LAKE OF THE DEAD.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1503, 27 July 1912, Page 7

LAKE OF THE DEAD.

WEIRD SPOT IN THE WILDS OF NIGERIA. ■■;

Mr. P. Anjaury Talbot. a District Com- , missionor "for "Southern Nigeria, acconi; fianied by his wife, has returned tq'Engand from nearly two'years'travelling in E "arts of Nigeria, large portions of which' ave never before been visited by a Government official, and certainly never by a white woman. For the first time a survey, anthropological, botanical, and in parts geographical Rid zoological, has been completed almost uninterruptedly from the Gulf of Guinea right through to Central Africa.' ■"' Describing to Renter s representative some of his experiences.in the Southern Nigerian bush—the 'home'-"of witchcraftMr.'Talbot said ;-4r"The bush, with' its soft green twilight, dark shadows, and quivering lights, is'peojpled by many terrors, but among these 'Ojje,' or witchcraft, reigns supreme. The bird which flies in, at your open door in the sunlight, the bat which ciToles round'you at night, the email bush beasts which cross your path while hunting, all may be familiars of witch or wizard," or even the'.latter'themselves, disguised, to do you hurt. Sometimes the terror of witchcraft will scatter a Vrhole town. " ''Should the suspicion of witchcraft fall upon anyone, only trial by ordeal oan free hirm The most usual one is that of eating esere, a poisonous bean, which almost invariably Kills the'suspected person. The ordeals of boiling oil poured upon the palms of the', hands; aiid of peppercorns, inserted in the eyes, are far less dreaded, not only because their results are practically never fatal, but because'the physical anguish entailed ,is acknowledged to be less intense than that caused by' esere." One of the most interesting discoveries was that of the Lake of the Dead, in the Oban country. "The name of this lake," said Mr. Ta'lbpt, "occurs in many of the tribal eongs, but far & Jong Jime I ppuld not discover/.the. meaning' of. the word,: and all inquiries failed to.elecit. informal tion, and" when..l.■ believed I waa:in, the neighbourhood lofnthisiiaiinted-ispotiand, nlteretl my course my camel's begged to be allowed not to proceed, and were left behind..'After a struggle'through dense .bush we could see the edge of a,"sheet of water, along the banks of which were the holes-oJ-crocodilos, "whose tocks coveired the ishbre. " ' ■ ' ■■ ■ . ' '" .

"The scene teas e weird" oae; the surface was absolutely still, and iound about were 10 feet high bushes with what were apparently great tufts, of creamy flowers. These, however, proved" to be nests of tree frogs. The place is a sanctuary for all wild things, Tor no hunter would dare to penetrate, the bush to this dreaded 'spot. As we stood 'at the edge, gazing out over the water, its quiet was suddenly broken by a brond.Tipple, and little fish were seen to spring agitatedly above the surface. A great python was crossing, and this, we learned, shared with the ■ crocodiles the guardianship of the sacked Jake. ' "Nothing, we were informed, must be allowed to trouble the water or even to touch its outer edge, or famine and pestilence would ensue. Here, 'according to popular belief,'come by night the gnosts of long dead Ekoi, to drift in sad companies, hopeless and wailing, over ■' tho surface of the water. Even in the bright sunlight the place has an unqanny look, and one can easily imagine that at midnight, when the white , mists shimmer ghostlike in the light of the moon, people with the terror and mystery of the . bush' in their blood would rather sit chatting round the fire or dance by torchlight in the open spaces of the towns, than seek out this uncanny spot, on the chonca of holding communication with the spirits of their long dead kin."