Organising an Expedition.
7
By the words, " abide all consequences," the leader would be justified in leaving a man to shift for himself, and refusing his pay, if the case were a serious one.
Good Interpreters are very important : men who have been used by their chiefs, missionaries, &c., as interpreters, are much to be preferred; for so great is the poverty of thought and language among common people, that you will seldom find a man, taken at hazard, able to render your words with correctness. Recollect to take with you vocabularies of all the tribes whom you are at all likely to visit.
Engaging Natives.-On engaging natives, the people with whom they have lived, and to whom they have become attached and learnt to fear, should impress on them that, unless they bring you back in safety, they must never show their faces again, nor expect the balance of their pay, which will only be delivered to them on your return.
Women.-Natives' Wives.-If some of the natives take their wives, it gives great life to the party. They are of very great service, and cause no delay; for the body of a caravan must always travel at a foot's pace, and a woman will endure a long journey nearly as well as a man, and certainly better than a horse or a bullock. They are invaluable in picking up and retailing information and hearsay gossip, which will give clues to much of importance, that, unassisted, you might miss. Mr. Hearne the American traveller of the last century, in his charming book, writes as follows, and I can fully corroborate the faithfulness with which he gives us a savage's view of the matter. After the account of his first attempt, which was unsuccessful, he goes on to say,-" The very plan which, by the desire of the Governor, we pursued, of not taking any women with us on the journey, was, as the chief said, the principal thing that occasioned all our want : `for,' said he,
when all the men are heavy laden, they can neither hunt nor travel to any considerable distance ; and if they meet with any success in hunting, who is to carry the produce of the labourT 'Women,' said he, ` were made for labour : one of them can carry or haul as much as two men can do. They also pitch our tents, make and mend our clothing, keep us
