Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 269, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 November 1910 — Among the African Pigmies [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Among the African Pigmies

Captain Guy Burrows, Formerly Commandant Congo Free State

HN the course of my travels 1 came more than once across the Pigmies, and had every chance of studying the make and manners tie freaks, whose “istory has ever had a strange attraction for ethnologists. Stanley saw and took stock of them, and succeeded In interviewing one of their princesses, w ho, with her people lived in the of the great Central African iorest. But long before Mr. Stanley’s time Herodotus recorded their existence and customs. He tells us, in his own half-serious, half-humorous fashon, of a certain ill-fated warrior who nailed through the Pillars of Hercules, and after falling to double the Cape °t Lybia, then supposed to be surrounded by water, returned to Egypt, and thence to the court of Xerxes, where, in detailing his adventures, he spoke of “a nation of little men who wore garments made of palm-leaves, and who left their cities and fled to the mountains on the approach of the invaders.” The “Father of History” is quite concise on this point, speaking with more authority than he does concerning the Troglodytes, who could only “screech like bats,” or the fabled Phoenix he so quaintly mocks at. Relics and Stories. While we knorir that once upon a time “there were giants In the land,” we have no record to show that they were tribal; but all dwarf history pointß to a family form, their weapons, customs, and habits being but slightly varied. No nation of glands now exists on the face of the earth; perhaps and his knights slew the last of the British variety, and If any specimens remain they are either attached to a traveling circus or killed by Jack the Giantkiller at Christmas-time. The giant, in short, is either a myth or a monstrosity, but the pigmy is still a living and interesting fact. I came across them In the land of the Mahodejgp whom they are much attached, and had exceptional opportunities of making a study of the Akka, as these wee people are called by the Mang-bettou. . Mr. Stanley’s Discoveries. Mr. Stanley classes them as kinsmen of the Cape Bushmen, and indeed there are many external evidences in support of this theory. Weismann considers the connection between the two races to be unquestionable; and the few deviations in their physical appearance are no--doubt-to-be attributed to the influence of climate or the difference of environment. If we compare Fritch’s observations on the Bushmen with those of other travelers on the Akka, we cannot fail to attach considerable credence to the theory of their relationship. Their height brings them to about the shoulder of a man of average stature, but they are by no means uniform in size. Some are not higher than the chest, while I have found others as tall as a negro of medium height; but they differ from the negroes in many points. They are lighter in complexion, and whi!. the hnir of the neg-o. be he never so fair in complexion, is invariably curly and black of the deepest hue, among the Akka it is not Infrequently a dark, rusty brown. Nor are they so hairy as most negroes. The black Pigmies, it is true, are cov ered with down, but the red have seldom very hirsute bodies?! They are a well-proportioned race, and, with the exception of their remarkably short stature, may be regarded as normal and well developed, not degenerate, as has often been stated, though socially* inferior to other tribes Roving, Wandering Nomads. f Nomads by nature, the communities of the Akka are at homri in no particular country, but wander from place place, supporting themselves by hunting. Though one place seems to be much the same as another to them and to be valued only according to ita possibilities as a hunting-ground these little people have a marked preference for tlie territories of certain tribes and an aversion to others, within whose confines they are seldom seen. They avoid the Mege, for instance, and show a predilection for living in the neighborhood of the Mabodc or Momvus settlements, where they are treated with something more than mere toleration. v Dangerous Warriors. They are, indeed, considered as valuable allies whose assistance is worth having against an outside foe; and, in spite of their small numbers, they are feared as well as respected from their revengeful nature and their hardihood in war. They on their part are quite willing to fight loyally for the chief under whose nominal rule they lead their gipsy Use, and will remain in his district on these terms as long as relations between themselves and the , -chief are friendly. Otherwise they abandon their huts and move off at once to the neighfJ&rhood of another chief, where they, settle afresh andjcontinue to live under a similar tacit agreement. They are, however, quite independent, and consider themselves under no obligation to the people of.the tribe they may for the time be associated with. .Thus they preserve their freedom, of which they are intensely jealous, and hold themselves entirely aloof from other natives, among whom they neither .marry nor are given in marriage. Immoral But Not Thieves. Dr. Junker, in his travels in Africa, has alluded to the Pigmies as being “thievish." This, however, is unsupported by evidence, the doctor having

none at his disposal, and is altogether incorrect. The Pigmy will scorn theft, and whatever may be his failings and natural shortcomings, he ranks far above the negro in this respect. He will lie, deceive, and trick as much as the worst of them, and often with a great deal more astuteness;- he is cunning, revengeful, and suspicious, but he will never steal. The Pigmy is an excellent archer. In this accomplishment he stands far ahead of his negro neighbors, and can perform feats of marksmanship with his little bow and arrows that are really marvellous. He will shoot three or four arrows, one after the other, with such rapidity that the last will have left the bow before the first has reached its goal. When an arrow misses its mark he will fly into! a violent passion, breaking his bow arid arrows in his rage. Fear of their vengeance causes them to be held in awe by other tribes. For instance, a Pigmy will mark out a bunch of bananas in a plantation by shooting an arrow Into the stalk, thus signifying his wish for them when sufficiently ripe. The owner of the tree, in dread of their displeasure, wpuld never dream of removing the fruit or the arrow, but would leave it there until the Pigmy should come for both. ' * Keen Observers and Natural Mimics. Their ppwer of observation, as may be -readily understood, is wonderfully keen. Accustomed to depend upon keenness of sight for bis daily food, and by his hunter’s life brought into close contact with the dangers of the bush, it is not surprising that the Pigmy should have cultivated quickness of sight and keenness of perception to a degree found among no other race of human beings. Mimicry, too,

