CH. xu] NAriVE PORTERS 325 



it is Jill interestiiio- beast, its back snow white and the rest 

 of its body jet black. 



As oil tlie Aberdares and the slopes of Kenia, the 

 nights among tliese momitains were cold ; sometimes 

 so cold that I was glad to wear a mackinaw, a lumber- 

 man's jacket, which had been given me by Jack 

 Greenway, and which I certainly never expected to 

 wear in Africa. 



The porters always minded cold, especially if there 

 was rain, and 1 was glad to get them to the Uasin 

 Gishu, where the nights were merely cool enough to 

 make one appreciate blankets, while the days were 

 never oppressi\'ely hot. Although the Swahilis have 

 furnished the model for all East African safari work, 

 and supply the lingua franca for the country, they no 

 longer compose the bulk of the porters. Of our porters 

 at this time about two-fifths were stalwart M'nuwezi 

 from German East Africa, two-fifths were Wakamba, 

 and the remainder Swahilis, with half a dozen Kavirondos 

 and Kikuyus. The M'nuwezi are the strongest of all, 

 and make excellent porters. They will often be as 

 much as two or three years away from their homes ; for 

 safari work is very attractive to the best type of natives, 

 as they live mucli better than if travelling on their 

 own account, and it offers almost the only way in which 

 they can earn money. The most severe punishment 

 tiiat can be inflicted on a gun-bearer, tent-boy, sais, or 

 porter is to dismiss him on such terms as to make it 

 impossible for him again to be employed on a safari. 

 In camp the men of each tribe group themselves to- 

 gether in parties, each man sharing any unwonted 

 delicacy with his cronies. 



Very rarely did we have to take such long marches 

 as to exhaust our strapping burden-bearers. Usually 



