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20 - Jock of the Bushveld by Sir James Percy Fitzpatrick · Jock of the Bushveld

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Half way between the Crocodile and Camati rivers, a few
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: miles south of the old road. There are half a
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: dozen or more small copies between which lie broad, richly
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: grassed depressions, too wide and flat to be called valleys.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: Yet the rich loamy soil has been washed out in
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: places into dongas of considerable depth. There is no running
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: water there in winter, but there are a few big pools, long, narrow,
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: irregularly shaped bits of water, with shady trees around them.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: I came upon the place by accident one day, and
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: thereafter we kept at dark as our own preserve, for
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: it was full of game and a most delightful spot.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: It was there that Snarley Yard twice cleaned out the
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: hunter's pot. Apart from the discovery of this preserve, the
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: day was memorable for the reason that it was my
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: first experience of a big mixed herd, and I learnt
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: that day how difficult the work may be when several
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: kinds of game run together after a dry and water
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: all morning, the sight of the big pool had prompted
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: an off saddle snowbull was tethered in a patch of
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: good grass, and Jock and I were lying in the shade.
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: When he began to sniff and walk up wind, I
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: took the rifle and followed, and only a little way
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: off we came into dry flare ground, where there were
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: few trees and the grass stood about waist high. Some
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: two hundred yards away, where the ground grows slightly and
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: the bush became thicker, there was a fair sized troop
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: of impala, perhaps a hundred or more, and just behind
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: and mostly to one side of them, were between twenty
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: and thirty cesesabe. We saw them clearly and in time
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: to avoid exposing ourselves. They were neither feeding nor resting,
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: but simply standing about, and individual animals were moving unconcernedly
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: from time to time with an air of idle loitering.
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: I tried to pick out a good cesabe ram, but
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: the impala were in the way, and it was necessary
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: to crawl for some distance to reach certain cover away
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: on the right. Crawling his hard work and very rough
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: on both hands and knees in the bushelt, frequent rests
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: being necessary, and in one of the pauses, I heard
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: a curious sound of soft padded feet jumping behind me,
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: and looking quickly about, caught Jock in the act of
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: taking his observations. The grass was too high for him
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: to see over even when he stood up on his
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: hind legs, and he was giving jumps of slowly increasing
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: strength to get the height which would enable him to
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: see what was on I shall never forget that first
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: view of Jock's ballooning observations. It became a regular practice afterwards,
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: and I grew accustomed to seeing him stand on his
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: hind legs or jump when his view was shut out. Indeed,
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: sometimes when we were having a slow time, I used
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: to draw him by pretending to stalk something. But it
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: is that first view that remains a picture of him.
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: I turned at the instant when he was at the
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: top of his jump. His legs were all bunched up,
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: his eyes staring eagerly, and his ears had flapped out,
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: giving him a look of comic astonishment. It was a
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: most surprisingly unreal sight. He looked like a caricature of
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: Jock shot into the air by a galvanic shock. A
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: sign with my hand brought him flat on the ground,
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: looking distinctly guilty, and we moved on again. But I
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: was shaking with silent laughter. At the next stop. I
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: had looked back to see how he was behaving, and
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: to my surprise, although he was carefully following close behind me,
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: he was looking steadily away till our immediate rite. I
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: subsided gently on to my left side to see what
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: it was that interested him, and to my delight saw
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: a troop of twenty to twenty five blue wildebius. They
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: too were standing any way, and evidently had not seen us.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: I worked myself cautiously round to face them so as
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: to be able to pick my shot and take it kneeling,
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: thus clearing the tops of the grass. But whilst doing this,
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: another surprising development took place. Looking hard and carefully at
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: the wilderbiers two hundred yards away, I became conscious of
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: something else in between us and only half the distance
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: or looking at me. It had the effect of a shock,
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: the disagreeable effect produced by having a book or picture
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: suddenly thrust close to the face, the feeling of wanting
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: to get further away from it to refocus one's sight.
