CHAP. Ill ALL IN CAMP AT NGATANA 41 



morning I was still weaker, and it was with the greatest difficulty 

 I could write a brief note to Witu asking that Mackinnon 

 should be sent up, as I could do no more. In the afternoon I 

 was still weaker, and completely lost the power of focusing my 

 sight. Wasama came to me for medicine. There were still 

 a few tabloids left in some envelopes fastened together by a 

 paper clip. But my eyes were so useless that I could not 

 read the names on any of them ; I could only find the quinine, 

 by licking a tabloid out of each envelope until I came to it. 

 But other medicines could not be distinguished by taste, and 

 the men accordingly had to go without. Several times they 

 came and begged for medicine, but I was powerless to help 

 them. 



Next day the men were worse, but intensely to my relief 

 Harris, Tichborne, and Benett- Stanford arrived from Witu. 

 They found the whole camp in charge of a Somali corporal, as 

 the headman and all the sergeants were ill. A message was at 

 once despatched to Borabini by canoe, to tell Mackinnon to 

 come up immediately. Two more Abyssinians, however, died 

 before he arrived, in spite of Benett-Stanford's unremitting care 

 and the fact that proper medicines were now available. Under 

 Mackinnon's able treatment the men soon improved, but several 

 of them were for some time in a very critical state of health. 

 Mackinnon said he was called up at night more times during 

 his first week at Ngatana, than he had been during his two 

 years with Jackson's great caravan in Uganda. 



After the arrival of the others I had a very easy time. 

 They made me drop all camp work, and nursed me with the 

 greatest tenderness and care. They did a good deal of shooting, 

 and thus kept the camp supplied with fresh meat. Harris was 

 especially successful in this, and when he went out rarely 

 returned without a waterbuck or topi. The expedition stores 

 furnished us with all sorts of European dainties. Under these 

 conditions I soon recovered strength, though I suffered from 

 a complete loss of memory. I could remember what had 

 happened during the past few weeks, but everything else was 

 in a fog. I could not recollect the simplest scientific terms, 

 and any effort to read led to such violent headaches that I 

 resolved on perfect mental rest. 



My old friend, the son of the Pokomo chief, taught me 



