374 
UGANDA 
[CH. XIII 
well-clad, well-behaved, fine-looking men, and did their 
work better than the 44 shenzis,” the wild Meru of 
Kikuyu tribesmen, whom we had occasionally employed 
in East Africa; but they were not the equals of the 
regular East African porters. I think this was largely 
because of their inferior food, for they ate chiefly yams 
and plantains ; in other words, inferior sweet potatoes 
and bananas. They were quite as fond of singing as the 
East African porters, and in addition were cheered on 
the march by drum and fife; several men had fifes, and 
one carried nothing but one of the big Uganda drums, 
which he usually bore at the head of the safari, marching 
in company with the flag-bearer. Every hour or two 
the men would halt, often beside one of the queer little 
wickerwork booths in which native hucksters disposed 
of their wares by the roadside. 
Along the road we often met wayfarers ; once or 
twice bullock-carts; more often men carrying rolls of 
hides or long bales of cotton on their heads ; or a set of 
Bahima herdsmen, with clear-cut features, guarding 
their herds of huge-horned Angola cattle. 
All greeted us most courteously, frequently crouching 
or kneeling, as is their custom when they salute a 
superior ; and we were scrupulous to acknowledge their 
salutes, and to return their greetings in the native 
fashion, with words of courtesy and long-drawn e-h-h-s 
and a-a-h-s. Along the line of march the chiefs had 
made preparations to receive us. Each afternoon, as 
we came to the spot where we were to camp for the 
night, we found a cleared space strewed with straw and 
surrounded by a plaited reed fence. Within this space 
cane houses, with thatched roofs of coarse grass, had 
been erected—some for our stores, one for a kitchen, one, 
which was always decked with flowers, as a rest-house 
