CHAPTER XIX.
TURNED HUNTERS.
The field-cornet, then, had resolved upon turning hunter byprofession--a hunter of elephants; and it was a pleasant reflection tothink, that this occupation promised, not only exciting sport, but greatprofit. He knew that it was not so easy a matter to succeed in killingsuch large and valuable game as elephants. He did not suppose that in afew weeks or months he would obtain any great quantities of their ivoryspoils; but he had made up his mind to spend even years in the pursuit.For years he should lead the life of a Bushman--for years his sons wouldbe "Bush-boys," and he hoped that in time his patience and toil would beamply rewarded.
That night around the camp-fire all were very happy and very merry. Theelephant had been left where he lay, to be cut up on the morrow. Onlyhis trunk had been taken off--part of which was cooked for supper.
Although all the flesh of the elephant is eatable, the trunk is esteemedone of the delicate bits. It tastes not unlike ox-tongue; and all ofthem liked it exceedingly. To Swartboy, who had made many a meal upon"de ole klow," it was a highly-relished feast.
They had plenty of fine milk, too. The cow, now upon the best ofpasture, doubled her yield; and the quantity of this, the most deliciousof all drinks, was sufficient to give every one a large allowance.
While enjoying their new-fashioned dish of roast elephant-trunk, theconversation naturally turned upon these animals.
Everybody knows the appearance of the elephant, therefore a descriptionof him is quite superfluous. But everybody does not know that there aretwo distinct kinds of this gigantic quadruped--the African and Asiatic.
Until a late period they were thought to be of the same species. Nowthey are acknowledged to be, not only distinct, but very different inmany respects. The Asiatic, or, as it is more frequently called, the"Indian" elephant is the larger of the two; but it is possible thatdomestication may have produced a larger kind, as is the rule with manyanimals. The African species exists only in a wild state; and it wouldappear that individuals of this kind have been measured having thedimensions of the largest of the wild Asiatic elephants.
The most remarkable points of difference between the two are found inthe ears and tusks. The ears of the African elephant are of enormousproportions, meeting each other above the shoulders, and hanging downbelow the breast. Those of the Indian elephant are scarce one-third thesize. In his grand tusks the former has far the advantage--these in someindividuals weighing nearly two hundred pounds each--while the tusks ofthe latter rarely reach the weight of one hundred. To this, however,there are some exceptions. Of course a two hundred pound tusk is one ofthe very largest, and far above the average even of African elephants.In this species the females are also provided with tusks--though not ofsuch size as in the males--whereas the female of the Indian elephant haseither no tusks at all, or they are so small as to be scarcelyperceptible outside the skin of the lips.
In Africa the elephant exists only in a state of nature. None of thenations upon this little-known continent tame or train him to anypurpose. He is only prized among them for his precious teeth, and hisflesh as well. Some have asserted that this species is more fierce thanits Indian congener, and could not be domesticated. This is altogether amistake. The reason why the African elephant is not trained, is simplythat none of the modern nations of Africa have yet reached a high enoughpoint of civilisation to avail themselves of the services of thisvaluable animal.
The African elephant may be domesticated and trained to the "howdah," orcastle, as easily as his Indian cousin. The trial has been made; butthat it can be done no better proof is required than that at one periodit was done, and upon a large scale. The elephants of the Carthaginianarmy were of this species.
The African elephant at present inhabits the central and southern partsof Africa. Abyssinia on the east, and Senegal on the west, are hisnorthern limits, and but a few years ago he roamed southward to the veryCape of Good Hope. The activity of the Dutch ivory-hunters, with theirenormous long guns, has driven him from that quarter; and he is nolonger to be found to the south of the Orange River.
Swartboy spoke of a variety well known among the Hottentot hunters asthe "koes-cops." This kind, he said, differed from the ordinary ones byits altogether wanting the tusks, and being of a far more viciousdisposition. Its encounter is more dreaded; but as it possesses notrophies to make it worth the trouble and danger of killing, the huntersusually give it a wide berth.
Such was the conversation that night around the camp-fire. Much of theinformation here given was furnished by Hans, who of course had gatheredit from books; but the Bushman contributed his quota--perhaps of a farmore reliable character.
All were destined ere long to make practical acquaintance with thehaunts and habits of this huge quadruped, that to them had now becomethe most interesting of all the animal creation.