The Art of Travel Part 23

Carrying Game.--To carry small Game, as Fallow Deer.--Make a long slit with your knife between the back sinew and the bone of both of the hind-legs. Cut a thick pole of wood and a stout wooden skewer 8 inches long. Now thrust the right fore-leg through the slit in the left hind one, and then the left fore-leg through the slit in the right hind one, and holding these firmly in their places, push the skewer right through the left fore-leg, so as to peg it from drawing back. Lastly run the pole between the animal's legs and its body, and let two men carry it on their shoulders, one at each end of the pole; or, if a beast of burden be at hand, the carcase is in a very convenient shape for being packed. In animals whose back sinew is not very prominent, it is best to cross the legs as above, and to lash them together. Always take the bowels out of game, before carrying it; it is so much weight saved. "I rode out accompanied by an after-rider, and shot two springboks, which we bore to camp secured on our horses behind our saddles, by pa.s.sing the buckles of the girths on each side through the fore and hind legs of the antelopes, having first performed an incision between the bone and the sinews with the couteau de cha.s.se, according to colonial usage." (c.u.mming's 'Life in South Africa.') "After he had skinned and gutted the animal, he cut away the flesh from the bones, in one piece, without separating the limbs, so as to leave suspended from the tree merely the skeleton of the deer.

This, it appeared, was the Turkish fas.h.i.+on in use upon long Journeys, in order to relieve travellers from the useless burden of bones." (Huc's 'Tartary.') See also the section on "Heavy weights, to raise and carry,"

especially Mr. Wyndham's plan.

To float carcases of Game across a river.--Sir S. Baker recommends stripping off the skin of the animal, as though it were intended to make a water-skin of it: putting a stone up the neck end of the skin; thus forming a water-tight sack, open at one end only. All the flesh is now to be cut off the bones, and packed into the sack; which is then to be inflated, and secured by tying up the open end. The skin of a large antelope thus inflated, will not only float the whole of the flesh, but will also support several swimmers.

"To carry Ivory on pack-animals, the North African traders use nets, slinging two large teeth on each side of an a.s.s. Small teeth are wrapped up in skins and secured with rope." (Mungo Park.)

Setting a gun as a spring-gun.--General Remarks.--The string that goes across the pathway should be dark coloured, and so fine that, if the beast struggles against it, it should break rather than cause injury to the gun. I must however, add, that in the numerous cases in which I have witnessed or heard of guns being set with success, for large beasts of prey, I have never known of injury occurring to the gun. The height of the muzzle should be properly arranged with regard to the height of the expected animal; thus, the heart of a hyena is the height of a man's knee above the ground; that of a lion, is a span higher. The string should not be tight, but hang in a bow, or the animal will cause the gun to go off on first touching the string, and will only receive a flesh-wound across the front of his chest.

1st Method.--The annexed sketch (p. 258) explains the method I have described in previous editions of this book. The stock is firmly lashed to a tree, and the muzzle to a stake planted in the ground. A "lever-stick," 8 inches long, is bound across the grip of the gun so as to stand upright; but it is not bound so tightly as to prevent a slight degree of movement. The bottom of the "lever-stick" is tied to the trigger, and the top of it to a long, fine, dark-coloured string, which is pa.s.sed through the empty ramrod tubes, and is fixed to a tree on the other side of the pathway. It is evident that when a beast b.r.e.a.s.t.s this string, the trigger of the gun will be pulled.

[Sketch of man setting up gun to be fired as above].

1nd Method.--I have, however, been subsequently informed of a better plan of adapting the "lever-stick." It is shown in the accompanying diagram (below). The fault of the previous plan, is the trouble of tying the string to the trigger; since the curvature is usually such as to make it a matter of some painstaking to fix it securely. A, B, C, is the "lever-stick." Notch it deeply at A, where it is to receive the trigger; notch it also at B, half an inch from A; and at C, 5 inches or so from B.

In las.h.i.+ng B to the grip of the stock at D, the firmer you make the las.h.i.+ng, the better. If D admit of any yielding movement, on C being pulled, the gun will not go off, either readily or surely; as will easily be seen, on making experiment.

[Sketch of rifle with stick rigged as above].

