Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-10-26
NEGRITOS ALMOST EXTINCT.
Philippine AbOriGines Victims of the
Sturdier Races.
From the Forum.

From the Forum.
The Negritos are the aborigines of the
Philippines. Before the coming of the Ma
lays they probably occupied all this island
group and many of the numerous islands
which lie in the Pacific to the southwark.
Some of them are found today in the penin-
sula of Malacca and the Andaman islands.
In Java they have recently died out 1t is
likely that some of them still exist in the
forests of Borneo and in the interior of
other large islands. Half-breed Negritos are
found from India to New Guinea. Here the
Negritos have amalgamated with the saw
age tribes of Hindustan; there, with the
negro like Papuans of Malaysia. But every
where the pure race is dying out. War,
bitter and unrelenting, seems to have ex-
listed for centuries between them and the
invading Malays. The latter have proved
the stronger; the Negritos have persisted
or been driven to the depths of the forests
and the Businesses of the mountains, and
most of the land which once knew them
knows them no more. policy Of eXtermi-
nation has prevailed and few Of this once
numerous race survive.
What can be said of them as individuals?
They have two claims to notice. They are
a race of dWarfs the smallest people on the
face of the earth. l intend this statement
to include the pigmies of Africa. And men
tally they are the lowest, or one of the
degraded in condition, forest wanderers
scarcely more settled than the apes; man
apes they are called in parts of India.
But, If deficient mentally, the Negritos are
largely endowed physically. They can run
like deer and climb like monkeys. In fact,
they approximate to the monkeys in one
respect since they have great powers of
movement and of graspng in the great toe,
being able to pick up minute objects with
their feet. When board ship they are
as nimble as monkeys and can descend the
rigging headforemost, holding on by the
toes alone. Some Negritos are employed
servants by the Filipinos. Most of them,
however, dwell in their forest retreats.
where they live mainly by hunting, though
they also eat the wild fruits of the forest,
the roots of the arum, the honey of the
wild bees and other woodland products.
Their weapons are simple, but effective.
They consist of bamboo lance, bow of
palm wood and culver of poisoned arrows.
1t Is an interesting fact that the art of
poisoning arrows is common to the pigmy
races wherever found. The African dwarfs
use arrows a puncture from which is fatal.
The Negritos have another way of getting
food not agreeable to the natives of the
open country. They will swoop down upon
the valley, steal covertly around a herd of
browsing cattle and drive them or to their
strongholds in the hills.
The NegritCs-or Aetas, the Spanish
call them-iiVe in the simplest and most
primitive fashion. They wander to and fro,
about fifty families in a group, obtaining
shelter from a few Sloping poles covered
with leaves Sometimes they build rude
huts raised on bamboo poles, in the Malay
fashion. They have pretense of farming,
scratching the ground with a stick and
throwing in handful of seed, but they
seldom remain in one place long enough to
gather their slender crop.