What Remains To Be Told Is The Daily Occupation Of Captain Grant,
Myself, And Our Private Servants.
Beginning at the foot:
Rahan,
a very peppery little negro, who had served in a British man-of-
war at the taking of Rangoon, was my valet; and Baraka, who had
been trained much in the same manner, but had seen engagements at
Multan, was Captain Grant's. They both knew Hindustani; but
while Rahan's services at sea had been short, Baraka had served
nearly all his life with Englishmen - was the smartest and most
intelligent negro I ever saw - was invaluable to Colonel Rigby as
a detector of slave-traders, and enjoyed his confidence
completely - so much so, that he said, on parting with him, that
he did not know where he should be able to find another man to
fill his post. These two men had now charge of our tents and
personal kit, while Baraka was considered the general of the
Wanguana forces, and Rahan a captain of ten.
My first occupation was to map the country. This is done by
timing the rate of march with a watch, taking compass-bearings
along the road, or on any conspicuous marks - as, for instance,
hills off it - and by noting the watershed - in short, all
topographical objects. On arrival in camp every day came the
ascertaining, by boiling a thermometer, of the altitude of the
station above the sea-level; of the latitude of the station by
the meridian altitude of the star taken with a sextant; and of
the compass variation by azimuth.
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