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: What I saw was simply a dozen quaher, all exactly alike,
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: all standing alike, all looking at me, all full face
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: to me, their four feet together, their ears cocked and
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: their heads quite motionless, all gazing steadily at me, alive
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: with interest and curiosity. There was something quite ludicrous about it,
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: and something perplexing. Also. When I looked at the Quaker,
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: the vilderbeers seemed to get out of focus and were
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: lost to me. When I looked at the Vilderbiers, the
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: Quaker blurred and faded out of sight. The difference in distance,
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: perhaps as much as the very marked difference in the
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: distinctive colorings, threw me out. And the effect of being
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: watched also told. Of course, I wanted to get a vildebius.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: But I was conscious of the watching Quaker all the time,
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: and for the life of me could not help constantly
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: looking at them to see if they were going to
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: start off and stampede the others, whilst trying to pick
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: out the best of the Bilderbiers. A movement away on
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: the left made me look that way. The imparlor jumped
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: off like one animal, scaring necessably into a scattering rut.
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: The Quaker switched round and thundered off like a stampede
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: of horses, and the Bilderbiers simply vanished. One signal in
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: one troop had sent the whole lot off. Jock and
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: I were left alone, still crouching, looking from side to side,
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: staring at the slowly drifting dust, and listening to the distant,
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: dying sound of galloping feet. It was a great disappointment,
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: but the conviction that we had found a really good
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: spot made some amends, and Snowball was left undisturbed to
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: feed and rest for another two hours. We made for
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: the wagons along another route, taking in some of the
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: newly discovered country in the home sweep, and the promise
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: of the morning was fulfilled. We had not been more
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: than a few minutes on the way when a fine
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: rit buck ran jumped up within a dozen yards of
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: Snowball's nose. Old Rocky had taught me to imitate the
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: d buck's shrill whistle, and this one fell to the
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: first shot. He was a fine big fellow, and as
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: Snowball put on airs and pretended to be nervous when
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: it came to packing the meat, I had to blindfold him,
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: and after hoisting the buck up to a horizontal branch,
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: lowered it on to his back. Snowball was villanously slow
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: and bad to lead. He knew that whilst being led,
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: neither whip nor spur could touch him, and when loaded
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: up with meat, he dragged along it a miserable walk.
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: One had to haul him once, but only once. I
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: had tried driving him before me, trusting to about four
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: hundred pound weight of koodoo meat to keep him steady.
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: But no sooner had our stepped behind with a switch
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: than he went off with a cumber plunge and bucked
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: like a frantic mule until he rid himself of the load,
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: saddle and all. The fact is one person could not
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: manage him on foot. It needed one at each end
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: of him, and he knew it. Thus it worked out
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: at a compromise. He carried my load and I went
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: his pass. We were laboring along in this fashion when
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: we came on the wilderbiers again. A white man on
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: foot seems to be recognized as an enemy, but if
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: accompanied by other animals, either on horseback, driving in a
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: vehicle leading a horse, or walking among cattle, he may
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: pass unnoticed for a long while. Attention seems to be
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: fixed on the animals rather than the man, and frank
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: curiosity instead of alarm is quite evidently the feeling aroused
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: the wilderbiers had allowed me to get close up, and
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: I picked out the big bull, and took the shot,
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: kneeling with my one toe hooked in the reins to
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: secure Snowball, taking the chance of being jerked off my
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: aim rather than let him go. But he behaved like
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: an angel, and once more that day a single shot
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: was enough. It was a long and tedious job skinning
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: the big fellow, cutting him up, hauling the heavy limbs
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: and the rest of the meat up into a suitable tree,
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: and making all safe against the rubbers of the earth
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: and the air. And most troublesome of all was packing
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: the head and skin on Snowball, who showed the profoundest
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: mistrust of this dark, ferocious looking monster. Snowball and I
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: had had enough of it when we reached camp well
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: after dark. But Jock, I am not so sure of
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: his invincible keenness, seemed at times to have something in
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: it of mute reproach, the tinge of disappointment in those
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: they love, which great hearts feel and strive to hide.
