The most daring and adventurous of all hunters is Mr. Roualeyn Gordon
Cumming. Being an officer in the British service at the Cape of Good
Hope, his love of hunting adventures led him to resign his commission
in the army, and devote himself for five years to exploring the
interior of Africa, and hunting wild beasts. We shall quote his own
account of some of his adventures.
The first incident of his career, to which we invite the reader's
attention, is one which he calls an attack on four patriarchal lions.
It occurred in the interior of Africa, not far from the junction of
the rivers Mariqua and Limpopo. He thus describes it.
A few days after this, just as Swint had milked the cows, and was
driving them from the wooded peninsula in which we lay, athwart the
open ground, to graze with my other cattle in the forest beyond, he
beheld four majestic lions walking slowly across the valley, a few
hundred yards below my camp, and disappear over the river's bank, at a
favorite drinking place. These mighty monarchs of the waste had been
holding a prolonged repast over the carcases of some zebras killed by
Present, and had now come down the river to slake their thirst. This
being reported, I instantly saddled two horses, and, directing my boys
to lead after me as quickly as possible my small remaining pack of
sore-footed dogs, I rode forth, accompanied by Carey carrying a spare
gun, to give battle to the four grim lions. As I rode out of the
peninsula, they showed themselves on the banks of the river, and,
guessing that their first move would be a disgraceful retreat, I
determined to ride so as to make them think that I had not observed
them, until I should be able to cut off their retreat from the river,
across the open vley, to the endless forest beyond. That point being
gained, I knew that they, still doubtful of my having observed them,
would hold their ground on the river's bank until my dogs came up,
when I could more advantageously make the attack.
I cantered along, holding as if I meant to pass the lions at a
distance of a quarter of a mile, until I was opposite to them, when I
altered my course, and inclined a little nearer. The lions showed
symptoms of uneasiness; they rose to their feet, and, overhauling us
for half a minute, disappeared over the bank. They reappeared,
however, directly, a little farther down; and finding that their
present position was bare, they walked majestically along the top of
the bank to a spot a few hundred yards lower, where the bank was well
wooded. Here they seemed half inclined to await my attack; two
stretched out their massive arms, and lay down in the grass, and the
other two sat up like dogs upon their haunches. Deeming it probable
that when my dogs came up and I approached they would still retreat
and make a bolt across the vley, I directed Carey to canter forward
and take up the ground in the centre of the vley about four hundred
yards in advance; whereby the lions would be compelled either to give
us battle or swim the river, which, although narrow, I knew they would
be very reluctant to do.
I now sat in my saddle, anxiously waiting the arrival of my dogs; and
whilst thus momentarily disengaged, I was much struck with the
majestic and truly appalling appearance which these four noble lions
exhibited. They were all full-grown immense males; and I felt, I must
confess, a little nervous, and very uncertain as to what might be the
issue of the attack. When the dogs came up I rode right in towards the
lions. They sprang to their feet, and trotted slowly down along the
bank of the river, once or twice halting and facing about for half a
minute. Immediately below them their was a small determined bend in
the stream, forming a sort of peninsula. Into this bend they
disappeared, and next moment I was upon them with my dogs. They had
taken shelter in a dense angle of the peninsula, well sheltered by
high trees and reeds. Into this retreat the dogs at once boldly
followed them, making a loud barking, which was instantly followed by
the terrible voices of the lions, which turned about and charged to
the edge of the cover. Next moment, however, I heard them plunge into
the river, when I sprang from my horse, and, running to the top of the
bank, I saw three of them ascending the opposite bank, the dogs
following. One of them bounded away across the open plain at top
speed, but the other two, finding themselves followed by the dogs,
immediately turned to bay.
It was now my turn, so, taking them coolly right and left with my
little rifle, I made the most glorious double shot that a sportsman's
heart could desire, disabling them both in the shoulder before they
were even aware of my position. Then snatching up my other gun from
Carey, who that moment had ridden up to my assistance, I finished the
first lion with a shot about the heart, and brought the second to a
standstill by disabling him in his hind quarters. He quickly crept
into a dense, wide, dark green bush, in which for a long time it was
impossible to obtain a glimpse of him. At length, a clod of earth
falling near his hiding-place, he made a move which disclosed to me
his position, when I finished him with three more shots, all along the
middle of his back. Carey swam across the river to flog off the dogs;
and when these came through to me, I beat up the peninsula in quest of
the fourth lion, which had, however, made off. We then crossed the
river a little higher up, and proceeded to view the noble prizes I had
won. Both lions were well up in their years; I kept the skin and skull
of the finest specimen, and only the nails and tail of the other, one
of whose canine teeth was worn down to the socket with the caries,
which seemed to have affected his general condition.
Mr. Cumming Hunting Rhinoceroses.
Mr. Cumming thus describes his encounter with some rhinoceroses and an
eland, in the country of the Bechuanas.
