Kaffraria; but finding after repeated endeavours that no argument
could prevail upon his attendants, a very small number excepted, to
accompany him, he contented himself with despatching an envoy to the
Kaffer king, or chief. Meanwhile he continued to roam about on the
frontiers, hunting, shooting, and adding to his collections. Here he
encountered the fury of an African tempest. “The rain,” he observes,
“fell all night in such abundance, that, in spite of all our efforts,
it extinguished our fires. Our dogs made an indescribable clamour, and
kept us awake all night, though no wild beast appeared. I have observed
that during these rainy nights the lion, the tiger, and the hyena are
never heard; but the danger is increased twofold; for, as they still
roam about, they thus fall suddenly and unexpectedly on their prey.
Still further to increase the fright which this unfortunate fact must
occasion, the great humidity almost entirely deprives the dogs of the
power of smelling, which renders them of little use. Of this danger my
people were well aware, and therefore laboured with remarkable energy
to keep alive the fires.
“It must be confessed,” he continues, “that the stormy nights of the
African deserts are the very image of desolation, and that terror, on
such occasions, involuntarily comes over one. When you are overtaken by
these deluges, your tents and mats are quickly drenched and overflowed;
a continual succession of lightning-flashes causes you twenty times in
a minute to pass abruptly and suddenly from the most terrific light to
entire darkness: the deafening roarings of the thunder, which burst
from every side with horrible din, roll, as it were, against each
other, are multiplied by the echoes, and hurled from peak to peak; the
howling of the domestic animals; short intervals of fearful silence;
every thing concurs to render those moments more melancholy. The danger
to be apprehended from wild beasts still further increases the terror;
and nothing but day can lessen the alarm, and restore nature to her
tranquillity.”
In the interim between the departure and return of his messengers to
the Kaffer chief, he fell in with a horde of wild Hottentots whom he
denominates Gonaquas. A small party of them arrived at his camp during
the night, and on awaking in the morning he saw himself with surprise
surrounded by about twenty strange savages. They were accompanied by
their chief, who advanced in a polite manner to pay his respects to the
traveller, while the women, at once curious and timid, followed close
behind, adorned with all their ornaments. Their bodies, the greater
part of which was naked, were all newly anointed and sprinkled with
red powder, which exhaled an agreeable perfume; while their faces had
been painted in a variety of fashions. Each came, in the manner of the
East, bringing or bearing a present. From one he received a number of
ostrich’s eggs, a lamb from a second, while a third presented him with
a quantity of milk in baskets. These baskets, woven with exquisite
ingenuity with fine reeds or roots, are of so close a texture, that
they may be used in carrying water. The chief’s present consisted of
a handful of ostrich feathers of rare beauty, which Le Vaillant, to
show how highly he valued them, immediately fixed in his hat, instead
of his own plume. He then, in return, laid before the old chief, whose
name was Haabas, several pounds of tobacco, which the Gonaqua at once
distributed in equal portions among his people, reserving merely his
own share, which did not exceed any other person’s, for himself. Other
gifts, highly valued by savages, such as tinder-boxes, knives, beads,
and bracelets, were added to the tobacco, and diffused universal joy
among the tribe.
Among the women there was a girl of sixteen, who, by the pleasure
with which she seemed to regard his person, particularly attracted
the attention of Le Vaillant. Considered as an African she might be
pronounced beautiful, and her form, which would have tempted the pencil
of an Albano, possessed all those amorous contours which we admire in
the Graces. Our traveller appears to have been in general but little
susceptible of the charms of women; but the beautiful Gonaqua quickly
caused him to feel that when accompanied by a desire to please, female
attractions are everywhere irresistible, and to express his admiration
he bestowed upon the savage beauty the name of Narina, which, in the
Hottentot idiom, signifies “a flower.” Presents, it may be easily
imagined, were not spared in this instance. The riches of his camp were
in her power,--shawls, necklaces, girdles, every ornament which his
European taste loved to contemplate on the female form, was lavished
on Narina, who, in the intoxicating delight of the moment, scarcely
knew whether she was in heaven or earth. She felt her arms, her feet,
her head; and the touch of her dress and ornaments caused fresh
pleasure every moment. He then produced a small mirror, more faithful
than the lake or stream which had hitherto served for this purpose, and
put the finishing stroke to the picture by showing her her own image
reflected from its surface. His days now passed in one uninterrupted
series of feasts, visits, dances, amusements of every kind. Nothing
could have been more favourable to his views of studying Hottentot
manners; but with respect to his ulterior design of penetrating far
into the solitudes of the desert, the case was different, for his
followers contracted in these Circean bowers a disease from which
their chief himself, perhaps, was not altogether exempt; that is, an
effeminate aversion to fatigue, a secret repugnance to toil, and, what
was still worse, the habit of viewing dangers in the light thrown over
them by an enamoured fancy, which distorts even more powerfully than
the mirage of the desert.
It was now three weeks since the departure of his messengers for
Kaffer-land, and he began to entertain apprehensions for their safety.
His attendants, who partook of the same fears, became more than ever
averse to advance eastward, and, as he was quickly informed by Klaas,
began to concert among themselves various schemes of desertion. The
camp at this period was stationed near a river, on the rich banks of
which his oxen were turned out to graze, under the care of several
Hottentots, who were kept by their fear of the Kaffers in a strict
attention to their duty. One day, when Le Vaillant was accidentally
detained in his tent, a messenger from the herdsmen arrived in
breathless haste, to announce the fearful intelligence that a party of
the enemy was approaching, and had already reached the opposite side
of the river. Klaas and four fusileers were immediately despatched to
reconnoitre, while the traveller called out and examined his forces
and his arms, and prepared to give the Kaffers a warm reception should
their intentions be found to be hostile; but it was shortly discovered
that they had been invited to his camp by his envoys, whom they had
accordingly accompanied on their return.
Our traveller had with laudable patience acquired a knowledge of the
Hottentot language, but the people who now thronged his camp spoke
a different dialect, not one word of which could he conjecture the
meaning. But the languages of savages are easy in proportion as
they are simple and poor, and the acquisition of Greek or Arabic
would probably cost more pains and study than would render a man
master of half the uncultivated languages of the world. It was not
long, therefore, before he learned to disentangle, as it were, the
intertwisted sounds which re-echoed around him, and to assign a meaning
to them. The Kaffers employed much gesticulation and grimace in
speaking, which aided him, likewise, in divining their thoughts; and he
soon began to entertain reasonable hopes that an interpreter might not
always be necessary in his intercourse with this lively people.
He imagined that his firearms, and the skill with which he made use of
them, inspired the Kaffers with wonder; but he was no doubt mistaken.