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: I never outstayed Jock, and never once knew him to
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: own up that he had had enough. No two days
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: were quite alike, Yet many were alike in the sense
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: that they were successful without hitch and without interest to
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: any but the hunters. Many others were marked by chases
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: in which Jock's part, most essential to see excess too
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: closely resembled that of other days to be worth repeating.
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: On that day, he had, as usual been the one
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: to see the bildebius and had given the word in time.
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: The rest was only one straight shot. That was fair
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: partnership in which both were happy, But there was nothing
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: much to talk about. There was very little wanton shooting
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: with us, for when we had more fresh meat than
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: was required, as often happened, it was dried, as built
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: on for the days of shortage which were sure to come.
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: I started off early next morning with the boys to
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: bring in the meat and went on foot, giving Snowball
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: a rest more or less deserved. By nine o'clock the
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: boys were on their way back, and leaving them to
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: take the direct route, I struck away eastwards along the
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: line of the pools, not expecting much, and least of
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: all dreaming that fate had one of the worst days
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: in store for us. From cloudless heavens, her lightning's glance
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: did not occur to my mind as we moved silently
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: along in the bright sunshine. We passed the second pool,
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: loitering a few minutes in the cool shade of the
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: evergreens to watch the green pigeons feeding on the wild
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: figs and peering curiously at us. Then moved briskly into
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: more open ground. It is not wise to step too
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: suddenly out of the dark shade into strong glare, and
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: it may have been that act of carelessness that enabled
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: the Koodoo to get off before I saw them. They
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: cantered away in a string, with the cows in the
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: rear between me and two full grown bulls. It was
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: a running shot end on and the last of the troop,
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: a big cow gave a stumble, but catching herself up again,
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: she cantered off slowly. Her body was all bunched up
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: and she was pitching greatly, and her hind legs kept
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: flying out in irregular kicks, much as you may see
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: a horse kick out when a blind fly is biting him.
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: There was no time for a second shot, and we
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: started off in hot pursuit, and fifty yards further on,
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: where there is a clear view, I saw that the
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: Koodoo was going no faster than an easy camp, and
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: Jock was close behind. Whether he was misled by the
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: curious action and believed there was a broken leg to grip,
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: or was simply over bold. It is impossible to know.
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: Whatever the reason, he jumped for one of the hind legs,
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: and at the same moment the Koodoo lashed out viciously
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: one foot, struck him under the jaw close to the throat,
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: whipped his head and neck back like a bent switch,
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: and hurled him somersaulting backwards. I have the impression, as
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: one sees oneself in a nightmare, of a person throwing
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: up his arms and calling the name of his child
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: as a train passed over it. Jock lay limp and motionless,
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: with the blood oozing from mouth, nose and eyes. I recollect,
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: feeling for his heart beat and breath, and shaking him
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: roughly and calling him by name. Then remembering the pool
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: near by, I left him in the shade of the tree,
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: filled my hat with water, ran back again and poured
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: it over him and into his mouth, shed making him
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: again to arouse him, and several times pressing his sides
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: billows fashion in a ridiculous effort to restore breathing. The
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: old hat was leaky and I had to grip the
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: rough cut ventilations to make it hold any water at all.
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: And I was returning with a second supply, when with
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: a great, big heart jump, I saw Jock heel over
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: from his side, and, with his fore legs flat on
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: the ground, raise himself to a resting position, his head
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: wagging groggily and his eyes blinking in a very dazed way.
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: He took no notice when I called his name, but
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: at the touch of my hand his ears moved up,
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: and the stumpy tail scraped feebly in the dead leaves.
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: He was stone deaf, but I did not know it.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: Then he leaped a little of the water, sneezed the
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: blood away, and licked his chops, and then with evident effort,
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: stood up. But this is the picture which it is
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: impossible to forget. The dog was still so dazed and
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: shaken that he reeled slightly, steadying himself by spreading his
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: legs well apart. And there followed a few seconds pause
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: in which he stood thus, And then he began to
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: walk forward with the uncertain, staggery walk of a toddling child.
