212 Life at Banza Nokki. 
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 manana.” 
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 : vege¬ 
tables 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 breadI 
happened to take with me a few boxes of “ twice- 
