The Southern herald., 1899-03-03
VICTIMS OF cARNIBALS.
hany White Europeans Arc EassA
by Natives On the M0banEf
River, Africa.

1he cannibalS OF the Upper Mobangi
river are again making white men the
victims of their appetite for human
flesh. According to a dispatch from
Antwerp, four Belgian commercial
agents in the service of the Antwerp
Trading company have recently been
killed and eaten. The Mobangi river
Is the largest tributary of the Congo,
and no rivers of Europe, except the
Nolga and Danube, equal it in length
or in the volume Of water Its / 800
miles of river banks are densely poo
pied most of the way, and the inhab-
itants are the most inveterate canni-
balls in the Congo basin. In ether parts
Of the Congo region the first explorers
were able TO buy food with beads and
brass wire, but along the Mobangi
these articles Of trade were not de-
sired. "Give us men TO eat" shouted
the natives, "and We will give you all
the manioc, goats and chickens you
want. We don't want yonr trade goods,
and we win sell you nothing except for
men,"
Grenfell, Van Gele and the other pio-
neers on the Mobangi used to tell of the
expeditions of large canoes they met.
Hundreds of men were padding up and
down the river bound for destinations
sometimes scores Of miles from their
starting point. They were not on the
warpath, but were simply on their
way to other tribes TO buy slaves for
consumption, and coming home the
bottoms of their canoes would be COW
cred with poor wretches, bound hand
and foot, whom they had purchased.
About a dozen white men thus far
have been killed and eaten by Congo
natives, and most of the victims have
been Frenchmen at the French sta
tions on the Mobangi. The natives have
never made war on the whites for the
purpose of eating them. Too often the
Europeans have been the aggressors.
They have shot natives because they
have not supplied the quantity of rub
ber demanded of them, and for other
insufficient reasons; and at last the
blacks have sought revenge by kill
ing white men. Imperative orders from
the governments controlling the Congo
basin have at last secured better treat
ment of the native tribes at the hands
of the white agents.
Many of the Batetela tribe fought
side by side with the whites in the re-
cent war with the Arabs which resulted
in the expulsion of all the Arab slave
dealers from the Congo state. The
Batetela cannibals are splendid fighters,
but are amng the worst savages who
have been found in Africa. During
excursions in the neighhorhoOd of their
town." wrote DR.. Hinde, Il on more
than one occasion saw public execu-
tion. When the chief of town, who
Is, of course, an absolute monarch de-
cides that man must die, he hands
him over to the people. The man is i'm.
mediately torn to pieces and disap
pears as quickly as hare is broker
up by pack of hounds. Every mar
lays hold of him at once with one hant
and with the other whips off a piect
with his knife; no one stops to kill
him first, for he would, by so doing
lose his piece, More than once, afte;
a drumhead court-martfal, when spy
or deserter was shot, the onlookeri
have said to us: Why do you bury
him? 1t is no use. When you are
gone we shall, of course, dig him up
Hanging fetiches over the grave with
view to preventing the people from
touching it for fear of magic had no
effect. These people seem to have no
form of religion whatever, and no fear
Of death or evil spirits. Through the
whole Of the Batetela country, extend
ing from the Lubefu to the Luiki and
from the Lurimbi northward for some
five days march, one sees neither gray
hairs nor halt nor blind Even parents
are eaten by their children on the first
sign of approaching decrepitude. 1t is
easy TO understand that, under the cir
cumstnnces, the Batetela have the ap-
pearance of a splendid race. These can
nibals do not, as rule, file their front
teeth, nor do they tattoo the face
Between 5000 and 10000 of these
Batetela cannibals fought in the war
against the Arabs. The fact that so
many cannibals were fighting under
Baron Dhanis proved an important ele-
ment in his success. "The teaching of
the Mohammedan religion" wrote DR..
Hinde, does not concede that n man
whose body has been mutilated can
enter into the highest heaven, where
only perfect men are admitted. As a
consequence of this belief the white
Arabs and other faithful followers of
Islam would, after rebuff, instead of
trying to retrieve the fortunes of the
day, flee from the field with all posi-.
BILE speed--not so much to save their
lives as through fear that their bodies,
in the event of their falling, would be
torn to pieces. Chicago Inter Ocean.
Historical Battlefield Threatened.
II is well established as matter Of
history that 9O-year leases do eventual
ly run out. An occurrence of this sort
threatens TO disturb the status of the
Plains of Abraham, at Quebec. The
Plains were held by the government
under 09-year lease, which being now
very near its end, there is an immi- |
nent prospect Of the return of the prop
erty to the Hotel Dieu Ia convent), and
the partition and sale of the land. |
What ought to happen is that the Do.
minion government should buy the