The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1906-08-18
CANNIBAL FEAST.
Cast Away in South Pacific, Miss
TuthiIl, Saw Eleven Sailors Killed
and Eaten.

Chicago.-Miss Beulah Logan Tuthill
thirty years of age, a Methodist missio-
nary, whose ancestors were missionaries
before her, told the big Methodist camp
meeting on the Desplaines river how
she saw eleven persons killed and de-
voured by cannibals. She was taken to
the Caroline Islands when she was six
years of age and began her missionary
work when she was seventeen. In 1900
her parents left the Can olines and went
to Sidney, Australia. She remained on
the islands for several months, and then
she took passage on the steamer AraguI
for Sidney. A terrific storm drove the
vessel near the island Of New Ireland,
200 miles northeast of Australia, and
Miss Tuthill was swept overheard. She
was an expert swimmer and was picked
up by some Christian Malays. They
were subsequently wrecked On sand
bar, on which a schooner was going to
pieces. This bar was two miles off the
Cannibal islands.
GAS 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 horde of savages coming
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 rush. The
sailors made no resistance. They had
concealed themselves in the hope of es-
Gaping, but one by one, eleven men in
all, they were found, dragged out and
killed with 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 circle on
the ground, while the savages brought
brushwood and great logs for the fires.
Then strange thing came. They
seemed actually to make sort of reli-
gious ceremony out of this horrible af-
fair. They beat their tom toms and
pulled their hair and uttered their weird
cultural cries.
"The rest is too horrible-how they
cooked their human food; how they
danced about their victims; how at last
they tore the smoking human flesh to
pieces with their nails and teeth in a
mad orgy. The chief ate first, and then
allowed his followers tt. partake.
"At last, when it seemed to me that
surely could stand it no longer, the
savages formed in line and started to
march away. The tide had flowed in
and we were free. The frightened sail
ors who had rescued me made haste to
pull away.
"But now we were seen. The say
ages broke their line and rushed to the
beach. A score or more of them ent cred
canoe and pursued us. We had lead
of several hundred fathoms, but the
canoe, driven by a score of savage arms,
fairly leaped through the water.
"This island is a German possession,
though inhabited chiefly by cannlbaJs.
Three miles away, across the bay, there
was German station, and for this we
headed. They gained on US more and
more. We could hear their savage
cries, but, thank God, there was Ger
man gunboat in sight. They saw our
predicament.
Balancing toward the warship, I saw
a little puff of smoke curl out from its
bow, and four inch she'll came rico
chetting across the water toward the
cannibal canoe. 1t missed. Then an
other, and this time it hit squarely and
exploded and dealt death and destruc-
ton. I could see the survivors Jumping
into the water, swimming for the shore.
"The Germans welcomed US, and |
could not thank them sufficiently.
N-z--I~m%-