EAST AFRICA 161 



very hot and uncomfortable work walking in a waterproof 

 in the tropics. An ulster, or warm dressing-gown, should also 

 be taken for camp use, and a thick boating sweater is invalu- 

 able in cold or damp weather. 



CAMP GEAR 



In regard to camp gear, a thing of vital importance, a few 

 hints may prove useful. Comfort in camp should be one of 

 the first considerations. Some men incur risks unnecessarily, 

 through ignorance of the dangers they are running, having 

 probably read that men in South Africa sleep out in the 

 open with impunity, or with nothing but a ' lean-to ' of sticks 

 and grass as a protection against dew, wind, or rain, and a 

 bundle of grass and a blanket to lie upon ; but men cannot do 

 this in East Africa, and I recommend them not to try. The 

 heavy dews and the sudden changes of temperature during the 

 night are two of the chief things to be guarded against, and it 

 is well never to disregard them. A tent is indispensable. A 

 capital one, known as the ' Wissmann,' can be had from 

 Edgington, of 2 Duke Street, London Bridge. His damp and 

 insect proof canvas is excellent, and wet increases its weight 

 very little. This tent, which is 7 ft. by 7 ft, is a very comfort- 

 able size for one man, and packs into two loads. The outside 

 fly, however, should be 3 ft. longer on each side of the ridge-pole, 

 and should nearly touch the ground. If this is done the tent 

 is much more likely to stand firm in a gale of wind, and the 

 space underneath affords plenty of room for private gear, and 

 also a capital sleeping-place for the tent boy, provided he does 

 not snore. The poles, excepting the ridge-poles, should be 

 solid, and made of deal, which is fairly light ; female bamboo 

 cracks and breaks when the tent ropes shrink through getting 

 wet, and male bamboo is heavy and difficult to obtain in 

 England. Indian-made tents are not to be recommended for 

 Africa ; they are essentially for hot and dry weather. They 

 absorb damp, and increase tremendously in weight in wet 



I. M 



