In the Wilds of AfricaKingston, William Henry Giles
General
In the Wilds of Africa
Kingston, William Henry Giles
Africa -- Juvenile fiction
barely able to secure provisions and water sufficient to support
themselves, till they could obtain assistance. He said that four or
five flies were sufficient to kill a full-grown ox. The animal,
however, does not die so rapidly as when bitten by a snake. Sometimes,
indeed, it exists for some weeks or months afterwards, gradually losing
its strength, and perishing ultimately of exhaustion. Frequently,
however, oxen die, especially should rain fall, soon after they are
bitten. In the case of one of his horses which had been bitten, the
head and body swelled, its eyes became so swollen that it could not see,
and it was painful to hear it neighing for its companions, who stood
close to it while feeding. A remarkable feature with regard to the
poison of the tsetse is that calves, and other young sucking animals,
are safe so long as they suck; but it has been remarked that dogs though
reared on milk die if bitten, while a dog which was reared on the meat
of game accompanied his master when hunting in the districts infested by
the fly without suffering.
We had now entered a far more desolate-looking country than any we had
yet passed through. Vast sandy plains extended round us, broken here
and there by clumps of low bushes or coarse long grass, with occasional
patches of more nutritious verdure, from which our oxen plucked their
scanty meals. Still, occasionally, herds of deer passed us in the
distance, but they were so wary that we could not approach them. The
open nature of the country made stalking in the ordinary way impossible.
Every night, however, Donald, accompanied by Timbo, spent two or three
hours, and sometimes longer, in lying in ambush, hoping to get a shot at
a passing animal, but their success had hitherto not been sufficient to
supply us with as much meat as we required. Water too was very scarce.
We had been travelling slowly all day, when our cattle began to move on
with greater rapidity than before, evidently believing that water was
near. Donald was riding ahead, looking about him, when suddenly he and
his horse disappeared. I was at no great distance behind him, and
before I could pull up I was very nearly following. I found that he had
slid down into a large sand-well, some twenty feet in diameter at the
top, and upwards of twelve feet in depth. As soon as he was extricated
from the pit, the men were called with spades to clear it out. However,
after digging some time, no water flowed into it, though the bottom
became thoroughly moist. We fortunately had some long reeds with us.
These were sunk into the sand, and immediately water began to rise. We
quickly got enough to quench the thirst of the people, but we had to
wait some time before a supply could be procured for the cattle. As
soon as water had been given to the horses, Timbo set out in search of
game. We were as unfortunate as we had usually been of late. Perhaps
this might have arisen from our want of skill. Donald was an inferior
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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