If in spite of all the man dies, in grief and rage the family call for the witch doctor, Nganga-a-ngombo. Space prevents a detailed description of his methods of procedure. He is a cunning rogue, and has his agent, who ascertains whether any one is in special disfavour, or whom it will be safe to declare a witch. He may decide haphazard, or he may ascertain that the deceased man dreamed of some one. He consults Nganga-a-moko. At early dawn the sound of his ding-winti drum startles the town. Who knows whether he may not be accused of the crime?
After working people into the wildest frenzy by a protracted series of dances and mystery, the doctor at last selects one or two of those present, and declares him or them to be guilty of the devilish crime. The excitement culminates; the victim declares his innocence and ignorance; but the rascally doctor tells a long story of the way in which the crime was accomplished, till all feel the guilt fully established, and would like to tear the witch to pieces on the spot.
However, there is a regular course of things, and a market-day is appointed when the ordeal poison shall be taken. On the day decided, all the people of the district assemble in vast crowds, as they used to do in this country before executions were performed in private.
The poor victim believes his innocence will be established, and fearfully, but still generally willingly, he drinks the poisonous draught. His stomach may reject the noxious compound. If he vomits, the man is declared innocent, and the witch-doctor loses his fee—indeed, in some parts is heavily fined for a false charge. More often, if he has not avoided the risk by referring the death to some charm, or to some person recently dead, he does his work too surely. His victim staggers and falls. With a wild yell the bystanders rush at him and beat him to death; shoot him, burn or bury him alive, throw him over a precipice, or in some way finish the terrible work, with a savage ferocity equal to their deep sense of the enormity of the crime with which he is charged.