AFRICAN TRANSPORT.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 4 October 1924, Page 13

AFRICAN TRANSPORT.

PORTERS THAT TRAVEL FIFTEEN AiILES PER- DAY.

Ail over Central Africa the tsetse fly renders pack animals of any kind an impossible dream; except ior a very few, though increasing, arteries, motor loads are unknown; and so when one travels one travels on one’s feet and one’s baggage goes to the heads of porters.- Various paternal Governments imve laid down that these roads shall not exceed 501 b in weight, and one of the things to remember about Central African travel —“Safari” as it is called —is that one’s boxes should be of such size that when filled with ordinary things they will ' turn the scale at about that weight. Another thing to remember is nes r er to be in a hurry, writes 0. Lestock Reid, F.R.G.S., in the Daily Alail. The African porter is sure, but he is amazingly slow. Three miles per hour, is the accepted pace and fifteen miles a clay about the limit on a journey lasting any length of time. To the man accustomed to be rushed the same distance in half an hour this may seem unutterably tedious; but it has its compensations; the. start through the magical freshness of an African dawn; the endless succession of fascinating sights, here a herd of ba-rte- • be-cste or zebra galloping away in alarm, here a native village,, with laughing, chattering women and solemn native children gazing shyly at the white man, here- (great excitement) the fresh tracks of elephant churning across the track; the arrival in camp, and the pleasant comfort -of a battered deck chair while the cook prepares that finest of meals —meat one has shot oneself: the long, dreamless nights of perfect sleep. And, above all, the African is , reliable: does not go on strike; but, being merely a poor, ignorant savage, serves his master with loyalty and fidelity for- the wages agreed upon in the first instance.