MY JOURNEY FROM LOKO TO DORRORO 199 



howls of laughter. Then king and courtiers forgot decorum 

 and fell over one another, slapping backs and thighs as they 

 rolled about and writhed in exquisite convulsions. 



I then produced my phonograph and told the king that 

 if he would speak a message to the King of Dorroro, the next 

 place I was going to, I would capture the pearls of his 

 eloquence and convey them to his ally. Accordingly, he 

 spoke a royal message of salutation, and, when a moment 

 afterwards the machine repeated it, one might have thought 

 by the awe-stricken silence with which he listened that I 

 had imprisoned the very tongue of his utterance ; till the 

 shouts of approval from the people round dispelled his 

 fears, and he joined in the general chorus of delight. 



I made a very successful record also of the long brass 

 trumpets that were sounded before this king on his progress 

 through the villages of his country. They were rather 

 like our coach horns in shape ; sounding two notes that rose 

 and fell, soft and deep in tone like those of a hautboy. 

 Unfortunately the record was spoiled by damp before I 

 could send it home. 



We stayed two days at Nassarawa, much to the delight 

 of the " boys," who dearly love to hang about the markets 

 of the towns and received the news of our staying with the 

 joy of schoolboys who have been given an extra "half." 

 When the " boys " did well on a march I always made it a 

 practice, if convenient, to humour their little weakness, for 

 it put them in good temper, and they always did the next 

 trek better, with a dog-Hke gratitude for past favours. It 

 was amusing to notice the simple, artless tricks by which 

 they attempted to guide destiny in the shape of their master. 



