CHAPTER VII. 
lit ~ DRESS ."{ISI^^^ ' ■ 
The dress of the African is little better 
than none, if we except that worn by some 
of the headmen of towns, the aristocracy 
and 44 big gentlemen pass every body else," 
whose dress is passable. 
The Mohammedans commonly wear the 
Mandingo shirt, which is a loose gown with 
flowing sleeves. It makes not only a decent 
but a comfortable covering for the body in 
a tropical climate, and is decidedly superior 
to the best clothes used by the other natives. 
With them, a country cloth tied around the 
waist often forms the only article of cloth - 
ing worn by both sexes. Many of both 
sexes have nothing on their persons but a 
totranger, and young females sometimes 
have nothing but a girdle of beads fastened 
around the waist. And worse than alL 
many of the young people ( sometimes old 
ones,) are in a state of nudity. 
Children taken into the mission schools, 
18 
