The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-02-24
MarTuoShS AIan-cuicrs'

''Eo the people Of Nlaruucsas, really
practice man-ca,ing at The present dayy"
was asked Of some late visitors to that To-
cality. "Oh, yes" was the reply; "it is
still very common amongst tilrm We
even saw remains Of one Of their horrible
mnuucts in the valley Of liannapu.
think the custom was falling into dis,lsc n
half century ago, but during the past
twenty-five or thirty years the frequent
visits OF whalcrs and traders upon thn islands
have had 4 dcmoralizlng effect upon the
natives The women have been dcbaucslcd
and the men let into the secret OF distillinc
Kind OF rum from the cocoa trees. When
intoxicated they commit the most revolving
barbarltlrs, and become cmbrOilcd in con
ictS between themselves. While in this
condition they hrcomC worse than beasts;
the hereditary mancating instinct seems TO
DC revived, aud breaks out stronger than
ever. Any OF their number who arc killed
III these drunken boils are sure to be
eaten They also cat the bodies Of their
enemies killed in battle, and, if man has
deadly spite against another, he does not
1ccl that his revenge has been satisfied I'M
I'll hc has eaten piece Of his heart, stcwcd
III its own blood. lnfraCions Of any of TIC
social laws arc punishable with death, and
the body OF the culprit, after having been
cut into sections, is distributed in the mar
kct place, that all may eat and be warned
ol The terrible punishment that awaits the
lnw-brcakcr In fact continued Captain
Bienaimc, ''thc worst punishment that can
hcfall man Mt NINrqucsaH is to be killed
and eaten by his fellow islanders" Santa
Dominica is situated in latitude deg. 50
mn. south, and longitude l3S d4g. and 10
min. east, and together with the other is
ianas ol the Marqucsas group has nominal
~ been under French dominion since lS4l.
lhc natives are brave, and when they have
reason to believe their rights arc being
tampcrcd with are very Sindictivc. 4
number of sailors and officers of whaling
and merchant ships have been killed bV
them Mt different times since the islands
were discovered. a year ago Il convoy of
provisions, while cn route between two set
Elements Of the French colony, on the is
and OF Caledonia, was captured, and the
mon who were accompanying it, twelve in
number, were taken prisoners. Fearing
Tor their fate, the l.amolhc Piuuet, being
IN the ncighborhood, was dispatched along
the coast to obtain tidings of them. They
effected landing at the point where the
train had been captured, and surprised the
saVagcs while about to feast upon the
bodies Of the FrcnchmcD. The would-bc
banquctcrs fled at their approach, but were
pursued and fifteen Of them killed. The
scene upon the beach, Captain Blcnaimc
says, where they landed was sickcning IN
the extreme. Several large blocks, slmi-
lar to those used by butchers were stand
ing short distance back from the shore.
These were rocking with blood, and near
them were masscd the trunks of their coun-
trymen, dcnudcd Of their heads and limbs,
ana their bowels torn open to &C; at the
heart, which is esteemed dclicacy.
Filled up near by were the skulls, and bones
OF tho arms and legs, scrapcd clean of the
flesh. The flesh from the Inns was cut in
10 strcaks or roasts, and broiling and siZ-
zling over the coala Of hugo fires l;indlcd
Tor the purpose, sending forth smell that
was fairly sickcnilg The flesh of the
head, together with the brains, they had
placed in large kettle taken from the
stove in tho train, which was !,oilinQ over
the dre. The provisions, wines, etc, were
scattered about in the greatest conf cusion.
One Of the men who accompanied the
(, French crew recognized among the bodies
by portions of the clothing still left upon
them, two Of hs own Sons, tand such was
/. the impression made upon his mind that
he never fully recovered from the shock.