It was not long before all were convinced of the prudent course which
Swartboy had counselled them to pursue. Had they insisted on being
supplied with water, or made an attempt to take it by force, they would
have been disappointed. They would not have been able to find a drop
within many miles of the place where more than two hundred people were
living. For all this, there was water not far off; and, trusting to
that feeling of generosity which rarely fails when relied upon, they
were at length supplied with it. Water was brought to them. Not much
at first, but in small quantities, and carried in the shells of
ostrich-eggs.
They soon had enough to satisfy their own thirst and allow them to turn
their attention to the wants of their cattle. After drinking off the
contents of an ostrich shell, Groot Willem by signs, directed the
attention of the woman who had given it to him, to the suffering
condition of his horse. The woman, who could not exactly be called an
"ornament to her sex," only shook her wool-covered head and walked
thoughtfully away.
"Unless we can get some drink for our horses," said Willem, turning to
his companions, "we must keep on. If we stop much longer here the
animals will die."
"Wait, baas Willem," said Swartboy; "the heart of the Bechuana grow
bigger soon. He like de Bushman."
Swartboy's prophecy proved correct. Not long after it was spoken, one
of the Bechuanas came to the camp, and asked to be conducted to the
chief. Groot Willem was immediately pointed out by Swartboy as the
individual who answered to that appellation, and the black walked up to
him. His errand was to say that the horses and cattle could only be
watered _one at a time_. This was satisfactory enough. Willem's horse,
as belonging to the chief of the party, should be supplied first, and
was led away by the man, its owner following at its heels. A short
distance from the kraal they came to a well, from which a covering of
earth had recently been removed. The well, for some purpose, had been
concealed, as if it were a pitfall for the capturing of elephants.
With a bucket made of buffalo hide, water was drawn out, until the horse
had as much as he cared to drink. He was then led away and another
brought to the place, and then another, and after them the cattle, until
all the animals had drunk to their satisfaction.
This method of watering them showed some intelligence on the part of the
Bechuanas. It avoided the struggle and confusion which would certainly
have taken place, had the thirsty animals been driven to the well at the
same time.
That evening the hunters had a long conversation with the head man of
the kraal, Swartboy acting as interpreter. The chief said that his
tribe had once been large and powerful; but what from desertion, and
wars with the Kaffirs, they had become reduced to their present number.
In order to live in peace and security, he had sought refuge in the
solitary karroo, where the hardships to be encountered in reaching his
remote home would deter any enemy from making the attempt. In order to
make assurance doubly sure, he admitted having caused several
water-holes to be poisoned; and he appeared greatly satisfied at telling
them how, on one occasion, his plan had met with a splendid success. A
party of his Kaffir enemies had partaken of the water from one of the
poisoned pools, and had died upon the spot.
This portion of the narrative, which was interpreted by Swartboy, seemed
to give the latter as much satisfaction as it did the chief himself. He
grinned with intense delight as he translated the account of this
strange episode.
In order to give his guests an exalted idea of his greatness the chief
informed them that he was brother to Kalatah. Groot Willem expressed a
wish to know who or what the great Kalatah might be. The chief was
astonished, not to say chagrined, at the confession of so much
ignorance, and the hunters were instantly enlightened. Kalatah was the
most noble warrior, the best brother, the most loyal subject, in fact
the best man in every way, that ever lived, and his memory was, and
ought to be, respected over the whole world. This was news to our
adventurers, and they were anxious to learn more of the chief and his
wonderful relative. Willing to gratify his guests, he further informed
them that the Kaffirs had made another attempt to reach the remote kraal
in which he now dwelt. They had entered the karroo with a large force
well prepared for crossing it, and would probably have succeeded, had
they not been led astray. His brother, Kalatah, had deserted to the
enemy for the express purpose of becoming a false guide, and under this
pretence he had succeeded in drawing them off the scent. He had
conducted them far to the north, and into the heart of the great
Kalahari desert. Not one of these befooled foemen lived to return to
their own country, all having perished by thirst.
"But Kalatah! what of him?" eagerly inquired the listeners. "How did he
escape the same fate?"
"Kalatah did not escape it," coolly answered the chief. "He perished
with the rest. He sacrificed his own life for the sake of saving his
countrymen!"
This act had endeared him to the memory of his people; and the hunters,
on hearing it, became convinced that the Bechuanas, whom they had been
taught to regard as a soul-less, degraded people, had still soul enough
to respect the performance of a noble action.
Next morning our travellers were made acquainted with the method by
which the water was obtained for the daily supply of the kraal. None
was allowed to be exposed either to the sun or to view, the well being
carefully covered up with a thick stratum of turf. The kraal had been
built near a spring, which had of course decided the selection of its
site; and over the spring a new surface had been given to the ground, so
that the presence of water underneath could not be suspected.
In order to obtain it for daily use, a hollow reed was inserted into a
small, inconspicuous aperture, left open for the purpose, and covered by
a stone when the reed was not in use. The water was drawn up by
suction,--the women performing the operation by applying their lips to
the upper end of the reed, filling the mouth with the fluid, and then
discharging it into the egg-shells.
The water supplied to the hunters on their first arrival had been
"pumped" up in this original fashion!
The well was only uncovered and the bucket called into requisition, upon
rare and extraordinary occasions, such as that which had arisen from the
necessity of supplying the horses and cattle of their guests.
Our travellers remained for two days in the Karroo village, during which
they did not suffer much from _ennui_. They had sufficient employment
in mending their travelling equipments; and the delay gave their cattle
a chance of recruiting their strength, sadly exhausted by the long
toilsome journey just made.
The whites of the party were much interested in observing the habits and
customs of the simple people among whom they had strayed. None of the
Bechuanas appeared to have the slightest wish to go away from the place
they had chosen for a permanent home. To them it afforded tranquillity,
and that was all that could be said of it, for it afforded little
besides. That was all they required. Not one of them seemed afflicted
with ordinary human desires. They had no ambition, no curiosity, no
love of wealth,--none of those wants that render wretched the lives of
civilised people.
A place less suited for the abode of men could scarce have been found,
or even imagined. The soil was sterile, unproductive, and rarely
visited by game worthy of being hunted. The few roots and other
articles of food they were enabled to raise, furnished but a precarious
subsistence.
So limited was their supply of ordinary utensils, that even the most
trifling article was in their eyes valuable, and anything given them by
their guests was received with a gratitude scarce conceivable. They had
discovered the art of living in peace and happiness, and were making the
most of the discovery.
From what they were told by the villagers, our travellers could not
expect to get out of the karroo in less than two days, and no water
could be obtained along the route. But, as their cattle were now well
rested, they were not so apprehensive, and after a friendly leave-taking
with the Bechuanas, they once more continued their journey.
The trouble they had given to their simple hosts was remunerated without
much cost. A glass bottle that had once contained "Cape Smoke," was
thought by the latter to be of greater value than a gun; and, taking
their circumstances into account, they were perhaps not far astray in
their estimate.