KNEE DISEASE IN MADI. 
337 
his head, which was much admired ; but the knowing 
African rubbed his arms, as much as to say, " Where 
is the coat ? " This man's father, Chong'ee of Gani, a 
decrepid old man, with wrinkled skin and dull eye, 
had received some small beads in return for a cow he 
presented. They did not satisfy him, — he must have 
others, the ingenious excuse being that he was too 
old to see such small things ! Other beads much less 
valuable, but larger, were instantly given and accepted 
in exchange. 
A common disease amongst the natives was a large 
permanent swelling or growth below the knee-cap of 
one leg or both. Though the size of a cricket-ball, it 
was soft, and did not incapacitate the person from 
sitting, kneeling, or walking, and grown-up women 
seemed more liable to it than the male sex. Dr 
Murie (whom we met at Gondokoro) imagined from 
my description that it might have been brought on 
from exposure to cold. The only death that occurred 
while we were with the Turks was that of one of 
their own number, arising from fever and general 
exhaustion. His funeral took place at sunrise inside 
the village ; a silent mass of soldiers surrounded the 
grave, which was dug within the shell of a hut 
accidentally burnt down a few days previously. And 
on the occasion of this fire, I may remark that we 
were all saved providentially by the stillness of the 
day. The huts being made of grass and bamboo, 
huddled close together — ammunition and property in 
every one of them — and water half a mile distant, 
the alarm was frightful. No one knew what to do, 
as the unmanageable flames burst through the roof, 
or kept creeping onwards for more prey. Nude men 
