These Were The First Human Habitations We Had Seen Since
We Left The Village To The Westward Of Kinytakooro; Having Travelled In
The Course Of The Last Five Days Upwards Of One Hundred Miles.
Here,
after a great deal of entreaty, we were provided with huts to sleep in;
but the master of the village plainly told us that he could not give us
any provisions, as there had lately been a great scarcity in this part of
the country.
He assured us, that before they had gathered in their
present crops, the whole inhabitants of Kullo had been for twenty-nine
days without tasting corn; during which time, they supported themselves
entirely upon the yellow powder which is found in the pods of the
_nitta_, so called by the natives, a species of mimosa; and upon the
seeds of the bamboo cane, which, when properly pounded and dressed, taste
very much like rice. As our dry provisions were not yet exhausted, a
considerable quantity of kouskous was dressed for supper, and many of the
villagers were invited to take part of the repast; but they made a very
bad return for this kindness; for in the night they seized upon one of
the schoolmaster's boys, who had fallen asleep under the Bentang tree,
and carried him away. The boy fortunately awoke before he was far from
the village, and setting up a loud scream, the man who carried him put
his hand upon his mouth, and ran with him into the woods; but afterwards
understanding that he belonged to the schoolmaster, whose place of
residence is only three days' journey distant, he thought, I suppose,
that he could not retain him as a slave without the schoolmaster's
knowledge; and therefore stripped off the boy's clothes, and permitted
him to return.
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