Page:Two kings of Uganda.djvu/39

the latter do not. I imagine that they are very closely allied to the Masai tribe; for their weapons are much the same, and it is a moot point whether the Masai supply the Wagogo with the great broad-bladed spears they use, or vice versâ. The Wagogo warriors are a wild-looking set with their great spears and painted shields. Their dress consists of a bib of leather, not reaching quite to the waist; a small square of leather hangs behind, and serves as a mat to sit upon; a thong of hide round the waist, falling down at one side or behind, giving them the appearance of possessing a tail. They twist string of their own manufacture into their short woolly hair, and the ends hang down to their shoulders like long plaited hair. Both men and women frightfully distend the lobes of their ears, and the women insert a piece of wood which looks like a large-sized "draughtsman." The pear-shaped end of a bottle-gourd is also a usual ornament for the ears of both sexes, as well as other miscellaneous articles; I have seen, for instance, a husk of Indian corn, a snuff-box, the handle of a teacup, an empty cartridge-case, and a bishop belonging to a set of chessmen, fulfilling this duty of ear-distender. Our party was a source of continual wonder to these unsophisticated people. I recollect one day, when separated from my companions, being found by a group of Wagogo. I was evidently a new sort of man, and the first specimen of the kind which they had ever seen. Their astonishment knew no bounds. One old