Arizona republican., 1894-09-19
SAMOAN HEAD HUNTERS.
Renewal of the Barbarous Prac-
 tice During Recent Troubles.
Native Troops Cut Off the Heads of Girls as We'll as Men and Place Them
 at the Feet of Their King,

There was renewal of the practice of ''head-hunting' in Samoa during the recent troubles between the partisans of Malietoa and of Mataafa; and upon the occasion, in violation of old Samoan customs, the heads of girls, as well as of men, were taken by the native troops engaged to fight for the triple protec- torate which exists under the authority of the British, German, and American governments. By advices received in Washington from spies a short time ago, says a recent dispatch, it was learned that an attempt to put stop to the practice had been made by the American jurist, MT. Ide, of Vermont, who was last year appointed to the office of chief justice of Samoa, but the attempt was unsuccessful, as it was not sustained by the resident consuls. When the government troops went out to fight Mataafa's people in the rebel lion of this year he warned them that they would be punished if they in- dulged in the practice of head hunting; and yet, notwithstanding, as soon as hostilities were begun the head hunters broke loose, and when they returned from the field they brought with them the heads of their victims, which were laid at the feet of the king with the knowledge of the foreign consuls serving under the protectorate
 On account of the peculiar circum- stances of the case Chief Justice Ide found himself unable to measure out the punishment which he had threat ened to infict. The ruling authorities would give him no assistance; the of lenders could not be identified. The native warriors disregarded his warn ing; he had no means of enforcing his orders. q can look for no support here, physical or moral,' says the chief justice. For reasons that are not to their credit the Europeans living in Samoa declare that barbarous practices must be tolerated until the rebellious natives are wholly crushed; and so they are opposed to any interference with the old Samoan institution of head hunting. The next outbreak in Samoa, therefore, will probably again give evidence of the existence of the abominable practice in an enlarged as sortment of human heads.
 The strangest of all the protests against it's continuance under civilized authority has just been made by Mr.
 Robert Louis Stevenson, the celebrated novelist, who, in a letter sent from Apia, tells of some of the scenes that were recently witnessed there. He says that the government troops, upon re- returning from the field where they had fought the Mataafans, not only brought with them the heads of rebel warriors, but also those of girls. They marched in procession to Molinuw, car rying the girls heads which they had taken. and made of them an oblation to that melancholy etfigy, the king,'' who sat on the veranda of the govern ment building, offered thanks to the head hunters, and crowned as heroes those who should have been hanged as criminals. The three members of the Anglo o-German-American consular tri- oAuAAhAiiVooiy W1lhCo uPOu the occasion, as they had previously winked at other incidents not less shocking. perpetrated under the re- sponsibility of the protecting powers England, Germany and the United States. When the girls heads were brought in MT. Stevenson went to the British consul, MT. Cusack-Smith, and pressed him to take some action, yet he only drafted protest, which was put under paper weight, where it lay un- til the savage ceremony was ended. He then spoke without any good result to some of the fighting men who had taken heads, and some of whom had contented themselves with taking only the ears of their dead victims. as tro- phies. He next conferred with the American chief justice, who, however, as has already been said, was power less. q must not wonder, though may still deplore, that MT. Ide accepted the situation" It is but fair to say, however, that since MT. Ide took office he seems to have done all he could to prevent head hunting. It is the gov ernments under whose authority he