The Young Colonists Part 14

"We must look out for lions to-night," Mr Harvey said, when the caravan encamped near a large pool which in the wet season formed part of a river, and was now for the most part dry. "We must laager our waggons, and get as many cattle inside as we can, and must keep the rest close together, with fires in readiness to light in case of an attack."

"But surely the lions would never venture to attack so large a party?"

d.i.c.k said in surprise.

"They will indeed," Mr Harvey answered. "These brutes often hunt together, as many as twenty or thirty; they are nothing like such powerful beasts as the North African lions, but they are formidable enough, and the less we see of them the better. But there are numerous prints on the sand near the water, and probably large numbers of them are in the habit of coming to this pool to drink. I expect therefore that we shall have a stirring night."

As soon as the oxen were unyoked, they were driven a short distance out to pasture. Five or six of the natives looked after them, while the remainder set to work to gather sticks and dried wood for the fires.

"I think," Tom said, "that I will go and have a bathe in the pool."

"You will do no such thing," Mr Harvey remarked; "the chances are that there are half a dozen alligators in that pool--it is just the sort of place in which they lurk, for they find no difficulty in occasionally taking a deer or a wild hog, as he comes down to quench his thirst.

There! don't you see something projecting above the water on the other side of the pool?"

"I see a bit of rough wood, that looks as if it were the top of a log underneath the water."

"Well, just watch it," Mr Harvey said, as he took aim with his rifle.

He fired; the water instantly heaved and whirled at the spot the boy was watching; the supposed log rose higher out of the water, and then plunged down again; five or six feet of a long tail lashed the water and then disappeared, but the eddies on the surface showed that there was a violent agitation going on underneath it.

"What do you think of your log now?" Mr Harvey asked, smiling.

"Why, it was an alligator," Tom said. "Who would have thought it?--it looked just like a bit of an old tree."

"What you saw," Mr Harvey said, "was a portion of the head; the alligator often lies with just his eyes and nostrils out of water."

"Did you kill it, sir, do you think?" d.i.c.k asked.

"Oh! no," Mr Harvey replied; "the ball would glance off his head, as it would from the side of an ironclad ship. It woke him up, and fl.u.s.trated him a bit; but he is none the worse for it. So you see, Tom, that pool is hardly fit to bathe in."

"No, indeed, sir," Tom answered, turning a little pale at the thought of the danger which he had proposed to incur. "I would rather fight half a dozen lions than get into the water with those brutes."

"I don't know about half a dozen lions," Mr Harvey said; "although certainly one lion is an easier foe to tackle than an alligator. But one can never be too careful about bathing in this country. In the smallest pools, only a few yards long and a few feet wide, an alligator may be lurking, especially if the weather is dry and the pools far apart. Even when only drawing water at such places it is well to be careful, and it is always the best plan to poke the bottom for a short distance round with a pole before dipping in a bucket. Remember, if you should ever happen to be seized by one of these animals, there is but one chance, and that is to turn at once and stick your thumbs into his eyes. It requires nerve when a brute has got you by the leg, but it is your only chance, and the natives, when seized by alligators, often escape by blinding their foes. The pain and sudden loss of sight always induces them to loose their hold."

"I hope I shall never have to try," Tom said, shivering.

"It is safer not, certainly," Mr Harvey agreed; "but there, I see dinner is ready, and Jumbo has got a bucket of water, so you can douse your heads and wash your hands without fear of alligators."

At nightfall the cattle were all driven in. The horses and a few of the most valuable oxen were placed in the laager formed by the waggons; the rest were fastened outside to them, side by side, by their horns; at each corner the natives had piled up a great heap of firewood. An hour after sunset the roar of a lion was heard out on the plain; it was answered simultaneously in six or eight directions, and the stamping of the oxen announced that the animals were conscious of danger.

"There are a troop of them about," Mr Harvey said, "just as I feared.

Put a little more wood on the fires, boys; it is as well to keep them burning briskly, but it will probably be some hours before they work themselves up to make an attack upon us."

