The Herald of Wales and Monmouthshire Recorder. — 1884-11-08 (Swansea, West Glamorgan, Wales)

UNIQUE RACE OF AFRICANS. At the opening meeting of the winter session of the Royal Geographical Society on Monday night, Mr. Joseph Thomson, leader of the expedities for exploration in Eastern Africa equipped by this misty, read an interesting paper entitled " Thro4h the Mead Country to Victoria Nyanza," in the somas of which he gave the following description of the Masai tribe: A more remarkable or unique race does not exist on the continent of Africa. In physique, manners, customs, and religious beliefs they are distinct alike from the true negroes from the Galls and Somali. Beauto fully proportioned, they are characterised by the smooth and rounded outline of the Apollo type, rarely chewing the knotted and brawny muscles of the true athlete. The women are very decently dressed in bullock's hide. They wear by way of ornament from 20Ib. to 30Ib. of thick iron wire coiled round the limbs, arms, and neck, beside a great assortment of beads and iron chains. The men wear only a small kid-skin garment round the shoulders and breast, that being of somewhat more *triple dimensions among the married men. The most remarkable distinctions characterise the various epochs in the life history of the Masai. The boys and girls up to a certain age live with their parents, and feed upon curdled milk, meat, and grain. At the age of 12 with the girls, and from 12 to 14 years with the boys, they are sent from the married men's kraal to one in which there are only young unmarried men and women. There they live in a very indescribable manner till they are married. At this stage the men are warriors, and their solo occupation is cattle-lifting abroad and amusing them. solves at home. The young women attend to the cattle, build the huts, and perform other necessary household duties. Both sexes are on the strictest diet. Absolutely nothing but meat and milk passes their lips. Spirits and beer, tobacco, or vegetable food Sr. alike eschewed. So peculiar, indeed, are they in their notions that they will not even eat the meat of any wild animal. Moreover, the meat and milk are never taken together. For several deys the one is their sole diet, to be fol. lowed by the other after partaking ot a powful purgative. On killing a bullock they drink the blood raw, which doubtless supplies them with the Daceseery salts. So pleasant does the Masai warrior find this life that he seldom marries till he has passed the prime of life and begins to find his strength de-line. The great war spear and heavy buffalo-hide shield, the sword, and the knobkerry are then laid aside. For a month he dons the dress of an unman ied woman, and then becomes a staid and respectable member of Masai society. He goes no more to war, but devotes himself to the rearing of a brood of young warrior*. His diet changes with his mode of life, and he may indulge in vegetable food, drink beer or spirits, and smoke or chew tobacco. At death the body is simply thrown out to the hyenas and the vultures.  Mr. Henry Thompson, M.P., and a number of mer- chants, while hunting on Tuesday near Newry, *me compelled by farmers who were armed with weapons to leave the lands. _  A railway clerk, named James Watson,on To esday cvn,mitted a murderous assault on a woman at Fortrose, Dingwall, and then committed suicide by leaping out of the window.  . . At Manchester on Tuesday, Arthur Shaw, tailor. was 'emended on the charge of tnurdermg his w.fe Ellen. They quarrelled the previous night, alai shortly afterwards the prisoner went to a neighbour's house and said that his wife had fallen on the ash isn and burned herself. A medical man, who had ben called, however, certified that the woman had bien strangled, and the prisoner was arrested.