| ~=—ss«s THE CARAVAN, HEADMAN, ETC. 179 
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holding about one and a half pound) of whatever can be 
bought from the natives—flour, beans, &c. On the coast his 
posho is 8 pice per diem. In a trip of six months’ duration or 
more, all the men in the caravan, from headman to porter, 
will demand, and are entitled to, three months’ pay in advance 
Three months’ wages in advance is the most ever paid, how- 
ever long the trip may be. For trips of less than six months, 
_ a proportionate advance is made. The principle is a bad 
_ one from a European point of view, but it is the custom, and 
in this respect, as in many others in East Africa, custom is 
law. 
We now come to the ‘safari’ (caravan) asa whole. After 
_ the headman has been engaged and an approximate list of 
_ loads made out, including everything—barter goods of beads, 
_ cloth, and wire, private kit, tents, stores, ammunition—both 
_ private and for defensive purposes, cooking gear, &c., the 
_ headman should be told how many porters and askaris will be 
_ required, and it is well to let him engage as many of them as 
' he can himself in order that he may know something of their 
_ antecedents. As they are brought up by the headman to be 
__ engaged, they should be entered in the list in companies of ten 
- men, each company under an askari. They then receive their 
advance pay, and can be either told off to do any work there 
may be for them to do, or they can have their posho given them 
_ at once and may be left to their own devices. As long as they 
__ are in Mombasa, or any coast town, they should be mustered 
= ada morning for any work there may be, and again in the 
&: __ evening to receive their posho. It is always advisable to 
x wgage two or three extra porters over and above the esti- 
ae number of loads, as even in the best organised 
nions, or a crate of fowls. The two latter comestibles, 
_ although they have never been given a thought since the cook 
_ the order to get them, are of much importance, and 
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