His fancy placed him among those simple tribes described by early
travellers and navigators, to whom our weapons were utterly unknown;
while the savages who were now his guests had frequently fought hand
to hand with the colonists, and not only beheld their firearms, but
learned, at the expense of their blood, how destructive they were.
This illusion, however, appears to have afforded him pleasure, and
he honestly cherished it; and as no injury can arise from it to the
reader, it will have been sufficient to allude to it thus briefly.
The history of his intercourse with this people affords a striking
example of the incalculable benefits which one civilized man, who
possessed courage to make the experiment, might confer upon a wild
nation, whose Menû or Manco Capæ he would thus become. For genius the
Kaffers are decidedly superior to the Hottentots; and if the picture
which Le Vaillant draws of them be correct, it would require no very
extraordinary impulse to launch them into the career of civilization.
He saw them, however, but for a moment, as it were; for not long after
their arrival, it was discovered that several half-castes, or bastards,
as they are termed at the Cape, had been commissioned by the colonists
to insinuate themselves into his camp, for the purpose of discovering
whether or not he was entering into an alliance with the Kaffers. This,
at least, was the interpretation which, after all the information
he could obtain, he was induced to put upon the matter; but, like
Rousseau, he seems to have amused himself with the idea that spies
were continually placed upon his movements, and by this hypothesis he
explained many little events resulting much less from design than from
a fortuitous concourse of circumstances. Still, the poor Kaffers, who
had suffered grievously by the Dutch, fully participated in his alarm,
and made a precipitate retreat into their own country, but not before
they had given him a pressing invitation to follow them.
Upon considering the state of the camp, and the inclinations of his
people, it was judged imprudent to attempt against their will to lead
them away farther from the colony; and therefore, selecting from
among them a small number of the bravest, and leaving the remainder
under the care of Swanspoel, he departed on his long-desired journey
into Kaffer-land. Upon quitting the encampment they ascended the
banks of the Great Fish River, and having forded its stream, entered
Kaffer-land, moving in a north-easterly direction. The whole plain
was covered with mimosa-trees, which, as Burckhardt observes, cast
but a scanty shade. They were, therefore, greatly exposed to the heat
of the sun, which was now intense. After marching for several days
in this manner through a country which had once been inhabited, but
was deserted now, and abandoned to the wild beasts, fires at night,
deserted kraal, gardens overrun with weeds, and fields, the culture
of which had recently been interrupted, inspired the belief that some
half-stationary, half-wandering hordes must be in the neighbourhood.
The fatigue of the journey, united with a scarcity of water, began at
length to cause the luxuries of the camp and the neighbourhood of the
Great Fish River to be regretted; but although Le Vaillant himself
evidently shared to a certain degree in these regrets, he was still
unwilling to relinquish his enterprise before he caught a single
glimpse of the Kaffers. At length a small party was discovered, whose
dread of the whites equalled at least the terror with which they
themselves inspired the pusillanimous Hottentots. From these men Le
Vaillant learned that the greater part of the nation had retreated
far into the interior, and as his imagination, at this time, seems to
have exaggerated every difficulty and danger, for he was weary of the
journey, he gladly seized upon the first excuse for relinquishing his
enterprise, and returned with all possible celerity to his camp.
All his thoughts and wishes now pointed towards the Cape. Narina and
the friendly Gonaquas in vain exerted their influence. The desert had
lost its charms. For the moment he was weary of travelling. However,
not to encounter in vain the fatigue of a long journey, he formed the
design of verging a little to the north of his former route, through
the immense solitudes of the Sneuw Bergen. The caravan, therefore,
quitted the vicinity of the sea, and proceeded towards the west through
forests of mimosa-trees, which were then in full flower, and imparted
all the charms of summer to the landscape. The extreme silence of the
nights during this part of the journey was sublime. All the functions
of life seemed for the time to be suspended; except that, at intervals,
the roaring of the lion resounded through the forests, startling the
echoes, and according to the interpretation of the fancy, hushing the
whole scene with terror.
At length, on the 3d of January, 1782, he discovered in the north-west
the formidable summits of the Sneuw Bergen, which, though surrounded
on all sides by burning plains, it being in those southern latitudes
the height of summer, bore still upon its sides long ridges of snow.
Prodigious herds of antelopes, amounting to more than fifty thousand
in number, now crossed their route, driven by insufferable heat and
drought towards the north. The scenery every league became more dreary.
Wastes of sand, rocks piled upon each other, chasms, precipices,
barrenness, sublimity, but no pasturage; and men in want of the
necessaries of life regard as insipid whatever refuses to minister to
their wants. Thus we can account for the little interest with which the
sight of the Sneuw Bergen inspired Le Vaillant, who would otherwise
appear to have been constitutionally deprived of that masculine energy
which impels us rather to rejoice than be depressed at the sight of
steril and desolate mountains, seldom trodden but by the brave, and
seeming to have been expressly thrown up by nature as a rampart upon
which freedom might successfully struggle against the oppressors of
mankind. This is the true source of that indescribable delight with
which we all tread upon mountain soil. A secret instinct seems to
whisper to the heart the original design, if it may be said without
impiety, with which those inexpugnable fastnesses were fashioned by
the hand of God. “Here,” say we to ourselves, “here at least we may be
free;” and we look down from these arid heights with scorn upon the
possessors of the fattest pastures, if the mark of tyranny, like that
of the Beast in the Apocalypse, is set upon the soil.
Le Vaillant’s enthusiasm, which greatly depended upon the state
of his animal spirits, was now evaporating rapidly. His care and
circumspection were likewise proportionably diminished, and, in
consequence, the want of provisions and water was frequently
experienced. To give a keener edge to these calamities and privations,
it was rumoured among his followers that the recesses of the snowy
mountains afforded a retreat to numerous Bushmans or banditti, men whom
necessity or inclination had arrayed in opposition to the laws, and
those who lived under their protection. Every privation was therefore
borne with greater impatience. They considered themselves as persons
wantonly exposed to danger by the caprice of their leader; hence his
authority was daily less and less respected. Nevertheless, he drew near
the mountains, and climbing up with difficulty to the summit of one of
their peaks, enjoyed the wide prospect it afforded. This satisfied his
curiosity, more particularly as three men, supposed to be bandits, were
discovered among the ravines, but made their escape at their approach.
A few days afterward one of these fierce robbers was killed in an
attempt to murder one of the Hottentots of the escort.
