Human Leopards

xiii

That there were cannibals in the Hinterland of Sierra Leone in former days appears from the observations^[1] of William Finch, who visited Sierra Leone in August, 1607. This accurate observer states, “To the South of the Bay, some fortie or fiftie leagues distant within the Countrey, inhabiteth a very fierce people which are man-eaters, which sometimes infest them.” This clearly points to the Mende country, where the Human Leopard Society was lately flourishing. Finch does not, however, refer to anything but pure cannibalism.

In 1803 Dr. Thomas Winterbottom, the Colonial Surgeon, Sierra Leone, wrote an account of the native Africans in the neighbourhood of Sierra Leone, and, after quoting and criticizing various authorities who had alleged the existence of cannibalism in different parts of West Africa, states (vol. i. p. 166) as follows:

“That this horrid practice does not exist in the 2neighbourhood of Sierra Leone, nor for many hundred leagues along the coast to the northward and southward of that place, may be asserted with the utmost confidence, nor is there any tradition among the natives which can prove that it ever was the custom; on the contrary, they appear struck with horror when they are questioned individually on the subject, though at the same time they make no scruple of accusing other nations at a distance, and whom they barely know by name, of cannibalism.”

Joseph Corry^[2] (1806) hints at human sacrifices, but neither he nor Major Laing^[3] (1822) heard anything of cannibalism, whilst Harrison Rankin^[4] (1834), who appears to have made considerable inquiry into the matter, and who speaks of “slavery, cannibalism and polygamy” as being deemed domestic virtues in the wilds of Africa, specifically mentions the only definite and well-ascertained case of cannibalism which came to his notice; it was the case of a liberated resident (i.e. a native African liberated from a captured slaver) who had wandered in the bush and had killed another native for food. Rankin in conclusion states, “In the heterogeneous commixture of tribes in the British Colony, I discovered none which doubted the practice of cannibalism, but none of the established residents would plead guilty to the charge themselves or admit it of their own nation. They generally agreed in attributing it to the savages of the river Bonny.”

3The first trace of human leopards appears in the following quotation from Bishop Ingham’s “Sierra Leone after a Hundred Years,” published in 1894. The Bishop writes at p. 272: “The Temnes believe that by witchcraft a man may turn himself into an animal, and, in that form, may injure an enemy. A man was burnt at Port Lokkoh in 1854 for having turned himself into a leopard.” His lordship, who went to Africa about thirty years and who wrote about forty years after the event above mentioned, would probably have heard of this fact through Christian natives who (even if they had known the real reason for the burning) would have been keen to put it to the account of witchcraft; but taking into consideration the frequent criticisms of Temne “boys” at Gbangbama during the sitting of the Special Commission Court that it was absurd to waste so much time over the prisoners, but that we ought to burn all the persons charged with human leopard offences together with their villages and families, and so stamp out the practice as it had been stamped out in the Temne country, it seems more than probable that the man was burned not for witchcraft but as a human leopard.

The first definite reference to human leopards is to be found in Banbury’s “Sierra Leone; or, the White Man’s Grave,” 1888. At p. 183 he says: “Secret cannibalism is also prevalent, though the native punishment for this custom is death, and in the Mendi Mission (an American society) they possess the skin of a large leopard, with iron claws, which 4had once been the property of a man who, under this guise, satisfied his horrible craving.” This clearly refers to human leopard activity.

Mr. Alldridge,^[5] who has had a long and intimate acquaintance with the Mende tribes, is of opinion that the Human Leopard Society is of no great age, probably not more than half a century. All, however, that can be said with certainty is that until comparatively lately the operations of this society, if it existed, were so limited or so secret that the Society was unknown to Europeans, or indeed to Africans who were in touch with Europeans.

In 1891 the report from the Mende country that a number of cannibals had been burnt to death came as a shock to the Executive. The existence of the practice of cannibalism was known, but there was no idea that there was cannibalism on such a large scale. It seems that the inhabitants of the Imperri chiefdom had suffered so heavily at the hands of the cannibals that they complained to their chief. The complaints becoming too numerous and too insistent to be disregarded, the chief called a meeting, and the big men of Gangama, Gbangbama, Yandehun, and other towns and villages met at Bogo. Here the question of cannibalism was discussed, and those present were informed that a number of Tongo players^[6] had been summoned for the purpose of discovering the cannibals, the guilty parties no doubt depending upon their Borfima^[7] and bribes to escape detection. On the appointed day the Tongo players arrived. A 5huge fire was lighted, and the Tongo players were directed to throw into the fire all persons whom they found to be cannibals. One of the first to be cast into the flames was the principal chief who had been instrumental in calling in the Tongo players, and it is asserted that as many as eighty persons were burnt to death, a number of them anticipating their fate and of their own accord throwing themselves into the flames. A mercantile agent who visited Bogo shortly after this terrible retribution reported that the spot where the burning took place was a sickening sight, with its heaps of white ashes and remains of human bodies, whilst Mr. Alldridge, who held an inquiry into the matter, says that the pyramid of calcined bones which he saw at the junction of two roads just outside Bogo was about four feet high.

But the Government could not view with indifference such a crude and barbarous administration of justice, and on the 5th May, 1892, issued the following proclamation:

“Whereas from time to time in the Imperri Country and elsewhere within the Colony of Sierra Leone there have been native plays or dances commonly called or known as ‘Tongo Play,’ whereby some of the inhabitants of the said Colony have been accused of and denounced as being ‘Human Leopards,’ or as guilty of various crimes and misdemeanours, and upon such accusation and denouncement they have been unlawfully burnt to death or otherwise illegally punished:

“Now THEREFORE His Excellency the Administrator of the Government of the Colony aforesaid doth hereby publish, proclaim, and make known—

6“That from and after this date the play or dance of the Tongo People commonly called and known as ‘Tongo Play,’ being contrary to law, must at once cease throughout the Colony.

“That every Tongo person is hereby enjoined and required to quit the Colony within twenty-one days from the date of this Proclamation on pain of being arrested, detained, and deported as a Political Prisoner:

“That every person taking part in any ‘Tongo Play’ or action resulting thereupon will be prosecuted and punished according to law:

“And all the inhabitants of and sojourners in the Colony are hereby enjoined to govern themselves accordingly.”

With all dread of the Tongo players removed, cannibalism burst out afresh towards the end of 1894, and at the beginning of 1895 a number of murders took place. It was then definitely ascertained that these murders had been committed by members of a society which afterwards became notorious as the Human Leopard Society. To deal with this extraordinary class of crime the Government of the Colony of Sierra Leone decided that drastic and exceptional legislation was necessary, and a Bill entitled the Human Leopard Society Ordinance, 1895, was introduced and passed as Ordinance No. 15 of 1895.

The object of the Ordinance was set out in the preamble, which read as follows:

“Whereas there exists in the Imperri Country a Society known by the name of the Human Leopard Society formed for the purpose of committing murder:

“And whereas many murders have been committed 7by men dressed so as to resemble leopards and armed with a three-pronged knife commonly known as a leopard knife or other weapon:

“And whereas owing to the number of these murders, and the difficulty of detecting the perpetrators of the same, it is expedient to amend the law:

“Be it therefore enacted by the Government of the Colony of Sierra Leone with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof as follows”:

Then followed provisions making it penal for any person without lawful excuse to have in his possession or keeping any of the articles mentioned in the Schedule, viz.:

“(a) A leopard skin shaped so as to make a man wearing it resemble a leopard;

“(b) A three-pronged knife; and

“(c) A native medicine known as ‘Borfima’”; and under the Ordinance the police were given powers where there was reasonable ground of suspicion to arrest and to search without a warrant, and heavy penalties were imposed for obstructing the police.

On the 9th October, 1896, a Protectorate was proclaimed over that portion of the Hinterland of the Colony of Sierra Leone which had hitherto been merely under the control of the Colonial Government.

Up to this date, for more than half a century, the Government of the Colony had claimed and exercised the right of intervention in disputes which led to intertribal wars or which interfered with the trade routes from the interior, but beyond this and the efforts made to stop slave-raiding there had been very little interference with the Hinterland natives.

During the same year it was found necessary 8further to strengthen the hands of the Executive in dealing with crimes committed by members of secret societies, and the Human Leopard Society Ordinance of 1895 was added to, provision being made whereby any chief who was proved to have permitted or who failed to report within a reasonable time any celebration of Human Leopard Customs which had occurred in any place under his control was liable to heavy penalties.

Under the amended law the Governor-in-Council was given power to order the arrest and detention of chiefs when it was deemed expedient to do so for the preservation of peace and order and the suppression of the Human Leopard Society. Power was also given to the Governor-in-Council to deport any such chief from the British sphere of influence in Sierra Leone. The reason for the latter enactment seems to have been that it was considered impossible for the Society to flourish without the connivance of at least some of the chiefs in the part of the territory affected.

It appeared that while some chiefs had been most active in their support of the Government, others had given no assistance or had even put obstruction in the way of investigating charges by refusing to deliver up witnesses and by allowing them to leave the country, with the result that in many cases it was difficult to bring offenders to justice. Prosecutions, however, took place from time to time for offences against the Ordinance, and in a number of cases convictions were obtained on capital charges as well as in lesser offences against the Ordinance.

During investigations connected with the offences committed by members of the Human Leopard Society, 9it came out that another secret society existed known as the Human Alligator Society. This Society appears to have been an offshoot of the Human Leopard Society and the usual meeting-place of this new society was in the vicinity of rivers where crocodiles or as they are called locally alligators abound.

Thereupon the law was further amended in 1901, and it was made a felony for any person without lawful authority or excuse to have in his possession, custody, or under his control an alligator skin shaped or made so as to make a man wearing the same resemble an alligator.

During the year 1903 a Circuit Court, presided over by a judge who sat with assessors, was constituted, and after that date all offences against the Human Leopard and Alligator Society Ordinances were tried by that Court. From that date up to the middle of 1912 there were before the Circuit Court 17 cases, in which 186 persons were charged with murder under the above-mentioned Ordinances; of these persons 87 were convicted and sentenced to death, and in many cases the sentence was duly carried out publicly in the vicinity of the place where the murder was committed.

In July, 1912, a murder took place at Imperri; the murderers were disturbed at their work; a man who was patently concerned in the murder, but was not one of the actual murderers, was arrested; upon this man’s shoulders the murderers threw the whole burden of explanation. Unable to invent even a plausible explanation, he made a clean breast and gave the names of those implicated in the murder. In the course of his explanation other murders were 10referred to and other names were mentioned, with the result that further arrests were made, whilst other members of the Society whom he named turned King’s evidence. In this way the authorities obtained information with respect to about 30 human leopard murders since 1907, and between 300 and 400 persons, including several paramount chiefs (Mahawas) and a large number of sub-chiefs (Mahawurus), were arrested. As in many cases no corroborative evidence was procurable, the majority of these persons were released, leaving 108, who were committed for trial.

To meet some of the difficulties which had arisen, the Government thereupon brought forward two Bills, one of which extended and strengthened the existing law as to unlawful societies, whilst the other set up a special court for the trial of persons charged with offences connected with unlawful societies, and authorized the deportation of persons who, although acquitted by such court, were, in the opinion of the court, a source of danger to the peace of the district. The Attorney-General, in introducing the first Bill into the Legislative Council of Sierra Leone, said:

“It will be within the knowledge of Honourable Members of this Council that the operations of the Human Leopard Societies in the Protectorate—chiefly in the Northern Sherbro District—have been lately very active.

“Not only have many murders been committed this year in connection with the Human Leopard, but murders which have been committed within the last three or four years have only just come to light. I can say that, so far as I know, there are over twenty murders at least in connection with this Society 11perpetrated this year or within the last three or four years just recently come to light. This is a very serious state of affairs, and one that has to be dealt with in a drastic manner. As far as my knowledge of this Society goes, twenty years ago its operations were confined to, not the big men of the Protectorate, but lesser people; in fact, it was the paramount chiefs who took part in trying to suppress the Society. However, it seems as years have gone by, this state of things has changed, either from natural inclination or from force of circumstances, and the Society has become too strong for the chiefs, with the result that the paramount chiefs themselves have been drawn into the Society and are now the leaders of it.

