The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1875-07-22
A DEVIL TREE.
A Horrible Australian Plant that Eats
Human Beings-A Frightful Scene.

A Horrible Australian Plant that Eats
Human Beings-A Frightful Scene.
If you can imagine, says the South
Australian Register, a pineapple eight
feet high and thick in proportion, rest
ing 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 was a dark, dingy
brown, and apparently as hard as iron.
From the apex of this fusticated cone
(at least two feet in diameter) eight huge
leaves sheer to the ground, like doors
swinging back on their hinges. These
leaves, which are joined at the top of
the trees at regular intervals, were about
eleven or twelve feet long, and shaped
very much like the leaves of IN Ameri-
can agave or century plant. They are
two feet through in their thickest part,
and three feet wide, tapering to a sharp
point that looked very much like a cows
horn, very convex o. the outer (but not
under) surface, and on the under (no
upper surface slightly C This
concave surface was thickly set with
strong horny hooks like those upon the
head OF a teazle. These leaves, hanging
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 concave figure like q
smaller plate set within a larger one.
This was not a flower, but a receptacle,
and there e1udes into it a clear, treacly
liquid honey, sweet and possessed of
violent intoxicating soporific properties.
From underneath the rim ESQ to speak,
of the undermost plate, a series of long,
hairy, green tendtils stretched out in
every direction toward the horizon.
These were seven or eight feet long and
tapered from four inches to half an inch
in diameter, yet they stretched out
stifhy as iron rods. Above these from
between the upper and under cups six
white almost transparent palpi reared
themselves toward the sky, twirling and
twisting with marvellous, incessant mo-
ton, yet constantly reaching upward.
Thin rs reeds and frail as quills, appar-
entity, they were yet five OF six feet tall,
and were SO constantly and vigorously in
motion, with such a subtle, sinuous,
silent throbbing against the air, with
their suggestions of serpents fiayed, yet
dancing on their tails.
My observations ON this occasion were
suddenly interrupted by the natives who
had been shrieking around the tree with
their shrill voices, and chanting what
Hendrick told me were propitiatory
hymns to the great tree devil. With
still wilder shrieks and chants they nov
surrounded one of the women, and urgei
her with the points of their j%avelins
until slowly, and with despairing face
she climbed up the stalk of the tree, ant
stood on the summit of the cone, tn,
palpi swirling all about her. "Tsik
TsikI" Drink! drink y cried the men
STOPPING, she drank of the viscid hui,
in the cup, rising instantly again, wit
wild freuzy in her face, and convulsiv
cords in her limbs. But she did no
jump down, as she seemed to intend tc
Oh, mol The %atrocious cannibal tree
that had been so inert and dead, came t
sudden savage life. The delicate palp.
with the fury of starved serpents, quiz
cred a moment over her head, then as
instinct with demoniac intelligence, fas
tened upon her in. sudden coils roun'
and round her neck and arms, and Will
her awful screams and yet more awfr
laughter rose wildly to be Instant
strangled down again into a gurglin
moan, the tendrils one after another, lik
great green serpents, with brutal energ
and internal rapidity, rose, PROSTATE
themselves, and wrapped her about j
fold after fold, ever tightening with CRU
swiftness and savage tenacity of AM
condas fastening upon their prey.
1t was the barbarity of the Laocoo
without its beauty-this strange, horrib
murder. And now the great leaves ros
slowly and stifiy, like the arms of a de
, rick, erected themselves in the air, o.
, preached one another, and closed abor
the dead and hampered victim with IL
silent force of a hydraulic press and ii
ruthless purpose of a thumb-screw:
, moment more, and while 1 could see Il
/ basis of these great levers pressing mo-
, tightly toward each other from the
interstices, there trickled down the sta.
of the tree great streams of viscid hone,
like fluid, mingled horribly with IL
r blood and oozing viscera of the victim
At sight of this the hordes around m
yelling madly, bounded forward, crowde
to the tree, clasped it, and with cup
leaves, hands and tongues, each one o
tanned enough of the liquid to send hi
, mad and frantic.