CHAPTER SEVEN.
The constant mutterings and roarings which saluted our ears during thenight, made us suspect that we should not obtain much game in theneighbourhood, besides which we should run a great risk of beingattacked while out shooting. We therefore struck camp, and proceeded onto the northward. The country in many places was rocky, and thoughthere were no mountains of any great height there were savage defilesthrough which we had to pass, the sides of the cliffs being covered withbrushwood and creepers, and in some spots with tall trees. We were notafraid of being attacked by natives, but notwithstanding we always sentout scouts on our flanks and ahead.
We had gone on some distance when Toko, who was leading, came hurryingback.
"I have seen a strange sight, which I would rather not have seen," heexclaimed.
"What is it?" asked my uncle.
"Lions, a whole army of them. They seem determined to stop our way," heanswered.
"If there were a hundred of them they should not do that," replied myuncle. "We'll have a look at the gentlemen. We shall soon drive themoff if I mistake not."
As it would have been imprudent to carry the cattle and horses into theneighbourhood, a halt was called, and the blacks were left in charge ofthe animals, while we, with Hans Scarff, prepared to ride forward.
"Stay!" said Harry. "I think we have got something to send them to therightabout, if our shouts fail to drive them away." And going to thewaggon he produced half-a-dozen rockets.
"One of those will do," observed his father, "for we may want the restfor another emergency. However, you can carry a couple in case oneshould fail."
Led by Toko, we proceeded along the defile, when, on reaching some highground, we saw, collected together below us among the rocks, an immensenumber of lions. There must have been several families, fathers andmothers with their young ones. What could have brought them together tothat spot, it was difficult to conjecture. Toko declared that they knewwe were about to pass that way, and had assembled for the purpose ofattacking us. Of course such an idea was ridiculous; however, therethey were, and had we passed close to them, they might have committedserious havoc among our cattle, although we should no doubt have shotdown many of them. They must have seen us, from the way they lashedtheir tails and muttered; while, from the loud roars which three or fourof the elders gave forth, it was pretty clear that they meant mischief.
We, however, rode forward determined to drive them away. Harry and I,in the meantime, got the rockets ready to fire in case our shouts shouldfail to produce the desired effect. As we got nearer there was ageneral movement among them. As we shouted they roared in return,apparently not being alarmed by the sound of our voices.
"We must not remain unarmed, so let only three fire at a time, while theothers reload," said my uncle. "Now fire!"
As the smoke cleared away, it seemed doubtful whether any of the shotshad taken effect, as the lions did not move from the spot they occupied.
"I suspect they are waiting for the appearance of a herd of `gemsboks,'and that they will not give up the chance of catching their prey,"observed my uncle.
"We must disappoint them then," said Mr Welbourn. "Harry, get one ofyour rockets ready, and pitch it into the middle of them directly afterwe fire our next volley."
We had got the tube fixed and placed at the proper elevation. We had towait until those next to fire had discharged their rifles, when two ofthe lions were evidently badly wounded, but even this did not make themtake to flight. Harry then applied the match to the rocket whichpitched in the midst of the congregated lions. The effect waselectrical. Seized with a panic, away they all scampered over the rocksat a greater rate than I had ever before seen lions run. None stoppedfor the others. One with his spine injured lay on the ground. Twoothers dropped before they had got far, while the remainder were soonout of sight.
"The brutes will not come back to this locality," exclaimed my uncle."We must now put the other ones out of their pain."
A rifle ball sent through the head of each quickly did this. Rapidlyskinning them, we left the carcases to be devoured by the birds of prey,which almost before we got out of sight appeared in the air; foralthough hyaenas and jackals are said to keep aloof even from a deadlion, the vulture tribes possess no such awe for the monarch of thewilds.
