The Mission

by Frederick Marryat

  CHAPTER XV.

  It was not until the evening that the Caffres and Hottentots returnedwith the cattle, which they had great difficulty in collecting; two orthree of the oxen were not brought back till late at night, sofrightened had the animals been by the approach of the lion. In theafternoon, as it was too late to think of proceeding, our travelers,with their guns on their shoulders, and accompanied by Omrah and Begum,who would always follow the Major if she was not tied up, strolled awayfrom the camp to amuse themselves. At first they walked to the hill fromwhich they had such a splendid view of the valley covered withelephants, and, proceeding to where the male elephant had fallen, foundthat his flesh had, by the Caffres, the wolves, and the vultures, beencompletely taken off his bones, and it lay there a beautiful skeletonfor a museum.

  As, however, they had no room for such weighty articles in their wagons,they left it, after Swinton had made some observations upon thestructure of the animal. Begum would not go near the skeleton, butappeared to be frightened at it. They then proceeded to the rock whichhad been their place of refuge when the herd of elephants had chargedupon them; and as they stood under it, they were suddenly saluted with aloud noise over their heads, sounding like quah, quah!

  As soon as Begum heard it, she ran up to the Major with every sign oftrepidation, holding fast to his skin trowsers.

  "What was that?" said Alexander; "I see nothing."

  "I know what it is," said the Major; "it is a herd of baboons; therethey are; don't you see their heads over the rocks?"

  "Let them show themselves a little more, and we'll have a shot at them,"replied Alexander, cocking his gun.

  "Not for your life," cried Swinton; "you will be skinned and torn topieces, if they are numerous, and you enrage them. You have no ideawhat savage and powerful creatures they are. Look at them now; they arecoming down gradually; we had better be off."

  "I think so too," said the Major; "they are very angry; they have seenBegum, and imagine that we have one of their herd in our possession.Pray don't fire, Wilmot, unless it is for your life; we are too few tomake them afraid of us. Here they come; there are a hundred of them atleast; let us walk away slowly--it won't do to run, for that would makethem chase us at once."

  The baboons, some of which were of gigantic size, were now descendingfrom the rock, grunting, grinning, springing from stone to stone,protruding their mouths, shaking their heads, drawing back the skin oftheir foreheads, and showing their formidable tusks, advancing nearerand nearer, and threatening an attack. Some of the largest malesadvanced so close as to make a snatch at Omrah. As for Begum, she keptbehind the Major, hiding herself as much as possible. At last one or twoadvanced so close, rising on their hind-legs, that the Major was obligedto ward them off with his gun, "Point your guns at them," said Swinton,"if they come too close; but do not fire, I beg you. If we only get fromoff this rocky ground to the plain below, we shall probably get rid ofthem."

  The ground on which they were formed a portion of the rocky hill uponwhich they had taken shelter the day of the elephant-hunt; and withintwenty-five yards of them there was an abrupt descent of about fourfeet, which joined it to the plain. They had gained half-way, parryingthe animals off as well as they could, as they retreated backward, whensome of the baboons came down from the other side of the rock, so as toattempt to cut off their retreat, their object evidently being to gainpossession of Begum, whom they considered as belonging to them--and acaptive.

  Their situation now became more critical; for the whole herd werejoining the foremost; and the noise they made, and the anger theyexpressed, were much greater than before.

  "We must fire, I really believe," said the Major, when they heard adeep, hollow growl, followed up by a roar of some animal, apparently notvery far off. At this sound the baboons halted, and listened in silence;again the growl was repeated, and followed up by the roar, and thebaboons, at a shriek given by one on the rock, turned round and took totheir heels, much to the delight of our travelers, who had felt thepeculiar difficulty and danger of their situation.

  "What animal was that which has frightened them off?" said the Major.

  "It was the growl of a leopard," replied Swinton; "we must keep a sharplook-out; it can't be far off. The leopard is the great enemy of thebaboons. But where is Omrah?"

  They all looked round, but the boy was not to be seen. At last he showedhis head above the foot of the rocky hill, where there was a descent offour feet, as we have mentioned, then sprang up the rock, and begancapering, and imitating the baboons as they came on to the attack.

  As they were laughing at him, all at once he stopped, and putting hishands to his mouth he gave the growl and roar of a leopard, which theyhad heard, and then set off running away baboon fashion.

  "It was the Bushman, then, that frightened them off; he is a cleverlittle fellow."

  "And I am not sure that he has not saved our lives," replied Swinton;"but he has been brought up among them, one may say, and knows theirhabits well. If he had not hid himself below the rocks before heimitated the leopard, it would have been of no use, for they would nothave been frightened, hearing the growl proceeding from him. I admirethe boy's presence of mind."

  "I thought at one time that the baboons had an idea that Omrah was oneof them. What a snatch they made at him!"

