The Flies And Mosquitoes
Worry The Poor Beasts Terribly, And All Day Long The Horses Stand In The
Water In Pairs, Or In A Line, With Head To Tail, Each One Flicking The
Flies From His Neighbour's Face With His Tail.
This habit of standing up
to the girth in water has given rise to a horse sickness known as
"swamp-cancer." The skin under the belly becomes so soft that at last a
raw place is formed, and this, aggravated by the flies, spreads until it
becomes a serious disease.
Another horse-sickness common in the North is
called the "Puffs." A horse suffering from this pants and blows after the
least exertion, and in the hot weather his skin becomes puffy, and any
violent exercise would be fatal. The Monk, one of our horses, suffered
from this slightly; as soon, however, as we had left the Kimberley
district and entered the desert he recovered entirely. Numerous small
families of natives were camped along the creek, all accompanied by dogs,
which gave us some annoyance at night; for salt meat, at first, should be
hung out during the night to get the benefit of the fresh air, and this
roused their hungry instincts. A few miles below the Wolf, Mr. Stretch
left us, and we parted from our kind host with regret - he to return to
his cattle, and we to the task of laying bare the richness (we hoped) or
the nakedness (we expected) of the untrodden land before us.
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