WHITE CANNIBAL RACE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16456, 18 June 1921, Page 12

WHITE CANNIBAL RACE.

OF THE GR3NOGO. Dr Hamilton Rice, the American explorer, who rediscovered a giant race of blood Indians in South America recently, gave interesting details of his encounter with these savages, who have never been seen by any white man since the year 1763, when the Spaniards , are reported to have caught sight oi them. They live in the hills near the spot j where the Oastiquiari Canal, the only ! natural canal in the world, 227 miles ' long, connects the Orinoco with the J Rio Negro, an affluent of the Amazon. They are a fierce and warlike tribe, who ; live by hunting and fishing, but, unlike j other Indians, have no dogs, and trap | and catch animals themselves. They { have absolutely no knowledge of fire, j eat their food raw, go completely naked j and prey on other human beings, whom j they kill and eat. Dr Rice and a party of ten. with ! tents, booking outfit and surveying in. 1 struments, had left the main party j 150 miles north of Esmeralda on a map- ! ping survey. The party consisted of ! three white men and seven Indian ! guides. Their only weapons were one shot gun and one rifle The expedition i hcyd arrived in the night of January 21 by canoe at an island in the rapids. They saw no sign of Indians, but were evidently seen by the cannibals, who watched and waited all night with the [ intention, of attacking the intruders, i In the morning, as soon as it became I light, the party were startled by most j blood r curdling shouts, and iooking ■ across to the opposite bank, a few j hundred yards away, they saw the bank i lined by a dense mass of these naked I blond warriors, running frantically t»o i and fro and brandishing long and dond--1 ly-looking spears, while may were takj ing aim with bows and arrows. SEVEN-FOOT CHIEF. They were led by n chieftain, who .was a magnificent specimen of humanity, nearly seven feet tall, with a mas* si vo round head, from which fell a mass of tawnv hair, and enormously j powerful shoulders. He commanded his warriors with lordly gestures, telling them off to different snots along the hank. The party of whites, with their guides, had hardly time to realise tlio danger of the situation when a shower of arrows, each measuring 6ft Gin, with deadly poisoned tips, began to fall all round them. One of these shafts grazed Dr Rice’s shoulder. The position of the party seemed desoerato, and every moment they expected to see the savages wade into the water to attack the island. They therefore resolved to open fire. The first shot brought down a big -Indian, but it was necessarv to kill a dozen before the party could emerge into the open and collect tbe<r tents and other possessions, which thov piled in their canoes. They then slipoed a wav down the iPapids, followed bv shtouts and showers of arrows, which, fortunately, fell out of hnrrrds way. Only two women were seen with the tribe. They were fine, well-developed specimens, and. like the men, entirely nude- These two were probably allowed to take part in the fighting, while the rest were in camp and out of danger.