Ismailia Part 82

The boys and young women whom I had liberated from the slave-hunters, and who had acted as domestic servants, were well cared for at the close of the expedition, and I secured them situations with well-known respectable families in Cairo and Alexandria. Amarn, the Abyssinian boy, who in intelligence had been far in advance of the negro lads, accompanied his mistress to England at his express request, where he is now regularly installed in our own household. The ulcerated leg from which he had suffered for two years in Africa, was soon cured by the kind attention of the surgeons of St. George's Hospital, shortly after his arrival in London. (Amarn has now grown into a young man of about 18 or 19. He is a Christian, and in general good conduct and integrity he has set a bright example to English servants and is respected by all cla.s.ses.)

A FEW HINTS.

I shall give the following hints as they occurred to me, and as I noted them down at the time when in Africa:--

Medicine Chest.--Should be of teak, covered with zinc, with copper edges and corners. The bottom should be first covered externally, to enable the wet to drain off without touching the wood. The expensive canteens purchased of Messrs. Silver and Co., although covered with metal on the top and sides, had no metal beneath; thus they were a prey to damp and insects.

All bottles in medicine chest should have numbers engraved on the gla.s.s to correspond with an index painted on the inside of the lid. Insects and damp quickly destroy gilding or ordinary paper labels.

Seidlitz powders and all effervescent medicines should be packed in wide-mouthed, stoppered bottles, but never in papers.

Matches.--Bryant and May's "Victoria Matches" will stand the damp of the tropics beyond all others.

Tarpaulins.--Should be true mackintosh; but no other preparation of india-rubber will stand the heat of the tropics. No. 2 canvas painted is better than any preparation of tar, which sticks when folded together.

All tarpaulins should be 12 feet square, with large metal eyelet holes and strong lines. If larger, they are too heavy.

Bottles.--All wine or liquor bottles should have the necks dipped in bottle-wax thickly. Metallic capsules will be bitten through and the corks destroyed by c.o.c.kroaches.

Milk.--Crosse and Blackwell's "liquid cream" is excellent. That of the Anglo-Swiss Company was good at the commencement, but it did not keep sweet after two years.

Shoes and Boots.--Shoes are better than laced boots, as the latter give much trouble. The soles should not be too thick, and should be studded with sharp nails. Two pairs of long, brown leather boots to reach above the knee are useful for riding. All shoes should be kept in light canvas bags, tightly tied at the mouth to protect them from insects.

Dry Stores.--Should all be hermetically sealed, and great care should be observed in soldering the tin cases.--This is frequently neglected, and the result of careless soldering is ruin to all biscuits, flour, sago, macaroni, &c.

Ammunition.--All cartridges should be taken from England loaded; and for private use they should be hermetically sealed in boxes containing one hundred each if small, or fifty if large.

Five hundred snider cartridges, in teak boxes lined with soldered tin, weigh 64 lbs. each, and can be carried on the journey by one native.

Casks of wood are unsuited for African travel; small beetles perforate them. Galvanized iron flattened kegs are useful for carrying water through the desert. For camels which carry four casks they should contain ten gallons each; for mules, eight gallons.

Plates, &c.--All plates, cups, saucers, dishes, &c., should be enamelled on metal.

Saucepans, kettles, &.--should be copper.

Drinking cups should be silver, to contain one pint or more, and to fit into each other.

A tankard with a very strong hinge to the lid is invaluable to keep out flies, but the servants will probably wrench the lid off.

Boxes.--Do not attempt to spare money in boxes. They should be of the stoutest block tin, or of copper, well painted. Tradesmen are apt to do you in the hinges.

All boxes should lock with bra.s.s locks. Shun padlocks. A master-key should open all your boxes, even should you have a thousand. Each box should have a pierced metal label slung with wire upon each iron handle.

Painted numbers quickly wear out.

My boxes measured twenty-two inches long, twelve inches deep, fourteen broad. These were quite invaluable throughout the expedition.

Guns and rifles must depend upon individual tastes. Never possess such an antiquated affair as a muzzle-loader.

Hollow bullets are quite useless for thick-skinned animals. I like No.

10 rifles, with chambers to contain a cartridge with ten drachms No. 6 powder. Such a rifle must weigh fifteen pounds to shoot accurately.

Axes.--All axes, picks, hoes, &c., should have OVAL holes, but NEARLY circular, to receive the handles. Natives will break any civilized method of fitting.

Every soldier should carry a very small, long-bladed, but narrow hatchet of soft steel.

Feathers.--Preserve all feathers of game, taking care to strip them from the stems, for making pillows.

The large swing-feathers of geese, bustards, &c., make dusting-brushes, fans, quill toothpicks &c.

Hale's rockets.--Those which explode are invaluable. Six and three-pounders are large enough, and are handy to carry.

Norton's pumps were of no use except in sandy or gravelly soil, and they did not equal my expectations.

Blue lights are quite invaluable if fitted with percussion caps. They should be packed in a strong tin box, with part.i.tions to contain a dozen; to be placed near your bed at night.

Lamps.--Should burn either oil or candles.

Burning gla.s.ses are very useful if really good. The inner bark of the fig-tree, well beaten and dried in the sun, makes excellent tinder.

Mosquito gaiters or stockings should be wide, of very soft leather, to draw over the foot and leg quite up to the thigh joint. These are a great comfort when sitting during the evening.

Tanned goods.--All tents, awnings, sails, nets, lines, &c., should be tanned, to preserve them in African climates.

Books.--All journals and note-books should be tinted paper, to preserve the eyes from the glare, which is very trying when writing in the open air upon white paper.

Seeds.--Should be simply packed in brown paper parcels sewn up in canvas, and should never be hermetically sealed.

Blood.--When meat is scarce do not waste the blood. Clean out the large intestine of an animal if far from camp. This will contain a considerable quant.i.ty, and can be easily secured by a ligature at each end.

Fish can be preserved without salt, by smoke. They should be split down the back (not the belly) from head to tail, and be smoked upon a framework of sticks immediately when caught. Four forked sticks, driven into the ground as uprights to support two parallel poles, crossed with bars will form a framework about three feet high; the fire is beneath.

All fish and flesh is thus preserved by the natives when hunting.

Salt.--When efflorescent on the surface of the soil, sc.r.a.pe with a spoon or sh.e.l.l, and collect it with as little sand as possible. Cut a hole two inches square in the bottom of a large earthen pot, cover the hole with a little straw, then fill the pot with the salt and sand. Pour water slowly over this, and allow it to filter into a receiver below. Boil the product until the water has evaporated, then spread the wet salt upon a cloth to dry in the sun.

Potash.--If you have no salt, treat wood ashes or those of gra.s.s in the same way.

Oil.--All seeds or nuts that will produce oil should be first roasted like coffee, then ground fine upon a flat stone, and boiled with water.

The oil then rises to the surface, and is skimmed off. Unless the nuts or seeds are roasted, the boiling water will not extract the oil.

Crutches.--To make impromptu crutches to a.s.sist wounded men upon a march, select straight branches that grow with a fork. Cut them to the length required, and lash a small piece of wood across the fork. This, if wound with rag, will fit beneath the arm, and make a good crutch.

In this manner I brought my wounded men along on the march from Masindi.

Tamarinds.--Whenever possible, collect this valuable fruit. Take off the sh.e.l.l, and press the tamarinds into lumps of about two pounds. They will keep in this simple form for many months, and are invaluable in cases of fever-cooling when drunk cold, and sudorific when taken hot. If taken in quant.i.ty, they are aperient.