With Flashlight and Rifle ^ 



kept to the river-courses, and so were always sure of 

 water. Long- before our greatest explorers crossed Africa, 

 the Arabs had traversed the continent with slave-caravans ; 

 and thus traditional caravan-roads had been established for 

 a long time when Europeans first began to penetrate into 

 the interior. These roads have been largely utilised in 

 the course of such expeditions. 



One often finds natives who know by heart every 

 single halting-place on the caravan-route from the east 

 coast to the Congo ! They know what kinds of nourish- 

 ment the different districts and tribes will be able to 

 afford ; they know where to find water and the peculiarities 

 and difficulties of the ground ; in short, everthing that 

 needs to be known, down to the smallest detail. On 

 questioning them more closely one discovers, to one's 

 great surprise, that these folk have already gone every 

 step of the way long- years ago with Arab traders or in 

 some other fashion. 



To wander at random into the country is only 

 possible in well-watered regions, and during the rainy 

 season. At any other time, especially during the seasons 

 of great drought, to do such a thing would mean certain 

 and speedy destruction to the entire caravan. Even if a 

 single expected watering-place be found to be dried up, 

 the greatest distress may ensue ; in the briefest period a 

 number of the carriers, or, for that matter, the whole 

 caravan, may succumb to the pains of thirst. 



It is, therefore, necessary always to provide one's self 

 with native guides, and, in any case, to make the most 

 searching investigation into the water-question. And in 



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