The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-01
IN A kAVIRoNDA MARKET.
Scant Attire of African Natives-Lion Interrupts Bridge Game.

We anchored in Kisumu bay and drew up to the dock at Port Florence next morning. writes Caroline Kirkland, de- scribing in the Chicago Tribune a visit to the source of the Nile As the train did not leave there till half past Il l had plenty of time to visit the Kavironda market, one of the extraordinary sight of East Africa As l have related in a previous letter. the Kavlrondas are the tribe living on the northeast shores or Lake Victoria tall, fine looking, well developed race which Is chiefly distin- gllished from the other East African tribes to be seen along the Uganda rail- way by the fact that the men and wom- en wear absolutely no clothes, not even the customary loin cloth, In spite Of which they are said to be the most moral of the peoples of that region.
 They wear innumerable ornaments, now ever, of beads. heavy copper wire, leather and elephant hair, which they twist into shiny black bracelets and anklets. They also tattoo and scarify themselves' both faces and bodies to greater degree than their neighbors, while their kinky. wooly locks are done in sorts of fan tastic styles one gay and industrious buck having apparently strung every hair of his head full of glittering black beads, so that no hair was visible. only this rattllng shining, gorgon-llSe coiffure
 The market was a large, open square, with a roofed over space In the middle and a fanking on four sides of booths where the traders, Indian, Coanese and African. carried on their business. Un- der the central shelter little piles of seeds milet. rice corn and many with which l was not familiar were ranged. also strange fruits and what looked like mud pies and I never could find any one who knew what they were. Crowding every available place were ever changing groups of these extraordinary savages.
 Seated on the ground. perhaps around a little fire would be circle of women smoking queer pipes or cigarettes or na- tive tobacco or chewing nuts, while wan dering about were bands of young war riors armed with strange shields ane spears or bows and arrows. Some were smeared with oil and plastered over witt red mud On the diaphragm of one stal wart woman was a curious design, prick out with some poison. which turned the flesh at each prick into a lump. It may bt that the engraver of this human docu ment had in mind a copy of some cryptic Inscription he might have seen on rail way platform. The fine carriage of al these African savages was noticeable due probably to the custom of carrying loads on their heads.
 There were hundreds of these Kaviron das wandering peaceably about. barterinf for what they wanted. using the strings o shells which In this part of Africa serve the natives in lieu of money. They re garded us with a shy. aloof interest, but after a while were inclined to too close an inspection for comfort. and we Jeff the enclosure carrying with us strange mental pictures of human life in its mos primitive elemental forms; dark, some times glossy, skins: tall, we'll formed bodies: fine white teeth; soft. musca voices: beads of many colors, shining copper wire ornaments. strange scarifica' s tlon and tattooing devices.
 That afternoon in the train. looking down a steep slope. I saw family o1