All Keep
Talking And Shouting At The Utmost Pitch Of Their Voices.
Sometimes
two or three, regardless of all laws, seize the same piece of meat,
and have a brief fight of words over it.
Occasionally an agonized
yell bursts forth, and a native emerges out of the moving mass of
dead elephant and wriggling humanity, with his hand badly cut by the
spear of his excited friend and neighbour: this requires a rag and
some soothing words to prevent bad blood. In an incredibly short
time tons of meat are cut up, and placed in separate heaps around.
Sandia arrived soon after the beast was divided: he is an elderly
man, and wears a wig made of "ife" fibre (sanseviera) dyed black, and
of a fine glossy appearance. This plant is allied to the aloes, and
its thick fleshy leaves, in shape somewhat like our sedges, when
bruised yield much fine strong fibre, which is made into ropes, nets,
and wigs. It takes dyes readily, and the fibre might form a good
article of commerce. "Ife" wigs, as we afterwards saw, are not
uncommon in this country, though perhaps not so common as hair wigs
at home. Sandia's mosamela, or small carved wooden pillow, exactly
resembling the ancient Egyptian one, was hung from the back of his
neck; this pillow and a sleeping mat are usually carried by natives
when on hunting excursions.
We had the elephant's fore-foot cooked for ourselves, in native
fashion. A large hole was dug in the ground, in which a fire was
made; and, when the inside was thoroughly heated, the entire foot was
placed in it, and covered over with the hot ashes and soil; another
fire was made above the whole, and kept burning all night. We had
the foot thus cooked for breakfast next morning, and found it
delicious. It is a whitish mass, slightly gelatinous, and sweet,
like marrow. A long march, to prevent biliousness, is a wise
precaution after a meal of elephant's foot. Elephant's trunk and
tongue are also good, and, after long simmering, much resemble the
hump of a buffalo and the tongue of an ox; but all the other meat is
tough, and, from its peculiar flavour, only to be eaten by a hungry
man. The quantities of meat our men devour is quite astounding.
They boil as much as their pots will hold, and eat till it becomes
physically impossible for them to stow away any more. An uproarious
dance follows, accompanied with stentorian song; and as soon as they
have shaken their first course down, and washed off the sweat and
dust of the after performance, they go to work to roast more: a
short snatch of sleep succeeds, and they are up and at it again; all
night long it is boil and eat, roast and devour, with a few brief
interludes of sleep. Like other carnivora, these men can endure
hunger for a much longer period than the mere porridge-eating tribes.
Our men can cook meat as well as any reasonable traveller could
desire; and, boiled in earthen pots, like Indian chatties, it tastes
much better than when cooked in iron ones.
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