When lying down.--Loading.--Put in the powder as you best can, and ram
the bullet home, lying flat on your back, with the barrel of the gun
athwart your breast. It is easy to load in this way with cartridges.
On Horseback.--Loading.--Empty the charge of powder from the flask into
the left hand, and pour it down the gun; then take a bullet, wet out of
your mouth, and drop it into the barrel, using no ramrod; the wet will
cake the bullet pretty firmly in its right place.
Firing.--"In firing, do not bring the gun to your shoulder; but present
it across the pommel of the saddle, calculating the angle with your eye,
and steadying yourself momentarily by standing in the stirrups, as you
take aim." (Palliser.) In each bound of the horse, the moment when his
fore legs strike the ground is one of comparative steadiness, and is
therefore the proper instant for pulling the trigger.
On Water.--Boat-shooting.--A landing-net should be taken in the boat,
as Colonel Hawker well advises, to pick up the dead birds as they float
on the water, while the boat passes quickly by them.
Shooting over Water.--When shooting from a river-bank without boat or
dog, take a long light string with a stick tied to one end of it, the
other being held in the hand: by throwing The stick beyond the floating
bird, it can gradually be drawn in. The stick should be 1 1/2 or 2 feet
long, 2 inches in diameter, and notched at either end, and attached to
the hand-line by a couple of strings, each 6 feet long, tied round either
notch. Thus, the hand-line terminates in a triangle (see the figure I
have given, of a rude Stirrup), the two sides of which are of string,
with the stick for a base. A stout stick of this kind can be thrown to a
great distance; either it may be "heaved," as a sailor's Deep-sea Lead,
or it may be whirled round the head, and then let fly.
Night-shooting.--Tie a band of white paper round the muzzle of the gun,
behind the sight. Mr. Andersson, who has had very great experience, ties
the paper, not round the smooth barrel, but over the sight and all; and,
if the sight does not happen to be a large one, he ties a piece of thick
string round the barrel, or uses other similar contrivance, to tilt up
the fore end of the paper. By this means, the paper is not entirely lost
sight of at the moment when the aim is being taken. Mr. Andersson also
pinches the paper into a ridge along the middle of the gun, to ensure a
more defined foresight.
Nocturnal Animals.--There are a large number of night-feeding animals,
upon whose flesh a traveller might easily support himself, but of whose
existence he would have few indications by daylight observation only. The
following remarks of Professor Owen, in respect to Australia are very
suggestive:--"All the marsupial animals--and it is one of their curious
peculiarities--are nocturnal. Even the kangaroo, which is the least so,
is scarcely ever seen feeding out on the plains in broad daylight: it
prefers the early morning dawn, or the short twilight; and, above all,
the bright moonlight nights. With regard to most of the other Australian
forms of marsupial animals, they are most strictly nocturnal; so that, if
a traveller were not aware of that peculiarity, he might fancy himself
traversing a country destitute of the mammalian grade of animal life. If,
however, after a weary day's journey, he could be awakened, and were to
look out about the moonlight glade or scrub, or if he were to set traps
by night, he would probably be surprised to find how great a number of
interesting forms of mammalian animals were to Be met with, in places
where there was not the slightest appearance of them in the daytime."
Battues.--In Sweden, where hundreds of people are marshalled, each man
has a number, and the number is chalked upon his hat.
Scarecrows.--A string with feathers tied to it at intervals, like the
tail of a boy's kite, will scare most animals of the deer tribe, by their
fluttering; and, in want of a sufficient force of men, passes may be
closed by this contrivance. The Swedes use "lappar," viz. Pieces of
canvas, of half the height of a man, painted in glaring colours and left
to flutter from a line.
Mr. Lloyd tells us of a peasant who, when walking without a gun, saw a
glutton up in a tree. He at once took off his hat and coat and rigged out
a scarecrow, the counterpart of himself, which he fixed close by, for the
purpose of frightening the beast from coming down; he then went leisurely
home, to fetch his gun: this notable expedient succeeded perfectly.