“Section 2 of this Ordinance gives the Governor power, when any murder has been committed in any chiefdom, to declare such chiefdom or any part thereof to be a proclaimed district, and gives the District Commissioner power to arrest anybody therein. In the past the Government’s chief difficulty has been to get evidence to substantiate a prosecution, as it is generally after a long time that people come forward to make statements about these murders, and, owing to the intimidation practised by the influential chiefs upon possible witnesses, the Government have always encountered great difficulty in procuring witnesses to bring to justice the perpetrators of the crime. It will be seen by Section 2 the District Commissioner has power to arrest any person whose arrest and detention he may consider advisable in the interests of justice; the first person he will naturally arrest would be the chief of the district.

“This power seems drastic, but the circumstances 12of these murders are so exceptional that drastic powers are required. Honourable Members will remember that in the Principal Ordinance it is a serious offence to be in possession of certain articles. It is proposed to add three other articles which will be seen detailed in Section 7. Up to the present, the possession of certain articles has been necessary to enable the District Commissioner to deal with persons who are known to be active members of the Human Leopard Society. It is now made criminal for a man to be a member or to take any part in the operations of this Society. These are the two chief points in the Bill. Another addition is that by Section 5 which gives power to the Governor to deport a man who has been connected with this Society, and, if he is an alien, to banish him permanently from the Colony. As the District Commissioners have been obliged to arrest a good many persons for whom it may not be possible to formulate any charges, Honourable Members will see from Schedule 9 that there is an indemnity clause covering all the arrests which have been made.”

The three articles mentioned by the Attorney-General are described in the Ordinance as:

“(a) A dress made of baboon^[8] skins commonly used by members of an unlawful society;

“(b) A ‘kukoi’ or whistle commonly used for calling together the members of an unlawful society;

“(c) An iron needle commonly used for branding members of an unlawful society.”

13In introducing the Special Commission Court Ordinance into the Legislative Council the Attorney-General said:

“This Bill gives the Governor power to constitute special courts for the trial of all offences under the Human Leopard and Alligator Societies Ordinance, 1909, and also the Ordinance (the Human Leopard and Alligator Amendment Ordinance, 1912) which has just been read a second time. I may say that the usual way of trying offenders in the Protectorate is by the Circuit Court with three or four Native Paramount Chiefs, but as a great number of these chiefs are implicated and have been arrested in the Protectorate, it is obvious that the services of many, if any at all, will not be available. Moreover, there are 64 persons under trial. It will take up too much of the time of the Circuit Judge if all were sent for trial before the Circuit Court. The Governor has the power to appoint Commissioners, usually men who are Senior District Commissioners. However, it is not desirable to appoint Commissioners in the ordinary way to try offences like these. Instead of the prisoners being tried by the Circuit Judge in the ordinary way, they will be charged before a special court of three Judges.

“It is proposed in the Bill, which I may point out will only be in operation for one year, to appoint a Special Commission Court consisting of three persons. Who they are or who they will be I cannot say; but I can say that they must be either judges or barristers of a British court.

“The Bill also provides that there must be unanimity before a prisoner can be convicted. The 14procedure will be practically the same as that of the Circuit Court, and all the procedure of the Circuit will be followed.

“It will be observed in Clause 10 that the same powers of deportation will be given to the Governor when dealing with prisoners convicted by the Special Commission Court as with those convicted by the Circuit Court. By Clause 11 further power is given to the Governor. Unfortunately, it sometimes happens in these cases that there are several persons who are more or less connected with these Societies, but against whom there is no evidence; they will be simply ordered to leave the Colony and will not be allowed to return.”

The Colonial Office were fortunate in being able to secure the services of an able and distinguished lawyer and judge in the person of Sir William Brandford Griffith, an Ex-Chief Justice of the Gold Coast Colony, to be President of the Court, and he arrived in the Colony from England on the 8th December, 1912.

---

Although it is impossible to say that the Human Leopard Society is connected with the Poro, nevertheless any account of that Society would be wanting unless accompanied by some reference to the Poro, one of the secret societies by which the natives of the Sierra Leone Hinterland are educated and were, until the British Government took over the administration of the country, ruled. Mr. Migeod, in the Journal of the African Society for July, 1915, ventures the suggestion that Purrus Campus in Ptolemy’s map of the second century may be no other than the Latin for Poro bush; and everything points to the custom being of great antiquity. The earlier writers on Sierra Leone dwell almost exclusively upon the predatory habits of the Poro and the danger of trespassing into the Poro bush, but Major Laing (1822), who travelled amongst the Hinterland tribes to the north of Sierra Leone, also points to the fact that it was the Poro which governed the country. He says:

“Particular pieces of ground (generally eminences covered with thick wood) are consecrated to the Greegrees and held sacred. I have always seen those 16enclosures approached with reverential awe, and have been informed that the smallest encroachment upon them would subject the aggressor to the most awful punishment from the Purrah, an institution which is much dreaded by the whole of this unhappy country. Their power supersedes even that of the headmen of the districts, and their deeds of secrecy and darkness are as little called in question, or inquired into, as those of the inquisition were in Europe, in former years. I have endeavoured in vain to trace the origin or cause of formation of this extraordinary association, and have reason to suppose that it is now unknown to the generality of the Timannees, and may possibly be even so to the Purrah themselves, in a country where no traditionary records are extant, either in writing or in song.

“In the early ages of the slave trade (which particularly prevailed in this country) every nefarious scheme was resorted to by the headmen for the purpose of procuring subjects for the markets. It may be conjectured that where liberty was so insecure concealment not difficult, and the means of subsistence easy to be procured, and when the power of the headmen did not extend beyond the limits of their own town, many individuals, whose safety was endangered, would fly to the woods for protection; and as their numbers increased, would confederate for mutual support, and thus give rise to secret signs of recognition and rules of general guidance. It may further be supposed, that in a country divided amongst numerous petty authorities, each jealous of the other, such a confederacy may soon have become too powerful for any probable combination against them; 17and being possessed of power would at length employ it in the very abuses to which it had owed its own origin.

“The headquarters of the Purrah are in enclosures situated in the woods; these are never deserted by them entirely, and any man, not a Purrah, approaching them is instantly apprehended, and rarely ever heard of again. The few who have reappeared after several years of secretion have always become intermediately Purrah men themselves; those who do not again appear are supposed to be carried away to distant countries and sold. The Purrahs do not confine themselves always to the seizure of those who approach their enclosures, but frequently carry off single travellers, and occasionally whole parties, who are imprudent enough to pass from one town to another in certain districts without applying for an escort from the body. To ensure safety, one Purrah man is sufficient, who, while leading the party, blows a small reed whistle suspended from his neck. At the advice of Ba Kooro, I procured one of these persons as a guide from Ma Bung to Ma Yasoo, the intermediate country being thickly inhabited by the Purrah. As we passed along, they signified their vicinity to us, by howling and screaming in the woods, but although the sounds denoted their neighbourhood, no individual was seen.

“The Purrahs frequently make an irruption into towns in the night-time, and plunder whatever they can lay their hands upon—goats, fowls, cloths, provisions, men, women, or children. On such occasions the inhabitants remain shut up in their homes, until long after the plunderers retreat. During the time 18that I was in the interior, I always had a sentry over my quarters at night, for the protection of the baggage. One night, the town in which we slept was visited by the Purrah, and my sentinel remained firm at his post. When the Purrah came up, an attack was made upon him, but the application of the bayonet kept them at a distance until I made my appearance, when the Purrah, uncertain of their power over a white man, scampered off; they were mostly naked and unarmed, but a few had knives.

“The outward distinguishing marks of the Purrah are two parallel tattooed lines round the middle of the body, inclining upwards in front, towards the breast, and meeting in the pit of the stomach. There are various gradations of rank among them, but I could never ascertain their respective offices; persons said to be men of rank amongst them have been pointed out to me with great caution, as the Timannees, generally, do not like to speak of them; but I could learn nothing further. Purrah-men sometimes quit their retirement, and associate with the townspeople, following employments of various kinds, but no chief or headman dare bring a palaver against a Purrah-man, for fear of a retributive visit from the whole body. At stated periods they hold conventions or assemblies, and on those occasions the country is in the greatest state of confusion and alarm; no proclamation is publicly made, but a notice from the chief or headman of the Purrah, communicated by signs hung up at different places, with the meaning of which they are acquainted, is a summons to them to meet on an appointed day, at a certain rendezvous. Palavers of great weight, such as disputes between rival towns, or offences of such magnitude as to call for capital punishments, are always settled by the Purrah—the headmen of towns not having at the present day (whatever power they may have possessed formerly) the lives or their subjects or dependents in keeping. The Purrah may be therefore said to possess the general government of the country, and from the nature of their power, and the purposes to which it is applied, they will probably be found a most serious obstacle to its civilization.”^[9]

19Every subsequent writer touches upon the Poro, and gradually more information is gleaned as to its object and procedure and the manner in which it exercises its power. The fullest account is to be found in Mr. Alldridge’s “The Sherbro and its Hinterland” (1901). The Poro is for men only, and it begins by training the youth of the country. Boys between 7 and 20 are taken into the Poro bush for several months. “The meetings of the fraternity for initiation of new members always take place in the dry season, from November to April, as they are held in the Big Bush, a part of which is sufficiently cleared and the ground cleaned. The opening to the Big Bush is rudely constructed of palm leaves, the entrance being through leafy bowers, and the aperture serving for a doorway hung with country mats. Inside, the place is separated into compartments similarly divided by palm leaves—that entrance also being hung with mats. The whole is beneath the dense and overspreading foliage of high trees, and is known as the Poro bush.”^[10] This Big Bush is usually much higher than the usual 20low bush of the country, and looks more like virgin bush—a scarce commodity in Mende land. Here the boys are taught and trained and initiated, here they dance and sing after dark, and here they are imbued with the idea of the power and authority of the Poro. After some months of training the boy is placed in—

(1) The Messenger or servant class; or,

(2) The Mohammedan Mori^[11] or the Devil men class; or,

(3) The Chiefs’ class;

when further initiation and instruction suitable to his class are given.

Until the British Government proclaimed a Protectorate, the government of the country was practically in the hands of the third class. The chiefs would assemble in the Poro bush, they would be sworn to secrecy, and then would discuss the matter in hand; their orders would be issued and carried out by the whole Society; any member in default could be tried by a Poro tribunal inside the Poro bush, condemned, and there put away.

Every member of the Human Leopard Society is a member of the Poro, the main supporters of both societies are the chiefs, the place of meeting for both societies is the Poro bush—this suffices to show how easily the Poro organization can be used, and no doubt has been used, for many of the purposes of the human leopards.

A quotation which Mr. Alldridge has been so good as to allow from his “Sherbro and its Hinterland” (pp. 156–159) with respect to the Tongo players already alluded to will illustrate the atmosphere in which the human leopards worked.

“Formerly when suspicious circumstances, such as frequent sudden deaths, or the continuous disappearance of individuals, as in the case of the victims of the Human Leopards, arose and baffled the local fetish, recourse was had to the terrible Tongo player system, especially if cannibalism was thought to be at the bottom of the mischief.

“To set this medicine going the intervention of a most appalling fetish had to be invoked through a class of medicine people from the upper country called the Tongo players.

“As soon as the Tongo players had determined to comply with a request from a chief, they sent out their emissaries into his towns and villages to obtain information concerning suspected people. When all was ready the head of the Tongo, named Buamor Neppor, attended by his two principal assistants, Akawa (Big Thing) and Bojuwa (Great Thing) with their following, arrived in the principal town and proceeded to clear a space in the bush for their encampment, where they made their fetish medicine. This place of concealment was called Mashundu.

