_March to Hetowra--Cross the Cheriagotty Hills--Scenes of the war of 1815-
16--Preparations for a wild-elephant hunt--The herd in full cry--A
breakneck country--Furious charges of wild elephants--The lost
child--Return to camp_.
Early on the following morning we were on the march, and for five miles
did our clumsy elephant trip it heavily over the large stones forming the
bed of the stream in which we had been encamped the previous night. I
fear the beauty of the scenery did not so well compensate him for the
badness of the road as his more fortunate riders. To see a hill at a
distance after having travelled so long over a dead level was refreshing;
but when we began to wind round the base of precipitous cliffs, or
clamber up some romantic mountain pass, the effect was most animating.
The cliffs which now frowned over us were about 500 feet in height; a few
larches crowning the summit indicated the elevation of the country, and
almost reminded us of home, until some monkeys swinging about amongst the
branches at once dispelled the illusion.
The hills themselves consist entirely of clay mixed with sandstone, mica,
and gravel; and the effect of the mountain torrents during the rainy
season upon such soft material had been to form precipitous gullies,
along which we were now passing, while the grotesque pinnacles which
constantly met the eye reminded us of the dolomite formation of the
Tyrol. In many places were strata, sometimes horizontal, but more
frequently inclined at an angle of about forty-five degrees, consisting
of limestone, hornstone, and conglomerate.
This range is called by Hodgson the sandstone range; it does not rise
more than 600 feet from its immediate base, its elevation above the sea
being about 3000 feet. The pass itself, by which we crossed the
Cheriagotty hills, was a mere watercourse, sometimes so narrow that the
banks on each side might be touched from the back of the elephant, and so
steep and rocky that, both in ascending and descending into the dry bed
of a torrent, the animal found no little difficulty in keeping his
footing.
It was in this place that some of the severest fighting took place in
1816 during the Nepaulese war. Commanded by the surrounding heights and
crowned by the temporary stockades of the Ghorkas, it was a dangerous and
formidable obstacle to the progress of our army; but the able tactics of
Sir David Ochterlony successfully overcame it. In the very watercourse
we were now traversing the carcase of a dead elephant had, on one
occasion during that campaign, fallen in such a manner as effectually to
block up the way; and so narrow is the path, and so steep the banks on
each side, that the army was absolutely delayed some time until this
cumbrous impediment was removed.
After descending into the bed of the Chyria Nuddee our road lay through
the saul forest, the magnificent trees of which served as a grateful
shade for some miles, while, the road being comparatively level and free
from impediments, our journey was most agreeable. A short distance from
our destination we crossed the Kurroo Nuddee, by a picturesque wooden
bridge peculiar to the Himalayas.
Hetowra is a place of considerable importance in a mercantile point of
view, but it is not gay except during the season; it is, in fact,
fashionable only while it is healthy. From this place two roads lead to
Katmandu. The whole of our week's stay in the Terai was rendered
interesting to us from the recollection that in this province originated
a war as disastrous to our troops as it was unprovoked by us. Never in
our eastern experience have we commenced hostilities with a native power
upon more justifiable grounds, and seldom have we paid more dearly for
the satisfaction of at last dictating terms, from which indeed we have
since reaped no great advantage. At Persa, but a short distance from
Bisoleah, Captain Sibley and his detachment fell into the hands of the
enemy, losing two guns and three-fourths of his men. Major-General
Gillespie fell at the storming of Kalunga, while gallantly cheering on
his men; our casualties here amounting to 225, twenty of whom were
officers. Beaten back on this occasion, we were no less unsuccessful in
a second attempt, losing in killed and wounded 483 men, including eleven
officers. It was only when General Ochterlony assumed the command that
affairs began to wear a brighter aspect. The energy and ability of this
officer were displayed in a series of operations which daunted the enemy
in proportion as they inspired confidence amongst our own ranks, and the
result of the campaign was the expulsion of the Ghorkas from a large
tract of country, which was subsequently annexed to British India.
Attempts at negotiation were then made, which ultimately proved futile,
and after the usual amount of delay, specious professions, and deceit
common to native Courts generally had been practised by the Nepaul Durbar
with a view to gain time, open hostilities broke out with redoubled
vigour on both sides. General Ochterlony assumed the command of an army
of 36,000 men, and commenced the campaign by moving the main body at once
across the Cheriagotty hills, an operation involving incredible toil and
difficulty, but which was, nevertheless, performed with the greatest
rapidity. From Hetowra he advanced upon Muckwanpore, which, after two
engagements, fell into his hands, our loss amounting to nearly 300. This
fort commands the valley of Katmandu, and the Durbar therefore thought it
advisable to treat as speedily as possible. The terms which were finally
agreed upon differed little from those proposed on the former occasion,
leaving in our hands a portion of the Terai, and, what was more
important, giving the Ghorkas a more correct notion of the enemy they had
to deal with than they had gained from their experience in the first
campaign.
We found our camp prettily situated at the village of Hetowra, on the
Rapti, surrounded by hills clothed to their summits with evergreen
jungle, not unlike those I had lately left in Ceylon.
