1867.] DESCRIPTIVE RESUME. 25Cf 



clothing ; but his people, heedless of his scolding, so pressed 

 upon us that we could not converse, and, after promising to 

 send for me to talk during the night, our interview ended. 

 He promised guides to Moero, and sent us more provisions 

 than we could carry ; but showed so much distrust, that 

 after all we went without his assistance. 



Nsama's people are particularly handsome. Many of the 

 men have as beautiful heads as one could find in an assembly 

 of Europeans. All have very fine forms, with small hands 

 and feet. None of the West-coast ugliness, from which most 

 of our ideas of the Negroes are derived, is here to be seem 

 No prognathous jaws nor lark-heels offended the sight. My 

 observations deepened the impression first obtained from 

 the remarks of Winwood Keade, that the typical Negro is 

 seen in the ancient Egyptian, and not in the ungainly forms 

 which grow up in the unhealthy swamps of the West Coast. 

 Indeed it is probable that this upland forest region is the 

 true home of the Negro. The women excited the admiration, 

 of the Arabs. They have fine, small, well-formed features :: 

 their great defect is one of fashion, which does not extend 

 to the next tribe; they file their teeth to points, the 

 hussies, and that makes their smile like that of the- 

 crocodile. 



Nsama's country is called Itawa, and his principal town 

 is in lat. 8° 55' S., and long. 29° 21' E. From the large 

 population he had under him, Itawa is in many parts well 

 cleared of trees for cultivation, and it is lower than Ulungu, 

 being generally about 3000 feet above the sea. Long lines 

 of tree-covered hills raised some 600 or 700 feet above these 

 valleys of denudation, prevent the scenery from being mono- 

 tonous. Large game is abundant. Elephants, buffaloes, 

 and zebras grazed in large numbers on the long sloping- 

 banks of a river called Chisera, a mile and a half broad. In 

 going north we crossed this river, or rather marsh, which 

 is full of papyrus plants and reeds. Our ford was an 



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