The Art of Travel; Or, Shifts and Contrivances Available in Wild Countries

by Francis Galton

CLOTHING.

General Remarks.--There are such infinite varieties of dress, that I shall only attempt a few general remarks and give a single costume, that a traveller of great experience had used to his complete satisfaction. The military authorities of different nations have long made it their study to combine in the best manner the requirements of handsome effect, of cheapness, and of serviceability in all climates, but I fear their results will not greatly help the traveller, who looks more to serviceability than to anything else. Of late years, even Garibaldi with his red-shirted volunteers, and Alpine men with their simple outfit, have approached more nearly to a traveller's ideal.

Materials for Clothes.--Flannel.--The importance of flannel next the skin can hardly be overrated: it is now a matter of statistics; for, during the progress of expeditions, notes have been made of the number of names of those in them who had provided themselves with flannel, and of those who had not. The list of sick and dead always included names from the latter list in a very great proportion.

Cotton is preferable to flannel for a sedentary life, in hot damp countries, or where flannel irritates the skin. Persons who are resident in the tropics, and dress in civilised costume, mostly wear cotton shirts.

Linen by universal consent is a dangerous dress wherever there is a chance of much perspiration, for it strikes cold upon the skin when it is wet. The terror of Swiss guides of the old school at a coup d'air on the mountain top, and of Italians at the chill of sundown, is largely due to their wearing linen shirts. Those who are dressed in flannel are far less sensitive to these influences.

Leather is the only safeguard against the stronger kinds of thorns. In pastoral and in hunting countries it is always easy to procure skins of a tough quality that have been neatly dressed by hand. Also it will be easy to find persons capable of sewing them together very neatly, after you have cut them out to the pattern of your old clothes.

Bark Cloth is used in several parts of the work. It is simply a piece of some kind of peculiarly fibrous bark; in Unyoro, Sir S. Baker says, the natives use the bark of a species of fig-tree. They soak it in water and then beat it with a mallet, to get rid of all the harder parts;--much as hemp is prepared. "In appearance it much resembles corduroy, and is the colour of tanned leather: the finer qualities are peculiarly soft to the touch, as though of woven cotton."

Effect of colour on warmth of clothing.--Dark colours become hotter than light colours in the sunshine, but they are not hotter under any other circumstances. Consequently a person who aims at equable temperature, should wear light colours. Light colours are far the best for sporting purposes, as they are usually much less conspicuous than black or rifle-green. Almost all wild beasts are tawny or fawn-coloured, or tabby, or of some nondescript hue and pattern: if an animal were born with a more decided colour, he would soon perish for want of ability to conceal himself.

Warmth of different Materials.--"The indefatigable Rumford made an elaborate series of experiments on the conductivity of the substances used in clothing. His method was this:--A mercurial thermometer was suspended in the axis of a cylindrical glass tube ending with a globe, in such a manner that the centre of the bulb of the thermometer occupied the centre of the globe; the space between the internal surface of the globe and the bulb was filled with the substance whose conductive power was to be determined; the instrument was then heated in boiling water, and afterwards, being plunged into a freezing mixture of pounded ice and salt, the times of cooling down 136 degrees Fahr. were noted. They are recorded in the following table:--

Surrounded with Seconds.
Twisted silk.................................. 917
Fine lint..................................... 1032
Cotton wool.................................. 1046
Sheep's wool.................................. 1118
Taffety....................................... 1169
Raw silk...................................... 1264
Beaver's fur.................................. 1296
Eider down.................................... 1305
Hare's fur.................................... 1312
Wood ashes.................................... 927
Charcoal...................................... 937
Lamp-black.................................... 1117

Among the substances here examined, hare's fur offered the greatest impediment to the transmission of the heat. The transmission of heat is powerfully influenced by the mechanical state of the body through which it passes. The raw and twisted silk of Rumford's table illustrate this" (Prof. Tyndall on Heat.)

Waterproof Cloth.--Cloth is made partly waterproof by rubbing soap-suds into it (on the wrong side), and working them well in: and when dry, doing the same with a solution of alum; the soap is by this means decomposed, and the oily part of it distributed among the fibres of the cloth. (See "Tarpaulins.")

