The Young Yagers Part 6

Both plants and bushes grew far apart, and wide tracts of the plain appeared without even any of these to vary its brown monotony. It was a sort of outlying spur of the Kalihari Desert, and they would have to cross it before they should reach the country promised by their guide.

There would be _fifty_ miles without vley, spring, or stream--_fifty_ miles from water to water.

They had outspanned by the last spring, which gurgled out among the roots of the mokhala-trees upon the very edge of the desert. There they intended remaining for a couple of days to dry the flesh of the gemsboks, and also to recruit their animals and prepare them for the long waterless journey of the desert,--a perilous pa.s.sage.

It was near sunset when they had finished "outspanning," having formed their camp in the centre of the mokhala grove, and not far from the spring.

Hans, in a contemplative mood, had wandered to the edge of the grove; and, seating himself under one of the trees, whose full umbrella-like top cast a fine shade, was gazing out upon the wide treeless waste.

He had not been long in this situation, when his attention was attracted to three upright forms that appeared upon the plain at the distance of some hundred yards from the grove. They were bipeds, for he saw them from head to heel. Not human bipeds, however, but birds. They were _ostriches_.

The merest child could have told that much--anybody--for who does not recognise the great African ostrich at the first glance? The size and form of the _Struthio camelus_ are too peculiar to admit of its being taken for any other bird. The American "rhea," or the Australian "emeu," might pa.s.s for its half-grown young, but a full-sized African ostrich is not to be mistaken for any of its pigmy relatives, either in Australia, New Zealand, the Indian archipelago, or America. It is the great bird of birds--the biggest that carries feathers.

Of course Hans knew the three to be ostriches the moment his eye rested upon them--a c.o.c.k and two hens. This was easily told, for there is as much difference between the male and female of these birds, as between the brilliant peac.o.c.k and his dingy spouse. The greater size of the former; the deep black colour of his body contrasting strongly with the snow-white plumes of his wings and tail,--and in the desert these _are_ snow-white--distinguish him at once from his female companions. Their colour is a nearly uniform greyish brown, and they want those splendid jet and snowy plumes that adorn the back of their lord and master, and which have been from all time so highly prized as ornaments by both savage and civilised people.

A c.o.c.k and two hens they were, that presented themselves before the eyes of the young naturalist.

They were marching slowly along. They were not affrighted. They evidently had seen nothing of the camp. How could they, as it was behind the trees in the centre of the grove? They occasionally bent their long necks to one side or the other, and cropped a leaf, or picked up a seed, but then continued their course. From their following a straight line Hans concluded they were not feeding in the regular way, but bent towards some point, perhaps to their night resting-place.

When first observed, they were coming in a side direction, that is, transversely to the direction in which Hans himself was facing. In a short time they had pa.s.sed before him, and were now widening the distance, and getting farther off into the desert.

Hans at first thought of calling to the others, who were all busy about the wagons, and had not seen the ostriches. He was thinking also of some plan by which the birds might be captured or killed.

After a moment's consideration, he gave up the idea of either one thing or the other. The sight of an ostrich was nothing new to any of the party. Jan and Klaas might have cared for it, but both were tired after their long hot ride, and had already fallen asleep on the gra.s.s. Better not disturb them, thought Hans.

As to the killing or capturing the ostriches, after a moment's reflection, Hans also gave up that design. The birds were already pa.s.sing--to have stalked within shot upon the naked plain would have been impossible, for Hans well knew the wary nature of the ostrich; and to have attempted a chase with their tired horses would have been equally idle.

Hans, therefore, held his peace, and sat still; following with his eyes the retreating forms of the three great camel-birds.

Their long strides soon carried them far off, but before they had receded half-a-mile, the eyes of the naturalist were removed from them, and turned on a different object.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

THE SMALLEST OF FOXES.

The object which now fixed the attention of the naturalist was a quadruped,--a very small one, not bigger than a medium-sized cat, but altogether different in form and proportions. Unlike the cats, it had a long sharp snout, and a thick bushy tail. It stood higher upon its legs, too, than do animals of the cat kind, but the most remarkable _feature_ about it was its ears. These were remarkable for their length, which was out of all proportion to the size of the creature.

Its whole body was barely one foot long, and yet the ears stood full six inches above the crown of its head! They stood quite erect, broad, stiff, and pointed, and ending in an acute angle at the tips.

Its colour was a beautiful Isabella above, and cream-white underneath.

No; the creature was not like a cat, nor a dog neither, though it was more like the latter than the former. But there is an animal related to the canine family to which it bore a very strong resemblance, and that is the fox, for it _was_ a fox, the very smallest in the world, the "caama" of Southern Africa. And yet, correctly speaking, it was not a fox neither, but a _fennec_.

What is a "fennec?"

That is an interesting question, and one about which naturalists have bothered their brains a good deal. It is an animal of which there are several species existing throughout Africa; and of which the celebrated traveller Bruce,--who, everybody thought, _lied_ so largely, but about whom conceited ignorance has since changed its opinion,--first gave an account.

It differs from the foxes in several respects, but the most remarkable difference is found in the form of the eye. In the true foxes the pupil is linear or elliptical, while that of the fennec is round, thus showing the difference of habit--for the foxes are in reality _nocturnal_ animals, while the fennecs are _diurnal_. Some species of foxes, however, are twilight prowlers, and one or two of the fennecs are also crepuscular.

It is, therefore, scarce possible to draw a line of demarcation between the two. The fennecs, however, have been formed into a separate genus, termed _Megalotis_, from the extreme size of their ears. It is to be hoped that the question is thus settled that has so much bothered the closet-naturalists; who, taking their ideas from the anatomy of the fennec, have cla.s.sed it according to their several fancies; one making it a dog, another a cat, a third a fox, a fourth a civet, a fifth a hyena, and a sixth placing it among the galagos!

