2 THE VOYAGE. Chap. I. 



this, there was the vague hope of being able to reach, 

 in the far interior, some unknown western tributary 

 of the Nile, and to descend by it to the great river, 

 and thence to the Mediterranean. 



To qualify myself for such a task, I went through 

 a course of instruction* in the use of instruments, to 

 enable me to project my route by dead-reckoning 

 and astronomical observations, and supplied myself 

 with a complete outfit for this purpose, as well as for 

 taking the altitudes of places above the sea-level. I 

 also learnt practical photography,! and laid in a store 

 of materials necessary to make 2,000 pictures, having 

 felt the importance of obtaining faithful representa- 

 tions of the scenery, natives, and animals of these 

 remote countries. In natural history I did not expect 

 to find many novelties near the coast, at least in the 

 larger animals, but I took pains to learn what was 

 most likely to be interesting to zoologists, and hoped 

 to be able to make many discoveries in the far 

 interior. Besides materials for preserving large 

 animals, I provided myself with a stock of boxes, 

 glass tubes, &c., in order to collect insects, worms, 

 and the like classes of animals, which I had neglected 

 in my former journey. I also took fifty pounds of 

 arsenic for the preservation of stuffed specimens. 

 My hope of traversing the whole of Equatorial Africa 

 to the head of the Nile, although acting as a strong 

 incitement to me, was kept secret, except from a few 



* Under Staff-Commander C. George, Map Curator, Eoyal Geographical 

 Society ; to whom I am, besides, much indebted for the trouble he took in 

 selecting instruments for me, and for his care in testing them. 



t Under M. Claudct, and his son M. Henri Claudet. 



