THE FORTIFICATION--WAITING RELIEF--FIGHT TO THE LAST--FRESH WEAPONS--THE
MAIDENS KEEP WATCH--THE SAVAGES' NIGHT ATTACK--THEIR DEFEAT--THE
BATTLE--NEW ALLIES--THE POISONED ARROWS--MORE OF THE ENEMY ARRIVE.
"It is a bad business, Hans, that the Matabili escaped; but it cannot be
helped," was Victor's answer to Hans, upon hearing the result of his
attempt to prevent the escape of any of the party. "What are we to do,
Hans? If we stay here we shall be unable to beat off a hundred men,
though we might succeed against half that number; what shall we do?"
"If the Matabili were not such keen-eyed spoorers, I would recommend
that we made all speed in retreating from this; but it would be no use,
for they would be certain to trace us, and to be hunted down in that way
would be worse than to die here fighting to the last."
"I agree, Hans; so we will stay here. I think, too, we can make this
place stronger. Suppose we cut through that narrow path that leads
here, and raise a bank to protect us from any spears that might be
thrown. We might cut down some stout branches and make a difficult
fence to force a way through, every obstacle will stop the enemy, and
give us time to load. I have found what may be a useful weapon, too,
when our ammunition is all gone, that is a Bushman's bow, and a case of
poisoned arrows. There are ten arrows, and each arrow is a man's life.
It will be doubtful whether the Matabili will continue the attack when
their first rush fails, and they lose several men. They dread fire-arms
now, though they have gained victories against those who use them. Let
us now prepare our defences; if we only hold out three days we ought to
obtain help, if Bernhard has been lucky."
The two men sat to work to remove the bodies of the Matabili who were
shot, and having secured their weapons, they used these to dig up the
ground and undermine large stones, which they carried to the plateau,
and thus formed a breastwork, whilst the removal of these stones and the
earth rendered access to the flat rock impossible except by climbing.
In two hours the rock was therefore rendered almost impregnable, and it
would have been quite so had a dozen men occupied it who were well
provided with guns and ammunition.
"Victor," exclaimed Hans, "I can make a good weapon for the defence of
this place, which may save us ammunition. I will cut some of those long
bamboos near the stream below, then the broad, sharp blade of an assagy
fastened to the end of this will make a lance twelve feet long; we can
thus stab the Matabili as they attempt to climb up, and can reach them,
whilst their short assagies cannot come near us. They have no guns; so
that we have no fear of being hit by them if we stand on our
breastwork."
"That is a good thought, Hans," replied Victor; "we will have four of
these, then if we break one we can each have another. Oh! if we had
only a hundred bullets each, and enough powder for them, we would fight
a hundred of these treacherous rascals."
"We must do what we can with the means we have," answered Hans. "Now I
will go and cut the bamboo, then we shall be all ready."
It was only with great difficulty that Hans descended from the block on
which he had taken up his position, he then cut some straight, strong
canes which grew to a great height near the marshy bottom of the ravine;
and returning with these, he found that to ascend the perpendicular face
of the rock was exceedingly difficult, and whilst thus climbing with
both hands occupied, he knew that a determined man above with a long
lance, such as he could construct from the bamboo and blades of the
assagies, could defy a dozen men at a time, and stab them as they
ascended. This conviction gave him additional hope that he might either
destroy his enemy, or be able to hold his position until relief came,
that was, if Bernhard had succeeded in reaching the Lager. "_If_
Bernhard has," said Hans. "Ah! all depends on good Bernhard now."
The day slowly passed away, though the whole four were engaged in
superintending or executing the defences. Katrine was able to give
assistance in tying up cartridges and in holding the canes whilst Hans
fastened the iron blades to their ends: thus Victor was at liberty to
make the defences more secure.
From the experience which Hans had gained in ascending the rock, he knew
that there was only one place where an enemy could ascend, and thus if
the narrow causeway could be defended, he saw no means for the Matabili
to approach him.
"Two to a hundred are long odds, though," said Hans to Victor; "but we
can only die at last, and our last fight shall be a good one. We can do
no more, I think, so now suppose we sleep for two hours; we are safe
till sunset, and I don't think we shall be attacked before daybreak
to-morrow. Katrine and her sister can be trusted to keep watch, and we
shall be stronger for sleep."
It was some time after sundown when Victor was called by Katrine.
