"Come into my tent to-night, Karls, and eat there; we will then talk
over our day's sport. What have _you_ done, Hans?"
Hans briefly related the results of his day's work, and described the
size of the tusks which his elephants carried.
"You have done better than we have," said Hofman, "for we have only shot
seven amongst us, and two are not full-grown bulls."
As might be expected, the conversation during the evening was mostly
about elephants and elephant hunting; and as we may learn much about the
habits of this singular animal, and the method of hunting it adopted by
the Africans, we will relate some of the anecdotes connected therewith.
"You ask me where I shot my first elephant," said Hofman. "It was where
few men now hunt elephants, because there are not many there now, and
because it is a dangerous place to hunt them in. It was in the
Fish-river bush in the old colony. That bush, as you know, is very
thick and thorny, and if they would only lie close, and didn't leave a
footmark, a hundred elephants might live there peaceably for years even
now; but when I was quite a boy there were not many men could say they
had walked ten miles in the Fish-river bush. My father used to go down
to Graham's Town about twice a year to get various things he wanted, and
when he went he generally took me. I was little more than fifteen when
he went down on the occasion I will tell you of.
"We had to pass the Fish-river bush on the way from our place down to
Graham's Town, and as we were going along I saw near the road,--or
rather waggon-track, for it was nothing more,--a broken tree. I turned
into the bush to look, and then saw what I knew was the spoor of an
elephant. I didn't say what I had seen, for all of a sudden I got very
ambitious, and I thought I would make myself a name, and not be thought
a boy any longer. I knew that we outspanned about half a mile further
on, and as the day was very hot, I asked my father if he would go on
after a short outspan, or wait a bit.
"`I'll wait till near sundown,' he replied, `for it is full moon
to-night, and we can trek better in the night than in this heat, and we
can sleep a little now.'
"`I'd rather go and shoot,' said I, `if you'd lend me your big gun.'
"`What do you want the big gun for?' inquired my father. `That is for
elephants or rhinoster, and you will find nothing bigger than a buck.'
"`I can always shoot better with that big gun,' I replied.
"`Very well,' said my father. `Don't lose yourself in the bush; but you
can't do that with the sun shining as it is.'
"`I'd like Blueboy to come with me, father; he'd carry my buck.'
"Now Blueboy was a bush-boy who was _fore-looper_ [Fore-looper is the
leader of the team of oxen; he holds a string fastened to the horns of
the first two.] to the oxen sometimes, and who had taught me more
spooring than any one else, and I wanted to consult him about this
elephant.
"`Oh yes! take him,' said my father. So, beckoning Blueboy, I told him
I wanted him to come with me, and the little fellow was glad enough to
come, as we always had some sport together.
"`There's the gun,' said my father; `it's loaded with two bullets. I'll
just give you two more bullets, and two charges of powder, for you must
not waste the ammunition. Mind you're back an hour before sundown.'
"This parting advice I hoped to comply with, and Blueboy and I walked
off.
"I kept quite silent till we were away from the waggons, when I
instantly said, `Blueboy, we are after an elephant.'
"`Yes,' said the sharp little fellow in his broken Dutch, `I thought so.
I saw you go into the bush where the tree was broken. When did
elephant break tree?'
"`The marks were quite fresh, Blueboy; I think not long before we got
there.'
"`We shall see when we look,' was his reply.
"We hurried on, and entered the bush, Blueboy going first. He carefully
examined the ground, picked up the grass, and at length rushed at a
small broken branch as though he had seen a treasure. After turning
this over once or twice, he pointed to the eastern part of the sky, and
said, `When sun there, elephant here. He may now be far off, may be
close here; we see soon. Follow me now.'
"I followed him, but with difficulty. He moved like a snake among the
bushes, as noiseless as a bird, and as quick as one. We went nearly a
mile, when we came to a steep bank, at which Blueboy stopped, and
whispered to me, `We find him here; water near, and he very hot.
Elephant love water. Now come slowly.'
