234 THE FOOD AND CLIMATE OF UGANDA. 
The skins of small antelope, made white and soft as 
kid, are put together so well that the sewing with 
banana or aloe fibre is scarcely observed. They have 
not attained the art of the brazier. The habits of the 
people are so simple, that the fresh green leaf of the 
banana serves them as a plate. Wine they drink out 
of a corner of their cow-skin coverings ; shoes, hats, 
and gloves they have not yet obtained ; and a strip 
from a reed is their knife, as we have often seen when 
the palace guards were at their excellent meal of good 
boiled beef, mashed plantain, and wine. Their dinner 
was a strange good-humoured scramble, the strongest 
keeping meat from the weakest by snatching it away 
or tossing it about. They are excellent cooks, cutting 
butcher-meat up into very neat joints, wrapping them 
with fresh plantain leaves, and boiling all in a large 
earthen pot full of plantain, to which, by this process, 
a rich flavour is added. Our Seedees missed many 
a good dinner by not partaking of this fare, on 
account of their profession as Mussulmans. They 
could not eat plantain that had been boiled with 
unlawful meat. 
Lightning was said to be very much dreaded at 
Uganda, but no cases of death occurred from it during 
our stay. One of the king's houses was burnt down, 
the accident causing a great commotion, because on 
the occurrence of such a calamity it is every one's 
duty to render aid. We did not call that day (the 
30th June), because an interview would have been 
impossible. The storm had commenced by rain at 
1 p.m. ; during a lull we had thunder, lightning, and 
hail ; by 5 p.m. all had cleared away, and .82 inch 
of rain had fallen. During June, misty showers fell 
