On the fourth day the landscape assumed a more pleasing aspect; the banks of the river became higher, and were richly covered with a rank vegetation. There was the fan-palm, the date, the black-stemmed mimosa, the wild and wide-spreading sycamore, the elegant and dark-foliaged moshoma, and a variety of other beautiful, often to me new, trees, many yielding an abundance of palatable and nourishing fruit. Timbo, who accompanied me, recognized no less than six or seven kinds of fruit-trees indigenous to the east coast of Africa and the adjacent countries. The arboreal scenery, indeed, in some places exceeded in beauty any thing that I had ever seen. I could have spent days under the shade of some of these ornamental trees, resounding at times with the wild notes of birds, while in the distance might be seen herds of the finest of the antelope tribe. Yet common prudence forbids the traveler to tarry. When the stream, after the annual overflow, begins to subside, noxious effluvia are emitted, carrying death along with them. Such is the climate of Africa!
ASCENDING THE TEOGE.
Animal life was almost on a par with the exuberant vegetation. Rhinoceroses, hippopotami, buffaloes, sassabys, hartebeests, pallahs, reed-bucks, lechés, &c., were constantly seen, and every day some game animal or other was shot. Thus I was able to support and satisfy our large and hungry party, now consisting of fifty or sixty individuals.
One fine afternoon we came to a place where the tracks of buffaloes were unusually numerous; and, having hitherto seen little of that animal, I determined to halt for a day or two, in the hope not only of becoming better acquainted with it, but of having good sport. The surrounding scenery, besides, was attractive, which was an additional inducement to devote a short time to rest and amusement.
The first night that I passed at a “skärm” was a failure in respect of game, owing probably to my being to windward of the point whence the buffaloes were likely to come, who, getting scent of me from a distance, did not venture to approach my place of concealment. A small herd of these animals, however, came within range of Timbo, whom I had also placed in ambush some little way from me; but, as usual, he missed, and they all went off unhurt.
Returning to the camp the following morning, the natives, on hearing of our ill luck, looked so hungry and unhappy withal, that, although I stood greatly in need of rest and refreshment, I again shouldered my rifle and started off in search of game.
On this occasion I was accompanied by about a score of natives. A couple of pallahs and a koodoo were soon bagged, but a noble sassaby that we met with got off unscathed.
Afterward we searched long without finding any thing, but the numerous tracks of buffaloes testified that this part of the country was a favorite haunt of those animals. At last we came to the skirts of a dense thicket; and, peering among the bushes, I presently espied several dark objects on the ground, which at once struck me must be buffaloes. Placing my finger on my lips as a sign that silence was required, and pointing in the direction of the dark objects, I whispered the word “onja,” meaning buffalo. Not the presence of his satanic majesty could have caused greater consternation among my followers; for no sooner was the magic word uttered, than one and all of them wheeled about, and made a headlong retreat. One of the men was carrying a heavy rifle of mine, and wishing to get possession of it, I followed in their footsteps. But this made bad worse; for, seeing me also running, and thinking the enemy was at their heels, they redoubled their pace, nor did they stop until at a most respectful distance from the thicket. It was really absurd to see us thus endeavoring to outrun each other.
Having at length overtaken the men and secured my rifle, I returned to the spot whence I had first observed the suspicious objects; but, though I approached to within a dozen paces of them, I was unable, from the denseness of the cover, to make out their identity.