27^ TRAVELS IN THE 
This last mentioned complaint appears, at the beginning, in 
scurfy spots upon different parts of the body; which finally 
settle upon the hands or feet, where the skin becomes withered, 
and cracks in many places. At length, the ends of the fingers 
swell and ulcerate ; the discharge is acrid and fetid ; the nails 
drop off, and the bones of the fingers become carious, and 
separate at the joints. In this manner the disease continues 
to spread, frequently until the patient loses all his fingers and 
toes. Even the hands and feet are sometimes destroyed by 
this inveterate malady, to which the Negroes give the name of 
balla jou, " incurable." 
The Guinea worm is likewise very common in certain places, 
especially at the commencement of the rainy season. The 
Negroes attribute this disease, which has been described by 
many writers, to bad water ; and allege that the people who 
drink from wells, are more subject to it than those who drink 
from streams. To the same cause, they attribute the swelling 
of the glands of the neck (goitres), which are very common in 
some parts of Bambarra. I observed also, in the interior 
countries, a few instances of simple gonorrhoea ; but never the 
confirmed lues. On the whole, it appeared to me that the 
Negroes are better surgeons than physicians. I found them 
very successful in their management of fractures and disloca- 
tions, and their splints and bandages are simple, and easily 
removed. The patient is laid upon a soft mat, and the frac- 
tured limb is frequently bathed with cold water. All abscesses 
they open with the actual cautery ; and the dressings are com- 
posed of either soft leaves. Shea butter, or cows' dung, as the 
