(d) Spare ammunition for escort, and spare sporting ammunition.
(e) Cloth for payments in the interior, a large cooking-pot for the men, and miscellaneous extras.
Although it is advisable to allow for a day’s water being carried on any Somáli expedition, we will neglect water-supply in the present calculation. It is fully gone into in Example II.
The rations for a caravan follower are 1 lb. rice, ½ lb. dates, and 2 oz. ghee (clarified butter) per man per diem.
The dates are sold at Aden and Berbera, compressed into a solid mass. They are very good eating even for an European, when they are fairly fresh, and they keep in good condition for a few months.
The ghee is required for mixing with the daily allowance of boiled rice. In the early days of our Protectorate the ghee ration was fixed for Government followers at 1 oz., but as nearly all the complaints and caravan troubles were traced to insufficiency of ghee, my brother and I always gave 2 oz. in our later expeditions, and then everything went smoothly. We found that the extra ounce made all the difference between a set of intriguing rascals and a cheerful, contented caravan.
It will be found in practice that the ghee disappears most quickly, being the most popular part of the ration; the dates come next, and the rice last. Dates often come in very handy when a native has to be sent on a two or three days’ errand through the bush. Half a dozen pounds of dates tied up in the free end of his tobe, with a well here and there and the shelter of a bush, will be all the board and lodging he will require for nearly a week’s outing.
It has been my custom to take into the interior a spring-balance or steelyard reading to about 90 lbs., and every fortnight to check the consumption of rice, dates, and ghee in bulk. A gallon measure and a pair of small scales should not be forgotten.
Daily at the camps several natives will appear at about meal-time as self-constituted guests. To such it should be explained politely, but firmly, that there is water in the well and grass upon the plain, but no food in camp for loafers. No work, no food, should be the rule. A present of a pinch of tobacco will then turn the applicant into a friend for life.
It is desirable to set aside a proportion, however, for necessary guests, and after calculating the rations for the members of the expedition I usually add the following:—