78 POLITENESS 



and of all the savage people that inhabit this 

 benighted land of Africa, the Dankalli are allowed 

 by all to be the most treacherous and cruel." This 

 was the character I had received of my present com- 

 panions ; and it was necessary therefore that I should 

 be careful to give them no excuse for attempting my 

 life, acting as courteously as possible, distributing 

 needles and bits of paper, loading and firing my 

 pistols repeatedly for their amusement during 

 the day. Having smashed, on one occasion, an 

 earthen coffee-pot that the owner had challenged 

 me to fire at, they were quite satisfied that I could 

 as easily demolish an elephant with one of the little 

 insignificant looking things that they saw I always 

 wore at my waist, and this feeling I did not en- 

 deavour to dissipate, as I saw it had a very good 

 effect upon the bearing of these men towards me. 

 An accident that happened also, by which one of 

 them was nearly shot, made them not over anxious 

 to trust themselves too near to me, or my pistols, and 

 turned out to be a fortunate circumstance, by pre- 

 venting them from closing and crowding around me. 

 As evening drew on, Zaido, who had prepared 

 me a breakfast in the morning of boiled rice 

 and dates, now cooked me some kid's flesh, a 

 portion of another present I had received in the 

 course of the day from some Bedouin shepherds 

 who were tending their flocks of sheep and 

 goats in the neighbourhood, and who had sent 

 it in by some of their children. The men 



