rain! rain! rain!—baboons river—seahorse kloof—we hunt the hills on horseback in spite of rain—floods and accidents—part from hobson—mail-carts and diamond-diggers.
rain is a blessed refreshment to the thirsty land; it is a life-giving cordial to the thirsty soul; but when rain descends in torrents and without cessation during the greater part of one’s brief holiday, or at any other very unseasonable period, and when one is not thirsty, it becomes depressing, to say the least.
thus was i treated by rain during my week in baviaans river. hobson and i had at last pushed up into the very heart of that wild mountain region,—the allotted home of the scottish settlers of 1820, the scene of many kafir raids and battles.
for months before we had lived in perpetual sunshine. hobson had sighed for a drop of rain. sometimes south africans have to sigh for a twelve-month before relief is sent. even while i write, the colony is suffering excessively from drought, and many farmers have been ruined. on the karroo i had almost come to forget the sensation of being rained upon, and an umbrella there would have appeared as great an impropriety as a muslin overcoat in nova zembla. nevertheless, no sooner did we arrive at seahorse kloof than the windows of heaven were opened, and the rain came down steadily night and day, while the sky presented a universal grey that would have done credit to the scottish highlands. it was too bad!
my main object in penetrating to these rugged wilds was to visit one of the pringles, a relative of personal friends on the borders of my own land. finding that mr pringle was absent from home, we turned aside to visit a cousin of hobson’s, a mr john edwards, who dwelt in what appeared to me the fag-end of the world,—a lonely farmhouse, at the head of the mountain gorge named seahorse kloof.
“it’s a splendid country,” said hobson, “with lots of game, and edwards is a noted hunter, besides being a capital fellow.”
what more could man desire? we arrived full of hope and spirits, received a hearty welcome, and awoke next day to find the sky grey, as i have said, and the rain descending steadily.
of course we hoped against hope, but as day after day came and went, our hopes and spirits sank. then there came a reaction that is not uncommon in the circumstances,—we grew desperate, and began to enjoy our misery. we got out our rifles, took up a sheltered position in the shed of an outhouse, and blazed away from dripping morn to pouring eve at empty bottles, amongst which we did tremendous execution.
of course, also, we relieved the tedium of enforced indoor life by song and talk, but these resources could not make up for lost time, and the depth to which i had been sunk was revealed to me by the sudden rebound of joy when, after a week of heavy wet, there was a break in the universal grey and the sun came feebly out. blessed sun, if thou wert to roast me alive, methinks i would love thee still!
before this happened, however, we had a few brief intervals of modified dripping. during one of these, in which the rain all but ceased for a forenoon, i resolved to go out into one of the mountain gorges for a ramble alone. my host lent me his double barrel—one barrel being for shot, the other rifled.
“it is loaded,” said he, “the right with shot, the left with ball.”
“very good,” said i; “expect a tiger when i return.”
my host smiled. leopards were there, truly, but as he knew, and as i have elsewhere mentioned, they never show themselves except when driven out of their retreats by dogs. to say truth, i only wanted a walk, expected to kill a rabbit or a crow, and hoped faintly for a buck. none of these things did i see, but i found a small coney, at which i fired the shot barrel. to my surprise there came no report from the gun, merely a feeble spirt. i afterwards learned that one of “the boys” had loaded it the day before with a miniature charge for small birds. hope increased as i pushed further up into the kloof, and fancy began to play. although there was no chance of seeing “tigers,” it was something to know that such creatures were really there; that i was actually in the native home of “wild-beasts.” the floor of my host’s parlour was covered with the beautiful spotted skins of animals which had been shot or trapped by himself. one of these measured about nine feet, which, allowing three for the tail, gives a body of six feet long.
as the day advanced rain again began to fall, but nothing could damp me now. i had almost worked myself into the belief that i was tiger-hunting! i advanced with cautious tread, looked earnestly into dark caverns, and passed under the deep shadow of thick and tangled bushes with feelings of awe. i even indulged my wayward fancy by thinking of gordon cumming and livingstone; did my best to mistake gnarled roots for big snakes, and red stones for couching leopards. at last, while in the sombre twilight of a dense mass of underwood, i actually did see a bit of brown hair moving. i threw forward my rifle with a promptitude worthy of hawkeye himself, but experienced no shock of excitement, for the object was so palpably a small rabbit, or coney, that imagination sternly refused to deceive me. baboons had been heard barking on the evening of our arrival. i looked out for these, but saw none. in short, none of the inhabitants of wood, glen, or mountain, save myself, were foolish enough to go out in such weather. nevertheless i returned to the house happy and ready for supper.
