MOMBASSA TO LION LAND 15 
railroad, and push far afield.* One rule it is always 
well to observe in planning a sefari — be sure and engage 
many more porters than you have loads; men fall sick, 
occasionally, a few desert, and at the last something is 
sure to happen which calls for extra porterage. My 
observance of this rule stood me in good stead on this 
occasion. When the ox wagons were piled high with all 
the teams could draw, we found that there were seven 
loads left over. “These must have been. left behind, if my 
men could not shoulder them. Next, as I stood on the 
platform, a note was handed to me from M. A. C. Hoey, 
a professional hunter I had engaged for this trip, as I wished 
to ride lions, saying, that as he knew I had plenty of porters, 
and he had not been able to hire any at the station, he 
hoped I could bring his personal belongings along. That 
meant nine loads more. MHere, then, were sixteen 
extra loads unexpectedly cast on me. Things seemed to 
go wrong this morning, for two of my men had sickened 
in the night, as natives often do (small blame to them, 
poor fellows, shut up in iron trucks for so many hours), and 
for a time it looked as if some necessary things must, after 
all, remain behind till I could send for them. But I called 
the men together and laid the case before them, asking 
them to help me out, and so they did right manfully. 
I am not a little proud of a that first breakfastless 
march in bitter cold out of Londiani, with men who had 
had no food for thirty-eight hours, and who cheerfully, 
in spite of that, carried, some of them, almost one hundred 
pounds, to please me, and save delaying the sefari. Would 
any other men but these good natured, willing, black folk 
do it? Certainly neither English nor American soldiers 
would or could. 
*I make no mention here of personal supplies—tents, clothes, ammunition, food delicacies, wines, 
whiskey (we carried no alcohol whatever for ourselves) and selected provisions for the whole trip— 
should be bought and boxed in London. The boxes must not weigh more than fifty-five pounds. 
The Army and Navy Co-operative Company do this work admirably. Full details of such pro- 
Visioning I give elsewhere. 
