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Updated: May 12, 2025
"Each man had about a dozen huge ostrich feathers in his helmet, a leopard or monkey-skin hung from his shoulders, while a large iron bell was strapped to his loins like a woman's bustle. This he rang during the dance, by jerking the hinder part of his body in the most absurd manner.
A few of our people managed to get up, hows'ever, and they got to work with their pistols and cutlasses, and I let fly with my pistol from where I sat up aloft among the branches, and bowled over an ugly, bald-headed old chap rigged in a monkey-skin round his 'midships, and carryin' a live snake in his hand.
All the rest of the crew were negroes, hypocritically denominated Government prisoners, whose whole costume, as a rule, consisted of a monkey-skin cap and a string of grigris, or charms, round their waists. "Haven't you ever tried to dress them?" said I to the lieutenant.
From the Brazilians one or two of them had obtained blankets, and one a hammock; and they had also obtained knives, which they sorely needed, for they are not even in the stone age. One woman shielded herself from the rain by holding a green palm-branch down her back. Another had on her head what we at first thought to be a monkey-skin head- dress. But it was a little, live, black monkey.
Now he had suddenly to become omniscient in regard to hand-bags, portfolios, writing-cases, music-rolls; learn leathers which he had never handled cobra-seal, walrus, écrasé, monkey-skin. He had to appear placidly official, almost pontifical, when vague ladies appeared, poked clippings from holiday magazines at him, and demanded, "I want something like that."
The chiefs must have consulted about it afterwards; for, this morning, no less than three kings and a governor, begged, as a great favor, that I would give them that particular bottle, and were sadly disappointed, on learning that it had been paid away for a monkey-skin. No other bottle would console them.
M'yinzuggi, the head of Rumanika's party, gave me to-day a tippet monkey-skin in return for the cow I had given him on the 14th. These men, taking their natures from their king Rumanika, are by far the most gentle, polite, and attentive of any black men we have travelled amongst. 17th.
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