The Mission

by Frederick Marryat

  CHAPTER XVIII.

  The oxen were yoked, and the caravan proceeded at slow pace to gain thewished-for river. As our travelers walked their horses--for the pooranimals had been without food or water for twenty-four hours, and allidea of chasing the various herds of animals which were to be seen intheir path was abandoned for the present--Swinton remarked, "We are notfar from the track of the Mantatees, when they made their irruption uponthe Caffres about eighteen months back."

  "I was intending to ask you for some information on that point, Swinton.There has been more than one irruption into the country from the nativesto the northward. Mr. Fairburn gave me a very fair idea of the historyof the Cape colony, but we were both too much engaged after our arrivalin Cape Town for me to obtain further information."

  "I will, you may be assured, tell you all I know," replied Swinton; "butyou must not expect to find in me a Mr. Fairburn. I may as well remark,that Africa appears to be a country not able to afford support to adense population, like Europe; and the chief cause of this is the greatwant of water, occasionally rendered more trying by droughts of four orfive years' continuance."

  "I grant that such is the case at present," observed the Major; "but youwell know that it is not that there is not a sufficient quantity ofrain, which falls generally once a year, but because the water whichfalls is carried off so quickly. Rivers become torrents, and in a fewweeks pour all their water into the sea, leaving, I may say, none forthe remainder of the year."

  "That is true," replied Swinton.

  "And so it will be until the population is not only dense, but, I mayadd, sufficiently enlightened and industrious. Then, I presume, theywill take the same measures for securing a supply of water throughoutthe year which have been so long adopted in India, and were formerly inSouth America by the Mexicans. I mean that of digging large tanks, fromwhich the water can not escape, except by evaporation."

  "I believe that it will be the only remedy."

  "Not only the remedy, but more than a remedy; for tanks onceestablished, vegetation will flourish, and the vegetation will not onlyhusband the water in the country, but attract more."

  "All that is very true," replied Swinton, "and I trust the time willcome, when not only this land may be well watered with the dew ofheaven, but that the rivers of grace may flow through it in everydirection, and the tree of Christ may flourish."

  "Amen," replied Alexander.

  "But to resume the thread of my discourse," continued Swinton; "I wasabout to say, that the increase of population, and I may add theincrease of riches,--for in these nomadic tribes cattle are the onlyriches,--is the great cause of these descents from the north; for thecontinued droughts which I have mentioned of four or five years compelthem to seek for pasture elsewhere, after their own is burned up. At allevents, it appears that the Caffre nations have been continuallysustaining the pressure from without, both from the northward and thesouthward, for many years.

  "When the Dutch settled at the Cape, they took possession of the countrybelonging to the Hottentot tribes, driving the few that chose topreserve their independence into the Bushman and Namaqua lands,increasing the population in those countries, which are only able toafford subsistence to a very scattered few. Then, again, they encroachedupon the Caffres, driving them first beyond the great Fish River, andafterward still more to the northward. The Bushman tribes of hillHottentots, if we may so term them, have also been increased by variousmeans, notwithstanding the constant massacres of these unhappy people bythe Dutch boors; moreover, we have by our injudicious colonialregulations added another and a new race of people, who are alreadyconsiderable in their numbers."

  "Which do you refer to?"

  "To the people now known by the name of Griquas, from their having takenpossession of the Griqua country. They are the mixed race between theHottentots and the whites. By the Dutch colonial law, these people couldnot hold possession of any land in the colony; and this act of injusticeand folly has deprived us of a very valuable race of men, who might haveadded much to the prosperity of the colony. Brave and intelligent,industrious to a great degree, they, finding themselves despised onaccount of the Hottentot blood in their veins, have migrated from thecolony and settled beyond the boundaries. Being tolerably well providedwith fire-arms, those who are peaceably inclined can protect themselves,while those who are otherwise commit great depredations upon the poorsavages, following the example shown them by the colonists, and sweepingoff their cattle and their property, in defiance of law and justice. Younow perceive, Alexander, how it is that there has been a pressure fromthe southward."

  "That is very evident," replied the Major.

  "Perhaps I had better proceed to the northward by degrees, and make somemention of the Caffre tribes, which are those who have suffered frombeing, as it were, pressed between encroachments from the north and thesouth. The Caffre race is very numerous. The origin of the general termCaffre, which means Infidel, and no more, is not known, any more than isthat of the term Hottentot."

  "A proof of what we found out at school," observed the Major, "thatnicknames, as they are termed, stick longer than real ones."