It was on the 4th of June, 1844, that I beheld for the first time the
rhinoceros. Having taken some coffee, I rode out unattended, with my
rifle, and before proceeding far I fell in with a huge white
rhinoceros with a large calf, standing in a thorny grove. Getting my
wind she set off at top speed through thick thorny bushes, the calf,
as is invariably the case, taking the lead, the mother guiding its
course by placing her horn, generally about three feet in length,
against its ribs.
My horse shied very much at first, alarmed at the strange appearance
of "Chukuroo," but by a sharp application of spur and jambok I
prevailed upon him to follow, and presently, the ground improving, I
got alongside, and, firing at the gallop, sent a bullet through her
shoulder. She continued her pace with blood streaming from the wound,
and very soon reached an impracticable thorny jungle, where I could
not follow, and instantly lost her. In half an hour I fell in with the
second rhinoceros, being an old bull of the white variety.
Dismounting, I crept within twenty yards, and saluted him with both
barrels in the shoulder, upon which he made off, uttering a loud
blowing noise, and upsetting every thing that obstructed his progress.
Shortly after this I found myself on the banks of the stream, beside
which my wagons were outspanned. Following along its margin, I
presently beheld a bull of the borele, or black rhinoceros, standing
within a hundred yards of me. Dismounting from my horse, I secured him
to a tree, and then stalked within twenty yards of the huge beast
under cover of a large strong bush. Borele, hearing me advance, came
on to see what it was, and suddenly protruded his horny nose within a
few yards of me. Knowing well that a front shot would not prove
deadly, I sprang to my feet and ran behind the bush. Upon this the
villain charged, blowing loudly, and chased me round the bush. Had his
activity been equal to his ugliness, my wanderings would have
terminated here, but by my superior agility I had the advantage in the
turn.
After standing a short time eyeing me through the bush, he got a whiff
of my wind, which at once alarmed him. Uttering a blowing noise, and
erecting his insignificant yet saucy-looking tail, he wheeled about,
leaving me master of the field, when I sent a bullet through his ribs
to teach him manners. Of the rhinoceros there are four varieties in
South Africa, distinguished by the Bechuanas by the names of the
borele or black rhinoceros, the keitloa or two-horned rhinoceros, the
muchocho or common white rhinoceros, and the kobaoba or long-horned
white rhinoceros. Both varieties of the black rhinoceros are extremely
fierce and dangerous, and rush headlong and unprovoked at any object
which attracts their attention. They never attain much fat, and their
flesh is tough, and not much esteemed by the Bechuanas. Their food
consists almost entirely of the thorny branches of the wait-a-bit
thorns.
Finding that rhinoceros were abundant in the vicinity, I resolved to
halt a day for the purpose of hunting, and after an early breakfast,
on the 6th, I rode south-east with the two Baquaines. They led me
along the bases of the mountains, through woody dells and open glades,
and we eventually reached a grand forest grey with age. Here we found
abundance of spoor of a variety of game, and started several herds of
the more common varieties. At length I observed an old bull eland
standing under a tree. He was the first that I had seen, and was a
noble specimen, standing about six feet high at the shoulder.
Observing us, he made off at a gallop, springing over the trunks of
decayed trees which lay across his path; but very soon he reduced his
pace to a trot. Spurring my horse, another moment saw me riding hard
behind him. Twice in the thickets I lost sight of him, and he very
nearly escaped me; but at length, the ground improving, I came up with
him, and rode within a few yards behind him. Long streaks of foam now
streamed from his mouth, and a profuse perspiration had changed his
sleek grey coat to an ashy blue. Tears trickled from his large dark
eye, and it was plain that the eland's hours were numbered. Pitching
my rifle to my shoulder, I let fly at the gallop, and mortally wounded
him behind; then spurring my horse, I shot past him on his right side,
and discharged my other barrel behind his shoulder, when the eland
staggered for a moment and subsided in the dust. The two Baquaines
soon made their appearance, and seemed delighted at my success. Having
kindled a fire, they cut out steaks, which they roasted on the embers;
I also cooked a steak for myself, spitting it upon a forked branch,
the other end of which I sharpened with my knife and stuck into the
ground.
The eland is a magnificent animal, by far the largest of all the
antelope tribe, exceeding a large ox in size. It also attains an
extraordinary condition, being often burdened with a very large amount
of fat. Its flesh is most excellent, and is justly esteemed above all
others. It has a peculiar sweetness, and is tender and fit for use the
moment the animal is killed. Like the gemsbok, the eland is
independent of water, and frequents the borders of the great Kalahari
desert in herds varying from ten to a hundred. It is also generally
diffused throughout all the wooded districts of the interior where I
have hunted. Like other varieties of deer and and antelope, the old
males may often be found consorting together apart from the females,
and a troop of these, when in full condition, may be likened to a herd
of stall-fed oxen.
