28o Wanderings in Eastern Africa, 
On the flesh of the animals slain the hunters subsist ; 
and with the proceeds of ivory, horn, etc., after they 
have paid the Gallas their tribute, they purchase 
clothing, ornaments, etc. Like the Gallas, they live 
almost entirely on flesh meat, but the woods supply 
them with a few other things to vary a little their 
bill of fare, viz., wild-honey, wild-fruits, etc. They pro- 
cure from the Wapokomo the much-loved tobacco, 
as indispensable to them as their water and meat. 
To purchase the former they would often willingly 
dispense with the latter. Tobacco has a powerful 
hold on the tastes of all East Africans. Doubt- 
less it often enables them to forget the hardness of 
their lot. 
The Wasania dress like their superiors, that is, in 
the lemale toga and calico loin-cloth, when they can 
get it ; but otherwise they have to be content vnth 
skins. The men generally secure cloth, while women 
and children are condemned to dress in the less 
civilized and doubtless more uncomfortable garb. 
Of their social condition but little can be said. 
They have, however, a singular method of arranging 
their matrimonial affairs. They are so poor that they 
cannot afford to pay for their wives, as most Africans 
do, and they have another plan. A young man ascends 
the mkorma tree, plucks a few pieces of its fruit, 
watches his opportunity, and presents them to the 
person he wishes to marry. The presentation is 
regarded as an offer of marriage, which the female 
must not be too eager to accept. She must there- 
fore leave her wooer, and run as fast as she can to 
her father s hut. The young man, if he is in earnest, 
follows her ; if he catches her before she reaches her 