"I can trust my eyes by day, Victor," said the Dutch maiden, "but I
don't think I am fit to keep guard by night. An enemy might be too
cunning or too quick for me."
"That is true, Katie," replied Victor: "you had better sleep now, and I
will take care no enemy comes to us. Have you heard any strange sounds
since sunset?"
"Yes, many," said Katrine: "there are lions about, and I think hyenas
have already scented death near here, for I heard some savage animals
fighting below here; but I think only animals have been about us."
"We may have a great fight to-morrow, Katie," said Victor: "the enemy
may be fifty to one against us."
"A brave man from the Vaderland like Hans and you would scarcely like to
fight at less odds, Victor. If you are hard pressed I can use one of
those spears, and I can pull a trigger too; but we can trust to you two.
See how strong this place is, too," continued Katrine: "a child might
hold this against an army."
"If you had been down-hearted, Katie, I should have fought, but it would
have been doggedly and down-heartedly; now that you are so hopeful, I
shall fight cheerfully and confidently. Good-night, Katie, and thank
you for your support."
Victor took up a sheltered position under the rocks, where the dew could
not fall upon him, and commenced his lonely watch. Strange thoughts
crossed his brain as he there sat for hours: one was the readiness with
which he surrendered a fair chance of life for the sake of two Dutch
girls whom he knew but slightly. "It is odd," he thought, "for were it
not for their slow feet, Hans and I could easily escape the whole body
of the Matabili, and in a race for life we could shoot down the
fleetest, and run from the slowest. It is a strange tie that binds a
strong man to a weak woman, for tie it is. I, who never yet loved a
woman, would sooner die in defending Katie than escape at her expense;
and yet, were she captured, her fate would only be to become one among a
hundred wives of Moselekatse. To-morrow's sun will not set, I expect,
without deciding her fate, and that of Hans and myself."
The night had half passed when Hans, having, as he termed it, "finished
all his sleep," came out of his cave and told Victor to take his rest.
"If I hear the slightest noise that indicates an enemy, I will signal to
you," said Hans; "for it may be that at daybreak we may have an attack.
Sleep whilst you can, though: our aim is always better after a good
rest."
The calm of the previous day had been succeeded by a fresh breeze, which
was blowing from the westward, and thus Hans could not depend so much on
discovering the approach of an enemy by the sound which he would make in
moving through the underwood in the ravines. He was thus particularly
anxious and watchful in order to guard against a surprise.
The darkness of night had been succeeded by the grey twilight of
morning, and Hans had neither seen nor heard any thing to cause him
fresh alarm. As the daylight increased he strained his eyes to examine
every suspicious-looking object, in his endeavour to discover an enemy.
The mist which for a time hung about the streams and in the kloofs,
prevented him from seeing distinctly over the surrounding plains, and
thus before the sun rose the view was not very distinct. Whilst he
examined the distant plains and rising-ground his eye was suddenly
attracted by what seemed an object moving near the edge of the rock
close to him. So momentary was the view he obtained that he was not
certain the waving of a branch in the wind might not be the cause. He
was, however, too keen a sportsman not to know that it is by paying
attention to these glimpses of objects that the best chances are
frequently obtained, and thus with his gun in readiness he remained
motionless under the shadow of the rock, whilst he watched the grass
near the edge. In a moment after he saw the head of a Matabili slowly
raised above the edge of the rock, and then the man, as though believing
he could effect a surprise, endeavoured to pull himself up to the level
plateau. Hans saw the chance that offered, so, instantly grasping the
long bamboo lance, he charged the Matabili with such speed, that though
the man saw him coming, yet he could neither raise himself to the rock
nor get down quick enough to avoid the deadly thrust which Hans made at
him. The man, pierced through the chest, fell on to a Matabili who was
following him, and the two dashed headlong to the ground, some thirty
feet below. A yell of rage and disappointment was uttered by a hundred
savages, until now concealed in the ravines below. The noise they thus
made was the first intimation that Victor or the two girls had that
their enemies had arrived. The three rushed from their respective caves
at this unearthly yell, and Victor eagerly inquiring of Hans the cause,
received a hasty explanation, whilst the blood-stained lance was an
earnest of its success as a weapon to restrain invaders.
"We will not waste a shot, Victor," exclaimed Hans; "let us thrust the
brutes down with these lances. They can never succeed in climbing this
place, as long as we meet them boldly. Have your gun ready, but let us
use these lances whilst we find them useful."
