The year was 1970. I was an ensign in the French Navy on the helicopter carrier "Jeanne d'Arc" that served as school for French Navy officers.
We were in Dakar, Senegal. We had rented a car and were going to visit a fishing village that was supposed to be very "pittoresque".
We turned the last bend in the road and suddenly, we were surrounded by a dozen young boys 8 to 12 years old. They were all speaking simultaneously (or rather shouting), and the first sentence we heard was: "Pour la pirogue, c'est Augustin." (for the pirogue, it's Augustin)
These young boys were working for their older brothers who were renting pirogues. I am sure that Augustin was one of the "piroguiers" we used.
After more than forty years, I still see the scene in my mind: a dozen black boys that looked like they were attacking our car with the battle cry "Pour la pirogue, c'est Augustin."
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