KABREGA'S CAPITAL. 81 



The huts of Kabrega's capital are grouped in threes and 

 fours, surrounded by straw fences, and hidden away in banana 

 woods and in depressions of the ground ; but being scattered 

 about in large groups, they cover a great extent of ground ; 

 there may be, perhaps, more than a thousand of them. All 

 are built in the hemispherical form typical of Unyoro ; most 

 of them have two rooms and high doors with porches. Only 

 Kabrega and his principal chiefs possess large zeribas. The 

 whole settlement shows signs of incompleteness, but Kabrega 

 has only lived here since the occupation of the station Londii 

 by our soldiers. There are at present no fields in the neigh- 

 bourhood. Here and there between the filthy huts small markets 

 are established, where flour, salt, coffee-berries — which are very 

 dear — and meat are the current articles, to which are added 

 sheep, goats, cows (rarely), bark cloth, spears, tobacco, beans, 

 and butter neatly wrapped in banana-leaves. Simbi (cowries) 

 serve as money. They are strung together, ioo on each 

 string, and 500 are equivalent in value to about three and 

 sixpence. A very small basketful of flour costs ten simbi ; 

 meat is sold by the piece, the slaughterer to whom the beast 

 belonged fixing the price. Sheep, which here are lean, and 

 goats cost 1400 simbi each ; an ox 4500 to 5000 simbi. 



Some five or six smithies are scattered about the village, 

 each employing four or five workmen. I have described else- 

 where the fireplace, bellows, and pipe. A large flat stone, with 

 a smooth even surface, driven into the ground, serves as an 

 anvil ; a solid piece of iron, one end of which is beaten into 

 the form of a handle, does service as a hammer. There are, 

 too, gourd-bowls filled with water to temper the iron, some 

 small pitchers for melting copper and brass, and a contriv- 

 ance made of wood for wire-drawing. Native iron, copper, 

 and brass are worked into spear-heads, knives, razors, arm 

 and leg rings, and necklaces, but the workmanship is by no 

 means superior. Brass and copper come from Zanzibar 

 through Uganda. The smithies are also meeting-places for 

 all lovers of gossip. Guns are repaired by Waganda smiths, 

 who come here periodically, but they are very exorbitant, e.g., 

 demand a female slave in exchange for a gun-cock. 



The preparation of cow-hide for clothing is very simple. 



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