ARR VAL AT

RICHTERFELDT.

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sion, we heard cries of distress and loud shouting behind us; and, on looking round, we saw to our horror, the lion in full chase as well of the refractory ox as the man, who was trying to keep off his fierce pursuer by violently waving the fire-brand which he carried in his hand.1 Telling Hans to mind the lioness as well as he could in my absence, I immediately ran to the rescue of the Damara and his charge; but, before I had proceeded far, the ox, catching sight of the remainder of the herd, made a successful dash right across the lion's path, and, fortunately, rejoined us in safety. The object of the lion was clearly more the beast than the man; for, upon finding himself thus suddenly baffled, he stopped short, and, with a savage look at us, and an angry growl, bounded out of sight as quick as thought; and, by the time I returned to the wagons, the lioness had thought fit to follow her lord's example. Thus, almost without any effort on our side, we were providentially saved from this most extraordinary and dangerous attack.

At the first appearance of the lions, the men took refuge in the wagons, and, long after the danger was over, they trembled violently from fear and apprehension.

As a general rule, a lion, unless previously molested, will seldom attack an ox in the yoke, or when attended by man, but long abstinence makes him desperate.

After considerable trouble and difficulty, we succeeded in rearranging the oxen, which had become excessively scared. Two or three hours' further traveling brought us, without other mishap, safe to Richterfeldt, where our hair-breadth escape was listened to with the deepest interest.

We had left Scheppmansdorf-as said-in the afternoon of the 13th of November, and reached our present quarters early on the morning of the 22nd of the same month. The whole of the distance, by road, could not have been much less than one hundred and thirty miles. Having performed this in five stages, and in about the same number of days, our rate of traveling, at an average, had been twenty-five miles daily. Taking into consideration the nature of the ground, the young and half-broken oxen, etc., it may fairly be considered first-rate speed; and our efforts were loudly praised by every one.

In the nights, the Damaras invariably carry a fire-brand, which they hold close to their bodies, in order to shelter themselves, in some degree, from the wind and cold.

CHAPTER VIII.

A HEARTY WELCOME-WE REMOVE THE ENCAMPMENT-AN APPARITIONAUDACITY OF WILD BEASTS-DEPRIVING LIONS OF THEIR PREY-EXCESSIVE HEAT-SINGULAR EFFECTS OF GREAT HEAT-DEPART FOR BARMEN-MEET A TROOP OF ZEBRAS-THEIR FLESH NOT EQUAL TO VENISON THE MISSIONARY'S WAIL-A SAD CATASTROPHE-THE KAMEELDOORN"-BUXTON FOUNTAIN-THE SCORPION-ARRIVAL AT BARMEN.

IMMEDIATELY on our arrival at Richterfeldt, we were surrounded by scores of natives, who, with yells, vociferations, clapping of hands, grotesque dances, and so forth, testified their joy at our return. Mr. Rath, moreover, highly complimented us on the dispatch with which we had broken-in the oxen, and performed the journey.

Mr. Galton, I ascertained, had lately departed for Barmen, Mr. Hahn's station. I determined to follow him as soon as I had taken sufficient rest after my fatiguing journey. In the mean time, the wagons were to remain at Richterfeldt till our return to that place.

At first, we pitched our camp in the same spot we had occupied previously to our departure for Scheppmansdorf; but the high palisades that protected it had been destroyed in our absence by the natives, who had carried away the wood for fuel. This, however, was of little consequence, as the old inclosure would now have been too small to contain both the

cattle and our cumbersome conveyances. Moreover, as the place was situated in the bed of a periodical stream-a tributary of the Swakop-and, as the rainy season was fast approaching, it would have been imprudent to remain here any length of time. Accordingly, we brought our wagons,

AN

APPARITION.

67

etc., to Hans' own kraal, which was near at hand on the bank of the river, as there we should be perfectly secure in case of any sudden inundation.

The day before our removal, the men had asked and obtained permission to spend the evening with Hans at his encampment. Even the dogs had absented themselves, and I was thus left altogether alone. The night, though somewhat warm, was delightfully bright and still. To enjoy the beautiful weather, I had taken my bedding out of the wagon, and placed it on the ground alongside the wheels, facing a small clump of low tamarisk trees, distant not above twenty paces. Being a bad sleeper, I lay awake until a very late hour. All nature was hushed and silent, and the night so calm that I might have heard the falling of a leaf. Suddenly, my attention was drawn to the tamarisk grove, whence proceeded a low, rustling noise, like that of some animal cautiously making its way through it. Thinking it probable that a hyæna or a jackal was about to pay me a visit, I sat up in my bed, and seizing my gun, which invariably kept within reach, I prepared to give the intruder a warm reception. Imagine my surprise, however, when, instead of one or other of these skulking animals, a stately lion stood suddenly before me! In an instant my gun was pointed at his breast, but, hoping he would presently turn his broadside towards me, which would have given me a much better chance of destroying him, I refrained from firing. In this expectation, however, I was disappointed; for, on perceiving the wagons, he retreated a step or two, and, uttering a low growl, vanished the next moment amongst the bushes.

