Wild Life In Central Africa | by Denis D. Lyell
This book is a simple account of the ripe experience of ten years spent in Central Africa, which is the tract of country known as Nyasaland and North-Eastern Rhodesia. The former protectorate used to be known as British Central Africa, and the latter territory is now amalgamated with North-Western Rhodesia, known collectively as Northern Rhodesia, to distinguish it from Southern Rhodesia, which embraces the old-time territories of Matabeleland and Mashonaland.
| Title | Wild Life In Central Africa |
| Author | Denis D. Lyell |
| Publisher | The Field & Queen (Horace Cox) Ltd |
| Year | 1913 |
| Copyright | 1913, The Field & Queen (Horace Cox) Ltd |
| Amazon | Wild Life in Central Africa |
By Denis D. Lyell, Author of "Hunting Trips in Northern Rhodesia" "Nyasaland for the Hunter and Settler" etc.
I Dedicate These Pages On Wild Life And Sport To My Brothers And Sisters In Memory Of Past Happy Days.
Introductory- For the last ten years I have spent a wandering sort of life in Nyasaland and North-Eastern Rhodesia, so, to get a short and descriptive title, I use the title Wild Life in Central Africa. I am ...
- Chapter I. Remarks On Sport And Making A Home In The Bush
- British East Africa and Central Africa compared—Long-range shooting at game—Somali hunters compared with other natives—Life in a tent unhealthy—Village life and tropical pests—Rats—White ants—Fleas ki...
- Remarks On Sport And Making A Home In The Bush. Part 2
- Having compared British East Africa with this country, I will now go on to give an account of making a camp in the wilderness. In North-Eastern Rhodesia and Nyasaland I have made several big camps, as...
- Remarks On Sport And Making A Home In The Bush. Part 3
- Hornets, especially a variety, native name magu, sting most painfully, and if a bush is touched where they are hanging to their paper-like nests they dart out and sting. 1 have still a lively recollec...
- Remarks On Sport And Making A Home In The Bush. Part 4
- For the verandah another line is made, and this can be marked by deepening the line with a hoe, so that while at work the men's feet will not obliterate the mark. I made my hut 27ft. wide inside, with...
- Chapter II. Shooting In Central Angoniland (Nyasaland)
- A slight description of Central Angoniland—Nyasaland well watered and thickly bushed—The rainy and dry seasons—Grass fires—Cold at night —Plateaux in Nyasaland—Distance walked in Central Africa—Some r...
- Shooting In Central Angoniland (Nyasaland). Part 2
- On May 25, 1912, I went out with several men carrying the cartridge bag, camera, and an axe, and we went along slowly—for it is useless walking quickly, as one makes too much noise and cannot scan the...
- Shooting In Central Angoniland (Nyasaland). Part 3
- Although lions are said to be pretty tough if not hit well forward, a deep wound will probably cause their death ; for being carnivorous feeders their wounds are more liable to suppurate and cause inf...
- Shooting In Central Angoniland (Nyasaland). Part 4
- I had walked some way before I saw any game, when suddenly I saw an eland feeding not far off. On getting near enough for the shot, I saw it was a cow with a particularly good head, so I fired at her ...
- Shooting In Central Angoniland (Nyasaland). Part 5
- Mohammedans will not eat pig and sometimes refuse to touch the animal, and hippo is often barred. In Nyasaland the Yao tribe—called Ajawa by the natives—are Mohammedans, and unless the throat of an an...
- Shooting In Central Angoniland (Nyasaland). Part 6
- There is another variety of this buffalo bean—Angoni name, kasi—which the natives eat by breaking the pods and cooking the beans, from which they remove the hard skins after boiling well. The Achewa r...
- Chapter III. Further Shooting Experiences In Central Angoniland
- Two bull elands shot — One a very large one—Measurements given — Weight of a large eland—Rich fat obtained from elands—Change to my new camp—List of huts made and cost—An insolent native—False evidenc...
- Further Shooting Experiences In Central Angoniland. Part 2
- Bull elands are much taller and heavier than the cows, and the three animals where the male exceeds the female to the most noticeable extent are the elephant, eland, and kudu. The sexes in other game ...
- Further Shooting Experiences In Central Angoniland. Part 3
- On July 2 I shot an oribi and also a reedbuck ram that was running with four does. Reedbuck and oribi are usually seen in couples, although one sometimes sees from three to live of each species togeth...
