The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-07-29

on his way TO the relief OF EInin Pasha. Quit
recently November. 1s0s) Mr.. Lloyd OF TN
Church Missionary Society. travelling TO TN
Congo from his station on the Albert Nyanza
came across a number OF dwarfs on his wa,
and became quite friendly with them. LITTLE
Is really known Of them. however. except INA
they are about feet 9 inches IN height, grea'
hunters, very active and that they can be very
pugnaciou4. They live a nomadic life In the
forest and subsist by the pursuit OF game. They
are believed TO be the survivors OF an aboriginal
race OF, at all events. Of Il race which came into
this country before the Bantu. The Church
Missionary Society is now attempting to con-
vert some of these dwurfs who dwell near Lake
Albert, 50 that we may expect to learn some
thing more Of them before long. Or the Hot
tentots and Bushmen whole tribes are now eS-
tinct, and the number OF those who remain +
comparatively small; the dwarfs also are CON-
paratively few. We may. therefore, consider
that, with these exceptions. the tapering part
OF Africa is peoplcd by the Bantu race. To this
race, at all events. all the inhabitants OF the
Congo region belong. with the exception OF the
dwarfs.
OF the early history OF the Bantu race nothing
definite is known. Whence came they, and
when? Their folk lore offers no clue. some
of their tribes have wandered, driven from
their homes by stronger enemies, who, Tor
son,e reason. had left their own homes to dis
possess them. Others have been conquered
and. in PROCESS Of time. have ab sorbed their
conquerors or been absorbed by them, and
SO there has been fux and change. In some
parts. the Bantu peoples have attained to q
fair measure OF stability. but, In others. changes
are even now In progress. IL seems to be q
fair general deduction from all the data that
the black races entered Africa by way OF Egypt,
coming In one behind the other. The earlier
and weaker ilottentots and Dushmen were
pushed down into the far southern corner o!
the continent, their congeners. the dwar's
alone. managing to hold their own In portions
Of the dense forest. 1t should In this place
be pointed out that the classification Of the
African races here set forth IL made on q philo-
logical basis. This. OF course. Is not always
a satisfactory criterion. for subject races have
now and then adopted the speech Of their more
cultured CONDUCTORS, IA In the case of tho Latin
languages. spoken now In France. Spain and
Portugal. According to MIR. Bentley. however.
there Is no reason to suspect that In any such
way a single original negro stock became by
conquest or any similar influence. Bantu in
tho south and true negro In the north. There
are, on the contrary, many considerations
which make the hypothesis highly improbable.
Although the Bantu peoples present 10 the
casual observer no approciablo physical differ
enCe from what ia known az the negro race.
being similar IN color and hair. and although
they share the same superstitions as to witch
craft and fetichism. they are In language IA
widely distinct as IL IL possible 10 conceive.
IL is. In truth, a recognized fact that the Bantu
and true negro families or language are as iar
apart from each other as Is the Aryan family
from the Semitic or even from the Ural-Altaic.
Indeed, the Bnntn natives OF the Cameroons
and the true negroes on the Niger River,
although living so near together, have no more
in comrnon 70 far as language Is concerned.
than they have with English or Chinese WHILE
on the other hand, the family likeness in the
radical grammatical and syllable construction
Of the languages il easily recognizable among
the Bantu tribes. however remote from each
other.
There cannot be found a trace OF such re-
semblance between the two frontier peoples
just referred to, either in roots. in general
srammatical rules. or even In ?tion of
syllnbles; and these SAMPLES Of the two great
races, though taken from places so near t.
one another. may be regarded as types. The
carital fact may then be accepted as proved
that. on tho Bantu frontier. a little north of the
Carreroons. the people have nothing in common
In the way Of language with the people living
only fifty miles to the north Of them. while
the former exhibit many points OF similarity
TO those living $500 miles to the south. 1t
will not. of course. be inferred that one speech
prevails over the whole ~tapering part Of Africa.
On the contrary. there are a great number Of
languages spoken therein. and often these
languages are subdiyided into several dia-
lects. There ia quite a. much difference be-
tween these various Bantu tongues as between
English and French. German. Italian and
Greek. but nowhere Is there such a difference
as exists between English and Arabic. One
thing Ia unnistak able. namely. that all these
Bantu languages sprang from one mother
tongue. 1t Is. moreover. susceptible Of proof
that the mother tongue was no barbaric crudity,
poor in words and awkward In grammatical
construction or In other words, such a language
as We might expect to find among wild and
degraded peoples. On the contrary. 1t was
yet. In parts. elaborate grammar. exceedingly
flexible. logical in structure. accurate in ex-
preston and euphonic. All these character
istics must have belonged to the mother tongue.
for, were II otherwise. languages spoken 1850
miles apart would be much more dissimilar
than they are, having developed under dis
similar conditions. Here. then we ind a Ian
guago superior to the people and everything
points to a degeneration OF the race rather
than to a process OF evolution toward some