Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-08-28

rions He was the first to make known the
existence of the gorilla, the most remark
able among African animals; and he was
also the first to announce in comparatively
recent times, the existence of dwarfs-"it.
tie people called Matimba, who are not
bigger than BOYS of II years"
There is no doubt that he discovered the
ancestors of the Obongo dwarfs whom Du
ChaiIlu brought to light again in 1855; and
it is interesting to note that the world, de-
termined not to accept dwarfs as an an
chronological fact, rejected Battelfs dis
d covery in the seventeenth century, just as
it more than half rejected DuChaillu's in
the nineteenth This is one instance among
manv of important discoveries in Africa
discarded by the early geographers; aud not
few recent explorations have merely been
rediscoveries of facts that were well known
200 and 800 years ago.
Dwarf Contributions to History.
Forty years 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 we're dealing with tact and not fable
when they wrote OF the dwarts of Central
Africa, but also that the world derived i'm
portant geographical facts from these
dwarfs. They believe, with Captain Stairs,
that dwarfs found their way in ancient
times into Egypt and that they
doubtless gave some information about
the Mountains of the Moon," and the
sources of the Nile The theory that
dwarfs from the upper Nile regions did
reach Egypt is fortified in striking man.
ner by the recent discovery on an old
Egyptian monument of the picture Of
dwarf with the name Aka beside 1t, which
is the uame Of the most famous OF the Cen
tral African dwarf tribes; but later centur-
les had no faith in dwarf tribes, and the
testimony of more than one recent discov-
erer ~ss needed before the interesting SUBJ
feet attracted much attention.
Some fifteen explorers have within the
past few 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 these curious
little people
A Group Of Which Llttl. Is Known.
One group of these pygmies, the Dokos,
have not vet been visited by anv explorer,
and vet it is certain that they inhabit, ap-
proximately, the region assigned to them
on eur 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 of authority, have met many
of them an |, independently of one another,
have borne testimony to their existence.
They were described by these men as having
the same characteristics that mark the equa-
torial dwarfs, who were Lot known for
year after the Dokos had excited the curl
osity of ethnologists Prof Hartman in
1876 collected on the east coast reliable re-
ports about the Dokos, confirming the earlier
reports.
The Dakos are said to be dark brown in
color, extremely ugly in physique, and
about four feet high. They 90 entirely
without 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 and
are expert in catching animals in traps and