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- Herausgeber: Charles River Editors
- Kategorie: Lebensstil
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018
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WILD SCENES OF A HUNTER’S LIFE
John Frost
WAXKEEP PUBLISHING
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This book is a work of nonfiction and is intended to be factually accurate.
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Copyright © 2015 by John Frost
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Wild Scenes of a Hunter’s Life
By John Frost
WILD SCENES OF A HUNTER’S LIFE
BY JOHN FROST
CHAPTER I.HUNTING AMONG THE ANCIENTS
HUNTING PROPERLY SPEAKING, IS “THE pursuit of four-footed beasts of game.” “These,” says an old writer, “are hunted in the fields, woods, and thickets, with guns and greyhounds.” F. de Launay, professor of French laws, has an express treatise of hunting. We find that among the earliest civilized nations, hunting made one of their diversions ; and as to the wild and barbarous, it supplied them with food. The Roman jurisprudence, which was formed on the manners of the first ages, established it as a law, that as the natural right of things which have no master belongs to the first possessor, wild beasts, birds, and fishes, are the property of those who can take them first. But the northern barbarians, who over-ran the Roman empire, bringing with them a stronger taste for the diversion, and the people being now possessed of other and more easy means of subsistence, from the lands’ and possessions of these they had vanquished, their chiefs began to appropriate the right of hunting, and, instead of a natural right, to make it a royal one. Thus it continues to this day; the right of hunting in the Old World belonging only to the king, and those who derive it from him. In America we have a better fashion.
The hunting used by the ancients was much like that now practiced for the reindeer, which is seldom hunted at force, or with hounds; but only drawn with a blood hound, and taken with nets and engines. Thus did they with all beasts; whence a dog was never commended by them for opening, before he has discovered where the beast lies. Hence, they were not curious as
to the music of their hounds, or the composition of their pack, for deepness, loudness, or sweetness of cry, which are principal points in modern hunting. Their huntsmen, indeed, were accustomed to shout and make a great noise, as Virgil observes in his third book of Georgics, verse 413.
Hunting formed the chief employment of the ancient Germans, and probably of the Britons also, when not engaged in war. Ancient historians tell us, that this was the case, even so late as the third century, with those unconquered Britons who liver beyond Adrian’s wall; nay, that they subsisted chiefly by the prey that they took in this way. The great attachment shown by all the Celtic nations to hunting, however, proceeded most probably from its being a kind of apprenticeship to war. By it their acquired that courage, strength, swiftness, and dexterity iii handling their arms, which made them so formidable in war to their enemies. By it, too, they freed their country from those mischievous animals which abounded in the forests, and furnished themselves with materials for those feasts which seem to have constituted their greatest pleasure.
The young chieftains had thus, likewise, an opportunity of paying court to their mistresses, by displaying their courage and agility, and making them presents of their game; nay, so strong, and universal was the passion for hunting among the ancient Britons, that even young ladies of the highest quality, and greatest beauty, spent much of their time in the chase. They employed much the same weapons in hunting that they did in war, viz., long spears, javelins, and bows and arrows; having also great numbers of dogs to assist them in finding and pursuing their game. These dogs were much admired among other nations, on account of their swiftness, strength, fierceness, and exquisite of smelling. They s\ ere highly valued by the Celtic nations.
CHAPTER II.HUNTING AMONG THE ANCIENT MEXICANS
EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE IN THE CHARACTER and customs and condition of the Mexicans, under Montezuma and his predecessors of the Aztec race, predisposed them to be active hunters. .The Aztecs were a cruel race and delighted in blood. Their forest laws, according to Mr. Prescott, were as severe as those of the Normans under William the Conqueror. They had human sacrifices. In some of these bloody rites the heart of the victim was torn from the living body, as an acceptable offering to their stein gods. In others, which might be termed gladiatorial sacrifices, the victim was bound by a chain attached to his leg and fastened to a platform, where he was compelled to fight a free antagonist, until his death closed the merciless combat. A people accustomed to spectacles like this, would naturally take peculiar delight in to sports of the chase. Accordingly, we find that the Mexicans were very dexterous in hunting. They used bows and arrows, darts nets, snares, and a kind of tube named carbotfane, through which they shot by blowing out little balls at birds. Those which the kings and great men made use of were curiously carved and painted, and likewise adorned with gold and silver. Besides the exercise of the chase, which private individuals took either for amusement or to provide food, there were genera. Hunting-matches, sometimes appointed by the king; at others, to provide victims for sacrifices.