Returning to where we had left our cattle, we at once moved forward,anxious to get out from among the rocky defiles as soon as possible.Scarcely had we emerged from them, than we saw in the distance anenormous herd of deer, which Mr Welbourn at once pronounced to be"pallah." As they approached we drew on one side before we werediscovered. First came a stag, a magnificent animal of a bay colour,fading into a whitey-brown, with elegantly, somewhat harp-shaped horns,marked with rings, and a black semi-circular mark on the croup by whichit could be at once distinguished. Its feet were of a jetty hue.Though it might have seen us, it continued walking on in a sedatemanner, the rest following their leader with a confidence which showedthat they must put implicit trust in him.
My uncle and Hans, at once dismounting, crept towards the herd; and,waiting until the greater number had passed, fired together, when threeof the animals fell dead. The remainder, instead of turning to fly,dashed forward to fill up the gaps in their line, the whole moving on ata much greater speed than before. Two others, however, were killedbefore the herd made their escape through the pass towards which theywere directing their course.
Had we not driven away the lions, probably many more would have beenkilled by them. We at once carried off the five which were destined forprovisioning our party, and loaded our waggons with their skins andhorns.
We were now approaching a part of the country where we hoped to find agreater number of elephants than we had yet met with, our chief objectbeing to obtain their tusks; although nothing came amiss, rhinoceroshorns, skins, or ostrich feathers; the latter especially, from theirsmall bulk, were really of more value than elephant tusks.
We were now crossing a wide plain with rocks. Here and there wereant-hills, by the side of each of which grew a dark-leaved tree calledthe "Mollopie." Near our camp was a rain-pool, at which our animalswere watered. Jan here captured a large frog in which, when he cut itopen, for the purpose of preparing it for cooking, he found a wholemouse, two or three ants, and several other insects.
In the morning our people informed us that they had heard the roaring ofa lion during the night at a neighbouring pool; and as there was a greatlikelihood of his paying a visit to the camp, to make a feast off ouroxen, we determined to dispatch him before going out to hunt.
As we approached the pool, the noise was again heard.
"He must be in a thicket close by," exclaimed Harry.
But every thicket round was well beaten, and no lion appeared. At lastI heard Harry laughing heartily, and saw him pointing to the oppositeside of the pool, where I caught sight of a big frog poking his headabove the reeds. There could be no doubt of it. Though he could notswell himself to the size of a lion, Mr Bullfrog had managed to imitatevery closely his voice, so we returned to camp feeling somewhat ashamedof ourselves, Harry every now and then giving way to a burst oflaughter.
In the open country, where little shelter is to be found, lions are notoften to be met with, and as they can be seen long before they approach,no danger is to be apprehended from them. One of the men who hadremained behind followed, bringing one of the bullfrogs which he hadcaptured in the pool. The body, which we measured, was nine inches inlength, by five and a half wide; and the hind legs, from toe to toe,eighteen inches. On being cut open a young bird which it had latelyswallowed was found in its inside.
I, having completely recovered the use of my foot, arranged with Harrythat we should make another expedition together in search of game. Weagreed that Jan should accompany us, and just as we were starting Hansoffered to go. We would rather have dispensed with his company, as hewas not a favourite with either of us. Mr Welbourn, my uncle, Toko,and two or three Makololoe
s were to set off in another direction. Theycharged us not to go beyond a _vlei_ or pool, which we had heard of fromthe Makololoes, about twelve miles to the northward.
This, however, gave us a very wide scope, and we fully expected to comeback with plenty of game of some sort.
We went on for some distance without meeting with any live creatures,though we crossed the spoor of numerous elands, buffaloes, giraffes, andoccasionally of elephants. Neither Hans nor Jan knew more of thecountry than we did, but Harry said that he had brought a compass, sothat we should have no difficulty in finding our way, even should cloudsgather in the sky or night overtake us. When, however, he came tosearch for the instrument in his pocket, it was not to be found.
"Never mind," he observed, "as the sky is bright, the sun will guide usby day, and the stars by night, even if we are kept out, and there is noreason why we should be if we turn back again in good time."
On we went, therefore, intending on arriving at the _vlei_, to waituntil some animals should come to drink, which they were sure to do,unless there were other water-holes in the neighbourhood.
