The following morning the wind was very light, and before noon it fell
calm. Two sharks of a large size came under the stern of the vessel,
and the sailors were soon very busy trying to hook one of them; but they
refused the bait, which was a piece of salt pork, and after an hour they
quitted the vessel and disappeared, much to the disappointment both of
passengers and ship's company, the former wishing very much to see the
sharks caught, and the latter very anxious to cut them up and fry them
for their suppers.
"I thought that sharks always took the bait," observed Alexander.
"Not always, as you have now seen," replied Mr Swinton; "all depends
upon whether they are hungry or not. In some harbours where there are
plenty of fish, I have seen sharks in hundreds, which not only refused
any bait, but would not attempt to seize a man if he was in the water;
but I am surprised at these Atlantic sharks refusing the bait, I must
confess, for they are generally very ravenous, as are, indeed, all the
sharks which are found in the ocean."
"I can tell you, sir, why they refused the bait," said the boatswain of
the vessel, who was standing by; "it's because we are now in the track
of the Brazilian slavers, and they have been well fed lately, depend
upon it."
"I should not be surprised if you were correct in your idea," replied
Mr Swinton.
"There are many varieties of sharks, are there not?" inquired Wilmot.
"Yes, a great many; the fiercest, however, and the largest kind is the
one which has just left us, and is termed the white shark; it ranges the
whole Atlantic Ocean, but is seldom found far to the northward, as it
prefers the tropics: it is, however, to be seen in the Mediterranean, in
the Gulf of Lyons, and is there remarkably fierce. In the English
Channel you find the blue shark, which is seldom dangerous; there is
also a very large-sized but harmless shark found in the north seas,
which the whalers frequent. Then there is the spotted or tiger shark,
which is very savage, although it does not grow to a large size; the
hammer-headed shark, so called from the peculiar formation of its head;
and the ground shark, perhaps the most dangerous of all, as it lies at
the bottom and rises under you without giving you notice of its
approach. I believe I have now mentioned the principal varieties."
"If a man was to fall overboard and a shark was nigh, what would be the
best plan to act upon?--that is, if there would be any chance of escape
from such a brute."
"The best plan, and I have seen it acted upon with success, is, if you
can swim well, to throw yourself on your back and splash as much as you
can with your feet, and halloo as loud as you can. A shark is a
cowardly animal, and noise will drive it away.
"When I went out two or three years ago, I had a Newfoundland dog, which
was accustomed to leap into the water from almost any height. I was
very partial to him, and you may imagine my annoyance when, one day, as
we were becalmed off the Western Islands, and a large shark came up
alongside, the dog, at once perceiving it, plunged off the taffrail to
seize it, swimming towards the shark, and barking as loud as he could.
I fully expected that the monster would have despatched him in a moment;
but to my surprise the shark was frightened and swam away, followed by
the dog, until the boat that was lowered down had picked him up."
"I don't think that the shark could have been very hungry."
"Probably not; at all events I should not have liked to have been in
Neptune's place. I think the most curious plan of escaping from sharks
is that pursued by the Cingalese divers, and often with success."
"Tell it me, if you please."
"The divers who go down for the pearl oysters off Ceylon generally drop
from a boat, and descend in ten or twelve fathoms of water before they
come to the bed of pearl oysters, which is upon a bank of mud: it often
happens that when they are down, the sharks make for them, and I hardly
need say that these poor fellows are constantly on the watch, looking in
every direction while they are filling their baskets. If they perceive
a shark making for them, their only chance is to stir up the mud on the
bank as fast as they can, which prevents the animal from distinguishing
them, and under the cover of the clouded water they regain the surface;
nevertheless, it does not always answer, and many are taken off every
year."
"A lady, proud of her pearl necklace, little thinks how many poor
fellows may have been torn to pieces to obtain for her such an
ornament."
"Very true; and when we consider how many pearl-fisheries may have taken
place, and how many divers may have been destroyed, before a string of
fine pearls can be obtained, we might almost say that every pearl on the
necklace has cost the life of a human creature."
"How are the pearls disposed of, and who are the proprietors?"
"The government are the proprietors of the fishery, I believe; but
whether they farm it out yearly, or not, I cannot tell; but this I know,
that as the pearl oysters are taken, they are landed unopened and packed
upon the beach in squares of a certain dimension. When the fishing is
over for the season, these square lots of pearl oysters are put up to
auction and sold to the highest bidder, of course, `contents unknown;'
so that it becomes a species of lottery; the purchaser may not find a
single pearl in his lot, or he may find two or three, which will realise
twenty times the price which he has paid for his lot."
"It is, then, a lottery from beginning to end; the poor divers' lottery
is shark or no shark; the purchasers', pearls or no pearls. But Mr
Fairburn is coming up the ladder, and I am anxious to know what was the
fate of Mokanna."