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: His jaws were set close, his eyes were beady black,
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: and he looked fight all over. He took no notice
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: of me, and I, never dreaming that he was after
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: the Koodoo, watched the walk quicken to a labored trot
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: before I moved or called, But he paid no heed
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: to the call. For the first time in his life,
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: there was rank open defiance of orders, and he trotted
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: slowly along with his nose to the ground. And then
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: I understood, and, thinking he was maddened by the kick
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: and not quite responsible for himself, and more than that,
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: admiring his pluck far too much to be angry, I
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: ran to bring him back. But at a turn in
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: his course he saw me coming, and this time he
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: obeyed the call and signal instantly, and with a limp
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: air of disappointment, followed quietly back to the tree. The
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: reason for Jock's persistent disobedience that day was not even suspected.
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: Then I put everything down to the kicker, and he
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: seemed to me to be all wrong, But indeed there
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: was excuse enough for him. Nevertheless, it was puzzling that
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: at times he should ignore me in positively contemptuous fashion,
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: and that others obey with all his old readiness. I
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: neither knew he was deaf, nor realized that The habit
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: of using certain signs and gestures when I spoke to him,
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: and even of using them in place of orders when
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: silence was imperative, had made him almost independent of the
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: word of mouth. From that day he depended wholly upon signs,
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: for he never heard another sound. Jock came back with
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: me and lay down, but he was not content. Presently
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: he rose again and remained standing with his back to me,
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: looking steadily in the direction taken by the Koodoo. It
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: was fine to see the indomitable spirit, but I did
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: not mean to let him try again. And the Koodoo
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: was as good as dead, no doubt. Yet a hundred
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: koodoo would not have tempted me to risk taking him out.
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: To rest him and get him back to the camp,
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: was the only thought. I was feeling very soft about
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: the dog then. And while I sat thus, watching him
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: and waiting for him to rest and recover once more,
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: and almost within reach of me, he started off again.
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: But it was not as he had done before. This
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: time he went with a spring and a rush, and
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: with head lowered and meaning business in vain. I called
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: and followed. He outpaced me and left me in a
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: few strides. The Koodoo had gone along the right bank
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: of the Donga, which commencing just below the pool, extended
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: half a mile or more down the flat valley. Jock's
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: rush was magnificent, but it was puzzling, and his direction
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: was even more so, for he made straight for the donga.
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: I ran back for the rifle and followed, and he
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: had already disappeared round the steep bank of the Donga
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: when through the trees on the opposite side I saw
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: a Koodoo cow moving along at a slow, cramped walk.
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: The donga was a deep one, with perpendicular sides and
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: in places even overhanging crumbling banks, and I reached it
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: as Jock, slipping and struggling, worked his way up the
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: other wall, writhing and climbing through the tree roots exposed
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: by the floods. As he rushed out, the Koodoo saw
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: him and turned. There was just a chance, a second
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: of time, a foot of space before he got in
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: the line of fire, and I took it. One hind
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: leg gave away, and in the short side long stagger
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: that followed, Jock jumped at the Koodoo's throat and they
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: went down together. It took me several minutes to get
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: through the donga, and by the time the koodoo was
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: dead and Jock was standing wide mouthed and panting on
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: guard at its head, the second shot had been enough.
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: It was an unexpected and puzzling end, and in a
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: way not a welcome one, as it meant delay in
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: getting back. After the morning's experience. There was not much
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: inclination for the skinning and cutting up of a big animal,
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: and I set to work gathering branches and grass to
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: hide the carcass, meaning to send the boys back for it.
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: But the day's experiences were not over yet. A low
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: growl from Jock made me look sharply round to see
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: half a dozen kaffirs coming through the bush with a
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: string of mongrel hounds at their heels. So that was
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: the explanation of the koodoo's returned to us. The natives,
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: a hunting party, had heard the shot, and coming along
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: in hopes of meat, had met and headed off the
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: wounded koodoo, turning her back almost on her own tracks.
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: There was satisfaction in having the puzzle solved, but the
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: more practical point was that there was all the help
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: I wanted, and the boys readily agreed to skin the
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: animal and carry the four quarters to the camp for
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: the gift of the rest. Then my trouble began with Jock.
