Note 242 — Chapter XXV · ACCOUNT OF THE MANDAN INDIANS

The only form of cannibalism practiced among the North American Indians, after they were known to the whites, was the custom of eating the heart or the flesh of a brave enemy, in order to acquire the victim's courage or other desirable qualities. As torture of prisoners was more common among Eastern than Western tribes, this practice may be the one referred to by Maximilian. Consult Livingston Farrand, Basis of American History (New York, 1904), pp. 226, 243.—Ed.