During a
journey, a pretty, bottle-shaped, long-necked gourd is carried with a
store of plantain cider: the mouth of the bottle is stopped with a
bundle of the white rush shreds, through which a reed is inserted that
reaches to the bottom: thus the drink can be sucked up during the march
without the necessity of halting; nor is it possible to spill it by the
movement of walking.
"The natives prepare the skins of goats very beautifully, making them as
soft as chamois leather; these they cut into squares, and sew together
as neatly as would be effected by a European tailor, converting them
into mantles which are prized far more highly than bark cloth, on
account of their durability: they manufacture their own needles, not by
boring the eye, but by sharpening the end into a fine point and turning
it over, the extremity being hammered into a small cut in the body of
the needle to prevent it from catching.
"Clothes of all kinds are in great demand here, and would be accepted to
any amount in exchange for ivory. Beads are extremely valuable, and
would purchase ivory in large quantities, but the country would, in a
few years, become overstocked. Clothes being perishable articles would
always be in demand to supply those worn out; but beads, being
imperishable, very soon glut the market.
