Page:Seven Years in South Africa v2.djvu/434

 section of the sun’s disk was visible, a strange fiery glow arose about 45° above the eastern horizon, and seemed entirely to overpower the central portion of the arch of a rainbow opposite, leaving only the extremities to be seen down in the east-north-east and south-east; as the sun disappeared, the glow faded gradually away, but so remarkably that every tint in the rainbow seemed to be absorbed in the prevailing colour, and the entire arch was a gorgeous red. In the course of the next few minutes the glow reappeared, but this time only to rise about 10° above the horizon. The entire spectacle was not of long duration; the brilliancy became gradually dim, and in the course of about a quarter of an hour, the valley was shrouded in the obscurity of night.

Two of my own servants and some of Diamond’s party were here attacked by influenza, but the complaint was soon relieved by the administration of emetics. The weather was unfavourable, and brought on several relapses of my own fever, which, although I managed in various ways to alleviate them, invariably left me extremely weak and incapable of any exertion. A short time afterwards several of Diamond’s people began to sicken with typhus.

All through this dreary time, the occasional hunting-excursions were all we had to look to in the way of excitement. April, the Basuto, had the good-luck to kill a buffalo-bull, and when the flesh was brought to the camp there was a regular banquet in the evening, accompanied by singing and dancing; even the invalid negroes sucked some fragments of the half-cooked meat which they were quite unable to swallow. Diamond likewise went