[From a Correspondent.]
[Illustration: Cape Buffalo.]
Of the South African buffalo I had not many opportunities for personal
observation during my residence in that part of the Cape Colony of which
this animal is still an inhabitant; but, living among people by whom he
is frequently and eagerly hunted, I heard a good deal of his character
and habits, which may be comprised in the following sketch.
The Boors and Hottentots describe the buffalo to be, what his aspect
strongly indicates, an animal of a fierce, treacherous, and cruel
disposition. Even when not provoked by wounds or driven to extremity in
the chase, they say he will attack, with the utmost ferocity, his great
enemy man, if he happens to intrude incautiously upon his haunts; and
what renders him the more dangerous is his habit of skulking in the
jungle, when he observes travellers approaching, and then suddenly
rushing out upon them. It has been remarked, too, (and this observation
has been corroborated by the Swedish traveller Sparrman,) that if he
succeeds in killing a man by goring and tossing him with his formidable
horns, he will stand over his victim afterwards for a long time,
trampling upon him with his hoofs, crushing him with his knees, mangling
the body with his horns, and stripping off the skin with his rough and
prickly tongue. This he does not do all at once, but at intervals, going
away and again returning, as if more fully to glut his vengeance.
Although I have no reason to question the truth of this description, it
ought to be qualified by stating that though the buffalo will not
unfrequently thus attack man, and even animals, without any obvious
provocation, yet this malignant disposition will be found, if accurately
inquired into, the exception rather than the rule of the animal’s
ordinary habits.
The _bos caffer_ is no more a beast of prey than the domestic ox, and
though much fiercer as well as more powerful than the ox, and bold
enough sometimes to stand stoutly on self defence even against the lion,
it is, I apprehend, nevertheless his natural instinct to retire from the
face of man, if undisturbed, rather than to provoke his hostility. The
proofs that are adduced of his vicious and wanton malignity arise
chiefly from the following cause. The males of a herd, especially at
certain seasons of the year, contend furiously for the mastery; and
after many conflicts the unsuccessful competitors are driven off, at
least for a season, by their stronger rivals. The exiles, like some
other species of animals under similar circumstances[1], are peculiarly
mischievous; and it is while skulking solitarily about the thickets, in
this state of sulky irritation, that they most usually exhibit the
dangerous disposition generally ascribed to the species.
It is, nevertheless, very true that the Cape buffalo is, at all times, a
dangerous animal to hunt; as, when wounded, or closely pressed, he will
not unfrequently turn and run down his pursuer, whose only chance of
escape in that case is the swiftness of his steed, if the huntsman be a
Colonist or European. The Hottentot, who is light and agile, and
dexterous in plunging like an antelope through the intricacies of an
entangled forest, generally prefers following this game on foot. Like
all pursuits, when the spirit of enterprise is highly excited by some
admixture of perilous adventure, buffalo hunting is passionately
followed by those who once devote themselves to it; nor do the perilous
accidents that occasionally occur appear to make any deep impression on
those that witness them. The consequence is, that the buffalo is now
nearly extirpated throughout every part of the Cape Colony, except in
the large forests or jungles in the eastern districts, where, together
with the elephant, he still finds a precarious shelter.
It was in this quarter that the following incident in buffalo hunting,
which may serve as a specimen of this rough pastime, was related to me
by a Dutch-African farmer, who had been an eye-witness of the scene some
fifteen years before. A party of Boors had gone out to hunt a troop of
buffaloes, which were grazing in a piece of marshy ground, interspersed
with groves of yellow wood and mimosa trees, on the very spot where the
village of Somerset is now built. As they could not conveniently get
within shot of the game without crossing part of the _valei_ or marsh,
which did not afford a safe passage for horses, they agreed to leave
their steeds in charge of their Hottentot servants and to advance on
foot, thinking that if any of the buffaloes should turn upon them, it
would be easy to escape by retreating across the quagmire, which, though
passable for man, would not support the weight of a heavy quadruped.
