Author's Preface 



and impress them with his cleverness and general 

 knowledge ; with the result that they are not so 

 apt to try and "do him in the eye," or practise 

 their little petty deceptions and subterfuges. 

 Moreover, when they find out that the British 

 officer is there living amongst them not merely as 

 a judicial officer to settle their amusing matrimonial 

 affairs or cases of inter-tribal cattle-lifting- or what 

 not, but as a human being who is always ready 

 for a day's sport or who appreciates a good joke, 

 they are much more amenable and easily led. 

 This also makes for a happy and peaceful time 

 for the said official whose business it is to take 

 charge of the district. 



Whilst in command of the escort to the Right 

 Hon. Winston Churchill, m.p,, the then Under 

 Secretary of State for the Colonies, from Lake 

 Victoria Nyanza to Gondokoro, which is a 

 journey from the bottom, practically, to the top 

 of Uganda, it struck me that it would be as well 

 to put some of our experiences on paper for future 

 reference, and, when that trek was rounded off 

 by a visit to Khartoum on Mr. Churchill's kind 

 invitation as his guest, and a splendid shoot the 

 whole of the 1500 odd miles back, I decided to 

 write this book. 



On my landing at Gondokoro from a delight- 

 fully happy Christmas week at Khartoum, and an 

 excellent shoot on my way up the Nile, success- 

 ful chiefly owing to the many great kindnesses 



XI 



