Chapter 24 Chapter 8 Ord argues with Bonkers
The Baituwa River is coming.So far we are a hundred kilometers away from the Etawa railway station.
The next four days were uneventful—not even a hunting episode.Because in this piece of land of the Kingdom of New Dia, there are not many beasts.
"It looks like I'm doomed not to kill my fiftieth tiger before I reach Bombay!" Captain Ord kept nagging in frustration.
Calagani knew this deserted area very well, and he led us all the way with tact and flexibility, so that on September 29th, the train had already begun to climb the southern slope of the Vandias Mountains, and it was going from the Sierra Leone. Pass through Gul Pass.
So far we have had no hindrance in our travels in the Bendelkhand area.However, in fact, this area is one of the most suspicious parts of India: people who have committed lawsuits are willing to hide here; there are also many road robbers.Still here, the Daqua prefer to pursue their dual careers of assassination and stealing.Therefore, it is prudent to take strict precautions when passing through this place.
The most difficult part of Bendalkender is the Vandiyas mountain area that the "steam house" will enter.The distance is not long—at most 100 kilometers—to reach Jubilapor, the nearest station on the Mumbai-Allahabad railway line.But it was impossible to move so quickly and easily across the plains of Sindia.Steep hills, poorly constructed trails, rocky surfaces, sharp turns, and narrow sections of road all slowed our average speed.Bonkers reckoned no more than fifteen to twenty kilometers in a ten-hour day.In addition, no matter day or night, everyone should pay close attention to the situation on both sides of the road and around the camp.
Carragani was the first to suggest vigilance.It's not because our numbers are weak or our weapons and equipment are not sophisticated enough.Our team is small, but we have two houses and a rotating turret - a real small bunker carried on the back of the "steel monster", so it has a certain "defensive level" to use a fashionable term. ".The rogue Daqua, even if there were any henchmen left in this savage area of Bendelkhand, would no doubt dare not venture upon us.But in any case, it is not a bad thing to act cautiously, and it is best to be prepared for any possible situation.
We reached the Silgur Pass that morning, and the train drove in without much effort.Sometimes, it is necessary to increase the steam pressure when climbing through a steeper narrow road; but under the control of Stoll, the "steel behemoth" can exert the necessary power in an instant and cross several steep hillsides in succession.
As for the wrong route, it seems that there is nothing to worry about.Calagani was familiar with the winding passages of the Vandias Mountains, especially the Silgur Pass.So he never hesitated, even at the intersection of several roads. These forks are often hidden behind tall rocks, or hidden deep in narrow valleys, limiting the field of vision to within two or three hundred steps. There are also many dense forests.Sometimes the Indian would leave us and go ahead, either alone or accompanied by Bonkers, me, or one of our companions, but not to discern the way, but to check the viability of the trail.
Indeed, in the wet season that just ended, a lot of rain has washed away the road surface and created many deep ditches—this is a factor that must be considered before entering the mountain road that is not easy to retreat.
From the perspective of the trip itself, everything went pretty well.The rain has completely stopped.The sky was veiled with a light mist, and the sun filtered softly, without any sign of the onset of rain, which was especially dreadful in the middle of the Indian peninsula.Of course, the heat, though not so intense, still made it difficult for us for a few hours of the day; bearable.There is no shortage of wild game on the menu, and hunters can always catch something nearby to meet the needs of three meals.
Only Captain Ord - and presumably Fox as well - regretted that the beasts that had proliferated in Taliani were nowhere to be seen here.But how could they expect to encounter lions, tigers, and leopards, since the region lacked the ruminants that provided the game's requisite food?
Although there are not many carnivores in the fauna of the Vandias Mountains, we have the opportunity to better understand those Indian elephants—I mean wild elephants, of which only a few have been seen before.
Near noon on September 30th, such a pair of wonderful animals appeared in front of the train.Seeing us approaching, they hurried to the side of the road to give way to the novel convoy, both elephants apparently frightened by the train.
What good is killing them unnecessarily, just to satisfy the urge to hunt?Not even Captain Ord thought of it.He just watched with admiration these handsome animals, who were free and easy to walk in the remote valleys nearby, where the streams, waterfalls, and vegetation were sufficient to maintain their existence.
"This should be a good opportunity for our friend Van Goet to teach him zoology!" said the captain.
As we all know, India in particular is a multi-elephant country.These pachyderms--which are found throughout the provinces of the peninsula of India, and which can be found in Burma, in Siam, and in all the lands east of the Bay of Bengal--are all of one race, slightly inferior to the African elephant species.
How to capture them?The most common method is to set up a "quida", a fenced field.For example, when a whole herd of elephants is to be captured, three or four hundred hunters will force the elephants into "Kedar" step by step under the special guidance of one or the indigenous chief, lock them in, and then use well-trained Domestic elephants separate them from each other and tie their hind legs at the end to count as a catch.
