| OCR Text |
Show 1 HflHH la IH i j (Continued from last Sunday) H j. CHAPTER VI. ! j The Sea-Cow Hunt. IbI ( TV Tow il: nad been m" inlentlon I f ll to push fonvard ncross tae 1 1 river at once, but here luck ' ' -was against me. To begin, with, Hj ! several of Umslopogaas's men fell J sick with a kind of stomach !' troublo, arising no doubt from ; something they had eaten. This, however, .was not tlielr view, or ' that of Umslopogaas hlmsolf. j It happened that one of these ' men, Goroko by name, who prac- , tised as a witch doctor in his lighter moments, suspected that a ' spell had been cast upon them. Thereforo he organized a "smell-Hj "smell-Hj ing-out," at which Umslopogaas, j who was as superstitious as the rest, assisted. So did Hans, al-' al-' : though he called himself a Chris- I I tlan, partly out of curiosity and j partly from fear lest some impll-j impll-j , cation should be brought against ' him in his absence. I saw the business going on from , ji a little distance and, unseen my- self, thought It well to keep an eyo upon the proceedings in case any-! any-! I thing untoward should occur, which ' J i I did with Miss Inez, who had never ! , seen anything of the sort, as a com panlon. ' I The circle, a small one, was formed in the usual fashion; Goroko rigged up in the best witch-' witch-' doctor's costume that he could im- provise, duly came under the in-fiuence in-fiuence of his "spirit," and skipped I about waving a wildebeeste's tail, and so forth. Finally, to my horror, he broke out of the ring, and run- j nlng to a group of spectators from ; ; J the village, switched Thomaso, who i !' was standing among them with a ; lordly and contemptuous air, across ;: the face with the gnu's tail, shout-ing shout-ing out that he was the wizard who I I had poisoned the sick men. There-j There-j ! on Thomaso, who, like most cross- ' breeds, was not remarkable for j courage, promptly bolted, none at-I at-I tempting to follow him. " ( A-fter this, just as I thought that ji the time had come for me to speak i ( j a few earnest words to Umslopo-Hj Umslopo-Hj 1 gaas, pointing out that matters j must go no further as regards Thomaso, whom I knew that he ! and his people hated, Goroko was ' seized with a new inspiration. Throwing down his whisk, he lifted ii his arms above his head and stared , 1 at the heavens. Then he 'began to shout out something In a loud voice which evidently frightened his I hearers, as I could see from the expressions of their races. Even Umslopogaas was alarmed, for he I let his axe fall, rose as though to fl I j1 Bpeak, then sat down again and I covered his eyes with his handB. '.' In a minute it was over; Goroko J' seemed to become normal, took , some snuff, and, as I guessed, after '1 the usual fashion of these doctors, H, T began to ask what he had been say- i ing while the "spirit" possessed if him. The circle, too, broke up, and its members began to talk to each i ' other in a subdued way, while Urn- 111 i biuiiutaua icmaiuuu bcuicu uu iuu In giound, brooding, and Hans slipped , j away in hla snake-like fashion, U doubtless in search of me. 1 "WTiat was It all about, Ir. Quatermaln?" askea inoz. j "Oh, a lot of nonsense," I said, j. "I fancy that witch-doctor declared J that Thomaso put something Into j those men's food to make them If Blck." "I daresay that he did; 11 wouid i ' be just like him, Mr. Quatermaln, ' l as I know that lie hates them, es- Ji) peclally Umslopogaas, of whom I ! Ill am very fond. He brought me Hi some beautiful, flowers thls morn- jji Ing and made a long speech which Irt I could not understand," . The idea of Umslopogaas, that man of blood and Iron, bringing flowers to a young lady was so Sj absurb that I broke out laughing, ijjj and even the sad-faced Inez smiled. I i Then she left me to see about jl something and I went to Hans and IjlM asked him what had happened. "Something rather queer, I Hj think' he answered, "though I did I II not quite understand the last part. Il i Goroko smelt out Thomaso as the lg' man who had made them sick, and I f though they will not kill him he- I (HI 1 cause we are guests here, these I fl' Zulus are very angry and will heat I jj j! him if they get a chance. But that 1 1 j! is only the small half of the stick," I rjj and he paused. I HI "What Is the big half, then?" I 11 asked with irritation. Ill "Baas, the spirit In Goroko" "The jackass in Goroko, you III mean," I interrupted. Illl "However, whatever it Is that I J;j ; oiakes Goroko speak, got hold of him so that his Hps said, though he remembered nothing of it afterward, after-ward, that soon this place would bo red with blood, that there would bo a great killing hero, that Is all." "Rod with blood! Whose blood? What did the fool mean?" "I don't know, Baas, but what you call the Jackass In Goroko declared de-clared that those who were 'with the Great Medicine' meaning what you wear, Baas will be quite safe. So I hope that it will not be our blood; also that you will get out of this place as soon as you can." Well, I scolded Hans because