Shifts and Expedients of Camp Life, Travel & Exploration

ge in-in warm countries such as Africa or India. We prefer shoes, and like them as light as is consistent with durability; but, for wear in the jun

ones, and that it does not protect the ankle or shin in walking through sharp grasses, such as the spear grass of India (the

in springing, walking, or running, depends upon its being able to move from a perfectly horizontal position, till the line of the sole from toe to heel forms an angle of 45° or 50° with the ground. If then, by the interposition of a block of leather, we prevent the heel coming within

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e whole of the foot up to, but not above, the ankle, and sandals as being merely soles fastened on by laces or thongs, but not covering or inclosing the foot. The form we have found most useful is that called the oxonian (Fig. 1), coming just high enough to cover the whole instep without interfering with the action of the joint, and fitting closely round beneath the ankle. Fig. 2 represents the Irish brogue, a good serviceable foot covering. Elastic sides do not stand hard wear in tropical heat, and therefore we use a front lacing. We object to bluchers, because after some wear the flaps of the quarters become loose, and bits of rotten stick or stiff grasses frequently are forced in in walking. Most countries have some form of shoe easily made from materials obtainable upon the spot, and in Africa the "velschoen" of untanned leather is the general wear. Sometimes these are very clumsily made, the na

e does so till they become so soft and supple that, though they are not waterproof in the sense of absolutely repelling the liquid, they may be wetted through and dried again without becoming hard. Sometimes a native will do this for a knife (value ninepence

cker than stout calf, and very soft and durable; that of the wildebeeste is too hard and stout, and those of the springbok and smaller antelopes

ispensed with. If the thickness of the hide is to be reduced, it is then pegged out tightly upon the ground, with the hair side downward, and the flesh, and as much of the inner side of the skin as requisite, removed by scraping with the small, broad-edged, soft iron blades set like adzes, across the handle, and used very much in the manner of the scrapers, which so much disgust passengers on long voyages when used upon the deck above their berths. The hide having been still kept damp and soft by bei

oung roots of which they pound as fine as possible in their wooden mortars, and, by rubbing in the po

akers

ded for use, work it into a ball, and put it to swim in a little water. If you have to make your own wax proceed as follows: Take 4oz. of resin, grind it to a fine powder between two stones, ?oz. of beeswax chopped up small, and 2oz. of common pitch; mix these substances with the resin, and place the whole in a small native chatty pot. Then put the pot in a bed of hot wood ashes, and with a long flat-pointed stick work and stir the mass about until thoroughly melted; then add ?oz. of good clean fat, and keep the whole in a state of solution for about a quarter of an hour

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ile, and removing the foot trace also the outline of the print it has made upon the ground. The inner side and the bottom of each block ought to be nicely and truly squared up, even though, from scantiness of wood or other causes, the other sides should not be so. Take all the measurements for breadth from the straight line made by the edge of the board upon the ground, and measure them from the inside edge, right and left, upon the bottom of the blocks; draw the outline, and inside it draw also the actual tread of the foot, measured in the same manner from the impression on the ground. Then, measuring from the bottom of the board, transfer the profile of the foot to the inside surface of each block, and with axe or saw cut them to the outline of the heel and instep, taking care not to attempt to round them till you have

shadow the part that actually touches the ground, and by a lighter outline along the hollow, that which may be considered as the average limit of the sole. These are one-fourth the natural size, and, by using inches for the quarter inches in our drawings, the enlarged outlines will be a sufficient guide in cutting the lasts, the average proportions of feet being very nearly the same, though of course dimensions will vary. In Fig. 1 of the next illustration we give the forms of sole that may be used. If the grou

ece of stout leather, with its edges thinned down, is stitched on and pierced with holes to receive the lacing. It is split not quite through, but about ?in. is left to strengthen the front of the shoe, and prevent the thinner leather tearing. The edges in which the holes are pierced are, of course, left the full thickness. A tongue of soft leather ought to be stitched in, that the lacing may not gall the instep, but the edges of

eive the tie or lacing. In this case, the centre of the front is left long enough to come up as a tongue to defend the instep, but this method has the disadvantage of leaving a space on either side the foot, opening forward as in the case of bluchers, and liable to receive in walking broken sticks, reeds, or grass stems, which are often force

h an equally firm pull on either hand. The seam will thus show no difference on either of the sides; but, if a section were made, it would present the appearance of a chain, as in Fig. 5 of the engraving on p. 421, each link inclosing the thi

t sharp, wetted, and twisted a little, will be quite rigid enough to pass through the holes previously bored; but while we have a stock of good whity-grey thr

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with a fair edge with tolerable firmness. These are held between the knees, so that the work may be in a convenient position for eye and hand. If barrel staves cannot be had, two small bits of plank, with fair edges, may be fitted in the smit

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then rolled several times round both of them; and the fastening is made by opening the strands of the thread, and passing the perfect end of the bristle through them. It is much more easy to do this than to describe it, and in five minutes' practice almost anyone ought to be able to learn it. We prefer, however, fine "reimpjies," or thongs, rather less than ?in. broad, cut from the skin of a steinbok, and nicely

