Project Gutenberg surfs with a modem donated by Supra.

S >> sinia >> Project Gutenberg surfs with a modem donated by Supra.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34

"August 28.--I have been busily employed in putting new soles to
my shoes, having cut up the leather cover of a gun-case for
material. No person can walk barefooted in this country, as the
grass is armed with thorns. A peculiar species, that resembles a
vetch, bears a circular pod as large as a horse-bean; the
exterior of the pod is armed with long and sharp spikes like the
head of an ancient mace; these pods when ripe are exceedingly
hard, and falling to the ground in great numbers, the spikes will
pierce the sole of any shoe unless of a stout substance.

"August 29.--Florian is very ill with fever. The mosquitoes are
so troublesome that the Arabs cannot sleep in their huts, but are
forced to arrange platforms about six feet high, upon which the
whole family rest until they are awakened by a sudden
thunderstorm, and are compelled to rush into their huts;--this
has been the case nightly for some time past.

"I find that the whole village has been trying on my new
hunting-cap, that an Arab woman has just completed; this was
brought to me to-day, thick with butter and dirt from their
greasy pates. This is a trifle: yesterday Florian was ill and
required some tea; his servant tried the degree of heat by
plunging his dirty black finger to the bottom.

"Shortly after our wild Arab lad, Bacheet, was engaged, we
drilled him as table servant. The flies were very troublesome,
and continually committed suicide by drowning themselves in the
tea. One morning during breakfast there were many cases of felo
de se, or 'temporary insanity,' and my wife's tea-cup was full of
victims; Bacheet, wishing to be attentive, picked out the bodies
with his finger and thumb!--'Now, my good fellow, Bacheet,' I
exclaimed, 'you really must not put your dirty fingers in the
tea: you should take them out with the tea-spoon. Look here,' and
I performed the operation, and safely landed several flies that
were still kicking. 'But mind, Bacheet,' I continued, 'that you
wipe the tea-spoon first, to be sure that it is clean!' On the
following morning at breakfast we covered up the cups with
saucers to prevent accidents; but to our astonishment Bacheet,
who was in waiting, suddenly took a tea-spoon from the table,
wiped it carefully with a corner of the table-cloth, and stooping
down beneath the bed, most carefully saved from drowning, with
the tea-spoon, several flies that were in the last extremity
within a vessel by no means adapted for a spoon. Perfectly
satisfied with the result, he carefully rewiped the tea-spoon
upon the table-cloth, and replaced it in its proper position. 'Oh
Bacheet! Bacheet! you ignoramus, you extraordinary and impossible
animal!' However, there was no help for it--the boy thought he
was doing the right thing exactly.

"September 1.--The animals are worried almost to death by the
countless flies, especially by that species that drives the
camels from the country. This peculiar fly is about the size of
a wasp, with an orange-coloured body, with black and white rings;
the proboscis is terrific; it is double, and appears to be
disproportioned, being two-thirds the length of the entire
insect. When this fly attacks an animal, or man, it pierces the
skin instantaneously, like the prick of a red-hot needle driven
deep into the flesh, at the same time the insect exerts every
muscle of its body by buzzing with its wings as it buries the
instrument to its greatest depth. The blood starts from the wound
immediately, and continues to flow for a considerable time; this
is an attraction to other flies in great numbers, many of which
would lay their eggs upon the wound.

"I much prefer the intense heat of summer to the damp of the
rainy season, which breeds all kinds of vermin. During the hot
season the nights are cool and delightful, there is not one drop
of dew, and we live entirely in the open air beneath the shade of
a tree in the day, and under a roof of glittering stars at night.
The guns never rust, although lying upon the ground, and we are
as independent as the antelopes of the desert, any bush affording
a home within its limit of shadow. During the rainy season
hunting and travelling would be equally impossible; the rifles
would constantly miss fire. The mud is in most places knee-deep,
and a malignant fever would shortly settle the hunter. The rains
cease early in September, after which we are to expect a complete
vapour-bath until the end of October, by which time the fiery sun
will have evaporated the moisture from the sodden earth; that
interval will be the most unhealthy season.

"As this fertile country can depend upon three months' periodical
rain, from the middle of June until September there is no reason
for unproductiveness; it would produce a large revenue if in
industrious hands.