A large wood, generally that of Zacatapec, near me capita was pitched upon as the scene of these grand hunting-matches. Here they, chose the place best adapted for setting a number of snares and- nets. The wood was enclosed by some thousands of hunters, forming a circle of six, seven or eight miles, according to the number of animals they intended to take. Fire was then set to the grass in a great number of places, and a terrible noise made with drums, horns, shouting, and whistling. The hunters gradually contracted their circle, continuing the noise until the game were enclosed in a very small space. They were then killed or taken in snares, or with the hands of the hunters. The number of animals taken or destroyed on these occasions, was so great, that the first Spanish Viceroy of Mexico would not believe it without making the experiment himself.
The place chosen for his hunting-match was a great plain in the country of the Otomies, lying between the villages of Nilotepec and S. Giovani del Rio; the Indians being ordered to proceed according to their usual customs. The Viceroy, attended by a vast retinue of Spaniards, repaired to the place appointed, where accommodations were prepared for then, in houses of wood, erected the purpose. A circle of more than fifteen miles was formed by eleven thousand Otomies, who started such a quantity of game on the plain, that the viceroy was quite astonished, and commanded the greater part of them to be set at liberty, which was accordingly done. The number retained, however, was still incredibly great, were it not attested by a witness of the highest credit. On this occasion upwards of six hundred deer and wild goats, one hundred cajoles, with a surprising number of hares, rabbits, and other smaller animals. The plain still retains the Spanish name Cazadero, which signifies the place of the chase. The Mexicans had also particular contrivances for catching certain animals. Thus, to catch young asses, they made a small fire in the woods, putting among the burning coals a particular kind of stone named cacalottl, i.e. raven or black stone, which bursts with a loud noise when heated. The fire was covered with earth, and a little maize laid around it. The asses quickly assembled with their young, in order to feed upon the maize; but while they were thus employed, the stone burst, and scared away the old ones by the explosion, while the young ones, unable to fly, were carried off by the hunters. Serpents were taken even by the hands, seizing them intrepidly by the neck with one hand, and sewing up their mouths with the other. This method is still practiced. They showed the greatest dexterity in tracing the steps of wild beasts, even when an European could not have discerned the smallest print of their feet. The Indian method, however, was by observing sometimes the herbs or leaves broken down by their feet; sometimes the drops of blood which fell from them when wounded. Some of the American Indians show still greater dexterity in discovering the tracks of their enemies, which M an European would be altogether imperceptible.
CHAPTER III.HUNTING IN THE EAST INDIES
HUNTING WAS A FAVORITE DIVERSION of the bloody conqueror, Jenghiz Khan, if indeed the word diversion can be applied to a monster whose mind was set upon the destruction of his own species, and who only endeavored to make the murder of brutes subservient to that of men, by keeping his soldiers in a kind of warfare with the beasts when they had no human enemies to contend with. His expeditions were conducted on a plan similar to that of the Mexicans already mentioned; and were no doubt attended with still greater success, as his numerous army could enclose a much greater space than all the Indians whom the Spanish viceroy could muster. The East Indian princes still show the same inclination to the chase ; and Mr. Blane, who attended the hunting excursions of Asoph Ul Dowah, Vizier of the Mogul empire, and Nabob of Oude, in 1785 and 1786, in the time of Hyder Ali, gives the following account of the method practiced on this occasion.
The time is about the beginning of December; and the diversion is continued till the heats, which commence about the beginning of March, oblige them to stop. During this period a circuit of between four and six hundred miles is generally made the hunters bending their course towards the skirts of the northern mountains, where the country is wild and uncultivated. The Vizier takes along with him not only his Court and seraglio, but a great part of the inhabitants of his capital. His immediate attendants amount to about two thousand; but he is also followed by five or six hundred horse, and several battalions of regular sepoys with their field pieces four or five hundred elephants also accompany him; of which some are used for riding, others for fighting, and some for clearing the jungles and forests of the game. About as many sumpter horses of the beautiful Persian and Arabian breeds are taken with him.
A great number of wheel carriages, drawn by bullocks, likewise attend, which are used chiefly for the convenience of the women; sometimes also he has an English chaise or two, and sometimes a chariot; but all these, as well as the horses, are merely for show, the Vizier himself never using any offer conveyance than an elephant, or sometimes, when fatigued or indisposed, a palanquin. The animals used in the sport are principally about three hundred greyhounds, two hundred hawks, and a few trained leopards for hunting deer. There is a great number of marksmen, whose profession it is to shoot deer; with many fowlers, who provide game; as none of the natives of India know how to shoot game with small shot, or to hunt with slow bounds.
