The Vee-Boers: A Tale of Adventure in Southern Africa
Page 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
WATER-HORSES.
Over a week has elapsed, and the Vee-Boers are still in their old campunder the baobab. Its appearance is much the same as during theirformer occupation of it--that is, the portion inside the laager-fence.For though the waggons are absent, their arched covers, supported onshort uprights, stand just as they stood, now doing service as tents.They are the sleeping-places of the women and children, also givingshelter to such household gods as need the protection of a roof.
To speak of a Vee-Boer having household gods may seem a misnomer, sincehe never has a house. Still there are certain Penates he carries about;the most cherished being a black-letter Bible, large as a volume of the"Encyclopedia Britannica," in thick leather binding, with brass clasps.This ponderous tome goes with him, wander where he will; for the SouthAfrican Dutchman is strong in the protestation of religion, whatever hispractice of it.
There had been one such Bible in each of the three waggons--therespective belongings of the families, Van Dorn, Blom, and Rynwald--and,it need scarce be said, that these sacred volumes were not left behindin the kloof.
Outside, on the veldt, all is different. The groups of grazing stockare no more seen there--not a single head; while close to the laager'sedge appears a new feature, a "_hartebeest house_" [Note 1] lateerected. It is for the young whites of the party; the native employescontenting themselves with such coigns of shelter as are afforded by thetrunks of the mowanas. In these, some have ingeniously hewn outcavities, large enough to give them lodgment, others having in likemanner utilised the adjacent ant-hills.
All this bespeaks prolonged residence there, and not far off is aspectacle, showing the reason; telling also they have not been idle inthe interval. Down on the river's bank by the drift is a scene ofgreatest activity, where some scores of logs have been collected, andare being made ready for the timbers of rafts. They are the trunks of_koker-booms_, [Note 2] each about eleven feet in length, with adiameter of three. Their top-knots of bayonetlike leaves having beenlopped off, they are now in process of desiccation, by huge fires thathave been kindled around them. When the sap is drawn out, they will belight as cork wood, just the material required for raft-building.
Jan Van Dorn himself superintends this quaint naval architecture, bygood luck having skilled assistants. As it chances, among the nativeemployes are two _Macobas_ [Note 3] of Lake Ngami--fugitive from thetyranny of King Letchoulatebe--who understand all about the variouskinds of craft used in South African inland navigation, and under theirhands the rafts will be properly constructed.
Nor is this the only industry in progress. On the other side of thecamp, out upon the open veldt, a number of the young Boers are busy too,their work being the conversion of fresh meat into bultong. Strips ofit hang over riems extended between the trees, where these stand thinly,so as not to shadow it from the sun. It was the same on a formeroccasion, but the meat is not the same. Then it was buffalo-beef, whichhas been all lost. For at the time of their hurried abandonment of theplace, it was not thought sufficiently cured to be taken along, and itwas their intention to return for it. Unluckily, left hanging too low,the hyenas and jackals had dragged it down, and devoured it to the lastscrap. The sausage-like strings now replacing it, are the flesh ofelands, and other large antelopes, the carcass of a giraffe havingcontributed to the stock. While the raft-builders had been busy withaxe and bill-hook, the hunters were alike industrious in the chase, andhave already laid in a good store of provisions for the proposed voyage.It may be a long one--how long they cannot tell--and in descending therivers they might not easily find subsistence for such a numerous party.At all events, the precaution is a wise one, and fortune has favouredthem in it, by guiding many wild animals toward the drift; some on theirway to drink, others intending to cross over. They have enough meat nowto last them for weeks--even months--once it becomes bultong; and, toinsure its becoming this of the best, light fires are kept underneathit, whose gentle heat, with the smoke, assists in the curing process.
Nor are the voyagers to be dependent on an exclusively meat diet. Thereare yet left them several bags of meal, both of maize and Caffre-corn[Note 4]; while, as already said, the trees standing near bear a varietyof edible fruits and nuts, some of which are being added to the intended"ship's stores." Collecting these is the task of the youngsters; soall, young and old, have something or other to do. And they are doingit with all their might and will. For even the youngest now know thattheir situation is one of uncertainty and peril; dangers on the spot,with other dangers ahead, the avoidance of which calls for everyexertion.
Another week has passed, showing much progress made. In short, therafts are finished, and afloat on the water. There are three of them,corresponding to the three families who make up the migrant party. Itwas not for this, however, that a trio was constructed; but because ofthe stream being too shoal and narrow to admit of a raft large enough tocarry all. That is a thing to be thought of when they reach the greatriver below.
