M., and the allowance of liquor be
that of the breakfast. An occasional holiday to Axim should be allowed, in
order to correct the monotony of jungle-life.
CHAPTER XXI.
TO TUMENTO, THE 'GREAT CENTRAL DEPOT.'
March 4 was a sore trial to us both. We 'went down' on the same day and
by our own fault. We had given the sorely-abused climate no chance; nor
have we any right to abuse it instead of blaming ourselves. The stranger
should begin work quietly in these regions; living, if possible, near the
coast and gradually increasing his exercise and exposure. Within three
months, especially if he be lucky enough to pass through a mild
'seasoning' of ague and fever, he becomes 'acclimatised,' the consecrated
term for a European shorn of his redundant health, strength, and vigour.
Medical men warn new comers, and for years we had read their warnings,
against the 'exhaustion of the physical powers of the body from
over-exertion.' They prescribe gentle constitutionals to men whose hours
must do the work of days. It is like ordering a pauper-patient generous
diet in the shape of port and beef-steaks; for the safe system, which
takes a quarter of a year, would have swallowed up all our time.
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