Our first start from the village where we had been entertained so
hospitably and so long was productive of much amusement to ourselves and
to the natives.
We had determined to accept of three oxen from the chief, and to ride
these when we felt fatigued; but we thought it best to let our native
porters carry our baggage on their shoulders, as they had hitherto done.
When the animals were led up to our hut, we could not refrain from
laughing. They were three sturdy-looking dark-skinned oxen, with
wicked-looking black eyes and very long horns.
"Now, Jack, do you get up first," said Peterkin, "and show us what we
are to expect."
"Nay, lad; I am still entitled to be considered an invalid: so you must
get up first, and not only so, but you must try them all, in order that
I may be enabled to select the quietest."
"Upon my word, you are becoming despotic in your sickness, and you
forget that it is but a short time since I came down from a journey to
the sky, and that my poor bones are still tender. But here goes. I was
born to be victimised, so I submit to the decrees of Fate."
Peterkin went up to one of the oxen and attempted to mount it; but the
animal made a demonstration of an intention to gore him, and obstinately
objected to this.
"Hold him tight, Mak," he cried, after several futile attempts to mount.
"I was always good at leap-frog when a schoolboy; see if I don't bring
my powers into play now."
So saying, he went behind the ox, took a short race and sprang with the
agility of a monkey over its tail on to its back! The ox began to kick
and sidle and plunge heavily on receiving this unexpected load; but its
rider held on well, until it took it into its head to dart under a
neighbouring tree, the lower branches of which swept him off and caused
him to fall with a heavy plump to the ground.
"I told you so," he cried, rising with a rueful face, and rubbing
himself as he limped forward. However, his pain was more than half
affected, for the next minute he was on the back of another ox. This
one also proved restive, but not so much so as the first. The third was
a very quiet animal, so Jack appropriated it as his charger.
Having bade adieu to the chief and rubbed noses with him and with
several of our friends in the village, we all three got upon our novel
steeds and set forth. But we had not got away from the village more
than a mile when the two restive oxen began to display a firm
determination to get rid of their intolerable burden. Mine commenced to
back and sidle, and Peterkin's made occasional darts forward, and then
stopping suddenly, refused to budge a step. We lost all patience at
last, and belaboured them soundly with twigs, the effect of which was to
make them advance rather slowly, and evidently under protest.
"Look out for branches," cried Peterkin as we came up to a narrow belt
of wood.
I had scarcely time to raise my head when I was swept off my seat and
hurled to the ground by a large branch. Peterkin's attention was drawn
to me, and his ox, as if aware of the fact, seized the opportunity to
swerve violently to one side, thereby throwing its rider off. Both
animals gave a bellow, as of triumph, erected their tails, and ran away.
They were soon recaptured, however, by our negroes; and mounting once
more, we belaboured them well and continued our journey. In course of
time they became more reconciled to their duties; but I cannot say that
I ever came to enjoy such riding, and all of us ultimately agreed that
it was a most undesirable thing to journey on ox-back.
Thus we commenced our journey over this desert or plain of Africa, and
at the end of many weeks found ourselves approaching that part of the
country near the equator in which the gorilla is said to dwell. On the
way we had many adventures, some of an amusing, some of a dangerous
character, and I made many additions to my collection of animals,
besides making a number of valuable and interesting notes in my journal;
but all this I am constrained to pass over, in order to introduce my
reader to those regions in which some of our most wonderful adventures
occurred.
One or two things, however, I must not omit to mention.
In passing over the desert we suffered much from want of water.
Frequently the poor oxen had to travel two or three days without tasting
a drop, and their distress was so great that we more than once thought
of turning them adrift at the first good watering-place we should come
to, and proceed, as formerly, on foot; for we had all recovered our
wonted vigour, and were quite capable of standing the fatigues of the
journey as well as our men. But several times we had found the country
destitute of game, and were reduced to the point of starvation; so we
continued to keep the oxen, lest we should require them for food.
On one occasion we were wending our way slowly along the bed of what in
the rainy season would become a large river, but which was now so
thoroughly dry that we could not find even a small pool in which the
oxen might slake their thirst. They had been several days absolutely
without a drop of water, while we were reduced to a mouthful or two per
man in the day. As we could not exist much longer without the
life-giving fluid, Jack dismounted, and placing the load of one of the
men on the ox's back, sent him off in advance to look for water. We had
that morning seen the footprints of several animals which are so fond of
water that they are never found at any great distance from some spot
where it may be found. We therefore felt certain of falling in with it
ere long.
About two hours afterwards our negro returned, saying that he had
discovered a pool of rain-water, and showing the marks of mud on his
knees in confirmation of the truth of what he said.
"Ask him if there's much of it, Mak," said Jack, as we crowded eagerly
round the man.
"Hims say there be great plenty ob it--'nuff to tumble in."
Gladdened by this news we hastened forward. The oxen seemed to have
scented the water from afar, for they gradually became more animated,
and quickened their pace of their own accord, until they at last broke
into a run. Peterkin and I soon outstripped our party, and quite
enjoyed the gallop.
"There it is," cried my comrade joyfully, pointing to a gleaming pond in
a hollow of the plain not two hundred yards off.
"Hurrah!" I shouted, unable to repress my delight at the sight.
The oxen rushed madly forward, and we found that they were away with us.
