ON SAFARI. RHINO AND GIRAFFE 85 
man’s natural hair, some strips of skin, and an empty 
tin can. 
If it were a long journey and we broke it by a noonday 
halt, or if it were a short journey and we reached camp 
ahead of the safari, it was interesting to see the long file 
of men approach. Here and there, leading the porters, 
scattered through the line, or walking alongside, were the 
askaris, the rifle-bearing soldiers. They were not marks¬ 
men, to put it mildly, and I should not have regarded them 
as particularly efficient allies in a serious fight; but they 
were excellent for police duty in camp, and were also of use 
in preventing collisions with the natives. After the leading 
askaris might come one of the headmen; one of whom, 
by the way, looked exactly like a Semitic negro, and always 
travelled with a large dirty-white umbrella in one hand; 
while another, a tall, powerful fellow, was a mission boy 
who spoke good English; I mention his being a mission 
boy because it is so frequently asserted that mission boys 
never turn out well. Then would come the man with the 
flag, followed by another blowing on an antelope horn, or 
perhaps beating an empty can as a drum; and then the 
long line of men, some carrying their loads on their heads, 
others on their shoulders, others, in a very few cases, on 
their backs. As they approached the halting place their 
spirits rose, the whistles and horns were blown, and the 
improvised drums beaten, and perhaps the whole line would 
burst into a chant. 
On reaching the camping ground each man at once set 
about his allotted task, and the tents were quickly pitched 
and the camp put in order, while water and firewood were 
fetched. The tents were pitched in long lines, in the first 