We had brought very little food, expecting to be able to supplyourselves with meat and fruits. From the appearance of the country wehad no doubt that we should meet with melons, even though we might notcome across water before we arrived at the _vlei_.
We had, according to our calculation, gone about two-thirds of thedistance without having shot a single animal, when the weather began tochange. Clouds gathered in the sky, and a thick mist swept across theface of the country, such as occasionally, though not often, occurs inthat latitude. We agreed, however, that by turning directly back weshould have to traverse the same region we had just passed over, withoutfinding game, and we should thus be disappointed in obtaining food.This was not to be thought of. I would be far better to go on to wherewe should have every chance of finding it. Hans concurred with us, and,as Jan was always ready to go forward, on we went.
In consequence of being shaded from the rays of the sun, we were betterable to travel than usual during the hot hours of the day. We hadreached the part of the country where we had expected to find the_vlei_; but, even though Jan mounted to the topmost boughs of thetallest tree we could find, when he came down he declared that he couldnot discover water.
We therefore again pushed on, until we reached a rocky hill, to thesummit of which we climbed. Not a pool could we see either to thenorth, east, south, or west.
We were now getting both hungry and thirsty, for we had exhausted thewater we had brought in our bottles. We were convinced, however, thatwe must be near the _vlei_, and that some rise in the ground probablyhid it from view. While looking about we caught sight of some animalsof the deer tribe, and Harry and I arranged to go down to try and killone of them, while Hans and Jan were to continue the search for water,and, should they find it, they were to meet us at the foot of the hill,from which they started.
Keeping ourselves among the rocks and shrubs and tall grass, we made ourway in the direction we had seen the deer. As we got nearer Harrypronounced them to be _ourebis_. We were afraid that we should have nochance of getting within shot, for we saw them gliding rapidly along,often bounding several feet into the air, then galloping on again, andonce more bounding on.
"I'll try a dodge I once saw practised," whispered Harry. "Do you liedown with your rifle ready to fire behind yonder bush, and I'll goforward and show myself. They have a good deal of curiosity in theirnature, and I'll try to excite it."
He then placed his rifle and coat and hat on the ground, and creeping alittle forward, to one side of where I lay, he suddenly rose with hisfeet in the air, supporting himself on his hands. How he could manageto maintain that position so long surprised me. I should have had theblood rush into my head and dropped down in a minute had I made theattempt.
All the time I was watching the ourebis; which, no longer leaping about,remained quiet for some seconds, and then with slow and stately stepsadvanced towards the curious object. I had time to examine themminutely. Their colour was a pale tawny above, and white below. Thehorns straight and pointed, and, as far as I could judge, five inches inlength. The animal itself is of no great height, standing not more thantwo feet from the ground, though when it lifts up its head it looks muchtaller. The female of the pair which approached was hornless. On theycame, closer and closer. I was afraid that Harry would drop down andfrighten them away before they had got near enough to enable me to takea sure aim.
I was in as good a position as I could desire, for, though the busheffectually concealed me, I could see them clearly. I dared not,however, move my rifle in the least degree, for fear it should touch theleaves and make the animals suspicious. "Do not fire until they beginto move away, I want to get them up close to me," said Harry, in awhisper.
The animals still, in spite of the danger, came on, until they were nottwenty yards off. At length, it seemed to me, by the way they movedtheir ears, that they were on the point of starting.
I fired, the buck dropped on his fore-legs, and at the same instantHarry threw himself on his feet, lifted his rifle and fired at the doebefore she had got ten paces off. Down she also came utterly helpless,and was quickly put out of her suffering by Harry. The buckinstinctively attempted to defend himself with his horns, but seizingone of them, I deprived him of existence.
We had good reason to be satisfied with the result of Harry'sexperiment. He told me that not only the ourebis but several otherdeer, if attracted in the same way by their suspicions or curiositybeing aroused, can be thus shot.
