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This was the first downright charge of an African elephant that
I had seen, and instinctively I followed my old Ceylon plan of
waiting for a close shot. She lowered her head when within about
six yards, and I fired low for the centre of the forehead,
exactly in the swelling above the root of the trunk. She
collapsed to the shot, and fell dead, with a heavy shock, upon
the ground. At the same moment, the thorny barrier gave way
before the pressure of the herd, and the elephants disappeared in
the thick jungle, through which it was impossible to follow them.

I had suffered terribly from the hooked thorns, and the men
likewise. This had been a capital trial for my Tokrooris, who had
behaved remarkably well, and had I gained much confidence by my
successful forehead shot at the elephant when in full charge; but
I must confess that this is the only instance in which I have
succeeded in killing an African elephant by the front shot,
although I have steadily tried the experiment upon subsequent
occasions.

Florian had not had an opportunity of firing a shot, as I had
been in his way, and he could not pass on one side owing to the
thorns.

We had very little time to examine the elephant, as we were far
from home, and the sun was already low. I felt convinced that the
other elephant could not be far off, after having received the
"Baby's" half-pound shell carefully directed, and I resolved to
return on the following morning with many people and camels to
divide the flesh. It was dark by the time we arrived at the
tents, and the news immediately spread through the Arab camp that
two elephants had been killed.

On the following morning we started, and, upon arrival at the
dead elephant, we followed the tracks of that wounded by the
"Baby." The blood upon the bushes guided us in a few minutes to
the spot where the elephant lay dead, at about 300 yards'
distance. The whole day passed in flaying the two animals, and
cutting off the flesh, which was packed in large gum sacks, with
which the camels were loaded. I was curious to examine the effect
of the half-pound shell: it had entered the flank on the right
side, breaking the rib upon which it had exploded; it had then
passed through the stomach and the lower portion of the lungs,
both of which were terribly shattered, and breaking one of the
fore-ribs on the left side, it had lodged beneath the skin of the
shoulder. This was irresistible work, and the elephant had
evidently dropped in a few minutes after having received the
shell.

The conical bullet of quicksilver and lead, propelled by seven
drachms of powder, had entered the exact centre of the forehead
of the elephant No. 1, and, having passed completely through the
brain and the back part of the skull, we found it sticking fast
in the spine, BETWEEN THE SHOULDERS. These No. 10 Reillys* were
wonderfully powerful rifles, and exceedingly handy; they weighed
fourteen pounds, and were admirably adapted for dangerous game.
I measured both the elephants accurately with a tape: that killed
by the "Baby" was nine feet six inches from the forefoot to the
shoulder, the other was eight feet three inches. It is a common
mistake that twice the circumference of the foot is the height of
an elephant; there is no such rule that can be depended upon, as
their feet vary in size without any relative proportion to the
height of the animal.

* They are now in England at Mr. Reilly's, No. 215, Oxford
Street, having accompanied me throughout my expedition,
and they have never been out of order.

A most interesting fact had occurred: when I found the larger
elephant, killed by the "Baby," I noticed an old wound unhealed
and full of matter in the front of the left shoulder; the bowels
were shot through, and were green in various places. Florian
suggested that it must be an elephant that I had wounded at Wat
el Negur; we tracked the course of the bullet most carefully,
until we at length discovered my unmistakeable bullet of
quicksilver and lead, almost uninjured, in the fleshy part of the
thigh, imbedded in an unhealed wound. Thus, by a curious chance,
upon my first interview with African elephants by daylight, I had
killed the identical elephant that I had wounded at Wat el Negur
forty-three days ago in the dhurra plantation, twenty-eight miles
distant! Both these elephants were females. It was the custom of
these active creatures to invade the dhurra fields from this
great distance, and to return to these almost impenetrable thorny
jungles, where they were safe from the attack of the aggageers,
but not from the rifles.

On our return to camp, the rejoicings were great; the women
yelled as usual, and I delighted the Hamrans by dividing the
meat, and presenting them with the hides for shields. I gave Abou
Do, and all the hunters, and my camel drivers, large quantities
of fat; and I found that I was accredited as a brother hunter by
the knights of the sword, who acknowledged that their weapons
were useless in the thick jungles of Tooleet, the name of the
place where we had killed the elephants.

CHAPTER XII.

OLD NEPTUNE JOINS THE PARTY.

