12 FROM THE NIGER TO THE NILE 



man who gets Is. 3d., and he is held responsible for the proper 

 service of the men under his charge. It is an interesting sight 

 to see them taking up their work on the first morning of their 

 engagement. All the boxes and packages are put out in 

 line by the " boys," who are responsible for the packing of 

 the things directly under their charge. Then there follows 

 a rush of the carriers who all make for the loads, fighting 

 furiously to get possession of the ones that by their size or 

 convenient shape appear the easiest to carry. And, light or 

 heavy, whatever falls to their lot the first day, remains 

 their burden to the end of the march. A load averages 

 between 50 and 60 lb. and they will carry this cheerfully 

 on their heads from six o'clock in the morning till three 

 o'clock in the afternoon with an hour's rest at noon. When 

 working for himself, a native will carry a great deal more, 

 and I have seen them coming down from the interior with 

 loads of kola nut, weighing as much as 100 lb. It is a fre- 

 quent sight to see the foreheads of the older men pressed 

 into deep furrows by the habit of years. And all along the 

 roads, that are the courses of native commerce, at intervals 

 the lower branches of the trees are worn by the loads that 

 carriers have propped against them, supported by the long 

 sticks that they carry, to save themselves the effort of lifting 

 the weight from the ground on the resumption of the march. 

 A pleasing trait to be observed in the nature of the West 

 African carrier is the sense of comradeship, and it is a not 

 uncommon sight to see at the end of a day's trek the older 

 and more experienced hands run on to the halting-place 

 to dump down their loads and run back to take the burdens 

 from the wayworn stragglers. 



