The Mission

by Frederick Marryat

  CHAPTER XXVI.

  With the exception of three lions coming very near to the encampment androusing up the Griquas, nothing occurred during the night. In themorning they yoked the oxen and had all the horses saddled ready for thechase; but they were disappointed for nearly the whole day; as, althoughthey saw a variety of game, no giraffe appeared in sight. In theafternoon, as they passed by a clump of mimosas, they were charged by arhinoceros, which nearly threw down Alexander's best horse; but a volleyfrom the Griquas laid him prostrate. It was a very large animal, but notof the black or ferocious sort, being what is termed the whiterhinoceros. Within the last two days they had also observed that thegnoo was not of the same sort as the one which they had seen so long,but a variety which Swinton told them was called the brindled gnoo; itwas, however, in every other respect the same animal, as to its motionsand peculiarities. Toward the evening the Matabili warrior whoaccompanied them pointed to a mimosa at a distance, and made signs tothe Major that there was a giraffe.

  "I can not see him--do you, Alexander?" said the Major; "he points tothat mimosa with the dead stump on the other side of it, there. Yes, itis one, I see the stump, as I called it, move; it must be the neck ofthe animal. Let loose the dogs, Swanevelt," cried the Major, startingoff at full speed, and followed by Alexander, and Omrah, with the sparehorse. In a minute or two the giraffe was seen to get clear of themimosa, and then set off in an awkward, shambling kind of gallop; butawkward as the gallop appeared, the animal soon left the Major behind.It sailed along with incredible velocity, its long, swan-like neckkeeping time with its legs, and its black tail curled above its back.

  "Push on, Alexander," cried the Major; "if ever there were seven-leagueboots, that animal has a pair of them on. He goes like the wind; but hecan not keep it up long, depend upon it, and our horses are in capitalcondition."

  Alexander and the Major were now neck and neck, close to each other, atfull speed, when of a sudden the Major's horse stumbled, and fell uponan ostrich, which was sitting on her nest; Alexander's horse alsostumbled and followed after the Major; and there they were, horses andriders, all rolling together among the ostrich-eggs; while the ostrichgained her legs, and ran off as fast as the giraffe.

  As soon as they had got on their legs again, and caught the bridles oftheir horses, they looked round, but could not distinguish the giraffe,which was out of sight among the mimosa-trees; while Omrah was very busypicking up their rifles, and laughing in a very disrespectful manner.The Major and Alexander soon joined in the laugh. No bones were broken,and the horses had received no injury. All they had to do was to returnto the caravan looking very foolish.

  "Your first essay in giraffe-hunting has been very successful," saidSwinton, laughing, as they came up to him.

  "Yes, we both threw very pretty summersets, did we not?" said Alexander."However, we have got some ostrich-eggs for supper, and that is betterthan nothing. It will soon be dark, so we had better encamp for thenight, had we not?"

  "I was about to propose it," said Swinton.

  "Did you ever hunt the giraffe, Swinton?" inquired Alexander, as theywere making their supper on roasted ostrich-eggs; each of them holdingone between his knees, and dipping out with a large spoon.

  "Never," replied Swinton; "I have often seen them in Namaqua-land, butnever killed one. I remember, however, a circumstance connected with thegiraffe, which would have been incredible to me, if I had not seen theremains of the lion. You are well aware how long and strong are thethorns of the mimosa (or kamel-tree, as the Dutch call it, from thegiraffe browsing upon it), and how the boughs of these trees lie like anumbrella, close upon one another. A native chief informed me that hewitnessed a lion attacking a giraffe. The lion always springs at thehead or neck, and seizes the animal by that part, riding him, as itwere. The giraffe sets off at full speed with its enemy, and is sopowerful as often to get rid of him; for I have seen giraffes killedwhich had the marks of the lion's teeth and claws upon them. In thisinstance the lion made a spring, but the giraffe at that very momentturning sharp round, the lion missed his aim, and by the blow itreceived was tossed in the air, so that he fell upon the boughs of themimosa on his back. The boughs were not only compact enough to bear hisweight, but the thorns that pierced through his body were so strong asto hold the enormous animal where he lay. He could not disengagehimself; and they pointed out to me the skeleton on the boughs of thetree, as a corroboration of the truth of the story."