The want of water, which they had already begun to experience,
continued to increase as they advanced. The oxen, like the men,
suffered extremely, and several of them dropped down, and were unable
to rise again. The feet of the dogs were exceedingly lacerated; they
limped along painfully, and with the greatest exertion. In one
word, every man and animal in the camp required repose; and with
inexpressible joy they at length saw the day of their arrival at the
Cape, which put an end to the toils and sufferings of sixteen months.
Le Vaillant had not yet satisfied his locomotive passion, and had,
indeed, notwithstanding the interest which his adventures inspire, seen
but little of Africa. He now amused himself with visiting the various
districts of the colony, and, among other spots, the extreme point of
the promontory, which opposes its rocky snout to the eternal storms
and waves of the Southern Ocean. Here, as with a sombre melancholy,
he viewed the constant succession of the billows, which, confused and
foaming under the influence of the winds, hurled themselves against
the cliffs, a depression of soul came over him, and he compared
the phenomenon before him to the life of man, and the annihilation
which, according to his creed, succeeds it. This miserable dogma, the
offspring of insane reasoning, and a distrust in the power or goodness
of the Divinity, was at that period in dispute among the sophists
of Europe; but I pity the man who could make so bestial a creed the
companion of his soul amid the vast solitudes of the desert, where we
might expect that the very winds of heaven would have winnowed away so
vile a chaff, and rendered back its native whiteness and purity to the
mind.
Returning to Cape Town, he began, but with less enthusiasm than on
the former occasion, his preparations for a second journey into the
interior. Experience, he imagined, had enabled him to improve upon his
former plans. He had seen the country, he had studied its inhabitants.
Had he not laid the foundation for almost certain success? The result
showed how dim, how bounded, how little to be depended upon is human
foresight.
His followers were now more numerous than formerly: eighteen men, one
woman, three horses, thirteen dogs, three milch cows, eleven goats, and
fifty-two oxen. With this train he departed from Saldanha Bay, June
15th, 1782, directing his course towards the north, along the western
coast of Africa. During the early part of the journey, in the district
of the Twenty-four Rivers, he found the prodigious nests of the
Termites or white ant, which, though inferior in dimensions to those
described by other travellers, were yet four feet in height. These
ants, which are accounted a delicacy by the Chensu Karir, a wandering
people of the Deccan, are likewise eaten by the Hottentots, who seem to
regard them with a more favourable eye even than locusts, which are,
however, highly esteemed.
Notwithstanding that, in pursuance of the advice of his Cape friends,
he had set out in the rainy season, the party had not advanced far
before the want of water was experienced. The men and oxen suffered
extremely, but the dogs were still more severely afflicted, and
several of them, after exhibiting symptoms of their approach to a
state bordering upon hydrophobia, ran off into the desert, where they
perished, or relapsed into their original wildness. The party was in
this position when Le Vaillant, whose mind was tortured by the most
gloomy forebodings, was startled from his reveries by the sharp cry
of a bird which was passing over his head. It was a mountain duck,
which, he doubted not, was proceeding towards a spring. He therefore
put his horse to the gallop, and earnestly pursuing the flight of the
bird with his eye, had very quickly the satisfaction of observing it
alight upon a great rock, where it disappeared. Persuaded that it had
stopped to drink, he clambered up the rock, and found in fact a large
basin, or hollow in the rock, filled with water, in which the duck was
gayly swimming about and amusing itself. He had not the ingratitude to
fire at it, but he frightened it away, in the hope that, not having
sufficiently quenched its thirst, it might fly to another cistern
within sight; but in this he was disappointed. They now laid up a
provision of water for several days, and having allowed all the cattle
to quench their thirst, proceeded on their journey. During those
excessive droughts, it was curious, when a shower came on, to behold
the contrivance of the animals: observing that whatever water fell upon
the sands was immediately absorbed and lost, while the quantity with
which their own bodies were drenched ran down in little tread-like
streams over their sides, they drew near to each other, and by applying
their mouths to those diminutive currents, thus succeeded in quenching
their excruciating thirst. I am surprised that, in the tremendous
extremities to which our traveller and his followers were reduced by
want of water, they never had recourse to a method which, disgusting
and terrible as it may seem, has, I believe, been successfully tried
for quenching thirst by other travellers, as well as by certain tribes
of savages; I mean, to drink the blood of the animals they slaughtered.
Man has no doubt a natural repugnance to such expedients, but may
yield, under the pressure of imperious necessity, to whatever means,
short of injustice, Providence may afford him of preserving life.
Upon arriving, after extraordinary privations and fatigue, upon the
banks of the Elephant’s River, they indeed found water in abundance;
but there was no pasture for the cattle, not even under the shade of
the mimosas and willows which bordered the stream. All was burnt up.
They proceeded farther inland, therefore, in search of verdure, and
arrived on the banks of the Koïgnas, where they encamped upon a spot
called the “Bat’s Rock.” From the fresh footmarks of the lion in the
sand, they knew that there were enemies in the neighbourhood, and
accordingly were more than ordinarily cautious in keeping watch, and in
the kindling of their night-fires. But,--
Incidit in Scyllam qui vult evitare Charybdin:
for no sooner had the fires begun to blaze, than there issued forth
from the hollows of the rocks myriads of bats, which, flittering hither
and thither, struck against their faces, and stunned them with their
obscene cries, until, no longer able to endure their clamour, they
struck their tents and decamped. Virgil probably derived the idea of
his famous description of the Harpies from some such adventure as this;
for he had travelled a good deal in the Grecian islands, where bats, I
believe, are numerous:
At subitæ horrifico lapsu de montibus adsunt
Harpyiæ, et magnis quatiunt clangoribus alas,
Diripiuntque dapes, contactuque omnia fœdant
Immundo: tum vox tetrum dira inter odorem.
Le Vaillant, who had a partiality for adventure, was here engaged
in one which I must describe at some length. Leaving the greater
number of his people encamped on the banks of the Elephant River, he
had descended with a small detachment to the seashore. Here a whale
was found, from which the Hottentots drew several skins of oil. The
traveller, having been disappointed in his expectations of meeting with
elephants on the right bank of the stream, concluded, with some degree
of probability, that they had crossed the river, and taken refuge on
the opposite side: he was therefore desirous of following them. But he
was near the mouth of the river, which, at all times wide and rapid,
had been exceedingly increased by the late rains, and now presented a
formidable appearance. Unhappily, he was incapable of swimming, and
for constructing a raft there was no time. After much consideration,
therefore, it was resolved to attempt the stream in a novel mode. The
trunk of a fallen tree was selected; the tent, with the garments of the
Hottentots, was fastened upon its centre, the oil-skins at each end;
while Le Vaillant himself, having suspended his watch and powder-flasks
about his neck, and tied all their fowling-pieces on his shoulders, got
astride upon the tree as soon as it was afloat. The Hottentots, having
fastened strips of leather to the end of the trunk, then jumped into
the water, and pushed off from the shore. They were four in number,
and it was agreed that two should tow the tree along, while the other
two pushed it forward from behind, taking these different offices in
turn. As long as they remained in smooth water their progress was
rapid. Nothing could appear more easy than their undertaking. They
laughed, they jested with each other, and already thought themselves
on the opposite shore. But their triumph was premature: for they had
no sooner entered the current than the tree became unmanageable; now
pitching forward upon the swimmers, now recoiling with invincible force
against those who laboured to impel it from behind; dragging the former
after it, submerging the latter in the waves. No jests were now heard.