The defeat of the surprise party, or rather spies,--for it was to
ascertain whether an enemy really was in the caves that the Matabili
ventured on this errand,--caused a momentary delay on the part of the
Matabili; but their system of warfare was one quite different from that
of the Amakosa Kaffirs. The latter like to fight in the bush, and much
after the fashion of the North American Indians. The Matabili, however,
like to come to close quarters with their enemy, and to stab him at
arm's length. Confident in his numbers, the leader of this party gave
the order to attack the Dutchmen's stronghold. The Matabili who had
been wounded in the first attack had remained concealed in the ravines
until the arrival of his companions, and it was by his information that
the chief learnt that there was a causeway by which he could reach the
position of his enemy. Dividing his forces into three divisions, he
ordered one to climb the rock where the spy had just been hurled down.
The second division he directed to attack by the causeway, whilst the
third was to endeavour to find some third means of ascent, or at least
to make such a demonstration as to prevent the Dutchmen from giving
undivided attention to the other parts of attack. These arrangements
having been completed, the Matabili, with loud yells, and beating their
shields to add to the noise, rushed towards the points of attack.
Whilst one party endeavoured to ascend the wall of rock, the other
suddenly found themselves opposed by stakes, and a steep rock and bank.
Expecting momentarily to feel the deadly bullet amongst them, they were
surprised to find no attempt made to attack them; attributing this to
only one cause, they shouted to each other that the white man's powder
was finished, and thus encouraged they climbed on one another's
shoulders, and thus reached the level of the rock. No sooner, however,
did the body of a Matabili rise above the level of the plateau, than the
deadly thrust of a lance hurled the intruder back lifeless amongst his
comrades. Three times did the persevering enemy succeed in raising one
of their numbers to the level of the rock, but it was only to find him
fall amongst them pierced through and through with the broad blade of
one of their own iron spear-heads. Still the shouts "Their powder is
all done" gave encouragement to others to attempt an entrance to the
fortification; and it was only when ten men had been sacrificed, that
the chief ordered his men to desist, in order that some other plan of
attack should be adopted.
"So far it has been all gain on our side," said Hans; "we have not fired
a shot yet we have beaten them off. That was a good thought of mine, to
make those spears. We must not let them know we have powder; for if
they believe we have none, they may make plans which we can easily
defeat."
For more than an hour the Matabili made no attempt to attack the
fortress, for such it might well be termed: then, however, they again
advanced to the attack, shouting as before. Hans and Victor prepared to
resist their foes, and stood behind the breastwork they had raised ready
to thrust down the intruders. Whilst their attention was thus directed
below them, a slight noise above attracted their attention, and both
turned to look at the rock above, when they instantly saw the plot of
their crafty enemies. The Matabili, by a circuitous path, had ascended
the summit of the ridge, and then climbed to the rocks above the
plateau: they had then loosened some large stones, and were preparing to
cast these down on the two Dutchmen, when the latter, attracted by the
noise, turned and saw their danger.
The rocks above the plateau on which were the white men rather overhung
than receded from the perpendicular, so that it required the man who
hurled the stone to lean forward in order to cast it on the right spot:
had it fallen attracted by gravity alone, the stones would have passed
clear of the plateau, and would have descended into the ravine below.
The ground above the slight ridge on which the Matabili had taken up
their position was nearly perpendicular, and being bare of underwood,
offered no cover to the men who had to descend it, a single false step
would have resulted in the fall of the man into the ravine below, where
he would be undoubtedly dashed to pieces. Thus it was a most daring
proceeding to descend to the ridge above the plateau. This position,
however, entirely commanded the Dutchmen's defences, and had not the
Matabili made a slight noise, the white men might have remained ignorant
of the position of their enemies, until the fall of heavy stones on or
near them warned them of their danger.
Immediately Hans saw the Matabili preparing to cast these heavy stones
on him, he called to Victor to keep close to the rocks. "They cannot
touch us here," said Hans; "but we must use some bullets on them, or
they may drop stones on us as we are resisting the men who venture to
climb up. Yes," he continued, "that is their plan, and it is clever.
