ed gold thrust into his belt. Diamonds
also now came in evidence, a few of the women wearing the rough, uncut
stones set in gold, as necklaces, in their belts, or as adjuncts to
their coronets. And now, too, for the first time, I had an opportunity
to see the kind of vehicle in general use among the Bandokolo, this
consisting of a rough kind of sleigh, usually drawn by a single
elephant, although I encountered, here and there, sleighs big enough to
need, when fully loaded, two elephants to draw them. The horse was a
hitherto unknown beast among them, and it was amusing to note the wonder
and admiration which my animals excited among the people as we passed.
But they had contrived completely to domesticate the zebra, which seemed
to be quite common among them, although it was used exclusively as a
saddle animal.

Up to the present I had been afforded no opportunity to view the
interior of the rock dwellings of this extraordinary people; but as we
drew ever nearer to the capital I could not help feeling impressed by
the increasing elaboration of the decoration of the entrances, and the
high degree of artistic taste displayed. Some of the dwellings, indeed,
seemed to be wholly artificial, that is to say, the owner appeared to
have chosen a particular spot on the face of the living rock, and,
attacking it, had begun work by hewing out first the entrance--which was
usually rectangular in shape, ornamented with columns supporting a
sculptured pediment--and thence proceeding to excavate inward as many
apartments as were needed for the accommodation of his family. Such a
structure would, if executed by the members of the family alone, require
many years of continuous labour to complete; but Pousa informed me that
the usual practice was for a young man to start his house as soon as he
attained the age of two hundred and thirty-four moons (eighteen years),
leaving the exterior ornamentation quite rough, to be completed at his
leisure, and, hewing out a central passage, to employ others to help him
in excavating the interior apartments, adding to their number from time
to time as the need for them arose.

About mid-afternoon on the eleventh day after Pousa and his detachment
had taken charge of us, we reached the city of Masakisale, the capital
of Bandokolo; and after what has already been said with regard to this
remarkable people, the reader will not be surprised to learn that it was
far and away the most extraordinary cit