Jock Of The Bushveld by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick ( Chapter 17 )( Page 6 ) Buffalo Bushfire and Wild Dogs

When we opened our scorched eyes the ground in front of us was all black, with only here and there odd lights and torches dotted about-- like tapers on a pall; and on ahead, beyond the trellis work of bare scorched trees, the wall of flame swept on. Then down on the wings of the wind came the other fire; and before it fled every living thing.  Heaven only knows what passed us in those few minutes when a broken stream of terrified creatures dashed by, hardly swerving to avoid us.  There is no coherent picture left of that scene-- just a medley of impressions linked up by flashes of unforgettable vividness.  A herd of koodoo came crashing by; I know there was a herd, but only the first and last will come to mind--the space between seems blurred.  The clear impressions are of the koodoo bull in front, with nose out-thrust, eyes shut against the bush, and great horns laid back upon the withers, as he swept along opening the way for his herd; and then, as they vanished, the big ears, ewe neck, and tilting hind quarters of the last cow--between them nothing but a mass of moving grey! The wildebeeste went by in Indian-file, uniform in shape, colour and horns; and strangely uniform in their mechanical action, lowered heads, and fiercely determined rush. A rietbuck ram stopped close to us, looked back wide-eyed and anxious, and whistled shrilly, and then cantered on with head erect and white tail flapping; but its mate neither answered nor came by.  A terrified hare with its ears laid flat scuttled past within a yard of Francis and did not seem to see him.  Above us scared birds swept or fluttered down wind; while others again came up swirling and swinging about, darting boldly through the smoke to catch the insects driven before the fire. But what comes back with the suggestion of infinitely pathetic helplessness is the picture of a beetle.  We stood on the edge of our burn, waiting for the ground to cool, and at my feet a pair of tock-tockie beetles, hump backed and bandy-legged, came toiling slowly and earnestly along; they reached the edge of our burn, touched the warm ash, and turned patiently aside--to walk round it! A school of chattering monkeys raced out on to the blackened flat, and screamed shrilly with terror as the hot earth and cinders burnt their feet. Porcupine, ant-bear, meerkat!  They are vague, so vague that nothing is left but the shadow of their passing; but there is one other thing—seen in a flash as brief as the others, for a second or two only, but never to be forgotten!  Out of the yellow grass, high up in the waving tops, came sailing down on us the swaying head and glittering eyes of a black mamba--swiftest, most vicious, most deadly of snakes.  Francis and I were not five yards apart and it passed between us, giving a quick chilly beady look at each--pitiless, and hateful--and one hiss as the slithering tongue shot out: that was all, and it sailed past with strange effortless movement.  How much of the body was on the ground propelling it, I cannot even guess; but we had to look upwards to see the head as the snake passed between us. The scorching breath of the fire drove us before it on to the baked ground, inches deep in ashes and glowing cinders, where we kept marking time to ease our blistering feet; our hats were pulled down to screen our necks as we stood with our backs to the coming flames; our flannel shirts were so hot that we kept shifting our shoulders for relief. Jock, who had no screen and whose feet had no protection, was in my arms; and we strove to shield ourselves from the furnace-blast with the branches we had used to beat out the fire round the big tree which was our main shelter. The heat was awful!  Live brands were flying past all the time, and some struck us; myriads of sparks fell round and on us, burning numberless small holes in our clothing, and dotting blisters on our backs; great sheets of flame leaped out from the driving glare, and, detached by many yards from their source, were visible for quite a space in front of us. Then, just at its maddest and fiercest there came a gasp and sob, and the fire devil died behind us as it reached the black bare ground.  Our burn divided it as an island splits the flood, and it swept along our flanks in two great walls of living leaping roaring flame. Two hundred yards away there was a bare yellow place in a world of inky black, and to that haven we ran.  It was strange to look about and see the naked country all round us, where but a few minutes earlier the tall grass had shut us in; but the big bare ant-heap was untouched, and there we flung ourselves down, utterly done. Faint from heat and exhaustion--scorched and blistered, face and arms, back and feet; weary and footsore, and with boots burnt through—we reached camp long after dark, glad to be alive. We had forgotten the wounded buffalo; he seemed part of another life!