The Holly chieftain., 1898-12-16

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Uncle Sam has acquired some now
hcxt-door neighbors. and they are very
remarkable folks. The people who oc-
cupy the groups Of islands round about
the Philippines have suddenly become
extremely interesting from the Ameri-
can point of view, now that the Unit
ed States government has decided to
absorb the archipelago conquered by
Dewey. They are more notable In
Yankee eyes from the fact that some
Of them are the direct descendants of
the earliest known inhabitants of the
earth. Others-i. e., the Malays-who
conquered these ancient aborigines,
and are now the ruling race in Poly
nesia. are actually supposed, for very
good seasons, to be distant relatives of
our own.
You see in the vast island-studded
region called Oceanica, in the south
western Pacific, there are found three
widely different varieties Of human be-
tngs. who occupy the groups neighbor-
ing to the Philippines. Some of them
represent the lowest existing type of
man, while others are chiefly civilized.
To the former category belong the "lit-
tie niggers'-knOwn to science az Ne
gritos-who are dwarfs, not averaging
In height over four feet eight inches.
They cannot count above five, and are
60 monkey-like as to counterfeit the ape
startlingly. They have black wool and
heads too large, seemingly, for their
bodies. The jaws are projected far be-
yond the nose, like monkeys, and
their faces are wrinkled in deep lines
like an ape'r. They have what looks
like a third eyelid. though II liz in real
ity an inner-fold Of the ordinary lid,
aud the three outer toes of each foot
nre turned inward, as in some mon
keys. Their legs hnve no calves, and
some tribes Of them are quite wild,
living In the forests and subsisting
mainly upon fruits.
1t is decidedly interesting to con-
slider that the United States is nCw ac-
quiring fresh population from the
very part Of the world in which man
as species is believed to have origi-
mated. In this region it is that the
early history Of the human race is be-
ing most hopefully studied. One step
back of the little niger" is there
found in the Kalangs Of Java, now
nearly extinct, who are the most ex-
tremely monkey-like people ever seen
alive in modern times. Some authori-
ties, indeed, arc Of the opinion that the
not-distant progenitors of the Kalangs
were probably furry, with woolly un-
der and a sleek outer coat, like the seals.
As for the "little nigger," he is the
aboriginal descendant of almost every
large island In Polynesia. He was on
the premises centuries before any big
ger colored man, or Malay either.
thought of arriving and taking possess
sion. So far as the isles Of the South
seas are concerned. he was the orig
inal preemptor; all others were In
comers-the big negroes, and, later, the
Malays-in recognition Of force ma
jeure, to which any man, however, civ
ilized, may honornbly bow.
From these circumstances 1t has
come about that in nearly every group
Of islands neighboring to the Philip
pines there is an aboriginal population
of black dwarfs, who are rapidly dying
out. 1t will be remembered, by the
way, that some years ago the show
man. Barnum, brought to this country
a dwarf whom he called the "Wild Man
of Borneo." The said wild man may
or may not have come from Borneo.
but he was unquestionably little mig
ger" Of the kind described.
The ''wild men of Borneo"--of the
little niggers" of that island are to be
thus denominated--are forest people.
They are timid, having been loEg
hunted by the conquering Malays, and
it is hard to get acquainted with them.
The only practicable commerce with
them is by deposit" That is to say,
the intending purchaser Of their goods
places in certain spot (mutually rec
ognized for shopping" purposes) a
given quantity Of certain article-pos-
sibly small looking glasses. In return,
the wild men" deposit what they un-
derstand to be wanted. and it may be
taken away at leisure. A meeting be-
tween buyer and seller is not required.
In this way the dwarfs sell gold, pre-
cious stones. rare plants and skins Of
birds. They kill the birds with the
blowpipe. through which they project
by the breath poisoned darts. And this,
by the way, is the manner in which
many exquisite skins of birds-of-para-
disc come to market. Borneo is coun-
try famous for beautiful birds without
song and beautiful flowers without per-
fume.
Az for these wild men" of Borneo,
the like Of whom are found on so many
other islands in Polynesia, they exist
In the most primitive way imaginable.
Clad in little or nothing besides 4
sweet smile and nose-plug, they live
pretty much as do the orang-outangs
of their own forests. It is q curious
fact that, whether in Africa or in the
great islands to the southeast of the
Asiatic continent, the black dwarfs
seem to be accompanied by the great
anthropoid apes, which look 10 much
like them. In Africa the pigmies share
great areas with the chimpanzee and
gorilla; In Borneo the dwarfs are found
In company with the orang and the
gibbon.
Baby orangs are one Of the articlea
Of barter used by the dwarfs Of Borneo
h>u L. - a