A day with the howartis--A hippo's gallant fight--Abou Do leaves
us--Three yards from a lion--Days of delight--A lion's furious
rage--Astounding courage of a horse.
A LITTLE before sunrise I accompanied the howartis, or
hippopotamus-hunters, for a day's sport. At length we arrived at a large
pool in which were several sand-banks covered with rushes, and many
rocky islands. Among these rocks was a herd of hippopotami, consisting
of an old bull and several cows. A young hippo was standing, like an
ugly little statue, on a protruding rock, while another infant stood
upon its mother's back that listlessly floated on the water.
This was an admirable place for the hunters. They desired me to lie
down, and they crept into the jungle out of view of the river. I
presently observed them stealthily descending the dry bed about two
hundred paces above the spot where the hippos were basking behind the
rocks. They entered the river and swam down the centre of the stream
toward the rock. This was highly exciting. The hippos were quite
unconscious of the approaching danger, as, steadily and rapidly, the
hunters floated down the strong current. They neared the rock, and both
heads disappeared as they purposely sank out of view; in a few seconds
later they reappeared at the edge of the rock upon which the young hippo
stood. It would be difficult to say which started first, the astonished
young hippo into the water, or the harpoons from the hands of the
howartis! It was the affair of a moment. The hunters dived as soon as
they had hurled their harpoons, and, swimming for some distance under
water, they came to the surface, and hastened to the shore lest an
infuriated hippopotamus should follow them. One harpoon had missed; the
other had fixed the bull of the herd, at which it had been surely aimed.
This was grand sport! The bull was in the greatest fury, and rose to the
surface, snorting and blowing in his impotent rage; but as the ambatch
float was exceedingly large, and this naturally accompanied his
movements, he tried to escape from his imaginary persecutor, and dived
constantly, only to find his pertinacious attendant close to him upon
regaining the surface. This was not to last long; the howartis were
in earnest, and they at once called their party, who, with two of the
aggageers, Abou Do and Suleiman, were near at hand. These men arrived
with the long ropes that form a portion of the outfit of hippo hunting.
The whole party now halted on the edge of the river, while two men swam
across with one end of the long rope. Upon gaining the opposite bank,
I observed that a second rope was made fast to the middle of the main
line. Thus upon our side we held the ends of two ropes, while on the
opposite side they had only one; accordingly, the point of junction of
the two ropes in the centre formed an acute angle. The object of this
was soon practically explained. Two men upon our side now each held a
rope, and one of these walked about ten yards before the other. Upon
both sides of the river the people now advanced, dragging the rope on
the surface of the water until they reached the ambatch float that was
swimming to and fro, according to the movements of the hippopotamus
below. By a dexterous jerk of the main line the float was now placed
between the two ropes, and it was immediately secured in the acute angle
by bringing together the ends of these ropes on our side.
The men on the opposite bank now dropped their line, and our men hauled
in upon the ambatch float that was held fast between the ropes. Thus
cleverly made sure, we quickly brought a strain upon the hippo, and,
although I have had some experience in handling big fish, I never knew
one to pull so lustily as the amphibious animal that we now alternately
coaxed and bullied. He sprang out of the water, gnashed his huge jaws,
snorted with tremendous rage, and lashed the river into foam. He
then dived, and foolishly approached us beneath the water. We quickly
gathered in the slack line, and took a round turn upon a large rock,
within a few feet of the river. The hippo now rose to the surface,
about ten yards from the hunters, and, jumping half out of the water, he
snapped his great jaws together, endeavoring to catch the rope; but at
the same instant two harpoons were launched into his side. Disdaining
retreat, and maddened with rage, the furious animal charged from the
depths of the river, and, gaining a footing, he reared his bulky form
from the surface, came boldly upon the sand-bank, and attacked the
hunters open-mouthed.
