 Chapter 27 of Jock of the Bushfelt by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Read by Sally McConnell in Bettys Bay, South Africa, in March 2010 Chapter 27 His Duty And Jock? But I never saw my dog again. For a year or so he lived something of the old felt life, trekking and hunting. From time to time I heard of him from Ted and others. Stories seemed to gather easily about him as they do about certain people, and many knew Jock and were glad to bring news of him. The things they thought wonderful and admirable made pleasant news for them to tell and welcome news to me, and they were heard with contented pride, but without surprise, as, just like him, there was nothing more to be said. One day I received word from Ted that he was off to Scotland for a few months, and had left Jock with another old friend, Tom Barnett, Tom at whose store under the big fig tree seedling lies buried, and although I was glad that he'd been left with a good friend like Tom, who would care for him as well as anyone could, the life there was not of the kind to suit him. For a few months it would not matter, but I had no idea of letting him end his days as a watchdog at a trader's store in the kaffa country. Tom's trouble was with thieves. For the natives about they were not a good lot and their dogs were worse. When Jock saw or centred him they had the poorest sort of luck or chance. He fought to kill, and not as town dogs fight. He had learnt his work in a hard school, and he never stopped or slackened until the work was done. So his fame soon spread and it brought Tom more peace than he had enjoyed for many a day. Natives no longer wandered at will into the reed-enclosed yard. Kaffa dogs ceased to sneak into the store and through the house stealing everything they could get. Jock took up his place at the door, and hungry mongrels watched him from a distance, or sneaked up a little closer when from time to time he trotted round to the yard at the back of the building to see how things were going there. All was well enough during the day, but the trouble occurred at night. The kaffas were too scared to risk being caught by him, but the dogs from the surrounding crawls prowled about after Jock, scavenging and thieving where they could, and what angered Tom most of all was the killing of his fouls. The yard at the back of the store was enclosed by a fence of closed-packed reeds, and in the middle of the yard stood the old foul-house with a clear space of bare ground all round it. On many occasions kaffa dogs had found their way through the reed-fence and killed fouls perching about the yard, and several times they had burgled the foul-house itself. In spite of Jock's presence and reputation this night robbing still continued, for while he slept peacefully in front of the store the robbers would do their work at the back. Poor old fellow. They were many, and he was one. They prowled night and day, and he had to sleep sometimes. They were watchful, and he was deaf, so he had no chance at all unless he saw or centred them. There were two small windows looking out onto the yard, but no door in the back of the building. Thus in order to get into the yard it was necessary to go out of the front door and round the side of the house. On many occasions Tom, roused by the screaming of the fouls, had seized his gun and run round to get a shot at the thieves, but the time so lost was enough for a caffa-dog, and the noise made in opening the reed-gate gave ample warning of his coming. The result was that Tom generally had all his trouble for nothing, but it was not always so. Several times he roused Jock as he ran out, and invariably got some satisfaction out of what followed. Once Jock caught one of the thieves struggling to force away through the fence, and held onto the hind leg till Tom came up with his gun. On other occasions he had caught them in the yard. On others again he had run them down in the bush and finished it off there without help or hindrance. That was the kind of life to which Jock seemed to have settled down. He was then in the very prime of life, and I still hoped to get him back to me some day to a home where he would end his days in peace. Yet it seemed impossible to picture him in a life of ease and idleness, a watch-dog in a house sleeping away his life on a mat, his only excitement keeping off strange caffas and stray dogs, or burrowing for rats and moles in a garden with old age, deafness, and infirmities growing year by year to make his end miserable. I had often thought that it might have been better that he died fighting, hanging on with his indomitable plucking tenacity, tackling something with all the odds against him, doing his duty and his best as he had always done, and died as Rocky's dog had died. If on that last day of our hunting together he had got at the lioness and gone under in the hopeless fight, if the sable-bull had caught him and finished him with one of the scythe-like sweeps of the scimitar horns, if he could have died like Nelson in the hour of victory, would it not have been better for him, happier for me? I often thought so, for to fade away slowly to lose his strength and fire and intelligence, to outlive his character and no longer be himself, no, that could not be happiness. Well, jock is dead. Jock, the