- Further Shooting Experiences In Central Angoniland. Part 4
- The intense loneliness and monotony of a solitary life, away from others of their own kind, have a bad effect on the minds of many men, as they get morbid and inclined to suffer from melancholia, when...
- Further Shooting Experiences In Central Angoniland. Part 5
- Long Shots At Big Game Sir,—In your issue of July 9 I notice a letter by Canities Adest entitled 41 Long Shots at Stags. I have also seen other letters on the same subject, one by Mr. Dunbar-B...
- Further Shooting Experiences In Central Angoniland. Part 6
- Mr. Radclyffe Dugmore, in his interesting book Camera Adventures in the African Wilds, makes some rather derogatory remarks about the man with the rifle, and there can be no doubt that he and his c...
- Further Shooting Experiences In Central Angoniland. Part 7
- Sir,—I must thank Mr. G. A. Boulenger and Mr. R. Lydekker for their answers in the Field of March 19 with reference to the length of the African crocodile. I have shot a number of crocodiles in the...
- Chapter IV. Hunting Elephant And Other Game
- A good locality for elephants—A large race of elephants—Stretching skins of game—The spoor of three elephants found—One a very large one— Good tracking—Damage done by elephants—Easily killed with smal...
- Hunting Elephant And Other Game. Part 2
- That six to seven tons of bone, flesh, and muscle should drop to a projectile weighing I58grs. seems something like a miracle, but it has been made possible by the ingenuity of civilised man. More ele...
- Hunting Elephant And Other Game. Part 3
- I think Kamwendo was feeling a bit tired also, for he certainly led me through much more open country, but we found no fresh elephant spoor until about 11 a.m.; by which time we had made a long semici...
- Hunting Elephant And Other Game. Part 4
- Not very far from my dead elephant was the dried-up skull of a large bull shot by an officer who once lived at Fort Manning, and Kamwendo told me the tusks were as heavy as the one I had just got. I m...
- Hunting Elephant And Other Game. Part 5
- Night soon falls in the tropics, and the camp presented a lively sight with the many camp fires and the constant chattering of the natives, who were revelling in abundance of meat, and lumps of fat cu...
- Hunting Elephant And Other Game. Part 6
- Many is the shot at game one will get while tramping along these native footpaths, especially if there early in the morning or late in the evening, when the game has not retired to lie up, or when it ...
- Hunting Elephant And Other Game. Part 7
- As it was pretty late, I covered up the two sable and decided to return early next morning and try to find the bull. Next morning I came back with all my men to cut up the meat and to resume the se...
- Hunting Elephant And Other Game. Part 8
- From the path I saw a fine black bull sable a long way off, and he evidently saw me or the porters almost at the same instant, as he started off for safer quarters at once. For the next few weeks I...
- Hunting Elephant And Other Game. Part 9
- As it was now 4 p.m., I knew, if I once began cutting it up, that natives would come in the dark and help themselves ; so I told them they would have to wait until next morning, when I would reward al...
- Chapter V. The Risks Of Big-Game Shooting
- The risks of big-game shooting—Causes of accidents—Men handicapped formerly with inferior weapons—Pluck of old hunters—Killing powers of modern weapons—Selous's adventures—Neumann injured by cow eleph...
- The Risks Of Big-Game Shooting. Part 2
- A good many Indian sportsmen were killed by tigers when using these inferior weapons, and if they had been armed with a 461 of the type mentioned they would likely not have suffered. Mr. Selous quick...
- The Risks Of Big-Game Shooting. Part 3
- If a man is standing slightly to the rear, then the shot should be placed behind the shoulder; if broadside on, then the bullet should be aimed right through the shoulder. Of course, solid bullets sho...
- The Risks Of Big-Game Shooting. Part 4
- A few years ago a Mr. Crosby was killed on the western border of North-Eastern Rhodesia by a bull buffalo which he had wounded and followed. I was told that he knew his •303 rifle was in bad order and...
- The Risks Of Big-Game Shooting. Part 5
- Any medium-bore high-velocity rifle, such as a .350, .360, or .375, would be infinitely better, as they shoot heavy, blunt bullets. One of the largest bags of lions made in British East Africa is t...
- The Risks Of Big-Game Shooting. Part 6
- However, no rule can be laid down, as animals differ greatly as to temperament in different localities, and it is quite impossible to say how any animal will act under given circumstances. As this ...
