It is not necessary in this place to give the names of all the tribes of which the native population of the vast Congo region is composed. They are numerous, and for the most part not easily pronounceable. Of the tribes not already referred to, the Basundis, Bakuendas, Batekas, Bayanzis, Bangalas, Batetelas, Mongos, Bantu, and Mombettus are most prominent. While differing in personal appearance, prowess, habits, and customs, clearly denoting that they are not descended from a common stock, there are not wanting certain traits which distinguish them all. _All_ are polygamous, _nearly all_ are cannibal, and the morals of the most advanced among them such as shock the average civilised man upon his first contact with them. Strangely inconsistent with the low moral sense which prevails among most of the tribes, some of them punish the crime of adultery with death, others by horribly mutilating the male offender. [Sidenote: Cannibalism.] Cannibalism has long been suppressed by the Congo Government just as murder is suppressed among civilised communities; but the horrid practice is still indulged here and there, as opportunity occurs for evading the vigilance of the authorities. So recently as 1898, and possibly to the present day, it was necessary to maintain a constant guard at the cemetery in Leopoldville, the chief station on the Upper Congo, to prevent the Bangalas unearthing the dead and carrying them off to feast upon. Several such cases were proved against them, and capital punishment had to be resorted to in order to stamp it out. This horrid subject is sickening to contemplate; but no description, however brief or superficial, of the Congo people, can ignore a fact which has occasioned, and still presents, such a tremendous difficulty for civilisation to surmount. This is but one of many difficulties with which the Congo Free State has had to contend, and those who sit in judgment upon that State should bear in mind that the Central African black is not by nature predisposed to civilisation. Not all the cannibal tribes are so repulsive and cruel as the Bangalas. Most of them eat no other human flesh but that of their enemies slain in battle. That source of supply will not suffice for the Bangalas, who make up its deficiency with prisoners or slaves. Having broken their victim’s limbs, they place him in a pool of water, with his head supported just above its surface so that he may not drown. After having left him in that position for three days (if he survives so long), he is killed and eaten. Another method is to behead the victim, singe all the hair from the body over an ember fire, and then cut it into pieces for cooking. The portions not immediately eaten are smoke-dried and put aside for another occasion. The teeth are extracted and made into necklaces by the women. Sometimes the skin is used for drumheads. [Illustration: Bakusu Chiefs, Stanleyville.] [Illustration: Bangala Women.] [Sidenote: Polygamy.]