Popular Adventure Tales

by Mayne Reid

  CHAPTER IV.

  A TALK ABOUT LOCUSTS.

  It was a night of anxiety in the kraal of the field-cornet. Should thewind veer round to the west, to a certainty the locusts would cover hisland in the morning, and the result would be the total destruction ofhis crops. Perhaps worse than that. Perhaps the whole vegetationaround--for fifty miles or more--might be destroyed; and then how wouldhis cattle be fed? It would be no easy matter even to save their lives.They might perish before he could drive them to any other pasturage!

  Such a thing was by no means uncommon or improbable. In the history ofthe Cape colony many a boer had lost his flocks in this very way. Nowonder there was anxiety that night in the kraal of the field-cornet.

  At intervals Von Bloom went out to ascertain whether there was anychange in the wind. Up to a late hour he could perceive none. A gentlebreeze still blew from the north--from the great Kaliharidesert--whence, no doubt, the locusts had come. The moon was bright, andher light gleamed over the host of insects that darkly covered theplain. The roar of the lion could be heard mingling with the shrillscream of the jackal and the maniac laugh of the hyena. All thesebeasts, and many more, were enjoying a plenteous repast.

  Perceiving no change in the wind, Von Bloom became less uneasy, and theyall conversed freely about the locusts. Swartboy took a leading part inthis conversation, as he was better acquainted with the subject than anyof them. It was far from being the first flight of locusts Swartboy hadseen, and many a bushel of them had he eaten. It was natural to suppose,therefore, that he knew a good deal about them.

  He knew not whence they came. That was a point about which Swartboy hadnever troubled himself. The learned Hans offered an explanation of theirorigin.

  "They come from the desert," said he. "The eggs from which they areproduced, are deposited in the sands or dust; where they lie until rainfalls, and causes the herbage to spring up. Then the locusts arehatched, and in their first stage are supported upon this herbage. Whenit becomes exhausted, they are compelled to go in search of food. Hencethese 'migrations,' as they are called."

  This explanation seemed clear enough.

  "Now I have heard," said Hendrik, "of farmers kindling fires aroundtheir crops to keep off the locusts. I can't see how fires would keepthem off--not even if a regular fence of fire were made all round afield. These creatures have wings, and could easily fly over the fires."

  "The fires," replied Hans, "are kindled, in order that the smoke mayprevent them from alighting; but the locusts to which these accountsusually refer are without wings, called _voetgangers_ (foot-goers). Theyare, in fact, the _larvae_ of these locusts, before they have obtainedtheir wings. These have also their migrations, that are often moredestructive than those of the perfect insects, such as we see here. Theyproceed over the ground by crawling and leaping like grasshoppers; for,indeed, they are grasshoppers--a species of them. They keep on in onedirection, as if they were guided by instinct to follow a particularcourse. Nothing can interrupt them in their onward march unless the seaor some broad and rapid river. Small streams they can swim across; andlarge ones, too, where they run sluggishly; walls and houses they canclimb--even the chimneys--going straight over them; and the moment theyhave reached the other side of any obstacle, they continue straightonward in the old direction.

  "In attempting to cross broad rapid rivers, they are drowned incountless myriads, and swept off to the sea. When it is only a smallmigration, the farmers sometimes keep them off by means of fires, as youhave heard. On the contrary, when large numbers appear, even the firesare of no avail."

  "But how is that, brother?" inquired Hendrik. "I can understand howfires would stop the kind you speak of, since you say they are withoutwings. But since they are so, how do they get through the fires? Jumpthem?"

  "No, not so," replied Hans. "The fires are built too wide and large forthat."

  "How then, brother?" asked Hendrik. "I'm puzzled."

  "So am I," said little Jan.

  "And I," added Trueey.

  "Well, then," continued Hans, "millions of the insects crawl into thefires and put them out!"

  "Ho!" cried all in astonishment. "How? Are they not burned?"

  "Of course," replied Hans. "They are scorched and killed--myriads ofthem quite burned up. But their bodies crowded thickly on the fireschoke them out. The foremost ranks of the great host thus becomevictims, and the others pass safely across upon the holocaust thus made.So you see, even fires cannot stop the course of the locusts when theyare in great numbers.

  "In many parts of Africa, where the natives cultivate the soil, as soonas they discover a migration of these insects, and perceive that theyare heading in the direction of their fields and gardens, quite a panicis produced among them. They know that they will lose their crops to acertainty, and hence dread a visitation of locusts as they would anearthquake, or some other great calamity."

  "We can well understand their feelings upon such an occasion," remarkedHendrik, with a significant look.

  "The flying locusts," continued Hans, "seem less to follow a particulardirection than their larvae. The former seem to be guided by the wind.Frequently this carries them all into the sea, where they perish in vastnumbers. On some parts of the coast their dead bodies have been foundwashed back to land in quantities incredible. At one place the sea threwthem upon the beach, until they lay piled up in a ridge four feet inheight, and fifty miles in length! It has been asserted by severalwell-known travellers that the effluvium from this mass tainted the airto such an extent that it was perceived one hundred and fifty milesinland!"

