718 Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant: Boyd Alexander 
majority of the natives, in their excitement, did not pay 
much attention to his companion and moved back to the 
town. 
“ The bad luck of the whole thing was that two days after the 
explorer's murder Ali Dinar of Darfur, to whom Alexander 
had sent his boys (presumably to announce his arrival and to 
ask for guides), sent back an escort along with the carriers. 
The latter had been well received by Ali Dinar, who had given 
them presents and bad provided the escort for the British 
officer, to give him a safe passage across Darfur. Two days 
later would have made all the difference. The attitude of the 
Tama people was doubtless due to the fact that they had 
had trouble with the French before, and hearing of the 
arrival of an unknown white man at their town, expected 
further hostilities.’' 
Thus, in the very prime of his life, having already at the 
early age of 37 covered himself with honour and glory, this 
splendid man was done to death. All those who had the 
privilege of knowing him will easily realise that Alexander's 
place both as a great traveller and as a field-naturalist of 
exceptional ability will be hard to fill; and to those who could 
claim him as a friend his loss must seem irreparable. 
Boyd Alexander was the eldest son of Lt.-Col. Boyd 
Francis Alexander, of Swifts Place, Cranbrook. He was 
one of twin boys, born on the 16th of January, 1873. As 
it was doubtful whether the younger would survive the early 
hours of infancy, the Vicar was summoned hastily to 
christen the children, and the ceremony was performed in 
an old silver sugar-basin which is a family heirloom. The 
fears of the doctor, however, were fortunately not fulfilled, 
so the twins grew up together through childhood and school¬ 
days, while their ways did not part till at twenty years of 
age they entered different battalions of the Rifle Brigade 
(Militia). It was then that Boyd’s taste for travel began to 
develop, and soon his expeditions kept him the greater pait 
of his time away from England. 
From earliest boyhood he shewed an extraordinary keenness 
for natural history. Perhaps this passion for collecting. 
