Chap. IX. DRINKING THE MBOUNDOU. 175 



the whole body of the people took an active part 

 in the affair ; the doctor not openly naming anybody 

 as the guilty parties. It was the people themselves 

 who originated the suspicions, and they showed by 

 their clamour how they thirsted for victims. Mayolo 

 and the doctor remained silent. 



The nephews in vain protested that they were 

 innocent, and declared that the accusation was a lie ; 

 but they added that there were others who wanted to 

 bewitch their uncle. They became enraged at the 

 pertinacity of their accusers, and swore that the 

 people should pay dearly for making them drink the 

 mboundou. They said they were not afraid to drink 

 it, for they were not wizards and would not die. 



Some of the relatives of the nephews and some of 

 the people of the village now retired to a short dis- 

 tance to prepare the poison. Roots of the mboundou 

 were then scraped, and a vessel filled with the frag- 

 ments, on which water was poured ; a kind of effer- 

 vescence then took place, and the water became of a 

 red colour, like the root itself. Sufficient was made 

 to serve as a good draught to each of the accused. 

 When the water becomes red, it is considered good 

 mboundou, and ready to kill any wizards. The 

 drinkers of the mboundou are not allowed to wit- 

 ness the preparation, but their representatives may, 

 to see that fair play is used. When at length the 

 poor fellows were brought into tlie middle of the 

 circle of excited spectators, it was horrid to see the 

 ferocity expressed in the countenances of the people ; 

 it seemed as though their nature had entirely changed. 

 Knives, axes, and spears were held ready to be used 



