21 6 SAFARI 



Osa agreed to stay with me ashore while I went ahead 

 with my work. I should say she insisted on staying, 

 because I don't believe she would ever desert me even 

 if I tried to force her to go. 



We had just landed on one of the smaller islands. 

 We didn't know it at the time, but several white 

 people had been killed there by the natives shortly 

 before. 



As we disembarked in the dark the natives didn't 

 know we were there. Next morning they were hold- 

 ing some kind of fiesta. With fine innocence we 

 decided it was a good chance for pictures and boldly 

 entered the crowd. The first thing we knew a perfect 

 bedlam broke loose. Women screamed and about 

 two thousand wild and wholly naked men came 

 dashing up to us armed with spears and poison 

 arrows which they brandished in the air while they 

 screeched at the top of their lungs. We had our gims 

 ready. Osa did not flinch. But it would have done 

 no good to fire, we were so outnumbered. 



Later we learned that it was the confusion which 

 saved our lives. There was so much racket that 

 when a wild rimior spread among the natives to the 

 effect that there were more of us around the point, 

 they believed it and fled. Providentially our boat 

 returned at this critical moment and took us off. 



When we had recovered somewhat from this close 

 call I tried to make light of the experience by saying 



