A CARAVAN ENCAMPMENT. 847 



some very fine ivory, several of the tusks being borne between two. Then 

 came tobacco and slaves, and some of the leaders were recognised as Mataka's 

 men. They told us that the caravan belonged to Mataka himself, that our 

 men had slept in their camp very near the villages the night before, and that 

 it was possible we might reach their, encampment that night, and find our 

 men there on their way back. 



" When we got to the ford, we found it a scene of the wildest confusion. 

 A place has been chosen where the stream is cut up by six or seven islets, 

 with narrow channels between ; the water in some of these was nearly up to 

 the arm-pits, and ran so strongly that, except for trees laid across to hold on 

 by, it would have been impossible to cross. Over and through these they 

 were bringing some two hundred slaves, many of them women and child- 

 ren, and very many with forked sticks fastened to their necks. The noise 

 and tumult were beyond description. We had to wait a while for them, and 

 utilised the time by persuading the leaders of the caravan to sell us a bag 

 of grain. 



" Just as we crossed, a heavy Scotch mist came on, which changed into 

 a drizzling rain, through which we trudged drearily, in hope of reaching the 

 encampment. The dull light and chill rain, the bare trees and the dead 

 leaves beneath them, were all as like a December afternoon in England as 

 possible. At last, wet and weary, we turned aside and encamped for the 

 night. A regular caravan encampment is made by cutting pairs of stout 

 stakes, six or seven feet long, with forked ends, and setting them up so as 

 to form two sides of an equilateral triangle; a ridge piece is then laid in the 

 forks which locks them together. Pair after pair are set up till a rough circle 

 is formed according to the size of the caravan. Straight sticks are laid from 

 the ridge pole on each side on the lines of the pairs of stakes, to form rafters, 

 and then sticks tied horizontally to support the grass with which the whole 

 is thatched over; small holes are left on the inner side for the men to creep 

 in at, and these are furnished with grass doors, or rather shutters. This great 

 circle of roof without walls is generally divided by partitions into huts for 

 one or two men ; a bed is made by laying down two stout logs for the sides 

 and filling in between them with grass or leaves, over which the sleeping mat 

 is laid. The man then lights a fire close beside him, and all is snug for a week 

 if need be. Sometimes a regular bedstead is made by setting four short forks 

 to support the side pieces, across which short sticks are laid and grass on them. 

 Separate huts are built within the enclosure for the leaders of the caravan, 

 and often a miniature hut for the tail. Every caravan ought to have a flag, 

 inscribed and blessed by a man of learning on the coast, which no porter is 

 allowed to pass before on pain of a fine to the flag-bearer, and a tail, it may 

 be, of an ox or a hyaena, which watches over thefts and misdoings. Neither 

 flag nor tail ought to rest at night among the men, and one caravan which 



