NOTES ON EQUIPMENT, TRAVELLING EXPENSES, ETC. 107 



I have now shown that for a sum of less than ;^45o a sportsman can have an 

 interesting and comfortable shooting trip to this country. 



It could be done for slightly less by doing without certain things and travelling 

 with fewer loads ; but, as I have mentioned before, it does not pay to rough it too 

 much, for the hardships and discomforts of following big game in the intense heat 

 take it out of a man, so he should try to be comfortable when he is resting 

 in camp. 



I do not include liquor in the sportsman's messing expenses, but a bottle or 

 two of whisky a month, and other small luxuries, could be obtained in the cost 

 given. I am convinced, however, that the best drink for the hunter in Africa, or 

 anywhere else, is tea, and, as the water for it has to be boiled, any germs that 

 may be in it are destroyed. 



As a newcomer will not understand the native languages, he may have to 

 engage an interpreter, though many of the cooks and personal boys understand 

 a little English and could act as such. 



If headskins of game are taken, the sportsman should make the first cuts 

 himself, or the natives are bound to make a mess of it. They have to be taught to 

 skin properly, and this takes some time. 



The places they will go wrong are about the base of the ears, the eyes, and the 

 nose and mouth. 



In taking a whole skin they invariably cut the legs on the outside instead of 

 on the inside. 



This work has always to be personally supervised if it is to be done correctly. 



They have also to be made to understand that heads seething with beetles and 

 maggots must be kept away from the skins, for if the bacon beetles {Dermestes 

 ladratus) get at the skins they will be ruined in a few days. 



It is very difficult to dry skins properly during the rainy season, but in the dry 

 season a few hours' exposure to the sun, added to an application of alum and 

 saltpetre, will soon cure them. The hair on the ears and nose removes very 

 easily, so these parts should not be rubbed on any hard substance, or treated 

 roughly. A soaking with turpentine or paraffin will help to keep beetles and grubs 

 away, or kill them if present, but they soon eat away the hair and cause it to 

 fall out, so skins should be inspected constantly and beaten with a stick to dislodge 

 any pests that may lurk within. The proverb that " a stitch in time saves 

 nine " was never better exemplified than in the care of skins in this country. Stores 

 might be brought from home packed in boxes of about 451b. weight. Many 

 firms know how to pack for this country in suitable wooden boxes with locks. 



