Nature's Teachings

Fortification then returned to its original principles. Earth took the place of stone or brick; and at the present day, instead of erecting lofty walls and stately towers, the military engineer sinks his buildings as far as he can into the ground, and protects them with banks of simple earth, which is found to be the best defence against heavy shot. There is no masonry in existence that will endure the artillery fire of the present day, and even the solid rock can be knocked to pieces by it. But an earth-mound is a different business, and will absorb as many shot and shell as can be poured into it, without being much the worse for it. See, for example, the Proof-mound at Woolwich, which receives the shot of guns as they are being proved. Now, this mound has undergone perpetual battering for many years, and is as strong as ever. The same thing may be said of the celebrated Mamelon before Sebastopol.

So much for the Fort made by the hand of man. We now come to that which is formed by the feet of animals.

The Elk, or Moose, an inhabitant of Northern Europe, finds itself in great danger during the winter, the wolves being its chief enemies. At certain times of the year there comes a partial thaw during the day, followed by a frost at night. The result is, that a slight cake of ice forms on the surface of the snow, too slight to bear the weight of so heavy an animal, and strong enough to cut the legs of the elk as it ploughs its way along. Now, the wolves are sufficiently light to pass over the frozen surface without breaking it, and accordingly, they can easily run down and secure the elk.

In order, therefore, to counteract the wolves, a number of elks select a convenient spot where they can find food, and unite in trampling the snow down so as to sink themselves nearly to their own height below its surface. The wolves never dare attack an Elk-yard, as this enclosure is termed. In the first place, they are always haunted with suspicions of traps, and do not like the look of the yard; and in the next place, if some of the wolves did venture within the fort, the elks would soon demolish them with hoofs and horns. One of these Elk-yards is seen on the left hand of the illustration.

CHAPTER VII.
SCALING INSTRUMENTS.—DEFENCE OF FORT.—IMITATION.—THE FALL-TRAP

Scaling-forks.—The Climbing-spur and its Use.—Larva of the Tiger-beetle.—Hooks of Serpula.—Mr. Gosse’s Description.—Falling Stones.—A Stone rolling down a Precipice.—The Polar Bear and the Walrus.—Imitation.—The Polar Bear and the Seal.—The Esquimaux Hunter “Seal-talking.”—Enticing Mother by means of Young.—The Fall-trap and its Variations.—The Schoolboy’s “Booby-trap.”—Curious Mode of killing Elephants.—The Elephant-spear.—The Hippopotamus-trap of Southern Africa.—The Mangrove and its Seeds.—The Spring-gun and Spring-bow.

BEFORE dismissing the subject of the Fortress, we will glance at the Attack and Defence, as seen in Nature and Art.

Scaling Instruments

We have already seen how the Battering-ram could be worked against the walls of a fort, or how the assailants could scale them by means of the Testudo. There must, however, be occasions when it would be impossible to bring together a sufficiently large body of men to form the Testudo, or even to place ladders, and in such instances it would be necessary that each soldier should be furnished with an instrument by which he could haul himself up the wall.

There are many examples still extant of such weapons, which were called “Scaling-forks,” and their general appearance may be known by the two right-hand figures of the cut. The handles of these weapons were very long, and by them the soldier hauled himself to the top of the wall. In some of these instruments the shafts were armed with projecting pegs, set at regular intervals, so that they acted as the steps of a ladder, and rendered the ascent comparatively easy.

Many of the long-handled partisans, such as the well-known Jedwood axe, were furnished with a hook upon the back of the blade, so that the weapon served the purpose of a scaling-fork as well as a battle-axe.

The Scaling-fork (German Sturmgabel), which is shown on the right hand of the illustration, was in use somewhere about A.D. 1500. That which is shown next to it is about a hundred years later.

