The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-09
INTERVIEWS CANNlBAL CHIEF
EXPLORER Won BRENNER'S NOVEL
DISCUSSION OF CANNIBALISM.

tie known Subiect-Rem rknbte
Experiences of the Young Austri-
an Professor During His sojourn
in Sumatra-HOw the Natives
Wage War and Why They DevOur
Those Who FAN in Battle.
Berlin, Oct. 1.-The first scientific study
of cannibals and canniballsm is shortly to
be published as a result of the experiences
of an Austrian scientist and explorer
Joachim FTeiherr Won Bremen, who re-
Gently returned from Sumatra, where he
has been for several years engaged in the
study of the native blacks Won Bremen
who IS apparently a most intrepid young
man, went into the subject with German
thoroughness. and will probably make
large and comprehensive volume, covering
in every phase and detail the life and Gus
toms of the native of that island. In
Guided in the equipment with which he
started out, was a camera with which ne
has taken several hundred very striking
and interesting photographs to Illustrate
every point OF his ssory.
Although Won Brenner's work was IN
dertaken for the sake Of its scientific value
in the fields of Geography, history and an
| thropology, his experiences will include
much that is of popular interest and en-
| terJainment AS may be readily believed,
il was an undertaking of some hardwood
| TO study a tribe of cannibals at close
| range and when the young Austrian an
nounced his purpose he met with consld-
| cradle opposition from his friends and as
! sociates, who freely prOphesied that ne
would never return to announce the result
| of his undertaking. Even after his arrival
| in Dell, the Dutch residents, who had
| had some experience with the half-civii-
! lied natives, did their best to persuade
| him to give up his project and il was with
| great difficulty that he secured an outht
| with which to penetrate into the inter
! Tor Of the country, where alone, of all
| lands known to white men, canhtbalism is
| still regularly practiced Won Brenner's
account of his experiences after leaving
! civilization, though told in plain and mod
| est language, shows that the fears OF his
! friends and advisers were not altogether
! ungrounded. He says:
| Il set out on my "Trip 10 the land OF the
| Bataks after having secured by induce
/ ments, which TO them appeared eXtraor-
! binary, a caravan of thirty-siX carriers.
/ There was but one European in the party
| besides myself. We were conducted by
/ a native guide from one of the hill tribes,
| who was recommended as a thoroughly
! trustworthy man, and who indeed proved
/ invaluable time went on. our course
! lay over the high mountains which lie a
| few miles back from The coast at Deli, and
| beyond which is the land of the Bataks,
| in which, as far as I have been able TO
/ find no European had hitherto set foot.
| For the purpose of ingrauating myself
with the blacks I carried a large supply
of all kinds of glass beads, mirrors, knives
| and various colored cloths, especially
sort of red cloth with gold border, which
| the blacks esteem very highly.
THE partially civilized tribes that
! came across in the earlier stages OF my
| journey, afford many opportunities for in
teresting study and our progress was
| therefore, slow. for 7 reasoned that the
more thoroughly L understood the Gus
| toms and ways of these people the bet
ter 1 should be able to understand those
in the wilderness beyond, which was our
ultimate destination.
Preserving the Dead.
zone peculiar custom which was natur-
ally among the first to impress itself
upon me and which apparently prevails
among all the natives of the island, is
!, the method of preserving the dead. The
| body is burned but the head is placed in
a small basket on top of a bamboo pole
as thick as mans arm, and matched
over the top with the leaves of the
sugar palm Here it is left to bleach
and dry and the sight of these CHASTITY
sign posts which We frequently came
across was anything but reassuring. In
some places the head is not detached, but
the entire body is hung up in a sort of
wicker-work wrapping, suspended ne
tween two posts several feet above the
ground and il is possible to view through
the interstices tn the basket work the
gristly remains which the breezes swing
to and fro they would a hammock,
with a most uncanny effect.
| In oil O
rains which wash out deep gulleys af-
forded greater obstacles to our progress
than even the trackless underground
through which it was necessary TO cut
out way
Surprised at Cake of Soap.
Among the natives whom I first en-
countered | was an object of mild bu5
intensely curious interest 1t seemed TO
| give them great delight to gather In
crowds and watch me whenever [ went
in bathing The sight of man bathing
was not new TO them but 1t was APP
parently the first time they had ever
seen such a thing as a cake of soap, and
the lather produced by it was a marvel
to all beholders. But it was impossible
10 get any of them to try it's effects. The
natives laughed at my custom of eating
with a knife and fork, and explained
| over and over again that 1t was mucn
easier 10 use the fingers. Another object
| of great curiosity to them was the camera,
which they seemed to view with sort of
supersutious awe.
A Battle Between Natives.
"By using the passport provided by
many gifts of cloth and beads,of the tribal
chiefs, my progress was comparatively
easy. until we entered the territory OF
one tribe which was at war with its neigh
bors These would not permit our cara
van to pass until the impending battle was
fought. This gave me an excellent oppoI-
tunity to observe the native manner Of
carrying on war, and l watched the battle
in company with the women and children
of the tribe from the top of neighborinS
hill. 1t was a strange sight, several thou
sand naked Malays advancing in irregular
lines in semi-circles, to meet upon an open
plain. Each party had guns bought from
native traders, who had introduced them
from the Dutch settlements, but they were
used almost as effectively as the Spaniards
used theirs. The savages advanced with