A Soudanese soldier, as innocent as a lamb cropping sweet grass before a fox's covert, trespassed for the sake of loot near a native village, and was speared through the abdomen. It is the second fatal case resulting from looting. It will not be our last. We place a Soudanese on guard; his friend comes along, exchanges a word or two with him, and passes on, with the completest unconsciousness of danger that can be imagined. If not slain outright, he returns with a great gash in his body and a look of death in his face. The Zanzibari is set to labour at cutting wood or collecting manioc; he presently drops his task, utters an excuse for withdrawing for a moment--a thought glances across his vacuous mind, and under the impulse he hastes away, to be reported by-and-by as missing. On the 26th I drew out a memorandum for the officers of the Advance Column, of which the following is a copy:-- We propose to commence our march the day after to-morrow, the 28th of June, 1887. The distance we have to traverse is about 330 geographical miles in an air line--or about 550 miles English, provided we do not find a path more than ordinarily winding. If we make an average of ten miles per day we ought to be able to reach the Albert within two months. In 1871 my Expedition after Livingstone performed 360 English miles in 54 days = about 6-1/2 miles per day. In 1874 my Expedition across Africa performed 360 English miles in 64 days, viz., from Bagamoyo to Vinyata = 5-3/4 miles per day. In 1874-75 the same Expedition reached Lake Victoria from Bagamoyo, 720 miles distance in 103 days = 7 miles per day. In 1876 the same Expedition traversed 360 miles, the distance from Lake Uhimba to Ujiji in 59 days = 6-1/10 miles per day. Therefore if we travel the distance to Kavalli, say 550 miles at an average of 6 miles per day, we should reach Lake Albert about the last day of September. A conception of the character of more than half of the country to be traversed may be had by glancing at our surroundings. It will be a bush and forested country with a native path more or less crooked connecting the various settlements of the tribes dwelling in it. The track now and then will be intersected by others connecting the tribes north of our route and those south of it. The natives will be armed with shields, spears and knives, or with bows and arrows. As our purpose is to march on swiftly through the country, we take the natives considerably by surprise. They cannot confederate or meet us in any force, because they will have no time. Whatever hostilities we may meet will be the outcome of impulse, and that naturally an angry one. Officers must therefore be prompt to resist these impulsive attacks, and should at all times now see that their Winchester magazines are loaded, and their bearers close to them. Side arms should not be dispensed with on any account.