ON THE MARCH 
149 
CH. VIl] 
out of camp, singing and blowing their horns and 
whistles. Three askaris brought up the rear to look 
after laggards, and see that no weak or sick man fell out 
without our knowing or being able to give him help. 
The trail led first through open brush, or low dry 
forest, and then out on the vast plains, where the 
withered grass was dotted here and there with low, 
scantily-leaved thorn-trees, from three to eight feet high. 
Hour after hour we drew slowly ahead under the 
shimmering sunlight. The horsemen walked first, with 
the gun-bearers, saises, and usually a few very energetic 
and powerful porters ; then came the safari in single 
file ; and then the lumbering white-topped waggons, 
the patient oxen walking easily, each team led by a half- 
naked savage with frizzed hair and a spear or throwing- 
stick in his hand, while at intervals the long whips of 
the drivers cracked like rifles. The dust rose in clouds 
from the dry earth, and soon covered all of us ; in the 
distance herds of zebra and hartebeest gazed at us as we 
passed, and we saw the old spoor of rhino, beasts we 
hoped to avoid, as they often charge such a caravan. 
Slowly the shadows lengthened, the light waned, the 
glare of the white, dusty plain was softened, and the 
bold outlines of the distant mountains grew dim. Just 
before nightfall we halted on the further side of a dry 
watercourse. The safari came up singing and whistling, 
and the men put down their loads, lit fires, and with 
chatter and laughter prepared their food. The crossing 
was not good, the sides of the watercourse being steep, 
and each waggon was brought through by a double 
span, the whips cracking lustily as an accompaniment 
to the shouts of the drivers, as the thirty oxen threw 
their weight into the yokes by which they were 
attached to the long trek tow. The horses were fed. 
