48 THE EXPLORATION OF THE NIGER our griof Wali leads them on a kind of primitive harp with cat-gut strings, made of a calabash and a bit of twisted wood, from which hang little plaques of tin, which tinkle when the instrument is played.

And so we leave the long miles behind us. Every other hour we let the men and beasts have ten minutes' rest, until the moment arrives when we catch sight amongst the trees OUR TETHERED MULES.

of the pointed thatched roofs or the flat terraces of mud huts of the village at which we are to camp.

The mules are unharnessed or unsaddled, as the case may be, and tethered in a row by ropes fastened to one foot, whilst the carts are packed like artillery. Presently we shall take the animals to drink at a neighbouring stream, and then their food will be thrown down before them, and they will fling themselves upon it like gluttons, 1 Agriot is a superior negro, who acts as interpreter, etc. — Trans.