  "It would not have been the first time that these animals have carriedoff a boy," said Swinton; "I saw one at Latakoo, who had lived two yearswith the baboons, which had carried him off."

  "How did they treat him?"

  "Very well indeed; but they kept him a prisoner. When they found thathe would not eat the coarse food which they did, they brought him otherthings; and they invariably allowed him to drink first at the pools."

  "Well, that was homage to our superiority. Confound their quahs, I shallnot get them out of my head for a week. What terrible large tusks theyhave!"

  "Yes, their incisors are very strong. They often destroy the leopardwhen they meet it in numbers; but if one happens to be away from theherd, he has, of course, no chance with such an animal. Begum did notappear at all willing to renew her connection."

  "None of the monkey tribe, after they have lived with man, ever are;indeed it is a question, if they had taken possession of her, whetherthey would not have torn her to pieces immediately, or have worried herto death some way or other."

  "Well, at all events, Swinton, you have been rewarded for your kindnessto that poor little Bushman, and we have reaped the benefit of it,"observed Alexander. "But here come some of the oxen; I hope we shall beable to start early on Monday. The native Caffres say that the wagonscan not proceed much further."

  "No, not further than to the banks of the Umtata River: but you willthen be not a great way from your destination. Daaka is the chief'sname, is it not?"

  "Yes, that is his name; and if he is as supposed to be, he is my firstcousin. How strange it sounds to me, as I look around me in this savageand wild country, that I should be within forty miles of ablood-relation, who is an inhabitant of it!"

  "Well, we shall soon know the truth; but I must say, if it is only toend in a morning call, you have come a long way for the purpose,"replied the Major.

  "I have come to ascertain a fact, which, from what I now know of thecountry and its inhabitants, will be the source of any thing butpleasure if it be established. My only hope is that it may proveotherwise than we suppose; and there is little chance of that, I fear."

  "At all events, come what may," observed Swinton, "you will have doneyour duty."

  On their return, they found all the men and cattle collected, and thatnight they increased the number of their fires, and tied the oxen to thewagons, that they might not be scattered by the return of the lion. Thelatter did not, however, make his appearance, and the night was passedwithout any disturbance. The following day being Sunday, the Hottentotswere assembled, and desired not to start from the camp, as they would beexpected to attend to prayers and Divine service; and as no huntingexpedition was propose
d, the Caffre warriors, as well as the nativeCaffres, who came in with their baskets of milk and other articles forsale and barter, also remained. Before dinner-time, the bell which hadbeen brought with them from the Cape, to ring in case of any one havingstrayed from the camp, that he might be guided to return, was tolled byBremen, and the Hottentots were assembled. Prayers and a portion of theBible were then read.

  The Caffre warriors, who had been told that the white men were going topray to their God, were very silent and attentive, although they couldnot understand what was said; and the native Caffres, men, women andchildren, sat down and listened. As soon as the service was over, theCaffre head man of the warriors asked the interpreter to inquire of ourtravelers why they struck the bell? was it to let God know that theywere about to pray, and did he hear what they said?

  Swinton replied, that their God heard all that they said, and listenedto the prayers of those who trusted in him.

  A great many other questions were put by the Caffres, all of which werereplied to with great caution by Mr. Swinton, as he was fearful thatthey might not otherwise be understood by the Caffres; but they were, asit was proved by the questions which followed in consequence. A greatportion of the afternoon was passed away in explaining and replying tothe interrogatories of these people, and our travelers felt convincedthat by having kept the Sabbath in that savage land they had done somegood by the example; for, as Swinton truly observed--

  "The missionaries come into the land to spread the gospel of Christ;they tell the natives that such is the religion and belief of the whitemen, and that such are the doctrines which are inculcated. Now white mencome here as traders, or are occasionally seen here as travelers; and ifthe natives find, as they have found, that these white men, stated bythe missionaries to hold the same belief, not only show no evidence oftheir belief, but are guilty of sins expressly forbidden by the religionpreached, is not the work of the missionary nearly destroyed?

  "I have often thought that the behavior of the Dutch boors toward thenatives must have had such an effect; indeed, I may say that the colonyhas been founded upon very opposite principles to those of 'doing untoothers as you would they should do unto you.' I believe that there neveryet was an intercourse between Christians nominal and savages, in anyportion of the globe, but that the savages have with great justicethrown in the Christians' teeth, that they preached one thing but didanother. Unfortunately the taunt is but too true. Even those who hadleft their country for religious persecution have erred in the same way.The conduct of the Puritans who landed at Salem was as barbarous towardthe Indians as that of Pizarro and his followers toward the Mexicans. Ineither case the poor aborigines were hunted to death."

