The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-03-21
SCARED BY A CANNIBAL.
FIFTEEN HUNDRED CHILDREN
RUSH FROM A SCEOOL

All Escape Injury but Three, and They
Will Not Die-Tsousands of NEGROES
Rush to the School on a Rumor Thatit
Had Collapsed and Killed Hundreds
ofChildren.
CHARLESTON, S. c.. March 20.-The en-
tire colored population Of Charleston was
thrown into commissions to-day by panic
among the colored children IN the Morris
street school This is the largest colored
school in the United States, having nearly
1900 pupils. 1t was about 1880 O'Clock
when q wiry built, bright copper-colored
man dressed IN the fantastic costume Of an
East Indian walked into one of the class
rooms of the primary department and be-
gan to make speech to the children. He
told them he was a reformed cannibal and
used to eat human beings, and his general
appearance bore his assertion out. The col
ored people have lately been on their per-
ennial scare about the medical students and
were easily frightened.
CAUSED PANIC.
The children laughed at him at first, but
he ran at one of the girls with outstretched
arms, and she fed, shrieking that the man
was going to eat her. Swiftly the panic
spread. and in a moment the entire school
was in panic. The children rushed heller
skelter out of the class rooms, down the
stairs, out in the yard, aud thence pell-mell
through the gates and over the fences into
the street. They stood not on the order OF
their going, but went. The excitement
spread through the primary TO the interme-
diate department, and three minutes after
the first shrek of the frightened girl rang
through the building there was not child
IN it.
AN IMMENSE CROWD RALLIES.
By this time the colored population from
squares around had been attracted by the
sounds of the children's screams and had
gathered from all directions, until the
street in front of the building was sea Of
black faces. Everybody was yelling at the
top of their voices, and for awhile il
seemed as though pandemonium had been
let loose. The news of the panic spread as
if by magic, aud by the time 1t had reached
the lower portion of the city had been mag
Dified into a terrible accident The build
ing was said to have caved in and hun
dreds of lives been lost A platoon of po-
lcemen arrived on the scene, but were
utterly powerless TO keep the crowd out.
Mothers scaled the fences shrieking for their
children, and the confusion became worse
and worse COMPOUNDED. After long battle
the police managed TO clear space enough to
allow the children to come out, and things
were finally quoted down. The most re-
markable thing about it is that only three
out of 1900 pupils were injured, and none
of them fatally.
THE MAN ARRESTED.
The man who caused the panic was ar
rested, and had to be escorted to the police
station under a strong guard He says he is
Fiji islander, 10 years old, was once
cannibal. He gives the name Of John
Charvin, and says he dined once with James
G. Blaine at his home in Maine. He is now
on a lecturing tour, aud was to have lectured
tonight in one of the large negro churches.
He claims to be a British subject, and says
he will demand satisfaction for his treat
ment here from the British government.
When he went to the school he was dressed
in crimson damask, and showed finger nails
several inches long and filed teeth. He de-
mics that he wanted to brighten the children.