THE FEASTS OF THE CANXIBALS. 445 



diment, comjiosed of red or Chili peppers and a few 

 grains of coarse salt, ground up between two flat 

 stones. Formerly it appears to liave been the cus- 

 tom 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 suspension 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 hroiled^ but mostly raw. 



It is probably on account of the difficulty of 

 penetrating their inland and elevated country, and 

 from the natural ferocity of these people, that the 

 Mohammedan priests of the neighboring country of 

 Menangkabau have failed to induce the Battas to 

 adopt their religion. The first white men who went 

 up far into the interior appear to have been Mr. 

 Ward and Mr. Burton, two English missionaries, 

 about the year 1820. 



They started from this place, and reached the 

 Silindong valley. Their object was to reach Lake 

 To})a, but they were only obliged to return on ac- 

 count of their becoming seriously ill. The kindly 

 manner in which they were treated is very different 

 from the reception all other white men have re- 

 ceived at the hands of these cannibals. 



It appears that the next white men who went up 

 into the interior of this country were two American 

 missionaries, Henry L}Taan and Samuel Munson, 

 graduates of Amherst College, and natives of Massa- 

 cliusetts. In 1835 they sailed from Batavia to P* 



