The Young Colonists Part 13

"That sounds easy and satisfactory enough, d.i.c.k," Mr Humphreys said, laughing; "but one does not jump into these things in a moment. There, you go off to bed, and I will talk the matter further over with Mr Harvey."

d.i.c.k went to bed in high glee. When his father once said that he would talk a thing over, d.i.c.k felt that the chances were very strong that he would give in to his wishes. Mr Humphreys was less influenced by the idea of making a good trading speculation than by the consideration that a journey of this kind would not only give great pleasure to his son, but would be of real benefit to him. It was Mr Humphreys' opinion that it is good for a lad to be placed in positions where he learns self-reliance, readiness, and promptness of action. For himself his farm-work occupied all his thoughts, and he needed no distraction; but for a lad change is necessary. Had d.i.c.k had--as would have been the case at home--a number of school-fellows and companions of the same age, he would have joined in their games and amus.e.m.e.nts, and no other change would have been necessary, or indeed desirable; but in the farm in Natal it was altogether different. The work of looking after a number of Kaffirs planting and watering trees was monotonous, and unbroken, as it generally was, by the sight of a strange face from the beginning to the end of the week, it was likely to become irksome to a boy.

Occasionally indeed d.i.c.k and Tom Jackson would meet and go out on a shooting expedition together; but Tom could seldom be spared, as his father, being shorter-handed than Mr Humphreys, found him of considerable use.

Soon after daylight d.i.c.k was aroused by his father.

"Jump up at once, d.i.c.k; I want you to ride over with a letter to Mr Jackson. We have pretty well settled that you shall go with Mr Harvey, and I am writing to make an offer to Mr Jackson for the use of his waggon for six months."

d.i.c.k gave a shout of delight, and in a very short time had dressed himself, and, having saddled his horse, was dashing at full speed across the veldt. Early as the hour was when he arrived, Mr Jackson was already out in his fields. d.i.c.k soon found him, and handed him the letter, and while he was reading it explained in low, excited words to Tom the mission on which he had come.

"Well, I don't know," Mr Jackson said, when he had finished the letter; "your father makes me a very liberal offer, d.i.c.k, for my waggon and team for six months, on the condition that I allow Tom to accompany them, and he points out that in his opinion a journey of this kind will be likely to develop the boy's character and teach him many things that may some day be of use to him. It comes upon me suddenly, and it seems he wants the waggon and team to be at Newcastle this evening, ready for a start in the morning. He himself is going to ride over there to purchase goods to freight it directly he receives my reply. I must go in and consult with mother before I come to any decided conclusion."

So saying he strode off towards the house.

d.i.c.k, leading his pony, walked after, by the side of Tom, to whom he explained all he knew of the character of the proposed journey.

"Mr Harvey says, Tom, that of course he goes to trade, but that at the same time he does a lot of shooting, both for the sake of the skins and for the meat for the men. He says that he often meets with lions, hippopotami, and sometimes elephants--sometimes they meet with hostile natives."

Altogether the expedition promised an immense variety of adventure. The boys remained chatting outside the house until Mr Jackson came to the door and called them in.

"So you are not contented to stop at home, d.i.c.k," Mrs Jackson said, "and you want to take Tom rambling away with you again? Of course I cannot say no, when my husband is inclined to let him go, but I shall be terribly anxious until he is back again."

"I won't let him get into any sc.r.a.pes, Mrs Jackson," d.i.c.k said confidently.

"I have no faith whatever," Mrs Jackson said, smiling, "in your keeping him out of sc.r.a.pes, but I do think it possible that you may get him out of them after he is once in them. Do be careful, my boys, for the sakes of your fathers and mothers! I know Mr Harvey has been making these journeys for a good many years and has always got back safely, and I have great faith in his experience and knowledge,--but there, d.i.c.k, I must not keep you. Here is my husband with an answer to your father's letter, and as you will have lots to do, and your father will be waiting for this letter before he starts for Newcastle, you had better ride off at once. Good-bye, my boy, for I shan't see you again before you start.

I trust that you will come back safe and well."

Two minutes later d.i.c.k was again galloping across the country, arriving home in time for breakfast.

