IN LOWER EGYPT.
“I am going on a journey,” Ameres said to his son a few days after the
return from the farm. “I shall take you with me, Chebron, for I am
going to view the progress of a fresh canal that is being made on our
estate in Goshen. The officer who is superintending it has doubts
whether, when the sluices are opened, it will altogether fulfill its
purpose, and I fear that some mistake must have been made in the
levels. I have already taught you the theory of the work; it is well
that you should gain some practical experience in it; for there is no
more useful or honorable profession than that of carrying out works by
which the floods of the Nile are conveyed to the thirsty soil.”
“Thank you, father. I should like it greatly,” Chebron replied in a
tone of delight, for he had never before been far south of Thebes.
“And may Amuba go with us?”
“Yes; I was thinking of taking him,” the high priest said. “Jethro can
also go, for I take a retinue with me. Did I consult my own pleasure I
would far rather travel without this state and ceremony; but as a
functionary of state I must conform to the customs. And, indeed, even
in Goshen it is as well always to travel in some sort of state. The
people there are of a different race to ourselves. Although they have
dwelt a long time in the land and conform to its customs, still they
are notoriously a stubborn and obstinate people, and there is more
trouble in getting the public works executed there than in any other
part of the country.”
“I have heard of them, father. They belong to the same race as the
shepherd kings who were such bitter tyrants to Egypt. How is it that
they stayed behind when the shepherds were driven out?”
“They are of the same race, but they came not with them, and formed no
part of their conquering armies. The shepherds, who, as you know, came
from the land lying to the east of the Great Sea, had reigned here for
a long time when this people came. They were relations of the Joseph
who, as you have read in your history, was chief minister of Egypt.
“He came here as a slave, and was certainly brought from the country
whence our oppressors came. But they say that he was not of their
race, but that his forefathers had come into the land from a country
lying far to the east; but that I know not. Suffice it he gained the
confidence of the king, became his minister, and ruled wisely as far
as the king was concerned, though the people have little reason to
bless his memory. In his days was a terrible famine, and they say he
foretold its coming, and that his gods gave him warning of it. So vast
granaries were constructed and filled to overflowing, and when the
famine came and the people were starving the grain was served out, but
in return the people had to give up their land. Thus the whole tenure
of the land in the country was changed, and all became the property of
the state, the people remaining as its tenants upon the land they
formerly owned. Then it was that the state granted large tracts to the
temples, and others to the military order, so that at present all
tillers of land pay rent either to the king, the temples, or the
military order.
“Thus it is that the army can always be kept up in serviceable order,
dwelling by its tens of thousands in the cities assigned to it. Thus
it is that the royal treasury is always kept full, and the services of
the temples maintained. The step has added to the power and dignity of
the nation, and has benefited the cultivators themselves by enabling
vast works of irrigation to be carried out--works that could never
have been accomplished had the land been the property of innumerable
small holders, each with his own petty interests.”
“But you said, father, that it has not been for the good of the
people.”
“Nor has it in one respect, Chebron, for it has drawn a wide chasm
between the aristocratic classes and the bulk of the people, who can
never own land, and have no stimulus to exertion.”
“But they are wholly ignorant, father. They are peasants, and nothing
more.”
“I think they might be something more, Chebron, under other
circumstances. However, that is not the question we are discussing.
This Joseph brought his family out of the land at the east of the
Great Sea, and land was given to them in Goshen, and they settled
there and throve and multiplied greatly. Partly because of the
remembrance of the services Joseph had rendered to the state, partly
because they were a kindred people, they were held in favor as long as
the shepherd kings ruled over us. But when Egypt rose and shook off
the yoke they had groaned under so long, and drove the shepherds and
their followers out of the land, this people--for they had now so
grown in numbers as to be in verity a people--remained behind, and
they have been naturally viewed with suspicion by us. They are akin to
our late oppressors, and lying as their land does to the east, they
could open the door to any fresh army of invasion.
“Happily, now that our conquests have spread so far, and the power of
the people eastward of the Great Sea has been completely broken, this
reason for distrust has died out, but Joseph’s people are still viewed
unfavorably. Prejudices take long to die out among the masses, and the
manner in which these people cling together, marrying only among
themselves and keeping themselves apart from us, gives a certain
foundation for the dislike which exists. Personally, I think the
feeling is unfounded. They are industrious and hard-working, though
they are, I own, somewhat disposed to resist authority, and there is
more difficulty in obtaining the quota of men from Goshen for the
execution of public works than from any other of the provinces of
Egypt.”
