"Arm, 1 foot 3 inches, not including the cuff, which is 5 inches long.
"Cuff, 9 inches round.
"From top to bottom, 3 feet 6 inches.
"I should tell you the King is clever with his needle, and his twenty-two wives are just as clever at farming.
“One boy wants to know what sort of work our Queen does.”
The shirts had to be larger than above measurements to be loose on him.
33 Driver-ants (p. [144]), when searching for food, march four or five abreast in a continuous line across country. I have known them to be three days and nights hurrying past a given point, and when disturbed they swarm over the ground. Looking at the crowd of people thrown from the photographic slide on to the sheet impressed the King, and in comparing the numbers of people to driver-ants covering the ground, he used a very good simile.
34 Dressed worse than slaves (p. [147]).--Except on very special gala days, the chiefs, head men, and freemen dressed in a very poor, unpretentious style. This was to avoid suspicion, jealousy, and the evil eye. Dressing badly, no one would know that they were rich, and consequently would not cast the evil eye on them, nor try to render them unlucky, etc., by the aid of witchcraft. The slaves were known as such, therefore it did not matter how well they arrayed themselves; no one would be jealous of them nor try to harm them by paying the fees of witch-doctors. Thirty years ago the casual visitor would, five times out of six, mistake the slave for the head man and the chief for a slave, or poor man, on account of the difference in their garments.
35 Sleep well (p. [148]).--The morning greeting was: Olele kiambote = Have you slept well? The answer was: Ndele kwame = I have slept well. Good-night was: Wenda leka kwambote = Go and sleep well; and the answer: Sala leka kwambote = Stay and sleep well. To sleep properly and soundly was regarded as an infallible sign of good health.
36 Papyrus string (p. [148]).--The papyrus (diwu) was found very plentifully in the many swamps around San Salvador, and was cut in lengths of about nine feet. The outer skin was peeled off, when fresh and green, in strips of half an inch, one end of the strip was held between the thumb and index finger of the left hand, and then the right hand very quickly twisted the strip, and to keep it from untwisting the two ends were tied together and it was thrown into the sun. When dry the strip would retain the twist, and, before using, a dozen of the twisted strips were soaked in water to render them pliable. Such string was commonly used for tying fences, and would last nearly twelve months, i. e. as long as the other materials in the fence. It was very economical and durable.