The Vee-Boers Part 10

Their captors thought little of this, knowing it a thing of common occurrence, and that the legs of young slangvreters are so brittle as often to snap in twain--even from a fall on level ground, if the birds be alarmed, and started suddenly into a run.

The captives were taken on board the raft; but, as it was known that their broken limbs could not be set again, they were humanely killed, to save them from a lingering death. But compa.s.sion had to undergo a still greater trial, at sight and hearing of the parent birds, as they flew frantically around the now untenanted nest, uttering shrill plaintive cries. But the Caffres and Hottentots, callous to pity, made light of their anguished demonstrations; and, hoisting the tow-rope over the mimosa-bush, once more bent themselves along it, and treked on, mirthful and boisterous as ever.

They had not proceeded much farther, however, before encountering another incident, of a less pleasant nature, as though meant to rebuke and punish them for their unfeeling behaviour. With the sun high up in a cloudless sky, the atmosphere had become hot as the inside of a gla.s.s-house; so sultry as soon to put an end to their merry caperings.

Instead of jumping about, and playing tricks on one another, they were now contented to move soberly and slowly along--even letting the tow-rope drag the ground. The thick hawser of raw hide was no light weight in itself, to say nothing of the huge thing that needed pulling along.

Jan Van Dorn, with others upon the raft, began to chafe at the slow progress they were making; the baas at length calling out to them to mend their pace. As he spoke commandingly, expecting obedience, what was his surprise to see them drop the tow-rope as if it had been a bar of red-hot iron, and at the same time recommence capering about! But their antics were now of a different kind, both legs and arms in violent agitation, as though one and all had become suddenly afflicted with the malady of Saint Vitus! Their voices, moreover, had quite a different tone; no more in jest or laughter, but cries and exclamations betokening pain. So shouting, and wildly gesticulating, some ran out on the open veldt, others to and fro along the bank. But most of them made a rush down to the river, and plunging in, swam off for the raft. Not till they were close up to it, did the cause of their debandade become known to those on board; then by their seeing over the head of each swimmer a swarm of insects easily recognisable as bees. Each had his own escort of them; the bees infuriated, and spitefully buzzing, as at intervals they darted down to inflict their stings. All was understood now. The trailing hawser had caught upon a hive, to make wholesale ruin of it; and the incensed insects were taking revenge for the destruction of their honeyed store.

As the swimmers came on, it was seen that the Caffres, protected by their thick lanigerous mops, suffered least; while the Hottentots, with scantier covering of wool, had to keep constantly ducking their heads under water.

All this was highly provocative of mirth to the people on the raft, and most of them were now in convulsions of laughter. But not long to continue it; scarce a minute more, till they had convulsions of another and very different kind. For soon as the retreating towers climbed upon deck, 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 that arose now. Women shrieked as they rushed in under the canvas tilts, tugging their children after, all in wild hullabaloo; while the young Boers leaped about, arms up and buffeting the air, as so many Don Quixotes fighting imaginary windmills. Even the trio of grave, phlegmatic baases were forced to take part in the grotesque saltatorial performance!

Nor was it so soon over, but kept up for nigh twenty minutes' time; till the last bee got killed, or driven from the raft. But before this could be done, scarce anybody escaped without a sting; some of the towers first attacked having eyes "bunged up," and features so swollen as to be well-nigh obliterated. Neither was this the worst, or at least the whole of it. For in addition to the physical pain, there was a mental one. They had heard of a species of bee, inhabiting that very part of Africa, whose sting is poisonous, resulting in certain death. No wonder at their apprehensions being keen, even to torture. Nor did they get over them, with full confidence restored, for days after; not till the swelling had gone down, and all suspicious symptoms disappeared.

Note 1. The Secretary Bird (_Serpentarius reptilivorus_) called _Slangvreter_ (snake-eater) by the Boers. It is held in high esteem by the South African colonists, on account of its services as a destroyer of reptiles; and there is even a heavy fine, imposed by law, for killing one of these birds.

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.

HIPPOPOTAMUS HUNTING.

While the battle with the bees was progressing upon the raft, the same enemy was being fought on the bank by the towers who had stayed there; seven or eight of whom could not swim. Some of these had leaped into the river, where they saw it was not of a depth to drown them, the rest running off over the veldt. Equally ludicrous was the behaviour of both parties. They in the water having waded in, deep as was safe, there stopped. But as the bees followed, and were still buzzing about their heads, they had to keep ducking under water, bobbing up and down, as boys in their first essays at diving. Those who remained on land rushed wildly hither and thither, at intervals bounding up like springboks, all the while sawing the air with their arms to an accompaniment of dolorous cries. It was some time before the towing could be resumed, every one busy doing his best to allay the pain from stings received. But as the raft had now nigh come to a stop, the voice of the head baas was once more raised in command; the hawser fished up out of the water, and again taken ash.o.r.e; then a detail of fresh hands following to man it, the towage was continued as before.

