As it is the custom of these savages to go without clothing of any description, these wonderful headdresses must indeed be the chief aim in the lives of those who are not called upon to follow the changes of fashion, like their more civilized brethren.
One of the towns that Baker visited in Latooka contained about three thousand houses. It was strongly fortified by palisades, with low entrances at short intervals. At night these entrances were closed by thorn bushes.
There was one main street, which was broad, but the other streets were mere lanes, so narrow that only one cow could pass at a time.
These lanes led to the kraals in different portions of the town. Here were housed the cattle, which comprised the chief wealth of the people. The narrowness of the approaches to the kraals was an advantage, for they were thus easily defended from cattle thieves,—a common nuisance in this country.
The houses were conical in shape and, following the custom almost universal in Africa, were without windows.
Baker had noticed, as he approached the several towns of this section of country, a vast heap of human bones, mingled with bits of pottery. These he found to originate from the peculiar funeral rites of the people. If a man dies a natural death he is buried in the vicinity of his own door, and funeral dances in his honor are held for several weeks; the remains are then dug up, the bones cleaned, placed in an earthen jar, and carried out of town to their final resting place. In course of time these jars become broken, and the fragments, together with the contents, are scattered, or added to an already existing mound.
Baker, in his journey to the southwest, crossed the valley of Latooka. After fording a river, he began the main ascent of the mountains. This he found to be an exceedingly difficult task. At the summit he found a plateau about four thousand feet above the level of the sea, and situated on it was the highland town of Obbo.
The country was very beautiful. Here were bold granite peaks, some of them five thousand feet high, towering on all sides, and looking down upon the wooded valleys below. These valleys were narrowed by the advancing spurs of the mountains, each with a village to crown its summit. These villages looked down fully eight hundred feet upon the traveler.
The air was pure and delicious. On every side was a profusion of beautiful and fragrant flowers. Wild plums and other fruit were to be found in abundance.
The flow of the streams in this section is toward the northwest. Their waters take their course directly to the Nile, some thirty miles away.