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We had proceeded carefully about half a mile when I heard a
rustling in the grass, and I shortly perceived a bull buffalo
standing alone beneath a tree, close to the sandy bed of a dried
stream, about a hundred yards distant between us and the animal;
the grass had been entirely destroyed by the trampling of a large
herd. I took aim at the shoulder with one of my No. 10 Reilly
rifles, and the buffalo rushed forward at the shot, and fell
about a hundred paces beyond in the bush. At the report of the
shot, the herd that we had not observed, which had been lying
upon the sandy bed of the stream, rushed past us with a sound
like thunder, in a cloud of dust raised by several hundreds of
large animals in full gallop. I could hardly see them distinctly,
and I waited for a good chance, when presently a mighty bull
separated from the rest, and gave me a fair shoulder shot. I
fired a little too forward, and missed the shoulder; but I made
a still better shot by mistake, as the Reilly bullet broke the
spine through the neck, and dropped him dead. Florian, poor
fellow, had not the necessary tools for the work, and one of his
light guns produced no effect. Now came the time for the
aggageers. Away dashed Jali on his fiery mare, closely followed
by Abou Do and Suleiman, who in a few instants were obscured in
the cloud of dust raised by the retreating buffaloes. As soon as
I could mount my horse that had been led behind me, I followed at
full speed, and spurring hard, I shortly came in sight of the
three aggageers, not only in the dust, but actually among the
rear buffaloes of the herd. Suddenly, Jali almost disappeared
from the saddle as he leaned forward with a jerk, and seized a
fine young buffalo by the tail. In a moment Abou Do and Suleiman
sprang from their horses, and I arrived just in time to assist
them in securing a fine little bull of about twelve hands high,
whose horns were six or seven inches long. A pretty fight we had
with the young Hercules. The Arabs stuck to him like bull-dogs,
in spite of his tremendous struggles, and Florian, with other
men, shortly arriving, we secured him by lashing his legs
together with our belts until impromptu ropes could be made with
mimosa bark. I now returned to the spot where we had left my wife
and the tetel. I found her standing about fifty yards from the
spot with a double rifle cocked, awaiting an expected charge from
one of the buffaloes that, separated from the herd, had happened
to rush in her direction. Mahomet had been in an awful fright,
and was now standing secure behind his mistress. I rode through
the grass with the hope of getting a shot, but the animal had
disappeared. We returned to the dead tetel and to our captive
baboons; but times had changed since we had left them. One had
taken advantage of our absence, and, having bitten through his
tether, he had escaped; the other had used force instead of
cunning, and, in attempting to tear away from confinement, had
strangled himself with the slip-knot of the rope.

The aggageers now came up with the young buffalo. This was a
great prize, as zoological specimens were much sought after at
Cassala by an agent from Italy, who had given contracts for a
supply. My hunters, to whom I willingly gave my share in the
animal, left one of their party with several of my people to
obtain the assistance of the camel-drivers, who were not far
distant in the rear; these were to bring the flesh of the
animals, and to drive the young bull on the march.

We now pushed on ahead, and at 5 P.M. we arrived at the spot on
the margin of the Settite river at which we were to encamp for
some time.