As the time went on, the roaring became louder and more continuous.

"There must be a score of them at least," Mr Harvey said; "they are ranging round and round the camp; they don't like the look of the fires."

By ten o'clock the roaring had approached so closely that Mr Harvey thought that it was time to prepare for the defence; he took post at one side of the square, and placed the boys and Jumbo at the other three; Tony and the other hunter were to keep outside the cattle, and walk round and round. The armed natives were scattered round the square.

The drivers and cattle-men were to move about among the animals, and do their best to pacify them, for already a perfect panic had seized upon the draught-cattle, and with starting eyes and coats ruffled by fear they were tugging and straining at their ropes.

"Quiet, you silly beasts," d.i.c.k said, leaning out of the waggon in which he had taken his place; "you are safer where you are than you would be anywhere else. If you got away and bolted out into the plain, as you want to do, you would be pulled down and killed in no time."

The fires were now blazing brightly, throwing a wide circle of light round the camp and making visible every object within fifty yards.

It had been arranged that so long as the lions kept at a distance and only approached singly the defenders of the various faces of the square should retain their positions; but that, should a formidable attack be made upon any one side, the white men with two of the natives with them should hasten to the point attacked.

Several times, as d.i.c.k stood in the waggon, rifle in hand, straining his eyes at the darkness, he fancied he saw indistinct shadowy forms moving at the edge of the circle of light Two or three times he raised his rifle to take aim, but the objects were so indistinct that he doubted whether his fancy had not deceived him.

Presently the crack of Mr Harvey's rifle was heard, followed by a roar of a sharper and more angry nature than those which had preceded it. As if a signal had been given, three or four creatures came with great bounds out of the darkness towards the side where d.i.c.k was posted.

Taking a steady aim, he fired. Tony, who was outside with the cattle on that side of the square, did the same. The other natives had been ordered to retain their fire until the lions were close enough to ensure each shot telling. The lion at which d.i.c.k had aimed paused for a moment with a terrific roar, and then bounded forward again. When he came within twenty yards of the oxen, the four natives posted by d.i.c.k's side fired. The lion for a moment fell; then, gathering itself together, it sprang on to the back of a bullock, just in front of where d.i.c.k was standing. The lad had a second rifle in readiness, and leaning forward he placed the muzzle within two yards of the lion's head and fired. The animal rolled off the back of the bullock, who, with the one standing next to him, at once began to kick at it endeavouring to get their heads round to gore it with their horns. The lion, however, lay unmoved; d.i.c.k's last shot had been fatal.

The other lions on this side had bounded back into the darkness. From the other sides of the square the sound of firing proclaimed that similar attacks had been made; but, as there was no summons for aid, d.i.c.k supposed that the attacks were isolated ones, and so, after recharging his rifles, he remained quietly at his post.

For some hours the attack was not renewed, though the continuous roaring showed that the lions were still close at hand. Mr Harvey went round and advised the boys to lie down at their posts and get a little sleep, as the natives would keep watch.

"I don't think we have done with them yet," he said; "we have killed three, but I think, by the roaring, the number has considerably increased within the last hour. It is probable that an attack will be made an hour or so before daybreak, and I expect it will be in earnest next time."

d.i.c.k accordingly lay down to sleep, but he was too excited to close his eyes.

After a long time it seemed to him that the roaring was dying away, and a drowsiness was stealing over him, when suddenly Mr Harvey's rifle was heard, and he shouted,--

"To this side--quick! they are upon us."

d.i.c.k, Tom, and Jumbo, with the six natives, leapt from the waggons, and, running across the little enclosure, scrambled up into those on the other side. There was a momentary silence here, the whole of the defendants having discharged their pieces, and a number of lions bounding across the open were already close to the cattle.

The new-comers at once opened fire. Two or three of the lions sprang among the cattle; but the rest, intimidated by the noise and flash of the guns, and by the yelling and shouting of the natives, turned and made off again. Those among the cattle were soon disposed of, but not before they had killed three of the draught-oxen and seriously torn two others.