3rd Method.--I am indebted to Captain J. Meaden for the following account of the plan used in Ceylon for setting a spring gun for leopards:--

"Remove the sear, or tie up the trigger. Load the gun, and secure it at the proper height from the ground. Opposite the muzzle of the gun, or at such distance to the right, or left, as may be required, fasted the end of a black string, or line made of horsehair or fibre, and pa.s.s it across the path to the gun. Fasten the other end to a stake, long enough to stand higher than the hammer. Stick the end of the stake slightly in the ground, and let it rest upright against the lock projection, the black line being fastened nearly at that height. Pa.s.s round the small of the stock a loop of single or double string. Take a piece of stick 6 or 8 inches long, pa.s.s through the loop, and twist tourniquet fas.h.i.+on until the loop is reduced to the required length. Raise the hammer carefully, and pa.s.s the short end of the lever-stick, from the inner to the outer side, over the comb, and let the long end of the lever rest against the stake: the pressure of the hammer will keep the lever steady against the stake. To prevent the lower end of the stake flying out, from the pressure of the lever on the upper part, place a log or stone against the foot.

"An animal pus.h.i.+ng against the black string, draws the upper end of the stake towards the muzzle, until the lever is disengaged and releases the hammer.

"In laying the long arm of the lever against the stake sufficient play must be allowed for the contraction of the black string, when wet by dew or rain.

"If a double gun is set, two stakes and two levers will be required. The stakes to be connected above and below the gun, by cross sticks. The levers must be pa.s.sed round the combs the opposite way, to allow of the long arms pressing outwards from the gun, and enable the levers to disengage without entangling.

"The carcase or live bait must be hedged round, and means adopted to guide the leopard across the string, by running out a short hedge on one side. In this case the black line to be set taut, and some 4 inches from the line of fire. The breast than catches the string, and the push releases the hammer when the muzzle is in line with the chest.

"On this principle, two or more guns can be set, slightly varying in elevation, to allow of one barrel at least being effective."

Bow and Arrow set for Beasts.--The Chinese have some equivalent contrivance with bows and arrows. M. Huc tells us that a simply constructed machine is sold in the shops, by which, when sprung, a number of poisoned arrows are fired off in succession. These machines are planted in caves of sepulture, to guard them from pillage. They use spring-guns, and used to have spring-bows in Sweden, and in many other countries.

Knives.--Hunting-knife.--A great hunting-knife is a useless enc.u.mbrance: no old sportsman or traveller cares to enc.u.mber himself with one; but a butcher's knife, carried in a sheath, is excellent, both from its efficient shape, the soft quality of The steel, its lightness, and the strong way in which the blade is set in the haft.

Pocket-knife.--If a traveller wants a pocket-knife full of all kinds of tools, he had best order a very light one of 2 3/4 inches long, in a tortoise-sh.e.l.l handle, without the usual turnscrew at the end. It should have a light "picker" to shut over its back; this will act as a strike-light, and a file also, if its under surface be properly roughened. Underneath the picker, there should be a small triangular borer, for making holes in leather, and a gimlet. The front of the knife should contain a long, narrow pen-blade of soft steel; a cobbler's awl, slightly bent; and a packing-needle with a large eye, to push thongs and twine through holes in leather. Between the tortoise-sh.e.l.l part of the handle and the metal frame of the knife, should be a s.p.a.ce to contain three flat thin pieces of steel, turning on the same pivot. The ends of these are to be ground to form turnscrews of bra.s.s instruments: when this excellent contrivance is used, it must be opened out like the letter T, the foot of which represents the turnscrew in use and the horizontal part represents the other two turnscrews, which serve as the handle. It may be thought advisable to add a b.u.t.ton-hook, a corkscrew, and a large blade; but that is not my recommendation, because it increases the size of the knife and makes it heavy; now a heavy knife is apt to be laid by, and not to be at hand when wanted, while a light knife is a constant pocket companion.

Sheath Knives, to carry.--They are easily carried by half-naked, pocketless savages, by attaching the sheaths to a leather-loop, through which the left forearm and elbow are to be pa.s.sed. A swimmer can easily carry a knife in this way; otherwise he holds it between his teeth.

Subst.i.tutes for Knives.--Steel is no doubt vastly better than iron, but it is not essential for the ordinary purposes of life; indeed, most ancient civilized nations had nothing better than iron. Any bit of good iron may be heated as hot as the camp-fire admits; hammered flat, lashed into a handle, and sharpened on a stone. A fragment of flint or obsidian may be made fast to a handle, to be used as a carpenter cuts paper With a chisel; namely, by holding it dagger-fas.h.i.+on, and drawing it over the skin or flesh which he wishes to cut. Sh.e.l.ls are sometimes employed as subst.i.tutes for knives, also thin strips of bamboo, the sharp edges of which cut meat easily. (See "Sharpening Tools.")

