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in his own terms. Now it is especially difficult to get authentic 

 facts referring to crime, such as murder, rape, theft, etc. The 

 white man's influence has been operating in the district for 

 over thirty years, and the younger generation of natives are 

 at present imbued with European ideas of justice — individual 

 responsibility, value of human life independently of tribe, 

 clan, etc. And crime, from the point of view of the native 

 conditions, is certainly less frequent now than it was before. 

 On the other hand, the native thinks that these topics had 

 better be avoided, and is extremely careful not to talk too 

 much about them without obvious necessity, especially to a 

 man whom he knows to be on good terms with the local 

 missionary and resident magistrate. Thus accounts of the 

 little crime that is still going on and tales of the good old 

 times are not willingly communicated. 



For such reasons I was unable to learn much in the way 

 of authentic stories about murder, adultery, and theft as they 

 happened in olden days, and about the way in which these 

 crimes were punished and avenged. I obtained a few hints, 

 however, which allow me to give .a broad outline of the 

 existing state of things. Murder within the village was 

 uncommon, but there are cases on record. There were 

 quarrels at feasts about pigs, and sometimes also over women. 

 There were resentments in the village, in the clan, and in the 

 family. Thus, not long ago, an influential and fairly intelli- 

 gent native killed his own mother, being extremely worried 

 about a matter with which she had nothing to do, and some- 

 what annoyed by her request that he should stay at home 

 and not enter the white man's service. This modern Orestes 

 got three years in prison. The natives did not approve of his 

 action, but when I inquired what would have happened in the 

 olden days, it was clear that no punishment would have 

 been inflicted, there being no man or social body whose busi- 

 ness it would have been to punish the offender. Cases of such 

 murder Avithin the family or village, undoubtedly closely 

 allied to the running amok, seem to have occurred in the 

 past. In a case like that just mentioned, when the victim be- 

 longed to the man's own family, and when there was nobody to 

 resent the loss and the wrong done, the murderer would have 

 escaped scot free. The public resentment against him would 

 not have been strong enough to ensure actual punishment, 

 and if the man had nerve enough to get over the shock, and 

 live down the subsequent reproachful attitude of his fellow- 

 tribesmen, he could continue his life in peace and quiet. 



As said, there was no central authority which would 

 spontaneously and automatically deal with the offender. The 

 legal function did not enter into the duties and privileges of 

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