The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1898-04-16
DWARFS IN THE PYRENEES
IT.. r,ry of Their Origin Derived Fro'


tt. r,ry of Their Origin Derived From
Their Legendary History.
There has long dwelt in the heart
of the Pyrenees, on the old Cataloni-
an border of Spain, a race of dwarfs
supposed by some to be of Tartar
origin.
They inhabit the valley of the
Ribas, in the northwestern part of
the Spanish province now called
Corona. They never exceed 81 x
inches in height and have short, ill
formed legs, great bellies, small
eyes, flat noses and pale, unwhole-
some complexions They are usual
ly stupid, often to the verge of lido
cy, and much subject to goiter and
scrofulous affections. The chief
town of the Ribas valley is Ribas, a
place of 1900 inhabitants, about 500
feet above sea level. The mountains
rise above the town to height of
5000 to 5000 feet and command an
amazingly beautiful panorama of
mountain, plain and river, with
Spanish cities visible upon the one
side and French upon the other.
The region is rich, both agricultural
~ and minerally, and is famous for
its medicinal springs. In this para
disc dwell the dwarfs, perhaps as de-
graded race of men and women as
may be found in any civilized COM
munity. They are almost without
education, and inhabi wretched huts
when they have any shelter. The
most intelligent are employed as
shepherds, and in summer they live
for months at an elevation of more
than 6, O0O feet without shelter. Here
they see no human creature save
some of their own kind, often idiots,
who are sent up every IS or 20 days
with a supply of food. - y.
1t is said that formal marriage is
almost unknown among them. The
women in some instances are en-
ployed in the village Of Ribas as
nurses for children, and as such are
found tender and faithful. Before
communication throughout the re-
gion was as easy as it is now it was
thought lucky to have one of these
dwarfs in a family, and the dwarfs
were hired out and even sold to be
used in beggary in neighbo1ing cit
les. There are somewhat similar
dwarfs in other valleys of the Pyr-
enees, but the number is decreasing,
and those Of the Ribas valley are re-
duced to few individuals
The writer rejects the theory of a
Chinese origin for the dwarfs and
believes that they are merely the
degenerate descendants Of the ordi-
nary natives, i'll .nourished for gen.
erations upon a diet of potatoes and
black bread. The fact that with i'm
proved means of communication the
dwarfs are decreasing helps to con-
firm the writer's theory, and he be-
lieves that with proper nourishment
and decent shelter their descendants
would gradually return to the. nor
NAL type. Meanwhile the neigh
bors of the dwarfs look upon them
with a curious mixture Of feelings.
The fact that the dwarfs drink much
at a particular mineral spring has
given rise to superstition that who
ever drinks of it will become de-
formed, and the normal natives are
Mortified to see visitors experiment
ing with the dreaded waters. There
is reason to believe that the waters
of the spring are beneficial in the
stomachs of we'll nourished persons,
but injurious to those who are ac-,
customed to an unwholesome diet,
and it is entirely possible that the
ill fed dwarfs have been injured by
drinking of the spring. Cosmos.