Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Various Events

By the end of September, astronomers had moved north by another latitude, and the meridian measured with the help of thirty-two triangles had spanned four latitudes.The task is half done.The three scientists worked with great enthusiasm, but when the number was reduced to three, they sometimes felt so tired that they had to stop working for a few days.The heat is really unbearable. October here is equivalent to April in the northern hemisphere. In this area at 24 degrees south latitude, the high temperature in Algeria is raging. During the day, it is impossible to work for several hours in the afternoon. There was some delay in surveying, which disturbed the Bushmans in particular.Here's why:

A few hundred miles to the north from this most recently determined observation point, the meridian cuts through a special area, a Karoo in the native language, meaning a stretch of land at the foot of the Rogerwold Mountains in the Colonial District of Cape Town. area.During the wet season, the area presents a lush scene throughout.Within a few days after the rain, the ground was covered with a thick layer of green, flowers bloomed everywhere, and the vegetation emerged from the ground in a short time. Run down and occupy these makeshift lawns.But the duration of this strange force of nature is extremely short. After less than a month, at most six weeks, all the moisture in the land is dried by the sun and disappears in the air in the form of vapor.The soil hardened, stifling plant germination, the vegetation disappeared within days, animals fled the area that had become unviable, and the desert expanded from areas that had been fertile and lush not so long ago.

This was the Karoo that Colonel Everett was supposed to cross before reaching the real desert adjoining Lake Ngami.One can imagine the stakes that the Bushmans had to consider in this remarkable region before the extreme dry heat drained the fountain of life.He therefore communicated his proposal to Colonel Everett, who understood very well that he would give it due consideration and expedite the work, provided that the accuracy of the work was not impaired.Angle measurement cannot be carried out at any time, nor is it simple and easy at all times. It can only be observed accurately under certain atmospheric conditions suitable for observation.Therefore, despite the repeated urging of the Bushmen, the progress of the experiment has not been significantly accelerated.It was clear to him that by the time they reached the Karoo, the fertile lands would have probably been lost in the poisonous heat of the sun.

Until advances in triangulation brought astronomers to the boundaries of the Karoo, they gazed intoxicated at the majestic nature that unfolded before them.None of the chances of the expedition had brought them to a more beautiful place.Although the temperature is high, the river can maintain a constant refreshing here.Thousands of animals find inexhaustible food in these pastures.There are dense green jungles everywhere.The sprawling grounds were like a relocated England park, only without those gas lamps. Colonel Everett seemed indifferent to these natural beauties, but Sir John, especially William.Amory strongly felt the poetic and picturesque imagery emanating from this land lost in the African desert.How the young scientist felt sorry for poor Zorn, for the happy confidantes they might have exchanged with each other!Zon would definitely have strong feelings about the scenery in front of him if he was there, and the two of them would speak out what was in their hearts as much as they wanted during the leisure time between the two observations.

The expedition team walked in this beautiful place.Flocks of birds chirped and flew, making the grass and woods full of life.The hunters of the expedition repeatedly brought down pairs of the krone, a special species of bustard on the plains of southern Africa, and some of the Dirkpus, a wild bird favored for its delicious meat.Various other birds also tried to attract the attention of Europeans, but none of them were edible.On the banks of the river, or over the water where the birds' wings swiftly skittered, several large birds were chasing greedy cuvens trying to steal their eggs from their sandy nests.All kinds of birds bring life to this place where there are no human beings: white-necked blue cranes, red flamingos walking like a fire in the sparse undergrowth, egrets, curlews, sand pheasants , Kara, who often perches on the back of a buffalo, a white crane that seems to fly from an ancient Egyptian obelisk carved with hieroglyphs, and a row of walking pelicans.Most amazing of all, however, are the deft weavers, whose dark green nests of rushes or twigs hang like gigantic pears from the weeping willows.Amory picked one or two of them as a novelty, and was amazed to hear the so-called fruits chirping like sparrows.Would he not be excused, like a traveler to and from Africa, for believing that certain trees in this region bear fruit that bears live birds?

