FROM TONKIN TO INDIA 



1/ 



'^' 



" Kagle Beak.' 



rice, eggs, and a packet of tobacco, which was a great gift for 

 them, and a small flask of tchaotiou. The last was protected 

 by a cover of finely-plaited hide, very secure. 



After Tatsasu the road became worse again. We thought 



regretfully of the 

 comparative ease 

 with which un- 

 encumbered horse 

 or foot men with 

 porters would ac- 

 complish three 

 times the length of 

 our stage in a 

 day. A single rock 

 would sometimes 

 cause an hour's 

 delay or a mile 

 of detour to our 

 pack animals, with 

 an unload and carry 

 in between. On 

 the other hand, the 

 natives of this 

 region, who had 

 been depicted to us 

 in such threatening colours, proved willing to help for slender 

 recompense. At this toil a big Lissou mafou, engaged at 

 Loukou, and whom, from his profile, we called " Eagle Beak," 

 worked harder than any. Strong as a Turk, he always marched 



barefoot, and with tobacco and an occasional nip of brandy 



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