388 JOURNEY TO CENTRAL AFRICA.

thenceforth more friendly. They looked at me with curiosity, but without ill-will, and I could see that my dress interested them much more than my person. Finally we reached the village, which contained about one hundred tokuls of straw, built in a circular form, with conical roofs. They were arranged so as to inclose a space in the centre, which was evidently intended as a fold for their sheep, as it was further protected by a fence of thorns. G-uards were stationed at intervals of about twenty yards, along the side fronting the river, each leaning back against his spear, with one of his legs drawn up, so that the foot rested against the opposite knee. At the principal entrance of the village, opposite which I counted twenty-seven canoes drawn up against the shore, we made halt, and the shekh ordered a seat to be brought. An angareh, the frame of which was covered with a net-work of hippopotamus thongs, was placed in the shade of a majestic mimosa tree, and the shekh and I took our seats. Another angareb was brought and placed behind us, for our respective viziers. The warriors all laid aside their spears and sat on the ground, forming a semicircle in front of us. A swarm of naked boys, from eight to twelve years of age, crept dodging behind the trees till they reached a convenient place in the rear, where they watched mo curiously, but drew back in alarm whenever I turned my head.

The village was entirely deserted of its inhabitants, every one having come to behold the strange Sultan. The females kept at a distance at first, but gradually a few were so far overcome by their curiosity that they approached near enough for me to observe them closely. They were nude, except a small piece of sheepskin around the loins, and in their forms were not very easy to distinguish from th) men, having flat, masculine breasts