In his right hand he held a spear about five and a half feet
long, the blade being two and a half feet in length, by nearly
three inches in width, and having an iron spike at the end of
the handle that measured more than a foot. On his left arm was
a large and well-made elliptical shield of buffalo hide, on which
were painted strange heraldic-looking devices. On his shoulders
was a huge cape of hawk's feathers, and round his neck was a
'naibere', or strip of cotton, about seventeen feet long, by
one and a half broad, with a stripe of colour running down the
middle of it. The tanned goatskin robe, which formed his ordinary
attire in times of peace, was tied lightly round his waist, so
as to serve the purposes of a belt, and through it were stuck,
on the right and left sides respectively, his short pear-shaped
sime, or sword, which is made of a single piece of steel, and
carried in a wooden sheath, and an enormous knobkerrie. But
perhaps the most remarkable feature of his attire consisted of
a headdress of ostrich-feathers, which was fixed on the chin,
and passed in front of the ears to the forehead, and, being shaped
like an ellipse, completely framed the face, so that the diabolical
countenance appeared to project from a sort of feather fire-screen.
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