PKIMITIVE AGBICULTUBAL BACES 183 



Weeks says that three forms of death are recognized ; (1) by act 

 of God ; (2) by another's witchcraft ; (3) by one's own witch- 

 craft. Thus to die by the swamping of a canoe is a case of the 

 first, to die by being swamped and eaten by a crocodile is an 

 example of the becond, because ' no crocodile will upset a canoe 

 unless told to do so by a witch '. Deaths from the second cause 

 and executions following upon them appear to be frequent. 1 



23. With respect to disease the African races are in a somewhat 

 different position when compared with the other races of this 

 group. Owing to the fact that they have never been wholly cut 

 off from Eur- Asiatic civilization, some diseases have penetrated 

 among them which are not found, for instance, among the American 

 agricultural races who were cut off from the rest of mankind long 

 before the origin of the third period. It is a very difficult matter 

 to decide what diseases are African in origin and what diseases 

 have found their way into Africa from the north. It is possible 

 that sleeping sickness and black- water fever are African in origin. 

 It is certain, however, that most of the diseases which cause 

 a large amount of elimination among the African races at the 

 present time have been imported from Asia. Among the latter 

 are dengue fever, small-pox, bubonic plague, cholera, Asiatic 

 relapsing fever, dysentery, typhus, and syphilis. 2 Nevertheless 

 in spite of the fact that disease is of more importance in Africa 

 than in America, there is a considerable amount of evidence to 

 the effect that upon the whole before the advent of the white 

 man the African races were healthy and long-lived. Thus Theal 

 says that the Bantu races of South Africa were formerly ' subject 

 to few diseases ', 3 and Boscoe, that the Baganda ' were happy 

 and healthy before the introduction of European civilization '. 4 

 In earlier days the Basuto were remarkable for their healthiness ; 5 

 they lived to a great age. We are also told that the Hottentots 

 suffered from few diseases. 6 



24. We find many records of a high death-rate among children. 

 Undoubtedly this is largely due nowadays to diseases that have 

 been introduced into Africa within the last few hundred years. 

 The evidence seems to show, however, that, when we discount 



1 Weeks, Congo Cannibals, p. 341. 2 On this subject see Davidson, 



Geographical Pathology ; Clemow, Geography of Disease ; Hirsch, Geographical 

 ind Historical Pathology; and Johnston, Negro in the New World, pp. 15 ff. 

 8 Theal, Yellow- and Dark-Skinned People, p. 174. * Roscoe, Baganda, p. 174. 



8 Ellenberger, Basuto, p. 295. 6 Barrow, loc. cit., vol. i, p. 109. 



