The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1874-12-03
SOME CURIOUS AFRICAN CUSTOMS.
, There are other curious, things
about these people, besides their dress.

SOME CURIOUS AFRICAN CUSTOMS.
|, There are other curious, things
about these people, besides their dress.:
Their houses have walls of clay or
reeds, and sharp-pointed roofs Of straw
The furniture consists mainly ofwood-
en- platters and stools, which are
colored black by long burial in the
mud. and their only light is a burning
pine knot.
Before the house is usually post,
on which are hung the trophies of the:
hunt, such as horns Of antelopes,
skulls Of animals and men, and, hor-
rible to say, dried hands and feet
These proclaim to the world how
great warrior is the owner, and, in
part, answer the purposes that fine
houses and clothes do with us.
When q Niam-Niam pays visit
to. his neighbor he carries his own
stool to sit on, and when he goes into
mourning for a friend he shaves his
head, and scatters his precious braids,
twists and puffs to the wind, which
certainly shows sincere grief on his
part.
When two friends meet they do not
shake hands, but they join their mid
die fingers in such a way that the
joints crack, while they nod at each
other, more as if in disgust-as it
looks to white man-than in friend
ly greeting.
If they find hollow tree in which
wild bees have laid up honey, they at
once smoke the bees stupid, and eat
honey, wax, bees, and all. Indeed
they eat several things that we would
not like. The children in some parts
of Africa eat rats and mice, which
they catch by means of baskets woven
in the form Of long tubes. They are
laid fiat on the ground, near the
mouse-hole, and then the little saw
ages begin great noise of stamping
shouting and slapping Of hands. The
poor little animals are frightened,
and run into the traps for safety, and
are easily taken. They are then tied
by the tails in punches of a dozen or
so, as you have seen children tie cher
rles, and bartered with each other as
choice morsels. Sometimes thev
use them as bats to catch cats,-roast
cat being a favorite dish. They build
small huts of twisted reeds, put the
mice in, and the cats are attracted to
the trap of course.
The grown people feast on still
stranger diet, t,-such as the bodies of
their enemies killed in battle, elephant
meat, dried till it looks like a log of
wood, dogs and the termites, or white
ants, Of which you NAV have read,
houses are so common in Africa.
No important thing is begun with
out consulting certain signs to see il
it will be successful. Some of these
are very curious. One is to put q
few drops Of water on smooth top
ped stool, then take q smooth block
and rub it across the stool as though
to plane it of: If the block moves
easily the sign is good; if hard, tht
sign is bad.
! Another trial is to dose some unfor
tunate hen with certain greasy liquid
If she dies the sign is bad, if she gets
we'll it is good.
But the hens are not the only suf
ferers. Another way to try one'
| luck is to seize wretched cock, duel
him under wator many +;naoo till h
is stiff and senseless, and then leav'
him alone. The fate is decided b!
his recovering or dying. The guilt o
any one accused or suspected Of crim
is tried in the same way, and no on
dreams of suspecting one whose sign
have shown favorably.
To protect themselves, from tn
danger and loss of fires, they provid
no fire engines and insurance CON
pauies, as We do, but hang an amule
made-for those who are Mohamme
dan-of few verses Of the Khorar
, or Mohammedan bible, wrapped; i
skin, over the door, which must b
admitted is much simpler and cheal
er way than ours.
IFS horse or donkey is i'll he
: dosed with raw pork, but humal
, being has for medicine few verse
; of the Khoran, made soft in water
/ NJ