The eland has less speed than any other variety of antelope; and, by
judicious riding, they may be driven to camp from a great distance. In
this manner I have often ridden the best bull out of the herd, and
brought him within gunshot of my wagons, where I could more
conveniently cut up and preserve the flesh, without the trouble of
sending men and packoxen to fetch it. I have repeatedly seen an eland
drop down dead at the end of a severe chase, owing to his plethoric
habit. The skin of the eland I had just shot emitted, like most other
antelopes, the most delicious perfume of trees and grass.
Having eaten my steak, I rode to my wagon, where I partook of coffee,
and having mounted a fresh horse, I again set forth accompanied by
Carollus leading a packhorse, to bring home the head of the eland and
a supply of the flesh; I took all my dogs along with me to share in
the banquet. We had not proceeded far when the dogs went ahead on some
scent. Spurring my horse, I followed through some thorny bushes as
best I might, and emerging on an open glade, I beheld two huge white
rhinoceroses trotting along before me. The dogs attacked them with
fury, and a scene of intense excitement ensued. The Old Gray, on
observing them, pricked up his ears, and seemed only half inclined to
follow, but a sharp application of the spur reminded him of his duty,
and I was presently riding within ten yards of the stem of the
largest, and sent a bullet through her back. The Old Grey shied
considerably and became very unmanageable, and on one occasion, in
consequence, the rhinoceros, finding herself hemmed in by a bend in a
watercourse, turned round to charge, I had a very narrow escape.
Presently, galloping up on one side, I gave her a bad wound in the
shoulder, soon after which she came to bay in the dry bed of a river.
Dismounting from my horse, I commenced loading, but before this was
accomplished she was off once more. I followed her, putting on my caps
as I rode, and coming up alongside, I made a fine shot from the
saddle, firing at the gallop. The ball entered somewhere near her
heart. On receiving this shot she reeled about, while torrents of
blood flowed from her mouth and wounds, and presently she rolled over
and expired, uttering a shrill screaming sound as she died, which
rhinoceroses invariably do while in the agonies of death.
The chase had led me close in along the northern base of a lofty
detached mountain, the highest in all that country. The mountain is
called, by the Bechuanas, the Mountain of the Eagles. The eland which
I had shot in the morning lay somewhere to the southward of this
mountain, but far in the level forest. Having rounded the mountain, I
began to recognise the ground.
I had the satisfaction to behold a few vultures soaring over the
forest in advance, and, on proceeding a short distance farther, large
groups of these birds were seated on the grey and weather-beaten
branches of the loftiest old trees of the forest. This was a certain
sign that the eland was not far distant; and on raising my voice and
loudly calling on the name of Carollus, I was instantly answered by
that individual, who, heedless of his master's fate, was actively
employed in cooking for himself a choice steak from the dainty rump of
the eland. That night I slept beneath the blue and starry canopy of
heaven. My sleep was light and sweet, and no rude dreams or hankering
cares disturbed the equanimity of my repose.
One of Mr. Cumming's most perilous adventures was with a black
Rhinoceros, which gave chase to him, and nearly run turn down. He thus
describes this affair.
On the 22d, ordering my men to move on to the fountain of Bootlonamy,
I rode forth with Ruyter, [Footnote: This is the name of a favorite
servant of Mr. Cumming.] and held east through a grove of lofty and
wide-spreading mimosas, most of which were more or less damaged by the
gigantic strength of a troop of elephants, which had passed there
about twelve months before.
Having proceeded about two miles with large herds of game on every
side, I observed a crusty looking old bull borele, or black
rhinoceros, cocking his ears one hundred yards in advance. He had not
observed us; and soon after he walked slowly toward us, and stood
broadside to, eating some wait-a-bit thorns within fifty yards of me.
I fired from my saddle, and sent a bullet in behind his shoulder, upon
which he rushed forward about one hundred yards in tremendous
consternation, blowing like a grampus, and then stood looking about
him. Presently he made off. I followed, but found it hard to come up
with him. When I overtook him I found the blood running freely from
his wound.
The chase led through a large herd of blue wildebeests, zebras, and
springboks, which gazed at us in utter amazement. At length I fired my
second barrel, but my horse was fidgety, and I missed. I continued
riding alongside of him, expecting in my ignorance that at length he
would come to bay, which rhinoceroses never do; when suddenly he fell
flat on his broadside on the ground, but, recovering his feet, resumed
his course as if nothing had happened. Becoming at last annoyed at the
length of the chase, as I wished to keep my horses fresh for the
elephants, and being indifferent whether I got the rhinoceros or not,
as I observed that his horn was completely worn down by age, and the
violence of his disposition, I determined to bring matters to a
crisis; so, spurring my horse, I dashed ahead, and rode right in his
path.
Upon this the hideous monster instantly charged me in the most
resolute manner, blowing loudly through his nostrils; and although I
quickly wheeled about to my left, he followed me at such a furious
pace for several hundred yards, with his horrid horny snout within a
few yards of my horse's tail, that my little Bushman, who was looking
on in great alarm, thought his master's destruction inevitable. It was
certainly a very near thing; my horse was extremely afraid, and
exerted his utmost energies on the occasion. The rhinoceros, however,
wheeled about and continued his former course; and I being perfectly
satisfied with the interview which I had already enjoyed with him, had
no desire to cultivate his acquaintance any further, and accordingly
made for camp.
