Evening Star Newspaper, March 9, 1895, Page 15

. Cures That “Full Feeling.’’ ‘sLoss “Biliousness.” THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 1895-TWENTY PAGES. Cures of Appetite.” Cures “Heartburn.” Cures ‘‘Indigestion.”’ Box, At All Druggists. : | Cures That “Tired Feeling.” ES mnnnnnnnnnnnonnannnncavyinannannnnnnannnnarannna | THEY ARE GHOULS Loathsome Form of Cannibalism Practiced on. Vancouver Island. PRIMITIVE SAVAGES AND THEIR HABITS Civilization Makes Slow Progress in These Tribes. DESTRE FOR WEALTH Written for The Evening Star. R. FRANZ BOAS has just brought to this city some wood- en masks, carvings \ and other things of , interest colNected “from the so-called land of Vancouver. These are the most \;= primitive savages on ~_ the northwest coast, wate and they still prac- tice cannibalism. Formerly they kept slaves, whom they would kill and eat at their ceremonials, but the whites have put a stop to that, So now they devour dead bodies instead. The latter are mummies, in fact, being inclosed in boxes after death and placed high up in the branches of tall trees. That is the method of burlal cus- tomary with the tribe. The corpses thus disposed of do not decay, but dry up. When one of them is needed for the purpose here referred to it is taken from the tree and put in a spot where the sea water will flow cover it. Thege it remains for some days, after which it is smoked, so it is sald. Dr. Boas has secured a mask of the Can- nibal Spirit, such as is worn at the ceremo- nies of the Society of Cannibals in the tribe. It looks like the head of a huge alligat cut out of wood, with a sort of wig of ce- dar bark to represent hair. A person who is to be initiated into the society spends several months in the woods, fasting, and 4s much emaciated when he reappears. After a mock chase he is captured by the cther Indians and fetched to the village. He is supposed to be quite wild, and it ts his privilege to bite a piece out of the arm or keg of anybody. A festival is held, the ostensible purpose of which is to tame him. It is a very elaborate affair, lasting six weeks, and the climax is reached when the disappears and returns with a dead novic body !n his arms. This is immediately cut ‘up and devoured by himself and hts fellow- cannibals. It is absolutely necessary ‘hat the corpse should be that of one of his own relatives. Flesh Bitten Out. Not so very many years ago this point in the performance would have been marked by the killing of a slave with a war club, the body being immediately cut up and eaten. The ceremony concludes with the washing of the new cannibal, which opera- tion requires five hours, according to the ritual. When ft Is finished he is supposed to be cured of his propensity for biting without provocation, But at any of the nu- to take a bite out of anybody else. Usually Pieces of flesh about as big as a half dol- jar are bitten out. There is also a society of female cannibals, composed of women, but they do not bite. ‘The ceremonial season among the Fort Rupert Indians occurs.in the winter. Then for a time the entire social organization of the tribe undergoes a metamorphosis. The ordinary divisions of the people by clans are ignored, and they arrange themselves according to the various societies to which they belong. There is the Ghost Society, the Bear Society, the Society of the Witch Woman, the Society of Fools and many others. These societies are religious in charggter, being associated also with the tribal myths and traditions. The ancestors of the present generation received from mythical beings certain supernatural se- crets, upon which the societies and the ceremonials are based. One of the societies is the War Society. A person undergoing initlation into it is suspended from the rafters of the ceremonial house by a rope passed through strips of the flesh of his back, which are cut for that purpose. Be- neath him stand the members of the So- clety of Fools, with sharp lances upraised. If he falls he is impaled by the lances, and etiquette demands that he shall be eaten at once by the cannibals. It is more than suspected that these Indians do now and then kill an individual and eat him secretly. An Interesting Myth. The Cannibal Spirit is called the Wisest. One. One of the most interesting of the myths relating to him seems to show that, like the modern devil, he was easily duped, for all his wisdom. Four brothers went forth on a certain occasion to hunt on a mountain. Their father warned them that they would see three houses, one with white smoke, another with black smoke and a third with red smoke. Into the first they might go, for it was the home of the mountain goat, and into the second, which was the dwelling of the black bear, they might venture likewise; but the house with the red smoke was the residence of the Cannibal Spirit, and they must avoid it. Nevertheless, they did go into the house with the red smoke, finding there a little bey with a very large head. Becoming frightened, the brothers