Niarugwe Camp 65 



The main body of the expedition under the 

 command of De Borely wintered during this time 

 to the north of Makanga. The bearers had been 

 sent away for the time being, our comrade remaining 

 with a few men and servants. Though you may 

 persuade four or five hunters to tramp in the rain 

 eight or ten hours a day, it is quite another matter 

 with 400 bearers with loads on their heads the 

 column stops constantly and the packages are spoiled 

 by the wet. The best thing, then, is to await the 

 end of the rainy season, which falls generally at the 

 beginning of May. I utilise the time by hunting. 

 Will the reader now inspect our quarters, similar to 

 all our camps ? 



Our entrenchment is completely hidden from the 

 outside, and any one passing near the forest would 

 never suspect that forty men were living there, as 

 comfortably as circumstances permitted. In the 

 middle is an open, uncovered space of twenty yards ; 

 at one end is my tent, Bertrand's tent and that for 

 the baggage, specimens, and biltong ; all around, and 

 inside the stockade of abatis and thorns, are the 

 thatched huts of the men, their fires, firewood, the 

 buccans, etc. Outside the camp is a spot in a clearing 

 which is levelled and swept, where animals may be cut 

 up, so as not to dirty the inside. There the skins 

 are stretched and dried in the sun. When the sun 

 does shine, many biltong-racks, upon which strips of 

 meat are placed to dry, are also put outside ; these 

 are carried inside the stockade at night, to be 

 replaced in the morning. This is done with the 



