The Mission

by Frederick Marryat

  CHAPTER XXIII.

  There was no alarm during the night, and the next morning they yoked theoxen and changed their course to the northward. The whole of the cattlehad been led down to the river to drink, and allowed two hours to feedbefore they started; for they were about to pass through a sterilecountry of more than sixty miles, where they did not expect to findeither pasturage or water. They had not left the river more than threemiles behind them, when the landscape changed its appearance. As far asthe eye could scan the horizon, all vestiges of trees had disappeared,and now the ground was covered with low stunted bushes and large stones.Here and there were to be seen small groups of animals, the most commonof which were the quaggas. As our travelers were in the advance, theystarted six or seven ostriches which had been sitting, and a ball fromthe Major's rifle brought one to the ground, the others running off at avelocity that the fastest horse could scarcely have surpassed.

  "That was a good shot, Major," said Alexander.

  "Yes," replied Swinton; "but take care how you go too near the bird; youhave broken his thigh, and he may be dangerous. They are very fierce. AsI thought, here is the nest. Let Bremen kill the bird,--he understandsthem, Major. It is the male, and those which have escaped are allfemales."

  "What a quantity of eggs!" said Alexander. "Is the nest a jointconcern?"

  "Yes," replied Swinton. "All those which are in the center of the nestwith their points upward are the eggs for hatching. There are, let mesee, twenty-six of them, and you observe that there are as many moreround about the nest. Those are for the food of the young ostriches assoon as they are born. However, we will save them that trouble. Bremenmust take the eggs outside the nest for us, and the others the peoplemay have. They are not very particular whether they are fresh or not."

  "This is a noble bird," said the Major, "and has some beautifulfeathers. I suppose we may let Bremen take the feathers out and leavethe body!"

  "Yes; I do not want it; but Bremen will take the skin, I dare say. It isworth something at the Cape."

  As soon as the Hottentots had secured the eggs, and Bremen had skinnedthe ostrich, which did not occupy many minutes, they rode on, andSwinton then said--

  "The male ostrich generally associates with from three to seven females,which all lay in the same nest. He sits as well as the females, andgenerally at night, that he may defend the eggs from the attacks of thehyenas and other animals."

  "You do not mean to say that he can fight these animals!"

  "And kill them also. The ostrich has two powerful weapons; its wing,with which it has often been known to break a hunter's leg, the blowfrom it is so violent; and what is more fatal, its foot, with the toe ofwhich it strikes and kills both animals and men. I once myself, inNamaqua-land, saw a Bushman who had been struck on the chest by the footof the ostrich, and it had torn open his chest and stomach, so that hisentrails were lying on the ground. I hardly need say that the poorwretch was dead."

  "I could hardly have credited it," observed Alexander.

  "The Bushmen skin the ostrich, and spread the skin upon a frame ofwicker-work; the head and neck are supported by a skin thrust throughthem. The skin they fix on one of their sides, and carry the head andneck in one of their hands, while the other holds the bow and arrows. Inthis disguise--of course with the feathered side of him presented to thebird or beast he would get near to--he walks along, pecking with thehead at the bushes, and imitating the motions of the ostrich. By thisstratagem he very often is enabled to get within shot of the otherostriches, or the quaggas and gnoos which consort with these birds."

  "I should like to see that very much," said the Major.

  "You would be surprised at the close imitation, as I have been. I oughtto have said that the Bushman whitens his legs with clay. It is,however, a service of danger, for I have, as I told you, known a mankilled by the male ostrich; and the natives say that it is by no meansuncommon for them to receive very serious injury."

  "Hold hard," said the Major, "there is a lion; what a terrible blackmane he has got! What do you say, Swinton? He is by himself."

  Swinton looked at the animal, which was crossing about three hundredyards ahead of them; he was on a low hill, with his head close to theground.

  "I certainly say not. Let him pass, by all means; and I only hope hewill take no notice of us. I must give you the advice which an oldNamaqua chief gave me. He said--'Whenever you see a lion moving in themiddle of the day, you may be certain that he is in great want of foodand very angry. Never attack one then, for they are very dangerous andmost desperate,' If, therefore, Major, you wish a very serious affair,and one or two lives lost you will attack that animal. But you mustexpect that what I say will happen."

  "Indeed, my dear Swinton, I neither wish to lose my own life, nor torisk those of others, and therefore we will remain here till his majestyhas had time to get out of our way; and I hope he may soon find adinner."

