THE PASSAGE OF LAKE CHAD 



93 



out at arm's length offerings of fish. And then there came a 

 rush round the boats, all eager to shake hands with me, 

 grasping mine in both theirs as if they were keen to gain 



CUTTING THROUGH THE REEDS 



my friendship. Nor were they contented till they had shaken 

 hands with all the crew in turn down to the smallest boy. 

 Afterwards they returned to their fishing and before long 

 many Hght canoes were to be seen driving out across the bay 

 in fan-shape formation to their fishing-grounds, melting away 

 like phantoms into the dusk. It was wonderful to see little 

 boys, no older than ten years, sending the canoes along at a 

 prodigious rate with the skill of experienced polers. 



The Buduma Kachellas own large numbers of slaves whom 

 they buy from the Tubus, as I have related in a former chapter. 

 The slaves do almost all the heavy work of fishing and poHng 