In this position, the valley of the Settite had changed its
character: instead of the rugged and broken slopes on either side
of the river, ascending gradually to the high table lands, the
east bank of the river was low, and extended, in a perfect flat
for about eight miles, to the foot of an abrupt range of hills;
the base had many ages ago formed the margin of the stream, which
had washed this enormous mass of soil towards the Atbara river,
to be carried by the Nile for a deposit in Lower Egypt. During
the rainy season, the river overflowed its banks, and attained a
width in many places of six and seven hundred yards. The soil was
rich, and, having imbibed much moisture from a periodical
overflow, it gave birth to thick jungles of nabbuk (Rhamnus
lotus), together with luxuriant grass, which being beautifully
green while all other leaves and herbage were parched and
withered, afforded pasturage and shade that attracted a number of
wild animals. For many miles on either side the river was fringed
with dense groves of the green nabbuk, but upon the east bank, an
island had been formed of about three hundred acres; this was a
perfect oasis of verdure, covered with large nabbuk trees, about
thirty feet high, and forming a mixture of the densest coverts,
with small open glades of rich but low herbage. To reach this
island, upon which we were to encamp, it was necessary to cross
the arm of the river, that was now dry, with the exception of
deep pools, in one of which we perceived a large bull buffalo
drinking, just as we descended the hill. As this would be close
to the larder, I stalked to within ninety yards, and fired a
Reilly No. 10 into his back, as his head inclined to the water.
For the moment he fell upon his knees, but recovering
immediately, he rushed up the steep bank of the island, receiving
my left-hand barrel between the shoulders, and he disappeared in
the dense covert of green nabbuk on the margin. As we were to
camp within a few yards of the spot, he was close to home;
therefore, having crossed the river, we carefully followed the
blood tracks through the jungle; but, after having pushed our way
for about twenty paces through the dense covert, I came to the
wise conclusion that it was not the place for following a wounded
buffalo, and that we should find him dead on the next morning. A
few yards upon our right hand was a beautiful open glade,
commanding a view of the river, and surrounded by the largest
nabbuk trees, that afforded a delightful shade in the midst of
the thick covert. This was a spot that in former years had been
used by the aggageers as a camp, and we accordingly dismounted,
and turned the horses to graze upon the welcome grass. Each horse
was secured to a peg by a long leathern thong, as the lions in
this neighbourhood were extremely dangerous, having the advantage
of thick and opaque jungle.

We employed ourselves until the camels should arrive, in cutting
thorn branches, and constructing a zareeba, or fenced camp, to
protect our animals during the night from the attack of wild
beasts. I also hollowed out a thick green bush to form an arbour,
as a retreat during the heat of the day, and in a short space of
time we were prepared for the reception of the camels and
effects. The river had cast up immense stores of dry wood; this
we had collected, and, by the time the camels arrived with the
remainder of our party after dark, huge fires were blazing high
in air, the light of which had guided them direct to our camp.
They were heavily laden with meat, which is the Arab's great
source of happiness, therefore in a few minutes the whole party
was busily employed in cutting the flesh into long thin strips to
dry; these were hung in festoons over the surrounding trees,
while the fires were heaped with tit-bits of all descriptions. I
had chosen a remarkably snug position for ourselves; the two
angareps (stretchers) were neatly arranged in the middle of a
small open space free from overhanging boughs; near these blazed
a large fire, upon which were roasting a row of marrow-bones of
buffalo and tetel, while the table was spread with a clean cloth,
and arranged for dinner.

The woman Barrake, who had discovered with regret that she was
not a wife but a servant, had got over the disappointment, and
was now making dhurra cakes upon the doka: this is a round
earthenware tray about eighteen inches in diameter, which,
supported upon three stones or lumps of earth, over a fire of
glowing embers, forms a hearth. Slices of liver, well peppered
with cayenne and salt, were grilling on the gridiron, and we were
preparing to dine, when a terrific roar within a hundred and
fifty yards informed us that a lion was also thinking of dinner.
A confusion of tremendous roars proceeding from several lions
followed the first round, and my aggageers quietly remarked,
"There is no danger for the horses to-night, the lions have found
your wounded buffalo!"

Such a magnificent chorus of bass voices I had never heard; the
jungle cracked, as with repeated roars they dragged the carcase
of the buffalo through the thorns to the spot where they intended
to devour it. That which was music to our ears was discord to
that of Mahomet, who with terror in hs face came to us and
exclaimed: "Master, what's that? What for master and the missus
come to this bad country? That's one bad kind will eat the missus
in the night! Perhaps he come and eat Mahomet!" This
after-thought was too much for him, and Bacheet immediately
comforted him by telling the most horrible tales of death and
destruction that had been wrought by lions, until the nerves of
Mahomet were completely unhinged.

This was a signal for story-telling, when suddenly the aggageers
changed the conversation by a few tales of the Base natives,
which so thoroughly eclipsed the dangers of wild beasts, that in
a short time the entire party would almost have welcomed a lion,
provided would he only have agreed to protect them from the Base.
In this very spot where we were then camped, a party of Arab
hunters had, two years previous, been surprised at night and
killed by the Base, who still boasted of the swords that they
possessed as spoils from that occasion. The Base knew this spot
as the favourite resting-place of the Hamran hunting-parties, and
they might be not far distant now, as we were in the heart of
their country. This intelligence was a regular damper to the
spirits of some of the party. Mahomet quietly retired and sat
down by Barrake, the ex-slave woman, having expressed a
resolution to keep awake every hour that he should be compelled
to remain in that horrible country. The lions roared louder and
louder, but no one appeared to notice such small thunder; all
thoughts were fixed upon the Base, so thoroughly had the
aggageers succeeded in frightening not only Mahomet, but also our
Tokrooris.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE LIONS FIND THE BUFFALO.

