BETTER ACQUAINTANCE.
The escort under the bushman's command was composed of 100 men, all
Bochjesmen--an industrious, good-tempered people, capable of enduring
great physical fatigue. In former times, before the arrival of the
missionaries, these Bochjesmen were a lying, inhospitable race,
thinking of nothing but murder and pillage, and ever taking advantage
of an enemy's sleep to massacre him. To a great extent the missionaries
have modified these barbarous habits, but the natives are still more or
less farm-pillagers and cattle-lifters.
Ten waggons, like the vehicle which Mokoum had taken to the Morgheda
Falls, formed the bulk of the expedition. Two of these were like moving
houses, fitted up as they were with a certain amount of comfort, and
served as an encampment for the Europeans; so that Colonel Everest
and his companions were followed about by a wooden habitation with
dry flooring, and well tilted with water-proof cloth, and furnished
with beds and toilet furniture. Thus, on arriving at each place of
encampment, the tent was always ready pitched. Of these waggons, one
was appropriated to Colonel Everest and his countrymen, Sir John Murray
and William Emery: the other was used by the Russians, Matthew Strux,
Nicholas Palander, and Michael Zorn. Two more, arranged in the same
way, belonged, one to the five Englishmen and the other to the five
Russians who composed the crew of the "Queen and Czar."
The hull and machinery of the steamboat, taken to pieces and laid on
one of the waggons, followed the travellers, in case the Commission
might come across some of the numerous lakes which are found in the
interior of the continent.
The remaining waggons carried the tools, provisions, baggage, arms,
and ammunition, as well as the instruments required for the proposed
triangular survey. The provisions of the Bochjesmen consisted
principally of antelope, buffalo, or elephant meat, preserved in long
strips, being dried in the sun or by a slow fire: thus economizing the
use of salt, here very scarce. In the place of bread, the Bochjesmen
depended on the earth-nuts of the arachis, the bulbs of various species
of mesembryanthemums, and other native productions. Animal food would
be provided by the hunters of the party, who, adroitly employing their
bows and lances, would scour the plains and revictual the caravan.
Six native oxen, long-legged, high-shouldered, and with great horns,
were attached to each waggon with harness of buffalo hide. Thus the
primitive vehicles moved slowly though surely on their massive wheels,
ready alike for heights or valleys. For the travellers to ride there
were provided small black or grey Spanish horses, good-tempered, brave
animals, imported from South America, and much esteemed at the Cape.
Among the troops of quadrupeds were also half-a-dozen tame quaggas, a
kind of ass with plump bodies and slender legs, who make a noise like
the barking of a dog. They were to be used in the smaller expeditions
necessary to the geodetic operations, and were adapted to carry the
instruments where the waggons could not venture. The only exception to
the others was the bushman, who rode a splendid zebra with remarkable
grace and dexterity. This animal (the beauty of whose coat with its
brown stripes especially excited the admiration of the connoisseur
Sir John Murray) was naturally defiant and suspicious, and would not
have borne any other rider than Mokoum, who had broken it in for his
own use. Some dogs of a half-savage breed, sometimes wrongly called
"hyena-hunters," ran by the side of the waggons, their shape and long
ears reminding one of the European brach-hound.
Such was the caravan which was about to bury itself in the deserts.
The oxen advanced calmly under the guidance of their drivers, ever
and again pricking them in the flank with their "jambox;" and it was
strange to see the troop winding along the hills in marching order.
After leaving Lattakoo, whither was the expedition going? Colonel
Everest had said, "Straight on;" and indeed he and Matthew Strux could
not yet follow a fixed course. What they wanted, before commencing
their trigonometrical operations, was a vast level plain, on which
to establish the base of the first of the triangles, which, like a
network, were to cover for several degrees the southern part of Africa.
The Colonel explained to the bushman what he wanted, and with the
calmness of one to whom scientific language is familiar, talked to him
of triangles, adjacent angles, bases, meridians, zenith distances, and
the like. Mokoum let him go on for a few moments, then interrupted him
with an impatient movement, saying, "Colonel, I don't know any thing
about your angles, bases, and meridians. I don't understand even in
the least what you are going to do in the desert: but that is your
business. You are asking for a large level plain; oh well, I can find
you that."
And at his orders, the caravan, having just ascended the Lattakoo
hills, turned down again towards the south-west. This took them rather
more to the south of the village, towards the plain watered by the
Kuruman, and here the bushman expected to find a suitable place for the
Colonel's plans. From that day, he always took the head of the caravan.
Sir John Murray, well mounted, never left him, and from time to time
the report of a gun made his colleagues aware that he was making
acquaintance with the African game. The Colonel, quite absorbed in
contemplating the difficulties of the expedition, let his horse carry
him on. Matthew Strux, sometimes on horseback, sometimes in the waggon,
according to the nature of the ground, seldom opened his lips. Nicholas
Palander, as bad a rider as could be, was generally on foot; at other
times he shut himself up in his vehicle, and there lost himself in the
profoundest mathematical abstractions.
Although William Emery and Michael Zorn occupied separate waggons at
night, they were always together when the caravan was on the march.
Every day and every incident of the journey bound them in a closer
friendship. From one stage to another they rode, talked, and argued
together. Sometimes they fell behind the train, and sometimes rode on
several miles ahead of it, when the plain extended as far as they could
see. They were free here and lost amidst the wildness of nature. How
they forgot figures and problems, calculations and observations, and
chatted of every thing but science! They were no longer astronomers
contemplating the starry firmament, but were more like two youths
escaped from school, revelling in the dense forests and boundless
plains. They laughed like ordinary mortals. Both of them had excellent
dispositions, open, amiable, and devoted, forming a strange contrast to
Colonel Everest and Matthew Strux, who were formal, not to say stiff.
