xxvn THE GENTLE ART OF POISONING 243 



moving spirit of the whole piece of diabolic 

 treachery, meets H amice, recompenses him for his 

 kindly assistance, and together they drink pombe 

 and indulge in a hearty laugh at the way in which 

 that fool Manjora thoroughly enjoyed his last 

 meal. 



There are many ways of poisoning, and I 

 should like to describe another method sometimes 

 used as an alternative to the above, which is also 

 conspicuous for the clever manner in which the 

 perpetrator avoids all suspicion, the poisoner, how- 

 ever, in this case, doing his own dirty work. 

 Procuring little sharp stakes, he hollows the points 

 and inserts poison into the cavities, the poison 

 generally used being that made from the ujungu 

 tree, perhaps the most deadly of the various poisons 

 known to the native and the particular kind that 

 they apply to their spears and arrows. The next 

 move is to insert the little stakes at a slight angle 

 to the path which leads from the enemy's hut 

 to his garden and await results. Sooner or later, 

 the intended victim slightly lacerates his foot with 

 one of these sharp stakes, and being accustomed 

 to scratches, takes no notice of the matter, but ere 

 many minutes have passed, his foot and leg begin 

 to swell, and in an hour or so he expires in great 

 pain. Both the victim and his relatives know 

 exactly what has happened, but, as the whole plan 



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