Let us call it a "fennec," or diurnal fox, and say farther that although there are several species of _true foxes_ in Africa, and several of _jackal-foxes_, there are also several of fennecs. Three are well known. The fennec of Bruce, (_Megalotis zerda_), first described by that traveller as seen by him in Abyssinia, but also indigenous to South Africa; the "zabora," (_Megalotis famelicus_), a native of Nubia and Kordofan, and supposed to be the animal represented on Egyptian temples, which has been taken for the figure of the jackal; and the "caama fennec," (_Megalotis caama_).

A fourth species, "Lalande's zerda," (_Megalotis Lalandii_), has been "hooked out" of this genus, and made to form one of itself, (_Agriodus_), not because its habits in anywise differ from the _Megalotides_, but because it chances to differ slightly from them in the form and arrangement of its "ivories."

Now of all these fennecs the one which was pa.s.sing before the eyes of Hans was the "caama," the smallest of the whole tribe either of fennecs or foxes.

Crouching just like a fox, now trotting nimbly a few paces, now halting and squatting close to the ground, as though fearful of being observed, the little creature pa.s.sed on.

What was it after? What prey was it in pursuit of?

On watching it for a few moments, Hans saw to his great surprise that it was after the ostriches!

It was going the same way they had gone, its sharp snout set towards, and its eyes evidently bent upon, them. Whenever they stopped it did the same, squatting down as it did so, as if to avoid their observation; and when they moved on, it also trotted forward, halting at intervals behind stones and bushes and earnestly regarding the birds in advance.

Beyond a doubt it was trailing them! But what could this little creature want with the ostriches? Certainly not to attack them, though it was following after them just as a fox would a covey of partridges.

It could not be that, however; as a kick from the mighty leg of one of these birds would have hoisted the fennec fifty yards over the plain, like a ball from a cricket-bat.

No; it could not be following them with hostile intentions,--puny pigmy that it appeared beside the big camel-birds!

For what, then, was it trailing them? Of course it was not running on the scent, but the view. On their track it certainly was, and as certainly was it "d.o.g.g.i.ng" them. For what purpose?

This was just what the naturalist Hans wished to know; and he remained closely observing the movements of this miniature "microscopic" fox.

Talking of a microscope reminds me that Hans at that moment took out of his pocket a telescope,--a small one, which he habitually carried. This he did, because, in a few minutes, the ostriches were very distant over the plain, and their pursuer the fennec was no longer visible to the naked eye. With the gla.s.s, however, Hans could still make it out, and could see that it was manoeuvring just as when it pa.s.sed him. All at once the ostriches came to a stop; and, after an apparent consultation among themselves, the c.o.c.k squatted down, and his long legs were no longer seen. He was flat down upon his breast, and even through his small pocket-gla.s.s Hans could tell that his body looked more spread and bulky than before. Was he covering eggs? Was there a nest? The appearance of the ground about the sitting bird favoured that belief.

There was a slight prominence around the body of the bird having the semblance of a bird's nest; but Hans knew that the nest of the ostrich is of very simple construction,--a mere cavity scratched out in the sand, and scarce to be recognised from any great distance. Several white objects lying around the spot led Hans to the conclusion that there _was_ a nest. These objects did not seem larger than "jack-stones," but Hans, calculating well the distance that separated them from his eye, believed them to be ostrich-eggs, and therefore as large as paving-stones. Hans knew that around the nest of the ostrich scattered eggs are usually found--said by some to be there laid as a deposit for the food of the expected progeny during their early days of chickhood!

The two hens, after moving about awhile also squatted down, but they appeared only to kneel with their great legs doubled under them; whereas the c.o.c.k sat low and flat upon his breast. This only more convinced Hans that there was a nest, and that the c.o.c.k ostrich was taking his turn of duty, while the hens were simply gone to roost in the usual manner.

That the c.o.c.k covered the eggs was nothing surprising to the young naturalist, who knew that it is the habit of the male of these birds to do so, and that he usually takes his turn during the night, when it is colder, and his greater size and strength are required to keep the eggs warm, as well as to protect the nest from prowling beasts of prey. One or other of the hens would very likely relieve him about daybreak. Of course both the hens were mothers in prospective of the future brood, as the c.o.c.k ostrich is a terrible "Mormon;" and frequently does the polygamous on a large scale, having sometimes as many as a dozen wives.

Our old fellow was rather a moderate Mormon, as he appeared to be satisfied with two--though bigamy, no doubt, is quite as sinful as polygamy.

Hans concluded that there was a nest, and full of eggs in process of being hatched. It was no evidence against this, that the birds had been away from it together. The day had been a very warm one, and during the middle part of the day--particularly in hot weather--the ostrich wanders away from its eggs, leaving the sun to do its work for it. The hotter the country, the less does the ostrich require to "set;" and in parts of Africa within the torrid zone where the heat reaches a very high degree, the ostrich has very little to do with the hatching of its eggs, but buries them in the burning sand, and makes the sun its "incubator!"

But what had become of our fennec--poor little fellow?

So asked Hans of himself, as he swept the plain with his telescope.

While watching the late movements of the birds, he had altogether forgotten the beast.

After a time he was just able to make out its small whitish body stretched upon the ground, under the lee of a little bush, and apparently resolved upon pa.s.sing the night there. Had there been any hole near, it would have preferred lodging in that--for the fennec is an animal that makes its home in a "burrow."

Night had suddenly come on, and the darkness prevented Hans from observing farther the movements of either beast or bird; so putting up his gla.s.s, he rejoined his companions in the camp.

CHAPTER TWELVE.

THE WINGLESS BIRDS.