Chapter 17 Chapter 17 Desert Maker

The Bushmans had a long conversation with Colonel Everett after the Oryx incident.In Morcumb's opinion, based on persuasive facts, the small expedition was being followed, spied on, and thus threatened.He thought that if the Makroro had not yet attacked, it was because it was to their advantage to lead the expedition further north, to areas where their band of marauders were accustomed. Faced with the difficulties in front of us, should we go back?Will I have to interrupt a good run of work that has gone on so far?What nature has failed to do, will some native Africans do?Will they hinder British scientists from completing their scientific mission?This is a serious issue that needs to be addressed.

Colonel Everett asked the Bushman to give him as much information as he knew about the Makorolo.Here's the general picture of what the Bushmans said. The Makorolo belonged to the Great Bechuana tribe, the last Bechuana people encountered by people traveling north to the equator.In 1850, David.During his first Zambezi trip, Livingstone was received at the residence of Sebduane, the then great chief of the Seth Hek Makroro.The native chief was a fearsome soldier who had threatened Cape Town's frontiers in 1824.His ingenuity gradually brought him extreme influence over the scattered tribes of central Africa, and he eventually made them a tight-knit, dominant force.In 1853, the previous year, the native chief died in Livingston's arms, and Sekonredoo succeeded him.

First of all, Sekenredou showed a strong sympathy for the Europeans who frequently traveled in and out of the Zambezi River Basin. Dr. Livingston personally has nothing to complain about.But once the famous traveler left, the attitude of the African kings changed significantly. Not only the foreigners, but especially the neighboring natives were oppressed by Sekenredu and his tribe's soldiers, and the oppression followed. The most common is the robbery carried out on a large scale.The Makororo mainly prowl the area between Lake Ngami and the upper Zambezi River.Nothing is more risky than a small expedition going through the region, especially when the expedition is spotted, waiting, and likely to suffer some kind of disaster ahead.

This was the brief account the Bushmen gave Colonel Everett.He added that he believed the full truth should be told and said he would obey the colonel's orders and would not back down if the expedition decided to proceed. Colonel Everett and two colleagues, Sir John and William.Amory called a meeting and it was decided that the geodetic work should go ahead.Nearly five-eighths of the meridian arcs have been measured, and no matter what happens, these Britons are responsible for themselves and their country, and cannot give up the work of measuring. After the decision is made, the triangle series continues to extend forward.On October 27th, the Science Committee cut the Tropic of Capricornus vertically, and on November 3rd, after completing the forty-first triangle, they obtained through the zenith observation that another longitude arc of latitude was detected up.

For a month, they carried out the triangulation work with enthusiasm and encountered no natural obstacles.In this beautiful, yet so undulating region, with only a few passable streams and no major rivers, the astronomers managed quickly and well.Morcum was always on the alert, watching to scout ahead or to either side of the line, forbidding the hunters to go too far.However, there seems to be no imminent threat to the small expedition, and the hunters' fears are likely not to be fulfilled. In November, at least, none of the robbers showed up, nor did they find the man from the forest rock. Shed has been tirelessly following the expedition's Aboriginal people since its inception.

Although seemingly out of danger for the time being, Morcum repeatedly detected signs of indecision among the Bushmen under his command.He failed to hide those two incidents from them, who were waiting for their inevitable encounter with the Makroro.The Makororo and the Bushmen are two hostile tribes, merciless to each other, and the conquered do not expect the slightest mercy from the conqueror.Since war was declared, the number of the original convoy had been reduced by half, much to the horror of the natives in the present little expedition.The Bushmen were already three hundred miles from the Orange River, and the prospect of being dragged at least two hundred miles north made them ponder.Morcum made no secret of the length and difficulty of the journey from them before hiring them to join the expedition, and they were doubtless men who did not fear the toil that such an expedition necessarily accompanies.But since the fatigue added the danger of a possible conflict with a staunch enemy, this changed their mood.Morcum pretended not to see or hear the resulting remorse, complaints, and reluctance, which made him even more uneasy about the future of the Science Committee.

