stanley's hunting adventures.—africa the field for the sportsman.—hunting in south africa.—night-shooting at water-holes and springs.—abundance of game.—danger of this kind of sport.—lions and elephants.—man-eating lions.—in the jaws of a lion.—dr. livingstone's narrow escape.—the hopo, or game-trap on a large scale.—du chaillu and his adventures.—shooting the gorilla.—resemblance of the gorilla to man.—prodigious strength of the gorilla.—how he is hunted.—the end.
african oryx, or gemsbok.
one day while our friends were discussing "through the dark continent" and considering its admirable qualities as a book of travel, frank remarked that there were few volumes of african exploration which had so little to say about hunting adventures. "i suppose the reason may be found," he continued, "in the fact that mr. stanley was[pg 443] too busy with his work of ascertaining the characteristics of the country and people to give time to hunting. occasionally he shot game to supply his people with meat, but in telling the story of his few shooting experiences he is exceedingly brief."
south african hunting—in camp.
"not only was he greatly occupied with his work as an explorer," replied the doctor, "but he had a positive aversion to shedding the blood of animals, not even excepting the noxious ones. if a lion came in his way or threatened the safety of his camp he was ready enough to shoot it, but he did not have the craving for slaughter that leads a man to tramp all day through a forest or over hills, or sit through the night in a desolate spot for the mere pleasure of taking a shot at anything that happens along. many african explorers have more to say about their hunting experiences than anything else, and i have now in mind the book of an explorer who gives minute details concerning all the large animals that fell before his rifle, but has very little to say about the country and its inhabitants.
"for the hunter in search of large game africa is now the best field, but owing to the rapid increase in the number of hunters, the growing use of firearms by the natives, and the colonization of hitherto unsettled regions, the great animals are becoming shy and scarce. south africa was and still is a favorite resort of sportsmen, but every year they must go farther and farther into the wilderness before finding what they seek."
[pg 444]
"how do they get up their hunting expeditions?" fred asked.
"the usual plan," replied the doctor, "is to fit out one or two wagons with provisions, guns, ammunition, and trade goods for several months, and then strike into the wilderness away from all settlements. two or three saddle-horses, together with donkeys, oxen, cows, and sheep, constitute the live-stock of the expedition. in central africa it would be impossible to travel with wagons, owing to the dense vegetation and the condition of the country, which is full of swamps and morasses, but in south africa the circumstances are different. the country is not densely wooded, and in many parts it is absolutely treeless. sometimes water is found there with difficulty, and every volume of hunting adventures in south africa contains stories of the sufferings of men and animals through scarcity or absence of water. but this scarcity of water greatly facilitates the work of the hunter."
"how is that?"
"where the springs and water-holes are far apart the wild animals must go long distances to drink, and if the hunter watches in their neighborhood he will have plenty of what he calls 'sport.' a favorite plan of these african hunters is to conceal themselves near a spring and shoot the elephants, lions, and other large beasts as they come for water."
"that ought to be very easy," said one of the youths.
"not as easy as you might suppose," was the reply, "nor is it without danger. in the first place very few of the animals visit the springs in the daytime, their drinking being done at night. furthermore, they choose the hours when there is no moon, and thus reduce the chance of being seen. in the moonless part of a month they come at any hour between darkness and daylight, but usually about midnight; on the nights when the moon shines they select the hours when it is below the horizon. thus if the moon rises early they wait until it has set, and if it rises late they come to drink before it is above the horizon. one hunter says that if it had not been for this habit there is many a lion, rhinoceros, or elephant now roaming the forests of south africa that would have fallen before his rifle. he says he has frequently heard a lion lapping the water within a dozen paces of him when the night was so dark that he could not get a sight of the brute."
"do all the wild animals of africa observe this rule?"
"none of them do so absolutely, and some are more observant of it than others. but all seem to know that there is danger near their drinking-places, and they conduct themselves accordingly.
[pg 445]
night hunting. elephants coming to drink.