These men above hope to keep us back whilst the others obtain a footing
on our rock, then it would be all over with us; but we will just teach
them a lesson. Now, Victor, we must be quicker than those stones; we
must run out and back so rapidly that we shall get the men to hurl their
rocks down, but we must avoid them; then instantly, before they have
another rock ready, we must shoot them down. They are not sixty yards
above us, and we can each drop a running ourebi at that distance. Are
you ready now?"
"Yes," replied Victor, and the two men ran out into an exposed position,
and, waiting an instant, sprang back under cover of the rock. They were
only just in time to avoid two heavy masses of stone that were hurled at
them by the Matabili above them; whilst those below shouted defiantly,
and instantly commenced again to ascend to their enemies.
"Now for our bullets on those above," said Hans; "we must be quick. I
will take the fellow on the sunny side, you the man in the shade."
As the Dutchmen raised their guns, there was a shout of ridicule from
those below, as well as those above. "Their powder is done" was the
cry, mingled with taunting laughs. This, however, did not affect the
aim of the two hunters, who covered each his man, and the two shots
fired in rapid succession were echoed from ridge to ridge.
One of the Matabili sank instantly to the ground motionless, and there
remained, as still as the rocks around him: the other, who had been busy
in hurling stones, rose on his feet, and with a tremendous bound sprang
off from the rocks into the air: with upraised arms and struggling body
he cleaved through the air, struck against a projecting rock in his
descent, and, crashing through the branches of the trees below, fell
mangled among his comrades.
The effect of the shot on the other Matabili was instantly visible.
Those who were climbing up the rock at once retreated under cover, for
they now knew that they were opposed to desperate men, whose ammunition
was not gone, and who, it was evident, could use their weapons with
skill.
The two remaining men who had ascended the rocks at once endeavoured to
escape. One, in his eagerness, missed his footing, and sliding down the
incline, bounded off into the air, and was killed by his fall into the
depths below. The other, however, managed to effect his escape.
"They will not be anxious to try that again," said Hans. "I wonder what
their next plan of attack will be. They can't burn us out, for these
solid old rocks are fire-proof; neither are they likely to starve us
out. As long as they have no fire-arms we are tolerably certain to be
able to defeat them, and to prevent them from ascending this place; so I
am curious to know what they will try to do next."
For fully two hours the Matabili were quiet, no sound indicating that
they were near.
"Do you think it possible they have decided to leave us?" inquired
Victor.
"No, they will not leave us, you may be certain; they will try to starve
us out rather, and that reminds me that we may as well eat. We may be
busy again before long." Without any loss of appetite from their late
excitement, the two men ate heartily, and were soon again ready for a
fresh attack.
"Something fresh is going to take place," exclaimed Victor; "they are
coming again. What have they there? It is two Bushmen prisoners. Now,
Hans, there _is_ danger for us. See you what they will do?"
"The rascals--yes, they have made the Bushmen understand that unless
they shoot us with their poisoned arrows they will be themselves
assagied. Now we must shoot straight for our lives, indeed. Down,
Victor, under cover," shouted Hans, and both men dropped behind their
barricade just before two poisoned arrows flew over them, and struck the
rock behind.
"The Schelms are behind trees, Victor. We shall find it hard to get a
shot at them. We must watch and wait for our chance. We must shoot the
Bushmen, for no Matabili can handle their weapons. Let us kill them,
and we shall have escaped our most threatening danger."
The thorough Bushman of Africa is the most formidably armed man amongst
the aborigines. The Amakosa or Kaffir tribes on the eastern frontier of
the Cape Colony have for their national weapon the light throwing
assagy. This is a spear about six feet in length, an iron head about
one-third or one-fourth the length being inserted into a wooden handle.
An expert Kaffir will throw one of these assagies with precision about
eighty yards, and with sufficient force to penetrate a man's body at
that distance.
The Zulu Kaffir and the Matabili use the heavier assagy, which is not so
much suited for throwing, but is more fitted for close quarters, and is
mainly used as a weapon for stabbing. Both this and the lighter assagy
of the Amakosa are far less deadly than is the tiny arrow of the
Bushman. The Bushman's arrow is about two feet long, the haft is made
of reed, the end of the arrow is made either of hard wood or bone. This
end is merely inserted into the hollow reed, and can be taken out and
reversed if required, so that a Bushman places the poisoned end of his
assagy in a reed-sheath as it were, until it is required for use, when
he reverses it, and thus keeps the poison fresh.