"We moved down the bank, and came to a large pool of water, which was
muddy and bubbling. I knew from this the elephant had only just drunk
there. Presently I heard a sound as of water being poured out of a
narrow-necked bottle, when Blueboy, turning quickly, pointed to some
bushes below us, and there was the elephant half buried in bushes, but
his back visible above them. I now felt very excited. I knew it was
very dangerous work, but I fancied I might be successful. All depended
on a surprise. I had heard so much about elephants, and had in
imagination so often shot them, that I knew every vital part, and where
it was best to fire; so, though I had never seen an elephant before, I
knew lots about them. I noticed that the bank was above the elephant,
and about twenty yards from it; so if I could get to the nearest place,
I should get a good shot in safety. To get to that place I had to
retrace my steps, and make a guess at the whereabouts; so pointing this
out to Blueboy, he at once led the way, and soon pointed out where I
must go. `Fire both at once,' he said, pointing to my barrels. `You
aim well first time, badly second.' I crept to the edge of the bank,
and was almost afraid as I saw the elephant so close to me. I aimed on
the shoulder, just outside his ear, and pulled both triggers. I was
knocked right down by the recoil, and fell among the bushes, and the
elephant went off very fast for nearly a hundred yards. We could see
him plainly, and I began to fear I must have missed him. I didn't know
then how tough elephants were, and how much shooting they required.
"Well, the elephant then stopped, and pulled up some grass, and seemed
to be stuffing it into his wounds, for he was losing strength very fast;
and then he turned and climbed up the bank, and went away through the
bush towards the road we had come with our waggon.
"`He'll take to the old track,' whispered Blueboy; `we shall get him
again at the tree he broke to-day. Come along quick now, and get there
before him. You'll never do any good following, for you will have to
fire at him from behind.'
"I didn't think we should see much of him by going on before, but I
trusted the quick-witted bush-boy, and tried to follow him, but he went
away again so quick I called him to stop.
"`No, no,' he replied; `you must come on, the elephant will get there
first else.'
"I ran on as well as I could, and in time we got to the tree.
"`Is bullet there?' said Blueboy, pointing to the gun.
"I had not had time to load yet, so I set to work, and put in my
remaining bullets. I had scarcely done this before I saw Blueboy point
to the bush before us. He pointed eagerly, and said, `Oliphant kom,
oliphant kom,' and I heard a very slight noise, as of an animal moving
in the bush. I collected my thoughts, and determined to try again what
I could do; and having cocked my gun, stood ready.
"I first saw the elephant's head, but had been taught not to fire at
this, if the elephant was facing me; so I waited, and soon saw the chest
of the great creature. I aimed steadily, and fired at the chest both
barrels, as before. As I fired, Blueboy pulled me on one side. I saw a
mass of bush pressed down, and was knocked down by a branch of a tree;
but though not much hurt, I couldn't get up easily, as the tree held me
down, but I forced myself out after a bit with Blueboy's help. I didn't
know at first what it was had knocked me down, but Blueboy said, `He
dodt, he dodt,' and on looking round I saw a great black mass among the
bushes, and there was the elephant lying dead.
"I went up to the creature, and was astonished with its size; it was, as
it lay, far higher than I was. I noticed that there were big tusks, and
this delighted me too. I didn't know that to cut off the tail proved
ownership, so I left the animal, and with no little excitement went off
to my father at the waggons. He was just getting up from a sleep, and
upon seeing me said,--
"`Well, where's the buck? I heard a shot: did you miss him?'
"`I fired all four bullets, father,' I said.
"`And missed with all four. That won't do; you must shoot with a
smaller gun, boy, or you'll waste powder and lead.'
"`I didn't miss with one bullet, father; I hit with all.'
"`Then you've killed your buck; and where is it?'
"`It wasn't a buck, father,' I said.
"`Not a buck! What was it then? Not a buffalo; you don't mean to say
that you've fired at a buffalo?'
"`It was bigger than a buffalo,' I answered.
"My father looked at me incredulously for some time, but I couldn't wait
any longer, so I said, `I've shot an elephant with large tusks.'
"My father jumped off the waggon-box as if he'd been shot, as he
exclaimed, `Shot an elephant! You--you shot an elephant! Where is he?'
"`Ja, bas, [Yes, Master], he's shot an elephant!' exclaimed Blueboy. `I
showed him where the elephant was.'
"`Get a hatchet--get your knives!' shouted my father to the Hottentots;
`the boy has shot an elephant!' and off we ran, I leading, till we came
to the place where the elephant lay. There he was, sure enough, and my
father was delighted. We didn't get the tusks out in a hurry, and then
we cut up lots of meat, and took the trunk, and a foot, and carried
these with us to Graham's Town. Just for curiosity lots of people
bought the elephant's flesh to taste, and the teeth being fresh weighed
very heavy, and fetched a good price.
"`Keep the money,' said my father; `that shall be your first prize; and
I now give you my gun that you shot the elephant with;' and here, Hans,
you see that mark in the stock. That stands for the first elephant I
ever shot."