We left the fountain of Bootlonamy the same day, and marched about six
miles through an old grey forest of mimosas, when we halted for the
night. Large flocks of guinea-fowls roosted in the trees around our
encampment, several of which I shot for my supper.
On the 23d we inspanned by moonlight, and continued our march through
a thinly wooded level country. It was a lovely morning; the sun rose
in great splendor, and the sky was beautifully overcast with clouds.
Having proceeded about ten miles, the country became thickly covered
with detached forest trees and groves of wait-a-bit thorns. The guides
now informed us that the water, which is called by the Bechuanas,
"Lepeby," was only a short distance in advance; upon which I saddled
steeds, and rode ahead with the Bushman, intending to hunt for an hour
before breakfast. Presently we reached an open glade in the forest,
where I observed a herd of zebras in advance; and on my left stood a
troop of springboks, with two leopards watching them from behind a
bush. I rode on, and soon fell in with a troop of hartebeests, and, a
little after, with a large herd of blue wildebeests and pallahs. I
followed for some distance, when they were reinforced by two other
herds of pallahs and wildebeests. Three black rhinoceroses now trotted
across my path.
Presently I sprang from my horse, and fired right and left at a
princely bull blue wildebeest. He got both balls, but did not fall,
and I immediately lost sight of him in the dense ranks of his shaggy
companions. The game increased as we proceeded, until the whole forest
seemed alive with a variety of beautifully colored animals. On this
occasion I was very unfortunate; I might have killed any quantity of
game if venison had been my object; but I was trying to get a few very
superior heads of some of the master bucks of the pallahs. Of these I
wounded four select old bucks, but in the dust and confusion caused by
the innumerable quantity of the game I managed to lose them all.
Encounter with a Lioness.
When Mr. Cumming was in that part of the interior of South Africa
inhabited by the tribe called the Griquas, he had a remarkable and
fearful encounter with a lioness. He had been shooting some of the
various kinds of antelopes which abound in that country, under various
names, such as wildebeests, springboks, blesboks, and pallahs, when
the adventure occurred, which he thus describes.
Suddenly I observed a number of vultures seated on the plain about a
quarter of a mile ahead of us, and close beside them stood a huge
lioness, consuming a blesbok which she had killed. She was assisted in
her repast by about a dozen jackals, which were feasting along with
her in the most friendly manner.
Directing my followers' attention to the spot, I remarked, "I see the
lion;" to which they replied, "Whar? whar? Yah! Almagtig! dat is he;"
and instantly reining in their steeds and wheeling about they pressed
their heels to their horses' sides, and were preparing to betake
themselves to flight. I asked them what they were going to do. To
which they answered, "We have not yet placed caps on our rifles." This
was true; but while this short conversation was passing, the lioness
had observed us. Raising her full, round face, she overhauled us for a
few seconds, and then set off at a smart canter toward a range of
mountains some miles to the northward; the whole troop of jackals also
started off in another direction; there was, therefore, no time to
think of caps.
The first move was to bring her to bay, and not a second was to be
lost. Spurring my good and lively steed, and shouting to my men to
follow, I flew across the plain, and, being fortunately mounted on
Colesberg, the flower of my stud, I gained upon her at every stride.
This was to me a joyful moment, and I at once made up my mind that she
or I must die.
The lioness having had a long start of me, we went over a considerable
extent of ground before I came up with her. She was a large,
full-grown beast, and the bare and level nature of the plain added to
her imposing appearance. Finding that I gained upon her, she reduced her
pace from a canter to a trot, carrying her tail stuck out behind her,
and slewed a little to one side. I shouted loudly to her to halt, as I
wished to speak with her, upon which she suddenly pulled up, and sat
on her haunches like a dog, with her back toward me, not even deigning
to look round. She then appeared to say to herself, "Does this fellow
know who he is after?"
Having thus sat for half a minute, as if involved in thought, she
sprang to her feet, and, facing about, stood looking at me for a few
seconds, moving her tail slowly from side to side, showing her teeth,
and growling fiercely. She next made a short run forward, making a
loud, rumbling noise like thunder. This she did to intimidate me; but
finding that I did not flinch an inch nor seem to heed her hostile
demonstrations, she quietly stretched out her massive arms, and lay
down on the grass. My Hottentots now coming up, we all three
dismounted, and, drawing our rifles from their holsters, we looked to
see if the powder was up in the nipples, and put on our caps, While
this was doing the lioness sat up, and showed evident symptoms of
uneasiness. She looked first at us, and then behind her, as if to see
if the coast were clear; after which she made a short run toward us,
uttering her deep-drawn, murderous growls.
Having secured the three horses to one another by their reins, we led
them on as if we intended to pass her, in the hope of obtaining a
broadside. But this she carefully avoided to expose, presenting only
her full front. I had given Stofolus my rifle, with orders to shoot
her if she should spring upon me, but on no account to fire before me.