We lost no time in cutting open our deer, so as to lighten the loads,and the better to preserve the meat. Each was as much as a man couldcarry on his shoulders. We were unwilling, however, to leave any partbehind. Believing that we could carry them better whole than cut up, westaggered along with our burdens, fortunately not having far to go. Onarriving at the spot agreed on, we found that our companions had notreturned. We therefore set to work to collect fuel for a fire, and tocut up one of the animals. So parched had we become, that we couldscarcely refrain from drinking their blood. I had always found,however, that blood rather increased than diminished thirst. We wereboth by this time well versed in wood-craft, and quickly divided theanimal in the most scientific fashion. While we were employed in thismanner, we frequently looked round to ascertain if the two men wereapproaching, but they were not to be seen.
Having finished our task, while I was making up the fire, Harry climbedto the top of the rock, that he might obtain a wider look-out.
"I can see them nowhere," he said, when he came down, "but I caughtsight of an animal which, if I mistake not, is a big lion following ourspoor, or probably it is attracted by the scent of the deer. As he iscoming this way, we must be prepared for him: though he might notcondescend to eat a dead deer, he may take it into his head to carry offone of us living subjects. He is not likely to give us any undue noticeof his approach."
Harry agreed therefore to keep watch while I continued the operations onwhich I was engaged. I soon got some forked sticks, which I ran intothe ground to hold the spits, and on these I placed the venison toroast, but hungry as I was I felt that without water I could scarcelyget down the food I was cooking. Evening was approaching.
"I say, Fred, if those fellows don't come soon, we must set off byourselves, and look out for water. Perhaps some may be found among therocks, or if not, we must cut some wooden spades and dig for it. Thosedeer wouldn't be inhabiting these parts if water wasn't in theneighbourhood."
"It will be too late to commence any search tonight," I observed. "Itis already nearly dark, and the chances are that the lion you saw justnow will pounce down upon us, if we go far from the fire. I wouldrather endure thirst than run that risk."
"Still we must have water," exclaimed Harry; "but you stay here and lookafter the venison, and I'll just wander to a short distance. I do notsuppose the brute will find me; and perhaps, you know, it was not a lionafter
all I saw: it might have been a buffalo or a brindled gnu."
"You said positively it was a lion," I remarked; "for your own sake, aswell as mine, I beg that you will not wander from the camp."
Still Harry, pointing to his mouth, insisted on going. Just as he wasabout to set off, a loud roar, not twenty paces off, reached our ears.
"What do you say now?" I asked. "You don't mean to assert that thatwas the cry either of an ostrich or a bullfrog."
"I wish that it were the latter," he answered; "for then there would bea chance of finding water. However, I'll stay in camp and try to enduremy thirst until those fellows come back--and they're pretty sure to findwater."
I did not like to say that I was not quite certain on that subject. Ihad hopes, however, that even should they have failed to find it, weshould not perish, as I trusted before long we might have a shower ofrain, although none had as yet fallen from the cloudy sky. Some venisonwhich I had put close to the fire was by this time cooked, but it waswith the greatest difficulty that we could get down even a fewmouthfuls.
"I cannot eat another morsel," cried Harry, putting down his knife. "Ifthose fellows don't arrive soon, dark as it is, I must set off by myselfto try and find water; depend upon it, there is some not far off, orthat lion would not come here," and he threw himself, utterly overcome,on the ground.
I tried to cheer him up, and made another attempt to eat some venison,but had to give it up after nibbling at a piece; yet I felt that I couldhave swallowed a hearty meal, if I could have obtained a draught ofwater, however tepid and full of insects it might have been.
We were sitting a short distance from the fire with our rifles in ourhands, prepared for the reception of the lion, should he venture toinvade our camp, when Harry exclaimed, "Hark! I hear footsteps: theymust be those of Hans and your black fellow."
We listened; and I hoped that Harry was right.
"Let us shout!" I exclaimed.
We both together raised our voices. Our hail was answered from adistance. The night air had brought the sound of footsteps much furtherthan I should have supposed possible. It was some time before, by thelight of the fire, we saw the rough, uncouth figure of Hans, followed byJan.
"Have you brought water?" was the first question Harry asked.
"Yah! we have brought water, and have seen plenty of elephants--finecountry for shooting, and we will go there to-morrow."