Every limb was plied, every nerve strained, to force a way through the
impetuous current; every man exerted himself to the utmost; but the
river rushed along with irresistible violence, and instead of making
way towards the shore, they saw themselves hurried down by the stream
towards the sea, where inevitable death awaited them. Meanwhile Le
Vaillant perceived with dismay that their strength began to fail them.
They breathed short, their strokes became irregular, their efforts
grew fainter and fainter; yet they tugged desperately at the tree,
apparently resolved at least to perish at their posts, and to share the
fate of him whom they could not save. Still they drew nearer and nearer
to the sea, and their hopes diminished in proportion. Observing this,
the two men who had been placed in the rear sprang forward, and by
their united strength endeavoured to force along the trunk. At length
Le Vaillant thought he perceived a diminution in the violence of the
current, and this discovery being communicated to the swimmers, they
redoubled their efforts, and in a few minutes one of them found that
he could touch the bottom. This he announced by a loud cry of joy,
which was re-echoed by the others. They now began to recover their
tranquillity, and pushing forward with vigour, were quickly landed on
the shore. Here they joyously kindled an immense fire, and having along
with them a small quantity of brandy, they drank it, dried themselves,
and next day departed on their return to the camp.
Here fresh troubles awaited the traveller. His oxen were dying of
hunger and fatigue; his followers were discouraged; even his own
resolution was shaken. But the shame of succumbing to surmountable
difficulties,--of entertaining a base fear of dangers which other
men had braved,--of returning, in fact, baffled and defeated to the
Cape, urged him forward, and he accordingly struck his tents, and
moved once more towards the north. Courage and intrepidity are of vast
importance in every circumstance of life, in none more so than in
the circumstances in which an African traveller is placed; but these
virtues will not draw wagons, or silence the murmurs of the appetite
when clamouring for food. Le Vaillant was prepared to endure, and he
cheerfully abandoned his chariots in the desert when oxen were wanting
to drag them along; but he abandoned at the same time much of that
merchandise with which he was accustomed to purchase the friendship and
aid of the savage, and from that moment all rational hope of traversing
the whole continent, from the Cape of Good Hope to the Mediterranean,
vanished. He continued his journey, however, from the laudable desire
of performing what he could, though what he had projected might prove
impracticable.
Le Vaillant’s difficulties were far from being imaginary. Thirst,
that most maddening of human privations, was now felt once more, and
the parched herbage afforded neither nourishment nor cooling juices
to the cattle. All their hopes now centred in those thunderstorms
which, at certain seasons of the year, are common in southern Africa,
and the jocular extravagance of Aristophanes, who represents men as
cloud-worshippers, was now scarcely an exaggeration: for both our
traveller and his followers almost bowed down in religious adoration
to every cloud that sailed aloft in the blue firmament, and seemed to
announce a tempest. At length vast masses of black vapour began to
gather together in heaps over their heads, and to spread in sombre
files along the sky. Flashes of lightning were perceived on the edge of
the horizon; and all the forerunners of a storm successively presented
themselves to their delighted senses.
It came at length. “I heard,” says the traveller, “the sound of some
large drops, the happy precursors of an abundant shower. All my senses,
dilated at once by joy and gladness, unfolded themselves to the vital
influence. I crept out from under my covering, and lying down on my
back, with my mouth open, I received with delight the drops which
chanced to fall on me, every one of which seemed to be a refreshing
balm to my parched lips and tongue. I repeat it, the purest pleasure
of my whole life was what I tasted in that delicious moment, which
had been purchased by so many sighs and hours of anguish. It was not
long before the shower poured down from all sides; during three hours
it fell in torrents, seeming in noise to rival the thunder, which all
the while continued roaring over our heads. My people ran about in all
directions through the storm, seeking for one another, with triumphant
mutual congratulations for the drenching they experienced; for they
felt themselves revived; and appeared as if desirous of inflating
their bodies that they might thus offer a larger surface to the rain,
and imbibe a greater quantity of it. For my own part, I enjoyed so
delicious a pleasure in soaking myself like them, that, in order the
longer to preserve the refreshing coolness, I would not at first change
my dress, which I was at length, however, compelled to do by the cold.”
On the following night one of his followers disappeared, a circumstance
which, as they were now in the country of the Bushmen, to whom it was
possible the fugitive might betray them, was a source of peculiar
uneasiness. However, after causing considerable alarm among the whole
party, each of whom indulged a different conjecture, the man returned,
announcing the discovery of a Hottentot kraal at no great distance.
Towards this spot the whole party immediately proceeded, again and
again quenching their thirst on the way, in reservoirs of crystal
purity, which had been formed in the hollows of the rocks by the recent
storm. Arrived, Le Vaillant found that the horde of which they had come
in search was fortunately that of a man to whom he had been strongly
recommended by a friend at the Cape. He was received with hospitality.
The chief, flattered by the visit, undertook for a time to become his
guide; and having generously and successfully exerted himself for
the recovery of the chariots abandoned in the desert, and performed
numerous other kind offices for his guest, the caravan was once more
put in motion.
In the evening, on their arriving at the halting-place, Le Vaillant
observed with surprise a tent, guarded by Hottentots, pitched a
little in advance of him; and upon inquiry, found that it belonged to
a M. Pinard, one of the individuals he had rejected at Cape Town. A
presentiment of evil immediately flashed upon his mind. He regarded
the tent with inquietude. Misfortune seemed to perch upon its summit.
And in the sequel he learned, with vexation, how well-founded his
apprehensions had been. However, for the moment, the encounter seemed
to offer nothing but pleasure. Pinard was the bearer of letters from
some of his dearest friends, and to a man of sound feelings a person
thus armed is irresistible; but to an evil disposition the very
counterfeiting of goodness is too painful long to be endured. Our Dutch
adventurer, whose wealth chiefly consisted in brandy, a commodity which
experience had taught him was omnipotent with Hottentots, seemed to
consider his casks as too weighty, and habitually exerted himself in
diminishing the burden. In one word, he was a drunkard; and having
indulged himself with an extraordinary dose on the very evening of Le
Vaillant’s arrival, the brandy-casks were abandoned to the Hottentots,
and in a short time both camps were a scene of wild revelry and
intoxication.
