in brandy ; which, being not unpleasant to the palate of a Hottentot,
disappeared much faster than could be accounted for by the wants of
my patient. With this the wound was washed night and morning,
for the first ten days, and occasionally for a fortnight afterwards.
But as soon as it began to heal, I employ ed a wash made of a strong
decoction of the leaves of Wilde-alsem (Wild Wormwood.) *
The fore-arm, and the remaining part of the hand, rested in
a splint supported by a sling from the neck. He had very little
fever; and the wound in a few days began to assume a healing
appearance. The fungous flesh, which was beginning to form on the
fourth day, was reduced by frequently powdering it with burnt alum.
A deep wound near the wrist-bone continued for five weeks to cleanse
itself, but would have closed much sooner, if I had not judged it
prudent to keep it open. A healing plaster was made by melting
together a wax-candle with a quantity o f sheep’s tallow, sufficient to
give it the proper softness. There appeared no necessity for opiates
after the fourth night, when the dose of laudanum had been gradually
lessened to ten drops. All food of a heating quality was denied him;
and it was, with much reluctance, that he submitted for three weeks
to the privation of his usual rations of brandy. On the sixth day he
was allowed a small quantity of vinegar with his food, and his diet was
then changed to one of a more solid kind: it had previously consisted
only of mutton broth, rice, and bread, with either sweet, or sour,
milk. Till the twelfth day he was confined to the hut; but afterwards
frequently took a walk from the village to the waggons,
remaining with us till the sun began to decline. In the progress of
the cure, constant attention was paid to keeping the wound clean,
and protecting it from the air : to these, and the regulation of his
diet, the successful result of our nursing, is to be attributed ; unless
perhaps, a dulness of nerve, and a tardy circulation of blood, may
not greatly have assisted the remedies. He was never deprived of
the consolation of his tobacco-pipe, which, besides its powers as an
* Artemisia AJ'ra.
opiate, had probably no small share in diverting his thoughts from
his irreparable loss, and in keeping him in generally good spirits.
In six weeks from the day when the accident happened, I considered
the cure complete: the wound was covered over with a new
skin, and the thumb and finger were reunited. The power and use
of these returned but slowly ; yet ultimately they acquired their full
strength, and were of so much service, that, in many instances, the
loss of the rest seemed to be of no inconvenience. Here, then, I
saw reason for rejoicing that I possessed neither the instruments
nor the skill of a surgeon ; for, otherwise, my poor Hottentot would
have been all the remainder of his life with a useless stump, instead of
half a hand.
On that unfortunate morning, the crows flocked round us in
great numbers, attracted by our stock of dried meat; pieces of which
they carried off with astonishing audacity, though Gert was in sight,
sitting within a dozen yards of them. It was for the purpose of
driving these birds away that he fired off the gun.
Being thus left without a servant, ox any one to attend on Gert,
I immediately despatched a Hottentot to Eland’s Valley for Philip.
This messenger made such good haste, that Philip returned with
the waggon on the same day.
23rd. During the night Captain Berends and the tlephant
hunters came home from their expedition. They had shot twelve
elephants, which, however, produced no more than two hundred
pounds weight of ivory, as all the animals, excepting one, happened to
be females, the tusks of which are much smaller than those of the
males. They afterwards went to the Briquas (Bachapins,) to dispose
of their beads; but that nation would not receive them, nor enter
into any trading at that season of the year, as they adhere scrupulously
to the belief, that bartering while their corn was in the ear,
which, just at that time was the case, would occasion a bad harvest:
and besides this, the Klaarwater people had thoughtlessly done that
which rendered it still more impossible to have any dealings with
them as long as the corn was standing: they had shot elephants*
In consequence of this mistake, the Hottentots were obliged to
3 Q