THE BIG GAME OF AFRICA 



nothing but eat and sleep, and, besides that, get his " fill " 

 of " tembo," the Swahili name for the native palm wine, 

 which is very intoxicating. 



This palm wine is extracted in a most ingenious man- 

 ner from the flower stalks of the cocoanut tree in the fol- 

 lowing way: As soon as a cocoanut tree is about to burst 

 out with blossoms, they cut off the top of the flower stalk, 

 and, with the help of the fibers, gourds are tied over the 

 stalk and so fixed that the juice, which otherwise would 

 produce the cocoanut, is forced to run into the gourds. 

 These are then emptied as soon as they are full. A strong 

 tree with several flower stalks will probably produce about 

 two or three quarts a day. The contents of the gourds, 

 when filled with this delicious, sweet sap, are then put 

 away to ferment in the heat, and thus a very strong in- 

 toxicant is prepared. The beverage is exceedingly cheap, 

 and, alas ! only too much used by the natives. 



The Swahilis are agriculturists, fishermen, common 

 laborers, and caravan porters; they also raise poultry, 

 partly for their own use and partly for trading purposes ; 

 but very few of them have energy and pluck enough to 

 become merchants of any importance, like the Arabs and 

 Hindoos. 



When the young man wants to marry he has to buy 

 his bride from her parents for sums ranging from five to 

 one hundred dollars, according to her beauty and " station 

 in life." A man is allowed to keep several wives, if he can 

 afford to do so, for the government does not interfere in 

 this respect, as the Mohammedan religion allows its fol- 

 lowers to live in polygamy. It must be said, however, that 

 plural marriages among the Swahili are not as common 



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