188 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. 



March, and foiiiid it well kept, and divided into several sections by in- 

 ^^'^'^- terior palisades radiating from an open space in the centre. On 

 each side of the gate leading to the chief's qnarters a couple of 

 logs were placed as seats, for the convenience of persons waiting 

 an audience, and above them were about forty skulls of men 

 and half a dozen of wild beasts. 



A crowd was assembled in the village, looking at two hid- 

 eously ugly old hags dancing to the sound of large drums beat- 

 en by men. This performance was very disgusting, the prin- 

 cipal feature being a sort of convulsive trembling and twitch- 

 ing of the body and limbs, while the shriveled and wrinkled 

 breasts of the dancers shook about like a couple of empty leath- 

 er bottles. They howled a song, and at any ^particularly hard 

 shake the women standing round joined in the chorus. Their 

 dress consisted of most scanty waistcloths of bark, bunches of 

 long hair (zebra's tails) tied to their knees and elbows, and rings 

 of bells round their ankles. 



The chief sent me a little sour milk and some flour, and I 

 made him a small return, while expressing a hoije that he Mould 

 either visit me or that I might call upon him. But he refused 

 any intercourse, because, as I afterward heard, he believed me to 

 be a magician capable of stealing his little mind, and leaving him 

 a complete idiot, if given the opportunity of looking upon him. 



Here I met a young Wasuahili whose acquaintance I had 

 made at Unyanyembe. He had come to trade, ivory being 

 very cheap. A frasilah could ordinarily be bought for twelve 

 doti, but by hard bargaining he had obtained two frasilah for 

 eighteen doti. Bitterly did he complain of the high price of 

 slaves, twelve doti for a young girl, and five or six for a child 

 being, to his mind, an exorbitant price. 



Being unwilling to remain here until he had disposed of all 

 his goods, he wanted me to buy his cloth and other stores, and 

 give him a passage to TJjiji, his men being afraid of the road 

 to Unyanyembe — by which he had come — on account of its be- 

 ing infested by robbers. I did not require his cloth, but told 

 him he was welcome to a passage in my boat ; but when we 

 got away the next day we left the Wasnahili ])eliind, for his 

 Wanyamwezi porters were more afraid of the perils of the lake 

 than the danger of being attacked by banditti on shore. 