Stalking-horses.--Artificial.--A stalking-horse, or cow, is made by
cutting out a piece of strong canvas into the shape of the animal, and
painting it properly. Loops are sewn in different places, through which
sticks are passed, to stretch the curves into shape: a stake, planted in
the ground serves as a buttress to support the apparatus: at a proper
height, there is a loophole to fire through. It packs up into a roll of
canvas and a bundle of five or six sticks.
[Sketch of stalking-horse as described below].
Bushes are used much in the same way. Colonel Hawker made a contrivance
upon wheels which he pushed before him. The Esquimaux shoot seals by
pushing a white screen before them over the ice, on a sledge. See figure.
- (Kane.)
Real.--Both horses and oxen can be trained to shield a sportsman: they
are said to enter into the spirit of the Thing; and to show wonderful
craft, walking round and round the object in narrowing circles, and
stopping to graze unconcernedly, on witnessing the least sign of alarm.
Oxen are taught to obey a touch on the horn: the common but cruel way of
training them is to hammer and batter the horns for hours together, and
on many days successively: they then become inflamed at the root and are
highly sensitive.
Pan-hunting (used at salt-licks).--"Pan-hunting is a method of hunting
deer at night. An iron pan attached to a long stick, serving as a handle,
is carried in the left hand over the left shoulder; near where the hand
grasps the handle, in a small projecting stick, forming a fork on which
to rest the rifle, when firing. The pan is filled with burning
pine-knots, which, being saturated with turpentine, shed a brilliant and
constant light all around; shining into the eyes of any deer that may
come in that direction, and making them look like two balls of fire. The
effect is most curious to those unaccumstomed to it. The distance between
the eyes of the deer as he approaches, appears gradually to increase,
reminding one of the lamps of a travelling carriage." (Palliser.)
The rush of an enraged Animal is far more easily avoided than is usually
supposed. The way the Spanish bull-fighters play with the bull, is well
known: any man can avoid a mere headlong charge. Even the speed of a
racer, which is undeniably far greater than any wild quadruped, does not
exceed 30 miles an hour or four times the speed of a man. The speed of an
ordinary horse is not more than 24 miles an hour: now even the fastest
wild beast is unable to catch an ordinary horse, except by crawling
unobserved close to his side, and springing upon him; therefore I am
convinced that the rush of no wild animal exceeds 24 miles an hour, or
three times the speed of a man. (See Measurements of the rate of an
animal's gallop, p. 37.) It is perfectly easy for a person who is cool,
to avoid an animal, by dodging to one side or other of a bush. Few
animals turn, if the rush be unsuccessful. The buffalo is an exception;
he regularly hunts a man, and is therefore peculiarly dangerous.
Unthinking persons talk of the fearful rapidity of a lion or tiger's
spring. It is not rapid at all: it is a slow movement, as must be evident
from The following consideration. No wild animal can leap ten yards, and
they all make a high trajectory in their leaps. Now, think of the speed
of a ball thrown, or rather pitched, with just sufficient force to be
caught by a person ten yards off: it is a mere nothing. The catcher can
play with it as he likes; he has even time to turn after it, if thrown
wide. But the speed of a springing animal is undeniably the same as that
of a ball, thrown so as to make a flight of equal length and height in
the air. The corollary to all this is, that, if charged, you must keep
cool and watchful, and your chance of escape is far greater than
non-sportsmen would imagine. The blow of the free paw is far swifter than
the bound.
Dogs kept at bay.--A correspondent assures me that "a dog flying at a
man may be successfully repelled by means of a stout stick held
horizontally, a hand at each end, and used to thrust the dog backwards
over, by meeting him across the throat or breast. If followed by a blow
on the nose, as the brute is falling, the result will be sooner
attained."
A watch-dog usually desists from flying at a stranger when he seats
himself quietly on the ground, like Ulysses. The dog then contents
himself with barking and keeping guard until his master arrives.
Hiding Game.--In hiding game from birds of prey, brush it over, and they
will seldom find it out; birds cannot smell well, but they have keen
eyes. The meat should be hung from an overhanging bough; then, if the
birds find it out, there will be no place for them to stand on and tear
it. Leaving a handkerchief or a short to flutter from a tree, will scare
animals of prey for a short time. (See "Scarecrows."_
Tying up your Horse.--You may tie your horse, on a bare plain, to the
horns of an animal that you have shot, while you are skinning him, but it
is better to hobble the horse with a stirrup-leather. (See
"Shooting-horse.")