However, this method, which requires time and a certain amount of energy, is not very effective when used on mature male elephants.These bull elephants are indeed more agile animals, able to break through the circle of hunters and know how to avoid getting trapped in Kedar.So a few tame female elephants stalked them for days on end.The female elephants carry their own mahouts on their backs, and they are all wrapped in dark-colored blankets. When the elephants are unsuspecting and calmly enjoying the warm sunshine, the hunters rush out to capture them and put them on The chain is dragged away, and often the elephant has not reacted at this time.
Previously, as I have already said, elephants were hunted by digging deep pits in their path of entry and exit, to a depth of about fifteen feet; or fall to their death, so this barbaric practice has generally been abandoned.
In the Bay of Bengal and Nepal, people still use lasso to hunt elephants.It's a real hunt and always has its share of thrills.There are three people sitting on the back of a well-trained elephant: the driver on the neck, who guides it; the one on the buttocks, who stimulates it with a mallet or iron hook; lasso.So equipped, they set off in pursuit of wild elephants, across mountains and country, sometimes for hours, often exhausting the man on the elephant's back, until at last the prey, too exhausted, fell heavily to the ground, left to themselves. Hunter's mercy.
Through various methods, India has a large number of wild elephants captured every year, which is not a bad business.A female elephant can be sold for 7,000 francs, and a male elephant for 20,000. If it is a purebred male elephant, it can even be sold for 50,000 francs.
Are the animals bought at such high prices really useful?The answer is yes, but on the premise of proper feeding-they eat six or seven hundred pounds of green fodder every eighteen hours, which is about the same weight as they can carry over a moderate distance. ,——can provide a variety of important services: transporting soldiers and military supplies, towing cannons in mountainous areas or tropical jungles where horses are difficult to enter, and instead of driving animals to do hard labor for private individuals.These large animals are strong and docile, and their strange obedience instincts make them easy to domesticate in a short period of time. Therefore, elephants are widely used as animal power in the provinces of Hindustan. Therefore, it is necessary to hunt wild elephants continuously to meet the needs of the peninsula and beyond.
People use the various methods mentioned above to track, contain and capture them.In spite of this resulting consumption, the number of wild elephants has not diminished; there are still many in various parts of India.
And I would say that there is "too much" left, and you will see the proof right away.
As has been said, the two elephants lined the road to let our train pass; but in a moment they were on the road again, right behind the "iron giant."Almost at the same time, several more elephants appeared behind, and they quickened their pace and caught up with the pair we had just passed.So, in just a quarter of an hour, there were already twelve of them following us.These long-nosed animals looked at the "steam room" and followed it step by step, keeping a distance of no more than fifty meters.They don't look like they're going to attack; but they don't seem willing to give up our pursuit either.The latter proved to be easier for them, since the "Iron Behemoth" could not go very fast on the various slopes of the Vandias.
Moreover, elephants can walk much faster than people imagined - according to Mr. Sanderson, who is quite expert in this area, they can reach more than 25 kilometers per hour.According to this calculation, it is too easy for these guys behind to catch up with or surpass us.
But that doesn't seem to be their intention, at least not for now.All they want to do is probably gather more.Sure enough, the beckoning calls they made with their wide open mouths were always answered, and the latecomers followed the same path.
Nearly one o'clock in the afternoon, there were already about 30 elephants crowded on the road to accompany us.It was a whole group.And there is no indication that the number will not increase further.Although elephant herds usually consist of 30 to 40 elephants who are somewhat related to each other, it is not uncommon for them to gather together by only a hundred or so, and travelers cannot help but worry when encountering this situation.
Colonel Moreau, Bonkers, Ord, Sergeant, Caragani, and I all sat under the verandah of the second car to watch what was going on behind the car.
"Their population is still growing, and it will probably not stop until all the elephants scattered in the local area are gathered!" Bonkers said.
"However, they can only hear each other at a fairly limited distance," I objected.
"No," replied the engineer, "elephants can also distinguish their own scents, and their sense of smell is so acute that a domestic elephant knows the presence of a wild one from three or four miles away."
"What a great migration," Colonel Moreau said, too. "You see, the large group behind the car is divided into several small groups of 10 to 12, and so many small groups have come together to participate in the operation together. Bonkers, we have to go faster."
"The Iron Behemoth has done its best, Moreau," replied the engineer. "The steam pressure has reached five atmospheres, and the wind is blowing. The reason why it is slow is that the road is too difficult to walk."
"But why the rush?" cried Captain Maud--the unexpected always gets him excited. "Let them accompany us, what a cute animal! This guard of honor is worthy of our train! The place that used to be desolate is not deserted now, look, we are surrounded all the way, mighty, much like traveling Maharaja of India!"
"Let them go," added Bonkers, "that's all! And I can't think of a way to stop them!"
"But what are you worried about?" Captain Ord asked him. "You don't know that a herd of elephants is often less scary than a single elephant! What a fine animal they are! . . . They're nothing but sheep, big sheep with long noses!"