"September 2.--For many days past we have seen large herds of
giraffes and many antelopes on the opposite side of the river,
about two miles distant, on the borders of the Atbara, into which
valley the giraffes apparently dared not descend but remained on
the table land, although the antelopes appearmed to prefer the
harder soil of the valley slopes. This day a herd of twenty-eight
giraffes tantalized me by descending a short distance below the
level flats, and I was tempted at all hazards across the river.
Accordingly preparations were immediately made for a start. The
sheik of the village and several of the Arabs were hippopotami
hunters by profession; these fellows could swim like otters, and,
despite the crocodiles, they seemed as much at home in the water
as on land. We prepared an impromptu raft. My angarep (bedstead)
was quickly inverted; six water-skins were inflated, and lashed,
three on either side. A shallow packing-case, lined with tin,
containing my gun, was fastened in the centre of the angarep, and
two tow-lines were attached to the front part of the raft, by
which swimmers were to draw it across the river. Two men were to
hang on behind, and, if possible, keep it straight in the rapid
current.

"The Arabs were full of mettle, as their minds were fixed upon
giraffe venison. A number of people, including my wife, climbed
upon the mosquito platforms, to obtain a good view of the
projected hunt, and we quickly carried our raft to the edge of
the river. There was not much delay in the launch. I stepped
carefully into my coffin-shaped case, and squatted down, with a
rifle on either side, and my ammunition at the bottom of the
tin-lined water-proof case; thus, in case of an upset, I was
ready for a swim. Off we went! The current, running at nearly
five miles an hour, carried us away at a great pace, and the
whirlpools caused us much trouble, as we several times waltzed
round when we should have preferred a straight course, but the
towing swimmers being well mounted upon logs of light
ambatch-wood, swam across in fine style, and after some
difficulty we arrived at the opposite bank, and scrambled through
thick bushes, upon our hands and knees, to the summit.

"For about two miles' breadth on this side of the river the
valley is rough broken ground, full of gullies and ravines sixty
or seventy feet deep, beds of torrents, bare sandstone rocks,
bushy crags, fine grassy knolls, and long strips of mimosa
covert, forming a most perfect locality for shooting.

"I had observed by the telescope that the giraffes were standing
as usual upon an elevated position, from whence they could keep
a good look-out. I knew it would be useless to ascend the slope
direct, as their long necks give these animals an advantage
similar to that of the man at the mast-head; therefore, although
we had the wind in our favour, we should have been observed. I
therefore determined to make a great circuit of about five miles,
and thus to approach them from above, with the advantage of the
broken ground for stalking. It was the perfection of uneven
country: by clambering broken cliff, wading shoulder-deep through
muddy gullies, sliding down the steep ravines, and winding
through narrow bottoms of high grass and mimosas for about two
hours, during which we disturbed many superb nellut (Ant.
strepsiceros) and tetel (Ant. Bubalis), we at length arrived at
the point of the high table land upon the verge of which I had
first noticed the giraffes with the telescope. Almost immediately
I distinguished the tall neck of one of these splendid animals
about half a mile distant upon my left, a little below the table
land; it was feeding on the bushes, and I quickly discovered
several others near the leader of the herd. I was not far enough
advanced in the circuit that I had intended to bring me exactly
above them, therefore I turned sharp to my right, intending to
make a short half circle, and to arrive on the leeward side of
the herd, as I was now to windward: this I fortunately completed,
but I had marked a thick bush as my point of cover, and upon
arrival I found that the herd had fed down wind, and that I was
within two hundred yards of the great bull sentinel that, having
moved from his former position, was now standing directly before
me. I lay down quietly behind the bush with my two followers, and
anxiously watched the great leader, momentarily expecting that it
would get my wind. It was shortly joined by two others, and I
perceived the heads of several giraffes lower down the incline,
that were now feeding on their way to the higher ground. The
seroot fly was teasing them, and I remarked that several birds
were fluttering about their heads, sometimes perching upon their
noses and catching the fly that attacked their nostrils, while
the giraffes appeared relieved by their attentions: these were a
peculiar species of bird that attacks the domestic animals, and
not only relieves them of vermin, but eats into the flesh, and
establishes dangerous sores. A puff of wind now gently fanned the
back of my neck; it was cool and delightful, but no sooner did I
feel the refreshing breeze than I knew it would convey our scent
direct to the giraffes. A few seconds afterwards, the three grand
obelisks threw their heads still higher in the air, and fixing
their great black eyes upon the spot from which the danger came,
they remained as motionless as though carved from stone. From
their great height they could see over the bush behind which we
were lying at some paces distant, and although I do not think
they could distinguish us to be men, they could see enough to
convince them of hidden enemies.

"The attitude of fixed attention and surprise of the three
giraffes was sufficient warning for the rest of the herd, who
immediately filed up from the lower ground, and joined their
comrades. All now halted, and gazed steadfastly in our direction,
forming a superb tableau; their beautiful mottled skins glancing
like the summer coat of a thoroughbred horse, the orange-coloured
statues standing out in high relief from a background of
dark-green mimosas.

