WITH FLASH-LIGHT AND RIFLE 



East Africa, with its contrasts of conformation and cli- 

 mate. Other beasts of burden known to us — horses, 

 mules, cattle, etc. — are out of the question in East Africa. 

 The unhealthy climate and the sting of the tsetse-fly 

 would carry them off quickly. 



Railroads will hardly ever supplant the native car- 

 riers, as they are, and always will be, few and far be- 

 tween. On the native carriers, then, we must place 

 our reliance if we wish to start on an expedition of ad- 

 venture or scientific discovery. They know the regular 

 caravan roads so well, by experience and information, 

 that they can time the day and hour when the caravan 

 will reach the different stations. But when a caravan, 

 like my own, leaves the beaten track to penetrate into 

 the pathless and uninhabited interior of the steppe, then 

 there are difficulties and obstacles to be overcome, and 

 emergencies to be dealt with, of which the ordinary 

 traveller has no idea. 



One of the greatest problems with which we have to 

 wrestle is that of provisioning the caravan. Aside from 

 the regular load of sixty pounds, and his cooking-uten- 

 sils and general personal outfit, a native can carry vege- 

 table food for not more than fourteen to twenty days. 



This question must be settled at the start or else the 

 expedition is doomed to certain failure. 



The water supply is an equally important question, 

 particularly during the dry season, when a man cannot 

 be expected to go without drinking for more than a 



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