SLAVE-CHILDREN. 227 



calahm, I was obliged to call out to him to go 

 away, which I did, in a tone that he understood 

 very well to be intended as a warning ; and he and 

 his three or four friends accordingly got up, and 

 retired to their own Kafilah. 



During the afternoon of to-day, whilst I sat 

 with Lohitu at the ruined kraal, I could not 

 help observing the innocent curiosity, not un- 

 mixed with fear, with which the little slave- 

 girls came to have a peep at me. Lohitu 

 himself could not resist smiling, at the occa- 

 sional hasty retreat of those who happened to 

 come near me, before they were aware of their 

 situation. They were employed in collecting for 

 fuel, dried camel's dung, and the little rotten sticks 

 that had floated with the last rains into the plain. 

 Their ages varied from eight to fourteen years. 

 I saw no slaves in this Kafilah who exceeded those 

 years, and I was given to understand that most 

 of them were Gurague Christians. A few boys 

 were also to be seen amongst them who ran 

 stark naked ; or else with only a bit of old ragged 

 cloth, tied by the two ends under the chin, and 

 hanging behind upon their neck and shoulders. 

 The girls wore a chemise of the same dirty 

 description, gathered around the waist by a piece 

 of plaited or twisted palm-leaf rope. They were, 

 without exception, most interesting and sharp- 

 looking little things, and did not appear to be 



Q 2 