Kleinboy was to stand ready to hand me my Purdey rifle, in case the
two-grooved Dixon should not prove sufficient. My men as yet had been
steady, but they were in a precious stew, their faces having assumed a
ghastly paleness, and I had a painful feeling that I could place no
reliance on them.
Now then for it, neck or nothing! She is within sixty yards of us, and
she keeps advancing. We turned the horses' tails to her. I knelt on
one side, and, taking aim at her breast, let fly. The ball cracked
loudly on her tawny hide, and crippled her in the shoulder, upon which
she charged with an appalling roar, and in the twinkling of an eye she
was in the midst of us, At this moment Stofolus's rifle exploded in
his hand, and Kleinboy, whom I had ordered to stand ready by me,
danced about like a duck in a gale of wind.
The lioness sprang upon Colesberg, and fearfully lacerated his ribs
and haunches with her horrid teeth and claws; the worst wound was on
his haunch, which exhibited a sickening, yawning gash, more than
twelve inches long, almost laying bare the very bone. I was very cool
and steady, and did not feel in the least degree nervous, having
fortunately great confidence in my own shooting; but I must confess,
when the whole affair was over, I felt that it was a very awful
situation, and attended with extreme peril, as I had no friend with me
on whom I could rely.
When the lioness sprang on Colesberg, I stood out from the horses,
ready with my second barrel for the first chance she should give of a
clear shot. This she quickly did; for, seemingly satisfied with the
revenge She had now taken, she quitted Colesberg, and slewing her tail
to one side, trotted sulkily past within a few paces of me, taking one
step to the left. I pitched my rifle to my shoulder, and in another
second the lioness was stretched on the plain a lifeless corpse.
In the struggles of death she half turned on her back, and stretched
her neck and fore arms convulsively, when she fell back to her former
position; her mighty arms hung powerless by her side, her lower jaw
fell, blood streamed from her mouth, and she expired. At the moment I
fired my second shot, Stofolus, who hardly knew whether he was alive
or dead, allowed the three horses to escape. These galloped
frantically across the plain, on which he and Kleinboy instantly
started after them, leaving me standing alone, and unarmed, within a
few feet of the lioness, which they from their anxiety to be out of
the way, evidently considered quite capable of doing further mischief.
Hunting the Blauwbok and Buffalo.
Among the various kinds of antelopes which inhabit South Africa, the
blauwbok, or blue buck, called by Mr. Cumming, the blue antelope, is
one of the most remarkable. It is six feet in length, three feet and a
half high to the back, and very compactly made. The horns are more
than two feet in length, round, closely annulated to within six inches
of the tips, bent back in a uniform but moderate curve, and very sharp
at the points. The general color of the hair is gray, with the insides
of the ears, a streak before each eye, the insides of the legs, and a
few hairs along the ridge of the neck, white. The hair on the body
divides on the line of the back, and is rather coarse and open.
The skin under it on the upper part of the living animal is a black,
which shining through the grey, produces a sort of raven-blue tint. It
is the epidermis only and not the mucous tissue which has this black
color, otherwise the hair would have it; and it fades when the animal
is dead, as is the case with a highly-colored epidermis in almost all
animals.
This animal was frequently pursued and shot by Mr. Cumming, in his
African hunts, and his flesh was found to be excellent.
The Cape buffalo, or African buffalo, was a more troublesome object of
chase. This animal, has a most formidable front, and its general
aspect is shaggy and formidable. The horns are the most compact, and
in their substance the heaviest of all the ruminating animals,
excepting only some of those of the antelopes. This animal is
considerably lower than the Indian buffalo; but it is firmer, though
shorter in the legs, rounder in the body; and the beard and short mane
give it a rugged appearance. This is by far the most formidable animal
of the genus. It has never been tamed, and the males are dangerous to
come near.
Mr. Cumming thus describes one of his encounters with this animal, by
himself and Ruyter, a Bushman, a favorite servant.
On the forenoon of the 26th, I rode to hunt, accompanied by Ruyter; we
held west, skirting the wooded stony mountains. The natives had here
many years before waged successful war with elephants, four of whose
skulls I found. Presently I came across two sassaybies, one of which I
knocked over; but while I was loading he regained his legs and made
off. We crossed a level stretch of forest, holding a northerly course
for an opposite range of green, well wooded hills and valleys. Here I
came upon a troop of six fine old bull buffaloes, into which I
stalked, and wounded one princely fellow behind the shoulder, bringing
blood from nis mouth; he, however made off with his comrades, and the
ground being very rough we failed to overtake him. They held for the
Ngotwani. After following the spoor for a couple of miles, we dropped
it, as it led right away from camp.
Returning from this chase, we had an adventure with another old bull
buffalo, which shows the extreme danger of hunting buffaloes without
dogs. We started him in a green hollow among the hills, and his course
inclining for camp, I gave him chase. He crossed the level broad
strath and made for the opposite densely wooded range of mountains.
