The administration by the native rulers is kept under close observation, and they are encouraged to educate themselves in the application of their own code. Each chief has his advisers or counsellors, some of whom are selected by himself and others elected by the people. When a chief dies it is not customary to announce the fact at once—his chief speaker would announce first that he was suffering from a bad sickness, and was therefore unable to attend the affairs of State, later he would announce that he had gone to Futah—Futah Jalloh being in the eyes of the natives a land rich in cattle and everything that they most desire. Steps would then be taken to elect a new chief. The person usually selected would be the senior male member of the deceased’s family, though they sometimes go to the female side, as there is no Salic law to prevent such a course. The person nominated is taken to a hut on the outskirts of the town near the burial-place of the chief, where he lives out of sight of all persons for two or three months; during this period he is supposed to hold high converse with the mighty dead, and learn from them how to govern wisely and well. After the lapse of this period the principal men of the chiefdom visit him, and he is escorted into the town, which gives itself up to wild enthusiasm. The chief elect is carried round the town by a struggling, shouting mob, and at this stage it is permissible for any one to strike him. The reason given for this ceremony is that it enables the chief to feel the pain he will have in his power to inflict on others, and in consequence it may teach him compassion. After the chief has been formally elected and acclaimed, his body is sacred. Among the Mendes, women are frequently elected to the chieftainship; a chieftainess does not marry, but may have a consort, whom she changes at will. She is also permitted, contrary to a strict rule regarding other women, to join the Poro Society. The Bundu Society, a women’s society which corresponds with the Poro for men, plays a very important part in native life among the Mendes and Temnes. Bundu girls have to undergo during their novitiate period an operation somewhat similar to that performed on the Poro boys, and their backs and loins are cut in such a manner as to leave raised scars which project above the surface of the skin. They also receive their Bundu names by which they are afterwards known. Their release from the Bundu bush is carried out with great ceremony, and they are usually accompanied by persons wearing hideous masks who personate Bundu devils. A procession is formed, which marches through the town or village accompanied by musicians, who play on a collection of instruments consisting of drums, rattles and timbrels. A halt is made in the centre of the town and the girls are publicly pronounced marriageable. [Illustration: BUNDU GIRLS AND BUNDU DEVILS.]