e river's
bank, we pitched our tents.
These acacia trees were very noble big chaps, with many branches and a
thick shade. In their season they are wonderfully blossomed with white,
with yellow, sometimes even with vivid red flowers. Beneath them was
only a small matter of ferns to clear away.
Before us the sodded bank rounded off ten feet the river itself. At this
point far up in its youth it was a friendly river. Its noble width ran
over shallows of yellow sand or of small pebbles. Save for unexpected
deep holes one could wade across it anywhere. Yet it was very wide, with
still reaches of water, with islands of gigantic papyrus, with sand bars
dividing the current, and with always the vista for a greater or lesser
distance down through the jungle along its banks. From our canvas chairs
we could look through on one side to the arid country, and on the other
to this tropical wonderland.
Yes, at this point in its youth it was indeed a friendly river in every
sense of the word. There are three reasons, ordinarily, why one cannot
bathe in the African rivers. In the first place, they are nearly all
disagreeably muddy; in the second place, cold water in a tropical
climate causes horrible congestions; in the third place they swarm
with crocodiles and hippos. But this river was as yet unpolluted by the
alluvial soil of the lower countries; the sun on its shallows had warmed
its waters almost to blood heat; and the beasts found no congenial
haunts in these clear shoals. Almost before our tents were up the men
were splashing. And always my mental image of that river's beautiful
expanse must include round black heads floating like gourds where the
water ran smoothest.
Our tents stood all in a row facing the stream, the great trees at
their backs. Down in the grove the men had pitched their little white
shelters. Happily they settled down to ease. Settling down to ease, in
the case of the African porter, consists in discarding as many clothes
as possible. While on the march he wears everything he owns; whether
from pride or a desire to simplify transportation I am unable to say. He
is supplied by his employer with a blanket and jersey. As supplementals
he can generally produce a half dozen white man's ill-assorted garments:
an old shooting coat, a ragged pair of khaki breeches, a kitchen
tablecloth for a skirt, or something of the sort. If he can raise an
overcoat he is happy, especially if it happen to be a long, thick WI
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