A QUESTION OF ETIQUETTE--THE FAIR HUNTER
DISCUSSED--LIONS VISIT US AT NIGHT.
"What!" exclaimed Harry and Jack simultaneously.
"Yes, it's a woman, and she shot an elephant this afternoon."
Another exclamation of astonishment followed my assertion, and then
Harry asked:
"Who is she?"
"Her name is Miss Boland," I answered; "at least that's what she told
me, and she said her companion was Mrs. Roberts. They came from
Walvisch Bay, and that's pretty much all I know about them."
Then I explained the circumstances under which we met, and detailed
the conversation, word for word, as nearly as I could remember it.
The information almost broke up the dinner of my companions. That a
woman, or two women, should take to hunting big game in South Africa
was enough to take away any man's breath, and with his breath gone
there was not much chance for him to need an appetite. Both of them
stopped eating long enough to allow me to take the choicest cuts of
the hippopotamus, and if I had managed the affair shrewdly, and
maintained a good deal of mystery about the matter, I think I might
have stolen the entire dinner. But when I said that was all I knew
about it, their appetites returned, and they fell to eating again
with their accustomed vigor.
"We must go and call on them to-morrow morning," said Harry. "Pity
we haven't a barber and a tailor and a fashionable bootmaker here on
the borders of the Luranga River."
"Oh, nonsense," said Jack. "What business have we to go calling on
them? We've never been introduced." Then, turning to me, Jack
inquired if the fair one I met had requested a visit from me or my
friends.
I told him what the reader already knows, and then Jack remarked:
"That settles it; if those women want us they'll send for us, or if
they want us and don't send for us they'll manage to hunt around in
this direction and stumble upon our camp by the merest accident,
first finding out exactly where it is, so that there won't be any
mistake about their accident. My idea is, that we had better stick
to our business; mind our own affairs, in fact, and let them politely
alone. We may run across them hunting some day, and they'll be far
more likely to respect us if we hold aloof than if we go running
after them."
"Oh, that's all rubbish," said Harry; "we'll ride over to their camp;
that is, we'll get within half a mile or so of it, and send along the
most intelligent of our servants. He can go to their camp, and
through their principal servant let the women know that it would give
us pleasure to call on them if entirely agreeable."
"Yes," said Jack, "and thereby compel them to receive us, or appear
rude in declining our call. We push ourselves forward and put them
in an awkward position. We are just like the man whom you know, but
don't care a straw about, who comes to you with a plausible yarn,
with the object of borrowing five dollars. He forces you to do one
of two things, either of which is disagreeable: part with your
money--with a prospect of never seeing it again--or affront him by a
refusal. I tell you flatly I will not go. Understand me, I would
like to meet the ladies, for such I presume they are, but I don't
want to force myself on their acquaintance."
Harry did not admit the force of Jack's argument, at least not
audibly. Before committing himself he turned to me and asked my
opinion. I coincided with Jack, but made a suggestion that it would
do no harm for us to hunt in that direction, and possibly we might
meet one or both the amazons in field or forest.
Harry and Jack assented to this view, and the discussion as to the
propriety of calling upon the women was dropped.
"The one you saw must have been an accomplished huntress," Harry
remarked, after a pause.
"Oh, call her a hunter," said Jack; "don't bother about that
straining word 'huntress.' In sport, as in science, there's no
distinction of sex. When women first began to study medicine one who
obtained her degree was called 'doctress.' Now that nonsense is
dropped, and she's called doctor, like any other medical
practitioner. Hunting big game in South Africa is entitled to be
called a science; anyhow, it requires a lot of science to succeed in
it. She's a hunter just as much as you or I."
"All right," said Harry; "I won't dispute with you, especially
because I think you are right; and I don't think Frank will, either."
I assented to the adoption of the term as Jack proposed, at which the
latter remarked that we seemed to be settling a good many important
questions over our hippopotamus-steak.
Then they asked me as to the appearance, dress, and manner of Miss
Boland, and I answered them to the best of my ability. After our
dinner was over we had our smoke, and soon after went to bed. Before
we retired our wagonmaster reported that lions were about the kraal
the previous night, as he had heard them growling several times, and
found their spoor close up to the fence. He thought we might have
another visit that night, and wished to know if he should call us.
"By all means," I answered; "when you're entirely sure they're
outside, let us know."
