While the party of hunters awaited the approach of night, (for the wild
cattle feed chiefly at night), they kept as quiet as possible. The
scouts had brought news that a large herd was feeding on a part of the
plain which was not far distant, although concealed from view by the
formation of the land.
Still thinking of the recent conversation which he had had with the
guide, Mark Breezy retired a little from the rest of the party and flung
himself on the ground under a tree to rest and meditate.
He was not left long, however, in solitude, for Hockins and Ebony soon
discovered his retreat. Each of these worthies was armed with a spear.
"Hallo, Doctor," exclaimed the former, as he came up, "are you not
supplied with a weapon?"
"Yes, I am," replied Mark, pointing to a native spear which lay at his
side, "but I think I won't use it."
"Why not, massa?" asked Ebony.
"Because I don't yet know how to go about this style of hunting, and if
I were to attempt anything I might spoil the sport. I intend merely to
look on."
"Right you are, sir," remarked the sailor. "P'r'aps it'll be as well
for all of us to keep in the background."
"Pooh!" ejaculated Ebony, turning up his nose--a needless action, as it
was well-turned up already--"pooh! I not keep in de background! You're
all wrong. W'en you knows nuffin, jest you wait till you knows
suffin'--ebber so little--an' den go at 'im."
"That's just what I said I should do, Ebony. I will merely look on at
first."
"But how long does you prepose to look on, massa? Ain't five or six
minits enuff? Dis is what I's a-gwine to do. I'll foller close on de
chief--what you call 'im?--Vollyvo--an' w'en I sees him stick one hox,
das nuff for me. I den go at 'im on my own hook, an' stick away right
an' left!"
"I'll give you a wide berth, then, for it's as like as not that you'll
stick some o' the hunters in the dark," said Hockins, rising, for just
then there was a stir in the camp as if preparation was being made to go
out.
A few minutes later and Laihova came to them with the news that he had
heard the chief say they were getting ready, as it was necessary to make
a long round through the woods to get well to leeward of the cattle.
This process of getting ready consisted in every man stripping and
washing himself all over in order to get rid of the smell of the smoke
of their huts. Even the guests were obliged to conform to the custom.
Then they set off in profound silence, every man being armed with a
couple of spears, excepting the guests, who were allowed only one spear
each, it being feared that if they carried two they might chance to
rattle them together and thus alarm the game, for the kind of cattle
they were about to attack are exceedingly active and suspicious--always
on the alert, continually snuffing and snorting at the bare idea, as it
were, of an approaching enemy. Unlike the tame cattle of the island,
these animals have no hump, but strongly resemble the ordinary cattle of
England, save that their horns are shorter and their bellowings deeper.
They are, however, very savage, and when wounded or annoyed are apt to
attack their enemies with terrible ferocity.
To Mark Breezy and his companions the expedition proved to be full of
excitement, for, apart from the novelty of the situation, and
uncertainty as to what lay before them or was expected of them, the
extreme darkness of the night, and the quick silent stealthy motion of
the almost invisible hunters, filled their minds with--if we may say
so--awfully pleasurable anticipations!
The whole band followed their chief in single file, and as he was
intimately familiar with the topography of the region, the only anxiety
of each man was to tread carefully in his footsteps.
As for Ebony, his whole soul and spirit were in the enterprise, as well
as his black body, and the varying expression of his mobile features
would have charmed the heart of a physiognomist, had such a man been
there with light enough to enable him to see. As there was no
physiognomist, and no light, the reader must fall back on imagination.
Intent on carrying out his pre-arranged plans, our negro walked close
behind the chief--so close indeed, that he inadvertently brought his
spear down rather heavily on the left shoulder of that fiery person, for
which he received a buffet on the ear, and an order to keep further
back. In other circumstances the plucky spirit of Ebony would have been
roused to indignation--perhaps to retaliation; but a sense of justice
was strong in that negro's breast. Overwhelmed with shame at his
clumsiness, and eager to rectify the error--yet not daring to speak, for
silence had been strictly enjoined--he raised the spear over his
shoulder and turned the point backwards, thereby bringing it down on the
head of the man in the rear.
