Arizona weekly citizen., 1885-03-28
EARTH-ms N FROM AFRICA
Strange Tribe of People Who Have
 Recently Landed at Ne . York.

A Strange Tribe of People Who Have
 Recently Landed at \, . York.
 New York worldl
 Sitting in a waiting room of the Gen. tral railroad ferry house few days ago was as uncOuth collection Of human beings as falls to the lot of New Workers 10 witness. Wrapped in coarse, striped blankets, their heads covered with cloth caps SIX sizes too large for them. the small peaked faces peered out of their coverings with a monkey-like ga at the crowd of inquisitiye Americans who gathered around. They were African earth-men or pygmies, recently brought here from the region of the Congo. Until lately the existence of these people has been questioned by scientific writers, but re- cent discoveries have proved the truth Of the well-knOwn assertion of HerOdOtus regarding the mysterious triue of dwarfs who burrOwed in the earth far back toward the center Of the dark con tinent Du haillu was the first modern traveller who investigated the matter and saw them m their own land, and de- scribed them as being small in stature, rNA NAAAAAA NAAN AsH ANA Ag tH ANAN AAtaAA the des riptiOn of HerOdOtus. being somewhat over three and half feet tall, but still they are diminutive speci- mens of humanity. Their figures are slim and delicate, but very well-fOrmei.
 The woman es' ecially is capable of posing for an artist as a bronze enus. They are all well clad, the women wear ing coats and pants of coarse but warm material, and they freq Iently emitted dry, hacking cough that showed the e ct which our climate and that of England, whence they came last, Is hay ing upon 'hem. Their faces denote but little intellect, yet they are possessed of much intelligence, and the children are surprisingly bright The baby, sitting under a canopy of cap, was q study m himself.
 His big, black eyes twinkled and snap ped as he peered this way and that at the crowd, and he looked the brightest and best of the lot His father, the king-they are all kings that come here sat enwrapped in hIs royal blanket, with long bow in his hand, and he ap- peared Co notice nothing that went on around him. He wore, attached to his hair in front, three small shells He'd with some kind of cement or dirt 10 hold them on. These are royal trade marks, none but he being allowed 10 decorate tangS in that manner, and he looked every inch a k.nz of that sort On their cheeks they all had a ragged scar-this Is also royal marx, an Is made by scratching with an NrOw and rubbing m cOlOring matter-a Jude sort of tattOOing. In addition Co these marks each one had the iOint of his right hand little finger taken O.. This is 6. general tribal mark They all showed their fingers and all We're alike in this dis figurement. Their skin k not b ack. but a sort Of coppery brown, >Omgthing liae our Indians, LUt shade or two darker and Fl her in tone They have little hair, and tlat is curled like p.gtails.
 The most curious thing about them is their language. It Is a series of in- deS ribabie clucks. made by turning the tongue backward against the roof of the mouth and snapping it fOrward-not th' SO nd one makes when starting horse. but just as inaTticulate and seem ingly unintelligible to a human being. They clicked anl clucked among them selves, and the gentleman in charge clipped in and fired his tongue at them, and then the reporter tried 1t, and cllcked them, Heres my regards. i.
 It seemed incredi le that men could converse among themselves with such an elementary form of speech. it not be- ing elevated above the twittering of sparrow. Che certainly could easier translate the barks and whines of a dog into English. They seemed to be satisfied with it, and that is certainly enough.
 They have quite a collection of African arms and curiOsities in their pOSSessiOn-Short and long bows, with sinCw or hide strings; spears and ar rows of reed, poisoned with the juices of plants, and capable of mak- ing havoc in the ranks of an enemy. It is. in fact, in this manner only, that they can be formidable, as an ordinary white man could easily manage three of them. They decorate them selves in the manner usual among say ages. with shells, beads. and feathers, the latter being quite ornamental and artistic. They have a collection of Os- trich feathers, heads and horns of ga elles, gemsboks and elanis, tiger and leopard skins, and lions claws-ali trophies of their skill in tie chase and showing what a superiority even pyg- mics have over the brute creation