The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1875-06-30
1875.
The Man-Eatisg Tree OF madagascar.

ScrlptlOn, read by him at recent SOL
rec held at the Wilunga Institute, of
a singular tree which is alleged to ex-
ist in the Island of Madagascar: The
Mkodos are very primitive race. go
ing entirely naked, having only faint
vestiges OF tribal relations, and no re-
ligion beyond that of the awful rever-
ence which they pay to the sacred
tree. They dwell entirely in caves
followed out of the limestone rocks
in their hills, and are one of the small
est races, the men seldom exceeding
Sc inches in height. At the bottom
of valley Il had no barometer, but
| should not think it over 400 feet above
the level of the sea) and near its east
crn extremity we came to deep tarn-
like lake about mile In diameter, the
| sluggish oily waters of which over
flowed into tort1ous reedy canal
that went unwillingly into the rccesses
| of a black forest composed Of jungle
below and palm above. A path di-
verglng from its southern side struck
boldly for the heart OF the forbidding
and seemingly. impenetrable forest.
] Hendrick led the way along the path,
I followed closely, and behind me a
curious rabble of Mkodos, men, wo-
men, and children. Suddenly all the
natives began to cry 'Tepe! Tepe' and
Hendrick stopping short, said, 'Ebokf
| The sluggish canal-like stream here
| wound by, and in bare spot in it's
bend was the most singular of trees.
l have called it 'Crinoida,' because
when it's leaves are in action it bears a
striking resemblance to that we'll
known fossil the crinoid lily-stone, or
St. Cuthbert's head. 1t was now at
rest, however. and l will try to de-
scribe it to you. IF you can imagine
q pine apple, eight feet high and thick
in proportion, 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
ali anana, but dark dingy brown, and
apparently hard as iron. From the
apex of this truncated cone Cat least
two feet in diametcr) eight leaves
hung sheer to the ground like doors
swung back on their hinges. These
leaves, which were joined at the top of
the tree at regular intervals, were
about eleven or twelve feet long, and
shaped very much like the leaves of
an American agave or century plant.
They were two feet through in their
thickest point and three feet wide.
tapering to sharp point that looked
like a cows horn, very convex on the
outer (but now under surface) and on
the under (now upper) surface slight
ly concave. This concavc face was
thickly set with strong thorny hooks
like those upon the head of the teazle.
These leaves hanging thus limp and
lifeless. dead green in color, had IN
appearance the massive strength of
oak fibre. The apex of the cone was
a round white concave figure like a
smaller plate set within larger one.
This was not flower, bat recepta-
Gle, and there exuded into it clear
treacly liquid honey, sweet. and pos
sessed of violent intoxicating and So
poritic properties. From underneath
the rim ESQ to speak of the undermost
plate a series of long hairy green ten
drills stretched out in every direction
towards the horizon. These were sew
en- or eight feet long, and tapered from
four inches to a half inch in diameter,
rods Above these (from between the
upper and under cup six white almost
transparent palpi reared themselves
towards the sky. twirling and twisting
with a marvellous incessant- motion,
yet constantly reaching upwards. Thin
as reeds and frail as quills, apparently,
they were yet five or six feet tall, and
were SO constantly and vigorously in
motion, with such subtitle, sinuOus,
silent throbbing against the air that
they made me shudder in spite of my
self, with their suggestion of serpents
flayed, yet dancing on their tails. The
description L am giving you now is
partly made up from a subsequent
careful inspection of the plant. My
observations on this occasion were
suddenly interrupted by the natives,
who had been shrieking around the
tree with their shrin voices, and
chanting what Hendrick told me were
propitiatory hymns to the great 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 despairing face, she climbed
up the stalk oc the tree, and stood on
the summit of the cone. the palpi
twirling all about her. 'Tsik! Tsikp
Drink! drinkD cried the men. Stoop-
ing, she drank of the viscid fluid in
the cup, rising instantly again, with
wild frenzy in her face and convulsive
chords in her limbs. But she did not
jump down, as she seemed to intend
to do. Oh, no! The atrocious can
nibal tree, that had been SO inert and
dead came to sudden savage life. The
slender delicate palpi, with the fury
of starved serpents, quivered a mo-
mcnt over her head. then as if instinct
with demoniac intelligence fastened
upon her in sudden coils round and
round her neck and arms, then while
her awful screams and yet more awful
laughter rose wildly to be instantly
strangled down again into a gurgling
moan, the tendrils one after another,
like great green serpents. with brutal
energy and internal rapidity, rose. re-
tracted themselves, and wrapped her
about in fold after fold, ever tighten
ing with cruel swiftness and savage
tenacity of anacondas fastening upon
their prey. 1t was the barbarity of
the Laocoon without its beauty-this
the great leaves rose slowly and stifay,
like the arms OF a derrick, erected
themselves in the air, approached one
another, and closed about the dead
and hampered victim with the silent
force OF a hydraulic press and the
ruthless purpose of a thumbscrew. A
the bases of these great levers press
ing more tightly towards each other
from their interstics, there trickled
down the stalk of the tree great
streams Of the viscid honey-like fluid,
mingled horribly with the blood and
oozing viscera of the victim. At sight
of this the savage liordes around me,
yelling madly, bounded forward,
crowded to the tree, clasped it, and
IL ....,. lea-o.