When we camped on that spot we made a kraal of thorn-bushes, which
surrounded everything, including our tent and wagons. The cattle
were driven into the kraal at night, and were carefully watched
during the day by the men who had them in charge. We had about fifty
oxen altogether, and five horses, and the horses were secured in the
same way as the cattle. The kraal was built high and strong; it is
necessary to make it high, otherwise the lions might attempt to jump
it. On the outside of the kraal thorn-bushes were scattered all over
the ground, at least ten or fifteen feet from the fence, the object
being to prevent the lions approaching close to the kraal, where they
could get a favorable opportunity for a jump.
We got our guns ready for work in case the lions showed themselves,
and then turned in.
About one o'clock in the morning my Kafir came to wake me, and said
the lions were outside the kraal. I was up on the instant, and so
were Harry and Jack; fact is, we had not undressed at all, as we felt
it reasonably certain that we would be called, and wanted to have as
little delay as possible in getting at work.
At least one half of our people were out and about when we made our
appearance. That there were lions around was evident by the actions
of the horses and oxen. The horses were in a little kraal by
themselves, each one tethered to a stake, and on a quiet night all
would be lying down and at rest; now every horse was up, dancing
around uneasily, and straining at his halter. My favorite,
Brickdust--as I called him on account of his color--was snorting and
stamping in a condition of excitement. When I spoke to him he
quieted down instantly, but not altogether. He felt a good deal
reassured by my presence, but at the same time believed himself in
danger. It was the same with the other horses; and as for the oxen,
they were likewise on the alert, and aware of the presence of their
natural enemy.
The Kafirs were jabbering away at a great rate when we appeared. We
enjoined silence, but it was not easy to quiet them; in fact, it was
necessary to threaten them with the jambok before we succeeded in
hushing their voices. When they were hushed we could distinctly hear
the lions, now in one quarter, and now in another. They were
evidently prowling around the outside of the kraal looking for a spot
where they could penetrate to the interior.
Harry suggested that we go outside and find them; to this proposition
I demurred most emphatically, and so did Jack. I presume Harry
really did not intend to do anything so foolish, but made the
suggestion out of bravado. It would have been folly for us to do
what he suggested, as the lions would have seen us far easier than we
could have seen them. They had come in search of food, and were,
therefore, hungry. We should run a very good chance of becoming
their victims instead of their becoming ours.
The Kafirs had erected their huts of grass and bushes inside the
kraal, close up to the fence. I suggested that we climb to the top
of these huts, which would give us a view over the fence; and my
friends acted upon the suggestion. We scattered so that the three of
us commanded three sides of the kraal with our weapons, and from this
point of vantage we peered out as well as we could into the darkness.
There was a small moon, which was nearly set, so that we had not much
light to help us. I was favored in my position by having the moon
almost directly in front of me, while the ground outside the kraal
sloped off gradually at that point. It was understood that we were
to act independently of one another, and also not to waste our
bullets. No one was to fire except when he felt certain that he saw
a good mark to fire at.
The uneasiness of the oxen and horses continued; our dogs were also
running around, and manifesting a desire to take part in whatever
fighting was about to occur. Now and then they indicated their
feelings by growling; they would have barked outright had they not
been ordered most emphatically to emulate the example of the oyster
and "shut up."
We had been ten or fifteen minutes on the top of the huts when I made
out the forms of three lions that were half walking and half crawling
along the ridge betwixt me and the sky. They seemed to be a lion and
two lionesses, or possibly an old lion with two younger ones. At any
rate, I could make out a heavy mane on the foremost of the brutes,
and little or none at all on the others.
I brought my rifle to the shoulder, and let fly at the leader and
largest of the trio. I aimed to take him in the shoulder-blade, and
either kill or disable him at the first shot.
My rifle rang out on the still night air, and immediately following
it there was a terrific roar, which told that my bullet had hit its
mark. Following the roar was a rush toward my position; the victim
of my shot desired revenge, and in order to obtain it made for the
direction of the flash.
His companions followed him; and the whole three came dashing on
through the outlying mass of thorn-bushes and up to the very front of
the kraal. But an African lion is not proof; against the wait-a-bit
thorn. The only animals that can successfully defy this product of
the African soil are the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, and
alligator. Well, yes, I do not think the buffalo minds the
wait-a-bit, at least when he is old, and his skin has acquired the
proper toughness; but the young buffalo treats it with respect after
he has become experienced in its qualities.
The lion came no farther than the fence, just outside the hut on
which I stood; another leap and he would have reached me.
