Both The Angrab And The Salaam Are Short Rivers, But, As
They Are The Two Main Channels For The Reception Of The Entire
Drainage Of A Vast Mountain Area, They Bring Down Most Violent
Floods, That Materially Affect The Volume Of The Main Artery.
The whole of this country abounded in game beyond any that I had
hitherto seen, and I had most glorious sport.
Among the varieties
of antelopes, was a new species that I had seen upon several
occasions on the Settite, where it was extremely rare. On the
high open plains above the valley of the Salaam, this antelope
was very numerous, but so wild and wary that it was impossible to
approach nearer than from 350 to 500 yards. This magnificent
animal, the largest of all the antelopes of Abyssinia and Central
Africa, is known to the Arabs as the Maarif (Hippotragus
Bakerii). It is a variety of the sable antelope of South Africa
(Hippotragus Niger). The colour is mouse-grey, with a black
stripe across the shoulders, and black and white lines across the
nose and cheeks. The height at the shoulder would exceed fourteen
hands, and the neck is ornamented with a thick and stiff black
mane. The shoulders are peculiarly massive, and are extremely
high at the withers; the horns are very powerful, and, like those
of the roan and the sable antelope, they are annulated, and bend
gracefully backwards. Both the male and female are provided with
horns; those of the former are exceedingly thick, and the points
frequently extend so far as to reach the shoulders.
The Maarif invariably inhabits open plains, upon which it can see
an enemy at a great distance, thus it is the most difficult of
all animals to stalk. Nothing can be more beautiful than a herd
of these superb animals, but the only successful method of
hunting would be to course them with greyhounds; my dogs were
dead, thus I depended entirely upon the rifle. I was also
deprived of the assistance of the aggageers, whom I had left at
the Royan.
Rhinoceros and giraffes were very numerous throughout this
country; but the ground was most unfavourable for riding. The
surface resembled a beautiful park, composed of a succession of
undulations, interspersed with thornless trees, and watered by
streamlets at intervals of five or eight miles, while the
magnificent Alps of Abyssinia bounded the view to the south; but
there was no enjoyment in this country on horseback. The rainy
season converted this rich loam into a pudding, and the dry
season baked it into a pie-crust. The entire surface was loose,
flaky, and hollow; there was not a yard of ground that was not
split into deep crevices, that were regular pitfalls; and so
unsound was the general character of the country, that a horse
sank above his fetlocks at every footstep. I usually rode during
the day when exploring; but whenever I shot, it was necessary to
dismount, as it was impossible to follow an animal successfully
on horseback. I had on several occasions attempted to ride down
a giraffe, but upon such ground I had not the slightest chance;
thus the aggageers, who invariably hunt the giraffe by riding at
full speed until they can hamstring it with the sword, never
visit this country. This accounted for the presence of so large
a number of animals, as they were never disturbed by these
untiring hunters.
Our camp was pitched at the junction of a torrent, which, flowing
from the higher ground, joined the river Salaam in a succession
of waterfalls. At this season, a gentle stream, as clear as
glass, rippled over a rocky bed about twenty yards wide, and the
holes in the flat surface above the fall formed natural basins of
the purest water. I frequently strolled for some miles along the
bed of the stream, that afforded excellent pasturage for the
horses in a sweet, green grass, that was not only an attraction
to antelopes and buffaloes (Bos Caffer), but formed a covert for
incredible numbers of the beautiful francolin partridge, which
might have been shot in hundreds as they rose from the cool
herbage that afforded both food and concealment. I was returning
late one evening along the bed of the stream, after a day's
shooting, during which I had bagged several antelopes and wild
boar, when I observed at a distance a dark mass in the bright
yellow grass, which I quickly distinguished as a herd of
elephants. It was just dusk, and having endeavoured to meet them
as they came to drink, but without success, I determined to track
them up on the following morning. I started at daybreak, with all
my horses and gun-bearers. For about sixteen miles we tracked up
the herd to within a short distance of the base of the mountain
range. During the march, we had seen large quantities of
giraffes, and all the varieties of large antelopes. The country,
that had consisted of a vast plain, now changed to rapid
undulations; the trees were generally small, and, at this season
of intense dryness, were devoid of leaves. At the bottom of one
of these undulations, among a number of skeleton trees, that
afforded no shade, we discovered the elephants, standing in the
high withered grass, that entirely concealed all but the upper
portion of their heads; they were amusing themselves by tearing
up the trees, and feeding upon the succulent roots. I ordered
Taher Noor and Bacheet each to take a horse and rifle, and to
lead them, together with my hunter Aggahr, about a hundred yards
behind me, while I advanced towards the elephants on foot. At the
sound of the first shot they were to mount, and to bring my horse
and spare guns as rapidly as possible. Unfortunately, the herd
was alarmed by a large bull giraffe that was asleep in the grass,
which started up within thirty yards of us, and dashed off in
terror through the mass of elephants.
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