98 AFRICAN GAME TRAILS 



top of a zebra's head, with the two ears. Another was 

 made of the skins of squirrels, with the tails both sticking 

 up and hanging down. Another consisted of a bunch of 

 feathers woven into the hair, which itself was pulled out 

 into strings that were stiffened with clay. Another was 

 really too intricate for description because it included the 

 man's natural hair, some strips of skin, and an empty 

 tin can. 



If it were a long journey and we broke it by a noonday 

 halt, or if it were a short journey and we reached camp 

 ahead of the safari, it was interesting to see the long file 

 of men approach. Here and there, leading the porters, 

 scattered through the line, or walking alongside, were the 

 askaris, the rifle-bearing soldiers. They were not marks- 

 men, to put it mildly, and I should not have regarded them 

 as particularly efficient allies in a serious fight; but they 

 were excellent for police duty in camp, and were also of use 

 in preventing collisions with the natives. After the leading 

 askaris might come one of the headmen; one of whom, 

 by the way, looked exactly like a Semitic negro, and always 

 travelled with a large dirty-white umbrella in one hand; 

 while another, a tall, powerful fellow, was a mission boy 

 who spoke good English; I mention his being a mission 

 boy because it is so frequently asserted that mission boys 

 never turn out well. Then would come the man with the 

 flag, followed by another blowing on an antelope horn, or 

 perhaps beating an empty can as a drum; and then the 

 long line of men, some carrying their loads on their heads, 

 others on their shoulders, others, in a very few cases, on 

 their backs. As they approached the halting place their 

 spirits rose, the whistles and horns were blown, and the 

 improvised drums beaten, and perhaps the whole line would 

 burst into a chant. 



On reaching the camping ground each man at once set 

 about his allotted task, and the tents were quickly pitched 

 and the camp put in order, while water and firewood were 

 fetched. The tents were pitched in long lines, in the first 