This reminds me of one night when I was in camp in the Impanyi
country and had not made a strong kraal. The lions came around the
kraal at night, and I was waked up suddenly by hearing one of the
oxen bellowing and the dogs barking. The night was pretty dark, and
it was not easy for me to perceive objects more than fifteen or
twenty feet away. My tent was pitched close to the rear of the
wagon; when I got outside I saw the driver standing on the top of a
grass-hut about six feet high, which was near the front wheels of the
wagon. The ox was bellowing and the lion was growling; they were not
more than twenty yards from me, but it was so dark that I could not
see them. I climbed to the top of the hut by the side of the driver,
and after fixing my eyes steadily on the spot for some minutes I
thought I could make out the lion's form. At any rate, I fired in
that belief, and the growl and roar which immediately followed told
me I had made a hit. The ox was evidently dead by this time, as all
sound from him had ceased.
I put in another cartridge and fired again, this time a few inches
lower than before. My shot was followed by a loud roar, far more
terrific than the one which had preceded it, and the roar was
followed by a spring. How many bounds the lion made I do not know,
but he struck me full in the chest with his head, and sent me
tumbling off the hut to the ground on which it stood. In my fall I
brought with me the wagon-driver, and at first I thought it was the
lion that was mixed up with me on the ground, instead of the harmless
Kafir. The driver scrambled to the top of the wagon, and I followed
and got on the box. I do not understand how the driver managed to
get there so quickly, as the whole thing passed in a very short time.
[Illustration: THE ROAR WAS FOLLOWED BY A SPRING.]
Not only was the driver there, but all the Kafirs from the kraal;
some were inside the wagon, some on top, and others standing on the
wheels, or in any place where they could find clinging-room.
My driver got his gun out from the inside of the wagon, and then took
a shot from the top of it; the recoil knocked him over and landed him
on the top of my tent. It would have been a pretty serious fall for
him had it not been for the tent, which broke the force of his
tumble, and was badly broken up as the result.
As near as we could make out by the growling there was a family of
lions, and they did not at all relish being disturbed at their meal.
We all stayed in and around the wagon until daylight; the lions made
off just before it came, and we ventured to descend.
I stayed in camp that day repairing damages and making ready for the
lions in case they returned the next night, which I felt they were
pretty sure to do. I had the men drag the remains of the ox to the
best spot for getting a shot, right on the crest of a ridge a little
higher up than the wagon, and about twenty-five yards from it. I had
the carcass fastened down with stakes, so that they could not drag it
away; then I dug a hole in the ground just under the rear of the
wagon, so as to screen me and at the same time give me the horizon to
shoot against.
Well, I had my revenge. The lions were there not later than an hour
after dark; I heard them before seeing them, but I saw them very
soon. The head of the family made his appearance first, and he stood
up against the sky so that his whole figure was outlined, and I could
determine just where to shoot. My greatest difficulty was to make
out the front sight of my rifle; any sportsman will tell you that you
cannot do any accurate shooting when the front sight is obscured.
The best thing at night is to cover it with white paper, and this I
did.
I gave Master Leo a shot just back of the shoulder that brought him
to the ground instanter. Mrs. Leo next put in an appearance; she did
not give me as fair a shot, but, under the circumstances, I do not
think I ought to complain. The ball entered her body just a little
forward of the tail, and to one side, and plowed along until near the
foreshoulder, where it stopped. My driver fired just after me, and
his shot was followed by a loud roar on the part of the lioness.
After a few moments the sound subsided, or rather it came from
farther and farther away. We waited awhile longer, and then, as
everything was quiet, we went to bed.
Daylight the next morning repealed the lion, dead, close to the
remains of the ox, my shot having killed him. The lioness was half a
mile away with a broken foreleg, and the bullet in her skin as I have
described. With her were two cub-lions, which I wanted ever so much
to keep and take to the coast; but I saw that it would be impossible
to do so, and so allowed my men to finish them off.
We removed the skins of all four lions, and I took them back with me
as trophies. That will do for that story. Now I will come back to
where we were.
Harry got a shot at another of our disturbers, and then the growling
died away in the distance and finally ceased altogether. We went
back to our beds and were not called again. When we rose in the
morning we found that our shots had told, as a lion and lioness, both
severely wounded, were on the ground half a mile or so from camp.
Jack went out with his rifle and finished them in short order, and
the Kaffirs removed their skins.