with which I was connected included all four elements. A few extra men — such as a carpenter, blacksmith, armourer, tailor, and cook — add largely to the general comfort; and all expeditions in Central Africa should be accompanied by one or two hunters by trade, and at least half a dozen good canoe and general water men.

Commandant Dhanis instituted a new departure in African travel by allowing every soldier to take his wife, or wives as the case might be, along with him; and even the porters were generally followed by their women. Only by personal experience of caravan-travelling with and without women is it possible to realise the enormous advantages gained by allowing the men full liberty in this respect. Among the most indisputable of these advantages is the avoidance of trouble with native villages, or