AMONG BIG GAME

Manawatu Herald, Volume LI, Issue 4424, 8 March 1930, Page 4

AMONG BIG GAME

(Concluded from page 1)

high in the body, with a vovv pretty eoat, a long, shaggy mane, and horns that turned forward. HUNT AFTER ELEPHANTS. After Air. Bo ill d had been out for a. week be came on a .Native village and was told by the old chief that elephant’s trades had been seen near at hand. Eventually the tracks of the elephant; were found, and they appeared to lie from a week to ten days old. However, Mr. Bould decided to follow the tracks. Camp Was pitched, and next morning the hunter followed the tracks till midday, when they became very fresh, showing that the animal had been feeding in the vicinity that morning. Later in the day fwo elephants were located. Making the natives sit down and keep very quiet, Air. Bould stalked the animal. After approaching within 25 yards, he obtained quite a clear view of his quarry. One of the shots to drop an elephant was to aim half-way between the eye and the root of the ear. He tired thus and the elephant—an animal half as big again as the familiar circus elephant —pitched forward on his 'knees, as if he was going to lie down, and rolled over, quite dead. There was great rejoicing over the kill and the next morning the old native started out at daybreak to take the news to the village, and at midday Ah'. Bould

counted 182 natives —men, women and children —around the elephant. They had no knives, but used their spears to- cut up the meat, and in two or three hours they thus disposed of the carcase, weighing live or six tons, carrying the meat away. The pair of tusks weighed OSlbs. The limit below which elephant tusks could not be taken was' 22 lbs., and the penalty for a breach was £lO.

Two days later he shot a rone antelope and erected a platform near the kill in the hope of getting a shot at a lion or leopard. There lie sat all night without any luck, but just about daylight a hyena came along, started to eat the meat, and was shot. A ROYAL PAIR. In llie afternoon, with three natives, Air. Bould went to had a suitable patch of bush from which to make observations. Ordinarily the growth of grass outside the hush was from six to ten feet high, but in this case it had been burnt off and the new growth was only about three inches high. The gunbearer was walking in front of him. Immediately behind Mr. Bould was a hoy carrying a smaller rifle, and then came a native carrying the camera, water bottle and other articles. At 23 yards from the ether side of the bush the hunter saw a movement in the grass to his right, and found that a lion and lioness were lying in tlie grass watching him, their teeth gleaming in a snarl. He immediately stopped, grabbed the gum from the man in front, and did the only foolish thing on his trip. A lion would not touch a man unless it was wounded or cornered, or unless it was a very old beast that could not get game by the ordinary method of hunting. With his gun he covered the lioness. He had read in books that in cases such as this, the lioness should be shot lirst; he had been told that, if the male was shot lirst, the lioness would attack, but if the female was shot lirst the lion would immediately clear out. With the halting of himself and his party the lion and lioness had both stood up. He covered the lioness, which was on the left; she turned half side-on to him and made as if to go away, as he now thought. However, he had a shot at tier and she fell stone dead. The lion ran towards the bush, to an anthill, and the shooter ran to the other side of this to meet the animal. By that time, the lion had just about reached the hush, and Air. Bould shot it. lie realised afterwards that he should have let them both clear out. If he had wounded the lioness in the lirst instance, they would probably have come at the party, who were in clear country and might have been badly mauled. On another occasion he walked towards two more lions, but they disappeared in the long grass. His experiences seemed to show that a lion would get out of the way practically every time, unless molested. BUFFALOES THE MOST DANGEROUS.

-Regarding' the buffaloes, Mr. Bould stated that they were considered to 'be the most dangerous animals in Africa. If they smelt or heard a human being, they would look If or him; and the advice was given never to follow a wounded buffalo on any account. One day lie located a mob of 22. They were going through a patch of bush and, as lie thought, to a clear grass area to feed. He followed them through the bush. At the outside edge the boys sat down,- and he followed the buffaloes out. As they had not seeu him, lie took up a position on an ant-hill behind a tree, picked out the Jarg’est beast, and had a shot, the animal falling. He opened out and killed two aud wounded! a third one. The buffaloes immediately surrounded their wounded companion, and circled round, apparently to get wind of the shooter. As it happened, the wind was blowing from the mob towards him, but presently the buffaloes got wind of the hoys in the bush and made straight after them. The natives ran and shinned up the trees as fast as they could; the buffaloes came on and snorted, but eventually moved off'. Next day Mr. Bould secured the carcase of the buffalo he had wounded by watching the eagles and hawks flying over it. The

party came across fresh (racks of a mob of elephants. He pitched camp, and, next day, followed the tracks till 3 p.m., when lie came on 1.8 elephants. Here another trophy was secured, (lie tusks weighing 72 lbs., but they were not so good as those of the lirst elephant, being thicker, shorter, and not such a good shape.

A day or so later he came on the tracks of a single elephant, stalked and killed it. It was half as big again as the largest one in Wivth’s Circus, and to celebrate the kill lie sent a hoy to the nearest store for cigarettes —a three days Irek. As in the former eases, the natives cut up the meat. Ilis hoy engaged hoys from the village to carry the meat, and paid them in meal, the journey ahead of them being one of two or three weeks. As everybody in the legion wanted meal, the medium of exchange was meal. Mr. Bould paid liis carriers 10/- per month, 7/(i in cash and the balance in calico which they traded to villagers for meals. If flic hoys were given plenty of meat they were quite happy as the Native is not; allowed to use firearms and consequently could not kill his own meat. “Treated well,” said AL' Bould, “they treat their employer well." The hoys do all the carrying and take (ilVlbs. of gear as well as their own belongings.. Mr. Bould did not contract any illness during the trip and did not have one day off colour. He made all haste home once he started and returned to Wellington on the 12th December. Afr. Bould was accorded a vote of thanks for his address and it is likely that he will again speak on his adventure as lie hud • fforod to come hack at some future date.