A HELPFUL FRIEND. 701 



monplace — gave him a warmer place still in the big American 

 heart. The travellers had wisely avoided the troublesome 

 "Wanna and Wavinza by making the earlier part of their journey 

 along the lake ; they were not therefore harassed by those extor- 

 tions which so frequently spoil the pleasantest experiences of 

 such a march. The personal followers of Livingstone and 

 Stanley — indeed, their entire caravan — shared the good humor 

 of their masters. There were adventures with lions and ele- 

 phants and rhinoceroses and hippopotami and leopards, and 

 buffaloes, zebras and giraffes and elands passed in constant 

 review. And beautiful strange birds and comical monkeys had 

 their part in the programme with which the wonderful country 

 entertained its visitors. Sometimes these actors produced most 

 moving impressions on their audience. Mr. Stanley had oppor- 

 tunities of testing the strength of his nerves face to face with 

 various members of the troupe ; and often he needed the timely 

 comfort which his experienced friend could give, and the hints 

 which thirty years in Africa could suggest were of greatest 

 service. We have become tolerably familiar with most of these 

 animals, and have learned reasonably well how to rank them ; 

 but the different methods of hunting which obtain in different 

 sections of Africa affect considerably the hunter's selection of 

 his game ; and the different methods pursued by civilized and 

 savage hunters make a great difference in the peril or sport 

 attending the chase of different animals. The great unwieldy 

 hippopotamus, for instance, to an American or Englishman, 

 armed with his powerful rifle, loaded with hardened balls, is 

 often dull work, little better as sport than shooting an ox at 

 home. But there are hippopotamus hunters in Africa who, ac- 

 cording to Dr. Livingstone's ideas of such matters, make the 

 bravest work of it that he ever witnessed. These hunters, who 

 are distinguished for their wonderful courage far and wide, are 

 called Makombwe. When they go forth to their gallant sport 

 each canoe is manned by two men ; they are long, light craft, 

 scarcely half an inch in thickness, about eighteen inches beam, 

 and from eighteen to twenty feet long. They are formed for 

 speed, and shaped somewhat like our racing boats. Each man 

 uses a broad, short paddle, and as they guide the canoe slowly 

 down stream to a sleeping hippopotamus not a single ripple is 

 36 



