River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1889-05-30
FREAKS IN AFRICA.
Horned Men. Men with Tails, Persons with
spotted skins, aud Dwarfs.

spotted skins, ana DWarks.
Mr.. Carl Steckelmann, who lived
several years in West Africa, made
large collection of curiosities illustrate
ing the arts, habits and superstitions
of the natives. His collection, which
is now in Indiana, where he lives. has
attracted attention, and there were
many visitors to the museum which he
opened in indianapolis last winter.
There are curiosities of other sorts,
however, in all parts OF Africa, and
it would not take a smart Snowman
long 10 pick up freaks enough on the
west coast 10 stock a dozen museums.
Entirely outside OF the dwarf tribes,
who are among the strangest people in
the world, explorers find here and
there little folks of advanced years
who are made much of, and
are usually seen at the resi-
dence OF some chief. Only one of
these little fellows has been honored
with much attention in records of
travel, and his picture appears in
Speke's story of his discovery of the
NAAt oOuIEt0s 0Al lllt NtSb GOdob ltptAl
dwarfs may some times be seen in the
crowds along the shore when a vessel
arrives. Mr.. A. b. Ellis was of the
opinion that with one of these dwarfs,
boy he saw with two stomachs, a few
Albiuos, who are by no means uncom-
mon. and two or three horned men he
could set up a dime museum of no
mean pretensions.
The horned men, sad to relate, wear
their horns not on their foreheads but
on their cheek bones. They belong to
small tribe that is found north of
Ashanti, and few of them sometimes
get down TO the coast, where they
have ceased to be curiosities. Some
surgeons who examined two of these
men IA few years ago, decided that the.
excreseences on their cheeks We're of
an osseous nature. They form Jumps,
rounded at the extremity and
projecting about an inch from the
face. They are not particularly
ornamental, but they would probably
be worth a fair salary to the pOssessor
if exhibited in II Bowery palace of
amusement.
Two or three travellers have written
of a Roman Catholic priest in Fernan-
do Pc. who is willing to make affidavit
that he has seen three men in Gaboon
with short tails. These euriositiei
seem to have made good their escape.
Many travellers in the early days re-
corded marvellous stories of Africans
who wore tails, but none of the chron-
iclers had salt enough to catch them.
Years ago a female slave who was said
to have come from Central Africa, was
examined in COnstantinople by ply
stefan in the hospital there, and he de-
clared she had an uumistakable tail,
about two inches long smooth
and hairless. She said she be-
longed to the great Niam-Niam
tribe. The fame of this tribe as
wearers of tails was spread far and
wide in Africa long before a white
man ever visited them, and Mr. Ellis
says the story still circulates on the
coast. But Schweinfurth spoiled the
sensation, though he pronounced the
Niam-Niam the finest specimens of
physical beauty he ever saw.
Other curious people in Africa arc
persons who seem to be naturally
spotted, not like the leopard boy
known to our museums, but with
patches of yellow or brown which
diversity their otherwise black skins.
Another interesting popularity has
also been recently observed. That is
that different members of the same
family are sometimes of different
colOrs. Black children and brown
children are found to be brothers and
sisters. just as we have brunettes and
blondes in the same family. This
popularity has also been recently OBJ
served by DIR. Finsch among the ma
tives of New Guinea. N. Y. Sun.