AT FORT LAMY 135 



Two hours later we all gathered in the great square 

 to see him go. There was little in the scene to remind 

 us of a start for the front as we Europeans know it, 

 and we sought in vain for martial sight or sound. 

 Groups of ragged Arabs were loading up the transport 

 camels. Some of the beasts were kneeling, others had 

 risen and were being led away by cords passed through 

 their noses. Near by were a few oxen, also bound on 

 transport service. Some were docile throughout, but 

 others waited till the two loads were balanced on either 

 side and their rider mounted before remorselessly shak- 

 ing" off all three. The weirdness of the scene was 

 enhanced by the strange cries of the camels, a sound 

 that baffles description in Its high, quavering eeriness. 

 Poor beasts, they had a hard time before them, for the 

 rainy season was not so long over but that great 

 swamps in the vicinity of Fort Lamy lay between 

 them and their destination. Their big rounded feet 

 are fitted for the desert, and they slither and fall in 

 the soft mud-bottomed marshes. But, of course, the 

 transport service cannot be left for dryer conditions, 

 for after the first few days desert country is reached, 

 and by February it is difficult to obtain sufficient 

 water to drink. 



Everything seemed in utter confusion when Com- 

 mandant Maillard arrived. He called the little cohort 

 into order, and soon the scene was changed. Gradually 

 the square became deserted, till but a few belated 

 drivers remained to deal with refractory animals. 

 Then they, too, went. A little group was left, how- 

 ever, almost alone in the empty space. They were 

 the soldiers, all that could be spared from Fort Lamy, 

 who, together with one white officer, composed the 