WE started from Geera, on the 23d of December, with our party
complete. The Hamran sword-hunters were Abou Do, Jali, and
Suleiman. My chief tracker was Taher Noor, who, although a good
hunter, was not a professional aggahr, and I was accompanied by
the father of Abou Do, who was a renowned "howarti," or harpooner
of hippopotami. This magnificent old man might have been Neptune
himself; he stood about six feet two, and his grizzled locks hung
upon his shoulders in thick and massive curls, while his deep
bronze features could not have been excelled in beauty of
outline. A more classical figure I have never beheld than the old
Abou Do with his harpoon, as he first breasted the torrent, and
then landed dripping from the waves to join our party from the
Arab camp on the opposite side of the river. In addition to my
Tokrooris, I had engaged nine camels, each with a separate
driver, of the Hamrans, who were to accompany us throughout the
expedition. These people were glad to engage themselves, with
their camels included, at one and a half dollars (six shillings)
per month, for man and beast as one. We had not sufficient
baggage to load five camels, but four carried a large supply of
corn for our horses and people.

Hardly were we mounted and fairly started, than the monkey-like
agility of our aggageers was displayed in a variety of antics,
that were far more suited to performance in a circus than to a
party of steady and experienced hunters, who wished to reserve
the strength of their horses for a trying journey.

Abou Do was mounted on a beautiful Abyssinian horse, a grey;
Suleiman rode a rough and inferior-looking beast; while little
Jali, who was the pet of the party, rode a grey mare, not
exceeding fourteen hands in height, which matched her rider
exactly in fire, spirit, and speed. Never was there a more
perfect picture of a wild Arab horseman than Jali on his mare.
Hardly was he in the saddle, than away flew the mare over the
loose shingles that formed the dry bed of the river, scattering
the rounded pebbles in the air from her flinty hoofs, while her
rider in the vigour of delight threw himself almost under her
belly while at full speed, and picked up stones from the ground,
which he flung, and again caught as they descended. Never were
there more complete Centaurs than these Hamran Arabs; the horse
and man appeared to be one animal, and that of the most elastic
nature, that could twist and turn with the suppleness of a snake;
the fact of their being separate beings was proved by the rider
springing to the earth with his drawn sword while the horse was
in full gallop over rough and difficult ground, and clutching the
mane, he again vaulted into the saddle with the agility of a
monkey, without once checking the speed. The fact of being on
horseback had suddenly altered the character of these Arabs; from
a sedate and proud bearing, they had become the wildest examples
of the most savage disciples of Nimrod; excited by enthusiasm,
they shook their naked blades aloft till the steel trembled in
their grasp, and away they dashed over rocks, through thorny
bush, across ravines, up and down steep inclinations, engaging in
a mimic hunt, and going through the various acts supposed to
occur in the attack of a furious elephant. I must acknowledge
that, in spite of my admiration for their wonderful dexterity, I
began to doubt their prudence. I had three excellent horses for
my wife and myself; the Hamran hunters had only one for each;
and, if the commencement were an example of their usual style of
horsemanship, I felt sure that a dozen horses would not be
sufficient for the work before us. However, it was not the moment
to offer advice, as they were simply mad with excitement and
delight.

The women raised their loud and shrill yell at parting, and our
party of about twenty-five persons, with nine camels, six horses,
and two donkeys, exclusive of the German Florian, with his
kicking giraffe-hunter, and attendants, ascended the broken slope
that formed the broad valley of the Settite river.

