Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1905-09-08
| WENT
TO SEE
THE DWARFS
Miss Jean Nc Kinzil Tells Of
a Visit In the African
Forest

New York, Sept s.-Until recent
years the very existence Of tribes Of
dwarfs in Central Africa has been dis
puted, Notwithstanding the testimony
Of explorers, because the little people
are very shy and when one Of their
villages is found, it Is more than
likely to have been deserted by the in.
habitants But a visit TO the dwarfs
is no longer difficult, and an American
woman Miss Jean Mckenzie. who is
connected with one Of the West Afri.
can stations Of the Presbyterian Board
Of Foreign Missions has just sent to
the Office of the board in this city a
report Of a visit she made to them.
Miss Mackenzie begins her account
Of the trip with the laconic statement,
:" The other day went to see the
dwarfs." p" She describes the earlier
part Of the journey through the Afri.
can forest, stating that at town
called Moga there was met one of the
head men Of the dwarfs, a man named
BE. He agreed to pilot the party to a
dwarf village, and Miss Mackenzie
thus describes the trip:
'We started off in the rain. When
we struck into the bush Be led the car
avan. walked after and could Just
see the path after he had showed it.
The wet leaves brushed my face and
all the frost was full Of perfect
green light Some flowers were here.
but not many rather all the forest
dress was green, except where little
streams ran grown. Thus we walked
for three-quarters Of an hour, when
BE went ahead to tell the people Of
his village that a woman Of the
"Minisi" was coming. At noon. al.
ter a walk Of four hours, l stepped
into the clearing where the dwarf !
shelters lay.
81 sat down in the first shelter be.
sides n little shriveled woman, who
shrak away. I did not speak TO her,
more than to greet her, but looked
about me. The settlement lay on the
side Of a hill and took the form OF /
rectangle with one side open. There |
were no houses, properly speaking, but
four shelters made with roofs Of
leaves, the caves sloping from a roof
tree about fve feet high. II is east.
est 10 enter such a shelter from the
open ends. This much I saw rs I sat
beside the woman.
presently one little man after an.
other came from somewhere and shook
hands with me pleasantly enough until
quite company were squstted in
front Of the shelter watching me
breathe. The women hung back I
could see them watching ME from un-
der cover. l think there must have
been twenty adults about the settle
ment within fifteen minutes Of my ar.
rival The smallest woman did not
pass my shoulder q am five feet
.hree) Most Of them We're smaller
than !, none larg,r. The men were
about my size, some half a head
arger some as much smaller. one
knows them for dwarfs not so much
'y size as by the expression Of face
something az the same time lreary
md cunning. Their eyes are singular. o
y unsmiling I would saw that they
lack humor.
cit still rained and the people made Il
~ 20 their shelters and those living b
n ueighboring settlements jisap- 7
eared. The normal life OF the village N
ras resumed, They prepared a shell. Il
er for me and from where ] Law on my
ed Of poles, foot shorter chan my.
rere four beds in each hut and two
res. Those women who were not OF
ooking over the hres lay on the beds. te
$ did the men. After was rested I cl
AZ oth,r huts with the women. ca
he suffered, suppose, from dumb el
larms, as they distrusted me. Nv
cart felt like lead. I afrerward
alked 20 another settlement and saw
.her such people, most Of whom lad ,s
'me 20 see me when ] arrived. Ilth
fought; "This is the primeval ~
ime az the bottom OF the sea Of -
fe' know that there are other
mes and seasons and aspects. lat 50
.e dwarfs appeared on that one rainy
ny, 20 one missionary who is wo. lr
an. ~