The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1904-07-28
THE DWARFS OF AFRICA.
ANTHRoPoLoGIST VERY MUCH
INTERESTED IN THESE PEE
CULIAR PEOPLE.

Du ChaIlIu's Book, Published IN 1907,
Gave the First Modern Information
Relating to the Pigmies Of Equato-
rial Africa.
The news that the Rev. Mr.. Werner
Is returning to his old missionary field
in the southern part of the Congo ba-
sin with about rs dwarfs for the an
thropological exhibition at ST. Louis,
will interest not only the visitors there
but also wide circle of scientific men.
Anthropolcgists have for years inn
proved all opportunities to study these
curious peoples, whose chief peculiarl-
ty is that they are much under the
average stature. but they have been
studied chiefly in Africa, for only
few Of them have been taken to Eu-
rope. The party now coming to Amer
lea numbers at least twice as many
dwarfs as, up to this time, have been
taken from their forest homes.
Du Chaillu's book, published in 1861,
gave the first modern information re-
lating to the dwarfs of Equatorial At
RIGA, the results of his discovery of the
Obongo tribe near the west coast,
north of the Congo river. The dwarfs
now on their way to America are from
the Batwa family, living on the south
ern tributaries Of the Congo, whose
existence was not known till 1885 and
1886, when four famous Congo travel
lers, Wolff, Wissmann, Grenfell and
Won Francois, brought them to light.
Don't go near these dwarfs," was
the admonition Of the Congo natives
to Grenfell. '"They permit no one to
enter their country. They poison all
their weapons. They are the ugliest
of mortals and have great heads with
bearded chins upon the smallest of
bodies" Sure enough, Grenfell and
Won Francois found boards on the
faces of many Of the Batwa, but the
heads of the dwarfs are not dispropor-
tionately large and their features are
not especially ugly Unlike their cous-
ms, the Aka, who live in the north
eastern part of the Congo basin and
go nearly naked, the Batwa wear a
wide strip Of native cloth around their
little loins.
Werner has lived for years among
these little people. If he had not be-
come we'll acquainted with them and
won their confidence he could not ca
silly get them down to the sea and
embark them on an ocean vessel. In
the very district where Werner lived
so long, Van Francois drew lively
picture of the bowling little demons
who showered hundreds of arrows that
dashed against the steel network
which protected his steamer or stuck
in its wooden sun roof. Grenfell saw
the same little warriors clambering
along precipitious slopes Or swinging
like monkeys from limb to limb of
trees and climbing out on branches
overhanging the water SO that they
might speed their arrows at shorter
range against the man who had dared
to intrude upon their privacy. He said
their ear-splitting yells were out of all
proportion to their physical signifi-
cance. The blank cartridges he fired
at them, however, had an excellent
moral effect upon the little folks when
they took to canoes and seemed bent
on making prize of the white mans
boat.
One day DR.. Wolff, pushing up an
other stream in the same district
where missionaries are now living,
suddenly came upon about 20 tumble
down beehive huts, the homes of the
Batwa. 1t was the first time he had
by his sudden advent that they would
hardly utter word. "A crowd of near
ly hundred coffee-brown little folks,
none Of the larger than children two
thirds grown, stood timidly at dis.
lance. After some hours the explorer
won their confidence so far that they
permitted him to approach and he
took the heights of many Of them on
spear shaft. His measurements of
full-grown adults varied from 4 feet
inches to feet 1-2 inches. Their
average height has since been found
the Aka, the Batwa are not unusual
ly prognathous nor have they dispro-
portionately large abdomens, but most
of them are compact, well-built little
creatures without any physical pecu-
liarity except their small size.
This was long before the days of the
missionary stations south of the Congo
river. Today the wide region where
the Batwa hunt is the home of con-
siderable number Of white teachers
and rubber collectors. The dwarfs no
longer look upon the whites as enc
mics who have come among them to
destroy them. It is because they have
given the strangers their confidence
that single white man, by gentle
means, is now bringing a party of
them to America They will arouse
much curiosity and interest here; and
when they go home they will have
wonderful stories to relate of the un-
known world to which they are soon
to be introduced.-New York Sun.
Proving the convexity Of the Earth.
An experiment was made hundred