Narrative of an expedition of exploration in north-western Australia / by Herbert Basedown.

  • Herbert Basedow
Date:
1918
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Narrative of an expedition of exploration in north-western Australia / by Herbert Basedown. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    19/280 (page 113)
    We soon adopted the local mode of dress, which meant discarding all but pants and singlet. With the least exertion the perpiration simply ran from all the pores, the clothes became sopping wet, and the moisture could be wrung from them as though they had left the washing (tub. To mop the honest sweat, the residents find an ordinary handkerchief totally inadequate; they favour a small porous towel resembling that used by firemen, engineers and others. To soothe a parching throat and keep the human system’s sap in equilibrium, the only drinks the town supplied were theoretically “cooled” by hanging in the canvas bag; in practice they were not appreciably below the atmospheric temperature. On Saturday, not long after we had left the luncheon table, Mr. Sanders caused me some anxiety. He was overcome by heat exhaustion. Although his face had been unusually pale throughout the morning, the pros¬ tration overtook him suddenly. As he lay on his bed in a semi-conscious state, he complained of rumbling noises in his ears, and in a slight delirium muttered mor¬ bid presentiments. His pulse was feeble and rapid, and a stimulant was necessary. When he rallied I adminis¬ tered quinine and brandy. His convalescence was rapid. Talking of the use of quinine, I might mention that when travelling in the tropics I always take a 2- grain tabloid daily as a general tonic, and a prophylactic against malaria if the anopheles is about. A pinch of the powder, moreover, placed upon the tongue at about 11 o’clock in the morning is an effective “appetizer” under the trying conditions. I was interested to note that Dr. Elliot dispenses the drug in the form of War- jburg’s Tincture, which in other tropical countries has a good reputation, not only in the treatment of malarial fevers, but also in the accompanying nervous complica¬ tions, exhaustion and collapse. It must be admitted that, from a scenic point of view, Derby is rather attractive. Trees always lend charm to a spot, and Derby certainly has some very beautiful boababs (Adansonia Gregorii), “wooden pears” {X yJomelun Occident ale), red-flowering BauMnias, and other trees growing in the streets, and the immediate surroundings. The houses are all built after the bungalow pattern, with open ceilings and high, spacious verandahs. The ubiquitous galvanised