Paul Chambers - Jumbo: This Being the True Story of the Greatest Elephant in the World

The Elephant Hunters

I believe that I am the oldest acquaintance of Jumbo, as I knew him in his early youth. So wrote the explorer Samuel White Baker, whose unkempt hair, flowing white beard and double-barrelled rifle marked him out as something of an eccentric character in Victorian Britain. Baker had spent over 30 years exploring Africa and Asia, during which time he had accumulated several volumes worth of anecdotes and adventures, but it was his association with Jumbo, the worlds most famous elephant, that persuaded the retired explorer to write to the newspapers to proclaim his long-term friendship with this animal superstar. We must be grateful to Baker, for if he had not chosen to break his silence, the world would never have learned anything of Jumbos traumatic introduction to human society.

Baker first met Jumbo in February 1862, in the remote desert highlands that straddle the border between eastern Sudan and Abyssinia (now Eritrea). This area was about as far from civilization as it was possible for an English gentleman to get: there were no roads, railways or even permanent rivers and, aside from the harsh climate and wild animals, Baker had to contend with hostile tribes, flash floods and bush fires. It was the prospect of adventure that drew people like him to the African interior, and for several months he had been in Sudan exploring the Setite basin in the hope of finding a connection to the River Nile. So it was pure chance that while making his way along the dried-up bed of the River Royan he stumbled across the camp of a party of Hamran tribesmen.

The Hamran were Arabians and, as a fluent Arabic speaker, Baker was able to offer a friendly greeting to the groups leader, Taher Sheriff. Pleasantries were exchanged and Baker was invited to spend the night with the Hamran. Given the dangers present in the area, such as lions, hyenas and the aggressive Bas tribe, Baker happily accepted the offer, and he was taken on a tour of the camp.

Taher Sheriffs appearance told the explorer that he was an Aggageer, or elephant hunter. Much revered in Sudan, the Aggageers could be distinguished from other tribesmen by the extraordinary length of their hair, which was arranged in long ringlets and always parted straight down the centre of the head. Their renown came from their ability to hunt large animals, including elephants and rhinoceroses, using just a horse, a two-edged sword and a small shield. Death and serious injury were common, and it was said that a true Aggageer would die not peacefully in his bed but beneath the feet of a rampaging elephant.

Baker was perfectly aware of the Aggageers reputation and knew that they made a living from selling ivory, bone and hides from the elephants they killed. So he was somewhat surprised to see at their camp several temporary pens holding a variety of live wild animals, including three giraffes, several young antelopes, a juvenile rhino and two baby elephants. Baker had never heard of the Hamran taking the trouble to capture their prey alive, and as they all settled down to a dinner of wild partridge he asked his hosts what purpose the little menagerie could possibly serve.

Taher Sheriff explained that he and his men had been contracted to capture living animal specimens for export to European zoos. The man who had hired them was one Johan Schmidt, who lived in Kassala, a frontier military town about a hundred miles to the north. Schmidt was prepared to pay a few dollars for an antelope or bird of prey, up to $20 for a good giraffe and as much as $50 for an elephant calf. To the Hamran such sums were a fortune, so they had happily set off into the desert in search of live prey.