ROUGHING IT IN SOUTHERN INDIA 49 



must be arranged with the same idea ; if the smallest 

 crevice exist the leeches will find it out, scent-guided. F. 

 used to wind strong unbleached calico soaked in saltpetre 

 brine (or in tobacco juice, obtained by steeping rank tobacco 

 in boiling water till a very pungent solution resulted) round 

 his legs, encasing them in leathern gaiters to keep the 

 wrappings in place, stitched together though these would 

 be. Once, being surprised without these safeguards, he 

 came back at the end of the day quite exhausted from 

 loss of blood, such toll had the leeches levied. Six hun- 

 dred of them were taken off him, mostly from his legs and 

 feet ; but indeed they were everywhere, fixed on tightly — 

 not slim now, but gorged and rotund — only to be shifted 

 by a touch of nicotine, or, what seems rather barbarous, by 

 the warm end of a cheroot. 



The danger from leech-bite is due to the frightful irri- 

 tation that ensues, and the victim's tendency to scratch 

 hastily, which only increases it, when nasty sores are apt 

 to result, depending on the state of his health at the time. 

 To me, however, by far the worst thing about them was 

 their writhing, sinuous motion. Some people have a 

 natural abhorrence of any wormy creature, the very idea 

 of contact sends a shudder through them : it is a purely 

 physical repugnance, and a sensation quite distinct from 

 fear. It is so with me — though I should not hesitate to 

 pick up anything of the sort to put it out of harm's way — 

 therefore in my case the bites were the least part of the 

 trouble. 



Our huts — we could not carry tents about in the rains — 

 were built out in the open, away from trees and cover, 

 yet they were surrounded and entered by the leeches in 

 spite of the distance they had to come. Thick layers of 

 ashes were scrupulously laid round, and some inches up, 

 the legs of tables, chairs, cots, etc., or no one would have 

 had any peace. 



D 