To those who have observed the manners of savages, whether in our
own country or in the woods, it must be well known that the Circean
transformations are not fabulous. Brandy has everywhere the power
of changing men into beasts, and into beasts which are the more
dangerous, inasmuch as they retain, under their new forms, a memory
morbidly retentive, which seems to rejoice at its escape from the
restraints of reason. Le Vaillant’s followers, having nothing to
fear from the reproaches of decorum, now plunged into the delights
of drunkenness with an avidity which appeared as if intended as an
imputation on his want of generosity; for they considered his prudent
economy as a niggardly doling out of a necessary of life, brandy being
by them regarded in that light. Though he had given orders that the
caravan should be put in motion at the break of day, the men, with
the exception of Klaas and two or three of his companions, were all
furiously intoxicated before the oxen could be yoked to the wagons.
Even old Swanspoel, who had hitherto conducted himself with prudence,
yielded to the seduction, and endeavouring with reeling steps to mount
the wagon, his foot slipped, and he rolled under the wheel, which
immediately passed over his body. Le Vaillant, who loved the old man,
feared he had been crushed to pieces; but it was afterward found, upon
examination, that he merely had two ribs broken; though this fracture
caused him such terrible anguish on the road, that he conjured his
master, with clasped hands, to blow out his brains with one of his
pistols. As our traveller was utterly ignorant of surgery, it was
necessary to leave the treatment of the fracture to nature. The pain,
meanwhile, was excruciating, and in order to blunt its point, the old
Hottentot continued to drink immoderate quantities of brandy, which, as
it failed to kill him, obtained, in the sequel, the honour of a cure.
In six weeks he was able to resume his occupations.
At length, after enduring his company with a patience which it were
easier to praise than to imitate, he separated from Pinard. He now
discovered another remarkable person, a sailor, who, having deserted
from the Dutch navy, had retired into the wilderness, where he had
adopted, as far as possible, the manners of a savage; married several
wives, by whom he had numerous children, and laid the foundation of
what might have proved a powerful horde. But this individual affords
an example of how difficult it is for the civilized man, of whatever
rank he may be, to retrograde; for, although possessed of considerable
wealth, and, which is still sweeter, of independence, and the germs
of power, he yearned after that society in which he must always be as
nothing; and afterward, upon Le Vaillant’s obtaining him his pardon,
deserted his harem, returned with his children to the colony, married,
and sunk into the dull lethargy of ordinary Dutch life.
This man, whose name was Shoenmaker, became our traveller’s guide
through the neighbouring regions. They continued still to advance
towards the north, passed through the countries of the Lesser and
Greater Namaquas, and arrived at length in the district in which
the giraffe is found. Here all his ardour for the chase was at once
revived by the sight of one of these animals’ skins, which, in one
of the kraals he visited, served as a covering to a hut. A few days
afterward, while he was admiring the nest of the constructor bird, one
of his Namaqua guides came in great haste to inform him that he had
just seen a giraffe browsing upon the leaves of a mimosa-tree. “In an
instant,” says the traveller, “I mounted my horse, being intoxicated
with joy, and causing Bernfry” (a deserter from the colony whom he
encountered in the desert) “to follow my example, I hurried with my
dogs towards the mimosa-tree. The giraffe was no longer there. We saw
her crossing the plain towards the west, and put spurs to our horses
in order to overtake her. She then got into an easy trot, but did not
seem at all hurried. We galloped after her, firing at her from time to
time; but she insensibly gained ground upon us in such a manner that,
after continuing the chase for three hours, we were compelled to stop,
our horses being out of breath, and we immediately lost sight of her.”
He now found himself alone, at a distance from his camp; and, what
was worse, knew not how to shape his course towards it. Meantime he
suffered considerably from thirst and hunger; but having killed and
cooked some birds, his wants were soon satisfied, and he had leisure
for reflection. In the midst of his reveries he was found by some of
his attendants, and conducted back to the camp. Next day the hunting
of the giraffe was continued with equally bad success. On the third
day seven of these animals were discovered, and immediately pursued by
his dogs. “Six of them,” says he, “went off together; but the seventh,
cut off by my pack, took a different direction. Bernfry, who happened
just then to be on foot, immediately vaulted into the saddle, and set
off in pursuit of the former. I pursued the latter at all speed; but in
spite of the swiftness of my horse, she gained upon me so much that, on
turning a small eminence, I lost sight of her, and gave up the chase.
My dogs, however, had quickly overtaken her, and pressed her so closely
that she was compelled to stop in her own defence. From the place where
I was I heard them give tongue with all their might; but as their
voices all appeared to come from the same spot, I conjectured that
they had got the animal into some corner, and I again pushed forwards.
As soon as I had turned the hill, I in fact discovered her surrounded
by the dogs, and making desperate efforts to drive them off by heavy
kicks. In a moment I was on my feet, and a single shot from my carbine
brought her to the earth. Enchanted with my victory, I returned to call
my people about me, that they might skin and cut up the animal. As I
was looking about, I observed Klaas Bastard eagerly making signals
to me, which I could not at first comprehend; but on turning towards
the direction in which he pointed, I perceived a giraffe assailed by
my dogs under an ebony-tree. Supposing it to be another animal, I ran
towards it; but it was the same, which had risen again, and just as I
was about to fire a second time dropped down dead.
“Who could have believed that a conquest like this would have excited
me to a transport almost approaching to madness! Pains, fatigues, cruel
privations, uncertainty as to the future, disgust sometimes as to the
past--all these recollections and feelings fled at the sight of this
new prey. I could not satisfy my desire to contemplate it. I measured
its enormous height. I looked from the animal to the instrument which
had destroyed it. I called and recalled my people about me. Although
we had combated together the largest and the most dangerous animals,
it was I alone who had killed the giraffe. I was now able to add to
the riches of natural history; I was now able to destroy the romance
which attached to this animal, and to establish a truth. My people
congratulated me on my triumph. Bernfry alone was absent; but he came
at last, walking at a slow pace, and holding his horse by the bridle.
He had fallen from his seat, and injured his shoulder. I heard not what
he said to me. I saw not that he wanted assistance; I spoke to him only
of my victory. He showed me his shoulder; I showed him my giraffe. I
was intoxicated, and I should not have thought even of my own wounds.”
