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CREW AND EQUIPMENT 49We carry two tents,one for Herbert and onefor visitors. These are Alpine tents of a floorspace of about seven feet square, and are builtwith the floor-cloth sewn on and the poles sewninto the corners, so that they can be instantlyrolled up, all in a piece, and slung in the crutch.The crutch isthe back of the van, hingeda barred structure, like a gate, atat the bottom andswung out as far as is necessary on chains. Itcarries a sack of oats besides the tents, horsecloths,nose-bags and so on.Under the van at the back is a larder and boxfor pots and pans, and the whole of the restthe space beneath the floor is taken up by a net,which holds camp furniture and odds and ends.We take three camp beds, two small tables, somechairs and camp-stools. Buckets and oil-canshang on hooks, along with a bag for vegetables.On my last journeyI took also a new andspecial invention in the form of a camp-stable,to be used when we wanted to stop in lonelyplaces where there was neither stabling nor grassfor the horses. It is a sturdylittle structure,about seven feet high, in shape like the letter H,and supported by pegged ropes. The horses aretied to the cross-bar face to face, cloths are puton them, boxes of oats slung to the bar and a netEof