THE KILLING OF A SECOND ELEPHANT—HOW BULL ELEPHANTS FIGHT—THE CONTEST
FOR THE LEADERSHIP OF THE HERD—OSHORIA’S GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF A
BATTLE ROYAL WITNESSED BY HIM—RETURN TO THE PLANTATION.
Quabi and Ngola went to reconnoitre during the day, and came back with
the news that further down the prairie there was a little lake, the
shores of which were entirely covered with elephants’ tracks, and that
the forest near there showed that elephants had been in that region
during the night.
We all went to sleep, so that we might be in good trim for the coming
night. When we awoke, the sun had disappeared in the west behind the
trees of the forest. We cut some of the meat of the bull elephant we had
killed into thin slices, and roasted these on charcoal. The meat was
very tough, but fortunately I had good teeth and a splendid digestion.
The eating of coarse food is very healthful and helped me to lay in a
good store of health for future years; and to this day I have never
suffered from a single attack of dyspepsia. During my explorations, I
only drank the delicious water of the springs, or crystal-like rivulets
of the forest.
After our supper we left for the little lake of which Quabi and Ngola
had told us. Night overtook us on our way. We skirted the border of the
forest, so as to be in the shadow of the trees and so as not to be
discovered by elephants or other animals. The grass was not more than a
foot and a half in height, and it was pleasant to walk freely without
meeting fallen trees, or stepping upon roots, and without bending over,
jumping, or climbing, and it was pleasant, too, to have for companions
the lovely stars twinkling above our heads.
After walking about six miles we came in sight of a little lake nestled
in the midst of undulating hills. We concluded not to remain by the
lake, but to hide under the trees near by. There we waited for the
rising of the moon with the expectation of seeing elephants again.
Towards eleven o’clock the moon rose, and as it was on the wane it was
not as light as the preceding night.
We waited and waited, but no elephants came, and it got to be nearly
four o’clock. We were on the point of giving up the hope of seeing any
when we discerned the black form of one walking toward the lake. We
looked all round to discover if there were any herd in sight, but there
was none. The one before us was evidently a bull that had been driven
away from a herd by a stronger bull and was wandering solitary. Then I
said: “Ogoola, Quabi, and Ngola, upon you will devolve the task of
killing this elephant, as Oshoria and I have killed one. Prove that you
are great hunters.”
Oshoria, with an imploring look said to me: “May I not go also?”
“No,” I replied. “Three men even are too many, for the grass is so
short; besides, we must give them a chance to say, on their return, that
they killed an elephant when they were hunting with the Oguizi. We will
watch them.”
“You are right, Oguizi,” replied Oshoria.
I was always right with these dear fellows.
The three hunters started. They bent over so low that their heads and
shoulders only appeared above the grass; they were going directly
towards the lone elephant. At times they would lie flat on the ground
and disappear entirely from sight, then reappear again. The wind was in
their favor, for it blew from the elephant towards them, so the huge
beast could not scent danger. Fortunately also, they and he were going
in the same direction, towards the lake. I whispered to Oshoria: “I am
glad that the men will be in such a position that when they shoot the
elephant, he will not be able to see them and charge.”
For before saying this it had suddenly come across my mind that the
elephant might suddenly turn and follow them and that it would have
perhaps been better if we had shared the danger with them, for nothing
can be more dangerous than to face an elephant in an open space, and
give him a straight shot. It requires then a very cool head, and a very
quick eye to move just in time to avoid the charge of the huge creature.
The three men approached nearer and nearer, for the elephant had stopped
several times, evidently to find out if there were any cows near that
loved him better than the bull that had driven him away from the herd.
At last the men came within gunshot. The elephant stood still, looking
at the water of the lake. He was evidently thinking of taking a bath.
Two of the hunters were on his left side, the other on his right. We
watched them with breathless attention. All at once we saw them stand
up,—then three flashes, followed by the detonations of their guns. Then
we saw the huge beast falter and fall. We ran towards our three friends
as fast as our legs could carry us, and when we came near them the three
were seated on the body of the elephant. They shouted to us: “We are
men! We are men!” And we shouted back to them: “You are men! You are
men!” Then we all shouted together: “We are men!”
