WE VISIT A NATURAL MENAGERIE, SEE WONDERFUL SIGHTS, AND MEET WITH
STRANGE ADVENTURES.
We observed, on this journey, that the elephants which we met with in
our farthest north point were considerably smaller than those farther to
the south, yet though smaller animals, their tusks were much larger then
those of the south. The weight of those tusks varied from twenty to
fifty pounds, and I saw one that was actually upwards of one hundred
pounds in weight--equal, in fact, to the weight of a big boy or a little
man. Such tusks, however, were rare.
At nights, when we encamped near to a river or pool of water, we saw
immense numbers of elephants come down to drink and enjoy themselves.
They seemed, in fact, to be intoxicated with delight, if not with water;
for they screamed with joy, and filling their trunks with water, spurted
it over themselves and each other in copious showers. Of course, we
never disturbed them on such occasions, for we came to the conclusion
that it would be the height of barbarity and selfishness to spoil the
pleasure of so many creatures merely for the sake of a shot.
Frequently we were wont to go after our supper to one of those ponds,
when we chanced to be in the immediate neighbourhood of one, and lying
concealed among the bushes, watch by the light of the moon the strange
habits and proceedings of the wild creatures that came there to drink.
The hours thus passed were to me the most interesting by far that I
spent in Africa. There was something so romantic in the kind of
scenery, in the dim mysterious light, and in the grand troops of wild
creatures that came there in all the pith and fire of untamed freedom to
drink. It was like visiting a natural menagerie on the most magnificent
scale; for in places where water is scarce any pool that may exist is
the scene of constant and ever-changing visits during the entire night.
In fact, I used to find it almost impossible to tear myself away,
although I knew that repose was absolutely needful, in order to enable
me to continue the journey on the succeeding day, and I am quite certain
that had not Peterkin and Jack often dragged me off in a jocular way by
main force, I should have remained there all night, and have fallen
asleep probably in my ambush.
One night of this kind that we passed I shall never forget. It was
altogether a remarkable and tremendously exciting night; and as it is a
good type of the style of night entertainment to be found in that wild
country, I shall describe it.
It happened on a Saturday night. We were then travelling through a
rather dry district, and had gone a whole day without tasting water. As
evening approached we came, to our satisfaction, to a large pond of
pretty good water, into which we ran knee-deep, and filling our caps
with water, drank long and repeated draughts. Then we went into a piece
of jungle about a quarter of a mile distant, and made our encampment,
intending to rest there during the whole of the Sabbath.
I may mention here that it was our usual custom to rest on the Sabbath
days. This we did because we thought it right, and we came ere long to
know that it was absolutely needful; for on this journey southward we
all agreed that as life and death might depend on the speed with which
we travelled, we were quite justified in continuing our journey on the
Sabbath. But we found ourselves at the end of the second week so
terribly knocked up that we agreed to devote the whole of the next
Sabbath to repose. This we did accordingly, and found the utmost
benefit from it; and we could not avoid remarking, in reference to this
on the care and tenderness of our heavenly Father, who has so arranged
that obedience to His command should not only bring a peculiar blessing
to our souls, but, so to speak, a natural and inevitable advantage to
our bodies. These reflections seemed to me to throw some light on the
passage, "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath."
But as this is not the place for theological disquisition, I shall not
refer further to that subject.
Not having, then, to travel on the following day, we made up our minds
to spend an hour or two in a place of concealment near the margin of
this pond; and I secretly resolved that I would spend the _whole_ night
there with my note-book (for the moon, we knew, would be bright), and
make a soft pillow of leaves on which I might drop and go to sleep when
my eyes refused any longer to keep open.
The moon had just begun to rise when we finished our suppers and
prepared to go to our post of observation. We took our rifles with us
of course, for although we did not intend to shoot, having more than
sufficient food already in camp, we could not tell but that at any
moment those weapons might be required for the defence of our lives.
Makarooroo had been too long accustomed to see wild animals to
understand the pleasure we enjoyed in merely staring at them, so he was
left in charge of our camp.
"Now, then," said Peterkin, as we left the encampment, "hurrah, for the
menagerie!"
"You may well call it that," said Jack, "for there's no lack of
variety."
"Are we to shoot?" inquired Peterkin.
"Better not, I think. We don't require meat, and there is no use in
murdering the poor things. What a splendid scene!"
We halted to enjoy the view for a few seconds. The forest out of which
we had emerged bordered an extensive plain, which was dotted here and
there with scattered groups of trees, which gave to the country an
exceedingly rich aspect. In the midst of these the pond lay glittering
in the soft moonlight like a sheet of silver. It was surrounded on
three sides by low bushes and a few trees. On the side next to us it
was open and fully exposed to view. The moonlight was sufficiently
bright to render every object distinctly visible, yet not so bright as
to destroy the pleasant feeling of mysterious solemnity that pervaded
the whole scene. It was wonderfully beautiful. I felt almost as if I
had reached a new world.
