Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1889-01-10
A Soldiers GrewsOme Experiences In
the Congo Free State.
Two or His Comrades We're Cooked aud
Eaten Before His Eyes.
His Own Life Miracul0usly Saved by
Some of Stanley's Men.
Atrocities in Africa

RIGA. He vas one of three soldiers whom
! Captain Hanssens established there. The
Captain steamed away, leaving these men
alone among the worst cannlbals In the
! Como basin, and several months later
Alakai to ID Captain Coquilhet tais story
of what happened.
''The chief of the village he said,
"told Captain Hsnssens that he would
protect US as he would his own children.
He asked US not to leave the village, as he
! could no5 answer for what HE neighbors
night do. Be prudent be said. Several
GAYS passed quietly, and then, about noon
one day, several of the villagers asked my
comrades to 20 with them over to an island
to fish. | opposed the excursion, bat it
was no use, as mucn pleasure had been
promised toe mer, and so they went away
with the fishers.
"a little after night fail the canoes of
| the returning fishermen touched the shore
but / did not see my two comrades with
them. Fearing treason, hid myself in
an abandoned hut. Soon after a fire was
/ built near the place where | was c.
cealed, and after while could smell the
odor of cooking meat. l believed they
were roasting the flesh of my friends aud
the thoaght filled me with horror. crept
out into the darkness, and lying IN the
tall grass, / could see everything that was
going on at the fire. Large pieces of
meat we're roasting over the Goals and
soon the oannlbals took out of large
jar two human heads, which | recognized
"a those of my comrades. Many men
were laug ching around the fire, and Others
were attending to the cooking.
Il orept away in the grass and
HID IN THE E0BEsT
but did not go very far from the Basoko
village for | hoped that one of our
steamers would come there before long
For week | lived on roots and wild
fruits and little wild manoic, that in the
night | took from the fields. In about q
month | was discovered by a woman who
was looking for medicinal plants. She
gave the alarm, and / was seized, taken
back to the village and delivered to the
chief who made the alliance with Capt.
Hanssens When | was alone with him |
told him he had terrible account to
settle with the whites for what he had
done. The chief said he was not re-
| sponsible for the death of my friends,
\ for If they had followed his council they
would have been safe. He said if l
| promised to tell the captain that my
| friends had been accidently drowned, ne
would protect me- l promised to do so.
| The chief put gnard over me, but did
not coEtiue me. and for some weeks
hoped to escape the fate of my friends.
"Then the people of tine village went
\ to the chief and demanded my body
| for feast. 1t Is useless they said, TO
hope to satisfy the white man by rest0r-
| ing to him only one OF his men. Since
We have killed the other men it is better
/ to make away with this witness of the
/ act For days the chief refused to give
/ ms up to his men. but | saw at last that
| he was certain TO yield to the solicita-
! tions, which we're becoming more and
more pressing. SO I seized an Oppor-
tunity one dark night to take refuge a
second time in the forest Is lieving
/ then that our boats would not reach the
] Aruwimi again for three or four months,
| / buried myself in the interior. Not
daring to approach the fields | no longer
had manioc to eet, and my strength
| diminished day by day.
after living in great misery for over
| three months, | cautiously advanced tC
ward the village. One day | heard the
putting OF a steamer,
IT WAS THE MISSIONARY VESSEL PEACE.
| went down to che bank, but the steamer
was far away and did not see me. / saw
| the white men take some villagers on
| board, evidently to get news of us. The
natives said, without doubt, that we had
| gone away, for they we're soon released
and the steamer went on.
"Some of the nauv s, who at sight of
the vessel had fed into the forest discov
cred me, and l was again pounced upon,
and this time | was closely guarded.
4 heard them say that / was too thin to eat,
and that they wouldn't kill me Just then.
After my rrightfUl priystiors was moth
| ing but skin and bone. They fed me all
7 could eat, and | could not resist my sp.
/ petite. As had no exercise and lived on
the fat OF the land, rapidly increased in
| flesh, and in few weeks | was regarded
as in fit condition to eat. | saw them
/ pre- paring the mauioc and the beer for
! the feat. | felt that my last hour was APP
| preaching. On the afternoon of the day
when l was TO be killed my arms were tied
behind me. The sun was still high, WREN
/ all OF a sudden we heard great noise in
1 the village, near the Congo. Tho Arabs
are coming everybody shouted, and the
men seized their spears. The women and
| children hurried of into the woods.
Presently the Arsh slavers came near
! enough to pour yolley of shot into the
] town, and the men took to flight. In the
midst of the retreat the Basook said |
| ought to be taken along, and a WARRIOR
was assigned TO this task. All the others
disappeared. Ny guard stepped into his
! hut 10 get his shield. SEEING this unex
pected opportunity, leaped, tied as
! was. into rhe naighboring busa. The man
! hurled himself after me, bat Just then
| the Arabs broke into the village and the
warrior turned aud fled. stuck my
/ head ont of the thicket and the Arabs say
/ aud seized me. They thought / was
/ Basook, bu' [ shou ed, I aIn one Of 5 an
/ lsY's men bore +he tattoo mark of the
I Hanssa, with which they were familiar.
/ They unbound me auu was saved. A
| feE days later Captain Won Gele appear
/ ed with his steamers and / was turned
/ over 90 him
| The Hsussas are natives Of the Soudan,
many OF whom have served in the Congo
/ state as soldiers. When Alakai was re-
1 stored 20 his fellows they bore him around