STANDING A SIEGE.
Not without anxiety had the astronomers witnessed the departure of
their young colleagues: they could not tell what dangers awaited them
in that unknown country. Mokoum tried to reassure them by praising the
courage of the pioneer, and besides, he said, the Makololos were too
much occupied around Mount Scorzef to beat the country to the north of
Lake Ngami. He instinctively felt that the Colonel and his party were
in a more dangerous position than the two young astronomers.
[Illustration: On Guard on Mount Scorzef.]
The sailors and Mokoum kept watch in turns through the night. But "the
reptiles," as the bushman termed the Makololos, did not venture another
attack. They seemed to be waiting for reinforcements, in order to
invade the mountain from all sides, and overcome by their numbers the
resistance of the besieged.
The hunter was not mistaken in his conjectures; and when daylight
appeared Colonel Everest perceived a sensible increase in the number
of the natives. Their camp, carefully arranged round the base of
the mountain, shut off escape on every side except that towards the
lake. This side could not be invested, so that unless unforeseen
circumstances occurred, retreat to the water was always practicable.
But the Europeans had no thought of escaping: they occupied a post of
honour, and were all agreed that it must not be abandoned. No allusion
was ever made to the war between England and Russia, and both parties
strove together to accomplish their scientific labour.
The interval of waiting for the signal on Mount Volquiria was employed
in completing the measurement of the preceding triangle and in finding
the exact latitude of Mount Scorzef by means of the altitudes of the
stars.
Mokoum was called upon to say what would be the shortest possible
space of time that must elapse before Emery and Zorn could reach Mount
Volquiria. He replied that as the journey was to be performed on foot,
and the country was continually crossed by rivers, he did not think
that they could arrive in less than five days at least. They therefore
adopted a maximum of six days, and portioned out their supplies to
serve for that period. Their reserve was very limited, consisting
only of a few pounds of biscuit, preserved meat, and pemmican,
and had already been diminished by the portion furnished to the
pioneer's little troop. Colonel Everest and his companions, anxiously
anticipating the sixth day, decided that the daily ration must be
reduced to a third of their previous allowance. The thirteen men would
doubtless suffer much from this small amount of nourishment, but there
was an unflinching determination to bear up bravely.
"Besides," said Sir John, "we have room enough to hunt."
Mokoum shook his head doubtfully: he thought that game would be rare
on the mountain. However, his gun need not be idle, and leaving the
astronomers to examine and correct their registers, he set off with Sir
John.
The Makololos were quietly encamped, and apparently patient in
their intention of reducing the besieged by famine. The two hunters
reconnoitred the mountain. The fort occupied a space of ground
measuring not more than a quarter of a mile in its widest part. The
soil was covered with flints and grass, dotted here and there with low
shrubs, and bright with gladioli. Red heaths, silvery-leaved proteæ,
and ericæ with wavy fronds, formed the flora of the mountain, and
beneath the angles formed by the projections of rock sprung up thorny
bushes ten feet high, with bunches of a sweet-smelling white flower.
The bushman was ignorant of its name, but it was doubtless the _Arduina
bispinosa_, which bears fruit like the barberry.
After an hour's search Sir John had seen no trace of game. Some little
birds with dark wings and red beaks flew out of the bushes, but at the
first shot they disappeared, no more to return. It was evident that the
garrison must not depend on the products of the chase for sustenance.
"We can fish in the lake," said Sir John, standing and contemplating
the fine extent of water.
"To fish without net or line," replied the bushman, "is as difficult as
to lay hands on birds on the wing. But we will not despair; chance has
hitherto favoured us."
"Chance! nay, not chance, but Providence," said Sir John. "That does
not forsake us; it has brought us to the Russians, and will no doubt
carry us on to our goal."
"And will Providence feed us, Sir John?" asked the bushman.
"No doubt, Mokoum," said Sir John encouragingly; and the bushman
thought to himself that no blind trust in Providence should prevent him
from using his own best exertions.
