Trail and Camp-Fire 



in this condition he wastes away and soon 

 becomes useless. Our own provisions were 

 packed in boxes, each holding sufficient to last 

 two weeks. This method proved very effi- 

 cient as a restraint on the extravagance of our 

 native cooks, as they were told under no con- 

 ditions would a new box be opened until the 

 time limit of the last had expired. The pro- 

 visions for our men, consisting mostly of rice, 

 dates and ghee — clarified butter made from 

 camel's milk — were put up in boxes, sacks and 

 tins, respectively, and were easily made into 

 suitable camel packs. There happened to be 

 a boat in the harbor just arrived from the Per- 

 sian Gulf with a large cargo of fine dates on 

 board, from which we supplied ourselves 

 abundantly. 



Finally everything was stowed away on a 

 small steamer, and, after a three days' trip, we 

 arrived, in very rough weather, off a small vil- 

 lage on the African coast. The sea was so 

 high that at first it seemed impossible to land; 

 but during the course of the day all our 

 goods were taken safely in, and we, ourselves, 

 carried ashore on the shoulders of natives. It 

 was an anxious time for us, as we sat on the 



beach watching our gun and cartridge boxes 



80 



