CHAPTER XL.
THE GUN-TRAP.
It was about this time that the field-cornet and his people were verymuch annoyed by beasts of prey. The savoury smell which their camp dailysent forth, as well as the remains of antelopes, killed for theirvenison, attracted these visitors. Hyenas and jackals were constantlyskulking in the neighbourhood, and at night came around the greatnwana-tree in scores, keeping up their horrid chorus for hours together.It is true that nobody feared these animals, as the children at nightwere safe in their aerial home, where the hyenas could not get at them.But for all that, the presence of the brutes was very offensive, as nota bit of meat--not a hide, nor rheim, nor any article of leather--couldbe left below without their getting their teeth upon it, and chewing itup. Quarters of venison they had frequently stolen, and they had eatenup the leathern part of Swartboy's saddle, and rendered it quite uselessfor a while. In short, so great a pest had the hyenas grown to be, thatit became necessary to adopt some mode of destroying them.
It was not easy to get a shot at them. During the day they were wary,and either hid themselves in caves of the cliff or in the burrows of theant-eater. At night they were bold enough, and came into the very camp;but then the darkness hindered a good aim, and the hunters knew too wellthe value of powder and lead to waste it on a chance shot, though nowand then, when provoked by the brutes, they ventured one.
But some way must be thought of to thin the numbers of these animals, orget rid of them altogether. This was the opinion of everybody.
Two or three kinds of traps were tried, but without much success. A pitthey could leap out of, and from a noose they could free themselves bycutting the rope by their sharp teeth!
At length the field-cornet resorted to a plan--much practised by theboers of Southern Africa for ridding their farms of these and similar"vermin." It was the "gun-trap."
Now there are several ways of constructing a gun-trap. Of course a gunis the principal part of the mechanism, and the trigger pulled by astring is the main point of the contrivance. In some countries the baitis tied to the string, and the animal on seizing the bait tightens thestring, draws the trigger, and shoots itself. In this way, however,there is always some uncertainty as to the result. The animal may notplace its body in the proper position with regard to the muzzle, and mayeither escape the shot altogether, or may be only "creased," and ofcourse get off.
The mode of setting the "gun-trap" in South Africa is a superior plan;and the creature that is so unfortunate as to draw the trigger rarelyescapes, but is either killed upon the spot, or so badly wounded as toprevent its getting away.
Von Bloom constructed his trap after the approved fashion, asfollows:--Near the camp he selected a spot where three saplings or youngtrees grew, standing in a line, and about a yard between each two ofthem. Had he not found these trees so disposed, stakes firmly driveninto the ground would have answered his purpose equally well.
Thorn-bushes were now cut, and a kraal built in the usual manner--thatis with the tops of the bushes turned outwards. The size of the kraalwas a matter of no consequence; and, of course, to save labour, a smallone was constructed.
One point, however, was observed in making the kraal. Its door ofopening was placed so that two of the three saplings stood like posts,one on each side of it; and an animal going into the enclosure mustneeds pass these two trees.
Now for the part the gun had to play.
The weapon was placed in a horizontal position against two of thesaplings,--that is, the stock against the one outside the kraal, and thebarrel against one of the door-posts, and there firmly lashed. In thisposition the muzzle was close to the edge of the entrance, and pointingdirectly to the sapling on the opposite side. It was at such a height asto have ranged with the heart of a hyena standing in the opening.
The next move was to adjust the string. Already a piece of stick,several inches in length, had been fixed to the small of the stock, and,of course, behind the trigger. This was fastened transversely, but notso as to preclude all motion. A certain looseness in its adjustment gaveit the freedom required to be worked as a lever--for that was itsdesign.
To each end of this little stick was fastened a string. One of thesestrings was attached to the trigger; the other, after being carriedthrough the thimbles of the ramrod, traversed across the entrance of thekraal, and was knotted upon the opposite side to the sapling that stoodthere. This string followed the horizontal direction of the barrel, andwas just "taut;" so that any farther strain upon it would act upon thelittle lever, and by that means pull the trigger; and then of course"bang" would go the roer.