Doubly shocked at this, he raised his weapon to the perpendicular, and
knocked some tropical bird violently off the lower branches of a tree.
It fluttered screeching to the ground, and bounced angrily into the
bushes.
The whole band of hunters came to a sudden and breathless halt, but no
word was uttered. In a few moments the chief resumed his silent march,
and the ghostly column moved on--Ebony, greatly subdued but by no means
crushed, keeping his weapon at such a slope as would prevent its doing
damage to birds above or men below.
Thus they proceeded for nearly an hour, at the end of which time they
could hear the wild cattle roaring and bellowing not far-off.
When the hunters had got completely to leeward, and were beginning to
draw quite near to the feeding-ground, they advanced with increased
caution, and some of the men began to pull the tops of the grass with
their hands, as they went, in order to mimic as nearly as possible the
noise made by an ox grazing.
The instant this sound reached the ears of the cattle they became
absolutely silent, neither bellowing nor feeding! It was evident that
they were listening with the utmost attention. Understanding this, the
hunters stood quite still, without a whisper, but a few of those who
were adepts at the art continued their imitation of cropping the grass.
After listening for a time the animals appeared to arrive at the
conclusion that it was a false alarm, for they re-commenced feeding, and
the hunters continued their stealthy approach.
Soon they came to the thinly scattered shrubbery which marked the
termination of the woods and the beginning of the plain. And now,
profoundly dark though the night was, they could faintly perceive the
forms of their game looming black against the dark sky beyond--
themselves being quite invisible, however, owing to their background of
forest.
Nearer and nearer the men moved, still cropping the grass as they
advanced, until they fairly got up to the herd, and were less liable to
disturb them, for, being almost invisible, they were, no doubt, mistaken
for members of the family!
As the hunters now scattered, Ebony had some difficulty in keeping close
enough to the chief to observe his movements. Voalavo himself was too
intent upon his work to think of anything else, or to care who was near
him.
Gradually he approached close enough to an animal to thrust his spear
deep into its side. It sprang from the ground and made a noise as if
hurt by the horn of a comrade, but this is so common an event that the
rest of the cattle were in no way disturbed by it.
The chief saw by the staggering of the animal that it was mortally
wounded, and that there was no need to follow it up, as it could be
easily tracked and found in daylight. He therefore turned to attack
another animal that was close at hand.
"Now den," said Ebony to himself mentally, "your time's come. Go at
'im!"
Lowering his weapon to the charge, he glanced round and observed the
indistinct form of an animal on his right. It was apparently a little
one.
"Weal is as good as beef," thought Ebony, as he made a silent but
furious rush, scarcely able to restrain a shout of anticipated victory.
The spear-point missed the animal, just grazing its back, and went deep
into the ground, while the negro plunged with crushing violence on the
back of John Hockins, who had been trying to approach his game _a la_
Red Indian!
To say that poor Ebony was filled with horror, as well as shame and
self-abhorrence, is but a feeble statement.
"Don't speak, you black monster!" whispered the seaman in his ear, as he
seized him by the throat.
The rush of apology which had sprung from Ebony's heart was checked
abruptly at the lips.
Hockins released him, picked up his spear, and resumed his creeping way.
By this time several of the hunters had dealt silent death around them,
but still the herd failed to take alarm!
Being left alone Ebony's courage returned, and with it his enthusiasm.
"Come," he muttered, mentally, as he drew the spear from the ground,
"'Ockins not killed yet. Das one good job. No use to cry for not'ing.
You try again, Ginjah. Better luck nixt time."
Greatly encouraged by these thoughts he advanced on tip-toe--spear at
the charge--eyes glancing sharply all round. Suddenly a tall form
seemed to rise up right in front of him. The negro's heart leaped
violently. He was on the point of charging when a doubt assailed him.