Each of the three built has a breadth of beam of some ten to twelvefeet, in correspondence with the length of the koker-booms; whosetrunks, laid side by side, have been firmly lashed together by lianas--the _Baavian-touw_ [Note 5]. Lengthwise, the rafts are nearly fourtimes as much, from stem to stern being about forty feet. On what mightbe called the quarter-deck of each, one of the waggon-tilts has beenplaced on supporting stanchions, and is the cabin. On the fore, also,is a sort of shed or round house, roofed over with reeds and palmleaves, for the accommodation of the crew. A huge pile occupies themain deck, leaving a narrow passage or gangway on either side, for thepolemen and rowers. Over it are spread the skins of wild animals latelykilled, now utilised as tarpaulings, to give protection to a variety ofeffects--in short, the general cargo. Amidships, on each raft, is alittle platform of clay, raised some eight or ten inches above thetimber's level. That is the hearth, intended for culinary purposes. Infine, upon the extreme stern, abaft the cabin of bamboos and canvas, along broad-bladed oar, balanced on a pivot, is to do the rudder-work.
At length everything being in readiness for embarking, it was begunwithout further delay. Nor was there any in the carrying it out; for,as with the camp in the kloof, all were now eager to move away from thisone. True, the place had been of some service to them; nevertheless wasit fraught with most unpleasant memories. It was there the tsetse firstassailed their stock to its final and total destruction, not onlybeggaring them, but putting their lives in peril. So, almost ashurriedly as the inhabitants of a burning house flee from the fire, didthey make for the rafts when these were ready to receive them.
The embarkation was accomplished in good order, and without accident.The cables, which were the old trek-touws of the abandoned waggons,being hauled in, and the huge structures, one after another, shoved outto mid-stream, they went gliding gently down.
But they were not the only craft to take departure from thatlanding-place; a score of others accompanying them, of a quaintlycurious kind--being _water-horses_. Each consisted of a single trunk ofkoker-boom, with a peg of about fifteen inches in length fastened firmlyto it, and standing upright near the fore. Lying flat along the log,face downwards, rode a naked native--Caffre or Hottentot--with one handholding the peg, the other acting partly as an outrigger for balance,and partly for propulsion. The legs, too, astraddle, and trailing inthe water behind, helped the onward movement, as in swimming; so thatthe water-horses could be put to a speed far beyond that of the cumbrousrafts. Around these their riders darted in high glee, laughing,shouting, and splashing one another, as a flock of ducks fresh enteredupon a pond.
The purpose of this aquatic cavalry was twofold; in part meant as aready means of communication with the banks, and partly to avoidovercrowding the rafts. Moreover, many of the natives, used to suchnavigation, rather liked it; especially that now, under a broiling sun,it enabled then to dip their bodies at will, and keep them comfortablycool.
The "water-horse," as
described, is often brought into requisition bythe Caffres and other South African natives. They are found of greatservice in the crossing of wide rivers, especially when cattle and sheephave to be got over. Then the water-horsemen guide the animals, andswimming alongside assist the weaker ones and young calves.
Thus joyously the rafters began their voyage, at its outset to betreated to a laughable spectacle, as when crossing in flight from thetsetse. Though they had lost all their quadrupeds, there was still acreature with them of the animal kind--if a monkey may be so classed.It was the pet of Katharine Rynwald, but also favoured the Hottentotguide, Smutz, who, for its young mistress's sake, had been accustomed toshow it kindness. As the odd flotilla moved off, Smutz bestrode one ofthe water-horses, and shooting past the foremost raft, on which sate theyoung girl with the monkey in her lap, the latter made a long outwardleap, alighting upon his back; then fixing itself firm and square on hisshoulders, there squatted composedly. The two facing in the samedirection, with the round, bullet-like cranium of the Hottentot,surmounted by that of the monkey, it was as if some water Cerberus, ordouble-headed hydra, were conducting the squadron down stream.
But the incident was too comical to be looked upon as an evil omen;instead, it elicited peals of laughter, with applauding shouts; allinclined to regard it as the forecast of a prosperous voyage.
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Note 1. The "Hartebeest-house" is a hut of rude construction, the usualmaterials being reeds and grass with a plastering of mud. The name isderived from a fancied resemblance to the form of the antelope socalled. Hartebeest-houses are common throughout Southern Africa, notinhabited by natives, but the poorer class of colonists, especiallyVee-Boers when not on the move.
Note 2. The "Koker-boom" is a species of aloe with a short thick trunk.When well dried the wood is even lighter than cork.
Note 3. The "Macobas" are the boatmen of Lake Ngami. They haveaffinity with the Bechuanas; but are of a race and class apart. Theyare also of darker complexion.
Note 4. Both Indian corn (_maize_) and Caffre-corn (_SorghumCaffrorum_) are cultivated in Southern Africa, and the meal of both isin common use among the Boers of the Transvaal. The Caffres also growlarge quantities of another species of Sorghum (_S. Saccharatum_) forthe sake of its stem; which they chew, as the negroes of America dosugar-cane, its juice being equally as sweet.
Note 5. The "Baavian-touw" (_Anglice_, "_baboon-rope_") is a species ofclimbing plant, or liana, with long stems and heart-shaped leaves. Bythe Boers it is employed as cordage, and for many purposes, thisprimitive sort of rope being often convenient, where no other isobtainable.