Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1875-07-24
THE MAN-EATING TREE.

~A"~~'
! What is styled "a horrible product
OF nature-the Devil-Fish OF the yege
table Kingdom" thus described b,
DIR. Day in the South Australian Req
ister:
/. Ii you can imagine pineapple eight
feet high and thick in proportion. rest.
ing upon its base and denuded of leaves
you will have good idea Of the trunl
OF the tree which, however, was not tho
color OF banana, but dark, dincy
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 were joined at the top OF
the trees at regular intervals, were eley-
Ell OF 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 q sharp
point that looked like a cows horn
very convex on the outer (but not under)
surface and on the under (now upper)
surface slightly concave. This coilcaye
face was thickly set with strong thorny
hooks like those upon the head of the
teazle. These leaves hanging limp and
lifeless, dead green in color, had in APP
pearance the massive strength of oak
fiber. The apex of the cone was round,
white, concave figure, like a smaller
plate set within larger one. This was
not flower but receptacle, and there
exuded into it clear troacly liquid
honey, sweet and possessed of violent
intoxicating and soporifc properties.
From underneath the rim ESQ to speak J
OF the undermost plate, series OF long,
hairy, green tendrils, stretched out in
every direction toward the horizon.
These We're seven or eight feet long
and tapered from four inches to half
inch in diameter, yet they stretched out
stiffly as iron rods. Above these (from
between the upper and under cup) six
white, almost transparent palpi, reached
themselves toward the sky, twirling and
twisting with n marvellous incessant mo-
ton yet constantly reaching upward.
Thin as reeds and frail as quills appar-
entity, were yet five OF six feet tall, and
were 30 constantly and vigorously in
motion, with such q subtle, sinuous,
silent throbbing against the air, with
their suggestions of serpents fayed,
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 propitia-
tory hymns to the great devil. With
still wilder shrieks and chants they now
surrounded one of the women and urged
her with the points OF their javelins un-
til slowly, and with despairing face, she
climbed up the stalk of the tree and
stood on tbs summit of the cone, the
palpi swimming all about her s.ttTsikl
Tsik!' Drink! drinkD cried the men.
STOPPING, she drank of the viscid fluid
in the cup, rising instantly again, 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, savage life. The slen-
der, delicate palpi, with the fury Of
starved serpents, quivered moment
over her bead then, as if instinct with
demoniac intelligence, fastened upon
her in sudden coil round and round her
neck and arms, and while her awful
screams and yet more awful laughter
rose wildly to be instantly strangled
down again into gurgling moan, the
tendrils, one after another. like great,
green serpents, with brutal energy and
internal rapidity, rose, prostrated them
selves and wrapped her about in fold
after fold, ever tightening with the cruel
swiftness and savage tenacity of ana
condas fastening upon their prey. 1t
| was the barbarity of the LAGOON with
out its beautythis strange, horrible
| murder.
And now the great leaves rose slowly
aud stiffly, like the arms of derrick,
erected themselves in the air, approached
one another and and closed about the
dead and hampered victim with the
silent force of a hydraulic press and the
ruthless purpose of thumb screw. A
moment more, and while ! could see
the bases of these great levers pressing
more tightly toward each other from
their interstices, there trickled down the
stalk of the tree great streams OF the
viscid, honey-like fluid, mingled horribly
with the blood and oozing yiscera OF
the victim. At sight of this the savage
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 fran
tic. @
gsD- An adventurous eronant in Lon
don has expressed his intention OF liy'
ing for week in balloon. 1t will DC
captive, but the ropes which confine Il
are to be unusually strong, and his
IL