- The Risks Of Big-Game Shooting. Part 7
- In big-game shooting there are many indirect risks appertaining to the sport which might be considered, and possibly the worst of these is being bitten by a poisonous snake when tramping through rough...
- The Risks Of Big-Game Shooting. Part 8
- I tried the beer and rather liked it, as I was very thirsty, but the locusts were too much for me. Then the headman and some of the villagers took me to the hut, which was a flimsy grass affair, the w...
- Chapter VI. Tracking Game, Licences, And Camp Notes
- Knowledge of tracking useful to the hunter—Scarcity of blood spoor caused by use of modern rifles—The easiest time to track—Difficult country to spoor in—The droppings a good guide to age of tracks—El...
- Tracking Game, Licences, And Camp Notes. Part 2
- There seems to be such shock with modern bullets driven at great velocity that the arteries and blood vessels are seared, and bleeding does not take place. Rifles like the .280, used with a sharp e...
- Tracking Game, Licences, And Camp Notes. Part 3
- I think I have mentioned that the grass fires usually take place in July, August, or September, but it all depends on the duration of the rains, and whether the grass has got dry and yellow enough to ...
- Tracking Game, Licences, And Camp Notes. Part 4
- For the lung shot aim at about six inches behind the shoulder, and pretty high. Shots aimed at the lungs may go high and break the spine, and then the stricken beast will collapse at once. If the lung...
- Tracking Game, Licences, And Camp Notes. Part 5
- The above list is a very generous one, and it is sufficient for any man, in fact it will seldom be found necessary to shoot the full numbers allowed, unless a man is doing little else than travelling ...
- Tracking Game, Licences, And Camp Notes. Part 6
- The slaughter on a big scale is not attributed to sportsmen who visit the country on hunting trips, and are for the most part men of culture and lovers of nature. Nor is it due to collectors of spe...
- Tracking Game, Licences, And Camp Notes. Part 7
- It is pitiful to see a beast like a lion confined in a small cage, and gone in the loins with the want of proper exercise and freedom ; and such an act on man's part is infinitely more cruel than shoo...
- Chapter VII. Memories Of Big Game Hunting
- Old shooting experiences a pleasant memory—Game plentiful near the Luangwa River—Giraffes—Leopard seen—Lion followed into thick grass—Bird life on the Luangwa River—Vultures spotting game— Natives eat...
- Memories Of Big Game Hunting. Part 2
- While living at Mlanje in 1911 some natives came and told me that a lion had killed a bushpig in some thick grass on the slope of a hill. I went off, and, after a walk of five miles or so, came to the...
- Memories Of Big Game Hunting. Part 3
- After that, I used to go there and lie in wait for any crocodile that left the water. I shot several, and I hope the maneater was among them. When we got back with the cloth and told our sad story ...
- Memories Of Big Game Hunting. Part 4
- Then, just before the break of the rains the sky used to turn a molten bronze colour, and the air was sultry and oppressive. As the sun sank in the west it used to tip the peaks and ridges of the Mach...
- Memories Of Big Game Hunting. Part 5
- The natives living near the Luangwa here were much troubled by hippos, which invaded their crops and did almost as much damage as the elephants, so on November 9, 1908, as I had failed to get a shot a...
- Memories Of Big Game Hunting. Part 6
- After smoking a pipe of tobacco we took up the spoor again. Machila, a fairly good tracker, was spooring, and I was walking to one side keeping my eyes ahead and to the flanks. Suddenly I saw a grey o...
- Memories Of Big Game Hunting. Part 7
- Most buffaloes when dying bellow several times, and it is their last good-bye to life. I never hear the sound but I regret killing such splendid animals, for a buffalo is a much pluckier beast than mo...
- Memories Of Big Game Hunting. Part 8
- A few days after this I came on a small herd of elephants, but not having taken out an elephant licence, had to leave them alone. Strange to say I saw this herd within 300 yards of the place where a w...
- Memories Of Big Game Hunting. Part 9
- The oldest animal measured 55m. at the shoulder, and he had rather an abnormal head, for the horns were extremely thick and cobby, though they only measured about 33m. in the curve. This was not a you...
- Memories Of Big Game Hunting. Part 10
- I then went out into the bush to look for another kudu, but without success ; and on returning to the tent I found Marki had absconded, taking with him a small boy who carried his blanket when marchin...