But the rope was no longer allowed to trail. Heavy though it was, and still hot the sun, care was taken to keep it clear of the ground, with a sharp look-out for bees' nests; several others that were encountered being given a wide berth.

Fortunately for all, this toilsome trek did not need to be of long duration. At the lower end of the straight reach there was a bend in the river, rounding which they once more caught the current in strength sufficient to carry the raft briskly along. So the towers were called back on board; the hawser drawn on deck, and stowed away in a coil for future service of a similar kind, should it be required.

The rafters were just beginning to congratulate themselves on the smooth, easy gliding again, with a satisfactory rate of speed, when they observed that this last was gradually increasing. But not slowly; instead, with a rapidity to give them cause for apprehension. It was a change from one extreme to the other, a revulsion of feeling sudden as complete. But an hour before they had been chafing at still water; now did they as little like it running--their minds filled with a fear of rapids below.

Just such there proved to be; a chain of them, one succeeding another, for the next twenty leagues of the river's course. It was where the land surface sloped down from the high plateau of the interior to the low-lying belt of the coast. But luckily by a gentle incline; had there been any abrupt escarpment, a cataract in the stream would have been the consequence, and possibly the raft gone over it, so bringing the adventures of our Vee-Boers, with their lives, to a termination, there and then.

As it was, they encountered no waterfall, only rapids; which, by a dextrous use of the poles, with one or other of the Macobas all the time at the steering oar, they succeeded in safely running. It was often a close shave though, with wreckage imminent more than once. Once, indeed, the raft grounded upon a subaqueous reef, and threatened going to pieces. But what with the buoyant koker-booms, the reliable lashings of Baavian-touw, and the skill of the Lake Figam boatmen, it was got off again without serious damage.

Rejoiced were all when at length a.s.sured that the last of the turbulent rushes had been run, and they were once more in a tranquil current, with the a.s.surance of its extending to a far distance beyond them. They had this confidence from the changed character of the stream, and the scenery on its banks. It now coursed through flat, alluvial land, on both sides wooded to the water's edge; the trees of great height, and broad leaved, with that lush luxuriance of underwood only found in tropical forests.

Thenceforward it was all plain sailing, and easy; though the steerers had a hard enough task, and required to be continuously at it. For the stream was now winding, often nigh back upon itself like the letter S, and at times near to being as the figure 8. Here, again, it was too deep for polling, but neither were the oars resorted to. Without them the raft made way averaging a league to the hour, and with this all were contented. The Boers of South Africa, as their ancestors by the Zuyder Zee, take things easily. Besides, the rainy season would not set in for another month, and in less than half that time, barring accidents, they should reach the reported Portuguese settlement by the river's mouth.

Thence, getting out to sea, they would escape the fever danger.

Thus reliant, they allowed the raft to glide on, giving it no aid of oars, save the steering one, at which the two Macobas took turn and turn about, having all the work to do. The rest of the people did little or nothing, though the young Boers were busy enough. But with sport, not work; their activity consisting in a display of shooting skill. Large birds were all the time hovering overhead, or flying past--cranes, pelicans, flamingoes, vultures, and eagles--and to bring one of these down with a bullet was the feat on which bets were made.

Many so fell, and doubtless more would have fallen; but before they had been long thus engaged, an order was issued for them to desist. It came from Jan Van Dorn, who had just conceived a grand economic scheme, suggested by something he saw in the river. This was a hippopotamus, or rather several; for since leaving the foot of the rapids, numbers of these amphibia had been observed, some waddling about upon the banks, others swimming to and fro in the water, the cows with calves on their backs; still others at rest on the surface as if asleep, with white birds--a species of sea-gull--perched upon their shoulders. Even those moving about had each its quota of such perchers, now and then affording an amusing spectacle, as the unwieldy quadrupeds sank under water, forcing the birds to take wing with an odd air of bewilderment. Not so different was the behaviour of the quadrupeds themselves, as they saw the raft bear down upon them, and go drifting by--a sight altogether new to them. They may have seen canoes, water-horses, and other contrivances of river navigation in use among the natives, but never a craft like that--never one of such monstrous dimensions. And a monster it must have appeared to them, as at intervals it belched forth flame and smoke, accompanied by the loud reports of the roers.

