第20章 A Week on the Scorzef

It was not without a pang that the astronomers saw their youngcolleagues set out.What fatigues,perhaps what dangers,were these courageous young men about to risk in the middle of an unknown country which they were going to traverse for a hundred miles?The bushman reassured them somewhat by praising the skill and courage of the vorloper.It might be taken for granted,too,that the Makololos were so fully employed round the Scorzef that they were not likely to have any detached parties to the north of the Ngami.All things considered—and his instinct did not deceive him—Mokoum held that Colonel Everest and his companions were in a more dangerous position inside the fort than the two young men on their way northward.

He and the seamen took turns to watch all night:darkness ought to favour the attempts of the natives.But‘these reptiles,’as the bushman called them,would not again risk themselves so soon by climbing the Scorzef.They might be expecting reinforcements so as to attack the mountain on all sides at once,and thus overcome by numbers the garrison’s power or resistance.

The hunter was not mistaken,and when day broke Colonel Everest noticed a considerable increase in the number of Makololos.Their camp was so cleverly arranged round the base of the Scorzef that all escape by the plain was impossible.Fortunately the waters of the Ngami were not,and could not be,guarded:in case of necessity,therefore,unless some unforeseen accident occurred,their retreat by way of the lake was always open.

But it was no question of flight.The Europeans were occupying a scientific post,a post of honour,and they had no intention of abandoning it.On this full understanding existed.There was no longer the slightest vestige remaining of the personal clashes which had so often taken place between Colonel Everest and Matthew Strux.Nor was the war between England and Russia ever alluded to.Both these savants had the same object in view,to obtain a result of equal utility to both nations,and to complete their scientific work.

While waiting for the beacon to be lighted on the summit of the Voluiria,the two astronomers employed themselves in completing the measurements of the preceding triangle.When this was done,it was agreed that during the following nights several sidereal observations should be taken,to ascertain the exact latitude of the Scorzef.

There was one important question which had to be decided first,and on this point Mokoum’s opinion was naturally sought.What would be the shortest time in which Michel Zorn and William Emery could reach the chain of moun-tains north of the Ngami,whose principal peak was to serve as apex to the new triangle?

The bushman reckoned they would require five days at least,for it was one hundred miles away.The vorloper and his companions were on foot,and,considering the difficulties which they were sure to meet in a region in many places intersected by streams,five days would be but a short space of time for them to cover such a distance.

A maximum of six days,therefore,was allowed,and on that basis their future rations were apportioned.

Their reserve of food was greatly reduced.They had,of course,given part to the adventurers until these could supply themselves by hunting;the provisions now in the fort could only give ordinary daily rations for two days:it consisted of a few pounds of biscuits,preserved meat,and pemmican.It was agreed with his colleagues that the daily ration should be reduced to a third.This might enable them to last out until the sixth day,when the light so anx-iously expected should appear on the horizon.The four Europeans,the eight sailors,and the bushman,thirteen in all,would certainly suffer from this inadequate food,but they were above such trifling considerations.

‘We may be able to shoot something,’Sir John suggested.

The bushman shook his head doubtfully;to him it seemed extremely improbable that any game could be found on this hill.But that was no reason for putting his gun aside,and so,while his colleagues were comparing the measurements set down in Nicolas Palander’s duplicate register,Sir John and Mokoum left the fort,to make a more detailed reconnaissance round the Scorzef.

The Makololos,quietly encamped round the base of the mountain,seemed in no hurry to assault the fort;perhaps they meant to reduce the garrison by famine.

The reconnaissance was soon made.The space on which the fort was built did not exceed a quarter of a mile.The soil was thickly covered with grass,mixed with pebbles,with here and there a few low bushes and tufts of sword-grass.The flora consisted of scarlet heath,silvery-leaved proteus,and a few others.On the sides,under the angles formed by the projections of the rock,grew some thorny shrubs,about ten feet high,with bunches of white flowers scented like jessamine,with whose name the bushman was unacquainted.As for the fauna,after an hour’s search Sir John had not made the acquaintance of any.They certainly saw a few birds with brown plumage and red beaks fly out of the bushes,but the first report of a gun would frighten them away;so it was not likely that what Sir John could shoot would go far towards revictualling the garrison.

‘We can always fish in the lake,’Sir John stopped on the north side of the Scorzef and looked down on the magnificent sheet of water at his feet.

“Fishing with neither lines or nets,’the bushman reminded him,‘is like trying to catch birds with your hands;but we mustn’t despair.Your honour knows how well chance has favoured us so far,and I think it will do so still.’

‘Chance!’replied Sir John,‘yes,indeed,say rather Providence;it is the most faithful attendant of the human race that I know of—no surer agent,no more ingenious steward!It brought us and our friends the Russians together;it led them to the very place we wanted to reach ourselves;and it will lead us sooner or later to the point we want to reach.’

