The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-10-26

rs, and although stripped os 4 sTca'
part of my belongings, l was glad
enough to get away alive, aud kept
the guns ready until had put good
distance between myself and the vii
lagc.
The next tribe that we fell in with
was the one that l had come SO fal
to study. They received me good ma.
turedly, because their chief had just
overcome the head Of rival tribe,
and they had enjoyed great feast.
"The natives in the interior of Su-
matra ale, | believe, as degraded can
nibals as ever lived. A man will
steal upon the enemy when he is
asleep, and, with sharp, scimitar-
like sword, strike off his: head at a
single blow. Then he will strip the
head of flesh and bury it on some
trail, SO that even the friends Of the
dead man will step upon him and lose
his good will in the other world.
Aftcrward the skull is dug up and
kept as trophy, the rank of each
prince being fixed according to the
number Of skulls he can display.
During my stay l saw one man
eaten. He had been made captive in
raid against a hostile tribe. and
when | saw him he was bound to a
tree. The rajah, or chief, first ap
preached the victim and cut off the
flesh from the inner side of the fore
arm and the cheek, two portions
esteemed great dclicacy. The chief
drank some of the blood, and then
roasted the flesh slightly by the fire
and ute it. Thereafter the rest of the
warriors fell upon the victim, and
stripped the flesh from his bones,
roasted and ate it amid fearful cries
Of pain from the captive, who saw his
own flesh roasted and eaten. The
savage fcastcrs danced, shouted and
rubbed their stomachs to show their
enjoyment, while the victims cries
grew weaker as his strength cbbed
away, until he finally died from loss
Of blood.
"Generally, cannibalism is an act
OF vengeance upon captured enemies,
but among the Popaks the taste for
human flesh has become so much de-
veloped that they often cat harmless
slaves and old women. A Popak
prince in Penganibatan told me that
he had just given feast at which
eleved Chinese had been eaten, and
he added that they were very good.
This prince, by name ST Gollak, was
very rich, having his teeth gilded,
and wearing handsome jeweled col
lar in the center of which tooth was
set, the tooth of an enemy whom he
had slain and eaten. But he himself
soon fell victim to his foes, as evil
denced by the skull and half burned
hand which I found some weeks later
in possession of Batak chief. Then
a conversation took place somewhat
after this fashion:
"'Where did you get that skull and
hand that you carry 2
They belonged to an enemy who
fell into our hands,
"'Did you eat him 2
"'Yes, my brother-in law and his
people ate him. His name was 81
Kemat ST GaIlak. He had fed from
his country, in which he was rajah,
with his brother, his wife and his
mother. He called himself wizard,
and sought to become ruler Of Panic.
My brother-in-law declared war where
my brother-in-law was chief against
him and captured him
"'Was there battle 2
No, we took him prisoner. We
lay in ambush in the rice fields, and
when we saw him pass through alone
we leaned nron him and brought him him
to the chief.
And his brother 2
ellis brother fell in war
Z" Iu battle 2
A" No, we shot him at night, while
he was asleep. The ball hit him in
the right arm: and he stood up hold
ing knife iii his left hand but we
were victorious, for we were many;
we knocked him down and sent his
head to the chief. Don you call that
WARP
"'What happened TO his body 2
'That-wc ate it. The head ? Our
chief put that in front of ST Kemat
that he might know what to expect
"'Couldn't he ransom himself 2
"'Rausom? Impossible; he had to
die
!" Didn't he cry 2
"Oh, yes, but that did no good; he
was bonnd fast