316 SPORT, TRAVEL, AND ADVENTURE 





case was that the man singled out for the punishment 

 did subsequently confess to his wrong-doing prior to 

 being hounded out of the town. 



Another of the native ' ordeals ' is that in which a 

 pot of palm-oil and a hot-iron figure. This is usually 

 applied in the case of women who are suspected of 

 having been unfaithful to their men. The test is con- 

 ducted as follows : The Torbehmor first rubs over 

 the hands of the suspect a decoction of herbs and 

 leaves. A pot is then filled with palm-oil ; under the 

 oil is placed a small iron rod which has been previously 

 made red-hot. The ordeal consists in the suspected 

 woman having to thrust her hand into the oil and pull 

 out the hot iron. If she is unable to do so without 

 being burnt she is adjudged to be guilty. But if, 

 on the other hand, she suffers no burn, the charge falls 

 to the ground. It is perhaps needless to remark that 

 the proportion convicted in this mode of trial is rather 

 high. 



Besides this test, there is another, called the Karu- 

 sortor, in which a kind of magic bowl figures. This 

 has been specially devised for the discovery of petty 

 larceny. The bowl is ' dressed ' with a certain * medi- 

 cine ' and then handed to a little child, usually a girl, 

 who also has a ' medicine ' applied to her hands and 

 legs. With the bowl held in her hands, she is now 

 told to go and find the guilty party. Like the boy. 

 with the whip, the child seems to go off spontaneously 

 into a kind of trance, rushing about from place to 

 place until she finally stops before an individual, who 

 is at once haled before the chief for punishment. 

 This punishment may take the form of a fine, a flogging, 

 or a period spent in the stocks. Formerly the culprit 



