THE AFRICAN SMALL BOY 329 



The suUenness on the faces of their elders has now 

 given way to one of undissembled curiosity ; they 

 taste of your dainty offering, and gradually good 

 humour returns and an understanding is established. 

 Many a time I have extracted myself from positions 

 of no small difficulty by dint of the timely appear- 

 ance of a tin of Rowntree's chocolates, or the 

 possession of a small quantity of the best Everton 

 toffee. 



The African small boy leads a life which, as a 

 rule, would turn the European man-child of the 

 same age green with envy. His days are one long 

 round of pleasure and delight. His responsibilities 

 are few, and consist for the most part in sitting on 

 a high platform in the maize and millet gardens, 

 chasing away the monkeys as they come down to 

 attack the crops, and shooting at the birds who 

 appear on a similar mission with the tiny bow and 

 arrows with which he is armed. He stalks about 

 with three or four friends of his age, looking for 

 advantageous shots at the pigeons and parrots 

 which he brings in to be eaten as a relish with his 

 maize and millet. He leads the free life of the 

 woods, and his entire costume would scarce provide 

 you with material for a pockethandkerchief of the 

 smallest (or ladies') size. Notwithstanding this, he 

 possesses one remarkable article of apparel which I 

 must mention en passant. This is the Manga 

 mikuzi. Soon after birth, a piece of tough grass 

 string is well oiled, and for a day or two is placed 

 in the native path for all who will to walk over. 

 At the end of that time it is secured round the 

 child's waist, and remains, or is believed to remain, 



