The Russellville Democrat., 1877-05-24
Singular Customs of Savage Tribe

Some interesting observations on the habits of the inhabitants of the Anda> man islands by Surgeon Major Holder appear in the appendix to tine report of the army medical department for 1875, just issued. The account given of these people, though not on the whole unfavorable, does not leave the impression that they form a pleasant society, or that the islands are de sirable place of residence. With the exception of considerable variety of birds, there is a great deficiency of ani- maj life-wild pigs and cats are nearly all that are known or believed to exist.
 Insects, lizards and snakes are however, common. The aborigines are not cannibals, as reported, and indignantly deny the imputation, nor are they. as
 has been stated, deformed and hideous,
 though not exactly preposseesing in appearance. In heightthey vary from
 four feet nine inches to five feet one inch; they are extremely black, more so than the African negro, and some of them have "a dull, leaden hue, like that of blackleaded stove" They are fend of dancing; have strong sense of the ridiculous; are ex- ceedingly passionate, and easily aroused
 by trifes, when their appearance be- comes diabolical. The men wear no clothing, and the women very little. They cover their bodies with red earth. and as ornaments wear strings of their ancestors bones around their necks, or skull slung in basket over their shoulders. They are tattooed all over their bodies; their heads arc shaven,
 with the exception of narrow streak
 from the crown to the nape of the neck.
 They rarely have eyebrows, beard,
 moustache, whiskers or eyelashes, and are very fond of liquor and smoking. They are short.lived and not healthy, not many passing forty years of age, Their language consists of few words, and these sound harsh and explosive, and are princi- pally monosyllables. Their chief amusement, and indeed nearly their only one, is dancing, monotonous song, and the music of rough skin drum, which they play by stamping on it with their feet. Their method of courtship and marriage has the merit of simplicity. The youth who is q candidate eats a certain kind of ray- fish, which gives him the appellation of Goo-mo," or bachelor desirous of marrying" The girls who are mar riageable wear a certain kind of flower. The ceremony consists in the pair about to be married sitting down apart from the others and staring at one an- other in silence. Towards evening the girls father or guardian joins the hands of the pair; they then retire and live alone in the jungle for some days. The islanders make nothing but canoes. bows, arrows, spears and neis, and these are necessary to supply them with their daily food. On the first establishment of the penal settlement in the Andamans their favorite oc- cupation was murdering the convicts and taking their irons for arrow-heads; but they gradually gave up this ob- jectionable practice, and now within a radius of ten or fifteen miles from the settlement stragglers are as a rule sate from attack, though beyond this radius Europeans, except in sufficient num- bers and with arms for protection, would probably be roughly handled. Of late years "homes" have been established for the Andamanese con. sisting of large bamboo sheds, in which those who come in from the jungle put up, coming and going at will. They seem, however, to prefer the jungle, and the attempts made to cultivate their acquaintance do not appear to have been crowned with success PaU MaU Gazette.
 THE Norwich (Conp.) Bulletin has