226 GONDOKORO TO AGARU.

This numerical disproportion, which also prevails in other parts of the country, may explain why the women here, who are both ponderous and ugly, are not renowned for their chastity, and why the men, on the other hand, are considered very lenient to their robust helpmates.

I have already said that the interior of the village was dreadfully dirty, in contrast to the Bari villages, which are always kept scrupulously clean within, although their environments are very dirty. Hundreds of rats and mice infest the huts. The latter are built upon round substructures, about four and a half feet high, which are usually calked and overlaid with mud, ‘The huts are surmounted by bell-shaped roofs (sometimes peaked), which project considerably over the substructures. A small doorway is left open, about two and a_ half feet high, which must, of course, be entered on all fours. The interior is kept fairly clean, but is quite dark. The thatch is generally made of grass; many huts are covered with split leaves of the doléb palm, which are more durable and compact—a very desirable quality for withstanding tropical rain.

Sheep and. goats are the only domestic animals kept here; the former are long-legged and of a superior breed. Curiously enough, I saw no dogs. Agriculture, as is usual among hunting tribes, is rather neglected, although the soil is excellent, and the soldiers grow durrah, maize, ground-nuts, and splendid water-melons.

I saw six little ostriches the size of turkeys running about loose. ‘They were hatched by the sun at our station from eggs buried in the sand. I was told that these birds are very numerous. Snakes appear to enjoy the sandy soil at Okkela, for a considerable number of different species are found there, chiefly adders, among which are several new kinds. Poisonous snakes sometimes make their way into the huts. One of them, a kind of Hchis, is very common, and much dreaded.

Okkela is a paradise for the collector. The belt of wood round the Negro village is full of treasures. I shall never forget the pleasure of half an hour which I spent there. The white dorsal mane and tail-tuft of Colobus guereza, gleamed through the dark foliage, small families of them being led by white-bearded old males, which gazed fearlessly at the