35 0 
IN AFRICA 
I sometimes thought that behind his fervent ar¬ 
dor there was a considerable pride in his voice, for 
he introduced many interesting by-products of har¬ 
mony that sounded more or less extraneous to both 
music and prayer. Nevertheless, Hassan was con¬ 
sistent. He never lied, he never stole, and it was 
part of his personal creed of honor to stand by his 
master in case of danger. Somali gunbearers are a 
good deal of a nuisance about a camp, partly be¬ 
cause they are the aristocrats of Africa and demand 
large salaries, but chiefly because they require cer¬ 
tain kinds of food that their religion requires them 
to eat. This is often difficult to secure when far 
from sources of supplies, and in consequence the 
equilibrium of camp harmony is sorely disturbed. 
They are avaricious and money loving to a de¬ 
plorable degree, but there is one thing that can be 
said for the Somali. He will never desert in time 
of danger and will cheerfully sacrifice himself for 
his master. He has the stamina of a higher type of 
civilization, and in comparison to him the lately re¬ 
claimed savage is not nearly so dependable in a 
crisis. 
I sometimes suspected that Hassan was not really 
a gunbearer, but was merely a “camel man” who was 
tempted from his flocks by the high pay that Af¬ 
rican gunbearers receive. Notwithstanding this, he 
was courageous, faithful, willing, honest, good at 
skinning, and personally an agreeable companion 
during the months that we were together. I got to 