[pg 446]
"a great deal depends upon the selection of the spot for concealment, and in making his selection the hunter has many things to think of. he must carefully observe the direction of the wind and make sure that it blows towards him from the places whence the animals approach the drinking-spot. then, if possible, he must so station himself that elephants, giraffes, and other large animals will be outlined against the sky as they come within his range. he digs a pit three or four feet deep and surrounds it with brushwood so that the change of the ground is not likely to be noticed. sometimes there is a convenient ant-hill close to the drinking-place, and if so this forms an excellent shooting-box, as the animals are familiar with its appearance and therefore are not likely to suspect that it conceals anything dangerous.
an african serenade.
"one famous hunter, andersson, gives it as his opinion that a night ambush beside an african pool, frequented by large animals, is worth all other modes of enjoying a gun put together. other hunters express the same opinion, though some of them admit that it is a cruel sort of sport, as it takes the prey wholly unawares and with little chance for defence or escape. the peril of this sort of hunting is that sometimes an elephant, rhinoceros, or lion discovers whence came the shot that wounded[pg 447] him, and charges directly at the spot. in such a case the hunter in his pit is at a disadvantage, and his chief hope of safety is by a well-directed bullet when his assailant is within short range. sometimes a wounded or frightened elephant runs straight to the spot, in his terror, and is liable to kill the hunter by tumbling upon him. there is one instance i have read of, wherein an elephant ran directly over the hunter, who was lying flat on the ground; the great feet of the animal grazed the head of his would-be slayer, but did not harm him. had the elephant been less frightened he would have made short work of the man."
"is a lion more dangerous than an elephant in a case of this kind?" asked one of the youths.
close shave by an elephant.
"there is not much to choose between them," doctor bronson answered, "as both are to be dreaded, perhaps the lion more than the larger animal. neither the lion nor the elephant will attack man without provocation, but when wounded they are very likely to turn upon their assailants. the courage of the lion has been greatly overrated in story-books, and also his noble conduct. the hunters who have made his intimate acquaintance, and written about him, say his characteristics are much like those of the hyena, and, like the latter beast, he is a skulking[pg 448] rather than an honorable foe. the female accompanied by her young is apt to be dangerous, but as for the male lion it can be set down as pretty certain that he will retire from danger if he has a chance to do so, even at the expense of his dignity."
"haven't i read of lions watching by the roadside and killing men and women without provocation?" said fred.
death-grapple with a lion.
"undoubtedly you have," was the reply. "the lions thus described are the dreaded man-eaters, who rank with the man-eating tigers of india. having once tasted human flesh and learned how easily it is procured, they lie in wait by the roads and paths, and spring upon the unfortunates who come within their reach. a man-eating lion will pass through an entire herd of cattle to get at one of the herdsmen; his movements are as stealthy as those of the cat, and the victim never has the least warning of his enemy's approach. very properly he is the subject of dread, and when a man-eater appears in the neighborhood of[pg 449] a settlement, large rewards are offered for his head. sometimes there is an entire suspension of work and business until the man-eater has been killed or driven away. these man-eaters have been known to come into a camp, spring upon a man asleep by the side of his companions, drag him into the bushes, and deliberately kill and devour him under protection of the darkness. while the lion, under ordinary circumstances, is not an object of any especial dread on the part of hunters, all have a terror of the man-eater.
"you never know, when you attack a lion, whether he will slink away or turn upon you; and every african hunter can tell stories of narrow escapes. as an illustration i will repeat one that was told to mr. andersson by the hero of it.
"he had gone out with some of his friends in search of five lions that had broken into his cattle-enclosure the previous night. the lions were tracked to a thicket of reeds, which were set on fire, the hunters being stationed around the thicket to intercept the animals as they came out. one lion took the direction in which two of the hunters were stationed, one of them being the narrator of the story.
