ssible
without inflicting a mortal injury. King Banda evidently prided himself
upon his skill in this direction. But there were a few bunglers among
the crowd, for some of the shots went so far astray that instead of
hitting the mark at which they were supposed to be aimed, they hit and
_slew_ some half-a-dozen of the crucified ones. I wondered whether by
any chance the fatal wounds were actually inflicted by interested
persons who desired to put as speedy an end as possible to the
sufferings of their unfortunate friends; and if so, whether the idea
would occur to Ama to enlist the services of a few good marksmen in my
behalf when my turn should come.

When all those who had been condemned to die in the above manner had
perished, a further variety was imparted to the proceedings by
compelling some fifty victims to "run the gauntlet." This is a very
favourite form of pastime among savages, and is carried out in a variety
of ways. In the present instance a narrow circular course was arranged
round the great square, a lane of about a yard in width being formed
through the mass of spectators, and into this lane the victims, stripped
naked, were introduced, one at a time, to run round and round until
beaten to death by the bare fists of as many as could get in a blow at
them. And, since the lane was so exceedingly narrow, it happened that
practically every individual on either side of the lane was able to get
in at least one blow. To the uninitiated this may seem a not
particularly inhumane form of inflicting the death punishment; but I,
who saw the whole remaining part of the day spent in doing some fifty
poor wretches to death in that fashion, can tell a very different story;
there is no need to enter into details, but I may say that those who
were weakest, and who succumbed most quickly, were to be most envied.

The day had opened with a cloudless sky and brilliant sunshine; but, as
the hours dragged themselves slowly away, clouds, light and filmy at
first but gradually growing more dense and threatening, began to gather,
until toward evening the sun became blotted out and the whole vault of
heaven grew overcast and louring, as though nature, horrified and
disgusted at the orgy of human cruelty being enacted here on this little
spot of earth, were veiling her face to shut out the shameful sight. By
the time that the proceedings of the day were over and the enormous
crowd began to disperse, it became evident that