A vast number of matchlocks are carried along with the company with many English pieces of various kinds, 40 or 50 pairs of pistols, bows and arrows, besides swords, daggers, and sabres without number. There are also nets of various kinds, some for quails; and others very large, for fishing, which are carried along with him upon elephants, attended by fishermen, so as always to be ready for throwing into any river or lake that may be met with. Every article that can contribute to luxury or pleasure is likewise carried along with the army. A great number of carts are loaded with the Ganges water, and even ice is transported for cooling the drink. The fruits of the season and fresh vegetables are daily sent to him from his gardens by bearers stationed at every ten miles; by which means each article is conveyed day and night at the rate of four miles an hour. There are also fighting antelopes, buffaloes, and rams in great numbers; several hundred pigeons, some fighting cocks, and a vast variety of parrots, nightingales, &c. To complete the magnificence or extravagance of this expedition, there is always a large bazaar, or moving town, which attends the camp; consisting of shop-keepers and artificers of all kinds, money-changers, dancing women; so that, on the most moderate calculation, the whole number of people in his camp cannot be computed at fewer than 30,000.
The Nabob himself, and all the gentlemen of his camp, are provided with double sets of tents and equipage, which are always sent on the day before to the place to which he intends to go; and this is generally eight or ten miles, in whatever direction most game is expected; so that by the time he has finished his sport in the morning, he finds his whole camp ready pitched for his reception. The Nabob, with the attending gentlemen, proceed in a regular moving court or durbar, and thus they keep conversing together and looking out for game. Many foxes, hares, jackals, and sometimes deer, are picked up as they pass along the hawks are carried immediately before the elephants, and let fly at whatever game is sprung, which is generally partridges, bustards, quails, and different kinds of herons; these last affording excellent sport with the falcons.
The elephants themselves are very much afraid of this terrible animal, and discover their apprehensions by shrieking and roaring as soon as they begin to smell him or hear him growl; generally attempting to turn away from the place where he is. When the tiger can be traced to a particular spot, the elephants are disposed of in a circle round him; in which case he will at last make a desperate attack, springing upon the elephant that is nearest, and attempting to tear him with his teeth or claws. Some, but very few, of the elephants, can be brought to attack the tiger; and thy they do by curling up their trunks under their mouths, and then attempting to toss, or otherwise destroy him with their tusks, or to crush him with their feet or knees. It is considered as good sport to kill one tiger in the day; though sometimes, when a female is met with her young ones, two or three will be killed. The other objects of pursuit in these excursions are wild elephants, buffaloes rhinoceroses. Our author was present at the hunting of a wild elephant of vast size and strength. An attempt was first made to take him alive by surrounding him with tame elephants, while he was kept at bay by crackers and other fire-works; but he constantly eluded every effort of this kind. Sometimes the drivers of the tame elephants got so near him, that they threw strong ropes over his head, and endeavored to detain him by fastening them around trees; but he constantly snapped the ropes like pack breads, and pursued his way to the forest. Some of the strongest and most furious of the fighting elephants were then brought up to engage him but he attacked them with such fury that they were all obliged to desist. In his struggle with one of them he broke one of his tusks, and the broken piece, which was upwards of two inches in diameter, of solid ivory, flew up into the air several yards above their heads. Orders were now given to kill him, as it appeared impossible to take him alive; but even this was not accomplished without the greatest difficulty. He twice; turned and attacked the party who pursued him; and in one of these attacks struck the elephant obliquely on which the prince rode, threw him upon his side, but then passed on without offering farther injury. At last he fell dead, after having received upwards of one thousand balls into his body.
CHAPTER IV.TERMS USED IN HUNTING
THE GENTLEMEN OF THE SPORT have invented a set of term which may be called the hunting language. The principal are these:
1. For beasts, as they are in company: They say, a herd of harts, and all manner of deer; a hey of roes; a sounder of swine; a rout of wolves; a richness of martens a brace or leash of
ducks, foxes, or hares; a couple of rabbits or coneys.
2. For their lodging: A hart is said to harbor; a buck lodges; a roe beds; a hare seats or forms; a coney sits; a fox kennels; a marten trees; an otter watches; a badger earths a boar couches. Hence, to express their dislodging, they say, unharbor the hart; rouse the buck; start the hare; bolt the coney; unkennel the fox; untree the marten; vent the otter; dig the badger; rear the boar.
