A voice from the Congo : comprising stories, anecdotes, and descriptive notes . happened to be the day of a great na-tive market which was to be held on an adjacenthill crest—the village was almost deserted. The onlydistinct sounds were the occasional wail of an infantand the snarling of pariah dogs as they prowled aboutin search of food. Snatches of a conversation whichwas being carried on by two women, suggested thatsomething was about to happen. The day wasbright and clear. In the distance I could dis-tinguish a large dark crowd of natives gathered onthe hill top. A gentle breeze was blowin
A voice from the Congo : comprising stories, anecdotes, and descriptive notes . happened to be the day of a great na-tive market which was to be held on an adjacenthill crest—the village was almost deserted. The onlydistinct sounds were the occasional wail of an infantand the snarling of pariah dogs as they prowled aboutin search of food. Snatches of a conversation whichwas being carried on by two women, suggested thatsomething was about to happen. The day wasbright and clear. In the distance I could dis-tinguish a large dark crowd of natives gathered onthe hill top. A gentle breeze was blowing fromthat direction, conveying an indistinct murmur, anddrawing nearer I could hear the rising and fallinginflections of hundreds of excited voices. In the centre of the market-place, Lubaki theNganga Nkissi had been buried in a hole, fromwhich his head was alone visible. The village exe-cutioner, a muscular native, was bidden forwardby the chief. He carried in his arms a large rock,weighing at least a hundredweight. At a givenword, the great stone fell upon Lubakis Witch rattle, Bangala In the collection of the Author THE FUNERALOF AN AFRICAN CHIEF Official duties necessitated my visiting the districtof Bolobo, a flourishing and densely populated seriesof native villages situated on the south bank of thegreat Congo River, about six hundred miles fromthe Atlantic coast. The natives of Bolobo, like most other primitiveAfricans, are keen traders, dealing mostly in naturalproduce and using cloth, ivory, iron, and slaves asmediums of currency. Although not cannibals, they are notoriously cruel,frequently torturing their slaves in most barbarousand inhuman fashions. In appearance, the people of Bolobo represent a somewhat higher form than usual, of the negro Bantu type. They are notoriously avaricious, and are known to be the richest and most successful traders of the Middle Congo. Some few days before my arrival the great chief of Bolobo had died, and I found the district
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