The roaring continued until daybreak, gradually, however, growing fainter and more distant, and it was evident that the attack had ceased.

"Are their skins worth anything?" d.i.c.k asked.

"Yes, they are worth a few dollars apiece, except in the case of old lions, who are apt to become mangy, and these are not worth skinning.

We have killed eight of them, but their skins will not be worth anything like so much as the cattle they have killed; however, it is well that it is no worse. An attack by these troops of lions is no joke; they are by far the most formidable animals of South Africa I don't say that an attack by a herd of wild elephants would not be more serious, but I never heard of such a thing taking place. They are timid creatures, and easily scared, and except in the case of wounded animals or of solitary bulls they can scarcely be considered as dangerous."

When day broke, the natives set to work to skin the lions, with the exception of one whose skin was valueless. As soon as the operation was completed, the skins were packed in the waggons, the oxen were inspanned, and the caravan proceeded on its way, all being glad to leave so dangerous a locality.

The next evening they encamped upon a river, and the night pa.s.sed without interruption. The following morning, just as they were about to start, Tony, who with the other hunters had gone out at daybreak, returned with the news that he had found the spoor of elephants, and that he believed a herd had pa.s.sed along only a few hours before.

Mr Harvey at once decided to halt where he was for another day. The oxen were again unyoked, and six of the armed natives having been left to guard the camp, under the direction of Jumbo, the whole of the rest, with the white men, set off in pursuit of the elephants.

The spoor was quite distinct, and even had this failed, there would have been no difficulty in following the track, for there were scattered here and there trees, and the elephants in pa.s.sing had broken off many boughs, which, stripped of their leaves, lay upon the ground they had traversed.

Tony and the other hunter, whose name was Blacking, a sobriquet gained from the extreme swarthiness of his skin, scouted ahead, and presently held up their hands to those following them to advance quietly. The trees were very thick here, and Mr Harvey and the boys dismounted and led their horses to the spot where the hunters had halted. They were standing at the edge of a large circular clearing, three quarters of a mile in diameter; it had probably at one time been the site of a native village, for there were signs of cultivation, and a number of scattered heads of maize rose here and there, the descendants of a bygone mealy plantation. Feeding upon these were a herd of some twenty elephants; of these the greater portion were females or young ones, but there were three fine males--one, a beast of unusual size.

"That is the master of the herd," Mr Harvey said, "a savage-looking old customer; he has a splendid pair of tusks, although the tip of one," he added, gazing at the elephant through his field-gla.s.s, "is broken off.

I think that for the present we will leave him alone, and direct our attention to the other two males. I will take Tom and Jumbo with me; you, d.i.c.k, shall have Tony and Blacking. Three of the natives shall go with each party, but you must not rely upon them much; and, remember, the one fatal spot is the forehead. Fasten your horses up here, and leave two of the natives in charge. Let the other six go round to the opposite side of the clearing and advance slowly from that direction, showing themselves occasionally, so as to draw the attention of the herd towards them. The elephants will probably move leisurely in this direction. Take your station behind trees, moving your position carefully as they approach, so as to place yourselves as near as possible in the line of the elephant you have fixed on. We will take up our station a hundred yards to the right of where we are standing; do you go as far to the left. The natives will take the horses into a thicket some distance in the rear. Whichever of the two young male elephants comes nearest to you is your mark, ours is the other. If they keep near each other, we shall probably meet again here."

The two parties moved off to the places a.s.signed to them, and the natives whose duty it was to drive the elephants started to their positions. Keeping some little distance back among the trees, so that they could observe the movements of the elephants, while themselves unseen, d.i.c.k and his party moved to the spot indicated, and then sat down.

For three quarters of an hour the elephants continued to feed upon the heads of maize; then the big male suddenly wheeled round, extended his great ears, lifted his trunk, and trumpeted. At this signal the others all gathered together, and stood gazing in the direction from which danger threatened. Again the old bull gave an angry scream. The others moved slowly away from the danger, but he advanced in the direction in which he had seen the natives.