AFRICAN ADVENTURES

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4705, 28 April 1894, Page 2

AFRICAN ADVENTURES

(CONTUiOED.)

[By a Mastbrtonian.]

I had very confused ideas in conneoUonwithjheocourrenoeaofthe v nest fe T dHys, fancying m my semiunconscious state that n,y body was >; other fiery„eyed animal, appeared to V> : be raomg round. Then foll ow "me when the Wid f IOO T T. patently chag.ined, departed f.om I , VMon.andthedeep-dyed.vatoaS ' paesmg away with, a sense of reHef On the fourth day, awaking to Mt ■ aud reaHon,l fau.d Wallaoa and Carey seated at mv bedside ■ "Woll, 'old ,»«', ~o w d 0 teel 1 now m ktA «,«, e J mind, the ■.; .The latter nowCnuoneTtbat od ■' fromthe capital two das g 3 hehadbrough tB o mewa f cin : TJ?S mes ; n ' whi *hadnot flayed myfever,but procured me refreshing sleep. , Jot only h,d they been forced to bu also to the daring proximity o I'on. Two nights aubsequently to lie events narrated in the last adventure, Wallace, who waa oatmng ' = jood and helpi Dg Carey, h 3.

rOUQWED BYAEOAB. wben, aroppiug the fuel, awards the fire. Fortunately for the flames bad been very brill ant When the m?n .e ater| JS r, s nearer took .up a pbaition diatant about twenty yards. fcJeeing that the ™* « apparently, W fot the u.ght, Wallace had called |0 utoCarey Mling him to unloads . lb9 rifle, aud,. after the muzzle a rope, to thuriMJi^^H the prospector once in possession of his trusty weapon, was thrown some cartridges,ThelioahadwatoheJ tbeae preparations wilhlitUe or no in some way strayed from our corral, the 'animal rushed in pursuit At this moment been in the ao of loading his rifle, when he, too, followed m the wake of the pair. He had been forced to return, for the darkaess had rendered the possibility of a good shot an uncertain and difficult proceeding. Hearing nothing more of the hon, they then went to their respeotive couches, and passed a peaceful night. On the following mormrig they found the remains of ' tlit» mule, and as thelatter had beea our best animal, and good livestock was scarce, Carey felt very much BR* grieved. Beyond this nothing worthy of note had occurred in our circle during the few days of my uncou* sciousness. Earning that I was now well enough to transact business, Carey.-"" asked if I objected to W'iace throwing in with 'whjM&j&iM " Knowing well enacted by the prospector, 1 felt only too glad to welcome him, and for that purpose held out my hand. Duriog the next few days-several visits to and from his dwelling having procured all that was for the moment needful, Wallace and Carey now set out to view the anoient gold'shafta la the course of a week.baving recovered my strength, I was enabled to assist in the gold hunt. We were fortunate in getting the aid of three natives to whom we promised some coloured handkerchiefs, and we c'ommenoed work with a will, Very soon we examined and panned the ore of these old workings, but only found about sixdwts. of gold. The anoient miners, in all likelihood, knew more about their business than they are creditsd with knowing, and the abandonment by them of reefs where old workings are now found was due.. WiSS TO THJIR. WANT OF BKllt'" " or knowledge than to the fact thafc they had worked out the best of the j ore. That they abandoned them in haste is extremely improbable, for throughout the whole of this district fl only two implemeritariave been found fl left in the bottom of the shafts, k fl one case, a rude stono chisel, or pick • fl in the other, an earthern pot, similar fl in shape, size, and material to tboso fl in use by the natives of the present fl day. Nothing-daunted, m kept on oar fl search, and were successful in finding fl half way down a shaft a reef which | if it had continued, would have given fl sixty ounces to the ton. Having fl ttaoed the'rich find to its end, and ™ seeing that our meat was almost exhausted, we ananged for a big hunt. Early on the following mormV, after procuring our horses, rifles, and a plentiful supply of ammunition, wo set out. The morning was mild, olear and balmy, and we soon left the tent and the vicinity behind. The leaves of the Bbrubbery were glistening with dew, birds Bang among the foliage, a gentle breeze now camo down from the hollows of the valley, and my blood leaped as nimbly as a young (\ bfcart on the mountains ofßether. "/,! Wo tode along the banke/f'iheriver for a considerable then changed cur courso.jrln an hour, ' 1 after having .passed Uijougu several , grofes.of foliage, we descried in the ) distance a solitary hartebeast. Wal- , lace took a steady aim and fired I I believe that the bitllfc struck' the animal, for he circled. wildly round : and scampered off,mo,ing himself with i apparent difficulty. I galloped after i him as he made for the bush, and pursued him for nearly three miles, alwajß hoping to get within range in some open glade. It was in vain.ie always kept a dißtanoo between us of about four hundred yards, and stuck carefully to the ire«,,scrub, and high " grass, bo that it was difllcultto keep ; m view and iißelesa to dismount and fire. These hartebeast are despairing animals to ohase. They appear to be cantering along Blowly, never exerting tbemßelves, bat it. reejuiresa Lorse of great galloping power to overtake them. Their endurance is equal to their speed; and it is hopeks work to • tryandrjde them down. They have a wild, weird look, and aie the least attractive of „H the antelope. Jn size they are similar to red deerot'theEastOoasA iotland. A whole herd of thorn, when chased, " frptimes get confused, gallop wijdly'' , iWt.W: 'P look round and scatter, 1 flhen several Hhblß may be had by tho.' pr looks round, but goes right away almpßt 88 ebighraalhe flight of ftu arrow.. Finding royhorse was getting blown, ,and''that tHe bush became 1 thi:ker,\l desisted fronYthe chasei 'v 1 FIBIJIO A PARIIKG>BOT| USELESS SHoi/J : <[: \