ran away, and the boy cried out: “Father, your supper is run- ning away! The Cannibal Spirit heard and started in pursuit. Finding that they were being overtaken, the eldest of the brothers threw over his shoulder first a stone, which was transferred into a moun- tain, then a bottle of fish oil, which became a lake, and, finally, a comb, which turned into a gigantic thicket. Reaching home just in time, they constructed a pit of burning embers, into which the unsuspect- ing Spirit was induced to tumble. He was burned up, and his ashes, blown away, be- came mosquitoes. This is the reason why these insects bite human beings. There are six distinct tribes of Indians on the Island of Vancouver, no two of which speak or understand the same language. In all these savages number about 5,000. In the southern part of the island they have become civilized to some extent through contact with the whites. It will be remem- bered that at the extreme southeast corner of the island is the city of Victoria, which is the capital of British Columbia and the center of the fishing trade of all that re- gion. In the extreme north and on the West coast the natives are quite wild and wholly indisposed to adopt the customs of civilization, Missionary work among them has been a total failure. In those parts there are only a very few whites—traders, lumbermen and managers of salmon can- neries. The island is about twice as long as Long Island and is densely wooded with gigantic pines and cedars. Huge moun- tains rise to a height of 7,000 feet, crowned by glaciers. Thus it is hardly practicable to cross from the eastern to the western shore. The wildest of the native tribes is that of the Fort Rupert Indians, at the north end. They live on fish chiefly, which they dry Sor winter. They catch the bear and seal also, and gather berries, of which there is an enormous abundance—raspberries, black- berries, salmon berries and huckleberries. These savages are nearly white, with red- merous tribal ceremonials, if anybody ut- ters a wrong word in a song or misses the rhythm of the music, every member of the @ociety of Cannibals present is privileged dish brown hair. Their faces are very broad, with high noses and small and Mon- goloid eyes. They are of small stature, with short legs. At the same time they are remarkably intelligent. The heads of infants are deformed by tying about them hard cushions of cedar bark, thus giving them a sugar-loaf shape. Men and women go barefoot. They wear blankets and cot- ton shirts, ticoats, which have replaced cedar bark aprons. Members of the tribe sometimes visit Victoria, adopting the apparel of white people temporarily, and- go back to their native garb on their return. They use steel knives, axes-and other civilized imple- ments. Skill in Carving. The Fort Rupert Indians are good car- penters and great boat builders. They make huge wooden canoes for traveling, and such boats were formerly employed for war expeditions. Smaller boats they em- ploy for fishing and sealing. They are admirable carvers, all of their designs hav- ing a mythological significance and re- ferring to legends of the clans or of the secret societies. Their morals are by no means first-rate. Wealth determines the position of the man, ard they will do any- thing to accumulate property. Their houses are square in shape and built of wood. Around the interior runs a platform four feet wide, on which are erected small sheds for bed rooms. Ordinarily each house is occupied by four families, and in each corner is a fire, one for each family. The floor is of earth, as well as the platform, which is banked with planks. A very important social institution is the “potiatch.” A man invites his friends to a feast and gives them presents. It may be a small potlatch, only a few blankets being given away, or perhaps as many as 10,000 blankets will be donated. The gifts are not such in reality, however, but are loans, which the recipients are obliged to repay with interest at a later period. Customarily it is expected that they shall return double the value received. Blankets are a common medium of exchange in that region, representing 50 cents apiece. Dou- ble blankets are worth $1.50 apiece. These blankets are of British manufacture. Of course, no family would possess 10,000 blan- kets, but at a potlatch those actually given are borrowed back immediately and given away again, so that the same blanket may be given half a dozen times. A man ap- pointed for that office keeps tally, and thus record is made of all debts. The currency of the United States would suffice to settle only a small fraction of the debts outstanding in this country, and it is the same way with business among the Fort Rupert Indians. A few thousand blankets kept constantly in_ circulation satisfy the financial problem. Every mem- ber of the tribe must pay what he owes, sooner or later, however, on penalty of losing his social consideration. Another form of money in commof use is “cop- pers’’—that is, sheets of copper of a pecu- liar shape, stamped with faces. These used to be manufactured by the Hudson Bay Company. They might be compared to bank notes, but, oddly enough, their value does not depend upon their intrinsic worth. They become more valuable in proportion to the number of times they are given away. Dr. Boas has seen a copper that was valued at 7,000 blankets or $3,500. A brand-new one of equal weight might not be worth more than two or three blan- kets. This idea has something to do with the native mythology. Copper, by the way, is supposed to represent the sunset. RENE BACHB. —.