collect kindling wood and start fires, they must fill the sufurias with
water and set them over to boil. In the meantime, their masters were
attending to the pitching of the bwana's camp. The rest of the time the
toto played about quite happily, and did light odd jobs, or watched most
attentively while his master showed him small details of a safari-boy's
duty, or taught him simple handicraft. Our boys seemed to take great
pains with their totos and to try hard to teach them.

Also at Meru we had acquired two cocks and four hens of the ridiculously
small native breed. These rode atop the loads: their feet were tied to
the cords and there they swayed and teetered and balanced all day long,
apparently quite happy and interested. At each new camp site they were
released and went scratching and clucking around among the tents. They
lent our temporary quarters quite a settled air of domesticity. We named
the cocks Gaston and Alphonse and somehow it was rather fine, in
the blackness before dawn, to hear these little birds crowing
stout-heartedly against the great African wilderness. Neither Gaston,
Alphonse nor any of their harem were killed and eaten by their owners;
but seemed rather to fulfil the function of household pets.

Along the jungle track we met swarms of people coming in to the post.
One large native safari composed exclusively of women were transporting
loads of trade goods for the Indian trader. They carried their burdens
on their backs by means of a strap passing over the top of the head; our
own "tump line" method. The labour seemed in no way to have dashed their
spirits, for they grinned at us, and joked merrily with our boys. Along
the way, every once in a while, we came upon people squatted down behind
small stocks of sugarcane, yams, bananas, and the like. With these our
boys did a brisk trade. Little paths led mysteriously into the jungle.
Down them came more savages to greet us. Everybody was most friendly and
cheerful, thanks to Horne's personal influence. Two years before this
same lot had been hostile. From every hidden village came the headmen
or chiefs. They all wanted to shake hands-the ordinary citizen never
dreamed of aspiring to that honour-and they all spat carefully into
their palms before they did so. This all had to be done in passing; for
ordinary village headmen it was beneath Our Dignity to draw rein. Once
only we broke over this rule. That was in the case of an old fellow with
white ha