Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-16

Two hundred and fifty beautiful islands
comprise the notorious Ffjian archipelago
100 of which are now inhabited. The Can
nibai Islands lie halfway between America
and India To be exact, Fiji is 1900 miles
from Sydney and 1890 miles from Auck-
land.
I arrived at Levuka, the old capital, in
July. which is the coolest month OF the
year, the mean temperature being a de-
grees Fab. February is the hottest month
and shows a mean temperature of 81 de-
grees. Two natural phenomena Immediately
impressed me. First, while monster cent?
pedes, large enough to be compelled to haul
in their legs snugly to get into a coffee
cup, abound, do sand flies, mosquitoes
and scorpions without number, l was cred
itably informed there Is no malaria. Sec
ond, l was impressed with the abundance
of moisture. Suya, the modern capital, has
an annual rainfall Of ITO inches. while in
land, at the sources of the great rivers,
$50 inches is not an unusual annual down.
fall. The result Is great fertility Of soil
and prodigious productiveness.
The two principal rivers are Singatoka
and Rewa. Both drain mountainous coun-
try and produce monster deltas, vast areas
of fats. where sugar cane fiourishes. The
Rewa river must ever remain closely as
ISOLATED with any recollection of my long
visit in Fiji. On the bank Of this great
river 1 came suddenly upon two cannibal
drums, and little further along large
native-made church hove into view. Could
there be any two things more out OF har-
mony?
The cannibal drums were holowed-out
logs. which were made to be beaten to
Grown the screams of the victims and also
to aid in the ghostly dance of death. The
early history Of these islands scandalizes
human nature. As late as 1871 over 100
human beings were cooked and eaten In one
village. At this particular banquet, after
the human meat had been devoured. pigs
were consumed. but as they were under
done. dreadful attacks of dyspepsia fell
on the jewellers, carrying some to their
deaths. 1 made lengthy inquiries among the
ex-cannibal chiefs as to how the islanders
became addicted to the use and abuse of
human flesh. AS have often. since my re-
turn, been asked the question as to how
-cannibalism originated. will here tell what
the old Fijian cannibals told me.
In the old days, after q battle hut
caught fire. and as chiefs body was lying
near In danger OF being consumed, warriors
FASTENED to rescue 1t. The legs had already
been roasting. but the savages bore off
the body. One native. who had lifted the
feet. put his fingers to his lips and behold.
it was tasty and good After this discovery
the natives cooked their dead enemies.
Others related how their mothers, when
they were babies. rubbed their lips with
juicy morsels of human flesh, and some
times placed morseis In the mouths of the
infants to nourish them. under an ancient
superstition that the spirit OF the dead
would enter the living and give great PROV
ess. Still others were of the opinion that
it was done to annihilate completely the
power of the dead enemy. otherwise the
spirit might enter and make stronger the
living enemies.
Still others declared that cannibalism
originated in the fact that human flesh
tastes better than any other. I said to one
great chief: What kind Of meat do you
like the best?" His reply was simply this:
Pigs liver eats good. but mans liver eats
better" Immediately asked my In terpreter
if the chief has adjusted his appetite. The
Socinian says that human nature is very
good. The Fijian says that human flesh Is
good. for he has eaten it. In the Fijian Ian
guage there is. indeed. no word for corpse
but ''bakola," which conveys the idea of
eating the dead.
Toussenel says: Let US pity the cannibal
and not blame him too severely. We who
boast of our refined civilization. murder men
by tens of thousands from motives less ex-
cusable than hunger. The crime is not In
roasting our dead enemy. but in killing him
when he wishes to live" 1t is not unlikely
that cannibalism was caused by the scarcity
of animal food. Fowls and pigs are not
indigenous. In Fiji even now there are no
animals except such as have been imported.
An ancient legend says that when human
flesh was first eaten the natives had tasted
no meat except rats. Later the Tongans
brought swine. but that did not destroy the
horrible custom of men eating human bod
les. Finally, as the seventy ancient gods