“In the investigation one village at a time was dealt with. A messenger was despatched to call all the men, women, and children to a meeting to be held on an appointed day.

22“The meeting was held on a cleared space, called the Korbangai, outside the town, to which the people had been summoned. They were then drawn up into line. Their names were called by a spy from their own village, who was in the pay of the Tongo players. Certain questions were asked. The names of suspected persons were then submitted to the medicine-men, hidden in the bush, who professed to go through the ordeal by which the guilt or innocence of these suspected persons might be determined. The operator’s ordeal was the plunging his hand into a cauldron of boiling oil and pulling out a piece of hot iron. If the hand was burned, it was certain proof of guilt; if not burned, of innocence.

“The victim thus being found out, he was brought before the head Tongo player, who asked him if he were prepared to pay money. If he were, time was allowed for him to send to his family; meanwhile he was detained and stocked. Having got as much as they could out of the man and his family, an excuse was made, and he was burned to death.

“On some occasions a Tongo play was held. The players were arrayed in barbaric costume. They wore a leopard-skin cap, the side flaps of which drooped over the face, a leopard tail hung down from the back of the cap, and a sort of door bell was attached to the end. There was a leopard-skin jacket; the wrists, elbows, and ankles were further adorned with strips of leopard skin; the whole costume being completed by short cloth knickers, trimmed with leopard skin, and leopard-skin gaiters.

“The Tongo players came out and danced; the headman and his attendant carried a knobbed staff 23set with sharp cutting instruments, called the Tongora, which was loosely veiled with leopard skin.

“While dancing the headman and his two attendants suddenly rushed up to the suspected persons and dealt them heavy blows with the Tongora, blows which may or may not have killed them at once; but whether killed or not they were quickly taken away and thrown on the fire.”

A word which was constantly heard before the Special Commission Court was Borfima, the “medicine” referred to in the Human Leopard Ordinance. The word is a contraction of Boreh fima, medicine bag, and is usually, but not invariably, tightly bound up in a leather package. This package contains, amongst other things, the white of an egg, the blood, fat, and other parts of a human being, the blood of a cock, and a few grains of rice; but to make it efficacious it must occasionally be anointed with human fat and smeared with human blood. So anointed and smeared, it is an all-powerful instrument in the hands of its owner, it will make him rich and powerful, it will make people hold him in honour, it will help him in cases in the White Man’s Court, and it certainly has the effect of instilling in the native mind great respect for its owner and a terrible fear lest he should use it hostilely. An oath administered by the proper person and with due ceremony upon Borfima is of the most binding nature, and it was by means of such oaths that great secrecy was obtained. But the potency of this great fetish apparently soon 24evaporated. Owners of the Borfima found that their riches did not increase as rapidly as they anticipated, they lost cases in the Courts, expectations were not realized with respect to adverse witnesses upon whose hearts and livers and kidneys imprecations had been showered—all this showed that the Borfima had become weak and needed resuscitation with fresh human fat and blood—and to obtain this human fat and blood was the primary object of the Human Leopard Society.

To give an idea of the mental outlook of the majority of the natives before the Court, and so that some of the difficulties under which the prosecution laboured may be appreciated, allusion should be made to witch-doctors and oaths.

A witch-doctor holds a high position in a native community, and is often able to accumulate great wealth. The practice of this profession is usually confined to certain families, the secrets of the profession being handed down from father to son. Only one member of the family practises at the same time, although he may have a number of assistants who are commonly members of his family. Some of these witch-doctors profess to be able to name and trace their ancestors back to a remote period. All the followers of this profession are skilled herbalists and have some knowledge of surgery, but they profess to effect cures by the aid of witchcraft. If a native is ill, it is said that he has been caught by some devil, and it is the business of the witch-doctor to rid him 25of that devil. The witch-doctor knows that certain devils dislike certain herbs, which, if administered to the sick person, may have the effect of disgusting the devil and making it fly away. A devil is frequently caught and put into a bottle, and then it is for the patient to say whether he will have it destroyed, which can only be done by fire, or whether he will allow it to be released and propitiated by various offerings, and by such means transform it into a friendly devil, which he can make use of to injure some other person. The witch-doctor is frequently employed by chiefs or other much-married men to discover whether their numerous wives have been guilty of acts of infidelity; they are also frequently employed to discover the perpetrators of any crime and the place of concealment of stolen property, and it is extraordinary what successes they achieve, particularly in discovering stolen property.

Another line of practice in which witch-doctors excel is the “pulling of swears”—anglice, the removal of oaths. When an oath is taken upon an ordinary native “medicine,” it is possible for the oath-taker to be absolved from the consequences of a breach of his oath by engaging a witch-doctor, who, for a fee proportionate to the potency of the “medicine” used, will “pull the swear.” This is accomplished by certain ceremonies performed with other “medicines.” After the “swear has been pulled,” the first medicine has, so to speak, its teeth drawn.

The “medicine” on which pagan Mende witnesses 26were sworn before the Special Commission Court was compounded every Monday morning by the Court interpreter, and consisted of a preparation of salt, pepper and ashes mixed with water. A spoonful of the mixture was taken by each witness when sworn; if there were many witnesses, fresh “medicine” had to be prepared later in the week. The oath administered in the presence of the Court and repeated by each witness was, in its English translation, as follows: “I (name of witness) swear by this medicine to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Should I tell a lie, if I go to the farm may snake bite me, if I travel by canoe may the canoe sink, and may my belly be swollen. I swear by my liver, my lungs, my kidneys, and my heart that, should I tell a lie, may I never be saved, but may I die suddenly.”

---

The Special Commission Court, consisting of Sir W. B. Griffith, President, Mr. F. A. Van der Meulen, and Mr. K. J. Beatty, commenced its sittings at Gbangbama in the Northern Sherbro District on the 16th December, 1912.

Gbangbama is a town belonging to the Imperri Chiefdom, and is situate in the heart of the Mende country, having, within a radius of ten miles, several towns where murders committed in connection with the Human Leopard Society had recently taken place.

The Court was held in a large barri^[12] specially erected for the purpose. The prisoners were confined in a number of huts surrounded by a stockade, and were guarded by a company of the West African Frontier Force. Several members of the Freetown Bar were present for the purpose of defending various persons to be tried by the Court.

The first two days were occupied chiefly with legal questions raised by counsel on the cases before the Court.

The first case dealt with was the one known as the Kale Case, which occupied the time of the Court for nearly a fortnight, and in which the evidence of a 28large number of witnesses was taken. Three men^[13] were charged with the murder in or about the month of March, 1911, of a boy named Kalfalla, aged about fourteen years. The murder took place at a village named Kale, which is situated on the bank of the Mongheri River opposite the town of Mongheri, both of which places are within the Jong Chiefdom. The accused were all headmen and men of importance in the Chiefdom, and the deceased Kalfalla was the son of one of them, and was at the time of his death in the process of being initiated into the Poro.

The three boys who were put in the Poro bush at the same time as the deceased gave evidence before the Court, and described how they had been captured by the Poro Devils and taken to a Poro bush at the town of Senehun, which was under the control of an important person who was described as the Kumrabai (King-Maker) of the Jong Chiefdom. While they were in the Senehun Poro bush, two of the accused came to the Kumrabai and asked that these boys should be allowed to go to the Kale Poro bush, so that they should be available to assist in farm work. Permission was at first refused, but eventually they were allowed to go, where, in accordance with Poro custom, they worked out of sight of all women. A shimbek (i.e. a grass hut with grass walls) was built in the Kale Poro bush for the boys, and for several nights they slept in this shimbek.

These three boys stated that one evening the three prisoners, one of whom was the father of the deceased, came into the Poro bush and told 29them that they were to come out of the bush that night and sleep in the barri (a shelter with low walls) at the back of a house belonging to one of the accused, the deceased’s father. They described the position in which they slept, how shortly before daybreak they were awakened by a noise, and how they saw one of the prisoners holding the deceased boy by the legs, whilst another of them, who had a leopard skin over the top of his head and hanging down his back, was bending over the body. The boys raised an alarm, and as the accused ran away they heard sounds which resembled the pit-a-pat of hurrying feet, and the impression created was that it was a large number of persons who were running away from the barri. Soon after this the father of the murdered boy again appeared on the scene; he went immediately to the barri and appeared to show grief on seeing that his son was dead. His accomplices next appeared, followed shortly afterwards by a number of other men, who assisted in carrying the body to the Poro bush. Arrived there the accused, together with some other members of the Society, consulted together or, as the witnesses described it, “hung head.” It was agreed to bury the body at once, and the boys were threatened that if they spoke about the matter something bad would happen to them; that if they were ever asked what had happened to the dead boy they were to say that a snake had bitten him. The eldest boy was also sworn on the Borfima not to reveal what he had seen and heard. This boy described the oath he took, which was to the effect that if he revealed this matter and afterwards went by water he would drown; if he went into the bush 30a snake would bite him; and if he walked on a road thunder would strike him. He was further sworn on his heart and on his kidneys that both would wither away if he broke his oath.

The boys and several witnesses described the wounds on the deceased, three of which were in the throat, and the other on the chest. From the description given of the wounds there could be no doubt but that they were caused by some sharp instrument, probably a knife, and could not have been caused by a leopard’s claws. The accused, in accordance with native custom, were compelled to report the matter to the “Grand Master” of the Poro, but contrary to native custom they did not report until after the body was buried. At this breach of custom the Kumrabai was annoyed, but he allowed himself to be pacified with a “head of money”—seven country cloths, valued at about thirty shillings.

Two witnesses who confessed to being members of the Human Leopard Society were called and gave an interesting description of their initiation into the Society. They had joined the Society at different times, and belonged to different branches of it. One belonged to the branch in the Imperri Chiefdom, and the other to a branch in the Gallinas Chiefdom, several days’ march distant, but their description tallied in almost every detail regarding the initiation ceremony and the objects of the sacrifice. A mark is made on a candidate for initiation, usually on the buttocks, so that it will be concealed by the loin cloth, the usual and only article of dress worn by the ordinary native in those parts. The mark is 31made by piercing the flesh with an iron needle, raising it, and shaving off a thin slice of flesh. The wound is then treated with a medicine known as Nikori, which apparently has antiseptic qualities, and which is made by grinding the bark of the wild ground nut. The blood taken from the wound is put on the “Borfima,” and the novice by this means becomes what is spoken of as “joined or married to the medicine,” and a full member of the Society. Meetings are only held when the leaders of the Society consider that the Borfima belonging to their particular branch requires what is spoken of as “feeding” or “blooding,” and this can only be done by the killing of some person. Apparently one of the rules of the Society is that a victim must be provided by a member of the Society; usually, the person called upon to provide the victim is a member who has received some material advancement, such as becoming a Mahawa (a paramount chief) or a Mahawuru (sub-chief), as it is considered necessary on such occasions to propitiate the Borfima, which is looked upon as all-powerful for good or evil. When it is arranged who is to provide the victim, a date is fixed, usually four to six days later, a rendezvous is decided upon, and the persons who are to do the killing are selected. The second meeting is generally fixed for just after dusk, usually in the Poro bush, and the victim is either enticed to a place in the vicinity of the meeting-place, or certain members are appointed to do the killing in the town or village, and convey the body to the Poro bush, where the Borfima is first “blooded” and then the body is divided up among the members, and, according to 32the evidence of the ex-members of the Society, the flesh is either eaten raw on the spot or taken away and cooked. To use the words of one of these witnesses, “some like it raw, some roast, and some prefer it boiled with rice.” The witnesses also described how the members of the Society made themselves known to each other by a movement of the second finger across the palm of another person in shaking hands, and also by a peculiar rolling of the eyes. Both signs were demonstrated to the Court. The witnesses examined certain marks in the buttocks of the three prisoners, and alleged that they were the marks made at initiation into membership of the Human Leopard Society.