He now paid a visit to the Kameniqua horde. His camp abounded with
provisions; but his people, who had for some time been accustomed to
the company of women, drew so many of these fair ones about them, that
it was feared nothing else would be thought of. However, Le Vaillant
was obliged to wink at this irregularity, to prevent the desertion
of the whole body, and his complaisance, as it happened, drew after
it no evil consequences. In proceeding through the country of the
Greater Namaquas he arrived at a kraal, which had been thrown by the
death of its chief into the utmost confusion, and, upon his making
strenuous exertions to restore order, was himself elected chief. This
dignity, however, he delegated to another, and had the satisfaction of
observing, at his departure, tranquillity and good order taking the
place of discord and bloodshed.
Our traveller now drew near the country of the most extraordinary
people which he ever met with during his travels. These were the
Hoozwanas, a nation by the Hottentots confounded with the Bushmen, but
which, in the opinion of Le Vaillant, differed from them entirely;
as while the latter were a collection of vagabonds from all nations,
living in holes and caves, and subsisting chiefly by plunder, the
former were as nearly as possible homogeneous. They differed in a
remarkable manner from the Hottentots in being enterprising and brave,
and enjoyed among their neighbours so great a reputation for these
qualities, that their very name was a talisman which struck terror
into all who heard it. For this reason Le Vaillant could not, in this
instance, pursue his ordinary practice of sending forward native
ambassadors or agents to prepare him a welcome reception among the
horde. At the bare mention of the Hoozwanas his followers and allies
felt their blood curdle with fear, and not only refused to advance
before him, but endeavoured likewise to dissuade him from the attempt,
which, in their opinion, could terminate no otherwise than fatally.
Le Vaillant, who remembered their vain terrors in the case of the
Kaffers, was thoroughly convinced that their present apprehensions
had no better foundation. His wagons and a considerable number of
his attendants had been left encamped on the banks of the Gariep, or
Orange River; he was now resolved rather to dismiss the remainder, and
proceed alone, than shrink from his undertaking; and Klaas and five
of his companions voluntarily engaging to undertake the expedition,
he informed the remainder that they were at liberty to depart, their
services being no longer required. But if they were afraid to advance,
to retreat seemed no less terrible; so that, whipped into enterprise by
their very fears, they one and all announced their readiness to follow
the fortunes of their chief.
He therefore proceeded towards the north; but, while he despised the
fears of his Hottentots, and somewhat doubted the correctness of their
representations, he nevertheless considered it prudent to move along
in a guarded manner, seeing that every thicket might contain an enemy.
For some days silence and solitude prevailed around. There appeared no
traces of man; or if any human beings ever started up in the distance,
it was only to flit immediately away like phantoms among the rocks
and sandhills, leaving behind them strong doubts of the reality of
their apparition. Meanwhile their route led them over a burning desert,
covered with saline dust, which, lifted up by the winds, entered
their eyes and almost maddened them. The vehement heat of the sun,
from which no contrivance could wholly shield them, likewise began to
disorder their senses and their imaginations; so that, like mariners in
a calenture, they saw mountains, green fields, or groves, or running
streams, where in reality there was nothing but a prodigious plateau of
scorching sand.
At length, upon halting in the evening, they observed, as the darkness
came on, several vast fires among the peaks of the distant hills, which
they doubted not belonged to the Hoozwanas. With this discovery all
their old terrors returned. The watch, therefore, it may be easily
imagined, was vigilant that night; and as soon as the morning appeared,
Le Vaillant, taking a few of his attendants along with him, proceeded
to reconnoitre. The scene which now presented itself was desolate
beyond description. Steep ridges of barren rock, rising from a plain of
sand, and broken into ravines, gullies, chasms, precipices; beyond a
few stunted, miserable plants, no signs of life; while a dead silence
brooded over all, save when the wild daman sent forth its shrill cry
from among the rocks, or when the vulture or the eagle screamed aloft
over their heads.
After a fatiguing march through these savage mountains, they reached
a slender stream which flowed from a narrow opening in the rocks, and
discovered upon its banks a small Hoozwana encampment. No persons but
a few women were visible; but upon their uttering a cry of alarm, the
men immediately rushed out, armed with bows and arrows, and taking
their families along with them, retreated, and took up their position
on a small eminence commanding their huts. Failing to make himself
understood by the ordinary signs of friendship and good-will, he
advanced towards their huts, deposited a quantity of beads and tobacco,
and then retired to observe their movements. When they considered
him at a sufficient distance, they returned, and upon examining the
presents exhibited tokens of extraordinary satisfaction; but upon the
approach of the traveller a second time they again retreated, though
to a smaller distance than before. He now resolved to endeavour, by
going forward alone and unarmed, to remove their apprehensions; and,
taking in his hand a new present, he proceeded towards them. This
manœuvre succeeded. One of the savages immediately came to meet him;
and addressing him in the Hottentot language, demanded who he was, and
whence he came. Le Vaillant replied that he was a traveller, desirous
of examining the country, and, if possible, of finding friends in it.
The man then came up to him. The Hottentots likewise drew near, and
entered into conversation with the stranger, who, they found, belonged
to their nation. Observing that no evil had befallen their friend, the
remainder of the horde now joined the group, and were rendered, by a
few trifling presents, as friendly and peaceful in their deportment as
the least ferocious of the Hottentot tribes.
The manners of this people were remarkable. They remained in their
rocky fastnesses, to which they were habitually confined by the
hostility of their neighbours, as long as the gazelles, white ants, or
locusts, which abound in those districts, afforded them provisions.
When a scarcity happened, however, then wo to the surrounding nations.
They stood upon the lofty summits of their mountains, and casting their
eyes around, selected for the scene of their desperate foray the region
which presented the richest aspect. Flocks and herds were seized, and
killed upon the spot, or driven to the mountains, as circumstances
required; but, unless when attacked and put in actual peril, the
Hoozwanas abstained from shedding human blood. Their appearance, when
engaged in war, was peculiarly striking. Naked, excepting that small
portion of the body which instinct alone teaches man to conceal, they
yet wore a species of helmet or war-cap on their heads, upon which
there was a crest formed of the hyena’s mane. Though considerably below
the middle size, their well-formed active bodies, and daring character,
the evidence of which was deeply written in their countenance,
admirably fitted them for warriors. In peace, however, no men could
exhibit more gentleness, or regard for strangers; and our traveller
observes, that had he attempted the traversing the African continent
from the Cape to the Mediterranean, he should have chiefly founded his
hopes of success on the active, faithful character of the Hoozwanas.
