362 THE MIGHTIEST NIMROD OF MODERN TIMES. 



" time takes him home, to the soft, long sleep, to the broad, sweet 

 bosom of death." 



Natives live in abject terror of the sickness in the districts 

 where it occurs. On its approach, they dismantle their villages and 

 rush away. But the fatal fly follows them, and its area of opera- 

 tions is continually being extended. 



When people first hear about " going out on safari," they often 

 have the impression that safari must be some particular forest or 



vast tract of land where game can be found, but the simple truth Is 

 that safari is merely the native word for an overland expedition 

 with porters. They sometimes last only a few days, though othef 

 nlore extensive ones like Colonel Roosevelt's are organized to last 

 iiionths. 



It is a picturesque sight to see natives draw Up in front of a 

 safari outfitter's, waiting for their loads to be prepared and for 

 instructions to start. They gather chattering under the trees in the 

 dusty road, and crack jokes as each chop box is brought out. 



GETTING READY TO START ON AN EXPEDITION: 



These chop boxes contain all sorts of tinned things, coffee, tea, 

 butter, vegetables, meat, fruit, often delicacies, and always a store 

 of bread; the maximum load of each is sixty pounds, which the 

 natives carry on their heads if they are Bwangandas, and on their 

 hecks and backs if they are Kikuyus. 



The Kikuyu system has the disadvantage of cutting into the 

 back if the box is too long or if it is improperly loaded, but nothing- 

 will induce theni to change their tribal custom. 



The number of porters taken varies according to the duration 

 of the expedition, to the resources of the country through which it 

 is to pass, and also according to the tastes and habits of the organ- 

 izers. When a government safari starts out on some official busi- 

 ness the allowance is one head man and fifteen porters for each 

 official, l^he porters carfy the chop boxes for their master, and 

 the tents, blartkets, cooking utensils and personal kit. 



The amount of food carried depends on the appetite of the 

 white men, of course; some men want to eat on safari as if they 