+__ . Waited Ten Heurs. Algiers Correspondence the Chicago Post. The other morning an English lady who desired to take the portrait of a ragged but “picturesque” Moor whom she met on the street got him in position, but found upon examination that she had neglected to bring an important part of her kodak. So she ran back to the hotel, two blocks away. She there met some dear friends from Lon- don who had just arrived; so she forgot all about the Moor and the kodak. After din- ner, 8 o'clock, she remembered; so with an escort she hurried to the spot. There the old Moor sat, just as she had left him, facing the instrument. “Long time take picture,” he said. He had been there since 10 o’clock a.m. of that day, but the business of sitting still suited him. The English lady, of course, gave him a penny to go and buy a farm with. ‘The women have ‘adopted pet- | SOCIAL STIFFNESS The Imported Non-Introducing Cus- tom Being Abandoned. TACT OF THE SUCCESSFUL HOSTESS Studio Receptions a Phase of the Trilby Mania. THE ATTRACTIVE TABLE Written Exclusively for The Evening Star. Ts WOMEN OF 1a New York, as weil as the men, have been accused of co} = English ways blindly 4 and madly, even to the stiff extent of not making any in- troductions at their entertainments. In England, strong as is the reserve char- acteristic of the men and the women, this ~ dull and unsociable habit is due to a stupid fashion rather than to ungenial intentions. Curiously enough, when English women run against this de- pressing custom beyond their own island they feel as aggrieved by it as if the “golden rule of kindness” was the watch- word of their own London receptions. At an afternoon musicale given in a for- eign capital by an American lady of wealth and distinction, an Engiish lady, just ar- rived in town, also of wealth and distinc- tion, was among the guests. When she entered the drawing room. she received a shake of tbe hand from, the hostess, was given words of welcome and assigned to a very comfortable chair;,but she was not introduced to one of the group standing and sitting about her, or to, any one, in fact, either directly or indirectly. Her glances wandered around the, room in the faint expectation that some one would ,ap- pear whom she had met before. But all were strangers, and, moreover, were likely to remain strangers. I, too, was a stranger there, and the musicians’ notes seemed jangled by my reflections. I felt that a hostess should not invite her friends if she is to impose the burden of solitude upon them; neither do we accept invitations for the sake of being thrust into the mood of the Hebrews beside the waters of Babylon. During one of the pauses between the musical numbers an American woman, for- tunate enough to count a few acquaint- ances in the crowd, although no credit for this was due to her entertainer, crossed the reom, let loose all the sweet sociability she pcssessed, and did what she could to lift the heavy cloud of monotony that had been permitted to rest upon the English stranger. When the program was ended and adieus were being said, I overheard this remark: “I have received many kind- nesses in my travels, but I must give the first place to your gracious rescue -this af- ternoon—it was the kindest of them all.” To Attain Social Popularity. Owing to the dimensions that society has now reached, and consisting, in a great meascre, of people brought together with the slightest knowledge of each other, social affairs are necessarily crushed to a certain degree of inertness by the isolation to which a crowd fs Nable to condemn in- dividuals. But the women prominent in the best New York society are releasing themselves from the non-introducing re- proach. They have found that the most enviable heights of social leadership are attained by her whose innate tact prompts her to set her guests at ease at once, to present them to each other with graceful | alacrity, to bring them into pleasant, or, | at least, conversational relations with one | another, to strike a keynote of good-fellow- | ship and encourage men and women alike to unbend, expand and show the charming side of their characters. This model host- ess has the faculty of getting about among her guests, bringing kindred natures to- gether with a nod, a gesture, a touch— with spontaneous, hearty good will. She does not limit her attentions to a “lion,” to a somebody in particular, to a woman | of importance