346 THE EXI'LORATION OF THE NIGER ventured to leave our camp we should have had to divide, one-half of us remaining on guard ; but neither division would have been strong enough in any emergency, for those who went could not spare anycooHes as scouts, whilst those who remained would have no sentries. When we went to fetch wood, we did not go out of sight of our fort, which was left to the care of the halt and lame, so to speak: the interpreters and the scullions, and I was quite uneasy about them when I saw the men leave of a morning.

Our one safe road, the river, was blocked above and below the camp, for we had a rapid up-stream and a rapid down-stream, so that even quite small canoes could not pass.