RESCUING THE LADIES FROM LIONS--ON THE WAY TO
CAMP--FIGHT WITH A ROGUE ELEPHANT.
"It's a very short story," said Miss Boland. "We halted under this
tree for a little rest, as we had been in the saddle for some time;
we had no luck in hunting, all the game keeping a long distance away
from us. When we reached this point we decided to turn back, and
before doing so thought we would give the horses and ourselves a
little rest.
"We were lying on the ground, and our horses were grazing a little
distance away, when suddenly they gave a start and fled like the wind.
"Of course that brought us to our feet, and we looked around to see
what had startled them. Coming straight toward us we saw three
lions--and big ones they were, too. Our impulse was to spring into
the tree, the lower limbs just affording us a chance to catch them
and swing up. We left our rifles lying on the ground, but got into
the tree safely. Oh, if we had only been able to take one of those
rifles with us, we would have made short work of those fellows! The
lions didn't seem to think it worth their while to pursue the horses;
they stopped beneath the tree, and stayed there until you drove them
away just now. And that's the whole story. They kept up a snarling
and growling all night to let us know they were there, and there they
have been ever since the horses went away from us."
By this time the manager had arrived with the horses; and when we
told the ladies how the intelligent animals had shown us the way to
rescue them, they hugged and petted the creatures as though they had
been sisters who had just arrived after ten years' separation. I
think Jack and Harry would willingly have been transformed into Miss
Boland's horse for the sake of the caresses it received. The horses
seemed delighted to find their owners again, and manifested their joy
by little whinnies, and in other equine ways.
When the caressing of the horses had ended, Miss Boland referred
again to the cause of their imprisonment, and said she was surprised
at the persistence of the lions in staying near them so long. "I
never knew," said she, "that lions were so keen after the human race;
I thought their preference was for quadrupeds."
"So it is," I answered; "at least as a general thing. When lions
come into one's camp they are usually in search of oxen or horses,
and don't disturb human beings unless the latter happen to be in
their way; but occasionally there is a lion which has tasted human
flesh, and learned how easily a man can be overpowered and killed;
and learned also, at the same time, that a man's flesh is excellent
eating. Such a lion is apt to disdain, from that time forth, the
pursuit and capture of quadrupeds; in fact, he becomes a man-eater."
"I've heard of man-eating tigers," said Mrs. Roberts, "but I don't
know that I ever heard of man-eating lions. Oh yes, now you speak of
it, I think Cumming mentions them in his book."
"Man-eating lions are mentioned by Cumming and some other writers,"
said Jack, "but they are not very prominent. Now, referring to your
case, the probabilities are that one or two, and perhaps all three,
of those lions that chased you into the tree were man-eaters. The
fact that they stayed by and watched so long would confirm that
belief; of course it is just possible that they were after the
horses, and not yourselves; but as the horses ran away and you were
left behind, they took whatever fate had in store for them."
"I hope you slept well in the tree," said Harry, "though the
accommodations were rather poor for a night's lodging."
"Slept well!" said Mrs. Roberts. "We didn't either of us close an
eye during the night; and I don't believe any one of you three could
have slept had you been in our places."
Harry admitted the probable correctness of her surmise, and after a
little more jocularity, to enable the ladies to forget their recent
horrible predicament, the lunch being finished, we suggested a return
to the wagons. The proposition was accepted, and in a few minutes we
were in the saddle and away.
We reached the camp of the ladies without any incident worthy of
note, and glad enough they were to be at home again. All their
followers were out to greet them, and the manifestations of joy were
quite in keeping with the Kafir character. They shouted and yelled
and danced, and if etiquette and custom had permitted, they would
have embraced their employers with tears of joy in their eyes. Mrs.
Roberts suggested that we should remain with them for luncheon; but
we excused ourselves by telling a few polite falsehoods, and went
back to our own camp. We felt that they would prefer to be left to
themselves for the rest of the day, as they had been under a great
mental strain, and ought not to be submitted to the fatigue of
entertaining visitors.
On our way back to our own camp we paid no attention to hunting,
chiefly for the reason that we were not properly equipped for it. We
had brought, in addition to revolvers, our light rifles only, which
would have done good work with small game, but were quite unsuited to
elephants or buffaloes. We saw a herd of elands three or four miles
away--at least we supposed them to be elands, though we were not near
enough to make them out. When within about a mile of camp we saw an
elephant--and a big one he was--standing under a large tree fully
half a mile distant from any other protection, the nearest trees
being the forest that skirted the river.
Of course we were all eager to go in pursuit of that beast, and
hurried on to camp as fast as we could. I was the first to see the
elephant, and therefore the choice of first shot was given to me. I
took my heaviest rifle, buckled my cartridge-case around my waist,
and started in the direction of the elephant, Mirogo and Kalil
following, with instructions not to keep too close to me--an
instruction which they were very likely to obey; in fact, I think
they would have preferred to remain in camp and hear about the hunt
later. Harry and Jack kept about a quarter of a mile behind me,
ready to bear a hand in case of necessity.
The beast was there just as we had left him, not having moved a yard.
