316 A NATURALIST IN MID-AFRICA. 



The following table shows the relative advan- 



tages of each at once :- 









Donkeys 

 Mules 



Pace miles 

 Load lbs. per hour. 



100, 2 

 160 3 



Average 

 journey 

 per day. 



20 ' 



20 



Pound miles 

 carried 

 per day. 



2,000 

 3,200 



Cost at 

 Kikuyu. 



15s. 



£15? 



Horses 



200 3f 



20? 



4,000 



£10? 



Bullocks 



160 2i 



20 



3,200 



£10? 



Camels 



400 2i 



20 



8,000 



£20? 



Elephants 

 Man 



1,000 3 

 65 2f 



20? 

 15 



20,000 

 975 



£100? 

 £200 * 



The figures for the donkey are extracted from my own ex- 

 perience. The remainder are chiefly drawn from " The Soldier's 

 Pocket Book" by Viscount Wolseley. 



It is extremely difficult to give any closer 

 approximation to the cost as found in actual 

 practice. 



It is too much to expect any animal to proceed 

 day after day through great change of climate, and 

 always carrying a load, for the space of two or 

 three months. 



Hence it is not in the least surprising that all 

 animals which have been tried so far in East Africa 

 appear to have proved a failure. Besides this 

 strain, they have never had proper attendants or 

 saddles or fodder on the road. 



It is, therefore, not satisfactorily proved that 

 draught animals could not be used with profit, but 

 there is extremely little to show that they could. 



* This at 3J per cent, is equivalent to a wage of 12/- per 

 month. 



