These sacks were carried on the shoulders of the
natives, for which service I remunerated them with beads. They also
carried my coffee-kettle, two calabashes of water, two American axes, and
two sickles, which I used every evening to cut grass for my bed, and
likewise for my horses to eat throughout the night; and my after-rider
carried extra ammunition and a spare rifle."
Importance of Comfort.--To conclude these general hints, let the
traveller, when out in trying weather, work hard at making his
sleeping-place perfectly dry and comfortable; he should not cease until
he is convinced that it will withstand the chill of the early morning,
when the heat of the yesterday's sun is exhausted, and that of the coming
sun has not begun to be felt. It is wretched beyond expression for a man
to lie shivering beneath a scanty covering and to feel the night air
become hourly more raw, while his life-blood has less power to withstand
it; and to think, self-reproachfully, how different would have been his
situation if he had simply had forethought and energy enough to cut and
draw twice the quantity of firewood, and to spend an extra half-hour in
labouring to make himself a snugger berth. The omission once made becomes
irreparable; for in the cold of a pitiless night he has hardly sufficient
stamina to rise and face the weather, and the darkness makes him unable
to cope with his difficulties.
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