There was very little game in the neighbourhood, as it was
completely overrun by the Arabs and their flocks; and we were to
march about fifty miles E.S.E. before we should arrive in the
happy hunting-grounds of the Base country, where we were led to
expect great results. Previous to leaving Wat el Negur I had
thoroughly drilled my Tokrooris in their duties as gun-bearers,
which had established a discipline well exemplified in the recent
affair with the elephants. I had entrusted to them my favourite
rifles, and had instructed them in their use; each man paid
particular regard to the rifle that he carried, and, as several
were of the same pattern, they had marked them with small pieces
of rag tied round the trigger guards. This esprit de corps was
most beneficial to the preservation of the arms, which were kept
in admirable order. Mahomet, the dragoman, rode my spare horse,
and carried my short double-barrelled rifle, slung across his
back, in the place of his pistols and gun, which he had wilfully
thrown upon the desert when leaving Berber. As the horse was
restive, and he had placed the hammers upon the caps, his shirt
caught in the lock, and one barrel suddenly exploded, which, with
an elephant-charge of six drachms of powder, was rather
startling, within a few inches of his ear, and narrowly escaped
the back of his skull. Florian possessed a single-barrelled
rifle, which he declared had accompanied him through many years
of sports: this weapon had become so fond of shooting, that it
was constantly going off on its own account, to the great danger
of the bystanders, and no sooner were we well off on our journey,
than off went this abominable instrument in a spontaneous feu de
joie, in the very midst of us! Its master was accordingly OFF
likewise, as his horse gave the accustomed kick, that was
invariably the deed of separation. However, we cantered on ahead
of the dangerous party, and joined the aggageers, until we at
length reached the table land above the Settite valley. Hardly
were we arrived, than we noticed in the distance a flock of sheep
and goats attended by some Arab boys. Suddenly, as Don Quixote
charged the sheep, lance in hand, the aggageers started off in
full gallop, and as the frightened flock scattered in all
directions, in a few moments they were overtaken by the hunters,
each of whom snatched a kid, or a goat, from the ground while at
full speed, and placed it upon the neck of his horse, without
either halting or dismounting. This was a very independent
proceeding; but, as the flock belonged to their own tribe, they
laughed at the question of property that I had immediately
raised, and assured me that this was the Arab custom of insuring
their breakfast, as we should kill no game during that day. In
this they were mistaken, as I killed sufficient guinea-fowl to
render the party independent of other food.

In a day's march through a beautiful country, sometimes upon the
high table land to cut off a bend in the river, at other times
upon the margin of the stream in the romantic valley, broken into
countless hills and ravines covered with mimosas, we arrived at
Ombrega (mother of the thorn), about twenty-four miles from
Geera. In that country, although uninhabited from fear of the
Base, every locality upon the borders of the river has a name.
Ombrega is a beautiful situation, where white sandstone cliffs of
about two hundred feet perpendicular height, wall in the river,
which, even at this dry season, was a noble stream impassable
except at certain places, where it was fordable. Having descended
the valley we bivouacked in the shade of thick nabbuk trees
(Rhamnus lotus), whose evergreen foliage forms a pleasing
exception to the general barrenness of the mimosas during the
season of drought. We soon arranged a resting-place, and cleared
away the grass that produced the thorn which had given rise to
the name of Ombrega, and in a short time we were comfortably
settled for the night. We were within fifty yards of the
river--the horses were luxuriating in the green grass that grew
upon its banks, and the camels were hobbled, to prevent them from
wandering from the protection of the camp fires, as we were now
in the wilderness, where the Base by day, and the lion and
leopard by night, were hostile to man and beast. The goats, upon
which we depended for our supply of milk, were objects of
especial care: these were picketed to pegs driven in the ground
close to the fires, and men were ordered to sleep on either side.
We had three greyhounds belonging to the Arabs, and it was
arranged that, in addition to these guards, a watch should be
kept by night.

The dense shade of the nabbuk had been chosen by the Arabs as a
screen to the camp-fires, that might otherwise attract the Base,
who might be prowling about the country; but, as a rule, however
pleasant may be the shade during the day, the thick jungle, and
even the overhanging boughs of a tree, should be avoided at
night. Snakes and noxious insects generally come forth after
dark--many of these inhabit the boughs of trees, and may drop
upon the bed of the unwary sleeper; beasts of prey invariably
inhabit the thick jungles, in which they may creep unperceived to
within springing distance of an object in the camp.

We were fast asleep a little after midnight, when we were
awakened by the loud barking of the dogs, and by a confusion in
the camp. Jumping up on the instant, I heard the dogs, far away
in the dark jungles, barking in different directions. One of the
goats was gone! A leopard had sprung into the camp, and had torn
a goat from its fastening, although tied to a peg, between two
men, close to a large fire. The dogs had given chase; but, as
usual in such cases, they were so alarmed as to be almost
useless. We quickly collected firebrands, and searched the
jungles, and shortly we arrived where a dog was barking
violently. Near this spot we heard the moaning of some animal
among the bushes, and upon a search with firebrands we discovered
the goat, helpless upon the ground, with its throat lacerated by
the leopard. A sudden cry from the dog at a few yards' distance,
and the barking ceased.

The goat was carried to the camp, when it shortly died. We
succeeded in recalling two of the dogs; but the third, that was
the best, was missing, having been struck by the leopard. We
searched for the body in vain, and concluded that it had been
carried off.