Incombustible Stuffs.--I extract the following paragraph from a newspaper. Persons who make much use of musquito curtains, will be glad to read it. "The Répertoire de Chimie Pure et Appliquee publishes the following remarks by the celebrated chemists, MM. D¦bereiner and Oesner, on the various methods for rendering stuffs incombustible, or at least less inflammable than they naturally are. The substances employed for this purpose are borax, alum, soluble glass, and phosphate of ammonia. For wood and common stuffs, any one of these salts will do; but fine and light tissues, which are just those most liable to catching fire, cannot be treated in the same way. Borax renders fine textile fabrics stiff; it causes dust, and will swell out under the smoothing-iron; so does alum, beside weakening the fibres of the stuff, so as to make it tear easily. Soluble glass both stiffens and weakens the stuff, depriving it both of elasticity and tenacity. Phosphate of ammonia alone has none of these inconveniences. It may be mixed with a certain quantity of sal-ammoniac, and then introduced into the starch prepared for stiffening the linen; or else it may be dissolved in 20 parts of water, in weight, to one of phosphate, and the stuff steeped into the solution, then allowed to dry, and ironed as usual.

Phosphate of ammonia is cheap enough to allow of its introduction into common use, so that it may be employed at each wash. Phosphate of ammonia is obtained by saturating the biphosphate of lime with liquid ammonia.

Sewing Materials.--An outfit of sewing materials consists of needles and thread; scissors; tailor's thimble; wax; canvas needles, including the smaller sizes which are identical with glove needles and are used for sewing leather; twine; a palm; awls for cobbling, both straight and curved; cobbler's wax; and, possibly, bristles. The needles and awls in use are conveniently carried in some kind of metal tube, with wads of cork at either end, to preserve their points. (See also the chapter on "Thread, for stitches," etc.)

Articles of Dress.--Hats and Caps.--There is no perfect head-dress; but I notice that old travellers in both hot and temperate countries have generally adopted a scanty "wide-awake." Mr. Oswell, the South African sportsman and traveller, used for years, and strongly recommended to me, a brimless hat of fine Panama grass, which he had sewn as a lining to an ordinary wide-awake. I regret I have had no opportunity of trying this combination, but can easily believe that the touch of the cool, smooth grass, to the wet brow, would be more agreeable than that of any other material. I need hardly mention Pith hats (to be bought under the Opera Colonnade, Pall Mall), Indian topees, and English hunting-caps, as having severally many merits. A muslin turban twisted into a rope and rolled round the hat is a common plan to keep the sun from the head and spine: it can also be used as a rope on an emergency.

Coat.--In nine cases out of ten, a strong but not too thick tweed coat is the best for rough work. In a very thorny country, a leather coat is almost essential. A blouse, cut short so as to clear the saddle, is neat, cool, and easy, whether as a riding or walking costume. Generally speaking, the traveller will chiefly spend his life in his shirt-sleeves, and will only use his coat when he wants extra warmth.

To carry a Coat.--There are two ways. The first is to fold it small and strap it to the belt. If the coat be a light one it can be carried very neatly and comfortably in this way, lying in the small of the back. The second is the contrivance of a friend of mine, an eminent scholar and divine, who always employs it in his vacation rambles. It is to pass an ordinary strap, once round the middle of the coat and a second time round both the coat and the left arm just above the elbow, and then to buckle it. The coat hangs very comfortably in its place and does not hamper the movements of the left arm. It requires no further care, except that after a few minutes it will generally be found advisable to buckle the strap one hole tighter. A coat carried in this way will be found to attract no attention from passers by.

Waistcoats are more convenient for their pockets than for their warmth. When travelling in countries where papers have to be carried, an inside pocket between the lining and the waistcoat, with a button to close it, is extremely useful. Letters of credit and paper money can be carried in it more safely than in any other pocket.

Trousers.--If you are likely to have much riding, take extra leather or moleskin trousers, or tweed covered down the inside of the legs with leather, such as cavalry soldiers generally wear. Leather is a better protection than moleskin against thorns; but not so serviceable against wet: it will far outlast moleskin. There should be no hem to the legs of trousers, as it retains the wet.

Watch-pocket.--Have it made of macintosh, to save the watch from perspiration. The astronomer-royal of Cape Town, Sir T. Maclear, who had considerable experience of the bush when measuring an arc of the meridian, justly remarked to me on the advantage of frequently turning the watch-pocket inside out, to get rid of the fluff and dust that collects in it and is otherwise sure to enter the watch-case.

