DOWN THE NILE; THE GIANT ELAND 465 



should never see again. It had been an interesting and a 

 happy year; though I was very glad to be once more with 

 those who were dear to me, and to turn my face toward my 

 own home and my own people. 



Kermit's and my health throughout the trip had been 

 excellent. He had been laid up for three days all told, and 

 I for five. Kermit's three days were due, two to tick fever 

 on the Kapiti Plains, one probably to the sun. Mine were 

 all due to fever; but I think my fever had nothing to do 

 with Africa at all, and was simply a recurrence of the fever 

 I caught in the Santiago campaign, and which ever since 

 has come on at long and irregular intervals for a day or 

 two at a time. The couple of attacks I had in Africa were 

 very slight; by no means as severe as one I had while bear 

 hunting early one spring in the Rocky Mountains. One 

 of these attacks came on under rather funny circumstances. 

 It was at Lake Naivasha on the day I killed the hippo 

 which charged the boat. We were in the steam launch and 

 I began to feel badly, and knew I was in for a bout of 

 fever. Just then we spied the hippo and went after it 

 in the row-boat. I was anxious to hold back the attack 

 until I got the hippo, as when shaking with a chill it is of 

 course very difficult to take aim. I just succeeded, the 

 excitement keeping me steady; and as soon as the hippo 

 was dead I .curled up in the boat and had my chill in peace 

 and comfort. 



There are differences of opinion as to whether any 

 spiritous liquors should be drunk in the tropics. Per- 

 sonally I think that the less one has to do with them the 

 better. Not liking whiskey I took a bottle of brandy for 

 emergencies. Very early in the trip I decided that even 