On the following day, we discovered fresh tracks of elephants at
sunrise. No time was lost in starting, and upon crossing the
river, we found that a large herd had been drinking, and had
retreated by a peculiar ravine. This cleft through the sandstone
rocks, which rose like walls for about a hundred feet upon either
side, formed an alley about twenty yards broad, the bottom
consisting of snow-white sand that, in the rainy season, formed
the bed of a torrent from the upper country. This herd must have
comprised about fifty elephants, that must have been in the same
locality for several days, as the ground was trampled in all
directions, and the mimosas upon the higher land were uprooted in
great numnbers: but after following upon the tracks for several
hours with great difficulty, owing to the intricacy of their
windings upon the dry and hard ground, we met with a sign fatal
to success,--the footprints of two men. In a short time we met
the men themselves, two elephant-hunters who had followed the
herd on foot, with the sword as their only weapon: they had found
the elephants, which had obtained their wind and had retreated.

The Sheik Abou Do was furious at the audacity of these two
Hamrans, who had dared to disturb our hunting-grounds, and he
immediately ordered them to return to Geera.

In addition to the tracks of the herd, we had seen that of a
large single bull elephant; this we now carefully followed, and,
after many windings, we felt convinced that he was still within
the broken ground that formed the Settite valley. After some
hours' most difficult tracking, Taher Noor, who was leading the
way, suddenly sank gently upon all fours. This movement was
immediately, but quietly imitated by the whole party, and I
quickly distinguished a large grey mass about sixty yards distant
among the bushes, which, being quite leafless, screened the form
of the bull elephant, as seen through a veil of treble gauze. I
felt quite sure that we should fail in a close approach with so
large a party. I therefore proposed that I should lead the way
with the Ceylon No. 10, and creep quite close to the elephant,
while one of th aggageers should attempt to sabre the back sinew.
Jali whispered, that the sword was useless in the high and thick
grass in which he was standing, surrounded by thorns; accordingly
I told Florian to follow me, and I crept forward. With
difficulty, upon hands and knees, I avoided the hooked thorns
that would otherwise have fastened upon my clothes, and, with the
wind favourable, I at length succeeded in passing through the
intervening jungle, and arrived at a small plot of grass that was
sufficiently high to reach the shoulder of the elephant. This
open space was about fifteen yards in diameter, and was
surrounded upon all sides by thick jungle. He was a splendid
bull, and stood temptingly for a forehead shot, according to
Ceylon practice, as he was exactly facing me at about ten yards'
distance. Having been fortunate with the front shot at Geera, I
determined to try the effect; I aimed low, and crack went the old
Ceylon No. 10 rifle, with seven drachms of powder, and a ball of
quicksilver and lead. For an instant the smoke in the high grass
obscured the effect, but almost immediately after, I heard a
tremendous rush, and, instead of falling, as I had expected, I
saw the elephant crash headlong through the thorny jungle. No one
was behind me, as Florian had misunderstood the arrangement that
he was to endeavour to obtain a quick shot should I fail. I began
to believe in what I had frequently heard asserted, that the
forehead shot so fatal to the Indian elephant had no effect upon
the African species, except by mere chance. I had taken so steady
an aim at the convexity at the root of the trunk, that every
advantage had been given to the bullet; but the rifle that in
Ceylon had been almost certain at an elephant, had completely
failed. It was quite impossible to follow the animal through the
jungle of hooked thorns. On our way toward the camp we saw tracks
of rhinoceroses, giraffes, buffaloes, and a variety of antelopes,
but none of the animals themselves.

On the following morning we started, several times fording the
river to avoid the bends: our course was due east. After the
first three hours' ride through a beautiful country bordering the
Settite valley, which we several times descended, we came in
clear view of the magnificent range of mountains, that from Geera
could hardly be discerned; this was the great range of Abyssinia,
some points of which exceed 10,000 feet. The country that we now
traversed was so totally uninhabited that it was devoid of all
footprints of human beings; even the sand by the river's side,
that like the snow confessed every print, was free from all
traces of man. The Base were evidently absent from our
neighbourhood.