Night-gla.s.s.--Opera-gla.s.ses are invaluable as night-gla.s.ses, for, by their aid, the sight of man is raised nearly to a par with that of night-roving animals; therefore, a sportsman would find them of great service when watching for game at night. A small and inexpensive gla.s.s is as useful for this purpose as a large one; but there is a considerable difference between the clearness of different opera-gla.s.ses.

OTHER MEANS OF CAPTURING GAME.

General Remarks.--A trapper will never succeed, unless he thoroughly enters into the habits of life and mind of wild animals. He must ever bear in mind how suspicious they are; how quickly their eye is caught by unusual traces; and, lastly, how strong and enduring a taint is left by the human touch. Our own senses do not make us aware of what it is disagreeable enough to acknowledge, that the whole species of man yields a powerful and wide-spreading emanation, that is utterly disgusting and repulsive to every animal in its wild state. It requires some experience to realise this fact: a man must frequently have watched the heads of a herd of far distant animals, tossed up in alarm the moment that they catch his wind; he must have observed the tracks of animals--how, when they crossed his path of the preceding day, the beast that made the tracks has stopped, scrutinised, and shunned it--before he can believe what a Yahoo he is among the brute creation. No cleanliness of the individual seems to diminish this remarkable odour: indeed, the more civilised the man, the more subtle does it appear to be; the touch of a game-keeper scares less than that of the master, and the touch of a negro or bushman less than that of a traveller from Europe.

If a novice thinks he will trap successfully by such artless endeavours as putting a bait on the plate of a trap that is covered over with moss, or by digging a pitfall in the middle of a wild beast's track, he is utterly mistaken. The bait Should be thrown on the ground, and the trap placed on the way to it; then the animal's mind, being fixed on the meat, takes less heed of the footpath. Or a pitfall should be made near the main path; this being subsequently stopped by boughs, causes the animal to walk in the bushes, and to tumble into the covered hole. The slightest thing diverts an animal's step: watch a wild beast's path across a forest --little twigs and tufts of gra.s.s will be seen to have changed its course, and caused it to curve. It is in trifles of this sort that the trapper should look for auxiliaries. After setting traps, Mr. St. John recommends the use of a small branch of a tree; first, to smooth the ground, and then, having dipped it in water, to sprinkle the place: this entirely obliterates all foot-marks.

Springes.--General Remarks.--Harden the wood of which the mechanism has to be made, by means of fire; either baking it in hot sand or ashes, or otherwise applying heat to a degree just short of charring its surface.

The mechanism will then retain the sharpness of its edges under a continuance of pressure, and during many hours of wet weather. The slighter the strain on the springe, the more delicately can its mechanism be set.

Nooses.--Catgut (which see) makes better nooses than string, because it is stiff enough to keep in shape when set: bra.s.s wife that has been heated red-hot, is excellent; for it has no tendency whatever to twist, and yet is perfectly pliable. Fish-hooks are sometimes attached to springes; sometimes a tree is bent down and a strong cord is used for the noose, by which large animals are strangled up in the air, as leopards are in Abyssinia. A noose may be set in any place where there is a run; it can be kept spread out, by thin rushes or twigs set crosswise in it.

If the animal it is set for can gnaw, a heavy stone should be loosely propped up, which the animal in its struggles may set free, and by the weight of which it may be hung up and strangled. It is a very convenient plan for a traveller who has not time to look for runs, to make little hedges across a creek, or at right angles to a clump of trees, and to set his snares in gaps left in these artificial hedges. On the same principle, artificial islands of piles and f.a.ggots Are commonly made in lakes that are dest.i.tute of any real ones, in order that they may become a resort of wild-fowl.

Javelins.--Heavy poisoned javelins, hung over elephant and hippopotamus paths, and dropped on a catch being touched, after the manner of a springe, are used generally in Africa. They sometimes consist of a "sharp little a.s.segai, or spike, most thoroughly poisoned, and stuck firmly into the end of a heavy block of thornwood, about four feet long and five inches in diameter. This formidable affair is suspended over the centre of a sea-cow path, at about thirty feet from the ground, by a bark cord, which pa.s.ses over a high branch of a tree, and thence, by a peg, on one side of a path beneath." (Gordon c.u.mming.)

Trigger.--Where a trigger has to release a strong spring, an arrangement on the principle of a figure of 4 trap is, I believe, the most delicate; the standard may be a branch or the stock of a tree; and the other pieces should be hardened by fire.

