Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-23

he is made to sit in the brides lap And
that's all there is to getting married In An
daman.
Right here let this much be said in favor
of and to the credit of the Andamanese.
They are homogeneous and once married
they are remarkably faithful. Divorce is
hardly ever heard OF. and never after a
child has arrived to bless the union And
the man is distinguished among the savage
men in that he does not make a drudge
slave of lis wife. but actually gives her a
helping hand with amazing frequency.
No Thought of the Morrow.
Your true Andamanese does not take
thought OF the morrow. During the dry
season large part of the archipelago suf-
fers from scarcity of water. rivers and
streams running dry throughout their
length. The natives know this fun well, but
when starting on journeys into the dry
country they no more think OF taking along
enough water to see them through than
the average American dreams OF sitting on
the throne of England IT il the same way
when they go to sea on fishing expeditions.
AS a result, there is not an aborlg mai in
habitant of the Andamans who has not
experienced the pangs OF thirst at various
times. When a fishing party : scanty sup
ply OF water runs out the members en-
deavor to relieve their thirst by pouring
water over their heads aid, sometimes. Dy
III lit SAT- waiter Inelf utcSf GnliN-
ishness in ali things Is amply reveaied m
their lack forethougnt ia even the most
obvious things.
All OF the tIIoes ere bad lighters but all,
except ore. take no precautions of any sort
when faced by an enemy. Sentr1es works.
armor, even the simplest ruses are not en-
poyed by them. About the only gumptiol
that they display in war is to take cover IN
an attack. The Jarlwas. on the other hand.
use trunk armor of bark and employ sem
tries about their p..rr apf
Elements. This is the limit In then precau-
tons.
Forty Pounds a MANS Load.
AS laborer the Andananese man ia
about as poor excuse as he is as a sci
entifc warrior
Forty pounds is a mans load. and fifteen
miles a days journey. Perhaps Tor two
days man will bear his load on his back
at this rate. The third day he viii go a
short distance and then rest, keeping up
this program the entire day also the next
day. and on till the end of the Journey
Though muscular, the average mans vital
ity is small, and little sustained physical
e&ertion soon exbausts it. Then. too being
a child in mind, no Andamanese can see
why he should do anything at any time
that is not pleasing to him
Stufbng his stomach TO the bursting point
with the native foods that grow I'm such
abundance all about him. and with pig fish
and turtle is one of the chief pleasures of
this people. Dancing on the village oval TO
the music of the rude sounding board IS in
oulged IN nightly when sufficient numbers
are present. Mock turtle and pig hunts and
other make-believe games are a continual
source OF delight to old as well as young
An Andamanese man is considered a giant
among his own when he measures more
than five feet in height. The average height
for men is four feet ten and three-quartexs
inches, and for women three and one half
inches less. The man rarely weighs a hum
dred pounds: the woman is usually several
pounds lighter. But anthropologists are
unanimous In declaring that these Negritos
are not dwarfs, and they are fond of call
ing attention to the symmetrical lines and
graceful figures of these aborigines
Ancient Libels on the Natives.
For many centuries the Andamanese were
writ down as being OF the most hideous
mien and figure. Ptolmey. who chrouicled
in Alexandria about the beginning of tho
Christian era. started the calumny Later
on Marco Polo and the early navigators
aided its circulation. The enterprislng Polo
described them thus;
"All the men have heads like dogs and
teeth and eyes likewise; in fact in face
they are just like big mastiff dogsl They
are most cruel generation and eat any
body they can catch not of their own race
Other writers gave them tails; the Leaf
and fiber aprons of the women being re-
sponsible for this perverslon of the truth
Still other travellers set them down hav-
ing heads on their backs, between tho
shoulders. This MISUNDERSTANDING arose
from the Andamanese practice Of wearing
the heads of the dead on the back and
around the neck. From this practice arose
also the libel that these frizzly topped Ne
gritos were cannibals. Modern students OF
the Andamanese hold that they never ate
Tong pig"
The Andamanese who lives to see HIS nf-
tieth birthday Is considered arp old man
The average duration of life is Only few
months over twenty years. Several things
are responsible for this condition; the nat
ural low vital power of the race its con-
tact with the convicts IN the settlement and
consequent deterioration of morals and tx
cessive tobacco smoking by both sexes.
A Fast Disappearing People.
The birth rate is dlstresslngly low. ard
once a baby is brought into the world the
chances of its reaching maturity are large
ly against it. Small wonder, then that tho
are rapidly decreasing in num-
bers, and their days on earth can almost bs
numbered.
Let us close this article on this curious
people by setting forth a custom tnat will
appeal as being most curious, indeed 10 tho
American mother. IL is considered an act
of friendlness to give up or adopt child.
so that an Andamanese child rarely, If ever
lives with its parents after the sixth or
seventh year.