Sporting Trips of a Subaltern 



brass pots on their heads, which contained his 

 impedimenta for the trip. 



With the exception of guinea-fowl and a few 

 duiker, there was little game near so big a town 

 as Kiarna, and unfortunately about this time we 

 could only leave the fort for flying trips strictly on 

 business. There was still much unrest among 

 the Baribas, and our small garrison were a greater 

 source of anxiety than the natives outside. Here, 

 in a few words, I must explain this. When the 

 Borgu expedition started, few of our newly raised 

 recruits were far enough advanced to take part in 

 it. The consequence was we had to use the 

 Niger Company's men. These men had been 

 used to garrisoning towns on the banks of the 

 river where they lived comfortably with their 

 wives, etc., and only went inland for short ex- 

 peditions. Suddenly new white men, unknown 

 before to them and unconnected, as they knew, 

 with the Company, arrived on the scene and took 

 them off for a long and arduous campaign. This 

 they stood very well, more especially as some 

 Niger Company officers were with us ; but after- 

 wards, instead of returning to the river with their 

 own officers and comrades, some of them were 

 told off to stay at Kiama with two of the stranger 

 officers, far from their homes and their wives. 

 To add to the difficulties, we had some of our 

 newly raised Waffs with us, who were well 



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