cr a man of fame. On the contrary, she gives pleasure to all, wheth- er young and pretty or middle-aged and plain, whether quiet and retiring or as- sured and brilliant; because if she thinks it worth while to invite them, she thinks it worth while to amuse and entertain them. In short, the “salon” has been re- vived, and to win success in its delicate , social intricacies is the pinnacle of the clever woman’s ambition. Therefore, since there are so many professional attractions | offered to guests at the present day— operatic songsters, dramatic stars, concert hall pets—it is necessary for a hostess to Prove herself very attractive in order to avert from her “afternoons” the reputa- tion of “ghastly failures.” The recent case of a hostess that re- | quired all her charm of manner to enable her to rise above a social emergency has given rise to many comments upon the want of consideration with which Ameri- cans are not infrequently treated by Eng- lish visitors. To this lady Mr. Beerbohm Tree ha® brought letters of introduction, and she responded to them by arranging for him and Mrs. Tree an afternoon recep- tion, She invited her pleasantest friends to meet them, converted her beautiful 5th avenue home into a floral fairyland, and, altogether, provided a very complimentary entertainment. The hour came and the guests assembled—all but the Trees. When expectation was at its height there arrived a message from the famous actor—he and Mrs. Tree would be unable to keep their engagement, as rehearsal was “on.” Inas- much as he played with his Haymarket company only, and was his own manager, as far as his movements were concerned, he alone was responsible for calling the rehearsal at that time. The reception was notably a case of “Hamlet with Hamlet left out,” yet the skillful grace of the hos- tess rose above her disappointment and gave compensation that Madame de Main- tenon might have enyied on that celebrated occasion when her cook failed her, and no ene realized it, because she replaced the missing dish with so charming a story. By the way, Mr. Beerbohm Tree rivals the “Sinjons” and “‘Chumleys” in the mumbling of his name, for quite regardless of spell- ing, he is pronounced Burbum. Another name which ought to have a place in the collection of “7,000 mispronounced words” iz Jerome K. Jerome. Then we might learn in time to call him what cultivated English people call him—Jurrumky Jurrum! Receptions in Studios. Among the pleasantest receptions given in New York those that have the most en- ticing flavor are the studio receptions. The Trilby mania has not only brought studio life into everybody’s home and everybody’s business, but it has given a smack of Bohemia to the quarters of every artist. After spending many delightful hours in hospitable studics, I am convinced that a jolly informality and conviviality prevails among them, which is one of the enchanting features of the ideal Bohemia; but the picturesque discomforts and make- shift inconveniences that imagination leads us to expect—these are fading away. I will sketch a studio reception from a recollection of the past month, which is a fair example of the up-to-date Bohemia. The artist's apartment is a spacious one, furnished in a perfectly conventional and thoroughly comfortable manner, though lifted above commonplace monotony by daring strokes, here and there, of individu- ality in decoration, by a_unique bit of old brocade carelessly tossed over the hilt of an ancient weapon suspended against the wall, and a collection of antique Holland jugs arrayed in bulging, grinning attrac- tiveness behind the glass doors of a Dutch cabinet. Of course the floor is strewn with rugs of low, harmonious colors, for it really is an artist’s home; but there are no kitchen utensils hiding under innocent- lcoking divans, nor any “bread and cheese” lurking behind beautiful screens. And the firelight glows and flickers on the walls, the balmy breath of violets fills the room, while bright women and clever men toss from edge to edge of the chatting circle conversational squibs which flash, sparkle and rebcund. As we sail into the dining room we seem to be still farther from the “coast cf Bohemia,” though the decoration of the table could have been arranged by a true artist only. It consisted of mixed roses, some of deepened, others of pale pink, and faint yellow, with leaves so per-- fect no other green was required. In the center of the table they were grouped in a tall arrangemert, but one the sides they were held in quaint, low little baskets and bowls. Around the two candelabra the, flowers crept up as if by their own sweet will, not fastened to anything—they seem- ed to have budded and blossomed there. Table Decorations. By way of floral table decoration, ice baskets are in the height of favor just now. They are cut from a block of solid ice, carved es marble might be carved, then filled with flowers, the handles slight- ly wound or hung with delicate tendrils of greenery, and placed uvon a bed of