When this string was adjusted, and the gun loaded and cocked, the trapwas set.
Nothing remained to be done but bait it. This was not a difficult task.It consisted simply in placing a piece of meat or carcass within theenclosure, and there leaving it to attract the prowling beasts to thespot.
When the gun had been set, Swartboy carried up the bait--the offal of anantelope killed that day--and flung it into the kraal; and then theparty went quietly to their beds, without thinking more of the matter.
They had not slept a wink, however, before they were startled by theloud "crack" of the roer, followed by a short stifled cry that told themthe gun-trap had done its work.
A torch was procured, and the four hunters proceeded to the spot. Therethey found the dead body of a huge "tiger-wolf" lying doubled up in theentrance, and right under the muzzle of the gun. He had not gone a stepafter receiving the shot--in fact, had hardly kicked before dying--asthe bullet, wad, and all, had gone quite through his ribs and enteredhis heart, after making a large ugly hole in his side. Of course he musthave been within a few inches of the muzzle, when his breast, pressingagainst the string, caused the gun to go off.
Having again loaded the roer, the hunters returned to their beds. Onemight suppose they would have dragged the suicidal hyena away from thespot, lest his carcass should serve as a warning to his comrades, andkeep them away from the trap. But Swartboy knew better than that.Instead of being scared by the dead body of one of their kind, thehyenas only regard it as proper prey, and will devour it as they wouldthe remains of a tender antelope!
Knowing this, Swartboy did not take the dead hyena away, but only drewit within the kraal to serve as a farther inducement for the others toattempt an entrance there.
Before morning they were once more awakened by the "bang" of the greatgun. This time they lay still; but when day broke they visited theirtrap, and found that a second hyena had too rashly pressed his bosomagainst the fatal string.
Night after night they continued their warfare against the hyenas,changing the trap-kraal to different localities in the surroundingneighbourhood.
At length these creatures were nearly exterminated, or, at all events,became so rare and shy, that their presence by the camp was no longer anannoyance one way or the other.
About this time, however, there appeared another set of visitors, whosepresence was far more to be dreaded, and whose destruction the hunterswere more anxious to accomplish. That was a family of lions.
The spoor of these had been often seen in the neighbourhood; but it wassome time before they began to frequent the camp. However, about thetime the hyenas had been fairly got rid of, the lions took their place,and came every night, roaring about the camp in a most terrific manner.Dreadful as these sounds were, the people were not so much afraid ofthem as one might imagine. They well knew that the lions could not getat them in the tree. Had it been leopards they might have felt lesssecure, as the latter are true tree-climbers; but they had seen noleopards in that country, and did not think of them.
They were not altogether without fear of the lions, however. They wereannoyed, moreover, that they could not with safety descend from the treeafter nightfall, but were every night besieged from sunset till morning.Besides, although the cow and the quaggas were shut in strong kraals,they dreaded each night that the lions would make a seizure of one orother of these animals; and the loss o
f any one of them, but especiallytheir valuable friend "old Graaf," would have been a very seriousmisfortune.
It was resolved, therefore, to try the gun-trap upon the lions, as ithad succeeded so well with the hyenas.
There was no difference in the construction or contrivance of the trap.The gun only had to be placed upon a higher level, so that its muzzlemight be opposite the lion's heart, and the proper range was easilyobtained. The bait, however, was not carcass, but an animal freshlykilled; and for this purpose an antelope was procured.
The result was as desired. On the first night the old male lion"breasted" the fatal string and bit the dust. Next night the lioness wasdestroyed in a similar way: and shortly after a full-grown young male.
The trap then lay idle for a while; but about a week after a half-grown"cub" was shot near the camp by Hendrik, no doubt the last of thatfamily, as no lions were seen for a long time after.
A great enemy to night plunderers was that same gun-trap.