284 SAFARI 



you see?" I said, "Yes." But she didn't believe 

 me; she held up two fingers and asked me what she 

 was doing. It was lucky she held them up so they 

 were silhouetted against the light, as I could barely 

 make out her hand, and that with one eye only. 



She then proceeded to take off all the unguentine 

 with which I had had the boys smear me. Assisted 

 by the boys and John Wilshusen, who was with us, 

 she worked over me until after midnight, using 

 permanganate of potash. After they had cleaned 

 my skin as much as possible of the powder, they put 

 unguentine on again. By that time the bums were 

 beginning to pain full force. There is no use going 

 into details. In three days I could see a little out of 

 my right eye, but not out of the left for two weeks 

 more. It was only through Osa's nursing that I 

 escaped the fate of the black who had died from 

 lockjaw. 



I recall the first day I could sit up in bed. I asked 

 for a mirror. Goodness what a shock I got when I 

 looked at myself ! My nose had been knocked off to 

 one side out of true. My left ear looked like a piece 

 of cauliflower. I hadn't a hair left on my head; 

 eyebrows and eyelashes gone. But worst of all my 

 entire head down to my neck was black with the pow- 

 der that had penetrated the skin. I had heard of 

 miners being disfigured for life this way ; and decided 

 that the same thing had become my fate. But after a 



