fill his post. These two men had now charge of our tents and personal
kit, while Baraka was considered the general of the Wanguana forces, and
Rahan a captain of ten.

My first occupation was to map the country. This is done by timing the
rate of march with a watch, taking compass-bearings along the road, or
on any conspicuous marks--as, for instance, hills off it--and by noting
the watershed--in short, all topographical objects. On arrival in
camp every day came the ascertaining, by boiling a thermometer, of the
altitude of the station above the sea-level; of the latitude of the
station by the meridian altitude of the star taken with a sextant; and
of the compass variation by azimuth. Occasionally there was the fixing
of certain crucial stations, at intervals of sixty miles or so, by
lunar observations, or distances of the moon either from the sun or
from certain given stars, for determining the longitude, by which the
original-timed course can be drawn out with certainty on the map by
proportion. Should a date be lost, you can always discover it by taking
a lunar distance and comparing it with the Nautical Almanac, by noting
the time when a star passes the meridian if your watch is right, or by
observing the phases of the moon, or her rising or setting, as compared
with the Nautical Almanac. The rest of my work, besides sketching and
keeping a diary, which was the most troublesome of all, consisted in
making geological and zoological collections. With Captain Grant rested
the botanical collections and thermometrical registers. He also
boiled one of the thermometers, kept the rain-gauge, and undertook the
photography; but after a time I sent the instruments back, considering
this work too severe for the climate, and he tried instead sketching
with watercolours--the results of which form the chief part of the
illustrations in this book. The rest of our day went in breakfasting
after the march was over--a pipe, to prepare us for rummaging the fields
and villages to discover their contents for scientific purposes--dinner
close to sunset, and tea and pipe before turning in at night.

A short stage brought us to Ikamburu, included in the district of Nzasa,
where there is another small village presided over by Phanze Khombe la
Simba, meaning Claw of Lion. He, immediately after our arrival, sent us
a present of a basket of rice, value one dollar, of course expecting
a return--for absolute generosity is a thing unknown to the