Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Getting to know each other

The escort consisted of 100 men under the leadership of Bushmen.These natives are hard-working Bushmen, who rarely get angry, rarely quarrel, and are very able to endure hardships and stand hard work.Before the missionaries came, these Bushmen were liars, heartless people who murdered and robbed, often killing their enemies in their sleep.The missionaries partially changed these barbaric customs, but these natives still more or less maintained their habit of robbing farms and stealing livestock. Ten Bushmans had acquired four-wheeled carriages of the kind under the Molkata Falls to form the traveling means of the expedition.Two of them are similar to some kind of mobile homes, which are more comfortable and are used for overnight accommodation by Europeans.Colonel Everett and his companions had such a residence to follow: built of wood, with dry floors, roofed with impermeable tarpaulins, and equipped with various beds and toiletries.This saves you the time of setting up a tent when you arrive at the camp, because the tent is already set up.

One of these two cars was used by Colonel Everett and his two compatriots, the Lord John Murray and William Amory.Three Russians, Mathieu Strux, Nicolas Ballendre and Michel Zorn lived in another.There are two other cars in the same form as the first two, belonging to the five British and five Russians in the "Queen and Tsar" group. Of course, the steamboat's hull and steam engine were also dismantled and loaded on one of the carriages, which would also accompany the travelers through the African desert.There are many lakes in this inland country, some of which lie on the route chosen by the scientific committee, so that steamboats can be of great use.

Other wagons carried instruments, food, traveller's luggage, weapons, ammunition, triangulation tools such as portable iron towers for measuring the bottom edge, poles, reflectors, tripods, etc., and finally, the escort of 100 men thing.The Bushmen's food consisted mainly of biltong.They cut the meat of antelope, buffalo or elephant into long strips and dry it in the sun or simmer it in a form that preserves it for several months.This method of production can save salt, so it is widely used in areas that lack this useful mineral.As for bread, the Bushmans substituted fruits and roots of various plants: peanut kernels, bulbs of certain sunflowers, local figs, chestnuts, or zemi pith, known as "kaffir bread."These foods are obtained from plants, and should be continuously picked and replenished on the road.As for meat, the hunters of the escort used their aloe bows and spears with extraordinary dexterity to hunt wild animals in the woods and plains to provide meat for the expedition.

The six local cows produced in Cape Town, with long legs and high shoulders and huge horns, were put on six cars by buffalo leather saddles and bridles.These heavy vehicles, samples of primitive car-building technology, were pulled by six oxen, if not quickly, then steadily, and moved forward, dragged by huge heavy wheels, neither fearing steep slopes nor worrying about mud puddle. The travelers were mounted on black or pale gray Spanish ponies, a gentle, brave and much-loved animal brought to Cape Town from South America.Also in the group of four-legged animals are six "guwaga", a plump donkey with thin legs and a loud bark reminiscent of a dog.Some local flow is required for measurement experiments, and these "guwaga" are responsible for carrying instruments and tools to places that four-wheeled vehicles cannot reach.

The only exception was the Bushman, who mounted a handsome quadruped with grace and deftness that would have been the envy of the connoisseur the Lord John Murray.This is a zebra, covered with brown horizontal stripes, very handsome.Four feet tall from hoof to mane, and seven feet long from muzzle to tail, the zebra was suspicious and easily startled, and had never been subjected to slavery before Morcombe. Several wild dogs, not yet fully domesticated, sometimes inappropriately called "hunters' dogs," flanked the expedition.Their body shape and long ears are reminiscent of the European short-haired lop-eared hound.

That's all for the upcoming expedition deep into the African desert.The six cows moved forward quietly under the driver's control, and the ribs were poked by the driver's prod from time to time.It was a strange sight to see the procession marching so orderly along the hills. Where will the expedition be led after leaving La Taku? "Straight ahead," Colonel Everett had said. In fact, neither the colonel nor Mathieu Strux could at this moment proceed in a definite direction.Before they could begin their triangulation experiments, they had to find a large, flat field in which to establish the base of the first "horn," a triangular network that should cover a vast area in southern Africa that spans many latitudes.