“Do they differ from us in appearance, father?”
“Considerably, Chebron. They are somewhat fairer than we are, their
noses are more aquiline, and they are physically stronger. They do not
shave their heads as we do, and they generally let the hair on their
faces grow. For a long time after their settlement I believe that they
worshiped their own gods, or rather their own God, but they have long
adopted our religion.”
“Surely that must be wrong,” Chebron said. “Each nation has its gods,
and if a people forsake their own gods it is not likely that other
gods would care for them as they do for their own people.”
“It is a difficult question, Chebron, and one which it is best for you
to leave alone at present. You will soon enter into the lower grade of
the priesthood, and although if you do not pass into the upper grades
you will never know the greater mysteries, you will yet learn enough
to enlighten you to some extent.”
Chebron was too well trained in the respect due to a parent to ask
further questions, but he renewed the subject with Amuba as they
strolled in the garden together afterward.
“I wonder how each nation found out who were the gods who specially
cared for them, Amuba?”
“I have no idea,” Amuba, who had never given the subject a thought,
replied. “You are always asking puzzling questions, Chebron.”
“Well, but it must have been somehow,” Chebron insisted. “Do you
suppose that any one ever saw our gods? and if not, how do people know
that one has the head of a dog and another of a cat, or what they are
like? Are some gods stronger than others, because all people offer
sacrifices to the gods and ask for their help before going to battle?
Some are beaten and some are victorious; some win to-day and lose
to-morrow. Is it that these gods are stronger one day than another, or
that they do not care to help their people sometimes? Why do they not
prevent their temples from being burned and their images from being
thrown down? It is all very strange.”
“It is all very strange, Chebron. I was not long ago asking Jethro
nearly the same question, but he could give me no answer. Why do you
not ask your father. He is one of the wisest of the Egyptians.”
“I have asked my father, but he will not answer me,” Chebron said
thoughtfully. “I think sometimes that it is because I have asked these
questions that he does not wish me to become a high priest. I did not
mean anything disrespectful to the gods. But somehow when I want to
know things, and he will not answer me, I think he looks sadly, as if
he was sorry at heart that he could not tell me what I want to know.”
“Have you ever asked your brother Neco?”
“Oh, Neco is different,” Chebron said with an accent almost of
disdain. “Neco gets into passions and threatens me with all sorts of
things; but I can see he knows no more about it than I do, for he has
a bewildered look in his face when I ask him these things, and once or
twice he has put his hands to his ears and fairly run away, as if I
was saying something altogether profane and impious against the gods.”
On the following day the high priest and his party started for Goshen.
The first portion of the journey was performed by water. The craft was
a large one, with a pavilion of carved wood on deck, and two masts,
with great sails of many colors cunningly worked together. Persons of
consequence traveling in this way were generally accompanied by at
least two or three musicians playing on harps, trumpets, or pipes;
for the Egyptians were passionately fond of music, and no feast was
thought complete without a band to discourse soft music while it was
going on. The instruments were of the most varied kinds; stringed
instruments predominated, and these varied in size from tiny
instruments resembling zithers to harps much larger than those used in
modern times. In addition to these they had trumpets of many forms,
reed instruments, cymbals, and drums, the last-named long and narrow
in shape.
Ameres, however, although not averse to music after the evening meal,
was of too practical a character to care for it at other times. He
considered that it was too often an excuse for doing nothing and
thinking of nothing, and therefore dispensed with it except on state
occasions. As they floated down the river he explained to his son the
various objects which they passed; told him the manner in which the
fishermen in their high boats made of wooden planks bound together by
rushes, or in smaller crafts shaped like punts formed entirely of
papyrus bound together with bands of the same plant, caught the fish;
pointed out the entrances to the various canals, and explained the
working of the gates which admitted the water; gave him the history of
the various temples, towns, and villages; named the many waterfowl
basking on the surface of the river, and told him of their habits and
how they were captured by the fowlers; he pointed out the great tombs
to him, and told him by whom they were built.