  "It does really approach to the marvelous," observed the Major; "but, asyou say, seeing is believing. I trust that we shall be more fortunateto-morrow."

  "I have gained a piece of information from Swanevelt," said Swinton,"which makes me very anxious that we should leave this as soon aspossible; which is, that the Matabili king had no idea that we hadGriquas in our company, and still less that we were to come into hiscountry with only the Griquas as attendants. You are not perhaps awarethat Moselekatsee is the deadly enemy of the Griquas, with whom he hashad several severe conflicts, and that we are not very safe on thataccount?"

  "Why did not the Griquas say so?" replied Alexander.

  "Because they do not care for the Matabili, and I presume are glad tocome into the country, that they may know something of it, in case oftheir making an attack upon it. Depend upon it, as soon as the kinghears of it, we shall be looked upon as spies, and he may send a partyto cut us off."

  "Have you said any thing to the Griquas?"

  "Yes, and they laughed, and said that they should not care if we wentright up to the principal town, where Moselekatsee resides."

  "Well, they are bold enough, and so far are good traveling companions;but we certainly did not come here to fight," observed the Major. "Butdoes the Matabili with us know that they are Griquas?"

  "He did not; he supposed that they were Cape people whom we had broughtwith us; but he has found it out by the Hottentots, I suppose. Swaneveltsays, that the very first body of Matabili that we fell in with, he senta runner off immediately, I presume to give the information. I think,therefore, that the sooner we can get away the better."

  "Well, I agree with you, Swinton," replied Alexander.

  "We will try for the giraffe to-morrow, and when the Major has had thesatisfaction of killing one, we will retrace our steps, for should we beattacked, it will be impossible to defend ourselves long againstnumbers. So now to bed."

  They rose early the next morning, and, leaving the wagon where it was,again proceeded on horseback in search of giraffes. They rode at a slowpace for four or five miles, before they could discover any. At last aherd of them were seen standing together browsing on the leaves of themimosa. They made a long circuit to turn them, and drive them toward thecamp, and in this they succeeded. The animals set off at their usualrapid pace, but did not keep it up long, as there were several not fullgrown among them, which could not get over the ground so fast as thelarge male of the preceding day. After a chase of three miles, theyfound that the animals' speed was rapidly decreasing, and they werecoming up with them. When within a hundred yards, Alexander fired andwounded a female which was in the rear. The Major pushed on with thedogs after a large male, and it stopped at bay under a mimosa, kickingmost furiously at the dogs. The Major leveled his rifle, and brought theanimal down with his first shot. It rose again, however, and for ahundred yards went away at a fast pace; but it again fell, to rise nomore. The female which Alexander had wounded received another shot, andwas then also prostrated."

  "I have killed a _giraffe_," said the Major, standing by the side of theone he had killed. "It has been a long way to travel, and there havebeen some dangers to encounter for the sake of performing this feat; butwe have all our follies, and are eager in pursuit of just as greattrifles through life; so that in this I am not perhaps more foolish thanthe rest of mankind. I have obtained my wishes--I have killed a giraffe;and now I don't care how soon we go back again."

  "Nor do I," replied Alexander; "for I can say with you, when we arrivein England, I too have killed a gir
affe; so you will not be able toboast over me. By Swinton's account if we stay here much longer, weshall have to kill Matabili, which I am not anxious to do; therefore, Inow say with you, I don't care how soon we go back to the Cape."

  As they were not more than two miles from the wagon, they rode back, andsent the Griquas to bring in the flesh of the animals; Swinton notcaring for the skins, as he had already procured some in Namaqua-land,and the weight of them would be so very great for the wagon. On theirreturn, they had some conversation with the Griquas, who candidlyacknowledged that it was very likely that the Matabili king wouldattempt to cut them off, although they appeared not at all afraid of hismaking the attempt. They, however, readily consented to return the nextmorning. That night, a messenger arrived to the Matabili chief who wasescorting them. What was the communication of course our travelers couldnot tell; but their suspicions were confirmed by the behavior of theman. When he found that, on the following morning, they yoked the oxenand retraced their steps, he begged them not to go, but to advance intothe interior of the country, where they would find plenty of game; toldthem that the king would be very angry if they left so soon; and if hedid not see them, his heart would be very sad. But our travelers hadmade up their mind, and traveled back during the whole of that day. TheMatabili dispatched the messenger who had come to him, and who again setoff at all speed; at night he urged our travelers not to go back, sayingthat the king would be very angry with him. But as the Griquas were nowequally convinced that treachery was intended, they paid no attentionto the Matabili chief, and continued their route, shooting elands by theway for their sustenance. Late in the evening of the third day theyfound themselves on the borders of the Val river. It was still two hoursbefore dark, and as the Matabili pressed them to encamp where they were,they were satisfied that they had better not, and therefore they fordedthe river, and rejoined the caravan, under charge of Bremen, just asnight closed in.

