Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1882-12-27
THE MAN-EATING TREE.
A Botanical Vampire I'm the
Wilds of Nubia-The narrow
Escape of u Ill HunIer.
From Robinson's under the Sea.

Wtlds of fNubia-Ihe narrow
Escape Of u III unter.
From Robinson's under the Sea.
MANY years ago l turned my rest
less steps toward Central Africa and
made the journey from where the Sem
egal empties itself into the Atlantic TO
the Nile, skirting the Great Desert,
and reaching Nubia on my way to the
eastern coast. | had with me three
native attepdants-two Of them broth
ers, The third, Otona, a young savage
from the gaboon uplands, q mere lad
in his .eens-and one day, leaving my
mule with the two men, who were
pitching my tent for the night, | went
on with my gun, the boy accompany
irg me, toward fern forest which /
saw in the near distance. As | APP
I preached it found that the forest was
cut in two by wide glade, and see-
ing small herd of the common ante
lope, an excellent beast in the pot,
browsing their way along the shaded
side, / crept after them. Though ig-
norant of their real danger, the herd
was suspicious, and slowly trotting be-
fore me enticed me for mile or more
along the verge of the fern growths.
Turning corner / suddenly became
aware of a solitary tree growing in the
middle of the glade-one tree alone.
1t struck me at once that | had never
seen tree just like it before: but, be-
ing intent OH venison for my supper, |
looked at it only long enough to salts
fly my surprise at seeing a single plant
of such rich growth Furnishing luxu-
rantly in spot where only the harsh
fern-canes seemed to thrive. The
deer, meanwhile, were midway be-
tween me and the tree, but suddenly,
instead ofpassing it, swerved in their
career and swept around it at some
yards distance Was | mad, or did
the plant really try to catch the deer ?
On sudden | saw, or thought | saw,
The Tree violently agitated, and while
the ferns all round were standing mo-
tionless in the dead evening air, its
bows were swayed by some sudden
gust toward the herd, and swept in
the force of their impulse almost TO the
ground. l drew my hand across my
eyes, closed them for moment, and
looked again. The tree was as mo-
tionless as myself!
Toward it, and now close to it, the
boy vas running in excited pursuit of
the fawn. He stretched out his hands
to catch it. 1t bounced from his ea-
ger grasp. Again he reached forward,
and again it escaped him. There was
another rnsh forward, and the next
instant boy and deer were beneath the
tree And now there was no mistak-
ing what | saw. The tree was con-
vulsed with motion, leaned forward,
swept its thick foliaged bows to the
ground, and enveloped from my sight
the pursuer and the pursued. | was
within hundred yards, and the c"y of
Otona from the midst of the tree
came to me in all the clearness of It's
agony. There was then one stihed,
strangling scream, and except for the
agitation of the leaves where they
were closed upon the boy there was
not sign of life.
/ called out, "Otona!" No answer
came, l tried to call out again, but
my ut.erance was like that of some
wild beast smitten at once with sud-
den terror at it's death wound. | stood
there, changed from all semblence OF q
human being. Not all the terrors of
oearth together could have made me
take my eye of that awful plant, or
my foot off the ground. l must have
stood thus for at least half an hour, for
the shadows had crept out from the
forest half across the glade before that
hideous paroxysm of fear left me. Ny
first impulse then was to creep stealth
lily away, lest the tree should perceive
me, but my returning reason bade me
approach it. The boy might have
fallen into the lair of some beast of
prey.
"The vegetable first discovered my
presence at about fifty yards distant. l
then became aware of a stealthy mo-
tion among the thick-lipped leaves, re-
minding me of some wild beast slowly
gathering gitself up from long sleep,
vast coil of snakes in restless motion.
Have you ever seen bees hanging from
boug gh-a great cluster of bodies, bee
clinging to bee-and by striking the
bough or agitating the air, caused that
massed life to begin sulkily to disinter-
igate, each insect asserting it's indi-
vidual right to move? And do you
remember how, without one bee leaving
the pepsile cluster, the whole became
gradually instinct with sullen life and
horrid with multitudinous motion?
Eacch separate leaf was agitated and
hungry.
"Was 1 bewildered by terror? Had
my senses abandoned me III my need !
know not-but the tree seemed to me
to be alive Leaning over toward me,
it seemed to be pulling up its roots
from the softened ground and to be
moving toward me. A mountainous
monster, with myriad lips mumbling
together for ny life, was upons me
Like one who desperately defend him.
self from imminent death, l made an
effort for life and fired my gun at the
approaching horror. To my dizzied
senses the sound seemed far off, but
the shock of the recoil partially recall
ed me to myself, and, starting back, !
reloaded. The shot had torn their way
into the soft body of the great thing.
The trunk, as it received the wound,
shuddered, and the whole tree was
struck with sudden quiver. A fruit
fell down, slipping from the leaves, now
rigid with swollen veins, as from cavern
foliage Then saw a large arm slow
ly droop, and without sound it was
severed from the juice-fattened bole,
and sank down softly, noiselessly,
through the glistening leaves. | fired
again, and another vile fragment was
owerless-dead. At each discharge
the terrible vegetable yielded @ life.