202 



THE LAKE REGIONS OP CENTRAL AFRICA. 



meter, a note-book, and a sketch-book, a watch and a 

 moderate-sized knife of many uses. The latter should 

 contain scissors, tweezers, tooth-pick, and ear-pick, 

 needle, file, picker, steel for fire, turnscrew, watch-spring- 

 saw, clasp blade, and pen blade : it should be made of 

 moderate dimensions, and for safety be slung by a 

 lanyard to the button-hole. For the cold mornings and 

 the noon-day heats, I made up a large padded hood, 

 bound round the head like the Arab Kufiyah. Too 

 much cannot be said in favour of this article, which in 

 eastward travel defends the eyes from the fiery glare, 

 protects, when wending westwards, the carotids against 

 the solar blaze, and, at all times, checks the intrusive 

 staring of the crowd. I reformed my umbrella, ever 

 an invaluable friend in these latitudes, by removing the 

 rings and wires from the worm-eaten stick, and by 

 mounting them on a spear, thus combining with shelter 

 a staiF and a weapon. The traveller should have at 

 least three umbrellas, one large and water proof — white, 

 not black — in the shape of those used by artists ; and 

 two others of moderate size, and of the best construc- 

 tion, which should be covered with light-coloured calico, 

 as an additional defence against the sun. At Kazeh 

 I was somewhat deficient in material : my lazy " Jack of 

 all trades," Valentine, made, however, some slippers of 

 green baize, soled with leather, for me, overalls of Ame- 

 rican domestics for my companion, and various articles 

 of indigo-dyed cotton for himself and his fellow-servant, 

 who presently appeared tastefully rigged out like Paul 

 and Virginia in " Bengal blue." 



The minor works were not many. The two remain- 

 ing pormanteaus of the three that had left the Coast 

 were cobbled with goatskins, and were bound with stout 

 thongs. The hammocks, of which half had disappeared, 

 were patched and provided with the Nara, or Indian 



