possess of them
resemble the Egyptian type in every particular. They were tall and thin,
and of a colour which varied between brick-red and the darkest brown.
Their beards were pointed, and the hair was cut short in some instances,
while in others it was arranged in close rows of curls or in small
plaits. The costume of the men consisted of a loin-cloth only, while the
dress of the women was a yellow garment without sleeves, drawn in at the
waist and falling halfway below the knee.

The royal envoy landed under an escort of eight soldiers and an officer,
but, to prove his pacific intentions, he spread out upon a low table a
variety of presents, consisting of five bracelets two gold necklaces, a
dagger with strap and sheath complete, a battle-axe, and eleven strings
of glass beads.

[Illustration: 303.jpg A VILLAGE ON THE BANK OF THE RIVER, WITH LADDERS
OF INCENSE]

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a photograph.

The inhabitants, dazzled by the display of so many valuable objects, ran
to meet the new-comers, headed by their sheikh, and expressed a natural
astonishment at the sight of the strangers. "How is it," they exclaimed,
"that you have reached this country hitherto unknown to men? Have you
come down by way of the sky, or have you sailed on the waters of the
Tonutir Sea? You have followed the path of the sun, for as for the king
of the land of Egypt, it is not possible to elude him, and we live, yea,
we ourselves, by the breath which he gives us." The name of their chief
was Parihu, who was distinguished from his subjects by the boomerang
which he carried, and also by his dagger and necklace of beads: his
right leg, moreover, appears to have been covered with a kind of
sheath composed of rings of some yellow metal, probably gold.* He was
accompanied by his wife Ati, riding on an ass, from which she alighted
in order to gain a closer view of the strangers. She was endowed with
a type of beauty much admired by the people of Central Africa, being so
inordinately fat that the shape of her body was scarcely recognisable
under the rolls of flesh which hung down from it. Her daughter, who
appeared to be still young, gave promise of one day rivalling, if not
exceeding, her mother in size.**

* Mariette compares this kind of armour to the "dangabor" of
the Congo tribes, but the "dangabor "is worn on the arm.
Livingstone saw a woman, the sister of Sebituaneh, the
highest lady of the Sesketeh, who wo