And a queer sight this potentate was as
he stood there shaking hands through the gate. Of middle age, about
forty-five years of age, rather fat, with a flat nose, and small,
twinkling, black eyes, he presented an entirely hideous and
semi-repulsive appearance. His dress consisted of a cotton blanket
over which was thrown a tiger-skin kaross, and on his head was stuck
an enormous old white felt hat, such as the Boers wear, and known as a
"wilderbeeste chaser."
After we had been duly introduced, he retreated to his ox-hide, and we
went and squatted down among the head men. Secocoeni took no active
part in the proceedings that followed; he sat in his enclosure and
occasionally shouted out some instructions to Makurupiji, who was
literally his "mouth," speaking for him and making use of the pronoun
"I." During the four hours or so that we were there Secocoeni never
stopped chewing an intoxicating green leaf, very much resembling that of
the pomegranate, of which he occasionally sent us some.
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