io6 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS 
CHAP. 
ously emptied into the diseased cavity on the 
camel’s back. 
The poor creature sprang to its feet, and scream¬ 
ing with agony, dashed at full gallop across the desert 
in a frantic state, with the fire scorching its flesh, and 
doubtless making it uncomfortable for the maggots. 
Fire is the Arabs’ vade mecum ; the actual cautery is 
deeply respected, and is supposed to be infallible. 
If internal inflammation should attack the patient, the 
surface is scored with a red-hot iron. Should guinea- 
worm be suspected, there is no other course to 
pursue than to burn the suffering limb in a series of 
spots with a red-hot iron ramrod. The worm will 
shortly make its appearance at one of these apertures 
after some slight inflammation and suppuration. This 
fearful complaint is termed Frendeet in the Soudan, 
and it is absorbed into the system generally by 
drinking foul water. At the commencement of the 
rainy season, when the ground has been parched by 
the long drought of summer, the surface-water drains 
into the hollows and forms muddy pools. The 
natives shun such water, as it is almost certain to 
contain the eggs of the guinea-worm. These in some 
mysterious manner are hatched within the body if 
swallowed in the act of drinking, and whether they 
develop in the stomach or in the intestines, it is 
difficult to determine, but the result is the same. 
The patient complains of rheumatic pains in one 
limb ; this increases until the leg or arm swells to a 
frightful extent, accompanied by severe inflammation 
and great torment. The Arab practitioner declares 
