The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1902-1910, 1910-01-01

6: !; :: ! !: :: !: !. !. !:
kT~6lVV1R II 1DekOTdDlt logic Oi
n lkESSgH facts forced conviction
lp4S4S33 on him when he came
i95IEkA Il in contact with the
n {s3IlllHHi&A n Manyemn. Both Mr.
SlE|ItHH|W Herbert Ward. the au'
q llllheHB,M II thor of noto on The
ef3'11-lA-l---1D Ori-iu and Distribu
lion of Cannibalism," and Mr.. S. L.
Hinde. author of The Fall of the
Congo Arabs" allude to it.
In noting tho various theories we
must remember that. with few eXcep-
tionS. the lower animals will not dc
your their own kind. Dog will not eat
dog" is AN old saying, but We know
Ing a sleigh the rest OF the pack Will
stop to eat him. and that certain
snakes will devour each other.
Fierce hunger has driven men Of
our own race. as a last resource In the
pinch Of hunger. to satisfy their crav-
Ing In this terrible way. Sailors in q
boat or on a raft have killed their fell
lows for food, and 1t is a sailors grew
some tradition that the liver alone in
such case should be eaten, as being
the most digestible.
This theory came out with horrible
vividness in the trial OF the men of
the Mignoncttc, who were indicted
and convicted OF manslauGhter for the
Staying of a boy, who was the young
est In the boat Our laws lay It down
that under no circumstances is it law
full to take fellow creatures life;
but hunger and the dread of death
will override all law and induce such
fearful tragedies.
In the practices l nm about to de-
scribe. however. hunger is not a fac
tor: superstition and depraved appe-
tite being the sole incentives. There
Is an extraordinary religious senti.
ment connected with this custom, AS
we have said. the flesh Of relatives is
never eaten, and some tribes forbid
the use OF human flesh to oil women.
That a cannibal can be kind and affec-
tionate and others have observed,
and no evil results seem TO follow
trom the habit; indeed, from sanitary
and scientific points Of view, there
seems to be no reason why the flesh
OF man, properly cooked. should not
be nutritious. The wonder comes in
when we find. as did Livingston. that
in countries rich in foods, animal and
farinaceous, the awful custom Is con-
tlnued.
HUNGER ABOVE ALL LAWS.
Food superstitions are many and
mysterious, but they will all give way
under the pressure OF hunger; thus a
good Jew will never. II he can help it.
eat the flesh of pig or blood; but II he
were so driven by force OF circum-
stances that he had nothing else to
eat, he assuredly would deyour them
sooner than starye. So, too, good
Roman Catholic eats no meat on Fri
day; but such fasting would be fool
ish and impossible If life itself were
at stake.
These and other considerations
(such, for instance as the love OF a
Red Indian for a 'rib.roast" OF dog)
indicate that the real origin OF canni.
,balism was hunger and that by a pro-
less OF heredity and warlike proclivl-
tiles It grew into a cult The people
who practice II see In 1t no wrong, so
that nothing but punishment and the
gradual progress OF civilization can be
expected TO eradicate the evil. Hap
PLY it is now slowly disappearing, and
the natives are beginning TO be
ashamed of a practice which degrades
them In the eyes OF those with whom
they desire To stnnd well.
Notwithstanding its obvious and
vital interests, writers on equatorial
Africa. who must OF necessity have on
countered races among whom this
practice was a part OF everyday life
seem. Intentionally or otherwise
either to have misled their readers oil
10 have slurred over all unpleasant
details. None seem TO have gone u
any pains in order to establish the &C
curacy OF the statements they pu
forward. or to confirm bare assertion
founded either upon bearsay or conjec
ture- On the plea OF wishing TO avolt
a distasteful subject, and quite ignor
ing its social and scientific aspect an,
value, many travellers have deliberate
ly suppressed their notes, or still
worse. have gone out Of their way Il
give false information-fearful les
the truth should offend
HISTORY OF cANNl8AlISM.
Much has. however. been said b
various writer's on what may be calle
the theoretical side Of cannibalism; b
which ] mean speculation as to 1t
origin. It's history and It's effects upo
the people who practice 1t. In a gee
graphical journal for July. 1898. W
find the following words: Gambia
ism seems to have prevailed 10 a col
siderable extent among primitive II
babitants of Europe, and stll more
America The fact that no traces OF
dating back to paleolithic times, Will
the lower animals rarely dcyour the