The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-02-01
LITTLE BLACK PEOPLE.
The Aborigines of the Philippine Is-
 lands.

Washington Star.
 The Secretary of War has received a report from MT. D. P. Barrows. chier of the Bureau of on-Christian tribes of the Philippines, on the ethnology of the is- lands, in which he says that, while the great majority of the population is un- auestionably of Malayan origin. the abo- riginal race of the archipelago is the dwarf black people known as ''Negrltos' or little negroes. He says the people of this race are almost the smallest on the
 globe and are true savages. It was thought that their numbers were dwin- ding and that not more than 10000 re- mained in the islands, but inquiry shows not less than 5000 of these dwarfs. Some of them average four feet In height, but the greater number are under three feet. They feed upon roots and small game. and do not live in villages. but roam through the mountains in small groups of few families each. They are timid and fearful of approach, and yet to a certain extent are feared by the more civilized tribes. Mir. Barrow says:
 ''The number of problems presented to the ethnologist by these little blacks is almost bewildering. What place have they In the evolution of man? Their iden- tity with the Sakais, of the Malay pen insula. and the Mincopies of the Anda- man Island. Is almost certain, but what is their relation to those other pigmies- the dolichocephalic' dwarfs of Central Africa? And further. what may be their connection with the true negro race of Malanesia, almost contiguous to them [? The geographic distribution of the Ne gritos Is such that we must conclude that at one time they were practically the sole possessors of the Philippine archi- pelago, and unquestionably the first to arrive and to dispute their possession of the soil and to drive them into the noun tainous interiors. which they now occupy, were the tribes of primitive Malayans which still constitute the most consider able ement of the Non-C Christian popula- ton of the islands"
 In contrast to the dwarfs are the tribes in the vicinity of the Gulf of Davao and Mount Apo, in Eastern Mindanao. They are very tall. with hair wavy rather than straight, a. narrow and prominent nose and a color of skin approaching that of the Polynesians. and, according to MT. Barrows. they are another Non-Malayan element. He describes the seven Chris tan tribes. the Mohammedan Malays and other Malayan peoples and says:
 "of such diverse and varied clements. then, is the population of the Philippines composed. Of the mixture with Chinese and European blood it is unnecessary to speak further here. The variety of prob lems they present Is equally great for the ethnologist and the statesman. Since the first arrival of the Portuguese in Eastern waters the mind of the Malay has ap- peared to the European as a closed book Both races have ever misunderstood and mistrusted each other. Out of mutual ignorance and fear have followed hatred. oppression and retaliation. In the estab- lishnent of order in these islands this government is attempting to rear a new standard of relationship between the white man and the Malay. The success of this effort so full of possibilities for the future of life and intercourse in the far East. will depend in a large measure on our correct understanding, and scien- tific grasp of the peoples whose problems we are facing"
 He opposes very strongly the applica- ton of the Indian reservation scheme to the Malays. and says that his inquiries into the treatment of the Indians in this country have satisfied him that in spite of excellent intentions. the policy has not brought forth satisfactory results and in thousand cases has not done justice to the Indian.