EFFECT OF DACHA SMOKE 
203 
maddening weed amongst their servants. The boasting and 
yelling period over, the native grasps a thin long reed, through 
which he ejects the fluid still contained in his mouth, now of 
a dull blue colour from contact with the smoke, in a succession 
of little pearl-like bubbles, which he trains into circular shapes 
on the floor. All this time the pipe is circulating from one to 
another of the company; and it is no unusual occurrence for 
a smoker, fired into almost madness by the fumes, to spring up 
shouting like a demon, and go through the evolutions of a war 
dance, accompanied by the loud acclamations of his companions, 
who in their turn perform some equally excitable freak. From 
this pipe they gather inspiration in extreme moments, the 
warrior before battle, the hunter before proceeding after danger¬ 
ous game, and the witch doctor for the execution of the 
intricacies of his profession. 
Old Sakoonima informed us that near here, at Makoyo’s, was 
his home, and that we would now part company. We found this 
to be a piece of political falsehood, or an excuse on the part of 
the old man to get rid of us, for he might have been put to 
some trouble by the king for bringing us into the country 
without permission, as he was an entirely unauthorised and 
irresponsible person. Native kings, with the inborn rapacity of 
their race, never lose an opportunity of fining a man for mis¬ 
demeanours he may really have committed, or may be imagined 
to be guilty of. It is very difficult for Whites to form an opinion 
of what may constitute an actionable wrong amongst natives, or of 
what the liabilities are likely to be for an act that every sensible 
white person would consider perfectly justified and reasonable. 
However; the bringing in of strangers by a new route, involving 
at any rate the chance that the information might be carried 
away to some other king likely to make use of it, might cost 
the unwitting guide a punishment that would place him beyond 
the possibility of ever repeating the offence, nothing less than 
death. For a white man to forestall possible accusations one 
requires the wisdom of a Solomon and the imagination of a 
Jules Verne; but none of these qualities will ever serve to pal- 