Division of Game.--Some rules are necessary in these matters, to avoid
disputes, especially between whites and natives; and therefore the custom
of the country must be attended to. But it is a very general and
convenient rule (though, like all fixed rules, often unfair) that the
animal should belong to the Man who first wounded him, however slight the
wound might have been; but that he or they who actually killed the
animal, should have a right to a slice of the meat: it must however, be
understood, that the man who gave the first wound should not
thenceforward withdraw from the chase; if he does so, his claim is lost.
In America the skin belongs to the first shot, the carcase is divided
equally among the whole party. Whaling crews are bound by similar
customs, in which nice distinctions are made, and which have all the
force of laws.
Duck-shooting.--Wooden ducks, ballasted with lead, and painted, may be
used at night as decoy-ducks; or the skins of birds already shot, may be
stuffed and employed for the same purpose. They should be anchored in the
water, or made fast to a frame attached to the shooting-punt, and dressed
with sedge. It is convenient to sink a large barrel into the flat marsh
or mud, as a dry place to stand or sit in, when waiting for the birds to
come. A lady suggests to me, that if the sportsman took a bottle of hot
water to put under his feet, it would be a great comfort to him, and in
this I quite agree; I would take a keg of hot water, when about it. If
real ducks be used as decoy-birds, the males should be tied in one place
and the females in another, to induce them to quack. An artificial island
may be made to attract ducks, when there is no real one.
Crocodile-shooting.--Mr. Gilby says, speaking of Egypt, "I killed
several crocodiles by digging pits on the sand-islands and sleeping a
part of the night in them; a dry shred of palm-branch, the colour of the
sand, round the hole, formed a screen to put the gun through. Their flesh
was most excellent eating--half-way between meat and fish: I had it
several times. The difficulty of shooting them was, that the falcons and
spurwing-plovers would hover round the pit, when the crocodiles
invariably took to the water. Their sight and hearing were good, but
their scent indifferent. I generally got a shot or two at daybreak after
sleeping in the pit."
Tracks.--When the neighbourhood of a drinking-place is trodden down with
tracks, "describe a circle a little distance From it, to ascertain if it
be much frequented. This is the manner in which spoor should at all times
be sought for." (Cumming's 'Life in South Africa.') To know if a burrow
be tenanted, go to work on the same principle; but, if the ground be
hard, sprinkle sand over it, in order to show the tracks more clearly. It
is related in the Apocrypha, that the prophet Daniel did this, when he
wished to learn who it really was who every night consumed the meat which
was placed before the idol of Bel, and which the idol itself was supposed
to eat: he thus discovered that the priests and their families had a
secret door by which they entered the temple; and convinced the king of
the matter, by showing him their footprints.
Carrying Game.--To carry small Game, as Fallow Deer.--Make a long slit
with your knife between the back sinew and the bone of both of the
hind-legs. Cut a thick pole of wood and a stout wooden skewer 8 inches
long. Now thrust the right fore-leg through the slit in the left hind
one, and then the left fore-leg through the slit in the right hind one,
and holding these firmly in their places, push the skewer right through
the left fore-leg, so as to peg it from drawing back. Lastly run the pole
between the animal's legs and its body, and let two men carry it on their
shoulders, one at each end of the pole; or, if a beast of burden be at
hand, the carcase is in a very convenient shape for being packed. In
animals whose back sinew is not very prominent, it is best to cross the
legs as above, and to lash them together. Always take the bowels out of
game, before carrying it; it is so much weight saved. "I rode out
accompanied by an after-rider, and shot two springboks, which we bore to
camp secured on our horses behind our saddles, by passing the buckles of
the girths on each side through the fore and hind legs of the antelopes,
having first performed an incision between the bone and the sinews with
the couteau de chasse, according to colonial usage." (Cumming's 'Life in
South Africa.') "After he had skinned and gutted the animal, he cut away
the flesh from the bones, in one piece, without separating the limbs, so
as to leave suspended from the tree merely the skeleton of the deer.
