The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-01-27

natives stepped forward with lighted | torches, and, mounting the elevated
 space, arranged themselves in 8 clrcu-
 lar group on either side. The blaring | beacons penetrating the surrounding
 gloom discovered a huge recess ln the
 wall at the rear of which could be seen
 the distorted form of gigantic image "a stony, impassive figure, Of such gro
 tesque ugliness that, with all their bar
 barous and fanatical natures, one could 1 not help wondering how any race or people, however unenlightened, could
 bring themselves to worship an op]ect
 of such responsiveness.
 Suddenly there was a stir amidst
 the group of priests on the platform, ] and from the dark cranny, in the which
 the turing image stood, a newcomer, a
 man of admirable proportions, not so
 tall as powerful and. patriarchal look
 ing, descended. He advanced rapidly
 forward, looeening his ragged, garments
 as he came, until he was naked, save
 small cloth girdled around the loins As
 he turned toward the stone image and
 raised his hand the group Of Worshlpers
 ceased their turmoil and fell prostrate
 to the ground, meanwhile keeping up an
 incessant groaning Toward this gro
 tesque, incongruoue, inanimate piece of
 carved stone the eyes of all were turn
 ed in adoration. For time the pros
 trate horde lay bowed to the floor in 4 prayer, until a quickly discernabe stir
 and show of interest gave evidence that | some moment of extraordinary interest | was at hand. Quietly and unobserved,
 a dozen men had been carrying immense
 armfuls of woods on to the platform and {, placing them before the stone image. | Soon the full import of this move ment was apparent. Here before our 1 eyes was to take place one of those bar l barous human sacrifices of which we had heard rumors at Gharlkau, It did not take long to confirm our suspicious.
 for quietly and without murmur of any
 kind half dozen newcomers had
 mounted the elevated space, absolutely naked and bound with cords, intended victims of the carnival that was to fol- low. The fire had been already touched
 to the wood; the first faint flicker mad been famed into an open flame, and In
 a minute the whole mass was seeth-
 ing, roaring furnace, lighting up the in-
 terior of the cave as with the monday
 sun. The bright glow of the fire per
 mitted us to secure a better view of the
 doomed victims Five were men in the sere and yellow leaf, scarcely able to
 totter alone, and whose lives in the natural course of events could not be prolonged many years. They were hud- dled together apart from the other VIC tim,--a young girl who could not have been over IS years of age. She had comedy, nut-brown face, with dark, wavy clusters of hair tumbling oyer her forehead and reaching down to her waist, With a cool. if not openly dis dainful look she gazed with exalted dignity on the surrounding group with never waver in the stoic composure of her attitude.
 At last the fearful moment arrived. One of the old men was seized and stretched on a sort of stone altar, rais- ed a few feet above the floor of the plat form He fully realized that his last hour had come. for his stoicism had vanished, and he struggled in impotent fear and fury to escape from the grasp of his captors, giving vent to shriek af- ter shriek, until, weak and exhausted, he fell into a stupor, with only epae- modic efforts. attempting to throw off the restraining hands of the priests. Four of the minor priests held the faint ly-strugging body down, while from the gloomy niche stalIzed forth the chief sacrificial priest bis hand holding a long, glistening knife having a broad paddle-shaped blade nearly six inches wide. Once, twice, thrice, he abased himself to the ground before the unre- sponsive image, and then turning l around, like beast ready to leap on it's sleeping prey, with his small rat eyes | glistening with overpowering fascina- l ton, he rushed toward the prostrate | form. A flash of light, as of falling | meteor, and the keen blade sank to the | hilt in the flesh of the victim with | soft, soothing purr like firm steel glid | ing over velvet while the blood spurted | forth in little fountains of spray. Again the gleaming and dripping blade flashed in the air again it descended | in murderous sweep; yet again, and again, five times in all, until the very air reeked with the odor of blood Three times did the. worshipers abaee them selves, and then as quickly as a light ning's flash the minor priests seizad the lt6lGSS corpse ana nelu IL III lHe siii | For a moment it slhouetted against the fitful glare of the fire in long, ghastly shadow, and then, shot through space, the red flames leaped forward in eager ecstasy to receive their prey
 With hardly a moments intermis- sion the next victim was hurried for ward. He was neither possessed of the full amount of native stoicism, or else reduced to an unknowing stupor; for tremor or the faintest attempt at struggling he was stretched on the sacrifice altar, stabbed to the heart and tossed to the flames. The third, fourth and fifth victims were similarly disposed of.
 "The last scene of the bloody drama vas now at hand. The young girl stepp- ed forth without any invitation or as- sistance of any kind from the priests. The whole assemblage seemed spell bound and it was more than civilized manhood could withstand. I grasped 3urton's hand, while the other instinct vely sought my revolver. We tried to ee, to call out, to fling ourselves on the nurderous rabble lying there in silent lpathy before our eyes, but our nerves were paralyzed into inaction; we were )owerless held epeechless and fascinat- d, as serpent holds it's prey by some IT'S siStjb1e smell For a brief space of |