to keep four paddles at work in each canoe, which meant that
the whole lot of us, except Good, had to row away like galley-slaves;
and very exhausting work it was. I say, except Good, for, of
course, the moment that Good got into a boat his foot was on
his native heath, and he took command of the party. And certainly
he worked us. On shore Good is a gentle, mild-mannered man,
and given to jocosity; but, as we found to our cost, Good in
a boat was a perfect demon. To begin with, he knew all about
it, and we didn't. On all nautical subjects, from the torpedo
fittings of a man-of-war down to the best way of handling the
paddle of an African canoe, he was a perfect mine of information,
which, to say the least of it, we were not. Also his ideas of
discipline were of the sternest, and, in short, he came the royal
naval officer over us pretty considerably, and paid us out amply
for all the chaff we were wont to treat him to on land; but,
on the other hand, I am bound to say that he managed the boats admirably.

After the first day Good succeeded, with the help of some cloth
and a couple of poles, in rigging up a sail in each canoe, which
lightened our labours not a little. But the current ran very
strong against us, and at the best we were not able to make more
than twenty miles a day. Our plan was to start at dawn, and
paddle along till about half-past ten, by which time the sun
got too hot to allow of further exertion. Then we moored our
canoes to the bank, and ate our frugal meal; after which we ate
or otherwise amused ourselves till about three o'clock, when
we again started, and rowed till within an hour of sundown, when
we called a halt for the night. On landing in the evening, Good
would at once set to work, with the help of the Askari, to build
a little 'scherm', or small enclosure, fenced with thorn bushes,
and to light a fire. I, with Sir Henry and Umslopogaas, would
go out to shoot something for the pot. Generally this was an
easy task, for all sorts of game abounded on the banks of the
Tana. One night Sir Henry shot a young cow-giraffe, of which
the marrow-bones were excellent; on another I got a couple of
waterbuck right and left; and once, to his own intense satisfaction,
Umslopogaas (who, like most Zulus, was a vile shot with a rifle)
managed to kill a fine fat eland with a Martini I had lent him.
Sometimes we varied our food by shooting some guinea-fowl, or
bush-bustard (paau) -- both of which