180 A JOURNEY UP THE RIVER CONGO. 
others. If this was the sole explanation of an epidemic. 
of cranial adornment which seemed to have broken out 
all over the village, on every house, then there must have 
been a corresponding epidemic of crime amongst the 
inhabitants; but I think there were other causes, such as - 
recent wars, which would help to account for these grim 
appurtenances to house decoration. One man, indeed, 
admitted to me that the two skulls he possessed were 
those of two slaves whose throats he had cut for some 
erievous offence on their part. 
Out of mere fun, we asked if they would sell us some o of 
these crania, knowing the horror that these people have of 
parting with any human remains, aud expecting a decided 
refusal. To our surprise, however, they immediately 
asked a certain price, which was afterwards reduced to 
three brass rods for each skull, at which rate two were 
soon bought, and more might probably have been pro- 
cured if we had cared to stop and bargain, for now that 
the people found their osteological collections of any value 
they hastened to realize them, and brought us, besides 
skulls, all manner of odds and ends of bones, few of which, 
however, were of any value. Many would have jumped 
to the conclusion that we were here in some cannibal 
country, merely because of the abundance of human 
remains in this village, but I do not think there is the 
slightest foundation for such an accusation. In many 
villages—in fact in nearly all the villages hereabouts— 
there are bones of animals or men stuck about under the | 
trees or in the fetish huts for various complicated reasons | 
of religion, of boastfulness, and perhaps also fear—fear of 
the avenging manes of the departed who might wreak 
vengeance on his slayers, did they not hold his bones as a 
security for good behaviour. When we got on terms of 
intimacy with the natives of Itimba—it takes a very short 
time to win the confidence of these simple people—l 
asked sonie of them confidentially if they ever eat man, 
profferimg the inquiry with assumed carelessness, so that 
if they might feel any false shame in admitting this addi- 
tion to their diet, they would be reassured by my freedom 
r| 
