After seeing the strange conveyances and modes of travel in Europe and in the civilised countries of Asia, it will be interesting to leave the beaten tracks behind us altogether for a time. We will go beyond the high roads and the railways, and find out how people make journeys in the great wildernesses of the world, where travellers must be prepared to undergo discomforts and hardships, to meet with dangers, and, very often, to carry their lives in their hands.

If we open our atlases and turn to the maps of Africa, America, Asia, and Australia, we shall find that in each continent there are blank spaces. Sometimes these are called deserts or forests, but often we can only guess at the character of the country from the fact of there being no rivers marked and very few names of towns and cities.

The most famous of all deserts is the Great Sahara, which extends for thousands of miles across the north of Africa. Most people picture it as a huge sandy plain, where there is no water and no sign of life or vegetation; but, in reality, although there are districts where the shifting sandhills stretch away as far as the eye can see, a vast part of the Sahara consists of a stony tableland covered with a scanty growth of low, thorny bushes.

In the deserts there are, moreover, many fertile spots looking like exquisite little green islands set in the midst of a glowing, yellow sea. They are called oases, and are found where there are wells or pools of water. Arabs live in these places, cultivating the land and building mud-houses, while other tribes spend their time in wandering about the desert, seeking food for their animals and trading in the scattered towns and villages. These wanderers, or nomads, with their camels, horses, and herds of sheep and goats, may be seen slowly moving across the great sunburnt plain and pitching their brown tents at night among the sand-dunes.

The nomadic Arabs travel in large parties called caravans, for there are brigands in the Sahara who would rob and murder lonely wayfarers. The men in the caravan often ride, and their horses are considered the finest in the whole world. The Arabs prize these horses highly and treat them well, never allowing them to be teased by the children, and, at the end of a long day's journey, giving them their meal of milk and dates before they eat anything themselves.

Horses, however, are only used for riding, and all the hard work is done by the camels, "the ships of the desert," as they are called. It is a strange sight to see a great caravan crossing the desert, sometimes as many as a thousand camels marching along in single file, each with a heavy load on his back.

Camels are strange animals, for although they are strong and have wonderful powers of endurance, they are surly, intractable, and even more obstinate than mules. Occasionally a camel will consider that he is overloaded, and lying down will snarl at his driver and refuse to move. Blows and commands are useless in such a case, but if the driver pretends to remove something from the burden the animal is often completely deceived, and thinking that he has outwitted his master and gained a victory, will rise to his feet and start off contentedly on the journey.

One of the greatest dangers of desert travel is lack of water, for wells are very few and far apart. Camels are particularly suited to these conditions, as they can live for several days without drinking, and when no water is forthcoming, will plod patiently on and on, until their strength is exhausted and they fall down beneath their heavy loads.

It will be noticed in a caravan that some of the camels carry extraordinary fan-shaped palanquins on their backs. These contain the Arab ladies, whose religion obliges them to be veiled, and who can thus travel securely screened from sight. In the deserts of Asia the women ride in a much more airy and comfortable fashion, being provided with cushioned panniers slung on either side of the camel's back and sheltered by a light awning. On the occasion of a wedding in the Nile Delta district, the bride is carried on a camel in a curious erection shaped like a Red Indian wigwam and decorated with a large tuft of palm-leaves.

From the deserts we go to the great tropical forests, and there, although there is plenty of water and shelter from the fierce rays of the sun, travellers have to encounter new difficulties, new hardships, and new dangers.

Those of us who have seen only woods in our own islands can hardly imagine what one of the great forests of Central Africa, America, or Asia is like, with its huge trees, strange plants, and hot, steamy atmosphere, dank with the smell of rotting vegetation and stagnant water, or heavy with the overpowering fragrance of some tropical blossom. It is almost dark, for the foliage is dense, and the trees are, moreover, hung with matted curtains of creepers, while below is a tangled undergrowth, so tall and thick that pathways have to be cut through it inch by inch.

The travellers must needs walk single file through these narrow tracks, and they must be always armed and on their guard against the dangerous wild animals that live in those weird, gloomy jungles. Leopards, fierce gorillas, and rhinoceros, all have their homes in those dark thickets, and there are besides great herds of elephants that if alarmed will charge through the forest and trample the intruders underfoot.

In addition to these perils the natives are often unfriendly, and there have been many instances of cruelty and murder.

In these districts it is, of course, impossible to use wagons or any large vehicles, and the climate is unhealthy for horses and cattle. Negroes, therefore, act as carriers and march along the narrow paths with heavy loads on their heads. These natives are very strong, and may be seen carrying large bales, boxes, and even bicycles through the jungle.

The Europeans of the party either walk too, or are carried in hammocks slung on poles. An awning is fixed over the hammock, and the occupant can lie down comfortably while he is borne along by two or more negro porters. Wounded men or those ill with fever are often taken for many miles in this fashion, and in Nigeria special hospital hammocks are provided for this purpose on which the familiar red cross may be seen.

The natives of these tropical forests either carry their merchandise and other burdens themselves, or have light conveyances suited to the narrow tracks that are the only roads of the country. The Sobo negroes of West Africa have a very ingenious arrangement, and often three or four of them may be seen walking in single file and carrying a long pole on their shoulders. From this pole are hung jars, bundles, and baskets of fruit and vegetables.

In another district a still more curious device is used. This is a single railway line running between two towns, on which light trucks can travel. These trucks have two wheels each, one behind the other, and to each truck is fastened a pole which projects on the left-hand side. Negroes walk beside the line, holding the poles and thus driving the cars along.

In regions where the forest is less dense and the climate more dry and healthy, animals can be used, and sometimes strange teams are seen—camels, donkeys, and oxen being all pressed into the transport service.