"There are plenty since then," replied Hans. "See, your stock is
covered with cuts."
"Yes, I've made the old gun do her duty. She has tried her hand at
several kinds of things, and has settled Amakosa, Zulus, and all; and
what do you think besides, Hans?"
"Lions in numbers, I suppose."
"Yes, that is true; but this one mark is for a white man. Not for a
true Africander, but an English-Dutch fellow. This gun shot him, and
well he deserved it."
"How was that?" inquired all the party, to whom the information was
news.
"I'll tell you here, for we are friends; but don't mention it again, for
few people know it, and I might not be liked by some people for having
done what I did, though in my heart I feel I was right, and according to
the laws of war I was right; still I don't want it talked about. Have I
all your promises?"
"Yes," was the universal reply.
"Well, then, it was when the Amakosa had been beaten back from Graham's
Town, that I, who was in the town at the time, saw a fellow half clothed
among the Kaffirs. I watched this fellow for some time, and when the
Kaffirs rushed on and fought bravely, this fellow stayed behind, and
only urged them on. The more I looked, the more certain I was that the
fellow was a white man, rubbed over with something to disguise his skin;
but I knew the walk and look of the fellow, and fancied if I should see
him again, I should know him. We beat the Kaffirs off, as you know, and
they lost hundreds in the battle. I stayed in Graham's Town for some
days, but was going down to Algoa Bay in a short time, when, as I was
going to a store, who should I see before me but a fellow whose walk I
could swear to. It was the fellow I'd seen with the Kaffirs.
"He walked on and turned into the store, so I followed him, and found
him buying powder and lead. I waited till he had gone, when I inquired
of the owner of the store who he was.
"`He's an officer's servant,' said the owner.
"`Have you ever seen him before?' I asked.
"`Never,' he replied; `but he told me he was an officer's servant.'
"I bought what I wanted, and then went out, and seeing the man walking
on before me, I quickened my pace, went to my house, got my gun, and
traced him to a low Hottentot house. Having seen him housed, I
suspected at once he would wait there till dark, and then go off
somewhere; so I set watch, and sure enough it was no sooner dark than
out he came, and walked right away out of the town, and away over the
hills.
"I followed him cautiously, but more than once he stopped to listen; but
I was as cute as he was, and dropped on the ground immediately he
stopped, so that he could not see me, and then on we went again. As it
got darker, I followed by the sound, and kept rather closer; but this
wasn't very safe work, for if he had liked he might just have waited
behind a bush till I came up, and then shot me or stabbed me; but I was
very careful, and as long as he kept to the open country I felt I was a
match for him. After a while, though, he struck into the bush, and took
a narrow path, and then I thought it wouldn't do to follow him, for he
would be sure to hear me if I kept close enough to hear him; so I
reluctantly gave up, but I had seen enough to make me suspicious.
"I now thought of returning, and should have done so at once, but
determined now I was so far off to wait a bit, and see what might
happen; so taking shelter under a bush, I sat down on watch. I hadn't
sat long before I saw a gleam of fire away in the bush towards where the
man had gone, and this shone out pretty clearly. `That's your
camping-ground, my man,' I said, `and I'll have a trial to find out what
your company is.' I determined to creep up near enough to this fire to
see what was going on, and started at once. I had to walk a good mile
before I came near the fire, and then I crawled along on all fours till
I got a view of the fire. I was sorry for myself when I found where I
was, for I saw nearly fifty Kaffirs, some of them wounded, and all of
them armed with assagies or muskets, and with them was the man I'd seen
in the town. He was giving the chief Kaffir some powder, and seemed
well-known among them. I think I could have shot the fellow from where
I was, but I knew I should be assagied to a certainty if I did; so
marking all I saw, I crawled back again, and off I went to Graham's
Town.
"The next day I went to the store-man, and told him what I had seen.
"`If that blackguard comes here again, then,' said the man, `I'll have
him taken, and it's death to sell ammunition to the Kaffirs.'
"`He fought against us, too,' said I; `that I can swear to.'
"`He must be a deserter from some regiment,' said the store-man, `for he
is just like a soldier in all his ways.'
"Two or three weeks after this I was out looking about Graham's Town for
some pouw [a bustard], for they came there sometimes, when, in a bush
path, who should I see just coming close to me but the deserter and spy!
He'd got a gun, a single-barrelled one, and seemed looking out for
game. Forgetting the risk I ran in my eagerness, and never thinking
whether he might not have a lot of Kaffirs with him, I said, `You're a
Kaffir spy and deserter; you come into Graham's Town with me.'