Pitfalls.--Very small pitfalls, with sharpened stakes, planted inside them, that have been baked hard by the fire and well poisoned, are easily to be set, but they are very dangerous to man and beast. In preparing a pitfall for animals of prey, it is usual to ascertain whether they are deep enough, by putting in a large dog; if he cannot get out, it is very unlikely that any wild beast can. (See "Trous de loup," p. 312.)

Pitfalls are often dug in great numbers, near frequented watering-places, to which numerous intersecting paths lead: by stopping up particular paths, the pitfalls can be brought separately into use; therefore, those pitfalls need never be employed in which animals have been freshly killed, and where the smell of blood would scare the game. It is difficult to prevent the covers of pitfalls becoming hollow: the only way is to build the roofs in somewhat of an arch, so as to allow for subsidence. If a herd of animals be driven over pitfalls, some are sure to be pushed in, as the crush makes it impossible for the beasts, however wary, to pick their way.

Uganda Thorn-wreath.--Captain Grant found a very ingenious contrivance in use in Uganda, in Africa. Two small Stout hoops of equal diameter, made of wood fully an inch in thickness, were lashed one above the other; long acacia thorns were interposed, forming the spokes of a wheel of which the hoops formed the rim. The bases of the thorns were nipped between the hoops; and their points radiated towards the centre. A great many thorns were used, so that the appearance was that of a wheel without a nave, whose spokes were so close together that they touched each other, and, as thorns taper from base to point, the spokes touched one another along their whole length, from circ.u.mference to centre. This apparatus is always made with great neatness. It is laid over a hole 18 inches deep, dug in the beast's path, and the noose of a cord, of which the other end is secured to a log, is laid closely within the upper hoop. When the beast treads on the apparatus, he crashes through the thorns, but, on withdrawing his foot from the hole, the wreath clings to his fetlock like a ruff, and prevents the noose from slipping off. Thus there is time for the noose to become firmly jammed during the struggles of the beast. Of course, the trapper artfully bushes the path, so as to induce him to step full upon the trap. He sets a great many of them, and they require no looking after. The diameter of the hoops is made proportionate to the size of the beast for which they are intended. Six inches interior diameter was the size used for buffalo and hartebeest.

Traps.--Steel traps should never be tied fast, or the captured animal may struggle loose, or even gnaw off his leg. It is best to cut small bushes, and merely to secure the traps to their cut ends. Steel traps are of but little use to a traveller.

Hawks are trapped by selecting a bare tree, that stands in an open s.p.a.ce: its top is sawn off level, and a trap is put upon it: the bait is laid somewhere near, on the ground: the bird is sure to visit the pole, either before or after he has fed.

Poison.--Savages frequently poison the water of drinking-places, and follow, capture, and eat the poisoned animals. Nux vomica or strychnine is a very dangerous poison to use, but it affords the best means of ridding a neighbourhood of noxious beasts and birds: if employed to kill beasts, put it in the belly; if, birds, in the eye, of the bait. Meat for killing Beasts should be set after nightfall; else the crows and other birds will be sure to find it out, and eat it up before the beasts have time to discover it. It would be unsafe to eat an animal killed with strychnine, on account of the deadliness of the poison.

The Swedes put fulminating-powder in a raw shankbone, and throw it down to the wolves; when one of these gnaws and crunches it, it blows his head to atoms.

Poisoned Bullets.--I take the following extract from 'Galignani's Messenger:'--"A new method of catching whales is now being tried with considerable success, science having contributed to its discovery. Our readers are well aware of the deadly effects of the Indian poison called wurare, or woorali, concerning which we have often had occasion to record the most interesting experiments, especially in mentioning the attempts made to use it as a specific for lockjaw, its peculiar action consisting in relaxing the muscular system. Strychnine is a poison producing the contrary effect, the excessive contraction of that system, or, in other words, teta.n.u.s, or lockjaw. It is a curious fact that by the conjunction of these two agents, so diametrically opposite in their effects, a poison is obtained that will kill almost instantly if only administered in the dose of half a milligramme per kilogramme of the animal to be subjected to its action, provided its weight do not exceed ten kilogrammes. If larger, the dose must be proportionally increased. M. Thiercelin, the inventor of this poison, composes it by mixing a salt of strychnine with one-twentieth of woorali. To apply it to whale fis.h.i.+ng, he makes the compound up into cartridges of thirty grammes (an ounce) each, which is enough to kill an animal of 60,000 kilogrammes weight. Each cartridge is imbedded in the gunpowder contained in an explosive sh.e.l.l which is fired off on the whale. In a late whaling voyage ten whales received such missiles, and all died within from four to eighteen minutes after the infliction of the wound. Out of these ten whales, six were cut up for their blubber and whalebone. Their remains were handled by careless men, who frequently had scratches and sores on their skin, and yet not one of them suffered the slightest injury, a circ.u.mstance which Shows that the poison cannot be transmitted from the fish to the men. Its poisonous action on the whale is, however, so great that practically the dose will have to be diminished, so that the death of the creature may not be so sudden. We should not forget to state that two out of the ten whales above mentioned were lost by one of the many accidents incident to whaling, and that two others were of a kind that is not worth fis.h.i.+ng for."