dark foliage. Sometimes an electric light is placed in the ice basket among the flow- ers, producing a magical effect. For spring luncheons the iris will be in favor,~it ts such a delicate, orchid-like flower, and so rich of color. For a purple luncheon, those of palest mauve to dark violet can be used, and for a yellow scheme what could be more beautiful than those of lightest yelllow, shading into deep tones of the same color, and finally merging into brown? The iris is the coming May Queen. ———_+e2 ____ And Yet He Was Rejected. From the Chieago Recerd. It 1s said that one of the veniremen re- cently summoned to the federal court for service on the jury which was to try Eugene V. Debs and other officers of the American Railway Union~was absolutely unbiased. He was not chosen a juror for some reason, although he had one qualifi- cation. He knew nothing about the case. hat’s it all about? Who's been hauled up?” he asked of the man seated next to A GIANT CEREUs. Beautiful Flowers and Dainty Fruit in California. The right-blooming cereus, says the Land of Sunshine, is a plant much admired by amateurs in the east, where its blooming is a soctal as weil as a botanical event. It is needless to say, however, that an eastern invitation to “come and see our cereus bloom” means an indoor affair. But it is not so in California. Cereus triangu- laris ts one of the most showy of the night- blooming cacti. The branches are triangu- lar, very thick and heavy, with few and short spines. Outside it grows to immense proportions. If planted near a dwelling its great branches flatten themselves against the side of the house, sending out long, pale yellow, adventitious roots on either side, which attach themselves tightly to the weed, until the stems become hardened, when they loosen, turn gray and hang like fringes of string. Plants bloom from cuttings in a few months. The time of blooming is from July until November. One in California is sald to be the largest known specimen of its kind in North Amer- ica. “It was for the first few years of its existence very humble, and wandered about on the ground at the base of the veranda. sAbout eight years ago it was severely trimmed. This experience seemed to arouse in it a new and ambitious spirit. Though its growth since has not been so magical as that of Jack's famous beanstalk, yet it has grown so rapidly and so enormously as to be called a national curiosity. It has had its own way and never been tramed. It measures between fifty and sixty feet in height, with numberless branches. Some of the adventitious roots are nine feet in length, and in places form a perfect net- work, like lace. The large flowers that bloom on the roof have sometimes been mistaken for white birds perched there. Upholding is Dignity. From the Atlanta Constitution. “This suit,” said the rural justice, “1s fer breach in the premises. It appears to the court that he pronfised the widder to marry her an’ then run off with the postmistress.” no yes si” said the weeping widow,-“that e - “Bailiff, collect $10 out 0’ the widder fer him in the court room. ‘They're going to try Debs.” Who's he?” ‘Debs—you know; the labor organizer.” “Ob, he’s the fellow that got a gang to- mee and was goin’ to capture Washing- on. ou're thinkin’ of Coxey. Debs was the big man in the strike.” Say, Where were you last July?” ell, I was at home and purty bus about that tim paneer ony ‘You must have been.” “Was that when they burncd some cars up this way?” “I heard about that, but nobody ever told me a man named Debs was mixed up in it.” After that he began to manifest some in- terest in the case. Ba Poetic Note. From the Yonkers Statesman. Yeast—“How long does Fennison spend on one of his poems?” Crimsonbeak—“He told me he spent six weeks on the last one he wrote.” “You don’t say so?” “Yes; it took him ten minutes to write it and the balance of the time he was try- ing to persuade some one to buy it.” — In Doubt. From the Indianapolis Journal. “Say!” yelled the foreman of the Plunk- ville Bugle to the suffering editor, ‘‘you got too much stuff this week for the woman’s page. Which shall I leave out—the article on cranberry jell, or the one on ‘Woman's Place in Statecraft?” Whatever may be the cause 0 hair may be restored to its Sats interruptin’ the court. Is the postmistress present?” “No, sir; she’s on her honeymoon.” “Git $20 wuth o’ stamps out o’ her fer contempt. All the lawyers present?” “No, sir—two absent.” “All right; $10 apiece fer both. Ain't you been drinkin’, bailiff?’ “Jest a dram, sir.” “Five dollars an’ costs fer you. The é@ig- peel vd this here court is got to be main- tained.” ene Has It Come to This? From Truth. Patsy Dugan—“Say, Sally! doin’ wit yer fadder’s perlice uniform?” What yer Sally O’Toole—“‘Aw, can’t yer see ‘at I = Trilby, and dis is Little Billy wit me ere?” Patsy Dugan—‘De last time I seen yer, yer was der Coming Woman; de nex’ time I sees yer, I s'pose ye’ll be Madame St. Jennie er Cleopatra—mebbe Mary Magda- line or a livink pitel