CHAPTER TWO.
SWARTBOY THE BUSHMAN AND CONGO THE KAFFIR.
I have said that the young yagers were encamped on the southern bank ofthe Great Orange River. What were they doing there? The spot theyoccupied was many a long day's journey from their home in the GraafReinet, and many a day's journey beyond the frontier of the Cape Colony.There were no settlements near. No white men ever wandered so far,except an occasional "smouse," or trader--a class of men who extendtheir bartering expeditions almost to the central parts of the AfricanContinent. Sometimes, too, the "trek-boor," or nomade grazier, may havedriven his flocks to this remote place, but for all that it could not beconsidered a settled country. It was still a wilderness.
And what were the young Von Blooms and Van Wyks doing in the wilderness?_Jaging_ to be sure, and nothing else,--they were simply out on ahunting expedition.
It was an expedition that had been long talked of and planned. Sincetheir grand hunt of the elephant, the "Bush-boys" had not followed anygame. Hendrik had been with his regiment, and Hans and Jan busy withtheir respective studies. So with Arend Van Wyk as with Hendrik, andKlaas as with Jan. Groot Willem alone, from time to time, had beenjaging springboks and such other game as is to be found among thesettlements. But the present was a grand expedition intended to becarried far beyond the settled part of the colony--in fact, as far asthey thought fit to go. The boys had received the full sanction oftheir parents, and had been fitted out in proper style--each having agood horse, and each three a large wagon to carry all their camputensils, and serve as a tent to sleep in. Each wagon had its driver,and full span of ten long-horned oxen; and these, with a small pack ofrough-looking _buck-dogs_, might be seen in the camp--the oxen tied tothe disselbooms of the wagons, and the dogs grouped in various attitudesaround the fire. The horses were also fastened some to the wheels, andothers to trees that grew near.
Two other objects in the camp are well worthy of a word or two; in fact,they are two individuals of very great importance to the expedition--aswithout them the wagons would be a troublesome affair. They are thedrivers of these vehicles, and each is as proud of his whip-craft asJehu could possibly have been of his.
In one of these drivers you will recognise an old acquaintance. Thelarge head and high cheek-bones, with the flat spread nostrils between;the small oblique Mongolian eyes; the short curly wool-knots, plantedsparsely over the broad skull; the yellow complexion; the thick "chunky"form, scarce four feet in height, and sparely clad in red flannel shirtand brown leathern "crackers;" with all these features and charactersbefore your mind, you cannot fail to recognise an old favourite--theBushman, _Swartboy_.
Swartboy it was; and, though several years have rolled over theBushman's bare head since we saw him last, there is no visible changeobservable in Swartboy. The thinly scattered "kinks" of browny blackwool still adorn Swartboy's crown and occiput, but they are no thinner--the same good-natured grin is observed upon his yellow face--he is stillthe same faithful servant--the same expert driver--the same usefulfellow that he ever was. Swartboy, of course, drives the wagon of theVon Blooms.
Now the driver of the Van Wyk vehicle is about as unlike Swartboy as abear to a bluebottle.
In the first place, he is above a third taller than the Bushman,standing over six feet,--not in his stockings, for he never wearsstockings, but in sandals, which he does wear.
His complexion is darker than that of the Hottentot, although it is notblack, but rather of a bronze colour; and the hair of his head, althoughsomewhat "woolly," is longer than Swartboy's, and less inclined to _takeroot at both ends_! Where the line of Swartboy's nose is concave, thatof the other is convex, and the nose itself almost aquiline. A darkpiercing eye, a row of white teeth regularly set, lips of moderatethickness, a well-proportioned form, and erect attitude, give to thisindividual, an aspect of grandeur and gravity, both of which are incomplete contrast with the comic picture presented by the short stoutbody and grinning countenance of the Bushman.
The costume of the tall man has something graceful about it. Itconsists of a tunic-like skirt suspended around the waist and hangingdown to mid-thigh. There is something peculiar in this skirt. It hasthe appearance of a fringe or drapery of long white hairs, not plaitedor woven, but hanging free and full. It is, in fact, the true costumeof a savage; and consists simply of a number of antelope's tails--thewhite tails of the gnoo--strung together around the waist, and allowedto fall to their full length down the thighs. A sort of "tippet" of thesame surrounding the shoulders, with copper rings on the ankles andarmlets encircling the wrist, a bunch of ostrich-feathers waving fromhis crown, and a string of beads around his neck, complete the costumeof Congo the Kaffir--for to that nation of romantic savages belonged thewagon-driver of the Van Wyks.