Poisoned Arrows.--Arrows are most readily poisoned by steeping a thread in the juice, and wrapping it round the barbs. Serpents' venom may always be used with effect.

Bird-lime can be made from the middle bark of most parasitic plants, that is to say, those that grow like mistletoe, out of the boughs of other trees. Holly and young elder shoots also afford it. The bark is boiled for seven or eight hours, till quite soft, and is then drained of its water and laid in heaps, in pits dug in the ground, where it is covered with stones and left for two or three weeks to ferment; but less time is required, if the weather be hot. It is watered from time to time, if necessary. In this way, it pa.s.ses into a mucilaginous state; and is then pounded into a paste, washed in running water, and kneaded till it is free from dirt and chips. Lastly, it is left for four or five days in earthen vessels, to ferment and purify itself, when it becomes fit for use. It ought to be greenish, sour, gluey, stringy, and sticky. It becomes brittle when dry, and may be powdered; but, on being wetted, it becomes sticky again. (Ure's Dictionary.)

Vast flocks of birds frequent the scattered watering-places of dry countries at nightfall and at daybreak: by liming the sedges and bushes that grow about them, numbers of birds could be caught.

Crows may be killed by twisting up a piece of paper like an extinguisher, dropping a piece of meat in it, and smearing its sides with bird-lime.

When the bird pokes his head in, his eyes are gummed up and blinded; and he towers upwards in the air, whence he soon falls down exhausted, and, it may be, dead with fright. (Lloyd.) Fish-hooks, baited with meat, are good to catch these sorts of birds.

Catching with the Hand.--Ducks.--We hear of Hindoos who, taking advantage of the many gourds floating on their waters, put one of them on their heads, and wade in among wild ducks; they pull them down, one after another, by their legs, under water; wring their necks, and tie them to their girdle. But in Australia, a swimmer binds gra.s.s and rushes, or weeds, round his head; and takes a long fis.h.i.+ng-rod, with a slip noose working over the pliant twig that forms the last joint of the rod. When he comes near, he gently raises the end, and, putting the noose over the head of the bird, draws it under water to him. He thus catches one after another, and tucks the caught ones in his belt. A windy day is generally chosen, because the water is ruffled. (Eyre.)

Condors and Vultures are caught by spreading a raw ox-hide, under which a man creeps, with a piece of string in his hand, while one or two other men are posted in ambush close by, to give a.s.sistance at the proper moment. When the bird flies down upon the bait, his legs are seized by the man underneath the skin, and are tied within it, as in a bag. All his flapping is then useless; he cannot do mischief with his claws, and he is easily overpowered.

Bolas.--The bolas consists of three b.a.l.l.s, composed either of lead or stone; two of them are heavy, but the third is rather lighter: they are fastened to long elastic strings, made of twisted sinews, and the ends of the strings are all tied together. The Indian holds the lightest of the three b.a.l.l.s in his hand, and swings the two others in a wide circle above his head; then taking his aim, at the distance of about fifteen or twenty paces, he lets go the hand-ball; all the three b.a.l.l.s whirl in a circle, and twine round the object aimed at. The aim is usually taken at the hind-legs of the animals, and, the cords twisted round them, they become firmly bound. It requires great skill and long practice to throw the boas dexterously, especially when on horseback. A novice in the art incurs the risk of dangerously hurting either himself or his horse, by not giving the b.a.l.l.s the proper swing, or by letting go the hand-ball too soon.

(Tschudi's 'Peru.')

La.s.so.--It is useless that I should enter into details about making and wielding the la.s.so, for it is impossible to become Moderately adept in its use, without months of instruction and practice.

Amstringing.--Animals are hamstrung by riding at them, armed with a sort of spear; the blade of which is fixed at right angles to the shaft, and has a cutting edge.