Colonel Everett explained to the Bushmen what to do.With the poise of a scholar accustomed to scientific terminology, the Colonel spoke to the Bushmen of angles, adjacent angles, bases, lengths of meridians, distances from the zenith, and so on.After letting him talk for a few minutes, the Bushmen interrupted impatiently: "Colonel, I don't listen to your horns, your bases, your warps. I can't even understand what you're going to do in the African desert. But anyway, it's your business. You want me What to do? A wide and beautiful plain, very straight, very level? Well, I'll find this for you."

At Morcum's command, the expedition, which had just turned around the hills of Rattaku, began to walk southwest.This direction is located in the south of the town, which is the plain area irrigated by the Juluman River.The Bushmans hoped to find plains in the valley of the river that would be favorable to the colonel's plans. From this day on, hunters have developed the habit of walking ahead of the expedition.His Excellency John Murray rode a good horse, kept close to the hunter, and from time to time told his companions with a loud gunshot that he knew another African wild animal.The colonel was completely immersed in his own thoughts, letting the horse carry him forward.He was thinking about the future of this expedition. It was too difficult to lead such an expedition in such a wild place.Mathieu Strux, sometimes riding a horse, sometimes sitting in a car, always looking at the natural landscape on the side of the road, rarely speaks.As for Nicolas Ballendre, he was the worst rider one could be, and spent most of his time walking, or shutting himself in his car, deep in reveries of higher mathematics.

If William Amory and Michel Zorn stayed in their "special cars" at night, at least they could see each other again during the day when the expedition was on its way.A growing friendship between the two young men is reinforced by the events of the journey.On the road during the day, they drove side by side, talking and arguing.The two of them would often break off from the expedition, sometimes walking on the flanks of the party, sometimes rushing miles ahead of it when the endless plains opened up.They are free, like lost in this wild nature.They talked about everything but science, they had left numbers and problems, calculations and observations behind them, they were no longer astronomers, no longer people who gazed at the starry sky, but They are two deserted students, happily running through the dense forest and the boundless wilderness, breathing the refreshing and fragrant air.They laughed, laughing like ordinary people, not like the serious people who made their groups more accustomed to comets and other oblate planets.If they never laughed at science, they sometimes smiled at the thought of serious scholars who were not of this world, but there was no malice in it.They were two excellent naturals, extroverted, lovable, and loyal, in peculiar contrast to their two leaders, who were rigid rather than rigid, Colonel Everett and Mathieu Strux .

Undoubtedly, the two scientists were often the subject of commentary by the two young men.William Amory, under the influence of his friend Michel Zorn, began to learn to know them. "Yes," said Michel Zorn, "I observed them carefully when I sailed on the 'Augusta'. Unfortunately, I have to admit that these two people are jealous of each other. If Everett Colonel Tet looked like the general leader of the expedition, and Mathieu Strux was no worse than him. The Russian government clearly established his leadership position. Our two leaders are more bossy than the other. In addition, I repeat to you, there is a scientist's jealousy among them, the worst of all jealousies."