"`I'm a spy, am I?' said the fellow; `and who the d--l are you?'
"As he said this, I saw him cock his gun, which he still held at his
side, and bring the muzzle round towards me.
"`Turn your gun the other way,' I said, `or I'll fire!'
"`Fire, then!' said the Schelm [rascal], as he raised his gun and aimed
at me.
"The gun hung fire a little, I think, or quick as I was he'd have hit
me; but I jumped on one side behind a bush, and then back again, so as
not to give him a steady shot. Bang went the gun, and whiz went the
bullet I think it struck a branch, and thus turned; any way it missed
me. The fellow was off like a duiker [the duiker is a small, quick
antelope], but he'd an old hunter to deal with. I caught sight of him
as he jumped, and he never got up again when he came to the ground. I
didn't care to meddle with him, for I didn't know who might be near him.
I knew I'd saved a court-martial some trouble, and a file of soldiers
some ammunition, so I reported at Graham's Town what I had done. A
party went out at once, but they found the body stripped, and the man's
musket gone, and no one could identify him except the owner of the
store, and a Hottentot woman, who said he had been a soldier, but had
been supposed to have left the colony long ago. The Hottentots in the
house where I had seen him said he had come there to get a light to
light his pipe, and sat talking with them till it was dark. This might
or might not have been true, but he never fought against his white
countrymen again, nor did he sell any more ammunition. This long notch
is for him, and I think I did my duty to my fellow-men when I shot that
fellow, who would have murdered me if he could have shot quick enough,
as well as aid those rascally Kaffirs against us."
"I have always heard there were deserters from the English soldiers who
aided the Kaffirs in this outbreak," said Hans, "and it seems your man
was one of them."
"Yes, there were several deserters among the Kaffirs, but, as is usually
the case, they received very rough treatment at the hands of their new
friends, who, knowing that they dared not leave them or rejoin the
English, made them work like slaves."
"Do you think," inquired Hans, "that the Amakosa Kaffirs fought as
bravely when they attacked Graham's Town as the Zulus have done lately
against us?"
"Yes, I think they did. All savages fight well; there is no want of
courage amongst them; and when they are assured by their prophets that
bullets won't touch them, and assagies will be blunted against them,
they will fight like demons, and will rush up to the very muzzles of the
guns without fear or hesitation. The Amakosa, however, fear the Zulus,
and have an idea that the Zulu is brave and very strong. This is
because the Zulus drove the Fetcani down the country from the East, and
the Fetcani, taking a lesson from the Zulus, drove the Amakosa Kaffirs
before them, so that the latter sought the aid of the English against
these invaders, whom they then defeated."
"Most of those who now claim portions of the country seem to have won it
from some one weaker than themselves," said Hans. "We lost the country
we had won, and the Kaffirs seem to have lost their country, or a great
part of it. I hope we shall never lose Natal."
"Natal is too far away to make people anxious for it," replied Hofman;
"though if people knew how fine a place it was, they would come to it
from many parts of the world. I wonder the Portuguese never took
possession of it, as they have Delagoa Bay close to it."
"They have enough land there, and don't want more, so I have heard,"
replied Hofman. "They send parties to hunt elephants near this. Did
you see any spoor to-day, or do you think your elephants had been hunted
lately?"
"No, my elephants knew what a gun was, but they did not seem disposed to
trouble themselves much about it; for though they ran at first, they
soon stopped again, and I thus shot my first elephant on foot."
"To-morrow we will collect our ivory, and we must search for fresh game,
for the elephants will trek from here. We shall have much work, so we
will do well to sleep now."
With this parting advice Hofman made his brief arrangements for
sleeping, a proceeding that was followed by all the other hunters, and
the camp was soon in a state of repose. The horses were fastened to the
waggon wheels, the oxen tied to stakes driven into the ground, and thus
prevented from straying or wandering where they might tempt a hungry
lion or hyena, and with but few exceptions every human being slept, for
hunters sleep lightly even when tired, and the oxen or horses soon give
an alarm, should any danger threaten.
By the aid of their Hottentots and Kaffirs, the hunters had cut out all
the tusks from their elephants by mid-day, and these being carried to
the waggons, were placed therein, each owner's mark being cut on the
tusk. After a hasty meal, it was decided to hunt during the afternoon,
and return before sundown to a new outspanning-place which had been
agreed upon. Some very likely-looking ground was seen from a hill, and
which lay in the north-easterly direction. This country was not at all
known by the hunters, and, in fact, to this day it is not well explored.
