CHAP. I 



TRAVELS IN EASTERN AFRICA 



33 



All the goods purchased in London or Vienna had 

 been packed in serviceable and easily opened wooden 

 boxes. The material purchased in Zanzibar was sewn in 

 strong canvas, the average weight of a load being sixty- 

 five pounds. On the march, a porter beside this load 

 carried his rifle, whatever clothing he had for the 

 journey, and rations for from three to six days, as 

 occasion demanded. This brought the total weight of 

 the burden borne by each man to about eighty pounds. 

 To the European it may seem beyond the power of 

 the ordinary man to bear this any length of time ; 

 but these porters, having been from earliest youth 

 accustomed to bear burdens upon their heads and 

 shoulders, were capable of bearing in this manner a 

 much greater weight and for a much longer time than 

 would at first be supposed. 



The day preceding my departure, the Arab gov- 

 ernor visited my camp. I took advantage of his pres- 

 ence to ask him to give an address to my men, warning 

 them against desertion, and threatening them with direst 

 punishment, should they neglect his warning, or refuse 

 to accept his advice. He made a speech which the 

 porters received with impertinent grins, much to the 

 chagrin of the Arab governor, and upon its conclusion 

 they gave three loud and boisterous hurrahs. Abdul- 

 lah Hamed, the governor, was much irritated, and the 

 return of his accustomed good humour was delayed 

 until after he had quaffed several glasses of sherbet 

 and uncounted but numerous cups of coffee. 



At Lamoo I purchased a number of goats and 

 sheep. These, added to my donkeys, horses, and 

 camels, gave the camp a quite pastoral appearance. 



D 



