Evening star., 1953-06-22
Vanishing Indions
Found in BruziI
IS to 20 Dying Races
TotoI Less Than ! 900
BY Thomos R. Henry

A land of dying races is the upper
Xingu.
In this fantastic land Of marshy sa-
wanna and tropical rain forest, q part
Of BraZil's vast Matte Crosse, REM
nants of IS to 90 once powerful In
dian tribes have found their last ref
uge. They now number less than q
thousand. They still are almost un-
known to white men.
Their ways Of life have just been
reported by DR.. Kalervo Oberg, former
Smithsonian anthropologist, in q bull
letin just published by the Bureau of
American Ethnology. They are prim-
tive jungle Indians who have been
pushed back into extreme isolation by
impacts of civilization and war with
more progressive Indian people.
Until quite recently the Upper Xingu
country has been an essentially un-
known land. although it was first de-
scribed in 1887 by the German explorer
Karl Won den SteineA who descended
the Xingu river to the Amazon. It is
still. for all practical purposes. q for
hidden land from which diamond and
gold hunters are barred by the Brazilian
government.
Perhaps the most notable common
trait differentiating these from other
Indians. DR.. Oberg says. is the "ulari,"
q small, triangular bit of cloth made
Of wood f1bers which often Is the only
bit Of clothing worn by the women.
At one time, 1t is probable. this was
made Of clay.
All live in large. elliptical, grass
covered houses built in circle around
central ceremonial house. They have
bark canoes, and keep eagles in conf
Cal cages for their feathers. They live
primarily by fishing. The only man.
NAL they eat is the monkey. They tend
to be quite secretive, for fear Of their
surrounding enemies.
Some of the tribal groups, Oberg
found, are in immediate danger of ex-
tinction. One now consists only Of one
woman and her son. Several others
have been reduced to four or flve.
Marvellous Bird Nest
One of natures marvels is the nest Of
the penduline titmouse.
Specimens Of this most curious of
bird homes have been brought back to
the Smithsonian Institution from the
great Kalahari desert which covers
much Of the interior of South Africa,
by DR.. Charles 0. Handley, jr.
The stitmouSe itself Is distantly re-
lated to the American chickadee. It's
nest is in the form of q small bag,
hanging from thorn bushes, very in
tricately and delicately woven from q
wool-like plant fiber.
The bag has one visible opening
q false one which leads nowhere and
apparently intended entirely as cam
outage. The real entrance to the nest
Is skillfully hidden, its location known
only to the builder. When the mother
bird enters the nest she lifts q con-
cealed nap, slips through, and closes
it behind her. She closes it Just as
carefully when she leaves the nest.
There Is not the slightest indication
in the surface of the finely woven
fiber of the existence of the flap.
These nests are among more than
1900 specimens-prepond Of
small mammals - obtained by DR..
Handley for the United States National
Museum collections.
Prominent among the mammal speci-
mems are those Of "uhwas," wild rela-
tives Of the house cat They are gray
ish-brown animals, about the size Of
domestic cats, and are wild and vicious.
They are abundant, Handley found,
throughout the Kalahari. Speared or
caught in snares, they are eaten by
the bushman women. who also eat other
small mammals such as rats and mice.
The women's diet is supplemented with
snakes, ants and grasshoppers. Such
creatures are prohihitnd tn men who
can eat only the flesh of strong ami
mails. Some animals, especially small
birds, can be eaten only by children.
One of the most conspicuous small
animals of the great desert is the
elephant shrew. A little creature with
large eyes and thin. kangaroo-like
legs. it is described by DR.. Handley
as more like the traditional idea of
an elf than anything else can imag-
ine." Tame and friendly, these crea-
lures are often seen skipping between
bushes and patches of tall grass in
which they live.