The world of the great forest

by Paul B. Du Chaillu

Then they gave shrill, piercing trumpetings of anger, so much dreaded by human beings, their huge bodies swayed to one side, then to the other, faster than usual, their big ears (the African elephants have much larger ears than their cousins from Asia) moved quickly, like fans, flapping against their heads, and their tails with their thin, short, coarse, and stiff black hair striking against their bodies.

An old bull njokoo, the oldest of them all, and who had been lucky in escaping thus far with his life, suddenly broke the silence and said to the others:

“Those of us who have seen many seasons, have killed many of the human beings that came to attack us. I have trampled upon many, and crushed their bodies as flat as the fallen leaves that cover the ground.”

“Yes,” shouted all the elephants; “we have defended our friends, and killed many of these human beings.” Then all the njokoos uttered again trumpetings of pride.

Another njokoo then said: “I have also trampled upon several of our enemies, the human beings, but I have killed most of them by seizing them with my trunk and dashing them against the ground.” After saying this, he also trumpeted loudly. This was followed by all trumpeting together, and there was again a short silence.

Then a fierce-looking njokoo, with long heavy tusks, each weighing over one hundred pounds, said: “I like to impale the human beings I attack. I have never forgotten that one of these once wounded me badly. He made a terrible noise; it was like a clap of thunder [the firing of his gun], and I felt a sharp pain. I charged and impaled him to the whole length of my tusks.” After saying this, he also gave that peculiar shrill trumpeting of pride and satisfaction, and again all the njokoos uttered trumpetings of delight.

There was silence again, and then another said: “I charged one of those horrid human beings some time ago, at full speed, but he was very cunning, waited for me, and as I was on the point of putting my tusks through him, he stepped backward and I missed him and passed by. Unfortunately we njokoos cannot turn back quickly. Our weight and speed are so great that we have to go a considerable distance before we can stop, and he escaped.” After saying this, he gave a peculiar trumpeting which meant how disappointed he was. Then all the njokoos said: “Would that you had killed this human being! But if the human beings escape with their lives when we attack them, we often also escape from them and their wiles.”

This conversation ended, the different herds of njokoos went to pasture among the shrubs, but did not remain in peace very long, for a new set of human beings made their appearance. But the njokoos had been so much hunted that they were always on the alert, and were not to be caught napping. Their little piercing eyes were always on the lookout. Trumpetings of alarm were given by those who had seen the enemy, and the njokoos fled in the opposite direction, and by night they were out of danger.

Two days afterward, as the njokoos were quietly feeding, they saw in the distance far away three or four black spots. They knew they were not human beings, but to their utter consternation they soon recognized them to be rhinoceroses, and said: “Let us flee, for those rhinoceroses are our worst enemies after the human beings. They are not afraid of our great size and attack us and often impale us with their tusk-like horns growing on their snouts.”

So the elephants fled from the rhinoceroses. The following day those who were ahead saw toward the west a dark line far away, rising upon the horizon against the more or less open country. All the njokoos met, and they all journeyed toward the dark line which they knew to be a forest, and when they reached it, great indeed was the noise of their trumpeting. But they decided to remain outside that night and think the matter over before making the forest their home. Nevertheless, they were glad to have it so near at hand, for they knew they could escape the rhinoceroses and would live in the forest in peace, for they did not think human beings lived there.