There is something so grand and imposing in the appearance of the king of beasts in his native wilds-more especially when he assumes an attitude of surprise or defiance-that it is impossible not to feel more or less awed in his presence.

On mentioning to Mr. Rath, the following morning, my adventure of the preceding night, he expressed no kind of surprise; for the tamarisk grove in question was often known, he said, to harbor lions and other beasts of prey. He added, moreover, that lions not unfrequently penetrated thence into his garden, and even approached within a few paces of the dwelling-house itself.

Returning somewhat late one very dark night from Mr. Rath's house to our encampment, I was suddenly startled by sounds of the most painful description, not unlike the stifled groanings of a person who is on the point of drowning. It at once struck me that the lions had surprised some unfortunate

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AUDACITY OF LIONS.

native whilst lying in ambush near the water for wild animals that came there to drink. Whilst listening in anxious suspense to the wailings in question-which gradually became more and more faint-there reached me from another quarter a confused sound of human voices, and of hurried footsteps. This only tended to confirm my first impression; but, from the impenetrable darkness, I could not ascertain anything with certainty. Being unable, however, to endure the suspense any longer, and regardless of the danger to which I exposed myself, I caught up my fowling-piece, which happened to be loaded with ball, and set out in the direction whence the wailings-now fast dying away-proceeded.

I had not gone very far, however, before I fell in with a number of the natives, who were hastening in the same direction as myself.

My road, for the most part, lay through a dense tamarisk coppice, and it was surprising to me how I ever managed to thread the labyrinth. The hope of saving human life, however, enabled me to overcome all obstacles. I might have been three or four minutes in the brake, when, on coming to a small opening, I suddenly encountered, and all but stumbled over, a large black mass lying at my feet; whilst, close to my ear, I heard the twang of a bow-string, and the whizzing of an arrow. At the same moment, and within a very few paces of where I stood, I was startled by the terrific roar of a lion, which seemed to shake the ground beneath me. This was immediately followed by a savage and exulting cry of triumph from a number of the natives.

Having recovered from my surprise, I found that the dark object that had nearly upset me was one of the natives stooping over a dead zebra, which the lion had just killed, and then learnt, for the first time, to my great astonishment as well as relief, that the wailings which had caused me so much uneasiness, and which I imagined were those of a dying man, proceeded from this poor animal.1

The designs of the natives, who, from the first, I take it, well knew what they were about, was simply to possess themselves of the zebra, in which they had fully succeeded. Whilst some busied themselves in lighting a fire, the rest joined in a

I have since had frequent opportunities of hearing the dying groans of the zebra, which in reality greatly resemble the faint gasps and ejaculations of a drowning man. Even the subdued neighings of this animal, when heard from a distance, are of a very melancholy nature.

DEPRIVING THE LION OF HIS PREY.

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sort of war-dance round the carcass, accompanied by the most wild and fantastic gestures, totally disregarding the proximity of the lion, who had only retreated a few paces. As the fire began to blaze, indeed, we could distinctly see him pacing to and fro amongst the bushes on the edge of the river's bank.

He, moreover, forcibly reminded us of his presence by cruelly lacerating a small dog belonging to one of the party, which had incautiously approached him too closely. By a slight touch of his murderous paw he ripped up its body from head to foot; but, notwithstanding its entrails dragged on the ground, the poor creature managed to crawl to our fire, where it breathed its last in the course of a few seconds. It was a most touching sight to see the faithful animal wagging its tail in recognition of its master, who was trying to replace the intestines, and to stop the flow of blood.

The savage features of the natives, which received an unnaturally wild character as the glare of the half-blazing fire fell full upon them; the dying dog, with his wild master stooping despondingly over him; the mutilated carcass of the zebra; and the presence of the lion, within a few paces of us, presented one of the most striking scenes it was ever my fortune to witness.

Expecting every moment that the lion would make a dash at us, I stood prepared to receive him. More than once, indeed, I leveled my gun at him, and was on the point of pulling the trigger; but being now sufficiently acquainted with the character of the animal to know that, if I did not shoot him on the spot, the attempt would probably prove the death-signal to one or other of us, I refrained from firing.

Contrary to my expectation, however, he allowed us to cut up and to carry away the entire zebra without molesting us in any way. During the process, the natives occasionally hurled huge burning brands at the beast; but these, instead of driving him to a distance, had only the effect of making him the more savage.

Similar attempts to deprive the lion of his prey are of frequent occurrence in the interior of Africa. Indeed, it is no unusual thing to find a number of natives residing near such pools of water as are frequented by antelopes, other wild animals, and their constant attendant, the lion, subsisting almost alto

1 I have been told that on a similar occasion to the present, a lion was so injured by the flaming missiles thrown at him, that he was found shortly afterwards dead of his wounds.