“The largest, my son, are monuments of pride and folly. The greatest
of the pyramids was built by a king who thought it would immortalize
him; but so terrible was the labor that its construction inflicted
upon the people that it caused him to be execrated, and he was never
laid in the mausoleum he had built for himself. You see our custom of
judging kings after their death is not without advantages. After a
king is dead the people are gathered together and the question is put
to them, Has the dead monarch ruled well? If they reply with assenting
shouts, he is buried in a fitting tomb which he has probably prepared
for himself, or which his successor raises to him; but if the answer
is that he has reigned ill, the sacred rites in his honor are omitted
and the mausoleum he has raised stands empty forever.
“There are few, indeed, of our kings who have thus merited the
execration of their people, for as a rule the careful manner in which
they are brought up, surrounded by youths chosen for their piety and
learning, and the fact that they, like the meanest of their subjects,
are bound to respect the laws of the land, act as sufficient check
upon them. But there is no doubt that the knowledge that after death
they must be judged by the people exercises a wholesome restraint
even upon the most reckless.”
“I long to see the pyramids,” Chebron said. “Are they built of brick
or stone? for I have been told that their surface is so smooth and
shiny that they look as if cut from a single piece.”
“They are built of vast blocks of stone, each of which employed the
labor of many hundreds of men to transport from the quarries where
they were cut.”
“Were they the work of slaves or of the people at large?”
“Vast numbers of slaves captured in war labored at them,” the priest
replied. “But numerous as these were they were wholly insufficient for
the work, and well-nigh half the people of Egypt were forced to leave
their homes to labor at them. So great was the burden and distress
that even now the builders of these pyramids are never spoken of save
with curses; and rightly so, for what might not have been done with
the same labor usefully employed! Why, the number of the canals in the
country might have been doubled and the fertility of the soil vastly
increased. Vast tracts might have been reclaimed from the marshes and
shallow lakes, and the produce of the land might have been doubled.”
“And what splendid temples might have been raised!” Chebron said
enthusiastically.
“Doubtless, my son,” the priest said quietly after a slight pause.
“But though it is meet and right that the temples of the gods shall
be worthy of them, still, as we hold that the gods love Egypt and
rejoice in the prosperity of the people, I think that they might have
preferred so vast an improvement as the works I speak of would have
effected in the condition of the people, even to the raising of long
avenues of sphinxes and gorgeous temples in their own honor.”
“Yes, one would think so,” Chebron said thoughtfully. “And yet,
father, we are always taught that our highest duty is to pay honor to
the gods, and that in no way can money be so well spent as in raising
fresh temples and adding to the beauty of those that exist.”
“Our highest duty is assuredly to pay honor to the gods, Chebron; but
how that honor can be paid most acceptably is another and deeper
question which you are a great deal too young to enter upon. It will
be time enough for you to do that years hence. There, do you see that
temple standing on the right bank of the river? That is where we stop
for the night. My messenger will have prepared them for our coming,
and all will be in readiness for us.”
As they approached the temple they saw a number of people gathered on
the great stone steps reaching down to the water’s edge, and strains
of music were heard. On landing Ameres was greeted with the greatest
respect by the priests all bowing to the ground, while those of
inferior order knelt with their faces to the earth, and did not raise
them until he had passed on. As soon as he entered the temple a
procession was formed. Priests bearing sacred vessels and the symbols
of the gods walked before him to the altar; a band of unseen musicians
struck up a processional air; priestesses and maidens, also carrying
offerings and emblems, followed Ameres. He naturally took the
principal part in the sacrifice at the altar, cutting the throat of
the victim, and making the offering of the parts specially set aside
for the gods.
After the ceremonies were concluded the procession moved in order as
far as the house of the chief priest. Here all again saluted Ameres,
who entered, followed by his son and attendants. A banquet was already
in readiness. To this Ameres sat down with the principal priests,
while Chebron was conducted to the apartment prepared for him, where
food from the high table was served to him. Amuba and the rest of the
suit of the high priest were served in another apartment. As soon as
Chebron had finished he joined Amuba.
“Let us slip away,” he said. “The feasting will go on for hours, and
then there will be music far on into the night. My father will be
heartily tired of it all; for he loves plain food, and thinks that the
priests should eat none other. Still, as it would not be polite for a
guest to remark upon the viands set before him, I know that he will go
through it all. I have heard him say that it is one of the greatest
trials of his position that whenever he travels people seem to think
that a feast must be prepared for him; whereas I know he would rather
sit down to a dish of boiled lentils and water than have the richest
dishes set before him.”
