Wild Beasts and Their Ways by Sir Samuel White Baker (adult books to read txt) 📕

the elephant is enormous in weight and strength, the upper portion of the trunk is much exposed, as it is the favourite spot for the tiger's attack, where it can fix its teeth and claws, holding on with great tenacity. A wound on the trunk is most painful, and when an elephant is actually pulled down by a tiger, it is the pain to which the animal yields in falling upon the knees, more than the actual weight and strength of the tiger that produce the effect. A tiger, when standing upon its hind legs, would be able to reach about 8 feet without the effort of a spring; it may be readily imagined that a female elephant unprotected by tusks must certainly be injured should a tiger rush determinedly to the attack; nevertheless the female is generally preferred to the male for steadiness and docility. When a really trustworthy male elephant is obtainable, well grown, of large size, easy action, and in perfect training, it is simply invaluable, and there is no pleasure equal to such a mount; the sensation upon such an animal is too delightful, and you long for the opportunity to exhibit the power and prowess of your elephant, as the feeling of being invincible is intensely agreeable. The only sensation that can approach it is the fact of being mounted upon a most perfect hunter, that you can absolutely depend upon when following the hounds in England; an animal well up to a couple of stones more than your own weight, who never bores upon your hand, but keeps straight, and never makes a mistake; even that only faintly approaches the pleasure of a good day upon such an elephant as I have described.

Mahouts will always lie concerning the reputation of the animal in their charge, and I had been assured that the great male belonging to the Ranee of Bijni was the ideal character I coveted; but I discovered that his temper was so well known that the Rajah positively declined to expose his line of elephants to an attack, which he assured me would take place if the animal became excited; in which event some valuable elephant would suffer, as the long tusks of the Bijni elephant had not been blunted, or shortened by the saw. This splendid animal was accordingly condemned to the ignominious duty of conveying food to the camp, for the other elephants upon their return from their daily work. The neighbourhood of the Brahmaputra is rich in plantain groves, and for a trifling consideration the natives allow those trees which have already produced their crop to be cut down. A full-length stem will weigh about 80 lbs., therefore an elephant is quickly loaded, as the animal for the short distance to camp will carry 18 cwts. or more. The operation of loading a pad elephant with either boughs or plantain stems is very curious. Two men are necessary; one upon the ground hands the boughs, etc., to the man upon the animal's back, who lays the thin or extreme end of the branch across the pad, leaving the thick or heavy end outwards. He places one foot upon this to keep it from slipping off until he has placed the next bough across it upon the opposite side, arranged in a similar manner. In this way he continues to load the elephant, each time holding down with his foot a separate bough, until he has secured it by the weight of another, placed in the same position opposite. This plan enables him to build up a load like a small haystack, which is then secured by ropes, and almost hides the animal that carries it. My mighty beast was condemned to this useful but degrading employment, instead of being honoured by a place in the line of shikari's elephants, and we started into the valleys among the Garo Hills, led by a native who declared that he would introduce us to rhinoceros and buffaloes.

We started at 6 A.M., and marched about 14 miles, extending into line whenever we entered a broad valley of high grass, and slowly thrashing our way through it. In many of the swampy flats among the hills the reedy grass was quite 14 or 15 feet in height and as thick as the forefinger; so dense was this herbage, that when the elephants were in line you could only see the animals upon the immediate left and right, the others being completely hidden. It struck me that this system of beating was rather absurd, as there were no stops in the front, neither scouts on the flanks, therefore any animals that might be disturbed by the advance in line had every chance of escape without being observed. The grass was a vivid green, and occasionally a rush in front showed that some large animal had moved, but nothing could be seen. This was a wrong system of beating. I was second in the line of six guns, the Rajah Suchi Khan upon my left; we presently skirted the foot of a range of low forest-covered hills, and after a rush in the high reeds I observed a couple of sambur deer, including a stag, trotting up the hill through the open forest, all of which had been recently cleared by fire. A right and left shot from Suchi Khan produced no effect, but the incident proved that the system of beating was entirely wrong, as the game when disturbed could evidently steal away and escape unseen. Our right flank had now halted at about 400 yards' distance as a pivot, upon which the line was supposed to turn in order to beat out the swamp that was surrounded upon all sides by hills and jungles. Suddenly a shot was heard about 200 yards distant, then another, succeeded by several in slow succession in the same locality. I felt sure this was a buffalo, and, as the line halted for a few minutes, I counted every shot fired until I reached the number twenty-one. Before this independent firing was completed we continued our advance, wheeling round our extreme right, and driving the entire morass, moving game, but seeing absolutely nothing. Although the jungles had been burnt, the valley grass was a bright green, as the bottom formed a swamp; even at this season (April) the ground was splashy beneath the heavy weight of our advancing line. Having drawn a blank since we heard the shots, we now assembled at the spot, where we found a bull buffalo lying dead surrounded by the elephants and four guns. These had enjoyed the fusillade of twenty-one shots before they could extinguish the old bull, who had gallantly turned to bay instead of seeking safety in retreat. It was a glorious example of the inferiority of hollow Express bullets against thick-skinned animals. The buffalo was riddled, and many of the shots were in the right place, one of which behind the shoulder would have been certain death with a solid 650 grains hard bullet, from a .577 rifle with 6 drams of powder. The buffalo, finding himself surrounded by elephants, had simply stood upon the defensive, without himself attacking, but only facing about to confront his numerous enemies.