"This beautiful picture soon changed; I knew that my chance of a
close shot was hopeless, as they would presently make a rush, and
be off; thus I determined to get the first start. I had
previously studied the ground, and I concluded that they would
push forward at right angles with my position, as they had thus
ascended the hill, and that, on reaching the higher ground, they
would turn to the right, in order to reach an immense tract of
high grass, as level as a billiard-table, from which no danger
could approach them unobserved.

"I accordingly with a gentle movement of my hand directed my
people to follow me, and I made a sudden rush forward at full
speed. Off went the herd; shambling along at a tremendous pace,
whisking their long tails above their hind quarters, and taking
exactly the direction I had anticipated, they offered me a
shoulder shot at a little within two hundred yards' distance.
Unfortunately, I fell into a deep hole concealed by the high
grass, and by the time that I resumed the hunt they had increased
their distance, but I observed the leader turned sharp to the
right, through some low mimosa bush, to make direct for the open
table land. I made a short cut oblquely at my best speed, and
only halted when I saw that I should lose ground by altering my
position. Stopping short, I was exactiy opposite the herd as they
filed by me at right angles in full speed, within about a hundred
and eighty yards. I had my old Ceylon No. 10 double rifle, and I
took a steady shot at a large dark-coloured bull: the
satisfactory sound of the ball upon his hide was followed almost
immediately by his blundering forward for about twenty yards, and
falling heavily in the low bush. I heard the crack of the ball of
my left-hand barrel upon another fine beast, but no effects
followed. Bacheet quickly gave me the single 2-ounce Manton
rifle, and I singled out a fine dark-coloured bull, who fell on
his knees to the shot, but recovering, hobbled off disabled,
apart from the herd, with a foreleg broken just below the
shoulder. Reloading immediately, I ran up to the spot, where I
found my first giraffe lying dead, with the ball clean through
both shoulders: the second was standing about one hundred paces
distant; upon my approach he attempted to move, but immediately
fell, and was despatched by my eager Arabs. I followed the herd
for about a mile to no purpose, through deep clammy ground and
high grass, and I returned to our game.

"These were my first giraffes, and I admired them as they lay
before me with a hunter's pride and satisfaction, but mingled
with a feeling of pity for such beautiful and utterly helpless
creatures. The giraffe, although from sixteen to twenty feet in
height, is perfectly defenceless, and can only trust to the
swiftness of its pace, and the extraordinary power of vision, for
its means of protection. The eye of this animal is the most
beautiful exaggeration of that of the gazelle, while the colour
of the reddish-orange hide, mottled with darker spots, changes
the tints of the skin with the differing rays of light, according
to the muscular movenment of the body. No one who has merely seen
the giraffe in a cold climate can form the least idea of its
beauty in its native land. By the time that we had skinned one of
the aninmals, it was nearly six o'clock, and it was necessary to
hurry forward to reach the river before night; we therefore
arranged some thorny boughs over the bodies, to which we intended
to return on the following morning.

"When about half-way to the river, as we were passing through
grass about four feet high, three tetel bounded from a ravine,
and, passing directly before us, gave me a splendid shot at about
sixty yards. The Ceylon No. 10 struck the foremost through the
shoulder, and it fell dead after running a few yards. This was
also my first tetel (Antelopus Bubalis); it was in splendid
condition, the red coat was like satin, and the animal would
weigh about five hundred pounds live weight.

"I had made very successful shots, having bagged three out of
four large game; this perfectly delighted the Arabs, and was very
satisfactory to myself, as I was quite aware that my men would be
only too willing to accompany me upon future excursions.

"It was quite dark before we reached the river; we had been much
delayed by repeated falls into deep holes, and over hidden
stones; thus I was well satisfied to find myself once more at
home after having crossed the river, in pitchy darkness, in a
similar manner as before. Every person in the village had had a
good view of the stalk; therefore, as two giraffes had been seen
to fall, the Arabs were waiting on the bank in expectation of
meat.

"September 3.--This morning I crossed the river with about twenty
men, some swimming with inflated skins, and others supported by
logs of ambatch. A number of swimmers were holding on to a pole
to which four inflated girbas were attached; this is an excellent
plan for assisting soldiers to cross a river, as they can land
together in parties, instead of singly, with their guns dry,
should the opposite bank be occupied by an enemy. I sat in my
gun-case, with the two rifles that I used yesterday, in addition
to the little Fletcher; heaps of clothes and sandals belonging to
the swimmers formed my cargo; while, in case of accident, I had
taken off my belt and shoes, and tied my ammunition within an
inflated skin. Neptune in his car drawn by dolphins was not more
completely at home than I in my gun-case, towed by my fish-like
hippopotami hunters. After pirouetting in several strong
whirlpools, during which time a crowd of women on the Sofi side
of the river were screaming to Allah and the Prophet to protect
us from crocodiles, we at length arrived.

