The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1916-09-22

liam Curtis Farabee, who has
just got home after three years
spent In exploring remote regions of
the Amazon. Among the tribes he Wis
tied We're two, the Mundurucus and
the J%iveros, who still keep up the prac-
tice. One of the trophies he brought
back for the University of P%ennsylva-
MIA was a collection Of four belts made
Of human teeth, the most priced accou-
terments that any Mundurucu could
possess.
AS to the ethics of head hunting, DR..
Farabee say no self respecting Mum
durucu or Jivero would go forth with
bow and arrow and stone Ratchet after
the head Of a national enemy because
of the pangs Of hunger or the desires
of trade expansion. Head hunters are
not cannibals nor are they ambitious
for ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. On the contrary,
they regard themselves as lovers Of
peace. But from time immemorial
feuds have existed among them, and
the only worthy method Of treating
their traditional enemies is to seek and
obtain their heads.
When a head is brought in by an in
trepid warrior the village prepares to
celebrate the exploit by assembling
around a fire over which Il potion rival
Ing that of h witches Of "Macbeth'
is concocted. If it is a Mundurucu vii
lage the head of the enemy. after hav-
ing been boiled to the required tender
ness. is smoked for its preservation and
the teeth are extracted. \ three days
dance is held in honor of the victory.
The Jiveros. however. vary the proc
ess by removing the bones from the
head of the enemy and shrinking it to
the proportions OF a big mans fist.
This is also preserved. an object lesson
perhaps for the rising generation.
The belts testifying to the existence
Of head hunting are but a small part
of the collection brought back after
what scientists regard as the most
hazardous trip ever made into b
forest OF the Amazon. Excavations Of
prehistoric pottery and burial vases.
some of them more than three feet
tall; records of the music of Indians
never before visited by white men,
chronological work among more than
thirty tribes heretofore known by
name only are all included in DR.. Fara-
bees achievement.
Most Of the explorers of the Amazon
valley have confined their attention to
the river bank. To 90 100 yards from
the margin of the stream even today
Is In places to be swallowed up in the
wilderness. DR.. Furabee went far into
the interior.
Long, lean and gaunt, with the
clear eye Of the man who has spent
years in the open, and a leathery skin
yellowed by tropical suns without and
burning feyers within, the hero of the
expedition was scarcely recognizable
to his friends upon his return. Three
years spent with head hunters, with
mt anacundas, With deadly in
sects and in a country that is crowded
with rank vegetation and yet yields
very little that is edible. could scarcely
help but leave their mark. Even the
taking of ones daily bath III the
streams Of the Amazon valley is a haz-
ardous adventure, since they abound
in the perainha or biting fish, so vivid
~ described by Colonel Roosevelt.
DR.. Farabee arrived at Para in June,
1913. After a few preliminary eXpedi-
tons up the main stream, lie met on
the edge Of British Guiana two white
men-the only two in that section Of
the country-H. =. G. Melville, magis-
trate and protector of the Indians for
the whole of southern Guiana. and
John Ogilvie, a Scotchman in the en-
ploy of the British government. 1t
was in Mr.. Melville's house at Dadan-
ava that they made preparations for
the most adventurous of all the ex-
petitions. the Journey into the unex-