Socks.--The hotter the ground on which you have to walk, the thicker should be your socks. These should be of woollen, wherever you expect to have much walking; and plenty of them will be required.

Substitute for Socks.--For want of socks, pieces of linen may be used, and, when these are properly put on they are said to be even better than socks. They should be a foot square, be made of soft worn linen, be washed once a-day, and be smeared with tallow. They can be put on so dexterously as to stand several hours' marching without making a single wrinkle, and are much used by soldiers in Germany. To put them on, the naked foot is placed crosswise; the corners on the right and on the left are then folded over, then the corner which lies in front of the toes. Now the art consists in so drawing up these ends, that the foot can be placed in the shoe or boot without any wrinkles appearing in the bandage. One wrinkle is sure to make a blister, and therefore persons who have to use them should practise frequently how to put them on. Socks similar to these, but made of thick blanket, and called "Blanket Wrappers," are in use at Hudson's Bay instead of shoes.

Shirt-sleeves.--When you have occasion to tuck up your shirt-sleeves, recollect that the way of doing so is, not to begin by turning the cuffs inside out, but outside in--the sleeves must be rolled up inwards, towards the arm, and not the reverse way. In the one case, the sleeves will remain tucked up for hours without being touched; in the other, they become loose every five minutes.

Gloves, Mits, and Muffs.--In cold dry weather a pair of old soft kid gloves, with large woollen gloves drawn over them, is the warmest combination. Mits and muffetees merely require mention. To keep the hands warm in very severe weather, a small fur muff may be slung from the neck, in which the hands may rest till wanted.

Braces.--Do not forget to take them, unless you have had abundant experience of belts; for belts do not suit every shape, neither are English trousers cut with the intention of being worn with them. But trousers made abroad, are shaped at the waist, especially for the purpose of being worn without braces; if desired. If you use braces, take two pairs, for when they are drenched with perspiration, they dry slowly. Some people do not care to use a belt, even with trousers of an ordinary cut, but find that a tape run through a hem along the upper edge of the trousers acts sufficiently well. Capt. Speke told me he always used this plan.

Boots.--Boots of tanned leather such as civilised people wear, are incomparably better for hard usage, especially in wet countries, than those of hand-dressed skins. If travelling in a hot, dry country, grease plentifully both your shoes and all other leather. "La graisse est la conservation du cuir," as I recollect a Chamouni guide enunciating with profound emphasis. The soles of plaited cord used in parts of the Pyrenees, are durable and excellent for clambering over smooth rock. They have a far better hold upon it than any other sole of which I have knowledge. Sandals are better than nothing at all. So are cloths wound round the feet and ankles and tied there: the peasants of the remarkable hilly place where I am writing these lines, namely Amalfi, use them much. They are an untidy chaussure, but never seem to require to be tied afresh. In the old days of Rome this sort of foot-gear was common. Haybands wound round the feet are a common makeshift by soldiers who are cut off from their supplies. It takes some months to harden the feet sufficiently to be able to walk without shoes at all. Slippers are great luxuries to foot-sore men. They should of course be of soft material, but the soles should not be too thin or they will be too cold for comfort in camp life.

Leggings.--Macintosh leggings to go over the trousers are a great comfort in heavy showers, especially when riding.

Gaiters.--If the country be full of briars and thorns, the insteps suffer cruelly when riding through bushes. It is easy to make gaiters either with buttons or buckles. A strip of wood is wanted, either behind or else on each side of them, to keep them from slipping down to the ankle.

Dressing Gown.--Persons who travel, even with the smallest quantity of luggage, would do wisely to take a thick dressing-gown. It is a relief to put it on in the evening, and is a warm extra dress for sleeping in. It is eminently useful, comfortable and durable.

Poncho.--A poncho is useful, for it is a sheet as well as a cloak; being simply a blanket with a slit in the middle to admit the wearer's head. A sheet of strong calico, saturated with oil, makes a waterproof poncho.