Continuing our walk we quickly gained the bushes that fringed the margin
of the pool, which was nowhere more than thirty yards broad, and on our
arrival heard the hoofs of several animals that we had scared away
clattering on the ground as they retreated.
"There they go already," cried Jack; "now let us look for a hillock of
some kind on which to take up our position."
"We shall not have to look far," said I, "for here seems a suitable spot
ready at our hand."
"Your eyes are sharp to-night, Ralph," observed Peterkin; "the place is
splendid, so let's to work."
Laying down our rifles, we drew our hunting-knives, and began to cut
down some of the underwood on the top of a small hillock that rose a
little above the surrounding bushes, and commanded a clear view of the
entire circumference of the pond. We selected this spot for the double
reason that it was a good point of observation and a safe retreat, as
animals coming to the pond to drink, from whatever quarter they might
arrive, would never think of ascending a hillock covered with bushes, if
they could pass round it.
Having cleared a space sufficiently large to hold us--leaving, however,
a thin screen of shrubs in front through which we intended to peep--we
strewed the ground with leaves, and lay down to watch with our loaded
rifles close beside us. We felt certain of seeing a good many animals,
for even during the process of preparing our unlace of retreat several
arrived, and were scared away by the noise we made.
Presently we heard footsteps approaching.
"There's something," whispered Peterkin.
"Ay," returned Jack. "What I like about this sort o' thing is your
uncertainty as to what may turn up. It's like deep-sea fishing. Hist!
look out."
The steps were rapid. Sometimes they clattered over what appeared to be
pebbly ground, then they became muffled as the animal crossed a grassy
spot; at last it trotted out of the shade of the bushes directly
opposite to us into the moonlight, and showed itself to be a beautiful
little antelope of the long-horned kind, with a little fawn by its side.
The two looked timidly round for a few seconds, and snuffed the air as
if they feared concealed enemies, and then, trotting into the water,
slaked their thirst together. I felt as great pleasure in seeing them
take a long, satisfactory draught as if I had been swallowing it myself,
and hoped they would continue there for some time; but they had barely
finished when the rapid gallop of several animals was heard, and scared
them away instantly.
The newcomers were evidently heavy brutes, for their tread was loud and
quite distinct, as compared with the steps of the antelopes. A few
seconds sufficed to disclose them to our expectant eyes. A large herd
of giraffes trotted to the water's edge and began to drink. It was a
splendid sight to behold these graceful creatures stooping to drink, and
then raising their heads haughtily to a towering height as they looked
about from side to side. In the course of a couple of hours we saw
elands, springboks, gnus, leopards, and an immense variety of wild
creatures, some of which fawned on and played with each other, while
others fought and bellowed until the woods resounded with the din.
While we were silently enjoying the sight, and I attempting to make a
few entries in my note-book, our attention was attracted to a cracking
of the branches close to the right side of our hillock.
"Look out!" whispered Jack; but the warning was scarcely needed, for we
instinctively seized our rifles. A moment after our hearts leaped
violently as we heard a crashing step that betokened the approach of
some huge creature.
"Are we safe here?" I whispered to Jack.
"Safe enough if we keep still. But we shall have to cut and run if an
elephant chances to get sight of us."
I confess that at that moment I felt uneasy. The hillock on the summit
of which we lay was only a place of comparative safety, because no
animal was likely to ascend an elevated spot without an object in view,
and as the purpose of all the nocturnal visitors to that pond was the
procuring of water, we did not think it probable that any of them would
approach unpleasantly near to our citadel; but if any wild beast should
take a fancy to do so, there was nothing to prevent him, and the slight
screen of bushes by which we were surrounded would certainly have been
no obstacle in the way.
A hunter in the African wilds, however, has not much time to think.
Danger is usually upon him in a moment. We had barely time to full-cock
our rifles when the bushes near us were trodden down, and a huge black
rhinoceros sauntered slowly up to us. So near was he that we could have
sprung out from our hiding-place and have caught hold of him, had we
chosen to do so.
This enormous unwieldy monster seemed to me so large that he resembled
an elephant on short legs, and in the dim, mysterious moonlight I could
almost fancy him to be one of those dreadful monsters of the
antediluvian world of which we read so much in these days of geological
research. I held my breath and glanced at my comrades. They lay
perfectly motionless, with their eyes fixed on the animal, which
hesitated on approaching our hillock. My blood almost stagnated in my
veins. I thought that he must have observed us or smelt us, and was
about to charge. He was only undecided as to which side of the hillock
he should pass by on his way to the pond. Turning to the left, he went
down to the water with a heavy, rolling gait, crushing the shrubs under
his ponderous feet in a way that filled me with an exalted idea of his
tremendous power.
