The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1885-03-19
eAaTn-nEN FROM AFRICA



fNsy York wMjd.J
Sitting in . vaitinS-room Of the Gen.
trail railroad ferry. house . few days ago
was - uncouth . collection Of human
beings = falls to tho lot Of New Workers
to witness. Wrapped in coarse, striped
blankets, their heads covered with cloth
caps Ok sizes too large for them, tho
small peaked faces peered out Of their
coverings with . monkey-li gaze ct
the crowd Of inquisitive Americans who
gathered around They were African
earth-men Or pygmies, recently
brought here from The region
OF tho Congo. Until lately
tho existence Of these people has been
questioned BY scientific writer's, but re-
cent discoveries have proved tho truth
Of the veil known assertion Of Herodotus
regarding the mysterious tribe Of
dwarfs who burrowed in the earth far
back toward The center Of tho dark con-
tinent Du Chaillu Was the drst modern
traveller who investigated tho matter and
saw them in their own land, and d.
scribed them % being small IN stature,
but larger than ono is led to expect from
the description Of Herodotus, being
somewhat over three and . half feet
tall, but still they are diminutive speci-
mans Of humanity. Their figures arc
slim and delicate, but very we'll formed.
The woman especially II capable Of
posing for m artist . . bronze Venus.
They are al well clad, tho women wear
ing coats and pants OF coarse but warm
material, and they frequently emitted .
dry, hacking cough that showed the
eject which our climate and that Of
England, whence they came last, Is hay.
ing upon them. Their faces denote but
little intellect, yet they are possessed Of
much intelligence, and the children arc
surprisingly bright Tho baby, sitting
under 9 canopy Of cap, was study in
himself.
Ills big, black eyes twinkled and snap
ped as he peered this way and that at
the crowd, and he looked the brightest
and beat Of tho lot. His father, the
king-they arc all kings that come here
sat enwrappod in his royal blanket,
with long bow in his hand, aud be ap-
peared to notice nothing that went on
around him. He wore, attached to his
hair in front, threc small shells tiled
with some kind Of cement or dirt to
hold them on. These are royal trade
marks, none but no being allowed to
decorate bangs in that manner, and he
looked every inch : king Of that sort.
On their cheeks they al had = ragged
scar-this il also : royal mark, and is
made by scratching with IN arrow and
rubbing in coloring matter-a tide sort
Of tatt0oing. In addition to these marks
each one had tho joint Of his right hand
little finger taken OF. This Is general
tribal mark. They al showed their
fingers and al Wcre alike In this dis
! figuremcnt. Their skin Is not black. but
a sort Of coppery brown, something like
our Indians, but . shade or two darker
and richer in tone. They have little
hair, and that 10 curled like pigtails.
The most curious thing about them ia
their language. Il is . series OF in
dcscribable clucls, made BY turning the
tongue backward against the roof Of the
mouth and snapping Il forward-not
| tn 40 nd ono makes when starting 4
| horse, but jnst as inarticulatc and seem
ingly unintcllixible to . human being.
They clicked and clucked among them
selves, and the gentleman in charge
clipped in and fired his tongue at them,
and then the reporter tried it, and
ciuckcd them, Here's my regards"
It seemed incredible that men could
converse among themselves with such
an elementary form Of speech, It not be.
! ing elevated abovo tho twittering Of Z
a sparrow. One certainly could
easier translate tho barks and whines oi
a dog into English. They seemed to be