  The Griquas said, that from the Matabili wishing them to remain on theother side of the river, they were persuaded that a force would arriveduring that night or the following morning, and that it would benecessary to be on the look-out; although probably the enemy would notventure to attack them without further orders, now that they were nolonger in Moselekatsee's dominions. Every preparation was thereforemade: the Griquas and Hottentots were all supplied with ammunition, andmustered with their guns in their hands. The wagons were arranged, thefires lighted, and four men were posted as sentinels round theencampment. What added still more to their suspicions was, that, aboutan hour after dark, the Matabili chief was not to be found.

  "My opinion is," said the Major, "that we ought to steal a march uponthem. Our oxen are in excellent condition, and may travel till to-morrowevening without feeling it. Let us yoke and be off at once, now that itis dark. The moon will rise about two o'clock in the morning, but beforethat the wagons will be twelve or fifteen miles off. Alexander and I,with Bremen, will remain here with our horses and wait till the moonrises, to see if we can discover any thing: and we can easily join thewagons by daybreak. We will keep the fires up, to allow them to supposethat we are still encamped, that they may not pursue."

  "And also to keep off the lions," observed Alexander, "which are notenemies to be despised."

  "I think it is a very good plan; but why not have more men with you? Wehave plenty of horses, and so have the Griquas."

  "Well then, let us talk to the Griquas."

  The Griquas approved of the plan; and, having their own horses, six ofthem agreed to remain with Alexander and the Major, and Swanevelt andtwo more of the Hottentots were also mounted to remain; which made aforce of twelve men, well mounted and well armed. The remainder of thecaravan yoked the oxen to the wagons, and, under the direction ofSwinton, set off in a southerly direction, across the desert, instead ofgoing by the banks of the Val River, as before.

  This had been arranged previously to any expected attack from theMatabili, as it would considerably shorten the distance on returning,although they knew that they would find much difficulty in procuringwater for a few days. After the caravan had departed, it was found thatOmrah had helped himself to a horse and a gun, and had remained in thecamp; but as he was always useful, his so doing was passed over withoutnotice. In half an hour the wagons were out of sight, and the noise oftheir wheels was no longer to be heard.

  They fastened their horses in the center of the fires, and sat down bythem till the moon rose, when they directed their eyes to the oppositebank of the river; but for some time nothing was discovered to confirmtheir suspicions. When the moon was about an hour high, they perceived abody of men coming, down toward the banks, and the moon shone upon theirshields, which were white. As soon as they arrived at the bank of theriver, they all sat down, without making any noise. Shortly afterward,another body with dark-colored shields, made their appearance, who camedown and joined the first.

  "We were not wrong in our suspicions, at all events," said the Major; "Ishould say that there are not less than a thousand men in these twoparties which have already appeared. Now, what shall we do? Shall weremain here, or shall we be off, and join the wagons?"

  "I really can hardly decide which would be the best," replied Alexander;"let us have a consultation with Bremen and the Griquas."

  "If we were to go away now," said Bremen, "the fires would soon be out,and they might suspect something, and come over to reconnoiter. Whenthey found that we were gone, they would perhaps follow us, and overtakethe wagons; but if we remain here, and keep the fires up till daybreak,the wagons will have gained so much more distance."

  The Griquas were of the same opinion; and it was decided that they wouldremain there till daybreak, and then set off.

  "But," said Alexander, "shall we leave this before they can see us, orallow them to see us?"

  The Griquas said, that it would be better that the enemy should seethem, as then they would know that the fires had been kept up to deceivethem, and that the wagons were probably a long way off.

