the size of the chunks of reeking beef
given in exchange for the various commodities than they rushed off to
their homes to bring something to barter. We obtained every conceivable
kind of native produce. Among the items was a canoe-load of smoked
fish. This must have weighed about 200 lb. and was bartered for half a
hippo. We also got some curious tobacco. Only the very small leaves and
the tobacco flowers were in this particular mixture. We both smoked it
regularly and became very fond of it. But it was very potent indeed, and
had a far more drug-like effect than ordinary tobacco.
[Illustration: HIPPOPOTAMUS IN THE SHALLOWS.]
[Illustration: W., IN THE SMALL CANOE, RUNS INTO A RISING HIPPO BUT DIGS
HER IN THE NECK WITH HIS PADDLE AND SHE DISAPPEARS WITH A SPLASH, NEARLY
SWAMPING THE CANOE.]
The slaughter of these hippo and the subsequent bartering had brought
us into touch with the natives very nicely indeed, and all were most
friendly. So much so was this the case that I ventured to approach one
of their canoe-men with the suggestion that he should accompany us
up-stream. Rather to my surprise he agreed to do so. Encouraged by this,
I suggested that perhaps he had a friend who might like to go with him.
He said that he thought one of his friends would go also. We were very
glad indeed to have these fellows. The first was quite a youth but a
good waterman, while the second was a hard-bitten man of middle age. I
thought he would make a good tracker for W. when we should reach elephant
country. He was not a waterman at all; in fact, he fell overboard from
the small canoe—which was W.’s—so often that I was obliged to put him in
the larger and more stable one.
When all was ready we pushed off, very deeply laden. All was now new
river ahead of us. As we progressed day by day hippo became more and more
numerous. In some places they formed almost a complete barrage across
the river. Sometimes it was ticklish work steering between them. Their
heads often came up quite close to the canoes, and then they stared at
us goggle-eyed with astonishment. Once W.’s canoe ran its stem on to
the neck of a rising hippo, the fore part being lifted clean out of the
water, canting over dangerously, and then let down with a whack as the
old hippo dived. They shipped a deal of water, but there was no damage
done. We soon found that if we kept on the shallow side of the pools we
ran less chance of bumping into them, our only danger then being from
hippo asleep on the bank suddenly waking up and rushing blindly towards
deep water. Had we ever had the ill luck to have been across their way, I
believe they would have rushed clean into or over us.
For many days we saw no sign of elephant. Kob and water buck were fairly
numerous on the banks, and whistling teal, guinea-fowl, Egyptian geese,
spoonbills and egrets were common, while inland giraffe, rhino, buffalo,
haartebeeste, topi, oribi, roan, and duiker were numerous. Lion were
frequently heard, and W. shot a fine male on the carcase of a hippo which
was pretty far gone. This hippo must have been wounded by man somewhere,
as it was full grown and quite beyond a lion’s ability to kill. Fish
became so unsophisticated as to take anything you liked to put on a hook,
and that right alongside the canoe. So tame were they that our boys used
to dangle buck gralloch in the water and spear the fish which immediately
swarmed round it. Why fish were so numerous I do not rightly understand.
It may have been because there were no natives, who, with their gigantic
traps, must destroy countless fish. A curious thing was that the enormous
“crocs.” we saw appeared to prefer buck to fish. One which we shot was
dragging a dead haartebeeste into the water. The haartebeeste was full
grown and had evidently been kept under water for some time. We often
spotted these monsters lying motionless in the grass, waiting for buck to
come along, I imagine. Another large crocodile whom we were tempted to
photograph was taken by W. at only about 8 yds. range. He had sustained
damage to one eye—the one nearest the photographer—and probably that was
why W. could approach him so closely.
So far we had not met with great numbers of tsetse. But now we began to
reach a very flat country which was evidently all under water in the wet
season. Half submerged evergreen forests became more and more common.
These cool, damp forests were full of tsetse, and in a few days we were
overjoyed to find that elephant frequented them in goodly numbers.
Buffalo also seemed fond of them. Had it not been for the swarms of
tsetse I think we would have found these groves of evergreen standing
full of elephant and buffalo. As it was they came to them only by
night, withdrawing to the open bush and dry grass lands in the daytime.
Only once did we actually see elephant from the canoes in the daytime,
although we frequently did so by night.
[Illustration: SPUR-WINGED GEESE: SHARI RIVER.]
[Illustration: MALE EGYPTIAN GEESE IN BREEDING SEASON: BAHR AOUCK.]
One day we saw ahead of us what appeared like pure white trees. When we
drew near we saw that the white on the trees was caused by a colony of
egrets sitting on their nests, the surrounding foliage being covered
with their droppings. A curious fact in connection with this colony was
that when we repassed it on our way down-stream some six weeks after,
white spoonbills had taken over the nests and were busy sitting on them,
while their earlier occupants, the egrets, were all over the sand-banks,
teaching their half-grown progeny how to catch fish, etc.
