Abdul farther said that Rionga was a handsome man, of unusually good manners, and more intelligent than the majority of his race. He was copper-colored rather than black, and the same was the case with the most of his followers, who seemed warmly devoted to him. He had abandoned all the barbarous practices of the African kings, never ordering the punishment of death except for the very highest crimes, and never offering human sacrifices or shedding the blood of subjects or prisoners. His people lived chiefly on vegetable food, with the addition of fish caught in the river. They had extensive plantations of bananas and sweet potatoes; and though they had large flocks of sheep and goats, they did not eat their flesh, but were contented with the milk. The poorer classes sometimes live on ants, but do not display any particular fondness for them; they preferred the products of their gardens; and if they had plenty of bananas and plantains the ants were not disturbed.
WATER-BOTTLE.
Frank asked if they had any manufactures. Abdul said they confined their skill to a few articles of pottery, and some of them were very pretty, as Frank had opportunity of learning when he looked at several specimens in possession of the commander of the post. They consisted of water-jars and pots for cooking purposes, and some of them were ornamented in a way that would have done credit to a French or English worker in pottery. Frank admired the water-bottles made from a gourd that grows in this part of Africa: it has a long and slender neck, and the outside is very tough and hard, so that it can resist a heavy blow, and is not readily devoured by the almost omnivorous ants. These gourds are found everywhere in the Unyoro and Uganda countries, and are useful for all purposes where liquids are to be carried or kept.
GOURDS OF DIFFERENT SHAPES.
Abdul said these gourds are trained to take a variety of shapes. Most of them are unornamented, others decorated with black or red paints, and the necks are twisted while the gourds are green and soft. They can be softened in hot water. If broken while receiving the finishing touches the seams can be closed with thread in a style to be envied by an accomplished glove-sewer.
The pottery is made from a clay found in river-beds or at the base of the highest hills. The implements for working it are of the rudest description, and the natives are not even in possession of the potter's wheel, which has been known in Egypt and China for thousands of years. The clay is pulverized by being pounded between stones, and is then worked into a thick paste to make it sufficiently plastic. The potter shapes the mouth of a bottle, and then places it to dry in the sun. The next day he adds an inch or so, and the next day another inch, and in this way he continues the work till the article is completed.