ATTACKED BY LIONS. 93 ing themselves to and fro in a manner not easily described, and whisking, at regular intervals, from side to side, their tails, tufted at the end, while their long and tapering necks, swaying backward and forward, follow the motion of their bodies. On account of the many short turns, the hilly nature of the ground in places, and the unusual length of the wagons, we anticipated considerable difficulty in the course of this stage. But we got safely through it without accident of any kind, and arrived at Tjobis Fountain about nine o'clock. We left this place the evening of the same day, and, with the exception of resting for an hour or two by the way, we pushed on throughout the night. At daybreak, and just as we reached the Swakop, we were suddenly startled by the most tremendous roaring of lions, which evidently were close at hand. In a few moments afterward, two of those magnificent beasts—male and female-emerged from the bushes at about one hundred and fifty paces ahead of us. On perceiving the cavalcade, they gave another terrific roar, of so angry a nature as to cause the greatest consternation among the cattle. Those attached to the foremost wagon wheeled round instantaneously, and, before it was possible to prevent them, ran right into the midst of the aftermost team, and I expected every moment to see the vehicles capsized or smashed to atoms. What with the bellowing of the oxen, the shouting and screaming of the men, the smashing and breaking of yokes, &c., and the continued roar of the lions, the scene was such as to baffle all description. The lion himself, after having approached very near to us, again retreated into the bushes; but the lioness seated herself quietly within less than a hundred yards of the wagons, growling most furiously. Throwing the reins over the saddle of "Spring," who, by-the-by, had nearly unseated me on the first appearance of the lions, I sprang to the ground, and seizing a double-barreled gun, which I always kept loaded 94 ATTACKED BY LIONS. for emergences, I made toward the beast, intending to punish her for her audacity, when Hans imploringly begged me to desist. "For," said he, "if you do not shoot her dead on the spot, she will be down upon us in an instant." Allowing myself to be guided by his advice, I refrained from firing, but nevertheless took up my position within about fifty paces of, and opposite to the lioness, as well to draw off her attention from the men, and thus enable them to put the cattle and vehicles to rights, as to be in readiness to give her a warm reception, should she think proper to charge. A short time before we were thus unceremoniously attacked, one of the draft oxen, which had always been very wild, managed to escape from the yoke, and a fleet-footed Damara was left behind to bring him on. In the midst of our confusion, 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.* 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. *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. ARRIVE AT RICHTERFELDT-A HEARTY WELCOME. 95 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 22d 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, &c., it may fairly be considered first-rate speed, and our efforts were loudly praised by every one. CHAPTER VIII. A hearty Welcome. We remove the Encampment.-An Apparition. -Audacity 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 Wall.-A sad Catastrophe.-The "Kameel-Doorn."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 compli 96 LEAVE OF ABSENCE GRANTED. mented 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, &c., 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. This 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 AUDACITY OF LIONS. 97 a hyæna or a jackal was about to pay me a visit, I sat up in my bed, and seizing my gun, which I 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 toward 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 among 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 native while lying in ambush near the water for wild animals that came there to drink. While 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 E |