CANNIBALS. 



Cannibals, sometimes remote from'the period of his capture ; and, 

 v ' in the mean time, he was copiously fed, and allowed 

 sufficient exercise. As his fate approached, his face 

 and body were painted with mystic lineaments, which 

 were also impressed on the club that was to give the 

 fatal blow. He was confined the night previous to 

 execution in a hut specially built for the purpose, 

 which, after his removal, early next morning, was 

 thrown down. But these preparations, and others 

 which followed, were insufficient to inspire him with 

 the fear of death : he .continued to congratulate him- 

 self on the mischiefs which he had already been ena- 

 bled to inflict on his enemies, boasted of the prowess 

 of his nation, and foretold the vengeance that they 

 would take for his death. He beheld, without emo- 

 tion, the fire, and the surrounding hordes invited to par- 

 take of the bloody repast, and stood undaunted to re- 

 ceive the blow which was to terminate his existence. 



In the feast which followed, we find a lively pic- 

 ture of the descriptions contained in Homer ; and if 

 that poet had lived subsequent to the days of Hero- 

 dotus, we could, under some modifications, have tra- 

 ced them to the historical truths which he records. 

 The poetical fictions which are employed to embellish 

 the adventures of Ulysses are also founded on the ge- 

 neral belief of the times. The body of the victim be- 

 ing carefully washed and skinned, was cut into quar- 

 ters, and the flesh was immediately devoured, roasted or 

 half boiled, amidst savage rejoicings. Here, the wo- 

 men acted as conspicuous a part as the men ; they 

 were employed in the mystic ceremonies, and they 

 witnessed the execution, and participated in the ban- 

 quet with equal indifference. When it was their mis- 

 fortune to suffer, they shewed the same fortitude that 

 was exhibited by warriors. John Lery relates an in- 

 stance that came under his own notice, of advi- 

 sing a woman, who was about to be massacred, to 

 pray to heaven ; she replied that it was unnecessary, 

 and that she laboured under no apprehension of 

 death. 



The same custom has been practised down to the 

 present day, though it is now greatly declining. Fa- 

 ther Hennepin, and M. Laborde, observe, that the 

 Caraibs were cannibals when visited by them in the 

 latter part of the seventeenth century ; and that they 

 frequently carried the hand and foot of a slaughter- 

 ed enemy along with them. M. de Belleisle, a French 

 officer, was taken prisoner, in I7l9>by the Atakapas, 

 a tribe near the Gulf of Mexico, who fed on human 

 flesh. As he displayed the utmost repugnance to 

 this practice, they deceived him into a participation 

 t>f their repast, which was common at that time, 

 but which is now altogether eradicated from among 

 their descendants. That the South Sea islanders 

 were cannibals during the voyages of discovery from 

 this country, is attested by Captain Cook; and there 

 is some reason to believe that the body of that cele- 

 brated navigator was devoured at Owhyhee. Such 

 was unquestionably the fate of one of his cotempo- 

 raries, M. Marion de Fresne, who had been sent out 

 from France with a native of Otaheite, brought over 

 by M. Bougainville. Having reached the bay of 

 islands in New Zealand, he entered into an amicable 

 correspondence with the natives and their chiefs. Mu- 

 tual civilities were unremittingly interchanged during 



the 33 days that he lay at anchor on the coast ; the na- Cannibal*, 

 tives slept on board of his vessel; andthe seamen, after 

 wandering about on shore in safety, or penetrating the 

 interior, were regularly conducted to the beach by 

 the islanders. At length, M. de Fresne, accompa- 

 nied by 17 people, embarked in his long boat, and 

 was received on shore with the accustomed demon- 

 strations of friendship. But while resting in perfect 

 security, and when all his party, unsuspicious of 

 treachery, had separated, they were suddenly attack- 

 ed by the natives, and the whole, except a single sea- 

 man, were inhumanly massacred. The unhappy victims 

 were immediately ripped up, cut into quarters, and 

 distributed among the ferocious assailants, in sight of 

 their comrades, who lay concealed among some brush- 

 wood during the tragical scene. The French were not 

 slow in avenging the death of the sufferers : they land- 

 ed in force, and proceeded to the principal village, from 

 which the inhabitants fled on their approach ; but 

 there they obtained too conclusive evidence of what 

 had passed. In the hut of the chief was found a 

 human skull, of which some remaining flesh still bore 

 the marks of the teeth of the cannibals ; part of a 

 human thigh was also seen on a wooden spit, about 

 three-fourths of which had been devoured ; and hu- 

 man entrails, which are said to be considered a deli- 

 cacy., appeared ready cooked. The village of these 

 barbarians was then reduced to ashes, and their ca- 

 noes also burnt. 



It was known, indeed, before this period, that 

 the New Zealanders were cannibals. They had ac- 

 knowledged to Captain Cook that they devoured 

 their enemies, but considerable incredulity respecting 

 it prevailed. They had also admitted to Mr Savage, 

 who visited them in 1805, that in times of scarcity 

 they had been obliged to eat human flesh ; yet their 

 manners were more favourably viewed than they merit- 

 ed, as has been recently exemplified by another catas- 

 trophe like the preceding. A British ship repaired to 

 New Zealand in 1809, for the purpose of purchasing 

 timber, and an amicable correspondence, as before, was 

 entered into with a chief. He was received on board 

 with great respect ; and, on one occasion, the cap- 

 tain, accompanied by part of the ship's company, 

 attended him on shore. The chief soon returned, and 

 when those who were necessarily occupied in the vessel 

 least suspected treachery, he gave a sudden yell, 

 upon which his companions immediately began to 

 massacre the unfortunate crew. Ten or twelve who 

 had precipitately ascended the rigging on the first 

 appearance of danger, were deluded by promises of 

 safety to come down ; yet, on reaching the deck, 

 they also were cruelly butchered. The captain and 

 his companions had been previously dispatched by 

 the natives on shore ; and, of the whole, no more 

 were preserved, than a woman, two girls, and a boy, 

 who some time afterwards were rescued. Thirty or 

 forty men thus fell a sacrifice to the savages, and 

 their bodies were devoured. These, among other 

 instances, forcibly prove that savages can never be 

 trusted ; that they are all cruel and ferocious ; and 

 that they only wait for the moment when their superi- 

 ority may prevail over the unsuspecting victims. 



The natives of New Caledonia have been repre- 

 sented by some voyagers, considering them in thei* 



