Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-04-23

adjoining the cemetery. a similar
custom prevails In the cemetery OF
the city Of GJanahuato, in Mexico,
where the bones of the delinquent deia
are shoveled away into great vault,
whore they lie piled up like 50 much
corn In n granary.
THEY TRADE IN HUMAN HEADS.
The bulk of the population Of Ecua-
dor is made up of indians. There are
10000 Indians in the republic who
have never been subdued. and some OF
the savagos upon the Napo river,
which flows through the eastern part
Of Ecuador into the Maronon, are less
known than the people of interiN
Africa. Some of these tribes shoot
their enemies with poisoned arrows.
uEing blow guns made OF reeds. They
send the arrows at you with great
force, and scratch from one or them
is sure death. 1t is in this same re-
gion that dried heads OF human be
ings are cured for sale. As l write
these words human head, cut OF
below the chin. lies on the table
before me. Whether II is thbt OF II
man or a woman l do not Know, put
its hair is as long, as black and as
silky rs the hair OF any brunette brue
who reads this letter. When photo-
graphcd IT few minutes ago, hold
ing II in my hand before the camera,
the black strands hung down almost
Il yard below my fist, ana the mar
was 30 thick that could hardly grasp
1t all. The head is one of the famous
dried heads of the Ecuadorian Indians
who live on the eastern slope az tn ,I
Andes. They have for ages adopted
this method of picking or curing the
heads OF their enemies, and nave
been told that such a demand mas eN-
listed among the foreigners Tor the
heads as curiosities that WITHIN reSeht
years the Indians have been hiiilng
their friends and relatives as Wen III
order 10 SUNNY II. The Ecuadorian
government has recently passed law
making IL n crime to buy or sell such
heads, and the severest penalties are
Imposed on those who engage IN me
traffic. still, / am offered inns heau 10,
800 in gold, and l could puy seNttnl
more at the same price. don't thlhh
| shall take 1t. 1t Is, however, a Won
derful thing. All of the bones nave VI
some way been taken out OF II, ana
the flesh. skin and hair OF the heau
only left. In parting the mar at the
back | see stitches. ana IL N CIV
that the skin was cut open mere =.
ont the skull. The remainder Oh nv
slxin is as perfect as 1t was IN NE,
only the whole head is so shrunkeh
that II is not much larger than pnse
ball Its color is perfectly black ihs
eyes are closed. the forehead, owe,
which the dark hair hahes. ls NV, IL a.,
rho rose is almost that Of a negro IN
shane. The lips, which We're once run
sensuous and voluptuous, are sewed
torether with long cotton strands,
which hang down like macretns
fringe. and the chin has pronounce
dimple in IL. which, / doubt not, once
smiled at it's sweetheart and friends
Whether its owner was killed by
treachery or in battle no one knows;
HOW THE HEADS ARE CURED;
The method of curing the heads Is
also a mystery. 1t is said that red
whiskered German came out to Ecua-
dor some years ago deterinlheH ~, ~
| learn the process. He went to quito
| and then made his way eastward u
the Indian country. Since then ne has
never been seen, but it Is said ,n "a,
| about three months after ms a'sap-
pearance a head beautifully cured wa
| brought in for sale. 1t was OF hght-
er complexion than the one on my "a a.
bic and the features were German IN