2 PItEPARATIONS. [cuar. r,
explorer who might wish to attempt the enterprise, and I chose to undertake the task.
The discovery that was made of Lake 1\gami, in South Africa, gave a direction to my plans ; and in the beginning of r85o I fixed on the Cape as the point at which to enter Africa.
Many South African travellers and sportsmen were then in London, so that I received every information about the Bechuana country up to three hundred or four hundred miles north of the Orange River, which has been most successfully shot over by several of our countrymen ; and through the very kind interest which several influential members of the Geographical Society took in my proceedings, I was readily enabled to start, perfectly an fait as to what was known and what was wanted to be known in South Africa.
I now began my preparations in good earnest, Mr. Andersson, a Swedish gentleman and a naturalist, consented to accompany me; and to his perseverance and energy I have since been in the highest degree indebted, I collected together all the things I could think of, or that my friends were kind enough to suggest to me, as advisable to take.
I knew that at least the first part of my journey would have to be undertaken in waggons, in each of which I was assured four thousand pounds' weight could be carried without risk across the country, so far as it had been penetrated, and therefore I was not necessarily stinted in the quantity of comforts I could carry from Europe; but as to the latter part of my expedition I was aware that the probability was that I should have to leave my waggons, and to travel either by boat or on the backs of some beasts of burden, or possibly even to walk, in which case I should have to content myself with far less luggage. I therefore collected my things together, on the principle of having them as light as possible, and in duplicate, the half of which I could leave en cache, tvhen I had to quit my waggons, as a store to fall back upon should I happen to meet with robbery or accident.
In my perfect ignorance of what would be the most acceptable presents, and what were the best articles of exchange among the people I should meet with, I made a great collection of all sorts of ornaments, so that I had a store like a pedlar's shop ; for besides the more staple articles of guns, beads, knives, and gaudily-printed calico, I bought or collected looking-glasses, accordions, hunting-coats, my friends' old uniforms, burning-glasses, swords, gilt belts, immense bracelets, anklets, yards of picture chains for necklaces, Jews' harps, mosaic rings; lastly,