  "Precisely," replied Swinton; "our acquaintance is mostly with the moresouthern Caffres, who occupy the land bordering on the east coast ofAfrica, from the Cape boundary to Port Natal. These are the Amakosatribe, whose warriors have just left us; the Tambookies, whose territorywe have recently quitted, and to the northward of them by Port Natal,the Hambonas. These are the Eastern Caffres.

  "On the other side of the Mambookei chain of mountains, and in thecentral portion of Africa, below the tropic, are the Bechuanas, whoinhabit an extent of country as yet imperfectly known to us. These maybe termed the Central Caffres.

  "On the western side of the African coast, and above Namaqua Land, whoseinhabitants are probably chiefly of the Hottentot race, we have theDamaras, who may be classed as the Western Caffres; with these we havehad little or no communication.

  "All these tribes speak the Bechuana or Caffre language, with veryslight variations; they are all governed by chiefs or kings, andsubdivided into numerous bodies; but they are all Caffres. Of theircharacters I have only to observe, that as far as we have experienced,the Caffres of the eastern coast, which we have just left, are verysuperior to the others in courage and in every other good quality. Now,have I made myself intelligible, Alexander?"

  "Most clearly so."

  "I nevertheless wish we were sitting down in some safe place instead oftraveling on horseback over this withered tract, and that I had the mapbefore me to make you understand better."

  "I will refer to the map as soon as I can," replied Alexander; "but Ihave studied the map a great deal, and therefore do not so much requireit."

  All these Caffre tribes live much the same life; their wealth is incattle; they are partly husbandmen, partly herdsmen, and partly hunters;and their continual conflicts with the wild beasts of the countryprepare them for warriors. The Eastern Caffres, from whom we have latelyparted, are the most populous; indeed, now that we have taken from themso much of their country, they have scarcely pasturage for their cattle.I have said that the Eastern Caffres' territory extends as far as thelatitude of Port Natal, but it formerly extended much further to thenorthward, as it did to the southward, before we drove them from theirterritory; indeed as far north as Delagoa Bay; all the country betweenPort Natal and Delagoa Bay being formerly inhabited by tribes ofCaffres. I believe, Alexander, that Mr. Fairburn gave you a history ofthe celebrated monarch Chaka, the king of the Zulus?"

  "Yes, he did."

  "Well, it was Chaka who overran that country I am now speaking of, anddrove out all the tribes who occupied it, as well as a large portion ofthe Bechuana tribes who inhabited lands more to the northward. Now theirruptions we have had into the Caffre and Bechuana country borderingupon the colony have been wholly brought about by the devastationscommitted by Chaka. Of course I refer to those irruptions which havetaken place since our knowledge and possession of the Ca
pe. I have nodoubt that such irruptions have been continued, and that they haveoccurred once in every century for ages. They have been brought about bya population increasing beyond the means of subsistence, and have takenplace as soon as the overplus have required it.

  "The migration of the springboks, which we witnessed yesterday, may bemore frequent, but are not more certain than those of the centralpopulation of Africa. The Caffres themselves state that they formerlycame from the northward, and won their territory by conquest; and theHottentots have the same tradition as regards themselves.

  "The invasion of the Mantatees, as they are called (and by the EasternCaffres Ficani), was nothing more than that of a people dispossessed oftheir property, and driven from the territory by the Zoolus, underChaka; and, indeed, this last array under Quetoo, which has beendestroyed within this month, may be considered as invading from asimilar cause. Having separated from Chaka, Quetoo could find noresting-place, and he therefore came to the southward with the intentionof wresting the territory from the Caffres, in which he has failed. Hadhe not failed, and been cut off by the Caffres, he would have destroyedthem, and thus made room for his own people."

  "Of course; for the end of all these invasions and migrations must be insuch a sacrifice of human life as to afford sustenance and the means ofsubsistence to those who remain," observed the Major.

  "Precisely; and such must continue to be the case on this continent,until the arts and civilization have taught men how to increase themeans of subsistence. To produce this, Christianity must be introduced;for Christianity and civilization go hand in hand."

  "But the Mantatees or Ficani, who are they?"

  "I have already said they were northern Caffre tribes, dispossessed oftheir territory by Chaka. The names of the tribes we do not know.Mantatee, in the Caffre language, signifies an invader, and Ficani also,marauders; both terms applicable to the people, but certainly not thenames of the tribes.

  "I believe, now, I have said enough on the subject to allow me to enterupon the history of this last invasion; but, to tell the truth, the heatis so overpowering, and I feel my tongue so parched, that you mustexcuse me for deferring this account till another opportunity. As soonas we are a little more at our ease, I will give you the history of theMantatees."

