412 CLOSING INCIDENTS. 



inhabitants of Gondokoro by their brave actions and presence of mind in an 

 attempt of preventing a threatening accident. A native had fallen into the 

 river near the steamer occupied by Col. Roosevelt and was drowned. Kermit 

 and Mr. Loring heard of the accident and in an effort to recover the body 

 both dived into the water heedless of the dangers from the numerous croco- 

 diles, whose scaly bodies were glistening in the tropical sunshine along the 

 river banks, and the swift current that threatened to sweep away everything 

 that came wihin its reach. They escaped harm, however, and emerged from 

 the watery deep under the applause of hundreds of enthusiastic spectators. 



The governor of Mongolia, Belgian commandant at Lado, and other 

 officials called on Colonel Roosevelt in the forenoon. 



While the Colonel and Kermit were absent on the shooting expedi- 

 tion along the banks of Bar-el-Jebel the existence of the Roosevelt party 

 terminated at noon February 26, when, at the sound of the bugle the tents 

 were struck. Then the 450 porters, herdmen and gun bearers, loaded down 

 with bags of flour and their own personal belongings, started down the trail 

 for Kampala. 



They were more than happy and all sang the praises of Colonel Roose- 

 velt, not only for his prowess as a hunter, but also for his generosity to them. 

 They were filled with delight at the rewards given them which enabled them 

 to return to their homes at their leisure with plenty of collateral with which to 

 purchase some more wives. When a member of the American expedition in- 

 quired of them if they did not think it was wrong to have so many wives they 

 laughed and one of them said, "Why no; is it wrong to be rich?" To be 

 wealthy enough to support more than one wife means that he was particu- 

 larly blessed. To be able to afford six or eight wives was a great blessing. 



The picture was not complete owing to the absence of Colonel Roose- 

 velt and Kermit. The other members of the expedition were on hand, how- 

 ever, and waved farewells to the natives as they left. 



For the past two days the camp had been a busy place. The great num- 

 ber of traders who flocked thither from the Congo, expecting to get hold of 

 a lot of valuable goods for absurdly small sums, were disappointed. One 

 trader bitterly denounced Colonel Roosevelt as "Too much of a business 

 man." 



At the roll call the night before the safari was dismissed which has been 

 a part of the system of military regulation insisted upon by Colonel Roose- 



