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On 13th November, at sunrise, Lieutenant Baker started with the troops to convey corn from a distant village. I was sitting on the poop-deck of the diahbeeah, enjoying a pipe and a cup of coffee, when he suddenly galloped back with the news that a herd of bull elephants was approaching from the west. I was not prepared for elephant-shooting, and I recommended him to return to the troops, who would otherwise waste their time. I had no suspicion that elephants would approach our position after having been disturbed by the soldiers, in a country that was perfectly open.
Lieutenant Baker cantered back to his men, while I commenced to write up my daily journal according to my daily custom.
In about a quarter of an hour, the sentry reported a herd of elephants. All my people clambered up upon the googoos and buts to obtain a good view of the herd, which from the high poop-deck of the diahbeeah we could see distinctly.
There were eleven bulls, and they were marching in close order along the bank of the river, approaching us at about 400 yards' distance.
I should have thought it almost as likely to meet a herd of elephants in Hyde Park as to find them in this open and thickly-populated country. I now distinguished natives along the distant heights, all of whom were attracted by the uncommon occurrence.
In the mean time the elephants approached, swinging their trunks and huge ears to and fro, apparently unconscious of the presence of the vessels and people.
I always kept my guns and ammunition in beautiful order, arranged on a rack in the cabin. On the left-hand side were the shotguns, i.e., two breechloading No. 12; four muzzleloading No. 10. On the right, the rifles: the little "Dutchman," two breechloading Reilly No. 8, two muzzleloading Holland half-pounders, that carried an iron lead-coated explosive shell, containing a bursting charge of half an ounce of fine grain powder. These two elephant rifles were very hard hitters, and carried twelve drachms of powder. The ammunition for the rifles was on a shelf that formed the rack, contained in a small bag with a simple reload, and a large bag with a considerable supply. The small bag was intended for the deck, should I call suddenly for a rifle.
Seeing that the elephants were so near, I at once ordered my horse, "Greedy Grey," to be saddled, and the rifles and ammunition to be sent after me. My servant, Suleiman, who had started with me from Alexandria, was an honest, good creature, but so exceedingly nervous that he was physically useless in any sudden emergency. The climate of the marshes during our long voyage had so affected his nervous system, that any alarm or start would set him trembling to such an extent, that his teeth chattered as though he had been bathing in iced water. However, there was no time to lose, as I expected that should the elephants observe our vessels, and the troops in their scarlet uniform, they would immediately wheel round and be off, at the pace which an African elephant knows so well how to use.
I quickly mounted "Greedy Grey" and told Suleiman to send on my rifles directly, with ammunition.
I ordered my men to run up the heights, and to come down at about 200 paces in the rear of the elephants, where they were to form a line as though in skirmishing order. This line of red shirts would most probably check the elephants from rushing back. My men had orders to fire at the elephants, and to endeavour to turn them should they attempt a retreat.
I was now on "Greedy Grey;" the sloping ground was as clean as a race-course, I therefore galloped up the incline so as to keep above the elephants. The horse flew along at full speed. At this moment, a chorus of shouts from great numbers of natives who had collected on the east bank of the river was raised in admiration of the white horse, which they probably thought would in some manner seize the elephants.
In a very few seconds I reined up on the slope, about a hundred yards above the herd, which had now halted close to the river's bank. They regarded the horse with some curiosity, and massed themselves together.
In the meantime, my "Forty," who were capital runners, were moving rapidly along the heights, and they presently came down, and formed in a long, open line from the edge of the river up the slope. During this operation, the elephants only moved their ears and trunks, but remained in the same position. They were now completely surrounded; the diahbeeah and my people were in their front, I was above them on one flank, and the servants were coming up with the rifles. In their rear was a line of about twenty soldiers, and on the other flank was the deep river, about 110 yards wide from the mainland to the island.
Just as the rifles were within a few yards of me and I was preparing to dismount, the elephants wheeled suddenly round, and took to water.
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 shore 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 horny-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 masses 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 splashing 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 shells 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 coarse-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 shells 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 mass 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 principal 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 shirt as he stepped on board. They now seated themselves by Bedden, and a general explanation took place.
