The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1891-06-19
INDIAN MAN.sATeRs.
A Peculiar Cannibal Tribe WHO fnhabit n
New Mexican Island.


There are 174 giant cannibals
men and women, living on Seri Island
in the Gulf OF California. and not sixty
miles from the mainland of Mexico" !"
said George G. MeNamara 10 the re-
porter of a San Francisco paper.
What / say may seem ridiculous,
but it is nevertheless a fact. for have
seen some of them during my travels
in Mexico. Who their ancestors were
or how long they have occupied the
island is not known. but they are now
becoming extinct.
Il saw three women and one man
and their appearance and manner
gave me the impression that they are
brutes by nature and brutes in heart
and soul. 1t was just ljy chance that /
saw them. as few of them venture
away from the island except TO sell the
mats and siawls which they make
from the skins and feathers of the AL
batross. They are cunning thieves,
but otherwise their minds are slull-in
fact they seem stupeiied. They have
vacant stare in their eyes. and when
not serious. an idiotic smile spreads
over their faces.
The Island of Seri is about twenty
miles long and at places ten miles
wide. and | was told no Mexican or
white man ever ventures near or at
tempts to land on it. as they claim the
island is their domain and shoot the
intruders with poisoned arrows or cap
ture and eat them. They exist on fish
and goat meat. which are plentiful.
Low houses. built of shrubbery, are
their abode. Some live in .dugouts.
or caves cut into banks. They roam
about the island and lead the LATEST
life of any people that | have ever
heard of. No one can really tell what
their daily routine of living is. but il
is a fact that the tribe is dying out and
it will not be many years before they
will become extinct.
Their mode of burial is not known.
but it is estimated that where there
are now IA handful there were several
thousand not ten years ago, and if
they bury the dead and do not burn
the bodies as the cannibals do. the
bones of their enormous frames will
cover large area of the island.
The man | photographed is over
seven feet in height. His face was a
study when he saw the lens pointed at
him. and he could not understand
what was being done. He. as is all of
his race. was suDerstitious, but we
overcame tkat obstarle by giving him
a present of an old pair OF trousers,
which he Immediately tied around his
neck. The gentleman standing next
to him is about six feet tall. and he
had TO hold The Indians hand. An old
rag eneireled the upper portion of the
Iudian's limbs, and it was tied around
the waist. The blanket is made of al
batross skin and feathers The bow
and arrows which he holds are the
only weapon they know of or use His
legs from the knee down are not
4. e
and he. as he stands there, is the tvpi-
cal Seri Irdiaa.
The women wear patched dresses
matle of cloth which they receive for
alhatross mats and shawis They are
wrinkiel and old. very few girls be-
ing among the tribe. The bowls on
their heads contain broken vessels
made of clay
They ::rr wonderful people," con-
tinuei Mr McNamara and no doubt
their past history if revealed. will
hrin. 10 light facts that relate to the
magnificent reign of ie Montezumas.
or even far beyond the Tins. of Cortez."
In regard TO his visit to the Mexican
mines. lie said:
Il left Port Townsend in early De-
eember. and after travelling in various
States in Mexico | arrived at Her
mossiiu. left there on January 10
ON horseback. with i've natives. We
Travelled by trail to Seyopo. distance
of 140 miles. from there to Bacanora.
through the Arivecie. which is the last
civilized town on the road. The country
we entered is uninhabited; there was
no trail TO guide u.s. and we reached
the mnc -taiked-of my ythical mines by
ar indirect route of about 125 miles.
The mines were worked by the old
fathers or Jesuits from Spain and the
Yaqui and Aiayoi Indian slaves up to
1920. when the Apaehes who lived in
Chihuahua came and Dassacred all that
did not escape. The country immedi-
ateIy around about is beautiful-low
hills inside q basin something in the
shape of Saucer-wiili high mount
aims on all sides. The priests in those |
DAYS only worked ore which paid 500 |
a ton or more, so the people thai were |
with me said, aud base metal was not |
mined.
..There is lots of land to be got there |
just for the asking. 1 went down
there in the interest of large COM
pany and brought up some specimens |
of ore. They are mostly copper glance. |
and as yet do not know what the |
specimens will assay