Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-08

for all the world like piano. 1t furnishes
sweet music, and the natives like to dance
to some of their quaint, weird airs.
''But it is of the Indians that I would
rathe.' talk about than these innocent and
simple negroes. Iu many respects they are
remarkable, and they differ radically from
our redskins on the frontier. The Cuyapas
Indians are a wonderful people. l never
saw such physical development. They are
not more than feet inches in height, but
their bodies are perfect. The skin is
| copper-colored and without a blemish OF
any kind. They are very strong also, and
hate the negroes. The Cuyapas don't num-
Der more than 1000 souls, and they live
together IN the mountains. They were
quite friendly when we visited them, and
offered US no violence.
Preserving Their Purity of Blood.
''These Indians forbid marriages outside Of
the tribe. When one of their number,
whether male or female, wanders off and
weds stranger they never let up until they
have killed husband, wife and all their off
spring, if thev have any, The result is
that, by good breeding, they have come to
be perfect physical types. Their clear
skin shows there is not a taint in the blood,
and it is pleasure for q civilized being to
look at them. They are strict in enforcing
their marriage customs, and it is not often
that member of the tribe is foolhardy
enough to wed an alien. They marry
young, but the boy must have certain quail
ifcations before he can take a wife. He
must be able to shoot wild boar-by the
way, the country is full of them, aud shot
ten on nv trip-buIld his own canoe and
bamboo hut. When a bov can do these
things then he is fit candidate for matri-
mony and not before
Another remarkable tribe of Indians are
the Napos, who live in the northern part of
Chile. Instead of wearing scalps at their
belts as trophies, like the American saw
ages, the heads of their enemies dangle
from their girdles. BY a mysterious process
known only to themselves, they remove all
the facial and Uranium bones without cut
ting the skin or destroying the interior.
The head is then reduced without manning
any of the features to the size of mans
fist
APleasant Trifs for a Charm.
Mr.. Childs brought one of these heads
with him, and he intends to put 1t in the
museum of the Carnegie Library here. In
San Francisco he showed it to the
County Medical Society, and the
doctors offered him 81, 600 for it. He said
no sum of money would buy it. He thinks
and outside of his own be doesn't believe
there is another in the United States. The
Indians discovered they could sell the
heads to the whites at good price, and to
prevent them from Turing people into the
mountains and killing them, or numbering
the aged of their tribe and preparing their
heads, law was passed torbidding their
sale. Through the kindness of General
Caamano and General Sorsby, the Amer
can Consul-General to Ecuador, Mr. Childs
secured the head. He says General Sorsby
has eight orders for heads from museums
and colleges in the United States, and he
is afraid he will not be able to get them.
The head and face that Mr.. Childs has is
not as large as a baseball BY the secret
process the bones were removed and the
features reduced. All the hair on the orig
inal head is still there. 1t is long and
black, and probably reached to the shoul-
ders. The Indians put a string through the
lip for every enemy they have slain. This
head has four strings in the lip, and the
mouth is drawn out of shape. In other re-
spects every feature is retained. The eye
brows are there, and YOU can see the hair
in the nose. The microscope reveals the
pores in the skin, greatly crowded together.
The Victim of r Violent Death.
The head was cut off even with the shoul-
ders, and there is hole in the windpipe
directly under the chin where the victim
was. evidently stabbed. A number of peo-
pie have looked at the head, and all are
puzzled to know how it was prepared.
General Caamano thinks that Immediately
after the bones are taken out that red hot
gravel is put into the head. The heat re-
hard and tough. Then the gravel IS re-
moved. 1t is a most curious and hideous
sight, but well worth seeing
Some archaeologists believe that the Ipcas
Indians are descendants of the old Egypt-
ans. Mr. Childs brought back with him
/ rough figure made of clav that is an exact
reproduction of the head of the Sphinx.
While out hunting one day he entered
natives hut and found the figure in the
house. He gave the negro a dollar for it,
md he was delighted. Mr.. Childs learned
rom the native that the bust was dug out
Of an old mound Is miles in the interior.
He had also collected other relics, old
knives etc, that he had found in it. Mr..
Childs thinks the figure is strong proof that
The theory is true. Here was a simple
minded native who had the clay bust in his
He had never heard of or seen
The Sphinx, and his story about the mound
is certainly true.
While in the town of Conception the
women were busy paying the streets. They
had gotten the idea somewhere, and the
Americans were muck amused watching
hem at work.
Laying Pavements of Gold.
Mr.. Childs says there wasn't hoyse or q
vehicle in the town, and he couldn't see the |
for the paving. The women
'cooped sand and gravel out of the river,
which they carried in large plates Small |
squares were outlined on the streets with |
tones, and then the space between was |
illed with gravel and pounded down. One |
If the party took several handsful of the |
'and at random, and extracted the gold. |
Mr.. Childs has the result in small bottle, |
md it shows that the country down there is |
eeming with the precious metal. The vege-
alton OF Ecuador is most luxuriant. Mr..
Jhilds states that morning glories of all |
'olors and as large as dinner plates were
quite common along the rivers.
''On our way home" said Mr. Childs,
we were greeted in the harbor at Quinto
" the officers and crew of the Ninth of
July. This is one of their large battle
hips named after the date on which their
liberty was restored. 1 remember the first
,ficer very well. He was a little fellow,
and could speak few words of
English During the conversation 1 asked
lin for his card. He didn't have one, and
vas too polite to write his name on a piece
# paper for me. The next day he sent
light sailors in boat to our ship, and as
hey climbed over our vessels side one of
he men handed me the officers card with
lis compliments. About week afterward
re heard at Panama that the under officers
nd men of the man-of-war had mutinied.
He Was Little, but a Hero.
'They placed revolver at the head of
he first officer and threatened to blow his
rains out unless he put to sea with the
hip. He refused. and they were too COW