chewing vigorously, the two would then wash the mix- 
ture down with sugar-cane wine. After the symptoms 
of intoxication appeared, the first to fall down lost his 
case. In the event that both remained standing for an 
inordinate period, the medicine man would take further 
charge of the ordeal. He would usually flourish a plan- 
tain leaf or stalk in front of the disputants, and order 
them alternately to jump over it a number of times. 
During this stage, either one or both of the parties would 
falter. Finally, one would fall, and the case would be 
settled. The loser was escorted or carried to his hut, 
while the winner received the congratulations of the 
crowd, and was smeared with red camwood powder as a 
testimony to all that his case had been successful. (Weeks 
1913) 
Among the Bakongo tribes of the Lower Congo, there 
existed an interesting antithesis to this interpretation of 
effects. The accused persons drank the poison at sunrise 
and prepared to spend the day in the open under the 
taunts of their tribe. If the poison acted as a purge be- 
fore sunset, that person was declared innocent. If it did 
not, he was guilty, and had to pay the usual forfeit de- 
creed by the medicine men. Since the bark of the tree was 
less toxic than the root bark of the young shoot, death 
did not usually result. In serious situations, however, 
m boundou was added, and the relatives of the deceased 
had to assume the forfeit. Suspicion of witch-craft or 
murder were the usual crimes for which this custom 
was observed. 
In the M’ Boschi tribe, a different procedure was fol- 
lowed. A ring was cleared in the jungle away from the 
village. Three large trees were then felled across it. The 
accused was given a strong dose of the poison (about one- 
third of a liter), which was usually tinted a brighter red 
by the addition of sandalwood, and had a larger amount 
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