The silver lance., 1897-09-03
gtrsnes Defense Of tho Custom-Capt
HInds's Remarkable Paper ON At
rica's Twenty Millions of Man-EAtins
6nvsgee

force on the Congo, anu III HE pap
he gave a description of the cann.oai
district and a startling account OF tnei
customs.
After Capt. H:nde had concluded. Mr'
Elworthy took up the discussion on De'
half Of the cannibal, claiming that his
appetite was not altogether reprehensi-
BILE and that 1t should be in a measure
considered with some leniency because
II had been the origin Of the most
solemn of all Christian rites. the Sacra-
ment. He argued that the idea under
lying cannibalism was to be found in
primeval belief Of mankind which sup
posed that the person consuming an
other acquired In that way many OF the
desirable qualities that lad distin'
guished the victim.
He cited the well-known belief on the
part Of certain savage tribes that In
eating the heart Of . particularly val
liant enemy they introduced into their
own nature the courage they had been
compelled to admire In the man that
was dead.
Capt Hinde said that cannibalism
prevailed almost universally through
V0S eac S0hkO Oabihs anu lh0t AhotCoo
Of decreasing 1t Is growing steadily.
and large trade is carried on among
the various tribes in selling and ex-
changing slaves intended to be eaten.
He stated, also, the heretofore lnpub-
sished fact that women were seldom
eaten, the savages. either from an ln-
nate sense of gallantry or from some
popularity of the palate. prefer males
~ diet. and furthermore that sic-
tim intended for a feast is never as
membered before being cooked. but is
roasted entire, the favoritc joints and
portions being sliced on after the sub
5ect Is done to a turn.
The only exception is that the head
10 cut on. kept for several days. and
then made into a stew. The brain 10
considered the greatest delicacy. and
generally goes to the chief. The meat
Of human flesh tastes not unlike veal.
The skin is never eaten, because When
baked 1t becomes somewhat leathery
and tough. That human beings are
eaten for any religious or superstitious
reason. Capt. Hinde denied, and said 4
vas done purely for food.
Canni.sal~ do not eat the flesh 9.
snembera of their immediate family
Capt. Hinde told Of a man who. havin,
been killed. his two sons handed the
body over to q ci'--le Of friends who ate
It for them.
The most horrible of all the facts
given by Capt Hinde was his descri2-
tion of the manner in which cannibsls
prepare victims for eating. 1t has been
said that some Of these people keep a
stock Of prisoners on hand, fattepirg
chem until suitable for killing. Capt.
Hfnde shows that among the tribes Of
the Bangala race these prisoners are
frightfully tortured under the belief
that 1t makes their flesh more tender
and. consequently, more palatable.
One method resembles in q painful
degree The way In which the goose 10
prepared for pate de foie gras, all the
Joints In. the man being broken, even
to those Of his fingers and toes. He is
then buried up to his neck in a clayey
earth. while around his temporary
grave huge pits are dug wherein a fire
ls kept constantly burning. The heat
keeps the buried man in a profuse per-
spiration. Men attend to the fires, 80
that the temperature may be kept up
until the victim IL ready for their
stomach.