Demmin, from whose work these figures are taken, mentions that at the siege of Mons, in 1691, the grenadiers of the elder Dauphin’s regiment stormed the walls under the command of Vauban, and, by means of the Scaling-fork, carried the breastwork, which they assaulted. As a mark of honour to these gallant men, Louis XIV. ordered that the sergeants of the regiment should carry scaling-forks instead of halberds, which had been the peculiar weapon of the sergeant until comparatively late days, just as the spontoon, or half-pike, was the weapon of the infantry officer from A.D. 1700 to A.D. 1800, or thereabouts.

The English student will remember that in the writings of Sterne, Fielding, and Smollett the half-pike is frequently mentioned as the weapon of a subaltern officer. Demmin states that the last spontoons used in France were carried by the French Guards in 1789.

Perhaps the Climbing-spur may be familiar to some of my readers, and bring back a reminiscence of boyhood. There is nothing more tantalising to a boy than to see a hawk, or magpie nest at the top of a tree which is too large to be climbed in the ordinary way, and which has no branches within many feet of the ground. However, boyish ingenuity has brought almost any tree within the power of a bird’s-nester by the invention of the Climbing-irons.

These are made so as to pass under the foot like a stirrup, and can be secured to the leg by leathern straps, the hooks being, of course, on the inside of the leg. The cut represents the Climbing-iron of the right leg. By means of these instruments, a very large tree can be mounted, the irons being struck firmly into the bark, and the legs moved alternately, and not in the usual manner of climbing. Sometimes the hook of the Climbing-iron is terminated by a single instead of a double point, but the principle is the same in all.

We will now look for similar examples in Nature.

On the right of the left-hand group is shown the larva or grub of the common Tiger-beetle, which is itself a curious creature.

It lives in perpendicular burrows, feeding upon those insects which come within its reach. Its usual position is at the upper part of the burrow, with its jaws widely extended, so as to snap up any insect that may venture too near.

When it has secured its prey, it seeks the bottom of its burrow, makes its meal in quiet, and reascends. How it does so we shall soon see. Towards the end of the body, one of the segments is much enlarged, and has a bold prominence upon the back. On the summit of this prominence there are two horn-like hooks, shaped as seen in the illustration. These hooks are used exactly like the boy’s climbing-spurs, the alternate elongation and contraction of the body answering the same purpose as the movements of the boy’s legs. When the larva has seized its prey and wishes to retreat, all that it has to do is to withdraw the hooks, straighten the body, and down it falls by its own weight.

In the nautical branch of this subject I have already treated of the curious pushing-poles by means of which the Serpula protrudes itself from its tube. As all must have noticed who have seen these creatures alive, the Serpula protrudes itself very slowly, but flies back into its tube with such velocity that the eye can scarcely follow its movements. Its difference of motion shows that there must be a difference in the means by which these movements are produced.

Referring to the illustration on page 45, the reader will see that the instruments with which the Serpula propels itself are used just after the fashion of punt-poles, and cannot act with any great swiftness. When, however, the creature wishes to withdraw itself, it employs a curious apparatus, consisting of many rows of little hooks. The points of these hooks readily catch against the lining of the tube, and by their aid the worm jerks itself back with wonderful celerity.

Three rows of these hooks are shown next to the Tiger-beetle larva.

The structure of these remarkable organs is elaborately described by Mr. Gosse in his “Evenings with the Microscope:”—

“If you look again at this Serpula recently extracted, you will find with a lens a pale yellow line running along the upper surface of each foot, transversely to the length of the body. This is the border of an exceedingly delicate membrane, and, on placing it under a high power (say six hundred diameters), you will be astonished at the elaborate provision here made for prehension.”

“This yellow line, which cannot be appreciated by the unassisted eye, is a muscular ribbon, over which stand edgewise a multitude of what I will call combs, or rather subtriangular plates. These have a wide base, and the apex of the triangle is curved over into an abrupt hook, and then this cut into a number (from four to six) of sharp and long teeth.”

“The plates stand side by side, parallel to each other, along the whole length of the ribbon, and there are muscular fibres seen affixed to the basal side of each plate, which doubtless give it independent motion.

