Ismailia Part 28

They had been standing in a low, swampy spot that was frequently overflowed: thus they had no difficulty in descending to the river.

Close to this place, the banks were perpendicular, and as hard as brick.

I ran down to the river, but by the time of my arrival, the elephants had gained the opposite bank; there, however, they were in a difficulty.

The water was deep, and the sh.o.r.e of the island was perpendicular, and about six feet above the water. They could not get out without breaking down the bank so as to form an incline. Already these enormous creatures, which are accustomed to such difficulties, were tearing down the earth with their tusks and h.o.r.n.y-toed feet; still it was a work of time, that gave me a good opportunity.

It was difficult to obtain a shot, as the elephants were end on. The distance was about 110 yards, which is very uncertain for so large an animal, that must be struck exactly in the right place.

I fired several shots with the No. 8 breechloader, aimed at the back of their heads, but none of these were successful.

Monsoor had the ammunition, and reloaded for me. The stunning effect of the heavy metal confused the animals and caused one to fall backward into the scrambling herd. This turned an elephant sideways. The bank had already given way and had fallen in large ma.s.ses into the water, which reduced the depth. The elephants, which had now gained a muddy footing, ploughed and tore down the yielding earth with redoubled vigour, as my men in great excitement opened a hot fire upon them with the snider rifles. These had about as much effect as though they had been pelted with stones.

Presently, as the depth was lessened by the falling bank, the elephants showed more body above the surface. The splas.h.i.+ng and scrambling was extraordinary; at length a large bull half ascended the bank, and for a moment exposed his flank; I fired a quick right and left shot with a Reilly No. 8 behind his shoulder, and he fell backwards into the river, where he commenced a series of wild struggles that brought him within twenty yards of me, and I sent a ball into his head which killed him.

The powerful stream at once carried away the floating carcase.

The bank had now completely given way, and an elephant was nearly on the summit. I fired at him with one of the Holland half-pounders, which by the recoil flew out of my hands for a distance of several yards; this was loaded with twelve drachms of fine-grain powder. The elephant fell on his knees on the steep incline, and was bagged to all intents and purposes, but believing that I had plenty of ammunition at hand, I fired another half-pounder into his shoulder, which killed him on the spot, and he rolled into the water, and the current took him away.

I immediately sent a man to order boats, with ropes and axes, to follow the carcases.

In the mean time I fired my last No. 8 into the shoulder of an elephant that had just climbed the bank and gained the island. I now had a glorious opportunity of a shoulder-shot at every animal as it should ascend the steep incline.

My ammunition was exhausted! My servant, Suleiman, had sent the little bag that contained only one reload for the breech-loaders, and no powder flask or sh.e.l.ls for the half-pounders. I had now the annoyance of witnessing the difficult ascent of the elephants in single file, exposing their flanks in succession to the shoulder-shot, while I remained a helpless looker-on.

I had thus bagged only two out of eleven, but these were killed at very long shots (about 110 yards).

The half-pounder rifles were the same calibre and pattern as that described in "The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia" as "the Baby." These were made by Mr. Holland of Bond Street, and are the most overpowering rifles I ever used. They were certain to kill the elephant, and to half kill the man who fired them with twelve drachms of fine-grain powder. I was tolerably strong, therefore I was never killed outright; but an Arab hunter had his collar-bone smashed by the recoil, when the rifle was loaded with simple coa.r.s.e-grain powder. If he had used fine grain, I should hardly have insured his life.

The elephants having gained the island, remained some time exposed, before they made up their minds to cross to the other side.

Unfortunately, the boats had followed the carcases of the elephants down the river, which were two miles distant before they could be secured; therefore we had no means of reaching the island. Our vessels could not have crossed, as there were many rocks below stream.

I therefore took a few shots with Hale's rockets, one of which just grazed the rump of an elephant, and sent them off in great astonishment.

We then tried a few shots with the fieldpiece, but the gun made bad practice, and the sh.e.l.ls exploded very wildly and not according to the distances regulated by the fuses.

