The times., 1899-03-06
QUEER DWARFs OF AFRICA.
Another Group of rigmics Found in
the EamerocHs.
(From ihe New York sun.


(From The New York SUM
Never before has much been learned
about those strange little people, the pig
mics of Africa. as within the past year.
The timidity of these wandering tribes
seems to be wearing eff. and at last they
Will talk to white men about themselves.
They were quite friendly with some Of the
latest travellers. They seem convinced at
last that the white man, after all, means
them no harm.
1t was reported at least len or twelve
years ago that many dwaris 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 Gnly half dozen Of them
were on view. They were dragged unwill-
ingiy into the German camp while all their
relatives buried themselves deeper in their
forests. They differed in no respect from
the dwarfS of other parts of Africa. 1t
seems strange that the six groups OF pig
mics thus far discovered differ from one
another in no essential except that some
of them average an inch or two taller than
others. They all have practically the same
ways of life and the same mental and
physical characteristics. They live solely
by the chase, they never cultivate the soil.
they are the most skillfui hunters in Africa.
they wander from place TO place, following
the game through the forests. and they
sell much of the meat they kill 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
flimsy shelters of boughs and leaves only n
few days before they move on to other
hunting grounds. 1t would not seem sur
prising if they had developed differing
traits. owing to their rsnoteness from one
another and the fact that they probably
have been separated for many centuries.
DR.. VirchOw maintains that they all have
the characteristics of the true negro, eN-
cept that they are of shorter stature. He
told the Anthropological Society of Berliu
few weeks ago that the dwarfs were to
be regarded as the sole survivors of a prim
itive race from whom all the negro tribes
of the present day were derived. He be-
lieves that this view should supplaut the
older theory that the dwarfs are the REM
nants of the aboriginal tribes of Africa,
who in time were widely dispersed by the
intrusion OF larger and stronger peoples.
Mr.. Philip 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 ou-
illG O!tleT tHeOlS- IuSy nave ndnutu HONH
from father 10 son the statement that long
ago they were the sole occupants of the
country where they live. Then the big
people tBantu tribes suddenly swooped
down upon them from the north and killed
most OF their forefathers but kept some OF
the dwarfs 10 hunt for them. Others buried
themselves in the great forests and thus
escaped the general slaughter and perpet-
uated their race.
curious ideas bearing on the man and mon
key question. They say that a parrot is a
man because he can talk and a monkey is
a man because he can use his hands and
locks like a man; and they add that par
rOts, monkeys, and men are all good to cat.
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 some
times try to hold converse with the dwarfs,
who call the strange beings Kaieke. He
brought some Batwa boys TO Europe with
him. one of whom said he had seen the
kaeke When he took his boys to the
Geological Gardens at Antwerp where they
saw the celebrated baboon there go through
his performance, the boys declared that he
was a Kaieke. and triumphantly exclaimed.
Didn't we tell you so?'' Werner says these
Il aithc may De DdDOOhS, tnCugh ne mas
never heard of the Cape baboon north of
the Zambesi or OF tse 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 been the
I target for their poisoned arrows. He
actually succeeded in establishing friendly
relations with one OF their chiefs, who
told many things about his people.
The six centres where dwarfs have now
been found in Africa are % in the west
part OF the Camerocns; % in tire French
Congo, between the Ogowe River AMI
the Atlantic; go among the Congo's south
ern tributaries; % in the great forest OF
the northeast part of the Congo basin; to-
in East Africa north Of Lake Rudolf; and
60 the habitat of the Bushmen in South
Africa.