Ere the sun had risen the ensuing morning, we were again in the wilderness1, where nearly double the number of Galla had been assembled by the chiefs Boroo and Abbo, to whom, before commencing the labours of the day, suitable trinkets were presented. The swamps on the southern side of the waste having been drawn2 unsuccessfully, columns of dust which arose from the opposite quarter high above the trees were pronounced to indicate the presence of a troop of elephants; and thither4 we all hurried. But the performance of the beaters was even inferior to that of the preceding day. Half the number, visibly shaking with fear, ascended5 the tallest trees, whilst those who had again induced us to precede them through the ocean of tangled6 flags, where to kill or even to see a wild beast was perfectly7 out of the question, used their utmost endeavours, by talking and shouting, to give warning of our approach.
But we were resolved to prove that the Gyptzis would not place others in a position which they scrupled8 themselves to occupy, and the hunt was continued for some hours with those of the Amhára who possessed9 sufficient courage to accompany us. The sun was oppressively hot, and our side arms, which were insisted upon as a measure of precaution against the treachery of the allies who had been summoned to assist, proved peculiarly cumbersome10 and distressing11; but swamp after swamp was beaten unsuccessfully, and forest after forest traversed without one glimpse being obtained of the desired quarry12.
At length, about two in the afternoon, I was summoned to the presence of the governor, who, being much fatigued13, was seated below a spreading tree, and about to propose a return to the tents. In a long studied speech he set forth14 “that his followers15 had done their utmost also for that day, and had driven the elephants, which were countless16 as the forest leaves, from place to place, as though they had been village kine, but that the Europeans—” Here his harangue17 was cut short by the appearance of a Galla scout18, who galloped20 furiously up, exclaiming, “They drink, they drink, in the Jowwahá!” The council instantly dissolved. Inspired by a new ray of hope, we leaped again into the saddle, and, carrying our rifles across our shoulders, made at full speed for the river.
A gallop19 of three miles through a dense21 covert22, consisting of strong elastic23 wands, interlaced with prickly weeds and coarse spear grass, left the crowd far behind us; and, arriving at the spot where the animals had been in view, “Yellow Horse,” with half a score of his wild riders, was alone present. At the water’s edge numerous deep holes in the wet sand were still bubbling from below, and after following the fresh foot-marks a few hundred yards, I ascended a tall tree, from the summit of which, with the aid of my pocket telescope, I presently identified the broad backs of a herd24 standing25 at the distance of half a mile. Unconscious of the presence of any foe26, they were quietly grouped under a solitary27 acacia, and but for the flapping of their huge ears, might have been mistaken for masses of rock. Descending29 as soon as I had thoroughly30 reconnoitred the land-marks, I made very light of what I had seen, and affecting to doubt the evidence of my eyes, carelessly proposed that the native allies should tarry where they were, whilst Douglas Graham and myself proceeded into the jungle on foot, before the governor with his noisy train should arrive from the rear.
After much fruitless opposition31 on the part of old Boroo, who saw through the plot, and vowed32 that his despotic master would hold him responsible for the accident which he considered our rash intention to be certain to involve, my arrangement was finally carried. Armed with two rifles each, we stealthily advanced against the wind, under the cover afforded by the dry copse wood, which yielded up a cloud of impalpable dust, and rendered the inclination33 to sneeze incessant34. I had marked a scrubby thorn-bush, which served as a beacon35, and on climbing silently to the top, we commanded a view of a small open area that had been trampled36 completely bare. High cane-like wands and withered37 grass environed it on all sides, and in the centre, beneath the shade of a venerable camel-thorn, whose stem had been well polished by continual rubbing, stood a gigantic bull elephant, surrounded by four of his seraglio.