The following, somewhat interesting, point of native custom was touched on in the evidence: When a boy who is in the Poro bush dies, the body is buried there, and his death is not announced to the female relatives until after the Poro has “been pulled” (finished). It is the duty of the Lakai (the head-messenger of the Chiefdom and a high officer in the Poro) and of him only to announce the death. When the Poro is about to be “pulled,” all the women who have sons in the Poro bush are made to stand in a circle at the entrance to the town. The Lakai is escorted by his retainers into the midst of them. He carries an earthen pot, and if a death has occurred among the Poro boys he dashes the pot to the ground and breaks it at the feet of the mother of the boy, and in this way announces to her the death of her son. The women wail for some hours, after which a funeral dance is given by the parents or the nearest relatives of the deceased; 33and this dance may be kept up for several days and nights, according to the wealth of the family of the deceased, who provide the food and drink for the occasion.

None of these ceremonies were performed in connection with the death of the boy Kalfalla; but the omission of these rites was not a matter to which much weight could be attached, owing to the difficulty of obtaining reliable information on matters connected with the Poro, and the custom is only mentioned incidentally.

The defence of the accused was that a bush leopard had killed the boy. They admitted that they had concealed this fact and had given out that it was a snake-bite which had caused the death of the deceased, but they said that their reason for doing so was in order to save the father of the deceased, the first accused in the case, from certain penalties which he would have incurred had it come to the ears of the Poro Headman that he had allowed a “bushboy” who was still in the Poro to sleep in an open place outside the Poro bush. The position, shape, and character of the wounds were emphasized to show that it must have been a bush leopard which had caused them, and it was pointed out that it was an offence against the law of the country for any one to sleep in an open place exposed to danger, such as the barri where the boys had been permitted to sleep. The accused alleged that these “bushboys” should not have been allowed to sleep out of the Poro bush, and that it was an aggravation of the offence that they had been allowed to sleep in an open place like a barri; that the first accused, as 34head of the family, was the person on whom the blame would have fallen; and that he, for these reasons, persuaded the others to give out that it was a snake-bite which had caused death. If this was accepted, they urged, they would not be called on to show the spot where the boy was injured, and they added that the burial was hurried so that people should know as little about it as possible. Had the burial been delayed, the women might have got to know, and that would have been a further offence against Poro law. It was also submitted that it was contrary to nature that the first accused would have murdered his own son in such a cold-blooded manner.

The prisoners were ably defended, but the arguments put forward for the defence did not create doubt as to the main facts deposed to by the witnesses for the Crown.

From the evidence of the witnesses one thing emerged conclusively—viz. that it was no bush leopard which killed the boy, but that it was some person or persons simulating a leopard who murdered him; and the evidence of the other boys that they had heard the pattering of many feet outside the barri when they raised the alarm pointed to the fact that there were a number of persons concerned in the murder.

The Court could come to no other conclusion than that the murder was committed in connection with the Human Leopard Society, and that the first and second accused were the actual murderers of the boy Kalfalla. These two men were found guilty of murder and sentenced to death, and were publicly executed at Mattru in the presence of the acting paramount chief and a large number of his people on the 25th January, 1913.

35The third accused, who had taken a prominent part in concealing the murder, and who was proved to be leading member of the Human Leopard Society, was found guilty of being an accessory after the fact to murder, and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

---

The second case dealt with was the one known as the Imperri case. Fifty-four persons were charged with the murder of a boy aged about twenty years. They were also charged with being accessories after the fact to murder and further with being members of an unlawful society: to wit, the Human Leopard Society.

The murder took place on 13th July, 1912.

The Crown Prosecutor, for want of evidence to corroborate the story told by accomplices who had turned King’s evidence, only proceeded against fifteen of these persons on the capital charge.

The case was commenced on the 13th January and the verdict was given on the 3rd March. Fifty-nine witnesses gave evidence, and the notes of evidence taken reached nearly a thousand foolscap pages.

The facts as alleged by the witnesses for the Crown were as follows:

Very early on the morning of Sunday the 8th July, 1912, the leaders of the Human Leopard Society met at some place near the town of Victoria, the chief commercial town in the Imperri Chiefdom, and decided to hold a general meeting of the Society that same evening in the Imperri Poro bush. The Santiggies (messengers) of the Society were despatched 37to warn members to attend, and about sixty of them met that same evening.

They began to arrive at the rendezvous, which was a clearing in the centre of the Poro bush, soon after dark. There was only one path leading into this clearing, which was surrounded with dense bush, and on this path were stationed certain executive members of the Society, who passed the members along after they were satisfied as to their membership. They proved this chiefly by the peculiar handshake of the Society.

No lights were allowed at this meeting. Towards midnight the President of the Society, who owed his position to his being the most important man in the Chiefdom, arrived with his staff, and after the names and rank of the persons present were called, he proceeded to address the meeting. He announced that the object of calling members together was to discuss and consider the question of providing food, or in other words “blood” and fat, for their medicine. That it was some time since the parent Borfima was fed, and that it was necessary that their own Borfimas should also be blooded and anointed.

A discussion then arose as to the means of providing the necessary victim. One of the members present was asked to supply a victim, and when he demurred it was pointed out to him that it was his turn to do so by the rules of the Society, and it was suggested that the person to be supplied should be his adopted son Yagba. Both this member and the uncle of the boy Yagba protested strongly, a heated discussion followed, and finally the two members in question were informed that unless they immediately 38consented to give the boy asked for, either one or both of them would take his place. Under fear of this threat they consented.

It was then arranged that the members should meet again on the Friday following, and both the father and uncle of the promised victim were warned that if the boy disappeared or there was any difficulty about obtaining him one of them would be taken instead. After nominating two of the members to do the killing and others to convey the body to the Poro bush the meeting was adjourned.

On the following Thursday a boy died in the town of Imperri and his body was buried next day. In the ordinary course of events there would have been a funeral dance that evening, but fearing that it might interfere with their projects, some of the members of the Human Leopard Society secured its postponement.

As it grew dark that evening, the members of the Society gathered together in the Poro bush. The members deputed to do the killing were dressed in their regalia of leopard skin.

As the evening wore on and the time for sleep came, the boy Yagba, under instructions from his uncle, spread his mat on the verandah of the latter’s house and lay down and eventually went to sleep. About midnight the two murderers arrived and crept on all fours up to where Yagba was lying. One of them held him while the other stabbed him in the neck with a knife. Death was not instantaneous, and the boy moaned and beat the ground with his feet. This awakened some women and a youth who were in the house, and their screams aroused the whole town. An attempt was made by the two murderers to drag the body away, but as a number of people rushed out of their houses they gave up their attempt and fled into the bush where they warned the others of what had happened and got rid of their leopard-skin dress. The members belonging to the town hastened to get back to their houses before their absence should be discovered.

39The townspeople collected round the body of the murdered boy and kept saying to each other, “What is this trouble?” “What has happened?” The uncle of the boy, who had been beside him the whole time and who appeared to be very upset at seeing the body, said in reply to the questions on all sides that koribrah (leopard people) had killed him. He was taken aside by some of the accused, and the seriousness of his admission pointed out to him. He was told to say that owing to distress of mind he did not know what he was saying, that what he really meant to say was that it was a bush leopard that had killed the boy, and that he himself had seen two leopards rushing out of the town after the alarm had been raised. He was promised a sum of money if the matter was hushed up on the basis of the death being attributed to a bush leopard, but it was incidentally mentioned to him that if he did not succeed in creating this belief the town would in all probability lose another of its citizens, as their Borfima had not yet been fed, and they would, in a certain event, know where to look for a victim. The story was then circulated that it was a bush leopard that had killed the boy; and there was some confirmation of this story by the statements of some women 40and boys who said they saw what looked like a leopard running away after the alarm had been given. From the evidence it appeared that these people had mistaken the murderers in their dresses of leopard skins for real leopards, which are numerous in the vicinity.

About 6.30 the following morning the clerk to the District Commissioner overheard a man at the town of Gbangbama tell a friend that a bush leopard had killed some one at the town of Imperri the night before. The clerk immediately proceeded with some police or, as they are called in the Protectorate, Court Messengers to the town of Imperri, and arrived there soon after 8 a.m. They were met by the chief men of the town and taken to view the body of the boy Yagba, several of the accused being present and volunteering the information that a bush leopard had killed the deceased. The Court Messengers, as a preliminary step, took into custody all the people who occupied the house where the deceased had been killed, including the uncle of the boy. Meanwhile a vigorous search was prosecuted to find the spoor of a leopard, but none was to be found in or about the town. His uncle was then taken on one side by the clerk and Court Messengers and in view of the nature of the wounds and the fact that there were no signs of any leopard was asked to explain how the boy had come by his death.

It was clear, owing to the nature of the wounds, that no leopard had killed the boy; and, faced with this fact and his admission of the night before, he gave an account of the murder and the names of the persons concerned in it. As many of these persons 41as could then be found were forthwith taken into custody, the others were subsequently arrested, and after a preliminary examination before the District Commissioner all were committed for trial.

The chief testimony against the accused was that of two accomplices who had turned informers. These men confessed to being members of the Human Leopard Society and as having been present at the murders of several victims of the Society. They gave evidence to the effect that all the accused bore the mark of the Leopard Society. The mark on each of the accused was pointed out during the hearing of the case, but although there were certain peculiarities about the mark, and although its position on the person of each of the accused was in most instances approximately the same, yet, owing to the fact that the majority of them had other marks, similar in shape and colour, some doubt existed as to whether the marks pointed out were really the marks received on initiation into the Society.

After hearing the evidence, no one could doubt that a murder had been committed, and that that murder had been committed by members of the Human Leopard Society. Their plans miscarried, they were disturbed at their work by the cries of the occupants of the house; the actual murderers finished their work, but those deputed to carry away the body failed, the uninitiated in the village awakened, and saw what had happened, and it was too late to remove the body. The question then followed as to whether the persons charged were those who had actually committed or who had taken part in the murder. The evidence of the accomplices was 42strong, but the chief difficulty in regard to the case for the Crown was to obtain corroboration of the evidence of these accomplices. In cases of this sort where the principal men are bound together by the bonds of guilt as well as of secrecy, where the victim is provided by the head of the family, who, instead of ferreting out the crime, uses all his influence to have the matter hushed up, and where the whole people cower down in dread of the terrible vengeance threatened by the awe-inspiring Borfima, it is not to be wondered at that it is exceptional to be able to procure independent evidence. The relatives, even the mother of the victim, will not come forward willingly, and when such witnesses are forced to give evidence they will only say what they think is non-committal, and from that they will not budge. They look upon the “medicine” as being responsible, and hold the view that the members of the Society are forced into killing a victim in order to “feed” the Borfima.

In this case, however, many of the non-committal statements pieced together formed important corroborative evidence, and that, together with other evidence, satisfied the Court as to the guilt of six of the accused, who were found guilty of murder.

The sentence on four of them was publicly carried out at the town of Imperri on 18th April, 1913. The fifth and sixth, who were domestic slaves, were also found guilty of murder and sentenced to death, but the sentences, on the recommendation of the Court, were afterwards commuted by the Governor-in-Council to life imprisonment. The Lavari to the principal accused was found guilty of being an accessory after the fact to the murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

43There is little doubt that but for the chance overhearing by the District Commissioner’s clerk that a boy had been killed by a leopard this crime would never have been brought to light. After a time, when all trace of evidence had vanished, it would have been given out that the boy had been killed by a bush leopard. And this story would have been all the more difficult to disprove from the fact that in that neighbourhood leopards abound. Within a few hundred yards of where the Court sat was a leopard trap, whilst during the hearing of this particular case at least two leopards were shot within a mile of the Court barri.

The next case dealt with was the one known as the Kabati Case, from the village where the murder took place. In this and the following cases Lieut.-Colonel H. G. Warren sat in place of Mr. Van der Meulen, who proceeded on leave.

Originally fifty-six persons had been charged and committed for trial on a charge of murder.

