The 26 starters—25 officers and 1 man—were scattered over five out of the six houses comprising the camp. It was necessary, therefore, for those in each house—in no case all of them members of the same party—to devise their own particular means of getting out of the camp precincts, and then for a committee composed of a representative from each party to co-ordinate their respective schemes as far as possible.
The first thing was to settle on a definite date for the attempt. As the majority were to make for Rendezvous X, to fit in with Cochrane's prearranged scheme, the date had to be later in the year than had been our idea while at Changri. It was decided that the night chosen should be the one towards the end of July most suitable as regards the moon. To enable the members of the various parties to join up at some convenient local rendezvous, and then put as great a distance as possible between themselves and Yozgad before the following dawn, the ideal was for the moon to rise an hour or so after we had all left our houses. Great credit is due to Captain T. R. Wells for correctly computing the times of rising and setting of that irregular planet. The only material available was a Nautical Almanac some four years old.
From his predictions, the 30th July was eventually fixed upon as the best night. The moon would rise about 10.30 P.M., and 9.15 was fixed upon as a suitable time for all to leave their houses—if they could. This meant all would have been present at the evening roll-call, which took place during dinner at about 7.45 P.M.; and their absence, if no alarm occurred, would not be discovered until the check taken at dawn next day.
The advent of Cochrane to our party led to a reconsideration of the whole question of the food and kit we should carry on our momentous journey. His previous experience and that of Keeling's party was that 35 lb. was about as much as one could expect to carry across country consistently with making reasonable progress. In the end, however, we found that there were so many essentials that we should have each to take about 43 lb., exclusive of the weight of packs, haversacks, &c., to carry them. The following list gives some idea of our final equipment. Each member of the party was to take the following:—
Food—
Sixty-eight biscuits, made by "Escapers Ltd.," five to the lb.
Six soft biscuits, four to the lb.
Sultanas, 4 lb.
Cheese, ½ lb.
Fresh meat (for the first two days only), ½ lb.
Rice, 2 lb.
Cocoa or Ovaltine, 1 lb.
Soup tablets (Oxo), 12 cubes.
Chocolate, 1 lb.
Tea, ¼ lb.
Salt, about 1/8 lb.
Emergency ration of chocolate, Horlick's malted milk tablets, or Brand's essence, about ½ lb.
Clothing—
Spare pair of boots, or several pairs of native sandals.
Spare shirt.
Towel.
Several pairs of socks.
Felt mufti hat or service-dress cap.
Vermin-proof belt.
Spare bootlaces.
Handkerchiefs (mostly in the form of bags round the food).
Miscellaneous—
Share of medicines, mainly in tabloid form.
One large and one small bandage.
Matches, two or more boxes, one being in a water-tight case.
Flint and slow-match cigarette lighter.
Cigarettes or tobacco, according to taste.
Soap, one piece.
String.
Mug and spoon.
Wool for repairs to socks.
Spare razor-blades.
Compass.
Clasp-knife.
Whistle.
Tooth-brush.
Comb.
Notebook and pencil.
Sixty-eight biscuits, made by "Escapers Ltd.," five to the lb.
Six soft biscuits, four to the lb.
Sultanas, 4 lb.
Cheese, ½ lb.
Fresh meat (for the first two days only), ½ lb.
Rice, 2 lb.
Cocoa or Ovaltine, 1 lb.
Soup tablets (Oxo), 12 cubes.
Chocolate, 1 lb.
Tea, ¼ lb.
Salt, about 1/8 lb.
Emergency ration of chocolate, Horlick's malted milk tablets, or Brand's essence, about ½ lb.
Spare pair of boots, or several pairs of native sandals.
Spare shirt.
Towel.
Several pairs of socks.
Felt mufti hat or service-dress cap.
Vermin-proof belt.
Spare bootlaces.
Handkerchiefs (mostly in the form of bags round the food).
Share of medicines, mainly in tabloid form.
One large and one small bandage.
Matches, two or more boxes, one being in a water-tight case.
Flint and slow-match cigarette lighter.
Cigarettes or tobacco, according to taste.
Soap, one piece.
String.
Mug and spoon.
Wool for repairs to socks.
Spare razor-blades.
Compass.
Clasp-knife.
Whistle.
Tooth-brush.
Comb.
Notebook and pencil.
In addition, the following were to be distributed in more or less equal weights among the party as a whole:—
1 pair of field-glasses.
6 skeins of ¾-inch rope.
2 boot-repair outfits.
1 housewife.
3 chargals (canvas bags for water).
Map, original and copies; and enlargements from a small map.
Cardboard protractors.
"Sun compass."
Book of star charts.
Extra tea in the form of tablets.
1 aluminium "degchie" or "dixie" (cooking-pot).
1 very small adze (a carpenter's tool used in the East).
2 pocket Gillette shaving sets.
4 candles, } for giving red-light signals at
red cloth } Rendezvous X.
2 pairs of scissors.
2 iron rings, for use in the event of having to tow our kit across an unfordable river.
1 sausage of solid meat extract.
Opium.
1 bottle of "Kola" compound.
1 lb. tapioca.
Small reel of fine steel wire.
One ½-pint bottle of brandy.
Fishing tackle.