Mrs Humphreys was in better spirits than d.i.c.k had feared he should find her; but her health had improved immensely since her arrival in the colony, and she was more active and energetic than d.i.c.k ever remembered her to have been. She was able therefore to take a far more cheerful view of the proposed expedition than she could have done the year before, and her husband had had comparatively little difficulty in obtaining her consent to d.i.c.k's accompanying Mr Harvey.

"Your father thinks that it will be for your good, my boy," she said, "and I have no doubt that you will enjoy yourself greatly,--but be sure to be careful, and don't let your high spirits get you into sc.r.a.pes;-- remember how valuable your life is to us!"

"While you are away, d.i.c.k," his father said, "you will remember that you are absolutely under Mr Harvey's orders. As the head of the expedition he stands in the position of the master, and he must receive ready and explicit obedience from all. He is not a man unnecessarily to curb or check you, and you may be sure that he will not restrain you unless for the good of the expedition. You must beware how far you stray from the caravan; the country you are going to is very different from this.

Here, go where you will, you are sure in a short time to come upon some farmhouse, where you may get directions as to your way. There, once lost, it is upon yourself alone you must depend to recover the track.

The beasts of prey are formidable opponents, and a lion or an elephant wounded, but not killed, could rend you into pieces in a moment; therefore you must be prudent as well as brave, obedient as well as enterprising. You have already shown that you have plenty of presence of mind, as well as of courage, and in nine cases out of ten the former quality is even the more necessary in a country such as that you are now going to. Courage will not avail you when a wounded leopard is charging down upon you, and your rifle is already discharged, but presence of mind may point out some means of escape from the danger. And now, if you have finished breakfast, you had better ride over with me to Newcastle--I have a very large number of goods to buy. Mr Harvey, who went on the first thing, will meet me there and show me the kind of goods most likely to take with the natives; it will be well that you should not only know the price of each article, but that you should see everything packed, so as to know the contents of each bale by its shape and markings--a matter which may save you much trouble when you begin to trade."

The shopping did not take up so long a time as Mr Humphreys had antic.i.p.ated; the large storekeepers all kept precisely the kind of goods required, as they were in the habit of selling to the Boers for barter with the natives.

In the afternoon the waggon was sent away, and an hour before daybreak next morning d.i.c.k, having bade farewell to his mother, started with Mr Humphreys.

Tom and Mr Jackson arrived there a few minutes later, and the work of loading the waggons at once commenced, and was concluded by nine o'clock; then they joined the waggons of Mr Harvey, which were already waiting outside the town.

Their fathers rode with them to the ford across the river, and then after a hearty farewell returned to their farms, while the caravan of five waggons crossed into the Transvaal.

Each waggon was drawn by sixteen oxen, with a native driver and leader to each. There were three Swazis who had accompanied Mr Harvey on previous expeditions, all good hunters and men who could be relied upon in every emergency. The eldest of these natives was a very tall and muscular man, of some five and forty years of age; the left side of his face, his shoulder, and side were deeply seamed with scars, the relics of a fight with a wounded lioness. He had a very long and difficult name, which had been Anglicised and shortened by Mr Harvey into "Jack."

The second of the trio was a man so short as to be almost deformed, a very unusual circ.u.mstance among the natives. His head was set low between his shoulders, and his long sinewy arms reached almost to his ankles. Mr Harvey told the lads he was immensely strong, and the expression of his face was quick and intelligent. He was about twenty-four years of age; he had been found by Mr Harvey's father, who had also been a trader, deserted and apparently dying, a baby of only a few months old. Among savage people infants who are in any way deformed are generally deserted and left to perish, and this was the fate evidently intended for the child when the mother became convinced he would not grow up tall and straight, like other men. Mr Harvey had picked it up, fed and cared for it, and it grew up full of a pa.s.sionate attachment for him, following him everywhere, and ready at any moment to give his life for him. He was called Tony, and spoke English as fluently as the native language.

The third of the hunters was a tall, slight figure, a man of about five and thirty, with muscles like whipcord, who could, if it were needed, go for 100 miles without a halt, and tire out the swiftest horse. In addition to these were ten natives, who a.s.sisted with the cattle, pitched the tent, cooked and skinned the game, and did other odd jobs.

The road was fairly good, and two days after leaving Newcastle they arrived at Standerton, a rising place, inhabited princ.i.p.ally by English traders and shopkeepers. Here three roads branched: the one led to Utrecht on the east; another to Pretoria, the capital, to the north-west; while the third, a track much less used than the others, led due north. This was the one followed by the caravan.

