The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-05-18
Two Seattle Citizens Witness the Or
gisS OF Nahwitti Indians.

Two Seattle Citizens Witness the Or
gies OF Nahwitti Indians.
Gen. Lyman Banks and John Hutchinson,
two citizsns of Seattle, have just returned
from a two months cruise of the northern
coast of British Columbia, says the Phila-
delphia Press, and they tell some thrilling
stories of sights they have seen and danger
GUS adventures they experienced during
their cruise The old Hudson Bay COM
panys trappers all unite in calling the past
| winter the worst that has been known in
that part of the country in the last forty
years, and leaf or two from their log
books show that the cruisers found that
| fact to be only too true
A Seattle Post IRtelLigencer reporter
happened to meet Gen. Banks on the street,
and at his request the general recited the
story of his most exciting and interesting
| cruise. The story is interesting, and it is
| given below in the language of Gen. Banks
| himself. He began his narration as fol-
| lows:
'We started out full of great expectations
and pleasant anticipations, and we did not
| realize for q moment what trials we would
have to go through, and l tell you at times
/ 1t required a great deal of western grit and
push to get ahead. Those who are ac-
| quainted with the difficulties of traversing
in summer a coast forest, with its thousands
| of uprooted trees and still worse upheaved
| foundations, can readily imagine how much
| greater hardship it was for US to travel
| over three feet of snow on q level, and
occasionally strike drifts much deeper, and
a great deal too much tangle of sal-lal bush
for snow-shoes. But, TO add to all our diff
ticultles, our halt-breed guide and the In
| dian packers refused to go with us as soon
as We had penetrated a short distance in
land. We had just sighted some hi Is which
they said we could never pass over, and
| they alleged that no human being had ever
succeeded in the attempt.
| NOT TO BE DEFERRED.
'They strongly urged and prayed us not
to proceed any further, but we had started
out with the determination to accomplish a
| work, and we were not to be baffied SO easily
in the beginning of our journey. SO we
packed up coupe of weeks rations and an
ak in our blankets, and shouldering our
| Winchesters, we pushed on alone. Oh,
what a journey that was! l shall never
forget it as long as / live.
"Where the snow was too soft and deep
we managed to make progress by rawling
on our hands and knees, and at times we
| were obliged to lay down and roll to get out
! of the snow. 1t was hard struggling by day,
but the snow made a soft bed at night. We
canoed over 800 miles of our journey, and
some OF it was in very rough waters.
But the most startling experience we
| had, and the one that would interest you
most, happened one day just as we were
| running into a cave to avoid storm. We
got into the cave all right enough, but i'm
| agine our horror and disgust when we found
| ourselves in the midst of the Nahwitti In-
dian tribe at their cannibal orgies. Canni-
baism is prohibited by the Dominion gov
| eminent, but only a monthly visit from
| vessels, and the nearest port being miles
| away, they carry on the horrible practice
| with impunity.
ave watched the heathens during the
day at lorg range, but under assurance of
| safety we ventured after awhile into their
| circle at night and watched them. | can
only describe the sight this way: There
| was high fire of logs in the center of the
circle, which was constantly attended by
two men, and occasionally there was an
extra hiss and flash as some uneaten fat was
thrown on. The entire tribe encircled the
fire. dressed in blankets of many brilliant
| hues. There were naked dancers, and a
dozen or more lusty savages with clubs in
their hands beating an accompaniment to
their wild songs and dances, and the whole
i sight made weird scene that is not soon
forgotten. Their feast consisted of the
bodies of their dead. They seldom kill
strangers to furnish food for these horrible
orgies, as they were all the time quarreling
between themselves and generally had
enough dead bodies of braves to salty their
| appetites.
NIGHT OF TERROR.
81 had been told in Victoria of the posi-
bility of this, and warned that when wild
| with the dance tie braves rush out and bite
a piece out of the first person they come to-
| Now | have no objection to be eaten after
am dead, but to be bitten by one of those
wild fellows would be as undesirable as tho
bite of mad dog, and lest in their excite
ment they might forget their promise of
immunity | held my hand under my over
coat and grasped 44-caliber revolver that
would have furnished rations fitting the oc-
casion.
| "Our sense of security was not increased
by one of them making a speech, noticing
our presence and berating the white mans
government for trying to deprive the poor
Indian of the pleasure of being a cannibal
occasionally, especially if he only fed upon
his own dead.
1.-THE boys crawled behind the older peo-
pie and hid, men were bitten, or simulated
1t, and | was afterwards shown scars where
they claimed to have been bitten. But we
we're not moested. One brave, however,
probably to test u.s. made dash in our di-
rection, but Others caught him and turned
him another way. 1t was an all night ses-
sion;' no one was allowed to leave till
through, which was O'Clock the next morn.
ing. We had seen enough, though, and
were glad to leave. We proceeded on our
journey and came back again without any
more exciting adventures, arriving in Seat
tie only short time ago. But l never il
ali my life put IN such night as l did the
time of those frightful orgies, and l can
didly confess l don't want tossoon again"
ALL BECAUSE OF AN UMBRELLA.
How a Young Woman of Sheffield