Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-04-04


! its piercing his breast. Despite his
luminous title of "Cannibal Jack"
he asserts that he has never tasted
human flesh, although his savage
Marquesas subjects feast upon il
every week with the utmost relish
"Is it possible? And whom do they
eat?" ooh, prisoners of war
mostly, and any strangers they can
catch" "And, say" continues
the questioner, with slight shiver,
show do they cook them?" "Bake
them! Take them just as you
would q pig, clean them and stuff
them with sweet-scented leaves and
hot stones. Then they lay hot
stones on the ground for an oven,
cover them with leaves, put the
bodies on these, then more leaves
and hot stones, and finally a layer
of earth to keep in the heat and
the steam from the green leaves"
"And cant you stop it?" "Not a
q bit | can save white men but not
natives"
Owing TO his knowledge of their
many dialects, and his familiarity
with their customs, he is either
obeyed or feared in many different
island groups, but the special seat
of his power is on Oitahu, one of
Marquesas Islands. There a white
man, named Butcher, was chief
when Jack first landed, and there
Butchers skull is preserved. There
Jack reigns in naked and native
dignity, with his tappa girdle and
his feather head-dress. There he
has fourteen wives in one house,
besides many more on the other
islands. There he makes laws for
two thousand islanders, and plans
raids upon the Typee savages of
Dominica, another of the Marquesas
Islands, with whose natives he is
ceaselessly at war. There are his
double canoes, made of boards
sewed together with cocoanut SEN
net, and propelled fourteen miles an
hour by three hundred rowers, who
not only keep stroke to the sonnd
of the war song but vary the exer-
else every few moments by fiinging
their paddles in the air and catch~
ing them as they fall with military
precision.
1t is utterly impossible to give
within column any just idea of
the wild life of this white chief of
Oitahu. On one occasion he and
a Typee king of Dominica were III
val suitOrs for a young princess;
Jack, finding his suit likely to fail,
ran off with the girl, who was only
about twelve years old, but was
caught, bound, and turned adrlft in
a canoe. Regaining the shore he
climbed u hill, saw a native coming
up the other side with a musket
and another mans leg over his
shoulder, who hastily scrambled up
a tree, and went after Il cOcoanut.
Jack slipped down, got the gun,
and pointed it at the native, who
fled for dear life from the white
man who was drowned the day be,
fore. In trying to pass the towns
of his enemies, in order to reach
part of the island friendly to him,
he stumbled into "tabOO ground, "
or cemetery, a place full Of skulls
which were walking around and
nodding at each other in the most
extraordinary manner, an exami-
nation showed that each skull was
tenanted by ayoung crab ofthe kind
called 5000 by the natives. This
little chapter in his life ended with
setting fire to a village, by which
means he decOyed the warriors out
of fort which guarded the only
pass leading to the friendly terri
tory, and then made his escape di-
rectly through the deserted fortress.
Jack is evidently of Christian
turn of mind, does not swear, and
takes pleasure in attending divine
service. Nevertheless, he does not
like missionaries, will not allo v
| them on his islanu, and declares
that Father Damon at Honolulu,
and Mr.. Brown on one of the Nav
igator islands, are the only ones
who have done the natives any real
| good. He charges the others with
| covetousness, inhumanity and 9th
er nameless villainies.
Fourteen years ago a Boston
traveller, who helped found the first
newspaper in the Sandwich Islands
offered Jack seven hundred dollars
| if he would return with him tc
Boston and relate his story in de
tail, in order that book might be
made of it. Jack declined, but
now as he wishes to make a little
money, he is quite ready to accep
such a proposition. He intends t
GO TO New Bedford in a few days tC
visit certain whaling captains of hi
acquaintance whsm he expects t.
find there, and hopes to get fund
enough to buy some tools, ammu
milton and cold newspapers will
stories in Them" to take back will
him; for next November viii
doubtless find him far on his way
to his island kingdom, as he de
clares he 'would not spend q win
ter in this cold climate for half tn
city of New York;
|Cannibal Jack" or the walk
ing Geography" or Jerry Daily,
as he is variously called, possesse
a marvellous memory, and careful
inquiry into his history shows tina
about thirty-two years ago ther
lived in Rochester a tough httl
/ chap, who was the youngest son
, an American family of four boy
5 and four girls. Born in a sma
II village in that vicinity, he made b
home, upon the death OF his pr
rents, with his eldest sister, VIII
resided in the city. This exceller
= young women sent him TO schoo
Q and switched him 80 faithful
IS when he played truant, as he ofte
] did, that he ran away at the tend'