The Sun.
London, England, 1844-09-09 00:00:00

SUPERSTITION among SAVAGES.
In " History of the Or,-,yon Territory," we
find the following- fearful description of the sustersci-
tions some 4pf the ,avage nibs, of sNortii America
The chief, who is supposed to possess the " right di-
vine" of governing, aui to be the internied;ate agent
between the great solar spirit—the Creator and Su-
preme Ruler—and his creatures here below, retires at
times, whenever he fancies himself summoned by the
:Divine call, from the tril:e, without giving; them any
pr:svious intimation of his mission, and takes
up his abode in the lonely woods and moun-
tains, taking clandestinely with him a small stock
of dried salmon for sustenance. 'When he is missed
by his family, the report is spread abroad, and then it
is known that he haS gone to hold familiar converse
with the Great Spirit, who will, within a short time,
descend to give him an interview. Intelligence has
then been procured froth the Indian who saw him
last on that day as to his routs, and the district of the
woods and hills to which he is likely to confine his
wanderings • and a sacred boundary line is drawn
round this district, within which it is a crime of pro-
fanation to pass on hunting or fishing excursions, on
pain of death. Should any unlucky Indian even meet
this compound of chief and priest in his excursions,
heis sure to be put to death, either by the chief himself—
for he must be perfectly passive in the infuriated chief's
hands ; or, should the chief in his abstracted mood
not attack him, he must, on his return to the tribe
acknowledge the guilt, and resign himself a voluntary
victim. Should he conceal the fact of his meeting
the chief, and should the chief on his return charge
him with the fact, then he would undergo the most
shocking torture. The duration of the chief's abs
sence on this mission is irregular—at least it is
long enough to exhaust his small stock of food,
even with the utmost economy. It is often three
weeks. When hunger pinches him (and he generally
selects the most desert and dreary region, des-
titute of esculent fruits or roots), his imagination
becomes inflamed, and what was before religion or
superstition becomes now frenzy—during which the
fancied interview with the Great Spirit occurs. He
returns at last to the village the most hideous object
in nature, with matted hai shrunken cheeks, blood-
shot eyes. and parched lips, his blanket, which is his
sole covering, all hanging in shreds about him, torn
by boughs and brambles, his face all begrirnmed
with filth ; animated with all the unnatural
ferocity of a demoniac. His return is by
night, and as uncertain as his departure. Ile
does not first arrive, generally, at his own house, but
rushes to some other, according to the blind caprice
of his wildness; and, instead of entering it by the
door, he ascends the roof, tears off one of the cedar
board coverings, and plunges down into the centre of
the family circle ; he then springs on one of the full-
grown inmates like a famished wolf, wrenches with
his teeth a mouthful of his flesh from his limbs or
body, which he convuLively bolts down without any
process of mastication, but barely chopping the lump
once or twice for the purpose of easier deglutition.
No resistance is made ; for the sufferer thinks that he
has been ordered by the Great Spirit to yield up a
part of his flesh and blood as a sort of peace or sin-
offering to the priest. The chief then rushes to an-
other house in the same way, and makes the same
hurried repast. He . continues this process along
other houses, until, in a few hours, he becomes '
exhausted from the quantity of human living
flesh that he has devoured. lle is then
taken home in a state of torpor, and thus remains,
like an overgorged beast of prey, for a couple
of days. After his resuscitation he is languid and
sickly ; and, as he must not partake of his usual food
for a certain time after he has got his fill of the hu-
man sacrifice, be goes on but slowly t 3 convalescence.
I have been more than once in close connexion with
one of these chiefs after his restoration, and his breath
was like an exhalation from a grave. The wounds in-
flicted by his bite, though held as sacred trophies, often
proved mortal. Their mode of cure is this :—They ap-
ply eagle down as a stiptic to chick the haemorrhage,
and then apply a plaster made of pine tree gum.
Several of the wounded and consecrated persons,
after we established our fort, finding their own mode
of treatment ineffectual, came 0 our surgeon (apply-
ing to me first as interpreter) to have their rankling
sores healed. They used to present a most hideous
appearance, being jagged and torn, and often showing
the clear indentations of the human teeth ; and
besides, the fetor issuing from them was most
obnoxious. The daughter of one of the chiefs
(who practised this abomination), the wife of one of
our men, told me that her father, on his return
to the village, after his sojourn in the woods and
mountains, met an Indian, on whom he flew, and whose
side he continued to bite and devour until his bowels
protruded. The Indian made no resistance; and
when the chief ran off, he crawled to the village ; and
though every effort was made to heal his wounds,
they were found to be too mortal for human remedy.
lie died soon after, in their idea a consecrated person.
So much importance and pride do these Indians
attach to these lacerations, that the youngsters who
have not had the good fortune to be thus scarred,
apply lighted gunpowder to their limbs, and use other
means to produce a holy gash."

