Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1878-07-06

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.-ablance TO that well ksosn fossil. the
eFiaali lilysioae. of ST. Cstkt~rt's be.si--
!, i. n"w NJ rest, hoxeser. ] xi!l try
t. ,.escritse il so you. II you can i'm
a.ine a pineapple eight feat high. AMI
thick N IroPsrtion. resting upon it,
base. AMI dc;uded e leaves, you ~ill
have goud idea of the trunk Of the tree,
which, however, was not the coior IF the
anana, but dark, dingy brown, and sp.
paren,ly hard as iron. From the apex Of
this irurcatci cone lat lerst two feet in
diame,er) eight leaves hung sheer to the
ground. like doors swung back on their
hinges.
These leaves, which were joined ut the
top of the tree ut regular intervals, were
about eleven Or twelve feet long, and
shaped very much like the American
aynave, or century plant. They were
two feet through in their thickest part,
and three feet wide, tapering to a sharp
point that looked like cows horn, very
convex on tho outer (but now undeD
surface, and on the inner (now upper
surface slightly concave. This coscave
face was thickly set with very strong
thorny hooks, like those upon the head
of the teazel. These leaves, hanging
thus limp and lifcless, dead green in
color, had in appearance the massive
strength of oak fibre. The apex Of the
cone was round, white concave figure,
IKE smaller plate set within larger
DC. This was not flower, but re-
ceptscle, and there exuded into it q clear
treacly liquid, honey sweet, land possessed
of violent intoxicating aud soporific
properties.
From underneath the rim, so to speak,
Of the undermost plate, a series of long,
hairy, green tendrils stretched in every
direction, toward the horizon. These
were seven or eight feet long each, and
tapercd from four inches to q half in
diameter, yet they stretched out stiffly as
iron rods. Above these (from between
the upper aud the under cup six white,
almost transparent, palpi reared them.
selves towards the sky, twirling and
twisting with marvellous incessant mo.
ton, yet constantly reaching upward.
Thin as reeds and frail as quilts appar-
emily, they were yet five or six feet tall,
and were so constantly and vigorously in
motion, with such subtle, sinuous, ST.
lent throbbing against the air, that they
made me shudder in spite of myself with
their suggestion Of serpcnts flayed, yet
dancing on their tails. The description
am giving you now is part made up
from subsequent careful inspection of
the plant.
My observations on this occasion were
suddenly interrupted by the natives who
had been shrieking around the tree in
their ehrill voices, and chanting what
HenIick told me were propitiatory hymns
to the great devil tree. With still wilder
shrieks and chants they surrounded one of
the women, and urged her with the
points of the javelines, until slowly with
despairing face, she climbed up the stalk
Of the tree, and stood on the summit of
the cone, the palpi twirling all about her.
"Tisk Tiskl" Drink drink y cried the
men, aud stopping she drank of the
Fscid fluid in the cup, rising instantly
again with wild frenzy in her face, and
convulsive cholera in her limbs. But che
did not jump down as she seemed to in
tend tn do. Oh, no! The strocious can !.
nibal that had been 80 inert and dead
came to sudden, savage life.
The slender, delicate palpi, with the
fury Of starved serpents, quivered for q
moment over her head, then, as IL by
instinct. with demoniac Intelligence,
fastened upon her in sudden coils round
and round her neck and arms, then,
while her awful screams, and Jet more
awful laughter, rose wilder, 10 be in
stan,iy stTsngled down sgaio ia,o' .
gargiing mssn, the iesdrils. ose after an
other, like great green serpenfs, with
brutal es<sgy and iaiesaxi r,pidisy. rose,
retrset-a ibemseises. md ~rxvp.a her
ssest in fs:d after fsssd. ever tigk,esirg.