I breathed freely again, and felt as if a mighty load had been lifted
off me. From the suppressed sighs vented by my comrades, I judge that
they also had experienced somewhat similar relief. We had not, however,
had time to utter a whisper before our ears were assailed by the most
tremendous noise that we had yet heard. It came from the opposite side
of the pool, as if a great torrent were rushing towards us. Presently a
black billow seemed to burst out of the jungle and roll down the sloping
bank of the pond.
"Elephants!" exclaimed Jack.
"Impossible," said I; "they must be buffaloes."
At that instant they emerged into the full blaze of the moon, and showed
themselves to be a herd of full-grown elephants, with a number of
calves. There could not have been fewer than one hundred on the margin
of the pond; but from the closeness of their ranks and their incessant
movements I found it impossible to count their numbers accurately. This
magnificent army began to drink and throw water about, waving their
trunks and trumpeting shrilly at the same time with the utmost delight.
The young ones especially seemed enjoy themselves immensely, and I
observed that their mothers were very attentive to them, caressing them
with their trunks and otherwise showing great fondness for their
offspring.
"I say," whispered Peterkin, "what a regiment of cavalry these fellows
would make, mounted by gorillas armed with scythe-blades for swords and
Highland claymores for dirks!"
"Ay, and cannon-revolvers in their pockets!" added Jack. "But, look--
that hideous old rhinoceros. He has been standing there for the last
two minutes like a rock, staring intently across the water at the
elephants."
"Hush!" said I. "Whisper softly. He may hear us."
"There goes something else on our side," whispered Peterkin, pointing to
the right of our hillock. "Don't you see it? There, against the--I do
believe it's another giraffe!"
"So it is! Keep still. His ears are sharp," muttered Jack, examining
the lock of his rifle.
"Come, come!" said I; "no shooting, Jack. You know we came to see, not
to shoot."
"Very true; but it's not every day one gets such a close shot at a
giraffe. I _must_ procure a specimen for you, Ralph."
Jack smiled as he said this, and raised his rifle. Peterkin at the same
moment quietly raised his, saying, "If that's your game, my boy, then
here goes at the rhinoceros. Don't hurry your aim; we've lots of time."
As I waited for the reports with breathless attention, I was much struck
at that moment by the singularity of the circumstances in which we were
placed. On our left stood the rhinoceros, not fifteen yards off; on our
right the giraffe raised his long neck above the bushes, about twenty
yards distant, apparently uncertain whether it was safe to advance to
the water; while in front lay the lake, reflecting the soft, clear
moonlight, and beyond that the phalanx of elephants, enjoying themselves
vastly. I had but two moments to take it all in at a glance, for Jack
said "Now!" in a low tone, and instantly the loud report of the two
rifles thundered out upon the night air.
Words cannot convey, and the reader certainly cannot conceive, any idea
of the trumpeting, roaring, crashing, shrieking, and general hubbub that
succeeded to the noise of our firearms. It seemed as if the wild beasts
of twenty menageries had simultaneously commenced to smash the woodwork
of their cages, and to dash out upon each other in mingled fury and
terror; for not only was the crashing of boughs and bushes and smaller
trees quite terrific, but the thunderous tread of the large animals was
absolutely awful.
We were thoroughly scared, for, in addition to all this, from the midst
of the horrid turmoil there came forth a royal roar close behind us that
told of a lion having been secretly engaged in watching our proceedings;
and we shuddered to think that, but for our firing, he might have sprung
upon us as we lay there, little dreaming of his presence.
Since our last adventure with the king of beasts, Makarooroo had
entertained us with many anecdotes of the daring of lions, especially of
those monsters that are termed man-eaters; so that when we heard the
roar above referred to, we all three sprang to our feet and faced about
with the utmost alacrity. So intent were we on looking out for this
dreadful foe--for we had made up our minds that it must be a man-eating
lion--that we were utterly indifferent to the other animals. But they
were not indifferent to us; for the wounded rhinoceros, catching sight
of us as we stood with our backs towards him, charged at once up the
hillock.
To utter three simultaneous yet fearfully distinct yells of terror,
spring over the low parapet of bushes, and fly like the wind in three
different directions, was the work of a moment. In dashing madly down
the slope my foot caught in a creeping shrub, and I fell heavily to the
earth.
The fall probably saved my life, for before I could rise the rhinoceros
sprang completely over me in its headlong charge. So narrow was my
escape that the edge of one of its ponderous feet alighted on the first
joint of the little finger of my left hand, and crushed it severely.