  On Monday they started at daylight, and proceeded on the journey; butthey made little progress, on account of the difficulty of travelingwith the wagons in a country consisting of alternate precipices andravines, without any roads. The second day proved to be one of greaterdifficulty; they were obliged to cut down trees, fill up holes, removelarge pieces of rock, and with every precaution the wagons were oftenout of order, and they were obliged to halt for repairs.

  At night they were about ten miles from the Umtata River, and it wasdoubtful, from the accounts received from the natives of the country, ifthey would be able to go further with the wagons than to its bank. Butin the evening, news was brought that the Amaquibi, the nation ofwarriors which were governed by Quetoo, and which had come from thenorth, had been attacked by two of the native tribes, aided by somewhite men with guns; that the white men had all been destroyed, and thatthe hostile army were marching south.

  The native Caffres appeared to be in a panic, and this panic was sooncommunicated to the Hottentots. At first, murmurings were heard as theysat round the fire, and at last they broke out into open mutiny. BigAdam, with three others, came up to the fire where our travelers weresitting, and intimated that they must return immediately, as they wouldproceed no further; that if it was decided to go on, the Hottentotswould not, as they had no intention of being murdered by the savages whowere advancing. Swinton, who could speak the Dutch language, havingconsulted with Alexander and the Major, replied that it was very truethat the army of Quetoo was to the northward; but that the report of thedefeat of the Caffres and of the army advancing was not confirmed. Itwas only a rumor, and might all be false; that even if true, it did notfollow they were advancing in the direction in which they themselveswere about to proceed; that it would be sufficient time for them toretreat when they found out what were the real facts, which would be thecase in a few days at the furthest. But the Hottentots would not listento any thing that he said; they declared that they would proceed nofurther.

  By this time all the other Hottentots had joined the first who came upto our travelers, and made the same demand, stating their determinationnot to proceed a mile further. Only Bremen and Swanevelt opposed therest, and declared that they would follow their masters wherever theychose to lead them. Alexander now sent for the interpreter and the chiefof the Caffre warriors, lent him by Hinza, and desired the interpreterto ask the Caffre whether he and his band would follow them. The Caffreanswered that they would; Hinza had given them in charge, and they couldnot return and say that they had left them because there was an enemyat hand. Hinza would kill them all if they did; they must bring back thetravelers safe, or lose their lives in their defense.

  "Well, then," said the Major, "now we can do without these cowardlyfellows, who are no use to us but to eat and drink; so now let usdischarge them at once, all but Bremen and Swanevelt."

  "I agree with you, Major," said Alexander; "what do you think, Swinton?"

  "Yes, let us discharge them, for then they will be in a preciousdilemma. We will discharge them without arms, and desire them to gohome; that they dare not do, so they will remain. But let us firstsecure their muskets, which lie round their fire, before we dismissthem; or they will not, perhaps, surrender them, and we may be in anawkward position. I will slip away, and while I am away, do you keepthem in talk until I return, which I shall not do until I have locked upall the guns in the store-wagon."

  As Swinton rose, the Major addressed the Hottentots. "Now, my lads,"said he, "here are Bremen and Swanevelt who consent to follow us; allthe Caffre warriors agree to follow us; and here are about twenty of youwho refuse. Now I can not think that you will leave us; you know that wehave treated you well, and have given you plenty of tobacco; you knowthat you will be punished as soon as you return to the Cape. Why thenare you so foolish? Now look you: I am sure that upon reflection youwill think better of it. Let me understand clearly your reasons for notproceeding with us; I wish to hear them again, and let each man speakfor himself."

  The Hottentots immediately began to state over again their reasons fornot going on; and thus the Major, who made each give his reasonseparately, gained their attention, and the time which was required.Before they all had spoken, Swinton came back and took his seat by thefire.

  "All's safe," said he; "Bremen and Swanevelt's guns have been locked upwith the others." Our travelers had their own lying by them. The Caffrewarriors, who were standing behind the Hottentots, had all theirassaguays in their hands; but their shields, as usual, were hanging tothe sides of the wagons. The Major allowed the whole of the Hottentotsto speak, and when they were done, he said, "Now, Wilmot, turn thetables on them."

  Alexander then got up with his gun in his hand, the Major and Swintondid the same, and then Alexander told the Hottentots that they were acowardly set of fellows; that with Bremen and Swanevelt, and the band ofCaffre warriors, he could do without them; that since they did notchoose to proceed, they might now leave the camp immediately, as theyshould get neither food nor any thing else from them in future. "So nowbe off, the whole of you; and if I find one to-morrow morning in sightof the camp, or if one of you dares to follow us, I will order theCaffres to run him through. You are dismissed, and to-morrow we leavewithout you."