he believed In what this doctor said, for I could see that he did believe it, and then went to question Umslopogaas, Um-slopogaas, whom I found looking quite pleased, which annoyed me still more. "What la that Goroko has been saying and why do you smile, Bula-Ho?" Bula-Ho?" I asked. "Nothing much, except that the man who looks like tallow gone bad put something In our food which mado us sick, for which I a hunt. Now he wished to undertake under-take it again, taking advantage of my presence, both Dccause of the value of the hides of the sea-cows, which were cut up and sold as sjamboks or whips, and because of tho sport of the thing. Also, I think he wished to show me that hewas not altogether sunk in sloth and drink. Great preparations were made. The riverside natives were summoned sum-moned by hundreds and sent off to their appointed stations to beat the swamps at a signal given by (he flring of a great pile of reeds. Then came the time for us to do-part do-part to the appointed spot about twenty miles away. Captain Robertson, Rob-ertson, who for the time had cut off his gin, was as active about the affair as though ho were once moro In command of a mall steamer. Nothing escaped his attention nnd I learned how able a man he must once have been. "Does your daughter accompany us?" I asked on the night beforo we started. "Oh, no," he answered; "she though what there is to fear for her, I do not know. But I would much rather come and look after you, as your reverend father told mo to do always, which is my duty, not glrl-herdlng, Baas. Also my foot Is now quite well and I want to shoot sea-cows, and" hero he paused. "And what, Hans?" "And Goroko said that there wa3 going to be much fighting, and if there should be fighting and you should come to harm because I was not there to protect you, what would your reverend father think of me then?" All of which I took at the time to mean two things that Hans ' shot one with a pistol and wounded ..' ' - 5 '' another so that the spear fell out of his hand." 'Would kill him were he not Red-beard's Red-beard's servant and It would frighten his daughter. Also he said that soon there would be fighting, Avhlch is why I smiled who grow weary of peace. We came out to fight, did we not?" "Certainly not," I answered. "We came out to make a quiet journey Jn strange lands." I could get no more out of him,-so, him,-so, having extracted a promise from him that nothing should happen to Thomaso, I went away. Still, the whole Incident left a disagreeable Impression on my mind, and I began to wish that we were safe across the Zambesi. But we could not start at once, because two of the Zulus were still not well enough to travel and there were many preparations to be made about the loads, since the wagon must be left behind. Also, Hans had a sore upon his foot, resulting from the prick of a poisonous thorn, and it was desirable that thls should be quite healed before we marched. So I was quite glad when Captain Cap-tain Robertson suggested that we should go down to a certain swamp to take part In a kind of hippopotamus hippopota-mus battue. It seemed that at this season these great animals frequented fre-quented the place In numbers; also that by barring a neck of deep water through which they gained It, they, or a proportion of them, could be cut off and killed. This had been done once or twice in the ?ast, though not of late, perhaps because Captain Robertson had lacked the energy to organize such would only be In the way. She wjll be quite safe here, especially as Thomaso. who Is no hunter, remains re-mains in charge of the place with a few of the older natives to look after the women and children." -Later I saw Inez herself, who said that she would have liked to come, although she hated to seo great beasts killed, but that her father was against it because he thought she might catch fever. I agreed, though in my heart I was doubtful, and said that I would leave Hans, whose foot was.not as yet quite well, and with whom' she had made friends, as she had done with Umslopogaas, to look after her. Also, there would be with him the two great Zulus, who wore recovering from their stomach sickness, so that she would have nothing to fear. She answered, with her slow smile, that she feared nothing. Then we parted, as It proved, for a long time. It was. quite a ceremony. Umslopogaas, Um-slopogaas, "In the name of the Axe," solemnly gave over Inez to the charge of his two followers, bidding them guard her with so much earnestness that I began to suspect he feared sometMng which he did not choose to mention. V I also gave Hans Instructions to keep a sharp eye on Inez and generally gen-erally watch the place, and If he saw anything suspicious to communicate communi-cate with us at once. "Yes," said Hans, "I will look after 'Sad-Eye' for so with their usual quickness of observation observa-tion our Zulus had named Inez, "as though ahe were my grandmother, tC) 1019, International never liked being separated from mo If he could help It, and that he much preferred