In about five minutes the poison took effect. He began to stagger about; his eyes were injected; his limbs twitched convulsively; his voice grew thick; his veins showed themselves prominently, and his muscles contracted. His whole behavior was that of a drunken man. He began to babble wildly, and then it was supposed that the inspiration was upon him. The people beat regularly upon the ground with the short sticks they held, and sang in a sort of doleful voice— “If he is a witch, let the _mboundou_ kill him, If he is not, let the _mboundou_ go out.” Then at times Layibirie, Quengueza’s heir, and his nephews, Quabi, Adouma, and Rapeiro, asked if there was any man that wanted to bewitch King Quengueza. Olonga-Condo went on talking wildly, not answering the questions, which were repeated over and over again. At last he said—“Yes; some one is trying to bewitch the King.” Then came the query, “Who?” By this time the poor fellow was fortunately hopelessly tipsy, and incapable of reasonable speech. He babbled some unintelligible jargon, and presently the inquest was declared at an end. No persons had been accused, hence nobody was to be killed. But sometimes these doctors do mention names, and one of these days I may give you an account of murders committed in the name of witchcraft. [Sidenote: _MURDERS ON ACCOUNT OF WITCHCRAFT._] The _mboundou_ is a dreadful poison,[1] one from which very few escape. Sometimes the veins of the victim will burst open, at other times blood will flow from his nose and eyes, and he drops dead a few minutes after drinking it. Hence the great power of the doctor. If a poor fellow is supposed to be a wizard, or to have bewitched the King or somebody else, he is forced to drink the _mboundou_ whether he likes it or not. If the man dies, he is declared a witch; if he survives, he is declared innocent, and those who have accused him pay him a fine. Footnote 1: This _mboundou_ pretty certainly belongs to a natural order that contains many venomous plants, viz., the LOGANIACEÆ; and, from the peculiar veining of the leaves, it is probably a species of _Strychnos_, belonging to that section of the genus which includes _S. nux vomica_. The taste of the infusion is extremely bitter. I gave some of the roots to Professor John Torrey, of New York. In the book published by the Messrs. Harper, called “Explorations in Equatorial Africa,” I published the letter this able chemist wrote me on the properties of the _mboundou_. The ordeal is much dreaded by the negroes, who often run away from home and stay away all their lives rather than submit to it, and will often rather enslave themselves to another tribe. When the wizards are said to belong to another village, then wars frequently ensue. The man thought guilty is demanded to drink the _mboundou_, while his friends, who know that he will probably die, refuse to give him up.