“Is it going to be like this all the journey?” Amuba asked.
“Oh, no! I know that all the way down the river we shall rest at a
temple, for did my father not do so the priests would regard it as
a slight; but then we leave the boat and journey in chariots or
bullock-carts. When we reach Goshen we shall live in a little house
which my father has had constructed for him, and where we shall have
no more fuss and ceremony than we do at our own farm. Then he will
be occupied with the affairs of the estates and in the works of
irrigation; and although we shall be with him when he journeys about,
as I am to begin to learn the duties of a superintendent, I expect we
shall have plenty of time for amusement and sport.”
They strolled for an hour or two on the bank of the river, for the
moon was shining brightly and many boats were passing up and down;
the latter drifted with the stream, for the wind was so light that the
sails were scarce filled; the former kept close to the bank, and were
either propelled by long poles or towed by parties of men on the bank.
When they returned to the house they listened for a time to the music,
and then retired to their rooms. Amuba lay down upon the soft couch
made of a layer of bulrushes, covered with a thick woollen cloth, and
rested his head on a pillow of bulrushes which Jethro had bound up for
him; for neither of the Rebu had learned to adopt the Egyptian fashion
of using a stool for a pillow.
These stools were long, and somewhat curved in the middle to fit the
neck. For the common people they were roughly made of wood, smoothed
where the head came; but the head-stools of the wealthy were
constructed of ebony, cedar, and other scarce woods, beautifully
inlaid with ivory. Amuba had made several trials of these head-stools,
but had not once succeeded in going to sleep with one under his head,
half an hour sufficing to cause such an aching of his neck that he was
glad to take to the pillow of rushes to which he was accustomed.
Indeed, to sleep upon the stool-pillows it was necessary to lie upon
the side with an arm so placed as to raise the head to the exact level
of the stool, and as Amuba had been accustomed to throw himself down
and sleep on his back or any other position in which he first lay, for
he was generally thoroughly tired either in hunting or by exercise of
arms, he found the cramped and fixed position necessary for sleeping
with a hard stool absolutely intolerable.
For a week the journey down the river continued, and then they arrived
at Memphis, where they remained for some days. Ameres passed the time
in ceremonial visits and in taking part in the sacrifices in the
temple. Chebron and Amuba visited all the temples and public
buildings, and one day went out to inspect the great pyramids attended
by Jethro.
“This surpasses anything I have seen,” Jethro said as they stood at
the foot of the great pyramid of Cheops. “What a wonderful structure,
but what a frightful waste of human labor!”
“It is marvelous, indeed,” Amuba said. “What wealth and power a
monarch must have had to raise such a colossal pile! I thought you
said, Chebron, that your kings were bound by laws as well as other
people. If so, how could this king have exacted such terrible toil and
labor from his subjects as this must have cost?”
“Kings should be bound by the laws,” Chebron replied; “but there are
some so powerful and haughty that they tyrannize over the people.
Cheops was one of them. My father has been telling me that he ground
down the people to build this wonderful tomb for himself. But he had
his reward, for at his funeral he had to be judged by the public
voice, and the public condemned him as a bad and tyrannous king.
Therefore he was not allowed to be buried in the great tomb that he
had built for himself. I know not where his remains rest, but this
huge pyramid stands as an eternal monument of the failure of human
ambition--the greatest and costliest tomb in the world, but without an
occupant, save that Theliene, one of his queens, was buried here in a
chamber near that destined for the king.”
“The people did well,” Jethro said heartily; “but they would have done
better still had they risen against him and cut off his head directly
they understood the labor he was setting them to do.”
On leaving Memphis one more day’s journey was made by water, and the
next morning the party started by land. Ameres rode in a chariot,
which was similar in form to those used for war, except that the sides
were much higher, forming a sort of deep open box, against which those
standing in it could rest their bodies. Amuba and Chebron traveled in
a wagon drawn by two oxen; the rest of the party went on foot.