Two parties were formed, one of which was to take the more easterly
direction, and then to return by a southerly course; the other to take
the more northerly, and return by a westerly and southerly course. Thus
the whole country would be hunted thoroughly. Hans and his two
companions took the more easterly course, the companions on this
occasion being Bernhard and Victor.
"I know we shall get ivory down by that dark-looking forest," said
Victor, as he pointed to a distant slope on which were masses of trees.
"Elephants will be found there, if there are any about."
"It looks good elephant ground," said Hans; "and it will be well to try
it. There is none better looking round about."
"It was unlucky you lost your far-seer, Hans; that would have told us
what game there was about us."
"Yes, it was unlucky; but let us dismount, and let our horses feed
awhile, whilst we look closely over the country. I can recognise an
elephant a long way off, if I take my time in looking."
The hunters dismounted, and knee-haltering their horses, sat quietly
examining the distant country for several minutes.
"I can see an elephant," at length said Hans. "Come, Victor, your eyes
are good; look in a line with that distant pointed tree; look at that
third cluster of forest trees, and on the right side there is an
elephant. Watch, and you will see him move."
"I see him now you have pointed him out, but I could not say it was an
elephant; it might be a buffalo or rhinoster."
"No, an elephant is more square than either, and does not look so
pointed; it is an elephant, too, by the way it turns. We shall have
more sport to-day, but it will be a long ride to get to those elephants.
We ought to drive them this way, and therefore ought to go round from
the other side, and that will make our ride six miles at least; so we
had better let them feed well now. They will be quite fit for a gallop
after a six-miles' canter, though they are full of grass."
"The country would be fine for elephant shooting about here. The loose
sharp stones damage their feet, and they would rush from clump to clump
of wood, so that between them we should get shots from the saddle; don't
you think so, Hans?" asked Bernhard.
"Yes, we should be very successful here, and I think our trip altogether
will be a lucky one. When we return, we shall have plenty of dollars'
worth of ivory, and I shall then be quiet for a while."
Having upsaddled their horses, the hunters rode towards the forest, near
which Hans had seen the elephants. The country was one magnificent
field of flowers and game. Bucks bounded in all directions, whilst the
most stately antelopes continually crossed their path. The stately
koodoo, the noble water-buck, the striped eland, and many other
creatures rarely, if ever, seen in England, except in our museums, were
seen in numbers. But the game upon which the hunters were bent was
elephants. No temptation could induce these men to fire a shot at less
noble game, for the sound of a gun would alarm the country, and disturb
the elephants; so that there would be but slight chance of finding these
acute-scented, sharp-eared animals after they had been alarmed by a
shot. Riding steadily on, therefore, with an indifference to the
animals that they disturbed, the hunters reached the position they
desired, and there saw the game they expected. There were but four
elephants, but they were all bulls, and with fine tusks, and were
browsing without any signs of alarm.
"That elephant alone to the right I will take, if you like," said Hans;
"you ride for the other two."
"Yes, they seem all alike in tusks, so you take him. We will ride down
on them, and shoot from the saddle," said Victor.
The three hunters separated slightly, each riding down towards the
elephant he had selected, and each regulating his pace in such a manner
that he should reach his elephant at the same time that the others did.
Hans was the last to reach his elephant, as he had the farthest to go,
but was nearly ready to fire, when the double shots of Victor and
Bernhard alarmed his elephant. Firing rather hurriedly, he aimed high,
and his bullet striking the animal in the head, enraged it, so that it
charged him instantly with a fierce trumpet Hans, being well mounted,
easily avoided the charge, and the elephant continued on its course,
thus travelling in the opposite direction to that in which the elephants
ran which Victor and Bernhard had wounded. Hans quickly pursued his
elephant, and firing at it behind the shoulder, lodged his two bullets
there. This the huge animal seemed to be indifferent to, and still
charged on with great speed. Loading as he rode at full gallop, Hans
continued bombarding the elephant, but apparently with no great effect,
and he found himself far away from his companions, and riding in the
opposite direction to that in which they had gone.
Powerful as was the elephant, still it was mortal; and as the heavy gun
of Hans was discharged time after time close to the animal's side, the
bullets passed nearly through it, and at length compelled it to cease
struggling for life, and resign the combat. Standing near a large tree,
against which it leaned for support, the animal received its death
wound, and fell to the ground, breaking off both its tusks as it came to
the earth.
