74 
DESTITUTION OF THE NATIVES. 
[chap. I. 
nothing is left even for a fly to feed upon, when an 
animal either dies a natural death, or is killed. I 
never pitied poor creatures more than these utterly 
destitute savages; their method of returning thanks 
is by holding your hand and affecting to spit upon it; 
which operation they do not actually perform, as I have 
THE BOYS WHO HAVE BEGGED. 
seen stated in works upon the White Nile. Their 
domestic arrangements are peculiar. Polygamy is of 
course allowed, as in all other hot climates and savage 
countries; but when a man becomes too old to pay 
sufficient attention to his numerous young wives, the 
eldest son takes the place of his father and becomes 
his substitute. To every herd of cattle there is a 
