A is Behemoth; B, a downfall, consisting of a log of wood; C C, stones attached to the downfall to increase its weight; D, the harpoon affixed to the lower end of the downfall; E, a tree, or, in lieu of it, an artificial support of about twenty-five feet in height; F F, a line attached to the downfall, which, after having been passed over a branch of the tree or artificial support, crosses horizontally the pathway that the hippopotamus is in the habit of frequenting during his nocturnal rambles. When the animal (which, from the shortness of his legs, lifts his feet but little from the ground) comes in contact with the line, secured on either side of the path by a small peg, it at once snaps, or is disengaged by means of a trigger. The liberated downfall instantly descends, and the harpoon is driven deep into the back of the beast, who, wounded and bloody, rushes with pain and fury to the nearest water, where he shortly dies. His death is sometimes hastened by the iron being poisoned.
CHAPTER XLII.
Return to the Lake.—The Author starts for Namaqua-land to procure Wagons.—Night Adventure with a Lion.—Death of the Beast.—Sufferings of the Author.
After about a month’s absence, I returned in safety to the Lake, and was delighted to find that affairs were going on prosperously at my camp. My men, however, complained much of the begging and pilfering of the natives. They had also been greatly annoyed by Lecholètébè, who was one of the first persons I encountered on my arrival. I had long been puzzling my brains how I could most effectually pay off the chief for his treachery, and had resolved to assume an angry and dissatisfied air; but a glance at his smooth, sly, smiling face was sufficient to mollify every feeling of resentment; and when, with the most innocent look, he inquired if I had seen Libèbé, and if I felt satisfied with the trip in general, my anger was turned into mirth, and I burst into a hearty laugh. This was all my cunning friend wanted: he seemed like one resting completely on a profound sense of his own merits, and waiting to receive the thanks and praises which he felt to be his due.
When stopped so unexpectedly in my exploring career by the artifices of Lecholètébè, I made up my mind to return forthwith to the Cape, partly for the purpose of obtaining a fresh outfit, and partly to procure boats suitable to navigate the Ngami and its water-sheds, and then return to the Lake to follow up my discoveries. But it was not to be.
As the reader will probably remember, I reached the Ngami by means of pack-and-ride oxen; but I had found this mode of traveling so exceedingly inconvenient that I almost dreaded a renewal of it. Moreover, my collection of ivory, specimens of natural history, curiosities, &c., had by this time so increased that I found my few remaining half-broken-in cattle altogether inadequate to the task of conveying me and my stores to the Cape. A wagon had become absolutely necessary, and the only possible way of obtaining one was to return to Namaqua-land, where, should my man Eyebrecht not have such a vehicle at my disposal, I was in hope of being able to borrow one from the natives. To insure dispatch, although I stood sadly in need of rest and quiet, I determined on undertaking the journey.
After about a week’s stay at Batoana-town, I set out for Namaqua-land on the 10th of September, accompanied by only one man, leaving Timbo in charge of the camp in my absence.
Before I returned to the Lake, and was fairly on my way home, four months had elapsed; but, though this portion of my travels was not devoid of interest, the volume has already swelled to such a bulk that I must content myself with relating merely one striking incident that befell me, and a few general remarks.
Journeying in a very lonely part of the country, and only accompanied by a single native, I arrived one day at a fountain, situated in a defile between some craggy rocks. The water issued from different parts among these cliffs, forming little pools here and there; and though the place was difficult of access, elephants and other large game were in the habit of flocking to the water nightly. As the stony nature of the ground afforded excellent “ambuscades,” and being much in want of provision, I determined to watch the pools in question for a night or two.
The first night was a failure, but in the second I succeeded in killing a white rhinoceros. After this, though I watched long and well, nothing appeared, and at last sleep overtook me. How long I slumbered I know not; but on a sudden I thought, or dreamed, that I was in danger. From much night-watching, my hearing and sight had gradually acquired such an acuteness that even in sleep I was able to retain a certain consciousness of what was passing around me, and it is probable that I was indebted to this remarkable faculty for the preservation of my life on the present occasion. At first I could not divest myself of fear, and for a while my senses were too confused to enable me to form any accurate notion of the imagined danger. Gradually, however, consciousness returned, and I could distinctly hear the breathing of an animal close to my face, accompanied by a purr like that of a cat. I knew that only one animal existed in these parts capable of producing the sound, and at once I came to the conclusion that a lion was actually stooping over me.