Hans immediately took the saddle off his tired steed, and allowed it to
graze, whilst he sat down beside his prize. He estimated that he had
ridden about eight miles away from the spot on which he had first
started the elephants, and in a nearly easterly direction. The country
was entirely unknown to him, and there was no sun to guide him as to the
points of the compass, but the instinct of a hunter would tell him which
way he should go in order to retrace his steps, or he might follow his
spoor back. He determined to rest about an hour, and then to ride back;
so, lighting his pipe, he enjoyed a quiet smoke. Whilst thus occupied,
he was surprised to hear human voices near him, and still more so when
he saw a party of about a dozen men, some of them partially clothed, and
all armed with guns, who were coming rapidly towards him. Hans' first
idea was to mount his horse and ride away; but he saw that before he
could reach his horse the men would be close to him, and if they
intended to injure him, they could easily shoot him at the short
distance which they would then be from him. The fact of their having
guns rather disposed Hans to think that they must be partially
civilised, and that therefore he need not fear them as enemies.
It was evident that these men, having heard the report of his gun, had
come to search out the cause of so unusual a noise in this
neighbourhood, and the elephant soon attracted their attention, and with
a shout as they saw it they ran rapidly down towards it. Hans stood up
as they approached, and showed no signs of fear; and when they came
close, he noticed that three of the men were evidently half-castes, and
one seemed the leader of the party. The men saw Hans, and immediately
transferred their attention from the dead elephant to him. He spoke to
them in Dutch, then in English, but they seemed to understand neither
language; so he said a few words in Zulu, which were equally
unintelligible. The men spoke rapidly amongst themselves, and Hans
could not understand what they said, and was at a loss to comprehend
from whence these hunters--for such they seemed to be--had come. After
several attempts at communication, the chief shook his head, and
pointing to the west, then at Hans, seemed thus to signal that it was
from the west that Hans had come. Hans, who was accustomed to aid his
imperfect knowledge of language by signs, immediately nodded his assent
to this pantomime, and pointing to the men around, then to the east,
thus inquired whether these hunters came from the east. The chief
nodded to this, and thus explained to Hans that he must have come from
the neighbourhood of Delagoa Bay, and was probably a cross between some
natives there and the Portuguese.
Whilst this communication was going on between Hans and the chief, some
of the men had pulled the teeth from under the elephant, and had cut off
the flesh that hung to them. They then lifted up the teeth, and seemed
preparing to carry them away. To this appropriation of his property
Hans objected, and made signs to the chief that the men should place the
tusks on the ground. The chief uttered a few words to the men, who
immediately dropped the tusks, and stood waiting for further directions.
The chief now came close to Hans, and commenced making signs, which,
however seemed to Hans unintelligible. He was, however, endeavouring to
discover what these signals meant, when his arms were grasped from
behind, his gun taken from him, and in the struggle which ensued he was
thrown violently to the ground, and there held by three of the men of
the party. Though strong enough to have mastered any one of the strange
men singly, still Hans was no match for three of them; and thus he
ceased to struggle on finding himself disarmed, and surrounded by such a
force. Immediately he was thus quiet, some leather straps were
produced, and his hands were firmly tied behind him. His legs were then
tied by a powerful strap, so that he could walk by taking an average
length-pace; but if he attempted to go beyond this, he could not do so:
thus running was out of the question.
Whilst this sudden attack, and being thus bound as a prisoner, made Hans
very angry, yet he knew that it was no use showing this anger; he
therefore submitted quietly, and began to hope that as there seemed no
intention of murdering him, he might be merely kept a prisoner for some
time, and then released.
"Perhaps they will steal my horse, gun, and ivory, and leave me here
unable to follow them," thought Hans. "If so, I shall have a long
journey on foot to reach my people." This idea, however, was soon
relinquished, when Hans saw the chief mount his horse, take his gun, and
whilst others of the party carried the tusks, three men, who seemed
detailed especially to him, signalled to him to walk on before them, and
after their chief. Pulling long knives from out of their belts, they
signed to him that these would be used if he did not willingly comply,
and thus threatened he followed, as best he could with bound hands and
encumbered legs, the leaders of the party.
Hans could tell that the direction in which he walked was nearly east,
and therefore away from where his people would be expecting him. None
of the Dutchmen would be likely, therefore, to come across him or to
find him, so that a rescue was out of the question. The only chance
seemed to be that Victor and Bernhard might come in search of him, and
might trace him up; but then two men against twelve men armed with
muskets might result only in the death of his two friends.