St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1874-05-22
The Niam-Niams.

DIR. Schwrimirrth lived among these
MANS -niam> long enough tomakca very
thorough study of their character. He
possesses such large insight that even
here among cannlhals We find him
searching ont the good and the human
in these creatures. who seem int little
above the beasts. and declaring them To
hc men of like passions with ourselves.
equally subject tu the same sentiment,
of grief and joy. and even with keen
arprrciatiom ut humnI With the cN-
c,rtiun of their appetite for human
flesh. their customs are substantially
the same as those of other wild African
tribes. They wcLr very little clothing.
and spend all their energy on their
head dresses remarkable hut com
mon hc.d-dreSS among these curious
styacr- Is made hv a hoop. Nhich i,
fastened to the lower lim ut Il straw
hat. Single trcsSr> of hair are then
taken from all paIts of the head and
stretched tightly over the hnop. pro-
durinm an effect like the ravS of .rlnlS
which adorn the pictures of Il sIint.
This rlIhoI;itc rniiiurt demands grclI
attention. and much Labor must hC spent
upon II every day.
Whenever a \Iam-nllm has lost amy
VcIy near relative. the first token Of
his bereavement i~ shown hV his shay
ug hi- head. His elaborate cuitfuIc
ihr: which had been his pliG, aud his
delight. thc Labor of dcloI,., cuuiugal
hands is al ruthlc>>ly dc>iIulcd. the
tufts. the hraid>. the trr>>,.>. hci.s
scattered fal and wide about ,hr roads
in III, lrrc>>rs of the wilderness.
The limr nf thr>,. people. when they
an, moi at wly with surrnundiu. tribes.
is divided! hriwr.u hunting and tilllur
IT,, >nn. sweet -pntltur> aud vans are
easily cultivated. and the tobacco crop
is large and at excellent quality. All
The Niam-uiams are great lovers of
tobacco. They never rhrn. hut smoke
the FRAGRANT weed from neat little rlay
mines. Orail the plant, which are ruI-
waited bv the natives nt Central Africa.
none, 81 cxcilrS a fc,liu. of interest ~
tobacco. suggesting. ~ it does. u cuIi-
ou. conformity uf habit auurtr ucnI,lc>
far remote. Although the ,,an,,clcr in
thr wilderness may uot eat the food of
his African entertainer. non drink his
curious drcoction of \alia.!> hlJ,>. he
>tiII can sit down and S,uuj,,. win, him
cnin,inr 4 frcling of hrothrrhond in
thai particular al least. The same TWO
kinds which are cultivated oIu,u,r orr-
selves have become most generally rec
nunizcd. These kinds are tn, Nir~juiau
tnbaccco lNjcohand fobGrYul) and the
rn,,mnu tobacco ~. ,pstjc11 Th.. Nir-
giuia tobacco grows ahuudautly in this
locality. but the leaves never attain 4
large size. and there i difficulty in oh
tanning them of sufficient size to he
made use of in rolling cImarS. Negroes
alNal. SOW Tobacco IN a frame before
they plaut il out: the midday sun or
Central Africa is too powerful fnr the
seed. which inral!ih.y p,li>i,S in ;,
ulrcbed soil. 1t is a sure Indication of
The foreign oriuin of This pI,ut that
There is not y tribe from the Nicer to
the Nile which has a native word of its
own TO denote it. Tbrourh,,ut al the
districts over which Srhwriuturth tray
clcd the Niam-uiams formed tlic snIi-
tarv execution to this by u1mirr the
Virminian tobacco ..,rundeb :. Int th,
Monbuttoos. who grow only this one
kind. and are as little familiar with
\ rustjco os the \i,m-ni,mS call il
..E-taboo.- The resi- of the neonle
ring every kind of ,bonra unnn Tho
root word. and call if ..tab- ..tabba :,
..tahdeet" or ..tom-
The Niom-niams show much skill
and artistic taste in mouldino clay and
in wood-carvinq. They manuficture
all kinds of dishes and hovls and w,ter