  "Heigh!" exclaimed little Jan. "I didn't think anybody had so good anose."

  At little Jan's remark there was a general laugh. Von Bloom did not joinin their merriment. He was in too serious a mood just then.

  "Papa," inquired little Trueey, perceiving that her father did not laugh,and thinking to draw him into the conversation,--"Papa! were these thekind of locusts eaten by John the Baptist when in the desert? His food,the Bible says, was 'locusts and wild honey.'"

  "I believe these are the same," replied the father.

  "I think, papa," modestly rejoined Hans, "they are not exactly the same,but a kindred species. The locust of Scripture was the true _Gryllusmigratorius_, and different from those of South Africa, though verysimilar in its habits. But," continued he, "some writers dispute thatpoint altogether. The Abyssinians say that it was beans of thelocust-tree, and not insects, that were the food of St. John."

  "What is your own opinion, Hans?" inquired Hendrik, who had a greatbelief in his brother's book-knowledge.

  "Why, I think," replied Hans, "there need be no question about it. It isonly torturing the meaning of a word to suppose that St. John ate thelocust fruit, and not the insect. I am decidedly of opinion that thelatter is meant in Scripture; and what makes me think so is, that thesetwo kinds of food, 'locusts and wild honey,' are often coupled together,as forming at the present time the subsistence of many tribes who aredenizens of the desert. Besides, we have good evidence that both wereused as food by desert-dwelling people in the days of Scripture. It is,therefore, but natural to suppose that St. John, when in the desert, wasforced to partake of this food; just as many a traveller of modern timeshas eaten of it when crossing the deserts that surround us here in SouthAfrica.

  "I have read a great many books about locusts," continued Hans; "and nowthat the Bible has been mentioned, I must say for my part, I know noaccount given of these insects so truthful and beautiful as that in theBible itself. Shall I read it, papa?"

  "By all means, my boy," said the field-cornet, rather pleased at therequest which his son had made, and at the tenor of the conversation.

  Little Trueey ran into the inner room and brought out an immense volumebound in gemsbok skin, with a couple of brass clasps upon it to keep itclosed. This was the family Bible; and here let me observe, that asimilar book may be found in the house of nearly every boer, for theseDutch colonists are a Protestant and Bible-loving people-
-so much so,that they think nothing of going a hundred miles, four times in theyear, to attend the _nacht-maal_, or sacramental supper! What do youthink of that?

  Hans opened the volume, and turned at once to the book of the prophetJoel. From the readiness with which he found the passage, it wasevident he was well acquainted with the book he held in his hands.

  He read as follows:

  "A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains; a great people and a strong: there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before them, and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble; the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate."

  Even the rude Swartboy could perceive the poetic beauty of thisdescription.

  But Swartboy had much to say about the locusts, as well as the inspiredJoel.

  Thus spoke Swartboy:--

  "Bushman no fear da springhaan. Bushman hab no garden--no maize--nobuckwheat--no nothing for da springhaan to eat. Bushman eat locusthimself--he grow fat on da locust. Ebery thing eat dem dar springhaan.Ebery thing grow fat in da locust season. Ho! den for dem springhaan!"

  These remarks of Swartboy were true enough. The locusts are eaten byalmost every species of animal known in South Africa. Not only do the_carnivora_ greedily devour them, but also animals and birds of the gamekind--such as antelopes, partridges, guinea-fowls, bustards, and,strange to say, the giant of all--the huge elephant--will travel formiles to overtake a migration of locusts! Domestic fowls, sheep, horses,and dogs, devour them with equal greediness. Still another strangefact--the locusts eat one another! If any one of them gets hurt, so asto impede his progress, the others immediately turn upon him and eat himup!

  The Bushmen and other native races of Africa submit the locusts to aprocess of cookery before eating them; and during the whole eveningSwartboy had been engaged in preparing the bagful which he hadcollected. He "cooked" them thus:--

  He first boiled, or rather steamed them, for only a small quantity ofwater was put into the pot. This process lasted two hours. They werethen taken out, and allowed to dry; and after that shaken about in apan, until all the legs and wings were broken off from the bodies. Awinnowing process--Swartboy's thick lips acting as a fan--was next gonethrough; and the legs and wings were thus got rid of. The locusts werethen ready for eating.

  A little salt only was required to render them more palatable, when allpresent made trial of, and some of the children even liked them. Bymany, locusts prepared in this way are considered quite equal toshrimps!

  Sometimes they are pounded when quite dry into a sort of meal, and withwater added to them, are made into a kind of stirabout.

  When well dried, they will keep for a long time; and they frequentlyform the only store of food which the poorer natives have to depend uponfor a whole season.

  Among many tribes--particularly among those who are notagricultural--the coming of the locusts is a source of rejoicing. Thesepeople turn out with sacks, and often with pack-oxen to collect andbring them to the villages; and on such occasions vast heaps of them areaccumulated and stored, in the same way as grain!

  Conversing of these things the night passed on until it was time forgoing to bed. The field-cornet went out once again to observe the wind;and then the door of the little kraal was closed, and the family retiredto rest.