136 
THE NEW AFRICA 
canoe would make it rather a pleasant conveyance, or at any 
rate give it more stability; but the floating reeds choking the 
greater part of the river surface make the introduction of such 
a thing quite impossible. As soon as we were landed, two of 
our boys, entering into the fun, jumped into the canoe, and, 
standing upright, with vigorous strokes propelled themselves 
forward over the course we had been, bending low at each 
powerful stroke, and then mockingly throwing water from the 
end of their paddles into the streaming sunlight, to show the 
ease and security they are masters of in navigating this frail 
craft, and then, as they neared the shore, by humorously imitat¬ 
ing our previous timorous movements, raised shouts of laughter, 
in which we all joined heartily < How we wished that we had 
been free from the tension of the instinct to go onward, always 
occupying our minds, and had felt at liberty to loiter here 
for an indefinite period, free of all anxiety and care, shooting, 
fishing, and otherwise enjoying ourselves in this glorious 
country. 
Hammar passed the afternoon in sketching the buck heads 
and scenery, much to the delight of the natives, and I, while 
rummaging about arranging the packs, stumbled across Serpa 
Pinto’s work, and showed his sketches to the natives, who were 
much interested in seeing the reproduction of things they knew. 
But a picture of a ‘mokorro’ (canoe) on the Upper Chobe 
sent them into wild delight. 
