The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-06-20
MORNING JOURNAL COURIER, JUNE

 corpse the relatives place bread and
 cheese and beer, which the "sin-eater''
 consumes in order to appropriate the
 sins of the deceased. Formerly he re-
 ceived siXpence for his trouble, 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 a crown,
 A STAPLE ARTICLE OF DIET.
 Cannibalism has been surprisingly
 little discussed in books of travel. We
 are told that in such and such a dis
 trict 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 pre- Valent Captain Hinde asserts that nearly all the tribes in the Congo 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 certain sturdy fat race in Africa which has never been famous for it's
 prowess, but which is made regular staple article of diet. Whole cargoes til ' NOhol0IlNlS tciIi lCI up IIlC lNNI t'iAt
 sold to the natives for food. Inquiries for fresh supply of slaves will often
 be accompanied by the complaint that meat Is scarce just now" The Bate tella are described as a fine race, with
 no old or inflrm persons among them.
 The reason of this is not far to seek. for
 at the first sign of decrepitude the suf- ferer is killed and eaten, parents even
 being devoured by their own children. The members of this tribe consider hu-
 man flesh the greatest of delicacies, and are ever on the watch for any ex-
 cuse to kill and eat their comrades.
 The fate of the individuals Is decided
 by their king. So soon as a victim is appointed to die, mobs collect outside
 the kings house and the victim is giv-
 en over to them alive. But he does not
 long remain alive, for the people fear
 him to pieces IS quickly as pack of
 hounds will make an end of hare.
 Each sets himself to cut off his favorite tit-bit, and no one makes it his busi- ness to kill the victim first, lest cove ted piece should thereby be lost. In some districts men will not eat thelr
 own parents, but they will allow them to be eaten by others. This may be due in large measure to the extreme diculty of protecting a corpse from these human wolves, however deter ! mined the intention of protecting it ! may be. The people there seem to have no religion, and are not to be | frightened off from the cemeteries by any kind of fetich. The practice at least has this advantage, that after a | battle there is no risk of an epidemic l from the putrefaction of the corpses, | for, like the walrus and the carpenter, l the victors ''eat up every one.
 After big battle, in which many prisoners have been taken, human be- ings have been sold for as little as five
 or six shillings brace for eating pur- l poses. Many anecdotes might be told of the naive way in which the inhabi- tants of the Congo region speak of this little weakness of theirs. A man will come to your house and ask you to | trust him with food, adding ingenious 1 ly: 'When one of our people dies we | will make a return Or the members
 of 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; his 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 all eaten, save one. If you would like thirty-sev- en fine cooking slaves in their place, they are very much at your service" | In nearly every case human flesh is ia;+ Apu cannibal so far forgetting himselz as to l eat it raw would be looked down upon | sadly. When there is a superabun- | dance of human meat as. for instance, after a sanguinary battle, the greater part of it is skilfully cured by smoking. | Indeed those who have a repugnance l to eating human flesh scarcely dare to
 buy smoked meat of any kind in can-
 nibal district, so difficult is human
 flesh to distinguish from ordinary meat Various cannibals have various preferences for various joints, and it is 1 said that, if you follow in the wake of cannibal caravans, you may discover | the precise district of their origin by | simply noting what portions of the hu- | man body they have left uneaten. The l majority do not eat the head 1t all, but
 some look upon it as the greatest deli- cacy, and devote their special atten- tion to the brain. Most cannibals eat some or other of the intestines. Per- haps the most generally favorite joint
 is steak from the upper part of the leg. The most sinewy parts are usual | ly stewed and broth made from human
 shins is not utterly unknown. As to | the flavor of human flesh, it is difficult l to speak positively; it has been com | pared, by people in a position to know, | to sucking-pig All seem agreed that | the human is more delicate and re-
 qures more seasoning than ordinary
 meat. The flesh of the white man is
 not sought after, except by gourmets,
 on account of it's pre- sale taste