344 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. Chap. XL VIII. 
the same man who on our arrival had refused us 
hospitality, for, as he was sick and wanted a cooling 
medicine, I found the common remedies with which 
I was provided too weak for his herculean frame, 
till at length, with a dose of half a dozen ounces of 
Epsom salts, mixed up with three or four drachms of 
worm-powder, I succeeded in making him acknow- 
ledge the efficacy of my medicines. 
In general the Bagirmi people are much better 
made than the Bornu, the men excelling them in 
size, as well as in muscular strength, as they do also 
in courage and energy of mind, while the women are 
far superior. The Bagirmi females in general are 
very well made, taller and less square than the 
ugly Bornu women, but with beautifully-proportioned 
limbs, while their features have a great deal of regu- 
larity and a pleasing expression; some of them might 
even be called handsome, with their large dark beau- 
tiful eyes. The broad nostrils of the Bornu females, 
which are still more disfigured by the ugly coral on 
the left side of the nose, are entirely foreign to them. 
While the Bornu females in general endeavour only 
to excel by the quantity of fat or butter which they 
put upon their hair, the Bagirmi women bestow con- 
siderable care upon its arrangement ; and the way in 
which they wear it, imitating exactly the shape of 
the crest of a helmet, is very becoming, as it har- 
monizes exceedingly well with their tall and well- 
proportioned figures. It is therefore not without 
reason that the Bagirmi females are celebrated over 