An incident that happened during the day on December 2 aroused the bad mood of these superstitious Bushmen even more, and to some extent caused them to rebel against their superiors. The weather which had been fine since the eve of that day suddenly darkened, and the atmosphere was filled with water vapor under the action of the intense heat, showing a great difference in pressure.A storm could already be foreseen, and in this climate it almost always forms with unmatched intensity. On the morning of December 2nd, the sky was covered with clouds of eerie appearance, which no meteorologist could be mistaken for, cumulus clouds like great clumps of cotton, sometimes dark gray, Some are pale yellow, showing a variety of different colors.The sun was gray, the air was still, the heat was suffocating, the drop in pressure that had been indicated by the instruments from the night before had ceased, and the leaves were motionless under the heavy atmosphere.

Astronomers have observed this sky condition, but they don't think it should stop working.At this time, Amory, two sailors, four natives, and a four-wheeled vehicle were driving to a point two miles east of the meridian, where they intended to set up a point that would serve as the apex of a triangle. .Amory was busily erecting a pole on the crest of a knoll, when a rush of steam, condensed under the influence of a strong gust of cold air, developed rapidly.In an instant, a burst of dense hailstones suddenly fell on the ground.A rare phenomenon.These hailstones were shining, and it seemed that countless drops of hot metal were falling from the sky.Sparks shot from the battered ground, and beams of light rushed to the metal parts of the four-wheeled cart carrying supplies.

Soon the hail was so heavy that it became a veritable stone-throwing, from which it was impossible for one to be exposed without danger.One would not be surprised at the intensity of this phenomenon, had it been known that Dr. Livingston, in Coloban, had seen the glass of houses smashed, and horses and antelopes killed, under the same conditions of weather. Amory immediately gave up his work, and called his men to find a place in the four-wheeler that would be safer in stormy weather than under a tree.But no sooner had he come down from the top of the hill than there was a flash of lightning, followed by a clap of thunder, heating the atmosphere.

Amory was thrown down, as if dead.Dazed for a moment, the two sailors ran to him.Fortunately, the young man was pardoned by Thunder.By one of the inexplicable effects manifested by certain lightning cases, an electric current flowed around him, enveloping him in a static layer, the passage of which was fused and timed by the iron points of the compass in Amory's hand. manifested. The young man was lifted up by the sailors, and soon regained consciousness.But he was neither the only nor the worst lightning victim.Beside the post raised on the knoll, two natives lay dead on the ground, twenty paces away from each other.One of the living systems had been completely destroyed by the mechanical action of lightning, and beneath the intact clothes was a corpse as black as coal.The other head was struck by atmospheric high-voltage static electricity and died suddenly.

