TRIAL BY ORDEAL 201 



With great astuteness, the fetish-men have 

 established the belief that practically no severe 

 illness or death comes naturally, but is due to 

 the witching of the patient by enemies in the flesh 

 or spirit. In this way, they may obtain a fee, 

 both from those who consult them and also from 

 those -and they arc generally rich people whom 

 the medicine-men point to as the suspected be- 

 witching agents. It is useless for the suspected 

 person to urge innocence, for, if the usual pro- 

 pitiation of goats or oxen is not given to the accuser 

 and the fetish-man, the latter orders a trial by 

 ordeal. The " casca " or poison is prepared by 

 the fetish-man himself, and so concocted that 

 little is left to chance, and the accused is poisoned 

 and found guilty and his property confiscated. 



Trial by ordeal is carried out in a number 

 of ways, among them being the placing of the 

 hand in a hive, to see if the bees will sting it, or 

 into fire or hot water ; or by " casca," the bark 

 of Erythrophlceum guineensis, which is cut up into 

 small pieces, and infused in cold water, or, as 

 occurs sometimes, in water which is heated by 

 dropping in a number of hot pebbles. 



The poisonous decoction, so prepared, has both 

 emetic and purgative properties, and causes death 

 if enough is taken ; so that the victim's fate 

 practically lies in the hand of the fetish-man who 

 prepares the " casca." 



The accused man is kept fasting in confinement 

 on the night previous to the ordeal which may 

 consist in the drinking of the " casca " poison alone, 

 or followed by his running through lines of mocking 