He little knew his enemy. They were not the men to fear a pair of gaping
jaws, armed with a deadly array of tusks; but half a dozen lances were
hurled at him, some entering his mouth from a distance of five or six
paces. At the same time several men threw handfuls of sand into his
enormous eyes. This baffled him more than the lances; he crunched the
shafts between his powerful jaws like straws, but he was beaten by the
sand, and, shaking his huge head, he retreated to the river. During his
sally upon the shore two of the hunters had secured the ropes of the
harpoons that had been fastened in his body just before his charge. He
was now fixed by three of these deadly instruments; but suddenly one
rope gave way, having been bitten through by the enraged beast, who
was still beneath the water. Immediately after this he appeared on
the surface, and, without a moment's hesitation, he once more charged
furiously from the water straight at the hunters, with his huge mouth
open to such an extent that he could have accommodated two inside
passengers. Suleiman was wild with delight, and springing forward lance
in hand, he drove it against the head of the formidable animal, but
without effect. At the same time Abou Do met the hippo sword in hand,
reminding me of Perseus slaying the sea-monster that would devour
Andromeda; but the sword made a harmless gash, and the lance, already
blunted against the rocks, refused to penetrate the tough hide. Once
more handfuls of sand were pelted upon his face, and, again repulsed by
this blinding attack, he was forced to retire to his deep hole and wash
it from his eyes.
Six times during the fight the valiant bull hippo quitted his watery
fortress and charged resolutely at his pursuers. He had broken several
of their lances in his jaws, other lances had been hurled, and, falling
upon the rocks, they were blunted and would not penetrate. The fight had
continued for three hours, and the sun was about to set; accordingly the
hunters begged me to give him the COUP DE GRACE, as they had hauled him
close to the shore, and they feared he would sever the rope with his
teeth. I waited for a good opportunity, when he boldly raised his head
from water about three yards from the rifle, and a bullet from the
little Fletcher between the eyes closed the last act. This spot was not
far from the pyramidical hill beneath which I had fixed our camp, to
which I returned after an amusing day's sport.
The next morning I started to the mountains to explore the limit that I
had proposed for my expedition on the Settite. The Arabs had informed me
that a river of some importance descended from the mountains and joined
the main stream about twelve miles from our camp. In about three hours
and a half we arrived at Hor Mehetape, the stream that the Arabs
had reported. Although a powerful torrent during the rains, it was
insignificant as one of the tributaries to the Settite, as the breadth
did not exceed twenty-five yards. At this season it was nearly dry, and
at no time did it appear to exceed the depth of ten or twelve feet. It
was merely a rapid mountain torrent. But we were now among the mountains
whose drainage causes the sudden rise of the Atbara and the Nile.
Abou Do and Suleiman had lately given us some trouble, especially the
former, whose covetous nature had induced him to take much more than his
share of the hides of rhinoceros and other animals shot. The horses of
the aggageers had, moreover, been lamed by reckless riding, and Abou Do
coolly proposed that I should lend them horses. Having a long journey
before me, I refused, and they became discontented. It was time to part,
and I ordered him and his people to return to Geera. As Taher Sherrif's
party had disagreed with Abou Do some time previously, and had left us,
we were now left without aggageers.
On the following day I succeeded in killing a buffalo, which I ordered
my men, after they had flayed it, to leave as a bait for lions.
That night we were serenaded by the roaring of these animals in all
directions, one of them having visited our camp, around which we
discovered his footprints on the following morning. I accordingly took
Taher Noor, with Hadji Ali and Hassan, two of my trusty Tokrooris, and
went straight to the spot where I had left the carcass of the buffalo.
As I had expected, nothing remained--not even a bone. The ground was
much trampled, and tracks of lions were upon the sand; but the body of
the buffalo had been dragged into the thorny jungle. I was determined,
if possible, to get a shot; therefore I followed carefully the track
left by the carcass, which had formed a path in the withered grass.
