The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-03-21

from behind, is all. Sometimes a
launching of a war canoe, and one
of the men who help launch it
may be the victim.
The islanders OF Santa Anna
abstain from eating human flesh
but make handsome living by
.purveying 1t to their neighbors
on adjacent islands. Sometimes
there is even CLEAN of tender
feeling when the man selected as
victim has lived 50 long among
them as to become almost one of
themselves.
with some cannibals the eating
of human flesh is part of their
religion; it must be practlced.
with others 1t means simply the
addition of an extra dainty to an
otherwise monotonous daily bill of
fare.
Weird and wild are the rites in
those far away spots where can
nibalism is a religion. Strange
music on queer Instruments, Groom
ing songs. unearthly yells and
cries are part of the ceremonies.
Men are eaten to music.
The great chiefs decorate their
tambu houses with the skulls and
thigh bones of their victims. The
Rev. MIR. Mclaughlin IS remains so
embellished the present chiefs
house until the gunboat recovered
them.
The wives of the Solomon Is
landers are their slaves. to coddle
or kill as they please. Should a
wife displease her lord she is
promptly killed, and her husband
and his remaining wives partake
OF the dainty. The Solomon Island
ers refuse to eat human flesh that
is boiled their practice Is to cut
Il into strips, hang it for day
or so on a tree to ripen and then
roast II over a hot fire. The skulls
and larger bones are preserved
the bones for spears and arrows
the skulls for decorative purposes.
A 'bea" is religious cere-
mony which closes with the eat
ing of a human body, The death
of an important parsonage is the
excuse. The tribcsmcn from adiac-
ent villages gather their leading
warriors taunting each other to
madness. Someone throws spear
at length; every man darts into
the bush and fights. Soon there
is human body ready the first
to fall Payment is made to
those who bring it In by collec-
tions at the "bea" each chief try
ing to pay the most. After the
gathering is over the body is cut
up and divided. Then comes the
teast-to music.
But these foasts arc taken amcng
tile natives rs everyday affairs; it
Is when they can get white man
or woman that it is red letter
day for them. The flesh of white
men, any solomon Islander will
80 '''' - i"i ihplt utlltdIe eat
ing than the flesh of sayagos.
Annals OF the last three CEN
turies are filled with instances of
cannibalism; this article deals
only with this twentieth centurys'
cannibalism.
1T was ushered in by perhaps
the worst instance in years. The
British schooner Nukumana left
New South Wales for a trading
expedition and cruised about tho
Admiralty Islands. There were
eighteen souls aboard when a
swarm of natives stole out in the
night, captured the crew, murder
ed fifteen of them and ate every
one Only three boys escaped to tell
the tae of the wild carnival ashore
that might with so much human
flesh ready TO be eaten.
Torture is not customary in the
South Sea lsands. as it is in
Central Africa, There the cannibals
break the victim IS legs and arms
and immerse him in water up to
the chin for three days They say
this makes the flesh more tender.
In 1901 a party OF English mis-
sionarles sought to make foot