首页 >出版文学> Travels and Researches in South Africa>第30章
  Inshootingbynight,animalsaremorefrequentlywoundedthankilled;
  theflowinglife-streamincreasesthethirst,sothatindesperationtheycomeslowlyuptodrinkinspiteofthedanger,“Imustdrink,thoughIdie。”
  Theostrich,evenwhennotwounded,cannot,withallhiswariness,resisttheexcessivedesiretoslakehisburningthirst。
  ItisBushman-likepracticetotakeadvantageofitspiteousnecessities,formostofthefeatherstheyobtainareprocuredinthisway;
  buttheyeattheflesh,andaresofarjustifiable。
  IcouldnotordermymentodowhatIwouldnotdomyself,but,thoughItriedtojustifymyselfonthepleaofnecessity,IcouldnotadoptthismodeofhuntingIfyourobjectistosecurethebestspecimensforamuseum,itmaybeallowable,andevendeservingofcommendation,asevincingadesiretokillonlythosereallywanted;butif,ashasbeenpracticedbysomeGriquasandotherswhocameintothecountryafterMrCumming,andfiredawayindiscriminately,greatnumbersofanimalsarewoundedandallowedtoperishmiserably,orarekilledonthespotandlefttobepreyedonbyvulturesandhyenas,andallforthesolepurposeofmakinga“bag“,thenItakeittobeevidentthatsuchsportsmenareprettyfargoneinthehuntingformofinsanity。
  Mymenshotablackrhinocerosinthisway,andIfeltgladtogetawayfromtheonlyplaceinwhichIeverhadanyshareinnight-hunting。
  WepassedovertheimmensepanNtwetwe,onwhichthelatitudecouldbetakenasatseaGreattractsofthispartofthecountryareofcalcareoustufa,withonlyathincoatingofsoil;numbersof“baobab“and“mopane“treesaboundalloverthishard,smoothsurfaceAbouttwomilesbeyondthenorthernbankofthepanweunyokedunderafinespecimenofthebaobab,herecalled,inthelanguageofBechuanas,Mowana;itconsistedofsixbranchesunitedintoonetrunkAtthreefeetfromthegrounditwaseighty-fivefeetincircumference。
  Thesemowana-treesarethemostwonderfulexamplesofvitalityinthecountry;
  itwasthereforewithsurprisethatwecameuponadeadoneatTlomtla,afewmilesbeyondthisspotItisthesameasthosewhichAdamsonandothersbelieved,fromspecimensseeninWesternAfrica,tohavebeenalivebeforethefloodArguingwithapeculiarmentalidiosyncracyresemblingcolor-blindness,commonamongtheFrenchofthetime,thesesavanscametotheconclusionthat“thereforethereneverwasanyfloodatall。”Iwouldbackatruemowanaagainstadozenfloods,providedyoudonotboilitinhotsea-water;
  butIcannotbelievethatanyofthosenowalivehadachanceofbeingsubjectedtotheexperimentofeventheNoachiandeluge。
  Thenativesmakeastrongcordfromthefibrescontainedinthepoundedbark。
  Thewholeofthetrunk,ashighastheycanreach,isconsequentlyoftenquitedenudedofitscovering,whichinthecaseofalmostanyothertreewouldcauseitsdeath,butthishasnoeffectonthemowanaexcepttomakeitthrowoutanewbark,whichisdoneinthewayofgranulation。
  Thisstrippingofthebarkisrepeatedfrequently,sothatitiscommontoseethelowerfiveorsixfeetaninchortwolessindiameterthanthepartsabove;evenportionsofthebarkwhichhavebrokenintheprocessofbeingtakenoff,butremainseparatedfromthepartsbelow,thoughstillconnectedwiththetreeabove,continuetogrow,andresemblecloselymarksmadeinthenecksofthecattleoftheislandofMullandofCaffreoxen,whereapieceofskinisdetachedandallowedtohangdownNoexternalinjury,notevenafire,candestroythistreefromwithout;norcananyinjurybedonefromwithin,asitisquitecommontofindithollow;andIhaveseenoneinwhichtwentyorthirtymencouldliedownandsleepasinahut。
  Nordoescuttingdownexterminateit,forIsawinstancesinAngolainwhichitcontinuedtogrowinlengthafteritwaslyingontheground。
