The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-09-07
THE PIGMY SAVAGES.
WHAT IS KNOWN OF THE 4-FOOr
MsN AND WOMEN OF AFRICA.

swing in the Trees Like Trapeze
artormers-Poisoned Arrows for
Weapons.
From the Pittsbur0 Dfspdtch.
TO ir,portant discoveries were made $50
vsars ago by Andrew Battel, an English
,risoner in the hands OF the Portuguese.
He was kept for years in the convict colony
~ Angola on the west coast OF Africa, and
had an opportunity while living there TO
travel much in Angola and the adjoining
ysgions He was the first to make known
tbe existence OF the gorilla. the most re-
markable among African animals; and he
Gas also the first to announce in compare
Hvely recent times, the existence Of dwarfs
-"Lttle people called Matimpa. who are
not bigger than boys Of 10 years"
Thera il no doubt that he discovered the
sncastors of the Obongo dwarfs whom Du-
Cbailu brought to light again in 1863; and
It ia interestiug to note that the world, de-
tsrmined not to accept dwarfs as an antnro-
BIOLOGICAL fact, rejected Battelps discovery
n the seventeenth century, just as it more
than half rejected DuChaillu's in the nine
taentb. This is one instance among many
of important discoveries in Africa dis
oarded by the early geographers; and not
a few recent explorations have merely been
rediscoye cries OF facts that were well known
200 aud 800 years.
DWARF CONTRIB UTIONS 10 HISTORY.
Forty wears ago no one supposed that
tribes of dwarfs existed in Africa. To-day
authorities like Schlichter, Felkin and others
affirm, not only that the ancient writers
were dealing with fact and not fable when
they wrote of the dwarts OF Central Africa,
but also that the world derived important
geographical facts from these dwarfs. They
believe, with Capt. Stairs, that warts found
their way IN ancient times into Egypt, and
that they doubtless gave some information
about the Mountains OF the Moon,r and
the source Of the Nile. The theory that
dwarfs from the upper Nile regions did
reach Egypt is fortified in q striking man
ner by the recent discovery on an old Egyp-
tian monument of the picture of q dwarf
with the name Of Aka beside it, which Is
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 discoverer was needed
before the interesting subject attracted
much attention.
Some fifteen explorers have within the
past few years added many facts to our
knowledge of the dwRrfs, and though our
acquaintance with them is still incomplete,
enough facts have been obtained to enable
US to take general view OF these curious
little people.
A GROUP OF WHICH LITTLE is KNOWN.
have not yet been visited by any explorer,
and yet it is certain that they inhabit, ap-
prOximately, the region assigned to them
on our map, south of Abyssinia. 1t is hoped
that before long some explorer will visit
them in their home and tell us more about
them. Avanchers, Krapf and d'Abbadie,
all travellers or authority have met many
Of them and, independently Of one another,
have borne testimony of their existence.
They were described by these men as having
the same characteristics as mark the eQua-
torial dwarfs, who were not known for
years after the Dokos had excited the curi-
osity Of ethnologists. Prof. Hartman in
1875 collected on the east coast reliable re-
ports about the Dokos, confirming the earlier
reports.
The Dokos are aaid to be dark brown in
color, extremely ugly in physique. and
about four feet high. They 60 entirely With
out clothing, and build most primitive huts
which they cover with skins or leaves.
Their only occupation is hunting. They
change their quarters as soon as game be-
comes scarce, use only poisoned arrows aud
are experts in catching animals In traps and
pitfalls. They do not know the use OF fire
aud eat the flesh OF ssrpents and other ami.
mals raw.
FOUR GROUPS OF LITTLE FOLKS.
1t is now possible to divide the dwarfs Of
Africa into four groups-the pygmies of
West Africa known as the Obongo, Akoa
and Babongo, who were first met in recent
times by DuChaillu; the dwarfs Of the GEN.
trail regions, known as the Aka, VAN.
butti and Batua, discovered and described
by Grenten, Won Francois, Lenz, Wolf,
Wissnau and others; The East African
pygmies, known as the Dokos, though they
probably compose several tribes speaking
different dialects, and the dwarfs south OF
the Congo basin, who are the Bushmen, 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
pygmies are not yet sufficiently authenti-
Gated to be accepted as a fact.
Among all these widely separated dwarf
tribes exist resemblances so striking that
these little peoples are now believed to
be branches of the same great family that
oy one cause or another was separated, per-
maps centuries ago. until to-day its parts are
divided by hundreds of miles OF territory in
which no dwarfs are found.
TRAITS OF THE PIGMY CHARACTER.
They are all migratory, never remaining
long In one place, though they do not often
wander far out of their own district. AL
though all of them are savages of the very
b towest type. their cunning and skill as
hunters are most remarkable. They live
among tribes OF ordinary stature, whom
'ney supply with dried meat and fish In ex-
ohange Tor vegetable food, knives and other
Arucles They intermarry only to a small
extent with their large neighbo-s, and as a
rule are very shy in their intercourse with
otner people, which accounts for the frag-
nentary information we at present possess
about them.
Boards are developed among them more
largely than among other African tribes.
an OF them excel their neighbors in dexter
l1y as archers, in nimbleness and Ia ingeni-
Gus devices for catching game Every
school boy has seen pictures of native
africans disgusting themselves in ostrich
sElns to get within bow shot OF these shy
BIRDS 1t is only the dwarf bushmen who
pIactlce this device Livingstone said that
me dWarfs he met killed many lions with
suer Insignificant looking arrows. We
snow very little as yet about their languages
sna dialects, but the incomplete vocaDularies
shst nave been collected show that not a
rev OF the words of these widely severed
Tribes are identical.
THE oBoNGo ARE THE SMALLEST.
-; In number OF respects, however, the va
tIous dwarf tribes show differences of some
Importance. In Central Africa the Tikki-
t Xxi o"arts are little taller have darker
9 ,i.n more vigorous limbs, aud are covered
WIN rev but OOarsar hairs than ha