‘And will it feed us in the meantime?’asked the bushman.

‘Certainly it will;friend Mokoum,’replied Sir John,‘and it will do no more than its duty in doing so!’

Sir John’s words were certainly reassuring.But the bushman reflected that chance was a servant which required to be somewhat served by its master,and made a mental resolution to help it as far as he could.

The 25th February brought no change in the respective positions of besiegers and besieged.The Makololos remained within their lines.Herds of cattle and flocks of sheep were grazing quite close to the Scorzef,for the water filtering through from the lake kept the soil fertile.The plundered waggons had been brought to the camp;a few women and children had joined the horde,and were busy with their domestic work;from time to time a chief,distinguished by the richness of his furs,would approach the foot of the path leading up the mountain and reconnoitre the most practicable position for an assault;but a rifle-ball soon sent him hurrying back to the plain.Then the Makololos would shout their war-cry in reply,shoot off a few harmless arrows,brandish their assegais,and all would again be quiet.

However,on 26th February these natives made a more serious attempt,and about fifty of them climbed the mountain in three places at once.The whole garrison left the fort and took up their position under the walls;their firearms,rapidly reloaded,caused great loss to the Makololos;five or six of these were killed and the rest gave up the attack.But close and well-sustained as was their fire,it was clear that the besieged might be overcome by unmbers.Should several hundred of these Makololos assault the mountain simultaneously,it would be next to impossible to hold it on all sides.

Sir John Murray then suggested covering the front of the fort with the mitrailleuse which formed the chief armament of the launch,an excellent means of defence.The only difficulty consisted in lifting this heavy weapon up the steep side of the rock.But the crew of the Queen and Czar were so handy and clever,one might also say so bold,that during the 26th the formidable mitrailleuse was installed in an entrance of the redoubt;once there,its five-and-twenty barrels,arranged like a fan,covered the whole of the front of the fort with their fire.The natives were soon to make an early acquaintance with this engine of death,which twenty years later civilised nations were to introduce among their war-gear.

During their forced inactivity on the summit of the Scorzef,the astronomers had taken sidereal observations every night,the clearness of the sky and softness of the atmosphere being very favourable.They obtained for the latitude of the Scorzef 19°37’18.265",within the millionth of a second—about a metre.Impossible to make accuracy greater,and this result confirmed their belief that they were less than half a degree from the northern point of the meridian they were measuring So this triangle which they were hoping to measure,with its apex at the Volquiria Peak,would be the last of this series of triangles.

The night of 26th February saw no renewal of the Makololos’attempt.The 27th seemed very long to the little garrison.If circumstances had favoured the vorloper,it was just posible that he and his companions had reached the Volquiria that very day.So during the following night they carefully scanned the horizon,for the beacon light might be visible.Colonel Everest and Matthew Strux had already brought the instrument to bear exactly on the peak.This precaution simplified proceedings,for otherwise it would have been very difficult to find it on a dark night.Should there be a light on the Volquiria peak,it would be detected at once,and the bearings of the angle could be obtained.

All this day Sir John beat the bushes and high grasses in vain-he found not an animal of any description fit for food.The very birds,disturbed in their homes,had taken refuge in the trees by the river side.The sportsman was dis-appointed,and with reason,for he was shooting not for amusement,but from necessity.He was blessed with a good appetite,less than half rations could not satisfy him,and so he suffered much from hunger.His colleagues endured privation with greater ease,either because their appetites were less vigorous,or because,like Nicolas Palander,they could substi tute an equation or two for the traditional roast beef.As for the sailors and the bushman,they were as hungry as Sir John.And now their slender supply of food was very nearly consumed.Another day and none would be left,and if the vorloper’s expedition should have been delayed,the garrison in the fort would be reduced to starvation.

The whole of the night of the 27th was passed in taking observations,the calmness and clearness of the night favouring the astronomers.But the horizon remained dark.No light broke the outline—nothing responded to the inquiring look through the telescope.

But the minimum delay allowed to William Emery and Michel Zorn was as yet barely reached;so their colleagues had only to arm themselves with patience and wait.

On 28th February the little garrison of the Scorzef finished its last ration of biscuit and meat.But the hopes of these brave savants had not died away,and had they nothing but grass to live upon,they were still determined not to abandon the place while their task remained incomplete.

The night of 28th was equally without any sign.Once or twice the observers fancied they could make out the beacon light.But on closer examination they realised it was only the faint glimmer of a star low down on the horizon.

On 1st March they had nothing to eat.Because they had already endured a very insufficient allowance of food,Colonel Everest and his companions felt less difficulty than they expected in its total absence;but if Providence did not assist them,next day their sufferings must be intense.