This, it appeared, was the Turkish fashion in use upon long Journeys, in
order to relieve travellers from the useless burden of bones." (Huc's
'Tartary.') See also the section on "Heavy weights, to raise and carry,"
especially Mr. Wyndham's plan.
To float carcases of Game across a river.--Sir S. Baker recommends
stripping off the skin of the animal, as though it were intended to make
a water-skin of it: putting a stone up the neck end of the skin; thus
forming a water-tight sack, open at one end only. All the flesh is now to
be cut off the bones, and packed into the sack; which is then to be
inflated, and secured by tying up the open end. The skin of a large
antelope thus inflated, will not only float the whole of the flesh, but
will also support several swimmers.
"To carry Ivory on pack-animals, the North African traders use nets,
slinging two large teeth on each side of an ass. Small teeth are wrapped
up in skins and secured with rope." (Mungo Park.)
Setting a gun as a spring-gun.--General Remarks.--The string that goes
across the pathway should be dark coloured, and so fine that, if the
beast struggles against it, it should break rather than cause injury to
the gun. I must however, add, that in the numerous cases in which I have
witnessed or heard of guns being set with success, for large beasts of
prey, I have never known of injury occurring to the gun. The height of
the muzzle should be properly arranged with regard to the height of the
expected animal; thus, the heart of a hyena is the height of a man's knee
above the ground; that of a lion, is a span higher. The string should not
be tight, but hang in a bow, or the animal will cause the gun to go off
on first touching the string, and will only receive a flesh-wound across
the front of his chest.
1st Method.--The annexed sketch (p. 258) explains the method I have
described in previous editions of this book. The stock is firmly lashed
to a tree, and the muzzle to a stake planted in the ground. A
"lever-stick," 8 inches long, is bound across the grip of the gun so as
to stand upright; but it is not bound so tightly as to prevent a slight
degree of movement. The bottom of the "lever-stick" is tied to the
trigger, and the top of it to a long, fine, dark-coloured string, which
is passed through the empty ramrod tubes, and is fixed to a tree on the
other side of the pathway. It is evident that when a beast breasts this
string, the trigger of the gun will be pulled.
[Sketch of man setting up gun to be fired as above].
1nd Method.--I have, however, been subsequently informed of a better
plan of adapting the "lever-stick." It is shown in the accompanying
diagram (below). The fault of the previous plan, is the trouble of tying
the string to the trigger; since the curvature is usually such as to make
it a matter of some painstaking to fix it securely. A, B, C, is the
"lever-stick." Notch it deeply at A, where it is to receive the trigger;
notch it also at B, half an inch from A; and at C, 5 inches or so from B.
In lashing B to the grip of the stock at D, the firmer you make the
lashing, the better. If D admit of any yielding movement, on C being
pulled, the gun will not go off, either readily or surely; as will easily
be seen, on making experiment.
[Sketch of rifle with stick rigged as above].
3rd Method.--I am indebted to Captain J. Meaden for the following
account of the plan used in Ceylon for setting a spring gun for
leopards:--
"Remove the sear, or tie up the trigger. Load the gun, and secure it at
the proper height from the ground. Opposite the muzzle of the gun, or at
such distance to the right, or left, as may be required, fasted the end
of a black string, or line made of horsehair or fibre, and pass it across
the path to the gun. Fasten the other end to a stake, long enough to
stand higher than the hammer. Stick the end of the stake slightly in the
ground, and let it rest upright against the lock projection, the black
line being fastened nearly at that height. Pass round the small of the
stock a loop of single or double string. Take a piece of stick 6 or 8
inches long, pass through the loop, and twist tourniquet fashion until
the loop is reduced to the required length. Raise the hammer carefully,
and pass the short end of the lever-stick, from the inner to the outer
side, over the comb, and let the long end of the lever rest against the
stake: the pressure of the hammer will keep the lever steady against the
stake. To prevent the lower end of the stake flying out, from the
pressure of the lever on the upper part, place a log or stone against the
foot.