No pulling at our rope-bridles had any effect on them. My companion,
foreseeing what would happen, leaped nimbly off just as he reached the
margin of the pond. I being unable to collect my thoughts for the
emergency, held on. My steed rushed into the water up to the neck, and
stumbling as he did so, threw me into the middle of the pond, out of
which I scrambled amidst the laughter of the whole party, who came up
almost as soon as the oxen, so eager were they to drink.
After appeasing our own thirst we stood looking at the oxen, and it
really did our hearts good to see the poor thirsty creatures enjoy
themselves so thoroughly. They stood sucking in the water as if they
meant to drink up the whole pond, half shutting their eyes, which became
mild and amiable in appearance under the influence of extreme
satisfaction. Their sides, which had been for the last two days in a
state of collapse, began to swell, and at last were distended to such an
extent that they seemed as if ready to burst. In point of fact the
creatures were actually as full as they could hold; and when at length
they dragged themselves slowly, almost unwillingly, out of the pool, any
sudden jerk or motion caused some of the water to run out of their
mouths!
Some time after that we were compelled to part with our poor steeds, in
consequence of their being bitten by an insect which caused their death.
This destructive fly, which is called tsetse, is a perfect scourge in
some parts of Africa. Its bite is fatal to the horse, ox, and dog, yet,
strange to say, it is not so to man or to wild animals. It is not much
larger than the common house-fly, and sucks the blood in the same manner
as the mosquito, by means of a proboscis with which it punctures the
skin. When man is bitten by it, no more serious evil than slight
itching of the part follows. When the ox is bitten no serious effect
follows at first, but a few days afterwards a running takes place at the
eyes and nose, swellings appear under the jaw and on other parts of the
body, emaciation quickly follows, even although the animal may continue
to graze, and after a long illness, sometimes of many weeks, it dies in
a state of extreme exhaustion.
The tsetse inhabits certain localities in great numbers, while other
places in the immediate neighbourhood are entirely free. Those natives,
therefore, who have herds of cattle avoid the dangerous regions most
carefully; yet, despite their utmost care, they sometimes come
unexpectedly on the _habitat_ of this poisonous fly, and lose the
greater part of their cattle.
When our poor oxen were bitten and the fatal symptoms began to appear,
we knew that their fate was sealed; so we conducted them into a pleasant
valley on which we chanced to alight, where there was plenty of grass
and water, and there we left them to die.
Another incident occurred to us in this part of our journey which is
worthy of record.
One day Peterkin and I had started before our party with our rifles, and
had gone a considerable distance in advance of them, when we
unexpectedly came upon a band of natives who were travelling in an
opposite direction. Before coming up with their main body, we met with
one of their warriors, who came upon us suddenly in the midst of a
wooded spot, and stood rooted to the earth with fear and amazement; at
which, indeed, we were not much surprised, for as he had probably never
seen white faces before, he must have naturally taken us for ghosts or
phantoms of some sort.
He was armed with shield and spear, but his frame was paralysed with
terror. He seemed to have no power to use his weapons. At first we
also stood in silent wonder, and returned his stare with interest; but
after a few seconds the comicality of the man's appearance tickled
Peterkin so much that he burst into a fit of laughter, which had the
effect of increasing the terror of the black warrior to such a degree
that his teeth began to chatter in his head. He actually grew livid in
the face. I never beheld a more ghastly countenance.
"I say, Ralph," observed my companion, after recovering his composure,
"we must try to show this fellow that we don't mean him any harm, else
he'll die of sheer fright."
Before I could reply, or any steps could be taken towards this end, his
party came up, and we suddenly found ourselves face to face with at
least a hundred men, all of whom were armed with spears or bows and
arrows. Behind them came a large troop of women and children. They
were all nearly naked, and I observed that they were blacker in the skin
than most of the negroes we had yet met with.
"Here's a pretty mess," said Peterkin, looking at me.
"What is to be done?" said I.
"If we were to fire at them, I'd lay a bet they'd run away like the
wind," replied my comrade; "but I can't bear to think of shedding human
blood if it can possibly be avoided."
While we spoke, the negroes, who stood about fifty yards distant from
us, were consulting with each other in eager voices, but never for a
moment taking their eyes off us.
"What say you to fire over their heads?" I suggested.
"Ready, present, then," cried Peterkin, with a recklessness of manner
that surprised me.
We threw forward our rifles, and discharged them simultaneously.
The effect was tremendous. The whole band--men, women, and children--
uttered an overwhelming shriek, and turning round, fled in mad confusion
from the spot. Some of the warriors turned, however, ere they had gone
far, and sent a shower of spears at us, one of which went close past my
cheek.
"We have acted rashly, I fear," said I, as we each sought shelter behind
a tree.
No doubt the savages construed this act of ours into an admission that
we did not consider ourselves invulnerable, and plucked up courage
accordingly, for they began again to advance towards us, though with
hesitation. I now saw that we should be compelled to fight for our
lives, and deeply regretted my folly in advising Peterkin to fire over
their heads; but happily, before blood was drawn on either side,
Makarooroo and Jack came running towards us. The former shouted an
explanation of who and what we were to our late enemies, and in less
than ten minutes we were mingling together in the most amicable manner.
We found that these poor creatures were starving, having failed to
procure any provisions for some time past, and they were then on their
way to another region in search of game. We gave them as much of our
provisions as we could spare, besides a little tobacco, which afforded
them inexpressible delight. Then rubbing noses with the chief, we
parted and went on our respective ways.