Evening star., 1908-01-18
IA IgA0N
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padded skull caps. covering the head ava
face and falling clear to the ground.
could net see how the women could make
their way along without stumbling until.
observed a little veil about the size OF !
two postage stamps sewcd over n hole in
front OF the eyes. These WON N n rver go
on the street except when 50 clad and
they are the str!ctest OF the Moham-
medans.
The African Village.
The most of the population of Mor-
basa is African. There are psople here
from all parts OF the interior. some Of
them as black as Jet. with scattering
few who are chocolate brown or yellow
These natives live in huts OF BY them
selves. adjoining the European and
Asiatic quarters. and comprise a large
village. Their houses are OF mud plas-
tered upon a framework of poles and
thatched with straw. The poles are nut
together without nails. There is not 4
piece of iron in any OF them except on
the roof. where here and thore a hole
has been patched up with a rusty Stand
ard Oil can. Very few Of the huts are
more than eight feet high and some are
so low that one has to stoop to enter
them. They are small that the beds
are usually left outside the house during
the day time, and the majority OF each
family sleep on the floor.
Among the Swahilis.
find this African village the most in
teresting part of Mombasa. Its inhabi-
tants number 10000 or more and they
comprise natives of perhaps one hundred
tribes, each OF which has its own dress
and Its own customs. The most of the
woman are bare-headed bare -shoudered
and to a, large extent bare-legged and
some of the men are clad in little more
than breech cloths. Now 9ndst then one
sees a girl bare to the waist. and the lit
tie ones wear only jewelry. On the main
land all go more or less naked
The most numerous of the natives here
are the Swahilis. These are of mixed
| breed which is found all along the CEN
tral coast Of East Africa. 1t is said to
have some Arab blood In II, sand for this
reason perhaps its people are brighter
and more businesslike+ than the ordinary
/ native The swahihs are forRd every
where. They have little settlements i'm
the interior In the midst OF. sspther tribes
and the Swahiii language WIFI carry one
through the greater part Of Central and
East Africa. The British officials are
REQUIRED TO learn It; and one can buy
Swahili dictionaries and phrase books I
shall take Swahili guide with me during
| most of my journey. or rather a black
Swahili boy. who will act as a servant
\ anu also as gulQe.
i l wish / could show you a picture OF
1 the Swahiii women as l see them here
| Their skins are Of rich chocolate brown
| and they shine as though oiled. They
have -woolly hair. but they comb II in
most extraordinary way, using a razor to
! shave out partings between the rows OF
| plated locks. so that when the hair is
properly dressed the woman seems to
have on a hood of black wool. / took a
snapshot Of two girls who were under
going the process of hair dressing yes
terday. trembling the while for fear that
their calico gowns, which were fastened
by single twist under the arm pits
might slip.
| A little further on Jack made a photo
graph of another giddy maiden clad in
two strips of bright colored calico and
numerous earrings. while gave her few
coppers to pose for the picture.
At the same time on the opposite side Of
the street stood a black girl gorgeous with
/ jeWelry. She had a brass ring as big
around as the bottom of dinner bucket
| In her nose: and her ears had holes I'm
| their iobes so big that a hens egg could
be put through them without trouble. Not
only the lobes. but the rims also were
punctured, each ear having five little
| holes around the edges of about the size
| Of my little finger. These holes were
| filled with rolls of bright colored paper
| cut of SO smoothly that they seemed al
most a part of the ear. The paper was
| of red. green and blue and 1t looked very
quaint. AS I started on. the girl locke d
at me out of the tall OF her eye and
smiled. FRANK G. CARPENTER.