The uncivilized races of men in all countries of the world - being a comprehensive account of their manners and customs, and of their physical, social, mental, moral and religious characteristics (14586682099)

Identifier: uncivilizedraces00wood (find matches)
Title: The uncivilized races of men in all countries of the world : being a comprehensive account of their manners and customs, and of their physical, social, mental, moral and religious characteristics
Year: 1878 (1870s)
Authors: Wood, J. G. (John George), 1827-1889
Subjects: Ethnology Manners and customs Savages
Publisher: Hartford : J. B. Burr and company
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive



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, no one being bold enoughto bury them. By their laws, the man whoburies another succeeds to his property, butalso inherits his debts, and is legally responsi-ble for them. And as in Western Africa thelegal rate of interest is far above the wildestdreams of European usurers — say fifty percent, per annum, or per mensem, or perdiem, as the case may be — to bury an ex-posed corpse involves a risk that no onelikes to run. One of their oddest superstitions is theirbelief in a child who has existed from thebeginning of the world. It never eats nordrinks, and has remained in the infantilestate ever since the world and it came intoexistence. Absurd as is the idea, this mirac-ulous child is firmly believed in, even bypersons who have had a good education, andwho say that they have actually seen it.Mr. Duncan, to whom we are indebted forthe account of it, determined to see it, andwas so quick in his movements that he quitedisconcerted its nurse, and stopped her prep-arations for his visit.
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(,652) AN INGENIOUS DEVICE. 553 Being again delayer!, I lost patience, andresolved to enter the dwelling. My Africanfriends and the multitude assembled from allparts of the town, warned me of the destruc-tion that would certainly overtake me if Iventured to go in without leave. But Ishowed them my double-barrelled gun asmy fetish, and forced my way through thecrowd. On entering through a very narrow dooror gateway, into a circle of about twentyyards diameter, fenced round by a closepaling, and covered outside with long grass(so that nothing within could be seen), thefirst and only thing that I saw was an oldwoman who, but for her size and sex, Ishould have taken for the mysterious beingresident there from the time of the creation.She certainly was the most disgusting andloathsome being I ever beheld. She had nocovering on her person with the exceptionof a small piece of dirty cloth round herloins. Her skin was deeply wrinkled andextremely dirty, with scarcely any flesh onher bones. He