The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-08-24

hopeless task;" but were he living now, his
opinion concerning the Kroos would be
greatly changed.
The heather tribes of Africa, so far as
have investigated the matter. all believe in
the Immortality of the soul, though their
after the death of the body, the spirit pass
es into some beast or serpent, and even that
it may DO rehabilitated and returned to
earth in human form as an infant. There
is in such belief faint resemblance to
Buddhism. There is no national or even
among the Buddhists. That which they
worship they call "Ju Ju." and every one is
free to select and set up his own "Ju Jul
according to his spiritual inclinations.
Many believe in the Great Ju Ju," the Su-
preme One, but when INTERCEPTED concern
ing Him. they lapse into indefin,teness and
far. far away" and these .ju Ju's' being
at hand they can see them.
This strange tumble of theology OF
heathenism IS a most interesting study.
The name of God, the Supreme One, in
kroo is '.''Niswa;'' in the Bassa it is Grip
POI in the Ney. .(VD. "Konibaw." Mingled
ton that finds expression in charms ana
other trinkets. The Gree Gree is Il charm
that Is variously worn, in small rolls, in a
goats horn, or in other shapes, and it is re-
puted to possess the power to keep the
witches away to give long life and i'm
munlty from sickness to the wearer, to
bring luck, etc. Like all heather nations,
these poor savages address their prayers
more to the powers of evil than to the good;
they think that unseen, baleful influences
follow them from their birth, and, to pro-
p1tiate TINS relentless power. they parry and
One of the worst features of savage super
stitlon was the annual rite at Benny and
Old Calabar, where, to appease the evil
power of ''the Mad Water" an Albino
young woman was every year rowed out in
boat to the bar and there sacrificed to the
spirit of tho sea where the water WAS the
water was the toughest. Such frightful
atrocities, however, are fast disappearing
under the teachings of the missionaries of
the church of England at Benny and those
Of the Scotch Presbyterians ut Old Calabar'
Still, when l was at the latter place in 1880,
sa& around almost every doorstep row
OF human skulls, which, l was told, were
placed there to keep the witches away
Another peculiar outcome of my visit
there was my discovery that the king had
just been persuaded to enact law prohibit.
ing the killing of twins and their mother
Till that time this was a universal practices
in that part of Africa. "One child. tn.
natives explained, with the utmost gravity
''be proper child; but one he be proper
deblee and the nanny no be deblee, or b,
no born deblee." This was the reason fol
taking the mother and tying and leavin.
her in the bush, to be eaten by the driver
ants or devoured by wild animals, her owl
father, mother and even her husband con
senting to the atrocity. In Abomey, tn,
capital of Dahomey, where no missionaries
are allowed to labor, human sacrifices ar,
still offered daily and the most savage bar
barities are practiced.
Cannibalism has been q fruitful subiec
for African explorers, and is one to which
have given no little confederation. Living
stone was quite doubtful as to most of th,
tribes being cannibsls. The one exception
as he thought, was tribe whose men wer'
OF superior physique. leaving us to infe
that the flesh eating habit had somethin,
to do with their superiority. My own OBJ
seryation aud opinion 10 that most of tn,
tribes are more or les addicted TO eatini