Yes, the Karoo has a stunning landscape and offers all kinds of advantages for ruminants.It was full of antelope, moose, chamois, point-toed wildebeest, and kama, which, to Aris, looked as if they were all made of triangles.What an abundance of game fowl means so many shots to a highly regarded member of the Hunter's Club!The temptation was too great for Lord John, who took two days' leave from Colonel Everett, and exhausted himself in a remarkable manner.But he had many successes with his Bushman friends, and Amory followed them as an amateur.How many good shots should be included in his hunting books, and how many kills will be brought back to display in his highland castles!During the two-day vacation, he threw geodesy, triangulation, and meridian measurement into the sky!Who can believe that this pair of hands that use guns so flexibly once played with the delicate lenses of the theodolite!Who would have thought that this pair of sharp eyes aiming at the running and jumping antelope once pursued a certain thirteenth-magnitude star through the star-studded night sky.Yes, during those two days of exhilaration, His Excellency John was just a hunter through and through, and one feared that the shadow of the astronomer was gone forever!

Among the other incidents which should go down in the record of Sir John's hunting accomplishments, one should be mentioned with its unforeseen consequences, that he made it impossible for the Bushmans to secure the future of scientific exploration.The incident only confirmed the fears which the keen Bushman hunter had expressed to Colonel Everett. This is on October 15th.For two days, Lord John gave himself up entirely to his eager hunting instincts.A herd of twenty or so ruminants appeared about two miles to the right directly ahead of the expedition, and Morcum recognized them as belonging to a beautiful antelope called Orix, which was difficult to catch, especially by African hunters. what they value.

Soon, the Bushmans pointed out a good opportunity to Sir John and urged him to take advantage of it.Tell him also that these Oryxes are hard to catch, and that they outrun the speed of the fastest horse; failed to catch them.In his own hunting career, he has only hunted four of these wonderful antelopes. There was no need to overprovoke the venerable Briton, who declared his readiness to pounce on these Oryxes at any moment.Mounting his best horse, taking his best gun, and leading his best hounds, he galloped eagerly ahead of the patient Bushmen toward the coppice that approached a wide plain, and they noticed There are antelopes there.

Two hours later, the two stopped the horse.Morcum hid behind a clump of fig trees and pointed out to his accomplice a herd of antelope grazing a few hundred paces upwind.These suspicious animals have not noticed them at this time, and they are eating grass leisurely.But one gazelle seemed to be left alone, and the Bushman called Lord John's attention to it, and said: This is a sentinel antelope, maybe an old and cunning guy, standing guard for the safety of the group.At the slightest danger he perceives, he utters a cry, and the flock, at the head of the flock, scurry away.Therefore, you can only shoot at an appropriate distance, and the first shot will knock it down.

His Excellency John just nodded in agreement, finding a good position to observe the flock. The antelopes continued to graze unsuspectingly, and their guardians, smelling the suspicious scent of a whirlwind, kept raising their horned foreheads, showing some signs of uneasiness.But it was too far away for the hunters to shoot at it accurately.If forcing the flock to run, it should not be considered in this wide easy-running plain.Perhaps the flock would approach the coppice, in which case Lord John and the Bushmans would be able to target one of the Oryxes under favorable conditions nearby.

