AFRICAN CAMP FIRES 



means of a band across the top of the head.* Naked 

 children rushed out to wave at us. We were steam- 

 ing quite comfortably through Africa as it had been 

 for thousands of years before the white man came. 



At Kikuyu Station we came to a halt. Kikuyu 

 Station ordinarily embarks about two passengers a 

 month, I suppose. Now it was utterly swamped 

 with business, for on it had descended all our safari 

 of thirty-nine men and three mules. Thirty of the 

 thirty-nine yelled and shrieked and got in the wrong 

 place, as usual. Cuninghame and the trainmen and 

 the station master and our responsible boys heaved 

 and tugged and directed, ordered, commanded. At 

 length the human element was loaded to its places 

 and locked in. Then the mules were to be urged up a 

 very narrow gangplank into a dangerous-looking car. 

 Quite sensibly they declined to take chances. We 

 persuaded them. The process was quite simple. 

 Two of the men holding the ends at a safe distance 

 stretched a light strong cord across the beasts' hind 

 legs, and sawed it back and forth. 



We clanged the doors shut, climbed aboard, and 

 the train at last steamed on. Now bits of forest 

 came across our way, deep, shaded, with trailing cur- 

 tain vines, and wide leaves big as table tops, and 

 high lush impenetrable undergrowth full of flashing 



*After the fashion of the Canadian tump line. 



256 



