Jasper County Democrat, Volume 5, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 March 1903 — LIVE CLOSE TO VOLCANO. [ARTICLE]

LIVE CLOSE TO VOLCANO.

IwbnUst and Warlike People Be* longing to Independent Java. Under the fro tying brow of the most active of Voicaneos of eastern Java, on a fertile but Inaccessible plateau, there flourishes to this day the Independent Sultanate of Buloh, •ays the London Golden Penny. AJ*, though the Dutch have been In possession of this large and fruitful Island ♦f the Moluccas for over 200 years, tnany unsuccessful attempts at conquest have taught them to deal leniently and generously with some of the turbulent and warlike mountain !>eople, leaving them their own rulers, aws and customs, merely Insisting that the peace be kept It is only natural, with their peculiar, fearless and bloodthirsty characteristics, that they should pick out the fiercest depredator and wild beast of their country for their sport For this contingency, therefore, the animal Is caught as a cub or trapped when grown, and kept in captivity till the “harl bessar” or festival of “rambokkan matjan,” or tlger-baltlng, arrives. From far and wide the people flock to the capital on this occasion. Armed with businesslike spears, the young men form a vast ring on a clearing, where a stand for the great ones hae been erected, and the tigers and leopards, confined In collapsible cages, are hauled Into the middle of the armed array. One by one the cages are flung open, and the wild beast, maddened by hunger, generally charges at once, and after a risky scuffle of more or less fierceness, Is caught upon and transfixed by many sherp lances. If the brute balks there are arrow* and sling shots and other incltants to fury, and It sometimes happens that an animal, black panther being the most agile, clears the ring and lands with claws aud fangs among the spectators. Should a particularly ferocious bull be within ken and obtainable anywhere, the sport Is diversified by pitting bull against tiger. Strange to say, the bull nearly always wins, and wild and vociferous Is tho enthusiasm should he emerge from the fearful contest the victor. But the spectacle Is ghastly. Tho roar of t’ e powerful bull, the demoniac snarl of the tiger, the rending of flesh, snapping of bone, and gushes of blood, like water spilled, make a sight that goes to turn civilized man shuddering aside. This sort of thing continues for two or three days; In fact, till no more material in the shape of wild beast is left After that the populace give themselves up to feasting and dancing for some days more.