CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.
LEGS EASILY BROKEN.
The towers had advanced but a very short way when an incident arose,illustrating a strange ornithological fact--indeed, so strange as toseem apocryphal. While pulling onward with shouts and laughter, theysaw before them two large birds, which all knew to be _Slangvreters_[Note 1],--easily recognisable as such by their slender bodies, thickaquiline beaks, and long stilt-like legs. But still more, by the spikeof plumelets growing out of their crowns with a backward slant; which,from a fancied resemblance to the old-fashioned quill-pen stuck behindthe ear of clerk or scrivener, has earned for them the more common titleof "Secretary birds." When first observed, they were out on the openveldt serpent-hunting. One had even seized a large green snake, borneit aloft into the air, and was in the act of dashing it to the ground,where the other, with outstretched neck and vibrating wings, was waitingto pounce upon it. They were but a little out of the way of the towers,who expected to see them drop the snake, and retreat further, or carryit away. They did drop the snake, but instead of making off, drewnearer with a rush, half running, half flying; nor stopped they tillclose up, and direct on the path the towing party must take. Not toremain at rest there, but with continued fluttering around a mimosa-bushthat grew upon the bank--all the while screaming affrightedly.
There was no mystery about their behaviour, strange as it appeared. Itscause was declared by cries, a sort of guttural rattling, which cameresponsive out of the mimosa, where a nest was now descried with youngin it. It was an immense cluster of sticks loosely put together,through which the long legs of the two young secretaries--for there wasbut a pair--hung dangling down. By this the towers were beside it, anda scramble ensued to get hold of the chicks, the old birds having atlength despairingly forsaken them, though still tarrying near. But theyoungsters were not to be caught so easily. Nearly full-fledged andgrown, before hand could be laid on either, they bolted out of the nest,and struck off in run over the veldt, flapping their wings to assistthem. Half a dozen of the men followed, eagerly bent on capture. Forthe slangvreter is a favourite pet with the South African Dutch; oftentamed and kept as a protector of the poultry-yard. But notwithstandingthe swiftness of some of their pursuers, the young secretaries, runninglike ostriches, would doubtless have escaped, but for an accidentdepriving them of the use of their limbs. Traversing the line of theirretreat was a fissure in the ground, and into it both tumbled headforemost, from their eyes being all on the pursuers behind. It was adry rain-gulch, so shallow, it seemed as though the birds might easilyhave got out again, and continued on. So could they, and would, hadtheir legs but held good, which they did not. Instead the youngsecretaries lay struggling at the bottom of the gulch; and when takenup, it was found that one had both legs broken, the other a leg and awing!
Their captors thought little of this, knowing it a thing of commonoccurrence, and that the legs of young slangvreters are so brittle asoften to snap in twain--even from a fall on level ground, if the birdsbe alarmed, and started suddenly into a run.
The captives were taken on board the raft; but, as it was known thattheir broken limbs could not be set again, they were humanely killed, tosave them from a lingering death. But compassion had to undergo a stillgreater trial, at sight and hearing of the parent birds, as they flewfrantically around the now untenanted nest, uttering shrill plaintivecries. But the Caffres and Hottentots, callous to pity, made light oftheir anguished demonstrations; and, hoisting the tow-rope over themimosa-bush, once more bent themselves along it, and treked on, mirthfuland boisterous as ever.
They had not proceeded much farther, however, before encounteringanother incident, of a less pleasant nature, as though meant to rebukeand punish them for their unfeeling behaviour. With the sun high up ina cloudless sky, the atmosphere had become hot as the inside of aglass-house; so sultry as soon to put an end to their merry caperings.Instead of jumping about, and playing tricks on one another, they werenow contented to move soberly and slowly along--even letting thetow-rope drag the ground. The thick hawser of raw hide was no lightweight in itself, to say nothing of the huge thing that needed pullingalong.
Jan Van Dorn, with others upon the raft, began to chafe at the slowprogress they were making; the baas at length calling out to them tomend their pace. As he spoke commandingly, expecting obedience, whatwas his surprise to see them drop the tow-rope as if it had been a barof red-hot iron, and at the same time recommence capering about! Buttheir antics were now of a different kind, both legs and arms in violentagitation, as though one and all had become suddenly afflicted with themalady of Saint Vitus! Their voices, moreover, had quite a differenttone; no more in jest or laughter, but cries and exclamations betokeningpain. So shouting, and wildly gesticulating, some ran out on the openveldt, others to and fro along the bank. But most of them made a rushdown to the river, and plunging in, swam off for the raft. Not tillthey were close up to it, did the cause of their debandade become knownto those on board; then by their seeing over the head of each swimmer aswarm of insects easily recognisable as bees. Each had his own escortof them; the bees infuriated, and spitefully buzzing, as at intervalsthey darted down to inflict their stings. All was understood now. Thetrailing hawser had caught upon a hive, to make wholesale ruin of it;and the incensed insects were taking revenge for the destruction oftheir honeyed store.
As the swimmers came on, it was seen that the Caffres, protected bytheir thick lanigerous mops, suffered least; while the Hottentots, withscantier covering of wool, had to keep constantly ducking their headsunder water.
All this was highly provocative of mirth to the people on the raft, andmost of them were now in convulsions of laughter. But not long tocontinue it; scarce a minute more, till they had convulsions of anotherand very different kind. For soon as the retreating towers climbed upondeck, the bees, forsaking them, attacked every one indiscriminately--white, black, and yellow all the same. The shouts and gesticulations,heard and seen hitherto, were nothing to compare with the racket thatarose now. Women shrieked as they rushed in under the canvas tilts,tugging their children after, all in wild hullabaloo; while the youngBoers leaped about, arms up and buffeting the air, as so many DonQuixotes fighting imaginary windmills. Even the trio of grave,phlegmatic baases were forced to take part in the grotesque saltatorialperformance!
Nor was it so soon over, but kept up for nigh twenty minutes' time; tillthe last bee got killed, or driven from the raft. But before this couldbe done, scarce anybody escaped without a sting; some of the towersfirst attacked having eyes "bunged up," and features so swollen as to bewell-nigh obliterated. Neither was this the worst, or at least thewhole of it. For in addition to the physical pain, there was a mentalone. They had heard of a species of bee, inhabiting that very part ofAfrica, whose sting is poisonous, resulting in certain death. No wonderat their apprehensions being keen, even to torture. Nor did they getover them, with full confidence restored, for days after; not till theswelling had gone down, and all suspicious symptoms disappeared.
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Note 1. The Secretary Bird (_Serpentarius reptilivorus_) called_Slangvreter_ (snake-eater) by the Boers. It is held in high esteem bythe South African colonists, on account of its services as a destroyerof reptiles; and there is even a heavy fine, imposed by law, for killingone of these birds.