[Note: this transcription was produced by an automatic OCR engine]

RECRUITING FOR NATIVES 81

with him. Macao, furious at the death of his comrade,
for whom he seemed to have felt real affection, put him
in mortal fear, and was quite determined to avenge
his murdered friend. We shut Belni up in the hold
of the cutter and told the natives that they would
have to hand over Bourbaki’s rifle and cartridges, and
pay us two tusked pigs by noon of the next day.

On this occasion we learned the reason for the
murder: Belni’s brother had had an intrigue with the
wife of the chief, and had been condemned by the latter
to pay a few pigs. Being too poor to do this, he decided
to pay his debt in an old—fashioned way by killing a
man, and Bourbaki was unlucky enough to arrive just
at the right time, and being a man from a distant
. district, there was no revenge to be feared. Belni,
therefore, chose him as his victim. The two brothers
chatted all night with him and Macao, and asked to
see Bourbaki’s rifle, which he carelessly handed to
them. When, towards morning, Macao left them for
a few moments, they profited by the opportunity to
shoot Bourbaki from behind, and to run away.
Macao, rushing back, found his friend dead, and fled
'to the shore. By this deed the wrong to the chief
was supposed to be made good—a very peculiar prac-
tice in native justice. .It may be a remnant of old
head-hunting traditions, inasmuch as Belni’s brother
would have given the dead man’s head to the chief
.in payment, this being even more valuable than pigs.

The first excitement over, our boys were seized by
fear, even Macao and the other one who had accom- ‘

panied us. Although they were in perfect safety on
6