180 WAR : CAMPAIGNING IN EAST AFRICA 



vantage in many ways to a prisoner, especially 

 with a man like old " Bosun M in the camp. 



One fine day there was great excitement, for 

 an order had come that one of us was to go over to 

 the " Bosun w to draw elephant fat. As a speaker 

 of German, I, as usual, went over, to find the old 

 " Bosun" in great good humour ; some friends must 

 have sent him a bottle of schnapps. A great 

 bucket of beautiful white elephant fat and a 

 dipper were by his side. 



" Good morning, Herr Bosun, how is the fever 

 this morning ? " 



'■ Oh, still bad/' and a dipperful of fat goes 

 into my basin. 



" You suffer a lot, we notice, Herr Bosun." 



" Yes, it is a dreadful country M — a second 

 dipperful of fat. 



" I often wonder, Herr Bosun, how you manage 

 to stick it out as you do "■ — another dipperful. 

 " Anyone else would have had to be carried 

 on the last safari ; you must have great pluck 

 and a wonderful constitution " — yet another 

 dipperful. At last, in shame, I start to with- 

 draw the now nearly full basin, but, "Wait, 

 wait," says the old chap, " just one more for 

 backshishi." 



On my return the booty is shared out before 

 fifteen hungry and watchful pairs of eyes, and it 

 amounts to just a condensed milk-tin full for each 

 man. Mine lasted four days, and I felt much 

 the stronger for it ; in fact it just made all the 