At the time of our up-stream journey the Egyptian goose was also
breeding. On every sand-bank there were scores of ganders, while the
geese were hidden away in the vegetation, sitting on their nests. These
we found, but always with great difficulty, so well were they hidden.
Fly and game became more and more plentiful as we journeyed on. When
I speak of fly I mean tsetse; there were other flies in plenty, but
they appeared of no importance beside the fiendish tsetse. We began
to see buffalo now, and one day we saw where the river bank had been
trampled down. As we approached it became clear that a very large herd
of elephants had been there. It was soon evident that the tracks were
quite recent, having been made the night before. We found a nice site
for camp on an island, where our fires would not be seen by elephant
revisiting their drinking place. We hoped that they would come in the
night, and sure enough they did so, soon after sundown—such a splashing
and rumbling, trumpeting and crashing. Lions were also busy, roaring
on both sides of the river. It was a busy spot and one of our happiest
camps. From it as base we hunted in all directions. And what a long way
the elephant used to go in the daytime from the river. They would come
to the river just after sundown when the flies were quiet. There they
would spend the night, crashing the evergreen gallery-forest, plastering
themselves with mud as a protection against fly on the following day,
eating acres of the still green river grass, and generally enjoying
themselves. It must be remembered that at this season everything a few
yards back from the river is burnt up either by sun or fire. The dry
season in these tropical parts is the winter of the Northern Hemisphere,
in its effects upon vegetation. Instead of dying off the grass is burnt
off. The grass fires wither the leaves on the trees and they fall
immediately after. All temporary water, such as pools, puddles, etc.,
dries up. Fly desert the dry parts and congregate in myriads in the shade
of the river forest. But they will follow man or beast for miles into
the dry country. It is astounding to look behind one as one leaves the
vicinity of the river. Behind each man there is a small cloud of tsetse;
they keep about two or three feet from the ground. Each traveller keeps
flicking away fly that settle on the man in front of him. It is rather
startling at first to receive a hard slap on the back when one is not
expecting it. Fly generally got us under the brims of our hats and, when
near to buffalo, one would be bitten every thirty seconds. Lucky for us
that there were no natives about with sleeping sickness. During the dry
season there is not much for elephant to eat away from the river. They
pick up a fair lot of tamarind fruit, dig up roots, and chew aloes and
sansivera fibre, spitting out the fibre in balls. But it is on the river
that they depend for the bulk of their green food and water, and, were it
not for fly, they would doubtless remain there day and night.
Early on the following morning W. and I separated, he taking one bank
while I took the other. I tracked a large herd back from the river for
about five hours’ fairly slow going, as the tracking was difficult. Dry
season tracking is difficult because the ground becomes so hard, also
because all the old tracks remain, as there is no rain to obliterate them.
About fifteen miles back from their drinking place there were signs of
the elephant having left their huge and well-worn trails, scattering
right and left into small groups, the better to find their scanty food.
We saw plenty of fresh rhino spoor, but this was one of the few days upon
which we did not encounter them in the flesh.
[Illustration: SKY BLACK WITH WILDFOWL.]
[Illustration: RHINO NEARLY HAVE OUR COOK.]
We had been disentangling the trail of a large bull and had brought it,
through the scores of other tracks, right from the river bank. We were
rewarded presently by sighting him by himself, wandering gently on. The
country was altogether in favour of the rifle, and he had no chance.
But after the shot I was astonished to see elephant emerge from the
bushy parts, strolling aimlessly about, apparently quite unscared by the
sound of a rifle. I went through crowds and crowds of them, getting
a bull here and there. It was many years since I had seen elephant so
unacquainted with firearms. They appeared to take the crack of the ·318
for the crack of a breaking tree-stem or something of that sort.
As our hunting operations were all rather similar to the above, except
in result, I will pass them over and merely remark on the extraordinary
numbers of rhino we met. They were so stupid and so numerous as to be
a perfect nuisance. On sighting one we generally tried to avoid him by
making a detour, but even then they would sometimes follow us. On several
occasions our boys got into trouble with them and they had to be shot
in order to avoid accidents. Once, on leaving camp for a few days’ tour
in the bush, we started a big cow and a bull from the river bush. They
trotted away and I thought no more about them. About an hour afterwards
I heard a frantic shout behind me. I looked round, and there was my boy
legging it straight towards me, with our two friends of the morning close
behind him. The big cow was leading and was quite close to the boy. They
were all going their hardest, and really appeared bent on mischief, so I
was compelled to shoot the cow and, shortly afterwards, the bull also,
as he went barging stupidly about. I sent afterwards for the horns of
these rhino when I thought they would be sufficiently rotten to disengage
easily. The boy who went for them found the bodies in the possession of
three lions, which refused to budge when shouted at. We had provided the
boy with a rifle. He said that he fired it at the lions, who took no
notice of it, but continued to growl at him. He then had another shot,
which hit one of them. They all withdrew a little distance, when the
boy had another shot at the wounded one and killed him. He said that
the others remained about in the vicinity while he skinned the lion and
pulled off the horns of the now putrid rhino.