  By this time the caravan had come up with them, and they then proceeded.The face of the country became even more sterile, and at last not ananimal of any description was to be seen. As there was nothing for theoxen to feed upon they continued their route during the whole of theday, and at night they halted and secured the cattle to the wagons. Woodfor fires they were not able to procure, and therefore they made onehalf of the Hottentots watch during the night with their muskets toscare off wild beasts. But, as Swinton observed, there was little chanceof their being disturbed by lions or other animals, as they were sodistant from water, and there was no game near them upon which the wildbeasts prey; and so it proved, for during the whole night they did noteven hear the cry of a hyena or a jackal.

  At the first gleaming of light the oxen were again yoked, with thehopes of their being able to gain the Val River by night. The relay oxenwere now put to, to relieve those which appeared to suffer most. At noonthe heat was dreadful, and the horses, which could not support the wantof water as the oxen could, were greatly distressed. They continued forabout two hours more, and then perceived a few low trees. Begum, who hadbeen kept without water, that she might exert herself to find it,started off as fast as she could, followed by Omrah. After running tothe trees, they altered their course to the eastward, toward some raggedrocks. The caravan arrived at the trees, which they found were growingon the banks of the river Alexandria, which they knew they should pass;but not a drop of water was to be discovered; even the pools were quitedry. As they searched about, all of a sudden Begum came running backscreaming, and with every mark of terror, and clung, as usual, to theMajor when frightened.

  "Where is the Bushboy?" said Bremen.

  "Something has happened," cried Swinton; "come all of you with yourguns."

  The whole party, Hottentots and all, hastened toward the rocks whereOmrah and Begum had been in search of water. As soon as they reachedwithin fifty paces, quite out of breath with their haste, they weresaluted with the quah, quah, of a herd of baboons, which were perched atthe edge of the rocks, and which threatened them in their usual way,standing on their fore-legs, and making as if they would fly at them.

  "Now, then, what is to be done?" said the Major. "Shall we fire? Do youthink that they have possession of the boy?"

  "If they have, they will let him go. Yes, we are too numerous for themnow, and they will not show fight, depend upon it. Let us all take goodaim and fire a volley right into them."

  "Well, then, I'll take that venerable old chap that appears to be theleader, and the great-grandfather of them all," said the Major. "Are youall ready?--then fire."

  The volley had its effect; three or four of the animals were killed,many were wounded, and the whole herd went scampering off with loudshrieks and cries, the wounded trailing themselves after the others aswell as they could.

  The whole party then ascended the crags to look after Omrah--all butBegum, who would not venture. They had hardly gained the summit whenthey heard Omrah's voice below, but could not see him. "There he is,sir," said Swanevelt, "down below there." Swinton and the Major
wentdown again, and at last, guided by the shouts of the boy, they came to anarrow cleft in the rock, about twenty feet deep, at the bottom of whichthey heard, but could not see, the boy. The cleft was so narrow thatnone of the men could squeeze down it. Swinton sent one of them back forsome leathern thongs or a piece of rope to let down to him.

  During the delay, Bremen inquired of Omrah if he was hurt, and receivedan answer in the negative. When the rope came, and was lowered down tohim, Omrah seized it, and was hauled up by the Hottentots. He appearedto have suffered a little, as his hair was torn out in large handfuls,and his shirt was in ribbons; but with the exception of some severescratches from the nails of the baboons, he had no serious injury. Omrahexplained to the Hottentots, who could talk his language, that Begum andhe had come to the cleft, and had discovered that there was water at thebottom of it; that Begum had gone down, and that he was following, whenthe baboons, which drank in the chasm, had come upon them. Begum hadsprung up and escaped, but he could not; and that the animals hadfollowed him down, until he was so jammed in the cleft that he coulddescend no further; and that there they had pulled out his hair and tornhis shirt, as they saw. Having heard Omrah's story, and satisfiedthemselves that he had received no serious injury, they then went towhere the baboons had been shot. Two were dead; but the old one, whichthe Major had fired at, was alive, although severely wounded, havingreceived two shots, one in his arm and the other in his leg, which wasbroken by the ball. All the poor old creature's fierceness appeared tohave left him. It was evidently very weak from the loss of blood, andsat down leaning against the rock. Every now and then it would raiseitself, and look down upon the wound in its leg, examining the holewhere the bullet had passed through; then it would hold up its woundedarm with its other hand, and look them in the face inquiringly, as muchas to say, "What have you done this for?"

