IN THE JUNGLE 



family, and we had to confess that they "saw" 

 N'Zahgi's outfit of ornaments and "raised" him 

 beyond the ceiling. We gave them each in turn the 

 handshake of ceremony, first with the palms as we 

 do it, and then each grasping the other's upright 

 thumb. The "little chiefs" were proud, aristocratic 

 little fellows, holding themselves very straight and 

 solemn. I think one would have known them for 

 royalty anywhere. 



It was quite a social occasion. None of our guests 

 was in the least ill at ease; in fact, the young ladies 

 were quite coy and flirtatious. We had a great 

 many jokes. Each of the little ladies received a 

 handful of prevailing beads. M'booley smiled 

 benignly at these delightful femininities. After 

 a time he led us to the edge of the hill and showed us 

 his houses across the canon, perched on a flat about 

 halfway up the wall. They were of the usual grass- 

 thatched construction, but rather larger and neater 

 than most. Examining them through the glasses 

 we saw that a little stream had been diverted to flow 

 through the front yard. M'booley waved his hand 

 abroad and gave us to understand that he considered 

 the outlook worth looking at. It was ; but an appre- 

 ciation of that fact is foreign to the average native. 

 Next morning, when we rode by very early, we found 

 the little flat most attractively cleared and arranged, 



259 



