The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-08-28
EN-

islands have long been a penal settle
ment of India. They lie in the Bay OF
who correspond to our Ncgritos and
Bengal skirting the east coast They
are largely Inhabited by aborigines
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 unlike the pigmies of the kongo.
They have black skins and frizzly hair,
which is SO shaved as to leave q cir
cular patch as big around as 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 tattooed.
The eyebrows are usually shaved.
and sometimes the whole body is gone
over
l am told that when the English
officers first came to the Andamans
the natives We're cannibals, clad chiefly
In mud of red earth. They wor-
SHIPPED god who was an evil spirit.
spreading disease. They believed The
whole world was fiat. and that their
islands We're it. They thought this
world was balanced on top of very
tall tree, which at the last DAY VIII
be loosened by an earthquake. When
that comes to pass they believe that
the living and dead will change places
and that the angels and devils viii
keep shaking the tree and thus prevent
mankind from going up to the bamboo
ladder which connects it with heaven.
They think also that the devil dwells
in the sea and feeds upon the bodies
of those who are drowned. He has
submarine boats and carries a net
to capture all mankind who fall into
the water.
Indin's Roof DweIlers.
Some of the strangest Of these wild
people live in the upper HImalayas.
Those mighty mountains are spotted
with non-Aryan tribes, whose ancestors
were thrust back by our ancestors
over 5000 years ago, but who still
exist, Notwithstanding There are hill
men in Assam who have no method
of telling distances. but measure tho
length of a journey by the amount Of
betel leaf they. can chew on the way.
There are tribes who paint their faces
like our Indians. and many who tattoo
and deform themselves in various
ways. The Nagas stretch the lobes
of the ear and pierce it in such a
way that 1t forms ring of flesh three
VI AOuA ihS4iCo III uILHAS tC4. i ivy ehAoO
split the ear so that it looks like a
great lump of flesh.
These Nagas are found in the same
district as the savages of which Mr..
Robertson speaks. They inhabit the
country east of the Assam valley. They
are Mongols and number in all about
10000. The largest of their tribes
is the Angami, who have lately come
under British subsection. The Angam1
believe they were the first people on
earth, and say that they sprang from
the dew. They call the earth their only
master. and worship It, Their homes
are villages surrounded by stockad es
and guarded by thorn bushes and net
sunken paths, the entrances being
protected by doors. Each tribe has
its chief and the people haveEa blood
brotherhood, like some of the African
tribes.
Another Of the Maya divisions Is
known as the Aos. These people were
once notorious Shareholders. and they
sacrificed the slaves which they caught
in war. Another is the .,semas, whc
until recently We're head hunters anc
did not scruple to entertain guests ant
STAY them when off guard
Bachelors Halls and Mnidens' Apart
mcnts.
am told that the Nagas have grea1
buildings for the bachelors or young
men OF the tribes, corresponding some
what to the mems quartes In New
Guinea, and also to the young peoples
halls among the Nasal or centra
Africa, where President Roosevelt Ia.
been hunting. In New Guinea all thu
men of ono tribe Hive in suoh quarters
and their wives bring them their food
In Nasailand the girls and young
warriors have a common house /,
themselves. AMONG the Nagas ant
other tribes OF the hill's of Bengal, tn,
young mems hall is erected on a plat
form, and the girls house Is nearby
| The men sleep in barths. and in thu
gtraR hQuse--thesas are ll1aas Iwos (