EARLY on the following morning the lions were still roaring,
apparently within a hundred yards of the camp. I accordingly took
a Reilly No. 10 double rifle and accompanied by my wife, who was
anxious to see these glorious animals, and who carried my little
Fletcher No. 24, I skirted the outside of the jungle on the high
bank, on the narrow arm of the river. We were not long in finding
traces of the lions. A broad track in the sandy bed of the dried
stream showed where the buffalo had been dragged across to the
thick and impervious green bushes, exactly beneath us on the
margin of the river. A hind quarter of the buffalo, much gnawed,
lay within seven or eight paces of us, among the bushes that had
been trampled down, and the dung of numerous lions lay upon the
open ground near the place of their concealment. We had two
Tokrooris with us, carrying spare rifles, and I felt sure that
the lions were within the bushes of dense nabbuk, which concealed
them as perfectly as though behind a closed curtain. We
approached within three or four yards of this effective screen,
when suddenly we heard the cracking of bones, as the lions
feasted in their den close to us; they would not show themselves,
nor was there any possibility of obtaining a shot; therefore,
after ascending the high bank, and waiting for some time in the
hope that one might emerge to drag away the exposed portion of
the buffalo, we returned to camp.

The aggageers had already returned from a reconnaissance of the
country, as they had started before daybreak in search of
elephants; they reported the fresh tracks of a herd, and they
begged me to lose no time in accompanying them, as the elephants
might retreat to a great distance. There was no need for this
advice; in a few minutes my horse Tetel was saddled, and my six
Tokrooris and Bacheet, with spare rifles, were in attendance.
Bacheet, who had so ingloriously failed in his first essay at Wat
el Negur, had been so laughed at by the girls of the village for
his want of pluck, that he had declared himself ready to face the
devil rather than the ridicule of the fair sex; and, to do him
justice, he subsequently became a first-rate lad in moments of
danger.

The aggageers were quickly mounted. It was a sight most grateful
to a sportsman to witness the start of these superb hunters, who
with the sabres slung from the saddle-bow, as though upon an
everyday occasion, now left the camp with these simple weapons,
to meet the mightiest animal of the creation in hand-to-hand
conflict. The horses' hoofs clattered as we descended the shingly
beach, and forded the river shoulder-deep, through the rapid
current, while those on foot clung to the manes of the horses,
and to the stirrup-leathers, to steady themselves over the loose
stones beneath.

Shortly after our arrival upon the opposite side, we came upon
numerous antelopes of the nellut (A. Strepsiceros) and tetel (A.
Bubalis). I would not fire at these tempting animals, as we were
seeking nobler game.

Tracking was very difficult; as there was a total absence of
rain, it was next to impossible to distinguish the tracks of two
days' date from those most recent upon the hard and parched soil;
the only positive clue was the fresh dung of the elephants, and
this being deposited at long intervals rendered the search
extremely tedious. The greater part of the day passed in useless
toil, and, after fording the river backwards and forwards several
times, we at length arrived at a large area of sand in the bend
of the stream, that was evidently overflowed when the river was
full; this surface of many acres was backed by a forest of large
trees. Upon arrival at this spot, the aggageers, who appeared to
know every inch of the country, declared that, unless the
elephants had gone far away, they must be close at hand, within
the forest. We were speculating upon the direction of the wind,
when we were surprised by the sudden trumpet of an elephant, that
proceeded from the forest already declared to be the covert of
the herd. In a few minutes later, a fine bull elephant marched
majestically from the jungle upon the large area of sand, and
proudly stalked direct towards the river.