"Never mind the elephants and shooting now; hand me the water," criedHarry, eagerly.
Hans gave Harry his skin bottle, and Jan hurried up with his to me. Iswallowed the liquid eagerly, hot and nauseous as it was, full, Isuspect, of living creatures; but it tasted like nectar, and I halfemptied the bottle at a draught.
"Now I am ready for the venison!" cried Harry.
"So am I, indeed," said Hans; "for we haven't had anything to eat oncewe left you, and are well-nigh dying of starvation."
"As we were of thirst," I remarked, handing Hans and Jan a large pieceof venison each. They devoured it eagerly, and Harry and I then turnedto and were able to eat a good meal.
"I should like to get some sleep," said Hans; "we will tell youto-morrow of our adventures."
"We are in no hurry to hear them," said Harry; "but I tell you, one ofus must keep a watch, or we may have an unpleasant visit from a lion,who is prowling about in the neighbourhood."
"The cowardly brute won't come near us," said Hans, drowsily. "Thechances are it was a rock you saw in the dusk, or it might have been ajackal."
"But we heard it roar," said Harry.
"Oh, then it was a bullfrog," cried Hans, rolling himself up in hiscloak and lying down.
"Bullfrog or lion, there it is again!" exclaimed Harry, jumping up andseizing his rifle.
There was no doubt about the matter; though the voice of an ostrich at adistance may sound like that of a lion, the roar of the king of theforest is unmistakable when close at hand. Even Hans was convinced, andwas quickly on his feet. It was very certain that we should get no restthat night, unless we could dispose of the intruder. The lion-skin wasalso of value, and we could not allow him to escape with impunity. Weall advanced together, resolved forthwith to shoot the brute; that weshould see him directly we had no doubt. A short distance off, betweenour camp-fire and the spot whence the roar proceeded, was a pile of lowrocks, a spur from a neighbouring hill. We had just reached it, when wecaught sight of the lion who had emerged from behind a thicket a littleway ahead. He seemed at once to look upon us as his foes. Had it beenin the day-time, he would probably have slunk away; but night was hisseason for activity; and, lashing his tail and again roaring loudly, headvanced across the open space below the rocks. Now was the criticalmoment: should we fail to kill him, he might make a desperate spring andknock over one of us. It was settled, therefore, that Harry and Janshould fire first, and then Hans and I, should they fail to kill thebrute: we to try what we could do, they, of course, in the meantime,reloading.
The grand principle in attacking wild beasts is never to allow the wholeof the party to remain unarmed for a moment. The lion did not appearquite to like the look of things. He advanced cautiously, showing hiswhole vast proportions, his huge shaggy mane, and the afterpart of hisbody looking thin and small, but even that was of the size of afull-grown donkey. Twice he stopped, and each time uttered a tremendousroar.
"He smells us, if he cannot see us," said Harry.
Still the creature appeared doubtful whether he would spring towards thesuspected point.
"Now, Harry, let's see what you can do," I whispered.
"I shall be glad if I can knock him over the first shot," he answered.
Harry and Jan's rifles went off at the same moment, and we could heartheir bullets strike, but neither brought the lion to the ground. Hisrage overcame his fears; and lashing his tail and again roaring, he wasabout to spring on us, when Hans and I, taking steady aim at him as herose from the ground, sent our leaden messengers of death through hisbody. He must have leapt up half-a-dozen feet, falling right over onhis head, where he lay struggling for a few seconds; but before we couldleap over the rocks and get near him, he was dead. We signified oursatisfaction at the victory by a loud shout.
"We shall now sleep soundly," said Hans, giving the animal a kick withhis foot.
We repaired to our camp and made up the fire. Though Hans declared thatthere was no necessity for remaining awake, Harry and I agreed to keepwatch and watch until the morning, not feeling at all certain whetheranother lion, or perhaps a leopard, might pay us a visit; or a herd ofelephants, buffaloes, or rhinoceroses, might come our way and trample usto death, while enjoying our balmy slumbers.