on saturday morning the sunshine, which i have before mentioned, gladdened our eyes and hearts. the weather seemed at last favourable. edwards at once ordered out horses and rifles, and away we went—four of us—up the mountains after game. it was a new experience in regard to riding. horses, i knew, were capable of travelling over exceedingly rough roads, and trained ones could even ascend staircases, but i now learned that horses can climb precipices. never saw anything like it before; never even imagined it!
our prospects were fair, but they were false, for, ere long, the rain began again. however, we were reckless by that time and defied it. riding up the kloof that i had traversed on foot, we sighted bucks but got no shot. gaining the top of the kloof we saw more bucks—out of range. we passed over the shoulder of the mountain into another glen, and skirted the top of a precipice. while descending some slopes at an angle of i know not what, the use of our cruppers became strikingly apparent. i began, for the first time in my life, to feel anxiety as to the strength of a horse’s tail. in going up such places the saddle girths were severely tried, but the mane kept one from slipping down one’s perpendicular animal.
coming to a comparatively level stretch we sank into a silently reflective and forgetful mood, while the rain-drops dribbled down our noses, sopped from our mackintoshes to our saddles, whence they re-ascended, through the capillary influence of garments, to our necks, and soon equalised our humidity.
“look out!” shouted edwards, suddenly. we all obeyed, and saw a brown buck labouring up a slope so steep that running was out of the question. i stuck my heels into my steed and faced him at the slope. he took it. he would have taken the side of a house, i think, if told to. but he gasped with the frantic nature of his efforts. i felt as if he were leaping up the slope, kangaroo fashion, on his hind-legs. on reaching the top, the antelope was observed disappearing in the distance. it was of no use weeping. rain would have washed the tears away.
“look out!” again shouted our host; “get off!”
we all obeyed, cocked our guns, and gazed. a herd of antelopes! just visible in the mist. we all fired, and missed.
“very mysterious,” muttered one of our number,—i forget which.
we loaded hastily, but not quickly. our guns were muzzle-loaders, and rain does not facilitate loading. in trying to force a bullet down, my ramrod slipped, and i cut my knuckles severely.
“you’ve drawn first blood, anyhow,” savagely muttered one of us,—i forget who.
we mounted again, and let me tell you that mounting on a steep hillside in a long wet mackintosh with a big rifle, bleeding knuckles, and a heavy heart, is difficult as well as disagreeable.
to increase our enjoyment, edwards again shouted, “get off!” we did so with more than military obedience, and i saw a buck standing not more than a hundred yards in front of me. i gave him the rifled barrel. he hopped. then the shot barrel. he winced and fled, but presently stopped and lay down. edwards ran towards him, kneeled, fired, and broke his leg. between us all we managed to kill him, and then turned homewards.
the only noteworthy incident that occurred on the way back was the starting of a troop of baboons, which went scampering down the cliffs in consternation like balls of brown hair. we also descended some broken ground, so steep that it was almost impossible to keep the saddle. looking at edwards, i observed that the ears of his horse appeared between his feet, while its tail waved over his head like a dragoon’s plume. at last we were compelled to dismount and lead our animals, our minds being sometimes divided between the danger of missing our footing in front, and being tumbled on by our steeds behind.
thus we hunted on the baviaans river mountains in adverse circumstances, and returned home moderately pleased, though not particularly successful.
the rains had by that time flooded the whole country, and rendered travelling almost impossible. the river was running wildly past the house, and there was no bridge over it.
we held a consultation on monday as to our departure. the weather was fine at last, but the river flooded. the tortuous nature of its bed necessitated five or six crossings in the course of twelve miles. were they fordable? was the question. “we shall go and try,” was hobson’s final decision. “try” is the watchword of all true pioneers. we saddled and set forth. hobson drove the cart, with my portmanteau. during the first part of the journey i was to accompany edwards on horseback. we had a hottentot servant with us, who rode one horse and led another.
it was a most enjoyable ride in the bright sunshine that day. everything was fresh, green, and glittering after the long-continued rain. baboons were seen on the way, and shouted at us, whether in defiance, derision, or encouragement, is best known to themselves. all the “drifts” or fords were passed in safety till we came to the last on baviaans river. here the powerful stream rose to our saddles, and the opposite bank had been so much washed away that it seemed impossible to get the cart up.