Indeed, had the ground not been very soft, it must infallibly have
bruised it off altogether. The moment it had passed I jumped up, and
turning round, ran in the opposite direction. I had scarcely gone ten
paces when a furious growl behind me, and the grappling sound as of two
animals in deadly conflict, followed by a fierce howl, led me to
conclude that the lion and the rhinoceros had unexpectedly met each
other, and that in their brief conflict the former had come off second
best.
But I gave little heed to that. My principal thought at that moment was
my personal safety; so I ran on as fast as I could in the direction of
our encampment, for which point, I had no doubt, my companions would
also make.
I had not run far when the growl of a lion, apparently in front, caused
me to stop abruptly. Uncertain of the exact position of the brute, I
turned off to one side, and retreated cautiously and with as little
noise as possible, yet with a feeling of anxiety lest he should spring
upon me unawares. But my next step showed me that the lion was
otherwise engaged. Pushing aside a few leaves that obstructed my
vision, I suddenly beheld a lion in the midst of an open space, crouched
as if for a spring. Instinctively I threw forward the muzzle of my
rifle; but a single glance showed me that his tail, not his head, was
towards me. On looking beyond, I observed the head and shoulders of
Jack, who, like the lion, was also in a crouching position, staring
fixedly in the face of his foe. They were both perfectly motionless,
and there could not have been more than fifteen or twenty yards between
them.
The true position of affairs at once flashed across me. Jack in his
flight had unwittingly run almost into the jaws of the lion; and I now
felt convinced that this must be a second lion, for it could not have
been the one that was disturbed by the rhinoceros, as I had been running
directly away from the spot where these two brutes had met. Jack had
crouched at once. We had often talked, over our camp-fire, of such an
event as unexpectedly meeting a lion face to face; and Peterkin, who
knew a good deal about such matters, had said that in such a case a
man's only chance was to crouch and stare the lion out of countenance.
We laughed at this; but he assured us positively that he had himself
seen it done to tigers in India, and added that if a man turned and ran
his destruction would be certain. To fire straight in the face of a
lion in such a position would be excessively dangerous; for while the
bullet _might_ kill, it was more than probable it would glance off the
bone of the forehead, which would be presented at an angle to the
hunter. The best thing to do, he said, was to stare steadily at the
creature until it began to wince, which, if not a wounded beast, it
would certainly do; and then, when it turned slowly round, to slink
away, take aim at its heart, and fire instantly.
The moon was shining full in Jack's face, which wore an expression of
intense ferocity I had never before witnessed, and had not believed it
possible that such a look could have been called up by him. The lower
part of his face, being shrouded in his black beard, was undiscernible;
but his cheeks and forehead were like cold marble. His dark brows were
compressed so tightly that they seemed knotted, and beneath them his
eyes glittered with an intensity that seemed to me supernatural. Not a
muscle moved; his gaze was fixed; and it was not difficult to fancy that
he was actually, instead of apparently, petrified.
I could not, of course, observe the visage of the lion, and, to say
truth, I had no curiosity on that point; for just then it occurred to me
that I was directly in the line of fire, and that if my friend missed
the lion there was every probability of his killing me. I was now in an
agony of uncertainty. I knew not what to do. If I were to endeavour to
get out of the way, I might perhaps cause Jack to glance aside, and so
induce the lion to spring. If, on the other hand, I should remain where
I was, I might be shot. In this dilemma it occurred to me that, as Jack
was a good shot and the lion was very close, it was extremely unlikely
that I should be hit; so I resolved to bide my chance, and offering up a
silent prayer, awaited the issue.
It was not long of coming. The fixed gaze of a bold human eye cowed at
last even the king of the woods. The lion slowly and almost
imperceptibly rose, and sidled gently round, with the intention,
doubtless, of bounding into the jungle. I saw that if it did so it
would pass very close to me so I cocked both barrels and held my piece
in readiness.
The click of my locks attracted the lion's attention; its head turned
slightly round. At that instant Jack's rifle sprang to his shoulder,
and the loud crack of its report was mingled with and drowned by the
roar of the lion, as he sprang with a terrible bound, not past me, but
straight towards me. I had no time to aim, but throwing the gun quickly
to my shoulder, drew both triggers at once.
I had forgotten, in my perturbation, that I carried Peterkin's heavy
elephant rifle, charged with an immense quantity of powder and a couple
of six-ounce balls. My shoulder was almost dislocated by the recoil,
and I was fairly knocked head over heels. A confused sound of yells and
roars filled my ear for a moment. I struggled to collect my faculties.
"Hollo! Jack!--Ralph! where are you?" shouted a voice that I well knew
to be that of Peterkin. "Hurrah I'm coming. Don't give in! I've
killed him! The rhinoceros is dead as a door-nail! Where have you--"