The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-03-07

Never before has go much been learned
about those strange little people Tue
pygmies OF Africa as within the past
year. The timidity Of these wanuerins
tribes seems 20 be wearing on ana at
last they will talk to white men ABOUT
themselves. They were quite friendly
with some Of the latest travellers. Ghey
seem convinced at last that tine Wnite
man, after all, means them no harm
IL was reported at least ten or twelve
wars ago that many dwarfs lived In the
interior Of the Cameroons, south OF the
Niger River, but no white men ever saw
them till last year. when the German ex-
petition sent against the Bulu tribe met
some of the little folks. They would not
have seen them if the dwarfs had had
their own way, and only half dozen of
Thorn were on view. They were dragged
unwillingly into the German camp, while
all their relations buried themselves deep
er in their forests They differed In no
respect from the dwarfs OF other parts oil
Africa. 1t seems strange that the six
groups Of pigmies thus far discovered
differ from one another in no essential
except that some of them average an inch
or two taller than others. They ell have
practically the same ways of life and the
same men tai and physical characteristics.
They live solely by the chase. they never
cultivate the soil, they are the most ski
full hunters in Africa. they wander from
place to place following the game through
the forests, and they sell much of the
meat they kin to the tribes around them
for vegetable food and other things they
desire. They build the poorest huts that
are found in Africa, and with reason
enough for they occupy the flinsy shelter
of boughs and leaves only few uays pe-
fore they move on to other hun9ihk
grounds 1t would not seem SURPRISING
If they had developed differing uhts'
owing to their remoteness from one On
other and the fact that they probably
have been separated for many centuries.
DIR. Virchow maintains that they all
have the characteristics OF the true negro,
kept that they are OF shorter stature:
lie I'D the Anthropological society 81
berlin, a few weeks ago that the dWaris
were to be regarded as the sole survivors
of II primitive race from whom all the
negro tribes of the present day were de
rived. He believes that this view should
supplsnt the older theory that the dwarfs
are the remnants of the aboriginal tribes
of Africa, who in time were widely dis
persed by the intrusion OF larger and
stronger peoples.
Mr., Phillips Werner has been living
for two years among the Batwa dwarfs
south of the Congo, who told him stories
about their forefathers which seem to
bear out the older theory They have
handed down from father to son the
statement that long ago they were the
sole occupants of the country where they
live. Then the big people Bantu trihes}
suddenly swooped down upon them from
the north and killed most Of their fore
fathers, but kept some of the dwarfs TO
hunt for them. Others buried themselves
In the great forests and thus escaped the
general slaughter and perpetuated their
race.
MI. erner says the Batwa have some
curious ideas bearing on the man and
monkey question. They say that parrot
is man because he can talk and mon
key is man because he can Use his hands
and looks like man; and they add that
parrots, monkeys, and men are all good
to eat. The Batwas told Werner that they
had seen men who differed from all Others
who have long hair, small, keen eyes, and
are very wild, never coming into the
towns, but living only in the bush, where
they sometimes try to hold converse with
the dwarfs, who call athe Estrauge ebeings
kaieke he brought some Batwa boys
to Europe with him, one of whom said he
had seen the kaieke. When ne took his
boys TO the Geological Gardens at Ant
werp, where they saw the celebrated
baboon there go through bis performance,
rte boys declared that he was Kaieke,
and triumphantly exclaimed, Didn't we
tell you soy" Werner says these kaieke
may be baboons, though he has never
heard Of the Cape haboon north of the
Zambesi or of tire gorilla south of the
Congo
Mr., Lloyd, in his recent trip through
the great forest north Of the Congo,
which Stanley was the first TO cross. had
no trouble with the numerous dwarfs he
met, though earlier travellers had teen
the target Tor their poisoned arrows. He
actually succeeded in establishing friend
" relations with one of their chiefs, who
sold many things about his people
The six centres where dwarfs have now
been found in A ri "a are a. in the West
part of the Cameroons; (2) IN . French
Congo, between the Ogowe River and
the Atlantic; (3l among the Congo's
southern tributaries; ca in the great
forest of the northeast part of the Congo
basin; (5) in East Africa north of Lake
Rudolf; and (d) in the habitat of the
bushmen in South Africa. N. Y Sun