290 FROM THE NIGER TO THE NILE 



stances of Gosling's death. For nearly two and a half 

 years he had borne the burden and heat of the day, going- 

 through the hardships of that long time with a light heart 

 and scarcely touched by sickness or fever ; and then, when 

 the Expedition was within but six months of its goal, he was 

 stricken down and robbed of his share of the success — but 

 not of his share of the fame ; — that imperishably belongs to 

 the brave dead. 



It would have been impossible to find a man better 

 equipped than Gosling for the work he took up. To his 

 fine qualities as a soldier and sportsman were added a 

 constitution of iron and untiring energy. Always an early 

 riser he would be away on the trek often before dawn, and 

 never missed an opportunity twice a day of making long 

 hunting excursions into the bush. His powers of walking 

 were extraordinary and, though a fast walker myself, I found 

 it sometimes difficult to keep up with him. When mounting 

 the rapids on the "Welle, he would often take a pole himself 

 to encourage the men. 



He possessed the instincts of a good naturalist, and in 

 this his characteristic regard for detail served him well, for 

 whatever might be the animal obtained, from an elephant 

 down to a mouse, he always took the measurements and 

 made a careful description. The same thoroughness was shown 

 by him in the little dictionaries he made of the Sungo and 

 Bangala languages, and the admirable diary which he always 

 wrote up, however tired he came in from the long day's trek. 



He was a good shot, and true sportsman that he was 

 nothing annoyed him more than to lose a wounded animal, 

 and he would take extraordinary pains to follow up its 