With heads raised on high, the hippopotami responded to all this in loud snorts, groans, and bellowing, more in astonishment than alarm. There was also a tone of defiance in it which gratified the ear of the old jager, making known to him that he was in a river where these animals had rarely, if ever, been hunted. This meant money, should the opportunity be taken advantage of, and he was not the man to let such a chance slip. Hence his having ordered the young Boers to cease firing at the birds, the _zeekoes_ [Note 1] offering a mark better worth powder and ball. So, from that moment, not one was pa.s.sed within shot-range but had a bullet lodged in its body, and a second if the first failed to kill it; sometimes a whole volley, when needed to make death sure.

Rarely was there a call for such wholesale expenditure of ammunition.

Most of them had slain zeekoes before, and knew the exact spot to aim at; that most vulnerable being midway between eye and ear. With marksmen skilled as they, misses were rare; and the crack of a gun might be taken as sounding the death-knell of a hippopotamus.

While engaged in this practice, they became witnesses of an odd spectacle afforded by an old bull, which had been fired at and hit just behind the ear, too far back to give him his death wound. It seemed but to drive him crazy; as he commenced spinning round and round on the water, as a sheep in a pasture field, attacked by the "turn giddies."

But he was not permitted to make many gyrations, ere a volley from the raft brought his spin to an abrupt termination, along with his life.

Thus, day after day, was slaughter made among the zeekoes, as the rafters went on down the river. Not wanton slaughter; but in pursuance of that scheme of economy the head baas had got into his head, now known, and approved of by his a.s.sociates. How could they help approval, as they looked on a pile of hippopotamus teeth that lay on the raft's deck, every hour growing bigger, each fresh pair added being as so much money put into their pockets?

All this was satisfactory enough, but nothing to what awaited them farther down. As they drew near the coast, they came upon an islet lying centrally in mid-stream, at a place where the river was more than a mile in width. They sighted it just before sunset; and, knowing the night would be moonless and pitch dark, it was determined to bring-to at the islet, and remain by it till morning. So the raft's head was set for it, without much change of course, as they had been already bearing nearly straight down upon it. When near, they saw it was selvedged with tall reeds, of the kind called palmit, which, standing in the water, formed a belt all round it, interrupted only at the upper end, where an open list led into the firm dry land. It was a sort of natural ca.n.a.l, no doubt due to the water being there too deep for the palmits to get root. It was just wide enough to admit the raft; and without further ado this was run into it, and "docked."

By this it was too dark for them to make out what lay beyond the immediate proximity of their moorings, though the staging-plank was run out, and some landed to ramble about a bit. When morning came, it was seen that the islet had an area of some eight or ten acres, all gra.s.s-covered; and, strange to say, the gra.s.s all withered, though but a foot or two above the level of the river's water. Its brown colour strikingly contrasted with the vivid green of the palmits forming its periphery; and suggested a gorgeous picture-frame, from which the work of the artist had been removed, leaving nought behind but the rough backing of boards. Neither tree nor bush grew upon it; their absence indicating that it was subject to annual submergence in the season of rain.

To all this, however, the rafters scarce gave a thought. Nor would they have bestowed a second glance on it, but for what they saw on the water outside; this, an array of zeekoes, in such numbers that the surface was literally flecked with them! They were all around the islet, and over the river, far as the verge of vision--certainly hundreds of them. The spectacle recalled the vast a.s.semblage of elephants encountered higher up; only that the great band of pachyderms were but visitors to the place where they had been seen, while these of the water seemed either to be permanent residents around the islet, or made it a sort of rendezvous.

Here, then, was a grand opportunity for the Vee-Boers to complete the scheme already in progress; in short, almost a certainty of making their fortunes. Nor did they hesitate about the steps that should be taken to profit by it. Instead, it was at once resolved to remain upon the islet, till the ultimate moment when the rainy season might be expected to commence, or the last zeekoe in that quarter be killed.

With like promptness did they enter upon execution. Ere the setting of another sun, the three waggon-tilts were again seen serving as tents, set up in the centre and highest part of the islet--with two hartebeest-houses, constructed of the palmit reeds beside them--while the naked-bodied burden-bearers streamed to and fro between raft and camp-ground, as the links of an endless chain.

