REMAINS OF CANNIBALISM AND SLAVERY 
71 
and I have patients from there who belong to the 
“ earth eaters.” These are driven by hunger to 
accustom themselves to this practice, and they keep it 
up even when they have a sufficiency of food. 
That the oil palm was imported one can notice 
evidence to-day, for on the river and round the lakes 
where there are, or once were, villages, there are whole 
woods of oil palms, but when one goes about on the 
main roads into the virgin forest, where there has never 
been a human settlement, there is not one to be seen. 
On our return journey from Talagouga we stayed 
two days in Samkita with Mr. and Mrs. Morel, the 
missionaries from Alsace. Samkita is the leopard 
station, and one of these robbers broke, one night last 
autumn, into Mrs. Morel’s fowl-house. On hearing the 
cries of their feathered treasures, her husband hurried 
off to get some one to help, while she kept a look-out 
in the darkness, for they supposed a native had forced 
his way in to steal something for his dinner. Then, 
hearing a noise on the roof, Mrs. Morel went nearer 
in hopes of identifying the intruder. The latter, 
however, had already vanished in the darkness with 
a mighty spring, and when they opened the door 
twenty-two fowls lay dead on the floor with their 
breasts torn open. It is only the leopard that kills 
in this fashion, his chief object being to get blood to 
drink. His victims were removed, but one of them, 
stuffed with strychnine, was left lying before the door. 
Two hours later the leopard returned and devoured it, 
and while it was writhing in cramp it was shot by 
Mr. Morel. Shortly before our arrival another leopard 
had made his appearance in Samkita, and had devoured 
several goats. 
