THE JOURNEY OF THE BOATS TO YO 177 



Upon the pony's rump behind her sat a Httle girl, holding 

 a calabash over the head of the bride, who was lifted down 

 at the water's edge. Then, after being disrobed and bathed 

 by her attendant maidens, she was ferried across the river 

 upon a raft of reeds and calabashes, escorted by the girls, 

 who swam alongside, carrying their clothes upon their 

 heads. On reaching the near bank she was met by the 

 bridegroom's friends, who led her to the house of the mallam, 

 close by that of the Kachella. Here the wedding ceremony 

 was performed, and then the little bridesmaid emptied the 

 calabash, now full of cowries which she had been collecting 

 from the crowd of friends and sympathisers, over the head 

 of the bride, for the priest to pick^^up] afterwards as his 

 marriage fee. Then followed a festival of drinking and dancing 

 at the house of her friends which was kept up till a late hour 

 of the night, when she was conducted to the home of her 

 husband. 



At Yo, Gosling saw a medicine man mend a compound 

 fracture of the leg. After the wound had been washed, the 

 leg was wrapped round with white cloth, then bound with 

 coarse grass and a number of thin sticks adjusted as splints. 

 The limb was then fixed to the ground with two pegs on each 

 side to prevent any movement. In a case of guinea-worm 

 in the right foot, the sufferer was made to stand with his 

 left foot against the inside of his right knee and his right 

 arm extended to balance himself. In this position he 

 drank off a large amount of liquid butter. It was said 

 that the worm would appear three days after and come out 

 entire. 



The medicine man's cure for smallpox was as follows : 



I M 



