Year: 1875




feet high and thick in proportion, resting
upon its base, and denuded of its leaves,
you will have a good idea of the trunk of
the tree, which, however, was not the
color of an anana, but was a dark, dingy
brown, and apparently as hard as iron.
From the apex of this ftlsticated cone
Cat least two feet in diameter) eight huge
leaves sheer to the ground like doors swing
ing back on their hinges. These leaves,
which are joined at the top of the trees at
regular intervals, were about eleven or
twelve feet long, and shaped very much like
the leaves of an American agava or cen
tury plant. They are two feet through in
their thickest part and three feet wide, taper
ing to sharp point that looked very much
like 4 cows S horn, very convex on the outer
(but now under) surface and on the under
(now upper surfaces lightly concave. This
concave surface was thickly set with strong
thorny hooks like those upon the head of a
teazle. These leaves, hanging thus limp
and lifeless, dead green in color, had in ap-
pearance the massive strength of oak fiber


The apex of the cone was a round concave
figure like a smaller plate set within large
one. This was not flower but a recen-
tacle, and there exuded into it a clear
treacly liquid honey, sweet, and possessed
of violent Intoxicating and soporific proper
ties. From underneath the rim ESQ to
speak, of the undermost plate, series OF
long, hairy green tendrils stretched out in
every direction toward the horizon. These
VIZ oi,.bt
from four inches to half an inch in diane
ter, yet they stretched out stiffiy as iron
rods. Above these (from between the up
per and under cup) six white almost trans
parent palpi rearing themselves toward the
sky, twirling and twisting with a marvel
Gus incessant motion, yet constantly reach
ing upward. Thin as reeds and frail as
quills, apparently, were yet five or six feet
tall, and were so constantly and vigorously
in motion, with such a subtle, sinuous, 81
lent throbbing against the air, with their
suggestions of serpents fayed, yet dancing
on their tails My observation on the oc-
casion were suddenly Interrupted by the ma
tives who had been shricking around the
tree with their shrill voices, and chanting
what Hendrick told me were propitiatory
hymns to the great tree devil. With still
wilder shricks and chants they now sur
rounded one of the women, and urged her
with the points of their javilins, until slow
ly, and with despairing face, she climbed
up the stalk of the tree, and stood on the
summit of the cone, the palpi twirling all
around her. "Tisk Tisk p Drink
drink y cried the men. STOPPING she drank
of the viscid fluid in the cup, rising instant
ly again, with wild frenzy in her face and
convulsive cords in her limbs. But she
did not jump down as she seemed to intend
to do. Oh, no The atrocious cannibal
tree, that had been so inert and dead, came
to sudden savage life. The slender, deli
cate palpi, with the fury of starved SER
pents, and quivered moment over her
head, then as if instinct with demoniac in
telligence, fastened upon her in sudden coils
round and round her neck and arms, and
while her awful screams and yet more awful
laughter rose wildly to be instantly strang-
led down again into gurgling moan, the
tendrils one after another, like great green
serpents, with brutal energy and Internal
rapidity rose, protracted themselves and
wrapped her about in fold after fold, even
tightening with cruel swiftness and savage
tenacity of anacondas fastened upon their
prey. 1t was the barbarity of the LAGOON
without its beauty-this strange, horrible
murder. And now the great leaves rose
slowly and stifiy, like the arms Of u der
rick, erected themselves in the air, APP
preached one another, and closed about the
dead and hampercd victim with the silent
force of hydraulic press and the ruthless
purpose of thumb screw \ moment
more, and while | could see the basis OF
these great levers pressing more tightly to-
ward each other from their interstices, there
trickled down the stalk of the tree great
streams of the viscid honey like fluid, ming
led horribly with the blood and oozing Wis
eera of the victim. At sight of this tho
savage hordes around me, yelling maldy
bounded forward, crowded to the tree
clasped it, and, with cups, leaves, hands
and tongues, each one obtained enough o
the liquid to send him mad and frantic
Dir. Jay IN the Souh australian Register