INSANITY AND DISAPPEARANCE OF MONAHIN. 307 



provisions, but we don't see them, going about for that pur 

 pose." His council did not agree in this. They evidently 

 believed that we had goods but kept them hid, and we fell 

 it rather hard to be suspected of falsehood. It was pro- 

 bably at their suggestion that in the evening a war-dance 

 was got up about a hundred yards from our encampment, 

 as if to put us in fear and force us to bring forth presents. 

 Some of Monina's young men had guns, but most were 

 armed with large bows, arrows, and spears. They beat 

 their drums furiously, and occasionally fired off a gun. As 

 this sort of dance is never got up unless there is an inten- 

 tion to attack, my men expected an assault. We sat and 

 looked at them for some time, and then, as it became dark, 

 lay down all ready to give them a warm reception. But an 

 hour or two after dark the dance ceased, and, as we then 

 saw no one approaching us, we went to sleep. During the 

 night, one of my head-men, Monahin, was seen to get up, 

 look toward the village, and say to one who was half 

 awake, "Don't you hear what these people are saying? 

 Go and listen." He then walked off in the opposite direc- 

 tion, and never returned. We had no guard set, but every 

 one lay with his spear in his hand. The man to whom he 

 spoke appears to have been in a dreamy condition, for it 

 did not strike him that he ought to give the alarm. Next 

 morning I found to my sorrow that Monahin was gone, 

 and not a trace of him could be discovered. He had an 

 attack of pleuritis some weeks before, and had recovered, 

 but latterly complained a little of his head. 1 observed 

 him in good spirits on the way hither, and in crossing 

 some of the streams, as I was careful not to wet my feet, 

 he aided me, and several times joked at my becoming so 

 light. In the evening he sat beside my tent until it was 

 dark, and did not manifest any great alarm. It was pro- 

 bably either a sudden fit of insanity, or, having gor, 3 a little 

 way out from the camp, he may have been carried off by a 

 lion, as this part of the country is full of them. I incline to 



the former opinion, because sudden insanity occurs when 



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