Note 1. Zeekoe (Anglice, "sea-cow") is the name by which the hippopotamus is known to the Dutch colonists of South Africa. It is just as inappropriate as that of "river-horse" (hippopotamus).

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.

TO SEA AND HOME.

Let the reader imagine a month to have elapsed since our migrant graziers--for the time turned hippopotamus hunters--pitched their camp on the river islet. They are still in occupation of it; and proof that they have chased the zeekoes to some purpose is seen all around. Under a capacious shed, some hundreds of the animals' teeth lie in heaps, as horns in a tannery, and beside them many bunches of _jamboks_, manufactured from the hides; while piles of _Zeekoe-speck_ [Note 1] and bladders of fat rendered into lard, are heaped up everywhere. During all the month they have had a busy time of it; the young hunters killing hippopotami, while the Hottentots and Caffres did the skinning, whip-making, curing, and "trying out."

Tempted by a chase so profitable in results, and still yielding, they had lingered till the last moment it might be safe. Perhaps too long, was the apprehensive thought of Jan Van Dorn, as one morning he waked up to behold the sky overcast with inky clouds, at the same time hearing the rumble of distant thunder. It was the very morning they had fixed upon for breaking up camp, and moving everything on board the raft. But as yet nothing had been stirred; waggon-tilts, hartebeest-houses, sheds--with all the paraphernalia--standing or piled up as ever.

Neither was hand laid upon them that day, nor on the five days following. For before breakfast could be eaten, the far-off thunder had come near, and was no longer heard in low muttering, but loud reverberation; peal succeeding peal, as if all heaven's artillery had opened fire over their heads. Lightning flashed and forked athwart the clouded firmament, from which fell rain, not in drops, but sheets--a very swill of it.

Five days, and part of a sixth, did the downpour continue without intermission, save in the nights. But these being dark as Erebus, nothing could be done in the way of transferring effects to the raft; while during daylight so thick and blinding was the rain, that to keep under shelter was the only thing thought of.

On the morning of the seventh day, the sky cleared again, and there was a suspension of the storm. But Jan Van Dorn and s.m.u.tz knew it would be only temporary; since now, sure enough, the dreadful periodical rains had set in. So much the more reason for hastening departure from that perilous spot.

As yet, however, their only fear was the fatal malarious fever, likely to ensue. But ere twenty minutes more had pa.s.sed, they were made aware of another danger hitherto unthought of. Preliminary to moving their _impedimenta_ on board the raft, the three baases had gone down to inspect it, with a view to the storage of the cargo, now so much augmented. Never was visit of inspection shorter, or more perfunctory, nor one with more abrupt ending. In fact they could not get upon the raft at all, as the inner end of the plank, that had rested on dry land, was now several yards out in the water--bobbing up and down like a float-stick. There was no obscurity about the cause. The river had risen several feet; and, as they stood regarding it, they could see it was still on the rise. In another hour or two--possibly less--the whole islet would be under water.

Whatever the reason for haste before, it was now more than doubled.

And, needless to say, all possible haste was made; a scene of activity following, with hurrying to and fro. Down came the waggon covers-- canva.s.s, bamboos and all--to be rushed on board the raft, and there dropped without waiting to set them up again; goods and chattels, all the old effects with the new, getting transferred from camp to craft in like expeditious manner.

Everything was on board by noon; and, as luckily no rain fell during the rest of that day, they had all stowed snug before night, and were ready to resume navigation; their last spell of it on that bottom of koker-booms--so hoped they, and believed.

By earliest dawn of the next day the raft was cast loose from moorings, and rowed out into the river clear of the islet. Then went it floating down, though with deck nearer the water-line than ever before. But this, instead of troubling those on board, only gave them gratification; as might be gathered from the words of Jan Van Dorn, spoken after they had got well under way. Seated beside his two a.s.sociates on sheaves of jamboks, all three pipe in mouth, and eyes bent on the heaps of ivory, zeekoe-speck, and lard, the head baas thus unburdened himself:--

"After all, brothers, it's not likely to turn out so bad for us. Look at these!" with a nod towards the varied spoils. "If we can only get them safe into the Durban market, they'll sell for enough to make good all our losses. Ay," he added, with a knowing wink, and a circular flourish of his meerschaum, "with a trifle of profit besides; sufficient to give us all a fresh start, and a good one, once we've treked back to the Transvaal."

"Ya--ya!" was the laconic response of Blom and Rynwald; after which the three sate smoking on in silence; only now and then interchanging grunts of congratulation, as their eyes rested on the valuable commodities heaped up around them.