At the end of two days they arrived at their destination. The house
was a small one compared to the great mansion near Thebes, but it was
built on a similar plan. A high wall surrounded an inclosure of a
quarter of an acre. In the center stood the house with one large
apartment for general purposes, and small bedchambers opening from it
on either side. The garden, although small, was kept with scrupulous
care. Rows of fruit trees afforded a pleasant shade. In front of the
house there was a small pond bordered with lilies and rushes. A Nubian
slave and his wife kept everything in readiness for the owner whenever
he should appear. A larger retinue of servants was unnecessary, as a
cook and barber were among those who traveled in the train of Ameres.
The overseer of the estate was in readiness to receive the high
priest.
“I have brought my son with me,” Ameres said when the ceremonial
observances and salutations were concluded. “He is going to commence
his studies in irrigation, but I shall not have time at present to
instruct him. I wish him to become proficient in outdoor exercises,
and beg you to procure men skilled in fishing, fowling, and hunting,
so that he can amuse his unoccupied hours with sport. At Thebes he has
but rare opportunities for these matters; for, excepting in the
preserves, game has become well-nigh extinct, while as for fowling,
there is none of it to be had in Upper Egypt, while here in the
marshes birds abound.”
The superintendent promised that suitable men should be forthcoming,
one of each caste; for in Egypt men always followed the occupation of
their fathers, and each branch of trade was occupied by men forming
distinct castes, who married only in their own caste, worked just as
their fathers had done before them, and did not dream of change or
elevation. Thus the fowler knew nothing about catching fish or the
fishermen of fowling. Both, however, knew something about hunting; for
the slaying of the hyenas, that carried off the young lambs, and kids
from the villages, and the great river-horses, which came out and
devastated the fields, was a part of the business of every villager.
The country where they now were was for the most part well cultivated
and watered by the canals, which were filled when the Nile was high.
A day’s journey to the north lay Lake Menzaleh--a great shallow lagoon
which stretched away to the Great Sea, from which it was separated
only by a narrow bank of sand. The canals of the Nile reached nearly
to the edge of this, and when the river rose above its usual height
and threatened to inundate the country beyond the usual limits, and to
injure instead of benefiting the cultivators, great gates at the end
of these canals would be opened, and the water find its way into the
lagoon. There were, too, connections between some of the lower arms of
the Nile and the lake, so that the water, although salt, was less so
than that of the sea. The lake was the abode of innumerable waterfowl
of all kinds, and swarmed also with fish.
These lakes formed a fringe along the whole of the northern coast of
Egypt, and it was from these and the swampy land near the mouths of
the Nile that the greater portion of the fowl and fish that formed
important items in the food of the Egyptians was drawn. To the
southeast lay another chain of lakes, whose water was more salt than
that of the sea. It was said that in olden times these had been
connected by water both with the Great Sea to the north and the
Southern Sea; and even now, when the south wind blew strong and the
waters of the Southern Sea were driven up the gulf with force, the
salt water flowed into Lake Timsah, so called because it swarmed with
crocodiles.
“I shall be busy for some days, to begin with,” Ameres said to his son
on the evening of their arrival, “and it will therefore be a good
opportunity for you to see something of the various branches of sport
that are to be enjoyed in this part of Egypt. The steward will place
men at your disposal, and you can take with you Amuba and Jethro. He
will see that there are slaves to carry provisions and tents, for it
will be necessary for much of your sport that you rise early, and not
improbably you may have to sleep close at hand.”
In the morning Chebron had an interview with the steward, who told him
that he had arranged the plan for an expedition.
“You will find little about here, my lord,” he said, “beyond such game
as you would obtain near Thebes. But a day’s journey to the north you
will be near the margin of the lake, and there you will get sport of
all kinds, and can at your will fish in its waters, snare waterfowl,
hunt the great river-horse in the swamps, or chase the hyena in the
low bushes on the sandhills. I have ordered all to be in readiness,
and in an hour the slaves with the provisions will be ready to start.
The hunters of this part of the country will be of little use to you,
so I have ordered one of my chief men to accompany you.
“He will see that when you arrive you obtain men skilled in the sport
and acquainted with the locality and the habits of the wild creatures
there. My lord your father said you would probably be away for a week,
and that on your return you would from time to time have a day’s
hunting in these parts. He thought that as your time will be more
occupied then it were better that you should make this distant
expedition to begin with.”
