hrown in when the rain begins, and
nothing more is done till the grain is ripe for the sickle, when it is
gathered in. It is collected under small sheds made of matting, and
eaten as it is wanted. The cattle are mostly driven to graze and to
water, and this is all the attention they require. The cotton furnishes
a scanty clothing, deemed sufficient; all the children go naked till
they are ten years old, or only wear a piece of cotton, leather, or a
skin round their loins. The men of some consequence buy a tobe brought
from Kanou or Niffee; the women purchase a few beads and other ornaments
with their fowls or ghaseb. The bowls or household utensils are made
from gourds, in shape like a cucumber, but straight, with a knob at the
end; they are slit in two, and thus form two spoons, the concave head of
the gourd serving as the bowl, the other part as the handle. These
calabashes, some of which are pretty, are hung up within the huts as
ornaments. On peeping into these huts, nothing is seen but these said
calabashes, except the strings or nets by which they are suspended on
the sides of the huts. As you enter there is always a partition-wall on
your right hand, and a round entrance at the further end of the hut to
this part, partitioned off. This space, so divided off, is the
sleeping-place, where there is a raised bench of mud, or a bedstead made
of cane or wickers. A few utensils for culture, an axe and a hoe, may be
mentioned, all made by native blacksmiths, of the rudest description.
Iron is found in the native rocks of Soudan, and is not imported. The
greatest skill of the African blacksmith is, alas! shown in forging the
manacles for slaves. I must mention that many of the huts have walls of
clay, and roofs only of thatch or matting. The grain-stacks are also
raised a foot or two from the ground, on stakes, to prevent the ghaseb
getting wet during the rainy season. Thus it is that these children of
Africa live a life of simplicity little above pure savages, and I may
add, a life of comparative idleness, and perhaps happiness, in their
point of view.

Yesterday our Kashalla made a move to say his prayers. He was surrounded
by the people who came with him from Zinder and Bornou, and the
inhabitants of Dairmu. He prayed, but prayed alone, none following his
example! It is quite clear that all the black population hereabouts are
only nominal Muslims, and remain in heart pure Hazna, or pagans. Those
who do pray, pray very