  Alexander then called the chief of the Caffre warriors, and desired
him,in the presence of the Hottentots, to give particular charge of thecattle, horses, and sheep, to his warriors during the night; and if anyone attempted to touch them, to run him through the body. "Do thisimmediately," said Alexander to the chief, who without delay spoke tohis men, and they went off in obedience to his orders.

  The Hottentots, who had heard all this, now retreated to their wagon,but were struck with consternation when they found that their guns hadbeen removed; for they trusted to their guns and ammunition to enablethem to procure food and protect themselves on their return. Theyconsulted together in a low voice; they looked round and perceived thatour three travelers had quitted the fire, and were keeping guard withtheir guns upon the wagons, to prevent any attempt of breaking themopen, on the part of the Hottentots. Moreover, ten of the Caffres, withtheir spears, had since the breaking up of the conference, been put incharge of the wagons by the chief, at the request of the Major. TheHottentots now perceived their forlorn position.

  How could they, without arms and ammunition, and without provisions,return to the Cape, such a number of miles distant? How could theyexist, if they remained where they were? When they insisted upon ourtravelers returning, they had quite overlooked the circumstance thatthese could protect themselves with the Caffre warriors, and that theywere not in a condition to enforce their demand.

  After a long conversation, they did what all Hottentots will do underany emergency,--they lay down by the fire, and fell fast asleep.Swinton, having ascertained that they were really asleep, proposed thatthey themselves should retire to the wagon, and leave the Caffres onguard, which they did; as they well knew that a Hottentot once fastasleep is not easily roused up even to "treason, stratagem, or spoil."

  Shortly after break of day, Bremen came to them, stating that he foundthe wagons could proceed no further, as he had walked on, and discoveredthat a mile before them there was a ravine so deep that it would bedifficult for the cattle to go down, and for the wagons impossible; thatat a distance of three miles below he could see the river, which wasalso so embedded in rocks, as to be impassable by the wagons.

  The Major immediately went with Bremen, to satisfy himself of the truthof this, and returned, stating that further progress with wagons wasimpossible.

  "Well, then, we must now hold a council," said Swinton. "Of course,proceed you will, Wilmot, that is decided; the only question is, as wemust now proceed on horseback, what force you will take with you, andwhat shall be left in charge of the wagons?"

  "I think we can trust the Caffres, do not you?"

  "Yes, I do; but I wish from my heart that the Hottentots had notrebelled; for although in some respects cowardly fellows, yet with theirmuskets they are brave, and their muskets keep the natives in order."

  "To the Caffres, the contents of the wagons would prove a temptation;but these are not temptations to the Hottentots, whose object is to getback safe, and receive their wages. Thus we play them off against eachother."

  "Here are all the Hottentots coming up to us," said the Major; "I hopeit is to make submission; it is very desirable that they should do sobefore they know that the wagons proceed no further."

  The surmise of the Major was correct: the Hottentots had again canvassedthe matter over, and, perceiving the helplessness of their position, hadcome in a body to beg forgiveness, and to offer to accompany ourtravelers wherever they pleased to take them.

  It was a long while before Alexander would consent to receive themagain, and not until they had made promise upon promise, that he seemedat last to be mollified. Swinton then interceded for them, and at lastAlexander consented, upon their future good behavior, to overlook theirconduct. This matter having been satisfactorily arranged, the formerquestion was resumed.

  "One of you, I fear, must remain with the wagons," observed Alexander;"or both of you, if you please. I have no right to ask you to go uponany wild-goose chase, and run into danger for nothing."

  "That one should remain with the wagons will be necessary," saidSwinton; "and I think that the Major, if he does not object, is theproper person. The party who are left must provide themselves with foodby their guns; and it will require more military tact than I possess toarrange that and to defend the wagons. I will accompany you, Wilmot, asI can speak better Dutch, and the interpreter will not get on wellwithout me."

  "Will you have the kindness to take charge of the wagons, Major, duringour absence?"

  "I think, perhaps, it will be as well; although I had rather have gonewith you," replied the Major. "I propose that you take thirty of theCaffres, Bremen, and eight Hottentots with you; leave me Swanevelt andthe other Hottentots."

  "Yes, that will do very well; we will leave the Caffre head man withyou."

  "No; he must go with the larger portion of his party; he could not wellbe separated from them. I will find a proper place for the wagons, andstockade myself regularly in; that will be a good job for theHottentots, and I dare say I shall do very well."

  "I shall not leave you Omrah, Major," said Swinton; "for, as we shalltake four horses with us, I wish him to ride one, and he can attend uponus, as you have Mahomed."

  "You may have Begum to ride the other," replied the Major, "if youplease; then you will each have a groom."

  "No, no, it would be a pity to part you and her; however, there is notime to be lost, for if this great chief and warrior Quetoo isadvancing, it may be as well to be ready for a retreat; the sooner weare off, the sooner we shall be back; so now to pack up."