The Greater Part Of The Ivory Which Is Sold On The Gambia And Senegal
Rivers Is Brought From The Interior Country.
The lands towards the Coast
are too swampy, and too much intersected with creeks and rivers, for so
bulky
An animal as the elephant to travel through, without being
discovered; and when once the natives discern the marks of his feet in
the earth, the whole village is up in arms. The thoughts of feasting on
his flesh, making sandals of his hide, and selling the teeth to the
Europeans, inspire every one with courage; and the animal seldom escapes
from his pursuers; but in the plains of Bambarra and Kaarta, and the
extensive wilds of Jallonkadoo, the elephants are very numerous; and,
from the great scarcity of gunpowder in those districts, they are less
annoyed by the natives.
Scattered teeth are frequently picked up in the woods, and travellers are
very diligent in looking for them. It is a common practice with the
elephant to thrust his teeth under the roots of such shrubs and bushes as
grow in the more dry and elevated parts of the country where the soil is
shallow. These bushes he easily overturns, and feeds on the roots, which
are in general more tender and juicy than the hard woody branches or the
foliage; but when the teeth are partly decayed by age, and the roots more
firmly fixed, the great exertions of the animal, in this practice,
frequently causes them to break short. At Kamalia I saw two teeth, one a
very large one, which were found in the woods, and which were evidently
broke off in this manner. Indeed, it is difficult otherwise to account
for such a large proportion of broken ivory, as is daily offered for
sale, at the different factories; for when the elephant is killed in
hunting, unless he dashes himself over a precipice, the teeth are always
extracted entire.
There are certain seasons of the year when the elephants collect into
large herds, and traverse the country in quest of food or water; and as
all that part of the country to the north of the Niger is destitute of
rivers, whenever the pools in the woods are dried up, the elephants
approach towards the banks of that river. Here they continue until the
commencement of the rainy season, in the months of June or July; and
during this time they are much hunted by such of the Bambarrans as have
gunpowder to spare. The elephant hunters seldom go out singly; a party of
four or five join together; and having each furnished himself with powder
and ball, and a quantity of corn-meal in a leather bag, sufficient for
five or six day's provisions, they enter the most unfrequented parts of
the wood, and examine with great care every thing that can lead to the
discovery of the elephants. In this pursuit, notwithstanding the bulk of
the animal, very great nicety of observation is required. The broken
branches, the scattered dung of the animal, and the marks of his feet,
are carefully inspected; and many of the hunters have, by long experience
and attentive observation, become so expert in their search, that as soon
as they observe the footmarks of an elephant, will they tell almost to a
certainty at what time it passed, and at what distance it will be found.
When they discover a herd of elephants, they follow them at a distance,
until they perceive some one stray from the rest, and come into such a
situation as to be fired at with advantage. The hunters then approach
with great caution, creeping amongst the long grass, until they have got
near enough to be sure of their aim. They then discharge all their pieces
at once, and throw themselves on their faces among the grass. The wounded
elephant immediately applies his trunk to the different wounds, but being
unable to extract the balls, and seeing nobody near him, becomes quite
furious, and runs about among the bushes, until by fatigue and loss of
blood he has exhausted himself, and affords the hunters an opportunity of
firing a second time at him, by which he is generally brought to the
ground.
The skin is now taken off, and extended on the ground with pegs, to dry;
and such parts of the flesh as are most esteemed are cut up into thin
slices, and dried in the sun, to serve for provisions on some future
occasion. The teeth are struck out with a light hatchet, which the
hunters always carry along with them; not only for that purpose, but also
to enable them to cut down such trees as contain honey; for though they
carry with them only five or six days' provisions, they will remain in
the woods for months if they are successful, and support themselves upon
the flesh of such elephants as they kill, and wild honey.
The ivory thus collected is seldom brought down to the Coast by the
hunters themselves. They dispose of it to the itinerant merchants, who
come annually from the Coast with arms and ammunition, to purchase this
valuable commodity. Some of these merchants will collect ivory, in the
course of one season, sufficient to load four or five asses. A great
quantity of ivory is likewise brought from the interior by the slave
coffles. There are, however, some Slatees, of the Mahomedan persuasion,
who, from motives of religion, will not deal in ivory, nor eat of the
flesh of the elephant, unless it has been killed with a spear.
The quantity of ivory collected in this part of Africa is not so great,
nor are the teeth in general so large, as in the countries nearer the
Line: few of them weigh more than eighty, or one hundred pounds; and upon
an average, a bar of European merchandize may be reckoned as the price of
a pound of ivory.
I have now, I trust, in this and the preceding chapters, explained, with
sufficient minuteness, the nature and extent of the commercial connection
which at present prevails, and has long subsisted, between the Negro
natives of those parts of Africa which I visited, and the nations of
Europe; and it appears that slaves, gold, and ivory, together with the
few articles enumerated in the beginning of my work, viz.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 91 of 146
Words from 92111 to 93173
of 148366
