Wild Beasts and Their Ways, Reminiscences of Europe, Asia, Africa and America — Volume 1

by Sir Samuel White Baker

My half-pound shell was exceedingly simple. A cast-iron bottle, similar in shape to a German seltzer-water, formed the core, around which the lead was cast. The neck of the iron bottle projected through the pointed cone of the projectile, and formed a nipple to receive the percussion-cap. In external appearance the shell was lead, the iron bottle being concealed within. Half an ounce of the finest grained powder was inserted through the nipple by means of a small funnel; this formed the bursting charge. The cap was only adjusted previous to loading, as a necessary precaution. This half-pound shell was propelled by a charge of 16 drams of coarse-grained powder.

I never fired this rifle without killing the animal, but the weapon could not be claimed as a pleasant companion, the recoil being terrific. The arrangement of the cap upon a broad-mouthed nipple prevented the instantaneous explosion that would have taken place with a picrate of potash shell. A fraction of a second was required to explode the cap upon impact, and for the cap to ignite the bursting charge; this allowed sufficient time for the shell to penetrate to the centre of an elephant before the complete ignition had taken place. The destruction occasioned by the half-ounce of powder confined within the body of an elephant may be imagined.

I tried this shell at the forehead of a hippopotamus, which was an admirable test of penetration before bursting. It went through the brain, knocked out the back of the skull, and exploded within the neck, completely destroying the vertebrae of the spine, which were reduced to pulp, and perforating a tunnel blackened with gunpowder several feet in length, along which I could pass my arm to the shoulder. The terminus of the tunnel contained small fragments of lead and iron, pieces of which were found throughout the course of the explosion.

The improvements in modern rifles will, within the next half-century, be utterly destructive to the African elephant, which is unprotected by laws in the absence of all government. For many ages these animals have contended with savage man in unremitting warfare, but the lance and arrow have been powerless to exterminate, and the natural sagacity of the elephant has been sufficient to preserve it from wholesale slaughter among pitfalls and other snares. The heavy breechloading rifle in the hands of experienced hunters is a weapon which nothing can withstand, and the elephants will be driven far away into the wilderness of an interior where they will be secure from the improved fire-arms of our modern civilisation.

It is much to be regretted that no system has been organised in Africa for capturing and training the wild elephants, instead of harrying them to destruction. In a country where beasts of burden are unknown, as in equatorial Africa, it appears incredible that the power and the intelligence of the elephant have been completely ignored. The ancient coins of Carthage exhibit the African elephant, which in those remote days was utilised by the Carthaginians; but a native of Africa, if of the Negro type, will never tame an animal, he only destroys.

When we consider the peculiar power that an elephant possesses for swimming long distances, and for supporting long marches under an enormous weight, we are tempted to condemn the apathy even of European settlers in Africa, who have hitherto ignored the capabilities of this useful creature. The chief difficulty of African commerce is the lack of transport. The elephant is admirably adapted by his natural habits for travelling through a wild country devoid of roads. He can wade through unbridged streams, or swim the deepest rivers (without a load), and he is equally at home either on land or water. His carrying power for continued service would be from 12 to 14 cwts.; thus a single elephant would convey about 1300 lbs. of ivory in addition to the weight of the pad. The value of one load would be about 5oo pounds. At the present moment such an amount of ivory would employ twenty-six carriers; but as these are generally slaves which can be sold at the termination of the journey, they might be more profitable than the legitimate transport by an elephant.

Although the male elephant will carry a far greater load than the female, through its superior size and strength, it would be dangerous to manage upon a long journey should it take place during the period, of "must." I have heard the suggestion that an elephant should be castrated, as the operation would affect the temper of the animal and relieve it from the irritation of the "must" period; but such an operation would be impossible, as the elephant is peculiarly formed, and, unlike other animals, it has neither scrotum nor testicles externally. These are situated within the body, and could not be reached by surgery.

It is well known that the entire males of many domestic animals are naturally savage. The horse, bull, boar, and the park-fed stag are all uncertain in their tempers and may be pronounced unsafe; but the male elephant, although dangerous to a stranger and treacherous to his attendants, combines an extraordinary degree of cowardice with his natural ferocity. A few months ago I witnessed a curious example of this combination in the elephant's character. A magnificent specimen had been lent to me by the Commissariat Department at Jubbulpur; this was a high caste bull elephant named Bisgaum that was well known as bad-tempered, but was supposed to be courageous. He had somewhat tarnished his reputation during the last season by turning tail upon a tiger that rushed out of dense bush and killed a coolie within a few yards of his trunk; but this momentary panic was excused, and the blame was thrown upon the mahout. The man was dismissed, and a first-rate Punjaubi driver was appointed in his stead. This man assured me that the elephant was dependable; I accordingly accepted him, and he was ordered to carry the howdah throughout the expedition.

In a very short experience we discovered the necessity of giving Bisgaum a wide berth, as he would fling out his trunk with extreme quickness to strike a person within his reach, and he would kick out sharply with his hind leg whenever a native ventured to approach his rear. He took a fancy to me, as I fed him daily with sugar-canes, jaggery, and native chupatties (cakes), which quickly established an understanding between us; but I always took the precaution of standing by his side instead of in his front, and of resting my left hand upon his tusk while I fed him with the right. Every morning at daylight he was brought to the tent with Demoiselle (the female elephant), and they both received from my own hands the choice bits which gained their confidence.

My suspicions were first aroused by his peculiar behaviour upon an occasion when we had killed two tigers; these were young animals, and although large, there was no difficulty in arranging them upon the pad, upon which they were secured by ropes, when the elephant kneeling down was carefully loaded. Hardly had Bisgaum risen to his feet, when, conscious of the character of the animals upon his back, and, I suppose, not quite certain that life was actually extinct, he trumpeted a shrill scream, and shook his immense carcase like a wet dog that has just landed from the water. This effect was so violent that one tiger was thrown some yards to the right, while the other fell to the ground on the left, and without a moment's warning, the elephant charged the lifeless body, sent it flying by a kick with his fore foot, and immediately proceeded to dance a war-dance, kicking with his hind legs to so great a height that he could have reached a tall man's hat. A vigorous application of the driving-hook by the mahout, who was a powerful man, at length changed the scene, and the elephant at once desisted from his attack upon the dead tiger, and rushed madly upon one side, where he stood nervously looking at the enemy as though he expected it would show signs of life.