Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1877-12-12

A VEGETABLE DEVIL.

ECEMBER II, 1877.
ol A VEGETABLE DEVIL.
: The Man-Eating Tree OF Madagascar
A Hidsous Orgy.
!. The following description Of this sin
gular tree, found in the island of MAZDA
,. gascar, was originally published in th
. last Graefe and WaNher's Magazine o
Carlsruhe, together with notes upon it
by DR.. Omelius Fredlowski, to whom tn,
letter by Carl Leche, the discoverer
from which the following is extracted
was addressed: The Mkodos are very
primitive race, going entirely naked
having only faint v.stiges of tribal re.
lations, and no religion beyond that oi
the awful reverence 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 smallest
of races, TIE men seldom exceeding 56
inches in height. At the bottom Of 4
valley Il had no barometer but should
think it not over four hundred feet
above the level of the sea, and near its
eastern extremity, We came to deep,
tarn-like lake, about mile in diameter,
the sluggish waters of which overflowed
into tortuous reedy canal that went
unwillingly into the recesses of black
forest, jungle below, palm above. A
path diverging from its southern side
struck boldly for the heart of the for
bidding and seemingly impenetrable
forest. Henrick led the way along the
path. l followed closely, and behind me
a curious rabble of Mkodos men women
and children. Suddenly all the natives
began to cry "Tepe! Tepe!" and Hen
rick stopping short, said "Look!" The
sluggish, canal-like stream here wound
slowly by, and in bare spot in its bend
was the most singular Of trees. l have
called it the Crinoda, because when its
leaves are in action it bears q striking
resem blance to that well-known fossil,
the crinoid lilystone, of St. Cuthbert's
beads. 1t is now at rest, however. l
will try to describe it to you. If you
can imagine pineapple eight feet high,
and thick in proportion, resting upon its
base, and denuded of leaves, you will
have good idea of the trunk of the
tree, which, however, was not the color
of the anana, but a dark, dingy brown,
and apparently hard as iron. From the
apex of this truncated cone lat least two
feet in diameter) eight leaves hung sheer
to the ground, like doors swung back on
their hinges. These leaves, which we're
joined at the top of the tree at regular
intervals, were about eleven or twelve
feet long, and shaped very much as the
American agnaye, or century plant.
They were two feet through in their
thickest part, and three feet wide, taper
ing to a sharp point that resembled
cows horn, very convex on the outer
(but now under) surface, and on the
inner (now upper surface slightly con-
cave. This concave face was closely set
with very strong thorny hooks, resem-
bling those upon the head Of the teazel.
These leaves, hanging thus limp and
lifeless, dead green in color, had in ap-
pearance the massive strength of oak
fiber. The apex of the cone was a
round, white, concave figure, like q
smaller plate set within a larger one.
This was not flower, but a receptacle,
and there exuded into it clear, treacly
liquid, honey sweet, and possessed Of
violent intoxicating and soporific prop
critics. From underneath the rim, so to
speak, of the undermost plate, a series
of long, hairy, green trendrils stretched
in every direction towards the horizon.
These were seven or eight feet long each,
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 reared
themselves upward. Thin as reeds and
frail as quills apparently. they were yet
five or six feet tall, and were 10 con-
stantly and vigorously in motion, with !
such a subtitle, sinuous, silent throb bing
against the air, that they made me shud /,
der in spite of myselfwith their sugges-
ton of serpents flayed, yet dancing on
their tails. The description am giving |
you now is part made up from a subse- |
quent careful inspection of the plant.
Ny observations on the occasion were |
suddenly interrupted by the natives,
who had been shrieking around the tree
in their shrhl voices, and chanting what |
Hendrick told me were propitiatory
hymns to the great devil-tree. With |
still wilder shrieks and chants they sur
rounded one of the women, and urged
her with the points of thesr javelins |
until slowly, and with despair;ng face,
she climbed up the stalk Of the tree, and
stood on the summit of the cone, the |
palpi twirling all about her. "Tisk!
Tisk!" drink! drinkv cried the men,
and stopping she drank Of the viscid fluid
in the cup, raising instantly again with
wild frenzy in her face, and convulsiyc
cholera in her limbs. But she did not
Jump down as she seemed to intend to do. |
Oh, no! The atr0cious cannibal! that
had been 80 inert and dead came to sud- |
den, savage life. The slender delicate
palpi, with the fury of starved serpents, /
quivered for a moment over her head. |
then,, as If by instinct, with demoniac |
intelligence, fastened upon her in sud-
den coils round and round her neck and |
arms; then, while her awful screams, and
yet more awful laughter, rose wilder, to
he instantly strangled down again into
gargling moan, the tendrils, one after
another. like great green serpents, with
brutal energy and internal rapidity, rose,
retracted themselves, and wrapped her
about in fold after fold, ever tightening,
with the cruel swiftness and savage
tenacity of anacondas 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
stiffiy like the arms of q derrick.
erected themselves in the air, approach
ing one another, and closed about the
dead and hampered victim with the
silent force of hydraulic press, and the
Ruthless uurpOse Cf A thumbscreW A mo- |
ment more and while I could see the !
basis Of the great leaves pressing more
tightly towards each other, from their
interstices, there trickled down the stems
streams of viscid honey like Auid, min
gled horribly with the blood and ooxing |
viscera of the victim. At the sight of |
this the savage hordes around me, yell
ing madly, bounded forward, crowded to
tho tree, clasped it, and with cups,
leaves. bands, and tongues, got each one |