ABSTRACT OF PROCEEDINGS. XXVii. 
alone in which the food supply is precarious. In camps of blacks 
removed a few miles from towns all the members, men, women, 
and children are always in the nude state. The “kulpi” are very 
reluctant to shew their mutilation, feeling much ashamed of 
themselves and their inferiority to men in whom the parts are 
normal. During micturition they squat down, avoiding as far as 
possible being seen by the white man in the act. In the cases in 
which I was permitted to view the parts operated upon, the 
urethra had been slit open from the meatus to the scrotum, and. 
there was in no instance any prepuce, so that I supposed circum- 
cision had also been performed, although the natives themselves 
did not lead me to understand that such was so. Those, who 
have had much experience of the blacks, will bear with me in 
stating that itis extremely difficult to get information of a reliable 
character from them ; they either do not understand the question 
thoroughly, or conclude that you are in some way making ridicule 
of them, and purposely deceive you ; they are always reluctant, 
even to white men who have learned to speak their language, to 
impart information concerning their private affairs. So far as I 
was able to ascertain from the civilized blacks at the stations, as 
to what had been done to the women to prevent their child bear- 
ing, it would appear that it is during infancy that an operation is 
performed upon them by introducing a rough grass stalk into the ~ 
uterus, twisting this round and round until it has firmly grasped 
the walls, when the organ is dragged down, but whether the uterus 
is then cut away or only the grass stalk forcibly pulled out, carry- 
ing with it the mucous lining, was not known to them ; all they 
could further tell me was, that the operation was done by a par- 
ticular man of the tribe and caused great loss of blood. 
DISCUSSION. 
Mr. R. H. Mathews said that as far as his investigations in 
reference to the “‘mika” operation had gone, he was of opinion 
that it was not designed to prevent procreation, since there are 
well authenticated cases of mutilated men being the fathers of 
families. ‘The custom was in force in districts where food was 
