The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1874-05-21
The eating Tree of Madagascar.

late for the monshly concert of prayer. In
haste. yours, ETC."
The Man-eating Tree of Madagascar.
The New York World publishes the fol-
lowing unique production, said to have
been condensed from a Carlsruhe maya
zinc. The extract purports to be from a
letter written by one Karl Lechc, travel
er in Madagascar. The writer says:
AT the bottom of the valley Il had no
barometer, but should think it not over
400 feet above the level of the seal and
near its eastern extremity, we came to a
deep tarn like lake, about a mile in dame
ter, the sluggish, oily waters of which
overlooked into a tortuous, reedy canal
that went unwillingly into the recesses of
black forest, jungle below, palm above.
This lake was filled with alligators, and its
jungled borders were the home of the che
tab and variety of venOmOus serpents.
Great ferns bent over its margin, and its
surface was spotted with leaves and flowers
of the lotus. a path, diverging from its
southern side, struck boldly for the heart
of the fOrbidding ard seemingly impene-
trable forest. Henrick led the way along
this path, followed closely, and behind
me "A curious rabble of Mkodos, men.
women and children. After we were fair
ly in the forest, the shade overhead was so
dense that the Jungle and underground al
most disappeared and instead there was
damp, DOGGY turf, cold. spongy, and yield
ing TO the tread. The stalks of the tall
trees rose like columns, the vines hanging
down from them in festoons, and their
roots running over the ground in every
direction made walking difficult.
Suddenly all the natives began to cry
"Tepe! Tepe!" and Henrick, stopping
short, said, Look ~ The sluggish, canal
like stream here wound slowly by, and in
a bare spot in its bend was the most singu-
lar of trees. | have called it CrinOida, be-
cause when its leaves are in action it bears
a striking resemblance to that well-known
fossil the crinOld lilystone, or st. Cuth-
bert's head. 1t was now at rest,
however, and | will try to describe
it TO you. II you can imagine pine
apple eight feet high and thick in pro-
portion, resting upon its base and denuded
of leaves, you will have a good idea of the
trunk of the tree, which, however, was not
the color of an anana, but a dark, dingy
brown, and apparently hard as iron. From
the apex of this truncated cone lat least
two feet in diameter) eight leaves hung
sheer to the ground, like doors swung
back on their hinges. These leaves, which
were Joined TO the top of the tree at regu-
lar intervals, were about eleven or twelve
feet long. and shaped very much like the
leaves of the American aguave, or century
plant. They were two feet through In
their tniekest part, and three feet wide,
tapering to sharp point that looked like
a cows horn, very convex on the outer
Out now UNDER surface, and on the inner
NOW upper surface slightly cOncave.
This concave face was thickly set with
very strong, thorny hooks, like those upon
the head of the teaZle. These leaves, hang
ing thus limp and lifeless, dead green in
color. had in appearance the massive
! strength of oak fiber.
! The apex of the cone was a round, white,
! concave figure, like smaller plate set
within a larger one. This was not flower
! but a receptacle, and there eXuded into ii
clear, treacly. liquid, honey-sweet, and
possessed of violent intoxicating and sOpO-
! rifle properties. From underneath the
rim $50 to speak, of the undermOst plate a
series Of long, hairy, green tendrils stretch
ed out in every direction toward the hOrl-
Zon. These were seven or eight feet long
each, and tapcred from four inches to q
| half an inch in diameter, yet they stretched
out stifily as iron rods. Above these from
between the upper and under cup), six
white, almost transparent, palDi reared
! themselves toward the sky, twirling and
! twisting with marvellous inceSsant motion,
yet constantly reaching upward. Thin as
reeds, and frail as quilts apparently, they
were yet five or six feet tall, and were so
constantly and vigorously in motion, with
such a subtle, sinuouS, silent throbblng
against the air, that they made me shuddeI
| in spite of myself with their suggestion
] of serpents flaved yet dancingOn their tails,
Here were not cOrOlla, pistils, stamens,
| a flower, mind you, nor nothing like it.
| For Crinoida, unknown, new species as II
/ is, is highest akin to the cycadace8, and
perhaps its exact prototype may be found
among the fossil cycada, though confess
! | do not remember any one that presents
all its peculiar features. The description
| am giving you now is partly made vi
from a subsequent careful inspection of the
plant. Ny observations on this occasion
were suddenly interrupted by the natives
who had been shrieking around the tree IL
their shrill voices, and chanting what Hen
rick told me were prOpitatory hymns tC
the great tree devil.
With still wilder shrieks and chants they
now surrounded one of the women, anC
urged her with the points of their javelinE
until slowly, and with despairing face, she
climbed up the rough stalk of the tree anC
stood on the summit of the cone, the palp
twining all about her. "Tsik! tSik!
T. drink! drinkr') cried the men, and
| STOPPING. she drank of the viScid fluid II
the cup, rising instantly again with wllC
frenzy in her face, and convulslve chore;
i'm her limbs. But she did not jump down
as she seemed to intend to do. Oh no
The atrociOus cannibal tree that had beer
| so inert and dead came to sudden savage
life The slender, delicate palpi, with thu
fury of starved serpents, quivered mo
ment over her head, then, as if instinc
with demOniac intelligence, fastened upOI
her in sudden coils round and round he
neck and arms; then, while her awful
screams and vet more awful laughter rOS,
wilder, to be instantly stranglcd dow
again into a gurgling moan, the tendrils
one after another, like great green ser
penis. with brutal energy and interna
rapidity rose, retractcd themselves, anC
wrapped her about in fold after fold, eve
tightening. with the cruel swittnesS ant
savage tenacity of anacOndas fastening
upon their prey. 1t was the barbarity o
the LAGOON without its beauty-thi
strange, horrible murder. And now tn
great leaves rose slowly and stittiy like tn
arms of derrick. erected themselves il
the air, approached one another, am
closed about the dead and hampers
victim with the silent force of
hydraulic press and the ruthless pun
pose of a thumb-screw. A momentmOre
; and, while could see the bases of thes
great levers pressing nsOre tightly towar
} each other, from their interstices ther
trickled down the stalk of the tree grea
streams of the viscid. honey-like fluid
!; mingled horribly with the blood and Oo2
ing vicera OF the victim. At sight of thi
: the savage hordes around me, yelling mad
= ". bounded forward, crowded to the tree
claSped it, and with cups, leaves, hands an
: tongues, got each one enough of the liquo
| to send him mad and frantic. Then Ell
sued a grotesque and undescribably hid
eOuS orgie, from which, even while ii
convulSive madness was turning readil
= into delrium and insensibility, Henric
2 dragged me hurriedly away into the receS
} ses of the forest, hiding me from the dar
= gerous brutes and the brutes from me
r MAY never see such a sight again.
: Seid ben Yalhamah says he will g
{ .hoarI HE shin in half ON hOur and sail :