Show THE TWO EXTREMES IT is strange that in this age of advanced civilization on many portions of the globe phases of barbarism as revolting as any that ever existed still flourish startling information has come from the west coast of africa regarding some horrible work recently perpetrated by the natives A few months ago the old king hinphy of died As is the cu stoma number of english traders went up from new to pay their respects to the new monarch the visitors were horrified on their arrival to find that the tee cruel ana sanguinary religious ceremonies of the natives were still in full blast and had been iu in progress for two months already forty human beings had been sacrificed to propitiate the theau ju ju deities the old king was still lying in his grave which was wide and deep nine women had bad been thrown in with him their wrists and ankles had been broken to prevent them climbing out besides this preventive measure men armed with clubs were stationed around the excavation to beat back any who might crawl over the edge net notwithstanding withstanding their maimed condition these poor creatures were left without food or water suffering inexpressible agony until relieved by death they lingered as a rule in this situation from four to five days but this was not all in other parts of the town other human sacrifices were taking place suspended from various trees were the bodies of several men they too were undergoing agonizing deaths holes having in most cases been bored through their teet feet just by the ankles through these holes ropes were drawn and the men tied io a high tree head downward and left to die the traders were also unwilling witnesses of another frightful sacrificial rifi cial execution noticing a number of natives standing in a group they went vent to the spot to eee am what was going on to their horror the white men saw a native tied by the feet and neck the rope attached to the neck was thrown over the limb of a tree in one direction while that fastened to the feet was tied to a tree in the opposite direction the ropes were then drawn tightly and when the body was nearly torn asunder a native with a hatchet struck at the neck severing the head from the body the head was then thrown into the grave where the king was lying and the body was eaten by the cannibal natives the visitors were powerless to stop these barbarous and fiendish practices as the natives would doubtless have taken their lives had they attempted to interfere they could only return to new and awalt the termination of the ceremonies before their depatt departure depasture ure they learned that during the ten months following seven men would be sacrificed monthly while this age presents the brightest conditions of human civilization ohve is no lack of variety in the picture as a s a whole because it also includes some of the lowest and blackest phases phase that ever existed among mortals the present and growing policy of the leading nations toward territorial aggrandizement will doubtless gradually dissipate the more revolting practices which obtain among the uncivilized peoples of the earth it seems providentially that this genius is lead ing them to push their way into the dark continent I 1 |