Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1896-05-21

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JAbS[&. W. scum, says Wash
Yr&pES@%5 ington correspond
VLfDSklIG ent of the Phila-
IH%t5 1&srZ0 delphia Times. 1t
&S9 comprises a num-
Der Of objects IL
Illustrating the arts and industries OF the
strange race of dwarfs which inhabit
an archipelago in the Bay Of Bengal.
Sailors have long known them some
what dsrespectfully as little Mig
gers" because the average height of
the men is only about A feet ten inches.
while the ordinary stature of the
women is feet 7 inches, Perhaps the
oldest thing about them is that they
look like babies all their lives, seeming
never to grow up Withal they are
probably the most primitive savages
in the world. The collection referred
to has been forwarded to DR.. Enrico
Gigioli, director of the Florence mu-
scum.
The dwarfs of the Andamans, until
quite recently, have not known how to
make fire. On one Of the islands OF
the archipelago is an active volcano,
from which they we're accustomed
formerly to obtain fresh supplies OF fire
at intervals. Special expeditions for
this purpose were not often necessary,
inasmuch as they knew how to keep
fire burning in decayed wood for an in
definite length of time.
The people of the village, when leaving
an encampment, with the intention Of
returning in few days, would take
with them one or more smoldering logs.
At the same time they would place a
large burning log or faggot in a shell
tered spot, where it would shoulder for
long while, so as to be easily re-
kindled when required. incidentally,
all labor Of splitting and chopping was
saved, inasmuch as such a log could
be broken into small pieces by ham
mering it with stone.
The method of keeping fire in de-
cayed wood is still practiced commonly
by the little niggers, especially in the
interior of the larger islands, where
they did not come into contact with
white visitors. Nothing introduced by
whites has excited their wonder SO
much as friction matches. To produce
are with such ease offhand, struck
them as actually supernatural &C
complishment. Anthropologists say
that primitive man did not invent Ere
he found it, Having found it, II did
not take him long to discover uses FOL
it. Not until long ages had passed
did he learn to make fire; it was an
advanced art, the practice of which re-
CURED a high degree of skill, II you
do not believe it, just try to get q
spark by means Of the wooden sticks
commonly employed by savages for the
purpose.
Formerly the dwarfs of the Anda-
mans were accustomed to murder ruth
Ilessly all strangers who approached
their shores. Melancholy indeed was
the fate of shipwrecked sailors who
rhanced to seek refuge on the ISLANDS
of the archipelago. They were sure tc
Iibe shot to death with arrows. Indeed
distressed mariners cast away in thai
Ipart of the Bay of Bengal would be
most likely to be massacred even al
the present day. 1t is believed that the
Iinveterate hostility of the little niggerf
arose originally from the cruel prac-
Itice of Malays, Burmese and Chinese
who visited the Andamans to get edible
birds nest and sea cucumbers. They
used to kidnap the natives and sci
them as slaves in neighboring coun.
tries. When the British established &
settlement there the savages frequently
attacked them and took every oppor.
Itunity of stealing the iron tools Gn(
other implements which excited their
cupidity. Within recent years they
have become comparatively traetable
however.
There are several shades of eolod
among these little people, ranging
from bronze to sooty and black. Theil
hair is extremely frizzly, so as to looH
as if it grew in spiral tufts. 1t is fine
in texture and seldom more than two
or three inches. long. Most of the
women shave their heads once week
leaving only two narrow strips o.
hair from the crown to the nape Of the
neck. Many of the men follow the
same practice, though the style is diff
ferent, a circular patch of hair six
inches in diameter being left, like a
skull cap on the crown of the head
Men sometimes shave each others
heads, but only when the services of a
woman are not available, for it is one
of the duties of the fair sex in these
trihac IN act az harhars Their eve