wife of the. chief, and her daughter; they were fa c similes
of each other, the latter having the advantage
of being the second edition. Both women and men
were extremely eager for beads of all kinds, the most
valuable being the red and blue porcelain for helmets
and the large, opalescent bead, the size of a child’s
marble.
The day after my arrival in Latooka I was accommodated
by the chief with a hut in a neat court-yard
beautifully clean and cemented with clay, ashes, ijnd
cow-dung. Not patronising the architectural advantages
of a doorway of two feet high, I pitched my
large tent in the yard and stowed all my baggage in
the hut. All being arranged, I had a large Persian
carpet spread upon the ground, and received the chief
of Latooka in state. He was introduced .by Ibrahim,
and I had the advantage of his interpreter. I commenced
the conversation by ordering a present to be
laid on the carpet of several necklaces of valuable
beads, copper bars, and coloured cotton handkerchiefs.
I t was most amusing to witness his delight at a string
of fifty little berrets (opal beads the size of marbles)
which I had brought into the country for the first time,
and were accordingly extremely valuable. No sooner
had he surveyed them with undisguised delight than
he requested me to give him another string of opals
for his wife, or she would be in a bad humour ;—accordingly
a present for the lady was added to the
already large pile of beads that lay heaped upon the
carpet before him. After surveying his treasures with
pride, he heaved a deep sigh, and turning to the interpreter
he said, “ what a row there will be in the.
“ family when my other wives see Bokke (his head wife)
“ dressed up with this finery. Tell the ‘ Mattat ’ that
“ unless he gives necklaces for each of my other wives,
“ they will fight!” Accordingly I asked him the number
of the ladies that made him anxious. He deliberately
began to count upon his fingers, and having exhausted
the digits of one hand, I compromised immediately,
begging him not to go through the whole of his establishment,
and presented him with about three pounds
of various beads, to be divided among them. He appeared
highly delighted, and declared his intention of
sending all ;his wives to pay Mrs. Baker a visit. This
was an awful visitation, as each wife would expect a
present for herself, and would assuredly have either a
child or a friend for whom she would beg an addition.
I therefore told him that the heat was so great that
we could not bear too many in the tent, but that if
Bokke, his favourite, would appear, we should be glad
to see her. Accordingly he departed, and shortly we
were honoured by a visit. Bokke and. her daughter