14 
A COLONY IN THE MAKING 
CHAP. 
The principal diseases of the country are : Malaria, 
dysentery, typhoid, sunstroke, lion bites, and whisky. 
The settler may avoid the last two by not laying 
himself open to the one nor indulging in the other, or 
if so indulging by doing so in moderation and with all 
due precautions. 
Of malaria, without in any way wishing to minimise 
the seriousness of this scourge, it may be said that it 
is regarded in a much graver light at home than it 
really merits. Most of those who have had 
experience of both would, I venture to say, infinitely 
prefer an ordinary go of malarial fever to a heavy 
cold. It is less unpleasant and more easily cured. 
The danger in malaria lies in neglect. An attack 
comes and is over in a day ; the patient dismisses 
all thought of it. In a month or so it returns and the 
same thing happens. It comes again a little sooner, 
and perhaps in rather a more severe form. At last 
either through a heavy dose of quinine taken with a 
rising temperature, or owing to the nature of the 
beast, the ordinary malaria attack turns to blackwater 
and heavy trouble ensues. Luckily, in the Highlands 
themselves malaria is most uncommon and blackwater 
almost unknown. Still, as long as a large proportion 
of the white population descend to unhealthy areas 
either for sport or plantation purposes, so long 
will there be cases of malarial fever ; and so long 
also will those few specimens of Anopheles mosquitoes 
which exist in the Highlands be infected. It is well, 
therefore, to bear in mind that after an attack of fever 
the blood can and should be completely purged of 
the disease. On the principle, however, that pre¬ 
vention is better than cure, every farmer should see 
to it that his house is free from mosquitoes. There 