I n a fey minutes m

glided by the shot, rejoined me, when we rode in the direotion of a kailir ktaal, which was built, as usual, upon aoliff. ' "

According the works of tho Portuguese traveller, De Santos, it is maintained that instead of Masbona, he called Maka- •>♦» towflW signiiios "ohildren of the sun." "As to type of countenance, the Mashona is far tho mostrofined Of any of the Kaffir races I have seen. Many of them have thin lips, aquiline noses, and delicato featuies; while some of them are courteous in the extreme. The universal game amongst the natives is one called by them Tsufuba. It is an exceedingly perplexing one. Outsido tho village on a level space thirty-wo holes in rows of four are made in.tbo ground. Around these as many as ton or twelve men group themselves, moving from hole to hole small stones or bits of potsherd in what to us was an unac countable manner, The drink of tho "■ country is the kaffirbeor, made of millet-meal. This drink was, it is said, in use in Egypt and *-vf-.- Asia Minor in classical times, and rfflfiona bow he and tho ■■ .Jr ton tbousanatTrank of it in villages in the mountains of Armenia.

Now in regard to tho purchase of a pretty wife it is necessary that the natives have sevon tbinga— two goats, two blankets, two spades, and soma other article, to bo speuili -d according to the tasio and fancy nl tbu vendor, After marriage (lie binn of daughters is fondly looked for, to cnaolo the parents to exchange for goats, etc. . After a rest of all hour, wo remounted our steeds, and rodo towards ' the valleys, passing through beautiful groves of tr es and liquid labyrinths, to an open space beyond. Observing v an elevation in tho distance, we cantered to and ascended to tho top. We now descried a herd of roan antelope, which were grazing in the ralley on our left, and again seeking our saddles, rode towards them. Iu many instances, these large animals allow the hunter to approach, especially if he is down wind, to within a quarter t . of a mile, Standing for a moment curiously, they then make HHhMi slow pace. It is then tho to cantor after them quietly, gradually increasing the proximity to them. After going a few hundred yards they generally stand and look round. Now is the time fur a good shot, if the hunter bus arrived, as he should have done, within two hundreds yards of the game. The first shot is fired, whed they make off at a rapid gallop, and tho sportsmen must ride his horse bwd to keep up with them. It is certainly better, if one desires to kill several of a heid, not to press them too closely, contenting oneself with shooting irom time to litre at a somewhat longer range, and at the same time not exhausting the powers of his steed, With this particular herd a strangling animal first offered me a fair chance, but I missed him. Wallace now fired, and was fortunate in hitting a beast, which ran some distance staggered, and THEN SANK TO TUE OROUND. At this moment I heard the ping a bullet as it passed ruy ear, when round feeling anything but Carey had intended firing at an antflftpi) and e.s he raised his rifle to take an aim,' his horse swerved, which brought the muzzle to bear in my locality, when it was discharged. Two inches nearer, and tho bullet would have passed through tny head, The report was too much for the animal, which now took the bit in its teeth, and scampered away over the most varied of country, through swampy ground, foliage, and rocks, I now lept the herd and followed in the wake of Carey, who was as yet endeavouring to manage his horse. The maddened steed galloped onward, uutil at last, sticking suddenly inamaish, Carey was for the second time precipitated in the slime, Quickly extricating himself, he led his animal to the open ground, and remounting, he was soon again following in our wake.' ' We kept on in our gallop, and by maneuviing we again reached a spot within range of the herd, I was successful in getting a long shot at one of these, and noticing that he turned away from the rest, I pursued, : thinking that I had wounded him. j I was now obliged !o pull up my horse, for my wholotbeing was quivering, ami as my limbs for tho moment almost powerless, I had some difficulty in keepiDg my Beat, The cruel effectß of the malarial fever were still upon me i but in the excitement of the . moment, I again urged on my eteed in the hope of throwing off the iniuence. Wallace, who had joined me, when seeing my temporary uselessness, dismounted from his horse J ■ FIBED TWO SHOTS WITHOUT EFFECT. 5. I then chased the animal for somo \ time, which did not seem to increase the distance between us, Arriving within about two hundred yards, I : was in the act of taking a flying shot, when the trembling again overtook ; i me, and I rolled helplessly from the I saddle to the earth, Rising to my feet I now took a steady aim and fired. when a moment later he arose and ruabed away. I remounted and again pursued. He held on for a long time, sometimes being as far away as four or five hitffited yards, and in a minute about when I dismounted anu*red another shot. Tbis latter must have bit bim hard, for after running a short distance his pace became Blower, and now getting to within aihundred yards, I again dismounted 'and fired a final shot, when tho animal sank to tbo ground, Wallace and Carey in the meantime had galloped after the herd, and bad laid low a nice young bull. After disembowelling two of the beasts and placing the best portion of the flesh upon the steeds, we started for our camp, where we arrived at tho end of two hours, Haviog fed and corralled our horses, with tho assistance of two natives, wo commenced at once to cut up the flesh. To make the convenient and ever relished African biltong, it is nece&» ; sary to slice up tho flesh into long pieces like rope, and after addingsome - salt, they are then placed in the sun,

or d)b6 hung up in.ajhedJ|Q,3M,| /- When c'u'red,"a ""yiec'els taken down, y and either thrown upon the glowing embers of a fire, or the outer portion eaten raw, The darkness was fast mantling the galley, when after , having Blicedjjfred, and hung up the 1 flesh, m adjourned to the friendly covering of our canvas house to enjoy a hearty meal and discuss the exoite menfc of tho hunt.