280 4A JOURNEY UP THE RIVER CONGO. 
be punished, they seek to find out who has, by foul 
witchcraft, egged the evil spirit on to this untoward 
manifestation of his power. The nganga is of course 
foremost in this research, and the culprit he fixes on is 
either mulcted of a heavy fine or, in serious cases, where 
the accused is poor, is compelled: to pass through the 
“poison” ordeal with varying result. These Ba-kongo 
people do not seem to suffer from disease to a greater 
degree than most uncivilized races. Nature is still 
allowed to exercise a happy selection in the survival of 
the fittest, and if a child is weakly no efforts are made to 
save its life. The result is that the physically strong are 
in the majority, while, en revanche, the most cunning 
secure the greatest number of wives and leave the largest 
families. 
The nganga of every community is generally a mean- — 
looking, perhaps puny man, but a glance at his sharp eye 
will show you that he excels his more brawny neighbours — 
in mental capacity; ergo, the “medicine-man” of the 
village has a large harem, and leaves many descendants. 
The daily life of these people must be marked by 
terrible uniformity. They keep no calendar, and their — 
vague traditions are perpetuated by word of mouth. It is 
almost like the life of the forest; great calamities, sudden 
shocks are soon hidden and forgotten, and profound 
emotions exist not, while fleeing troubles and joys leave 
little impression on the vacuous mind, which lives and 
thinks and acts but for the hour. | 
Before the dawn they begin to grumblingly awake from 
their sleep, and stir the deadened ashes of the fire into a 
warming glow. Then they sit on their haunches, with 
their hands crossed over their shoulders for the sake of 
warmth, the early morning being the coolest time in 
Africa ; and, whilst the men yawn and rub their eyes at 
the growing light, the women smack their babies, scold 
their bigger children, and open their minds on many dis- 
agreeable subjects to their lords and masters. Sunrise, 
that eternal resurrection that gladdens the most brutish 
soul in Nature, puts an end to these peevish colloquies. ia 