- Chapter VIII - I.— Field Notes On The Game
- The following animals described: Elephant. Rhinoceros. Hippopotamus. Buffalo. Eland. Roan antelope. Sable antelope. Kudu. Common waterbuck. Hartebeest (Lichtenstein's). ...
- Chapter VIII - I.— Field Notes On The Game. Part 2
- Smell is the strongest sense in elephants, and I am sure they will scent human beings at about three-quarters of a mile if the wind is strong and steady. Such being the case, the direction of the wind...
- Chapter VIII - I.— Field Notes On The Game. Part 3
- Rhino flesh is often full of maggots, and the beasts themselves are usually covered with plastered mud, as, like pigs, they delight to wallow in muddy holes. Elephants have the same liking for mud hol...
- Chapter VIII - I.— Field Notes On The Game. Part 4
- Approximate weight, 15001b. Good average horns...... 39m. outside spread. This is one of the finest game animals in the worl...
- Chapter VIII - I.— Field Notes On The Game. Part 5
- When in their prime they may grow horns of from 28m. to 33m., and the former is an average head, the latter quite exceptional. The cows have usually longer and much thinner horns than the bulls, an...
- Chapter VIII - I.— Field Notes On The Game. Part 6
- Sable antelopes used to inhabit a great range of country in Africa, they are still numerous in the country lying north of the Zambesi River, and they are particularly abundant in parts of Nyasaland, P...
- Chapter VIII - I.— Field Notes On The Game. Part 7
- Common Waterbuck (Cobus Ellipsiprymnus) Native Names Chinyanja - Nakodzwe. Chingoni - Chuzu. Approximate weight, 5oolb Good ave...
- Chapter VIII - I.— Field Notes On The Game. Part 8
- Several men have shot situtunga, and Mr. T. A. Barns shot a number in the swamps of Lake Bangweolo. Mr. C. H. Timmler got several on the borders of Lake Young, and I have heard of several being shot n...
- Chapter VIII - I.— Field Notes On The Game. Part 9
- Like other members of its genus they are fond of water, and in the rainy season the natives of Lake Bangweolo kill great numbers by driving them into deep water and then spearing them from canoes. The...
- Chapter VIII - I.— Field Notes On The Game. Part 10
- Only the males bear horns, and they are usually seen in pairs, although a number of pairs may feed and intermingle when feeding. I once counted eight couples of these animals in an undulating valley o...
- Chapter VIII - I.— Field Notes On The Game. Part 11
- I think it is worth putting on record that this species exists here. I know it is plentiful near Shupanga Mission Station, on the south bank of the Zambesi River; but it is a long way from that place ...
- Chapter IX - II.— Field Notes On The Game
- The following animals described : Lion. Leopard. Cheetah. Serval. Zebra. Warthog. Bushpig. Hyaena (two varieties). Wild Dog. Jackal (two varieties). Otter (two varieties)...
- Chapter IX - II.— Field Notes On The Game. Part 2
- The air seemed to vibrate with the sound, and the rats, crickets, and other tropical insects were evidently frightened, as they kept quiet. A dog I had in the hut with me was fairly well scared out of...
- Chapter IX - II.— Field Notes On The Game. Part 3
- Native Names Chinyanja - Ndudzi. Chingoni - Njosi. Approximate weight, 30lb. Good average length, 3ft. 6in. ...
- Chapter IX - II.— Field Notes On The Game. Part 4
- Warthog keep their lower tushes very sharp, as they are constantly rubbing on the flat of the upper teeth ; and although the big tushes are often broken, the lower ones are generally in good order. ...
- Chapter IX - II.— Field Notes On The Game. Part 5
- Considering their moderate weight, their strength is marvellous, and twice I have known them remove a slab of hippo hide which was a good load for two strong men to •carry on a pole, and which presuma...
- Chapter IX - II.— Field Notes On The Game. Part 6
- Otters give a grunting cry, which can occasionally be heard when camped near rivers and lakes. They are found on all the large bodies of water, and a favourite haunt is the muddy swamps surrounding La...
- Chapter X. Native Characteristics, Customs, And Beliefs (Mainly Angoni)
- Most noticeable characteristics of the natives—Internecine war in olden days —Witchcraft and the things it can do—A strange custom with children —Boiling water ordeal—Charms against death—Dead returni...
- Native Characteristics, Customs, And Beliefs (Mainly Angoni). Part 2
- Hyaenas which came to feed on the elephant were the dead followers of the chief who had collected to bewail his loss ; so the natives imbue the most ordinary happenings with superstitious ideas. Af...