I assured 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 headmen15 a present of beads, and took them to admire themselves in the large glass within the cabin of the diahbeeah. I scrambled some pounds of beads among their people, and got up foot-races for prizes.
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 amusement. 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 assured, 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 friendship 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 assured 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 assured 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.
On the march homewards, upon arrival at the foot of a mountain, I made an excursion inland, as this was a portion of the country that I had not yet visited, though only six miles from Gondokoro. The natives were very shy, but I at length succeeded in obtaining an interview with their sheik, a tall powerful fellow, named Meri. I explained that I required no corn, nor any supplies, except stone. (This sheik Meri and his people always remained faithful to the government from that day.)
The country abounded with pieces of gneiss with a very straight cleavage, that suited them admirably for building purposes. All the granaries of this country were supported upon pillars formed of single stones, about three feet long. The houses were also protected by large flat stones arranged like tiles around the base, and thus securing the sides from the driven storms of rain.
On 19th November, I returned to Gondokoro highly satisfied with the result of the campaign. Not only were my magazines all filled with more than twelve months' supply of corn, but I had established peace throughout a large and powerful district, and I had received promises of assistance, and an assurance of allegiance to the government.
Abou Saood, who had received permission to go to Khartoum, had only gone down the river as far as his station at the Bohr. There he had made arrangements with his people that the ivory from Latooka station, 100 miles east of Gondokoro, should avoid my head-quarters, and be conveyed by an oblique course to the Bohr. By this swindle, the government would be cheated out of the share of two-fifths of the ivory which belonged to them by contract with Agad & Co.
Abou Saood having personally witnessed the departure of the troops to Khartoum, considered his game as won, and that the expedition, now reduced to only 502 officers and men, would be compelled to centralize at Gondokoro, without the possibility of penetrating the interior. He had thus started for his stations in the distant south, where he intended to incite the natives against the government, to prevent me from following out my plans with the small force at my disposal.
This was the first time in the career of Abou Saood that he had ever travelled inland. He had for many years been in the habit of arriving at Gondokoro from Khartoum with the annual vessels from Agad & Co., bringing new levies of brigands together with fresh supplies of arms and ammunition. He then remained at Gondokoro for several weeks, and received the ivory and slaves collected from his various stations in the interior with which he returned to Khartoum.
The necessity of the occasion induced him to use much personal activity. Knowing well the date when my term of service would expire, he had only one object, in which he had already nearly succeeded,—this was to prevent the possibility of my advance within the given period.
It was therefore necessary for him to visit his stations, and to warn his people to hold both their slaves and ivory until I should be withdrawn from Gondokoro by the expiration of my term of service; after which, he had no doubt that things would quickly return to their former happy state. By these means he would be able to cheat the government out of the two-fifths of all ivory; he would preserve his slaves; and a judicious present to some high official would reinstate him in his original position as the greatest slave-hunter of the White Nile; with the additional kuilos of having battled the Christian Pacha.
I had already written to assure the Khedive that, should my work not be satisfactorily accomplished at the expiration of my term of service, I should continue at my post until I could honourably resign the command, when the government should be firmly established in the interior.
I now devoted every energy to the preparations for starting, together with the English engineers and the steamer. Having given the necessary instructions to the engineer in chief, Mr. Higginbotham, I had no anxiety, as I felt sure that everything would be in order.
The carts were to be thoroughly examined, and the No. 3 steamer of 38 tons was to be divided in parcels; the small work secured in loads of fifty pounds, each sewn up in raw hide, and the heavier portions divided among the carts.
The officers were now perfectly resigned to their lot. The remnant of the Egyptian force had been converted into artillery-men, and all the Soudanis formed one regiment.
While Mr. Higginbotham was engaged in the work of arranging and packing, my masons were busy in making bricks, as I wished eventually to build the barracks of this solid material, instead of trusting to the dangerously inflammable straw-huts. I had already written to England for sufficient galvanized iron for 3,000 feet of building in actual length.
Although galvanized iron is hot in a tropical climate, it can easily be protected from the sun by a light framework of canes slightly thatched. My Soudanis were never overpowered by heat, as they had been born in a high temperature.