An hour later some twenty slaves drew up before the house, carrying on
their heads provisions, tents, and other necessaries. A horse was
provided for Chebron, but he decided that he would walk with Amuba.
“There is no advantage in going on a horse,” he said, “when you have
to move at the pace of footmen, and possibly we may find something to
shoot on the way.”
The leader of the party, upon hearing Chebron’s decision, told him
that doubtless when they left the cultivated country, which extended
but a few miles further north, game would be found. Six dogs
accompanied them. Four of them were powerful animals, kept for the
chase of the more formidable beasts, the hyena or lion, for although
there were no lions in the flat country, they abounded in the broken
grounds at the foot of the hills to the south. The other two were much
more lightly built, and were capable of running down a deer. Dogs were
held in high honor in Egypt. In some parts of the country they were
held to be sacred. In all they were kept as companions and friends in
the house as well as for the purposes of the chase. The season was the
cold one, and the heat was so much less than they were accustomed to
at Thebes--where the hills which inclosed the plain on which the city
was built cut off much of the air, and seemed to reflect the sun’s
rays down upon it--that the walk was a pleasant one.
Chebron and Amuba, carrying their bows, walked along, chatting gayly,
at the head of the party. Jethro and Rabah the foreman came next. Then
followed two slaves, leading the dogs in leashes, ready to be slipped
at a moment’s notice, while the carriers followed in the rear.
Occasionally they passed through scattered villages, where the women
came to their doors to look at the strangers, and where generally
offerings of milk and fruit were made to them. The men were for the
most part at work in the fields.
“They are a stout-looking race. Stronger and more bony than our own
people,” Chebron remarked to the leader of the party.
“They are stubborn to deal with,” he replied. “They till their ground
well, and pay their portion of the produce without grumbling, but when
any extra labor is asked of them there is sure to be trouble. It is
easier to manage a thousand Egyptian peasants than a hundred of these
Israelites, and if forced labor is required for the public service it
is always necessary to bring down the troops before we can obtain it.
“But indeed they are hardly treated fairly, and have suffered much.
They arrived in Egypt during the reign of Usertuen I., and had land
allotted to them. During the reign of the king and other successors of
his dynasty they were held in favor and multiplied greatly; but when
the Theban dynasty succeeded that of Memphis, the kings, finding this
foreign people settled here, and seeing that they were related by
origin to the shepherd tribes who at various times have threatened our
country from the east, and have even conquered portions of it and
occupied it for long periods, regarded them with hostility, and have
treated them rather as prisoners of war than as a portion of the
people. Many burdens have been laid upon them. They have had to give
far more than their fair share of labor toward the public works, the
making of bricks, and the erection of royal tombs and pyramids.”
“It is strange that they do not shave their heads as do our people,”
Chebron said.
“But I do not,” Amuba laughed, “nor Jethro.”
“It is different with you,” Chebron replied. “You do not labor and get
the dust of the soil in your hair. Besides, you do keep it cut quite
short. Still, I think you would be more comfortable if you followed
our fashion.”
“It is all a matter of habit,” Amuba replied. “To us, when we first
came here, the sight of all the poorer people going about with their
heads shaven was quite repulsive--and as for comfort, surely one’s own
hair must be more comfortable than the great wigs that all of the
better class wear.”
“They keep off the sun,” Chebron said, “when one is out of doors, and
are seldom worn in the house, and then when one comes in one can wash
off the dust.”
“I can wash the dust out of my hair,” Amuba said. “Still, I do think
that these Israelites wear their hair inconveniently long; and yet the
long plaits that their women wear down their back are certainly
graceful, and the women themselves are fair and comely.”
Chebron shook his head. “They may be fair, Amuba, but I should think
they would make very troublesome wives. They lack altogether the
subdued and submissive look of our women. They would, I should say,
have opinions of their own, and not be submissive to their lords; is
that not so, Rabah?”
“The women, like the men, have spirit and fire,” the foreman answered,
“and have much voice in all domestic matters; but I do not know that
they have more than with us. They can certainly use their tongues; for
at times, when soldiers have been here to take away gangs of men for
public works, they have had more trouble with them than with the men.
The latter are sullen, but they know that they must submit; but the
women gather at a little distance and scream curses and abuse at the
troops, and sometimes even pelt them with stones, knowing that the
soldiers will not draw weapon upon them, although not infrequently it
is necessary in order to put a stop to the tumult to haul two or three
of their leaders off to prison.”