We were a very long way from camp; we therefore retraced our course, and having avoided some dense swamps that were too soft for the elephants, we sought harder ground, shooting several hog-deer on our way, and arriving in camp after sundown, having been working for twelve hours, to very little purpose, considering our powerful equipments.

Although we had covered a very large area during the day's work, we had seen no tracks of rhinoceros, and so few of buffaloes that we determined to abandon such uninteresting and unprofitable ground; accordingly we devoted the following day to the churs or islands of the river, where we should expect no heavy game, but we might come across a tiger.

In driving the grassy islands of the Brahmaputra some persons are contented with the chance of moving tigers by simply forming a line of a quarter of a mile in length with forty elephants, without any previous arrangement or preparation. This is wrong.

To shoot these numerous islands much caution is required, and unless tigers are exceedingly plentiful, the whole day may be fruitlessly expended in marching and counter-marching under a burning sun, with a long line of elephants, to little purpose.

There should be a small herd of at least twenty head of cattle under the special charge of four shikaris, and five or six of these poor beasts should be tied up at a distance of a mile apart every evening as bait for tigers. At daylight every morning the native shikaris should visit their respective baits, and send a runner into camp with the message should one or more have been killed. The elephants being ready, no delay would occur, and the beat would take place immediately. In that manner the tiger is certain to be found, as it will be lying somewhere near the body of its prey.

There is a necessity for great precaution, lest a tiger when disturbed should steal away and escape unobserved from the dense covert of high grass. To effect his destruction, at least two scouting elephants should be thrown forward a quarter of a mile ahead from either flank of the advancing line; and, according to the conditions of the locality, two or more elephants with intelligent mahouts should be sent forward to take up positions ahead of the line at the terminus of the beat. These men should be provided with small red flags as signals should the tiger show itself; the waving of flags together with a shout will head the tiger, and drive it back towards the advancing line of elephants; at the same time the signal will be understood that a tiger is afoot, and the mahouts will be on the alert.

When a tiger is headed in this manner it will generally crouch, and endeavour to remain concealed until the elephants are close upon it. Upon such occasions it will probably spring upon the first disturber with a short harsh roar, and unless stopped or turned by a shot, it will possibly break through the line and escape to the rear, as many of the elephants will be scared and allow the enemy to pass.

Should this occur, it will be necessary to counter-march, and to reverse the position by sending some active elephants rapidly upon either flank to take up certain points of observation about 500 yards distant, according to the conditions of the ground. This forms the principal excitement of tiger-shooting in high grass, as the sport may last for hours, especially if there are only two or three guns in a long line of elephants. If there is no heavy forest at hand, but only grass jungle, no tiger should be allowed to escape if the management is good, and the patience of the hunters equal to the occasion.

I must give every credit to the Rajah Suchi Khan for this virtue, and for the perseverance he and his friends exhibited in working for so many hours in the burning sun of April to so little purpose. There was very little game upon the islands near Dhubri beyond a few hog-deer and wild pigs, and it appeared mere waste of time to wander in a long line of beating elephants from sunrise till the afternoon with scarcely a hope of tigers. However, upon the second day, when our patience was almost exhausted, we met a native who declared that a tiger had killed one of his cows only two days before. Taking him as a guide, he led us about two miles, and in a slight hollow among some green tamarisk we were, after a long search, introduced to a few scattered bones,