Complete Bush-costume.--Mr. Gordon Cumming describes his bush-costume as follows:--"My own personal appointments consisted of a wide-awake hat, secured under my chin by 'rheimpys' or strips of dressed skin, a coarse linen shirt, sometimes a kilt, and sometimes a pair of buckskin knee-breeches, and a pair of 'veltschoens,' or home-made shoes. I entirely discarded coat, waistcoat, and neckcloth; and I always hunted with my arms bare; my heels were armed with a pair of powerful persuaders, and from my left wrist depended, by a double rheimpy (thong), an equally persuasive sea-cow jambok (whip of solid leather). Around my waist I wore two leathern belts or girdles. The smaller did the duty of suspender, and from it on my left side depended a plaited rheimpy, eight inches in length, forming a loop, in which dangled my powerful loading-rod, formed of a solid piece of horn of the rhinoceros. The larger girdle was my shooting-belt; this was a broad leather belt, on which were fastened four separate compartments, made of otterskin, with flaps to button over, of the same material. The first of these held my percussion-caps; the second, a large powder-flask; the third and fourth, which had divisions in them, contained balls and patches, two sharp clasp-knives, a compass, flint and steel. In this belt I also carried a loading-mallet, formed from the horn of the rhinoceros; this and the powder-flask were each secured to the belt by long rheimpys, to prevent my losing them. Last, but not least, in my right hand I usually carried my double-barrelled two-grooved rifle, which was my favourite weapon. This, however, I subsequently made up my mind was not the tool for a mounted man, especially when quick loading is required."

Wet Clothes, to dry.--Fire for drying Clothes.--To dry clothes it is a very convenient plan to make a dome-shaped framework of twigs over a smouldering fire; by bending each twig or wand into a half-circle, and planting both ends of it in the ground, one on each side of the fire. The wet clothes are laid on this framework, and receive the full benefit of the heat. Their steam passes readily upwards.

To keep Clothes from the wet.--Mr. Parkyns says, "I may as well tell, also, how we managed to keep our clothes dry when travelling in the rain: this was rather an important consideration, seeing that each man's wardrobe consisted of what he carried on his back. Our method was at once effective and simple: if halting, we took off our clothes and sat on them; if riding, they were placed under the leathern shabraque of the mule's saddle, or under any article of similar material, bed or bag, that lay on the camel's pack. A good shower-bath did none of us any harm; and as soon as the rain was over, and the moisture on our skins had evaporated, we had our garments as warm, dry, and comfortable as if they had been before a fire. In populous districts, we kept on our drawers, or supplied their place with a piece of rag, or a skin; and then, when the rain was over, we wrapped ourselves up in our 'quarry,' and taking off the wetted articles, hung them over the animal's cruppers to dry." Another traveller writes:--

"The only means we had of preserving our sole suit of clothes dry from the drenching showers of rain, was by taking them off and stuffing them into the hollow of a tree, which in the darkness of the night we could do with propriety."

Mr. Palliser's boatmen at Chagre took each a small piece of cloth, under which they laid their clothes every time that they stripped in expectation of a coming storm.

Dipping clothes wetted with rain, in Sea-water.--Captain Bligh, who was turned adrift in an open boat after the mutiny of the 'Bounty,' writes thus about his experience:--"With respect to the preservation of our health, during a course of 16 days of heavy and almost continual rain, I would recommend to every one in a similar situation the method we practised, which is to dip their clothes in the salt water and wring them out as often as they become filled with rain: it was the only resource we had, and I believe was of the greatest service to us, for it felt more like a change of dry clothes than could well be imagined. We had occasion to do this so often, that at length our clothes were wrung to pieces; for except the few days we passed on the coast of New Holland, we were continually wet, either with rain or sea."

Washing Clothes.--Substitute for Soap.--The lye of ashes and the gall of animals are the readiest substitutes for soap. The sailor's recipe for washing clothes is well known, but it is too dirty to describe. Bran, and the meal of many seeds, is good for scouring: also some earths, like fuller's-earth. Many countries possess plants that will make a lather with water. Dr. Rae says that in a very cold climate, when fire, water, and the means of drying are scarce, it will be found that rubbing andbeating in snow cleanses all clothing remarkably well, particularly woollens. When preparing for a regular day's washing, it is a good plan to boil an abundance of ashes in water, strain off the lye, adding the gall of any animal you may have killed, and let the clothes soak in it. Next morning, take them to the water-side, and wash and beat them with a flat piece of wood, or lay them on a broad stone and knead and wring them with the hands.