a shooting rip to stopping alone in this strange place with nothing to do except eat and sleep In reality, Hans was putting up a most gallant moral struggle against temptation. As I found out afterward, Captain Robertson had been giving him strong drink-on drink-on the sly. Also he had shown him where, If he wanted it, he could get more, and -Hans always wanted gin very badly indeed. "You will stop here, Hans, look after the young ladv and nurse your foot," I said, sternly, whereon where-on he collapsed with a sigh and asked for some tobacco. Meanwhile Captain Robertson, who I think had been taking a stirrup stir-rup cup, was making his farewells down In the village, for I saw him there kissing a collection of half-breed half-breed children, and giving Thomaso Instructions to look after them and their mothers. Returning at length he called to Inez to "keep a stiff upper lip" and not feel lonely, and commanded the cavalcade to start. So off wo went, about twenty of tho vlllago natives armed with every kind of gun, marching ahead and singing songs. Then came the wagon with, Captain Robertson and myself on the driving-box, and lastly Umslopogaas and his Zulus. Before nightfall we came to a ridge whereat the bushvcld turned south, fringing that tributary of the great river In the swamps of which we were to hunt for sea-cows. Hero Feature Scrrlce, Inc. Great Britain we camped and next morning, leaving leav-ing tho wagon In charge of my voorloopor and a couple of tho Strathmtiir natives, for the driver was to act as my gunbearer, we marched down into the sea of bushvcld. bush-vcld. It proved to be full of gam( but at this we dared not fire for fear of disturbing the hippopotami In the swamps beneath and driving driv-ing them back to the river. About midday we passed out of the bushvcld and reached the place where the drive was to be. Here, bordered by steep banks covered with bush, was a swamp not more than three hundred yards wide, down the centre of which ran a narrow channel of rather deep water, draining a vast expanse of morass above. It was up this channel chan-nel that the sea-cows traveled to the feeding ground. Here with the assistance of some of the riverside natives the rest had made a wide detour to the head of tho swamps, whence they were to advance at a certain signal we marie our preparations. These were simple. A quantity of thorn trees were cut down and by means of heavy stones anchored In the narrow channel of deep water, while to their tops, which floated on the placid surface, were lied a variety of rags, .'such as old red flannel shirts, gay-colored hut worn-out blankets, and I know not what besides. Soma of these fragments frag-ments also were attached to the anchored ropes under water. Also we selected places for the guns upon tho steep banks between which tills channel ran. Foreseeing what would happen, I chose one for myself behind a particularly par-ticularly stout rock, and. what Is more, built a stone wall to the height of several feet on the landward land-ward side, as I guessed that the natives na-tives above me would prove wild In their shooting. " These labors occupied the rest of i that day, and at night we retired to i higher ground to sleep. Before dawn on the following morning we returned and took up our stations, some on one side of the channel and . 1 some on the other. x ( Before the sun rose Captain Rob- i ertson fired a huge pile of dried reeds, which was the signal to the Rights RscrreJ. river natives to begin their beat. This donc we sat down and waited, after making sure that every gun had plenty of ammunition ready As the dawn broke, by climbing a tree near my schanze, or shelter, I saw a good many miles away to the south a wide circle of little fires, and guessed that the natives wero beginning to respond to our signals Presently these fires drew together into a thin wall of fiame. Then J knew that it was time to return to the schanze and prepare. It was full daylight, however, before .anything .any-thing happened. Watching the still channel of water. I saw ripples on it and bubbles of air rising. Suddenly 0- there appeared the head of a great bull hippopotamus which, having caught sight of our barricade either above or below water, had risen to the surface. I put a bullet from an eight-bore rlflo through its brain, whereon It sank, as I guessed, stone dead to the bottom of the channel, thus helping to increase the barricade by the bulk of its great body. Also, it had another effect. I have observed that sea-cows cannot can-not bear the smell and taint of blood and will expose themselves to almost any risk, rather than got it Into thoir nostrils. Now, in this still water the blood from the. dead bull soon spread all about, so that when the herd began to arrive, following fol-lowing their leader, they were terribly ter-ribly frightened. Indeed, the first of them turned and tried to geC back up the channel where, however, how-ever, they met others following, and there ensued a tremendous confusion. con-fusion. They rose to the