Along the base of these we followed him, sometimes in view, sometimes
on the spoor, keeping the old fellow at a pace which made him pant. At
length, finding himself much distressed, he had recourse to a singular
stratagem. Doubling round some thick bushes which obscured him from
our view, he found himself beside a small pool of rain water, just
deep enough to cover his body; into this he walked, and facing about,
lay gently down and awaited our on-coming, with nothing but his old
grey face and massive horns above the water, and these concealed from
our view by rank overhanging herbage.
Our attention was entirely engrossed with the spoor, and thus we rode
boldly on until within a few feet of him, when springing to his feet,
he made a desperate charge after Ruyter, uttering a low, stifling
roar, peculiar to buffaloes, (somewhat similar to the growl of a lion)
and hurled horse and rider to the ground with fearful violence. His
horns laid the poor horse's haunches open to the bone, making the most
fearful ragged wound.
In an instant Ruyter regained his feet and ran for his life, which the
buffalo observing, gave chase, but most fortunately came down with a
tremendous somersault in the mud, his feet slipping from under him;
thus the Bushman escaped certain destruction. The buffalo rose much
discomfited, and, the wounded horse first catching his eye, he went a
second time at him, but he got out of the way. At this moment I
managed to send one of my patent pacificating pills into his shoulder,
when he instantly quitted the scene of action, and sought shelter in a
dense cover on the mountain side, whither I deemed it imprudent to
follow him.
Adventures with snakes.
The following stories of fascination by snakes, is copied from
"Arthur's Home Gazette." It is no fiction; but is contributed by a
gentleman of Tennessee, who is willing to vouch for the truth of what
he relates.
It has been a thousand times affirmed, and as often denied, that
certain serpents possess the power--independent of the touch--of
paralyzing their proposed victims. And it seems to be generally
admitted that this is done, if done at all, by the eye; for those
theorists who ascribe it to poison inhaled through the nostrils of the
charmed ones, offer us no example to confirm their theory, or to make
it worthy of a second thought. In extended rambles, alone as well as
with society, I have made the study of serpents a matter of amusement,
and familiarized myself--at least I had done so ten years back--to
handle them without any flesh-shrinking. As I got older, and my nerves
become weakened by long exposure to the seasons and to midnight
studies, more debilitating than Texas "northers," I must confess that
I am more timid; but I can yet join a hunt, or project one in good
"snake weather," with considerable gusto. I have never met with a
snake that could charm me, look he never so keenly, although I have
_faced them_ till they got tired, uncoiled, and beat an inglorious
retreat. And I am sure that I never _smell_ anything about a snake,
calculated to excite any other emotions or _motions_ except _holding
the nose_. And finally I never found a snake or snakelet that I would
turn my heel upon to flee, and for the very good reason that the
animal in question always runs first.
So, ye manufacturers of snake stories horrific, amusive, or
instructive, put that against your tales of blacksnakes, copperheads,
cotton-mouths, horn-tails, water-mocassins, and the whole tribe else.
But as to the _fascination_, what of that?
Why, although I have never been fascinated, or seen a person in that
singular situation, yet I am a firm believer in the art, a believer
against my wishes--because evidence indisputable has been furnished
me, and in abundance. Now I leave out of the question, all the
influences of fright, surprise, etc., also all the humbug stories of
novel writers and romancers in private life, and yet there is a
remainder that I cannot cast out. One or two anecdotes, and then I
come to my principal proof.
A gentleman of my acquaintance, passing along a bridle path, observed
a mouse running backwards and forwards, upon a fallen log, as if in
great terror. Reining in this horse, he paused full ten minutes, and
until the mouse disappeared on the farther side of the log. Drawing
nearer, and peeping over, his suspicions of Lucifer's guile were
verified--for mousey was within three inches of his open jaw,
"irresistibly attracted," said the narrator, "although he was drawing
back with all his might." The latter part of the tale is fishy--for
the gentleman was twenty feet off, and could not nave seen that--but
he saw the mouse finally disappear in that cavernous gullet; and when
he killed the snake-a large black one--the mouse lay in its stomach,
_without a wound_. How will that do?
Another, well authenticated. A young man, of some twenty years,
passing along the road to school, on foot, was observed by some of his
companions in the rear to pause suddenly and look down. His fellows
intent on their conversation, were several minutes coming up; but when
they did so they witnessed a veritable case of fascination--for the
young man was looking intently into the eyes of a large rattlesnake,
coiled at his feet; nor could the voices of all his friends arouse
him. Being jerked back with some violence, he instantly recovered his
senses, but seemed to be puzzled to recall the circumstances connected
with his first view of the snake. After a mental effort he explained,
while the cold sweat poured from his face, and his limbs were flaccid
as an infant's, that the sound of a rattle had caused him to stop
short--that a pleasant halo danced before his eyes, and sweet sounds
met his ears--and that from that instant until the conclusion of the
trance, "he was as happy as he ever expected to be!"