The Hoozwana women exhibited that peculiar conformation of the nates
which is generally supposed to be a characteristic of the Hottentot
race. With the latter, however, it is the growth of years, and
commences only at a late period of life; while in the former it is
a portion of the original form with which the infant is born, and
which increases merely in proportion as the whole body is developed.
Upon this strange projection mothers carry their children, which,
when two or three years old, stand upon it as a footman does behind a
carriage. But, notwithstanding that they were in this respect deformed,
they possessed hands and arms of extraordinary beauty. They wore the
war-bonnet and sandals like their husbands; but were in other respects
naked, with the exception of a small apron. A small wooden, ivory, or
tortoise-shell case hung by their side, in which they carried their
ointment; and the tail of some small animal, fastened on a staff,
served, instead of a pocket handkerchief, to wipe away the dust or
perspiration from their faces.
Having spent some time in the country of the Hoozwanas, he bent his
course towards his camp on the Gariep, his gallant hosts serving him as
guides across the mountains. In the course of the journey one of the
oxen threw from off its back the box of toys and cutlery, which, making
a frightful clatter, terrified the animal, which ran off roaring in a
furious manner. Le Vaillant, in endeavouring to force it back, found
himself engaged in a dangerous adventure; for, instead of returning
towards his companions, it rushed impetuously at the horse, which,
springing suddenly aside, threw his rider and took to flight. The ox
now rushed with stooping head at the traveller, who, having fortunately
fallen with his musket in his hand, pointed his piece, and carefully
levelling it at his enemy, fired, and shot him dead upon the spot.
This accident seemed to be merely the forerunner of that which happened
immediately after his arrival at the camp. He had crossed the Gariep
with his tents and baggage; but the oxen, never having seen so broad a
stream, could by no means whatever be induced to attempt the passage.
They resisted all the efforts of their drivers, and even their very
blows seemed to render them more stubborn. It was therefore determined
to take them farther up the stream, and renew their endeavours next
morning. The herdsmen, however, rendered heedless or confident by the
vicinity of the camp, fell asleep, and allowed their fires to die away.
At this moment the Bushmen, who had been lying in wait for them, stole
quietly into the circle, and, driving off the oxen, escaped, and before
the break of day were already far on their way towards their secret
haunts.
Next morning, early, Le Vaillant was suddenly awakened by Klaas, who
informed him of what had happened; and counselled him to arm a number
of his followers, and pursue the robbers. This advice was instantly
adopted. He took thirteen of the bravest, and following the track of
the oxen, which was visible enough upon the sand, during six hours,
found that it struck off from the river. Here they passed the night.
Next morning before day they continued the pursuit, and finding that
the herd had been divided into two parts, pursued the track of the
more numerous, not doubting that the division had been made merely
for the purpose of distracting their attention. From a Hottentot
village by which they passed they obtained two guides, who, being
perfectly acquainted with the country, undertook to conduct them to the
hiding-places of the Bushmen. They therefore again set forward, and
after tracking the robbers for several leagues, found that they had
crossed the river, in which they discovered the body of one of the oxen
which had been drowned in the passage. The stream being here deep and
rapid rendered the passage both difficult and dangerous. They, however,
succeeded in gaining the opposite shore, but what was their vexation
when, having ascended a short distance up the river, it was perceived
that the artful bandits had again crossed, and were therefore on the
other side. This manœuvre was repeated three times, for so frequently
had the Bushmen crossed and recrossed the stream. But at length the
track was lost in the path leading to a kraal, in which, therefore,
they concluded the oxen must be concealed.
The guides, fearful lest their presence among the traveller’s
attendants might occasion a war between these bandits and their
nation, here demanded permission to remain behind during the attack
upon the kraal, and their request was unhappily complied with. Le
Vaillant himself, conceiving that darkness would be favourable to
his views, resolved to defer the execution of his project until
night. They accordingly encamped upon the spot, and a little after
midnight set off in the greatest silence. “Soon afterward,” says he,
“we perceived, at the distance of about three-quarters of a league,
the light of several fires; and advancing a little farther, we heard
songs, cries of joy, and immoderate shouts of laughter. The bandits
were amusing themselves, and making good cheer at my expense. Their
clamour, however, had one good effect; for my dogs began to set up so
loud a barking on drawing near the kraal, that it became necessary to
muzzle them, so that but for the frightful tumult within we should
infallibly have been betrayed. I was now, therefore, in a state of
warfare with savages, and resolved to employ against them the resources
of art, should they oppose me with superior force. The moment not being
favourable for commencing the attack, I put it off until the break
of day, and in order to conduct it in the most advantageous manner,
I intrenched myself and my troop behind a copse, which, by affording
us an impenetrable shield against the attacks of our enemies, would
render our own doubly terrible. The copse, in fact, was sufficiently
extensive to contain and conceal all my musketeers; and each of us, by
pushing aside or breaking off a few branches, immediately formed a sort
of porthole through which we could fire. In this position we patiently
and silently awaited the moment for action. The villains themselves
appeared, by their conduct, to favour our views. Their noisy merriment
died away by degrees; and at length, yielding to fatigue, they retired
into their huts to rest, and the noise entirely ceased.
“The day soon appeared, when we discovered that the position we had
taken up was too far from the kraal. Leaving our oxen, and my two
horses, ready saddled in case of a defeat, behind the bushes, under the
care of one of my people, we advanced, therefore, and posted ourselves
within gunshot of the kraal. It was a considerable hamlet, consisting
of not less than thirty or forty huts, and occupied the slope of a
hill, behind which a range of high mountains swept round in the form
of an amphitheatre. Though our muskets were all loaded, it was not
my intention to commence hostilities with the effusion of blood. I
designed merely to alarm the brigands, and by the consternation caused
by a sudden attack, to compel them to take to flight. For this reason
I commanded my followers to fire in the air, and on no account to take
aim at a single individual unless by my express orders. I began the
assault by firing my large carbine, the report of which, multiplied by
the echoes of the neighbouring mountains, produced a terrible noise.
We had persuaded ourselves that at the sound of this thunder the whole
horde would fly in consternation, and my companions were preparing to
augment their terrors by a general discharge. But, to our astonishment,
not a creature appeared. It was in vain that we fired round after
round; every thing remained calm, and I knew not what to conjecture.
This security was merely apparent. While external appearances announced
sleep and peace, every soul within was given up to terror and
confusion. But by a stratagem to which they, no doubt, had been long
accustomed, no one wished to appear before the whole body were armed;
and it is probable that they communicated with each other by signals.