"Look, Odd is excited!" said Colonel Moreau.I admit that we have nothing to fear if this team keeps lagging behind and keeping their distance; but if they go crazy and try to overtake us on this narrow road, I'm afraid it will cause more than one blow to the "steam house". damage it!
"And," I added, "what will they do with our 'Iron Behemoth' when they gather again to face it face to face!"
"These guys will salute it!" cried Captain Ord. "They will salute him like those elephants of Prince Guru Sen!"
"But those elephants are domesticated," Sergeant Mark Rael pointed out, not without reason.
"That's good," Captain Ord still insisted, "These elephants can also become docile. To be more precise, their fear of the 'steel giant' will turn into awe!"
It can be seen that our friend's enthusiasm for this artificial elephant, "a model of mechanical products from the hands of an English engineer", was undiminished.
"And," he added, "the proboscises,"--he really preferred the word--"these proboscises are very intelligent, reasoning, weighing, and conclusively summarizing experience. , almost displaying human-like intelligence!"
"That's not a solid claim," Bonkers countered.
"What, controversial?" Ord yelled. "You don't have to have been in India to know that! Haven't man used this majestic animal for all the trivial chores of the house? What two-legged, featherless servant can come close?" Don't you know, Mockley, what the writers who know these animals best say about them? According to them, the elephant is considerate of his loved ones, he bears their burdens, picks fruit and flowers; elephants also collect donations for the community - as the elephants in the famous Villenur Pagoda near Pondicherry have done; elephants can go to the market to buy sugar cane, bananas or mangoes for themselves; Bender elephants drive away wild animals and protect livestock and the owner's house; elephants can draw water from the pool with their long trunks, and can lead the children entrusted to them by their owners for a walk, and they are even more careful than the best nanny in England Elephants are humane and reciprocating, for they have a marvelous memory, and prefer to forget the injustices they have received and remember the favors done to them! Ah, my friends, not even these humane behemoths,—yes, I just mean 'humane', - trampling a harmless insect! A friend of mine once saw a small bug placed on a stone and ordered a tame elephant to trample it, —a joke not to be forgotten! But every time the splendid pachyderm raised its legs to step over the stone, neither shouting nor whipping could make it put its foot on the worm! On the contrary, if it was ordered to put the worm Take it away, it will happily "grasp" the bug carefully with its flexible "elephant trunk hand", and then set it free! Bonkers, now you want to say that elephants are not kind, generous, and no more than any other animal, Is it more noble to include even monkeys and dogs? Shouldn't it be conceded that the Hindus endowed elephants with intelligence almost equal to man's?"
At this point, it was only fitting that Odd took off his hat and concluded his lavish speech by paying tribute to the fearsome herd that followed us steadily.
"Excellent talk, Captain Ord!" said Colonel Moreau, laughing. "You are really a loyal defender of elephants!"
"But am I quite right, Colonel?" asked the captain.
"It's possible you're right," Bonkers replied, "but I'm more convinced by Sanderson's claim that, as a mahout, he's an expert on elephants."
"What about your Mr. Sandersson?" cried the captain, in a tone of contempt.
"He says that elephants are nothing more than ordinary animals of moderate intelligence, and that the most astonishing behavior we have seen of them arises only from a kind of slavish obedience to the surreptitious orders of their handlers."
"It's unreasonable!" Captain Ord became excited.
"And," continued Bonkers, "he also noticed that, whether in sculpture or religious painting, the Indians never used the elephant as a symbol of wisdom, preferring the fox, the crow, and the monkey! "
"I object!" Odd yelled, moving his arms up and down like a telescoping elephant's trunk.
"It's okay to object, Captain, but you have to listen!" Bonkers didn't budge. "Sanderson also says that what is special about elephants is their capacity for maximum obedience—which presumably gives them a beautiful hump in their skulls! He also points out that elephants fall into the Rather 'childish' traps, - that's the word: 'childish' - such as deep pits roughly covered with branches. And they make no effort to escape! He noted that the grounds in which the elephants were enclosed were It is impossible for other wild animals to be driven in! Finally, he also proved that those elephants who had been captured and then escaped were caught again in a very simple way, so easy to damage their 'rationality'! The lessons of the past have not taught them even to be cautious!"
"Poor guys! Look at what this Mr. Engineer has reduced you to!" Captain Ord's tone was very funny.
"Finally, I would add another argument to support my point," Bonkers said, "Elephants resist all methods of domestication because they are not intelligent enough, and it is often difficult to tame them, especially young elephants and female elephants. "
"Another resemblance to man!" replied the Captain. "Aren't men more easily manipulated than women and children?"
"Captain, we are both bachelors, so we can't be experts in this area!" Bonkers said.
"Well, good answer!"
"Anyway," said Bonkers, "I don't think the high opinion of elephants should be taken lightly. It's almost impossible to fight a herd of such size once there's an incentive to provoke them. Hopefully, the fellows who are following us now will have something to do up north. Delay—because we're heading south."
"You are extraordinarily right, Bonkers," rejoined Colonel Moreau, "especially since their numbers have grown to alarming proportions during your argument with Ord!"
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