I must tell you, though, that the blacks, when drinking at a river or water-hole, invariably scoop up the water with their hands, and never put their mouths right down close to the surface of the water.

Well, one day I was guilty of this solecism.

I had been out on a hunting expedition, and reached the water-hole with an intense burning thirst.

My mentor was not with me.

I fell on my knees and fairly buried my face in the life-giving fluid.