8o UNDER THE AFRICAN SUN 



A family group in Usoga includes a goodly number. The 

 bountiful food supply bestowed by Nature's inexhaustible 

 wealth banishes want and all its attendant miseries, and en- 

 ables man to provide liberally for his numerous offspring. 



They appear to be a happy and contented race, judging 

 from the festive tom-tom and the shrill reed-pipe, which pro- 

 claim that a merry-making is taking place in the straggling 

 hamlet. In one of their villages I came upon a huge drum. 

 It reached to the shoulders of a tall woman standing by it 

 with a baby in her arms. It was carved out of a solid block 

 of wood from some gigantic tree. It narrowed towards the 

 base, the diameter of which was less than half that of the 

 upper surface. It was covered with cow-hide, and held to- 

 gether by twisted strips of leather. The Soudanese mutineers 

 had passed this way, and finding the drum too unwieldy to 

 carry off, they had driven their knives through the top leather 

 and had ripped the upper covering open. 



The Usoga hut has neither the mud wall nor the verandah of 

 the Kavirondo hut. It is bee-hive in form, and the grass thatch 

 reaches right down to the ground. It is usually very lofty, but 

 the available space inside is considerably diminished by the many 

 props and poles for supporting the roof. 



As soon as a caravan has camped, the chief or headman will 

 call on the caravan leader to ascertain how many loads of food 

 are wanted. The food is supplied gratis ; a small present in 

 cloth is handed to the chief, not in payment, but in recognition 

 of the courtesy ; it is the African mode of showing friendship. 

 The food of the Wasoga consists almost exclusively of green 

 bananas, either roasted in the fire or boiled with the peel left 

 on, or lirst peeled and then boiled and mashed. The Usoga 

 banana plantations are very extensive, and nestle among the 

 tall trees. 



There is scarcely anv other fruit to be had in the country 

 except ripe bananas. But for this exception, Usoga is the 

 nearest approach to what the imagination pictures the Garden 

 of Eden to have been. The great tropical heat is mellowed by 

 the leafy shade of the trees into a luxurious comfort. The 

 dead branches supply more firewood than necessary. The 

 banana plantation provides food throughout all the seasons ; 

 and thus it is harvest-time all the year round. The banana- 

 tree yields its fruit only once, and then dies ; but it provides 