The person murdered was a young woman named Mini, and the murder took place in or about the month of May, 1911, at Kabati, a small village in the Northern Sherbro District of the Protectorate.

As in the previous case, sufficient corroborative evidence to support the stories told by accomplices, who were the chief witnesses for prosecution, could not be obtained, and the Crown Prosecutor decided to proceed against only three of the prisoners, entering a nolle prosequi on the capital charge against the remainder. These latter were subsequently prosecuted, and a number of them were found guilty of being members of an unlawful society.

Of the three men proceeded against two were men of importance in the Protectorate; the first accused was a paramount chief or Mahawa, and the second was a sub-chief or Mahawuru, the third accused being a brother of the Mahawuru. The girl Mini was 45weak in intellect, but to what extent it was not easy on the evidence to say. She was the niece of the second accused, the Mahawuru, and for some time prior to the murder had formed a member of his household. The story told by the witnesses for the Crown was as follows:

Some time toward the end of May, 1911, a meeting of the members of the Human Leopard Society was convened and held one evening at Mosenge, a deserted village on the borders of the Imperri and the Jong Chiefdoms, and was attended by most of the members belonging to that particular branch of the Society. Soon after dark the members began to arrive, and after giving the countersign were admitted to the meeting. A small fire was lighted, round which the members sat. Three Mahawas or paramount chiefs were present, and they with other big men of the Society sat in front with their subjects, in order of precedence, immediately behind them. When all those summoned were assembled, the second accused—the girl Mini’s uncle—was elected Mahein (presiding officer) of the meeting. He first called the names of all the principal men, who answered to their names. The senior member then, in accordance with the custom, said to the second accused, “You”—mentioning his name—“have called a meeting of the members of this Society, which should not meet except when important business is to be done; we therefore look to you now to tell us what that important business is.” The second accused, after walking three times round the circle, proceeded to address the meeting. He said, “The spirits have spoken to me and told me that unless we want something bad to happen to us 46we should put blood on our Borfimas when four days and four nights have passed. I invite you all to meet again, and at that meeting I myself will supply a person whose blood will satisfy the hunger of the Borfima.”

In answer to inquiry the second accused further informed those present that the person he proposed to give would be his niece Mini, whom he stated had a devil in her. Then after some discussion as to how the murder was to be carried out and after details had been arranged the meeting broke up.

On the evening of the fourth day after this the members of the Society reassembled at Mosenge, and about sixty persons were present. When all the expected guests had arrived, the second accused, who was still Mahein, called over as before the names of those present. It was arranged that they should remain at Mosenge until it was sufficiently late for ordinary villagers to have retired for the night. Towards midnight a move was made in the direction of Kabati, which was about three miles distant, and on their arrival at the outskirts of the village they were led to some bush, where they were told to sit down. The second accused, who was the Mahawuru of Kabati, and his brother then went into the village, and were quickly followed by members wearing the regalia in the form of the leopard skin of the Society. The woman Mini had for some days previous to this been sleeping alone in a room at the back of her uncle’s house, at some distance from where his wives and the other members of his household slept, and one of his domestic slaves, who for the purpose of performing menial acts had been made a member of the Society, was placed on guard over her. On this man signalling that all was well the second accused went into the room and quickly awakened the girl, who followed him down the bush path to where the other members were waiting. She came quite quietly, and did not appear to realize that anything unusual was occurring. It was stated by persons present that a firi (a horse tail elaborately decorated with sebbehs) and an Aku (Yoruba) cap to which more sebbehs (charms) were attached were then produced by two important members of the Society, and that a certain ceremony was gone through which included the pointing of these things at the girl. It was then announced that members present need not feel any alarm in regard to what was going to happen, as the ceremony performed would have the effect of warding off suspicion and would assist them in concealing what was going to happen that night.

47It was alleged that the third accused then went behind the girl and stabbed her in the side with a large knife. She fell forward, and was immediately seized by four men and hurriedly carried farther along the path to a small clearing. The other members of the Society fell in behind. The body was deposited near where the Society’s “medicine,” the Borfima, had been placed, and veins of the victim’s throat were opened so that the blood might flow over the “medicine.”

After the parent Borfima had been blooded, a few persons who were sufficiently important to be able to keep their own Borfimas advanced in order of seniority and collected a few drops of blood on their 48“medicine” which they had brought with them for that purpose.

Two men were then nominated to cut up the body. The belly was first cut open and flapped over the chest and the interior organs were removed. The breasts were then cut away and given to one of the Mahawas (chiefs), and part of the belly, the finger and toe-nails and the scalp containing the hair were given to the first accused. The heart was set aside to be sent to an important and educated member, who was represented at the feast, but who did not wish to be present himself. The more important persons present named in turn the particular piece of flesh they wanted, and the remainder of the body was divided among those of lesser importance. A fire was lighted, over which a certain quantity of flesh was cooked, but a number of the members appeared to have vied with each other in seeing what quantity of raw flesh they could eat. The bones, after being picked clean, were left lying near the spot, and the “empty skull” was thrown down an incline towards a stream some twenty or thirty yards away.

On the 30th May, as near as could be calculated by the phases of the moon as described by the witnesses, the Lavari of the second accused approached him and mentioned that he had a matter to discuss with him in the presence of the other big men of the town. A meeting was immediately called, and those summoned assembled under a cocoa-nut tree near the compound of the second accused, who, as has been already stated, was Mahawuru or sub-chief of Kabati village. The Lavari, who was an old man and of some importance in the village, said that he had summoned 49those present, as it had been brought to his notice that the girl Mini was missing; that apparently no effort had been made to find her; that trouble had been caused in the past by persons disappearing; and that as they did not wish to be viewed with suspicion by the Government Authorities they should make every effort to trace the missing girl. The second accused said that it was true that his niece was missing, but that he did not know that there was any occasion for alarm, as the girl was crazy, and that she had disappeared before and had been found without much difficulty; that she had probably gone to her parents at the town of Yandehun; that he was quite able to look after his own affairs, and that if he had wanted the help of the people of the town he would have asked for it; that he looked upon it as officiousness on the part of his Lavari to have interfered in a matter connected with his household; and he added that there was nothing they need do but “beg him” (apologize to him) for making a lot of unnecessary trouble. That evening he left the town and was absent for some days. On his return he summoned the people together to the village court barri and said that some one, whose name he had not yet been able to ascertain, had been to the village of Makelpe and had spread a report that he had sacrificed his niece, and he angrily asked who had done this. Of course every one denied having said anything, and some discussion arose between the people and himself as to why he had not told them at the time of the disappearance of his niece. One of those present expostulated with him for his callous conduct in not having caused a general search 50to have been made immediately after it was noticed that the girl was missing. To this he replied that he had told certain persons; but these persons, on being referred to, stated that it was not till after they had commented on the girl’s disappearance that he had mentioned anything about her being missing.

At this meeting it was decided that all the young men of the town should search the fakais (farm villages) round about, and search-parties were then and there formed. It should be mentioned in connection with this meeting that a rumour had reached the town that the disappearance of the girl had been reported to the Government, and this probably accounts for the strong action taken by the people in expressing dissatisfaction with their Mahawuru.

Towards the evening of the same day, whilst the people were searching, the sound of “bugles” was heard, and two paramount chiefs arrived from opposite directions with their followers simultaneously in the town. One of these was the Mahawa or paramount chief of Imperri; the other was the Mahawa or paramount chief of Jong, and was the first accused. It was about this time that the third accused disappeared from the town. The two Mahawas (to give them their native titles) announced that they had been sent by the District Commissioner to investigate the circumstances connected with the disappearance of the missing girl, and they said that they had been instructed to see that a proper search was made. Before the Special Commission Court witnesses swore that both these Mahawas were actually present at the murder, but the people of the town of Kabati at that time seem to have had no suspicion that either of them was in any way connected with the disappearance of the girl, or that they were members of the notorious Human Leopard Society. The Mahawas then ordered the arrest of all the big men of the town, who, including the second accused, were detained in a barri whilst the remainder of the townspeople were instructed to continue searching; but no trace of deceased was found that day.

51The next day search was continued and some bones were found. The Mahawas went to see these bones, which were less than half a mile from the town, and every one appears to have agreed that they were the bones of the missing girl.

Some of the people appeared to have had information that the Assistant District Commissioner was on his way from the town of Victoria, which was then his headquarters, to visit the town of Kabati, and he arrived there soon after the discovery of the bones. He was taken to where the bones were along a path that had been newly cut through the bush, but he noticed what looked like an old path leading from the place where the bones were found, and that the bush round the spot appeared to have been cleared at some recent date; this, however, was explained by pointing to a farm on the other side of the stream, and by saying the people had probably come there to cut sticks to build a farm-house. He noticed a black patch about a yard in diameter, and remarked that there had been a fire there, but one of the Mahawas (the first accused in the case) remarked that that was where the body had rotted.

The Assistant District Commissioner stated in his 52evidence that on one side of the black patch were some bones which looked like leg bones, and piled on them were other small bones, and he said that from their position they must have been so placed by human agency. They were just as if people had been gathering sticks. There were other bones scattered about within a radius of fifteen yards; the bones were dry, and he found no marks upon them; he thought that the thigh bones were attached to the pelvis, and the greater portion of the spinal column was intact. He made a careful search for clothing and beads, but there was no trace of any. He said that on the way to the bones the first accused told him that the girl was crazy and had gone into the bush and died.

After seeing the bones and ordering them to be collected, the Assistant District Commissioner asked for the skull, and was told that it was at the foot of the hill near a stream just below the bones. He went there with the first accused and others, and found the skull at the edge of the stream in a spot so exposed that it was visible for about twenty yards inside the farm across the stream. The skull was absolutely clean, bleached, and “perfectly dry.” At the top of one jaw, level with the ear, the bone was broken. There was no doubt in the minds of any of the witnesses that these were the bones of the girl Mini. No further trace of her was hinted at and no cross-examination was directed to that point.

The Assistant District Commissioner then released all the villagers who had been arrested except the second accused, the uncle of the deceased. He also held an inquiry into the circumstances of the girl’s disappearance, and, as the result, took the second 53accused in custody to Victoria. Being unable, however, to obtain any evidence to connect him with the death of the girl Mini, the Assistant District Commissioner placed the matter in the hands of the Mahawa of Jong, the first accused, who found that his Mahawuru, the second accused, had failed to report the disappearance of his niece, and fined him fifty pounds and deposed him from his office of Mahawuru. There, for the time, the matter ended.

In July, 1912, the Imperri murder already dealt with took place. The murderers were disturbed at their work, and one of their number on whom suspicion was cast when called upon for explanation admitted that it was a leopard murder, and mentioned the names of several persons who were implicated. He was brought to Gbangbama on the 15th July, 1912, having previously confessed to being a member of the Human Leopard Society and as having been present at the meetings where the murder was arranged. A number of names were mentioned by him in connection with this murder, and amongst them was that of the second accused. Facts with respect to previous murders were then elicited; but although he mentioned a great many names he did not mention those of the two Mahawas or paramount chiefs as having been present at any of those murders.

This mentioning of names continued up to the 25th July when his various statements were reduced to writing. This writing was witnessed by the two Mahawas concerned, who, up till that time, had retained the confidence of the Government Officers. On Monday the 29th July the District Commissioner 54had an interview with the informer for the first time without the presence of the Mahawas, and something was said which induced the District Commissioner to order forthwith the arrest of one of them, the first accused. At once Court Messengers were sent to search his quarters in Gbangbama town. They found in a box in his house a chewing-stick of a peculiar kind, a cap with sebbehs (charms), and an envelope containing human hair, and in a gown hanging close to his bed they found a small packet containing nine parings of human nails. His house at Mattru was also searched, and there was found a firi (i.e. a horse tail with cloth wrapped round the handle) and another packet containing eighteen parings of human finger and toe-nails. All these articles he admitted were his property, with the exception of the sebbeh cap.