As they proceeded, the Dutch farmhouses became more spa.r.s.ely sprinkled over the country, and several large native kraals were pa.s.sed. Over the wide plains large herds of deer roamed almost, unmolested, and the lads had no difficulty in keeping the caravan well supplied with provisions.

One or two of the Kaffirs generally accompanied them, to carry in the game; but Mr Harvey and the three hunters, accustomed to more exciting sport, kept along with the caravan, the former well content that the lads should amuse themselves with furnishing food for the party.

At Newcastle Mr Humphreys had purchased a couple of small pocket-compa.s.ses, one for each of the boys, and the possession of these gave them great confidence, as, with their guidance, they were always enabled to strike the trail of the caravan.

The road had now altogether ceased, and they were travelling across a bare, undulating country, dotted occasionally by herds and flocks of Dutch settlers, and by the herds of wandering deer, but unbroken by a tree of any size, and for the most part covered with tall gra.s.s. The deer met with were for the most part antelopes of one or other of three kinds, all of which abound on the higher plains. These are known as the "wilde-beest," the "bless-buck," and the "spring-buck."

The venison which these creatures afforded was occasionally varied by the flesh of the "stump-pig," which abounded in considerable numbers, and, as they ran at a great speed, afforded the boys many a good chase.

Generally the caravan halted for the night--while they were still in a country occupied here and there by Boers--near one of the farmhouses.

It was not that these habitations added to the pleasure of the halting-place, for the Boers were generally gruff and surly, and their dogs annoyed them by their constant barking and growling, but for the most part it was only at these farmhouses that water could be obtained.

A small sum was generally charged by the Boers for the privilege of watering the oxen of each waggon.

It would seem a churlish action to charge for water, but this fluid is very scarce upon the veldt. There are long periods of drought, of which, in a dry season, thousands of cattle perish; it is therefore only natural that each farmer should h.o.a.rd his supply jealously, for he cannot tell how great his own need of it may shortly be. The water is for the most part stored in artificial ponds, made by damming up hollows through which the water runs in the wet season.

Sometimes, as the caravan made its slow way along, a young Boer would dash up upon his horse, and, reining in, ask a few questions as to their route, and then ride off again. Already the boys had admired the figures and riding of the Boers whom they had seen in action in Zululand, but they were much more struck by their appearance as they saw them now. There are no finer men in the world than the young Boers of the Transvaal; in after-life they often become heavy, but as young men their figures are perfect. Very tall and powerfully built, they sit their horses as if man and animal were one, and are such splendid marksmen that, while riding at full speed, they can, with almost absolute certainty, bring down an antelope at a distance of 150 yards.

But the abodes of the Boers, and their manner of living, impressed the boys far less favourably. However extensive the possessions and numerous the herds of a Boer, he lives in the same primitive style as his poorest neighbour. The houses seldom contain more than two, or at most three, rooms. The dress of the farmer, wife, and family is no better than that of labourers; whole families sleep in one room; books are almost unknown in their houses, and they are ignorant and prejudiced to an extreme degree. Upon his horse and his gun the Boer will spend money freely, but for all other purposes he is thrifty and close-fisted in the extreme. Water is regarded as useful for drinking purposes, but its utility for matters of personal cleanliness is generally altogether ignored. Almost all sleep in their clothes, and a shake and a stretch suffice for the morning toilet.

The power of a Boer over his sons and daughters is most unlimited, and he is the hardest and cruellest of masters to the unfortunate natives whom he keeps in slavery under the t.i.tle of indentured apprentices, and whose lives he regards as of no more importance than those of his sheep, and as of infinitely less consequence than those of his horses or even of his dogs. To the unhappy natives the taking over of the Transvaal by England had been a blessing of the highest kind. For the first time the shooting of them in cold blood had come to be considered a crime, and ordinances had been issued against slavery, which, although generally evaded by the Boers, still promised a happy state of things in the future.

At the native kraals the travellers were always welcomed when it was known that they were English. The natives looked to Queen Victoria as a sort of guardian angel, and not a thought entered their heads that they would ere long be cruelly and basely abandoned to the mercies of the Dutch by the government of England.

