The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1903-09-04

Then we learned to our pain and sur
prise that we were not exactly honored
guests, for we were bound and treated
in just the same way as the prisoners.
''As ! lay there bound and helpless
before that mob Of bowling, excited
savages began to think uneasily Of
the cannibal habits Of many Of the
south sea islanders. My suspicious,
moreover, were excited by the appear
ance of many large boiling pots with
apparently no meat to put In them.
There were no animals on the island.
Late in the afternoon we were
thrown into pit which had been re-
Gently dug. 1t was about FIVE feet deep
and was surrounded with wooden pal
ings on which rested roof of plaintain
leaves to protect us from the sun.
"For four days we remained in the
pit. We were literally fed by woman
we thought was white and who was
captured many years before. 1t was
not possible to exchange single word.
The only means of ca. &.IHnicatiOn was
by signs, and there WAS little of this.
''The white woman referred to APP
peared before us at regular intervals.
Her kindness and gentleness I shall
never forget. She had very light skin.
almost white, and ut the time thought
she must be an American or European
woman who had been captured by the
savages years ago and brought up by
them. 1t may be- however, that she be-
longed to one Of the other Pacific races,
some Of which are very light. At any
rate she spoke no English.
'"The day after we We're put in the pit
the savnges bored holes through our
noses so that they could lead us about
with ropes like pigs. The holes were
made with rough knives made of iron
wood, and the operation was very pain
full aei a
with abundance of fattening food
and water we could not help getting fat
in spite of our sutferings and fears.
Every night the banquet was resumed
The warriors doubtless were all drunk,
but the women were busting about at
tending to their wants. Nightly there
came to our noses the odor of burning
flesh. They We're cooking the native
captives.
''On. the fifth day the cannibais
turned their attention to the white
men. On that afternoon Captain Bar,
ker was roasted alive and eaten before
the eyes Of his shipmates. All five Of
us were taken from the pit us usual
but only four were tied to the palm
trees. Within forty yards OF; us were
two big fires with forked sticks thrust
into the ground and either side sup
porting horizontal cross sticks. On one
Of these cross sticks the bodies OF Eve
of the native captives were roasting.
Captain Barker was suspended by a
long stick thrust under the thongs that
bound his feet and his live body was
hung, face downward over the other
fre, where it cooked and roasted and
burned before the very eyes OF his
companions. .
ut was afterward taken down and
eaten by a group that was evidently
composed Of chiefs and their favorite
wives. The body was cut up with the
ironwood knives. The bodies. Of the
war captives were eaten by the rest Of
the tribe.
During all this dreadful scene my
companions and myself were unwilling
witnesses. 1t seemed to last for hours.
We We're all anxious to be dead and
have 1t over with.
"But the devils had enough to. eat
without tackling us that day. When
the orgy was over we were all, taken
back to the pit FL
Shortly before dawn we were aroused,
by the palings, or stakes, that sur
rounded our pit being removed. Then
we thought that at least one Of us was;
to be sacrificed. Instead Of this the wo-
man who had brought us our food four
times a day dropped down into the pit
and proceeded to cut the bonds from
+ z, . f...s s,EsI