The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1906-03-30
WARD OFF TROUBLE.
The Huge Living Reptiles Are Kept Shut
Up In acave IN the Mountains
and Ped on Human SaciH.
claI Flesh by the Fa.
natiCs.


SHOWS tha6 human saorifice Is still be.
ing practisfd among other barbaric
religious rites by our American In
dams A considerable amount OF
testimony was produced as to th,
practices ofSwitchcraft and the COM
non habitcf the Indians Of murder.
ing men and women who are suspect
sd Of being 1evll spirits" la fact.
joe Luis, chlef medicine man of the
Papago trif of Arizona frankly &C.
knowlee ege6Tthat he is the slayer O.,
J0sefa Anton, q woman, whom the
Papagos Of native village nsa,
Covered Wells In the Guns:ght county
accused of5beiDg an evil spirit who
bewitchad Them and was r,sponsjb.,
for their misfortunes. During the
Summer q jg;eat many cattle belong
Ing to the fEdians sickened and died
and stafvSGon stared them in tn,
face. LataR some of the leaders O,
ihe tribe s1ccum bed to a. mysterious
disease, and the savages, who still
bolieve In Withcraft, held Josefa A4
ton, a woman OF the village. respon
sible for The conditions. Luis. the
medicine rakn, believed it his duty to-
rid the village Ct the witch, 80 he lur-
"a her outStnto the desert and mur.
dered her.
But thefllost shocking testimony,
says the oaire9pondent of the Ne
York American was given by a Catnc-
Tic missionary who was admitted to
some or Gh&sacred rites Of the IndiaDs
OF the pnbalo'of z a, the most isoat-
ed OF the sayages in Nea Nike
Here tue PRIEST was led to q cave in
3he mountatns, the mouth OF whicr
10 ehcloseq With o stone wall f3fteer
fee6 THICK In this wall there is
1Uia Gig hY9f ten incl!es In diameter,
aud In tFsgoave lives huge sacred
snake ieh at times emerges
oiifss,.yC.s s5n3lS.sS ha$ Indiawa keep
a watcs &She cave and regard the
appearan. 4 of the serpent as a man
date upon them to produce human
sacrifice f4r the creature.
Usually, the witness said, the sacri
dce was voluntary, some Indian moth.
or being ready, under the spur of re
iigious enthusiasm. to Cffsr her in
fant. II, however, tie exhortatiops
IF tho frenzied medicine man failed to
hnd willing response, then counci!
OF the old men Of the tribe was held
and a baby was picked out by vote.
In either case, wiling or unwilling,
che mother was led forward to tho
entrance of the cave and kept there
anti the snake appeared. AS the
huge serpent wriggled forth through
the hole the mott or crept rward
and delivered over her child.
Alter this d dance was begun by
the chief medicine man, which was
Joined In by the others Of thu tribe,
and the ceremonial kept up until sun
rise.
1t is known that very similar sys-
tenn Of sacrifice of babies and adults
vas prac.ised until recently by the
Glorieta Indians, who lived in the
Pecos Valley, Of New Mexico. Thirty
miles north Of the village OF Glorieta,
In the mountains, is caYe similarly
sealed up except for a hole Ter. 9
enough to admit large snake. Tnis
Is well known TO all residents OF that
section. Several years ago when the
Glorieta Indians were snake worship
pers, huge sacred serpent made his
abode In the cave.
A human sacrifice was made at reg
ular periods to this snake, the ccre.
mony connected herewith being one
CT the most sacred tenets OF the In
dian religion. Sometimes the sacrl-
lice was Voluntary on the part Of tbe
Victim, and sometime was placed on
the altar by his comrades. Finally
the tribe dwindled down to one mar
and one woman. When the time OF
sacriiice again came around, the wo
man was seized with terror, as q wo-
man was alway considered preferable
as an cfforlng to appsase the great
spirit through the medium OF this
snake. Unknown to the man, she
fed before the fatal hour arrived
Left alone to face the gruesome or.
deal, the man was also seized with
fear and fled the country. O5her Iu
dians Of other tribes know OF the
cave, and cannot be induced to 20
near It.
The grand jury was impressed with
the need OF o thorough Investigation
OF the Becret practic IS Of the Indians,
and o resolution was adopted calling
upon the United States authorities to
sift tho matter to the bottom and
take means o stop forever the prac.
tice Of human sacrifice. In view Of
the great difficulty q white man has
In penetrating the sec cts Of tho In
dians, it Is not surprising that the
Government oflclals are Ignorant of
these c:uel Ceremonials. In fact,
many villages OF Indians In remote
mountain districts are hardly known
20 even bile wandering mining pros
poets, and are never visited by agents
OF the Department. OF the Interior.
1t must be RENE mbered, too, that
Nav McxIcO 10 a bto tarritoru uiti,