190 
THE “BABY.” 
[chap. VII. 
so terrific, that I was spun round like a weathercock 
in a hurricane, I really dreaded my own rifle, although 
I had been accustomed to heavy charges of powder, 
and severe recoil for many years. None of my men 
could fire it, and it was looked upon with a species of 
awe, and was named “ Jenna el Mootfah ” (child of a 
cannon) by the Arabs, which being far too long a 
name for practice, I christened it the “ Baby f and 
the scream of this “ Baby,” loaded with a half-pound 
shell, was always fatal. It was far too severe, and I 
very seldom fired it, but it is a curious fact, that I 
never fired a shot with that rifle without bagging: 
the entire practice, during several years, was confined 
to about twenty shots. I was afraid to use it; but 
now and then it was absolutely necessary that it 
should be cleaned, after lying for months loaded. On 
such occasions my men had the gratification of firing 
it, and the explosion was always accompanied by two 
men falling on their backs (one having propped up 
the shooter), and the “ Baby ” flying some yards 
behind them. This rifle was made by Holland, of 
Bond Street, and I could highly recommend it for 
Goliath of Gath, but not for men of a.d. 1866. 
The natives of Central Africa generally hunt the 
elephant for the sake of the flesh, and prior to the 
commencement of the White Nile trade by the Arabs, 
and the discovery of the Upper White Nile to the 
5° N. lat. by the expedition sent by Mehemet Ali 
Pasha, the tusks were considered as worthless, and 
were treated as bones. The death of an elephant is 
a grand affair for the natives, as it supplies flesh for 
an enormous number of people, also fat, which is the 
great desire of all savages for internal and external 
purposes. There are various methods of killing them. 
Pitfalls are the most common, but the wary old bulls 
are seldom caught in this manner. The position 
chosen for the pit is, almost without exception, in the 
vicinity of a drinking-place, and the natives exhibit a 
great amount of cunning in felling trees across the 
