The record-union., 1895-08-09
JAPAN LITTLE NEGROES.
Black Pigmies and Savages of Her
Newly Acquired Formosa.
They Ara Wild and Fierce Fighters,
and Invaders Have Never Been
Able to Approach Them.

| The Japanese will accomplish task
hitherto deemed hopeless if they succeed
| in subduing the tribes OF savages and
dwarfs which inhabit the interior OF their
! newly acquired island OF Formosa.
These wild people have maintained their
| independence for centuries, refusing to
be civilized or TO submit TO the yoke of
| the foreign invader.
They dwell in the Businesses of the
mountains, and some of them are heal
| hunters. Bags of peculiar network are
manufactured by them expressly for the
purpose of carrying heads secured in
their wa-like forays. One of their chiefs
when about to be executed by the
Chinese said: II have no fear of death; |
have taken ninetyfour heads and only
wanted six moro to make the hundred"
These saVages are OF Malay stock.
They say that they did not belong orig
inaliy in FOrmosa, and describe their
origin by pointing TO the south and show
ing copies of the canoes in which their
ancestors are alleged to have arrived.
Their garb ranges from nudity to gayiy
colored garments of their own weaving,
made from the iibers OF the banana and
rame plants. They tattoo their faces and
build elegant huts OF bamboo, over the
doorwayS of which are hung as trophies
skulls of wild boars and apes and some
times tufts OF Chnamen's pigtalIs.
THE CAMPHoR DISTRICT.
1t is only III their territory, which
strangers rarely dare to invade, that the
canphor- bearing laurel grows. Conse-
quently. the camphor can only be OBJ
tanned with their consent. and money is
.ni1 To chi af RI N
ing the distilling plants sat up IN their
country. Nevertheless. trouble FREE
quently arises and the stills are con-
stantly being destroyed.
Several European firms are en-
gagged in the canphor trade, and they
negotiate with The savageS through the
Intervention of the seuI-civilized Hak-
kas, or Hil!men. They make advances
to the Hlllmen on condition that the lat
ter shall SCI up certain number of stills
aud supply monthly fixed amount OF
camphor al price agreed upon.
Formosa is go miles long and 70 miles
wide, being as big as Sardinia and Corsi
ca rolled iuto one. Estimates of the pop
uation vary from 100000 to ), 100000,
because the number of Savages is I'M
known. The soil is bursting with fat
ness, and nowhere is a timer quality of
tea produced. 1t Is a great pineapple
country, and a beautiful nber is obtained
from the leaves OF that plant. The east
ern half Of the island is covered with
jungles, in which grows the valuable
creeper called rattan.
A QUEER RACE OF DWARFS.
Formosa is a part of the great archi
pelagO which includes the Philippines,
long possessed and misgoverned by
Spain. In Japsn's newly acquired island
have been found skulls and skeletons of
people who belonged so a race of black
Gwarts, doubtless eXterrinated there by
the Malays. Pigmies OF the same race
still inhabit the Philippines. They were
called Negritos, or Little Negroes. by the
early Spanish settlers. Some OF the
smaller islands were entirely peopled by
them. They cali themselves Aetas; they
are active, very dark woolly, small
headed, and average only four feet anu
seven inches III hight.
They are distinct from any other known
people. Though so tiny, they are very
muscular, using with ease bows which
the strongest white man cannot string.
They are wonderful runners, and their
senses are overwhelmingly acute. They dis
tinguish by their Ouor fruits hidden in
the thick foliage of the jungle, aud recog-
niZe by smell only from what flowers the
bees have gathered honey.
These dwarts are supposed to have been
the earliest Inhabitants of the Malay
Archipelago. They invented canoes, the
nautical qualities of which have aston
ished English sailors. Eventually they
became widely scattered over the seas Of
that part OF the world and on the main
land as we'll. Some tribes of them still
exist in The most inaccessible and I'M
wholesome parts OF India, where they
are known as "man apes" or men OF
the Jungle"
Once upon a time they were numerous
in Java, whore they were wiped out by
Malays, who joined to murderous pro-
pensities a civilization capable OF erecting
the thousands Of gigantic temples whose
ruins to-day amaze the archaeological ex
plOrer in that island. Some anthrOpOlO-
gists are OF the opinion that the remains
OF so-called fossil man recently found
in Java are actually The bones of Little
Negro
Bigger and stronger people gradually
drove out and killed off these pigmies,
who now are found occupying the interior
of some OF the largest islands, finding a
refuge among the mountains, while the
plains and coastal region are inhabited by
intruding races. This is true of Luzon,
the largest member of the group Of
Philippines. The Cwarts were found
| there by the first Spanish settlers, as we'll
as in the interior OF the four other princi-
pal islands.
II fO1SON Eli <Ais!fONSs
They will have nothing to do with the
Spanish, Malay or Chinese inha bitants,
and intrusion upon their territory is
vigorously resented. Armed as they are
with poisoned arrows, the slightest scratch
from which means death, they are well
able to defend themselves. There are
parts OF Luzou in which no white man
| dares to set foot, and some OF the smaller
isles OF the group remain to this day un-
eX plOred Tor the same reason.
The dwarfs trade to some extent with
| Chinese pedolers, but in very peculiar
| fashion. Inc peripatetic merchant de-
posts money III deaig mated spot and
| goes away to distance III return for it
! the sayages leave III the same place such
merchandise as rare gums, line woods and
| the leaves and roots OF valuable plants.
/ wiiicil The peddler is able to dispose of in
the cities at great profit. They are al
ways scrupulousiy honest and even lib
| eral in their dealings.
The chains OF hills or belts of Jungle
must not be crossed without formal IN
vitation or special permission. Occasional
violations OF this law cause bloody tights.
The Little y egr0e5 are the smallest peO-
/ pie in the world, with the exception per-
! haps of the black dwarts Of the Congo,
who are said to average only four feet two
and hall inches in hight.
Owing 10 The extreme WildneSS of thes 9
little people and the difficulty ofapproach-
ing them, they have never been studied
! TO any extent except on the Andanan
| Islands. There the race has been kept
| particularly pure, no intrusion by stran-
/ gers having occurred. at ali events, there
! has been no settlement by foreigners,
though MaIays and Chinese have for cent
uries irequented the islands for the pur-
pose OF gathering edible swallows nests.
THEY ARE VERY MORAL.
They have laid traps for the natives in
| order to catch them and make slaves of
| them. On this account the pigmies have
made practice of killing mariners who