THE NEW STREET AT WM TEC HAPEL.—Wednesday
twelve houses, besides two spacious warehouses, situated
in Dock-street, on the cast side, adjoining the London
Docks, were sold by auction, to be taken down for the
new street leading from Spitalfields Church to this spot,
there being now only three houses in that neighbourhood
to be disposed of in order to make the entire line of road
from the above sacred edifice. In pursuance of instruc-
tions from the Commissioners of Woods and Forests a
sewer is now in course of formation from Iligh-street,
Whitechapel, to the north, along which formerly stood
Essex-street. From the excavations now made, it ap-
pears that the ground around the spot has been raised
above twenty feet, as the whole of the soil is what is
called made earth, being composed in a great part of
broken bricks, mortar, &e. Several foundation walls of
great extent have been dug up at from ten to twelve feet
below the surface. A considerable length has been dug
for the formation of the vaults of the houses to be erected.
A. new church for the parish of St. Mary, Whitechapel,
to be built to the south of Wentworth-street.
ns-T A VERY TERRIBLE DUEL.—A good deal
walprodueed, on Friday last, amongst
—ls of the whior theatres, the ballet
-I;tterateurs of the Park-row
was whispered about
very distill-
',ns of

Amt.,
of excitement,

the eminent trageal,..._
girls of Niblo's, and the
taverns, by the intelligence whieu
that a duel was to be fought between th
guished young gentlemen well known on the s.,
the hotels and in the lobbies of the theatre. The subject
of the quarrel was, of course, a lady—in fact, one of the
most especial favourites of the fashionable and crowded
houses at the little Olympic. Whether a remark re-
flecting on the colour of the lady's eyebrows, or the
perfect adaptation of her flesh-coloured continuations,
originated the serious difficulty, we are not prepared to
say. But the quarrel did take place, and bood alone
could wash out the stain which the fair fame of the
favourite, the especial favourite of the "brilliant,
fashionable, select, and overflowing houses" at the Olympic,
had sustained. A field immediately adjoining Greenwood
Cemetery was the place selected for the hostile meeting,
the seconds, with remarkable foresight and sagacity,
having made that choice for the very sensible purpose of
saving the time and trouble otherwise necessary in tran-
sporting the carcases of the combatants to that very
elegant, recherche, poetical, and charming place of in-
terment, as it is expressed in the hand-bills and reports
of the highly enterprising company which manages the
affairs of that Necropolis. At the appointed time one
of the parties, his second, a surgeon, a friend, and a large
bottle of brandy, were on the ground. The antagonist
of the punctual gentleman was, however, not forth-
coming. He had, in fact, mysteriously eloped from the
care of his anxious relatives that very morning, and has
not since been heard of. After waiting for half an hour
the other parties left the ground, after emptying the
bottle of brandy ; and it was remarked that on his re •
turn to the city the " gentleman," who had really ap
peared on the ground, was not afflicted with the ague
which had been so annoying on his journey to the vicinity
of the cemetery.—New York Herald.
The rector of a parish in the north part of the
county has been committing the most daring and sacri-
legious outrage on his church. Not content with bring-
ing all the pews, as he would wish to bring the con-
sciences of his congregation, to the same level, he has
being
eoal sioronirsgpholu,falailleniddrd,
odFswoow.i'sdni
.11g1 oei
Mr. B.
srsTiptaahalpsce.ibroflyouoosaoingur,icantal
flooring
dnroifest soot ,hmtehe ge whichpart,apliue
bwryiiecnre
not long ago erected at a very great expense to the
tos
st
rn.
saAi mvlsoi ehe ‘vformerly: degradednow the
what
arew
rsyehtpabhinejeidennsdgoom:opprep,aotoihiftei
pur-
pose,sback wall of Molly Gum-
inow's Hampers' Inn. Seine people are foolish enough
to say that the rector has driven away all kis congre-
gation, and, therefore, has no need of a gallery. Slan-
der West Briton.
whilsthas l rtehaed
deed,
sup-
ported rtti that

LEICESTER STATE OP Tama.—The demand iS
brisk for all kinds of goods, and the Frio of wools and
yarns remains firm. Ti e value of wide framm, Which
make the lower kinds of goods, has materially inereaseti,
indeed they were never known to be higher than they
are now; they may uarely he estimated now as 50 per
cent. higher in value that they were eighteen months
ago.—Leiemerehire Mercury.
NAUTIC AnyENTURE.—As E. Watson Lloyd,
Esq., was returning to Parkgate from a cruise in the
yawl Horatio, on Tuesday last, on falling in with the
Fairy, John Lloyd Jones, Esq., a salute was fired from
the Horatio, when, unfortunately, one of the brass can-
nons burst into splinters with a tremendous explosion.
The sails were much cut by the fragments. but although
nine persons were standing by when the gun was fired,
we are happy to state that no one received the slightest
injury.
Partridge shooting commenced on Monday, and
many parties left this city before daylight, to get to
the scene of their exciting sports. Some delayed their
return till dark, having but a beggarly account of empty
bags to show as the result of the day's labourr, How-
ever, many crack sportsmen bagged a great deal o "game,
birds being plentiful. The heat of the day furnished a
providential excuse for the unsuccessful; because it pre-
vented their dogs from being up to the wonted scent.—
Western Times.

The hop picking commenced at Orchard Port-
man, near Tauton, on Tuesday. The crop is not abun-
dant, but rather favourable than otherwise. The quality
will be excellent.