The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-04-10
INTO The
UNKNOWN
How PinnOck Went
From Coast
to Niger.
FOUND NATIVES
WEARING TAILS
The Horrible Fstishism practiced
in Black Bloody
Benin.

James Pinnock. the African explorer
and trader. now staying at the Hoana
hotel. told an interesting story of Dark
est Africa to an Advertiser reporter
| yesterday:
| THE slave trade exists over the
| greatest portion of Africa much the
same today as it did any time during
the last thousand years. Benin and the
surrounding country included" said
| he.
| When the transportations of slave
| from Africa to the West Indies and
els ewhere became unlawful. trade in
the products of the country had to be
resorted to. and has developed into vast
proportions. 1 remember being the first
to ship home, from the Warri river.
palm kernels. This trade at present
amounts to thousands of tons annual
| ly.
II made what / believe was the first
voyage. undertaken by white man.
from the West Coast to the Niger river.
I was fired at from some villages where
tic was Ohiy lMiNt NhN "ANNA
OF an ordinary canal. the natives think
ing that 1 had either come to steal
their country or to carry them away
for slaves. Many of the inhabitants of
the country ran after the steamer
throwing Jumps of clay and stones.
wondered why they did this, but soon
found that they were frightened at the
trail of black smoke which the steam
s.,.I Of hat,fnd mr. ~ drive
away what they took to be an evil
spirit.
after much journeying I came to
the Niger and found water a mile
across. The country was a wonder
fully beautiful one, with lofty noun
tains here and there.
while travelling some distance in
land from the eBnin river, / came
across a race of people with long tails. |
Investigation proved the tails to be of
artificial origin. The people thought
that they suffered a wrong in not be-
ing born with what seemed to them to |
be necessary appendage. and made |
good the deficiency by affixing to the |
lower part of their backs a natural |
cows tail, as it was several from the |
animals body and dried. They said |
that if the tail was useful to cows and |
other animals from brushing flies from |
their bodies, ii was as useful to them,
and they gave me practical illustrations
in proof.
Neither in Warri nor New Benin is
there or has there been in all my ex-
perience, which extends over forty
years, any cannibalism. Neither New
nor Old eBnin, Warri, Sapeli or For
cados have ever had any English or
foreign missionaries. Scripture read
ers, or schoolmasters, white or black.
With respect to the religion of the
inhabitants of this region, rather wide
distinction must be drawn between that
of the now Infamous. horrible city of
Did or Black Benin and the Inhabitants
residing near European trading sta
ions. The former is a system OF fet-
shism, the fetish priest exercising an
almost unlimited power over bot the
King and his subjects. The rite con-
lists of the sacrifice of almost immune
able birds and animals and very many
innocent human beings of every age
md of both sexes. These sacrifices are
made for any and every reason, some
lines to commemorate the death OF a ,
ling, again as an offering to him to .
stop too much rain or to bring rain
when needed.
The king having decided to close a ]
ertain market or a road leading to it. I
he fetish priest advises the sacrifice of I
man, whose body is nearly split and !
$ stretched across the road to denote .
hat the road is closed"