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d not be reached. This seam is very neat, but a last cannot be used in making it. The plan we adopted is that used by shoemakers for pumps or single soled shoes, and we believe this to be the easiest, the neatest, and, at the same time, the most durable. The sole (Fig. 1) is cut with the heel toward the thickest part (if there be any difference) of the leather, and if greater thickness is required, another piece (Fig. 2) should be cut to the shape of the heel and thinned away to nothing in front, as it must be placed on the inside of the true sole, and a thick edge would of course give pain to the foot. A small groove or channel (Fig. 3), just deep enough to bury the stitches, should be cut about ?in. from the edge upon the upper surface, and a similar one (Fig. 3a) in the edge of the true sole; then, the holes being pierced with a curved awl, the two parts should be firmly sewn together. Fig. 4 represents the channel cut all r

a strap long enough to pass round the feet; holes are pierced with a sharp curved awl, through the upper leather, and the bevelled edge of the sole, to the channel previously cut. The thread or thong of steinbok hide, being pointed at both ends, is drawn as far as its middle through the first hole, the two ends are passed simultaneously from right and left through each successive one, and the seam, commencing from the fore part of the heel on one side, goes forward round the toe, until it comes as far back on the other s

g. 1A is the sole; Fig. 4, the channel and stitching; Fig. 4a, the stitching seen through the upper leather, and D the last; B shows the relative position of the parts when the shoe is taken off the last, and turned ready for use. No inner sole or lining is needed, for the leather itself is softened sufficiently in the native pro

be taken off the lasts, turned right side outward, and each put upon the last on which the other was made, and allowed to d

koodoo uppers, we have performed three journeys of eighty miles

s might render large and heavy boots an absolute necessity. The American Indian wears the lightest possible mocassin; the South African, when he comes near his game, takes off his sandals, that he may step as noiselessly as

ass

ed sole extends up over the sides, front, and heel, to be united with the border leather and front flap by a gathering seam. When about to undertake a journey over very hard or rough ground, a sort of supplementary sole of green hide, with the hair left on the outside, is not unfrequently put on. The leather used in the manufacture of the best and softest description of mocassins requires an immense deal of rubbing, dressing, and m

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ll draw it upon their own foot, so that the heel comes where the hough of the animal used to be; the toe is then closed with a few stitches, a slit for a small tie or lacing is made on the instep, and, by walking in it before it dries or hardens, it is trodden into the shape of the foot. We have chosen the qu

an the foot, a number of points or corners are allowed to remain along the edges, the foot, after being well swathed in bandages, is placed on the piece of hide, which is then gathered up round t

h after the Calabrian plan, but the corners, after having slits made in them, were looped to short flat leather straps, which, when crossed forward and back over the front, were laced together with

cial protection; and there is no surer sign on the frontier of the Cape Colony that the Kafirs intend to make war than to see among them a general preparation of velschoens or sandals; and o

taken as a sufficiently useful type. The leather is sometimes rendered slightly pliable by being pounded and beaten

hide are passed up through them, as shown in Fig. 2; and in each end of this are cut two s

le bored "in their own parts," as in Fig. 4, and sometimes by being simply returned only once in the manner shown in Fig. 3, which represents the very simple arrangement for tightening the side straps; in fact, a thong of hide, with several

. beyond the foot, like a small snow shoe; this saves the toes from contact with

walking, and, being very cheap, may be renewed as often as requisite. On some of the pilgrim roads in India, the poorer

urns wider than the heel, a very fairly shaped sole may be made; this may be fitted either with thongs as a sandal, or as a slipper with a canvas upper. The Malays wear a wooden sole, the heel and tread of which are about 2in. thick; it is held to the foot simply by a pe

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n inside their long boots, and served to preserve the feet from damp; no stockings were worn with them. An excellent description of sabot was forwarded to us during the Crimean war for use in camp; the sole was of light wood, the upper leather was like that of a high shoe, and the lining of thick felt. The leather and wood were connected round the edges by the use of a row of small flat headed tacks, much like those used in making a pair of bellows. No description of foot gear we have ever seen equals these felt-lined sabots for use during tent life. In Chinese Tartary a sort of boot composed of th

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ts of turpentine, together in a chatty, and melt them over the embers of the camp fire until thoroughly dissolved; then remove the pot from the fire, pour in the spirits of turpentine, and stir the whole with a piece of lath until cold. To apply the dubbin properly, the boot or shoe must be held

ber boots would have been cut and become leaky. A perfectly waterproof boot or garment of any kind is an excellent thing, but an imperfect one is worse than useless; and for wading after specimen

ber boots

ld not be larger than good-sized buck-shot. Put these into a wide-mouthed bottle, such as is used for gum; now pour in enough naphtha to cover the rubber; put in the cork, and let the mixture stand for a few hours to soak; then shake the bottle, turn it upside down, and rattle it from side to side; repeat this process from time to time until the rubber is thoroughly dissolved in the naphtha, which it will be in about three days. Should it become sticky and thick, pour in a little more naphtha and shake it about until of a convenient consistency for use. Now cut a patch from the sheet rubber, large enough to extend well beyond the margin of the hole; give both the patch and the surface to which it i

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oroughly accustomed to hard tramping will become blistered. When the eggs of either poultry or wild birds are to be obtained, it is a good plan to break one or two, according to their size, into each shoe before starting in the morning; or, if you have any spirit, put a little in a cup or dish, place a lump of tallow on a flat stick, and hold a hot brand over it until the fat melts and runs i