But now for the hardest knock of conviction. I will give it in the
language of the original narrator--premising that opponents to the
theory of serpent attraction must knock under, or flatly contradict
my tale. In the latter event, I shall be compelled to settle the
question as Hodginson did his lawsuit, "by exhibiting the skin and
parading the witnesses."
"In the month of April, a few years back," commences the witness, "I
took my eldest chap, an eight year old boy, but stout and bold enough
for a twelve year old--and sauntered down to Beech river, to spend the
evening [Footnote: Evening, in this place, signifies from noon until
dark; that's the Southern and Western notion always.] fishing. Finding
a large beech, whose spreading roots formed a natural easy chair, with
arms to it, I threw my line into the stream, and myself into the
cavity, to take the thing deliberately as I generally do on such
occasions. There had been a rise in Beech river sufficient to muddy
the water, and I knew the only chance was for cat (_bull-pouts_ the
Yankees call them,) so I chose a big hook and baited with a chunk of
bacon, big enough for an eight-pounder at least. That hook was a
Limerick, for which I had sent all the way to Porter, of 'The
Spirit'--that hook I was never more to behold.
"The boy chose for himself a steep place about ten yards below me, and
after sticking his pole in the mud, like a lazy fellow, as he is,
amused himself by counting the stamens in some sorrel-flowers that
grew thick thereabouts. I listened to his chatter for a while as he
vacillated in his numbers--eight--nine--ten--twelve--until my own
thoughts took an interesting turn, and I heard to more of him for
several minutes. Then the sound of his voice again struck one, but a
little distance further down stream, as he tailed out--'Oh, Pa, look!'
"Being well accustomed to his 'mares' nests,' I did not turn until he
had repeated several times the same words, and it was the singularity
of his tones at last that caused me to do it. His voice was
indescribably plaintive, clear, but low, and each vowel sound was
drawn out at great length, thus--'Oh-h-h-h, Pa-a-a-a,
loo-oo-oo-ook,'--with the diminuendo, soft as the ring of a glass vessel,
when struck. I have heard Kyle, the flutist, while executing some of his
thrilling touches, strike his low notes very much like it. Slewing myself
partly round in my seat, I observed the little fellow standing bent
forward, his hands stretched out before him as if shielding his face from
a bush, while his whole body worked to and fro like the subjects in
certain mesmeric experiments that I nave observed when first they are
brought under 'the influence' of the operator. His face was partly
turned from me, but the cheek, which I saw was pale as death, and his
cloth cap was trembling on the back part of his head, as if forced
there by the workings of the scalp.
"This was as much as I had time to observe in the first hasty glance.
Astonished at his actions, though not at all alarmed--or the first
thought that occurred to me as that he was trying to catch a young
rabbit--I called out in a half-jocular tone, well, bubby boy, what is
it?' He made no reply, but continued that strange murmur of '--Oh-h-h,
Pa-a-a, loo-oo-ook,' and took a couple of paces forward, not as though
he wished to advance, but more in the style of a person who has leaned
too far forward and moves his feet to recover the perpendicular. I
arose, rather slowly, for it was a mere prompting of curiosity, and
walking towards him, called out in a tone of some authority, 'John,
come here!' Now I can say, without boasting, that my domestic
government is thorough, and my children will promptly obey my commands
in every thing, from the taking of a dose of quinine to the springing
out of bed at daylight of a frosty morning. My surprise, therefore,
was great to observe that the lad only answered my order, twice
repeated, by the same melancholy cry, and another stumble forward.
"I was now thoroughly aroused. I hastened my own steps, for a horror
came over me as though I was in the presence of a demon. I advanced
directly behind the child, and looking over him, observed a thick bush
of the Early Honeysuckle, (_Azalea nudiflora_.) Into and through this
I glanced, but I observed no object to excite my notice. I had got
within a pace of him, and was in the act of putting my hand with some
force upon his shoulder, when following more precisely the direction
of his eyes, I looked at the foot of the bush, then about six feet
from me, and how shall I describe the sequel!
"Like an electric shock, a sensation pervaded my whole frame, which,
although I can never forget, I must most imperfectly describe. I was
in a trance--the blood overcharged my brain--a murmuring sound, as of
an Aeolian, filled my ears-drops, like rain, oozed from my face--my
hat, first elevated to the very tips of the hairs, worked backwards
and fell to the ground--in brief, I was regularly, and for the first
and last time in my life, in a state of fascination.
"No sensation of languor troubled me, for although I felt no
inclination to go forward, yet I seemed to myself perfectly able and
willing to stay where I was, so long as the world lasted. I was
perfectly happy in spite of my bodily excitement. A bright halo of
changeable colors, for all the world like the changeable lights I have
seen displayed in front of the American Museum, New York, filled all
my vision, in the very focus of which gleamed two keen points, like
sparks from the blacksmith's anvil, and they were so vivid that they
seemed to pierce me through and through.
