flour render you independent of the baker, and with oatmeal
oat-cakes may be indulged in. Put a few currants
in your boiled rice now and then for a change. Most
Madras, and some Chinese “ boys ” are good hands at a
curry, and if you give them a share of it when made they
are encouraged to excel. A favourite jungle-dish of my
own was a fowl cut up and boiled with two onions, a
handful of rice, salt and pepper, and thin slices of gourds,
sweet potatoes or other vegetables, and three or four
small chilies; when it was nearly done, a small tin of
soup—-julienne or ox-tail—was added. Oatmeal forms a
nice change from boiled rice, and biscuits are a treat, as
also are sweet potatoes nicely boiled, or corn cobs, yams,
or kaladi roasted in the embers. Tinned soups are much
improved by having fresh vegetables boiled in them, such
as palm cabbages, sweet potatoes, or cucumbers. Eggs
may be eaten boiled, poached, or beaten up in a cup of
tea or coffee, in which case the yelk only should he used.
A nutritious drink is made by heating up the yelk of a
fresh egg with a squeeze of lime, a little sugar, whisky,
or gin and water. If a dash of Angostura hitters he
added, so much the better. Native cook-pots may always
he borrowed, or on occasion biscuit or soup-tins form
good substitutes. If pressed for supplies, corn cobs or
“ mealies ” form a good substitute for bread, and may be
varied now and then with bananas or sweet potatoes.
Bananas may be eaten with cheese. The nebong (Onco-
sperma) palm, generally common beside the Malay rivers,
affords a tender “ cabbage,” with a delicate asparaguslike
flavour. Pigeons are generally plentiful, and in
extreme cases even monkeys may be “ potted.” On
boating expeditions a baited hook should *lways be
towed astern. Most natives understand the style oi
fishing, and best bait to use.
Packing is important. Rice should be made up into
small parcels of 10 lb. each, and wrapped in waterproof
sheeting, as if it gets wet it soon turns sour, unless
spread out in the sun to dry. Oatmeal should be baked
in an oven, and then packed in dry bottles or tins.
Biscuits should be bought in 2 lb. tins. All clothes,
books, and other damageable articles should be enveloped
In waterproof sheeting. In giving the stores to the
farriers, put down the man’s name and the stores he
parries in a book, so that they may be readily found
when wanted. Aneroids, thermometers, &c., should be
fitted into japanned tin cases, which may be covered with
leather. If tightly fitted into leather cases, they are
liable to become damaged, as the leather contracts on
becoming wet.
B ath ing .—Always bathe in the morning. Care must
be taken not to frequent alligator-infested streams.
Whenever there is any doubt, never enter a stream, but
bale up the water and pour it over the body. Nearly all
Eastern people bath in this way, and one is not so liable
to become inordinately chilled as by plunging into a large
body of cold water. Never bathe at night when tired or
feverish. At such times a towel-bath is sufficient if the
t.king is really needful. Dip a towel in water, and wring
it partly dry, and then rub the body briskly and quickly
all over. The dipping and wringing process may be
repeated as desired, then finish with a clean dry towel.
A good way of securing a refreshing bath where water is
a long way off, or limited in quantity, is to send for some
in a common wine or spirit bottle, in which it is handy
for pouring over one’s head and body, and a dry towel
completes the work. When in vigorous health, a good
douche-bath in a cool hill or mountain stream is a great