. British Central Africa; an attempt to give some account of a portion of the territories under British influence north of the Zambezi. Natural history. NATIVES MAKING IE TREE TRl NK IN Ii A CANOE by drilling holes through which leather thongs or bark strings are passed and tightly tied. All small holes and apertures are stopped up with india- rubber derived from the rubber vines or some other source. Smooth, lopped branches of trees are placed on the ground as rollers and an enormous crowd of people push the canoe down to the water and launch it. The canoes are worked by punting poles and by
. British Central Africa; an attempt to give some account of a portion of the territories under British influence north of the Zambezi. Natural history. NATIVES MAKING IE TREE TRl NK IN Ii A CANOE by drilling holes through which leather thongs or bark strings are passed and tightly tied. All small holes and apertures are stopped up with india- rubber derived from the rubber vines or some other source. Smooth, lopped branches of trees are placed on the ground as rollers and an enormous crowd of people push the canoe down to the water and launch it. The canoes are worked by punting poles and by Though the natives seem to have little idea of using the mast and sail they rapidly pick up the notion when taught by Arab or European. The people of Xyasaland and of most parts of British Central Africa near the great lakes or rivers become singu- larly adept in the management of boats and ships. All the seamen on the lake gunboats are now natives of the country, whereas formerly we imported sailors from Zanzibar, or even employed bluejackets from the British The natives can be taught to row well, and are very smart in managing sails. Not infrequently the launching of a canoe is accompanied by feasts and dances and by prayers to the ancestral spirits with their accompanying libations or sacrifices. The large importation of European cloth has almost killed the native weaving industry. Before the advent of Europeans they wove—and in outlying districts they still weave—very coarse-textured cotton cloth. As is probably well known to my readers the cotton plant grows wild or semi-wild over large portions of this country and the cotton produced is excellent. It is spun by the natives and woven by them in the following manner: — A frame is made of two heavy smooth bars of wood supported at either end by a couple of short posts which bifurcate. The beams are steadied and fastened to the ground by pegs. The cotton threads are then stretched across the frame lengt
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectnaturalhistory, booky
