The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1875-05-14
The Man-Eating Tree of Madagascar.


feet high and thick in proportion, resting
upon its base, and denuded leaves, you
will have a good idea of the trunk of
the tree, which, however, was not the
color of an anana, but a dark, dingy
brown, and apparently as hard as iron.
From the apex of this fusticated cone
tat 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 about 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 thick
est part and three feet wide, tapering to
a sharp point that locked like cows
horn, very convex on the outer but now
under surface and on the under (now
upper surface slightly concave- This
concave 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 col
or, had in appearance the massive
strength of oak fiber. The apex of the
cone was round white concave figure
like smaller plate set within larger
one. This was not flower, but a receipt
acle, and there exuded into it q clear
treacly liquid honey, sweet, and possess
ed of violent intoxicating and soporifc
properties. From underneath the rim.
so to speak, of the undermost plate, a
series of long hairy green tendrils
stretched ont in every direction towards
the horizon. These were seven or eight
feet long, and tapered frona four inches
TO half inch in diameter, yet they
stretched out stiffiy as iron rods. Above
these from between the upper and un-
der cup) six white almost transparent
palpi reared themselves toward the sky,
twirling and twisting with a marvellous
ineessant motion, vet constantly reach
ing upward. Thin as reeds and frail as
quills, apparently, were yet five or six
feet tall, and were so constantly and Wig
orously in motion, with such a subtitle
sinuous, silent throbbing against the air,
with their suggestions of serpents flayed, !,
yet dancing on their tails. My observa-
tions on this occasion were suddenly in
terrupted by the natives, who had been
| shrieking around the tree with their
shrill voices, and chanting what Hem
drick told me were propitiary 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 of the tree, and stood on the
summit of the cone, the palpi swirling
all about her. "Tsik! Tsikp Drink!
DrinkD cried the men. STOPPING, she
drank of the viscid fluid in the cup, ri
sing 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 go inert and dead, came to sudden
savage life. The slender, delicate palpi,
with the fury of starved servents, quiv-
cred moment over her head, then, as if
instinct with demoniac intelligence,
fastened upon her in sudden coils, 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 a gurgling
moan, the tendrils one after another, like
great green serpents, with brutal energy
and internal rapidly, rose, protracted
themselves, and wrapped her about in
fold after fold, ever tightening with cruel
swiftness and savage tenacity of anacon-
das fastening upon their prey. 1t was
the barbarity of the LAGOON without its
beauty, this strange, horrible murder
And now the great leaves rose slowly and
stifiiy, 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 oi
hydraulic press and the ruthless pur-
pose of athumb-screw. A moment more
and while could see the basis of these
great levers pressing more tightly to-
ward 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 viscera of the victim. A
sight of this the savage hordes around
me, yelling madly, bounded forward
crowded to the tree, clasped it, and witt
cups, leaves, hands and tongues, eacf
one obtained enough of the liquid tC
send him mad and frantic.-lDr. Jay, il
the South Australian Register.