“I thought they were viragoes,” Chebron said with a laugh. “I would
rather hunt a lion than have the women of one of these villages set
upon me.”
In a few miles cultivation became more rare; sandhills took the place
of the level fields, and only here and there in the hollows were
patches of cultivated ground. Rabah now ordered the slave leading the
two fleet dogs to keep close up and be in readiness to slip them.
“We may see deer at any time now,” he said. “They abound in these
sandy deserts which form their shelter, and yet are within easy
distance of fields where when such vegetation as is here fails them
they can go for food.”
A few minutes later a deer started from a clump of bushes. The dogs
were instantly let slip and started in pursuit.
“Hurry on a hundred yards and take your position on that mound!” Rabah
exclaimed to Chebron, while at the same time he signaled to the slaves
behind to stop. “The dogs know their duty, and you will see they will
presently drive the stag within shot.”
Chebron called Amuba to follow him and ran forward. By the time they
reached the mound the stag was far away, with the dogs laboring in
pursuit. At present they seemed to have gained but little, if at all,
upon him, and all were soon hidden from sight among the sandhills. In
spite of the assurance of Rabah the lads had doubts whether the dogs
would ever drive their quarry back to the spot where they were
standing, and it was full a quarter of an hour before pursuers and
pursued came in sight again. The pace had greatly fallen off, for one
of the dogs was some twenty yards behind the stag; the other was out
on its flank at about the same distance away, and was evidently aiding
in turning it toward the spot where the boys were standing.
“We will shoot together,” Chebron said. “It will come within fifty
yards of us.”
They waited until the stag was abreast of them. The dog on its flank
had now fallen back to the side of his companion as if to leave the
stag clear for the arrows of the hunters. The lads fired together just
as the stag was abreast; but it was running faster than they had
allowed for, and both arrows flew behind it. They uttered exclamations
of disappointment, but before the deer had run twenty yards it gave a
sudden leap into the air and fell over. Jethro had crept up and taken
his post behind some bushes to the left of the clump in readiness to
shoot should the others miss, and his arrow had brought the stag to
the ground.
“Well done, Jethro!” Amuba shouted. “It is so long since I was out
hunting that I seem to have lost my skill; but it matters not since we
have brought him down.”
The dogs stood quiet beside the deer that was struggling on the
ground, being too well trained to interfere with it. Jethro ran out
and cut its throat. The others were soon standing beside it. It was
of a species smaller than those to which the deer of Europe belong,
with two long straight horns.
“It will make a useful addition to our fare to-night,” Rabah said,
“although, perhaps, some of the other sorts are better eating.”
“Do the dogs never pull them down by themselves?” Amuba asked.
“Very seldom. These two are particularly fleet, but I doubt whether
they would have caught it. These deer can run for a long time, and
although they will let dogs gain upon them they can leave them if they
choose. Still I have known this couple run down a deer when they could
not succeed in driving it within bowshot; but they know very well they
ought not to do so, for, of course, deer are of no use for food unless
the animals are properly killed and the blood allowed to escape.”
Several other stags were startled, but these all escaped, the dogs
being too fatigued with their first run to be able to keep up with
them. The other dogs were therefore unloosed and allowed to range
about the country. They started several hyenas, some of which they
themselves killed; others they brought to bay until the lads ran up
and dispatched them with their arrows, while others which took to
flight in sufficient time got safely away, for the hyena, unless
overtaken just at the start, can run long and swiftly and tire out
heavy dogs such as those the party had with them.
After walking some fifteen miles the lads stopped suddenly on the brow
of a sandhill. In front of them was a wide expanse of water bordered
by a band of vegetation. Long rushes and aquatic plants formed a band
by the water’s edge, while here and there huts with patches of
cultivated ground dotted the country.
“We are at the end of our journey,” Rabah said. “These huts are
chiefly inhabited by fowlers and fishermen. We will encamp at the foot
of this mound. It is better for us not to go too near the margin of
the water, for the air is not salubrious to those unaccustomed to it.
The best hunting ground lies a few miles to our left, for there, when
the river is high, floods come down through a valley which is at all
times wet and marshy. There we may expect to find game of all kinds in
abundance.”