These two chiefs were often the subject of their conversation, and
Emery learnt a good deal about them from his friend.
[Illustration: William Emery and Michael Zorn in advance of the
Expedition.]
"Yes," said Michael Zorn, that day, "I watched them well on board the
'Augusta,' and I profess I think they are jealous of each other. And if
Colonel Everest appears to be at the head of things, Matthew Strux is
not less than his equal: the Russian Government has clearly established
his position. One chief is as imperious as the other; and besides, I
tell you again, there is the worst of all jealousy between them, the
jealousy of the learned."
"And that for which there is the least occasion," answered Emery,
"because in discoveries every thing has its value, and each one derives
equal benefit. But, my dear Zorn, if, as I believe, your observations
are correct, it is unfortunate for our expedition: in such a work there
ought to be a perfect understanding."
"No doubt," replied Zorn, "and I fear that that understanding does
not exist. Think of our confusion, if every detail, the choice of a
base, the method of calculating, the position of the stations, the
verification of the figures, opens a fresh discussion every time!
Unless I am much mistaken I forbode a vast deal of quibbling when we
come to compare our registers, and the observations we shall have made
to the minutest fraction."
"You frighten me," said Emery. "It would be sorrowful to carry an
enterprise of this kind so far, and then to fail for want of concord.
Let us hope that your fears may not be realized."
"I hope they may not," answered the young Russian; "but I say again, I
assisted at certain scientific discussions on the voyage, which showed
me that both Colonel Everest and his rival are undeniably obstinate,
and that at heart there is a miserable jealousy between them."
"But these two gentlemen are never apart," observed Emery. "You never
find one without the other; they are as inseparable as ourselves."
"True," replied Zorn, "they are never apart all daylong, but then they
never exchange ten words: they only keep watch on each other. If one
doesn't manage to annihilate the other, we shall indeed work under
deplorable conditions."
"And for yourself," asked William, hesitatingly, "which of the two
would you wish--"
"My dear William," replied Zorn with much frankness, "I shall loyally
accept him as chief who can command respect as such. This is a question
of science, and I have no prejudice in the matter. Matthew Strux and
the Colonel are both remarkable and worthy men: England and Russia
should profit equally from their labours; therefore it matters little
whether the work is directed by an Englishman or a Russian. Are you not
of my opinion?"
"Quite," answered Emery; "therefore do not let us be distracted by
absurd prejudices, and let us as far as possible use our efforts for
the common good. Perhaps it will be possible to ward off the blows
of the two adversaries; and besides there is your fellow countryman,
Nicholas Palander----"
"He!" laughed Zorn, "he will neither see, hear, nor comprehend any
thing! He would make calculations to any extent; but he is neither
Russian, Prussian, English, or Chinese; he is not even an inhabitant of
this sublunary sphere; he is Nicholas Palander, that's all."
"I cannot say the same for my countryman, Sir John Murray," said Emery.
"He is a thorough Englishman, and a most determined hunter, and he
would sooner follow the traces of an elephant and giraffe than give
himself any trouble about a scientific argument. We must therefore
depend upon ourselves, Zorn, to neutralize the antipathy between our
chiefs. Whatever happens, we must hold together."
"Ay, whatever happens," replied Zorn, holding out his hand to his
friend.
The bushman still continued to guide the caravan down towards the
south-west. At midday, on the 4th of March, it reached the base of
the long wooded hills which extend from Lattakoo. Mokoum was not
mistaken; he had led the expedition towards the plain, but it was still
undulated, and therefore unfitted for an attempt at triangulation.
The march continued uninterrupted, and Mokoum rode at the head of the
riders and waggons, while Sir John Murray, Emery, and Zorn pushed on
in advance. Towards the end of the day, they all arrived at a station
occupied by one of the wandering "boers," or farmers, who are induced
by the richness of the pasture-land to make temporary abodes in various
parts of the country.
[Illustration: The Bushman pointing to the Plain.]
The colonist, a Dutchman, and head of a large family, received
the Colonel and his companions most hospitably, and would take no
remuneration in return. He was one of those brave, industrious men,
whose slender capital, intelligently employed in the breeding of
oxen, cows, and goats, soon produces a fortune. When the pasturage is
exhausted, the farmer, like a patriarch of old, seeks for new springs
and fertile prairies, pitching his camp afresh where the conditions
seem favourable.
The farmer opportunely told Colonel Everest of a wide plain, fifteen
miles away, which would be found quite flat. The caravan started next
morning at daybreak. The only incident that broke the monotony of the
long morning march, was Sir John Murray's taking a shot, at a distance
of more than 1000 yards, at a gnu, a curious animal about five feet
high, with the muzzle of an ox, a long white tail, and pointed horns.
It fell with a heavy groan, much to the astonishment of the bushman,
who was surprised at seeing the animal struck at such a distance. The
gnu generally affords a considerable quantity of excellent meat, and
was accordingly in high esteem among the hunters of the caravan.
The site indicated by the farmer was reached about midday. It was
a boundless prairie stretching to the north without the slightest
undulation. No better spot for measuring a base could be imagined,
and the bushman, after a short investigation, returned to Colonel
Everest with the announcement that they had reached the place they were
seeking.