He dipped a cup, as he spoke, and drank it. So did his comrades, with
evident satisfaction, though the liquid was so opaque that I could not
see the bottom of a tea-cup when it was full.
There could be no further doubt on the point. These reckless and jovial
South Africans--European by extraction though they were, and without a
drop of black blood in their veins--had actually accommodated themselves
to circumstances so far as to consider liquid mud good water! More than
that, I found that most of the party deemed it a sufficient beverage,
for they were all temperance men, if not total abstainers. Still
further, I followed their example, drank of that yellow pond, and
actually enjoyed it. Subsequently I made the discovery that there were
small animals in it; after that I preferred it in the form of tea, which
was quickly infused by our active Hottentots.
The discovery above referred to was made when Green, (or Brownarms, or
Broadshoulders, I forget which), was quaffing a cup of the cold element.
Having drained it he spat out the last mouthful, and along with it a
lively creature like a small shrimp, with something like a
screw-propeller under its tail!
Enjoying our tea under the shade of the mimosa, we rested for an hour,
and then, saddling our steeds and slinging on rifles and
cartridge-pouches, we mounted, and sallied forth upon the plain.
A glorious sensation of freedom came over me as I felt my horse's
springy step,--a sensation which brought powerfully back the memory of
those days when I first galloped over the American prairies. Surely
there must be a sympathy, a mesmeric influence, between a horse and his
rider which sends a thrill through each. Hobson had lent me his own
favourite horse, Rob Roy. He was a charming creature; well made,
active, willing, and tender in the mouth, but, best of all, he
"trippled" splendidly.
Trippling is a favourite gait in South Africa, especially among the
Dutch farmers. It is something between pacing and ambling, a motion so
easy that one scarce rises at all from the saddle. We trippled off into
the vast plain towards the horizon, each horseman diverging a little
from his comrades, like a fleet of fishing-boats putting out to sea.
Most of the party rode without coats, for the sky was cloudless, and we
looked for a broiling day. Brownarms, I observed, had his sleeves
rolled up, as usual, to the shoulder. Six-foot Johnny rode a
cream-coloured pony, which, like himself, enjoyed itself intensely, and
seemed ready for anything. Each man grasped his rifle by the middle
with the right hand, and rested the stock on his thigh.
Being a stranger to the work, I had been supplied with a Hottentot as
well as a horse,--to guide me and carry my rifle; but I scorned to ride
without my weapon, and did not at first see the necessity of a guide in
the circumstances. Ultimately I was only too glad to avail myself of
his services!
The South Africans call Hottentots "boys," whatever their age or size
may be. My "boy" was named Michael. He was a small wiry man of twenty
or thirty,--more or less,--with a dirty brown face, dirty brown
garments, and a dirty brown horse. Though a bad one to look at, it was
a marvellous horse to go. Michael had a cavernous red mouth, and
magnificent white teeth. Likewise he was gifted with a strong sense of
the ludicrous, as I have reason to know.
We advanced slowly into the plain at first, and gradually scattered
until some of the party began to look like mere specks in the distance.
Presently I saw two or three of them break into a gallop, and observed a
few moving spots of white on the horizon. I looked anxiously at my boy.
He returned the gaze with glittering eyes and said "bok."
"Boks! are they?" said I, applying my spur and making a leap over an
ant-bear hole.
Rob Roy stretched his legs with a will, but a howl from Michael caused
me to look round. He was trending off in another direction, and
pointing violently towards something. He spoke nothing but Dutch. My
acquaintance with that tongue was limited to the single word "Ja."
He was aware of this, and his visage became all eyes and mouth in his
frantic effort to assure me it would be wise were I to follow his lead.