Weekly Trinity journal., 1874-06-20
NUMBER %.
THE PIGMY PEOPLE OF AFRICA.

The Khedive spoke of race Of pigmies
which had been discovered in the very
beart of central Africa beyond the land
of the Nyam Nyams, and advised u. to
look at two natives Of the tribe which had
recently reached Cairo. On leaving the
palace Of Abdeen, therefore, we drove
Immediately to the palace Of the Nile,
near Boulak, whore they are now kept.
On making inquiry, the soldiers in tho
inner court Immediately pointed out tive
small boys (apparentlyl, wearing tho fez
and dressed in jackets and trowsers Of
white wool. | should have taken them
for children Of some Ethiopian trbo at
the drst glance, and was not satisfied until
after close inspection, that one Of them
was ull-grown man.
The soldiers brought the pigmies for
ward for our inspection. They came,
half willingly, half with an air OF def
ancc, or of protest against the superior
strength which surrounded them. A tall
Dnka from tho White Nile, blncker than
charcoal, who accompanied them, spoke
n little Arabic, and was thus able to get
n little additional Information through
him. He assured me that the pignies
were called Mann that their country
was journey of a year and half from
khartoum probably the time occupied
by II trading expedition in going thilh-
er and returningG and that the place from
which they hud came had the name OF
Takkatkat. Tho taller Of tho two pig
mics, Tubbul by name, was 20 years old;
the younger, karal, only 10 or Il.
Tho little fellows looked at me with
bright, questioning, steady eyes, while |
examined and measured them. TubbLl
was l6 inches in hight, the legs being %
inches, and the body with the head "A.
llood and arms were quite symmetrical,
but the spine curved in remarkably from
the shoulders to the hip joint, throwing
out the abdomen, which was already
much distendcd, probably from their diet
Of beans and bananas. Yet the head w0a
orcct, the shoulders on the line of gravity,
and there was no stoop in tho posture OF
the body as in the South African BUSH
men. Tubbul measured 20 inches saround
the breast, and % around tho abdomen;
his hands aud feet afo coarscly formed,
but not large, only the knee joints being
disproportionately thick aud clumsy. Tho
faciul anglo WINS fully up 30 tho average
but there was full development Of brain
fine, intelligent eyes, and n no.o 80 flat
tenod that in looking down tho forehead
from above, one only saw the lips project
ing beyond it. Tho nostris were aston
ishingly wide and square, the complex
ion was that Of n dark mulatto.
The boy, Karal, was 3S inches high,
with the same general proportions. Both
had wooly hnir, cut short in front, but
covering the crown with circular cap Of
crisp little rolls. Tubbu's age showed IL
self, on nearer examination, in bis hands,
feet and Joints, as we'll as bis iace. lie
had no beard, but was evidently OF virilo
years. lifted him from the ground, and
should not estimate his weight at moro
than sixty five pounds. The soldiers re-
lated that neither Of the two had learned
more than few words of Arabic, but
that they talked great deal to each other
in their own language Atareccnt meet
ing Of the Egyptian lnstituteitw was stated
that the language Of these pigmios ho' no
resemblance to that Of any other in Con-
trail Africa.
The country of Mann, or Takkatkat,
or whatever may DO its correct name, IL
reparted to be an equatorial tablo-land,
covered with low, dense thickets, in which
the pigmies hide. The Khedive told mo
that they arc quito warlike, and by no
means degpicabe foes TO their larger no
gro neighbors, since they are active and
difficult to find among their native jungles.
DR.. Schweinfurth supposes them to DO
the pgmics mentioned by lIerodotus.
The Darwinians will hardly find an inter-
mediate race between man and monkey
in them. Their curious physical peculiar
tiles, especially the curvature OF the spine,
the wide mouth, with flat but distinctly
marked lips, and tho squareness and
breadth Of the no5trils arc not ofa simian
character. In fact they look less like the
chimpanzeS than several OF the tall ath-
letc negro tribes. .-Bayard IdyIor IN
the Tribune.