  "We are much obliged to you for what you have told us, Swinton, andwill spare you for the present," replied Alexander. "What animals arethose?--look!"

  "They are gnoos," replied Swinton. "There are two varieties of them, thecommon gnoo and the brindled gnoo. They form an intermediate linkbetween the antelope family and the bovine or ox, and they are very goodeating."

  "Then, I wish we were able to go after them. They do not seem to beafraid of us, but approach nearer at every gallop which they make."

  "Yes, although shy, they have a great deal of curiosity," repliedSwinton. "Watch them now."

  The animals bounded away again, as Swinton spoke, and then returned togaze upon the caravan, stirring up the dust with their hoofs, tossingtheir manes, and lashing their sides with their long tails, as theycurvetted and shook their heads, sometimes stamping as if in defiance,and then flying away like the wind, as if from fear.

  "They are safe this time," observed Major Henderson; "but another day wewill try their mettle."

  "You will find them fierce and dangerous when wounded, sir," saidBremen, who had ridden up. "We are not many miles from the river, forthe cattle begin to sniff."

  "I am delighted to hear you say so; for then there must be water near.But the haze and glare together are so great that we can not distinguishabove two miles, if so much."

  "No, sir," replied the Hottentot; "but I can see well enough to see_them_" continued he, pointing with his finger to a rising ground abouta hundred yards off, on the right of them. "One, two, three--there arefive of them."

  "What are they?" said the Major, looking in the direction pointed out."I see; they are lions."

  "Yes, sir; but we must take no notice of them, and they will not annoyus. They are not hungry."

  "You are right," said Swinton, "we must go right on, neither stoppingnor hastening our speed. Let the driver look to the oxen; for, tired asthey are, the smell of the lions is sufficient to give themungovernable strength for the moment."

  "Well," said the Major, "bring us our guns, Bremen. I am willing toaccept the armed neutrality, if they will consent to it."

  The caravan passed on; the lions remaining crouched where they were,eying them, it is true, but not rising from their beds. The oxen,however, either through fear of the lions, or the scent of water near,became more brisk in their motions, and in half an hour they perceived aline of trees before them, which told them that they were near the bedof the Nu Gariep or Cradock River.

  The poor animals redoubled their exertions, and soon arrived at thebanks. Bremen had ridden forward and reported that there still was waterin the river, but only in pools. As the herbage was destroyed on theside where they were, they would have crossed the bed of the riverbefore they unyoked, but that they found impossible. The animals were soimpatient for the water, that, had they not been released, they wouldhave broken the wagons.

  Horses, oxen and sheep all plunged into the pools together, and for someminutes appeared as though they would never be satisfied. They at lastwent out, but soon returned again, till their sides were distended withthe quantity of the element which they had imbibed.

  An hour was allowed for the animals to rest and enjoy themselves, andthen they were again yoked to drag the wagons to the other side of theriver, where there was a sufficiency of pasturage and of wood to make uptheir fires.

  As it was their intention to remain there for a day or two, the wagonswere drawn up at some distance from the river, so as not to interferewith the path by which the wild animals went down to drink. The spoorsor tracks of the lions and buffaloes and other animals were so abundant,as to show that this precaution was necessary.

  As soon as the wagons were arranged in the usual manner, the cattle werepermitted to graze till the evening, when they were brought in andsecured, as usual, inside and round the wagons. They supped off theremainder of the springbok, which was not very sweet; but the horses andmen were both too much exhausted with the fatiguing journey to huntuntil the following day.

  That night they were not disturbed by lions, but the hyenas contrived tocrawl under the wagons, and, having severely bitten one of the oxen,succeeded in carrying off one of the sheep. They had been so oftenannoyed by these animals, that we have never mentioned them; but on thefollowing morning it was found that the ox had been so seriously injuredthat the leg-bone was broken, and they were obliged to destroy theanimal.

  "Were the courage of the hyena equal to his strength, it would be a mostformidable animal," observed Swinton; "but the fact is, it seldom ornever attacks mankind, although there may be twenty in a troop. At thesame time, among the Caffres they very often do enter the huts of thenatives, and occasionally devour children and infirm people. But this isgreatly owing to the encouragement they receive from the custom of theCaffres leaving their dead to be devoured by these animals, which givesthem a liking for human flesh, and makes them more bold to obtain it."

  "They must have a tremendous power in their jaw," observed Alexander.

  "They have, and it is given them for all-wise purposes. The hyena andthe vulture are the scavengers of the tropical regions. The hyenadevours what the vulture leaves, which is the skin and bones of a deadcarcass. Its power of jaw is so great, that it breaks the largest bonewith facility."

