Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1904-07-20

of fulLsized natives is the most re.
remarkable in all Africa. Their color
is far more nearly red than is that
of the North American Indians. For
many years the red African negro was
considered a work of fiction" but MIR.
Vernon really found him.
The third class is composed of sew.
eral wild and tame tribes of pygmies.
Among the wild ones are the hairy
creatures that rarely grow to be mor
than three feet high and are only n
step removed from monkeys. All the
wild pygmies are hunters, XII ling even
lions aud elephants. The tame ones
a.e farmers and the chief article of
trade between the two classes is salt,
which is given in exchange for every
thing.
The tame pygmies occupy the posi-
ton of servants or vassals to the tall
er Congo people, and few Of them
ever grow to be more than four feet
high. They are called Batwas, and
they have many of the characteristics
of the old-time darkeys whose blood
was comparatively unmixed with that
of the Caucasian. Their noses care
fiat and their lips thick. With their
%retreating forehead, incessant jabber
and ready imitation of all they see and
hear, they remind n of hairless
monkeys.
Mr.. Vernon had 16 Of the Batwa
people, including men, women and
children, ready to bring to America,
but while he was waiting for the
steamer he was seized with malaria,
and this gave the natives the impress
sion that he was under the disfavor
of the evil spirits, so that he was a
person to be dreaded. Then they were
so terrified at the sight of the shin
that all but four ran away to the
woods. Those who remained are all
men. One of them, Artiba, who is a
cannibal and has the sharpened teeth
of his tribe has learned to say to the
visitors, Gin nick, show teef." This
morsel of English he accompanies by
an expressive out-stretching of the
hand that usually el!clts the coveted
coin. In stature he is no longer than
an ordinary boy of seven, yet he is 2S
years old and has a wife and two
children who ran away to the woods
just before the steamer sailed for
America. One of his clever tricks. in
begging for money, is that Of address
ing the ladies as mamma" a compli-
ment that is not always appreciated
by the feminine visitor.
A more important parsonage than
either Kondolo, the educated interpre.
ter. Of Arbita, the little cannibal with
the spike-like teeth, is the crown
prince of the Congo, eldest son OF
King Ndombe. Those who were so
fortunate as to see the crown prince
of Siam in the full regalia of his rank,
should o miss an opportunity to see
this other prospective monarch. HIS
robes of state consist of a pair of df
lapidated blue overalls, a faded cotton
shirt and a black SLOUGH hat. His
mansion is a tent which he shares with
half-a-dozen other natives of South
Africa. all of whom were his fathers
servants at home.
Like the pygmies, he has learned
to beg, and a very small coin will send
his bare feet tripping oyer the dusty
ground in the merriest of dances. He
is a very black boy, out for a lark, and
is having "the time of his life" There
Is but one thing he fears and tnat is
a kodak. The sight Of n OF these
mysterious black boxes is suf1clent
to drive him to his tent in a state OF
panic. One lady, who was particularly
anxious to get his picture, offered him
a quarter of a dollar to pose for her.
AS he reached for the coin he caught
sight of the kodak and in an instant
he co~mprehended what h a Deeh
trying to tell him. Sprlnging back
into the shadowy doorway Of the tent
he cried:
Throw way" with a violent gest
ure towards the fence, throw wayl
take nick, take nun, throw way!'
! Then for ten minutes he tantalized
the lady by raising the flap OF the tent,
posing himself and then letting the
flap drop each time she raised the
camera to a level with his face. Final
by she went away in disgust and the
prince came out lighted a cigar and
began to beg for nickles as before.
Good Spirits.
Good spirits don't all come from