The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-12-30

motion in the water around them, ana
the three astounded men, two white
and one black, sat in the canoe and saw
z circle OF human beings closing
around their boat The white men
grabbed their guns and prepared TO
hght while he huge black bent his
paddle driving the canoe through the
circle Of strange forms.
Suddenly arms shot ~ out OF the
water. and in an instant the canoe
pitched and rocked under the weight OF
half a dozen pairs of hands, while a
row Of odd. shriveled faces peered GU
riously at the persons in the boat. The
black dropped his paddle. Hortx
grabbed his gun and prepared TO beat
off The assailants. Professor Won
Stockslag ger restrained him, and. smil-
ing pleasantly, he made signs of friend
ship to the weird forms around him.
Instantly every face broke into a
smile, and q Wild jfbbering and jabber-
ing arose from the water. Professor
van Stockslager kept smiling and mo-
tioning, and in a few minutes one Of the
human fish dived under the water and
arising an instant later handed a large
fish, still thrObbing with life, 10 the
scientist, who took it and. smiling his
thanks, placed II in the boat, and, In
return, handed out the bread and meat
that had been brought along for lunch
The recipient jibbered unintelligfbly
and passed the food around among the
others. and they all tasted smiled, and
then ate ravenOusiy.
That was the beginning of the
strange friendship between Won Stock
slayer and the fish folk. They never
seemed to like Horix. and they hated
the blacks, but they appeared TO have
an intense admiration for and trust
in the big blond Belgian scientist. Some
of them, evidently the head men Of the
trobe, consented to come ashore and eat
with him at the camp.
1t was on that day the first good OPP
portunity to examine these queer spec
linens Of humanity was had. The fol-
lowing extract from Won Stocksla gers
diary describes them:
They are undoubtedly Ethiopian,
but bleached and shriveled from living
in the water. The burn Il the sun has
turned them a reddish brown. which
convinces me that the black pigment
partially has been destroyed and that
their color which is like chalk showing
under or through brown, is from gen.
erations Of exposure The hair is hay
colored and extremely scarce. Part Of
the body is covered with heavy scales
probably the result Of some skin dis
ease produced by the water. Their
arms, necks, backs and shoulders are
powerfully developed, While the diges-
tive organs are small and apparently
weak, the stomach giving a pOuched
appearance to them. The legs are dl-
minutive, shriveled, and, perhaps, are
disappearing generation after genera
ton.
1.-THE eyes are the most peculiar fea-
| 10 M he lie
hairless. From what understand they
see better under water. at depths Of
from two to ten feet, than in the open
air. where they are blinded by the
glare of the sun. Their excursions on
land are mainly at night and they re-
main sleeping IN the water in shaded
spots during the day, hunting food at
night.
THE nail Of the index finger OF each
hand is long, solid as a bone. round.
and running 10 a sharp point. The
first finger nail OF each hand is sharp
ened at the end and curved. Evident
ly it is with these that they capture
fish, which form their chief staple CT
diet
These people can stay under water
for remarkable lengths Of time. I have
seen one remain under water thirteen
minutes without Inconvenience.
"They live really in the water. They
sleeD floating on the water. eat nsh
| in the raw state and apparently know
nothing Of fire or cooking. They have
killed all the dangerous fish and rep
tiles in the lake and apparently guard
| the water carefully.
There were $50, perhaps a few moro,
members OF the tribe, living In two
colonies. The children are born on
/ Td 10 Inc nn
water. We had the good fortune 10
see q mother with a baby two weeks
| old disporting in the water. The
mother was towing the youngster, who
| seemed to take to the water naturally,
although its eyes were scarcely open.
THE study Of the strange tribe con-
/ tinued for months, Professor Won
| gtocksIager refusing to leave the lake,
| He swan with the people Of the lake,
! once being near death by drowning. He
! discovered that the language of these
/ fish folks consist Of about 30 distlnc-
sounds, each with a separate meaning
Ten OF these words, he declares, are
distinct forms of the Bakuma words.
The enunciation OF the fish folk Is dis
tinct. but odd, the nose being used
greatly in making the words, while
/ others are deep chest sounds, uttered
explosively, as If expelling water.
The tribe swins In schools, seeking
| the cool spots during the heat Of the
| day and the warm outlet during the
evening In conclusion of his first bro
chure on the subject Professor Won
| Stockslager says:
1.-THE economic arrangements Of the
tribe are ideal. One fish man is leadel
and rules absolutely and with perfect
Justice. Just enough fish are killed tt
supply the needs of the tribe, and q
great part OF the food consists Of tht
tender submerged stocks Of a certain
water lily. The young suckle the
mother to the age Of years at least
often nursing on the surface Of tht
water