52 SEAECH FOR THE GORILLA AND THE IPI. Chap. IIL 



cannot help fullj believing in all the principal facts 

 of the case. 



Poor Akondogo said that he had had plenty of 

 trouble in his day ; that a leopard had killed two of 

 Ins men, and that he had a great many palavers to 

 settle on account of these deaths. 



Not knowing exactly what he meant, I said to 

 him, " Why did you not make a trap to catch the 

 leopard ? " To my astonishment, he replied, " The 

 leopard was not of the kind you mean. It was a 

 man who had changed himself into a leopard, and 

 then became a man again." I said, " Akondogo, I 

 will never believe your stor}^. How can a man be 

 turned into a leopard ? " He again asserted that it 

 was true, and gave me the following history : — 



Whilst he was in the woods with his people, gather- 

 ing india-rubber, one of his men disappeared, and, 

 notwithstandizag all their endeavours, nothing could 

 be found of him but a quantity of blood. The next 

 day another man disappeared, and in searching for 

 him more blood was found. All the people got 

 alarmed, and Akondogo sent for a great Doctor to 

 drinlv the mboundou, and solve the mystery of these 

 two deaths. To the horror and astonishment of the 

 old chief, the doctor declared it was Akondogo's own 

 child (his nephew and heir), Akosho, who had killed 

 the two men. Akosho was sent for, and, when asked 

 by the chief, answered that it was truly he who had 

 committed the murders ; that he could not help it, for 

 he had turned into a leopard, and his heart longed 

 for blood ; and that after each deed he had turned into 

 a man again. Akondogo loved his boy so much that 



