154 
IN AFRICA 
“I never drank whisky,” he said; “not from prin¬ 
ciple, but because I don’t like it. I seldom drink 
wine, because I’m rather particular about the kind 
of wine I drink. We have some champagne with 
us, but the thought of drinking hot champagne in 
this country is unpleasant. Sometimes, when I can 
get wines that just suit my taste, I drink a little, 
but never much. The three drinks of brandy are 
all I’ve had in Africa, and I’m sure that I’ve not 
taken one in the last four months. They had all 
sorts of stories out about me before I left Wash¬ 
ington—that I was drinking hard and that I was 
crazy. I may be crazy,” he said, laughing, “but 
I most certainly haven’t been drinking hard.” 
The luncheon was a merry affair. Heller had 
been out in the swamp in front of the camp and 
had shot some ducks for luncheon. 
“On my way in,” said the colonel, “I shot an oribi, 
but when I heard that Heller had shot some ducks 
I knew that my oribi would not he served.” 
It was evident that the most thorough good fel¬ 
lowship existed among the members of the 
colonel’s party. His fondness for all of them was 
in constant evidence—in the way he joked with 
them and in the complete absence of restraint in 
their attitude toward him. 
“They were told that I would he a hard man to 
get along with in the field,” Colonel Roosevelt said, 
“but we’ve had a perfectly splendid time together.” 
I asked him whether he had been receiving news¬ 
papers, and, if not, whether he would like to see 
