n 4 o THE UNGULATES, OR HOOFED MAMMALS 



depth, and are covered with light wood and branches or reeds, upon which a thin 

 covering of grass is spread. In some cases, Sir Samuel, states that several individ- 

 uals out of a herd may be captured in this manner in Central Africa; the animals 

 being put to death, when thus helpless, with spears. In the Kilima-Njaro district, 

 however, the pit system, according to Mr. Hunter, does not appear to be very suc- 

 cessful. 



During the dry season, when the grass of ten or fourteen feet in 

 By Fire height is as inflammable as tinder, the natives of Central Africa have 



a cruel way of killing elephants by forming a circle of fire round a herd. As the 

 fiery circle, which may be a couple of miles in diameter, gradually contracts, the 

 elephants (to quote from Sir Samuel Baker's graphic description) " at first attempt 

 to retreat, until they become assured of their hopeless position; they at length become 

 desperate, being maddened by fear, and panic-stricken by the wild shouts of the 

 thousands who have surrounded them. At length, half suffocated by the dense 

 smoke, and terrified by the close approach of the roaring flames, the unfortunate 

 animals charge recklessly through the fire, burned and blinded, to be ruthlessly 

 speared by the bloodthirsty crowd awaiting this last stampede. ' ' As many as a hun- 

 dred, or even more, may be, it is said, killed by this method on a single occasion. 



The intrepid Hamram Arabs of the Sudan slay the elephant in the 

 "igmg same manner as the rhinoceros, by hamstringing it with a long two- 

 edged sword. Three or four mounted hunters, singling out a tusker and separating 

 it from its fellows, follow it until, tired out, the animal faces its pursuers, and pre- 

 pares to charge. Directly it does so, the hunter who is the object of the charge 

 puts his horse to a gallop, and is closely followed by the elephant. Thereupon, two 

 of his companions follow at their best pace behind; and as soon as they come up 

 with the fleeing animal, one seizes the reins of the horse of his fellow, who imme- 

 diately leaps to the ground, and with one blow of his huge sword divides the tendon 

 of the elephant's leg a short distance above the heel. The ponderous beast is at once 

 brought to a standstill, and is at the mercy of its aggressors. 



A somewhat similar method, according to Mr. Selous, was formerly practiced 

 in Mashonaland, only there the hunters went on foot, and their weapon was a 

 broad -bladed ax; with this they crept up behind a sleeping elephant, and severed 

 the back tendon of the leg in the same manner as above. 



. Other tribes in the same district employ a heavily-weighted spear, 

 Spears which is plunged into the animal's back by a hunter seated on a bough 

 overhanging one of the most frequented pathways. On receiving the 

 weapon, the elephant of course immediately rushes of, and the weight of the spear, 

 aided by blows from boughs, soon so enlarges the wound, that the animal quickly 

 sinks to the ground, exhausted from loss of blood. In other districts, as in parts of 

 Equatoria, the weighted spear is suspended from a horizontal bar fixed between two 

 tiers or poles. The spear or knife, according to Major Casati's description, is kept 

 in position " by a cord, which is held down by a stake that is directed horizontally 

 toward the middle of the trap; and by another which, at a convenient angle, is in- 

 terposed between this and the end. The animal, striking with his feet, loosens the 

 contrivance, which then falls violently; the knife wounds the animal with singular 



