46 UGANDA AND THE EGYPTIAN SOUDAN.

usually employ in getting a second breakfast, and the negroes in smoking, the march is resumed ; and unless an unusually long one, no further halt is made till the camp is reached. Arrived at the place where it is intended to pass the night, a spot is chosen near the water supply, tents are pitched, the goods are piled under a tree or in the property tent, and, if in a district where wild beasts are common, a boma or ring fence of thorns is constructed round the camp. As soon as this is completed, the niamparas of the caravan collect round the tent with the cry of " Posho, Bwana" (" Rations, master"), a bale of calico is brought, and the quantities of cloth, or beads, if in a district where these are used, are measured out. A book is kept in which are entered the names of the niamparas of the caravan, with the number of men each has under him, and the cloth is issued accordingly. The cloth used for purchasing food is of three kinds, merikani or unbleached calico sheeting ; satini, an inferior quality of the same material, and kaniki, a flimsy blue material made in India. The cloth is generally measured by the length of the forearm from the elbow to the tip of the middle ringer ; a rather unfair and arbitrary mode of measuring, as the length of the arm varies considerably in different people, and I have known natives when selling cattle and other things to bring some " big brother " with an abnormally long arm to measure their cloth for them. Each of these arms or cubits is called a