"An animal pushing against the black string, draws the upper end of the
stake towards the muzzle, until the lever is disengaged and releases the
hammer.
"In laying the long arm of the lever against the stake sufficient play
must be allowed for the contraction of the black string, when wet by dew
or rain.
"If a double gun is set, two stakes and two levers will be required. The
stakes to be connected above and below the gun, by cross sticks. The
levers must be passed round the combs the opposite way, to allow of the
long arms pressing outwards from the gun, and enable the levers to
disengage without entangling.
"The carcase or live bait must be hedged round, and means adopted to
guide the leopard across the string, by running out a short hedge on one
side. In this case the black line to be set taut, and some 4 inches from
the line of fire. The breast than catches the string, and the push
releases the hammer when the muzzle is in line with the chest.
"On this principle, two or more guns can be set, slightly varying in
elevation, to allow of one barrel at least being effective."
Bow and Arrow set for Beasts.--The Chinese have some equivalent
contrivance with bows and arrows. M. Huc tells us that a simply
constructed machine is sold in the shops, by which, when sprung, a number
of poisoned arrows are fired off in succession. These machines are
planted in caves of sepulture, to guard them from pillage. They use
spring-guns, and used to have spring-bows in Sweden, and in many other
countries.
Knives.--Hunting-knife.--A great hunting-knife is a useless
encumbrance: no old sportsman or traveller cares to encumber himself with
one; but a butcher's knife, carried in a sheath, is excellent, both from
its efficient shape, the soft quality of The steel, its lightness, and
the strong way in which the blade is set in the haft.
Pocket-knife.--If a traveller wants a pocket-knife full of all kinds of
tools, he had best order a very light one of 2 3/4 inches long, in a
tortoise-shell handle, without the usual turnscrew at the end. It should
have a light "picker" to shut over its back; this will act as a
strike-light, and a file also, if its under surface be properly
roughened. Underneath the picker, there should be a small triangular
borer, for making holes in leather, and a gimlet. The front of the knife
should contain a long, narrow pen-blade of soft steel; a cobbler's awl,
slightly bent; and a packing-needle with a large eye, to push thongs and
twine through holes in leather. Between the tortoise-shell part of the
handle and the metal frame of the knife, should be a space to contain
three flat thin pieces of steel, turning on the same pivot. The ends of
these are to be ground to form turnscrews of brass instruments: when this
excellent contrivance is used, it must be opened out like the letter T,
the foot of which represents the turnscrew in use and the horizontal part
represents the other two turnscrews, which serve as the handle. It may be
thought advisable to add a button-hook, a corkscrew, and a large blade;
but that is not my recommendation, because it increases the size of the
knife and makes it heavy; now a heavy knife is apt to be laid by, and not
to be at hand when wanted, while a light knife is a constant pocket
companion.
Sheath Knives, to carry.--They are easily carried by half-naked,
pocketless savages, by attaching the sheaths to a leather-loop, through
which the left forearm and elbow are to be passed. A swimmer can easily
carry a knife in this way; otherwise he holds it between his teeth.
Substitutes for Knives.--Steel is no doubt vastly better than iron, but
it is not essential for the ordinary purposes of life; indeed, most
ancient civilized nations had nothing better than iron. Any bit of good
iron may be heated as hot as the camp-fire admits; hammered flat, lashed
into a handle, and sharpened on a stone. A fragment of flint or obsidian
may be made fast to a handle, to be used as a carpenter cuts paper With a
chisel; namely, by holding it dagger-fashion, and drawing it over the
skin or flesh which he wishes to cut. Shells are sometimes employed as
substitutes for knives, also thin strips of bamboo, the sharp edges of
which cut meat easily. (See "Sharpening Tools.")
Night-glass.--Opera-glasses are invaluable as night-glasses, for, by
their aid, the sight of man is raised nearly to a par with that of
night-roving animals; therefore, a sportsman would find them of great
service when watching for game at night. A small and inexpensive glass is
as useful for this purpose as a large one; but there is a considerable
difference between the clearness of different opera-glasses.