The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-10-21
LIVED UPON HUMAN FLESH.
CannibnIism Was Once Quite Com
mon Among American Indians.

mon Among American Indians.
(From Harpers Magazine)
1t may not be generally known that
cannibalism was once prevalent over
large areas of the American continent.
Such was the case. however, and. in
fact, the very word cannibal is but
another form of Gambia, or Carib the
proper name of the Carib Indians
the dreaded scourage of the Antilles
three centuries ago, among whom the
Spaniards on first landing found human
limbs hung up TO dry in the sun for
food. Many of the tribes in South
America were cannibals, and some Of
the unconquered savages in the dark
forests of the upper Amazon still feast
upon human flesh. The practice existed
also in Central America and Mexico,
as readers of Prescott are well aware,
but rather as sacrifice to the god of
war than from any depraved taste for
such food. AS "A war ceremony il was
found also among nearly all the tribes
of the eastern United States and Can
ada.
The Miamis had a cannibal society,
whose members were under obligations
to eat any captives delivered to them
for that purpose, and the Kiowas, with
whom lived for some time, had only
few years ago secret brotherhood
each member of which was pledged to
eat the heart of the first enemy killed
by him in battle The old war chief in
whose family stayed was one of this
society
All the tribes of the Texas coast and
back country were reputed cannibals,
and with good reason. One of these was
the Attakapa, from whom the Louis
lana parish gets its name, which signi-
hes ''man-eaters." Another was the
karankawa tribe, on Matagorda bay,
with whom French captives from La
Sales expedition witnessed many a
barbarous feast In 1850 the priests OF
the old San Antonio mission drew up
catechism for the use of their Indian
converts and among the questions 10
he asked in confession the first one
was. Have you eaten human fesh?"
But the worst cannbals of all were
the Tonkawas, who lived about San
Antonio, Just back from the coast. TO
all the other tribes, even to the present
day. they are known simply as "the
man-eaters." They were strong. athle-
tic men, brave fighters, good hunters
ana inYeterate rovers. Unlike other
tribes In that region, they planted
nothing, having a tradition that their
first ancestor was a wolf. and that
they must always be like him, shifting
about from place to place and getting
their living by hunting. They had a
pantomime dance in which the per-
formers. disguised as wolves, scratched
a man out from the ground, where he
had previously been concealed in the
earth. gave him a bow and arrows and
then rec-ted to him the tradition, end
ing with an injunction to be a wolf AL
ways. Other Indians would make no
terms with them. and the Tonkawas
were an outlawed tribe among all their
red brethren. with every mans hand
against them. They retaliated by act
ing as scouts and guides to the whites
in their expeditions against the hostile
tribes.
When the Texan missions were es-
tabllshed. in the early part of the eIgh-
teenth century. and the good Francis
cans began the heavy task Of trans
forming wandering savages into indus
trious Christian subjects of the king.
we find some bands of Tonkawas
among the score Of tribes gathered in
TO san Antonio, San Jose and the old
historic Alamo. II is probable that only
a Few were thus brought under re-
straint. for the love OF the old free life
was strong in their hearts. and long
before the missions were abolished IN
1872 we find the Tonkawas again row
Ing over half Of Texas.