16 A COLONY IN THE MAKING chap. 
minimum. Luckily, although there have been a good 
many cases in all, fatal or even serious attacks have 
been few and far between. It is generally held, and 
there is little reason to doubt, that typhoid in this 
country is of a far less virulent type than its prototype 
in Europe. 
Dysentery is, of course, fairly prevalent throughout 
the Protectorate. The climate, however, can hardly 
be held responsible for this fact, but rather the care¬ 
less method in which a considerable proportion of the 
population live. It is generally accepted that dysentery 
is nearly always contracted through the drinking of 
infected water. If, therefore, no water be drunk 
unless it has been boiled for at least ten minutes the 
chance of an attack of dysentery is reduced to a 
minimum. In theory, this sounds a simple and easily 
carried out preventative. As a matter of fact, those 
who know what it is to walk or hunt all day under a 
tropical sun and to be suddenly confronted with a deep, 
clear pool of water know that it is almost impossible to 
resist its invitation. Such deep, clear, stagnant pools 
are very often full of germs. Again, although the 
cook to your “safari” may have been told not once 
but many times that all drinking water for the camp 
must be boiled, one may rest assured that it is the 
exception rather than the rule for such instructions to 
be carried out. Filtering gives water more attraction 
to the eye, but is of no great avail for the stomach. 
There is a possible chance, therefore, that, while 
shooting or prospecting, an attack of dysentery may 
be acquired. This should never be the case on a 
farm, since there the settler can and should make 
certain of his water supply by sending a sample to be 
analysed. For dysentery many drugs have their 