"We took a direct course towards the animals I had shot on the
previous evening, meeting with no game except a large troop of
dog-faced baboons (Cynocephali), until we reached the body of the
tetel (Antelopus Bubalis), which lay undisturbed; leaving people
to flay it carefully, so that the skin should serve as a water or
corn sack, we continued our path towards the dead giraffes.

"I had not proceeded far, before I saw, at about a mile distant,
a motionless figure, as though carved from red granite; this I
felt sure was a giraffe acting as sentry for another party that
was not yet in view; I therefore sent my men on towards the dead
giraffes, while, accompanied by Florian's black servant Richarn,*
who was a good sportsman, and a couple of additional men, I
endeavoured to stalk the giraffe. It was impossible to obtain a
favourable wind, without exposing ourselves upon flat ground,
where we should have been immediately perceived; I therefore
arranged that my men should make a long circuit and drive the
giraffe, while I would endeavour to intercept it. This plan
failed; but shortly after the attempt, I observed a herd of about
a hundred of these splendid creatures, browsing on the mimosas
about half a mile distant. For upwards of three hours I employed
every artifice to obtain a shot, but to no purpose, as upon my
approach to within a quarter of a mile, they invariably chose
open ground, leaving a sentry posted behind the herd, while two
or three kept a look-out well in advance. No animal is so
difficult to approach as the giraffe; however, by great patience
and caution, I succeeded in reaching a long and deep ravine, by
which I hoped to arrive within a close shot, as many of the herd
were standing upon the level table-ground, from which this
natural trench suddenly descended. I believe I should have
arrived within fifty yards of the herd by this admirable
approach, had it not been for the unlucky chance that brought me
vis-a-vis with two tetel, that by galloping off attracted the
attention of the giraffes. To add to my misfortune, after a long
and tedious crawl on hands and knees up the narrow amid steep
extremity of the gully, just as I raised my head above the edge
of the table land, expecting to see the giraffes within fifty
paces, I found three gazelles feeding within ten yards of me,
while three magnificent giraffes were standing about a hundred
and fifty yards distant.

* This faithful black, a native of the White Nile regions,
subsequently became my servant, and, for four years
accompanied us honestly and courageously through all
our difficulties to the Albert N'yanza.

"Off bounded the gazelles the instant that we were perceived;
they of course gave the alarm immediately, and away went the
giraffes; but I took a quick shot at the great leader as he
turned to the right, and he staggered a few paces and fell
headlong into the bush. Hurrah for the Ceylon No. 10!--however,
neither the second barrel, nor a shot with the Manton 2-ounce,
produced any effect. It was a glorious sight to see the herd of
upwards of a hundred of these superb animals close up at the
alarm of the shots, and pelt away in a dense body through the
dark green mimosa bush that hardly reached to their shoulders;
but pursuit was useless. My giraffe was not quite dead, and, the
throat having been cut by the Arabs and Richarn, we attempted to
flay our game; this was simply impossible. The seroot fly was in
swarms about the carcase, thousands were buzzing about our ears
and biting like bull-dogs: the blood was streaming from our
necks, and, as I wore no sleeves, my naked arms suffered
terribly. I never saw such an extraordinary sight; although we
had killed our giraffe, we could not take possession; it was no
wonder that camels and all domestic animals were killed by this
horrible plague, the only wonder was the possibility of wild
animals resisting the attack. The long tails of the giraffes are
admirable fly-whippers, but they would be of little service
against such a determined and blood-thirsty enemy as the seroot.
They were now like a swarm of bees, and we immediately made war
upon the scourge, by lighting several fires within a few feet to
windward of the giraffe; when the sticks blazed briskly, we piled
green grass upon the tops, and quickly produced a smoke that
vanquished the enemy.

"It was now about 3 P.M. and intensely hot; I had been in
constant exercise since 6 A.M., therefore I determined upon
luncheon under the shade of a welcome mimosa upon which I had
already hung my water-skin to cool. We cut sonne long thin strips
of flesh from the giraffe, and lighted a fire of dry babanoose
wood expressly for cooking. This species of wood is exceedingly
inflammable, and burns like a torch; it is intensely hard, and in
colour and grain it is similar to lignum vitae. The festoons of
giraffe flesh were hung upon forked sticks, driven into the
ground to leeward of the fire, while others were simply thrown
upon the embers by my men, who, while the food was roasting,
employed themselves in skinning the animal, and in eating the
flesh raw. The meat was quickly roasted, and was the best I have
ever tasted, fully corroborating the praises I had frequently
heard of giraffe meat from the Arab hunters. It would be natural
to suppose that the long legs of this animal would furnish the
perfection of marrow bones, but these are a disappointment, as
the bones of the giraffe are solid, like those of the elephant
and hippopotamus; the long tendons of the legs are exceedingly
prized by the Arabs in lieu of thread for sewing leather, also
for guitar strings.

