FIGHTING AN AFRICAN GRASS-FIRE 39 



the tent boys, gun bearers, and porters together 

 immediately, and we will cut a path in the grass 

 and prepare to back-fire; that seems to be the 

 only course." 



The day before the colonel had shot a white 

 rhinoceros or "rhino" as they are generally 

 called, the last one wanted to complete the group, 

 and Cuninghame, Heller, and about fifty of the 

 porters were some ten miles away, preparing the 

 skin and skeleton, which had cut down our force 

 considerably. 



I shouted to my tent boy, Tommy, and told 

 him to summon all the men in camp and gather 

 up the "pangas" long-bladed knives that the 

 blacks use to cut grass and brush axes, and 

 hatchets and any other tools that could be used. 

 Then gangs of workmen were distributed in a 

 half -circle around camp, from the Nile on one 

 side of camp to the water-line on the other, and 

 set to work cutting grass. 



The idea was to clear a wide road through the 

 grass all the way round the camp, and after it 

 was completed to set fire to the outer side. The 

 new, weak fire would run out and consume the 

 fuel before the big blaze should approach near 

 enough to leap the gap and destroy the camp. 



