News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-07-08
CANNIBALS ON THE CONGO.
Tho story of White Mnu 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
lew 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 Upper River had become food for
the natives proved false, as was expect
ed, and recently a good deal of infor-
nation has been brought back about
! tee cannibal tribe whose numerous viii
/ lagos line the river for a long distance
| about 800 miHes from it mouth.
The Congo State is on good terms
with this tribe, the Bangallas, and has
a station in the midst of them. 1t was
the Bangallas who sailed out in their
| big war canoes and gave Stanley the
tiercest reception he encountered when
| he first 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-
pie, and they lord it over considerable
area. Mr.. Westmark, who has lived
among them for fifteen months, mas just
lectured in France on their peculiarities,
and chiefly on the practice of anthro-
pophagy 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 wIetches
are behesded, and half of them are bur
led in the grave of their master. The
bodies ofsthe other ten are reserved for
the big fete that concludes the funeral
ceremonies. Native beer In great guam
titles 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 DcSln.
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 a station
among them. Mr.. Westmark makes
the interesting statement that although
cannibalism has been practised to
large extent among the Bangallas, it
has now considerably diminished on ac-
count 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
Moutubu tribe on the Welle Makua
were addicted to the practice. 1t also
exists among the Mucelis of Angola,
-nrnolas the BeagOltgs <,e tl,e UPI,ef Con-
go, among some of the natives on the
Aruwimi tributary of the Congo, and
was formerly practised to a small ex-
tent in some parts of south Africa. AS
a rule, the natives who indulge in the
horrid custom try to conceal it from the
whites who visit them, and nowhere
does it long survive the growth of white
influences in districts where it has flour
ished