In Afric’s Forest and Jungle 
the prosperous a tobe , a loose robe, generally of 
white material, takes the place of the shoulder- 
cloth. This garment is gracefully worn and is 
often very beautifully embroidered. Cotton is 
the material out of which the clothing of the 
masses is made; but on state occasions, the 
rulers and rich men appear in garments of silk 
and silk-velvet. Through foreign merchants, 
these men obtain from Europe whatever they 
fancy, especially costly cloths and choice liquors. 
Woolly heads are never seen among the men, 
who shave not only the face, but also the head 
and even the eyebrows and nostrils. Some leave 
a strip of hair from the forehead over the head 
to the back of the neck. Others leave little 
patches as marks of devotion to some particular 
deity, but such patches are concealed by the 
tight-fitting cloth cap or the turban. After a man 
has made a visit to a barber shop, his head and 
his face shine alike and, if he should have on a 
spotless tobe and turban, he makes quite a pre¬ 
sentable appearance. Their tribal and family 
marks, however, often are so deep and numer¬ 
ous that they greatly disfigure faces that would 
have been otherwise good looking. These tell¬ 
tale marks on the face make it quite impossible 
for strangers to conceal their identity and slaves 
3Q 