innocent cause of seedling's downfallen death, lies buried under the same big fig-tree. The graves stand side by side. He died as he lived, true to his trust, and this is how it happened, as it was faithfully told to me. It was a bright moonlight night. Think of the scores we had spent together, the mild, glorious nights of the bush-field. And once more Tom was razed by a clatter of falling boxes and the wild screams of fowls in the yard. Only the night before the thieves had beaten him again, but this time he was determined to be even with them. Jumping out of bed he opened the little window looking out onto the foul-house, and with his gun resting on the sill, waited for the thief. He waited long and patiently, and by and by the screaming of the fouls subsided enough for him to hear the gurgling and scratching about in the foul-house, and he settled down to a still longer watch. Evidently the cathedog was enjoying his stolen meal in there. Go on, finish it! Tom muttered grimly, I'll have you this time if I wait till morning. So he stood at the window waiting and watching, until every sound had died away outside. He listened intently. There was not a stir. There was nothing to be seen in the moonlit yard, nothing to be heard, not even a breath of air to rustle the leaves in the big fig tree. Then, in the same dead stillness, the dim form of a dog appeared in the doorway, stepping softly out of the foul-house and stood in the deep shadow of the little porch. Tom lifted the gun slowly and took careful aim. When the smoke cleared away, the figure of the dog lay still, stretched out on the ground where it had stood, and Tom went back to bed, satisfied. The morning sun slanting across the yard shone in Tom's eyes as he pushed the reed gate open and made his way towards the foul-house. Under the porch where the sunlight touched it, something shone like burnished gold. He was stretched on his side. It might have been in sleep, but on the snow-white chest there was one red spot. And inside the foul-house lay the cat-a-dog dead. Jock had done his duty. End of Chapter 27 Notes and Glossary of Jock of the Bushfield by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please contact LibriVox.org. Read by Sally McConnell in Betty's Bay, South Africa, in March 2010. Notes. Snake stories are proverbially an un-commercial risk for those who value a reputation for truthfulness. Hailstorms are scarcely less disastrous. Hence these notes. Mumba. This is believed to be the largest and swiftest of the deadly snakes and one of the most wantonly vicious. The late Dr. Colenso, Bishop of Zululand, in his Zulu directory, describes them as attaining a length of twelve feet and capable of chasing a man on horseback. The writer has seen several of this length and has heard of measurements up to fourteen feet, which, however, were not sufficiently verified. He has also often heard stories of men on horseback being chased by black members, but has never met the man himself, nor succeeded in eliciting the important facts as to pace and distance. However that may be, the movements of a mumba, even on open ground, are, as the writer has several times observed, so incredibly swift as to leave no other impression on the mind than that of having witnessed a magical disappearance. How often and how far they travel on their tails, whether it is a continuous movement or merely a momentary uprising to command a view, and what length or what proportion of the body is on the ground for support or propulsion, the writer has no means of knowing. During the Zulu war an imperial officer was bitten by a mumba while on horseback and died immediately. Hale Storms Bad hail storms occur every year in South Africa, but they do not last long, ten minutes is enough to destroy everything that stands. The distances are immense and the area of disturbance is usually a narrow strip, hence except when one strikes a town very few people ever witness them. This summer hail storms were more general and more severe in the transvaal than for some time past. A bad storm baffles description. The size of the hail stones is only one of the factors. A strong wind enormously increases the destructiveness, yet some idea may be gathered from the size of the stones. The writer took a plaster cast of one picked up at Surfontein near Johannesburg in November 1906, which measured four and a half inches long, three and a half wide, and one and an eighth inches thick, a slab of white ice. In the Hickport Valley near Johannesburg and in Barboton about the same date, the felt was like a glacier. The hail lay like snow, inches deep, and during the worst spells the general run of hail stones varied in size from pigeon eggs to hen's eggs. But the big ones, the crash of whose individual blows was distinctly heard through the general roar, are described as bigger than cricket balls and the size of breakfast cups, generally with an elongation or tail like a balloon. Sheep and buck were killed, and full-grown cattle so battered that some were useless and others died of the injuries. Wooden doors were broken in, the panels being completely shattered, corrugated iron roofs were perforated, and in some cases the hail stones drove completely through them. The writer photographed a portion of a roof in Barboton which had suffered