ON SAFARI. RHINO AND GIRAFFE 83 



When the march is over they sing; and after two or three 

 days in camp they will not only sing, but dance when an- 

 other march is to begin. Of course at times they suffer 

 greatly from thirst and hunger and fatigue, and at times 

 they will suddenly grow sullen or rebel without what seems 

 to us any adequate cause; and they have an inconsequent 

 type of mind which now and then leads them to commit 

 follies all the more exasperating because they are against 

 their own interest no less than against the interest of their 

 employer. But they do well on the whole, and safari life 

 is attractive to them. They are fed well; the government 

 requires that they be fitted with suitable clothes and given 

 small tents, so that they are better clad and sheltered than 

 they would be otherwise; and their wages represent money 

 which they could get in no other way. The safari repre- 

 sents a great advantage to the porter; who in his turn alone 

 makes the safari possible. 



When we were to march, camp was broken as early in 

 the day as possible. Each man had his allotted task, and 

 the tents, bedding, provisions, and all else were expeditiously 

 made into suitable packages. Each porter is supposed 

 to carry from fifty-five to sixty pounds, which may all be 

 in one bundle or in two or three. The American flag, which 

 flew over my tent, was a matter of much pride to the por- 

 ters, and was always carried at the head or near the head 

 of the line of march; and after it in single file came the 

 long line of burden bearers. As they started, some of them 

 would blow on horns or whistles and others beat little 

 tomtoms; and at intervals this would be renewed again and 

 again throughout the march; or the men might suddenly 

 begin to chant, or merely to keep repeating in unison some 



