of Edinburgh, Session 1885 — 86 . 
705 
Epilepsy is fairly common, especially occurring in girls. No 
medicine is used in its treatment, and if the girls suffering from it 
marry, their father rarely receives any dowry for them. Temporary 
insanity occurs ; the fits last three or four days, and those affected 
usually retire to the jungle, returning when the fit has passed 
away ; they are rarely violent. 
Venereal diseases are very frequent, especially among tt the men. 
All varieties are seen, hut it seems to have a tendency to cure. I 
saw thirty or forty cases in which the tertiary symptoms were well 
marked. The natives blame the Arabs for its introduction into the 
country. I found that, whenever the Waganda came to me saying 
that they were suffering from a snake in their insides, their complaint 
was gonorrhoea. 
I may mention that all the diseases appear to be very acute, and 
there is an undoubted tendency to inflammation ; but the people 
do not succumb readily, and appear to possess remarkable vitality. 
They bear pain exceedingly w T ell, and I am convinced that they do 
not suffer as acutely as Europeans after an accident, although they do 
not evince quite so much sang froid as Arabs do under the knife. 
Wounds heal with remarkable rapidity, and I was much surprised 
to see how quickly the Waganda recovered after extensive burns or 
ghastly gashes. 
There is a class of medicine-men in Uganda, and although a good 
deal of superstition is mixed up with and many charms are used in 
the treatment of disease, they unquestionably have a remarkable 
knowledge of simples. Their knowledge, too, of the treatment of 
fractures is very fair. They also evince considerable ingenuity in 
the application of neatly constructed splints. 
Development and Decay . — It was impossible to gain any accurate 
information as to the average or extreme length of life, but it may 
be generally stated that few very old persons of either sex are met 
with. Puberty is arrived at early, and women cease child-bearing 
at a comparatively early age. Although I examined the teeth of 
several hundred Waganda, I never saw a case of caries. Their 
teeth are remarkably well-preserved, and even in old people they 
are little worn. If children’s teeth do not appear at the right time 
it is considered unlucky, but they are not put to death as among 
some tribes. 
3 A 
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