"And the most unreasonable kind," replied William Amory, "for we are all men of discovery, and each of us can benefit from our joint endeavors. But if your opinion are correct, and I have reason to believe them. My dear Zorn, this is a sad situation for our expedition. For we must have absolute cooperation to make such an experiment so delicate. .” "Perhaps," said Michel Zorn, "I am afraid that such cooperation does not exist. Please judge our uneasiness. If every detail of the experiment, the calculation method, the location of the observatory, the check of the numbers, must be Leading to a new controversy! Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm anticipating some quarrels - when it's time to check our double record, write something in it that will make us accurate to four thousandths The observation time of Baitoise." "You frighten me, my dear Zorn," said William Amory, "to venture so far for such a cause, and to fail through lack of co-operation, is very distressing. May God bless your fears from becoming reality." "I hope so, William," said the young Russian astronomer, "but I repeat, I took part in several discussions of the scientific method during the trip, which confirmed that Colonel Everett and his opponents were indescribably obstinate. In short, I perceive a tragic jealousy." "The two gentlemen, however, were never separated," observed William Amory, "nor did we ever come across one without the other. They were inseparable, just as we were both." "Yes," said Michel Zorn, "as long as it was daylight they were never apart. Yet the two never exchanged ten words. They watched each other, spied on each other. If one of them could not The other is eliminated and we will be working in deplorable conditions." "In your opinion," William asked hesitantly, "which of these two scientists would you like to..." "My dear Wilhelm," said Michel Zorn with great frankness, "I accept faithfully at the head of any one of them who can rightly establish authority. National pride. Mathieu Strux and Colonel Everett are brilliant men, and they rival each other. England and Russia should benefit equally from the fruits of their work. Whether these work is done by a It doesn't matter whether the British lead or a Russian. Don't you agree with me?" "Absolutely, my dear Zorn," said William Amory, "so let us not be distracted by some foolish prejudice, and let us both serve the common good as best we can individually. Perhaps we can divert A possible collision between the two opponents. Also, your countryman Nicolas Ballendre..." "He!" laughed Michel Zorn, "he sees nothing, hears nothing, understands nothing. If he can count, he can count for his own benefit. He is not a Russian." , not English, not Prussian, not Chinese, he's not even a man of the world, he's Nicolas Ballendre. That's all." "I cannot say so much about my countryman, His Excellency John Murray," said William Amory. "He is a typical Englishman, but a determined hunter. Rather than take part in a discussion of the law of science, he But it is easier to follow a giraffe or an elephant. My dear Zorn, it seems that only the two of us can ease the frequent friction between the two leaders. There is no need to say that whatever happens, we will always be united in frankness and loyalty." "Always, no matter what happens!" said Michel Zorn, reaching out to his friend William. The expedition continued southwestward under the leadership of the Bushmans.At noon on the 4th of March they reached a wide area at the foot of the hills that stretched from La Taku to this point.The hunter was not mistaken, he had led the expedition to the plain.But this rolling plain was not available for the original work of triangulation.So the team cannot stop advancing.Morcombe re-entered the front of the horse and cart, while Lord John Murray, William Amory, and Michel Zorn stepped forward. In the afternoon, the whole procession arrived at a post station inhabited by itinerant herdsmen, whose wealth enabled these "country folks" to settle in some places for several months.Colonel Everett and his companions were warmly received here by a Dutch immigrant.This is the head of a large family who is unwilling to receive any form of compensation for services rendered to the expedition.This farmer belongs to the kind of brave, down-to-earth and industrious people. He cleverly used the meager capital in his hands to raise cattle, dairy cows and goats, and soon became rich.When the farm is exhausted, the farmer, like an old patriarch, seeks a new source—fertile pastures—and builds a camp under more favorable conditions. The farmer pointed out a vast plain which met Colonel Everett's conditions, fifteen miles away, with a large area and flat ground, which should be very suitable for ground measurement experiments. The next day, March 5th, the expedition set out at dawn, and traveled all morning without a single incident to enrich this tedious walk, had it not been for a shot fired by Sir John Murray, at 1200 Meters away, he hit a strange animal: the animal had the muzzle of a cow, a long white tail, and sharp horns on its forehead.It was a wildebeest, bison, and it let out a low growl as it fell to the ground after being struck. The Bushmen were amazed.The buffalo was hit so accurately at such a distance that it immediately fell dead.This animal, about five feet tall, provided a decent amount of tasty meat for their meals.So much so that the wildebeest is especially recommended for expedition hunters. When it was almost noon, the place pointed by the farmer arrived.This is a grassland that extends infinitely to the north without any undulations on the ground.It is impossible to conceive of a flatter ground more suitable for base measurement than here.So the Bushman, after looking at it, went up to Colonel Everett, and said: "This is the plain you're looking for, Colonel."

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