Thus far we were undiscovered, and British credit being now completely at stake, we paused to take breath, and examine our weapons. Measures having been concerted in a whisper, we then crept upon our hands and knees to the extreme verge38 of the covert, carefully avoiding the thickest patches, and keeping the tree still always to windward, until, through a beaten track which led towards it, the dark figure of the patriarch of the herd was at last revealed at the distance of only fifteen yards. His trunk was curled around one of his long white tusks39; his ears and his under jaw40 moved at long intervals41; and as he swung lazily from side to side to throw his weight on alternate legs, his head was soon turned in the exact position to ensure success. Having first looked at my companion for an assenting42 nod, I laid my heavy rifle over a forked wooden rest, set the hair-trigger, and planted a two-ounce ball in the only small fatal spot behind the ear which was presented by the monstrous43 target.
A heavy fall announced the effect of the shot, and confusion instantly followed. One of the females whose front had been towards our ambush44, rushed forward, and received a volley of hard bullets in her broad forehead, which turned the attack, and brought her also to the ground, after a flight with her companions of fifty yards. She, however, rose after some minutes, and rushing past the cavalcade45 collected on the outskirts46, escaped into the thick forest to die, attention being meanwhile entirely47 engrossed48 by the tusker, the nobler quarry, who, although prostrate49 on his side like a fallen tower, manifested in his dying moments, by sundry50 portentous51 noises and uncouth52 struggles, an inclination to resume an erect53 position. His destruction was speedily completed; but it was still impossible to leave the spot, from a conviction that the braggart54 Amhára rabble55 would not fail to claim the honour and the credit of having slain56 the prize with their powerless spears, should any perchance find the carcass during the absence of the lawful57 proprietors—a surmise58 which was fully3 confirmed by the appropriation59 of the tail as a trophy60, by the very first man who made his appearance.
The death of this lordly monster, to which so little importance would have been attached in those parts of the African continent where the event is one of diurnal61 occurrence, here created in the mind of every beholder62 a sensation of astonishment63 and admiration64 hardly to be described. The fame of the exploit, carried by express couriers, spread from corner to corner of the empire; and although far from universally credited, it produced even more than the good effect anticipated. Those who, when the storming party first entered the covert, had sought safety in trees, could with difficulty be prevailed upon to descend28, in order to approach the mountain of flesh from which life was said to have departed; and finally mustering65 courage to do so, in the frenzy66 of excitement, launched their spears and discharged their matchlocks, to the imminent67 peril68 of the bystanders and of each other. On the first intimation of the animals having, after two days’ diligent69 search, been actually discovered, three-fourths of the whole party had incontinently disappeared. The Galla horsemen, who had previously70 boasted the destruction of elephants with their spears, did not venture to approach for a full hour after their ears had been saluted71 by the reports of our rifles; and even the warrior72 who vaunted himself the “hereditary chieftain of all the Braves of the Amhára nation,” long clung pertinaciously73 to his secure seat among the topmost branches.
As the fact of the downfall of the noble beast became more widely credited, and the scattered74 forces gradually rallied round it, chief after chief offered his hand in congratulation of the, in his eyes, daring exploit, expressing his wonder and amazement75 that a small rifle-ball had been able to accomplish the annihilation of the bulk and life of seventy seasons, and extolling76 the prowess of the king’s European visitors in the encounter with so formidable a monster, whose colossal77 strength could have carried him trampling78 through a whole array of their own host, dealing79 death and destruction wheresoever his will impelled80 him. Whilst dancing and howling around the carcass, they affirmed the deed to be the work of genii, and complimented us as the “bravest of the brave,” under the titles of “Figa” and “Gobez;” declaring that “the mould whereof the Gyptzis were fashioned must be of a rare quality; and that if all the subjects of Shoa were but composed of the same material, the dominions81 of Sáhela Selássie would know no limit.”
Boroo, the brave chief of the Soopa, who, before our shots were heard, had with extreme difficulty been restrained from galloping82 into the jungle at the head of his gathered retainers, and thus alarming the quarry by the noise and confusion of many hundred horsemen, was more particularly earnest and vehement83 in his congratulations on our victory. He had himself anticipated none but the most fatal results from what he termed so rash an attack upon the hitherto unsubdued monarch84 of the wilderness, and had trembled for the royal vengeance85 which any accident to the party would infallibly have drawn upon his devoted86 head. “The world was made for you alone,” concluded the old warrior in a perfect ecstasy87 of delight, “and no one else has any business in it.”
