BHILS, BURMESE, AND BATTAKS. 41 



light penalties, or a few years in jail, the Battaks cut up their per- 

 petrators alive, and I dare say ate them afterward ; indeed, cases 

 are on record where a Battak has been convicted of adultery, 

 and his discoverers, members of his own tribe, have cut him uj) 

 alive and then feasted upon his remains. A missionary once told 

 Prof. Bickmore that he knew of a Battak who "had been guilty 

 of stealing an article of only very little value according to their 

 ideas of wealth, yet he was seized, his arms extended at full length 

 and fastened to a bamboo, a sharpened prop placed under his chin, 

 so that he could not move his head, and in this condition he was 

 bound fast to a tree. The knife was then handed to the native 

 who had lost the article, and he was ordered to step forward and 

 cut out of the living man what piece he preferred. This he did 

 promptly ; the rajah took the second choice, and then the people 

 finished the cold-blooded butchery, and thus their victim died. 



" The parts that are esteemed the greatest delicacies are the 

 palms of the hands, and after them the eyes. As soon as a piece 

 is cut out it is dipped, still warm and steaming, in sambal, a com- 

 mon condiment, composed of red or Chili peppers and a few grains 

 of coarse salt, ground up between two flat stones. Formerly it 

 appears to have been the custom to broil the human flesh, for Mr. 

 Marsden states that in December, 1780, a native of Nias, who 

 stabbed a Batta at Batang Taroh, the river I crossed on the sus- 

 pension bridge, was seized at six one morning, and, without any 

 judicial process, was tied to a stake, cut in pieces with the utmost 

 eagerness while yet alive, and eaten upon the spot, partly broiled, 

 but mostly raw." 



Such are some of the characters and habits of the people shown 

 in Figs. 5 and 6 accompanying the present article. It will be 

 seen that the members composing the group shown in Fig. 5 are 

 but scantily clad, and they are each and all almost completely 

 devoid of any ornament. The three elder boys wear turbanlike 

 affairs upon their heads, while the old woman at the right-hand 

 end of the line in the rear row has a peculiar kind of a headdress 

 on. I have very carefully studied the faces of these individuals, 

 and I am free to confess that, judging from their features, they 

 seem to be capable of committing almost any species of barbarity. 



The two girls shown in Fig. 6 are particularly interesting, 

 especially the one sitting down, whom I understand the Battaks 

 consider to be a great beauty. The one standing up, with the big 

 earrings in her ears, has as veritable a face of a savage as I ever 

 remember having seen anywhere. As in the case with the boys 

 shown in Fig. 5, these girls likewise wear headdresses, but of 

 somewhat though not a very different style. They, too, are but 

 lightly attired, and possess the same set and wicked expression in 

 their eyes. Yet, and notwithstanding this, and taking into con- 



VOL. L. 6 