  "Poor creature," said Alexander; "how much its motions are those of ahuman being. Its mute expostulation is quite painful to witness."

  "Very true," said the Major; "but still, if it had not those wounds, itwould tear you to pieces if it could."

  "That it certainly would," said Swinton; "but still it is an object ofpity. It can not recover, and we had better put it out of its misery."

  Desiring Bremen to shoot the animal through the head, our travelers thenwalked back to the caravan. As they returned by the banks of the river,they perceived Begum very busy, scraping up the baked mud at the bottomof a pool.

  "What is the princess about?" said Alexander.

  "I know," cried Omrah, who immediately ran to the assistance of thebaboon; and after a little more scraping, he pulled out a live tortoiseabout a foot long.

  "I have heard that when the pools dry up, the tortoises remain in themud till the pools are filled up again," said Swinton.

  "Are they good eating, Swinton?"

  "Excellent."

  "Turtle soup in the desert, that's something unexpected."

  The Hottentots now set to work and discovered five or six more, whichthey brought out. They then tried in vain to get at the water in thedeep cleft, but finding it impossible, the caravan continued its course.

  "How much more of this desert have we to traverse," said Alexander,"before we come to the river?"

  THE TORTOISE DISCOVERY.]

  "I fear that we shall not arrive there before to-morrow night," saidSwinton, "unless we travel on during the night, which I think will bethe best plan; for fatiguing as it will be to the animals, they willbe even more exhausted if they pass another day under the sun withoutwater, and at night they will bear their work better. We gain nothing bystopping, as the longer they are on the journey, the more they will beexhausted."

  "I am really fearful for the horses, they suffer so much."

  "At night we will wash their mouths with a sponge full of water; we canspare so much for the poor creatures."

  "In the deserts of Africa you have always one of three dangers toencounter," said Swinton; "wild men, wild beasts, and want of water."

  "And the last is the worst of the three," replied the Major. "We shallhave a moon to-night for a few hours."

  "Yes, and if we had not, it would be of no consequence; the stars givelight enough, and we have little chance of wild beasts here. We now wantwater; as soon as we get rid of that danger, we shall then have theother to encounter."

  The sun went down at last; the poor oxen toiled on with their tongueshanging out of their mouths. At sunset, the relay oxen were yoked, andthey continued their course by the stars. The horses had been refreshed,as Swinton had proposed; but they were too much exhausted to be ridden,and our travelers, with their guns on their shoulders, and the dogsloose, to give notice of any danger, now walked by the sides of thewagons over the sandy ground. The stars shone out brilliantly, and eventhe tired cattle felt relief, from the comparative coolness of the nightair. All was silent, except the creaking of the wheels of the wagons,and the occasional sighs of the exhausted oxen, as they thus passedthrough the desert.

  "Well," observed the Major, after they had walked about an hour withoutspeaking, "I don't know what your thoughts may have been all this while,but it has occurred to me that a party of pleasure may be carried to toogreat lengths; and I think that I have been very selfish, in persuadingWilmot to undergo all that we have undergone and are likely to undergo,merely because I wished to shoot a giraffe."

  "I presume that I must plead guilty also," replied Swinton, "in havingassisted to induce him; but you know a naturalist is so ardent in hispursuit that he thinks of nothing else."

  "I do not think that you have either of you much to answer for," repliedAlexander; "I was just as anxious to go as you were; and as far as I amconcerned, have not the slightest wish to turn back again, till we haveexecuted our proposed plans. We none of us undertook this journey withthe expectation of meeting with no difficulties or no privations; and Ifully anticipate more than we have yet encountered, or are encounteringnow. If I get back on foot, and without a sole left to my shoe, I shallbe quite content; at the same time, I will not continue it if you bothwish to return."

  "Indeed, my dear fellow, I have no wish but to go on; but I was afraidthat we were running you into dangers which we have no right to do."

  "You have a right, allowing that I did not myself wish to proceed,"replied Alexander. "You escorted me safe through the country toascertain a point in which you had not the slightest interest, and itwould indeed be rewarding you very ill, if I were now to refuse togratify you: but the fact is, I am gratifying myself at the same time."

  "Well, I am very glad to hear you say so," replied the Major, "as itmakes my mind at ease; what time do you think it is, Swinton?"