The 25th brought no change in the relative positions of besiegers and
besieged. The Makololos, having brought in the plundered waggons,
remained in their camp. Herds and flocks were grazing in the pasturages
at the foot of the mountain, and some women and children, who had
joined the tribe, went about and pursued their ordinary occupations.
From time to time, some chief, recognizable by the richness of the
skins which he wore, ascended the slope of the mountain and tried to
examine the approaches to the summit; but the report of a rifle always
took him speedily back to the plain. The Makololos then raised their
war-cry, brandished their assagais, and all became quiet.
[Illustration: An Attack on Mount Scorzef.]
The following day the natives made a more serious attempt, and about
fifty of them at once scaled three sides of the mountain. The whole
garrison turned out to the foot of the enclosure, and the European
arms caused considerable ravage among the Makololos. Five or six were
killed, and the rest abandoned their project, but it was quite evident
that if several hundred were to assault the mountain simultaneously,
the besieged would find it difficult to face them on all sides. Sir
John now thought of the mitrailleuse, which was the principal weapon
of the "Queen and Czar," and proposed that it should be brought up to
defend the front of the fortress. It was a difficult task to hoist the
machine up the rocks, which in some parts were almost perpendicular;
but the sailors showed themselves so agile and daring, that in the
course of the day the mitrailleuse was installed in the embrasure of
the embattled enclosure. Thence, its twenty-five muzzles, arranged in
the shape of a fan, would cover the front of the fort, and the natives
would thus early make acquaintance with the engine of death which in
after-years was to effect such devastation amongst the civilized
armies of the European continent.
The dry air and clear sky had enabled the astronomers each night to
pursue their observations. They had found the latitude of Mount Scorzef
to be 19°, 37´, which result confirmed their opinion that they were
less than half a degree from the northern extremity of their meridian,
and that consequently the next triangle would complete the series.
The night passed without any fresh alarm. If circumstances had favoured
the pioneer, he and his companions would reach Mount Volquiria the
following day, so that the astronomers kept unflagging watch through
the next night for the appearance of the light. Strux and the Colonel
had already pointed the telescope to the peak, so that it was
continuously embraced in the field of the object-glass, otherwise it
would have been difficult to discern on a dark night; as it was, the
light would doubtless be perceived immediately on its appearance.
All day Sir John beat fruitlessly the bushes and long grass. He
could not unearth a single animal that was fit to eat. The very
birds, disturbed from their retreats, had gone to the underwood on
the shore for shelter. Sir John was extremely vexed, inasmuch as he
was not hunting merely for personal gratification, but to supply the
necessities of the party. Perhaps he himself suffered from hunger more
than his three colleagues, whose attention was more riveted by their
application to science. The sailors and Mokoum suffered equally with
Sir John. One more day and their scanty reserve would be at an end, and
if the pioneer's expedition were delayed, they would soon be exposed to
a severe extremity of hunger.
The dark, calm night was passed in watching; but the horizon remained
wrapped in shade, and no light appeared in the object-glass of the
telescope. The minimum of time, however, allowed to the expedition had
hardly expired, and they felt that they were bound to exhibit patience
for a while.
The next day the garrison ate their last morsel of meat and biscuit;
but their courage did not fail, and, though they should be obliged to
feed on what herbs they could gather, they were resolved to hold out.
The succeeding night passed without any result. More than once the
astronomers believed that they had seen the light, but it was always
proved to be a star in the misty horizon.
On the 1st of March they were compelled absolutely to fast. Having been
for some time accustomed to meagre and inadequate nourishment, they
passed the first day without much acute suffering, but on the morrow
they began to experience the pangs of craving. Sir John and Mokoum,
haggard-eyed, and sensitive to the gnawings of hunger, wandered over
the top of the mountain; but no game whatever was to be seen. They
began to think that, as the Colonel had said, they should literally
have to feed on grass. If they only had the stomachs of ruminants,
thought poor Sir John, as he eyed the abundant pasturage, they would be
able to hold out; but still no game, still not even a bird! He gazed
intently over the lake, in which the sailors had fished in vain; and
it was impossible to get near the wary aquatic birds that skimmed the
tranquil waters.