“I have counted one hundred and thirty-six plates on one ribbon. There are two ribbons on each thoracic segment, and there are seven such segments. Hence, we may compute the total number of prehensile comb-like plates on this portion of the body to be about one thousand nine hundred, each of which is wielded by muscles at the will of the animal; while, as each plate carries on an average five teeth, there are nearly ten thousand teeth hooked into the lining membrane of the cell, when the animal chooses to descend.”

“Even this, however, is far short of the total number, because long ribbons of hooks of a similar structure, but of smaller dimensions, run across the abdominal segments, which are more numerous than the thoracic. No wonder, with so many muscles wielding so many grappling-hooks, that the descent is so rapidly effected.”

Lastly, we come to the Walrus, whose strangely elongated upper canine teeth can be used for just the same purposes as the scaling-fork or climbing-spur. As, however, reference has already been made to these tusks, in connection with another department of this work, there is no necessity for occupying space with a second description.

Defence of Fort

So much for attack; now for defence.

The simplest mode of defending a fort, or even a mountain pass, is by throwing or rolling rocks and heavy stones against the enemy.

Simple as it may appear, it is a very effective one, as can be well understood by those who have rolled a huge stone down a long and steep slope. The stone goes gently enough at first, but rapidly gains speed, until at last it makes great bounds from the earth, tearing and crashing through everything as if it had been shot from a cannon.

I have seen a stone which was too heavy to be lifted, and had to be prised over the edge with levers, spring completely through the topmost branches of a high tree, scattering the boughs in all directions, and then, alighting on another stone, split into many fragments, just like the pieces of a burst shell. That one stone would have swept off a whole party of soldiers had they encountered it while trying to ascend the slope.

This invention has also been anticipated in Nature.

Putting aside the obvious reflection that the most primitive warriors must have noticed the effects of stones falling over a precipice, we have, in Captain Hall’s “Life with the Esquimaux,” a curious account of the Polar Bear and its mode of killing the Walrus. Gigantic as is this animal, and terrible as are its tusks, the Polar Bear will sometimes attack it in a very singular manner. The Bear springs on a sleeping Walrus, and clings to its shoulders with one paw, and with repeated blows from the other, fractures its skull.

Still, the combat is sure to be a severe one, and so the Polar Bear will, if he can, secure his prey by some other method.

“The natives tell many most interesting anecdotes of the Bear, showing that they are accustomed to watch his movements closely. He has a very ingenious method of killing the Walrus.

“In August, every fine day, the Walrus makes its way to the shore, draws its huge body upon the rocks, and basks in the sun. If this happen near the base of a cliff, the ever-watchful Bear takes advantage of the circumstance to attack his formidable game in this way. The Bear mounts the cliff, and throws down upon the animal’s head a large rock, calculating the distance and the curve with astonishing accuracy, and thus crushing the thick, bullet-proof skull.

“If the Walrus is not instantly killed, or simply stunned, the Bear rushes down to it, seizes the rock, and hammers away at the head until the skull is broken. A fat feast follows. Unless the Bear is very hungry, it eats only the blubber of the walrus, seal, and whale.”

Imitation

As is the case with the Norwegians, the Esquimaux have the greatest respect for the intellectual as well as the bodily powers of the Bear, and avowedly imitate it in its modes of hunting. One of these methods will now be mentioned.

It must first be premised that the Seal is a most wary animal, and when it lies down on the shore to sleep, it takes its repose by snatches, lifting up its head at very short intervals, looking all round in search of foes, and then composing itself to rest again. To approach so cautious an animal is evidently a difficult task, but the Bear is equal to it. The following is Captain Hall’s account:—

“From the Polar Bear the Innuits (i.e. Esquimaux) learn much.

“The manner of approaching the Seal, which is on the ice by its hole, basking in the sunshine, is from him. The Bear lies down and crawls by hitches towards the Seal, ‘talking’ to it, as the Innuits say, until he is within striking distance, when he pounces upon it with a single jump. The natives say that if they could ‘talk’ as well as the Bear, they could catch many more Seals.