Slowly and without incident the caravan made its way north, and at last encamped upon the banks of the great river Limpopo, the northern boundary of the Transvaal. This river was too wide and deep to be forded, but at the spot where they had struck it, there was a large native kraal. Here Mr Harvey, who had many times before followed the same route to this spot, was warmly welcomed, and preparations were made for effecting a crossing. The oxen were first taken across; these were steered by ropes attached to their horns and fastened to a canoe, which paddled ahead of them. The beasts were delighted to enter the water after their long dusty journey, and most of them, after reaching the opposite bank, lay down for a long time in the shallow water at the edge. Most of the stores were carried across in canoes. Inflated skins were then fastened to the waggons, and these also were towed across the stream by canoes. The pa.s.sage had commenced at early morning, and by nightfall the whole of the caravan and its contents were safely across the stream.

"We are now," Mr Harvey said, "in the Matabele country; the natives are for the most part friendly, as they know the advantage they derive from the coming of English traders, but there are portions of the tribe altogether hostile to us, and the greatest caution and care have to be exercised in pa.s.sing through some portions of the country. To the east lies a land said to be very rich in gold, and there can be little doubt that it is so, for we frequently find natives who have traded with that country in possession of gold-dust, but they allow no white men to pa.s.s their frontier on any pretext whatever. They have become aware in some way how great is the value of gold in the eyes of Europeans, and fear that if the wealth of the country in that metal were but known a vast emigration of Europeans would take place, which would a.s.suredly sooner or later end in the driving out or extirpation of the present inhabitants of the land."

The news which they had learned at the village where they had crossed, of the state of affairs among the tribes of the north, was not encouraging. The natives said that there had been much fighting. Not only had eruptions taken place with tribes still further north, but the Matabele had also been quarrelling among themselves.

"This is bad news indeed," Mr Harvey said; "these tribal wars make journeying very difficult; for, although none of the tribes may be hostile to Europeans at ordinary times, they view them with distrust when coming from a tribe with whom they are at war. In peace-time, too, when each section of the tribe is under some sort of control by the head chief, each will hesitate to rob or attack an European caravan, because the whole would consider themselves aggrieved and injured by such a proceeding. In war-time, on the other hand, each thinks, `If we do not rob this rich caravan some one else is sure to do so; we may as well have the plunder as another.' War is injurious to us in other ways; instead of the tribes spending their time in hunting, they remain at home to guard their villages and women, and we shall find but little ivory and few ostrich feathers gathered to trade for our goods. I had not intended to have enc.u.mbered myself with a larger following, but I think, after what I have heard, it will be wise to strengthen our party before going further. I will therefore hire twenty men from the village here to accompany us; they will be useful in hunting, and will cost but little; their wages are nominal, and we shall have no difficulty in providing them with food with our rifles. In one respect they are more useful than men hired from time to time from among the people farther north for the purpose of driving game, for, as you see, many of them carry guns, while beyond the river they are armed only with bows and arrows."

"I am surprised to see so many guns." d.i.c.k said; "where could these people have got the money to buy them?"

"It is the result of a very bad system," Mr Harvey replied. "The Cape authorities, in spite of all the representations which have been made to them, of the extreme danger of allowing the natives to possess firearms, allow their importation and sale to them, simply on account of the revenue which they derive from it, as a duty of a pound is charged on each gun imported into the colony. From all parts of South Africa the natives, Pondos, Basutos, Zulus, and other Kaffirs, go to the diamond-fields and work there for months; when their earnings suffice to enable them to buy a gun, a stock of ammunition, and a blanket, they return to their homes. All these fellows you see carrying guns have served their six or eight months in the diamond-mines; a dozen of them would be a strong reinforcement to our fighting power, in case of an attack."

There was no difficulty in engaging the required number of men. Each was to be paid on the conclusion of the journey with a certain quant.i.ty of powder and lead, a few yards of cotton, some beads and other cheap trinkets, and was to be fed on the journey. Thus reinforced the Caravan proceeded on its way.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

A TROOP OF LIONS.

The country across which the waggons now made their way differed somewhat from that over which they had previously pa.s.sed; it was not so undulating, and the herbage was shorter and more scanty; the soil was for the most part sandy; trees were much more abundant, and sometimes there were thick growths of jungle. Even before leaving the Transvaal they had at night often heard the roar of lions, but these had not approached the camp.