Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1901-03-18
THIRTEEN cANNIRALs.
Are in Steamers Crew, but Cause
no Trouble.


Capt. Edward Macco, of the little
trading schooner Mascotte, came into
the harbor of San Francisco the other
day with crew of 13 natives of the
south sea islands, who he declares are
cannibals. The Mascotte was fresh
from trading trip to the islands. and
the story which her captain tells is
one OF adventure and blood. Inciden-
tally he tells of slaughter and cruelty
in which he and those with him in
dulged, and which, if the details are
correct, must make him terror to
the seas to the jewellers in the can
nibal islands. The schooner is owned
by a German trading firm, with head
quarters in the New Britain islands.
From there she has been cruising
about among the thrifty tradiAe
stations which the firm owns on the
islands near New Guinea. According
to the captain, the traders talk to the
natives mostly through the medium OF
Mauser, and he naively adds, There
is no other way of communication
with them. They are fierce, treacher-
Gus and greedy The natives
opinion of the German traders would
probably run in the same lines.
Last summer the captain visited a
little out-of-the-way island where the
natives knew nothing of the use of
firearms. AS Capt. Macco was pull
ing ashore in small boat with a crew
of half dozen men the savages to the
number of 5000 came down to the
shore. They were armed with spears
and sent a shower of them at the
boat. In the desperation the men in
the boat fired, and black man fell.
The savages were astonished and ter
rif1ed. They gaZed moment at their
fallen comrade, and then fled In
terror, the white men giving them a
parting volley, which brought doWA
five more.
after that" says the captain, I'VE
found little difficulty in starting trad
ing post on the island" The natives
of the Admiralty islands are the only
ones, Capt. Macco declares, who bear
grudge against him.. They are
cannibals, and have, sworn to eat him
if he goes back there and they catch
him. A native named Matzke was
agent for the trading company in the
Admiralty islands. He used to gather
copra at the station and ship it to
Germany. The Mascotte was ordered
to go to the station on the island OF
Komuli and take on a load of copra.
When the schooner got to the island
it was noticed that everything was
suspiciously quiet-not living being
to be seen. The captain had expected
Matzke to come down to the shore
and meet him, and was puzzled. Sud-
denly from the thickets came a rifle
volley, and then another and another.
The bullets whistled about the
schooner and hit her in many places,
but nobody was killed. 1t was hot
fight for few minutes, but the white
men finally drove the savages off, AS
the black men fed the white men
landed and went UP to the station,
where they hoped TO find Matzke. On
their way to the station they came
across a shallow pit lined with stones
that were not yet cool from the fierce
fire of a barbecue. Near by lay
Matzke's bones and those of several
of the natives who had been faithful
to him. They were recognized by the
bits of clothing strewn around.
Capt. Macco knew that a German
cruiser was in one of the ports of the
Caroline islands, and he sailed away
and reported the cannibalism to her
commander. The cruiser went to the
island and took summary vengeance.
The cruiser opened fire on the natives
who gathered on me beace at her ar
rival, and killed $50 at the first fire.
Some of the rest began wild war
dance, and hurled their spears at the
man-of-war. A shell was pumped in
to the middle of the whirling group
and killed every one of the dancers
Then the Germans landed and swept
through the island, burning 100 viii
lagos and killing right and left.
This is the reason why the natives
OF that particular island want to eat
Capt. Macco. It was from such men
as these that .-e captain recruited
his Is cannibals for the MascOtte's
crew He has five other white men
besides himself on board. and has no
fear that his cannibals will eat him
some fine day in midocean. Capt
Mecca bears out what las been said
SO often by travellers in cannibal
countries-that cannibal does not
like the flesh of white man for eat
ing purposes-they are too salty, they
say. Still, they make good plain food,
and some day Capt. Macco may ill
long felt want lin the midst" of his
cannibal crew.