3. For chair noise at rutting time: A hart belleth; a buck grown, or treats; a roe bellows; a hare beats or taps; an jotter whines; a boar reams; a fox barks; a badger shrieks; a wolf howls; a goat rattles.
4. For their copulation: A hart or buck goes to rut; a roe to turn; a boar to brim; a hare or coney to buck; a fox to click kitting; a wolf to match or make; an otter hunts for his kind.
5. For the footing and treading: Of a hart, they say, the slot of a buck, and all fallow-deer, the view of all deer, if on the grass, and scarce visible, the foiling; of a fox, the print; and of other vermin, the footing; of an otter, the marks ; of a boar, the track; the hare when in open field, is said to sore; when she winds about to deceive the hounds, she doubles; when she beats on the hard highway, and her footing comes to be perceived, she prick in snow, it is called the trace of the hare.
6. The tail of a hart, buck, or other deer, it is called the single that of a boar, the wreath; of a fox, the bag or drag; and the tip at the end, the chase; of a wolf the stern; of a hare and
coney, the scut.
7. The ordure of a hart, and all deer, is called fewmets or fewmishing; of a hare, crotiles or crotising; of a boar, lesses; of a fox, the billetting; and of other vermin, the fuants; of an otter, the spraints.
8. As the attire or parts of deer, those of a stag, if perfect, are the bur, the pearls, the little knobs on it, the beam, the gutters, the antler, the fur antler, royal, fur royal, and all at top the troches; of the buck the bur, beam, brow antler, black antler advancer, palm, and spellers. If the croches grow in the form of a man’s hand, it is called a palmed head. Heads bearing not above three or four, and the croches placed aloft, all of one height, are called crowned heads; heads having double croches, are called forked heads, because the croches are planted on the top of the beams like forks.
9. Of the young, they say, a litter of cubs, a nest of rabbits, a squirrel’s dray.
10. The terms used in respect of the dogs, &c., are as follows of greyhounds, two make a brace; of hounds, a couple; of greyhounds, three make a leash ; of hounds, a couple and half.
They say, let slip a greyhound; and, cast-off a hound. The string wherein a greyhound is led, is called a leash; and that of a hound, a lyome. The greyhound has his collar and the bound his couples. We say a kennel of hounds, and a pack of beagles.
11. The following terms and phrases are more immediately used in the progress of the sport itself. When the hounds, being cast-off, and finding the scent of some game, begin xo open and cry, they are said to challenge; when they are too busy ere the scent be good, they are said to babble; when too busy where the scent is good, to bawl; when they fun it end win orderly, holding in together merrily, and making it good, they are said to be in full cry; when they run along without opening at all, it is called, running mute; when spaniels open in the string, or a greyhound in the course, they are said to lapse; when beagles bark and cry at their prey, they are said to yearn ; when the dogs hit the scent the contrary way, they are said to draw amiss; when they take fresh scent and quit the former chase for a new one, it is called hunting change; when they hunt the game by the heel or track, they are said to hunt counter; when the chase goes off, and returns again, traversing the same ground, it is called hunting the foil; when the dogs run at a whole herd of deer, instead of a single one, it is called running riot; dogs set in readiness where the game is expected to come by, and cast-off after the other hounds are passed, are called a relay.
CHAPTER V.HUNTING IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND
IN NO COUNTRY IN HUNTING so persistently loved as in Great Britain. From the earliest period of history, to the present time, the nobility and gentry of England have taken pride in all the curious lore of the hunter’s art volumes might be written we should rather say, scores of times have been published in that country, on what is styled by the ancient writers, the “noble arte of eerie.” To avoid prolixity on this part of our subject, we shall, m the next succeeding chapters, give the brief directions of an old writer, on the modes of hunting the various quadrupeds of the chase, both on the Island of Great Britain and on the continent; reserving the privilege of recurring to certain branches of the subject hereafter. Our authority says:
Hunting, as practiced in England and Scotland, is chiefly performed with dogs; of which we have various species, accommodated to the different kinds of game, as greyhounds, bloodhounds, terriers, &c. In the kennels or packs, they generally rank them under the heads of enterers, drivers, flyers, tyers, &c. On some occasions, nets, spears and instruments for digging the ground, are also required; nor is the hunting horn to be omitted. The usual chases are, the hart, buck, roe, hare, fox, badger, and otter.
