198 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. Chap. XLIV. 
foreign garment, all the others having their loins 
girt with a leather apron. In order to keep them- 
selves on horseback, they have recourse to a most 
barbarous expedient. They make a broad open 
wound on the back of their small sturdy ponies, in 
order to keep their seat ; and when they want to 
ride at full speed, they often scratch or cut their 
legs in order to glue themselves to the horse's flanks 
by means of the blood which oozes from the wounds : 
* 
for as I have stated above, they have neither saddle, 
stirrups, nor bridle, and they use nothing but a sim- 
ple rope to guide their animals. They generally carry 
only one spear, but several " goliy6 "s or hand-bills, 
the latter being evidently their best weapon, not only 
in close fight, but even at a distance, as they are very 
expert in throwing this sharp and double-pointed iron 
sideways, and frequently inflict severe wounds on 
the legs of horses as well as of men. Some of their 
chiefs protect their persons with a strong doublet 
made of buffalo's hide, with the hair inside.* 
Tuesday This was the last day's march which 
Dec 30th. our expedition was to make towards the 
south, or rather south-east. For the first ten or 
eleven miles we kept through dense forest, the thick 
covert of which rendered it difficult for us to make 
our way, while the restless and vicious Bornu horses, 
crowded together and hemmed in by the thicket, 
* A chief dressed in this manner is represented in Plate No. 
30. 
