New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-06-28

$40. up. xiv, 295. Charles scribner's
Sons.
Mr.. kitchIng lived for ton years
among the outlying tribes OF the Uganda
| Protectorate-am the Bantus and
/ the non Bantu tribes. to differentiate
| them briefly, and adjacent 10 two cannl-
/ bal tribes. the Bagisu and the Bahuku
| the latter dwelling on the confines OF
/ the pygrny forest. but pygmies tho au-
| thor did not sec. He describes the GUS
toms OF these different peoples. their
| daily life and occupations, their social
! organizations such "a they are. and he
/ illustrates the exceeding difficulty OF
some Of their dialects. which are agslu-
/ tinOus:
4 whole sentence may appear a. a single
word. which has 10 he broken into It's sew
cral components before It's parts can be
| looked for and interpreted by help Of gram
mar and vocabulary An extreme Instance
| Lunyoro language. VIZ. 'tnkakimuhera-
I ,oga' Of which only the letter n re-
TIE meaning Of tho word is Z have never
given II to him there.
But as might he expected from = mis-
sionsry, Mr.. Kitchns is chiefly interest
I'd in native character, In human nature.
Half devils. half children" is his de
scription OF them. That local conditions
shape morals is curiously illustrated by
! the objection 10 monogamy OF the wom-
On OF these tribes. II is they who do all
the W jrk OF the household, OF course. 80
| their irst question on being approached
on IN, subject Of monogamy, is. rs one
wife u do Il all, without assistance from
| other wives" Then follows a still more
seriou consideration. The women great
| ~ Communicating the men. they invari-
| ably wish 10 be informed how there can
be hu bands enough for all, IL each man
is TO lie allowed TO marry only one wife
The monotony Of the diet Of these Cen
| trail Africans IL almost unendurable
7 Porridge twice a day is their regular
food, day after DAY and week after week.
Game Is not always plentiful. or the
! supply reliable. They eat rats and
insects. but often suffer from meat
hunger" as they call It. Hence their
feats OF incredible gorging when on
safari. Of which returned hunters have
told us so much. They give to our foods
and ways Of cooking only qualified APP
proval, refusing TO touch all canned eat
ables, with the exception Of Jam. Famil-
lar with the rapid decomposition OF meat
in their climate, they are especially sus-
picious OF timed meats. While devour-
ing many things that are repulsve to
the white man and nauseous 10 his sense
OF smell. they. in their turn. will not
touch cheese. Anything involving eggs
disgusts them, and as for cabbage. they
frankly wonder how we can eat anything
that makes so nasty a smell I'm the cook
ing. But the greatest defect OF the
white mans dietary In their eyes Is that
there never seems to be enough. Their
| idea OF a feast was fully expressed by
a chief in the words, Another morsel
would be death!'
A strange. but perhaps natural, idea Of
these primitive peoples Is the one which
confuses possession with personal manu-
facture. Thus. they believe that the
| sportsman has made the gun he uses
and that the missionary has himself con-
structed tho bicycle he rides. As for the
| possessor Of a phonograph, there Is
something uncanny about his cleverness
Concerning the appalling death rate OF
children. the wonder is not that It Is so
| high, but that any OF them manage to
survive at all. Mr.. Kitching writes OF
native dress and ornament, crafts and
implements, pastimes, medicine men and
superstitions, and offers at the end OF
his book a collection of native proverbs.
not the least curious OF which is this bit
of poygamistic wisdom: IF disgrace
falls on your mother 1t also falls on
your fathers wife,"