"he fired, inflicting only a slight wound. immediately the lion sprang upon him; he thrust his gun into the lion's mouth, but the weapon was demolished in an instant. 'at that moment,' said he, 'the other hunter fired and the lion fell with a broken shoulder, so that i was able to rise and scamper away. but the lion was not done with me; in spite of his crippled condition he came after me, and my foot catching in a creeper, i fell to the ground. he was upon me again, tearing my clothing with his claws and grazing the skin in his efforts to grasp my hip. he laid hold of my left wrist and crushed it, and he tore my right hand so that i was totally helpless. just as he had done this my friend came up again, accompanied by his dog, which seized the lion by the leg and thus drew his attention from me. my friend watched his chance and fired at very close range; the ball crashed through the lion's skull and stretched him on the ground by my side.' the mutilated hunter was carried to camp, and eventually recovered from his wounds, but his left wrist was permanently crippled.
"doctor livingstone was once in a similar peril," continued doctor bronson, as he opened the account of the famous missionary's travels and researches in south africa. "here is his account of the occurrence:
"it is well known that if one of a troop of lions is killed the others take the hint and leave that part of the country. so, the next time the herds were attacked i went with the people in order to encourage them to rid themselves of the[pg 450] annoyance by destroying one of the marauders. we found the lions on a small hill, about a quarter of a mile in length and covered with trees. a circle of men was formed round it, and they gradually closed up, ascending pretty near each other. being down below on the plain, with a native schoolmaster named mebalwe, a most excellent man, i saw one of the lions sitting on a rock, within the now closed circle of men. mebalwe fired at him before i could, and the ball struck the rock on which the animal was sitting. he bit at the spot struck, as a dog does at a stick or stone thrown at him; then, leaping away, broke through the opening circle and escaped unhurt. the men were afraid to attack him, perhaps on account of their belief in witchcraft.
rhinoceros and dogs.
"when the circle was re-formed we saw two other lions in it; but we were afraid to fire lest we should strike the men, and they allowed the beasts to burst through also. seeing we could not get the people to kill one of the lions we bent our steps towards the village; in going round the end of the hill, however, i saw one of the beasts sitting on a piece of rock as before, but he had a little bush in front. being about thirty yards off, i took a good aim at his body, through the bush, and fired both barrels into it. the men then called out, 'he is shot! he is shot!' i saw the lion's tail erected in anger behind the bush, and, turning to the people, said, 'stop a little, till i load again.' when in the act of ramming down the bullets i heard a shout.
dr. livingstone in the lion's grasp.
"starting and looking half round, i saw the lion just in the act of springing upon me. i was upon a little height; he caught my shoulder as he sprang, and we both came to the ground below together. growling horribly, he shook me as a terrier dog does a rat. the shock produced a stupor similar to that which seems to be felt by a mouse after the first shake of a cat. it caused a sort of dreaminess in which there was no sense of pain nor feeling of terror, though quite[pg 451]
[pg 452] conscious of all that was happening. it was like what patients partially under the influence of chloroform describe, who see all the operation but feel not the knife. this singular condition was not the result of any mental process. the shake annihilated fear, and allowed no sense of horror in looking around at the beast. this peculiar state is probably produced in all animals killed by the carnivora; and, if so, it is a merciful provision by our benevolent creator for lessening the pain of death.
"turning round to relieve myself of the weight, as he had one paw on the back of my head, i saw his eyes directed to mebalwe, who was trying to shoot him at a distance of twelve or fifteen yards. his gun, a flint one, missed fire in both barrels; the lion immediately left me and, attacking mebalwe, bit his thigh. another man whose life i had saved before, after he had been tossed by a buffalo, attempted to spear the lion while he was biting mebalwe. he left mebalwe and caught this man by the shoulder, but at that moment the bullets he had received took effect, and he fell down dead. the whole was the work of a few moments, and must have been the paroxysms of his dying rage. besides crushing the bone into splinters, he left eleven teeth wounds in the upper part of my arm."