"After luncheon, I took my little Fletcher rifle, and strolled
down to the spot from whence I had fired the shot, as I wished to
measure the distance, but no sooner had I arrived at the place
than I observed at about a quarter of a mile below me, in the
valley, a fine tetel; it was standing on the summit of one of the
numerous knolls, evidently driven fronm the high grass by the
flies. I stalked it very carefully until I arrived within about
a hundred yards, and just as I reached the stem of a tree that I
had resolved upon as my covering-point, the tetel got my wind,
and immediately bounded off, receiving the bullet in the right
hip at the same moment. After a few bounds it fell, and I ran
forward to secure it, but it suddenly sprang to its feet, and
went off at a surprising rate upon three legs. I believed I
missed it, as I fired a quick shot just as it disappeared in the
thick bushes. Whistling for my people, I was now joined by
Bacheet and Richarn, my other men remaining with the giraffe. For
about four miles we followed on the track through the broken
valley of the Atbara, during which we several times disturbed the
tetel, but could not obtain a good shot, on account of the high
grass and thick bushes. Several times I tried a snap shot, as for
a moment I caught sight of its red hide galloping through the
bush, but as it ran down wind I had no chance of getting close to
my game. At length, after following rapidly down a grassy ravine,
I presently heard it pelting through the bushes; the ravine made
a bend to the right, therefore, by taking a short cut, I arrived
just in time to catch sight of the tetel as it passed over an
open space below me; this time the little Fletcher bagged him. On
examination I found that I had struck it four times. I had fired
five shots, but as three of those had been fired almost at
random, when the animal was in full speed through the bushes, one
had missed, and the others were badly placed.

"Fortunately this long hunt had been in the direction of Sofi, to
which we were near; still more fortunately, after we had marked
the spot, we shortly met my first party of Arabs returning
towards the village, heavily laden with giraffe's flesh, and the
hide of one that I had killed yesterday. It appeared that during
the night, lions and hyaenas had completely devoured one of the
giraffes, not even leaving a vestige of skin or bone, but the
immediate neighbourhood of the spot where it lay had been
trampled into mud by the savage crowd who had left their
footprints as witnesses to the robbery; the hide and bones had
evidently been dragged away piecemeal.

"On arrival at the river we were all busy in preparing for the
passage with so large a quantity of meat. The water-skins for the
raft were quickly inflated, and I learnt from the Arabs an
excellent contrivance for carrying a quantity of flesh across a
river, without its becoming sodden. The skin of the tetel was
nearly as capacious as that of an Alderney cow; this had been
drawn off in the usual manner, so as to form a sack. The Arabs
immediately proceeded to tie up the neck like the mouth of a bag,
and to secure the apertures at the knees in like manner; when
this operation was concluded, the skin became an immense sack,
the mouth being at the aperture left at the hind-quarters. The
No. 10 bullet had gone completely through the shoulders of the
tetel, thus the two holes in the hide required stopping; this was
dexterously performed by inserting a stone into either hole, of
a size so much larger than the aperture, that it was impossible
to squeeze them through. These stones were inserted from the
inside of the sack; they were then grasped by the hand from the
outside, and pulled forward, while a tight ligature was made
behind each stone, which effectually stopped the holes. The skin
of the tetel was thus converted into a waterproof bag, into which
was packed a quantity of flesh sufficient to fill two-thirds of
its capacity; the edges of the mouth were then carefully drawn
together, and secured by tying. Thus carefully packed, one of the
foreleg ligatures was untied, and the whole skin was inflated by
blowing through the tube formed by the skin of the limb; the
inflation completed, this was suddenly twisted round and tied.
The skin thus filled looked like an exaggerated water-skin; the
power of flotation was so great, that about a dozen men hung on
to the legs of the tetel, and to each other's shoulders, when we
launched it in the river. This plan is well worthy of the
attention of military men; troops, when on service, are seldom
without bullocks; in the absence of boats or rafts, not only can
the men be thus safely conveyed across the river, but the
ammunition can be packed within the skins, wrapped up in straw,
and will be kept perfectly dry.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34