96 
AFRICA AND ITS EXPLORATION. 
is sold in ringlets or twisted leaves ; it is never snuffed, 
and the only chaw is the Makazo or Kola nut which 
grows all over these hills ; of these I bought 200 for 
1.00 coloured porcelain beads, probably paying treble 
the usual price. No food is eaten at dawn, a bad 
practice, which has extended to the Brazil and the 
Argentine Republic ; but if a dram be procurable it 
is taken “por la mafiana.” The slave-women, often 
escorted by one of the wives, and accompanied by the 
small girls, who must learn to work whilst their brothers 
are idling with their rattles, set out with water-pots 
balanced on their Astrachan wool, or with baskets for 
grain and firewood slung by a head-strap to the back. 
The free-born remain at home, bathing and anointing 
with palm-oil, which renders the skin smooth and supple, 
but leaves a peculiar aroma ; they are mostly cross 
enough till they have thoroughly shaken off' sleep, and 
the morning generally begins with scolding the slaves or 
a family wrangle. I have seen something of the kind in 
Europe. 
Visiting, chatting, and strolling from place to place, 
lead to the substantial breakfast or first dinner between 
9 and 10 a.m. Meat rarely appears ; river fish, fresh 
or sun-dried, is the usual “ kitchen,” eaten with manioc, 
toasted maize, and peeled, roasted, and scraped plantain : 
vegetables and palm-oil obtained by squeezing the nut 
in the hands, are the staple dish, and beans are looked 
upon rather as slaves’ food. They have no rice and no 
form of “ daily bread : ” I happened to take with me a 
few boxes of “ twice-baked,” and this Mbolo was the 
object of every chiefs ambition. “ Coleworts ” are 
noticed by Merolla as a missionary importation ; he tells 
us that they produce no seed ; and are propagated by 
planting the sprouts, which grow to a great height. 
The greens, cabbages, spinach, and French beans, men- 
tioned by Tuckey, have been allowed to die out. Tea, 
coffee, sugar, and all such exotics, are unappreciated, if 
not unknown ; chillies, which grow wild, enter into 
every dish, and the salt of native manufacture, brown 
and earthy, is bought in little baskets. 