The creature before him, though scarce distinguishable from the
surrounding gloom, was not long-bodied like an ox. He could perceive
that clearly. It was tall like a man--very tall. Perhaps it was Mark
Breezy? The recent mistake made him think anything possible!
"Is dat you, massa?" he whispered, in anxious alarm.
A furious bellow was the reply, followed by a still more furious charge.
Ebony had forgotten that an ox "end on" and head up is tall and not
long!
Happily, in stepping back he tripped, and the animal went right over
him. But the alarm had been given, and a sudden thundering of feet told
that the entire herd had taken to flight, while the shouting and cries
of the hunters, added to the confused roaring, showed that there was now
no need for concealment.
When the muster-roll was called it was found that nobody was missing or
hurt, though several had to tell of narrow escapes, especially John
Hockins, whose account of Ebony's exploit formed, at the feast that
followed, subject of interesting converse and much comment during the
brief intervals of relaxation between beef-steaks and marrow-bones.
Daylight revealed the fact that somewhere between thirty and forty
animals had been killed outright, besides a dozen or so which, having
been fatally wounded, were afterwards followed up and some of them
secured.
But daylight also brought a large party of men from a distant village
with a pressing invitation to Voalavo and his men to pay them a visit,
and a possibly disinterested offer to assist him in the consumption of
the cattle which he had slain; for it chanced that several young men of
this village were encamped in the woods that night near the spot where
the hunters attacked the cattle. Knowing full well what was being done,
these youths hurried home to tell what was going on. The head-man of
the village was on good terms with Voalavo at the time, besides being a
distant relative. Hence the message and the invitation.
As our happy-go-lucky chief was out in what may be termed a larky state
of mind, and had nothing particular to do, he accepted the invitation.
The meat was slung to bamboo poles, hoisted on the shoulders of his men,
and away they went over the plains to pay this visit. Happily the
village lay on the way to the capital, so that the guide and his party
could still accompany them without losing ground.
The plain over which they passed was a very wide one, seeming to extend
to the very base of the distant mountains of the interior, but our
travellers were mistaken in their ideas about it. The plain was itself
part of the mountain region into which they had already advanced, but by
so gradual an ascent that they had scarcely perceived the rise in the
land--a deception which was increased somewhat by the frequent descents
they had to make when passing over ridges.
On the way Hockins pushed up alongside of Ravonino, who was walking
beside Mark.
"Ravvy," said the seaman, (for to this had he at last curtailed the
guide's name), "where do these fellows fall in wi' the iron to make
their spearheads and other things?"
"In the earth," answered the guide.
"What! D'ee mean to say that you manufacture your own iron in them
parts?"
"Of course we do. Think you that no people can work in iron except the
British? We have plenty iron ore of good quality in the island. One of
our mountains is so full of ore that we call it the iron mountain. It
is named in our language the mountain of Ambohimiangavo."
"An' how d'ee work the ore o' this Am-Ambo-bo-bominable-avo mountain?"
asked the sailor.
"We smelt it, of course. We break the lumps of ore into smallish bits
and spread them on charcoal, layer and layer about, in a hollow in the
ground. This is covered over with a top-dressing of stone and clay.
Then we set it on fire and keep the blast going with wooden bellows,
till the metal is melted and runs in a mass to the bottom of the hole.
This we break into smaller pieces, purify them with more fire, and run
them into bars convenient for use. Our bellows," continued the guide,
"are not like yours, with two boards and leather between. The rats
would soon make short work with these. They are two cylinders formed
from the trunk of a tree, with a piston in each, packed with coarse
cloth, and having valves. An old musket-barrel carries the air to the
furnace, and, by pumping them time about, the blow is kept going
continuously."
"Why, how do _you_ come to know so much about valves, pistons,
cylinders, and such like?" asked Mark.
