Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-02-13

lumbia at that time were cannibals,
and that there were other cannfbals
north and south of the Tsimpseans
among whom he worked. Some Of the
tribes were more addicted to the eat
ing of human flesh than others. Canni-
balism was a part of their religion,
and was connected with the rites Of
their medicine men
Upon my asking him as to the peo
pie he had seen eaten, he first cited
the case of the woman referred to
above. He said:
II had heard of the cannibalism. and
my house and told me the Indians
were about to kill one of their women.
He warned me to keep in and said
that I would surely be killed If at
tempted to interfere. moment later
another man rushed in and said that
the woman had already been killed.
We went out to the beach where
the crowd of Indians was. They were
divided into two bands, each led by
a brave who was stark naked All
were bowling horribly. They had
killed a woman and cut her in half
and each OF the nude Indian leaders
was carrying his half of the woman
in his teeth. As we came up the bands
its leader. They were SO crowded to-
gether that I could not see. They sat
down in two great punches on the
sand. When they got up not vestige
"
became of the flesh do not know, but
I was told it was eaten. and that all
had engaged in the feast"
do you mean to say that they ate
the flesh without cooking it?"
Yes, they must have eaten it raw,
for, as I say, the woman disappeared.
They may have buried the bones in the
sand. I doubt, however, whether the
flesh agreed with them, for the officers
of the Hudson Bay Company fort
nearby told me that 1t was the custom
of the Indians after every such can
nibal feast to come into the post the
day following and buy large quantities
of epson salts"
You spoke of seeing boy killed,
Father Duncan?"
mo, I did not see him killed. The
boy died of consumption. His body was
laid out upon the beach and it was
there eaten by the people,
At another point in the conversation
I asked DR.. Duncan about some of the
attempts made to kill him. He describ
ed them most graphically. and as he
talked I could see that he was again
living over the past. He rose to his
feet and acted the story, his eyes fash
ing and his arms waving gestures. He
told me how one of the chiefs tried to
close his school, being melted, as Fa-
Their Duncan thought, by the officers
Of the Hudson Bay Company. who
wanted to get rid of him. In one such
case chief demanded that Father
Duncan close the school because his
beautiful daughter was just about to
drop down from the moon to be mar
ried. The chief said that she had gone
away and would come back in great
state. She would drop from the moon
into the sea and would rise out of the
water with bearskin over her shout
ders and thus appear to the people. At
this time there would be many cere-
monies that would prevent the school
being held.
said Father Duncan: II refused to
stop the school. The Indians threatened
to kill me. but I kept the school open.
Then they begged me to give up the
school just one week prior to the
young ladys drop from the moon. 1
told them that she might fall. but that
the school would go on. They then
wanted me to stop for a day, but 1
refused and would make no compro-
mise with their superstition. On the
day before the event was to occur two
men came to kill me. They had knives
and they were about to jump upon me
when they saw my teacher, an Indian