"Very Good Eating—Nice and Fat.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 20 December 1890, Page 3

" Very Good Eating— Nice and Fat.

In Mr Ward's book " Five years with the Congo Cannibals " tite following is related : — Among the Bangalas almost weekly some savage act of cannibalism would be brought to my notice, and, though the villagers in the immediate vicinity of the station did after a time become chary of acknowledging to a white man their liking for human flesh, or or their participation in these orgies X knew that I should never have far to seek to find my friends of to-day, with old Mata Bwiki at their head, indulging in a light repast off the limbs of some unfortunate slave, slain for refractory behaviour, or banqueting upon the bodies of the enemies slaughtered in some recent conflict. All was flesh that came to their net ; and if a slave captured in war or soW into bondage by a neigh bouring people, became " uppish " and discontented with hi. walk in life the remedy was simple. They no longer troubled him to continue treading a path which proved a weariness to the flesh. The pot becomes his destination, and he soon ceased to afford even a topic for conversation. Tois may seem incredible and yet I have an instauce in my minds eye of such an occurence having actually taken pace at Baugala only one year ago. A save boy h..d been permitted to engage himself to work on the station of the agent, at Bangala, of the Belgian trading company. Aft.r a time he absented himself during working hours, without the permission of the agent, who complained to the boy's master, a small chief in the neighbouring village, informing him at the same time that the boy was a lazy fellow and not worth ir.uch. A day or two later the chief told the trader, with evident satisfaction, that the boy would not trouble him again, for that he had killed him with a thrust of his spear ; and the white man's horror was increased when, on the following day, the cl iel's son, a youngster of sixteen or seventeen years of age, came swaggeri* g into the station with spear and shield, and nonchalantly remarked that — " That slave boy was very good citing — he was nice and fat."