EAST AFRICA 161 
_yery 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 totry. 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 
L M 