surface, blowing, snorting, bellowing and scrambling over each other till there was a perfect pandemonium in that narrow place. All our guns opened fire wildly upon the mass; it was like a battle, and through the smoke I caught sight of the riverside natives advancing ad-vancing far away, fantastically iressed. screaming, waving spears, or flaming torches. Some of tho solder spirits advanced in canoes, Jrlvlng the hippopotami toward the nouth of the channel, by which done they could escape to the river. In nil my hunting experience I do not think I ever saw a more ro I markable scene. , :. I At length the channel for quito a 5 long way was literally full 0f hip- popotaml I should think there : must have boon a hundred or more i i of all aorls and sizes, from great 1 bulls down to little calves. Not many of these were killed, for the :-shootlug :-shootlug of our gallant company V was execrable. f Still the unhappy beasts, crazed mKL with noise and fire and blood, did (qV not soem to dare face our frail bar- ricade. For a while they remained massed together, making a most terrible noise. Then of a sudden a few of them broke back toward the burning reeds, the screaming l'eaters and the advancing canoes One wounded bull charged a canoe, ca-noe, crushed it in its huge jaws and killed the rower. The majdrity of them, however emerging from the i water on either side, began to scramblo toward us aloug the steep banks, or even to climb up them with surprising agility. It was at this point in the proceedings that j I congratulated myself upon tho 1 solid character of the water-worn , ft rock I had selected as a shelter. Behind this rock, together with my gun-bearer and Umslopogaas, who, as he did not shoot, had elect- B ed to be my companion, I crouched JjP. and banged away at the unwieldy creatures as they advanced. But I fire fast as I might with two rifies, I I could not stop the half of them , I and they were drawing unpleas- I antl.v near. I glanced at Umslop- I ogaas and even then was amused to see that probably for the first 1 time In his life that redoubtable warrior was in a genuine fright- j "This Is madness, Macumazahn," 1 ho shouted above the din. "Are wo 1 I to stop here and be stamped flat j 1 by a horde of water-pigs?" ' I "It seems so," I answered, "un- j fl less you prefer to be stamped flat J outside, or eaten," I ndded, pointing 1 to a great crocodile that had also 1 emerged from the channel and was 1 coming along toward us with open 1 jaws. , I "By the Axo!" shouted Umslop- ; I ogaas again, "I will not die thus, j trodden on like a slug by an ox." I.I In his extremity Umslopogaas f rushed for a tree and went up it like 4' a lamplighter, just as the crocodile fe wriggled past its trunk, snapping i at his retreating legs. After this I I took no more note of him, partly because of tho advancing sea-cows, ' and more for the reason that one of the village natives posted above me, firing wlldlj-, put a large round bullet through the sleeve of my -coat. Indeed, had it not been for the wall that protected us, I am cey- ; I tain that both my bearer and I '. K would have been killed. B Well, thanks to the strength of r S my rock and to the wall, or as Hans ; B said afterward, to Zikali's Great ; p Medicine, we escaped unhurt. Tho ; rush went by me; indeed, I killed ; one sea-cow so close that the pow- h der actually burned Its hide. But It did go by, leaving us un- f $ touched. All, however, were not so Mfr fortunate, since of the village na- JJv3.1 tivos two were trampled to death, while a third had his leg broken. II fri Also, and this was really anius- 11 ing, a bewildered bull charging at fj ' ' full speed, crashed into the trunk 1 of Umslopogaas's tree, and snapped Ifl : ft It In two. Down came the top In f which tho dignified chief was en- H? sconced llko a bird In a nest, though fjiT1 at that moment there was precious l'l little dignity about him. However, 11 except for scratches ho was not 11 ' hurt as the hippopotamus did not S Ji' stop to settle with him. "Such are tho things which hap- Jfl.GtT, pen to a man who mixes himself up fa11 with matters of which he knowd nothing," said Umslopogaas sen- MHt tentlously to me afterward. But all Ilrst the same he could never bear any aB ffifo allusion to this tree-climbing epi- mm sode, which had taken place in full IV lc view of his retainers, amoni; whom jol 1 It remained the greatest of Jokes. oAi' It was all over at last, for which it I thanked Providence. A good j ( many of the" sea-cows were dead lift 1 think twenty-one was our exact je bag but tho great majority of j them had escaped In one way or kj another. I imagine that at last tho fiie bulk of the herd overcame its fears, f, 7 1 and swimming through our screen V passed away down the channel. At tjj any rate, they wore gone, and hav- eiI ing ascertained that there was w nothing to be done for the man l who had been trampled on my side 8 ij of the channel, I crossed it In the it canoe with the object of returning 3fre quietly to pur camp to rest. . m t!iv?e I (Continued |
