The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1892-10-14
AFRICA's PIGMf TRIBES.
BEARDED DwARFs rNHABIr rHH
DARK CoNTINBAT.
Tho Tribes OF Little People Are Wide.
~ Separated. Bus Have Strsk.-..


when they wrote Of the dwarfs OF Central
Africa. but also that the world derived
important geographical facts from these
nwarfs. They believe, as did the
late Captain Stairs, that dwarfs found
their way in ancient times into Egypt,
and that they doubtless gave some infor.
nation about the s'Mouutains OF the
Moon" and the sources Of the Nile. The
theory that dwarfs from the upper Nile
regions did reach Egypt is fortified in a
striking manner by the recent discovery
on an old Egyptian monument of the
picture of dwarf with the name Aka
beside it, which is the name Of the most
famous OF the Central African dwarf
tribes; but later centuries had No faith
in dwarf tribes; and the testimony of
more than one recent discoyery was
needed before the interesting subject
attracted much attention. Some fifteen
explorers have within the past faw years
added many facts to our knowledge Of
the dwarfs, and though our acquaintance
with them is still incomplete, enough
facts have been obtained to enable us to-
take a general view of those curious lit
tie people.
One group of these pigmies, the
Dokos, have not yet been visited by any
explorer, and yet it is certain that they
inhabIt, approximately, the region as
signed to them on our map south Of
hbyssinia. 1t is hoped that before long
some explorer will visit them in their
home and tell us more about them.
Avanchers, Krapf aud d'Abbadie, all
travellers Of authority, have met many OF
them, and, independently. of one another,
have borne testimony to their existence.
They were described by these men as
having the same characteristics that
mark tho Equatorial dwarfs who were
not known for years after the Dokos mad
excited the curiosity Of ethnologists.
Professor Hartman in 1875 collected ON
the cast coast trustworthy reports about
the Dokos, confirming thu earlier reports.
The Dokos are said to be dark brown in
color, extremely ugly in physique, and
about four feet high. They go entirely
without clothing and build most print
tive huts, which they cover with skins
or leaves. Their only occupation is
hunting. They change their quarters US
soon as game becomes scarce, use only
poisoned arrows, and arc expert In catch
ing animals in traps and pitfalls. They
do not know the use of fire and cat the
flesh of serpents and other animals raw.
DR.. Henry Schlchter, who has collated
all the evidence at hand relating to these
perfect savages, says, that although
their country has never been visited, it
can safely be said that "cast of the Nile
and to the south Of Kaffa in the unex-
plored territories to the south of the
river ONO there exists a pigmy race
similar in size, appearance aud habits to
the dwarfs Of tho uppec Nile and Congo
scattered among 6s,,S. sribes OF different
race and customs like S..~A. .~,.-..--- -
West and Central Africa.
! 1t is now possible to divide the dwarfs
OF Africa into four groups-the pigmies
of West Africa, known as the Obongo,
Akoa, and Babongo, who were first met
in recent times by Du Chaillu; the
dwarfs of the central regions, known as
the f..Is, Wambutti, and Batua, dis
covered and described by Grenfell, Won
Francois, Lcnz, Wolf, Wiseman, and
others; the East African pigmics, known
as the Dokos, though they probably
compose several tribes speaking several
different dialects; and the dwarfs south
of the Congo basin who are the bushmcn
and their relatives Of South Africa.
Some time ago Mr.. Halliburton reported
the discovery Of dwarfs among the Atlas
Mountains of Morocco, but the reports
about these alleged pigmies are not yet
sufficiently authenticated to be accepted
as fact.
Among all these widely separated
dwarf tribes exist rescmblanccs SO strik-
ing that these little peoples are now
believed to be tho branches of the same
great family that by one cause or another
was separated perhaps centuries ago,
until to-day its parts are divided by
hundreds OF miles of territory in which
no dwarfs are found. They are ali lnir
igratory, never remaining long in one
place, though they do not often wander
far oct OF their own district. Although
aii of them are sava2es Of the very low.
est type, their cunning and skill as hun
tcrs are most remarkable. They live
among tribes OF ordinary stature whom
they supply with dried meat and fish in
exchange for vegetable food, knives, and
other articles. They iltcrmarry only to
u cAlcuI VIII t!lctt
bors, and as a rule are vsry shy in their
intercourse with other peoples, which
accounts for the fragmentarY information
wo at present -noisess about them.
Boards are develoneE az. ""e' tha"e.:ee5..
ss largely thsR nRriy larger ar nsighbors
lures of native AirlSySas :. " So. nDiehess, no1ah,
eelvcs in ostrich ski hs to get within bow
~, 4 tlnca chy \ -. It il pnlv trI
dwarf buShmcn whS practise this device.
Livingstone said thht the dwarfs he met
killed many lions with their insigniti-
cant, looking arrows. Weknow very little
as yet about their languages and dialects,
but the incomplete vocabularics collected
show that not few of the words OF these
widely severed tribes are identical.
In number Of respects the various
dwarf tribes show differences OF sone
importance. In Central Africa the
Tikki.Tikki dwarfs are a little taller,
haze darker skins, more vigorous limbs,
and are covered wish fever bu, coarscr