CH. VII] ON THE MARCH 149 



out of camp, singing and blowing their horns and 

 whistles. Three askaris brought up the rear to look 

 after laggards, and see that no weak or sick man fell out 

 without our knowing or being able to give him help. 



The trail led first through open brush, or low dry 

 forest, and then out on the vast plains, where the 

 withered grass was dotted here and there with low, 

 scantily-leaved thorn-trees, from three to eight feet high. 

 Hour after hour we drew slowly ahead under the 

 shimmering sunlight. The horsemen walked first, with 

 the gun-bearers, saises, and usually a few very energetic 

 and powerful porters ; then came the safari in single 

 file ; and then the lumbering white-topped waggons, 

 the patient oxen walking easily, each team led by a half- 

 naked savage with frizzed hair and a spear or throwing- 

 stick in his hand, while at intervals the long whips of 

 the drivers cracked like rifles. The dust rose in clouds 

 from the dry earth, and soon covered all of us ; in the 

 distance herds of zebra and hartebeest gazed at us as we 

 passed, and we saw the old spoor of rhino, beasts we 

 hoped to avoid, as they often charge such a caravan. 



Slowly the shadows lengthened, the light waned, the 

 glare of the white, dusty plain was softened, and the 

 bold outlines of the distant mountains grew dim. Just 

 before nightfall we halted on the further side of a dry 

 watercourse. The safari came up singing and whistling, 

 and the men put down their loads, lit fires, and with 

 chatter and laughter prepared their food. The crossing 

 was not good, the sides of the watercourse being steep, 

 and each waggon was brought through by a double 

 span, the whips cracking lustily as an accompaniment 

 to the shouts of the drivers, as the thirty oxen threw 

 their weight into the yokes by which they were 

 attached to the long trek tow. The horses were fed. 