In this case, too, evidence was given as to the alleged leopard marks upon the three accused. But this evidence as to marks broke down. In the first place, the witnesses were not in agreement as to the alleged leopard marks upon the accused; secondly, the medical evidence was not convincing; thirdly, some other prisoners were produced by the defence with a number of marks which to the ordinary eye more or less corresponded with the so-called leopard mark, one of these men being literally covered with small-pox marks, some of which were not unlike the so-called leopard mark; fourthly, a mark produced by the Government Medical Officer, in accordance with the directions of one of the expert witnesses, was quite unlike the so-called leopard mark; and finally a number of girls and boys, whose ages ranged 55from seven to sixteen years, were produced by the defence with marks,^[14] as far as the ordinary person could judge, exactly corresponding with the so-called leopard mark.

There is little doubt that members of the Human Leopard Society are marked on entering into the Society, but such marks are so like the marks left by wounds caused by accident or disease that it is not possible for any ordinary person to distinguish, with any certainty, the difference between them.

The defence of the first accused, the Mahawa of Jong, was that the story of the informer, so far as he was concerned, was absolutely devoid of truth, and that at the time of the alleged murder he was suffering from the effects of boils under his arm so that he was unable to move about; he gave evidence per-porting to show that the possession of the firi, the chewing-stick, the nails and hair was perfectly lawful, and stated that the sebbeh cap was neither his property nor was it found in any of his boxes; whilst he produced official testimony with a view to showing that he was earnestly striving to eradicate cannibal murder from his chiefdom.

Furthermore he alleged that the chief witness had a special ill feeling towards him because of a land dispute between the Kabati and Imperri people, and that he had only mentioned his name in connection with this matter after compulsion on the part of the District Commissioner. He further stated that some time after his election as Mahawa certain villages, including Kabati, which had been a part of Imperri 56Chiefdom, were transferred to his Chiefdom. He stated that it was well known that cannibal murder was rife in these villages, but that it was unknown in the other parts of his chiefdom. He pointed out that to put a stop to cannibalism he had made certain rules with regard to strangers reporting their presence in villages, as to people not sleeping outside a house, as to proper doors for houses and such like. He had also assisted the Government in the Mochach murder about September, 1910, and in the Sawura murder in 1911, and had done what he could at the request of the District Commissioner to elucidate the facts in this very case. He drew attention to the fact that the second accused had been handed over to him to be dealt with in accordance with country law, and that he was sent for by the Government Authorities to assist in the Imperri case, when he did all he could to elicit information from the very informer who was now giving evidence against him.

The firi, he stated, was an heirloom and appurtenant to his office, and witnesses for the prosecution admitted that big Mahawas do possess firis, which are used as the credentials of important messengers. He explained that the chewing-stick was a present from a Muhammedan to whom he had rendered some service, and that the Arabic text found in the wrapper was nothing more than an invocation that none but seasonable words might drop from the lips of him who used it.

As to the hair found in his house, it seemed clear that many persons, even educated persons in Freetown, have a superstition about their hair being left about, and take precautions to have it disposed of in 57such a way that nobody can get possession of it. Strong “medicines” are supposed to be made with human hair, and with this “medicine” injury can be inflicted on the person from whom the hair was obtained. He said that soon after he arrived at Gbangbama he had his hair cut and that he kept it pending his return to Mattru, where he intended to have it destroyed. Finger and toe-nails also appear to be capable of malevolent use, and should not be left lying about; he said that he had cut his finger-nails just before he left Mattru, and had put the parings carefully in his gown, intending to get rid of them later, but forgot about them, and that was how they came to be in the pocket of his gown when his quarters were searched. As to those found at Mattru, he stated that the wife who assisted him when cutting them must have put them away in the small box in which they were found, that that box used to stand upon his table, and that his wife must have forgotten them, but that they were quite safe, as the box was the one in which he used to keep his pocket cash and was usually locked.

The sebbeh cap he denied the ownership of. He stated that it belonged to an Aku or Yoruba medicine man who came to Gbangbama about the same time as himself, that this man placed the box containing the cap in his house, and that the cap was not found with his things, but in another box altogether. This statement was to some extent supported by the fact that the sebbehs when opened did not, as was expected, contain Arabic texts, but only black powder and tree bark, and he called as his witness the Yoruba man to whom he alleged the cap belonged.

58The defence of the second accused, the girl’s uncle, was that Mini was of weak intellect, and that during a period of insanity she had wandered into the bush, and, not being able to find her way out, had died there. He stated that she first became insane after the birth of her second child, and that she became so violent that she had to be put in the stocks. He said that he obtained and had given her some sacred water and a charm which cured her for a time, that she subsequently lost the charm and became insane again, and could not be made to wear any clothes, that he was absent from Kabati at the time she disappeared, and that on his return he had made every effort to find her.

The third accused’s defence was that he had left Kabati about six weeks before the girl’s disappearance and was absent in another chiefdom at the time of her disappearance; that on the 10th June, 1911, he arrived at Yandehun, where he had a “wife,” and then for the first time heard of what had happened in Kabati, whither he immediately returned.

The prisoners were defended by counsel, and forty-five witnesses were examined in the case.

The chief witness for the Crown was the accomplice who had turned informer. His evidence on one or two points one could not help regarding with suspicion, though on the other hand he gave his evidence freely; he was quite open, there was little hesitancy, he did not shelter himself under generalities, but was always prepared to go into details. In view of the fact that he had given evidence upon so many different occasions, and that he had to keep in mind so many different meetings, one was struck with the small 59number of inconsistencies, and every now and then it was noticeable how two unconnected details fitted in with the rest of the evidence; then the further he was cross-examined the more truthful did his narrative appear, matters which seemed doubtful at first were cleared up, and at the end his evidence seemed stronger than at the beginning, and formed a marked contrast to the evidence of many of the other witnesses. Finally an inspection of the locus in quo tended to confirm his testimony. But this witness being an accomplice, corroboration of his evidence as to each of the accused was necessary before the question could be considered as to whether or not the accused were guilty of murder. There was ample corroboration as to the circumstances of the murder, and that it was committed by members of the Human Leopard Society, but in addition to this it was necessary that there should be corroboration of the evidence of the accomplices as to the identity of each of the persons charged.

On the question whether it was proved that the first accused, the Mahawa or paramount chief, took part in the murder of the girl Mini the Court was divided and the majority were in favour of a verdict of NOT GUILTY. This man was, however, deposed from the chieftainship, and has, on the recommendation of the majority of the Court, in accordance with the provisions of the Special Commission Court Ordinance, been expelled from the Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone.

There was ample corroboration as well as strong circumstantial evidence against the second accused, the uncle of deceased, and he was found guilty of 60murder and publicly executed at Imperri on the 2nd June, 1913.

There was some doubt as to the identity of the third accused. Another person of the same name appears to have figured prominently in the conferences of the Society. He was therefore found not guilty and discharged.

---

This case was one which created exceptional interest locally by reason of the fact that the accused was a minister of religion and a man well known in the Colony and Protectorate. He was connected with the United Brethren in Christ Mission and had been a minister of religion since 1878.

The accused, who was defended by four members of the Freetown Bar, was first charged with the capital crime of murder, but after some evidence had been given the Crown Prosecutor realized that he had not sufficient evidence to secure a conviction on that charge, and intimated that he proposed to call no further evidence, whereupon a formal verdict of Not Guilty was recorded.

The accused was then proceeded against on the following charges—(i) of being a member of the Human Leopard Society on or before the 5th November, 1912, the date of the Human Leopard Amendment Ordinance, 1912, and (ii) with having taken part in the operations of an unlawful society on the 17th October, 1909.

The accused had apparently been well educated, and whilst he was in the witness-box it was difficult to conceive how a man of his stamp could possibly be 62connected with a cannibal society; on the other hand, it was undisputed that he had permitted himself to be elected Mahawa (paramount chief) of one of the chiefdoms in the Protectorate, and had acted in that capacity from 1899 to 1905, which connotes much; and he stated that he only ceased to be Mahawa after his trial upon a charge of cannibal murder which took place before a judge and jury in Bonthe in 1905.

The case for the prosecution depended chiefly upon the evidence of two informers. Upon the depositions their testimony was corroborated by the evidence of two witnesses, one of whom was a petty trader and the other a teacher in another branch of the United Brethren in Christ Mission, but, as these witnesses when before the Special Commission Court swore that their previous statements were false, the case for the prosecution was left to depend almost solely upon the evidence of the two informers.

These two informers stated that towards the last quarter of 1909 (cutting-rice time) a meeting of the Human Leopard Society was called near Yandehun for the purpose of arranging for a certain newly appointed Mahawuru (sub-chief) to provide a victim to celebrate his appointment. At that meeting a number of important persons were present, and it was settled that the Mahawuru should give a girl to whom he stood in loco parentis, and that the murder should take place on the evening of the fourth day from that.

On the evening arranged the two informers and many others arrived at the appointed place, the Mahawuru enticed the girl to the spot, and he and his 63Lavari set upon her and killed her. Her body was divided up and one of the informers was despatched with a portion of the girl’s flesh to the accused and another member who had not attended the meeting. He handed over this flesh to this other member and asked him to give the accused his portion.

The next morning the informer went to the town of Victoria and saw the accused at the French Company’s Factory, and informed him that he had been sent to ask him whether he had received a share of the “meat” that was sent for him, to which the accused replied that he had received it. The informer stated that the accused then said, “All right, I am now going. I only came for that purpose,” and that the accused then took the road leading in the direction of Mobundo (New London), which is situated farther down the river and is one of the starting-places when going by water to Bonthe.

If that story was true, there could be no doubt that the “meat” was a portion of the body of the murdered girl, and an admission by the accused to a member of the Human Leopard Society that he had received such “meat” would have been conclusive proof that he was a member of that Society.

Both the informers also stated that they saw one of the witnesses, a petty trader, at the French Company’s Factory on that particular occasion, and also the school-teacher referred to. That was practically all, apart from proof of the girl’s disappearance at the time in question, that the prosecution could prove at the trial.

Upon the depositions, however, the case was much stronger. At the preliminary investigation in 64the District Commissioner’s Court the previous September the petty trader referred to stated that about two and a half years before September, 1912, early one morning he saw one of the informers and the accused coming out of the French Company’s Store. He further said that he got the school-teacher referred to to write a letter to a person at Moyamba, but he did not actually connect this letter with the day on which he saw the informer and the accused together. He admitted that the school-teacher had written a letter for him, that he took this letter to a person at Moyamba, and that just before he started for Moyamba with that letter he went to the French Company’s Store to get some provisions; but he denied, when before the Special Commission Court, having seen either the informer or the accused there.

The school-teacher in his depositions at the preliminary investigation in September, 1912, gave important corroborative evidence. He there said that the accused came to Victoria on the 17th October, 1909, and stayed the night with him; that the accused went out about 9 p.m. and returned about 10 p.m. with two persons (who had since been executed for leopard murder), and that these two stayed with him for about a quarter of an hour; that next morning the accused went to the French Company’s Factory and came back to the house; that he asked the accused to stay and preach for him, but the accused said “No,” that he was in haste, as the Government, since his previous trial, never allowed him to come to Victoria, and the witness fixed the date by saying that the petty trader came to him the same morning to have the above-mentioned letter 65written. This letter was produced and identified, and was dated 18th October, 1909. At this preliminary investigation this witness, when cross-examined by counsel for the accused, said further, “I am certain that the accused slept at Victoria on the night of October 17th, 1909.” He also said in cross-examination that he was certain that accused came there only for the purpose of collecting subscriptions for the Mission to which he belonged, and that on this occasion he got a subscription from at least one other person besides himself. But before the Special Commission Court all this was changed. The keystone of the accused’s defence was that his collections at Victoria were made on or about the 17th December, 1909, and that he only paid this one visit to Victoria during the year 1909, and these two witnesses, when before the Special Commission Court, made their evidence fit in with this defence.

