Chapter ILL 
construction is most ingenious. A number of slight rods or 
flexible canes are stuck into the earth in a circle. Their upper 
ends are bent so as to meet in the middle and interwoven 
so as to form a dome. Upon this are placed bundles of grass 
disposed in such a manner as to leave a narrow opening for the 
entrance. Thus in less than a quarter of an hour a vast grassy 
plain is transformed into a considerable village. While the 
work proceeds, there arrive from the neighbouring villages long 
files of women and old men carrying on their heads parcels of 
WRESTLING MATCH AMONG THE PORTERS. 
fruit and of sweet potatoes wrapped in plantain leaves. 
Swarms of naked children accompany them. The tiny ones 
are carried on their mothers’ backs in a fold of their garment. 
In this way the caravan lives entirely on food supplied by the 
population of the regions crossed. 
In the meantime the Duke would receive a visit of 
ceremony from some chieftain, whose arrival in camp, attended 
with the pomp befitting bis dignity, had been heralded by 
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