134 VII. SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN THE FOREST 
however, he had the following experience. Lying in a 
pond some sixty miles from here he had a large quantity 
of mahogany, but he was summoned to Lambarene to 
clear off some urgent correspondence just as the water 
began to rise. He ordered his foremen and labourers 
to be sure to use the two or three days of high water to 
get all the timber, if possible, into the river. When the 
water had fallen he went back to the place and found 
that nothing whatever had been done ! They had 
smoked, and drunk, and danced ; the timber which 
had already lain too long in the pond was almost com- 
pletely ruined, and he was responsible to his company 
for the loss. His men had been thoughtless and in- 
different because they did not fear him enough. This 
experience changed him entirely, and now he laughs at 
those who think it is possible to do anything with the 
natives without employing relentless severity. 
Not long ago the termites, or white ants, got into a 
box which stood on our verandah. I emptied the box 
and broke it up, and gave the pieces to the negro who 
had been helping me. “ Look,” I said to him, “ the ants 
have got into it ; you mustn’t put the wood with the 
rest of the firewood or the ants will get into the frame- 
work of the hospital building. Go down to the river and 
throw it into the water. Do you understand ? ” 
“Yes, yes, you need not worry.” It was late in the 
day, and being too tired to go down the hill again, I 
was inclined to break my general rule and trust a black 
— one who was in fact on the whole intelligent and 
handy. But about ten o’clock I felt so uneasy that I 
took the lantern and went down to the hospital. There 
was the wood with the ants in it lying with the rest of 
the firewood. To save himself the trouble of going 
