50 
THE NEW AFRICA 
needed, as our complement was full, winch caused them to return 
to their homes. Had it not now been for the kindness of West- 
beech and the Jesuit Fathers, who lent us all their spare natives, 
thirty-four, we should have had to wait goodness knows how 
long before we got sufficient bearers to proceed with. 
Soon all was in readiness, the packs complete, the canvas 
saddlebags fitted to the donkeys, and we were anxious to make a 
start. We had taken the precaution to make up all our heavy 
stuff into small packages, leaving the large ones somewhat 
lighter. Accordingly, our delight was great, when the word 
was given to £ select packs/ to see the burlier of the ‘ boys ’ in 
the rush pushing the slighter ones aside to seize the small 
packages, leaving the larger and lighter ones to the weaker boys. 
Jan Yeyers stood by with a grim smile on his face at the success 
of our artifice, expecting the row to break out immediately that 
took place later as soon as the bullies found out how neatly they 
had been tricked. But I may say here at once that all their 
jabbering later was of no avail, and they had to stick to the 
burdens they had chosen themselves, in spite of their disgusted 
remonstrances. 
In dealing with these unwilling savages, who had never pre¬ 
viously been subjected to any discipline whatever, and who were 
simply guided by their own inclinations on all subjects, any 
interference with which brought threats of immediate desertion, 
we had to exercise great patience, and occasionally stratagem, to 
keep things going at all smoothly. 
It was arranged between Westbeech and ourselves that the 
payment the boys were to receive for the trip—blankets, beads, 
calico, and brass wire—should be handed out to them by West- 
beech on their return from Matambanja’s. Each boy was to 
bring back a note signed by us at parting, recognising the 
liability, to legitimise his claim, without which note Westbeech 
was instructed not to pay any one. This gave us some hold over 
the boys, but we found later that it was one they appeared to 
think very little of, for in their hasty superficial minds no abstract 
idea outweighed the ever present, daily, unaccustomed hard work 
