INTRODUCTION 5 



to make his co-operation a very great help to me. His 

 service throughout the length of the South African War 

 had made him a practical leader and he had also a great 

 aptitude for survey work and was an experienced photo- 

 grapher. But not the least part of his usefulness was his 

 talent for arrangement and his tact in business dealings 

 which greatly lightened the labours of the initial preparations. 

 The idea now developed of adding the mapping of the country 

 from the Benue to Lake Chad to our programme, and my 

 brother at once spent his leave in working for and gaining 

 the diploma of the Royal Geographical Society, so as to equip 

 himself fully for the projected work. 



The whole scheme appeared beautifully complete when 

 my brother officer, Captain G. B. Gosling, catching fire 

 at the account of our plans, eagerly joined forces as a 

 hunter and field-naturalist; and henceforward the Expedi- 

 tion was to be known as the Alexander- Gosling Expedition. 

 The possessor of an iron constitution, a thorough and dis- 

 tinguished sportsman, and having seen active service in 

 India and South Africa, no better man than Gosling could 

 have been found for the work, and the circumstance that he 

 was an R.B., like myself, made the partnership all the more 

 satisfactory. 



As our plans were now increasing their dimensions, it 

 was necessary to find a helper for my brother's department 

 and we were very lucky in securing the services of Mr. P. A. 

 Talbot, whose recent experience of similar work on the 

 Liberian Boundary Commission rendered him admirably 

 fitted for the post. 



Then last to be mentioned, though not the least important 



