Evening star., 1896-06-16
AFRICAN CANNBALs.
Travelling Correspondent Gives
Some Queer Details.
From the Saturday Review

Inc story Ioid Dy capt. H1nde at the last
meeting Of the British Association about
cannibals In Africa aroused sufficient inter-
est to make the subject worth pursuing.
He noticed that his followers were in the
habit Of breaking the legs Of their game
several days before they killed them in Or
der to make the meat more tender. Inquir-
Ing as to their reasons. he was told that
this was the result Of experience with hui
man flesh; that they always broke the
legs and arms Of their captives and then
tied them up to their necks in flowing
stream. in such a way that they could Eei-
ther fall asleep and drown nor commit sui
eide; and that at the end Of three days
they could be killed with the assurance
that they would be very tender eating
AS the president of the geographical SEQ
tion remarked at the time. it is necessary
to divest ourselves Of all insular prejudices
in treating of cannibalism. rhe idea OF
eating part OF deceased human being
with the object of acquiring some Of his
qualities and virtues is widespread and has
been so from time immemorial Such sac
rfficial or sacramental eating Is common to
most religions. In Peru figure made of
dough is baked and eaten. and the people
talk OF that as "eating the god" In GER
tain parts of France figure Is made with
the last Of the harvest corn and eaten un-
der the impression that it contains the
spirit of fertility. This was the earliest
form of cannibalisru. and tho very name
of cannihal Is derived from the Caribs, " no
used to deyour their enemies with the idea
Of acquiring their courage. They .;ere the
bravest of the aborigines Of South Amer
lea. and did not pursue the practice to sup
ply themselves with food. They pretended
they could distinguish the flavor of Span
lard. an EnGltshman and Frenchman. A
French traveller who has written about
them INDUCES the traditional vanity of his
nation by declaring that the French flesh
had far and away the superior flavor. In
some parts of England 1t Is the custom.
when man Is laid out, to bake what is
called corpse cake. This. is put to rise
near the fire on the dead body, and is sup
posed to absorb the virtues Of the deceas-
ed. In the Balkan states q little baked i'm
age accompanies every funeral procession,
and the mourners eat it afterwari, ex-
claiming, God rest him. In Wales and
Herefordshire there exists a regular paid
Is described as 'Iong. lean, lamertable
rascal" On the breast Of a corpse the rel
at1ves place bread and cheese and beer,
which the "sin eater" consumes. in order
to appropriate the sins of the deceased
Formerly he received sixpence for his trou-
Die, and took care to make himself scarce
as soon as possible after his duties were
performed: but Of late years his price has
risen to half q crown.
Cannibalism has been surprisingly little
discussed In books of travel. We are told
that in such and such district cannibals
are to be found. but We hear no details,
neither how the flesh Is prepared, what
joints are preferred. nor to what extent
the practice is prevalent. Capt. Hinde as
serts that nearly all the tribes in the Con-
go basin are or have been cannibals, and
that the practice Is on the increase, not
merely for superstitious reasons but also
for the provision of food. There is a GER
tain sturdy, fat race in Africa which has
never been famous for its prowess, but
which Is made regular staple article of
diet. Whole cargoes are constantly car
ried up the river and sold to the natives
for food. Inquiries for fresh supply Of
slaves will often be accompanied by the
complaint that meat is scarce just nov"
The Batetella are described as fine race,
with no old or infirm persons among them
The reason of this is not far to seek, for at
the first sign Of decrepitude the sufferer Is
Killed and eaten. parents even being de-
Vou-ed by their own children. The mem
bers Of this tribe consider human flesh the
greatest of delicac!es. and are ever on the
watch for any excuse to kill and eat their
comrades. The fate Of the individuals is
decided by their king. So soon as a vic
tim Is appointed to die, mobs collect out
side the kings house and the victim is
given over to them alive. But he does not
long remain alive for the People tear him
to pieces as quickly as a pack Of hounds
will make an end Of a hare. Eacn sets
himself to cut off his favorite tit-bit. and
no one makes 1t his business to kill the
victim first. lest a coveted piece should
thereby be lost. In some districts men will
not eat their own parents, but they Will
allow them to be eaten by others. This
may be due in large measure to the ex-
treme difficulty Of protecting a corIse from
these human wolves, however determined
the intention of protecting 1t may be. The
people there seem to have no religion, and
are not to te frightened off from the Gene
terias ty any kind Of fetich The practice
at least has this advantage, that. after a
battle there is no rick Of an epidemic from
the putrefaction Of the corpses, for like
the walrus and the carpenter, the victors
"eat up every one"
After big battle, in which many pris-
oners have been taken. human beings have
been sold for as little as five or six shil-
lings brace for eating purposes Many
anecdotes might be told Of the naive way
in which the Inhabitants Of the Congo re-
gion speak Of this little weakness Of theirs
A man will come to your house and ask
you to trust him with food. adding ingenu-
ousiy: when one Of our people dies we
Will make return" Or the members of a
caravan will say: I'VE know your supplies
are short Just now. and you can't spare
any Of your sheep or goats. but you might
give US such and such a man; he is lazy
and not worth his keep" You make peace
and apply for the return Of prisoners but
you are told: VERY sorry, they are ali
eaten. save one. II you would like thirty
seven fine cooking slaves in their place,
they are very much at your service"
In nearly every case human flesh ia
either boiled. toasted or smoked. Any can
nibal so far forgetting himself as to eat It
raw would be looked down upon sadly.
When there Is a superabundance Of human
meat. as. for instance. after q sanguinary
battle, the greater part Of 1t Is skillfully
cured by smoking. Indeed, those who have
repugnarce to eating human flesh scarce
ly dare to buy smoked meat Of any kind In
a cannibal district, SO difficult ia human
flesh to distinguish from ordinary meat.
Various cabnibals have various preferences
for various joints. and 1t is said that. If
you follow in the wake of cannibal cara
vans. you may discover the precise district
OF their origin by simply noting what por-
tions OF the human body they have left un-
eaten. The majority do not eat the head
at all. but some look upon It as the great
est deiicscy, and devote their special at
tention to the brain. Most cannfbals eat
scme or other of the intestines Perhaps
the most generally favorite Joint is a steak
from the upper part Of the leg The most
sinewy parts are usually stewed, and broth
made from human shins Is not utterly IN
known. AS to the flavor of human flesh. #
Is difficult to speak positively; 1t has been
compared. by people in a position to know.
to sucking pig. All seem agreed that the
human Is more delicate and reuuires more
seasoning than ordinary meat The flesh
OF the white man is not sought after ex-
cept by gourmets. on account OF its pre-
sale taste.
INVENTIONS WITHOUT PATENTS,
n Ill