230 SAFARI 



Now the sun was nestling on the horizon. Long 

 purple shadows were creeping over the plains. The 

 night cries of wild animals had not yet begun. On 

 our little table had been laid a snowy white table- 

 cloth. Napkins and spotless porcelain were at each 

 place. Hors d'ceuvres were served as we took our 

 seats. Then came a simple soup and an entree with 

 vegetables. If we had been away from the base less 

 than a week we had a salad of fresh greens out of my 

 garden. A sweet of some sort usually topped off the 

 meal. Thus we ate a balanced diet, and we ate it in 

 the most tranquil and contented state of mind. 



We have never had to fight to keep down weight. 

 I weighed 207 pounds when I left America. In nine 

 months I was down to 164, all good hard muscle. 

 Osa dropped from 130 to 115 pounds in the same 

 period. She wasn't thin either; and she said she 

 never felt so well in her life as she did when she had 

 gotten rid of that excess fat. 



Before Osa went to bed in her roomy cot with its 

 clean sheets, she rubbed her face thoroughly with a 

 good dose of cold cream. With the help of her native 

 maid she always did her hair completely before break- 

 fast out on the trail as well as at home. In the early 

 days of our stay she selected this girl herself. The 

 negress was a six-foot girl of the Boran tribe which 

 lived a good ways beyond our district. She was 

 twenty-four years old, black as tar, with broad 



