Iron County register., 1898-06-02

got the interpreter to inquire again.
This time he found out something.
It's leopard; he kill lot of dem
Barawaya men, he reported. One, two
three men, one two women, he kill sc
quick. You mind Jonker, big man,
laugh good deal, carry big load-he die
las night. Leopard git him.
Why don't the Barawaya men turn
out and kill the leopard? They're all
hunters I said. I'll send over some
men with guns to help them any time
viii go myself if they get the beast
tracked down close
The interpreter shook his head
looked round to make sure that he
would not be overheard, and said:
That leopard fellow, he witch. He
hab leopard skin, put il on-den he Kill
anybody. Any fellow talk his name
he kill dat fellow, sho'I'
The leopard-men, or witches. th'
terror of many of the West African
coast tribes. l already had heard of
but this was the first one whose doings
had come actually to my notice. The
performance of these frightful wretchei
is not like the Noudoo and Obeah busi
ness. where the witches work with
charms and spells and incantations
The leopard-man puts on the skin of
leopard with the head drawn over hi!
own head, and with iron spikes fast
ened TO his hands to serve as claws
the set Of spikes in your hand is /
specimen-goes out TO look for human
victims. Why do they DO this? Well
for plunder. revenEe-more often per
haps pure devilishness; love of killing
and thirst for human blood. When i
is suspected in an African village tha'
q leopard-man is at work the people
are in a pitiable state of terror. Every
man is fearful of talking upon the sub
ject, for fear the witch will know it and
make him the next victim. If the witch
is detected. his shrift is a short one
for the villagers wreak on him reveng,
for all the fears they have undergone
and loss of friends. But il often hap
pens that innocent men are accused
and that the leopard witch leads a long
career of murder undiscovered.
''In this case the Barawaya men from
the first suspected the man who turned
out TO be the real criminal. The inter
prefer pointed him out to me one day
in Kongala. His name was Mobi and he
had come to the station with the othel
villagers, having some commoditie:
to barter. and he had some money witt
him, which is unusual among the na
tives. He was a 1.-THE, strongly bull
man, of about 30 years, with eye
furtive and savage of expression. H'
showed his teeth a great DEAL ant
looking at him, ! was struck by the
length cf the buck or canine teeth il
his upper and lower jaw. His move
ments were remarkably smooth anc
supple, and he walked noiselessly
about and said little. The other ma
tives plainly were much afraid OF him
but the interpreter said that soonor o,
later. now that he was under suspicion
some one of them in a fiji OF fury would
probably kill him IN revenge for som,
relative lost.
But the leopard man met his fate il
quite another way, about a month late
"A way that effectually proved his
guilt. Two hunters in my employ, who
lived at the station at Kongala. while
out for game, came near the village o,
Barawaya one day after nightfau, and
not wishing 10 arouse the people a
that hour, went into an empty hut il
the outskirts to pass the night. During
the night one of them was wakened by
cry outside and, looking out, saw il
the moonlight what seemed TO be
leopard tearing at woman on th'
ground. The hunter seized MS gun ant
=
With strange cry the creature ros'
on its hind feet, faced the hunter for
moment, then sprang into the shadow!
of the forest and disappeared. Tn,
hunters went to the woman. who wa!
dead, her throat being torn and heI
breast and arms terribly lacerated by
claws. They lost no time in leaving thu
place ana making the rest of their way
to the station, for they knew that !.
the Barawaya people found them there
they would accuse them of being Te.
sponsible for the woman's death. The
hunters got 10 kongaIa at daylight anG
told me what had happened.
The hunters story was nfrned by
people from Barawaya the same DAY
The shot at the leopard had been heard
in the village, but no one had dareC
leave his hut to try to find out the
cause of the firing. In the morning tbs
villagers had found the woman's body
where she had been killed, and from
that spot followed a trail Of blooi
marks that led 10 Mobi's hut. There OF
the floor the witch lay dead, with
leopard skin drawn over him, and
oTlDSho+ rh-olJoh his b07y-
The leopard skin l tried to buy, but
the natives already had destroyed il
through superstitious reasons. One OF
the spike claws, the same that you hold
in your hands, one of the hunters
picked up beside the leopard mans vic.
tim, and he gave it to me in proof tha'
his story was true"