350 IN AFRICA 



I sometimes thought that behind his fervent ar- 

 dor there was a considerable pride in his voice, for 

 he introduced many interesting by-products of har- 

 mony that sounded more or less extraneous to both 

 music and prayer. Nevertheless, Hassan was con- 

 sistent. He never lied, he never stole, and it was 

 part of his personal creed of honor to stand by his 

 master in case of danger. Somali gunbearers are a 

 good deal of a nuisance about a camp, partly be- 

 cause they are the aristocrats of Africa and demand 

 large salaries, but chiefly because they require cer- 

 tain kinds of food that their religion requires them 

 to eat. This is often difficult to secure when far 

 from sources of supplies, and in consequence the 

 equilibrium of camp harmony is sorely disturbed. 



They are avaricious and money loving to a de- 

 plorable degree, but there is one thing that can be 

 said for the Somali. He will never desert in time 

 of danger and will cheerfully sacrifice himself for 

 his master. He has the stamina of a higher type of 

 civilization, and in comparison to him the lately re- 

 claimed savage is not nearly so dependable in a 

 crisis. 



I sometimes suspected that Hassan was not really 

 a gunbearer, but was merely a "camel man" who was 

 tempted from his flocks by the high pay that Af- 

 rican gunbearers receive. Notwithstanding this, he 

 was courageous, faithful, willing, honest, good at 

 skinning, and personally an agreeable companion 

 during the months that we were together. I got to 



