The Mission Part 16

"One of you, I fear, must remain with the wagons," observed Alexander; "or both of you, if you please. I have no right to ask you to go upon any wild-goose chase, and run into danger for nothing."

"That one should remain with the wagons will be necessary," said Swinton; "and I think that the Major, if he does not object, is the proper person. The party who are left must provide themselves with food by their guns; and it will require more military tact than I possess to arrange that and to defend the wagons. I will accompany you, Wilmot, as I can speak better Dutch, and the interpreter will not get on well without me."

"Will you have the kindness to take charge of the wagons, Major, during our absence?"

"I think, perhaps, it will be as well; although I had rather have gone with you," replied the Major. "I propose that you take thirty of the Caffres, Bremen, and eight Hottentots with you; leave me Swanevelt and the other Hottentots."

"Yes, that will do very well; we will leave the Caffre head man with you."

"No; he must go with the larger portion of his party; he could not well be separated from them. I will find a proper place for the wagons, and stockade myself regularly in; that will be a good job for the Hottentots, and I dare say I shall do very well."

"I shall not leave you Omrah, Major," said Swinton; "for, as we shall take four horses with us, I wish him to ride one, and he can attend upon us, as you have Mahomed."

"You may have Begum to ride the other," replied the Major, "if you please; then you will each have a groom."

"No, no, it would be a pity to part you and her; however, there is no time to be lost, for if this great chief and warrior Quetoo is advancing, it may be as well to be ready for a retreat; the sooner we are off, the sooner we shall be back; so now to pack up."

CHAPTER XVI.

The first step taken by Alexander was to send for the Hottentots, and, after again reproving them for their former behavior, he asked who were ready to volunteer to proceed with him, as he had decided to leave the wagons with Major Henderson, and proceed on horseback the short distance of his journey which remained to be accomplished.

Several of the Hottentots immediately came forward; the heads of the mutiny held back, and thus proved to Alexander that the men who had come forward were persuaded into it by the others, and regretted what they had done. He therefore immediately accepted their services, and their muskets were returned to them. Alexander then stated his intentions to the Caffre head man, who selected the thirty warriors that were required, and in the course of three hours every thing was ready for their departure.

It was arranged that in case of danger arising to either party, they should, if possible, fall back to the newly established Mission of Morley, on the sea-coast; but otherwise, the wagons would remain where they were till Alexander's return. Having packed up all they required in small packages, to be carried by the Caffres, they bade farewell to the Major, and set off, having no baggage but what we have mentioned; for Alexander would not be enc.u.mbered with a load of heavy articles which must prevent rapid progress, or rapid retreat if necessary.

In two hours they arrived by difficult pa.s.ses at the banks of the Umtata River, which they crossed, and soon afterward falling in with a Caffre kraal, they were informed that Daaka, the chief whom they sought, did not reside more than twenty miles distant; and they easily procured a guide to show them the way.

The reports of the advance of the Amaquibi army were here fully confirmed, and the natives were preparing to leave the kraal with all their cattle. It appeared, however, that at present the army was stationary; the warriors carousing and enjoying themselves after the victory which they had gained over the Caffres. As these had been a.s.sisted by white men and their guns, the spirits of the Amaquibi were raised to an extraordinary degree, and they were intending to carry their arms to the southward, as soon as Quetoo, their chief, had somewhat recovered from his wounds received in the late action. Indeed, it was the wounded state of their chief which was the princ.i.p.al cause of the army not having immediately proceeded to the southward.

Having obtained this information, the travelers resumed their journey along the banks of the Umtata, over a country of surprising beauty, the deep river being full of hippopotami, which were lying on the banks or snorting in the stream. They could not wait to kill one during the daytime, but promised the men they would allow them to make the attempt in the evening, after their day's march was over. Toward sunset, they stopped on the banks of the river on a rising ground, and the Hottentots and some Caffres were then directed to go down to the river in chase of the hippopotami, as it was advisable to save their provisions as much as possible.

Before night they had succeeded, and the carca.s.s of the animal was hauled on sh.o.r.e. As soon as the party had taken as much as they required, the native Caffres carried off the remainder of the flesh. As they were sitting down carousing by the fire which had been lighted, the Caffre head warrior came up to the interpreter, and told Alexander and Swinton not to say that they were Hinza's warriors if asked where they came from. On being asked why, he told them that Hinza had married a daughter of the chief of this country, and after a time had sent her back again to her father, and that this had created ill blood between the tribes, although no war had taken place. Alexander and Swinton, who perceived that the advice was judicious, told him that they would not, and after partaking of the hippopotamus flesh they all lay down to repose under the far-spreading branches of a large tree.