Hunting is practiced in different seasons and manners, and with different apparatus, according to the nature of the beasts which are hunted. With regard to the seasons, that for hart and buck hunting, begins a fortnight after midsummer, and lasts till Hollywood day; that for the hind and doe, begins on Holyrood day, and lasts till Candlemas; that for fox hunting, begins at Christmas, and holds till Lady-day; that for roe hunting, begins at Michaelmas, and ends at Christmas; hare hunting commences at Michaelmas, and lasts till the end of February; and where the wolf and boar are hunted, the season for each begins at Christmas, the first ending at Lady-day, and the latter at the Purification. When the sportsmen have provided themselves with nets, spears, and a hunting horn to call the dogs together, and likewise with instruments for digging the ground, the following directions will be of use to them, in the pursuit of various sorts of game.
CHAPTER VI.HUNTING THE BADGER
THE BADGER IS FOUND IN almost all the temperate climates of Europe, Asia, and America; measures in general about two feet and a half from the snout to the insertion of the tail. The body is thick, the legs short and muscular, and the fore feet provided with claws; the superior part of the body is of a dirty greyish color, the inferior black: the hair along and rough on the Duel and Sides, but shorten on the throat, breast, and belly. It secretes a fetid substance in an orifice under the tail, which gives it a very offensive smell. It is a solitary animal, and resides in woolly places, in burrows which it digs deep in the earth, with long winding entrances, and keeps remarkably clean. It feeds upon young rabbits, frogs, birds and their eggs and young but seldom ventures far from its habitation, and that only at nightfall. If surprised by dogs in its excursions, it turns upon its back, combats with desperate resolution, and seldom dies unrevenged; nor is he easily conquered, for his skin is so thick and loose, that the teeth of a dog make but little impression. It is very torpid, especially in winter. The female brings forth once a-year, three or four at a time. When taken young, it is easily tamed, will play with the dogs, and follow its master about the house. Its flesh, when well and cleanly fed, makes excellent hams those of the South American Badger were wont to be considered so delicious, that the sale of them was prohibited but to the viceroy, who sent an annual present to Madrid for the royal table.
Our old friend, already quoted, gives the following directions’ for hunting the badger.
Seek the earth and burrows where he lies, and in a clear moonshine night go and stop them all, .except one or two, and therein place some sacks, fastened with drawing strings, which
may shut him in as soon as he strains the bag. Some only set a hoop in the mouth of the sack, and so put it into the hole; and as soon as the badger is in the sack and strain it, the sack slipped
off the hoop and follows him to the earth, where he lies tumbling till he is taken. These sacks being thus set, cast off the hounds, and beating about all the woods, coppices, hedges, and tufts, round about, for the compass of a mile or two; and such badgers as are abroad, being alarmed by the hounds, will soon betake themselves to their burrows.
He who is placed to watch the sacks, must stand close, and .upon a clear wind; otherwise, the badger will discover him, and will immediately fly some other way into his burrow. But if the Hounds can encounter him, before he can take his sanctuary, he will then stand at bay like a boar, and make good sport, grievously biting and clawing the dogs, for the manner of their fighting is lying on their backs, using both teeth and nails; and by blowing up their skins, defend themselves against all bites of the dogs, and blows of the men upon their noses. For the preservation of the dogs, put broad collars about their necks, made of grey skins.
When the badger perceives the terriers begin to yearn him in his burrow, he will stop the hole betwixt him and the terriers, and if they still continue baying, he will remove his couch into another chamber, or part of the burrow, and so from one to another, barricading the way before them, as they retreat, until they can go no. further. If you intend to dig the badger out of his burrow, you must be provided with the same tools as for digging out a fox; and should have a pail of water to refresh the terriers, when they come out of the earth to take breath and cool themselves. It will also be necessary to put collars with bells, about the necks of the berries, which, making a noise, may cause the badger to bolt out. The tools used for digging out the badger being troublesome to be carried en men’s backs, may be brought in a cart.
In digging, consider the situation of the ground, by which you may judge where the chief angles are; for else, instead of advancing the work, you will hinder it. In this order you may besiege them in their holes, and work to them with mines and countermines until you have overcome them. Having taken a live badger, if you would make sport, carry him home in a sack, and turn him out in your court-yard, or some other enclosed place and there bet him be hunted and worried to death by your bounds The flesh, blood, and grease, of the badger, though not good food, yet are useful in laboratories, for making oils, ointments, salves, and powders for shortness of breath, cough, the stone, sprained, sinews, colt-aches, &c.; and the skin when well dressed warm, and good for old people who are troubled with paralytic distempers.
