PEEMATURE BUEIALS.— OPHTHALMIA. I43 



The diseases most prevalent are the following : pneumonia, 

 produced by sudden changes of temperature, and other inflamma- 

 tions, as of the towels, stomach, and pleura ; rheumatism ; dis- 

 ease of the heart — but these become rare as the people adopt the 

 European dress — various forms of indigestion and ophthalmia ; 

 hooping-cough comes frequently ; and every year the period pre- 

 ceding the rains is marked by some sort of epidemic. Sometimes 

 it is general ophthalmia, resembling closely the Egyptian. In 

 another year it is a kind of diarrhoea, which nothing will cure un- 

 til there is a fall of rain, and any thing acts as a charm after that. 

 One year the epidemic period was marked by a disease which 

 looked like pneumonia, but had the peculiar symptom strongly 

 developed of great pain in the seventh cervical process. Many 

 persons died of it, after being in a comatose state for many hours 

 or days before their decease. No inspection of the body being 

 ever allowed by these people, and the place of sepulture being 

 carefully concealed, I had to rest satisfied with conjecture. Fre- 

 quently the Bakwains buried their deaol in the huts where they 

 died, for fear lest the witches (Baloi) should disinter their friends, 

 and use some part of the body in their fiendish arts. Scarcely 

 is the breath out of the body when the unfortunate patient is 

 hurried away to be buried. An ant-eater's hole is often selected, 

 in order to save the trouble of digging a grave. On two occasions 

 while I was there this hasty burial was followed by the return 

 home of the men, who had been buried alive, to their affrighted 

 relatives. They had recovered, while in their graves, from pro- 

 longed swoons. 



In ophthalmia the doctors cup on the temples, and apply to the 

 eyes the pungent smoke of certain roots, the patient, at the same 

 time, taking strong draughts of it up his nostrils. We found the 

 solution of nitrate of silver, two or three grains to the ounce of 

 rain-water, answer the same end so much more effectually, that 

 every morning numbers of patients crowded round our house for 

 the collyrium. It is a good preventive of an acute attack when 

 poured into the eyes as soon as the pain begins, and might prove 

 valuable for travelers. Cupping is performed with the horn of a 

 goat or antelope, having a little hole pierced in the small end. 

 In some cases a small piece of wax is attached, and a temporary 

 hole made through it to the horn. When the air is well with- 