The next morning they set off, and after an hour's journey the guide told them that they were at the kraal of Daaka, the descendant of the Europeans. The bellowing of the cattle and noise of the calves soon directed them to the spot, and they entered a kraal consisting of several very wretched huts. On inquiring for Daaka, a woman pointed out a hut at a little distance, and, as they dismounted and walked up, he came out to meet them. Swinton and Alexander shook hands with the chief, and said that they were very glad to see him, and that they had come far to pay him a visit. The chief ordered a hut to be swept out for their accommodation, which they took possession of.

"You have no idea, Swinton," said Alexander, "how much I am excited already by this interview."

"I can imagine it, my dear Wilmot," said Swinton; "it is but natural, for he is your kinsman by all report, and certainly, although a Caffre in his habits and manners, his countenance and features are strikingly European."

"That I have observed myself, and it has fully convinced me of the truth of the statement. I am most anxious to examine him--we must call the interpreter."

The chief entered the hut soon afterward, and took his seat; the interpreter was sent for, and the conversation was begun by Daaka, who like most of the Caffre chiefs, with the hope of obtaining presents, stated himself to be very poor, his cattle to be dying, and his children without milk. Our travelers allowed him to go on for some time in this manner, and then sent for a present of beads and tobacco, which they gave him. They then commenced their inquiries, and the first question they asked was, why he resided so near the sea.

"Because the sea is my mother," replied he; "I came from the sea, and the sea feeds me when I am hungry."

"In that reply he evidently refers to the wreck of the s.h.i.+p," observed Swinton; "and I presume, from the fish-bones, which we have seen about the kraal, that these Caffres feed on fish, which the other tribes do not, and therefore it is that he says his mother feeds him."

"Was your mother white?" inquired Alexander.

"Yes," replied Daaka, "her skin was white as yours; her hair was just like yours, long and dark; but before she died it was quite white."

"What was your mother's name?"

"k.u.ma," replied the chief.

"Had you any brothers and sisters?"

"Yes, I had; I have one sister alive now."

"What is her name?" inquired Swinton.

"Bess," replied the chief.

"This is very confirmatory," said Alexander; "my aunt's name was Elizabeth; she must have called her child after herself."

"Whom did your mother marry?"

"She first married my uncle, and had no children; and then she married my father; both were chiefs, and I am a chief; she had five children by my father."

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE CAFFRE CHIEF. P. 195.]

A long conversation took place after this, the substance of which we may as well communicate to our reader in few words. From the children of k.u.ma, supposed to be Elizabeth, the aunt of Alexander, were produced a numerous race of the European blood, who were celebrated in the Caffre land for their courage; they were continually engaged in war, as their alliance was eagerly sought, and in consequence had nearly all perished. Daaka himself was renowned for warlike exploits, but he was now a very old man. In the evening the chief took his leave, and went to his own hut.

As soon as they were alone, Alexander said to Swinton, "I have now so far fulfilled my promise to my worthy relation that I have seen this descendant of his child; but what am I to do? An old man like him is not very likely to consent to go to England, and as for his sister Bess, he states that she is equally infirm; the progeny of the rest of the family are scattered about, and he himself knows nothing about them; to collect them would be impossible, and if collected, equally impossible to remove them, for they would not leave. My old relative fancies, in his mind's eye, his daughter weeping over her captivity, and longing to be restored to her country and her relations; still retaining European feelings and sympathies, and miserable in her position; her children brought up by her with the same ideas, and some day looking forward to their emanc.i.p.ation from this savage state of existence: I think if he were here, and saw old Daaka, he would soon divest himself of all these romantic ideas."

"I think so too; but there is one thing which has struck me very forcibly, Alexander, which is, if this Daaka is the son of your aunt how comes it that he is so old? When was the _Grosvenor_ lost?"

"In the year 1782."

"And we are now in 1829. Your aunt you stated to have been ten or twelve years old at the time of the wreck. Allowing her to marry at the earliest age, Daaka could not well be more than forty-eight years old; and surely he is more than that."

"He looks much older, certainly; but who can tell the age of a savage, who has been living a life of constant privation, and who has been so often wounded as his scars show that he has been? Wounds and hards.h.i.+p will soon make a man look old."

"That is very true, but still he appears to me to be older than the dates warrant."

"I think his stating that his sister was named Bess is full corroboration."

"It is rather circ.u.mstantial evidence, Wilmot: now what do you propose to do?"

"I hardly know; but I wish to be in Daaka's company some time longer, that I may gain more intelligence; and I think of proposing to him that we should go down to visit the remains of the wreck of his mother, as he terms it. I should like to see a spot so celebrated for misfortune, and behold the remains of the ill-fated vessel; I should like to have to tell my good old uncle all I can, and he will wish that I should be able to give him every information."

"Well, I think it is a good plan of yours, and we will propose it to him to-morrow morning."

"And I should like to visit his sister Bess--indeed, I must do so. He says she is much younger than he is."