On September 9 1900, Karl left Newcastle, Australia on the SS Bezwada steamship to Kolkata (then Calcutta).To pay for his passage to Kolkata, Karl was employed as a ‘hostler’ with three other men, and they were in charge of 230 Waler horses bound for duty with the regiment of the Bengal Lancers. Karl worked 15 to 16  hours a day with what he describes as “wild, unbroken horses”. He would say he fared well, “barring half a dozen kicks and about as many bites received from the animals”.