At that time we were stationed under cover of a high bank of sand
that had been left by the retiring river in sweeping round an
angle; we immediately dismounted, and remained well concealed.
The question of attack was quickly settled; the elephant was
quietly stalking towards the water which was about three hundred
paces distant from the jungle: this intervening space was heavy
dry sand, that had been thrown up by the stream in the sudden
bend of the river, which, turning from this point at a right
angle, swept beneath a perpendicular cliff of conglomerate rock
formed of rounded pebbles cemented together.

I proposed that we should endeavour to stalk the elephant, by
creeping along the edge of the river, under cover of a sand bank
about three feet high, and that, should the rifles fail, the
aggageers should come on at full gallop, and cut off his retreat
from the jungle; we should then have a chance for the swords.

Accordingly, I led the way, followed by Hadji Ali, my head
Tokroori, with a rifle, while I carried the "Baby." Florian
accompanied us. Having the wind fair, we advanced quickly for
about half the distance, at which time we were within a hundred
and fifty yards of the elephant, who had just arrived at the
water, and had commenced drinking. We now crept cautiously
towards him; the sand bank had decreased to a height of about two
feet, and afforded very little shelter. Not a tree nor bush grew
upon the surface of the barren sand, which was so deep that we
sank nearly to the ankles at every footstep. Still we crept
forward, as the elephant alternately drank, and then spouted the
water in a shower over his colossal form; but just as we had
arrived within about fifty yards, he happened to turn his head in
our direction, and immediately perceived us. He cocked his
enormous ears, gave a short trumpet, and for an instant he
wavered in his determination whether to attack or fly; but as I
rushed towards him with a shout, he turned towards the jungle,
and I immediately fired a steady shot at the shoulder with the
"Baby." As usual, the fearful recoil of the rifle, with a
half-pound shell and twelve drachms of powder, nearly threw me
backwards; but I saw the mark upon the elephant's shoulder, in an
excellent line, although rather high. The only effect of the shot
was to send him off at great speed towards the jungle; but at the
same moment the three aggageers came galloping across the sand
like greyhounds in a course, and, judiciously keeping parallel
with the jung]e, they cut off his retreat, and, turning towards
the elephant, they confronted him, sword in hand. At once the
furious beast charged straight at the enemy; but now came the
very gallant, but foolish, part of the hunt. Instead of leading
the elephant by the flight of one man and horse, according to
their usual method, all the aggageers at the same moment sprang
from their saddles, and upon foot in the heavy sand they attacked
the elephant with their swords.

In the way of sport, I never saw anything so magnificent, or so
absurdly dangerous. No gladiatorial exhibition in the Roman arena
could have surpassed this fight. The elephant was mad with rage,
and nevertheless he seemed to know that the object of the hunters
was to get behind him. This he avoided with great dexterity,
turning as it were upon a pivot with extreme quickness, and
charging headlong, first at one, and then at another of his
assailants, while he blew clouds of sand in the air with his
trunk, and screamed with fury. Nimble as monkeys, nevertheless
the aggageers could not get behind him. In the folly of
excitement they had forsaken their horses, which had escaped from
the spot. The depth of the loose sand was in favour of the
elephant, and was so much against the men that they avoided his
charges with extreme difficulty. It was only by the determined
pluck of all three that they alternately saved each other, as two
invariably dashed in at the flanks when the elephant charged the
third, upon which the wary animal immediately relinquished the
chase, and turned round upon his pursuers. During this time, I
had been labouring through the heavy sand, and shortly after I
arrived at the fight, the elephant charged directly through the
aggageers, receiving a shoulder shot from one of my Reilly No. 10
rifles, and at the same time a slash from the sword of Abou Do,
who, with great dexterity and speed, had closed in behind him,
just in time to reach the leg. Unfortunately, he could not
deliver the cut in the right place, as the elephant, with
increased speed, completely distanced the aggageers; he charged
across the deep sand, and reached the jungle. We were shortly
upon his tracks, and after running about a quarter of a mile, he
fell dead in a dry watercourse. His tusks were, like the
generality of Abyssinian elephants, exceedingly short, but of
good thickness.

