4 ‘THROUGH UNKNOWN AFRICAN COUNTRIES. 
Returning to the coast on the 1st of February, 1894, I 
left orders with Mohammed Hindi, a merchant of Berbera, 
to buy me the best camels he could find. I also engaged 
many of the Somalis we had had with us in our sporting 
trip. Mr. Malcome Jones, English Resident at Bulhar, and 
Mr. Charles McConkey, Agent of Messrs. Brown, Shipley, & 
Co., at Aden, very kindly offered to aid me in every way, so 
that when I came back in the summer I should not be 
obliged to delay long on the coast. 
On my return to England I set to work to prepare my- 
self for doing as much work as possible from a geographi- 
cal and natural-history standpoint. My expedition would 
be successful from a popular point of view if I could reach 
Lake Rudolf from the east, and join Count Teleki's line of 
march which he had made from the south; but I valued 
the results I might obtain by their accuracy and scientific 
usefulness. A course of instruction given me by Mr. John 
Coles, Map Curator of the Royal Geographical Society, 
taught me the various methods of laying down my 
positions accurately, and many valuable hints given me by 
the staff of the British Museum showed me how I should 
obtain the best results in collecting natural-history speci- 
mens. I was determined to spare no expense to make my 
expedition as complete as possible, so I determined to en- 
gage the services of Mr. Edward Dodson, a young English 
taxidermist, with the idea of his being useful in helping me 
to collect specimens, as well as in skinning birds. 
When my preparations were nearly completed, I agreed 
to the request of my friend, Mr. Fred Gillett, that he might 
accompany me, with twelve men and twenty camels, as he 
wished to shoot big game, and I was desirous of his com- 
pany. The only material assistance I received was from 
the Royal Geographical Society in the shape of a loan 
of valuable instruments. These consisted of a six-inch 
