He could
not bring himself to cook his own food although willing enough to cook
mine.

I paid Gerome forty Belgian francs a month, which, at the rate of
exchange then prevailing, was considerably less than three dollars. I
also had to give him a weekly allowance of five francs (about thirty
cents) for his food. To the American employer of servants these figures
will be somewhat illuminating and startling.

One more human interest detail before we move on. In Africa every white
man gets a name from the natives. This appellation usually expresses his
chief characteristic. The first title fastened on me was "_Bwana Cha
Cha_," which means "The Master Who is Quick." When I first heard this
name I thought it was a reflection on my appetite because "_Cha Cha_" is
pronounced "Chew Chew." Subsequently, in the Upper Congo and the Kasai I
was called "_Mafutta Mingi_," which means "Much Fat." I must explain in
self-defense that in the Congo I ate much more than usual, first because
something in the atmosphere makes you hungry, and second, a good
appetite is always an indication of health in the tropics.

Still another name that I bore was "_Tala Tala_," which means spectacles
in practically all the Congo dialects. There are nearly two hundred
tribes and each has a distinctive tongue. In many sections that I
visited the natives had never seen a pair of tortoise shell glasses such
as I wear during the day. The children fled from me shrieking in terror
and thinking that I was a sorcerer. Even gifts of food, the one
universal passport to the native heart, failed to calm their fears.

The Congo native, let me add, is a queer character. The more I saw of
him, the greater became my admiration for King Leopold. In his present
state the only rule must be a strong rule. No one would ever think of
thanking a native for a service. It would be misunderstood because the
black man out there mistakes kindness for weakness. You must be firm but
just. Now you can see why explorers, upon emerging from long stays in
the jungle, appear to be rude and ill-mannered. It is simply because
they had to be harsh and at times unfeeling, and it becomes a habit.
Stanley, for example, was often called a boor and a brute when in
reality he was merely hiding a fine nature behind the armour necessary
to resist native imposition and worse.

III

The private car on which I travelled from Fungurume to Bukama was my
final taste of luxury. When Horner waved me