142 Pi'oceeclings of Royal Society of Edinhurgli. [sess. 
Fat Wives . — A curious custom which obtains in Unyoro may 
here be mentioned. It seems that the king and some of his chiefs 
consider that obesity is a sign of beauty, and therefore some of their 
wives are compelled to subject themselves to a process of fattening 
to increase their charms. They are obliged to drink an immense 
quantity of milk, and so obese do they become that they can only 
crawl about on their hands and knees j it is impossible for them to 
walk. Personally I had no opportunity of seeing any of these 
beauties, but I quote an abbreviated description of one given by 
Casati : — “ In the centre of a column was a palankin made of ox-hide 
fixed on two poles, upon which one of the royal wives sat wrapt in 
a bright-coloured mantle of peculiar pattern. ... A cry of astonish- 
ment was uttered by everyone as a woman, almost a shapeless mass 
of flesh, with immense limbs and small eyes, sitting on a sort of 
sedan-chair, and supported by stout poles, was being carried across 
the royal threshold by four stalwart men. The accumulation of fat 
gradually proceeds so as to render the person unable to stand up. 
They are compelled to walk on their hands and knees, and even then 
move with great difficulty.” — (Casati, op. cit., vol. ii. p. 70.) These 
women are only permitted salt porridge made with broth twice a 
week, and sometimes a handful of salt. 
Pathology . — My stay in the country was far too short to obtain 
anything but the briefest information respecting the diseases of the 
natives. 
Malarial fevers are common enough on the banks of the Mle and 
on the shores of the Albert Nyanza, but I understand that they are 
far rarer in the higher parts of the country. At Kiroto, where I 
made special inquiries into the subject, I found that both the natives 
and the Egyptians rarely suffered from fever, but at Magungo 
Foweira, Kodj, and the adjacent districts malaria is very rife. 
Ague-cake was far from uncommon, and I saw many children suffer- 
ing from moderately enlarged spleens, and a good many suffering 
from dropsy. Bronchitis and pneumonia I also met with, and these 
diseases must be fairly frequent, as they are treated with the actual 
cautery or cupping, and many persons bore the marks of these 
methods of treatment. In cupping, the cow’s horn is used in place 
of a cupping-glass, a considerable quantity of blood is withdrawn, 
and the people are weak for several days subsequent to it. 