Unfortunately the lions had dragged the buffalo down wind; therefore,
after I had arrived within the thick nabbuk and high grass, I came to
the conclusion that my only chance would be to make a long circuit, and
to creep up wind through the thorns, until I should be advised by my
nose of the position of the carcass, as it would by this time be in a
state of putrefaction, and the lions would most probably be with the
body. Accordingly I struck off to my left, and continuing straight
forward for some hundred yards, I again struck into the thick jungle and
came round to the wind. Success depended on extreme caution; therefore I
advised my three men to keep close behind me with the spare rifles, as I
carried my single-barrelled Beattie. This rifle was extremely accurate,
therefore I had chosen it for this close work, when I expected to get a
shot at the eye or forehead of a lion crouching in the bush.
Softly and with difficulty I crept forward, followed closely by my men,
through the high withered grass, beneath the dense green nabbuk bushes,
peering through the thick covert, with the nerves braced up to full
pitch, and the finger on the trigger ready for any emergency. We had
thus advanced for about half an hour, during which I frequently applied
my nose to within a foot of the ground to catch the scent, when a sudden
puff of wind brought the unmistakable smell of decomposing flesh. For
the moment I halted, and, looking round to my men, I made a sign that
we were near to the carcass, and that they were to be ready with the
rifles. Again I crept gently forward, bending and sometimes crawling
beneath the thorns to avoid the slightest noise. As I approached the
scent became stronger, until I at length felt that I must be close to
the cause.
This was highly exciting. Fully prepared for a quick shot, I stealthily
crept on. A tremendous roar in the dense thorns within a few feet of me
suddenly brought my rifle to the shoulder. Almost in the same instant I
observed the three-quarter figure of either a lion or a lioness within
three yards of me, on the other side of the bush under which I had
been creeping. The foliage concealed the head, but I could almost have
touched the shoulder with my rifle. Much depended upon the bullet, and I
fired exactly through the shoulder. Another tremendous roar! and a
crash in the bushes as the animal made a bound forward was succeeded
immediately by a similar roar, as another lion took the exact position
of the last, and stood wondering at the report of the rifle, and seeking
for the cause of the intrusion. This was a grand lion with a shaggy
mane; but my rifle was unloaded, and, keeping my eyes fixed on the
beast, I stretched my hand back for a spare rifle. The lion remained
standing, but gazing up wind with his head raised, snuffing in the air
for a scent of the enemy. No rifle was put in my hand. I looked back for
an instant, and saw my Tokrooris faltering about five yards behind me. I
looked daggers at them, gnashing my teeth and shaking my fist. They saw
the lion, and Taher Noor snatching a rifle from Hadji Ali was just about
to bring it; when Hassan, ashamed, ran forward. The lion disappeared
at the same moment. Never was such a fine chance lost through
the indecision of the gun bearers! I made a vow never to carry a
single-barrelled rifle again when hunting large game. If I had had my
dear little Fletcher 24 1 should have nailed the lion to a certainty.
However, there was not much time for reflection. Where was the first
lion? Some remains of the buffalo lay upon my right, and I expected to
find the lion most probably crouching in the thorns somewhere near us.
Having reloaded, I took one of my Reilly No. 10 rifles and listened
attentively for a sound. Presently I heard within a few yards a low
growl. Taher Noor drew his sword and, with his shield before him, he
searched for the lion, while I crept forward toward the sound, which was
again repeated. A low roar, accompanied by a rush in the jungle, showed
us a glimpse of the lion as he bounded off within ten or twelve yards;
but I had no chance to fire. Again the low growl was repeated, and upon
quietly creeping toward the spot I saw a splendid animal crouched upon
the ground amid the withered and broken grass. The lioness lay dying
with the bullet wound in the shoulder. Occasionally in her rage she bit
her own paw violently, and then struck and clawed the ground. A pool of
blood lay by her side. She was about ten yards from us, and I instructed
my men to throw a clod of earth at her (there were no stones), to prove
whether she could rise, while I stood ready with the rifle. She merely
replied with a dull roar, and I terminated her misery by a ball through
the head. She was a beautiful animal. The patch of the bullet was
sticking in the wound. She was shot through both shoulders, and as we
were not far from the tent I determined to have her brought to camp
upon a camel as an offering to my wife. Accordingly I left my Tokrooris,
while I went with Taher Noor to fetch a camel.