Not another elephant was in sight, and I speedily made up my mind
that the creature was what is called a "rogue." Perhaps you do not
know what a rogue elephant is. Well, he is an elephant that for some
reason--nobody knows why--has become separated from his herd, and is
not allowed to rejoin it. Should he seek to come into any herd of
elephants, all will turn upon him and drive him away. He seems to be
an outcast, like a man who has been cut by all his acquaintances and
is positively forbidden to enter decent society anywhere. All the
other elephants seem to know him, and shun him. When elephants are
driven into a corral and captured, if a rogue happens to be among
them, the captives, while caressing and condoling with one another,
keep as far as possible away from the unfortunate pariah.
Whether his temper has been injured by this treatment, or whether the
treatment has been caused by his bad temper, I am unable to say; but
certain it is that the rogue elephant is far more vicious than the
herd elephant. In cultivated regions, where the elephants sometimes
destroy the gardens of the natives by coming in the night and eating
up growing things, a rogue elephant will do ten times as much damage
as any other; and when it comes to fighting, he will fight as long as
breath remains.
Fully convinced that the animal which I was after belonged to the
rogue species, I approached him with great caution. I was careful in
getting to leeward of him, to prevent his catching my wind; and it so
happened that a leeward position placed the trunk of the tree between
me and the creature's head. There was an advantage and a
disadvantage in this. The advantage was that he could not sight me,
while there was this disadvantage--that I was cut off from my
favorite shot. The reader already knows that my favorite place for
planting a heavy bullet in an elephant is between the eye and ear. I
was cut off from this by the tree, and the next best shot I could get
was behind the shoulder.
My horse entered into the spirit of the business very well; he saw
the elephant and knew what I was after. I had some difficulty in
repressing in him a desire to snort, which would have aroused the
game at once and revealed his danger. I patted him on the neck and
encouraged him, and he kept on until I was within about thirty-five
yards of the tree.
I dismounted, took steady aim just back of the fore-shoulder, and
fired. Then, without waiting to see the effect of my shot, I sprang
into the saddle; my horse whirled as if on a pivot, and darted away
as fast as his legs could carry him.
The elephant's being behind the tree, and obliged to turn to come out
from beneath it, gave me a little start, but not much. I think that
just about as my horse began his flight the elephant started on in
pursuit. He trumpeted viciously. I looked back over my shoulder,
and saw his trunk elevated in the air, and the animal coming on at
full speed. The ground at this point was pretty nearly level, and
comparatively free from bushes or other growths. Glancing back every
few moments, I could see that the elephant was gaining on me, and I
must try some sort of tactics to escape him.
An eighth of a mile or so away to the right there was a little hill;
I pulled on my bridle-rein and made for the hill. "If I can get to
that hill all right," I said to myself, "I'll have this old brute in
a box."
I reached the hill, and as I went up the elephant lost distance. In
an uphill chase a horse, even with a rider, can out-run an elephant;
but when it is a downhill race the elephant has the best of it.
When about half-way up the hill I checked my horse a little, so as to
let my pursuer get nearer. Then I turned and went around the hill,
the elephant following me. A side-hill is not a good place for a man
to run upon, nor is it good for horse or elephant; but it is much
worse for the elephant than for either of the other two.
My horse made very good time going around the hill, but not so the
elephant. His legs were so short in proportion to his body that it
was very difficult for him to brace himself. He screamed with rage,
evidently realizing the predicament into which he had been drawn. I
reduced my speed, bringing the horse to a halt, and then I took shot
after shot at my pursuer, vainly endeavoring to hit the one spot in
the front of his head where he is vulnerable. I turned and faced
him, letting him come within twenty yards of me, then gave him
another shot, and turned my horse down the hill.
It was the elephant's turn to think he had me now, as he whirled and
followed at a great rate. Before reaching the foot of the hill I
turned my horse quickly to one side, and the elephant, unable to
stop, went crashing by me, giving me a chance to plant a couple of
bullets behind his shoulder.
Then I wheeled and went a little way up the hill, and next made a
quarter-turn to go around it again. There were places on the hill
which were steeper than others, and I led my pursuer into the worst
spots I could find. One of them was altogether too much for him, his
legs on one side being so much heavier than those on the other that
he lost his balance, rolled over on his side, and kept on rolling and
sliding till he reached the bottom of the hill. If he had been an
ordinary herd elephant I think he would have given up at this point,
and made off as fast as he could; but with his unusually ugly
disposition he was not discouraged at the mishap, but resumed his
pursuit of me as soon as he got to his feet.
I may remark by the way that not only is the elephant an unwieldy
beast on a side-hill, but a loaded one is very unwieldy when
ascending a steep hill. Of course we do not have loaded elephants in
Africa, where the animal is not domesticated; but in Asia they are a
very common sight. It has happened, and by no means infrequently,
when troops have been marching in the mountain regions of India with
their heavy baggage carried on the backs of elephants, that the huge
beasts have tumbled over backward while ascending steep hills.
Observe the next elephant you see in a menagerie, or look at the
picture of one, and you will see that his hind legs have a bent and
weak appearance, which makes them, at least to the eye, shorter than
the forelegs. With his weak hind legs, and a large portion of his
body lying aft of his waist, the poor creature has all he can do to
keep from going over when ascending a steep incline without any
burden whatever. Place a heavy load upon his back, and his
equilibrium is gone.