U.K. newspapers are reporting that a German sailor may have been eaten by cannibals on the South Pacific island of Nuku Hiva. When the story first broke I thought it was a hoax - are there still cannibals in the world? But apparently the sailor has gone missing while on the island, and charred human bones and clothing have been found near a campfire site. Worse, Nuku Hiva does have a history of cannibalism long ago. Herman Melville visited the island in the early 19th century and wrote about it in his novel Typee, which described Nuku Hiva as beautiful and Edenic, except for the cannibalism then present. The story is bound to hit the major media soon if the bones are matched to the sailor - and it may even raise up again the longstanding debate among cruising sailors about carrying firearms.
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