MY SOMALI BOOK 245 



Similar^ with cost of passage to Aden from England, 

 which had to be incurred in any case on my way back 

 from furlough. 



On the whole, I do not consider the expedition to 

 have been an expensive one. It certainly cost much less 

 than would a shoot in East or Central Africa. On the 

 other hand, there was no chance of elephant ivory 

 from which to recoup expenses. I could perhaps have 

 cut down expenditure a little in some respects, but 

 I was out for a good shoot and meant to make the most 

 of it. To do that the first and absolute sine qua non 

 is health. If a man cannot rough it a bit he had best 

 not try and shoot in Africa, but to make a fetish of 

 " roughing it," as a few men do, to stint oneself of 

 good food, and make oneself umiecessarily uncomfort- 

 able, is simply to court ill-health and consequent failure 

 — the most disastrous form of economy. 



I miglit no doubt have managed with two shikaris, 

 but should then have had to have a separate head-man, 

 which would have been less satisfactory. If they had 

 not done me so well I should of course have given 

 less bakshish at the end. I calculated this at the rate 

 of an extra month's pay to the camel-men, etc. I 

 think this plan is preferable to giving special presents, 

 as is often done, whenever a good trophy is bagged. 



A subsequent item of expenditure, dependent on 

 the size of one's bag, and what one does with it, is the 

 cost of mounting one's trophies, which may be con- 

 siderable ; while in Somaliland both skins and heads 

 need constant attention and application of insect 

 powder, or better, turpentine, to prevent the ravages 

 of that obnoxious little pest, the dennestes beetle. 



