Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-12-29

present he OCCUPIES a desk at the State
department, where he is preparing a re-
port that will be submitted to Congress.
twenty millions of people in the Congo
free State are es.ters of human flesh" said
Mr. Mohln the other day. THAT is about
fcur-ffths of the entire population Canni-
balism is strictly forbidden by the govern
ment of the country, but 500 white men
are not able to exercise n very complete
control over such vast number of saw
ages occupying 100D,OO0 square miles of
territory. individuals are caught in the
act occasionally and punished with death
one day in last May, as L Glanced to en-
ter a village that lay on the route of my
expedition. the natives fled precipitateiy.
was at a loss to know the reason why
until 1 discovered in one of the houses
certain evidences of a big family feast
They had been cooking a man, and one of
his legs in pot over the fire.
Il lost no time i'm throwing pot and all
into the river The mans head was stuck
| on fence Among these people 1t is the
custom to keep the head of victim in
this way for four tive days, at the end
of which ii serves for a stew. The brain
Is highly esteemed, but 1t must be half
putrid L managed to catch the chief of
the village ana gave him up to the author
tiles. He was tried on the charge of canni-
Ealism and was attcrward hanged, L be
heve. The man whom l found potted was
slave and had been purchased for food.
Some OF the tribes commonly buy slaves
10 eat, just like pigs or chickens, fattening
them on bananas, palm oil and other nu-
tritious proveHder, ana killing them when
they are III suitable condition
A Living Burial.
What do the slaves think of 1t, you
ask? Well, they do not seem to mind very
much. In Africa such things are looked
=; ,,1f,- I
saw fourteen persons buried alive, and
they exhibited the utmost indifference to
their fate. a great chief had died, and,
according to custom, it was necessary that
his favorte wives and some of his slaves
should accompany him to his future abode.
Accordingly, a hole was aug in the ground
about as large as a tair-sized room, and
in the middle of Ii the corpse of the au-
gust defunct was placed. One Of his wives
descended into the excavation and squatted
cross-legged at his head; another wife
sduatted at his feet, and two more wives
disposed themselves similarly on either
side of MIN. His body was done up III
about Thousand yards of cloth. This was
an evidence of his wealth, for cloth is
money in savage Africa.
In the hole, forming a circle around the
corpse, sluatted ten slaves. Neither they
nor the four wives manifested any concern
about their approaching fate, which they
evidently regarded as a matter of course.
Up TO the end Of the ceremony, which vas
quite elaborate. they did not utter Il sound
or make a struggle. At a signal, men be-
gan to throw back the earth into the pit.
which was to he a grave for the living as
we'll as for the dead. This operation was
continued until all Of the uufortnnatc5 we're
covered Up and concealed from Wow.
While The hole was being filed up there
was continuous and uueaTthly hulaha-
loo, with shouting, dancing and beating OF
tom-tonS.
Why did l not interfere? 1 was not
strong enough. My escort numbered only
few men, and | could not have prevented
the tragedy, while any attempt on my part
in that direction would probably have cost
my own life. The living burial L have de-
sCribed was on a small scale compared
with similar sacrifices that are made ffom
time TO time at the funerals of native po-
tentates. 1t often happens that eNpedl-
lions passing through the country find III
the villages slaves with wooden blocks on
their ankles. They wear such clogs 20
prevent them from escaping while they are
being fattened for eating. When thus dis
covered by white men they are always set
free ana permitted to escape.
The Natives Are CowardIy.
prisoners of war do not appear to any
great extent on the savage bill of fare in
the Congo basin. The natives are not
much addicted to intertribal conflicts. Or
dinariy, II there is trouble between two
tribes, two warriors are chosen by each
settles he controversy. the village whose
men beaten acknowledging itself de-
feated. These savages in a battle fight at
such long range that the carnage is con-
sidered terrific if one or two men are killed.
They are great towards. On one occasion,
wi tn only four guns, did not hesitate to
attack about twenty villages. A mail bag
was stolen from my camp at night. The
loss was very serious inasmuch as the bag
contained a lot of mail for the upper
Congo, well note books and other
papers belonging to myself.
Il made a demand upon the local chief
for the return of the bag. My request was
not acceded to, ard so proceeded to wage
war on the whole country thercabout. L
made my way along the river in q small
steamboat attacking and burning one viii
lage after another. L destroyed ten or
twelve of them in this manner. Finally, |
captured the chiefs son, and sent word to
his father that | would hang the young
man if the bag and its contents were not
forthcoming by the next morning. The re-
Spouse was very prompt this time. To my
surprise, two mail bags were returned to
me. Oddly enough, / had not missed the
second one You will easily understand
that in the Congo Free State, which has an
organized government and n sovereign in
the person of the King of the Begians, an
ordinary traveller would not be permitted
to make war upon the natives in such
fashion. But / had official authority and
discretionary power. being recognized as
ness being to find out about the CONNER
cial resources and requirements of the
country, it was necessary for me to go all
through it.
Some Native Fetiches.
"Of the 400 natives in my party about
700 were women. / would never go on an
expedition in Africa without taking women
along. They are most useful to carry
food and other burdens. In order that the
men shall fight well and be contented, IT
is Necessary that they shall not be asked
to carry loads My dug-out canoe was
fine affair. 1t was seventy-fve feet long
and made from a single log. There was
room for forty paddlers, in addition to
whom ii carried thirty soldiers and their
wives-in all 125 people, with baggage, &c.
In this craft thus loaded we could go faster
than any steamer on the Congo. COM
Portable house of grass was built on board
Of her.
THE collection which I brought back
with me includes a good many interesting
things. / have some wooden figures of
men and women which are fetiches. The
natives do not exactly worship them, but
burn things before them for some purpose
having to do with the supernatural which
I was never able to understand. They
never hesitate to sell them. In the lower