  "Are there many varieties of them?"

  "In Africa there are four:--The common spotted hyena, or wolf of thecolonists, whose smell is so offensive that dogs leave it with disgustafter it is killed; its own fellows will, however, devour itimmediately. The striped or ferocious hyena, called the shard-wolf, andanother which the colonists call the bay-wolf, and which I believe to bethe one known as the laughing hyena. There is another variety, which isa sort of link between the hyena and the d
og, called the venatica. Ithunts in packs, and the colonists term it the wild honde. It was firstclassed by Burchell the traveler. This last is smaller, but muchfiercer, than the others."

  "I know that there are leopards in the country, but we have never yetfallen in with one. Are they dangerous?"

  "The leopard shuns any conflict with man, but when driven to desperationit becomes a formidable antagonist. I recollect very well two boorshaving attacked a leopard, and the animal, being hotly pressed by themand wounded, turned round and sprang upon the one nearest, pulling himto the ground, biting his shoulder, and tearing him with his claws. Theother, seeing the danger of his comrade, sprang from his horse andattempted to shoot the animal through the head. He missed, and theleopard left the first man, sprang upon _him_, and, striking him on theface, tore his scalp down over his eyes. The hunter grappled with theanimal, and at last they rolled together down a steep cliff. As soon asthe first hunter could reload his gun, he rushed after them to save hisfriend, but it was too late. The animal had seized him by the throat,and mangled him so dreadfully, that death was inevitable and all thatthe man could do was to avenge his comrade's death by shooting theleopard."

  "That proves the leopard is not to be trifled with."

  "No animal is, when it stands at bay, or is driven to desperation; and,in confirmation of this, I once witnessed one of these animals--thequaggas--which, being pressed to the edge of a precipice by a mountedhunter, seized the man's foot with its teeth, and actually tore it off,so that, although medical aid was at hand, the man died from loss ofblood."

  "One would hardly expect such a tragical issue to the chase of a wildjackass," observed the Major.

  "No; but 'in the midst of life we are in death,' and we never know fromwhence the blow may come. Until it occurred, such an event was supposedimpossible, and the very idea would have created nothing but ridicule.By the by, one of our good missionaries was very near losing his life bya leopard. He went to save a Hottentot who had been seized, and wasattacked by the leopard which, as in the former instance, left hisfirst antagonist to meet his second. Fortunately, Mr. S. was a verypowerful man, and assistance was sooner given him than in the formerinstance. Neither he nor the Hottentot, however, escaped without severewounds, which confined them for many weeks."

  "Is there more than one variety of leopard, Swinton?"

  "Yes, there is the common leopard and the hunting leopard; besides, Ithink, two or three smaller varieties, as the tiger-cat and wild cat.What do you propose doing to-day? Do you stay here, or advance, Wilmot?"

  "Why, the Major wishes to have a shot at the gnoos; he has never killedone yet; and as I am of his opinion, that a day's rest will recover theoxen, and we are in no hurry, I think we may as well stop and provisionour camp for a few days."

  "With all my heart. I am sorry that the hyena has added to our store, byobliging us to kill the poor ox; however, it can not be helped. There isa large body of gnoos and quaggas under that small hill to the westward;but there are better animals for the table when we get a little furtherto the northward."

  "Which are those?"

  "The eland, the largest of the antelope species, and sometimes weighingmore than a thousand pounds; moreover, they are very fat, and very easyto run down. They are excellent eating. When I was in the Namaquas'land, we preferred them to any other food; but I see another variety ofgame on the plain there."

  "What?"

  Omrah pointed them out. "They are either Bushmen (tame Bushmen, as theyare called, in contradistinction to the others), or else Korannas; mostprobably the latter. They are coming right towards us; but Mahomed saysbreakfast is ready."

  By the time that breakfast was finished, a party of twelve Korannas hadjoined the caravan. They made signs that they were hungry, pointing tothe straps which confined their stomachs. The interpreter told them thatthey were about to hunt, and that they should have some of the game, atwhich they were much pleased.

  "Do you know what those straps are called, round their waists, Wilmot?"said Swinton. "They are called the belts of famine. All the natives wearthem when hard pressed by hunger, and they say that they are a greatrelief. I have no doubt but such is the fact."

  "Well," said the Major, "I hope soon to enable the poor fellows toloosen their belts, and fill their stomachs till they are as tight as adrum. Saddle the horses, Bremen. Omrah, you ride my spare horse andcarry my spare rifle."

  Omrah, who now understood English, although he spoke but few words, gavea nod of the head and went off to the wagon for the Major's rifle.