FROM TONKIN TO INDIA 



like that of "Freedom lighting the World" in New York. 

 Evidently this cavity had been caused by the river at high 

 water, an inverse phenomenon to that of the " Marmites des 

 Grants " in Switzerland. 



Wild as our life was, we had grown accustomed to it, and 

 were a united band in t)ur daily adventures. At daybreak our 

 men rose in their tchaupas like loose dressing-gowns, stretched 

 themselves, had a wash, and lit the fire ; during all which opera- 

 tions the Christians repeated their prayers, which sometimes lasted 

 well on into the day's march. Tea was brewed, and some 

 maize or millet partaken of The troop was divided into several 

 messes. In No. i was Anio, chief of the porters and com- 

 missary-general, a man of rare thews, indefatigable energy, and 

 self-sacrifice. Then there were Petalon, the wag of the party, 

 who kept everyone alive with his jests and grimaces ; and 

 Loureti, his younger brother, too slight for this sort of journey. 

 With them were also Jose the faithful, a cross between Mosso 

 and Thibetan, a grand fellow and my especial bodyguard, who 

 carried my camera and gun, and looked after me like a mother ; 

 and Goumbo ("divine grace"), the Adonis of the band, quite a 

 painter's model with his large soft black eyes, but very reserved. 

 Mess No. 2 contained three mighty brothers, plucky but generally 

 keeping aloof from the rest, though one was much attached 

 to Roux ; and another interesting type of a Thibetan, a Herculean 

 monster, whose matted hair, flat nose, and open mouth gave him 

 quite the ferocious aspect of the conventional ogre ready to 

 crunch raw fowls. All the above were Christians. Among the 

 pagans, too, we had good stuff men displaying equal attachment 

 to us. There was Oumbo, son-in-law of the Tsedjrong bess^, 



who undertook voluntarily the hardest tasks with unimpaired 



280 



