codes; for, when interrogating a drummer on the subject of another chiefs signal, he often replied that he had never heard that particular drum, or would of course know it. We were, by means of these drums, able to keep up a constant communication, day and night, with our allies and natives for miles round the camp. Every evening some member of our company would amuse himself by rapping out abuse at the enemy, which was returned with zest from the hostile camp.

Occasionally a friendly gossip would be kept up, one side telling the other news of its respective harems, what food they had to eat, and how many hours the chief had slept that day. The native instinct for boasting and exaggeration generally became a predominant feature on these occasions, and the conversation would almost invariably degenerate into a lying match,