On our road through the thick jungle I was startled by a rush close
to me. For the moment I thought it was a lion, but almost at the same
instant I saw a fine nellut dashing away before me, and I killed it
immediately with a bullet through the back of the neck. This was great
luck, and we now required two camels, as in two shots I had killed a
lioness and a nellut (A. Strepsiceros).
We remained for some time at our delightful camp at Delladilla. Every
day, from sunrise to sunset, I was either on foot or in the saddle,
without rest, except upon Sundays. As our camp was full of meat, either
dried or in the process of drying in festoons upon the trees, we had
been a great attraction to the beasts of prey, which constantly prowled
around our thorn fence during the night. One night in particular a lion
attempted to enter, but had been repulsed by the Tokrooris, who pelted
him with firebrands. My people woke me up and begged me to shoot him;
but as it was perfectly impossible to fire correctly through the hedge
of thorns, I refused to be disturbed, but promised to hunt for him on
the following day. Throughout the entire night the lion prowled around
the camp, growling and uttering his peculiar guttural sigh. Not one of
my people slept, as they declared he would bound into the camp and take
somebody unless they kept up the watch-fires and drove him away with
brands. The next day before sunrise I called Hassan and Hadji Ali,
whom I lectured severely upon their cowardice on a former occasion, and
received their promise to follow me to death. I intrusted them with my
two Reillys No. 10, and with my little Fletcher in hand I determined to
spend the whole day in searching every thicket of the forest for lions,
as I felt convinced that the animal that had disturbed us during the
night was concealed somewhere within the neighboring jungle.
The whole day passed fruitlessly. I had crept through the thickest
thorns in vain; having abundance of meat, I had refused the most
tempting shots at buffaloes and large antelopes, as I had devoted
myself exclusively to lions. I was much disappointed, as the evening had
arrived without a shot having been fired, and as the sun had nearly set
I wandered slowly toward home. Passing through alternate open glades
of a few yards' width, hemmed in on all sides by thick jungle, I was
carelessly carrying my rifle upon my shoulder, as I pushed my way
through the opposing thorns, when a sudden roar, just before me, at once
brought the rifle upon full cock, and I saw a magnificent lion standing
in the middle of the glade, about ten yards from me. He had been lying
on the ground, and had started to his feet upon hearing me approach
through the jungle. For an instant he stood in an attitude of attention,
as we were hardly visible; but at the same moment I took a quick but
sure shot with the little Fletcher. He gave a convulsive bound, but
rolled over backward; before he could recover himself I fired the
left-hand barrel.
It was a glorious sight. I had advanced a few steps into the glade, and
Hassan had quickly handed me a spare rifle, while Taher Noor stood by
me sword in hand. The lion in the greatest fury, with his shaggy mane
bristling in the air, roared with death-like growls, as open-mouthed he
endeavored to charge upon us; but he dragged his hind-quarters upon the
ground, and I saw immediately that the little Fletcher had broken his
spine. In his tremendous exertions to attack he rolled over and over,
gnashing his horrible jaws and tearing holes in the sandy ground at each
blow of his tremendous paws that would have crushed a man's skull like
an egg-shell. Seeing that he was hors de combat I took it coolly, as it
was already dusk, and the lion having rolled into a dark and thick bush
I thought it would be advisable to defer the final attack, as he would
be dead before morning. We were not ten minutes' walk from the camp,
at which we quickly arrived, and my men greatly rejoiced at the
discomfiture of their enemy, as they were convinced that he was the same
lion that had attempted to enter the zareeba.
On the following morning before sunrise I started with nearly all my
people and a powerful camel, with the intention of bringing the lion
home entire. I rode my horse Tetel, who had frequently shown great
courage, and I wished to prove whether he would advance to the body of a
lion.