The elephant was a bull, but not so large as the one killed the night
before. We had our axes with us and after some hard blows succeeded in
getting out the two small tusks. We took no meat with us, for we had all
we wanted. When we returned to our camp it was broad daylight, and we
turned in and slept almost the whole day.
That evening, as we were seated silently round a huge fire, Oshoria
suddenly said: “Oguizi, it is a great sight to see two bull elephants
fight together for the mastery of the herd. The solitary one has
generally been driven away from another herd by a stronger bull, and
wanders in the forest all alone until he sees another herd; then he
tries his luck again with the ruling bull. Twice in my life I have seen
such a fight.”
“Tell me all about it,” I said.
“I will,” he replied, and after a pause he began: “One evening at dusk,
not far from where we stand, I saw a big herd of elephants emerging from
the forest. They walked slowly and silently in the middle of the prairie
on their way towards the lake. They stopped twice, squealed and
trumpeted, and then continued their march. Suddenly the bull stopped
again, and the cow elephants came near him.
“At the same time I saw emerging from the forest on the opposite side a
huge bull elephant. He was alone, and no herd followed him. The bull
which had a herd trumpeted fiercely, as they do when they are angry and
want to fight. The solitary bull answered in the same way, signifying
that he also was ready to fight. The cows gave forth piercing squeals,
and remained by themselves.
“Then the two bulls ran towards each other. It was fine to see them. The
solitary bull had evidently not forgotten his previous ignominious
defeat, and wanted to avenge himself, hoping to be the victor this time
and have a herd of his own. They squealed and trumpeted in the fiercest
manner as they approached each other. I could see that the cow elephants
were very uneasy, for they rocked and swayed quickly to and fro, their
trunks also waving rapidly.
“As the two bulls neared each other their speed increased. Then I heard
a thumping, booming sound, like two big trees knocking against each
other. Their heads had met with terrific force. For a while they pushed
each other, neither of them moving backward or forward, but at last the
solitary bull retreated slowly, facing his enemy. He proved the weaker.
The victorious elephant stood his ground looking at his enemy, who
halted after a while, and stood still. They looked at each other
steadily, then each uttered a long trumpeting of defiance.
“The cows remained at the same place all the time, waiting for the
victor to come to them. Then the two bull elephants charged again. The
leader of the herd by a clever movement succeeded in grazing the body of
his antagonist, inflicting a fearful gash with his right tusk all along
his side. The great object of the bull elephant in fighting is to
exhaust his rival and pierce his side with his tusks. Elephants when
they charge cannot stop suddenly and turn back, the momentum occasioned
by their weight being too great to allow them to do so.
“Once more the two bulls looked at each other. The wounded elephant did
not want to give up the fight before another trial of strength. He felt
that this was his last chance. They came towards each other at a furious
rate. The two heads met with tremendous force, and a sound like the
sudden rolling of thunder far away in the forest. A man caught between
those two heads would have been mashed as flat as the hide of an
antelope. The solitary bull was stunned by the blow. He staggered an
instant, and it was all over with him. He had not the strength to flee
for his life, and at that moment the other charged him on the flank. The
two enormous tusks went through his side, and he fell dead. The tusks
had penetrated nearly three feet into the body. The victor returned to
his herd, which received him with loud trumpetings of joy.
[Illustration: “_The two enormous tusks went through his side_”]
“Often,” concluded Oshoria, “one finds big tusks of ivory in the forest.
These come from elephants killed in like manner. Some also come from
elephants who have died of old age or of their wounds some time
subsequent to such a fight as this one.”
We remained three more days on the prairie; but no more elephants were
to be seen. They had all evidently left that part of the country. So we
determined to return to the plantation, with our four tusks. When we
came to Crocodile Lake we found our canoes; we were glad to continue our
journey by water, for not only had we the tusks to carry, but also
plenty of smoked elephant meat.
When we reached King Regundo’s plantation we were received with great
demonstrations of joy by Regundo, his wife, and all the slaves. They
exclaimed: “Will not our master’s heart be glad when he sees these large
tusks, for he will get many goods when he barters for them.”