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Show THE CITIZEN 10 Men, and all of them, in whatever district they are found, in spite of the mystery that surrounds them and the dread with which they are looked upon, have a criminal purpose It was known that, formerly, before the white occupation, the families of the victims used to make their own revenge; the murderers, when they were caught, were hangd or drowned and their family reduced to slavery after they had paid for the shed blood. At first the arrival of the white men brought fear with it, and the victims were buried in silence; but the people gradually grew confident when they saw that the whites had come to defend them. Such or such a one was denounced as being a Panther Man, but, up to now, the complete silence of the guilty one for one member alone of the society sacrificed himself for the others, and made up some report of the crime made it impossible to know the precise details. The denunciation of a child and the arrest of several of the members at the same time were necessary to clear up the mystery that surrounded this secret society. I wrote, when I dealt with the religious life, that the black man did not believe in natural death. If a wild beast has devoured a man of the village, it is because a michievous spirit has entered the animal and the natives try to find the one who sent the charm; hence the poison or other such ordeals used to discover the guilty. With the Panther Men the wild beast cannot be said to be indirect cause of the death, since they kill their victims themselves. All these secret societies have their fetish, the society with which we are dealing, having an earthen vessel of variable size, shaped like a pot and made by the natives; it bears the name that means Panther in the local dialect. . It contains ground leaves that cling to its bottom when they are dry, for, in that vessel, the .members of the society spill the blood and cook the flesh of their human offerings. It is out of the same vessel that the blood is taken to be drunk and the flesh to be devoured blood and flesh being essential to their rites. According to the accounts of its adherents, the power 'of this fetish is boundless; it springs from the condensation of the blood of the numerous victims, blood which has moist ened the ground leaves in the bottom of the pot. The organization of the society of Panther Men is as follows: It is composed of three groups, each of which has two fetish pots. Each pot has two sacrificers: the chief of the group and his heir apparent, who officiate each in his turn. To their care, the fetish is committed. As for the members, they have the right to drink and to eat in all indiscriminately. The society has its statutes. The number of lives offered up in sacrifices must always be the same between the two fetish pots. When that equality has been lost, a lapse of two years is allowed to recover it. When the chief of a fetish pot dies, his heir, at his accession to the office, must sacrifice a man and a woman. The man must always be slain first. To be a member of the society, the novice must offer up a victim: man, woman or child. It is worth noting that the victims must be chosen, as far as possible, among the near maternal relatives of the one offering the sacrifice; mother, sister, brother, uncle, aunt, niece or nephew. Besides such victims, hunting expeditions provide the fetish pot with victims. They are especially directed against persons who incur the hatred, the jealously, the scorn or who excite the cupidity of the members of the society. If not motive exists, they create one. For instance, a few members call on him whose death they desire and ask him to lend them a considerable sum of money. The man will ask for time, or say he does not possess the sum. They insist, repeat everywhere that he is a bad friend, that they asked him to render them a service and that he refused. The motive is at night. his knife with a bit of raffia, tm, in the pot with the stuff, cow and carries the pot into its which is nothing other than T dug in the earth about one foot and just wide enough for the pot &! puts the fetish pot at the bottom that hole, covers it with leaves places a piece of dead wood oven whole. Deambom Independent. SUCCESSFUL FISH SCREEN If there were any skeptics in large crowd that went down to Murray state fish hatchery to seet Tuckfield fish screen work, they f, entirely convinced that the acre was at least 95 per cent perfect T boys tried hard to stop the screen plug up the stream by throwing kinds of debris into the running wati but the screen did its work perfect This stream only works when deM comes down the stream , such j leaves, grass, drift wood, etc. Asti debris lodges against the screen raises up in the water, spins aroni like a wheel, releases its load u drops back into place waiting for t next batch. When there is no deln the screen is perfectly still and t water easily passes through it Wh properly installed it never wears because it only revolves a few times day, and sometimes it may not day, and in a month. It does noth up the water and it keeps the tn from going down the irrigating diti The state should lost no time placing some of these screens in portant canals. It does not cost mu to install a screen and it will a t On the appointed day, all the members of the fetish pot gather in a part of the forest previously chosen. A torch is lighted. The chief takes three broad leaves, puts white earth in one, red powder in another and black powder in the third. These ingredients are diulted with water. Then, with the help of the elders, the chief prepares those members who are to draw near the village. They strip off their clothes, and, with his forefingers, the chief covers their faces and bodies with white and red dots. Each now goes to the post appointed for him, and two or three of the most clever silently creep into the hut of their intended victim. The latter is at once gagged, seized by the thousands of trout from becoming neck, and dragged outside, where tilizer. others are waiting. They tie him and The state of Washington has sevei forhim to of the outskirts the carry such screens already working and est. There they find the rest of the'ir cording to reports all the stream vicand take the thus created. troop together they be screened in a short time. of to sacrifice. the place There Tuckfield, the inventor, is a Salt Refusal of one of the members to tim meet the chief sitting beside the man. He has been working on accept or to give up the victim chosen they by the majority of them is punished fetish pot holding a long knife. The screen for many years and has fc sere by death. Any novice who refuses to victim is placed at his feet. ly perfected a self revolving conform to the practices of the society Immediately he is laid flat on the that can be built for any stream. is likewise put to death. When the ground. The chief stands on the right We have no screens in this of him beside his head, a man near The excuse, and a good one, ha majority orders it, any of its memhim raise the right arm of the victim, ways been that no device has b bers may be put to death. is A curious particular should be menanother, on his left, places his hands satisfactory. But that excuse i over his eyes and grasps his throat, a eliminated and there is no good tioned: the members have no watchbadly nee word, no sign whatever. They say they fourth is at his feet and a fifth unties son why some of our should not canals bonds The neck. fish about his the others destroying each other The by sight. recognize screened this year. to the same fetish stand around. partners belong I mentioned that the sacrificed pot meet at the request of any of of the Brt The first them. Such a request must be sent to person usually is a relative of one of in 1557. the chief, who appoints the place and the members. In such a case, before lion by Russia, occurred Peters the date of meeting. slaying him, the chief laments his the two lions sent to St re ue death. If he is a stranger, he rejoices. by the King of England, The victim is then, killed and the enter the runway, the RuanJ, I flesh eaten. resorted to the When all is over the chief wipes urge them on. o i tail-twisti- ng American Smelting & Refining Company Purchasers of GOLD, SILVER LEAD AND COPPER ORES Consign All Shipments to American Smelting The secret deliberations always deal with the choice of a victim. He who asks for a meeting speaks first and names the person who is to be sacrificed. He gives the reasons for his choice, which are almost always accepted by the assembly; in case two parties should happen to oppose each other, the stronger one carries the day. The performance of the drama may be divided into four stages: the carrying off the victim, the sacrifice, the removing of the sacrifice, the alarm in the village. The carrying off of the victim, is as may be expected, the most delicate and the most perilous of these operations. For two or three days the members of the society make traces of wild beasts all around the village, to alay suspicion and to prevent the inhabitants from venturing out late & Refining Company Ship Lead Ores to Murray, Utah. Ship Copper and Siliceous Ores to Garfield, Utah. Send Bills of Lading Direct to Plants. Address Correspondence and Hand Samples to 700 McCormick Bldg., Salt Lake City, Utah. tail-twisti- ng BINGHAM STAGE LINES COMPANY to BM Regular Buss hours ham, every two 11 P1 from 7 a.' m. to Office: 107 E. Phone Was. SPECIAL AT ANY 2nd 1063 CABS TIME S |