Each Azandé chief is really a despotic king. His power over his subjects is absolute, and any one of them who is so unfortunate as to offend him is simply handed over to the executioner, a procedure which to the Azandé mind seems the most natural thing in the world. The courage of the Azandés is beyond praise. They know no fear; and when assailed by a murderous fire, against which they have no chance of success, they will rush right up to their enemy and grapple with him hand to hand, though nine-tenths of their fellows fall by the way. Their favourite weapons are the lance and light throwing-spear, and each warrior carries, in addition, a shield. [Sidenote: Ordeal by Poison.] Among the Azandé, criminals condemned to death are despatched with the lance. Occasionally, however, they employ a peculiar method of trial, known as the ordeal by poison, which precludes this method of execution. On such occasions the chief acts as judge, and the person accused is made to drink a cup of poison, the theory being that if the accusation is baseless the accused survives unharmed. Of course, the invariable result is that the drinker falls dead within a minute or so. It is safe to assume that an Azandé chief is sufficiently intelligent never to subject one of his tribe to this ordeal whose death he has not previously determined upon. [Sidenote: Blood-Brotherhood.] Another singular custom, not peculiar to the Azandé, but common to all Central African tribes, is the ceremony of blood-brotherhood. Two men who are in no way related having agreed to become “blood-brothers,” _i. e._, to live in peace and amity for ever after, meet in the open air, in the presence of the chiefs and people, when a small incision is made in the forearm of each “brother,” sufficiently deep to cause a little blood to flow. Each mutilated one then licks the blood from the other’s arm, and thenceforth they are related as brothers. [Illustration: African Belles. Hairdressing of Sango Women at Banzyville, 1894 (Ubanghi).] A slight modification of this ceremony was early conceded by the various chiefs to accommodate the pardonable squeamishness of Europeans; and now, instead of licking each other’s blood, the “brothers” merely rub their incisions together, so that their blood may mingle. Stanley was made blood-brother to so many African chiefs that at last his arm was well scored with incisions. Several Belgian commandants, and a few Englishmen, have submitted to this operation; always, it is almost needless to remark, from motives of policy, for it has been proved that Africans regard the rite with real veneration, and esteem the “brother” they acquire by it at least as highly as they would a natural brother.