“i’ll cross,” said edwards, “and if necessary we’ll cut a slope in the bank.”
in he went, floundered through, and managed to ascend the opposite bank, though not without a severe struggle, for besides being high and steep, it was very wet—coated, in fact, with soft mud.
the tottie with the led horse followed his master. i followed the tottie—close in his steps, so as to get the benefit of his experience, either by imitating or avoiding his example. we gained the opposite side. i saw the hottentot’s horse rise before me as if mounting a staircase. he slipped, and floundered on his nose and knees. the led horse disconcerted him. just then my own horse made a bound up the bank, and pawed the mud for a moment. “slack the reins! give him his head!” shouted edwards. i did so. with a mighty plunge and a groan the sturdy animal bore me to the top of the bank in safety. i turned and saw the tottie’s horse throw up its head and fore legs, as if imploringly, to the skies, and fall backwards. the tottie himself appeared for a moment in the form of a spread-eagle, and then horse and man went back with a sounding splash into the river.
hobson, who had been all the time enjoying the spectacle, now crossed with the cart; but, on taking the bank, despite their utmost efforts, the powerful pair stuck fast on their knees and noses. meanwhile the hottentot scrambled out with his animals, none the worse for the plunge.
as the horses could not move the cart an inch in their semi-perpendicular position, we unharnessed them, and the four of us, by slow degrees, working one wheel at a time, zig-zagged the cart upward a few feet, when horses were once more attached, and the crossing was finally accomplished.
that evening we came to “smith’s farm,” one of the places where the diamond-field coaches stop to change horses. it was beyond the mountains at the commencement of the great rolling plains. here i had arranged to await the arrival of the mail-cart, and proceed viâ bedford to grahamstown.
and here, with deep regret, i bade farewell to my friend hobson—a true-hearted, well-educated englishman, born in the colony; the son of one of the “1820 settlers;” a brave, bold, fearless, loving man, who hunted lions, leopards, elephants, zebras, and all the large game of africa in his youth, and was “out” in the war,—a warm friend, a splendid type of those hardy men whose lot it is to subdue the wilderness.
there were several hours to pass before the arrival of the mail-cart. smith and his people were busy, and, as there were no guests at the time in that lonely road-side inn, i had plenty of leisure to bask in the sunshine, sketch the cactus bushes that abounded there, (see note 1), gaze dreamily over the boundless karroo, and meditate sadly on friendships and partings.
the first thing that struck me on turning from smith’s humble abode to ramble on the plains was the presence of a bad smell—a very bad smell! i brought my nose to bear in various directions, but could discover no cause. having nothing to do i applied myself with diligence to the investigation, all the more earnestly that i found it impossible to get out of the tainted atmosphere. regarding the heavens steadily, for it was very calm, and making up my mind as to the direction which the little wind that there was came from, i followed my nose, and was led by it to the decaying carcass of an ox which lay not a hundred yards from smith’s door. my opinion of smith was lowered! when i passed to windward of the carcass, the bad smell ceased.
i mention this, not because it is an interesting incident, but because it is a feature of south african travel. wherever you go on the karroo, there you will find the rotting remains of poor creatures, which, having “died in harness,” are cast loose for the benefit of the vultures. these ill-looking and disgusting birds are most useful scavengers. they scent the quarry from afar—so far, indeed, as to be beyond the vision of human eyes. you may gaze round you far and near in the plains, and behold no sign of any bird; but kill one of your horses and leave it dead on the plain, and straightway, from various quarters of the heavens, you will see little specks which grow and float, and circle and grow, until they assume the ugly form and huge proportions of unclean vultures, which will perch on the carcass, and make away with it in a remarkably short space of time. it was only the skin and bones of the ox which rendered themselves obnoxious at smith’s. vultures had cleared out of it every morsel of flesh some days before.
