212 THE GAME OF BRITISH EAST AFRICA. 



When the nights are so cold that sleep is almost impossible in a camp-bed 

 placed in a chilly tent, I then have a hole dug under the bed or at the back of the 

 tent. This hole is a foot or a foot and a half deep, and is filled to the top with 

 glowing embers, and the tent then remains warm and snug almost until the next 

 morning. It is a simple enough device, but I know that many men have felt 

 cold in the mountains without thinking of the remedy. Some trees produce embers 

 which glow for a long time, whilst others will die out quickly, so you must carefully 

 select your trees. 



Of all the troubles which afflict the traveller, the discomforts and sickness 

 caused by different insects are far the most constant and maddening. An 

 enumeration of all the different insects whose special mission in life seems to be 

 the worrying of mankind and animals would make a very long list ; then, in addition 

 to these pests, there are the many other insects which, without the least intent, also 

 cause annoyance. Such are the hundreds of moths and beetles which insist on 

 committing suicide in your tea, soup, and gravy, the ants and other insects which 

 madden you by aimlessly crawling over you or that eat your stores, besides hosts of 

 others. 



The Mosquito. 



Of the more noxious insects, the mosquito is a pretty bad fellow. You get so 



^ used to being bitten by this pest that in localities where it occurs only in small 



t Sp«S«.^- quantities you would not be much troubled if it were not for the fact that some kinds 



^^.f ^AA gjyg fever. The anopheles, the fever-giving kinds, can at once be distinguished from 



^. Kv*.'^ other mosquitoes when seen at rest, because their bodies stick out at an angle from 



whatever they are sitting on. The ordinary mosquito sits close to the wall like a fly. 



The mosquito nuisance can be mitigated to some extent by placing a fire so 

 that the smoke is driven into and fills the tent, or by making a small fire within the 

 tent itself. These methods considerably lessen the quantities of mosquitoes which 

 otherwise invade the tent, especially when the tent is pitched in such localities as 

 along the banks of the Nile. Unfortunately, neither method quite does away with 

 them ; moreover, the discomfort caused by the smoke is almost as great as that 

 caused by the mosquitoes. The fever resulting from bites may be obviated to a 

 great extent by taking five to ten grains of quinine every third or fourth day whilst in 

 a mosquito country and for about a fortnight after leaving it. 



Tsetse Fly. 



Where tsetse flies are numerous you can keep a certain amount off by continually 

 swishing a branch round about and by beating the back of the head with it. 



