Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-08-26
SAVAGE SPLENDOR.
Description OF q Banquet Held In
Barbary.
Tables Covered with Dishes and OrRa-
mants Of Solid Coda Sight to
Delight the Heart of
Pnwnbroher.

The following letter has been for
warded to as, says the Pail Mall Ga
zette, by gentleman who has COM
mercial relations with the gold coast:
CAPE COAST CASTLE, June 8, 1901
Dear L; have just got down to the
coast after an unusually long trip in
land The region have travelled over
/ viii call Barbary for short, because 1t
is due south-though long way south
of the strip of coast that used to
Brighten our forefathers. All this is
now French polished, and there is
nothing to be seen there except the re-
lection of ourselves. Inland there Is
still some interest. The tribes are in
dependent and keep their own customs.
They are prosperous, too, many of
them, and have acquired ideas of
luxurious living that one would not ex-
pect to find In the heart Of Africa
Just before making my way down
to the gold coast I was present
at a most interesting function
that would have given your
pressmen copy" for week. It was a
gigantic banquet given by the ancient
chief of the tribe among whom 1 was
staying to q young warrior, the ruler
Of neighboring tribe. All the swel1s
of the tribe were there, Of course-the
chiefs sons and daughters and other
kinsmen, and the principal counselors
and fighting men Some of them had
their too, wives, and they were very
much got up. Not being professional
reporter cannot describe the costumes,
except to say that there was barbaric
profusion Of gold But the gold worn
| by the guests was q mere Speck Of
| dust compared to the gold displayed by
| the old chief. There must have been
enough gold in that African hall to buy
| up the Bank of England. Where 1t all
came from I have no notion, but our
| pioneers In south Africa, now that they
| have been ousted from the Transvaa1,
had better make trip to my Barbary.
To begin with, all the vessels out of
which the guests ate and drank were Of
| solid gold. The table, TOO, was thickly
covered with the quaint ornaments that
| savages delight in. Some Of them were
| cleverly wrought, so far as the art of
| the people goes, but for the most part
| their only merit, if it be one, was their
solidity. It was the style of thing that
would have delighted a flash pawn
broker from WhitechapeL The most
| gorgeous object of all was a golden
bird, The body of the bird was solid
gold, and its feathers were built up
with precious stones. am not good at
| guessing values, and will not try; but
l could guess nearly enough to know
that If 1 could have carried off that
bird, or even a bit Of one Of its wings,
my fortune would have been made for
life. Apparently the old chief had a
notion that such calculations might
pass through the minds of his guests,
for he took care that the bird was not
brought out till he was there to watch
it, and had it shut up again in a strong
chest directly his back was turned.
The golden bird, was told, had been
originally taken in war from distant
tribe, and another trophy taken from a
tribe in the same region was produced
to show the guests what mighty SOW
ereign they were dining with This
was q lions head, also of solid gold,
with diamonds for the teeth and eyes
But it is no good CONFERENCE.-The list
think you would have felt, as I did
more disgust than pleasure. And as
came away after a really good dinner
but with my pockets empty-on my
word of honor 1 hadn't lifted even q
salt spoon-my principal feeling was
one of qualification that in Europe We
had got beyond this savage ostentation