284 
THE NEW AFRICA 
containing salt, the first we had tasted for many months, for 
our supply had been accidentally sacrificed in the retreat from 
Kikonto, on the Liana river. 
A westerly hot wind in the evening brought a change in the 
weather that looked like rain. But this passed off, without 
fulfilling the threat, heralded by several vivid flashes of lightning, 
followed by heavy crashes of thunder. 
We all disposed of such quantities of milk that we actually 
became scared at the possible results, and warned the boys to 
desist; but when I found Hammar secretly taking a vessel filled 
with milk into the seclusion of his mosquito-net at night with 
him, I took it away. He had already, since mid-day, absorbed 
sixteen pannikins, full, to his own share, besides a good portion 
of beef, and I had done rather more, but, being a larger man, 
considered myself privileged; but that was no reason why 
Hammar should make himself ill. Nothing, however, but a 
comfortable feeling of careless satiety happened to either of us; 
yet, in after life, we have often discussed the possibility of having 
made a mistake in counting the quantity of milk we drank this 
day, for such a feat appeared beyond human capacity under 
ordinary circumstances, but we always arrived at the conclusion 
that there was no error in the tally. We had actually done it, nor 
experienced any ill effects afterwards either; a fact that caused 
many of the fever-ridden people we met later, to shrug their 
shoulders in horror and disbelief at our story, as, from experience, 
they asserted that milk is one of the most fever-producing diets 
imaginable. There is also a belief amongst whites in the interior, 
that all vegetables and fruit growing near or on the ground are 
fever producers; and I, myself, have observed amongst them that 
the consumption of a cupful of milk or sweet potatoes, pistachio 
nuts or pumpkins, was often followed by an attack of fever. All 
these, however, were cases in which the consumers were already 
fever subjects, as, indeed, are almost all white persons who 
have travelled much in the interior. The extra attack of 
fever was probably brought about by an aggravation of the 
symptoms in an already diseased system, and the diet should 