The specific gravity of the elephant differs considerably from that of the hippopotamus. The latter animal invariably sinks when killed, and the body rises to the surface in about two hours, when the gas has distended the stomach. The body of an elephant floats on the surface immediately that it is killed, and is capable of supporting one or more persons. The cavity of the carcase is much larger in the elephant than in the hippopotamus; the latter is a dense ma.s.s of flesh, covered by an exceedingly thick and heavy skin, the specific gravity of which is considerably greater than water.

CHAPTER XIII.

MORAL RESULTS OF THE HUNT.

The moral result of the elephant hunt was very satisfactory, at the same time most unexpected.

The sound of cannon had been heard by the natives for many miles; this had awakened their curiosity, and numbers had sped from the surrounding heights and satisfied themselves that several elephants had been killed.

The natives of Bedden flocked to our little camp in hundreds, and were delighted at receiving permission to take as much elephant's flesh as they required. They raced along the bank for a couple of miles to the spot where the two elephants had been secured by my people, and towed upon a sand-bank.

I had sent down a noggur to make sure of the heads, as the opportunity of obtaining entire skulls seldom offered. These two heads had now been brought safely to camp, and the natives were employed in cleaning every atom of flesh from the bone.

In the mean time, great numbers of our enemies were to be seen squatting upon the heights, watching the happier Baris of Bedden, who had congregated like vultures in the river, and were quarrelling and scrambling over the immense carcases of the elephants. The temptation was too great to withstand. Who could resist flesh? The mouths of our enemies were watering, as they watched the heavy loads of red meat carried upon the heads of the rival Baris. In the afternoon, a messenger hailed the sentry to say that one of the sheiks wished to present himself to me to crave a cessation of hostilities. Shortly after the disappearance of this man with a courteous answer, a batch of messengers arrived to beg that their chief might be received, as they all desired peace.

On the following morning I held a general levee. About twenty headmen, or sheiks of princ.i.p.al villages, attended by many of their people, came to present themselves and to sue for peace. I received the chiefs on my diahbeeah, and each received a present of a long blue s.h.i.+rt as he stepped on board. They now seated themselves by Bedden, and a general explanation took place.

I a.s.sured them of my regret that they had forced me into war, as my mission to the country had been one of peace; at the same time they must have seen how impossible it was to resist the troops who were armed with weapons of precision, and drilled in a manner very different from the companies of slave-hunters.

I told them that I had many thousand cattle, and that had they agreed to sell me the corn that was absolutely needed for the troops, I should have paid for it punctually with cows, as I had promised them when I first entered their district. I also explained that, as they must have observed, I had never taken a single head of cattle from them, although I had frequently heard the lowing of their oxen. I had adopted this conduct, although in actual war, merely to impress upon them the fact that they might depend upon my word. I had offered to exchange my cattle for their corn; thus had I taken their cattle, they might have disbelieved my sincerity.

They replied, that "it must be expected that little differences would occur at the beginning." They had been incited against us by the Baris of Belinian, and the war was entirely their own fault. At the same time they laughed, and said that "hunger was a very bad thing, and that hungry men would always fill their stomachs, if they could, therefore we had been quite right to take their corn." They declared that it did not in the least matter, as the islands were very fertile, and would produce another crop very quickly; in the mean time they had a good supply concealed, and their loss only necessitated a little extra labour.

They continued this peaceable conversation by saying, that "the elephants were seldom seen in this district, and that the Baris did not understand such hunting, but they had heard the cannons, and they knew that we should be able to kill them." The meeting concluded by a request for meat; and the sheiks having given instructions to certain messengers, despatched them to summon their people to the sand-bank, where the remains of the elephants were lying.

In a short time, swarms of natives, lately our enemies, were collecting from all quarters, and hurrying towards the attractive spot, as though they were going to a fair.

I gave the headmen [*] a present of beads, and took them to admire themselves in the large gla.s.s within the cabin of the diahbeeah. I scrambled some pounds of beads among their people, and got up foot-races for prizes.

