Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-03-04

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NJ n. Chaillu said that some years ago
M oupd himself upon the coast oil
pc s,cs cultivated the friendship OF the
e,iefs and people. and passede oomparA.
|,;vely uleasant time among them. But
he Hanged 10 wish the oannibal country
"a az The inhabitants for himself This
desire he expressed to the people OF
the coast with whom he was STOP
ping. ana they sought TO deter him
rom the undertaking BY every con.
ceiyable representation he, promised
10 be absent but three months; consent
WAS given. aud number OF men fur
nished TO accompany him 70 the next
kingdom. The cannibals occupy
mountainous country called Fan, situate
two degrees north Of the equator, and
abou, 1850 miles trom The coast, DE car,
ried with him a stock Of clothing, and
on his way passed through the Mioondeno
country, where he found that his lame
had preceded him, and the people be-
lieved his trunks and boxes carried i'm
mense wealth. They gathered around
him, and be had apprehensions for his
safety, but the distributions Of presents
made them quite peaceably disposed: He
did not remain here tor any length OF
time but pushed on 10 farmland. He ar
rived AT the borders Of the country very
hun cry, and while watching for an oppor-
tunity to kill a monkey for food, be saw
two Fans--a man and woman-armed
with poisoned arrows. Alone in the
presence Of cannibals was not comfort
able situation, and he felt somewhat
strange. They did not modest him, but
became his conductors to the village, and
as he walked down the streets and looked
upon the bones Of men and women whose
flesh had furnished feast, the thoughts
that crowded upon him were not OF the
most consoing description. The people
seemed to dread him, and ran away, one
woman entering her house with the leg
Of man under her arm. He was re
rarded as q spirit by the Fans But he
assured the people he was not an evil
shirt; the King, however, refused to see
him on the day Of his arrival, as he feared
some evil il the spirit looked upon him.
The succeeding day, however, the King,
with n large retinue, consented to receive
him. The Fans, M. Du Chaillu says, are
cannibals Of the worst kind, and eat the
bodies Of their dead. II is not customary
for families to eat their own dead and
when death occurs, an arrangement is
made whereby the party obtaining the
body will, when death takes place in
his household, reciprocate the favor, and
tbna the bodies are exchanged. The
Fans, he thinks, are among the most
intelligent and industrious of the races
in Africa, The houses are well ordered
and made of bamboo; but the beds are
hard, and night upon one made his
bones ache in the morning. Polygamy is
practised by them, but slavery is little
known, as they prefer to eat their
prisoners to selling them into bon
dage. Some years ago. the Fans lived
three hundred miles from the coast. but
now they are found ten and even five
miles from the sea. They overcame
every other race they engaged in battle,
and have either killed, or eaten, or alb.
sorbed them. There are blacksmiths
among them, and these upon very large
anvils work up iron into knives and
other weapons; but by what means they
obtained the anvils he never could learn.
A visit was also made to the Osheba
Country, the inhabitants of which are
also cannibals, While in this land food
became scarce, and the King organized
a hunting party, On reaching the hunt
ing grounds, pits twenty feet deep were
dug and converted into traps by cover
ing them with fallen branches, over
which was scattered some earth, and
the vines that trail along the ground
were woven into sort of network
which formed an enclosure. The men
then scattered, beat their drums and
made great noise, driving elephants
into the network or into the pits, and the
result was that in three days twenty-five
elepbants were killed. The meat was
verv tough, but after twenty.four hours
boiling they succeeded in making it fit,
to be eaten. Having seen the cannibals
and participated in an elephant hunt M.
Du Chaillu returned to the coast, and
passed through a country so infested
with ants that the elephant, the tiger,
the gorilla, and even the rats and mice
ran away from them. These ants travel
in a continuous line, and upon one oc-
casion be observed column of them for
twelve hours, and still the army had not
passed. ;,
The lecture was closed with an account
of reception and ball given in honor OF
M. Du Chaillu, at Cape Lopez, by the
king and his chief officers, one of whom
wore coat, another shirt. third a
hat. a fourth a necktie, and one presented
himself wearing only pair of shoes.
The inspiration ct the ball was whisky,
and a large glass of that liquid was sup
plied to each woman present, 80 az tom
duce her TO dance with sufficient vigor.