Lye of Ashes.--In choosing plants to burn for ashes (whence the lye is to be made by pouring hot water on them), it must be recollected that all plants are not equally efficacious: those that contain the most alkali (either potash or soda) are the best. On this account, the stalks of succulent plants, as reeds, maize, broom, heath, and furze, are very much better than the wood of any trees; and twigs are better than timber. Pine and fir-trees are the worst of woods. The ashes of most kinds of seaweed yield abundance of alkali. Potash is the alkali that is obtained from the ashes of land plants, and soda from those of marine plants.

10,000 parts of pine or fur.......contain.... 4 parts of alkali.
" poplar " 7 "
" beech-wood " 14 "
" oak " 15 "
" willow " 28 "
" elm, maple,
and wheat straw. " 39 "
" thistles, flax-stems,
and small rushes " 50 "
" large rushes " 72 "
" stalk of maize " 175 "
" bean-stalks " 200 "

Soap is made by keeping fat constantly simmering in lye of ashes (see preceding paragraphs) for some days; adding fresh lye as fast as the water boils away, or is sucked up by the fat. After one or two trials, the knack of soap-making is easily caught. The presence of salt makes the soap hard; its absence, soft; now many ashes contain a good deal of salt, and these may make the soap too hard, and will have to be mixed with other sorts of ashes before being used: experience must guide the traveller in this. A native woman will be probably be found without difficulty, who will attend night and day to the pot-boiling for a small payment. Inferior soap may be made by simply putting some grease into a tub of very strong lye, and letting it remain for two or three weeks, without any boiling, but stirring it every day.

Marine Soap is made of soda lye (the lye of seaweeds) and cocoa-nut oil; it makes a lather with salt water, but it has the defect of being very bulky.

To wash Flannels.--Make a lather of soap on a small piece of flannel, and rub with it those parts that require the most cleansing, such as the neck and wristbands of a shirt; then plunge the shirt in water as hot as you can bear it, rinsing it and wringing it out very thoroughly, and hang it up to dry as quickly as possible. Soda should not be used with coloured flannels.

Washing Oneself.--Warmth of Dirt.--There is no denying the fact, though it be not agreeable to confess it, that dirt and grease are great protectors of the skin against inclement weather, and that therefore the leader of a party should not be too exacting about the appearance of his less warmly-clad followers. Daily washing, if not followed by oiling, must be compensated by wearing clothes. Take the instance of a dog. He will sleep out under any bush, and thrive there, so long as he is not washed, groomed, and kept clean; but if he be, he must have a kennel to lie in, the same is the case with a horse; he catches cold if he is groomed in the day, and turned out at nights; but he never catches cold when left wholly to himself. A savage will never wash unless he can grease himself afterwards--grease takes the place of clothing to him. There must be a balance between the activity of the skin and the calls upon it; and where the exposure is greater, there must the pores be more defended. In Europe, we pass our lives in a strangely artificial state; our whole body swathed in many folds of dress, excepting the hands and face--the first of which are frequently gloved. We can afford to wash, but naked men cannot.

Best Times for Washing.--The most convenient time for a traveller to make his toilet, in rough travel, is after the early morning's ride, a bath being now and then taken in the afternoon. It is trying work to wash in ice-cold water, in the dark and blowing morning; besides which, when the sun rises up, its scorching heat tells severely on a face that has been washed.

Toilet made overnight.--During the harassing duties of active warfare, officers who aim at appearing in a decorous dress, in whatever emergency their presence may be required, make their toilet overnight before going to sleep.

Economising Water in Washing.--Where water has to be economised, by far the best way of using it is after the Mahomedan fashion. An attendant pours a slender stream from a jug, which the man who washes himself receives in his hands and distributes over his person.

Bath-glove.--Fold a piece of very coarse towel in two parts: lay your hand upon it, and mark its outline rudely; then guided by the outline, cut it out: sew the two pieces together, along their edges, and the glove is made. It is inexpensive, and portable, and as good a detergent as horsehair gloves or flesh-brushes.

Brushes.--It is well to know how to make a brush, whether for clothes, boots, or hair, and the accompanying section of one will explain itself. Bristles are usually employed, but fibres of various kinds may be used.