"dr. livingstone resembled mr. stanley in having no special fondness for hunting," continued doctor bronson, "and he has given us comparatively few hunting adventures in the record of his explorations. he gives an interesting account of the way the people of south africa hunt game by driving, in the seasons when water is scarce and the wild animals congregate near the places where they can drink. they arrange two hedges in the shape of the letter v, each hedge being a mile or two in length and fully a mile across at the entrance. then a large party of men go out quietly, and move so as to drive the game into the opening. the hedges are low at first, but as they approach each other they are increased in strength, so that the animals cannot break through them. the enclosure is called a 'hopo;' at its end there is a pit with a fall of six or eight feet from the end of the hopo, so that the animals which jump in cannot easily spring out again. buffaloes, zebras, giraffes, hartebeests, gnus, antelopes, oryxes, and similar animals are caught in these pits; sometimes lions are driven in, but they can easily spring over the hedges, and no attempt is made to stop them."
"that kind of hunting is not confined to south africa, i believe," said frank.
the hopo, or trip for driving game.
"not by any means," was the reply; "it is known over pretty nearly the whole world. it is used in india and ceylon for trapping elephants, in australia for capturing kangaroos, and in other parts of the world for other animals. hunting by battue, or beating, is as old almost as man himself, and has been practised in all ages; the chief difference between the ordinary hunt by battue and the capture of game in a hopo is that in the latter instance the game is caught in a pit or enclosure, while usually[pg 453]
[pg 454] it is shot or otherwise killed as the lines of men are drawn closely together. in many hunts of this sort the use of firearms is forbidden on account of the danger of accidents, and where they are permitted it is generally the rule to fire towards the outside of the cordon of men and not towards the inside.
paul du chaillu in africa.
"one of the most famous hunters in africa," said doctor bronson, after a pause, "was paul du chaillu, who has written several books, interesting[pg 455] alike to young and old. when he first published the account of his adventures his stories were received with incredulity, but as africa has become better known the truth of his assertions has been made manifest. he was the first white man to hunt the gorilla, and probably the first who ever saw one of those animals. in the course of his explorations he travelled some eight thousand miles, nearly always on foot and unaccompanied by a white man.
gorilla hunting—mother and young at play.
"nearly everywhere that he went he managed to get on friendly terms with the natives, who had not then been contaminated by contact with the arab slave-hunters. once his cook, whom he had brought from the coast, attempted to poison him, and with this object put two spoonfuls of arsenic in du chaillu's soup. the great overdose caused it to act as an emetic, and thus the explorer's life was saved. the cook fled to the woods when charged with the attempt to kill his master, but was caught by the natives and sentenced to death. du chaillu interfered and saved the fellow's life, and he was delivered in chains to the custody of his brothers, who came to intercede for him.
"du chaillu tells of one tribe of natives on the african coast who choose their chief or king by election, and may therefore be called republicans.[pg 456] when a king dies his body is secretly buried, and there is mourning for six days. during this time the old men meet to choose a new king; the choice is made in private, and neither the people nor the new king are informed of the result until the morning of the seventh day. the information is kept from the man of their selection until the very last.
"as soon as it is known who has been chosen the people surround him, pound him with their fists or with sticks, throw all sorts of disgusting objects at him, spit in his face, kick him, roll him on the ground, and otherwise maltreat and abuse him. those who cannot get at him by reason of the crowd utter all sorts of uncomplimentary phrases, and they anathematize not only him but all his relatives in every generation. du chaillu thought the man's life was in real danger; but the secret of the whole business was shown by some of the men occasionally shouting out, 'you are not our king yet; for a little while we will do what we please with you. by and by we shall have to obey your will.'
"he is expected to endure all this with a smiling face and to keep his temper throughout. when it has gone on for an hour or so he is taken to the old king's house, where he is seated, and for a little while receives a torrent of abuse, but this time it is entirely in words. then all become silent, the elders rise and say, the people repeating after them:
"'now we choose you for our king; we engage to listen to you and to obey you.'