  ThosetreescalledexogenousgrowbymeansofsuccessivelayersontheoutsideTheinsidemaybedead,orevenremovedaltogether,withoutaffectingthelifeofthetreeThisisthecasewithmostofthetreesofourclimateTheotherclassiscalledendogenous,andincreasesbylayersappliedtotheinside;andwhenthehollowthereisfull,thegrowthisstoppedthetreemustdieAnyinjuryisfeltmostseverelybythefirstclassonthebark;bythesecondontheinside;whiletheinsideoftheexogenousmayberemoved,andtheoutsideoftheendogenousmaybecut,withoutstoppingthegrowthintheleastThemowanapossessesthepowersofbothThereasonisthateachofthelaminaepossessesitsownindependentvitality;
  infact,thebaobabisratheragiganticbulbrunuptoseedthanatree。
  Eachofeighty-fourconcentricringshad,inthecasementioned,grownaninchafterthetreehadbeenblownoverTheroots,whichmayoftenbeobservedextendingalongthesurfaceofthegroundfortyorfiftyyardsfromthetrunk,alsoretaintheirvitalityafterthetreeislaidlow;andthePortuguesenowknowthatthebestwaytotreatthemistoletthemalone,fortheyoccupymuchmoreroomwhencutdownthanwhengrowing。
  Thewoodissospongyandsoftthatanaxecanbestruckinsofarwithagoodblowthatthereisgreatdifficultyinpullingitoutagain。
  InthedeadmowanamentionedtheconcentricringswerewellseenTheaverageforafootatthreedifferentplaceswaseighty-oneandahalfoftheserings。
  Eachofthelaminaecanbeseentobecomposedoftwo,three,orfourlayersofligneoustubes;butsupposingeachringthegrowthofoneyear,andthesemidiameterofamowanaofonehundredfeetincircumferenceaboutseventeenfeet,ifthecentralpointwereinthecentreofthetree,thenitsagewouldlacksomecenturiesofbeingasoldastheChristianera1400Thoughitpossessesamazingvitality,itisdifficulttobelievethatthisgreatbaby-lookingbulbortreeisasoldasthePyramids。
  Themopane-tree`bauhinia’isremarkableforthelittleshadeitsleavesaffordTheyfoldtogetherandstandnearlyperpendicularduringtheheatoftheday,sothatonlytheshadowoftheiredgescomestothegroundOntheseleavesthesmalllarvaeofawingedinsectappearcoveredoverwithasweet,gummysubstanceThepeoplecollectthisingreatquantities,anduseitasfood;*andthelopane
  largecaterpillarsthreeincheslong,whichfeedontheleaves,andareseenstrungtogethersharethesamefate。
  *IamfavoredwithMrWestwood’sremarksonthisinsectasfollows:
  “TaylorInstitution,Oxford,July9,1857。
  “Theinsectanditssecretionontheleavesofthebauhinia,andwhichiseatenbytheAfricans,provestobeaspeciesofPsylla,agenusofsmall,veryactiveHomoptera,ofwhichwehaveoneverycommonspeciesinthebox;butourspecies,Psyllabuxi,emitsitssecretionintheshapeofverylong,white,cotton-likefilaments。
  ButthereisaspeciesinNewHolland,foundontheleavesoftheEucalyptus,whichemitsasecretionverysimilartothatofDrLivingstone’sspeciesThisAustraliansecretionanditsinsectoriginatorisknownbythenameofwo-me-la,and,likeDrLivingstone’s,itisscrapedofftheleavesandeatenbytheaboriginesasasaccharinedaintyTheinsectsfoundbeneaththesecretion,broughthomebyDrLivingstone,areinthepupastate,beingflattened,withlargescalesatthesidesofthebody,inclosingthefuturewingsoftheinsect。
  Thebodyispaleyellowish-colored,withdark-brownspots。
  ItwillbeimpossibletodescribethespeciestechnicallyuntilwereceivetheperfectinsectThesecretionitselfisflatandcircular,apparentlydepositedinconcentricrings,graduallyincreasinginsizetillthepatchesareaboutaquarterorathirdofaninchindiameter。
  JnoOWestwood。”
  InpassingalongweseeeverywherethepowerofvegetationinbreakinguptheoutercrustoftufaAmopane-tree,growinginasmallchink,asitincreasesinsizerendsandliftsuplargefragmentsoftherockallaroundit,subjectingthemtothedisintegratinginfluenceoftheatmosphereThewoodishard,andofafineredcolor,andisnamediron-woodbythePortugueseTheinhabitants,observingthatthemopaneismorefrequentlystruckbylightningthanothertrees,cautiontravelersnevertoseekitsshadewhenathunder-stormisnear“Lightninghatesit;“whileanothertree,the“Morala“,whichhasthreespinesoppositeeachotheronthebranches,andhasneverbeenknowntobetouchedbylightning,isesteemed,evenasfarasAngola,aprotectionagainsttheelectricfluid。
