83 
ch. iv] CAMP ARRANGEMENTS 
the 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 noon¬ 
day 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 marksmen, 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 of which stood my tent, flanked by 
those of the other white men and by the dining-tent. 
