The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-09-30

OF fresh grass. Hence I knew that the
advent of these two most certainly be-
tokened the presence of many more in
my immediate neighborhood. 1 was
horribly anxious about the safety of
my missing oxen with such troop of
savage foes between them and the
camp, for to lose them, was tantamount
to my dying in the desert. Then II
thought OF the unprotected women be-
longing TO my guests, and felt that an
effort must be made to bring them to
the securer Shelter of the wagon.
Turning to Klaas I told him of my idea.
and started him and his six companions
off without any further loss of time.
After nearly half an hours loneliness
l deserted the bushmen and their fam
lilies coming over the plain as fast as
terror could drive them. Presently
the molly crew crowded round my
wagon, and 1 scarcely know now
whether they excited within me more
of pity or of disgust. They were of
to bright black. Several old women
were so shriveled up and were so re-
pulsively ugly that I felt Nature had
only been barely successful in making
them human. Clothing, as usual, was
conspicuous by its scandness, though
the people had with them several bum
dies of skins; these, together with
of water. seemed their only possessions.
took them round to the opposite of the
wagon and set the men to work at cut
ting down the bush, using the branches
to form a kraal as a protection against
the lions, should they come upon US
during The night. The women also
helped in collecting enough wood to
/ feed two fires, which intended to keep
burning during the hours after dark
ness. When these arrangements
We're just about completed I was
delighted to hear a distant thud
coming over the veldt, and on looking
! through my field-glasses 1 could make
out the whole span Of oxen, and Dick
mounted on my horse, driving them in
to camp. No one who has never been
placed in similar position can imag-
4 inc the relief I experienced when 1 be-
/ held the patient beasSs once more col
/ lected near the wagon. Such was my
JOY that forgot to say an angry word
TO the forelooper, who came sneaking
in with the Kaffir boy behind the herd.
I The mans crestfallen aspect at last
arrested my attention, and / felt so
sure that some direliction of duty was
at the bottom of the oxen being away
so late that l began to make inquiries.
/ Dirk told me that whilst he was fol-
! lowing up some Hartebeests several
miles off, he caught sight of the oxen
breaking away in single file from the
j direction of the wagon, evidently in
tent on seeking out water He looked
! in vain for the forelooper-he was not
with them Nothing but this chance
( meeting saved the animals from de-
struction and enabled me to regain
them. AS for the forelooper, he had
fallen asleep and did not awake until
the oxen were entirely out of sight,
and then he could not find the spoor to
follow them UP. Fortunately, they had
gone in an opposite direction to that
otherwise not one would have returned
( to show his tail.
THE LIONS RETURN.
The sun had gone down for more
than an hour, and the roar of the lions
had ceased for a considerable time.
This made me hope that our unwel-
come neighbors had moved off to some
distant part of the veldt. But old
hunters should never be caught nap
ping. so 1 arranged that Dirk and
should keep watch alternately until
daybreak, and pay strict regard to the
replenishing of the fires. The oxen and
horse were tethered around the wagon
and to the trekbow and dessel-boom;
my four rifles were loaded, and two
double-barrelled shotguns were charged
with bullets; these, with my revolver,
would be sufficient for any emergency
To keep the bushmen employed after
/ they had finished the kraal, l set them
to work to cut up a grew Commonly
called a wildebeesD I had shot early in
I the afternoon. When the animal was
skinned its flesh was cut into long
strips to dry in the sun, and the re-
naming portions We're eagerly de-
voured by the bushmen l had some
fear that the smell of this fresh meat
might draw the lions back to our quar-
tiers, or. if they had gone right away,
that some other equally ferocious car
nivora might be attracted to the spot