urt men and
creatures. It is bred in the bone with all of us, only, as far as the
body is concerned, this love is an almost impotent factor in modern
civilization, for we have deified the soul and intellect to such an
extent, that it is them we seek to goad and wound, when the lust of
cruelty oppresses us, since they have grown to be considered the more
important part; and we know, too, that the embittered soul avenges
itself upon its own body, so that we strike the subtler blow. What we
call teasing, is the most diluted form of the appetite. Well, this is
wide of the mark, I suppose. At any rate, my dusky friends, presumably
having no sensitive souls to attack, did their very best with their
enemies' bodies, and as I was saying, theirs was no mean accomplishment
in that line.

"I am not going to wound your susceptibilities by describing some of the
functions which I have witnessed under that blazing sun. I will only
tell you that during one especial occasion of rejoicing, a feast was
given after a victory over a neighboring tribe, when the bound captives
were piled together in black, shining heaps, that had a constant
vermicular movement, each human pile guarded by a soldier. The chief at
whose right hand I sat, being filled with joy, as well as rather too
much drink, began boasting to me of the glories of his tribe, of his
possessions, of the valor of his warriors, and above all of the great
wisdom and learning of his medicine-man, who was beyond all wizards, and
upon whom witchcraft was powerless, and who prepared a poison for such
of the chief's enemies as it was not expedient to openly destroy; and
this poison, he explained to me, was of a secret and mysterious nature,
and unknown to any other tribe.

"My curiosity was somewhat aroused, and I questioned him, whereupon he
told me that the drug, being tasteless, was given in food or drink, and
that the victim was seized with a terrible and immeasurable sadness and
depth of despair, in which life appeared too horrible to endure, and
which the unfortunate always ended by seizing a weapon of some sort and
killing himself; and the chief, being of an inquiring mind, had caused
the poison to be administered to a man who was carefully guarded and
allowed no weapon.

"'And what did he do?' I queried, for the chief assured me that the drug
itself did not produce death, but only caused an irresistible desire for
it.

"The chief did not reply in words, but with a meaning s