The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-06-19
AUSTRALIAN BUSHMEN.

From the New York World.
"Never have a black fellow behind
you" is a proverb in the Australian
bush. The bushman's first business in
life is to eat, and it matters not whether
he eats white or black flesh, serpent,
cattle, kangaroo or hzard-only that it
is flesh.
OF course the fiesh-eaters has tastes,
the more epicurean the more varied his
carnivorous education. He eats the
flesh of white men under protest. He
prefers the flesh of his own sable com
patriots. White mans flesh, he viii
tell you, laying his hand on his stomach
with a suggestive expression of disgust,
is too salty"
The black eats no salt upon his food,
and after time even the white ex-
plorer of the Australian bush learns to
relish larvae, kangaroo steaks and
snakes kidneys without the addition
of salt. In this way he gradually rem
ders himself more palatable TO the ma
tives. 1t is a mistake TO suppose that
human flesh is the daily diet of these
cannibals, for, in truth, they are rarely
so lucky as to procure a morsel of their
favorite food. The man who stands
highest in the estimation of the vari-
Gus tribes is he who is most expert in
procuring human flesh. The black fell
low rarely kills one of his own small
tribe for food. so he has to content him
self with eating his enemies or such of
his friends as die natural death.
Snake bite and disease impair the
quality of this flesh, and in the tribes
where it is eaten it is usually left to
the women, who are not considered
worthy TO eat the superior delicacy OF
the flesh of murdered men, The IA
tives firmly believe the kidneys to be
the seat of life.and they not only aim at
this vital spot in fighting, but prefer II
to any other part as food, for not only
is the flavor to their liking, but in this
way they insure al the strength and
prowess of their victim passing into
their own bodies. The women are, In
the main, the providers of food, and
the hideous old women learn witch
like cunning in sharing and bringing
20 camp game. and even a. times the
precious ''talgoro- human flesh itself;
The commoner kinds Of food. such as
wallaby, kangaroo meat and lizards are
cooked by throwing the flesh on live
Goals When a crust Is formed the ma
tives snatch the meat from the FIRE and
gnaw off the scared surface and then
return the raw part to the Goals No
matter how large the game or how
much there NAV be of II. II i very un-
usual for particle OF 1t To De left for
another time. The lean bodies Of the
naked blacks swell under the strain.
but they continue TO gorge themselves
until the last bone has been gnavved
snd the last drop Of grease has been
licked from their hands.
A sort OF barbecue method is used n
preparing the rsrer meat OF the cattle,
python or .-talgoro.7 A hole Is dug n
the ground and filed with Are and small
stones When The stones are almost red
no; the FIRE Is 6ug out and the flesh =
packed in AID covered with fresh leaves
and then. with the heated stones. the
whole Is topped OF with layer Of
earth, which keeps n the steam and
favor II the slowly roasting meat
The python's great length OF from
ten 10 twenty feet E1zkzes x an 1nSieldy
creature 20 roast. The natives boil
him down into 4 ring, a. sailors --sn-
ish down" their ropes AID faster The
ring with vegetable hbers- II : then
possible 10 roast it in q large hole n
Ike ground T. Is . curious picture 20