El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-08-27
Copyright, 1910 by Frank G. Carpenter)

! one knows, for so far. no one has en-
plored that part of the river
And you saw that the mighty British
nation pays tribute to these savages
That is an odd policy for the strongest
of the European powers, is it not ?
The cabinet minister swallowed the
flattery without winkinO- He replied:
-"The amount of the tribute Is nothing.
We paw it because it is cheaper to paw
than to fight. We began 1t when we
took possession OF the country. At that
time these savages were making period
zeal raids upon the villages of the low
lands. They would swOop down from
the hills and kill a few people, carrying
away as much loot as they could. They
usually got a COW or so, a few goats,
brace OF chickens and household eff
fects worth comparatively little. When
We took possession we called the savage
chiefs to a conference and asked them
how much they made out of these an
nlIal raids. They told us, and together
We figured mp their stealings for the
past few years and estimated that they
Melted them on the average about 1920
rupees per annum. That is a little more
than $500. We thereupon proposed to
them that if they would let our natives
alone and keep out of the territory we
would pay them this much at a fixeo
time every II months. They agreed to
do so and thus far have kept their con-
tract. They come at the appointed sea-
son for their money, and. nOtwithstand-
ing that the value of the property in
the villages nearby has materially in
creased. they seem still satisfied with
their $500"
But is not that an undignified way
of keeping the peace?' I asked
Eyes. but in this instance it is the
best. The only other thing we could do
would be to send troops into the terri
tory. We should have to fight all the
time and without we wiped out the
sayages it would mean continuous loss
OF money and life. The country Is a
jungle and our men would be shot with
poisoned arrows from behind the trees.
The savages could kill many of us with
out our being able to kill them, and the
game does not seem to be worth the
candle"
The Backwoods of India.
This talk gives one I peep into the
backwOOds of India This peninsula is a
world in itself Hindustan has more ma
tlOns than the continent of Europe ana
more races than YOU will find on the
hemisphere >of the Americas Every To-
cahty has its owl tribes ard peculiar
castles, and here and there are peoples
of whom our world knows nothing. Men
like those described by secretary Rob
ertsOn are scattered through the forests
OF the different sections OF India. There
are queer collections OF Mongols on the
borders Of Tibet. strange forest jewellers
on the Nilgiri hills and abOrigines on the
various islands, and in Kashmir and
Beluchistan one finds peoples and Gus
toms which differ as much as those of
the Eskinl0s and the Anglo Saxons.
There Is one great class here known
as Jungle people. They live IN the woods
and are about as savage as the natives
of the kongO- They believe in witches
and witch doctors and make bloody sac
rificeS:: Wild dances are a part of their
worship These people are generally
known as Arimists and they number
100000 or 100000. They live in all
sorts of ways, feeding largely on wiId
herbs and fruits. and dwelling in caves
or temporary shacks which they leave
when they seek a new location
In the eastern Himalayas are the
Nagas the descendants of the ancient
snake wOrshipers. They are head hunt
ers and now and then raid the lowlaDds
In southern India are the Yanadis,
who have round huts made of brush
wood, and VINO support themselves on
INAA-tN II hhSo anu Niltl HURRY ilcK are
as shy as cur Negritos. and will run at
the sight of a white man.
Among the Andamans
During my STAY in India Z have me-.
some of the British officials who have
charge of the Andaman islands. These
islands have long been penal settle
ment of India. They lie in the bav OF
Bengal skirting the east coast. They
are largely inhabited by>aborigines who
correspond TO our NegTitos and live
much like them. Their homes are the
forest. They move about from place to
place, putting UP shelters of leaves and
twigs wherever they camp They wear
practically no clothing and are not I'M
like the pigmies of the KOngo. They
have black skins and frizzly hair which
is so shaved as to leave a circular patch
as big around as a tin cup on the top of
the head. The women are the BARRIERS
and every wife dresses her husbands
hair. Both women and men are tat
tOoed
The eyebrows are usually shaved. and
sometimes the whole body is gone over.
I am told that when the English Off
GERS first came To the Andamans the ma
tives were cannibals, clad chiefly in a
mud of red earth They worshiped god
who was an evil shirt snrea dino dis