84. TRAVELS IN UPPER 



As he was at that time advanced in years, this beard 

 wasof the most beautiful \vhite, as well as his whis- 

 kers ; and this colour, in contra=;t uith the ebony 

 black of the rest of his figure, produced a singular 

 effect, which was far from beipg disagreeable. 



These same Negroes follow the religion of Ma- 

 homet, but they add to it practices and superstitions 

 which are foreign to it. They go almost naked. 

 It is a luxury to wear a long shirt of gray cloth, 

 the sleeves of which are turned up under the arm- 

 pits, by which means the arm is left entirely bare. 

 They have usually several little leathern cases 

 fastened to the fold of the lelt arm. These are 

 so many pockets in which they keep money, to- 

 bacco, and other articles for daily use. To the 

 bend of the right arm is fixed a poniard, of which 

 the handle and sheath are likewise of leather. On 

 a journey they are armed besides with a long sabre, 

 the blade of which is straight and thin. They are 

 all bare-headed, and they plait and dress their 

 hair or their wool in different manners. I have 

 seen some among them whose head-dress was ar- 

 ranged in such a way as to give it a complete re- 

 semblance to those wigs v^-hich at that period 

 were denominated perruques a rAngloise. Those 

 of the Nubians who carry on commerce speak 

 Arab'c, but they have among themselves a parti- 

 cular idiom. 



The 