  BranchesofitmaybeseenplacedonthehousesofthePortugueseforthesamepurposeThenatives,moreover,believethatamanisthoroughlyprotectedfromanenragedelephantifhecangetintotheshadeofthistreeTheremaynotbemuchinthis,butthereisfrequentlysomefoundationoftruthintheirobservations。
  AtRapeshwecameamongouroldfriendstheBushmen,underHoroye。
  Thisman,Horoye,agoodspecimenofthattribe,andhissonMokantsaandothers,wereatleastsixfeethigh,andofadarkercolorthantheBushmenofthesouthTheyhavealwaysplentyoffoodandwater;
  andastheyfrequenttheZougaasoftenasthegameincompanywithwhichtheylive,theirlifeisverydifferentfromthatoftheinhabitantsofthethirstyplainsoftheKalahariTheanimaltheyrefrainfromeatingisthegoat,whichfact,takeninconnectionwiththesuperstitiousdreadwhichexistsineverytribetowardaparticularanimal,issignificantoftheirfeelingstotheonlyanimalstheycouldhavedomesticatedintheirdeserthomeTheyareamerrylaughingset,anddonottelllieswantonlyTheyhaveintheirsuperstitiousritesmoreappearanceofworshipthantheBechuanas;andataBushman’sgraveweoncecametoontheZouga,theobservancesshoweddistinctlythattheyregardedthedeadasstillinanotherstateofbeing;
  fortheyaddressedhim,andrequestedhimnottobeoffendedeventhoughtheywishedstilltoremainalittlewhilelongerinthisworld。
  Thoseamongwhomwenowwerekillmanyelephants,andwhenthemoonisfullchoosethattimeforthechase,onaccountofitscoolness。
  Huntingthisanimalisthebesttestofcouragethiscountryaffords。
  TheBushmenchoosethemomentsucceedingacharge,whentheelephantisoutofbreath,toruninandgivehimastabwiththeirlong-bladedspears。
  Inthiscasetheuncivilizedhavetheadvantageoverus,butIbelievethatwithhalftheirtrainingEnglishmenwouldbeattheBushmen。
  Ourpresentformofcivilizationdoesnotnecessarilyproduceeffeminacy,thoughitunquestionablyincreasesthebeauty,courage,andphysicalpowersoftheraceWhenatKolobengItooknotesofthedifferentnumbersofelephantskilledinthecourseoftheseasonbythevariouspartieswhichwentpastourdwelling,inordertoformanideaoftheprobableannualdestructionofthisnobleanimal。
  TherewerepartiesofGriquas,Bechuanas,Boers,andEnglishmen。
  Allwereeagertodistinguishthemselves,andsuccessdependedmainlyonthecouragewhichleadsthehuntsmantogoclosetotheanimal,andnotwastetheforceofhisshotontheairItwasnoticeablethattheaverageforthenativeswasunderoneperman,fortheGriquasoneperman,fortheBoerstwo,andfortheEnglishofficerstwentyeach。
  Thiswasthemoreremarkable,astheGriquas,Boers,andBechuanasemployedbothdogsandnativestoassistthem,whiletheEnglishhuntersgenerallyhadnoassistancefromeitherTheyapproachedtowithinthirtyyardsoftheanimal,whiletheothersstoodatadistanceofahundredyards,orevenmore,andofcoursespentalltheforceoftheirbulletsontheairOneelephantwasfoundbyMrOswellwithquiteacrowdofbulletsinhisside,allevidentlyfiredinthisstyle,andtheyhadnotgonenearthevitalparts。
  ItwouldthusappearthatourmorebarbarousneighborsdonotpossesshalfthecourageofthecivilizedsportsmanAnditisprobablethatinthisrespect,aswellasinphysicaldevelopment,wearesuperiortoourancestorsThecoatsofmailandgreavesoftheKnightsofMalta,andthearmorfromtheTowerexhibitedattheEglintontournament,maybeconsidereddecisiveastothegreatersizeattainedbymoderncivilizedmen。
  AtMailawespentaSundaywithKaisa,theheadmanofavillageofMashona,whohadfledfromtheironswayofMosilikatse,whosecountrylieseastofthisIwishedhimtotakechargeofapacketoflettersforEngland,tobeforwardedwhen,asisthecustomoftheBamangwato,theBechuanascomehitherinsearchofskinsandfoodamongtheBushmen;
  buthecouldnotbemadetocomprehendthattherewasnodangerintheconsignmentHefearedtheresponsibilityandguiltifanythingshouldhappentothem;soIhadtobidadieutoallhopeoflettingmyfamilyhearofmywelfaretillIshouldreachthewestcoast。