“The procedure of the Bear is as follows.

“He proceeds very cautiously towards the black speck, far off on the ice, which he knows to be a Seal. When still a long way from it, he throws himself down and hitches himself along towards his game. The Seal, meanwhile, is taking its naps of about ten seconds each, invariably raising its head and surveying the entire horizon before composing itself again to brief slumber.

“As soon as it raises its head, the Bear ‘talks,’ keeping perfectly still. The Seal, if it sees anything, sees but the head, which it takes for that of another Seal. It sleeps again. Again the Bear hitches himself along, and once more the Seal looks around, only to be ‘talked’ to and again deceived. Thus the pursuit goes on until the Seal is caught, or till it makes its escape, which it seldom does.”

It is remarkable that while this “talk” is going on, the Seal appears to be charmed, raises and shakes its flippers about, rolls over on its side and back, as if delighted, and then lies down to sleep.

Now, the Esquimaux hunters imitate, as nearly as they can, the proceedings of the Bear, but are not so successful. Captain Hall mentions several instances where the native hunter failed even to come within gunshot without alarming the Seal, which instantly plunged into its hole and was lost.

The same author mentions another instance where the Esquimaux hunter has copied the Bear.

When an Esquimaux hunter catches a young Seal, he takes care not to kill it at once, as he wishes to use it as a decoy. He ties a long line round one of the hind flippers, and then drops the little Seal into the hole through the ice by which it enters and leaves the water. The struggles of the young are nearly sure to attract the mother, and when she has discovered its condition the young Seal is cautiously drawn up on the ice. The mother follows, too intent on rescuing her young to think about herself, and, as soon as she is within reach, she is struck with the harpoon.

The Polar Bear, however, preceded the Esquimaux in this mode of hunting. The young Seal lives in a hemispherical dwelling scooped out of the snow, and communicating with the water by means of a hole through the ice. This dwelling will be described and figured when we come to the subject of Architecture.

Finding out, by scent or some other means, the habitation of the young Seal, the Polar Bear leaps upon the snow, bringing his feet together, and with his enormous weight breaking through the roof of the dwelling. He instantly captures the young Seal before it can make its escape. Then, driving the talons of one paw into its hind flipper, he lets it into the hole, and allows it to flounder about in the water. When the mother is attracted to her young, he draws his prey slowly up on the ice. The anxious mother follows, and is at once secured by the talons of the other foot, as is represented in the illustration.

The Fall-trap

This is a stratagem which is often employed in War and Hunting, though its use is mostly confined to the latter. Schoolboys often avail themselves of this principle when they wish to play a practical joke, and to amuse themselves by setting a “Booby-trap.” This trap is easily manufactured, and consists of a partially opened door, with a basin or jug of water balanced upon it. The natural result is, that any one who opens the door without proper precautions receives the jug and its contents upon his head, and is thoroughly drenched.

On the right hand of the illustration is seen a curious spear, the butt of which, instead of being lighter than the head, is very much heavier. The weight, however, is exactly where it is wanted, and indeed, in actual use, is trebled by a mass of tenacious clay, kneaded upon it. This figure is taken from a very perfect specimen in my own collection.

It is an African weapon, not used for war, but for hunting, and, as far as I know, exclusively employed against the elephants. These animals have a way of forming roads or tracks for themselves through the woods, very much like those almost invisible paths which are made by the half-wild sheep of the great Wiltshire Downs, except that they traverse thick forests instead of broad downs.

The native hunters know all the elephant paths, and if a herd of elephants be seen approaching, the path which they will take is tolerably certain.

Armed with this knowledge, the native hunters climb the trees, and seat themselves on the branches which overhang the path, each hunter being supplied with one of these spears. As the elephants pass beneath him, the experienced hunter selects a bull elephant with good tusks, and, taking a careful aim, drops the spear on its back.