thus, and saw plaster casts formed by pouring plaster of Paris into the indentations which two hail storms had made in a flower bed, in diameter equaling respectively tennis and cricket balls. Near Harrismith, O.R.C., in 1903, two herd boys with a troop of about a hundred goats and calves were caught by the hail. The boys and all the stock, except one old goat, were killed. Note, the spelling of Cape Dutch and native names is in many cases not to be determined by recognized authority. The pronunciation cannot be quite accurately suggested through the medium of English. The figures of weights and measurements of animals are gathered from many sources and refer only to first-class specimens. The weights are necessarily approximate. Askful, Dutch, literary meaning, carrion bird. Antbeer, artfark, Dutch, or a tyropus afer. Antheap, mound made by termites or white ants, usually formed by one colony of ants, about two to four feet in base diameter and height, but often in certain localities very much larger. The writer photographed one this year near the scene of the last hunt, 18 feet base diameter and 10 feet high, and another in Rhodesia which formed a complete background for a travelling wagonet and six mules. In both cases these mounds were deserted cities, and trees probably 50 to 100 years old were growing out of them. Assagai, native. Native spear. Bas, Dutch, master. Bonseller, native, a present. Birker, Dutch, a cup. Billy, a small tin utensil with lid and handle used for boiling water. Buck sail, tarpaulin used for covering transport wagons which are known as buck wagons. Buffalo, cape buffalo. Boscafer, height five foot six inches, weight possibly a thousand pounds, horns 48 inches from tip to tip, and 36 inches in length on curve. Biltong, Dutch, meat cut in strips, slightly salted and dried in the open air. Bushback, a medium sized but very courageous antelope. Kragolefus scriptus, height three feet, weight 130 pounds, horns, males only 18 inches. Bushfelt, Dutch, bush country, also called low felt and low country. Cain rat, threonimus, swinderenianus. Shocker, native, the first of the great Zulu kings and founder of the Zulu military power. Dussey, Dutch, rock rabbit. Koenie, pro cavea hyrax capensis. Literary meaning, little badger. Dingon, dingan, native, the second of the great Zulu kings, brother, murderer and successor of shocker. Düsselborn, Dutch, the pole of a vehicle. Donga, native, a gully or dry watercourse with steep banks. Doe boys, scones, frequently unleavened dough baked in coals, also ash cakes, roasted cookies, stick in the gizzards, felt bricks and so on. Drift, Dutch, a ford. Diker, Dutch, a small antelope found throughout Africa. Kefalophus grimy. Gross weight, 30 to 40 pounds, height 28 inches, horns 5.5 inches. Literary meaning, diver, so called from its habit of disappearing and reappearing in low scrub, in a succession of bounds when it first starts running. Go away bird, the grey plantain eater. Schizobus concala. Haterbius, Dutch, a large antelope of which there are several varieties varying in gross weight from 300 to 500 pounds. Height, 48 inches, horns 24 inches. High felt, Dutch, high country, the plateau, about 5,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level. Honeybird, the honey guide, several species, family indicatoridae. Honey sucker, sunbird, several species, family nectarinaidae. Horse sickness, a lung infection prevalent during summer in low-lying parts, generally fatal, caused by microbes introduced in the blood by some insect. Impala, native, an antelope, a piserous melampus, habitat bush felt, weight 140 pounds, horns up to 20 inches, straight. Impi, native, an army or body of armed natives gathered for or engaged in war. Induna, native, a headman, captain or chief, great or petty. Incorse, native, chief, used as a term of respect and address or salutation. Inspan, Dutch, to yoke up, harness up, or hitch up. Isandalwana, meaning the little hand, the hill which gave the name to the battle in which the 24th Regiment was annihilated in the Zulu War, 1879. Kefacorn, sorghum, garsele, native, gently, carefully, pleasantly, well, humba garsele, farewell, go in peace, sala garsele, farewell, stay in peace. Kersla, native, a native of certain age and position entitled to where the head ring. Dutch, ring corp, ring head. Kiry, or kiry, native sticks used for fighting, frequently knobbed, hence knob kiry. Ketchowire, fourth and last of the great Zulu kings. Clipspringer, Dutch, a small antelope in appearance and habit rather like chamois. Oriotragus, saltator. Literally meaning a rock jumper. Cloof, Dutch, a gorge. Neehouter, Dutch, to couple the head to one foreleg by a rim or strap attached to the halter, closely enough to prevent the animal from moving fast. Koran, Dutch, the smaller bastard. Literary meaning, scolding cock. Kudu, strep scissoros capensis. Habitat, rugged, bushy country. Height, five feet, weight, six hundred pounds. Horns up to forty-eight inches straight and sixty-six inches on curve. Copy, Dutch, a hill. Literary meaning, a little head. Kral, Dutch, an enclosure for cattle sheep, et cetera. A karal, also a collection of native huts, the home of a family, the village of a chief or tribe. Krantz, German, a precipitous face or coronet of rock on a hill or