Voices of the Night 213 



veying a strange significance as of mysterious wanderers during 

 the hours of darkness. Perchance a reader can recollect trekking 

 across the soft sandy desert and the feeling conveyed by the 

 appearance of a calvalcade issuing from the veiled moonlight, and 

 noiselessly crossing his vision. The outline of the animals being 

 blurred in the mystic glamour, and the muffled human figures bare- 

 ly recognizable, so that were it not for the subdued voice of a 

 driver, or a rattle of equipment reaching the ear, the whole pro- 

 cession appearing for a few moments, and vanishing rapidly into 

 the gloom, gives one the conception of some ghostlike apparition. 

 So, at times, the vague shadows of birds or beasts momentarily 

 seen at night by the nature lover, or unknown voices proceeding 

 from creatures unseen though passing in proximity under cover of 

 the darkness, cannot fail to fascinate his imagination, or excite 

 his curiosity Not long ago I heard a strange croak at intervals 

 uttered by some bird first approaching, and passing overhead 

 which I could not identify, but upon its alighting at some distance, 

 the croak which had so puzzled me lapsed into a higher key that 

 at once identified the bird as an ordinary ** Kwietje " (crowned 

 lapwing), and this identity was established beyond doubt by the 

 welcoming clamour of some more of his species further away. 



Yet some of these night voices reach one with almost uncanny 

 effect. I remember waking in the moonlight when outspanned with 

 my waggon on the open veld, and distinctly hearing the rattle of 

 the wheels of a buggy approaching along the track, for which I 

 looked but could see nothing. Listening intently I became aware 

 of the sound repeated in several directions as if ghostly vehicles 

 were being driven about all round where I lay. I do not know 

 what species of insect produced the sounds, but heard for the first 

 time in the midnight stillness in that remote solitude, the effect 

 was certainly weird. I have not heard the cry of the "aardwark" 

 but am told by those who have, that heard close by on a still 

 night the effect is about as appalling as could be produced by so 

 harmless an animal. 



In the Kalakari the mule " pauw " (great bustard) utters 

 an intermittent boom, which coming at regular intervals, has been 