CHAPTER VII.HUNTING THE WILD BOAR
THE WILD BOAR, THE ORIGINAL stock, and once very plentiful in the British forests, is more sagacious and cleanly than the domesticated animal. He is smaller in body, with a longer snout, and short round ears; he is likewise more uniform in color, being always of an iron-grey, shading into black they feed chiefly upon acorns and ether fruit; they also plough up the ground for roots. They aid partly gregarious, and the herds combine for mutual defense; when attacked, they place the youngest and feeblest in the center, and forming a semicircle, present a front which few of the largest animals will dare to attack, or if they do, will escape with impunity. The chase of the wild boar is a favorite amusement in those countries where he is found. He is hunted with the small mastiff: when “reared,” he betrays little fear; going slowly forward, he stops at intervals, turns round and dares his pursuers, who, it experienced dogs, aware of his ferocity, bay at a respectful distance till he resume his course and proceed. When completely fatigued, the younger brood close upon him, and not unfrequently surfer for their rashness; the hunters then finish the business with their spears. If not too old, his flesh is highly esteemed, especially the hams.
The Wild Boar among huntsmen, has several names, according to its different ages; the first year, it is called a pig of the saunder; the second, it is called a hog; the third, a hog-steer; and the fourth, a boar; when leaving the saunder, he is called a singler or sangler. The boar generally lives to twenty-five or thirty years, if he escapes accidents. The time of rutting is in December, and lasts about three weeks. Boars feed on all sorts of fruits, and on the roots of many plants, particularly fern. When near the sea-coasts, they will descend to the shores and demolish the more tender shell-fish in very great numbers. Their general places of rest are among the thickest bushes that can be found; and they are not easily put out of them, but will stand the bay a long time. In April and May they sleep more sound than at any other time of the year. This is therefore the successful time for taking them in the toils.
When a boar is roused out of the thicket, he always goes from it, if possible, the same way by which he came to it; and when he once up, he will never stop till he comes to some place of more security. If it happens that a saunder of them are found together, when any one breaks away, the rest all follow the same way. When the boar is hunted in the wood where he was bred, he will scarce ever be brought to quit it; he will sometimes make towards the sides to listen to the noise of the dogs, but retires into the middle again, and usually dies or escapes there.
When a boar runs ahead, he will not be stopped or put out of his was by man or beast, so long as he has any strength left. He makes no doubles or crossings when chased. An old boar when killed makes no noise; the sows and pigs squeak when wounded. The season for hunting the wild boar begins in September, and ends in December, when they go to rut. If it be a large boar, and one that has lain long at rest, he must be hunted with a great number of dogs, and those such as will keep close to him; and the huntsman, with his spear, should always be riding in among them, and charging the boar as often as he can, to discourage him; such a boar as this, with five or six couples of dogs, will run to the first place of shelter, and there stand at Day, and make at them as they attempt to come up with him.
There ought always to be relays also set of the best and staunches hounds in the kennel; for if they are of young eager dogs, they will be apt to seize him, and be killed or spoiled before the rest come up. Collars with bells about the dog’s necks are a great security for them; for the boar will not so soon strike at them when they have these, but will rather run before them.
The huntsmen generally kill the boar with their swords or spears; but great caution is necessary in making the blows; for he is very apt to catch them upon his snout or tusks; and if wounded and not killed, he will attack the huntsman in the most furious manner.
The places to give the wound with the spear is either between the eyes in the middle of the forehead, or in the shoulder; both these places make the wound mortal. When this animal makes at the hunter, there is nothing for it but courage and address; if he flies he is sure to be overtaken and killed. If the boar comes straight up, he is to be received at the point of the spear; but if he makes doubles and windings, he is to be watched very cautiously, for he will attempt getting hold of the spear in his mouth; and if he does, nothing can save the huntsman, but another person attacking him behind he will on this attack the second person, and the first must then attack him again; two people will thus have enough to do with him; and were it not for the forks of the boar spears that make it impossible to press forward upon them, the huntsman who gives the creature his death’s wound would seldom escape falling a sacrifice to his revenge.
The modern way of boar-hunting is generally to dispatch the creature by all the huntsmen striking him at once; but the ancient Roman way was, for a person on foot, armed with a spear, to keep the creature at bay; and in this case the boat would run of himself upon the spear to come at the huntsman, and push forward till the spear pierced him through.