mountain. Leggevarn, a huge water lizard, the monitor. Cape Dutch, maximum length up to eight feet. Loper, round shot for fouling piece about four times the size of buckshot. Marula, in Zulu, Omgarno. A tree which furnishes soft white wood which is carved into bowls, spoons, et cetera. Fruit eaten or fermented for drink. Sclero-carrier calfra. Merkat, Dutch, a small animal of the mongoose kind, properly applied to sericarta tetradactyla, but loosely to several species. Middelfelt, Dutch, the mixed country lying between the high-felt and the bush-felt. Nextrop, Dutch, the neck strap or rim which attached to the yoke scales keep the yoke in place. Nix, Dutch, nothing. Oribi, native, a small antelope. Aurebia scaparia. Weight, 30 pounds. Height, 24 inches. Horns, 6 inches. Art span, Dutch, to an yoke or unharness. Also the camp where one has art span and places where it is customary or by law permitted to art span. Panda, properly impande, native, the third of the great Zulu kings. Cartridge, pheasant. Names applied somewhat loosely to various species of Franklin. Parl, Dutch, the great bustard. Literary meaning peacock. Pezulu, native, on top, up, above. Poort, Dutch, a gap or gorge in a range of hills. Literary meaning gate. Quachar, zebra. Correctly applied to aqueous quachar. Now extinct but still applied to the various species of zebra found in South Africa. Rim, Dutch, a stark strip of raw hide. Rimpea, Dutch, a small rim. Ritbak, Dutch, reedbak. Curvy capra, arondinum. Height, three foot six inches. Gross weight, 140 pounds. Horns, male only, up to 16 inches. Sable antelope. Hippotragus, niger. Dutch, swart widpens. Habitat, bush felt. Height, four foot six inches. Weight, 350 pounds. Horns, up to 48 inches on curve. Sagabona, native. Zulu equivalent of good day. Salted horse. One which has had horse sickness and is thus considered immune as in smallpox. Hence, salted is freely used quill-o-quilly as meaning acclimatised. Tough, hardened, etc. Scance, Dutch. A stone or earth breastwork for defence. Very common in old native wars. Skelem, Dutch. A rascal. Like scotch, Skelem. Skelem, Dutch. A protection of bush or trees usually against wild animals. Shambok, Dutch. Tapering raw-hide whip made from rhinoceros, hippopotamus or giraffe skin. Ske, a yoke-ske. Short for Dutch yoke-ske. Sluit, Dutch. A ditch. Span, Dutch. A team. Spur, Dutch. Footprints, also a trail of man, animal or vehicle. Springback, Dutch. A small antelope. Antidocus gazella ucorre. Habitat, high-felt and other open-grass country. Height, 30 inches. Weight, up to 90 pounds. Horns, 19 inches. Literary meaning. Jumping buck. Sprit, Dutch. A stream. Squirrel or tree-ret. Native name. Vanisciorus palliartus. Stem buck, Dutch. A small antelope. Raffi carus campistais. Height, 22 inches. Weight, 25 pounds. Horns, 5 inches. Stoop, Dutch. A raised promenade or paved veranda in front or at sides of a house. Tumbukki grass. Native. A very rank grass in places reaches 15 feet high and stem diameter one-half an inch. Tick or rhinoceros bird. The ox-pecker. Wolfega africana. Tiger. In South Africa, the lipid is generally called a tiger, first so described by the Dutch. Tok-toki. A slow-moving beetle incapable of flight. Gets its name from its means of signalling by wrapping the abdomen on the ground. Tenne brianid beetle of the genus Samadese. Trek. Dutch. Literary meaning to pull. To move off or go on a journey. A journey. An expedition. For example, the Great Trek or Exodus of Boers from the Cape Colony, 1836 to 1848. Also and commonly, the time distanced all journey from one art span to another. Trick gear. The traction gear. Chain, yolks, et cetera, of a wagon. The Boer pioneers had no chains and used rims plated into a stuffed rope, hence trick-toe or pulling rope. Cecibi. An antelope, one of the Hotterbeers family. Damaliskus lunatus. Dutch. Bastard Hotterbeers. Height 48 inches, weight 300 pounds, horns 15 inches. Cecifly. A grey fly a little larger than the common house fly, whose bite is fatal to domesticated animals. Twiggle. Little people's word for the excited movement of a small dog's tail believed to be a combination of wriggle and twiddle. M'fan. Native a boy. M'garnam. Native my friend. Om long. Native. The native word to describe a white man. Felt. Dutch. The open or unoccupied country, uncultivated or grazing land. Flay. Dutch. A small shallow lake. A swamp. A depression intermittently damp. A water meadow. Voerloeper. Literary meaning, front walker. The leader. The boy who leads the front oxen. The patentambu. Zulu for take the rim. Voerslag. Dutch. Literary meaning front lash or skin. The strip of back hide, which forms the fine end of a whiplash. Waterbuck. Curbis ellipsi primnos. Dutch. Krang hat. Height 48 inches. Weight 350 pounds. Horns, males only. 36 inches. Villabiest. Dutch. Literary meaning, wild cattle. The bridled GNU. Blue Villabiest. Conokites terrinus. Height 4 foot 6 inches. Weight 400 pounds. Horns 30 inches. Wild dog. The cape hunting dog. Lycaeon pictus. Wooden orange. Fruit of the clapper. A species of strictness. Wolf. The usual name for the hyena. Derived from Tiger Wolf. The pure Dutch name for the spotted hyena. Jookske. The wooden slat, which, coupled by next drops, holds the yolk in place. End of glossary. The end of jock of the bushfield.