The Columbus commercial. (Columbus, Miss.) 1893-1922, 1906-08-07
A CANNIBAL FEAST
Cast Away in South Pacific, Miss TuihiII
Saw Eleven Sailors Killed and Eaten


8 Methodist missionary, whose an
: cestors were missionaries befor
3 her, told the big Methodist caml
q meeting on the Desplaines rive
] how she saw eleven persons kill
/ ed and devoured by cannibals
} She was taken to the Caroline
islands when she was six wears
: of age and began her missionary
> work when she was seventeen,
In 1900 her parents left the Car
clines and went to Sidney, Aus
tralia. She remained on the
islands for several months, and
then she took passage on the
steamer Aragul for Sidney. A
terrific storm drove the vessel
near the island of New Ireland.
200 miles northeast of Australia,
and Miss Tuthill was swept over
| board Shs was an expert SWIM
mer and was picked up by some
Christian Malays. They were
subsequently wrecked on a sand
bar, on which a schooner was
going to pieces. This bar was
two miles off the cannibal islands.
'As the tide began. to rise to
free US the horror began,' she
said. "One of our lookouts gave
an exclamation of terror. We
looked, and there on the shore
We saw a horde of savages ccm-
ing down the beach-fully two
hundred of them-in full war
panoply, armed with shields and
spears and heavy clubs.
"They stole down upon the
schooner and then attacked it
with a rush. The sailors made no
resistance. They had concealed
themselves in the hope of escap-
ing, but one by one, eleven men
in all, they were found, dragged
out and killed with a blow on the
back of the head with war club. =
Then they dragged the bodies
ashore and prepared for the feast.
they beat on tom-toms and
strange drums.
"The victims were laid in cir ).
lie on the ground while the saw
ages brought bushwood and
great logs for the fires. Then
strange thing came. They SEEM
ID actually to make a sort of re-
lgious ceremony out of this hor-
ible affair. They beat their tom
oms and pulled their hair and
lttered their weird, cultural cries. /
"The rest is too horrible-how c
hey cooked their human food, 8
ow they danced about their vic A
ms, how at last they tore the Il
human flesh to pieces C
nth their nails and teeth in a tt
lad orgy. The chief ate &C
rst, and then allowed his follow d
RS to partake.
AT last, when it seemed to II
le that | surely could stand 1t
o longer, the savages formed i'm
ne and started to march away.
he tide had flowed in and we pr
ere free. The frightened sail
's who had rescued me made
aste to pull away.
"But now we were seen. The
wages broke their line and
lshed to the beach. A score or ot
ore of them entered a canoe H
Id pursued US. We had a lead ot
several hundred fathoms, but &C
cir canoe, driven by score of pa
wage arms, fairly leaped gf
rough the water. tr'
"Ihey gained upon US, fast, In
ster. I turned sick at heart.
hardly had strength to pray. In
"This island is German pos. WI
ssion though Inhabited chiefly Oh
; cannibals. Three miles away, it
ross the bay, there was a Ger ch
an station, and for this we &c
AIDED. They gained on US io'
,re and more. We could hear sit
eir savage cries but, thank eee
I'd, there was a German gun WI
at in sight. They saw our io
ar
CHANGING toward the warship Oh
aw little puff of smoke curl
from its bow and a four-inch ess
ell came ricochetting across Sol
} water toward the cannibal lar
noe. 1t missed. Then another, ou
d this time it hit squarely and the
nlOded and dealt daath and ia no,