Mpika to Kopas 



weeping piteously by the road-side. A nice, clean- 

 looking youth, the physical equivalent of an English 

 lad of sixteen or seventeen, who had been written 



on as porter, was shedding abundant tears as A 



passed him, and on being asked what was the 

 matter, explained that though he wished to do his 

 work the load was too heavy for his strength. He 



was carrying A 's dressing-bag, with a light 



camp-chair and table strapped on top of it a load 

 of from fifty to fifty-five pounds at the outside 

 made up in identically the same fashion as hitherto. 



Soon afterwards we reached a village and halted 

 for breakfast. The lad was brought up, the table 

 and chair were taken from him, and he was given 

 the dressing-bag to carry without any addition. To 

 this he made no objection, and gave no further 

 trouble. Several other loads were re-arranged, and 

 an additional one made up of the remnants. We 

 asked the chief to find us a porter, but as he was 

 unable to procure one we had to abandon one load 

 to his care an unpopular one, as it consisted of a 

 large and clumsy bale of skins, and this, though he 

 promised to send it after us at the first available 

 opportunity, we personally never expected to see 

 again. 



After breakfast matters went a trifle better, and 

 we reached Mwoke village (not shown on map) 

 about 1 1 A.M., and decided to halt. The place 

 selected for our camp was a short distance be- 

 yond the village, and here we remained watching 

 anxiously for our tents, which, according to the 

 place assigned to them in the order of march, should 



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