preter, but he was convinced by
the manner and gestures of the villagers that the boy's story was true.
When the report appeared, the boy was again examined by some officials
of the State, when he at once contradicted the first statement and said
that his arm and hand had been severely bitten by a wild boar when he
was a child and that the hand afterwards fell off. Now one of these
tales is obviously false and there is evidence to show which, for the
scar of a clean cut wound is different from that following gangrene.
However, at this time I had not seen the boy, so of course could give no
opinion. This is the only case of reputed mutilation which could be
discovered for the benefit of Mr. Casement and was a very unfortunate
example of an atrocity, for in the first place it was the _left_ hand
that was missing and the soldiers were supposed always to cut off the
_right_, and in the second, there was great doubt whether it was the
result of an accident or not.

We were now coasting off Liberia and Captain Sparrow who was in command
of the _Leopoldville_ cheered us up with the statement that the charts
of this part had not been revised for eighty years, that there were many
rocks and that ships frequently went ashore here. Wreckers then went out
and looted everything on board. It is not therefore, a pleasant place in
which to make an enforced landing.

Liberia itself however, must be interesting to visit, for it is an
independent republic of negroes with an elected President, Senate and
House of Representatives. It sells palm oil to other countries and buys
alcohol, arms and ammunition, thus exchanging a peaceful luminant and
lubricant for the elements of moral and physical strife. Fortunately no
rocks appear through the bottom of the ship and Commandant Sillye
relieves the monotony of the voyage by describing the Constitution of
the Congo State, which however, like other constitutions, is
occasionally revised. At its head is the Sovereign of the State aided by
Ministers at Brussels, next in rank comes the Governor-General and
Vice-Governor-Generals, one of whom is always at Boma. There are also
Royal Commissioners and Inspectors of the State who are very high
officials, but whose duties are not easily defined. The whole country is
divided into Districts which are governed by District Commissioners. The
Districts are divided into zones ruled by zone chiefs under the control
of the District Commissioners. Finally the Post