17 
i?. Schomburgk^ Dr. Phil. 
undone, or the seeds and beads taken off, tb e guest will arrive. 
The chief himself, who invites, to prevent any mistake, retains 
also a thread, and observes the same procedure. 
What a lively spectacle did the breaking day present to 
us. The first glance towards the open huts showed us that 
more than half of the inhabitants of the settlement were busy 
making their toilette. Mothers painted their offspring, and 
I was especially amused by the little impatient boys, who 
showed by every look that the operation robbed them of too 
much time, which they mi2:ht have spent with their playmates 
already running about in front of the huts, and it was only 
the short and strict call of admonition of their mother which 
could make them stand still for a minute. At last, the 
tormenting minutes had passed, and followed by the approving 
looks of the proud mother, they run to their playmates. 
A pretty little girl had to pacify another impatient creature, 
namely, her pet monkey, which was unwilling to have the 
stripes made on his face, as her brother was when the 
mother painted his, which the sister tried to copy on the 
monkey's visage, and the monkey tried to prevent "by droll 
bites and trampling. What wonder that these loud and short 
exclamations uttered by the mother, had to be repeated ten 
times oftener by the little girl. At last, the difiicult task 
of painting was accomplished, some strings of glass beads 
finished the dress of the impatient animal. 
The older girls smoothed and anointed their luxuriant black 
hair before small looking-glasses which they had exchanged, 
while the men were sitting in their hammocks combing their 
hair, the wives kneeling before them and painting their feet 
up to the ankles with red color, which gave the feet the ap- 
pearance as if they had red buskins on. Other groups of 
girls again strung the glass beads, which we had presented 
them, on threads to wear round their necks. Old mothers 
tripped from one pot to the other, tasted the beverage, covered 
it closer with leaves, while others increased the supply of 
cassava bread, or cleaned and put to the fire the vension 
which had to be prepared for the guests. 
The first rays of the sun saw the chieftain already in his 
complete vestments. He was sitting on a low stool before 
his hut dressed in a colored shirt, white pantaloons, his head 
covered with a military cap, and conversing with Clementy, 
who was sitting next to him ; he was dressed in his blue 
dresS'Coat, the collar of the same standing up, covering nearly 
B 
