The Washington times., 1921-02-13

her dead from the stroke of dagger and
her heart and lungs torn from her bosom"
They escaped, but subsequently some
prisoners were made. In few days they
were at liberty. Yet II is related that tho
lungs and heart had been cooked and eaten
in one of the country houses at Bizoton."
Much more evidence Of religious canni-
balism here at the very door Of the United
States might be cited It is, perhaps. the
greatest and most distressing factor in the
problem of the future Of the Black Re-
public
Snake worship is one OF the oldest forms
of religion. Though after the temptation
Of Eve the serpent was condemned to
crawl, it reappeared as a symbol Of power
in later Jewish history. During the wan
behring's of the children OF Israel through
the wilderness the Lord sent fiery serpents
to afflict rebellious people already suffer
ing from famine and drought. When. at
the intercession of Moses, they were for
given, the great leader was commanded to
fashion a serpent of brass and place It on
a pole, land it came to pass that II a SER
pent had bitten any man, when he beheld
the serpent of brass he lived"
The serpent was among the gods of the
Land Of Egypt, whence Moses led his peo-
pie. and they found it among the gods Of
the land they were to subdue. Cadmus,
the Phoenician who invented letters, be-
came a serpent. Lovers of Wagner will
not fail to recall that Alberich transformed
himself into "wurm" to guard the stolen
Rheingold.
But the trail Of the serpent may also be
traced through the legends of Greece, or,
for that matter, through those of the earlier
American peoples. The Apaches profess
to be descended from a snake and venerate
it accordingly, and the most extraordinary
prehistoric earthwork on the continent tes-
tiies to the power Of the serpent on the
imagination of primitive man. The tribes
of central Australia the most primitive
people In contact with modern civilization,
have in mythical serpent Of gigantic size
and magical attributes their nearest ap-
proach to a deity.
The African has been content with his
nature gods, though in contact with those
OF Greece and Rome, and II Is only within
recent years that he has been greatly in
fiuenced by either Islam or the Cross. II
the beauty, the graceful sinuosity. the
mystery OF the serpent have appealed to
the primitive folk of all the world how
much more powerful must be the effect on
the people Of Africa, where II attains a
size, a formidable character else where un-
known save in the valley of the Amazonf
Serpent worship as practised In Dahomey
half a century ago is a matter of record.
Natives OF Whydah held an annual process
sion in honor Of the serpent until 1888.
when the ceremony was suppressed by
European influence. People were forbid
den to look out from the houses while the
procession was passing under penalty OF
death, and II was said that some Europeans
who proved too curious regarding the rites
performed we're poisoned.
According to the Dahomey cult the SER
pent conferred vision on the first human
pair. who came into the world blind. The
natives venerated the serpent as the God
of Wisdom and the God OF Earthly Bliss,
who rn,ed the productiveness OF plants and
animals as we'll as Of mankind. They called
the serpent master father, mother, bene-
factor" and offered both men and women
as sacrifices.
Young girls were set apart rs the wives
and priestesses OF the great python, and
both priests and priestesses officiated In
his honor.