28 SPORT IN THE EASTERN SUDAN 



temper. During the cooler months I wore flannel 

 shirts, but nothing under my coat save a zephyr vest 

 during the hot weather. My Indian servants did 

 my washing, and I carried a plentiful supply of soft 

 soap for the purpose. Of course my coats were 

 provided with spine-pads, and I also had blue goggles 

 to wear when marching, and a large green-lined 

 Marker's umbrella, to which camels objected strongly, 

 but which saved me many a headache when marching 

 on donkeys. These useful animals travel at the rate 

 of three miles an hour, for fully twenty miles a day, 

 carrying a 14-stone load, and since baggage-camels 

 only move at two and a half miles per hour, they are 

 good to ride, when there is nothing to be gained by 

 riding far in front of one's caravan. 



On marching days I always carried breakfast on 

 the servants' donkeys, and was thus independent of 

 the camels until nightfall : on my own donkey were 

 always the rifle and ammunition, with a shot-gun on 

 a servant's donkey as well. 



I always wear thick woollen socks when shooting 

 or marching in the hottest of weather, though a few 

 pairs of merino with white duck trousers and cotton 

 shirts are useful for camp. The nights in the Sudan 

 are cool throughout the year, and two or three rugs 

 or blankets are a sine qua non, with a light but 

 serviceable mattress, which may be of cork. In India 

 and the tropics generally one is far more apt to 