The Minister Sahib, having received information that a herd of wild
elephants were in the neighbourhood, paid us a visit immediately on our
arrival at camp, in a great state of excitement, and enjoined on us the
necessity of an early start if we wished to partake of a sport which he
promised would exceed anything we had ever witnessed, and prove such as
no European had ever before had an opportunity of joining in.
I was aroused about 3 on the following morning, by the tune of the
'British Grenadiers,' played by the bands of the two regiments, which
marched past my tent on their way to beat the jungle, and I wondered
whether its composer ever imagined that its inspiriting effects would be
exercised upon men bound on so singular a duty as those whose tramp we
now heard becoming fainter and fainter as they wound up the valley. This
was a signal for us to abandon our mattresses, which were always spread
on the ground, in default of a four-poster, but were none the less
comfortable or fascinating to their drowsy occupants on that account. It
was necessary to make such a morning's meal as should be sufficient to
last for 24 hours. This was rather a difficult matter at that early
hour, as we had eaten a large dinner overnight; however, we accomplished
it to the best of our power, and, jumping into our howdah, soon overtook
Jung, whom we accompanied to what was to be the scene of action, a thick
saul jungle on the banks of the Kurroo Nuddee, here a considerable
stream.
Down a hill before us, and by a particular pass, the wild elephants were
to be driven by the united efforts of the gallant rifle corps, a regiment
of infantry, and a hundred elephants; while our party, which comprised an
equal number of these animals, was prepared to receive their brethren of
the woods.
Our patience as sportsmen was destined to be severely tried, and mid-day
came without any elephants having made their appearance: we therefore lit
a huge fire, and, dismounting, partook with Jung of some very nice sweet
biscuits and various specimens of native confectionery, declining the
green-looking mutton which was kindly pressed upon us. Had the elephants
chosen that moment to come down upon us, a curious scene must have
ensued: Jung's grapes would have gone one way and his curry-powder the
other--he was eating grapes and curry-powder at the time; and his
brother, who was toasting a large piece of mutton on a reed, must have
either burnt his mouth or lost the precious morsel: however, the
elephants did not come, so Jung finished his grapes and curry-powder, and
his brother waited till the mutton was cool, ate it in peace, and went
through the necessary ablutions.
He then gave me a lesson in cutting down trees with a kukri, a sort of
bill-hook, in the use of which the Nepaulese are peculiarly expert. The
Minister Sahib at one stroke cut through a saul-tree which was 13 inches
in circumference, while sundry unsuccessful attempts which I made on very
small branches created great amusement among the bystanders skilled in
the use of the weapon.
At last a dropping shot or two were heard in the distance: this was the
signal of the approach of the herd, and I was put by the minister through
the exercises necessary to be acquired before commencing the novel chace.
Taking off my shoes and tying a towel round my head, I was told to
suppose an immense branch to be in front of me, and was taught to escape
its sweeping effects by sliding down the crupper of the elephant, and
keeping the whole of my body below the level of his back, thus allowing
the branch to pass within an inch above it without touching me. In the
same manner, upon a branch threatening me from the right or left, it was
necessary to throw myself on the opposite side, hanging only by my hands,
and swinging myself into my original position by a most violent exertion,
which required at the same time considerable knack. Having perfected
myself in these accomplishments to the utmost of my power, I awaited in
patience the arrival of the elephants.
Looking round, I saw Jung himself, seated in the place of the mahout,
guiding the elephant which he bestrode very cleverly. When silence was
required he made a peculiar clucking noise with his tongue; whereupon
these docile creatures immediately became still and motionless: one would
drop the tuft of grass which he was tearing up, another would stop
instantly from shaking the dust out of the roots which he was preparing
to eat, others left off chewing their food. When a few seconds of the
most perfect calm had elapsed, the rooting up and dusting out went on
more briskly than ever, and the mouthful was doubly sweet to those who
were now allowed to finish the noisy process of mastication.
At last our patience was rewarded, and Jung gave the signal for us to
advance.
On each elephant there were now two riders, the mahout and a man behind,
who, armed with a piece of hard wood into which two or three spikes were
inserted, hammered the animal about the root of the tail as with a
mallet. He was furnished with a looped rope to hold on by, and a sack
stuffed with straw to sit upon, and was expected to belabour the elephant
with one hand while he kept himself on its back with the other.
This was the position I filled on this trying occasion; but my elephant
fared well as regarded the instrument of torture, for I was much too
fully occupied in taking care of myself to think of using it. Away we
went at full speed, jostling one another up banks and through streams,
and I frequently was all but jolted off the diminutive sack which ought
to have formed my seat, but did not, for I found it impossible to sit.
Being quite unable to maintain any position for two moments together, I
looked upon it as a miracle that every bone in my body was not broken.
Sometimes I was suddenly jerked into a sitting posture, and, not being
able to get my heels from under me in time, they received a violent blow.