When they were ready for battle, they all at the same moment rushed out
of their huts, and advancing with frightful howlings towards us, let
fly a cloud of arrows, which falling far short of their mark, we still
replied to by firing over their heads. Observing that none of their
party were hurt, they began to imagine that our muskets would not carry
so far, and therefore uniting into one body, they came on with fury. We
awaited the assault with firmness. My people, in the mean time, called
aloud to them to restore my oxen. Whether they heard us or not I cannot
determine; but they had now advanced so near that their arrows fell
about us in showers. I now thought it full time to fire in earnest,
and issuing my orders to aim at their bodies, we fired several volleys
in rapid succession, and had very quickly the satisfaction to see
this numerous band of men scattered about like emmets, flying in all
directions, and uttering fearful shrieks, which were no longer, as at
first, cries of valour and defiance, but the howlings of despair. Their
wives and children had retreated, during the combat, to the summit of
the hill, where the oxen were grazing; and it was thither that they
now fled; whence, having rapidly collected the cattle, they plunged
down into the hollow on the opposite side, and disappeared. Being well
persuaded that, should they once reach the defiles of the mountains,
all pursuit would be vain, I mounted my horse, and dividing my men into
two bodies, directed one party to cut off their retreat on one side,
while I myself with the remainder should attack them on the other. It
was not many minutes before we discovered the savages hurrying down the
hill towards a plain, in which there was a small wood; and, in fact,
the greater number of them quickly disappeared a second time, but those
who drove the cattle were necessarily more slow, and seeing us close
upon their heels, they likewise took to flight, leaving the oxen behind
them. At this moment my other detachment coming up, fired at them, and
stretched one of their number upon the earth. The rest escaped.”
Having thus regained possession of his cattle, and fearing he might
fall into some ambush laid for him by the savages, he hastened back
to the kraal, where he found their own herd. In lieu of one of the
oxen which had been killed and eaten, he took away a young cow and two
sheep, and hurried towards the spot where he had left his Kameniqua
guides. Here he was shocked by a very horrible spectacle. One of the
men had been torn to pieces during the night, and the other likewise
had suffered severely. They had, in fact, neglected to keep alive their
fire, and had been attacked by a lion in their sleep. Le Vaillant
caused them to be placed upon his horses, and carried along with them;
but abandoned the dying man at the first halting-place. The other
eventually recovered.
Though dogged all the way by the Bushmen, he reached his camp in
safety, from whence, having now entirely abandoned the idea of
traversing the African continent, he turned his face southwards, and
directed his course towards the Cape. His constitution had considerably
suffered during this journey, and he suddenly began to experience
unequivocal symptoms of illness. While he was in this condition he
encountered a white family, who, having endured signal misfortunes in
the world, had succeeded in snapping asunder the links which ordinarily
bind men to society, and were now, with a few Hottentot servants, and a
wagon which contained all their worldly possessions, proceeding towards
Namaqua-land in search of a better fortune than they had hitherto met
with. Le Vaillant, who could easily read indolence and inactivity in
the countenance of the father, was still deeply interested in his
fate, by an air of goodness which accompanied the indication of those
qualities; and anticipating the consent of the owner, he bestowed upon
them a small house and ground in the vicinity, four sheep, a goat,
a dog, together with a quantity of toys and cutlery, wherewith to
purchase the friendship of the savages. With these riches they departed
on their way, blessing the friendly hand which had enabled them to live
in comfort, and praying for the happiness of him who, under Providence,
had been the creator of theirs.
He now pushed forward to the banks of the Kansi, where his progress
was put a stop to by a buinsy, accompanied by violent fever. This
disease is generally mortal in Africa. Of this circumstance he was
perfectly aware, and accordingly from the beginning began to fear the
worst, and gave himself up for lost. But his followers, who, with
ignorance of physic equal to his own, indulged more sanguine hopes,
requested his permission to apply the only remedy known among them;
and having obtained his consent, applied round his neck towels dipped
in boiling milk, until the skin was nearly scalded off. This treatment
was continued during three days; but finding no benefit from it, he
abandoned the physicians, and resolved to leave the whole to nature.
Meanwhile his condition was alarming. His throat and tongue were so
much swelled that he could swallow nothing but a few drops of weak tea,
and at length lost entirely the power of speaking, except by signs.
The fears of his Hottentots were no less than his own. When Klaas or
Swanspoel entered his tent, the other attendants would thrust their
black woolly heads in after them, in the expectation of gathering
from their looks whether there was still any hope. Such was the state
of the case when several persons of the Lesser Namaqua horde arrived
in the camp, among the rest a little man, who, when informed of the
disorder of the chief, immediately undertook his cure. Our traveller,
willing to make trial of every means within his power, permitted the
Hottentot Æsculapius to treat him as he pleased; and had once more to
endure a hot cataplasm on his throat, which, together with a gargle of
sage-juice, formed the whole remedy. In the course of one night his
freedom of respiration and the power of swallowing were restored, and
in three days he was well.
This danger being over, Le Vaillant returned to the Cape, dismissed his
Hottentots, and taking leave of his South African friends, set sail
for Europe, July 14th, 1784. He arrived in Paris in the beginning
of the January following, and from thenceforward his whole life was
occupied in putting his collections in order, in compiling the account
of his travels, and in composing the various works which he afterward
published or left in MS. on the natural history of the birds and
quadrupeds of Africa.--Though his occupations were thus simple and
peaceful, he was not able during the stormy days of the Revolution
to escape unsuspected; he was apprehended and imprisoned in 1793,
and is supposed to have escaped the guillotine only by the fall of
Robespierre. His habitual residence during the latter part of his life
was on a small estate that he possessed at La Noue, near Sezanne.
There, when not engaged in his literary labours, he amused himself with
hunting; and in this manner he lived during nearly thirty years. He
died on the 22d of November, 1824. During the whole of that time he had
seldom quitted his retreat to visit Paris, except for the purpose of
seeing his works through the press. His “Travels,” upon which his hopes
of fame must chiefly rest, appear to have occupied him nearly eleven
years, the first part having been published in 1790, and the second in
1796. It has often been asserted, says M. Eyriès, that these travels
were compiled from the author’s notes by Casimir Varron but this is a
mistake; he merely read the proof sheets for the purpose of correction,
Le Vaillant not being sufficiently acquainted with the French language
to enable him to confide in his own judgment.
It was Le Vaillant who first made the giraffe known in France, and the
stuffed specimen in the king’s collection is the one which was brought
over by him. His other works are, “The Natural History of the Birds of
Africa,” of the parroquet, and of the birds of Paradise. The figures,
designed under his inspection by Barraband, are said to possess great
merit; and his scientific works occupy the first rank among books of
that kind.