  This having been agreed upon, a careful watch was kept upon the enemyduring the remainder of the night. Although the moon had discovered theapproach of the Matabili to the party, the spot where the camp had beenpitched was in the shade, so that from the opposite side of the riveronly the fires could be distinguished. A little before dawn, some onewas heard approaching, and they were all prepared to fire, when theydiscovered that it was Omrah, who, unknown to them, had crawled down tothe banks of the river to reconnoiter the enemy.

  Omrah, who was out of breath with running, stated that some of theMatabili were crossing the river, and that six had landed on this side,before he came up to give the information. He pointed to a clump oftrees, about three hundred yards off, and said that they had gone up inthat direction, and were probably there by that time.

  "Then we had better saddle and mount," said the Major, "and ride awaygently to the wood on this side of the camp. We shall then be able towatch their motions without being seen."

  This advice was good, and approved by all. They led out their horseswithout noise, and as soon as they had done so, they went back, andthrew more fuel on the fires. They then retreated to the wood, which wasabout the same distance from the camp, on the other side, as the clumpof trees where the Matabili were secreted.

  They had hardly concealed themselves, before the Matabili in the clump,surprised at not seeing the awnings of the wagons, and suspecting thatthey had been deceived, came out from their ambuscade; first crawling onall-fours, and as they arrived at the camp, and found only firesburning, rising up one after another. After remaining about a minute inconsultation, two of the party were sent back to the river tocommunicate this intelligence to the main body, while the otherssearched about in every direction. Alexander, with the Major and theirparty, remained where they were, as it was their intention to crossthrough the wood, until they came to the open ground, about a quarter ofa mile to the southward, and then show themselves to the enemy, beforethey went to join the wagons.


  In a few minutes it was daylight, and they now perceived that the wholebody of the Matabili were crossing the river.

  "They intend to pursue us, then," said Alexander.

  Omrah now pointed to the side of the river, in the direction which thewagons had traveled when they came up by its banks, saying, "When goaway--ride that way first--same track wagon go that way back--same waywagon come."

  "The boy is right," said the Major; "when we start from the wood, wewill keep by the riverside, in the track by which the wagons came; andwhen we are concealed from them by the hills or trees, we will thenstart off to the southward after the wagons."

  "I see," replied Alexander; "they will probably take the marks of thewagon-wheels coming here, for those of the wagons going away, and willfollow them; presuming, as we go that way, that our wagons have gonealso. But here they come up the banks; it is time for us to be off."

  "Quite time," said the Major; "so now let us show ourselves, and thentrust to our heels."

  The Matabili force was now within four hundred yards of the camp. Itwas broad daylight; and, with their white and red shields and shortspears in their hands, they presented a very formidable appearance.

  There was no time to be lost, so the party rode out of the end of thewood nearest the river, and, as soon as they made their appearance, werereceived by a yell from the warriors, who dashed forward in thedirection where they stood. The Major had directed that no one shouldfire, as he and Alexander did not wish that any blood should be shedunnecessarily. They therefore waved their hands, and turning theirhorses' heads galloped off by the banks of the river, keeping in thetracks made by the wagons when they came up.

  As soon as they galloped a quarter of a mile, they pulled up, and turnedtheir horses' heads to reconnoiter. They perceived that the Matabiliforce was pursuing them at the utmost speed: but as they had nohorsemen, that speed was of course insufficient to overtake thewell-mounted party in advance. As soon as they were near, our partyagain galloped off and left them behind. Thus they continued for four orfive miles, the Matabili force pursuing them, or rather following thetracks of the wagons, when they observed a belt of trees before themabout a mile off; this the Major considered as a good screen to enablethem to alter their course without being perceived by the enemy. Theytherefore galloped forward, and as soon as they were hidden by thetrees, turned off in a direction by which they made certain to fall inwith the track which the wagons had made on their departure during thenight.

  They had ridden about two miles, still concealed in the wood, when theyhad the satisfaction of perceiving the Matabili force still following ata rapid pace the tracks of the wagons on the riverside. Having watchedthem for half an hour, as they now considered that all was safe, theyagain continued their course, so as to fall in with the wagons.

  "I think we are clear of them now," said the Major; "they have evidentlyfallen into the trap proposed by that clever little fellow, Omrah."

  "He is a very intelligent boy," observed Alexander, "and, traveling inthis country, worth his weight in gold."

  "I wish Swinton would make him over to me," said the Major; "but,Alexander, do you observe what a change there is already in thecountry?"

