The morning call., 1890-12-26
HUNTING STORIES.
Hunting Elephants, Buffal0es and
Still More Savage Men.
What an Old Hunter Who Had Been in Africa
Thought About Taking Chances.
Hunting Human Heads.

SAID one OF the veteran SD0rtSmen at the
campfire, ethan an elephant fight. don't
mean fight with all elephant, though that
may be pretty thrilling to you, if you
wound the brute without disabling him, and
he gets after you in the open. But mean
fight between elephants"
II didn't know they ever fought" inter-
rupted a novice in the jungle.
You would know it if you ever saw two
'tuskers' fairly at it," was the reply. "They
don't often do it, but when they do it is
battle to the death. One day, up In the hill
country, saw such combat. They were
hard at it when l came in sight. They were
on the hillside. One OF them, a burly, stout
built beast with short powerful tusks, was
evidently getting much the worse of the
scrimmage, and the white and red burrows
in his sides plainly indicated seams made by
his antagonists tusks. Blood was trickling
down his head and shoulders. On the rise
of the hill was his enemy, still
larger animal, possessing the adj
vantage of longer tusks. 1t was
lost fight. In afew minutes the victor with
quick rush at the other, made good
thrust at the side. There was severe
struggle, but the tusk went its full length
into the now beaten brute, and, using all
his weigh t, the victor pressed him down the
hill, where they diseDgaged themselves and
prepared for another bout. The wounded
tusker's roars of pain were pitiful TO hear.
He turned tail and sought safety in flight.
But the other kept close behind and gave
him thrust after thrust, but not in any vital
part. Pretty soon they wheeled around,
raced, and came together with mighty
smash. This was about the only stand
made, and the beaten brute was quickly
oyerpowered by the more powerful and
fresher victor he thrusts now put behind
the shoulder and into the body quickly dis
abled the poor brute, and in tact, in a few
minutes the combat was over. The con-
QuerOr with one rush completely
ROLLED HIS ENEMY OVER,
And. by repeated thlusts into the PROSTATE
form, finished the fight amid meanings and
trumpeting.
Il got some men and women out next
| morning to look for Tie body and get the
| tusks. We found big herd of elephants
| in an excited state almost on the spot where
| the finish had occurred. In it were several
| small tuskeIs, besides the big conquerer of
! the evening before, who seemed to lnstill a
| great deal OF fear into the youngsters. He
| came out into The open glade with fine
young female, and as he approached there
| was general stampede out OF his way. We
| came on the dead beast, which had been
| butted and rolled after it was killed into a
| elump OF bauboos. 1t had been fine,
burly animal, but WAS marked from lore
| head TO rear and top to foot by ribs and cuts
He measured feet inches AT the shoulder
| and the tusks proved slightly over 100
| pounds the pair. The victor, which in the
| light appeared to tower over his foe, must
| have been quite 10 feet HIGH and had the
! longest tusks l nave ever seen clear of their
| sockets. ! tried to get him, but what with
| his harem about HIM and the difficulty of
| getting clear view in the long grass L
| falleo to get a shot,"
| II don't know, though said an old
l Tar WI haH hanp in, triao H. I
| would rather take my chances with an ele-
| plant than with real mad buffalo. There
| Is no more savage brute, and none more in
| domltable and persistent in his wrath. 1t is
| not that they are swiiter or stronger or that
| their horns are more deadly weapon, but
! that they display pertinacity of spite which
| makes them exceedingly formidable. Let a
lion miss his first spring and he will turn
aWay-unless rayenouSly hungry-in oiSap-
poIntmeHt and disgust from his intended
victim. Let rhinocerous be wounded and,
unless hemmed in by foes, he Will make for
| the water. But the wounded buffalo sticks
| to his enemy, and has been known to watch
under tree for days In the hope
OF securing his revenge upon the hunter
who had climbed up it to escape his fury.
The natives have special plan of their own
for capturing them. They used to select the
Special bull
THEY WANTED TO KILL,
And entice or drive it from its COMPANIONS.
animals attention in front, leapng nimbly
to one side 10 avoid his furious charges,
while another hunter undertook the risky
job OF creeping up behindand hamstriuging
the beast They were generally successful,
but many lives were lost every year in
butfalo-hunting and the natives themselves
consider 1t the most dangerous quadruped
in the forest"
But you must 60 up through the Shan
country" said soldier of the British
N
Ing III the world. Go up to Lava"
" :. hat DO they hunt up there"
"What kind of heads?"
Human heads, to be sure They want
them to drive the devil away In every
Lava village there must be skull for every
house. They are stuck on posts along the
roadside, and notwithstanding avenue
they make. They organize regular head
hunting raids every year. Whenever a
Lava man meets a stranger, especially near
his own village, he goes for his head If he
failed 10 do SO his neighbors would 60 for
his own head when he got home again.
They would regard him rs lacking in public
spirit and enterprise. If there is an unus-
ual dearth OF other peoples heads or new
village has to be protected at any cost, the
Wild Lawas do not hesitate to cut off the
heads OF the tame Lawas. Peaceful traders
VINO penetrate elsewhere with their mer-
chandise give wide berth when they ap-
proach The Lava country. Still must say
that apart from this one weakness for head
collecting the Lawas are said to be an indus
tfious, hard,working honest race, and very
seldom steal anything, even when they have
cut ON the heads of everybody in a village.
AND they only cut off heads, as | have said,
TO protect themselves from evil spirits"
Even that Is scarcely as bad" said
another, las the blood ieuds they have in
the AirIdi country. There was one man
there, named Faiz Talab Khan, who won
THE HATRED OF CERTAIN CHIEFTAINs,
Who planned his murder. man named
Muhamad Var, Nasiri Ghilzai, who had
murdered some nineteen or twenty persons
ny treachery. was found willing to under
TAX, ,16e the business, II he was paid the sum of
1l0O rupees and shawl. This being agreed
to, ne left the Jelallabad Valley and started
Tor the khyber. A friend of Faiz Talab
kahn's. being informed of the plot, wrote
TO MN and gave all details as to the appear
ance oi the man who had consented to muir
der him for n consideration. Strange to
State, Muhamad Var appeared at Faiz
Ialab Khan's gate and claimed shelter
ana hospitality. just as the letter arrived
warning Faiz Talab against his assassin.
Inc letter was carefully read, ami the de-
scrlptlve roll conned, compared and found to
suit the man who had just claimed shelter.
falz Ia!abS retainers were for killing the
man at once, or, at all events, turning MIN
away lot good; but their master would not
near OF II, and after carefully searching the
man to md out whether he had any arms
concealed about his person. lie was allowed
to enter the fort, Faiz Talab declaring that
they could not murder their own guest or
turn away from their doors a hungry man
VINO had solicited their hospitality. The
man was most carefully searched every
morning, and was told that he was never to
leave the ncloSure, or ascend the platform
on the tower, from whence he could get
down into the open, aud he WAS warned that
II he-wa ever seen lie would be killed at
once.