The trunk and ear of the beast so much dreaded88 throughout the district having been hewn from the carcass, upon the iron folds of which neither the swords nor the lances of the assembled Galla and Amhára could make the smallest impression, were finally borne off in triumph; and as we returned to the encampment on the hill-top, the same honours were paid us which are exacted by the despot on his triumphal entry after a successful expedition against the heathen. Horsemen galloped in every direction, shouting the prowess of the Gyptzis, and announcing that “those who had gone forth to slay89 the mighty90 elephant had successfully performed the quest.” Groups of women and girls lined the hill-side, and as the hunting-party crowned the steep, raised their shrill91 voices in praise and welcome. The tents were entered amid the deafening92 chorus of a war song. Bullocks were instantly slaughtered93 for all the followers. Double the daily liberal supplies of every description were poured in. Sprigs of green asparagus were presented by the sons of the delighted governor, to ornament94 our hair in earnest of victory. Dame95 Twotit composed a new extemporaneous96 sonnet97 upon the occasion, which she rehearsed during half the night; and until the cock crew, every quarter of the village of Manya resounded98 with wild dancing, martial99 music, and war songs, in celebration of an achievement, now for the first time witnessed by the Christian100 population of Shoa.
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1
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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7
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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scrupled
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| v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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10
cumbersome
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| adj.笨重的，不便携带的 | |
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distressing
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| a.使人痛苦的 | |
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quarry
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| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
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fatigued
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| adj. 疲乏的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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16
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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harangue
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| n.慷慨冗长的训话，言辞激烈的讲话 | |
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scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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20
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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21
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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22
covert
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| adj.隐藏的；暗地里的 | |
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elastic
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| n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的 | |
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herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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28
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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30
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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32
vowed
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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beacon
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| n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔 | |
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trampled
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| 踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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37
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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39
tusks
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| n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头 | |
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40
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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41
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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42
assenting
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| 同意，赞成( assent的现在分词 ) | |
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43
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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44
ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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45
cavalcade
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| n.车队等的行列 | |
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46
outskirts
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| n.郊外，郊区 | |
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47
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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48
engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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49
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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50
sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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51
portentous
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| adj.不祥的，可怕的，装腔作势的 | |
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52
uncouth
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| adj.无教养的，粗鲁的 | |
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53
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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braggart
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| n.吹牛者；adj.吹牛的，自夸的 | |
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rabble
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| n.乌合之众，暴民；下等人 | |
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56
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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57
lawful
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| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
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58
surmise
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| v./n.猜想，推测 | |
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59
appropriation
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| n.拨款，批准支出 | |
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60
trophy
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| n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品 | |
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diurnal
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| adj.白天的，每日的 | |
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62
beholder
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| n.观看者，旁观者 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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65
mustering
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的现在分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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66
frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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diligent
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| adj.勤勉的，勤奋的 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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pertinaciously
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| adv.坚持地；固执地；坚决地；执拗地 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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extolling
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| v.赞美( extoll的现在分词 )；赞颂，赞扬，赞美( extol的现在分词 ) | |
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colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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trampling
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| 踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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80
impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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81
dominions
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| 统治权( dominion的名词复数 )； 领土； 疆土； 版图 | |
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galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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83
vehement
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| adj.感情强烈的；热烈的；(人)有强烈感情的 | |
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84
monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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85
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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86
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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89
slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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90
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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91
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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92
deafening
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| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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93
slaughtered
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| v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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94
ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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95
dame
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| n.女士 | |
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96
extemporaneous
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| adj.即席的，一时的 | |
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97
sonnet
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| n.十四行诗 | |
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98
resounded
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| v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音 | |
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99
martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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100
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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