[*Footnote: The superior chief was presented with a costume which delighted him. This was a long blue s.h.i.+rt with red waist-band, a bright tin funnel inverted to form a helmet with a feather in the tube, and a pair of spectacles. He declared that he would be "the admiration of the women."]

The natives selected some of their best runners; but although they ran well, they were all beaten by Ali Nedjar of the "Forty Thieves," who was the champion runner of the expedition.

The sheiks requested that the cannon might be fired for their amus.e.m.e.nt.

A shot with blank cartridge made them look very serious. They then went to look at the two elephants' heads, which they believed had been blown off by the cannon on the day of the hunt.

They returned to the diahbeeah, and ordered their people to bring the present they had prepared for me. This consisted of thirty-one jars of merissa, each of which was duly tasted by themselves as a proof of the absence of poison.

Before they departed, I was a.s.sured, not only of their regret that any misunderstanding should have taken place, but that after their bean crop, which would be in about two months, they would unite with Bedden and carry all my baggage into the interior. They took leave and went off in the direction of the dead elephants.

Here was a sudden change in the politics of the country! Peace had been effected by the sacrifice of two elephants!

This peace was the result of greediness and envy. The natives had pined for the flesh, and envied the Baris of Bedden who were carrying it away; therefore they sued for peace.

At the same time, they had originally declined my offer of a large herd of cattle that would have been worth a hundred elephants. Thus they had courted war, in which they had lost some of their people, together with much corn, all of which they might have sold for cows; and they now desired peace, only to join in the scramble, like vultures, over the flesh of two elephants.

African negroes are incomprehensible people, and they cannot be judged by the ordinary rules of human nature. It was easy to understand, that if they desired peace upon so frivolous a pretext, they would plunge into war with the same frivolity--with a "coeur leger."

As each division of the district quickly followed the example of another in desiring peace, in like manner would they follow an evil example in provoking hostilities.

They had now professed friends.h.i.+p for the sake of a few steaks. They had promised to carry our baggage into the interior. If they would only be true to this offer, I should be able to transport the steamer, as the natives could easily drag the two-wheeled carts. Although I doubted their professions, I had some secret hopes of success, and I resolved to do all in my power to establish confidence. I therefore invited two very intelligent natives to pay me a visit, and to reside some time at Gondokoro, where they would witness the general management of the station, and see the workshops, &c. They would also see the vast herds of cattle belonging to the government, the spoil of the Bari war. This would be a sight most interesting to the eyes of Baris, as it would be a lesson of the great power of the government to either punish or reward.

In the afternoon I was visited by other native headmen from the east side of the Nile. These people had swum the river, and had followed the example of the other natives to sue for peace, and to beg for elephant's flesh.

This extraordinary craving for flesh would suggest that the Baris were devoid of cattle. On the contrary, there are countless herds throughout the country; but the natives have a great objection to kill them, and merely keep the cows for their milk, and the bullocks to bleed.

The cows are also bled periodically, and the blood is boiled and eaten, much in the same manner that black pudding is used throughout Europe. A herd of cattle will thus provide animal food without the necessity of slaughtering.

The great traveller, Bruce, was discredited for having described a fact of which he was an eye-witness. This was the vivisection of a cow, driven by natives, who cut a steak out of her hind-quarters.

I had a bull with a very large hump. (This bull was left at Fort Fatiko.) This animal was very handsome, and was kept for stock. I observed that the skin of the hump showed a long jagged scar from end to end, and my people a.s.sured me that this bull had frequently been operated upon. It had been the property of one of the slave-hunters'

parties, and they had been in the habit of removing the hump (as a surgeon would a tumour). This is the most delicate portion of the meat, and I was a.s.sured that the hump would always be replaced by a similar growth after each operation.

On 18th November, I commenced the march homewards. The natives were now friendly throughout the route, and my men were strictly forbidden to enter a village. There was a great change in my officers and troops; they had fallen into my ways and obeyed every order with alacrity. They had learned to place thorough reliance upon any plans that were arranged; and, now that they knew the necessity of obedience and discipline, they had, imperceptibly to themselves, changed from ruffians into very orderly soldiers.