Chance seemed to favor the two hunters.Gradually, led by the old antelope, the flock was approaching the woods.Probably they felt that the exposed plain was not safe, so they wanted to hide under the thick foliage of the coppice.When their intentions became apparent, the Bushmen asked their companions to dismount from their horses to the ground as he had done.The horses were hung under a fig tree, and their heads were wrapped in cloth, both to keep them silent and to keep them from moving about.Followed by the hounds, Morcombe and Lord John got into the thorn bushes and walked along the edge of the overgrown forest, until they came to a corner composed of several trees, which was less than three hundred meters away from the sheep. step. The two hunters were hiding there, as if they were lurking.Shotguns loaded, they waited. From where they were, one could observe the Oryxes and even admire the graceful animals in detail.The males are almost indistinguishable from the females, and even through a few rare ones that are inherently eccentric, the females are more formidably armed than the males, wearing elegantly slender, curving-topped double horns.No animal is more fascinating than this Oryx antelope, nor can any animal present such a well-distributed black series.A tuft of beard hair floated down the throat, the long hair on the neck was straight, and the thick tail dragged straight to the ground. At this time, the herd of antelope, consisting of more than twenty individuals, stopped moving after approaching the woods.Their guardians evidently wished to drive them off the plain, and he worked his way through the tall grass to keep them close together, like a shepherd dog with sheep entrusted to his care.However, these antelopes were playing on the grass, and they had no intention of leaving this lush pasture. They resisted, jumped and fled, and started to eat grass a few steps away again. The trick surprised Morcombe, who showed Lord John to see it, but could not explain it.He could not understand the obstinacy of the old antelope, why it wanted to lead the flock into the woods. The situation continued like this, unchanged.His Excellency John was fiddling with the trigger plate of his rifle impatiently, now wanting to fire and now moving forward, and Morcombe could only control him with great difficulty. An hour passed in this way, and it was impossible to predict how much longer it would go on, when a hound, who was probably as impatient as His Excellency John, gave a loud bark and rushed to the plain. Angry Bushmen want to give the damned beast a buckshot!But the herd of antelopes had already fled away at an incomparable speed, and His Excellency John knew that it was impossible for any horse to overtake them.Soon those orixes will be black spots hopping around in the tall grass. However, what surprised the Bushmans was that the old antelope did not give the order to escape. Contrary to the habits of these ruminants, this strange guardian still stayed where he was, and did not want to follow his guardians at all. Run away together.After the other antelopes ran away, it even tried to hide in the grass, perhaps to the coppice side. It's a strange thing, said the Bushman, what's the matter with this old Oryx?What a strange way it behaves!Is it injured or is it old and frail? We will find out!replied His Excellency John, running to the old antelope, ready to shoot at any moment. Seeing the hunter approaching, Oryx shrank himself more and more into the grass, and all that could be seen was its horns, four feet long, looking down with sharp tips on the green surface of the plain.It didn't even try to escape, it hid.Lord John approached the singular animal easily, and when only a hundred paces away he took careful aim and fired.The shot rang out, and the bullet had apparently hit Oryx in the head, for his bristling horns were now sunk under the grass. His Excellency John and Mocum quickly ran over. The Bushman was still holding a pig knife in his hand. If the antelope was not killed, he would disembowel it. However, this precaution is of no use.Oryx was dead, so dead that when His Excellency John yanked it by the horns, he picked up only an empty, loose skin, with no bones at all! In the name of St. Patrick!And only I will come across this kind of thing!He shouted it in such a comical tone that everyone but Morcomb laughed. But Morcum didn't smile, his lips were pursed, his brow was furrowed, and his eyes blinked in serious uneasiness.He folded his arms and kept turning his head to look around, back and forth. Suddenly, an object caught his eye, a small leather bag decorated with red arabesques lying on the ground.The Bushman immediately picked it up and examined it carefully. What's this?Sir John asked. Marco Rolo's pocket. How could he appear here? Because the person who took this bag dropped it in his hasty escape just now. What about Marco Rolo? Please don't be surprised, your Excellency, Bushman clenched his fists angrily. Marco Rolo is hiding in this Oryx skin, and you shot him just now! Before His Excellency John had time to express his surprise, Morcombe noticed a swaying in the grass about 500 paces away, and immediately fired a shot in this direction.Then the two ran towards the suspicious place out of breath. But there was no one there, and from the fall of the grass, it could be seen that a living creature had passed by here just now.Marco Rolo is gone, don't try to track him down on this vast plain that stretches to the end of the horizon. The two hunters then returned, very much apprehensive about this matter which really ought to disturb them.A Marco Rolo appeared in the stone shed in the burning forest, and just now hid in the camouflage equipment commonly used by Orix hunters, which shows that he really insisted on closely following Colonel Everett's team through these desolate areas .It was not without motive that a native who belonged to the Marco Rolo marauding tribe spied on these Europeans and their entourage like this.The further north the latter advanced, the greater the danger of being attacked by these desert thieves. Lord John and Morcum returned to camp.Your Excellency was so dismayed that he couldn't help but to his friend William.Amory said: Truly, my dear William, I am out of luck!The first Oryx I tried to hunt was dead before I could touch it!