g(J DISEASES. Chap. VI 



A certain loathsome disease which decimates the North 

 American Indians, and threatens extirpation to the South Sea 

 islanders, dies ont in the interior of Africa. The Bangwa- 

 ketse, who brought it from the west coast, lost it when they 

 came into their own land south-west of Kolobeng. It seems 

 incapable of permanence in the centre of the country in persons 

 of pure African blood. Among the Portuguese, Corannas, and 

 Griquas of mixed breed it produces the same ravages as else- 

 where. The virulence of the secondary symptoms, in all the 

 cases that came under my care, seemed in exact proportion to 

 the amount of European blood. Among the Barotse I found 

 a disease called manassah, which closely resembles that of the 

 fceda mulier of history. 



Stone in the bladder and gravel are unknown, though the 

 waters are often so strongly impregnated with sulphate of 

 lime that kettles quickly become incrusted with the salt. 

 Some of iny patients, who were troubled with indigestion, 

 believed that their stomachs had got into the same condition 

 with their kettles. The immunity from calculi would appear 

 to be one of the privileges of the Negro race, for seldom in the 

 United States have the most famed lithotomists met with a case 

 among them. 



The most prevalent diseases are pneumonia, produced by 

 sudden changes of temperature, and other inflammations, as cf 

 the bowels, stomach, and pleura, with rheumatism, and disease 

 of the heart. These become most rare as the people adopt the 

 European dress. Every year the period preceding the rains 

 is marked by an epidemic. Sometimes it is general ophthalmia, 

 resembling that which prevails in Egypt. At another time it 

 is a kind of diarrhoea, which no medicine will cure until there 

 is a fall of rain, when anything acts as a charm. Once the 

 annual visitation was a disease which looked like pneumonia, 

 but with the peculiar symptom of great pain in the seventh 

 cervical process. The persons who died of it were in a co- 

 matose state for many hours or days. As no inspection of the 

 body is allowed by these people, and the place of sepulture is 

 carefully concealed, I had to rest satisfied with conjecture. 

 Frequently the Bakwains buried their friends in the huts 

 where they died, for fear the witches (Baloi) should disinter 

 them and use some part of the corpse in their fiendish arts, 

 Scarcelj* is the breath out of the body when it is hurried awft? 



