The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1890-01-08
THE UcLIEsT PEOPLE KNOWN.
The Bataks of Sumatra - The Doom Of
Their Old People,

Their Old People,
The population of Serapit turned out
to see us. And the women were a
strange contrast to the men in appear
ance. While the latter were as lean as
whipping posts, and uglier than most
monkeys, the former-at least those
under 20 or Severe plump, solidly
built, full-bosomed creatures, and there
were at least half dozen in the crowd
before us who might fairly be termed
good-looking.
But the older members of the COM
munity, the women especially, almost
surpass my powers of description to
give an idea of their weird ugliness.
K. tersely summed them up as ''baked
monkeys" but a monkey would at
least have had covering of hair,
whereas these dreadful persons had
nothing but their very scanty clothing
to conceal any part of the leathery in
tegument that was so tightly shrunken
over their skeleton bodies, and looked
so hard and dry that you expected to
hear them crackle when they moved.
Their faces seemed to consist solely of
skin drawn over skull without part
icle of flesh, and looked precisely as if
some one had tried to make a mask
out of old leather, and, failing, had
| thrown it down in disgust and stamped
on it. Yet they seemed neither de-
crepit nor idiotic. The men carried
their complement of arms; one old fell
low had girded on the longest and
crookedest sword there. He looked
like Death with his scythe. A woman,
who resembled one of the dried num-
of IN
land, terminated, was pounding pad
| dy in a wooden mortar, SO concluded
that appearances were deceptive, and
that they were not nearly as old as
! they looked. Indeed, the Maylanan
races are not long-lived, and really
| old people are very scarce, such an in
stance as the late Sultan of Brunei,
who lived to nearly 100, being almost
unheard of.
And here is the appropriate place
to speak of the strange and unnatural
practice, universally ascribed to the
Bataks, and confirmed by Dutch trav-
ellers, though do not understand that
any European has actually witnessed
the ceremony. When the elder mem
l bers of family have reached the stage
T of decrepitude and uselessness (and
what their appearance must be one
shudders to contemplate), a general
meeting of relations is held, and the
senile one is invited to ascend small
tree, which the affectionate relatives
then shake with all their might, chant
ing song expressive of hunger the
while. If he can succeed in hold
ing on until the shakers are tired out,
he is reprieved; but if, as is most like
ly, he tumbles off, he is promptly des-
patched. A Dutch author, Junghuhns,
l think, grimly remarks that this cere-
mony usually takes place at the time
of year when lines are ripe, this fruit
being very plentiful, and forming a
large ingredient in the cuisine of both
Malays and Bataks. But if the natives
of the interior resemble those whom I
am describing, the meal must be a
mere form. I had forgotten to state
that the Bataks file or grind all their
incisor teeth down to the level of the
gums, and only the jaws of hyena
could have disposed of one of the elders
of Serapit. As to their cannibalism
there can be no doubt.-London Field.