PELTRY. 121 



which, under the name of buera, are sold at a high price, 

 and are a favourite article of dress among the chiefs, being 

 arranged as a mantle over their bark cloths. These leather 

 materials, however, are certainly not durable. Antelope skins 

 of different kinds are used more by the country people, especially 

 for bedding ; they prefer the handsomely marked skins, or 

 those with long hair, such as Tragelcvphus scriptus or Hydro- 

 tragus Spelcii. The skin of an otter (Zutra), here called ngonge, 

 which is very expensive, and only procured with great trouble, 

 is in great request among the northern Bantu. Of a dark 

 brown colour, it has a peculiarly elegant appearance, owing to 

 the snow-white tips of the hairs, especially on the back of the 

 head, the nape of the neck, and the shoulders. It is said, also, 

 that a man who wears a piece of this skin needs no other 

 aphrodisiac. Strips of the skin are formed into pretty bracelets, 

 and are also a favourite trimming for the gaily painted sandals 

 made of buffalo hide ; such bracelets and sandals are also 

 exported to the far south. The skins of Colobus guereza, which 

 is not infrequently found in Unyoro and Usoga, are also much 

 prized. The skins are black, with long white hair on the 

 back and a white tuft on the tail, and they are specially used in 

 the decoration of guitars, spear-heads, sheaths, and drums. The 

 beautiful goat-skins of Usoga, which remind one of Angora goats 

 by their long smooth hair, are likewise an article of commerce. 

 The goats from which these skins are procured receive great 

 attention, even in their own country, being protected from rain 

 and dirt, and living specimens are very unwillingly exported. 



It is generally known that there is very little salt in 

 these countries, and that the people have to procure it from 

 ashes or even from cow's urine. It is not surprising, therefore, 

 that where it does exist in this region it becomes the object 

 of an extensive and nourishing trade. This is the case with 

 the salt found at Eejaf, which is exported into the district of 

 the Bahr-el-Ghazal, and with that from the eastern shore of the 

 Albert Lake, which supplies the whole country between the 

 lakes -to a considerable distance south. The extraction of salt 

 from concentrated lye has been described by Baker ; it comes 

 into the market wrapped in banana leaves, in long packets 

 containing four to eight pounds each, and is in particular 



