CHASE OF THE WATER-ANTELOPE.
I went home with one of the men in the evening, leaving the rest to dismember the buffalo’s body. There were many lion-tracks about, and as they cut up the joints they were obliged to hang them up out of the lions’ reach. In the midst of their operations a heavy storm came on, which made it quite impossible for them to light a fire, so that they were themselves obliged to spend the night on the branches of a tree.
Before I reached my quarters the wind had begun to blow violently, and just as I was entering the town, I saw a boat capsize with two fishermen and a quantity of fish. Fortunately the men managed to get safely to shore, but the surface of the water was covered with the dead fish, which the current carried inland. In a moment, almost like magic, from every direction there started up a crowd of boys, who began taking possession of the unexpected haul; they tore off their leather aprons, and were filling them with the best and biggest they could find, when all of a sudden their mirth was checked, and they were as eager to scramble out of the water as they had been to plunge in. The well-known red coat of the overseer of the fishermen had been observed in the distance, and the dread of the thick stick of that important official was for the tribe of juvenile freebooters a sufficient notice to quit.
The next morning I was somewhat startled by seeing a large number of men all carrying arms, and hastening towards the woods. I was beginning to wonder whether there had been an alarm of some enemy approaching, when the mystery was solved by the arrival of some young men with a message from their chief that they were going out on a lion-hunt, and inviting us to join them. Four lions had made an attack upon the royal herds, and had killed four cows.
The scene of the disaster was not far away. About 150 yards above our courtyard the Zambesi made a sudden bend from west to north, and then, after awhile, turned at right angles to the east, past New Sesheke; on the opposite side at this last bend was a lagoon that branched off into two arms, and it was on the strip of land between these that the havoc had been committed. Neither Westbeech nor Walsh cared to join the hunt, but I and Cowley accepted the invitation.
Cowley was a good-natured young fellow of eighteen, with a face round and rosy as a girl’s; his manners were very genial, and he had nothing to spoil him, except perhaps a little weakness in his desire to be a Gordon Cumming; he had already killed two lions, and was quite ready to risk his life in adding a third to the number.
Although about 170 natives had assembled with their chief, only four of them were provided with guns. It was not much more than half an hour after I had received my invitation that I arrived at the lagoon, where the whole troop advanced to meet us. It had been already decided that the track of the largest lion should be followed, and the herdsmen were being questioned about the details of the attack. It appeared that they had thought it impossible for any lions to come so near the town, and leaving their herds in a place that was quite unenclosed, they had all gone to sleep in some huts close by.
I understood that it is only when lions have done some injury that the Marutse ever go out to attack them.
Our arrival was the signal to commence operations. The procession was opened by a few natives and a couple of dogs that were put on the liontrack; Maranzian, the chief, went next, followed by Cowley and myself; the rest of the throng came on without much order behind. But it was only in the open places that any particular rank could be kept; the thorn-bushes were often so thick that even the dogs could hardly make their way through, and every one got forward as best he could. The bushes however hardly impeded us so much, or were so uncomfortable as the tall reeds in the dried-up hollows. We persevered for more than an hour without coming in sight of our prey, and the negroes began to joke about the lion feeling itself guilty, and said that it was ashamed to show its face, and glad to hide away; but on leaving the next hollow the dogs commenced growling angrily, and made a rush into another hollow beyond again, about ten feet deep and thirty feet wide. The condition of the trail satisfied us that the lion was concealed here close at hand. We made the crowd of natives halt, Maranzian and I hastened round to the farther side and prepared to fire, Cowley staying on the nearer side, and sending the dogs into the reeds; but we schemed to no purpose, the baying of the hounds made us aware that the lion had got round behind us, and we were obliged to change our position.
Followed by the throng, we proceeded to the open space beyond the reeds, close to the spot in which we imagined that the lion was now concealed, and having chosen our places where we thought we had the best chance of firing at it on its escape, we made the whole crowd shout to the top of their voices, and throw in bits of wood; and when that proved ineffectual we ordered them, whether they liked it or not, to go into the thicket and rummage about with their spears.