A PLEA FOR THE NATIVE 3 8r 



the British East African government, and it is hard to con- 

 ceive of any code less fitted to the needs of these backward 

 people. A wise and firm-handed local administrator can 

 accomplish what no high court official at Mombassa can 

 possibly achieve. The local civil servant knows, or should 

 know, his people; the missionary, if there be one, certainly 

 does, and these can, and should, be allowed to deal with the 

 problems that witch belief constantly gives rise to. 



The Mohammedans (Somali or Hindi) very cleverly 

 taking advantage of the natives' belief in witchcraft, have 

 sometimes gained an influence on even the most intelligent 

 of them, which they have no scruple in turning to their 

 own advantage. I have told elsewhere of an instance 

 of this unscrupulous deviltry of theirs. They succeeded 

 in gaining almost complete mastery on one of the best 

 known headmen in Nairobi, a man who had been an officer 

 in the Sultan of Zanzibar's army, who had commanded 

 native soldiers in the desperate fight at Lubwas, and who 

 had been brought up from infancy as a Christian, a good 

 and faithful man, who knows Africa from the sea to the 

 hills as few know it. In an evil hour for himself- -con- 

 sulted a Mohammedan doctor at Nairobi for an affection 

 that had attacked his eye. They threw him into an hyp- 

 notic state, and while under this influence, robbed him of a 

 large part of his hard-earned money. More than that, 

 they persuaded him that no European could do for his eye- 

 sight what they could do. This I found out with much 

 difficulty, after I had proposed to take him to see my doctor 

 in Nairobi. Nothing I could do or say at the time could 



persuade to accompany me. He insisted on "going 



to his own man," as he said. I had my suspicions aroused 

 by this, but as yet had no idea how far they had gone with 

 him or how completely he was under their spell. Arriv- 

 ing at Nairobi, - - disappeared and failed next day to do 

 his work; this failure seemed to me extraordinary, as I had 



