Some years ago a rogue elephant was wounded near the town of Hambangtotte by a native, and followed the latter into the town in a wild race, catching him in the bazaar in the midst of the town, and trampling him to death before a crowd of people, then making good its escape.
Often tame elephants, excited by some means, become rogues for the time. During one of the attempts by the government to capture an entire herd in Ceylon, a fine tame tusker became intensely excited, and finally, in a frenzy of rage, broke down the bars of the corral with its head and tusks, and ran into the jungle. A few days later, its driver went after it with a decoy; when it approached, he courageously leaped upon the back of the maddened beast, and with a pair of hooks subdued it, until it was firmly chained, when it allowed itself to be led away.
That elephants do not easily forget, is shown in case of one that turned rogue, and escaped to the jungle, and, when recaptured ten years later, immediately obeyed the mahout’s command to kneel.
That rogue elephants are sometimes the result of inhuman treatment, is shown in a terrible catastrophe, reported by an Indian correspondent of “The Pall Mall Gazette” as occurring in April of the present year, in which seventeen human beings lost their lives, and much valuable property was destroyed.
“While an elephant was being ridden by its keeper in the District of Sultanpore, in Oude, the animal resented ‘prodding’ with a spear, by pulling the man from his back, and throwing him some distance away. Fortunately the man fell in a hollow, and remained there undiscovered by the elephant, who went to a neighboring village. There he chased an old man into a house, then broke down the walls, pulled the man out, and dashed him to pieces. The same night the elephant knocked down several houses in quest of human beings, in the villages of Sardapur, Bargaon, and Jaisingpur. He killed six men in Bersoma, three in Sota, four in Gaugeo, and four in Mardan. He likewise killed a bullock and a pony, and also completely destroyed a new carriage. The animal used to stand at the door of a house, force his entry by demolishing the walls on either side, and would then kill as many of the inmates as he could, pursuing others who tried to run away. He mangled the corpses terribly. After securing a victim, he sometimes returned to the spot to see if life were extinct, and would commence mutilating the body afresh. He carried several bodies long distances, and threw them into ravines, etc. The elephant found his way to the Dehra Rájah’s palace, where he tried to enter the house of a gardener; but some men mounted on three elephants, assisted by spearmen, drove him off. He then returned to Bebipur, where he tried to break down his master’s house, in which several persons had taken refuge. The police got into the house from a back window, and were obliged to send for help to the Dehra Rájah, who sent three elephants and some spearmen. The animal received two gun-shots on the head at Bebipur, which, however, only temporarily drove him off. He was ultimately captured at imminent risk, by the rájah’s three elephants and men.”
CHAPTER XIII.
HUNTING THE AFRICAN ELEPHANT.
From the huge size of its body and tusks, the African elephant affords, if any thing, a better opportunity of testing the skill and endurance of the hunter than its Asiatic ally. In former years, the great game was found from the Southern limit of Sahara to Cape Town; but so insatiate has been the greed for ivory, that it has been gradually driven from the more exposed tracts, and is now confined to the most unfrequented parts of the great continent; and as it is only with great difficulty and incalculable hardship that it can be followed, the animal is rarely hunted at the present day for pure sport, the ivory tusks alone being the desideratum. As about one hundred thousand elephants are killed every year, and they are slow breeders, their utter extermination seems only a matter of time. If the present depletion of the numbers of the African species continues, it will be but a memory of the past in a comparatively few years.
The African elephant is followed in several ways. Some hunters, as Baldwin, prefer to depend upon horses, and, so mounted, follow the herd at full speed, leaping from the saddle, firing quickly, and avoiding the charge by the fleetness of the horse. Others, as Selous, prefer shooting on foot. The latter met with an extraordinary adventure while following a fine elephant, and narrowly escaped. The following is his account:—
“My horse was now so tired that he stood well; so, reining in, I gave her a shot from his back between the neck and the shoulder, which I believe just stopped her from charging. On receiving this wound, she backed a few paces, gave her ears a flap against her sides, and then stood facing me again. I had just taken out the empty cartridge, and was about to put a fresh one in, when, seeing that she looked very vicious, and as I was not thirty yards from her, I caught the bridle, and turned the horse’s head away, so as to be ready for a fair start in case of a charge. I was still holding my rifle with the breech open, when I saw that she was coming. Digging the spurs into my horse’s ribs, I did my best to get him away; but he was so thoroughly done, that instead of springing forwards, which was what the emergency required, he only started at a walk, and was just breaking into a canter when the elephant was upon us. I heard two short, sharp screams above my head, and had just time to think it was all over with me, when, horse and all, I was dashed to the ground. For a few seconds I was half stunned by the violence of the shock; and the first thing I became aware of, was a very strong smell of elephant. At the same instant, I felt that I was still unhurt, and that, though in an unpleasant predicament, I had still a chance for life. I was, however, pressed down on the ground in such a way that I could not extricate my head. At last, with a violent effort I wrenched myself loose, and threw my body over sideways, so that I rested on my hands. As I did so, I saw the hind-legs of the elephant standing like two pillars before me, and at once grasped the situation. She was on her knees, with her head and tusks in the ground; and I had been pressed down under her chest, but luckily behind her fore-legs. Dragging myself from under her, I regained my feet, and made a hasty retreat, having had rather more than enough of elephants for the time being. I retained, however, sufficient presence of mind to run slowly, watching her movements over my shoulder, and directing mine accordingly. Almost immediately I had made my escape, she got up, and stood looking for me with her ears up and head raised, turning first to one side, and then to the other, but never wheeling quite round. As she made these turns, I ran obliquely to the right or left, as the case might be, always endeavoring to keep her stern towards me. At length I gained the shelter of a small bush, and breathed freely once more.