(52 WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS CHAP. 



Upon one occasion I saw a camel kneeling uj>on the ground with 

 a number of men around it, and I found that it was to undergo 

 a surgical ojH'ration for a terrible wound ujM)ii its hump. This 

 was a hole as large and deep as an ordinary breakfast-cup, which 

 was alive with maggots. The operator had been preparing a 

 quantity of glowing charcoal, which was at a red heat. This 

 was contained in a piece of broken chatty, a portion of a water- 

 jar, and it was dexterously emptied into the diseased cavity on 

 the camel's back. 



The poor creature sprang to its feet, and screaming with agony, 

 dashed at full gallop across the desert in a frantic state, with the 

 fire scorching its flesh, and doubtless making it uncomfortable for 

 the maggots. Fire is the Arabs' vade mccum ; the actual cautery 

 is deeply respected, and is supposed to be infallible. If internal 

 inflammation should attack the patient, the surface is scored with 

 a red-hot iron. Should guinea-worm be suspected, there is no 

 other course to pursue than to burn the suffering limb in a series 

 of spots with a red-hot iron ramrod. The worm will shortly make 

 its appearance at one of these apertures after some slight inflam- 

 mation and suppuration. This fearful complaint is termed 

 Fremleet in the Soudan, and it is absorbed into the system gener- 

 ally by drinking foul water. At the commencement of the rainy 

 season, when the ground has been parched by the long drought of 

 summer, the surface water drains into the hollows and forms 

 muddy pools. The natives shun such water, as it is almost 

 certain to contain the eggs of the guinea-worm. These in some 

 mysterious manner are hatched within the body if swallowed in 

 the act of drinking, and whether they develop in the stomach or 

 in the intestines, it is difficult to determine, but the result is the 

 same. The patient complains of rheumatic pains in one limb ; 

 this increases until the leg or arm swells to a frightful extent, 

 accompanied by severe inflammation and great torment. The 

 Arab practitioner declares that the worm is at work, and is seek- 

 ing for a means of escape from the body. He accordingly burns 

 half a dozen holes with a red-hot iron or ramrod. In a few days 

 the head of the guinea-worm appears ; it is immediately captured 

 by a finely -split reed, and by degrees is wound like a cotton 

 thread by turning the reed every day. This requires delicate 

 manipulation, otherwise the worm might break, and a portion 

 remain in the flesh, which would increase the inflammation. 

 An average guinea-worm would be about .'i feet in length. 

 Animals do not appear to suffer from this complaint, although 

 they are subject to the attacks of great varieties of parasites. 