In this way, there are three two natives and William.Amory had just been struck by the same lightning with three tongues of flame at the same time.This is a rare phenomenon, but sometimes seen, and the angular separation of the three equal parts of this lightning bolt is often huge. The two Bushmans were first stunned by the death of their companions, and then, ignoring the shouts of the sailors, they ran away at the risk of being struck by lightning because the air behind them would be thinned by their rapid running.They didn't want to hear anything, they just wanted to run back to camp as quickly as possible.Two sailors took Amory into the wagon and put away the bodies of the two natives before they hid, but they were all bruised by the hail that rained down like stones.The storm rumbled violently for about three quarters of an hour, then began to thin out.The hail stopped and the four-wheeler headed back to the camp. The early news of the death of the two natives had had a sad effect on the minds of the Bushmen, and a superstitious dread was felt in these triangulations of which they knew nothing.They gathered together to talk in secret, and some of them, more discouraged than the others, declared that they would go no further.This beginning of a defiance has the potential to grow to serious proportions.Morcombe had to exert all his influence to prevent the mutiny, and Colonel Everett was obliged to intervene, promising the poor wretches extra salaries to keep them in their service, and it was not without difficulty to reconcile, If there is some resistance, the expedition's prospects will be seriously jeopardized.Indeed, in such a desert, far from the towns, without a guard to protect them, and without a coachman to drive them, what would become of the members of the committee?This difficulty was eventually avoided, and after burying the bodies of the two natives and putting away the tent, the expedition headed for the hill on which the two men had died. Amory could feel the severe shock for several days. The left hand that used to hold the compass felt like numbness for a while, but finally the discomfort disappeared and the young astronomer was able to start working again. up. During the eighteen days that followed, until December 20, nothing happened to the expedition. Marco Rolo did not appear, and Morcum, though still skeptical, began to feel relieved.Only more than fifty miles away from the desert area, this Karoo is still a beautiful land unparalleled anywhere on the earth, and the plants are still maintained by the running water on the ground.In this fertile game country, where the rich pastures run down to the breasts of the draft animals, they should be assured that neither man nor beast will be short of food until they reach the desert.But those Orthoptera insects, which have always posed a longer-term threat to agricultural facilities in southern Africa, don't count. On the night of December 20, camp was formed before sunset.The three Englishmen and the Bushmen sat under a tree, resting from the fatigue of the day, and talking about their plans for the future.The wind from the north is gradually blowing, making the air a little cooler. Astronomers have already agreed that they will measure the altitude of some stars tonight to accurately calculate the latitude of this place.The sky is clear of a cloud, the moon is nearing full moon, and the constellations will be sparkling, so these delicate zenith observations may come under the most favorable conditions.Colonel Everett and Lord John, therefore, were hopeful.At this time, about eight o'clock, William.Amory stood up and pointed north and said: The horizon is obscured, and I fear that the night will not go as smoothly as we had hoped. Yes, said His Excellency John, the big cloud is visibly coming up, and with the cool wind, the clouds will soon take over the sky. Is a new storm brewing?asked the colonel. We are in the tropics, which is worrying, and I think the observations tonight will be hit and miss.Amory replied. What do you think?Morcombe.asked Colonel Everett. The Bushmen watched carefully to the north, and the range of the cloud was limited in a long curve, so clearly defined that it seemed to be drawn with circles.It marks three to four miles of development on the horizon.The blackish cloud, like a puff of smoke, took on a strange appearance that astonished the Bushmans.Sometimes the afterglow of the sun illuminates the cloud with a reddish reflection, however this reflection is more likely to be formed by a hard mass than an air mass. Strange cloud!said Morcum, without further explanation. A few minutes later a Bushman came running to tell Morcum that horses, cows, and other livestock were showing restlessness, running about in the grass, and refusing to come within the camp walls. Well, let them spend the night outside.Morcum answered. But what about the beast? oops!The beasts will be too busy to pay attention to them in no time! The natives went back.Colonel Everett went to ask Morcumb to explain the strange answer.But Morcum stood a few paces away, absorbed in contemplation of the phenomenon, apparently wondering about its nature. The cloud came quickly, and one could see how low it was, certainly not more than a few hundred feet above the ground.Amidst the whistling of the cool wind there was a terrible murmur, if those two words may be used together, which seemed to emanate from the clouds. At this time, in the upper part of the cloud, a large group of black spots appeared on the pale horizon.The dots danced up and down, plunged into the black cloud, and then backed out again.It can be seen that there are thousands of them. Hey, what are these black dots?Sir John asked. It's a bird.The Bushman replied, These