The new era. (Walden, Colo.) 1906-19??, 1909-09-16

a. secretly ana In the dead of night he was car
y rfed back into the bush to an obscure "half
II town" called Goomah no woman being allowed
ID TO know his whereabouts Courtesy to the null
1t lah and the sand cutter demanded that Wobeh
r snouio promptly pass into the unknown, but the
s old man held on to life with his characteristic
? tepacity. 1t was several weeks before the news
{, was quietly brought to Totoquelli that its found
er was dead. The information was passed on
to Boporo and King Sow came over to take
charge OF the town until all its palavers were
settled.
The funeral Of African chief follows the
9 law of the bush implicitly but the details vary
n in different parts OF the west coast The pro-
= ceedings in this extended over a period of
about three weeks.
First Wobeh's body removed from the
hut where he had died and placed in an open
kitchen in Goomah. These kitchens are merely
large huts without walls, or rather with walls
: about three feet high The roof is of thatch and
the floor of clay In the center of Of these
= Kitchens shallow grave was dug Then the
= feet we're bound together, the arms extend
: ed down the body and the hands bound together
70 by means of a strong stick placed between
r hanW and feet the body was placed in the grave
and likhtly covered. After 1t had lain there for
two Days it was taken up by night and carried to
Totoquelli. where it was again placed in shall
i low grave but in hut where woman could
= bring i'll luck by looking upon It, The law of the
X bush shuts out all women from any approach to
II the dead Then the family and the town began
- to make ready for the obsequies formal notices
w were sent out to all the big kings within two
of days walk, in order that they might with
L. gifts) and assist Wobehs spirit into rest.
tie The funeral continued for eight days First
If the body was again lifted from the grave and
y. laid OUT in open kitchen carefully screened.
'h The kings women were then segregated in
20 30 other kitchen and intrusted with the duty of
sd making great lamentaton. Then the head of the
devil bush'-he is great functionary in West
= Africa-came into the village to announce the
Yat kings death-a performance par with the
formal notification given to presidential nomi-
Vince by committee from national convention.
The devil bush" is sort Of combination of
77cret society and boys boarding school. 1t is
collection of huts hidden away in the bush which
women must avoid pay the penalty of death.
SHere are collected most of the boys of the
S$ munity and they remain in secusion for period
Hk2Rvarying from three to six years, being taught
some sense and much nonsense. The grip of su-
perstition is strong that the head of the bush
ptbeeo great man in the tribe and death is the
,r,, penalty for any who looks upon his face
. tTetoquelli's devil preceded his entrance into
reithe town by unearthly YELL which was the
signal for all the women and girls land every
~,man not member of TIE devil bush'O to
crete themselves. Then with series Of ventril-
.oquistic yells he into the center of the
>ssuwL announced the death of Wobeh ordered
)ENhe funeral to proceed and vanished into the
s,bush. Then the real noise began