CHAPTER V 



We were up with the dawn of the following day, and 

 made haste to display our supply of trading-goods in 

 the most tempting manner. These consisted of two 

 loads of heavy American sheeting, several bolts of bright 

 scarlet cotton goods, coils of iron, copper, and brass wire 

 of varying thicknesses, and a great variety of beads — 

 red, white, pink, and blue — of all sizes and shapes. 

 We felt confident that our wares would arouse the mer- 

 cantile instincts of the Wamsara ; for had not Motio 

 assured us that they were rarely visited by traders ? 

 We knew that what traders had reached these people 

 had brought with them as articles of barter only the 

 most inexpensive materials, and a limited variety of 

 even such. 



The night just passed had been very cold. Our ther- 

 mometer at sunrise registered 54 Fahrenheit. When 

 one bears in mind that the temperature at midday was 

 1 20 F., the severity of this cold may be imagined. Our 

 poor men, although they had built great fires, shivered 

 so that they had scarcely been able to sleep, covered as 

 they were with but a thin cotton sheet. It is surprising 

 what a degree of cold negroes can bear, provided they 

 are well nourished. Their thick, oily skins seem to 

 retain the natural heat of the body, when exposed to 

 variations of temperature which would prostrate a 



154 



