89 
PARTY ATTACKED BY FEVER. 
lightful scene,— all the ponds full of water, and the birds 
wittering joyfully. As the game can now obtain water every- 
where, they become very shy, and cannot bo lound in t ei. 
accustomed haunts. , 
1st March . — The thermometer in the shade generally stood 
at 98° from 1 to 3 r. M. ; but it sank as low as 6o by 
light; so that the heat was by no means exhausting. At 
the surface of the ground, in the sun, the thermometer 
marked 125°. and three inches below it, 138°. The hand 
cannot be held on the ground, and even the horny soles o . 
the feet of the natives must be protected by sandals ol 
hide; yet the ants were busy working on it. The water 
in the ponds was as high as 100° ; but, as water does not 
conduct heat readily downward, doliciously-cool wator 
may be obtained by any one walking into the middle and 
lifting up the wator from thG bottom to the surface with 
his hands. 
Proceeding to the north, from Kama-kuina, wo entered 
<nto denso Mohonono bush, which required the constant 
application of the axo by three of our party for two days. 
This bush has fine silvery leaves, and the bark has a sweet 
taste. The elephant, with his usual delicacy of taste, feeds 
much on it. On emerging into the plains beyond, we found 
a number of Bushmen, who afterward proved very service- 
able. The rains had been copious; but now groat numbors 
of pools were drying up. Lotus-plants abounded in them, 
and a low, swoet-sconted plant covered their banks. 
Breezes came occasionally to us from these drying-up 
pools ; but the pleasant odor they carried caused snoozing 
in both myself and people; and on tho 10th of March (whon 
in lat. 19° 16' 11" S., long. 24° 24' E.) wo were brought 
to a stand by four of the party being seized with fovor. 
I had seen this diseaso before, but did not at ouco recognise 
it as tho African fever : I imagined it was only a bilious 
attack arising from full feeding on flesh; for, tho largo 
game having been very abundant, wo always had a good 
HUjiply But, iustead of the first sufferers recovering soon, 
8 » 