Upon arrival near the spot which we supposed to have been the scene
of the encounter, we were rather puzzled, as there was nothing to
distinguish the locality; one place exactly resembled another, as the
country was flat and sandy, interspersed with thick jungle of green
nabbuk. We accordingly spread out to beat for the lion. Presently Hadji
Ali cried out, "There he lies, dead!" and I immediately rode to the
spot together with the people. A tremendous roar greeted us as the lion
started to his fore-feet, and with his beautiful mane erect and his
great hazel eyes flashing fire he gave a succession of deep short roars,
and challenged us to fight. This was a grand picture. He looked like
a true lord of the forest; but I pitied the poor brute, as he was
helpless, and although his spirit was game to the last, his strength was
paralyzed by a broken back.
It was a glorious opportunity for the horse. At the first unexpected
roar the camel had bolted with its rider. The horse had for a moment
started on one side, and the men had scattered; but in an instant I had
reined Tetel up, and I now rode straight toward the lion, who courted
the encounter about twenty paces distant. I halted exactly opposite the
noble-looking beast, who, seeing me in advance of the party, increased
his rage and growled deeply, fixing his glance upon the horse. I now
patted Tetel on the neck and spoke to him coaxingly. He gazed intently
at the lion, erected his mane, and snorted, but showed no signs of
retreat. "Bravo! old boy!" I said, and, encouraging him by caressing his
neck with my hand, I touched his flank gently with my heel. I let him
just feel my hand upon the rein, and with a "Come along, old lad," Tetel
slowly but resolutely advanced step by step toward the infuriated lion,
that greeted him with continued growls. The horse several times snorted
loudly and stared fixedly at the terrible face before him; but as I
constantly patted and coaxed him he did not refuse to advance. I checked
him when within about six yards of the lion.
This would have made a magnificent picture, as the horse, with
astounding courage, faced the lion at bay. Both animals kept their eyes
fixed upon each other, the one beaming with rage, the other cool with
determination. This was enough. I dropped the reins upon his neck; it
was a signal that Tetel perfectly understood, and he stood firm as a
rock, for he knew that I was about to fire. I took aim at the head of
the glorious but distressed lion, and a bullet from the little Fletcher
dropped him dead. Tetel never flinched at a shot. I now dismounted,
and, having patted and coaxed the horse, I led him up to the body of the
lion, which I also patted, and then gave my hand to the horse to smell.
He snorted once or twice, and as I released my hold of the reins and
left him entirely free, he slowly lowered his head and sniffed the mane
of the dead lion. He then turned a few paces upon one side and commenced
eating the withered grass beneath the nabbuk bushes.
My Arabs were perfectly delighted with this extraordinary instance of
courage exhibited by the horse. I had known that the beast was disabled,
but Tetel had advanced boldly toward the angry jaws of a lion that
appeared about to spring. The camel was now brought to the spot and
blindfolded, while we endeavored to secure the lion upon its back.
As the camel knelt, it required the united exertions of eight men,
including myself, to raise the ponderous animal and to secure it across
the saddle.
Although so active and cat-like in its movements, a full-grown lion
weighs about five hundred and fifty pounds. Having secured it we shortly
arrived in camp. The COUP D'OEIL was beautiful, as the camel entered the
enclosure with the shaggy head and massive paws of the dead lion hanging
upon one flank, while the tail nearly descended to the ground upon the
opposite side. It was laid at full length before my wife, to whom
the claws were dedicated as a trophy to be worn around the neck as a
talisman. Not only are the claws prized by the Arabs, but the mustache
of the lion is carefully preserved and sewn in a leather envelope, to be
worn as an amulet; such a charm is supposed to protect the wearer from
the attacks of wild animals.
We were now destined to be deprived of two members of the party. Mahomet
had become simply unbearable, and he was so impertinent that I was
obliged to take a thin cane from one of the Arabs and administer a
little physical advice. An evil spirit possessed the man, and he bolted
off with some of the camel men who were returning to Geera with dried
meat.
Our great loss was Barrake. She had persisted in eating the fruit of
the hegleek, although she had suffered from dysentery upon several
occasions. She was at length attacked with congestion of the liver. My
wife took the greatest care of her, and for weeks she had given her
the entire produce of the goats, hoping that milk would keep up her
strength; but she died after great suffering, and we buried the poor
creature, and moved our camp.