"You forget that my father was an Englishman," returned the guide, "and,
besides being a trader, was a sort of Jack-of-all-trades. He taught me
many things about which the kinsfolk of my mother know very little. You
must not suppose that because some of us are only half-civilised we can
do nothing neatly or well. Many of our men are skilful workers in
metal, and we owe much of our power in that way to English missionaries,
who brought Christian mechanics to the capital. There is hardly
anything in the shape of wrought iron-work that we cannot execute if we
have a model or pattern. We can work also in copper and brass. But it
is not only in metals that we can work fairly well--indeed _very_ well,
if we are to take the word of some of your own countrymen who have seen
and judged our work--we are also pretty good at pottery and
cabinet-making. As you have seen, we can weave good cloth of cotton and
silk, and some of our ingenious men have even tried their hands at
clock-making and musical instruments."
"From what you say, Madagascar will soon become a great country, I
should think," said Mark, somewhat amused as well as interested by the
evident enthusiasm of the guide.
Ravonino shook his head. "My country might become great," he returned,
"but there are some things much against her. The system of forced
service to the government instead of taxes is one. This tends to
repress ingenuity, for the cleverer and more ingenious a man is the more
will be demanded of him, both by the government and his own feudal
superior. Then the love of strong drink is too common among us; and
last, as well as most serious, great multitudes of our people have no
regard at all for their Maker."
"Why, Ravonino," said Mark, with something of a smile, "from the way you
speak of `our' people and `my' country, I fear you think more of your
Malagasy than your English extraction."
For a few moments the guide was silent. At length he said, slowly,
"England has indeed done us a service that we can never repay. She has
sent us the blessed Gospel of Jesus Christ. She is also the land of my
father, and I reverence my father. He was very kind and good to me.
But this is the land of my _mother_! I am a man of Madagascar."
It was evident from the expressive features of Ebony, who had joined
them, that he heartily approved of this maternal preference, but the
gravity of the guide's countenance, no less than his pathetic tones,
prevented his giving the usual candid vent to his ever-ready opinion.
Towards the afternoon the party arrived at the native village, where
grand preparations for festivities had been made. It was evident also
that some parts of the festive libations had been taken in advance, for
the head-man had reached the solemnised point of intoxication, and some
of his young men the owlish condition.
In some parts of this island of Madagascar, as in other parts of the
world, the people reduced themselves to great poverty through strong
drink. Though they had abundance of rice, and much beef, which latter
was salted for exportation, they sold so much of their food for arrack--
imported by traders from Mauritius and Bourbon--that little was left for
the bare maintenance of life, and they, with their families, were often
compelled to subsist on roots. They did not understand "moderate
drinking"! Intoxication was the rule until the arrack was done. The
wise King Radama the First attempted to check the consumption of ardent
spirits by imposing a heavy duty on them, but his efforts were only
partially successful.
The tribe to which our travellers were at this time introduced had just
succeeded in obtaining a quantity of the coarse and fiery spirits of the
traders. Their native visitors being quite ready to assist in the
consumption thereof, there was every prospect of a disgusting exhibition
of savagery that night.
"Don't you think we might escape this feast?" said Mark to the guide,
after the ceremony of introduction was over, "by urging the importance
of our business at Antananarivo?"
"Not easily. Voalavo is one of those determined and hearty men who
insist on all their friends enjoying themselves as they themselves do.
To-morrow we may persuade him to let us go. Besides, I do not object to
stay, for I intend to preach them a sermon on ungodliness and
intemperance in the middle of the feast."
Mark could scarcely forbear smiling at what he deemed the originality of
the guide's intention, as well as the quiet decision with which he
stated it.
"Don't you think," he said, "that this way of bearding the lion in his
den may rouse the people to anger?"
"I know not--I think not; but it is my business to be instant in season
and out of season," replied Ravonino, simply.
Mark said no more. He felt that he had to do with a Christian of a
somewhat peculiar type, and thereafter he looked forward with not a
little curiosity and some anxiety to the promised sermon. He was
doomed, like the reader, to disappointment in this matter, for that
night had not yet run into morning when an event occurred which modified
and hastened the proceedings of himself and his friends considerably.