The Sully County watchman. (Clifton, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1894, 1888-08-18
HORRIBLE HUMAN SACRIFICES.
Savage and Shocking Customs Stih in
Vogue in West Africa.

Vogue in West Africa.
it is in West Africa that the personal
"customs" still survive in all their hor-
ror. Again and again an English trad
er or traveller has had to look on these
"customs,n but the horrors were never
fully described until 1873, when the
German missionaries, Bounat, Kuehnc.
and Ramseyer, were prisoners i'm Coo
massie ut the time of the native Crown
Princes death. As soon rs he was
seen to be dying the cxecutioners be-
gan TO scour the streets for victims.
When they caught any one two of
them would come behind and each
thrust knife through the cheek. the
blades passing over the tongue and
the handle sticking out on each side.
This IS to prevent the poor creature
from swearing on the life of the king
that Is, swearing that if he dies the
king must die too-in which case. he
would not only be spared but ranked
among the "okra" courticrS whose life
depends on that of the king, and who.
killed when he dies, hold till his death
places of honor.
Besides those thus caught every
chief had TO offer n victim: but the
number was chiefly made UP of slaves
and prisoners of war. The wives
painted white and covered with gold
ornamcnts-sat around the coffin flap
ping off the flies. They were strangled
at the funeral. So were six pages,
who, similarly painted and adorned
sat by the dead man. They had known
their fate some days before, but none
ran away save three wives of low
birth, whose places were at once sup
piled by girls. For nine davs the
slaughter went on. the people fasting,
with shaven heads and bodies painted
red, but drinking all the more. And
this death wake was TO be repeated 40
days after
When king dies the victims are
slain ut the rate of 200 week for three
months. But there have been greater
'customs" than these. \ kings moth
er died in 1916: her son slaughtered
5000 people, 1000 being prisoners just
captured from the Fantis. To make
up the tale every big Ashantee town
had to give 100, every smaller town 10
victims.
A royal burial is in this wise: At the
bottom of a huge grave are laid the
slain; on them the coffin rests Then,
Just before the earth is thrown in. one
of the bystandcrs-a freeman, if of
some rank SO much the better-is sud-
denly dubbed, cash made in his neck
and he is rolled in upon the coffin.
The idea is To send along with the
crowd of slaves and prisoners some
one who shall look after them rs
ghostly ''major domo." For king
there remains yet another custom"
AT the end of thirty moons the grave
is opened, the royal bones fastened to-
gether with gold wire, and the skele-
ton placed in a long building divided
into coils, the doorways TO which are
hung with silk curtains.
Then on his birthday the king of
Ashantee goes early to the house Of
the royal dead. Every skeleton is tax
en- from its richly ornamented coffin,
where it has lain surrounded bv the
things which had beg most pleasing
to it in life, and is placed on n chair to
welcome the visitor. As the king en-
ters each cell with a meat and drink
offering to the departed the band PLAYS
the fayorite melodies Of that particular
KING, ana, unawarss, the royal visitor
signs To the eXecutioners. who have
followed him, and an attendant is
pierced through the cheeks and killed,
the king washing the skeleton in the
warm blood. The same work goes on
at the next cell, and so on, the fearful
work going on far into the night. The
band plays a signal as each victim is
slaughtered. Two blasts of the horn
mean death DEATH" three drum
taps, "cut it off, one beat from a biz /
drum, 1.-THE head has fallen" The sig- |
nal is taken up by other bands and all |
through the city horn-blowng and |
drum-beating goes on increasingly. |
The Ashantees always say Of a drum. /
''it speaks" and every traveller admits /
that they manage to elicit from that /
instrument n mostyaricd /
range of sound. The sounds form |
words, the whole rhythm a sentence, /
readily understood by native listeners. |
Each chief has his own "call,n just as |
each Highland clan has his own battle |
tune. OF course this constant killing |
makes the people callous to suffering |
ind brutal to their prisoners. Their |
ceiling in regard to death is not cour-
zee but apathy. The spectators are as
delighted mt these revolving customs
s the Roman populace was at the glad