The school-teacher witness was married to a niece of the accused, and both he and the petty trader witness admitted having gone back on their statements about seeing the accused in Victoria in October, 1909, after an interview with the son of the accused—who was also connected with the United Brethren in Christ Mission.^[15]

The introduction of outside influences to vary the evidence of important witnesses for the prosecution gave rise to grave suspicion, but the net result so far as the actual charges were concerned was that the prosecution was left without corroboration of the evidence of the accomplices.

66Had the only issue before the Court been the charges recorded, it is possible that counsel for the defence would not have called any witnesses, but would have claimed a verdict upon the evidence; but the Court drew attention to Section 11 of the Special Commission Court Ordinance, 1912, which declared that notwithstanding an acquittal, if the Court is of opinion that it is expedient for the security, peace, or order of the district that the acquitted person should be expelled therefrom, the Court shall report to the Governor, who may expel such person from the Colony and Protectorate accordingly.

Counsel for the defence therefore decided not to let the matter rest there, but to call evidence so as to exonerate the accused completely if it were possible to do so.

The accused himself first went into the witness-box and proved by letters to persons connected with his Mission in Freetown that in September, 1909, he had arranged to make a tour of his district early in October. He gave evidence to the effect that he started on the 20th October, proceeded up certain rivers some distance from Victoria, and that he remained in those parts preaching and giving magic-lantern entertainments, with the object of obtaining subscriptions for his mission, until early in December, when he came to New London (Mobundo), which he reached on the morning of the 7th December, 1909.

He related how he had gone to the school-teacher’s house at Victoria and then to the French Company’s Factory and then to one King, and how he had got subscriptions, only spending an hour or two at Victoria. He stated that he then walked to the outlying 67villages and obtained subscriptions from persons named Nicoll and Cole, that he then returned to New London, where he picked up his boat and started home for Bonthe, which he reached early on the morning of the 8th December. In corroboration of his story he produced the subscription book which he kept during the tour, and in which there can be little doubt that the names of King, Powell, Nicoll, and Cole written by themselves appear in their due places after the subscriptions given during the earlier period of the tour.

These subscriptions seemed to be perfectly genuine, the entries of the names seemed perfectly genuine, the whole book bore every appearance of being quite genuine. King and Nicoll, two respectable traders, proved their signatures in the book and said that they put them there in December 1909. In some details the evidence of King was inconsistent with that of the accused and his boatman, but this pointed to little more than that there had been no collusion.

Several servants of the accused were also called as witnesses for the defence, and a number of discrepancies were found to exist in the various accounts given of the circumstances connected with the trip to Victoria—a matter not without importance, as one at least of these servants would probably have accompanied the accused if he visited Victoria in October as well as December.

One thing was quite clear: viz., that the accused was at Victoria in or about December, 1909, and that he then collected subscriptions. The question therefore naturally arose as to whether his presence in December was inconsistent with his presence there on 68the 17th and 18th October. There could be no doubt that it was not. It is true that he had produced evidence that he was only at Victoria once during the year 1909, but this evidence was not of high value. There was nothing to prevent the accused having been at Victoria on the 17th and 18th October. His letters to Freetown showed that he had intended to begin his tour early in October, but his start was delayed until the 20th. The first Human Leopard meeting at Yandehun was, according to the prosecution, on the 13th October; prominent members of the Society would have had notice of this meeting prior to the 13th October. Assuming that the accused had such notice, he would have received it just about the time he had originally meant to start, and this would account for his start being delayed until the 20th of October. And the view that he made a surreptitious visit to Victoria for unlawful purposes was strongly supported by the fact that the witnesses for the Crown who testified to his visit had been tampered with. Then the chain of facts worked out by the prosecution connecting the witnesses and the letter of 18th October with the accused’s visit, though not sufficient to be of itself corroboration, was significant confirmation of the story of the informers.

The Court in giving judgment stated that, as the accused was a man of education and a minister of religion connected with a Missionary Society, they had been slow to form an opinion adverse to him, but that after careful and anxious consideration they were unwillingly forced to the opinion that he was so connected with the Human Leopard Society that it 69was expedient for the security, peace and order of the District that he should be expelled from the Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone; and this was accordingly done.

This man, who was born in America, successfully raised his American citizenship on the previous occasion when he was indicted for cannibal murder. The trial of a person residing in the Protectorate for an indictable offence ordinarily takes place before the Circuit Court Judge and assessors, who take the place of a jury, the assessors being usually native chiefs who sit with the judge and advise him on questions concerning native law and custom. At the close of the case the judge sums up to them as he would to a jury, and they individually give their opinion as to the guilt or otherwise of the person being tried. The judge, although he is not bound by their opinions, naturally attaches a good deal of weight to them, but the final verdict is left entirely with him. Non-natives, however, have the right, when charged with a capital offence, to be tried by a judge and jury in the Colony instead of the Circuit Court Judge and assessors, and the plea to the jurisdiction was successfully raised by counsel when the accused was before the Circuit Court, on the ground that he was an American subject and therefore a non-native so far as the provision regulating the trial of natives of the Protectorate was concerned. The case was then transferred to Bonthe, where he was found Not Guilty by a jury of educated natives. After his acquittal he rejoined the United Brethren in Christ Mission and went on a lecturing tour through America on behalf of the Mission. One of the European 70members of the Mission who was present during the trial of the case before the Special Commission Court stated that he had heard him lecture in the United States, and that by his eloquence and interesting description of Sierra Leone he drew large audiences and was successful in collecting a considerable sum of money for Mission purposes. He is also known in England, where he had many friends; on several occasions he has been the guest of persons in high position, to whom his trial upon a charge of cannibal murder must have come as a most unpleasant shock.

---

The first of these cases was one against an important person who held high office in the Imperri Chiefdom. The charge against him was that in or about the month of July, 1912, he had in his possession without lawful authority or excuse certain articles, to wit a native medicine commonly known as “Borfima,” and a “kukoi” or whistle, contrary to Section 2 of Ordinance No. 28 of 1909 (The Human Leopard Society Ordinance) as amended by Section 7 of Ordinance No. 17 of 1912. There were two other counts charging him with (i) the custody and (ii) the control of the “Borfima” and “Kukoi” mentioned above. The accused was a man of striking personality, and appears to have exercised a great influence in the Imperri Chiefdom.

The facts of the case were simple. In July, 1912, it was stated by members of the Society who had turned King’s evidence that he had been present at several meetings of the Human Leopard Society and had taken a prominent part in the preliminary arrangements for securing various victims, and that he had at these meetings produced the “mother” Borfima of the Imperri Chiefdom. In these circumstances he was arrested and his houses at Gbangbama and Victoria were watched by Court Messengers.

72Early one morning the senior Court Messenger saw one of the accused’s wives leave the house at Gbangbama with a bundle. He followed her, and when she saw that there was no escape she threw the bundle down and ran away. This bundle held, amongst other things, an iron pot containing “medicine.”

The accused admitted that the “medicine” was his, and made a statement as to how it had come into his possession. This will be best described in his own words: “I am a sick man. My sickness arose over a dream. A snake swallowed me up to my waist. I screamed and then awakened. In the morning I was unable to move. My legs and body up to the place where the snake had swallowed me became ‘dead.’ I remained like that for four years. I heard that there was a Mori Man at a town called Behol, and sent a messenger for him. I employed this man to make a medicine for me and I paid him £3 for it. That is the sebbeh (charm) which was in the pot which the Court Messenger took from my wife. The Mori Man told me that I would not dream again, and that the lassimo (medicine) would ward off ill-health and bad dreams so long as I always kept it with me. Ah! if he were not dead I would not be here” (meaning that had the Mori Man been living it would not have been in the power of the white man to interfere with him).

The accused caused some amusement in Court by describing how the senior Court Messenger brought the sebbeh to Gombo-kabbo (“Fire in the grass,” the native name for the Assistant District Commissioner), and how he heard him shout out in a triumphant voice, 73which he imitated, “I have brought Daddy Borfima—come and see!”

He likewise imitated the voices of the two ex-members of the Human Leopard Society who were witnesses against him. One of these men had a deep voice and the other’s voice was just the reverse, but this did not appear to present any difficulty to this extraordinarily good mimic.

Evidence was given that he bore the mark of the Human Leopard Society. His retort was that even in England people have marks. He went on to say that the people were beginning to say that the white man “is bad,” but that it was not altogether the white man’s fault, as he was being misled by the persons who said they had been members of the Human Leopard Society and now, to save themselves, gave evidence for the prosecution. He gave one to understand that words failed him to express his contempt for these persons, and that if they had to deal with them under native law they would know what to do.

He described how the District Commissioner had forced him to throw the Borfima into a fire made for that purpose; and how he had protested against this, stating that he had lost good money over its destruction. He went on to pay a subtle compliment to the Court by saying, “We were thinking in this country that there were no judges in England until you ‘daddies’ arrived.”

Although the accused very ably defended himself, there was no doubt from the evidence of the witnesses that the medicine in question was Borfima. It was also proved very clearly that he was one of 74the leaders in the Human Leopard Society. Found Guilty, and asked if he had anything to say why sentence should not be passed on him, he replied: “I am the cow with the short tail, God will drive the flies away. The Judges, you, represent God. You didn’t believe when I spoke of those men who said they belonged to the Leopard Society. I see the result now.”

A sentence of fourteen years’ imprisonment with hard labour was passed on this man, who, even after the passing of the sentence, had a last word of protest and pathetic appeal. As he was leaving the Court, he burst out, “I am an old man, fourteen years is a longer time than I will live: Judges, if you must have my life take it at once; the soldiers are there with their guns to shoot”—the military guard round the Court-house when the Court was sitting.

It may be mentioned in connection with this case that the prisoner, without any family influence, had gained an ascendancy over the people of the Chiefdom unequalled by even the Chief himself. Some years ago he was tried for Leopard murder, but was acquitted, and from that date he appears to have been marked out as a person of distinction. It was asserted that his “medicine” was sufficiently strong to guard him against all bad trouble that might be put upon him, and he was selected as the custodian of the chief “medicine” of the Human Leopard Society known as the “Mother Borfima.” When fresh Borfima was made it was necessary that a small portion should be taken from the parent Borfima, and this formed the foundation for the new Borfima.

75Another interesting native was brought before the Court in the person of a Chief from the southern portion of the Protectorate near the Liberian frontier, charged with a similar offence. The District Commissioner obtained information that this man had in his possession the “medicine” belonging to a branch of the Society, and Court Messengers were detailed to search his house, with the result that a large quantity of “medicine” of various sorts was discovered and produced before the Court.

The accused in his defence stated that he had been one of the leaders of the “War boys,” who operated with the British force during the 1898 Rebellion, and that the “medicine” produced had been seized by the War boys from the rebels and was afterwards deposited for safe keeping in his house; that the War boys had never returned to claim these curiosities or trophies, and that the bags in which the “medicine” had been kept had never been opened up until their seizure by the Court Messengers. There was reliable evidence that a portion of the “medicine” was Borfima, and it was apparent that some of the leather wrappings round it had recently been repaired. From the evidence it was clear that the prisoner had made use of the “medicine” for unlawful purposes, and he was therefore found Guilty; but as he had been a great warrior and had rendered valuable service to the Government during the 1898 Rebellion, a comparatively light sentence was passed on him.

Another Chief from yet another part of the country was indicted for being in possession of Borfima without lawful authority. There was also a second charge against him of having in his possession a 76Kukoi, i.e. a special kind of whistle used for calling together members of the Human Leopard Society. Information reached the District Commissioner of the Island of Sherbro during the month of August, 1912, that the accused had Borfima in his possession. This man was known to be of a rather truculent disposition, and it was considered desirable that there should be some show of force when his chief town was visited for the purpose of effecting his arrest, as otherwise some resistance might have been met with by the officers detailed for this duty. An armed party of the West African Frontier Force accordingly made a surprise visit and surrounded his house, and effected his arrest without any resistance being offered. His house was then searched and a quantity of “medicines” found which were produced in Court.

