40 THE WISE WOMAN. 



natives. The wise woman was accompanied by a 

 few men and women of the clan to which she be- 

 longed. She had tied two or three handkerchiefs 

 round her waist; her face had been coloured, on one 

 side with white clay, and the other had been made 

 quite black with charcoal ; her body was smeared 

 with grease and red ochre ; two large tufts, made of 

 the hair of wild animals, were fastened on her head, 

 and in her hands she held three spears ; altogether, 

 nothing could have been devised by human ingenuity 

 to render her appearance more hideous and disgusting. 

 After running several times round the circle, and 

 performing many strange but unmeaning antics, she 

 delivered a short address, intimating her unwilling- 

 ness to proceed, and also stating that she knew not 

 what had influenced her, but that she did not feel her 

 usual freedom. One of the counsellors urged her 

 to the most strenuous exertions for the discovery of 

 the culprit, saying, amongst other observations, 

 " We are all weeping ; our Chief is already sick ; 

 and his cattle are dying every day ; and now another 

 evil thing, which we did not expect, has happened ; 

 the lad, the son of the Chief, is bewitched ; go on, 

 therefore, and let us see how it will end." The 

 artful woman having, drawn this speech from the very 

 man whom she intended to charge with the crime, 

 immediately answered, " I am glad you say so; let 

 us go to your kraal, you must show us the way, and 

 there I will produce and exhibit something." All 