are vultures, hawks, and falcons.They follow the cloud all the way, and only give up when the cloud disappears or spreads out. What about this cloud? It's not a cloud.Morcum pointed to the black mass that had taken over a quarter of the sky, a living cloud, a cloud of locusts. Hunter was not mistaken.Europeans are about to witness a terrible, unfortunate yet recurring invasion of locusts that can turn a fertile region into a lonely dry one overnight.The millions of locusts thus arriving, of the migratory class, which the naturalists call Greery-Devastatori, have not some travellers seen such a covering at a height of four feet? A locust with a fifty-mile range? Yes, said the Bushman again, these live clouds are a terrible disaster to crops, and may they stay in the sky and not come to us! But we have nothing here, said Colonel Everett, neither fields to sow nor pastures that belong to us!What are we afraid of these insects? Nothing to fear if they just pass over our heads, replied the Bushmen, but if they swoop down over the area we're passing, the trees will be leafless and the grass will be bare.You forget, Colonel, that even though our food is guaranteed, there is no food for the horses, cows, and mules. What will become of them in this devastated pasture? The Bushman companions were silent for a few minutes, watching the lively crowd expand before their eyes.The feeble noise increased, but was drowned out by the cries of hawks and falcons.Those vultures, hawks, falcons, etc. rushed to this inexhaustible cloud, and devoured these insects by thousands. Do you think they're going to pounce on this area?Amory asked Morcumb. I fear, said the hunter, that the north wind will carry them straight here.The sun has gone down, and the cool evening winds will aggravate the wings of these insects, and they will pounce on trees, jungles, grass, and then The Bushman didn't finish his sentence, and at this moment, his prophecy was fulfilled.In an instant, a huge cloud cluster passed the zenith and rushed down to the ground.I saw a group of dark groups gathered around the camp, extending to the end of the horizon, and even the camp was submerged a little bit, and the four-wheelers and tents all disappeared under the live hail.The swarm was a foot high, and these Englishmen were submerged in the locust layer from the knee down, and each foot could kill hundreds of them, but what is this for such a huge number? However, tools are not without tools for exterminating these insects.Birds such as hawks and falcons screamed loudly, pounced on them, and devoured them greedily.Under the locust swarm, the snake was also attracted by such delicious prey and swallowed it in large quantities.Horses, cows, mules, and dogs all enjoyed it, and the satisfaction is beyond words.The wild birds, beasts, lions, hyenas, elephants, and rhinoceros on the plains gobbled up buckets of locusts in their stomachs.And the Bushmans, too, are lovers of these aerial shrimp, eating them like a godsend!But the great number of locusts did not fear these destroyers, and even they devoured each other. Under the repeated requests of the Bushmans, the three Britons had to taste this food that fell from the sky.They boiled thousands of locusts with salt, pepper and vinegar. These are the younger ones that they carefully selected. They are green in color instead of yellowish, so they taste better than the old ones. Up to four inches long.These young migratory locusts are as fat as ink pen tubes, fifteen to twenty francs long, have not yet laid eggs, and are considered delicacies by eager eaters.After half an hour of cooking, the Bushmen served a tempting plate of locusts to the three Englishmen.Their heads, claws, and wings have been removed, and they look exactly like sea prawns. They taste delicious. Your Excellency John ate hundreds of them and ordered his staff to continue to cook them in large quantities.He just put his head down and ate! Night came and everyone went back to bed.The quadricycles were not immune to encroachment, however, and it was impossible to kill so many locusts that entered, and it was uncomfortable to sleep in such conditions.Now that the sky was clear and the constellations were shining in the sky, the three astronomers spent the night taking the heights of the stars, which must have been better than covering themselves from the neck down in locust quilts.Moreover, how could the three Europeans feel a little sleepy when the roar of the beasts rushing towards the locusts echoed on the plain! The next day, the sun emerged from below a bright horizon and began to carve its diurnal arc in a bright sky that portends a hot day.The sunlight quickly raised the temperature, and the locust swarm, which was preparing to take off again and bring destruction elsewhere, made low and slight noises.At about eight o'clock in the morning, a huge sail was unfurled in the air, temporarily covering the sun's brilliance.The whole area is darkened, and one would think that night has come again.Then, a cool wind blew, and the huge cloud began to move, and for two hours, with a deafening noise, the cloud passed over the darkened camp, and finally disappeared on the western horizon. When the light reappeared, it was seen that the Bushmen's prophecy had come true.There were no leaves on the trees, and not a blade of grass remained on the ground.Everything came to naught.The ground exposed pale yellow soil, and the bare branches left only a wrinkled outline.With such rapid changes before us, winter followed summer and became a desert instead of a fertile area. One may apply to these locusts a proverb that attests to the marauding nature of Osmanlis: No grass grows where the Huns pass!The grass no longer grows where the locusts attacked!