The poison itself is said to be a combination of animal, vegetable, and
mineral poison. The animal is procured from poisonous snakes, many
species of which are common in the country inhabited by Bushmen, among
these the cobra, puff-adder, ring-hals, etc., being numerous. The
vegetable is obtained from roots known to the Bushmen, and of species of
the cactus. The mineral is supposed to be some preparation of copper,
which the Bushmen find in the country; but about, this composition there
seems considerable uncertainty.
An animal, though little more than scratched with a Bushman's arrow, is
almost sure to die, rarely surviving more than one or two hours. The
Bushman is a most accurate shot, and can discharge his arrows with such
speed, that he will often have three arrows in the air at the same time,
the third being discharged before the first has struck the ground.
Knowing the accuracy of the Bushmen's aim, and the deadly nature of the
poison they used, Hans and Victor fully comprehended the danger, they
now encountered. The Bushman is as active as a baboon; and could these
men have been trusted, they would have been ordered to ascend the rocks
above the Dutchmen and shoot them from that position; but the Matabili
dare not trust them: they had captured these two men, and now showed
them that they must shoot the Dutchmen or be assagied themselves; thus
the two tiny Bushmen used all their skill and watchfulness in order to
save their own lives. The Bushmen finding that the Dutchmen kept under
cover and gave no chance for a shot, requested to be allowed to ascend
the rock and thus get a shot at their targets. The Matabili, however,
would not trust them to do this, as they feared they might go over to
their enemies, when once away from the range of their spears; so they
directed them to watch their chance of a shot, and if the white men
showed even a hand above the rocks, this hand was to be at once struck
with an arrow.
Both parties were now watching to obtain a chance of a shot at the
other: the white men shifted their position, so as not to give the
Bushmen a chance of firing even at the rocks near where they were
concealed; and the Bushmen dodged from tree to tree, in order to try to
obtain a shot at some part of the Dutchmen.
"I will try what sort of a shot I can make with a Bushman's bow and
arrow," said Hans; "I know a fellow is behind that tree stem, so I will
try and hit that with one of the arrows of the bow we have."
"Don't expose an arm, though, Hans," said Victor; "for it is death even
to be scratched by one of their arrows."
"I will be careful," replied Hans, as he fitted an arrow to the
bowstring, and crouching below the rocks they had piled up as a
breastwork, drew the bow and discharged the arrow. The little reed flew
on, and fell at the side of the tree near which one of the Bushmen was
crouching. The little man saw the arrow fall, though he knew not who
had discharged it, and, with an eagerness to possess himself of the
weapon which quite overcame his caution, he sprang from behind the tree
and grasped the arrow which he at once saw amidst the dry leaves and
grass. Victor, who was watching the result of this, saw the act of the
Bushman, and instantly lowering his gun, he discharged a bullet at him.
True to its direction, the bullet struck the Bushman on the shoulder,
and passing through his arm, rendered him incapable of again using his
bow. The wounded man had not much compassion from his captors; for the
Matabili, seeing he could no longer be of service of them, and having a
natural hatred of Bushmen, instantly despatched him with their spears,
intimating to the remaining Bushman that unless he succeeded in shooting
the white men, he would soon meet the same fate as his companion.
Scarcely had the two men taken their eyes off the tree behind which the
Bushman had been killed, when Katrine's voice and words caused them to
look on the plain to the eastward of their position.
"Hans, Hans!" she called, "look what is coming: there are more Matabili.
Are there not two hundred more at least coming to help those who are
now here? What can we do?"
Hans and Victor looked towards the east, and there saw a large body of
Matabili coming rapidly over the plains, and evidently directed, by some
guide, towards their present position.
"They will be too many for us, Victor, I am afraid; what are we to do
now, I wonder?"
"Keep down, Hans! keep down!" said Victor; "see what is in your hat!"
Hans instinctively crouched behind the breastwork, and taking off his
hat, saw in the crown a Bushman's arrow.
"There's another struck the rock behind us; we must shoot this fellow
any how, he is savage now that his brother is killed. There he is,
Victor, in that fork of the tree, the rascal, he may hit us from there;
but here goes for two ounces of lead in him." The loud report of Hans'
gun was followed by the dull sound of the Bushman's body falling to the
ground, he being dead before he reached it. From the plain, however, a
savage vengeful yell answered the report of the gun, and the additional
party of Matabili rushed onwards, their shouts being responded to by
their companions around Hans' stronghold.