  "It is about three o'clock; we shall soon have daylight, and I hope withdaylight we shall have some sight to cheer us. We have traveled well,and can not by my reckoning be far from the Val River. Since yesterdaymorning we have made sixty miles or thereabouts; and if we have notdiverged from our course, the poor animals will soon be relieved."

  They traveled on another weary hour, when Begum gave a cry, and startedoff ahead of the wagons; the oxen raised their heads to the wind, andthose which were not in the yokes after a short while broke from thekeepers, and galloped off, followed by the horses, sheep, and dogs. Theoxen in the yokes also became quite unruly, trying to disengagethemselves from the traces.

  "They have smelt the water; it is not far off, sir," said Bremen; "wehad better unyoke them all, and let them go."

  "Yes, by all means," said Alexander.

  So impatient were the poor beasts, that it was very difficult todisengage them, and many broke loose before it could be effected; assoon as they were freed, they followed their companions at the samerapid pace.

  "At all events, we shall know where to find them," said the Major,laughing: "well, I really so felt for the poor animals that I am ashappy as if I was as thirsty as they are, and was now quenching mythirst. It's almost daylight."

  As the day dawned, they continued to advance in the dire
ction that theanimals had taken, and they then distinguished the trees that borderedthe river, which was about two miles distant. As soon as it was broaddaylight, they perceived that the whole landscape had changed inappearance. Even where they were walking there was herbage, and near tothe river it appeared most luxuriant. Tall mimosa-trees were to be seenin every direction, and in the distance large forests of timber. All wasverdant and green, and appeared to them as a paradise after the desertin which they had been wandering on the evening before. As they arrivedat the river's banks, they were saluted with the lively notes of thebirds hymning forth their morning praise, and found the cattle, afterslaking their thirst, were now quietly feeding upon the luxuriant grasswhich surrounded them.

  "Well may the Psalmist and prophets talk of the beauty of flowingrivers," said Alexander; "now we feel the truth and beauty of thelanguage; one would almost imagine that the sacred writings were inditedin these wilds."

  "If not in these, they certainly were in the Eastern countries, whichassimilate strongly with them," said Swinton; "but, as you truly say, itis only by having passed through the country that you can fullyappreciate their beauties. We never know the real value of any thingtill we have felt what it is to be deprived of it; and in a temperateclimate, with a pump in every house, people can not truly estimate thevalue of 'flowing rivers.'"

  The Hottentots having now arrived, the cattle were driven back to thewagons and yoked, that they might be brought up to a spot which had beenselected for their encampment. In the mean time our travelers, who weretired with their night's walk, lay down under a large mimosa-tree, closeto the banks of the river.

  "We shall stay here a day or two, of course," said the Major.

  "Yes, for the sake of the cattle; the poor creatures deserve a couple ofdays' rest."

  "Do you observe how the mimosas are torn up on the other side of theriver?" said Swinton; "the elephants have been very numerous therelately."

  "Why do they tear the trees up?" said Alexander.

  "To feed upon the long roots, which are very sweet; they destroy animmense number of the smaller trees in that manner."

  "Well, we must have another elephant-hunt," said the Major.

  "We may have hunts of every kind, I expect, here," replied Swinton; "weare now in the very paradise of wild animals, and the further we go themore we shall find."

  "What a difference there is in one day's journey in this country,"observed Alexander; "yesterday morning there was not a creature to beseen, and all was silent as death. Now listen to the noise of the birds,and as for beasts, I suspect we shall not have far to look for them."

  "No, for there is a hippopotamus just risen; and now he's downagain--there's food for a fortnight at one glance," cried the Major.

  "How the horses and sheep are enjoying themselves--they are making upfor lost time; but here come the wagons."

  "Well, then, I must get up and attend to my department," said the Major."I presume that we must expect our friends the lions again now."

  "Where there is food for lions, you must expect lions, Major," saidSwinton.

  "Very true, and fuel to keep them off; by the by, turtle soup fordinner, recollect; tell Mahomed."

  "I'll see to it," said Alexander; "but we must have something forbreakfast, as soon as I have had a wash at the river's side. I wouldhave a bath, only I have such a respect for the hippopotami."

  "Yes, you will not forget them in a hurry," said Swinton, laughing.

  "Not as long as I have breath in my body, for they took all the breathout of it. Come, Swinton, will you go with me, and make your toilet atthe river's banks?"

  "Yes, and glad to do so; for I am covered with the sand of the desert."