THE CUPPING HORN. 523 



" The people seem to have no family names. A man takes the 

 name of his mother, or should his father die he may assume 

 that. Marriage is forbidden to the first, second, and third 

 degrees : they call first and second cousins brothers and sisters." 



Among the customs which approach nearest the arts of civil- 

 ized life the doctor mentions the cupping of the temples for 

 sore eyes. Having no such appliances as we consider almost 

 essential, and untaught as they are in the philosophical princi- 

 ples underlying it, these rude people have been aided by their 

 remarkable ingenuity in devising the practical counterpart of 

 our more elegant cups. In their process "a goat's horn is used 

 with a small hole in the pointed end ; the base is applied to the 

 part from which the blood is to be drawn, and the operator, 

 with a small piece of chewed India-rubber in his mouth, ex- 

 hausts the air, and at the proper moment plasters the hole up 

 with his tongue. When the cupping horn is removed, some 

 cuts are made with a small knife and it is again applied." It 

 may seem a rough appliance, as indeed it is, but it serves the 

 purpose and is in great repute all through the country. Like 

 everything else in the country, however, this has its attending 

 superstition ; a mother who thus extracts the blood from her 

 child may be seen immediately sprinkling those precious drops, 

 as a charm, over the roof of her hut. Charms were in universal 

 use, over doors and gateways, everywhere that they could be 

 thought of. 



But, although Livingstone was a man who could find some- 

 thing of interest in almost everything and everybody, the time 

 hung very heavily on his hands. He lost no opportunity to 

 seek information about the surrounding country from Arabs 

 and natives, but they could give but little satisfaction ; they 

 were too ignorant to even notice more than forced itself on 

 their observation by the difficulties or convenience of travelling. 



The intercourse of the Arabs, who were themselves blacks, 

 was that of equals with the natives ; they bought and sold and 

 married, came and went, formed alliances or made wars, just 

 like the heathen they were with. But they were respected 

 because they brought goods and carried guns. And so far it 

 was a thing to be glad of, that Livingstone had their protection 

 under the circumstances; and they were in constant intercourse 



