A VILLAGE HEAD-MAN.
"Several days before the hunt the big drum is sounded in the village of the chief of the tribe, to call the head-men of the other villages together; when all are assembled the day of the hunt is announced, and the place where the people are to meet is agreed upon. Then the head-men depart, each to his own village, and the news is scattered as fast as possible.
"Sometimes a chief gives a grand entertainment before the hunt, but in this instance he didn't do so. On such occasions he slaughters several oxen for feeding his guests, and brews a large quantity of native beer for them to drink. An important personage in such affairs is the sorcerer, who secures good-luck by certain magical performances. Unless he practices his incantations it is believed that no game will run into the nets; and, besides, accidents might happen to some of the party if they did not have his good offices beforehand.
"The negro tribes of Central Africa are great believers in the power of magic. Their sorcerers are invoked frequently to discover stolen articles, to heal the sick, and perform other practical work which we usually give to the police or the doctor, and they also exercise the art of rain-makers. Perhaps you never heard of a rain-maker?
AN AFRICAN MAGICIAN SUPERINTENDING THE SLAUGHTERING OF AN OX.
"Well, he is generally an old man, and carries a lot of charms about him, together with a horn or whistle, which he blows to create rain in seasons of drought, or to stop it when it falls too heavily. If the rain does as he commands it he claims all the credit; but if it does not obey he attributes his ill-luck to certain evil spirits over whom he has no control. If the person who calls him can afford it he generally orders an ox or some other animal to be killed, so that he can make his divinations after the manner of the ancient Romans, by examining the heart of the slaughtered beast. As he is sure to be presented with choice pieces of the meat, it is not improbable that he has an eye to his own welfare in issuing his commands.
"The rain-maker is held in great respect by all the people, and consequently it is well for all travellers to make friends with him at once. The chief with whom we had the interview was accompanied by his sorcerer, whose badge of office was a cow's horn, which he carried over his shoulder, and a whistle suspended from his neck. The whistle was a wooden one, of rather primitive construction, and not very loud in sound. I won the heart of the magician by giving him a hunting-whistle of bright pewter, and a little harmonicon such as you can buy at any toy-shop. The old fellow had some trouble to manage the harmonicon between his thick lips; but after a few trials he got along very well, and was evidently highly delighted with the result.