Some of our men, who had followed the runaway horses, shortly
returned, and reported that, during our fight with the bull, they
had heard other elephants trumpeting in the dense nabbuk jungle
near the river. A portion of thick forest of about two hundred
acres, upon this side of the river, was a tempting covert for
elephants, and the aggageers, who were perfectly familiar with
the habits of the animals, positively declared that the herd must
be within this jungle. Accordingly, we proposed to skirt the
margin of the river, which, as it made a bend at right angles,
commanded two sides of a square. Upon reaching the jungle by the
river side, we again heard the trumpet of an elephant and about
a quarter of a mile distant we observed a herd of twelve of these
animals shoulder-deep in the river, which they were in the act of
crossing to the opposite side, to secure themselves in an almost
impenetrable jungle of thorny nabbuk. The aggageers advised that
we should return to the ford that we had already crossed, and, by
repassing the river, we should most probably meet the elephants,
as they would not leave the thick jungle until the night. Having
implicit confidence in their knowledge of the country, I followed
their directions, and we shortly recrossed the ford, and arrived
upon a dry portion of the river's bed, banked by a dense thicket
of nabbuk.

Jali now took the management of affairs. We all dismounted, and
sent the horses to a considerable distance, lest they should by
some noise disturb the elephants. We shortly heard a cracking in
the jungle on our right, and Jali assured us, that, as he had
expected, the elephants were slowly advancing along the jungle on
the bank of the river, and they would pass exactly before us. We
waited patiently in the bed of the river, and the cracking in the
jungle sounded closer as the herd evidently approached. The strip
of thick thorny covert that fringed the margin was in no place
wider than half a mile--beyond that, the country was open and
park-like, but at this season it was covered with parched grass
from eight to ten feet high; the elephants would, therefore, most
probably remain in the jungle until driven out.

In about a quarter of an hour, we heard by the noise in the
jungle, about a hundred yards from the river, that the elephants
were directly opposite to us. I accordingly instructed Jali to
creep quietly by himself into the bush and to bring me
information of their position: to this he at once agreed.

In three or four minutes he returned; he declared it impossible
to use the sword, as the jungle was so dense that it would check
the blow, but that I could use the rifle, as the elephants were
close to us--he had seen three standing together, between us and
the main body of the herd. I told Jali to lead me direct to the
spot, and, followed by Fiorian and the aggageers, with my
gun-bearers, I kept within a foot of my dependable little guide,
who crept gently into the jungle; this was intensely thick, and
quite impenetrable, except in such places where elephants and
other heavy animals had trodden numerous alleys. Along one of
these narrow passages we stealthily advanced, until Jali stepped
quietly on one side, and pointed with his finger; I immediately
observed two elephants looming through the thick bushes about
eight paces from me. One offered a temple shot, which I quickly
took with a Reilly No. 10, and floored it on the spot. The smoke
hung so thickly, that I could not see sufficiently distinctly to
fire my second barrel before the remaining elephant had turned;
but Florian, with a three-ounce steel-tipped bullet, by a curious
shot at the hind quarters, injured the hip joint to such an
extent that we could more than equal the elephant in speed. In a
few moments we found ourselves in a small open glade in the
middle of the jungle, close to the stern of the elephant we were
following. I had taken a fresh rifle, with both barrels loaded,
and hardly had I made the exchange, when the elephant turned
suddenly, and charged. Determined to try fairly the forehead
shot, I kept my ground, and fired a Reilly No. 10, quicksilver
and lead bullet, exactly in the centre, when certainly within
four yards. The only effect was to make her stagger backwards,
when, in another moment, with her immense ears thrown forward,
she again rushed on. This was touch-and-go; but I fired my
remaining barrel a little lower than the first shot. Checked in
her rush, she backed towards the dense jungle, throwing her trunk
about and trumpeting with rage. Snatching the Ceylon No. 10 from
one of my trusty Tokrooris (Hassan), I ran straight at her, took
a most deliberate aim at the forehead, and once more fired. The
only effect was a decisive charge; but before I fired my last
barrel, Jali rushed in, and, with one blow of his sharp sword,
severed the back sinew. She was utterly helpless in the same
instant. Bravo, Jali! I had fired three beautifully correct shots
with No. 10 bullets, and seven drachms of powder in each charge;
these were so nearly together that they occupied a space in her
forehead of about three inches, and all had failed to kill! There
could no longer be any doubt that the forehead shot at an African
elephant could not be relied upon, although so fatal to the
Indian species: this increased the danger tenfold, as in Ceylon
I had generally made certain of an elephant by steadily waiting
until it was close upon me.

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