A moment after I was thrown forward on my face, only righting myself in
time to see a huge impending branch, which I had to escape by slipping
rapidly down the crupper, taking all the skin off my toes in so doing,
and, what would have been more serious, the branch nearly taking my head
off if I did not stoop low enough. When I could look about me, the scene
was most extraordinary and indescribable: a hundred elephants were
tearing through the jungle as rapidly as their unwieldy forms would let
them, crushing down the heavy jungle in their headlong career, while
their riders were gesticulating violently, each man punishing his
elephant, or making a bolster of himself as he flung his body on one side
or the other to avoid branches; while some, Ducrow-like, and confident in
their activity, were standing on the bare backs of their elephants,
holding only by the looped rope,--a feat I found easy enough in the open
country, but fearfully dangerous in the jungle. A few yards in front of
us was a wild elephant with her young one, both going away in fine style,
the pace being 8 or 9 miles an hour. I was just beginning to appreciate
the sport, and was contemplating hammering my elephant so as to be up
amongst the foremost, when we, in company with about half a dozen others,
suddenly disappeared from the scene. A nullah, or deep drain, hidden in
the long grass, had engulfed elephants and riders. The suddenness of the
shock unseated me, but fortunately I did not lose my hold of the rope,
and more fortunately still my elephant did not roll over, but, balancing
himself on his knees, with the assistance of his trunk, made a violent
effort, and succeeded in getting out of his uncomfortable position.
The main body of the chace had escaped this nullah by going round the top
of it; but we were not so much thrown out as I expected, for we arrived
in time to see the wild elephant charging and struggling in the midst of
her pursuers, who, after several attempts, finally succeeded in noosing
her, and dragging her away in triumph between two tame elephants, each
attached to the wild one by a rope, and pulling different ways whenever
she was inclined to be unmanageable. I was watching the struggles which
the huge beast made, and wondering how the young one, who was generally
almost under the mother, had escaped being crushed in the melee, when a
perfect roll of small arms turned our attention to another quarter, and I
saw an elephant with an imposing pair of tusks charging down upon us
through a square of soldiers, which had just been broken by it, and who
were now taking to the trees in all directions. I ought to remark, lest
the gallant riflemen should be under the imputation of want of valour in
this proceeding, that they were only allowed to fire blank cartridge. The
elephant next to me stood the brunt of the charge, which was pretty
severe, while mine created a diversion by butting him violently in the
side, and, being armed with a formidable pair of tusks, made a
considerable impression; the wild one was soon completely overpowered by
numbers, after throwing up his trunk and charging wildly in all
directions. Of the violence of one of these charges I have retained
visible proof, for a splintered tusk, which had been broken short off in
the combat, was afterwards picked up and given to me as a trophy. Having
succeeded in noosing this elephant also, we were dragging him away in the
usual manner between two others, when he snapped one of the ropes and
started off, pulling after him the elephant that still remained attached
to him, and dashed through the jungle at full speed, notwithstanding the
struggles of the involuntary companion of his flight. For a moment I
feared that the courage of the mahout would give way in that pell-mell
career, and that he would slip the rope which bound the two animals
together. But he held on manfully, and after another exciting chace we
succeeded in surrounding the maddened monster; my elephant jostled him so
closely that I could touch him as we went neck and neck. It is a curious
fact that the elephants never seem to think of uncurling their trunks,
and sweeping their persecutors from the backs of their tame brethren:
this they have never been known to do, though it has not unfrequently
occurred that a wild herd have proved more than a match for the tame one,
and then there is nothing for it but to turn and make off in an
ignominious retreat as fast as the blows of the mahouts can urge them. It
is only under these circumstances that there is any danger to the riders,
and such an occurrence can take place only when the tame herd is small,
and encounters an unusually large number of the wild elephants. Upon
this occasion we mustered so strong that defeat was out of the question.
We now heard a terrific bellowing at a short distance, which, in my
ignorance, I thought proceeded from a huge tusker making a gallant
resistance somewhere; I was rather disappointed, therefore, to find that
the object of interest to a large group of men and elephants was only a
young one struggling on his back in a deep hole into which he had fallen,
and from which he was totally unable to extricate himself. Lying on his
back, and kicking his legs wildly about in the air, he looked the most
ridiculous object imaginable, and certainly made more noise in proportion
to his size than any baby I ever heard. So incessant was his roaring
that we could scarcely hear each other speak; at last, by means of ropes
attached to various parts of his body, and by dint of a great deal of
pulling and hauling, we extricated the unfortunate infant from his
awkward position.
The poor little animal had not had a long life before experiencing its
ups and downs, and it now looked excessively bewildered at not finding
its mother, who had escaped with the rest of the herd. He was soon
consoled, however, by being allotted to a tame matron, who did not seem
particularly pleased at being thus installed in the office of foster
mother whether she liked it or not.
We now all jogged home in great spirits, and, though Jung professed
himself dissatisfied with only having captured four out of a herd of
twelve, we were perfectly contented with a day's work which my elephant-
shooting experience in Ceylon had never seen equalled, and which so fully
realised the promise made by the minister at starting, that we should be
the first to partake of a sport to be met with only in the noble forests
of his native country.