What! a Kaffir the driver of a wagon? you will exclaim. You can hardlyrealise the idea, that a Kaffir--a warrior, as you may deem him--couldbe employed in so menial an office as wagon-driving! But it is even so.Many Kaffirs are so engaged in the Cape Colony,--indeed, manythousands; and in offices of a more degrading kind than driving a wagonteam--which by the way, is far from being considered an unworthyemployment in South Africa, so far that the sons of the wealthiest boorsmay often be seen mounted upon the voor-kist and handling the longbamboo whip with all the ability of a practised "jarvey." There isnothing odd about Congo the Kaffir being wagon-driver to the Van Wyks.He was a refugee, who had escaped from the despotic rule of theblood-stained monster Chaaka. Having in some way offended the tyrant,he had been compelled to flee for his life; and, after wanderingsouthward, had found safety and protection among the colonists. Here hehad learnt to make himself a useful member of civilised society, thougha lingering regard for ancient habits influenced him still to retain thecostume of his native country--the country of the Zooloo Kaffir.
No one could have blamed him for this; for, as he stood with his ampleleopard-skin _kaross_ suspended togalike from his shoulders, the silveryskirt draping gracefully to his knees, and his metal rings glitteringunder the blaze of the camp-fire, a noble picture he presented,--asavage but interesting picture. No one could blame Congo for wishing todisplay his fine form in so becoming a costume.
And no one did. No one was jealous of the handsome savage.
Yes,--one. There was one who did not regard him with the most amiablefeelings. There was a rival who could not listen to Congo's praise withindifference. One who liked not Congo. That rival was Swartboy. Talkof the rivalry that existed between the hunters Hendrik and GrootWillem, of that between Klaas and Jan. Put both into one, and it wouldstill fall far short of the constant struggles for pre-eminence thatwere exhibited between the rival "whips," Swartboy the Bushman, andCongo the Kaffir.
Swartboy and Congo were the only servants with the expedition. Cooks orother attendants the young yagers had none. Not but that the richlanddrost,--for it must be remembered that Von Bloom was now chiefmagistrate of his district,--and the wealthy boor could have easilyafforded a score of attendants upon each trio of hunters. But therewere no attendants whatever beyond the two drivers. This was not on thescore of economy. No such thing. It was simply because the oldsoldiers, Hendrik Von Bloom and Diedrik Van Wyk, were not the men topamper their boys with too much luxury.
"If they must go a-hunting, let them rough it," said they; and so theystarted them off, giving them a brace of wagons to carry their_impedimenta_--and their spoils.
But the young yagers needed no attendance. Each knew how to wait uponhimself. Even the youngest could skin an antelope and broil its ribsover the fire; and that was about all the cookery they would requiretill their return. The healthy stomach of the hunter supplies a saucemore appetising than either Harvey or Soyer could concoct with all theirculinary skill.
Before arriving at their present camp the young yagers had been outseveral weeks; but, although they had hunted widely, they had not fallenin with any of the great game, such as giraffes, buffaloes, orelephants; and scarce an adventure wort
h talking about. A day or twobefore a grand discussion had taken place as to whether they shouldcross the great river, and proceed farther northward, in search of thecamelopard and elephant, or whether they should continue on the southernside, jaging springboks, hartebeests, and several other kinds ofantelopes. This discussion ended in a resolve to continue on to thenorth, and remain there till their time was up,--the time of coursebeing regulated by the duration of college and school vacations, andleave of absence from the "Corps."
Groot Willem had been the principal adviser of this course, and Hans hisbacker. The former was desirous of jaging the elephant, the buffalo,and giraffe,--a sport at which he was still but a novice, as he hadnever had a fair opportunity of hunting these mighty giants of the wood;while Hans was equally desirous of an exploring expedition that wouldbring him in contact with new forms of vegetable life.
Strange as it may appear, Arend threw in his vote for returning home;and, stranger still, that the hunter Hendrik should join him in thisadvice!
But almost every thing can be explained, if we examine it with care andpatience; and the odd conduct of the two "cornets" was capable ofexplanation.
Hans slyly hinted that it was possible that a certain brunette,Wilhelmina, might have something to do with Hendrik's decision; butGroot Willem, who was a rough plain-spoken fellow, broadly alleged, thatit was nothing else than Truey that was carrying Arend's thoughtshomeward; and the consequence of these hints and assertions was, thatneither Hendrik nor Arend offered any further opposition to goingnorthward among the elephants, but, blushing red to the very eyes, bothwere only too glad to give in their assent and terminate the discussion.
Northward then became the word:--northward for the land of the tallgiraffe and the mighty elephant!
The young yagers had arrived on the southern bank of the Orange River,opposite to a well-known "drift," or crossing-place. There chanced tobe a freshet in the river; and they had encamped, and were waiting untilthe water should fall and the ford become passable.