The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1878-02-21
Afrlca's SuperstitioEs.

Mf. Faui b. Du Chaillu lectured Friday
night ut Association Hall, New York, on
the "Witchcraft and Supersitions of AT
rica." am going to take you again, said
lie, into the jungle of Equatorial Africa
Stanley met that jungle at the htad va.
ters of the Congo he met there the ,an,
nibals saw and the dwarfs discover 81
And what o jungle it is AT the end OF
each days journey made no negro could
tell Wei where that vast forest ended
There are grcat dangers there, and some
times one has TO fight the people. It ia
nos very pleasant to fight 1t was not very
pleasant for Stanley but he had to fight
eor be killed.
The people are scattered in great tribes,
divided inso clans and the clans into fam.
.ilies the chiefs, and tho old men making
! the lava. Three Institutions are eyery-
where prevalentT-polygamy, slavery and
WituhcIhft. il il wonderful how these
people love TO get married. They marry
all the time and never get tired of it.
Some Of them marry as old az eighty.fiye
% ninety yeare, ;..as es se:ae OF us do ai
home, you know. Laughter The larg.
cat number Of wives I have seen belong.
ing to one man was about three hundred.
and when ! asked him how many chill
dren he had, he said between ak and
eight hundred. Two hundred, more or
less, didn't seem TO trouble him at all.
Tbs IiFes ags ..Dt slaves, but sheir hus-
bands buy them when tiIcy are ::.hree or
-four years old from their fathers !: that Ia
o sort of dowry. Polygamy is also DO.
litical institution. The tribes are always
at slar, and thonee- q man tries to get as
many wives as he can from the surround
ing tribes SO. as'f have friends among
them: They have great adherence Of
blood Relationship, and no msn is allowed
to take wife Of his own clan.
STf;Eho great curse of that country ia It's
'superatitions, and it L very hard 20 get
at the bottom facts about their religious
belief. They have two names which rep
resent our ideas OF God and of the devil.
Ta5 devil 10 the source, OF. all evil end
ysitchncran Whes. if;;ssi5oii is sick ne is
oeRitched by some one, and the eercere.
or sorcercss has to be killed. Tho doc.
tors point them out, and they hayeto
swallow poison to prove their innocence.
This poison is the root of tree called
"bnndo," belonging to the strychnine
order, but these doctors take It and do
not die. Hero, if q man sees The new
noon over his right shouider, or his left.
St F.iF iucAy. or or'nniuCky. pit tilegs III in
Alhlncky IL ne sees the ~ mS6a as atl.
and OH tde dayof the new moon nobody
dare go out Of his hut. The queen Of
Witchcyatt lives in the moon, and tho
people of the world are the insects oi,
which witchcraft feeds, and when witch.
crAh is very hungry she, sends the plague
aud kills more people. Those who have
any connection with the spirit in the
moon are women and must bein a trance.
The people are honest in stheir beliefs.
but OF course thefe is iugelery arnong
them. Among many tribes cannibalism
exists, but / think it is a sort of relipious
feast, ss they do not kill people purposely
except prisonela of war. as AMONG The
Indians, they have no mercy on fhose
taken in war. Iinade inquiries about
thiBt icannibalisra;,sI ,nted. to knl,w
which we're the besss eating. women Im or
ulens They all agree that the women
were best. They didn't tell me anything
new, for knew that before. Laughter
dance IL perfectly terrible.
1hey cover themselves all over with war.
.s slis Il - iii5 been satura-
to Z, WISH the aeah and brains
froIn the heads of their dead warriors,
winch they always kept in o particular
Q dance, and uhen morning comes each
man cuts his hand ia saysfal; nIaces and
lets tho blood flow into d largo wooden
diAh, and they rub themselves With that
blood and then 90 70 war.
The most difficult thing the misaions.
Eies hAye 70 do 10 to bring themselves to
9 ieyei af thinking with these people.
Sorne OF the negroes are very fierce.
They would not be 90 bad II the traders
did not bring them such an amount of
Spirits. lt Is laughable sometimes TO sea
gne missionaries on the deck, of q ahiTS
aud TIE sbarrela cs rum =zznd dax. tho doct}
both going 70 the sanne place. They are
3 7T'E' 9, VtIeI7 le9, pllt 9 otE kpI,N
yaaen pIla gas g Little eis lasA ms gssS
anu tu5y KNOW TnaE where the
sllissl lonary comes the trader viii follow
and they Ike trade. Skanse lis ft1aia 4
great, & ran j j0nr4ey. II YotS will ldSk
&C the anoFs of that tsI an Won Rilt see iS
y IflsF icils. And how quickly
lls cid He explored tle lakes dis
cerarea By 6peke, Burton, Baker and
q tsln toties iollosfe9 tllos CONGO sivcg
past any as1osipt az fapifg, and fought
Ai5 way to ise c1asr IIriag5!
ttuti6 40 q feaA 81 Ijsls lbs AisoYa
vera Eont a III S { wont
rs " llHQlgh llades 8 sss'i o. sgld Ia
s1as desdly clIraase itsfe che ne dye
D u beefl 81 led Ssgsii Iife1 BIZ HE
3itise f3asie tkiink tEao s. 3 81