On receiving the stroke, the elephant rushes off in mixed terror and rage. As the animal uses the legs of each side alternately, it sways its huge body from side to side at every step. With each movement, the spear also sways about, its weighted end giving it such a leverage, that the sharp edges of the head cut the poor animal to pieces.

Another kind of Fall-trap, which is common in many parts of Southern Africa, is not dependent upon the skill of the hunter, but, like the “booby-trap” above mentioned, is set in motion by the victim.

A figure of this trap is given in the illustration.

If the native hunter can find a spot where the Hippopotamus path passes under an overhanging branch, he makes a simple but most effective trap. He takes a heavy log of wood, and into one end of it he drives a spear-point. The log is then hung with its point downwards to the branch, the rope which is connected with its trigger or catch being stretched across the path at a few inches from the surface of the ground, and carried at right angles across the path.

The Hippopotamus takes no notice of the cord, which is usually made of one of the creepers or “bush-ropes” that are so common in hot countries. No sooner, however, does its foot strike the cord, than the trigger is released, and down falls the heavy log, driving its iron point deeply into the back of the victim. Even if the weapon were simple iron, such a wound must be mortal, but, as it is almost invariably poisoned, the wounded animal can scarcely travel forty or fifty yards before it lies down and dies.

One of these traps is shown in the illustration. In the foreground is shown the Fall-trap, pointed with iron, and weighted with large stones at the lower end, so as to bring it down with more force, and to prevent it from falling transversely.

The Spring-gun, once so formidable a protector of our coverts, was managed in a similar manner, except that the missile was discharged horizontally, and not vertically. The gun, loaded with shot, was fixed some eighteen inches from the ground, and a long and slight wire fastened to the trigger. The opposite end of the wire was made fast to a tree or other fixed object, and, as the gun was directed on the line of the wire, it is evident that any one who stumbled against it would discharge the gun, and receive the contents in his legs.

In France the gun was generally loaded with little pieces of bay salt, and I very much pity the unfortunate poacher who came across one of these guns. The pain would prevent him from escaping, and I think that the hardest-hearted of game preservers could not bring himself to prosecute a man who had already suffered so much.

Of a similar character are the Spring-bows which were once common in this country, and are still used in various parts of Asia. A bow and arrow are substituted for firearms, and the bow, after being drawn by the united efforts of several men, is held in its position by a stick, one end of which presses against the centre of the bow, and the other against the string.

A large arrow is then placed on the bow, and a cord is tied to the middle of the stick, led forwards in a line with the direction of the arrow, and fastened, as in the case of the spring-gun. As soon as the line is struck, the stick is jerked from its place, and the arrow is discharged, piercing the body of the trespasser. Tigers, bears, and leopards are the usual victims of this trap.

It is remarkable that in the same country there is a production of Nature which may in all probability have given to the native hunter the idea of the Fall-trap. This is the Mangrove-tree, which is remarkable for the wonderful extent of ground which it will cover, and the nearly impenetrable thickets which it forms. In the present part of the work we have nothing to do with the aërial roots, several of which are shown in the illustration, and only restrict ourselves to the Seeds, and the curious manner in which they are planted by Nature.

In the illustration, on the left hand, the growth of the Mangrove is seen. The drawing is taken from a sketch by the late Mr. Baines, and generously placed at my disposal, as were all his drawings and journals.

The Mangrove is a wet-loving tree, never flourishing unless rooted in mud; and whether the moisture of the mud be attributable to fresh or salt water seems to make little difference to the Mangrove, which, of the two, appears to prefer the latter. Now, the seeds of the Mangrove look very much like elongated skittles, except that one end comes to a sharp point. As they hang on the tree, the point is downwards. When they are ripe, they fall from the branch, and by their own weight are driven deeply into the mud, where they develop roots and leaves, and become the progenitors of the future Mangrove race.

I cannot but think that the native hunter, having seen the tremendous force with which the Mangrove seed buries itself in the mud, has applied the same principle to a weapon which shall bury itself in the body of an elephant.