Part 16 (1/2)
”Yes, I was carried a hundred yards or more, and scarcely had my skin broken. A lion is like a cat in that; he can hold a live creature in his mouth, and not damage it, just as I have seen a cat carry a mouse, and when it put the mouse down the little creature would run away just as though it hadn't been touched.”
”I heard you had been carried, Hans, but never heard all the story. How was it?”
”I was out after porcupines, and was lying down one night near a porcupine's hole, waiting for him to come out. I had no gun, but only my hunting-knife and a large k.n.o.b-kerrie, with which to knock the porcupine on the nose; for that, as you know, kills him at once. I did not hear a sound until I found the gra.s.s near me move, and a lion put his paw on me, and holding me down by it, gripped my back and lifted me up. The brute pressed his claws into me, but luckily my leather belt prevented his teeth from damaging me, and he carried me by holding on to my belt and coat. If either of these had given way, I should have soon been laid hold of in a far more rough manner. I knew the nature of a lion well enough to know that if I struggled I should have my neck broken or my head smashed in an instant, so I did not struggle, but quietly drew my knife, and thought what was best to do. I thought at first of trying to stab him in the heart, but I could not reach that part of him, and his skin looked so loose that I feared I could not strike deep enough, carried as I was. I knew it would be life or death with me in an instant, so turning myself a bit, I gashed the lion's nose, and cut it through. The lion dropped me as I would drop a poisonous snake, and jumped away roaring with pain. He stood for an instant looking at me, but I did not move, and he did not seem to like to carry me again. More than once he came up to within a few yards, licking the blood as it poured from his nose; but there I remained like a stone, and he was fairly afraid to tackle me again. I know a buffalo and an ox are very sensitive about the nose, and a cat, if just tapped on the nose, can't stand it; so I thought a lion might be the same, and so it proved, or I should not be here to tell you the story. I think we may have good sport up the country,” continued Hans, ”and lions may be plentiful.”
”I don't go out of my way to shoot lions,” replied Hofman. ”There is more danger with a lion than even with an elephant, and when you have shot a lion, what is he worth? His skin will not fetch thirty rix-dollars, and his teeth are only used for ornaments. Now if you kill an elephant, he is worth twenty or thirty pounds at least. So I will leave the lions to you, Hans, and I will go after the elephants; but shall we arrange our shooting laws?”
”Yes, we had better do so now,” replied Hans, ”before we come to any large game.”
”Well, my plan always has been, let us shoot for food in turns; or if we all shoot together, divide the meat amongst us. When we come to elephants, let it be that the first bullet ent.i.tles the shooter to half the ivory; and whoever puts in another bullet, to a share. What say you to this, men?”
”It is not good,” said Hans; ”for men will shoot wild in order just to get a bullet into an elephant, and may thus spoil sport. I propose that whenever we are together, and kill our game together, we mark the tusks, and all share alike. If we are alone, and kill alone, the tusks belong to whoever kills. We are honest men and tried; none of us will s.h.i.+rk his fair risk, and no man will shoot the worse because he knows his friend may get a share of the ivory.”
”Hans' plan is the best,” exclaimed several.
”I have seen friends.h.i.+ps lessened by the disputes over dead elephants,”
exclaimed Victor, ”and Hans' plan will prevent disputes. If you and I fire together, we may both think our bullet struck the elephant first.
It is better to share, or to shoot alone.”
”My Kaffir tells me we shall find elephants in plenty up the country.
Now if we could but capture a young elephant, and bring him safely back to Natal, we should make much money, for I hear in England they will pay large sums for a live animal from Africa.”
”The English must know very little of Africa, and of the game here,”
said Hans. ”They are, I have heard, all crowded together in that country, and have no elephants or large game wild, so they must wish for our land, and some of them come out here to see what sport is.”
”There is more in the land we shall hunt in than game,” said Hofman; ”and if we are lucky, we shall find it. For, though ivory is valuable, gold is more so.”
”Gold!” exclaimed the hunters in one voice; ”what makes you think there is gold there?”
”About two years ago I met a man at Algoa Bay, who came from the Faderland. He had come in a s.h.i.+p from Delagoa Bay, and he said that from Delagoa Bay inland, and to the west, gold was found in the rivers.
He showed me that he had some gold dust, and that this he had bought from natives. The country about there is very unhealthy, and oxen or horses don't live well; therefore white men can't go in from there to find it. He said, too, that the country called Sofala was really Ophir, and that the Patriarchs got their gold from about there.”
”I think, Hofman,” said Hans, ”if you search for the gold, I will be content to hunt for elephants. One is certain, the other is risky.”
”We are out to hunt elephants, Hans,” replied Hofman, ”and that is what we will do; but if we at any time find ourselves near rivers where there are no elephants, we might look for gold.”
”Yes, that might be done,” replied Hans, ”but my gold shall be skins and ivory. Hark to the hyenas! how they yell to-night! There is a lion about, I should fancy.”
”A lion or a leopard,” replied Victor. ”It is very strange how the weaker animals often club together to defend themselves against a stronger one. Before I left the borders of the old country, I more than once saw my cattle beat off a hyena. They would form a circle, and show a bold front of horns, and run at the hyena if he came near them.”
”For that there is nothing equal to a troop of baboons,” said Hofman; ”they are as cunning and as wise as men. I have watched them often, and they set one of their number to watch for enemies; and if he does not do his duty, the others will beat him. I often amused myself by trying to stalk near the baboons that lived near me when I was near the Winterberg, and they never but once were caught asleep. I managed once to get quite close to them without the sentry seeing me, and then stood up and ran at them. I was soon sorry I had ventured amongst them, for they were savage, and so powerful they could have torn me to pieces had they attacked me; but they at once bit and tore the sentry, who scarcely attempted to defend himself, just as though he knew he deserved to be punished. I can tell you a strange story about these baboons.
”There came into our neighbourhood a leopard, and he lived well for some time, till we hunted him, and he had to keep to the bush. Now it turned out that the leopard killed a baboon, and ate him. The baboons feared to attack the leopard, as he would be too much for them, but they had decided on revenging themselves on him. They therefore followed him about, but at a cautious distance. After a time the leopard wanted to drink, but no sooner did he go to the water than the baboons came around threatening him, and they were so active that the leopard could not attack them successfully. The leopard started off to leave the country, but the baboons followed, barking and screaming after him. For three days the baboons followed him, and would neither let him eat nor drink, when the leopard became quite weak from thirst and want of food. There were so many baboons, too, that they never let the leopard rest, and thus he was worn out As soon as the baboons found he was weak, they a.s.sembled around him, and attacked him in earnest, and killed him in a few minutes. I had missed the baboons from my krantzes [steep ravines], and I heard from the neighbours that they had seen baboons following and worrying a leopard, and at last the baboons were heard worrying something, and this turned out to be the leopard, which was found dead and fearfully mangled.”
”I have heard that same thing before,” said Bernhard, ”and I know the baboons are capable of it; they are very wise.”
”Yes,” said Hans, ”they are useful too; for whatever a baboon eats, a man may venture to eat also. This is the case with monkeys, too. A man ought never to starve, if he lives near where monkeys are; for you can watch what fruit or sorts a monkey eats, and that will show you what you may venture upon. You have been down at the bay for some time, Hofman,”
continued Hans; ”can you tell us any thing about the large snakes that are there?”