Richland beacon., 1875-06-05
THE MAN-EATlNG TREE.
Horrible Product of Naturc-tht
Devil-fish Of the Vegetable
Kingdom.


If you can imagine a pineappl,
eight feet high and thick in proper
ton, resting upon its base and dcnu
dcd Of leaves, you will have q goot
idea Of the trunk of the tree, which
however, was not the color of an
anana, but dark, dingy brown, anC
apparently as hard as iron. From
the apex Of this fusticatcd cone, at
least two feet in diameter, eight huge
leaves sheer TO the ground, like door,
swinging back on their hinges. These
leaves, which were Joined at the tor
OF the trees at regular intervals, were
eleven or twelve feet long, and shaped
very much like the leaves of an
American agave, or century plant
They are two feet through in their
thickest point and three feet wide
tapering to a sharp point that looked
like q cows horn, very convex on the
outer (but now under) surface, and
on tho under (nOw upper surface
slightly cOncave.
This concave face was thickly set
with strong thOrny hooks like those
upon the head Of a teazle These
leaves hanging limp and lifeless, dead
green in color, had in appearance the
massive strength of oak fibre. The
apex of the cone was Il round white
cOncave figure, like a small.r plate
set within larger one. This was
not a flower, but q receptacle, and
there exuded into it a clear, reacly,
liquid honey, sweet, and possessed of
violent Intoxicating and soporiic
properties. From underneath the
rim $50 to speak, of the undermost
plate, series Of long, hairy, green
tcndrils, stretched out in every direc-
ton toward the horizon. These were
seven or eight feet long and tapcred
from four inches to a half inch in
diameter, yet they stretched out
stiiliy as iron rods.
Above these (from between the up
per and under cup) six white, almost
transparent palpi reared themselves
toward the sky, twirling and twisting
with marvellous incessant motion,
yet constantly reaching upward
Thin as reed and frail as quills, ap-
parently, were yet five or six feet tall,
and were so constantly and vigorous
ly in motion, with such a subtle, sim
uous, silent throbbing against the air,
with their suggestions of serpents
ilayed, yet dancing on their tails. Ny
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
rropitiatory hymns to the greet tree
devil.
With still wilder shrieks and chants
they now surrounded one of the
women, and urged her with the points
of their javelins, until slowly, and
with the despairing face she climbed
up the stalk of the tree, and stood on
the summit of the cone, the palpi
swimming all about her "Tisk
Tisk y drink drink y cried the man.
STOPPING, she drank of the viscid
fluid in the cup, rising instantly az 2ain
with wild frenzy in her face and
convulsive cords in her limbs. But
she did not jump down as she seemed
TO intend to do. oh, no! The
atrocious cannibal tree, that had been
so inert and dead, came to sudden
life.
The slender. delicate palp;, with
the fury of starved serpents, quivered
a moment over her head, then, as if
instinct with demoniac intelligence,
fastened upon her iu sudden coil
round and round her neck and arms,
ana while her awful screams and yet
more awful laughter rose wildly to be
instantly strangled down again into a
gu.gling moan, the tendrils one after
another, ike great green serpents,
with brutal energy and internal rapid
ty, rose, prOtracted themselves and
wrapped her about in fold after fold,
ever tightening with cruel swiftness
and savage tenacity of anacondas
fastening upon their prey. 1t was
the barbarity of the LAGOON with rut
its beauty-this strange, hsrrble
murder. And now the great leaves
rose slowly and stifily, like the arms
Of derrick, erected themselves in the
air, approached one another and
closed about the dead and hampered
victim with the silent force of q hv-
draulic press and the ruthless purpose
OF thumb-screw. A moment more.
and while could see the basis of
these great levers pressing more
tightly toward each other from their
intersticcs. there tricklcd down the
stalk of the tree great streams of the
viscid honey-like fluid, mingled horri-
bly, with the blood and oozing viscera
OF the victim. At sight of this the
savages gathered around me, yelling
madly, bounded forward, crowded to
the tree, clasped it, and with cups,
leaves hands and tongues, each one
obtained enough of the liquid to send
him mad and frantic-Dj'. jay IN the
South australian Register.
-ssOs.-
"Have we two brains ?" inquiries
Al l., ~