Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1889-10-17
AMONG CANNIBALS.
AN EXPLORERS ADVENTURES
IN QUEENSLAND.

White Mems Flesh Not Relished Be-
cause 1t Is Too Salty-Habits of
the Savages.
Explorer Lumholtz has Just returned
from Queensland, Australia, says the
Pail Mall azette He devoted year
TO the cann;bal tribes inhabiting ter
ribly wild tlact OF country couple OF
hundred miles north of Townsville. Mr.
Lumholtz says:
$50 begin with, don't imagine that
because the tribes arc Gambia s they are
therefore loathsonie or ropnlsivc i'll ap
p0irance. On the contrary, many oil
the men are physically fine fellows, and
some of tho women have pleasing feat
ures. Then, when you call them cailni-
balls you must remember that human
flesh is very rare luxury, for they only
eat lore IN tribes. Native tribes, L
mean, for the Iiesh of the viii q man is
nasty to tnelr palate. He has salty
flavor which is very disagrce;tble to
them" ''That was lucky for you"
swell, no; if We're ',nce dead it mat
tered little to me how my body was dis
posed of. But being without morals
and absolutely Judi erent to human life
they would have killed me if they had
dared for the sake of the tobacco and
the few odds and ends | had with me.
When joined them ut first they were
friendly enough They were good bit
afraid of the white mar, and for an inch
OF tobacco apiece were willing to serve
me. Then they respected what they
called my baby gun my revolver
which fired off evory night. But in
time their fea wore off, and there were
scvera atter. pts to tomahawk me, but
was lucky L had u splendid hunter
with mo. who twice trieG. should have
shot him dead, but l was littlo loath
TO do SC, MS was rory keen about get
ting that specimen of the tiger malsup-
ial 50 L tolerated him. Might is right
among them. TT I mad shot few of
them my dangers would have been con-
siderably lesscnei' -
"To resume about the man eating,
never saw cam bal feast, but every
night in their luits the talk was of
women and human !lesh. Those wcre
the stock subjects Of conversation.
''Not very different from highly cai-
tnred Europeans, Mr. Lu1aholtzi
Women ard cook ng." III wau able to
understand tl,cn, for had learnt tho
language, AMI I gathered tina. whte
man was no good too salty. Chliiu-
man was not halt bad He fed OH rice,
anil had tender vegetable avor about
him, like n mea y caulilowcr. But OF
all var cites there was nothing SO sweet
ms q ative baby-so sweet, so Juicy, so
fat SO tender Old men and women
were naturally tough and sinEewy.
And the favorite parts were the thigh
and the desh of the hand. The cannibal
b acks have no religion, no ceremonial,
no idols, anl the only o. proacE to IL
charm was bit of human fat wrapped
up in grass and tied round the neck as
good luck to YOUR hunting.
"If you want wife, aud hayolmoney,
which is tobacco, OF n handkerchief. or
tomahawk-I should tell you that
these articles percolste through the
densest bush, and over the widest
ranges-you can buy wife. You may
inherit a wife by agreement. You may
get your dead brothers vile, but tho
commonest method of acquiring n wife
is to go and help yourself. II you a. n
big follow you wa into the hut and
take he lady. Then there is row, and
you have to fight duel with wooden
b oadsword, and the women come down
to he tight and howl and screech and
buck their men, and thero is n terrible
to.do It is the women who cnure all
the rows, all the wars. all the feu,ls. II
is always some Helen and some Pnr.s. "
'And do the ladies like change Of
husbands" "They go, and don: seem
to mind it in the least" "How do the
mon regard tho women, then Z" las
useful drudges, to do all the work and
make them comfortable. Tho black fell
low ha es work. He only cares ior
hunting He hates to rise until the sun
is well mp i'll the heavens a. d the dew
has disappca ed Then ho and his
friends de,nrt into the forest nd hunt,
seldom bringing home the food but de-
your ng it in the BUSH tits one o. the
remarknb things that the old men have
alwa, the prettiest wives There arc
no Chiefs. One man is as good as an
other, but when political crisis ar ses
the old mon are consulted. and .Ent ia
why the old men are the most inilucn-
tial. AS for the young fellow, he ften
has to do without wife until he is
thirty.