Sporting Trips of a Subaltern 



the town, and the work in hand was proceeding 

 apace under the direction of Major Pilcher, Fifth 

 Fusiliers, who I now met for the first time, 

 though a couple of years later I was to have the 

 honour of assisting him in many a long and busy 

 day in another part of our African empire. 



Natives, including Haussas, Yorubas, and 

 Nupes, were coming in wild bushmen, and being 

 turned into smart soldiers at a great pace, 

 but not without almost incredible labour and 

 difficulties. 



The Colonial Office always " did for " us in the 

 most generous and business like manner, to which 

 some of us were scarcely accustomed. However, 

 at the first start, hitches were bound to occur, one 

 great difficulty, of course, was getting things up 

 the river. Thus, though we were confident that 

 tents and stores had been sent out for us as 

 promised, no one knew where they were ; or, 

 anyhow, we hadn't got them, which came to the 

 same thing as far as we were concerned. Our 

 predecessors, who had arrived earlier, were little 

 better off, and too busy to help us much, so we 

 had to make the best of things. 



It was not pleasant to be plumped down on the 

 banks of the Niger in the tornado season without 

 shelter. Had it been the Thames, one might have 

 found a pub ; as it was, we got into the remains of 

 two deserted native mud huts ; one was far superior 



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