The next day Providence heaped its benefits upon them;no game of any sort could be found,and yet the garrison,which had no right to be hard to please,contrived to get some little nourishment.

Sir John and Mokoum,suffering acutely from the pangs of hunger,were wandering about the Scorzef with haggard eyes.They were both ravenously hungry,and it seemed they would at last be reduced to feeding on the grass they were treading upon,as Colonel Everest put it.

‘If we had only the stomachs of ruminating animals,’thought poor Sir John,‘there’s pasture enough for us all here,and not a bird nor a beast!’

As he spoke he was gazing across the lake at his feet:the sailors had been trying to catch some fish,but unsuccessfully.A few aquatic birds fluttered across the still surface of the water,but they were far out of shot.

Sir John and his companion,who were tired already,flung themselves on the ground at the foot of a small mound five or six feet high.A heavy feeling of sleepiness,or rather stupor,oppressed their brain.By degrees they actually grew torpid:and this for the moment stifled the pains they were enduring,and they gave way to it.

How long the torpor lasted neither could say:but some time later Sir John was awakened by a very disagreeable pricking sensation.He shook himself,and tried to go to sleep again,but the pricking continued and at last he opened his eyes and looked about him.

Legions of white ants were running all over his clothes;his face and hands were covered with them.This insect invasion made him jump to his feet at once.Mokoum was also covered with them,but instead of driving them away,he began to devour them by handfuls.

‘Ugh!Mokoum!’Sir John cried disgustedly.

‘Eat them,eat them like me,’cried Mokoum;‘this is the Boschjegmen’s rice!’

This was the name given them by the natives.The Boschjesmen willingly feed on these ants,of which there are two sorts,the white and the black;they think the white ants are the most nourishing.Their only fault is that so many are needed to make a meal;so the Africans generally mix these insects with the gum of the mimosa tree,and thus obtain a more substantial food.But there were no mimosas on the Scorzef,and Mokoum was content to eat his‘rice’plain.

In spite of his repugnance,Sir John,stimulated by hunger,increased by the sight of the bushman’s satisfaction,made up his mind to imitate him.The ants kept swarming by millions from their enormous ant-hill,the very hillock against which the men had gone to sleep.Sir John took them up by the handfuls and on putting them in his mouth,found they were not by any means unpleasant;they had a rather agreeably acid flavour,and by degrees the pinching sensation in his stomach subsided.

Mokoum had not forgotten his brothers in misfortune;he ran to the fort and brought back the whole garrison.The seamen required no persuasion to eat this strange food,and if the astronomers hesitated for a moment,Sir John Murray’s example decided them;poor savants,half dead from lack of food,quieted the calls of hunger for a moment by swallowing quantities of these white ants.

Then an unexpected development furnished them with more substantial food.Mokoum,to collect a larger quantity of these insects,broke down one side of the ant-hill.This was a conical hillock,flanked by smaller cones in a circle round its base.The hunter had struck it several blows with his axe when a strange sound attracted his attention,a sort of growl proceeding from the inside of the ant-hill.The bushman stopped work and listened;his companions looked at him without speaking;he struck a few more blows,and the growling was repeated more loudly.

The bushman rubbed his hands without saying a word,and his eyes sparkled;he again went to work with his axe,and had soon cut a hole about a foot wide.The ants hurried out in thousands,but he paid no attention to them,and left the task of catching them to the sailors.

All at once a strange-looking animal appeared at the hole.It was a quadruped with a very long snout,small mouth,long prehensile tongue,upright ears,short legs,and a long pointed tail.Its fur was long,silky,and grey with reddish tints;its feet were armed with enormous claws.

A sharp blow on this strange animal’s snout sufficed to kill it.

‘Here’s today’s dinner,gentlemen,’said Mokoum;‘it’s been some time coming out,but it’s none the worse for that.Light a fire at once,a ramrod will serve as a spit,and we shall dine as we haven’t dined for a long time.’

The bushman had not promised too much.This animal,from which he soon stripped the skin,was an ant-eater,known to the Dutch under the name of‘the ground pig.’In all South Africa the ants have no greater enemy;it destroys legions of them,and when it cannot it forces an entrance into their narrow galleries and fishes them out by inserting its long sticky tongue inside the hill,withdrawing it covered with ants.

The animal was soon roasted.It might have spent a few more minutes before the fire,but the men were too hungry and impatient.Half of it was eaten and its flesh was declared excellent,though with a slight flavour of formic acid.What a feast,and how it inspired the brave Europeans with renewed hopes and fresh courage!

And they needed hope,for next night all was dark on the gloomy peak of the Volquiria.