LikemostofthetribesoftheWhiteNile，theBarishaveastrongobjectiontoselltheircattle；thusyoumaybesurroundedbyplenty，butyoumaystarveinthemidstofbeef。
Theirlargeherdsareconfinedatnightwithinzareebasorkraals。Theseareformidabledefences。ThecattlezareebaisacircularstockadeformedofahardwoodcalledbytheArabsabou-noosorabdnoosebony。
Thisisanintenselyhardblackwoodsomewhatresemblingebony。Pilesasthickasaman’sthigharesunkintheearth，soastoleaveafenceorstockadeofabouteightfeethighabovethesurface；thesepilesareplacedascloseaspossibletogether，andinterlacedbytoughhookedthorns，whichwhendryandcontractedbindthestockadeintoaverycompactdefence。Theentrancetothisfortisonlysufficientlylargetoadmitoneanimalatatime；thustheherdcanbeeasilycounted。Withinthestockadeareseveralhouses，inadditiontoafewlargecircularshedsfortheprotectionofyoungcalves。Thesheepandgoatsarekeptinaseparatezareeba。
AlltheoperationsoftheBarisareconductedbysignalsgivenbythedrum，preciselyasourmilitarymovementsaredirectedbybugle-calls。
Thegreatdrumthatbelongstotheheadmanorsheik，issuspendedbeneathanopenshed，sothatitisalwaysprotectedfromweather，andatthesametimethesoundcouldtravelunchecked。Thesedrumsarecutandscoopedwithgreatlabourfromapeculiarwood，whichisexceedinglytoughandwillnoteasilysplit。TheBaridrumisexactlytheshapeofaneggwithaslicetakenoffthethickerend。Someoftheseinstrumentsareverylarge，andasmuchastwomencouldcarryonapole。Bothendsarehollowedthroughandsecuredwithhide；butthebroadendformstheactualdrum。Thisisbeatenwithtwoshortsticksofhardwood。Intheearlymorning，shortlybeforesunrise，thehollowsoundofthebigdrumisalwaysheardgivingthesignalbyacertainnumberofbeat’sforthemilkingofthecows。Thewomenandyoungmenthencommence，andwhentheoperationiscompleted，thedrumbeatsagain，andthelargeherdsaredriventopasturage。Thesignalisrepeatedintheevening。Shouldanenemyattackthecountry，thesheik’sbigdrumgivesthealarmbyapeculiarseriesofbeats，whichifonceheardcaneasilyberemembered。