"How long this continued I cannot say, but I suppose only for a
minute. So far as my own perception of time's flight is concerned,
however, it might have been an age.
"I was awakened by the harsh crackling of some dry sticks upon which
the boy had stepped as he continued to shuffle forward. The recovery
was as sudden as the attack. In an instant I was disenchanted. The
bush looked familiar, and I heard the fall of water in the stream, but
a thought of imminent danger now possessed my mind; so shouting with a
voice that made the woods ring, I seized the lad around the waist, and
heavy as he was, ran with him quite a quarter of a mile without
stopping. I confess it most frankly that I didn't stop until I fell
exhausted in the public road. To tell the cowardly truth, I should
have ran on until now if I had been able. So we fell down together and
lay for a good while panting.
"Then I got up and propping myself against a poplar, took little John
on my knee. His nervous system was unstrung. He was weeping bitterly,
and sobbing as if his heart would break. His flesh was cold and
clammy, his pulse was almost still, and he hadn't strength to raise
his hands to his mouth.
"I had some root ginger in my pocket--I always carry a piece with
me--which I chewed and made him swallow. This revived him. Then I rubbed
him briskly, pinched his skin in divers tender spots, and by these
means and cheerful conversation, got him so that he could stand alone
and answer my questions. I never saw such a fool thing as he was! He
was not at all alarmed, very willingly consented to return with me--for
I'd die but what I'd see it but--thought there ought to be a perch
on his hook by this time, thought it was Sunday, thought there was
snow somewhere, 'twas so cold,--and all such notions as that.
"Every few minutes he would burst into an uncontrollable flood of
tears, but he couldn't tell for what.
"You will want to know how I felt all this time. Well, when I got a
minute's leisure from attending to him and could notice my own
feelings, I found that I was snivelling too! that my pulse was small,
my nose had been profusely bleeding, and the blood had drenched me to
the very boot tops, and I felt altogether as exhausted as one does who
has had a month's spell of the chills.
"We were a precious pair, daddy and son, as we sat under that poplar.
I am sure I never felt so foolish in all my life. Well, back we
started, for my spunk was up; and, beside that, I had left my hat,
handkerchief, dinner, and memorandum book, and was bound to have them.
I felt the most burning curiosity to understand the puzzle while my
mental faculties were completely obfuscated by it.
"Neither of us said a word of the affair itself, for John didn't seem
to know that he had been frightened, and I was afraid to alarm him by
speaking of it. He asked no questions of any sort, although in general
he is a miniature Paul Pry, expressed no surprise that I was
bareheaded and bloody, or that we had come so far from the fishing
place and left our tackle behind. His face expressed confusion, such
as a child will exhibit when he is waked suddenly by falling out of
bed, and commences grasping around the bedpost preparatory to getting
in again. I knew that something frightful was there, and felt that we
had escaped some great peril, but what the object or what the peril I
had no idea whatever. I am sure, however, that the notion of a snake
never entered my mind, but if any thing tangible, if was of a wild
cat, for the recollection of Cooper's panther story in the Pioneers
occurred to me, and I cut a stout hickory sapling to be prepared. We
arrived with slow steps at the haunted spot, for both were exhausted,
and I felt the value of prudence. There lay my basket by the beech
root, more by token that the hogs had found it and were just devouring
the last morsel of bread and meat so carefully deposited therein.
"There was my fishing line, but the eight-pounder had become weary and
worn, and carried off my Limerick hook. There was my hat near the
honeysuckle bush, but the phantom itself, with its diamond eyes and
mystic powers, was gone. Frightened probably by the hogs, unromantic
objects in every point of view, he had fled; but I found him within
fifty yards in the form of a _rattlesnake_, full six feet from tip to
tip, and glorying in fourteen full rattles.
"I had my revenge in every possible form. I looked at him for ten
minutes at a time, but the power was gone, and I only saw two keen,
devilish-looking eyes. Then I punched him till he spent all his venom
on my stick. Then I made him drunk on tobacco juice, ingloriously and
brutally drunk.
"Getting tired at last, I gave him the _coup de grâce_, skinned him,
and returned home. He hangs now in loops over my family bed. Those
eyes that thrilled my heart so strangely are dim with dust. Those
fangs, which in a few minutes more would probably have sent death to
the heart's fountain of my boy, are now in Europe, a part of the
collection admired by countless crowds at the British Museum. The
subject is fast fading from my memory,'mid the cares of life, and had
you not asked me to write it out for you, I should have thought of it
but a little longer. Let it stand as another testimony, and a most
unwilling one, too, of the fascinating powers of serpents on the
human."
So far my correspondent tells his own tale in language sufficiently
plain and explicit. If any figure him out as a man of feeble frame and
low stature, let them change their fancy at once.
He is a strong, muscular man, an old bear hunter, one who has fought
Indians in the Florida swamps; a person withal, of unquestionable
veracity, and in all respects the last man to impose on others, or be
imposed upon by anything, fish, flesh, or fowl.