We Passed The Valley Beyond The Aqueduct And, Ascending The Steep
Incline Upon The Opposite Side, Followed The Rutty Native Track Parallel
With The Water-Course; We Halted For The First Night Opposite The
Village Of Cheflik Pacha.
This is an unhealthy place, as it lies in a
valley where a mill is turned by a stream from the aqueduct and the
surplus water forms a marsh after irrigating in a careless manner some
fields and gardens.
Lemon and orange-trees of the largest size were
crowded with fruit, and exhibited in the midst of a treeless and
desolate country the great necessity, WATER, and the productive powers
of the soil when regularly supplied.
I was careful not to descend into the irrigated bottom, therefore we had
halted on the highest point, a quarter of a mile distant. It is
impossible to be too careful in the selection of a camping-ground; the
effect of fever-germs may be the result of one night's bivouac in an
unhealthy locality; and a new country is frequently stamped as
pestilential from the utter carelessness of the traveller or officer in
command of troops.
As a general rule the immediate neighbourhood of water should be
avoided. A clear stream is a tempting object, and the difficulty of
carrying water for the supply of troops is important; but it is less
than the necessity of carrying the sick. If once the fever of malaria
attacks an individual he becomes unfitted for his work; the blood is
poisoned, and he is the victim of renewed attacks which baffle medical
skill and lead to other serious complications. Avoid the first attack.
This may generally be effected by the careful selection of the
camping-ground. Never halt in a bottom, but always on a height.
Throughout my journey in Cyprus neither ourselves nor servants suffered
from any ailment, although we visited every portion of the country, and
I attribute this immunity from fever mainly to the care in our selection
of halting-places.
The first necessity in the evening halt was fire. This is one of the
troubles of central Cyprus--there is no fuel. The two vans and the
native cart were in a line--the bell-tent was quickly pitched for the
servants, who now for the first time experienced the comfort of an
arrangement I had made when in England. I had seven deal battens, each
seven feet long, four inches deep, by two and a half inches broad. These
were laid upon the ground twelve inches apart; seven planks, each one
foot wide, were placed across the battens to form an impromptu floor.
Upon this platform was laid a non-conductor of simply doubled hair-felt,
sewed into a thin mattress of light canvas. There was very little
trouble in this arrangement; the men were kept well off the ground, and
the hair-felt not only preserved their bodily heat from escaping, but it
prevented the damp of the earth from ascending. This mattress was ten
feet long, therefore it could be rolled up to form a bolster at one end;
and, during a hot sun, it was intended for a cover to the roof of the
gipsy van.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 19 of 274
Words from 9510 to 10045
of 143016