Mr Fairburn, who had come on deck on purpose to continue the narrative,
took his seat by his two fellow-passengers and went on as follows:--
"I stated that Mokanna had been forwarded to the Cape. You must have
perceived that his only crime was that of fighting for his native land
against civilised invaders; but this was a deep crime in the eyes of the
colonial government; he was immediately thrown into the common gaol, and
finally was condemned to be imprisoned for life on Robben Island, a
place appropriated for the detention of convicted felons and other
malefactors, who there work in irons at the slate-quarries."
"May I ask, where is Robben Island?"
"It is an island a few miles from the mainland, close to Table Bay, upon
which the Cape Town is built.
"Mokanna remained there about a year, when, having made his intentions
known to some Caffres who were confined there with him, he contrived out
of the iron hoops of the casks to make some weapons like cutlasses, with
which he armed his followers, rose upon the guard and overpowered them;
he then seized the boat, and with his Caffres made for the mainland.
Unfortunately, in attempting to disembark upon the rocks on the
mainland, the boat was upset in the surf, which was very violent;
Mokanna clung some time to a rock, but at last was washed off and thus
perished the unfortunate leader of the Caffres."
"Poor fellow," said Alexander; "he deserved a better fate and a more
generous enemy; but did the war continue?"
"No; it ended in a manner every way worthy of that in which it was
begun. You recollect that the war was commenced to support Gaika, our
selected chief of the Caffres, against the real chiefs. The Caffres had
before been compelled to give up their territories on our side of the
Fish River; the colonial government now insisted upon their retiring
still further, that is, beyond the Keisi and Chumi rivers, by which 3000
more square miles were added to the colonial territory. This was
exacted, in order that there might be a neutral ground to separate the
Caffres and the Dutch boors, and put an end to further robberies on
either side. The strangest part of the story is, that this territory
was not taken away from the Caffre chiefs, against whom we had made war,
but from Gaika, our ally, to support whom we had entered into the war."
"Well, it was even-handed--not justice, but injustice, at all events."
"Exactly so; and so thought Gaika, for when speaking of the protection
he received from the colonial government, he said, `But when I look upon
the large extent of fine country which has been taken from me, I am
compelled to say, that, although protected, I am _rather oppressed_ by
my _protectors_.'"
"Unjust as was the mode of obtaining the neutral ground, I must say that
it appears to me to have been a good policy to put one between the
parties."
"I grant it; but what was the conduct of the colonial government? This
neutral ground was afterwards given away in large tracts to the Dutch
boors, so as again to bring them into contact with the Caffres."
"Is it possible?"
"Yes; to men who had always been opposed to the English government, who
had twice risen in rebellion against them, and who had tried to bring in
the Caffres to destroy the colony. Neither are the commandoes, or
excursions against the Caffres, put an end to: Makomo, the son of Gaika,
our late ally, has, I hear, been the party now attacked. I trust,
however, that we may soon have affairs going on in a more favourable and
reputable manner; indeed, I am sure that, now the government at home
have been put in possession of the facts, such will be the case.
"I have now given you a very brief insight into the history of the Cape
up to the present time. There are many points which I have passed over,
not wishing to diverge from a straightforward narrative; but upon any
questions you may wish to ask, I shall be most happy to give you all the
information in my power. I cannot, however, dismiss the subject without
making one remark, which is, that it is principally, if not wholly, to
the missionaries, to their exertions and to their representations, that
what good has been done is to be attributed. They are entitled to the
greatest credit and the warmest praise; and great as has been the
misrule of this colony for many years, it would have been much greater
and much more disgraceful, if it had not been for their efforts.
Another very important alteration has been taking place in the colony,
which will eventually be productive of much good. I refer to the
British immigration, which every year becomes more extensive; and as
soon as the British population exceeds and masters that of the old Dutch
planters and boors, we shall have better feeling in the colony. Do not
suppose that all the Dutch boors are such as those whose conduct I have
been obliged to point out. There are many worthy men, although but few
educated or enlightened.
"I know from my own observation that the failings and prejudices against
the natives are fast fading away, and that lately the law has been able
to hold its ground, and has been supported by the people inhabiting the
districts. The Dutch, with all their prejudices and all their vices,
will soon be swallowed up by the inundation of English settlers, and
will gradually be so incorporated and intermingled by marriage that no
distinction will be known. Time, however, is required for such
consolidation and cementation; that time is arriving fast, and the
future prospects of the Cape are as cheering, as you may think, from my
narrative, they have been disheartening and gloomy."
"I trust in God that such will be the case," replied Alexander. "If
this wind continues, in a few days we shall be at the Cape, and I shall
be most anxious to hear how affairs are going on."
"I had a letter just before I set out from England, stating that the
Zoolu tribes, to the northward of the Caffres, are in an unquiet state;
and as you must pass near to these tribes on your journey, I am anxious
to know the truth. At all events, Chaka is dead; he was murdered about
two years back by his own relations."
"Who was Chaka?" inquired Alexander.
"That I have yet to tell you; at present we have only got as far as the
Caffres, who are immediately on our frontiers."