They advanced accordingly, and, under cover of the bushes, approached
the game with such advantage that the first volley brought down three of
the fattest of the herd, and so severely wounded the great bull leader
that he dropped on his knees, bellowing with pain. Thinking him mortally
wounded, the foremost of the huntsmen issued from the covert, and began
reloading his musket as he advanced to give him a finishing shot. But no
sooner did the infuriated animal see his foe in front of him, than he
sprang up and rushed headlong upon him. The man, throwing down his empty
gun, fled towards the quagmire; but the savage beast was so close upon
him that he despaired of escaping in that direction, and turning
suddenly round a clump of copsewood, began to climb an old mimosa tree
which stood at the one side of it. The raging beast, however, was too
quick for him. Bounding forward with a roar, which my informant (who was
of the party) described as being one of the most frightful sounds he
ever heard, he caught the unfortunate man with his horns, just as he had
nearly escaped his reach, and tossed him in the air with such force that
the body fell, dreadfully mangled, into a lofty cleft of the tree. The
buffalo ran round the tree once or twice apparently looking for the man,
until weakened with loss of blood he again sunk on his knees. The rest
of the party then, recovering from their confusion, came up and
despatched him, though too late to save their comrade, whose body was
hanging in the tree quite dead.
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Footnote 1:
The elephant, for instance. See Menageries, vol. ii. p. 71.
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ON THE IMPORTANCE OF A PUBLIC DECLARATION OF THE REASONS OF DECISIONS IN
COURTS OF JUSTICE.
While a cause is pending I admit that all publications, and all the
little arts of popularity, tending to raise the prejudices or to inflame
the passions, are highly improper, and ought not to be permitted. But,
after the decision of a cause, the freedom of inquiry into the conduct
and opinions of the judges is one of the noblest and best securities
that human invention can contrive for the faithful administration of
justice.
It is for this very purpose that it has been established in this
country, that judges shall give their opinions and decisions
publicly,--an admirable institution, which does honour to Britain, and
gives it a superiority in this respect over most of the other countries
in Europe.
Laws may recommend or enforce the due administration of justice; but
these laws are of little avail, when compared with the superior efficacy
of the restraint which arises from the judgment of the public, exercised
upon the conduct and opinions of the judges.
It would be extremely fatal to the liberties of this nation, and to that
inestimable blessing, the faithful distribution of justice if this
restraint upon judges were removed or improperly checked.
The public has a right, and ought to be satisfied with regard to the
conduct, ability, and integrity of their judges. It is from these
sources alone that genuine respect and authority can be derived; and an
endeavour to make these the appendages of office, independent of the
personal character and conduct of the judge, is an attempt which, in
this free and enlightened country, most probably never will succeed.
This freedom of inquiry is not only essential to the interests of the
community, but every judge, conscious of intending and acting
honourably, ought to promote and rejoice in the exercise of it. It is a
poor spirit indeed that can rest satisfied with authority and external
regard derived from office alone. The judge who is possessed of proper
elevation of mind will, both for his own sake and that of his country,
rejoice that his fellow-citizens have an opportunity of satisfying
themselves with regard to his conduct, and of distinguishing judges who
deserve well of the public, from those who are unworthy. He will adopt
the sentiment of the old Roman, who, conscious of no thoughts or actions
unfit for public view, expressed a wish for windows in his breast, that
all mankind might perceive what was passing there.
If these considerations are of any force for establishing the justness
of the principle, the only objection I can foresee against this freedom
of inquiry is, that it may happen sometimes to be improperly exercised.
This is an objection equally applicable to some of the greatest
blessings enjoyed by mankind, whether from nature or from civil
institutions. It is no real objection to health or civil liberty, that
both of them often have been, and are, extremely liable to be abused.
When the freedom of inquiry now contended for happens to be improperly
used, it will be found that the mischief carries along with it its own
remedy. The most valuable part of mankind are soon disgusted with
unmerited or indecent attacks made either upon judges or individuals;
the person capable of such unworthy conduct loses his aim; the unjust or
illiberal invective returns upon himself, to his own disgrace; and the
judge whose conduct has been misrepresented, instead of suffering in the
public opinion, will acquire additional credit from the palpable
injustice of the attack made upon him.
⁂ From ‘Letters to Lord Mansfield, by Andrew Stuart, Esq.’
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