- Native Characteristics, Customs, And Beliefs (Mainly Angoni). Part 3
- Now all the youth does is to arrange with the parents and the girl, and then hand over a few shillings, or some cloth or beads, and the girl is his. Then a beer drink usually takes place, and the yout...
- Native Characteristics, Customs, And Beliefs (Mainly Angoni). Part 4
- Old Mpseni seems to have been a rather fiery personage, for he ruled his people with an ft iron hand. An Angoni tells me he remembers often seeing adulterers killed, and this was done by either dash...
- Native Characteristics, Customs, And Beliefs (Mainly Angoni). Part 5
- A person never dies from a purely natural cause in the opinion of the natives. Some enemy has cast a spell on the deceased and caused his or her death. Even if an able-bodied, sound man be killed by a...
- Native Characteristics, Customs, And Beliefs (Mainly Angoni). Part 6
- There are two men living near me at present who lost their ears in the old days, for theft ; and it was a common thing to treat kapolo (slaves) in this way if they stole from their masters. Other ...
- Native Characteristics, Customs, And Beliefs (Mainly Angoni). Part 7
- As a whole, the officials of all the British protectorates and colonies of Africa are a good lot of men, although some of the younger of them are inclined to impress on the natives that they are the ...
- Chapter XI. Various Subjects For The Sportsman And Naturalist
- I.—Protective colouration of animals. II.—Preservation of trophies. III.—Buying secondhand guns and rifles. IV.—Native implements, foods, price of labour, etc. V.—Health in the tropics, an...
- Various Subjects For The Sportsman And Naturalist. Part 2
- Natives cannot skin properly without being taught, and it takes some time to make them proficient. Nothing is better for skinning than a sharp pocket-knife with two blades, one fairly large and the ot...
- Various Subjects For The Sportsman And Naturalist. Part 3
- III.—Buying Second-Hand Rifles And Guns Often a good weapon can be picked up second-hand and several first class London gunmakers sell very reliable firearms of this description, but several points...
- Various Subjects For The Sportsman And Naturalist. Part 4
- These trees were planted by the old Jesuit missionaries over three hundred years ago, and, if they could arise and tell what they had seen in the old slave-trading days, they could many a tale unfold...
- Various Subjects For The Sportsman And Naturalist. Part 5
- There is no doubt Central Africa induces an irritability in white men, and often well educated and sensible men behave here in a way they would never think of doing at home. I have not noticed that li...
- Various Subjects For The Sportsman And Naturalist. Part 6
- If the sportsman is bound for North-Eastern Rhodesia, he can get there via Chinde and Blantyre ; and, if he does not intend to shoot in Nyasaland on the way, his dutiable articles could be sealed and ...
- Various Subjects For The Sportsman And Naturalist. Part 7
- I managed to shoot some very rare birds on the coast, and among them I can mention the following : Little stint (rare so far north), red-breasted snipe (an American species, then having been shot only...
- Various Subjects For The Sportsman And Naturalist. Part 8
- Young sportsmen have much to be thankful for at the present day, for not only have they an abundant literature on sports of all kinds, but the way has been made comparatively easy for them by the spre...
- Various Subjects For The Sportsman And Naturalist. Part 9
- 1. Lightness and handiness. 2. Efficient killing power. 3. Soundness and reliability of mechanism. 4. Possibility of getting ammunition in the country shot in. I here refer to what is call...
- Various Subjects For The Sportsman And Naturalist. Part 10
- As to sights, I think the open broad v best, made very broad with a silver line, or ivory or platinum pryamid, leading to the centre of the notch. These are much quicker in use than any form of peep s...
- Various Subjects For The Sportsman And Naturalist. Part 11
- Cartridge bags as well as gun covers are best made out of green or brown canvas. As to a shotgun, I think nothing is better than a good quality 12-bore hammer gun, bored right cylinder left choke, ...
- Various Subjects For The Sportsman And Naturalist. Part 12
- Quinine, vegetable laxative, calomel, Livingstone's rousers (good for natives), boracic acid powder (most useful), phenacetin, permanganate of potash, carbolic oil, toothache cure, lint, surgical need...
- Appendix
- Ballistics Of The Best-Known High-Velocity Rifles Bore. Weight of bullet in grains. Velocity at muzzle, ft. per sec. Striking energy at muzzle in foot l...