as i have said, there are no roads worthy of the name in many parts of the karroo. those that exist are often in such a dilapidated condition that travellers sometimes find it more pleasant to forsake them and drive over the rugged veldt. this can be easily understood when it is remembered that the roads are traversed by the celebrated “cape wagons,” which are of enormous size and weight, requiring from sixteen to twenty oxen to draw them. such vehicles finding a hollow in a road, soon make it a deep hole, which finally becomes an impassable cavern. in drawing, struggling, and fighting with these wagons, sick and weakly animals constantly succumb, are left to die, and thus vultures are supplied with a continual feast, while carcasses and skulls, and bleaching bones, are familiar objects by the roadsides on the plains.
at last the mail-cart arrived, and i secured a place.
it is usually a small two-wheeled vehicle drawn by four horses, the driver of which seems to think that every one ought to possess an iron frame as callous as his own. the cart has a species of canvas hood, such as i have described in a former letter, stretched on a movable frame. it serves the purpose of a monstrous parasol. you get into this cart, the team is cleverly started by, it may be, a smart fellow, and driven away with the speed at which mails ought to travel; or it is wildly started by a conceited driver, who sets out with a plunge, and continues his course with a prolonged crash, as though the fate of empires reposed in his mail-bags. you come to a ditch; you go in with a plunge, and come out with a jerk. your head hits the back of the hood when you go in, your nose hits the back of the driver when you come out. a rut in the road causes one wheel to descend suddenly about eighteen inches; or an unavoidable lump of that height produces the same effect; the hood gives you a deliberate punch on the head. before you have quite recovered, it gives you another. a miniature precipice appears. this was caused by the latest waterspout choosing to cut the road instead of follow it. the mail-cart does not pause. its springs were made, apparently, to spring. it descends. for one instant you are left in the air, the next you resume your seat—with violence. this sort of thing does not last long, however, for you quickly become wise. you acquire the habit of voluntarily stiffening your backbone at the ditches, of yielding to the ruts, and of holding on at the precipices. still, with all your precautions, you suffer severely. i have been seriously informed that, during some of their plunges on what may be called stormy roads, men have been jolted bodily out of mail-carts at the cape, and i can easily believe it.
the diamond-field mail was full, but they kindly made room for me, and plastered my portmanteau, like an excrescence, on the other baggage.
the drive to bedford was too short to admit of much familiar intercourse with the diggers,—if diggers they were. subsequently i met with a successful digger, who told me a good deal about the diamond-fields. he was a scot, who had left a lucrative claim to be managed by a partner while he took a trip to the “old country.” his account of diamond digging inclined me to think that coal-heaving is a much easier occupation, and more remunerative on the whole, except in the case of lucky diggers. this scot showed me what he called a “big diamond,” and allowed me to make a careful drawing of it. he could not guess at its value. if it had been a pure diamond like the “star of south africa,” it would have been worth many thousands of pounds, but it was not pure. according to digger parlance it was “off-colour,” and, therefore, not excessively valuable. still it was a precious gem, and would doubtless fetch several hundreds of pounds. of course it was unpolished, but even in that state was very beautiful. it weighed seventy-eight carats. the “star of south africa,” above referred to, was a pure and magnificent gem. it was found by a hottentot, named swartzboy, sold by him for 400 pounds, and disposed of the same day for 12,000 pounds—so, at least, runs one account of the matter.
late in the evening we reached bedford.
as we started next morning at break of day my personal knowledge of that flourishing town is too limited to warrant many remarks thereon. it may be that the vision of ghostly houses passing our cart in the morning mists suggested to my sleepy imagination the idea of a town, but i cannot remember that it did. possibly the fact that the population numbered above 1000 may have occurred to my mind, but i think not. it is more probable that the mind, if it operated at all, pictured the population as recumbent and snoring. indeed, the only thing that memory will recall, when severely taxed, in regard to bedford, is—bed, its first syllable.
note 1. the author was an artist as well as a writer of merit, and exhibited water-colour drawings at the royal scottish academy.
