m the _singret_ is employed for stopping decayed
teeth and is also rubbed over the cheek during a fit of tooth-ache to
preserve it from the air, without putting on bandages.

The Sakai makes great use of charcoal powder in his medicinal
preparations, dressing sores, wounds and the bites of animals with it.
This might make one suppose that he either knows or divines the
disinfecting properties of charcoal. He also makes it a means of defence
against the invasions of ants which change their direction when they
find the black line across their way.

The water in which a piece of charcoal, made from bitter wood, has been
for a long time infused, is according to them a first-rate remedy
against debility of the organism and coughs.

The _Ala_ wisely acting for--his own good, reserves for himself the
prerogative of mixing certain pharmaceutical specialities which make
the patient recover if the indisposition is merely a passing one, but
help to kill him if the conditions of his health are serious.

He always keeps prompt some plasters prepared from herbs, either of a
soothing or irritating nature, in case of fractures, sprains, or
dislocations caused by accidental falls.

But it is scarcely worth while to discuss the merits of these
cataplasms, for the Sakai, who is the first person interested in the
question, acknowledges and admits their healing virtues.

All the world is akin, and the much respected _Ala_ of the forest is
nothing less than an uncivilized colleague of those charlatans,
inventors of miracles, who by the sale of powders, lotions, medicinal
waters and ointments make their fortune in the midst of civilized
society, often deceiving science and common sense by means of well
placed advertisements.

One is an educated and the other an uneducated quack.

My notes finish here. They are wanting in order and art but not in
verity because above all I have dedicated this writing to the truth,
prompted by feelings of gratitude and good will towards my kind friends
the savages. I have wished to illustrate the customs and character of a
people very much calumniated, amongst whom I have found strong and
devoted friendship free from every taint of jealousy or self-interest.

Sixteen years of a tranquil, laborious life have I passed among the
Sakais and still to-day I feel a pang of home-sickness thinking of that
wonderfully fertile land and its good and simple inhabitants.

If my words have been clear to you,