Besides rhino there were many lions, some of immense size, although with
poor manes. Although I knew the Athi Plains in British East Africa in the
old days, and many other parts of Africa, I have never seen such numbers
of lions. I believe I am correct in stating that every carcase of
elephant that we shot during the entire time was found in the possession
of at least one lion when visited for the purpose of drawing the tusks.
The greatest number that I personally saw round a carcase was five, but
when I camped a few hundred yards to windward of some dead elephants we
all had a very lively time indeed. Some boys had meat hung up and drying
round huge fires too close, as it turned out, to the dead animals. I am
safe in saying that from one hour after sundown until one hour before
dawn nothing could approach the carcases because of the lions about them.
Hyenas and jackals were constantly trying to sneak up to them, only to
be chased off with the most terrific growls and rushes by the lions. So
impertinent did they become that eventually they occupied with impunity
one of the carcases which lay only 15 yds. from the nearest fire. Here
they were clearly visible to the boys in the meat camp, and when they
first came the boys had tried to drive them off by throwing burning
sticks at them. This offensive was so effectually countered by the lions
as to cause it to cease at once. The arrival of the first firebrand was
greeted with such an appalling outburst of growls, snarls, and showing
of teeth as veritably to scare the throwers almost to the point of
flight. The lions were not again molested and pursued their scavenging
in peace. I spent some days at this spot, as it held the only water for
miles around, and one could hear the lions approaching each evening. They
commenced to roar about an hour before sundown and continued until they
arrived. Where they all disappeared to in the daytime was a mystery,
though dogs would have shown them.
[Illustration: MUSGUM VILLAGE: INUNDATED AREA.]
[Illustration: MUD HUTS: MUSGUM.
_Constructed without wooden supports of any kind, and with holes in the
top for exit during floods._]
This particular camp was also remarkable for the extraordinary number
of marabou storks. I had often before seen hundreds of these huge birds
collect on a carcase, and I had seen large numbers assembled for the fish
which were left high and dry by a receding river, but here they were
literally in tens of thousands. And what digestions they have! Huge lumps
of elephant offal are snapped up and swallowed. Then when the interior
mechanism has received all that it can handle, the foul provender is
passed into the great flesh-red sack which depends from the neck. This
sack bulges and lengthens until it nearly touches the ground. But what
a weary air they have as they flap slowly and heavily away, completely
gorged, to a convenient perch, there to digest the putrid mass. As
scavengers I should say that five or six marabou would about equal a
full-blown incinerator.
As we were so short-handed we found it impossible to cut out the tusks
of the elephant we got. Consequently we were obliged to leave them
until the action of putrification loosened them in the socket, when
they could be drawn. We found that four days were required before this
could be done. On the third day the topmost tusk would generally come
away, but the under one remained fast. It was owing to this fact that
some of our little party had to visit the carcases when they were in a
highly advanced state of putrification, and they were invariably found
in the possession of one or more lions. Why the lions were such dirty
feeders was not apparent. The whole country was seething with game; kob
and haartebeeste, giraffe, buffalo, topi and smaller antelope were all
numerous. Nearly all cover, such as grass, was burnt off, and it is
possible that this made it more difficult for lions to kill.
The skins of these lions were of a peculiarly dark olive tinge for the
most part, with the scanty mane of a slightly lighter tint. Some of them
were of immense size, and all that we shot were in good condition.
One day our Kabba boy divulged the fact that he had been up the river
before. He had come at high water with some companions to gather the
leaves of the Borassus palm for making mats. He said that the highest
point they had reached lay about a day’s travel ahead of us, and then we
should reach a country of palms.
We did so. The whole country became covered with these beautiful palms.
The huge fruit hung in dozens from the crowns, while the vultures were
nesting among the leaves. As our food consisted chiefly of meat and
grain, anything in the shape of fruit was eagerly eaten. We used to
stew these palm fruits, each the size of a grape fruit. Although the
flesh was almost too stringy to swallow, the juice mixed with honey was
excellent.
As we plunged along up-stream one day, what did we see in mid-stream
ahead of us but a floating hippo spear, travelling slowly along with the
current towards us. These spears are so constructed that the buoyancy of
the shank is sufficient to float about one-third of the spear standing
straight up out of the water. This enables the hunter to recover his
spear when he misses a hippo.