"then the emblems of royalty are brought out, and the ceremonies of coronation take place with the most profound dignity. the king is dressed in a red gown and receives every mark of respect from those who so lately abused him. after the coronation he must remain for six days in the house, and during all this period there are loud rejoicings, and all his subjects come to pay their respects. the old king was mourned for six days, and it is considered nothing more than proper that the new one should have six days of rejoicing. the fact is, the new one is pretty nearly half dead at the end of the festival, as he is obliged to receive all comers at any hour of day or night, and sit down and eat and drink with them. doubtless he is thoroughly happy when the festival is over, and he can walk out and view his dominions.
du chaillu's first gorilla.
"the explorer gives an interesting account of the gorilla, and his first meeting with the animal makes a dramatic scene in his story. he had just shot a snake, which his men devoured with delight, but our friend, though very hungry, could not venture upon this sort of food.[pg 457]
[pg 458] noticing some sugar-canes growing near, he proceeded to cut them, in order to suck the juice and satisfy the cravings of his appetite.
head of kooloo-kamba.
"as he was cutting the canes, assisted by his men, the latter called his attention to several that had been broken down and chewed into fragments while others had been torn up by the roots. it was evidently the work of gorillas, and threw the whole party into a state of great excitement. the tracks in the soft earth showed that there were several gorillas in company, and immediately du chaillu proceeded to hunt them.
ear of kooloo-kamba.
"he divided his men into two parties, one led by himself and the other by an attendant named makinda. the animals were supposed to be behind a large rock, and the two parties moved so as to encircle it. suddenly there was a cry which had a very human sound, and four young gorillas ran from the concealment of the rock towards the forest. he says they ran on their hind-legs and looked wonderfully like hairy men as they inclined their bodies forward, held their heads down, and to all appearances were like men running for their lives to escape from danger. du chaillu fired at them, but hit nothing, and the animals made good their escape. the party ran after them till all were out of breath and then returned to camp. he says he felt very much like a murderer, as the animals had so nearly the appearance of humanity.
"some days later he was more successful in hunting the gorilla. he was out with his party, when suddenly the sound of the breaking of a branch of a tree was heard. the natives intimated that they were near a gorilla, and very cautiously all proceeded; soon they came in sight of the huge beast breaking down the limbs and branches of the trees to get at the berries. they stood still, as he was moving in their direction, and in a little while he was right in front of them. he had moved through the jungle on all fours, but as he came in sight of the party he stood erect like a man.
du chaillu ascending an african river.
"then he gave vent to a tremendous barking roar which is very difficult to describe, and beat his breasts with his huge fists till they resounded[pg 459]
[pg 460] like drums. this is the gorilla's mode of offering defiance, roaring and beating the breast at the same time. the roar begins with a sharp bark, like that of an angry dog, then glides into a deep bass roll, which literally and closely resembles the roll of distant thunder, so that it is sometimes taken for it when the animal is not in sight.
"the gorilla was about twelve yards from du chaillu when he first appeared; he advanced a few steps, then stopped and roared and beat his breasts again, then made another advance and stopped about six yards away. as he stopped a second time, du chaillu fired and killed him. the shot was well aimed, and death was almost instantaneous. measurement showed that the animal was five feet eight inches in height, but when standing erect, at his first appearance, he seemed to be fully six feet.
"during his wanderings in africa mr. du chaillu killed several gorillas, whose skins and skeletons he preserved and sent to england and america, where they attracted much attention in the scientific world. on two or three occasions he was fortunate enough to capture some young gorillas alive, but found it impossible to tame them. they showed the most furious temper and bit at everybody who came near them; at first they refused food, but after a while their hunger got the best of their obstinacy and they ate the berries and leaves that were gathered for them from their native forests. but all sickened and died, and i believe that no one has ever succeeded in taming one of these animals."
"was nothing known about the gorilla until mr. du chaillu hunted him?" fred asked, as doctor bronson paused.
