■^ Hostile Forces 



hurts of any sort on the shins, disable the carriers from 

 time to time. But, in general, wounds heal well and 

 quickly with them, when properly treated, owing to their 

 extraordinary capacity for making " new flesh." Corrosions 

 with carbolic acid prove specially effective for the ulcers 

 in the lower part of the thigh which frequently occur 

 among the Masai men ; though these when treated by 

 the native " medicine men," and covered with bark, often 

 have a very alarming aspect. 



When the caravan had made a halt and camp was 

 pitched, there constantly arrived a number of patients to 

 ask for my assistance. I cannot remember ever having 

 sent away a single man, although the patience of the 

 traveller, when he is fatigued or ailing, is often put to 

 a very hard test in this way. 



" Bwana, kubwa, nakata daua ! " 



" Master, I should like some medicine ! " Over and 

 over again one hears it. And then it is a question of 

 giving aloes to one, and pills to another, castor-oil, 

 ipecacuanha, eye-salve or bandages or something else 

 to a third, while a vessel with antiseptic is always ready 

 for the treatment of wounds and other injuries. 



Another dreadful scourge are the sand-flies {Sa?'- 

 copsylla penetrans), which have only recently penetrated 

 to the coasts of East Africa. These parasites were 

 brought some decades ago from South America to the 

 West Coast of Africa. Following the caravan-routes, 

 they gradually spread to the Central African lakes, 

 where I found them in great numbers in the year 1896. 

 The tiny little sand-fly penetrates, at first unnoticed, 



659 