We had several times disturbed antelopes during the early portion
of the march, and we had just ascended from the rugged slopes of
the valley, when we observed a troop of about a hundred baboons,
who were gathering gum arabic from the mimosas; upon seeing us,
they immediately waddled off. "Would the lady like to have a
girrit (baboon)?" exclaimed the ever-excited Jali: being answered
in the affirmative, away dashed the three hunters in full gallop
after the astonished apes, who, finding themselves pursued, went
off at their best speed. The ground was rough, being full of
broken hollows, covered scantily with mimosas, and the stupid
baboons, instead of turning to the right into the rugged and
steep valley of the Settite, where they would have been secure
from the aggageers, kept a straight course before the horses. It
was a curious hunt; some of the very young baboons were riding on
their mothers' backs: these were now going at their best pace,
holding on to their maternal steeds, and looking absurdly human;
but, in a few minutes, as we closely followed the Arabs, we were
all in the midst of the herd, and with great dexterity two of the
aggageers, while at full speed, stooped like falcons from their
saddles, and seized each a half-grown ape by the back of the neck
and hoisted them upon the necks of the horses. Instead of biting,
as I had expected, the astonished captives sat astride of the
horses, and clung tenaciously with both arms to the necks of
their steeds, screaming with fear. The hunt was over, and we
halted to secure the prisoners. Dismounting, to my surprise the
Arabs immediately stripped from a mimosa several thongs of bark,
and having tied the baboons by the neck, they gave them a
merciless whipping with their powerful coorbatches of
hippopotamus hide. It was in vain that I remonstrated against
this harsh treatment; they persisted in the punishment, otherwise
they declared that the baboons would bite, but if well whipped
they would become "miskeen" (humble). At length my wife insisted
upon mercy, and the unfortunate captives wore an expression of
countenance like prisoners about to be led to execution, and they
looked imploringly at our faces, in which they evidently
discovered some sympathy with their fate. They were quickly
placed on horseback before their captors, and once more we
continued our journey, highly amused with the little entr'acte.

We had hardly ridden half a mile, when I perceived a fine bull
tetel (Antelopus Bubalis) standing near a bush a few hundred
yards distant. Motioning to the party to halt, I dismounted, and
with the little Fletcher rifle I endeavoured to obtain a shot.
When within about a hundred and seventy yards, he observed our
party, and I was obliged to take the shot, although I could have
approached unseen to a closer distance, had his attention not
been attracted by the noise of the horses. He threw his head up
preparatory to starting off, and he was just upon the move as I
touched the trigger. He fell like a stone to the shot, but almost
immediately he regained his feet, and bounded off, receiving a
bullet from the second barrel without a flinch; in full speed he
rushed away across the party of aggageers about three hundred
yards distant. Out dashed Abou Do from the ranks on his active
grey horse, and away he flew after the wounded tetel; his long
hair floating in the wind, his naked sword in hand, and his heels
digging into the flanks of his horse, as though armed with spurs
in the last finish of a race. It was a beautiful course; Abou Do
hunted like a cunning greyhound; the tetel turned, and taking
advantage of the double, he cut off the angle; succeeding by the
manoeuvre, he again followed at tremendous speed over the
numerous inequalities of the ground, gaining in the race until he
was within twenty yards of the tetel, when we lost sight of both
game and hunter in the thick bushes. By this time I had regained
my horse, that was brought to meet me, and I followed to the
spot, towards which my wife, and the aggageers encumbered with
the unwilling apes, were already hastening. Upon arrival I found,
in high yellow grass beneath a large tree, the tetel dead, and
Abou Do wiping his bloody sword, surrounded by the foremost of
the party. He had hamstrung the animal so delicately, that the
keen edge of the blade was not injured against the bone. My two
bullets had passed through the tetel; the first was too high,
having entered above the shoulder--this had dropped the animal
for a moment; the second was through the flank. The Arabs now
tied the baboons to trees, and employed themselves in carefully
skinning the tetel so as to form a sack from the hide; they had
about half finished the operation, when we were disturbed by a
peculiar sound at a considerable distance in the jungle, which,
being repeated, we knew to be the cry of buffaloes. In an instant
the tetel was neglected, the aggageers mounted their horses, and
leaving my wife with a few men to take charge of the game,
accompanied by Florian we went in search of the buffaloes. This
part of the country was covered with grass about nine feet high,
that was reduced to such extreme dryness that the stems broke
into several pieces like glass as we brushed through it. The
jungle was open, composed of thorny mimosas at such wide
intervals, that a horse could be ridden at considerable speed if
accustomed to the country. Altogether it was the perfection of
ground for shooting, and the chances were in favour of the rifle.

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