The accused admitted that the “medicines” belonged to him, but stated that they had been left to him by his predecessor, and that during his absence on one occasion while he was in Freetown they had been put in his dwelling-house, and that he, fearing these “medicines,” had kept them locked up in a leather bag. He further denied that any of the “medicines” was Borfima. The witnesses for the prosecution all stated that a portion of the “medicines” was Borfima, and it was apparent that the wrappings of this particular “medicine” had been recently repaired.

The Court in delivering judgment pointed out that the accused, by keeping this medicine in his possession, gave himself and others the opportunity of using it, and that there was satisfactory evidence to show that it was not kept for curiosity or for 77any legitimate object, but for an unlawful purpose; however, as there was no evidence to show that the Borfima had been taken to the scenes of any of the recent murders, and there was no reason to believe it had, the Court took this into consideration in deciding on the punishment to be imposed on the accused. The sentence imposed was a term of two years’ imprisonment with hard labour. The evidence regarding the Kukoi (whistle) was not considered reliable, and on this charge he was found not guilty.

A number of other cases besides those mentioned occupied the time of the Court for some weeks, and among them were a number of cases in which prisoners were charged with being members of the Human Leopard Society. As there were so many persons under arrest on this charge, the Crown decided to proceed only against the important men concerned. Most of these men were defended by counsel, who examined the witnesses for the prosecution at great length, but in many cases they were unable to shake their evidence. A number of these prisoners were proved to have been present at various meetings of the Society at which the details of several murders had been arranged, and the Court in giving judgment stated that on the facts proved such persons were really accessories before the fact to these murders and might on the evidence have been found guilty on the capital charge had they been prosecuted for it, and in those cases the Court felt compelled to pass the maximum sentence of fourteen years’ imprisonment with hard labour.

The only other case of interest was one in which a man of some importance in his chiefdom was charged 78with having in his possession without lawful authority a certain article, to wit an iron needle of a peculiar shape used for marking on initiation members of the Human Leopard Society.

The possession of this article is made an offence under the Human Leopard Society Ordinance, punishable with imprisonment up to fourteen years. The case resolved itself chiefly into a discussion on a point of law, the arguments in the case all turning on the word “branding.”

The case for the prosecution was that iron needles, made specially for the purpose, were used in the following way: the needle was inserted under the skin, the skin and flesh were raised, a razor then cut under or over the needle in such a way as to make a small wound from which blood flowed. A preparation called Nikori was then placed on the wound, and the result was a peculiar scar or mark. It was contended that an iron needle used for that purpose could be held to be a needle used for branding persons.

For the defence it was argued by counsel that “branding” a person meant applying a hot iron to his person, and that marking a person was not the same as branding him; that the word “branding” by itself contained the idea of burning, that the Statute was a highly penal Statute giving exceptionally large powers to the Executive and imposing a heavy punishment for breach of its provisions. It was further argued that the needle was not even for “marking” members—that it was the razor which actually made the mark; that although the needle might be used in the process of marking it was no more used for “marking” the person than the hand which held it.

79The Court held that the needle could not be held to be used for “branding,” and found the accused not guilty, and he was discharged.

The Crown Prosecutor entered a nolle prosequi in the case of a number of other prisoners who had been committed for trial but against whom he did not consider that he had sufficient evidence to justify him in proceeding further, and these men, so far as the charges on which they were committed for trial were concerned, were discharged from custody.

This completed the work of the Special Commission Court, which, after sitting continuously from the 18th December, 1912, concluded its sittings on the 15th May, 1913.

Although the work of the Special Commission Court was completed on the 15th May, 1913, there were at that date a large number of persons still in custody who had not been committed for trial, and who therefore did not come within the purview of that Court. It was decided that the District Commissioner should hold an Enquiry under the Protectorate Ordinance and report whether on the evidence given against any of these men he considered such persons to be a danger to the peace of the community.

The first enquiry made was in regard to charges preferred against a number of men of the Imperri and Jung Chiefdoms of being connected with the Human Leopard Society. Evidence was given by informers that all these men were members of or connected with the Human Leopard Society, and mention was made of a number of murders by the Society previously unknown to the Authorities. Apart from the evidence of the informers there was ample evidence to show that a number of these men had actually assisted members of the Society, and the Governor-in-Council approved of the deportation of twelve sub-chiefs and fourteen of the principle Headmen of 81the Imperri and Jong Chiefdoms from the Northern Sherbro District.

The next enquiry was in regard to charges made against thirty-six sub-Chiefs and principal men of the Gallinas Chiefdom. Three informers gave evidence that they had been members of the Human Leopard Society and had, during their membership, been present at a number of murders, each of these men admitting having given a victim himself and giving details regarding the sacrifices. They said that all the persons who were the subject of the enquiry were members of the Society, and specified the various murders at which each of them had been present; they also gave further evidence regarding the leopard mark and exhibited the marks which they had received on initiation.

One of the witnesses was a boy aged eighteen years. His story was that one evening in the previous year, as he was returning home from a visit to a neighbouring village, night overtook him, and by mistake he took a path leading to the Poro bush at Powolu, where he fell into a number of people. He spoke to them, but no one answered. He then got afraid and commenced to run away, when he was seized by some one who was assisted by several others to make him a fast prisoner. He was then dragged inside the Poro bush and a discussion took place, which he was able to hear, as to whether they should kill him or not. The majority of the members were for immediately killing him in accordance with the rules of the Society, but it was pointed out that another victim had already been secured, and further that as their prisoner was the son of a man of some 82importance his absence might give rise to some awkward inquiries. It was therefore agreed to give him the alternative of becoming a member of the Society or of being immediately killed. The witness stated that he agreed to join the Society. Borfima was then brought, and the “big man” of the Society explained to him that the Borfima was the “mother” of the Society and should be treated with the greatest veneration; that they were its children and therefore brothers to each other, and in order to join him to their brotherhood some of his blood had to be given to the Borfima to drink; that when the blood was taken from him he should bear the pain inflicted bravely and should not utter a sound, as otherwise it would displease their “medicine” and might result in his being punished in some unexpected way. The “Master” then marked him on the left buttock by cutting a slice of flesh away and rubbing the blood that exuded from the wound on to the Borfima. He was then made to swear an oath on the Borfima not to reveal the secrets of the Society, and was forced to be present and witness the killing of a girl who had been brought to the Poro bush, and was made to eat some of the flesh of this victim.

Although there was no direct evidence apart from that of accomplices, it was clear from the testimony of independent witnesses that all these persons were so connected with the Society as to make it desirable to have them removed from the Gallinas District, where it was stated they exercised great influence over the people. All these men, with the exception of eight sub-Chiefs who absconded to Liberia, have since been deported to the Karina and Koinadugu Districts of the Protectorate.

83Some light was thrown on the means used to terrorize the ordinary members of the community into keeping silence regarding anything they may have heard concerning the crimes committed by the Society. When it was discovered that the Government officers were making enquiries regarding the Society an attempt was made “to swear” the whole country—that is, to put all the people under an oath of secrecy. In one Chiefdom this was done by swearing every one who was likely to be able to give any information on a “medicine” called Tillah. If a person breaks an oath on this “medicine,” even though he does so unwittingly, the natives believe that the medicine will catch him and will infect him with a disease which first attacks his lips and nose, which it eats away, and which eventually kills him. There are a few lepers in this Chiefdom, and they are pointed out as people who have broken, though perhaps unintentionally, an oath taken on the Tillah.

Another exhibit which was produced in one of the cases before the Special Commission Court was a stone image which is looked upon by the Gallinas people in the light of a Deity. It is known by the name of Toniahun. The meaning of the word Toniahun is “turn back to truth.” The figure has been carved out from soapstone by some ancient sculptor, and its features are more of the Arab than the Negro type. No woman will look at this image for fear of becoming sterile, and they cover their eyes if they approach it. This figure, notwithstanding its name, was apparently also used for swearing 84persons on—i.e. to force them to state that they knew nothing of the Human Leopard Society—and so great is the fear of the Society and the various “medicines” employed by it that even the parents of children who have been seized as victims cannot be induced to assist the Authorities in bringing the guilty parties to justice. Prior to July, 1912, no case of Human Leopardism or cannibalism had ever been reported to have taken place in the Gallinas Country, and the Authorities had no reason to suspect that any had taken place. It was not until after a number of arrests had been made in other Districts that it was brought to light that a flourishing branch of the Human Leopard Society had existed in that District for many years, and details of about a score of murders were given by members of the Society who had turned informers. Although the existence of the Society must have been known to hundreds of people, many of whom went about in terror of it, the fear of the “medicines” of the Society acted as a sufficient deterrent to keep the matter from the ears of all Europeans in that part of the country, thus demonstrating the fear that an ordinary native has of doing or saying anything which might bring him into collision with the members of the Human Leopard Society, who might, with the aid of their “medicines,” punish him in some fearful and unexpected way.

The fact that the majority of the persons who were convicted or deported under the Special Commission Court Ordinance were important members of the Human Leopard Society must have the salutary effect of breaking up for the time being this criminal organization; nevertheless, unless vigorous measures 85are pursued and unless that part of the country is more effectively policed, it is more than probable that the killing of an occasional victim in order to renew their fetishes will be continued. It must be a gradual evolution, which will be brought about by the natives of those parts coming more in touch with European influence and gradually losing faith in the potency of their “medicines.”

While the Special Commission Court was sitting three murders occurred in the Koinadugu District, which hitherto as far as official knowledge goes was entirely free from cannibalism of any kind. According to the evidence given by a number of witnesses, the people of the Symira Chiefdom had a very vexed question to settle in the selection from a number of aspirants of a Paramount Chief as a successor to their late Chief who died the previous year, and who left no near male relative who could of right claim to succeed to the Chiefdom; and it was suggested by these witnesses that the victims were provided as propitiatory offerings by candidates for the Chiefdom.

A small girl aged about seven years was killed at Nerekora toward the end of December, 1912; two days later another small girl about twelve years of age was killed at Bafai; and early the following month another girl aged about twelve to thirteen years was killed at Nerekora. All these deaths were at first attributed to attacks by bush leopards, but the evidence given by various witnesses was to the effect that these three girls were murdered by members of the Human Leopard Society.

Another secret society known as the Human 86Baboon Society, which exists in one of the northern Districts of the Protectorate, first came to notice about five years ago, when a number of persons were charged before the Circuit Court with the murder of a small child. During the investigation connected with the death of the child, it came to light that a number of persons in the vicinity of Port Lokkoh in the Karina District had banded themselves together and had formed a society which has since become known as the Human Baboon Society. In the case mentioned no evidence could be obtained to corroborate the statements of the informers, and the accused were found not guilty and discharged from custody.

During the month of May, 1913, a small girl was killed near the village of Bokamp, and, according to statements made by persons who turned informers, she was murdered by members of the Human Baboon Society. Their statements were to the following effect: That this Society was formed about six years ago, and consists of twenty-one members made up of eleven men and ten women; that seven victims, all young children, had been provided at various times for the Society; that at their meetings one of the members of the Society dresses himself in a Baboon skin and attacks the victim with his teeth; that the spirit of all members of the Society becomes centred in the person who is for the time being wearing the Baboon skin, which, when not in use, is kept in a small forest, where it is guarded by an evil spirit, and that the “Baboon” bites pieces out of the victim which the other members of the Society devour.

The only explanation that the informers could or 87would give as to the objects of the Society was that the founder of it had quarrelled with his tribal ruler, who he alleged liberated one of the founders’ slaves and placed him in authority over him; that he, the owner of the slave, became so incensed that he turned himself into a “witch” and induced others to join him in doing “evil things.”

Objects and reasons other than those given by the informers probably exist, but it is doubtful whether they will ever be discovered.

The information in the hands of the Authorities, however, appears to be sufficient to allow of effective measures being taken to put an end to the existence of this Society.

88

119

1. Silently corrected typographical errors.
2. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed.
3. The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.