DOWN THE NILE; THE GIANT ELAND 465 
should never see again. It had been an interesting and a 
happy year; though I was very glad to be once more with 
those who were dear to me, and to turn my face toward my 
own home and my own people. 
Kermit’s and my health throughout the trip had been 
excellent. He had been laid up for three days all told, and 
I for five. Kermit’s three days were due, two to tick fever 
on the Kapiti Plains, one probably to the sun. Mine were 
all due to fever; but I think my fever had nothing to do 
with Africa at all, and was simply a recurrence of the fever 
I caught in the Santiago campaign, and which ever since 
has come on at long and irregular intervals for a day or 
two at a time. The couple of attacks I had in Africa were 
very slight; by no means as severe as one I had while bear 
hunting early one spring in the Rocky Mountains. One 
of these attacks came on under rather funny circumstances. 
It was at Lake Naivasha on the day I killed the hippo 
which charged the boat. We were in the steam launch and 
I began to feel badly, and knew I was in for a bout of 
fever. Just then we spied the hippo and went after it 
in the row-boat. I was anxious to hold back the attack 
until I got the hippo, as when shaking with a chill it is of 
course very difficult to take aim. I just succeeded, the 
excitement keeping me steady; and as soon as the hippo 
was dead I curled up in the boat and had my chill in peace 
and comfort. 
There are differences of opinion as to whether any 
spiritous liquors should be drunk in the tropics. Per¬ 
sonally I think that the less one has to do with them the 
better. Not liking whiskey I took a bottle of brandy for 
emergencies. Very early in the trip I decided that even 