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: He flew at the first Kaffer dogs that sneaked up
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: to sniff the Koodoo. Shouting at him produced no effect whatever,
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: and before I could get hold of him, he had
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: mauled the animal pretty badly. After hauling him off, I
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: sat down in the shade with him beside me. But
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: there were many dogs and a succession of affairs, and I,
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: knowing nothing of his deafness, became thoroughly exasperated and surprised
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: by poor old Jock's behavior. His instinct to defend our kills,
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: which was always strong, was roused that day beyond control,
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: and his hatred of kaffer dogs, an implacable one in
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: any case, made a perfect fury of him. Still, the sickening,
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: awful feeling that came over me as he lay limp
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: and lifeless was too fresh, and it was not possible
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: to be rarely angry. And after half a dozen of
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: the dogs had been badly handled, there was something so
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: comical in the way they shared off and eyed Jock
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: that I could only laugh. They sneaked behind bushes and
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: tried to circumvent him in all sorts of ways, but
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: fled precipitately as soon as he moved a step, or
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: lowered his head and humped his shoel threateningly. Even the
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: Kaffer owners, who had begun to look glum, broke into
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: appretiat of laughter and shouts of admiration for the white
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: man's dog. Jock kept up an unbroken string of growls,
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: not loud, of course, but I could feel them going
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: all the while like a volcano's rumbling, as my restraining
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: hand rested on him. And when the boys came up
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: to skin the Koodoo, I had to hold him down
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: and shake him sharply. The dog was mad with fight.
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: He bristled all over, and no patting or talking produced
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: more than a flicker of his ears. The growling went on,
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: the hare stood up. The tail was quite unresponsive. His
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: jaws were set like a vice, and his eyes shone
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: like two black diamonds. He had actually struggled to get
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: free of my hand when the boys began to skin,
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: and they were so scared by his resolute attempt that
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: they would not start until I put him down between
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: my knees and held him. I was sitting against a
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: tree only three or four yards from the Koodoo, and
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: the boys, who had lighted a fire in anticipation of
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: early tidbits which would grill while they worked, were getting
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: well along with the skinning. When one of them saw
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: fit to pause in order to hold forth in the
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: native fashion on the glories of the chase and the
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: might of the white man. Jock's headlund his paws, and
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: his mouth was shut like a rat trap. His growling
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: grew louder as the bombastic nigger, all unconscious of the
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: wicked watching eyes behind him, waved his blood stained knife
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: and warmed to his theme. Great you thought yourself, proclaimed
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: the orator, addressing the dead Koodoo in a long rigmarole
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: which was only partly understood by me, but evidently much
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: approved by the other boys. As they stooped to their work.
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: Swift ol foot and strong of lium by the white
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: man came and there I could not make out the
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: words with any certainty, But whatever the last word was,
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: it was intended as a dramatic climax, and to lend
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: additional force to this point, the Orator let fly a
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: resounding kick on the Koodoo's stomach. The effect was quite electrical,
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: Like an arrow from the bow, Jock flew at him.
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: The warning shot came too late, and as Jock's teeth
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: fastened in behind, the terrified boy gave a wild bound
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: over the Koodoo, carrying Jock like a streaming coat tail
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: behind him. The work was stopped, and the natives drew
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: off in grave consultation. I thought that they had had
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: enough of Jock for one day, and that they would
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: strike work and leave me, probably returning later on to
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: steal the meat while I went for help from the wagons.
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: But it turned out that the consultation was purely medical,
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: and in a few minutes I had an interesting exhibition
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: of native doctoring. They laid the late orator out face downwards,
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: and one burly brother straddled him across the small of
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: his back. Then, after a preliminary examination of the four
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: slits left by Jock's fangs, he proceeded to quarterrz them
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: with the glowing ends of sundry sticks, which an assistant
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: took from the fire and handed to him as required.
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: The victim flapped his hands on the ground and hallooed
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: out my battle, my bo. But he did not struggle,
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: and the operator toasted away with methodical indifference. The orator
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: stood it well. I took Jock away to the big
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: tree near the pool. It was evident that he too
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: had had enough of it for one day. End of
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: Chapter nineteen