Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-07-22
RATES OF SUBSCRIPTION.
CANNIBALs ON THE CONGO.
The Story of a White Man Who Lived
Fifteen Months Among Them.


About year ago report was tele-
graphed over the world that the whites
In some of the Upper Congo stations
had been killed and eaten by cannibals.
The report was not believed, because a
few white men had travelled up and
down the river for year or two with
out discovering evidences of cannibal-
ism, except in one tribe. Stanley's re-
Gently published book threw no light on
the subject of Congo cannibals, though
it did record the appalling rumor afioat
among some of the tribes that the whites
were very fond of eating black people.
The report that the whites on the up
per river had become food for the ma
tives proved false, as was expected, and
recently good deal of information has
been brought back about the cannibal
tribe whose numerous villages line the
river for long distance about eight
hundred miles from its mouth.
The Congo state is on good terms
with this tribe, the Bangallas, and has
a station in the midst of them. II was
the Bangallas who sailed out in their
big war canoes and gave Stanley the
fiercest reception he encountered when
he forced his way down the river AS
is usual with cannibal tribes, they are
superior in courage. physique, and
mental ability to the surrounding peo-
pies. and they lord it over consider
able area. Mr.. Westmark, who has
lived among them for fifteen months,
has just lectured in France on their pc
culiarities, and chiefly on the practice
of anthropophagy as it exists among
them.
According to him they engage in the
practice only upon the death of well-to-
do or influential men, when slaves are
killed at the graves of the deceased per-
sons, SO that they may accompany their
masters and minister to their wants in
the other world. 1t has been the GUS
tom to sacrifice at least twenty victims
at the death of every important person.
Bound hand and foot the poor wretches
are beheaded, and half of them are
buried in the grave of their master. The
bodies of the other ten are reserved for
the big fete that concludes the funeral
ceremonies Native beer in great quanti-
ties is prepared days in advance of the
feast. The flesh of the murdered slaves
is placed in great earthen pots full of
water, and boiled until half the water
has evaporated, and then the banquet is
ready to begin.
The orgie continues for day or two
until all the refreshments are exhausted,
and large part of the male population
is dead drunk. The Congo missionaries
appear to think that the Bangallas are
sadly in need of reformatory influences.
and they intend to establish station
among them. Mr.. Westmark makes
the interesting statement that although
cannibalism has been practiced to a
large extent among the Bangallas, it
has now considerably diminished on
account of the influence of the whites,
and he believes that after Europeans
have lived in the country little longer
it will disappear.
Among the many millions of savages
in Africa there are very few cannibals.
Schweinfurth found that the large
Moubutu tribe on the Welle Makua were
addicted to the pactice. 1t also exists
among the Muceljs of Angola, among
the Bangallas of the Upper Congo,
among some of the natives on the Arm
wiml tributary of the Congo. and was
formerly practiced to small extent in
some parts of South Africa. As a rule,
the natives who indulge in the horrible
custom try to conceal it from the whites
who visit them, and nowhere does it
long survive the growth of white infiu-
ences in districts where it has flourish
ed