At last, worn out with fatigue, Sir John and his companion lay down on
the grass at the foot of a mound of earth some five or six feet high.
Here they fell, not precisely into a sleep, but into a heavy torpor,
which for a while benumbed their sufferings. How long this drowsiness
would have lasted neither of them could have said; but in about an hour
Sir John was aroused by a disagreeable pricking. He tried to slumber
again, but the pricking continued, and at last impatiently he opened
his eyes.
He was entirely covered, face, hands, and clothes, with swarms of
white ants. He started to his feet, and his sudden movement aroused
the bushman, who was covered in the same way. But to Sir John's great
surprise, the bushman, instead of shaking off the insects, carried them
by handfuls to his mouth, and devoured them greedily. Sir John's first
sensation was disgust at his voracity.
"Come, eat, do as I do!" said the bushman; "it is the rice of the
Bochjesmen."
[Illustration: The Rice of the Bochjesmen.]
And that was, in truth, the native term for these insects. The
Bochjesmen feed on both the black and white species, but they consider
the white to be of superior quality. The only drawback is, that they
must be swallowed in large quantities to satisfy any longing for food.
The Africans generally mix them with the gum of the mimosa, thus
rendering them capable of affording a less unsubstantial meal; but as
the mimosa did not grow on Mount Scorzef, the bushman had to content
himself with his rice _au naturel_.
Sir John, in spite of his repugnance, resolved to imitate him. The
insects poured forth by thousands from their enormous ant-hill, which
was none other than the mound of earth by which the weary sufferers
had reclined. Sir John took them by handfuls, and carried them to his
lips; he did not dislike the flavour, which was a grateful acid; and
gradually he felt his hunger moderated.
Mokoum did not forget his companions in misfortune. He ran to the fort,
and brought out the garrison. The sailors were without difficulty
induced to attack the singular food, and although the astronomers
hesitated a moment, yet, encouraged by Sir John's example, and half
dead with inanition, they soon at least assuaged the intenseness of
their hunger by devouring considerable quantities of these ants.
But an unexpected incident procured for the starving men a more solid
meal. In order to lay in a provision of the insects, Mokoum resolved to
destroy one side of the enormous ant-hill. It consisted of a central
conical mound, with smaller cones arranged at intervals round its base.
The hunter had already made several blows with his hatchet, when a
singular grunting sound from the centre attracted his attention: he
paused in his work of destruction, and listened, while his companions
watched him in silence. He struck a few more blows, and the groan
was repeated more audibly than before. The bushman rubbed his hands,
whilst his eyes evidently sparkled. Once more attacking the ant-hill,
he opened a cavity about a foot wide. The ants were escaping on every
side; but of them he took no heed, leaving the sailors to collect them
in sacks. All at once a strange animal appeared at the mouth of the
hole. It was a quadruped with a long snout, small mouth, and flexible
tongue, which protruded to a great length; its ears were straight, its
legs short, and its tail long and pointed. Long grey bristles with
a reddish tinge covered its lank body, and its feet were armed with
enormous claws. Mokoum killed it at once with a sharp blow on the
snout. "There is our supper," he said. "It has been some time coming,
but it will not taste the worse for that. Now for a fire, and a ramrod
for a spit, and we will feast as we have never feasted in our lives."
The bushman speedily began to skin the animal, which was a species of
octeropus or ant-eater, very common in South Africa, and known to the
Dutch at the Cape under the name of "earth-pig." Swarms of ants are
devoured by this creature, which catches them by means of its long
glutinous tongue.
The meal was soon cooked; perhaps it would have been better for a
few more turns of the spit, but the hungry men were impatient. The
firm, wholesome flesh was declared to be excellent, although slightly
impregnated with the acid of the ants.
After the repast the Europeans felt re-invigorated, and animated with
more steadfast purpose to persevere; and in truth there was need of
encouragement. All through the following night no light appeared on
Mount Volquiria.