most excellent bacon; good eggs and bacon will carry a man through a
long day most successfully. I remember that when that bacon gave out,
there was more mourning than over all the first-born of Egypt. Mutton we
never ran out of; like the poor, it was always with us.

We got into camp as a rule some time in the afternoon, and then indulged
in tea and chupatties; whisky was precious, and kept for dinner, which
took place at dusk. Sometimes, when we got into camp late, dinner and
tea were merged into one; however, it made no odds, we were always ready
to eat when anything eatable came along. The mess provided some camp
tables, and most of us managed to bring a camp stool, so we were in the
height of luxury. After dinner a pipe or two, and then we turned in; we
generally managed to get some grass to put under our blankets, but if we
didn't, I don't think it made much difference; we were all young, and
used to sleeping out on the hillside after game, frequently above the
snow line, so it was no new experience. If it rained or was cold, we
generally managed to get into a hut; these are remarkably strongly
built, good stone walls, and thick, flat, wooden roofs with a mud
covering, a hole in the middle of the floor for the fire, and a hole in
the roof for the smoke--at least that was what we supposed was the idea,
but the smoke generally preferred to remain inside.

There were also other discomforts of a minor nature. For instance, the
cows and goats used to take it as a personal matter if you objected to
their sharing the room with you; they were big enough, however, to catch
and turn out, but there were other occupants of a more agile nature,
armies of them, whom it was hopeless to try and eject; we suffered so
much from their pleasing attentions that we generally preferred to sleep
outside, weather permitting.