The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1900-11-09
cANNIBALIsM is RARE.
The Inhuman Custom Survives Only
In Few Pacific Islands
and Africa.

IN rev racine ISLANDS
and Africa.
The news received lately from Her.
mosillo, Mexico, that nine members of
the Wells exploring party had been
captured and eaten by cannibalistic
natives of the island of Tortugas in
the Gulf of California, was reminder
to civilization that man-eating prac-
tices have not been entirely eradi-
Gated. At the same time, says the
Chicago Tribune, the news served to
call attention to the rarity of canni-
balism nowadays in the Pacific islands,
for with few exceptions, notably in
Tortugas island, formerly man-eating
tribes have been brought to see the
error of their ways. The natives on
Tortugas have shown a ferocity that
has kept missionaries and other white
settlers from the island, several whole
expeditions having been killed and
eaten on the island in the last half
century.
1t is not many years since the great
er part of the South Pacific was in
habited by. man-eaters, but now the
peoples of the islands have almost en-
tirely given up the practice under the
influence of stern European govern
ment. George L. Latroune, however
who recently came to America from
the French penal settlement at New
Caledonia, related on his arrival in San
Francisco this month story of es-
cape from the caldron that shows that
some tribes still preserve the rite.
After being freed by the officials of
the colony at the expiration of his
entence Mr.. Latroune fell into the
hands of tribe of interior Kanakas
and was by them imprisoned. He
was told that he was to be cooked at
the next feast. Before his eyes two
of the women of the tribe were killed
and eaten. He had resigned himself
to his fate when by chance the chiefs
son fell from tree and broke his leg.
Latroune caused the king to be in
formed that he could cure the boy and
was given chance to try He sue
ceeded, and was given his liberty, a
talisman to protect him from other
tribes, and money to pay his passage
to New York.
In FIJI, which was once the worst of
the cannibal islands, there is now
no trace of human sacrifice, and the
Tonga and other islands are as free.
Now and then rumors of the rite come
from the East Indian islands, but no
Instances of man-eating have been re-
ported from there for some years.
Africa is apparently at present the
headquarters of cannibalism, and even
there, with the Cape to Cairo railroad
under construction and civilization rap
idly advancing, the practice will soon
be abolished
A professor of the University of
Christianity, returning from several
years of travel and study among the
blacks of North Queensland, in Aus
tralia, reports that it is still practiced
there, though he has never seen a
feast. He was told on different occa-
sions of eannibalistic feasts in neigh
boring villages, and believes the ma
tives often desired to kill and eat him.
Cannibalism is not quite extinct in
Africa, if the reports of travellers are
authentic. In the upper Congo coun-
try it is sad to be the regular prac-
tice of nearly every tribe. Enemies
captured in battle are taken to the
home village and there their legs and
arms are broken. This insures the
flesh of these members growing prac-
tically toothsome within two OF three
days.
The captives are then put into
stream of running water, up to their
necks, and bound SO they cannot es-
cape or drown themselves, and there
they are kept three days. That proc
ess softens them up so that even the
toughest old warriors become edible.
After big battle, when there are more
of the captives than the victorious tribe
can eat, or when it is desired to pro-
pitiate some neighbors, gifts of few
odd men are made. Often in war
time they are for sale. Human be-
ings for eating purposes have been
known to drop to two shillings the
pair.
The African has happy faculty ap-
parently, of confining this pleasant di-
version to other blacks, and not at
tempting to eat whites. There is no
recent record, at any rate, of any white
having been present at an actual feast,
though many have been described to
whites by the negroes.