The hinder claws of a boar are called guards. In the corn, he is said to feed in the meadows or sallow-fields, to rout, worm, or fern; in close, to graze. The boar is farrowed with as many teeth as he will ever have; his teeth increasing only in bigness, not in number; among these there are four called tushes, or tusks; the two biggest of which do not hurt when he strikes, but serve only to whet the other two lowest, with which the beast defends himself, and frequently kills, as being greater and longer than the rest. These creatures in the West Indies are subject to the stone; few of them are absolutely free from it, yet scarce any of them have the stones of any considerable size. It is common to find a great number in the same bladder. They are usually of about a scruple weight, and are angular and regular, each having five angles. Among the ancient Romans, boar’s flesh was a delicacy; a boar served up a whole dish of state. The boar was sometimes the military ensign of the Roman armies, in lieu of the eagle. Among physicians, a boar’s bladder has been repute of specific for the epilepsy.
CHAPTER VIII.HUNTING THE BUFFALO
UNDER DIFFERENT NAMES, THIS ANIMAL it widely diffused. He has long been domesticated in India, where his services as a beast of draught and burden render him extremely valuable. From
India he has spread into Egypt, Greece Italy and Spain. He is heavier, clumsier, and more formidable than the ox or the domestic bull. A variety found in Africa, called the leap buffalo, is peculiarly ferocious. In its native regions, the buffalo is considered by hunters, one of the most formidable beasts of chase. It is capable of contending with the tiger, which is often foiled in the deadly strife. When excited, the beast rushes desperately on its foe, strikes him down with the horns or forehead, kneels upon him, crushing in his chest, and then tramples on the lifeless body as if to satiate its vindictive fury.
Dr. Sparrman gives the following description of the mode of bunting him at the Cape of Good Hope. “When we advanced to within twenty or thirty paces of the beast, and consequently were in some degree actuated by our fears, we discharged our pieces pretty nearly at the same time; while the buffalo, which was upon rather lower ground than we were, behind a thin scambling bush, seemed to turn his head around in order to make toward us. In the meanwhile, however, the moment we had discharged our guns, we had the pleasure to see him fall, and directly afterwards run down into the thickest part of the wood. This induced us to hope that our shot had proved mortal; for which reason, we had the imprudence to follow him down into the close thickets, where luckily for us we could get no farther We had, however, as we found afterwards, only hit the hindmost part of the chine, where the balls, which lay at the distance of three inches from each other, had been shivered to pieces against the bones,
“In the meanwhile, our temerity, which chiefly proceeded from hurry and ignorance, was considered by the Hottentots as a proof of spirit and intrepidity hardly to be equaled; on which account, from that instant they appeared to entertain an infinitely higher opinion of our courage than they had ever done before. Severa. of our Hottentots now came to us, and threw stones down into the dale, though without success, in order to find out, by the bellowing of the beast, whither he had retired : afterwards, however he seemed to have plucked up his courage, for he came up at last out of the dale of his own accord, to the skirts of the wood, and placed himself so as to have a full view of us on the spot, where we were resting ourselves somewhat higher up his intention was, in all probability, and in the opinion of old sportsmen, to revenge himself on us, if we had not happened to see him in time, and fired at him directly.”
“Though still hot upon the chase, yet we advanced with the greatest caution, accompanied by two of our Hottentots, through the thin and more pervious part of the wood, where the buffalo had taken refuge. He was advancing again to attack some of us, when Mr. Immelman, from the place where he was posted, shot him in the lungs. Notwithstanding this, he had still strength enough left to make a circuit of one hundred and fifty paces, before we heard him fall; during his fall, and before he died, he bellowed in a most stupendous manner. And this death-song of
his, inspired every one of us with joy, on account of the victory we had gained; and so thoroughly steeled is frequently the human heart against the sufferings of the brute creation, that-we hastened forwards, to enjoy the pleasure of seeing the buffalo struggle with the pangs of death. I happened to be the foremost amongst them; but think it impossible for anguish, accompanied by a savage fierceness, to be painted in stronger colors than they Were in the countenance of this buffalo. I was within ten steps of him when he perceived me, and bellowing raised himself suddenly again on his legs. I had reason to believe since, that I was at the time very much frightened; for before I could well take my aim, I fired off my gun, and the shot missed the whole of his huge body, and only hit him in the hind legs, as we afterwards discovered by the size of the balls. Immediately upon this I flew away like lightning, in order to look out for some tree to climb up into. Notwithstanding the tedious prolixity it might occasion me to be guilty of, I thought the best and readiest method of giving my reader an idea of the nature of this animal, and of the method of hunting it, as well as of other contingent circumstances, would be to adduce an instance or two, of what occurred during the chase.”
