The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-01-18
EATEN By CANNIBALS.
Horrible Fate Of a Whole Missionary
Settlement.

Thirty Persons Tortured Beyond De-
scription by the Savages in the Congo
Country, After Which They Were
Cooked. Many of Them Alive, and De-
voured by the Bloodthirsty Natives
Manner in Which the Victims Were
Treated.
From the Cincinnati Enquirer.
At the moment United States CONNER
cial agent returns from the Congo with re-
ports about the 2oooo.o00 cannibals sea-
tered through Africa a steamer. the
Esperanza. arrives in Havre with the de-
tails of the very latest thing in this line.
and an interesting description Of csnnibais
in general that all human kind has just
enough savagery in its nature to enjoy
reading. 1t was reported two months ago
/ that Australia was very much excited over
an uprising of maneators and banquet OF
missionaries and traders they had INDUCED
/ in some where among the Admiralty is
lands.
Any doubts on the subject of the royal
feast these people. with such "A singular
appetite. must have had has been set en-
tirely at rest by the startling nara
tive told by the officers and crew of the
Esperanza. and duly chronicled in the Ga
zette de Havre to a horrifying and blood
curdling extent. which is somewhat modi-
fed for the Anglo-Saxon readers in the
fear of causing too great a shock to the
susceptible heart.
The crew of the Esperanza landed on
New Ireland. one OF the Admiralty group.
and found that a great gathering or mer-
! ry-making of some sort had taken place,
evidently to the satisfaction and stupefac-
ton of the natives. for there were none to
he seen. and the sight of former trading
! post inhabited by upward of fifty men and
| women. without counting few children,
| was a blackened mass of ruins and dis
| couraging looking prospect for any at
tempt at settling anew. 1t was at once
evident that outrage and murder had been
! committed, but the true terrors of the af-
| fair were not apparent until the French
men went to the top of a low Hill standing
| back half a mile from the shore. and at
the foot of which the trading post was
originally established. The top of the hill
is a small pleateau and here was the scene
I of the orgies. The first officer of the ship
describes the incidents in these words:
when we reached the plateau we real
lied that the natives of that and prOba-
bly, the adjoining island had relapsed into
the barbarsm from which it was sup
posed they had been partly lifted. and
had slaughtered the whites and INDUCED
in a cannibal feast of no small proper
tions. Human bones. skulls. and bits Of
cooked flesh were strewn around over a
space of five acres in extent The first
thing that attracted our attention was
one of the usual cannibal pits, dug down
some six feet and lined with rough stones
| IT was partly filled out with cinders. as
though from twigs or branches. and there
was likewise "A quantity of baked earth in
it. evidently soil that had been thrown
over a smoldering fire. For fifty feet in
! every direction about the edge OF the pit
the ground had been trampled by a crowd
and the debris indicated that part of
the feastlng had there taken place.
There were several of these pits and
| there was also a number Of spots where
forked sticks were stuck upright in the
earth and a heavy stick lying near by,
showing it had once rested in the forks
and over the fire that was indicated by
/ the pile of ashes. AS near as we could
. | judge by the remnants of bones and the
skulls, either in pieces or entire, there
We're about thirty people killed and eaten
by these savages, but only small portion
of the skulls were crushed, as is the canni-
balls preference in the mode of killing,
and so we concluded the majority Of the
victims had been burned and cooked
, alive.
Late in the day some of our men
, brought in three natives, whom they had
! caught in the bush, and who, after some
questioning and threats, repeated to us
many of the details of the massacre,
although it is safe to say they concealed
, the most atrocious through fear of punish
ment. They declared, however, that they
had no influence to change the events
hot fHa for
lures and killing were done by savages
. from the neighboring island. who had
r arranged a plan to eXterminate the
! whites and had come over, to the eX-
tent of some 400, to do so. The visitors had
landed on a distant part of the island,
where they were Joined by the resident
saVages, and all marched stealthily to-
ward the trading post. The descent on the
post was made at night after the whites
had retired, and as they displayed GER
tain amount of generalship in apportion-
1 ing a number of savages to each house,
= the whites were quickly overpowered and
made captives The buildings were looted,
everything of value being taken. the cap
tives were stripped of their clothing and
all of it thrown in the houses which were
2 then set on fire.
Then the whole party went to the hill
top. taking the whites with them. Fires
were built, the whites placed in the center
: of ring of dancing, yelling savages who
e brandished clubs. and pretty nearly fright
e ened their captives to death. No other
! torture than mental was INDUCED in for
that night But elaborate preparations
f were at once made for the next day. Men
. began digging pits, others gathered stones,
t and to those who were familiar with can
e nibal customs these arrangements were
I suggestive of cooking and eating, in which
/ the unhappy whites were to play princi-
pal parts.
E When the next morning dawned about
twenty victims were selected for that
days ceremonies; fires were built in the
pits, and the stones that formed their lin
ing We're heated almost to melting. OF
the number select for killing on
that day six were women, and very
few were put to death before being
8 roasted Two pits had been prepared
s and in these were placed six peo-
pie. four men and two women. They were
bound and thrown in on the hot stones
and Immediately covered with brush dried
T. leaves and tw;gs. and these in turn were
covered with earth; then the leaves and