The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-06
EXTINCT ARIZONA PIeMIEs.
THEY LIVED IN BLow-HOLEs IN
MOUNTAINS.


by Artifce.
From the Hartford Times.
The notion of an occupancy of blow
holes" in volcanic lava by human beings
for dwelling purposes is decidedly new
II has been brought to the attention of
| science by information gathered by Dr.
J. Walter Fewkes of the bureau of
ethnology. incidentally to a recent study
trip through Arizona and New Mexico.
The blow-holes in question are in the
neighborhood. of, Mount Taylor. and it is
alleged that in earlier times they were
inhabited by pigmies of race now wholly
extinct. To attest their former presence
there are little stone houses built within
these strange volcanic caverns, and some
of the tiny mansions are more than half
filled with lava, which has flowed in
through the doors and windows. This
proves. Of course that at least one great
outburst of subterranean fire has occurred
since the dwarfs took up their residence
in that locality.
The true scientific man is always pre-
disposed to incredulity. DR.. Fewkes pro-
poses to visit hese alleged volcanic dom
iciles next summer; until then he refuses
| to give his endorsement to the stories
quoted, though he owns they are remark
| ably we'll supported by hearsay evidence
1t should be explained that all the re-
| gion about Mount Taylor is covered by
| sheets of lava, some of which, glistening
in the sun, look as fresh as If poured out
few weeks ago. AS the Plutonian
vomit flowed over the land, cooling as it
went, great bubbles of gas formed in it
| and eventually burst, leaving cavities in
hardening Of
| 'blow-holes,' as they are called, are big
enough to accommodate whole regiments
| of pigmes. There is no telling how lately
| the last eruption occurred but it is
! thought that a tradition of a year of
light and fire. preserved by the Laguua
Indians, may have reference to this event.
The region thereabout is indescribably
| desolate, much resembling the neighbor
| hood OF one of the moons volcanic cra-
| tiers, as seen through a telescope. No
| human being can make his way across
! the lava fields, the surface of which is
| covered with jagged points and full of
| holes big enough to swallow horse and
| cart. From McCarty's Station to Grants
Station the Atlantic and Pacific railroad
| cuts right through the lava. For human
| beings the country is exceedingly uninvit-
ing, but it Is thickly populated by jack
| rabbits and rattlesnakes of extraordinary
| size. An unscientific person, by the way,
brought to DR.. Fewkes a fragment of lava
from one Of the pigmy houses, which bore
a distinct impression of an ear of corn.
| Surprising that there was no mistake, it
| afforded valuable evidence to show that
| the dwarfs were obliged to fly from a vol
| canic eruption. But DR.. Fewlxes was not
perfectly satisfied that the so-called lava
was not merely a piece of Stag resulting
| from the cooking of maize ears in fire.
| heated pit, according to the custom of
| that country.
| Not long ago a report was made to the
| Smithsonian Institution which touched
| upon the strange caves with which Eas-
| ter Island, in the Pacific, Is fairly honey
| combed. These caverns are blow-holes,
| made by volcanic bubbles, the isle in
| question being merely the top of a mid
| ocean volcano. 1t does not appear, how
| ever, that they were occupied for living
purposes by the numerous race which
| once populated the island of the giant
stone images. They seem to have been
used as burial places, tens of thousands
of human skeletons being found in them.
If the people had been pressed by ene-
mics, they would doubtless have taken
refuge in them, as did the ancient pigmies
of Arizona. When the latter lived, they
were harried presumably by tribes of big
ger men, and thus were driven to seek
places of residence which afforded some
degree of security. 1t was the same way
with the ancestors of the modern Marquis
of Arizona, who dwelt on lodges of cliffs
for safety against the Apaches and other
marauders
To the north of the Moqui country are
found. 1t is said, certain cliff dwellings
which are built on so small a scale that
people of ordinary size could not possibly
have inhabited them. The doors would
not admit an average man; the pots and
pans Of earthenware seem like mere toys
for babies. The flights of steps up the
olinec ORC G ladders for. Uer.ita 1l1p RFoxUn-
les and the stone graves are no bigger
than soap boxes But DR.. Fewkes declares
that more investigation is needed before
these data can be accepted scientifically.
The little pots, for example, might be de-
signed for purposes of religious ceremo-
NAL and not for domestic use Munnnies
of astouishingly small human beings have
been discovered in some of the cliff houses
and they have proved to be the desiccated
corpses of infants, dead nobody knows for
how many centuries. In that arid climate
bodies dry up, and sometimes even the
cornea of the eye is perfectly preservd.
Semitic men regard all stories of pig
mics with suspicion at the outset Belief
in the existence of pigmies seems to be
deeply rooted In the human mind An
cient literature is full of it. Almost every
day reports on the subject reach the
Smithsonian Institution. People find stone
graves, which are frequent enough. con-
tanning the bones of Indian infants. and
at once they jump at the conclusion that
they have discovered remains of a race Of
dwarfs Tales of early travellers describe
the Eskimo, who are small people rela-
lively, as living in houses scarcely bigger
than thimbles. From time immemorial
little people have been regarded eyery-
where as uncanny. From this convention
are derived beliefs in miniature creatures
in the form Of men who benefit or iniure
human beings. OF this sort are the Brown
les. All countries, but particularly Ger
many, are infested by gnomes and COLLINS
who live under ground usually, shunninr
the daylight.
Excessive size or notable diminutiyeness
in a human being excites such great non
ular interest that man over seven feet
or a dwarf under four feet can make
good living by exhibiting himself Tom
Thumb, whose real name was Stratten
earned a large fortune, though he spent
nearly all Of 1t in dissipation. He was the
most famous of modern dwarfs, though
by no means the smallest, his stature he
ing thirty-four inches. His wife, whose
maiden name was Minnie Warren. was
two inches shorter than he. Mr.. and
Mrs. Commodore Mutt were not much over