The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1875-10-30
HUMAN SACRIFICES IN AFRICA.
A Custom, that Ins Long Prevailed and
Fseai-ts all Efforts 10 Abolish IT.

Eseaist< all Efforts 10 Abolish H.
A correspondent of the London Times
gives the following vivid description Of
the scenes which attend the death of a
''Caboceer," or man of rank, i'll Asian
tee:
Well, Immediately after demise, the
body of Caboceer is washed, Amounted
with sweet oils and grease, and sprinkled
with gold dust The oils and greas"
cause the gold dust To stick to the
corpse, which, being black, throws off
the bright color of the gold to pcrtcc
ton. The beard is trimmed into knots,
and upon each knot are tied small beads
of glass and thin particles of gold. The
Ashantccs, you perceive, are as dainty
in the decoration of the boards of their
dead as the Assyrian handles were of
their own when living. In cloth of
costly ilk-embrodered damask, or in
velvet or in other rich garments, the
body is dressed and ornamented with
armlcts and necklaces of gold and silver.
Very often pure Jumps or unwrought
nuggets of gold, bored through and
through, are strung upon piece of
hempcn string and twisted around the
forearms in the form of bracelets. Thus
gayly bcdizencd and perfumed and
cleanscd, the body is placed upon a chair
in a sitting attitude or is shown recum-
bent upon bed trimmed with gaudy
drapery. When this combined rite of
publication and garniture has been conn
p!eted the relations and friends assemble
and begin to dance and sing. While
the relations and friends are making
merry fetishman or priest is led slowly
into the midest of the festive throng,
and the female slaves of the dead CabO-
ceer are brought before him. After the
utterance of various nominations he pre-
tends that the fetish has denoted, by
means of his mediation, certain slave
for election to follow her master to the
next world but | need not be at much
to suggest to you that the me'abers of
the family always decide beforehand
among themselves which unfortunate
wretch shall accompany the deceased
chief
Being chosen, and by the choice CON
dcmned to die. the slave is stripped
naked. Arotind her necl, a wisp of hay
is wound, and her arms are rudely pin
toned with rope of straw. She is now
roughly dragged a second time to the
presence of the fetishman, who recon-
mends her, in speech full of blasp-
hemous rhodomontades and rhetorical
through the macs of the unknown
sphere to which lie has been summoned
on journey. During the delivery of
the portentous eXhortation he Is busiiE
employed in daubing white-colored
earth over the face of the weeping slave;
and, When the admonitory harangue has
been exhausted, he strikes her severely
with his open palm upon either cheek.
In beniohted zeal the company snatch
up the sacerdotal cue They strive to
rival one another in repeating the as
sault with the harshest violence, and in
dealing the keenest pain on her nude
and trembling person.
Having been removed by dint of cuffs
or manual force from the sight of the
fetishman the slave is hurried to a wood
en- box, into which the carcase of the
Caboceer will eventually be squeezed.
Along the lid of the box the slave is
stretched Upon her stomach, and her
feet and her head are grasped by two
exceutiOners, so that her struggles may
be subject t. control. a friend of the
dead Caboceer approaches the PROSTATE
creature and slashcs her with a sword
lust below the right shoulder blade
Catching the blood which flows from the
wound, he smears the box. When
SuI1cle11cv OF DlOOd HIS Dtti uIsl"H loI
the purpose, she is lifted from the lid
and is reyiled. struck and covered with
spittle by the bystanders, All the while
she utters the loudest and most grievous
lamentations and the louder and more
grievous they are, the more acceptable
do the torturers deem the sacrificed
gratuity to the dead Caboceer. She is
then driven to the spot where she is to
be slain. When the head has been cut
off the heart is plucked out through, an
opening in the back. An executioner
receives the head with yells and frantic
signs of joy, and runs with it through
the town Savagely and furiously he
tosses it to the ground and kicks it like
a ball before him, snatches it up in his
flight, splits on it, filings it into the air,
catches it in its descent, or, permitting it
to drop heavily, kicks it again and
again. The body is never buried, but it
is spurned aside to be eaten by wild
beasts or vultures.