  "I do indeed," replied Alexander; "and all ahead of us it appears to bestill more sterile and bare."

  "Yes, when you leave the rivers, you leave vegetation of all kindsalmost. There is no regular rainy season at all here, Swinton says; wemay expect occasional torrents of rain during three months, but they arenow very uncertain; the mountains attract the greater portion of therain, and sometimes there will not be a shower on the plains for thewhole year."

  "How far shall we have to travel before we fall in with water again?"inquired Alexander.

  "Swinton says there may be water in a river about sixty miles from wherewe started last night; if not, we shall have to proceed about thirtymiles further, to the Gykoup or Vet River. After that we shall have todepend for many days upon the water we may find in the holes, which, asthe season is now coming on, may probably be filled by the rain."

  Alexander and his party rode for seven or eight miles before they fellin with the tracks of the caravan; they then pulled up their jadedhorses, and proceeded at a more leisurely pace, so that it was not tilllate in the evening that they discovered the wagons at some distance,having passed the dry bed of Salt River ahead of them. During the wholeday their horses had had neither food nor water, and the animals weremuch exhausted when they came up with the wagons. The oxen also werefatigued with so long a journey, having made nearly fifty miles sincethey started the evening before.

  The country was now stony and sterile; a little vegetation was to befound here and there, but not sufficient to meet the wants of theanimals, and water there was none. During the day but little game hadbeen seen,--few zebras and ostriches only; all other varieties haddisappeared. There was of course no wood to light the fires round theencampment: a sufficiency for cooking their victuals had been throwninto the wagons, and two sheep were killed to supply a supper for sonumerous a party. But the absence of game also denoted the absence oflions, and they were not disturbed during the night. In the morning theGriquas parted company with them, on the plea that their oxen and horseswere in too poor a condition to pass over the desert, and that they mustmake a direct course for the Val River and return by its banks.

  Our travelers gave them a good supply of ammunition, the only thing thatthey wished for, and the Griquas, yoking their oxen to the crazy oldwagon, set off in a westerly direction.

  The route of the caravan was now directed more to the south-west, andthey passed over an uninterrupted plain strewed with smallland-tortoises, and covered with a profusion of the gayest flowers.About noon, after a sultry journey of nine hours, they fortunatelyarrived at a bog, in which they found a pool of most fetid water, whichnothing but necessity could have compelled either them or the exhaustedanimals to drink. Near this pool in the desert they found several wildanimals, and they obtained three gnoos for a supply of provision; thelittle wood that they had in the wagon for fuel was all used up incooking their supper.

  A heavy dew fell during the night, and in the morning, before the sunrose, they were enveloped in a thick fog. As the fog dispersed, theyperceived herds of quaggas in all directions, but at a great distance.They again yoked the oxen and proceeded on their journey; the countrywas now covered with herbage and flowers of every hue, and looked like agarden.

  "How strange that the ground should be covered with flowers where thereis no rain or water to be found," observed Alexander.

  "It is the heavy dews of the night which support them," said Swinton,"and perhaps the occasional rains which fall."

  A line of trees to the southward told them that they were nowapproaching an unnamed river, and the tired oxen quickened their pace;but on their arrival they found that the bed of the river was dry, andnot even a drop of water was to be found in the pools. The poor animals,which had been unyoked, snuffed and smelt at the wet, damp earth, andlicked it with their tongues, but could obtain no relief. The waterwhich they had had in the casks for their own drinking was now, allgone; and there were no hopes of obtaining any till they arrived at theVet River, at least twenty-five to thirty miles distant. Two of the oxenlay down to rise no more, the countenances of the Hottentots weredejected and sullen, and our travelers felt that their situation wasalarming.

  While they were still searching and digging for water, the sky becameovercast, thunder and lightning were seen and heard in the distance, andthe clouds came rolling in volumes toward them. Hope was now in everyface; they already anticipated the copious showers which were tosucceed; their eyes ever fixed upon the coming storm; even the cattleappeared to be conscious that relief was at hand. All the day the cloudscontinued to gather, and the lightning to gleam. Night closed in, butthe rain had not yet fallen; the wind rose up, and in less than an hourall the clouds had passed away, the stars shone out brightly, and theywere left in a state of suffering and disappointment.

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