CHAPTER IX/HUNTING THE CHAMOIS
THE CHAMOIS OR ALPINE GOAT, formerly considered as the parent of the domestic breed, has by later naturalists been placed as a distinct species. In its general features, however, with the exception of the horns, which, of a beautiful black, rise between the eyes, bend backward, and terminate in hooks, and the want of a beard, the chamois greatly resembles the tame goat. Its height is about two feet three or four inches its hair is short.
From the description given by M. Saussure, in his Journey on the Alps, Vol. 3, no species of hunting appears to be attended with more danger than this; yet the inhabitants of Chamouni re-extremely addicted to it.
The Chamois hunter generally sets out in the night, that he may reach by break of day the most elevated pastures where the goats come to feed, before they arrive. As soon as he discovers the place where he hopes to find them, he surveys it with his glass. If he finds none of them there, he proceeds, always ascending whenever he descries any, he endeavors to get above them, either by stealing along some gully, or getting behind some rock or eminence. When he is near enough to distinguish their horns, which is the mark by which he judges of the distance, he rests his piece on a rock, takes his aim with great composure, and rarely misses. This piece is a rifle-barreled carabine, into which the ball is thrust, and these carabines often contain two charges though they have but one barrel; the charges are put one above another, and are fired in succession. If he has wounded the chamois, he runs to his prey, and for security he hamstrings it; then he considers his way home if the road is difficult, he skins the chamois, and leaves the carcass; but, if it is practicable, he throws the animal on his shoulders, and bears him to his village, though at a great distance, and often over frightful precipices; he feeds his family with the flesh, which is excellent, especially when the creature is young, and he dries the skin for sale. But if, as is the common case, the vigilant chamois perceives the approach of the hunter, he immediately takes flight among the glaciers, through the snows, and over the most precipitous rocks.
It is particularly difficult to get near these animals when there are several together; for then one of them, while the rest are feeding, stands as a sentinel on the point of some rock that commands a view of the avenues leading to the pasture; and as soon as he perceives any object of alarm, he utters a sort of hiss, at which the others instantly gather round him to judge for themselves of the nature of the danger; if it is a wild beast, or hunter, the most experienced puts himself at the head of the flock; and away they fly, ranged in a line, to the most inaccessible retreats. It is here that the fatigues of the hunter begin instigated by his passion for the chase, he is insensible to danger; he passes over snows, without thinking of the horrid precipices they conceal; he entangles himself among the most dangerous paths, and bounds from rock to rock, without knowing how he is to return.
Night often surprises him in the midst of his pursuit; but he does not for that reason abandon it; he hopes that the same cause will arrest the flight of the chamois, and that ho will next morning overtake them. Thus he passes the night, not at the foot of a tree, like the hunter of the plain; not in a grow, softly reclined on a bed of moss, but at the foot of a rock, and often on the bare points of shattered fragments, without the smallest shelter. There, all alone, without fire, without light, he draws from his bag a bit of cheese, with a morsel of oaten bread, which make his common food; bread so dry that he is sometimes obliged to break it between two stones, or with the hatchet he carries with him to cut out steps in the ice.
Having thus made his solitary and frugal repast, he puts a stone below his head for a pillow, and goes to sleep, dreaming on the route which the chamois may have taken. But soon he is awakened by the freshness of the morning; he gets up, benumbed with cold; surveys the precipices which he must traverse to overtake his game; drinks a little brandy, of which he is always provided with a small portion, and sets out to encounter new dangers. Hunters sometimes remain in these solitudes for several days together, during which time their families, their unhappy wives in particular experience a state of the most dreadful anxiety: they dare not go to rest for fear of seeing their husbands appear to them in a dream; for it is a received opinion in the country, that when a man has perished, either in the snow, or on some unknown rock, he appears by night to the person he holds most dear, describes the place that proved fatal to him, and requests the performance of the last duties to his corpse. “After this picture (says M. Saussure,) of the life which the chamois hunters lead, could one imagine that this chase would be the object of a passion absolutely unsurmountable? I knew a well-made, handsome man, who had just married a beautiful woman: ‘My grand-father, said he to me, lost his life in the chase; so did my father; and I am persuaded, that I too shall die in the same’ manner; this bag which I carry with me when I hunt, I call my grave-clothes, for I am sure I will have no other; yet if you should offer to make my fortune on condition of abandoning the chase of the chamois, I could not consent. I made some excursions on the Alps with this man; his strength and address were astonishing; but his temerity was greater than his strength; and I have heard, that two years afterwards, he missed a step on the brink of a precipice, and met with the fate he had expected.’
CHAPTER X.HUNTING THE FOX
FOX HUNTING IS SO COMMON
