42 
EAST AFRICA AND ITS BIG GAME. 
the porters piling up all the loads we were in no 
immediate want of, and finally covering the whole with 
tarpaulin sheets. Near this monument, and in the 
most convenient spot, our three tents were pitched, 
the big one for ourselves and the two others for Martin 
and the servants ; we had a fourth, but we did not use 
it, during daily marches, on account of the length of 
time occupied in morning packing. Tents are an 
absolute necessity in this part of Africa, if the certainty 
of getting bad fever is to be avoided. 
Having finished this work, the men had to choose the 
spots for their own messes, consisting usually of six or 
seven persons, and these little camping grounds always 
formed a complete circle round us. Here the porters 
lighted their fires and cooked their food, and, when we 
remained for any length of time in one place, erected 
sleeping shelters constructed with boughs and grass. 
At the outset they were a very cheery lot, and just 
like a troop of children, laughing, singing, and shouting 
half through the night. They were by no means diffi¬ 
cult to manage, if one took the trouble to understand 
their little ways, and they were never difficult to arouse 
in the morning, however late their night amusements 
had been carried on. The Soudanese, with whom I 
had much to do during the Nile Expedition in ’84, were 
the exact opposite, and really had to be whipped up 
every morning, for they entertain an absolute horror of 
“ turning out ” before the sun has risen. A reason may 
probably be found in the fact that the early mornings, in 
the Soudan, were bitterly cold, whereas in East Africa 