"something was known about him," was the reply, "but not a great deal; he had been heard of for several centuries, but no white man had ever seen a living or even a dead gorilla. dr. wilson, a missionary on the west coast of africa, discovered the skull of a gorilla in 1846, and a year later he found the skull and part of the skeleton of another. these relics were sent, one to dr. savage, of boston, and the other—the second discovery—to the boston society of natural history.
"wonderful stories were told about this animal by the negroes. it was said that he lurked upon trees, by the roadside or overhanging the paths, drew up unsuspecting passers-by with his paws, and then choked them to death. he was said to carry a stick or staff when walking, and to use it as a weapon of defence; troops of gorillas thus attacked elephants and beat them to death; the gorilla built himself a house of leaves and twigs among the trees and sat on the roof; and sometimes whole armies of gorillas banded together for purposes of war. all these[pg 461] stories proved to be fables; almost the only truthful account of the gorilla's prowess was that he was a terrible fighter and more than a match for a lion. mr. du chaillu says that the lion does not inhabit the same region with the gorilla, and there is little doubt that the latter can whip the lion in ordinary combat.
gorilla skull.
"the strength of this creature is prodigious. a young one, two or three years old, requires four strong men to hold it, and even then in its struggles it is likely to bite one or more of them severely. it can dent a musket-barrel with its teeth, and an adult gorilla will bend a musket as though it were made of the softest wood. it can break off trees three or four inches in diameter, and a single blow of one of its fists will smash a man's skull like a sledge-hammer. it fights with arms and teeth, and does terrible execution with both."
human skull.
"does the gorilla walk erect like man, or on all-fours like the other members of the ape family?" frank inquired.
"ordinarily it walks on all-fours," the doctor answered, "but under certain circumstances it stands erect. when it advances to meet an assailant, or when desiring to look around, it rises to an erect position, and then assumes its greatest resemblance to man. if you look at the human and the gorilla skeletons side by side, you will perceive a great difference in their structure and readily understand how the locomotion of the gorilla on his hind-feet alone would not be altogether convenient. the fore-legs, or arms, of the gorilla are very much longer than those of man, and also very much stronger. a man unarmed could offer no practical resistance to a gorilla, and all who have hunted him understand this fact."
"do they hunt him with anything else than guns?"
[pg 462]
skeletons of man and the gorilla.
"no; or, at any rate, they only do so on very rare occasions. the rule of the gorilla-hunter is to wait until the animal is quite near, say within twenty feet, before firing. unless the first shot is fatal or can be immediately followed by another from a repeating rifle or a gun in the hands of others standing near, the man who fired the first shot is almost certain to be killed. the gorilla rushes upon him, and there is no chance for defence or flight. a single blow from the animal's fist generally terminates the struggle. one of du chaillu's companions was killed in this way, and the great hunter himself had a narrow escape. he said it[pg 463] was very trying to his nerves to stand and wait five minutes or more while the gorilla was advancing slowly, halting occasionally to beat its breast and utter its cries, until he was in the very short range desired."
"what do you think of the relation of the gorilla to man?" fred asked, with a smile developed on his face.
a young gorilla—du chaillu's captive.
"that is a question i hesitate to discuss, as i am not versed in the arguments that have been advanced by the scientists. perhaps we'll talk that over some other time, when we have more light on the subject. du chaillu says that the gorilla skeleton, the skull excepted, resembles the bony frame of man more than does that of any other anthropoid ape. the form and proportion of the pelvis, the number of ribs, the length of the arm, the width of the hand, and the structure and arches of the feet—all these characteristics and some of its habits, appeared to the hunter and explorer to place the gorilla nearer to man than any other anthropoid ape is placed."
doctor bronson paused and looked at his watch; and his action was taken as a signal for suspending the talk about the wild animals of africa. frank and fred thanked their mentor for the information he had given them, and especially about the gorilla; their curiosity had been roused by the repeated mention of the soko in mr. stanley's story of his journey "through the dark continent," and consequently the account of this strange beast was heard with interest.
and as their conversation comes to an end we will return our thanks to the trio of travellers, doctor bronson, frank, and fred, and express the hope that we shall meet them again.