plays a large part in the formation and development of his character, evincing itself not only in his droll humor, but also in the serious facts of his everyday life, for he copies the weapons of his neighbors, and even their habits and customs, where these do not clash with his own. His mimicry is aided by a good memory, capable of retaining the most insignificant details for long periods. Dr. Junker tells a story of how he met an Akka at a camp whom he had measured for anthropometric purposes four years previously at Rumbek. “His comical ways,” he says, “arid quick, nimble movements made this little fellow the clown of our society. ....His imitations of Hawash Effendi in a towering rage, storming and abusing everybody, were a great success; and he took me off to the life, reproducing after four years, down to the minutest details and with surprising accuracy, my movements when measuring his body in Rumbek." The Black and Red Akka* * There are two tribf#, distinguished as the black and the t-ed black Pigmies Jt|e two or threelnches taller than the red.Wut they are obviously an inferior race, not so well .formed nor so intelligent-looking as their ruddy kinsmen. These are two distinct tribes, who do not live together or apparently mingle in any way, have in common a heavy overhanging upper lip, and do not tattoo. Extremely exclusive, shy; and wary when in the bush, when taken prisoners they become fearless and defiant. Very vindictive when they think themselves unjustly treated.

they are otherwise faithful. As an example of their natural qualities, I noted that they are remarkably jealous of one another; they mgke no friends of their own kind when among other tribes, but will become very friendly with the other natives. A parallel to this quality we find in the animal world, for wild birds will kill their tame kindred, and the wild mouse will, if he can get at them, kill his caged and delicate white brothers. Pigmies have apparently no ties of family affection, such as those of mother to son, or sister to brother, and seem to be wanting in all social qualities, asking nothing more than to be let alone; to “live and let live.” Their villages, if such they can be called, consist of groups of perhaps 30 small beehive-shaped huts, each, about four feet high; the entrance is a small opening a foot and a half high, allowing just room enough for them to creep through. They make their beds of sticks driven into the ground at four corners, with other sticks placed across, the whole being raised a few Inches from the floor. Each village is under the leadership of a head-man or chief. Their Dress and Habits. The low state of their mental development is shown by the following facts. They have no regard for time, nor have they any records or traditions of the past; no religion is known among them, nor have they any fetich rights; they do not seek to know the future by occult means, as do their neighbors; in short, they are, to my thinking, the closest link with the original Darwinian anthropoid ape extant Pigmies are strong, sinewy and muscular, fearless and daring. They have a dislike for water, and are not cleanly in their habits as are other tribes.

Very few of them can swim, and generally they know nothing of the art, living, as they do, chiefly op. dry land. The dress of the Pigmies is very simple. The men wear a plain strip of cloth round the loins, the women simply a bunch of leaves. They have no ornaments of any kind—a fact which shows their low development, for women as a rule use ornaments as attractions in savage life as well as in civilized. Possibly when the N?w Pigmy Woman arrives she will introduce necklaces and earrings.--! , Musical instruments are unknown to them; even their dancing is conducted without any sweeter sound than the rhythmical tapping of a bow with an arrow. Their whole idea of dancing is to strut round in a circle, with their legs quite stiff, beating time with bow and arrow, as just mentioned, and adding absurd emphasis to the general effect by their set and solemn countenances. .» Having no religion, no family ties, no joy in sports or games, and no fixed home, their one object and occupation is hunting, at which they are such adepts that it is a sight, as has been said . before, to see them handle their small bows and arrows. They also carlry a short, light spear, a weapon they have copied from other tribes, but no shield, nor do they piolsori their arrows, which are not tipped with flint, as has been asserted. j, As to Poisoned Arrows and Poison. The Benge poison is erroneously described by Dr. Parke, medical officer of the. Emin Pasha relief expedition, as

the arrow-poison of the Pigmies, and is thus alluded to under article lv. in the doctor’s paper on the poisons of Central Africa. There are, however, several discrepancies in his account of the plant and poison, which I have no difficulty in recognizing by the diagrams and illustrations that accompany his article. First I will quote Dr. Parke’s delineation, in which I recognize the Benge poison plant: “Green Stem—This is obtained from a branching shrub which is very common in the forest It grows to a height of 10 or 12 feet, and the stem in the thickest part- is not more than two inches In diameter. It is of a dark green color at the upper part of the plant. The leaves are dark green on the upper surface and a paler tint below; there are three principal veins or orbs; and the lateral veins are given off at an acute angle from each of these. The leaf is from three to six or even eight inches long and about half as broad, the large veins being depressed upon the upper and prominent on the lower surface of the leaf. The scrapings only of' the bark are used, to the amount of a dessertspoonful in preparing a teacupful of poison. The plant had neither flowers nor leaves when I saw it.” Writing in conjunction with Dr. Parke, Mr. E. L. Holmes, F.L.S., identifies this as follows; “Judging from the structure of the stem, and the character of the single imperfect leaf brought home by Surgeon Parke, this ingredient is composed of the stems of a species of Strychnos, probably S. Icaja, Baillon. The scars on the stem are oposite, arid indicate opposite leaves, and the venation of the leaf is characteristic of the genus Strychnos. Of this there are several African species known, but only two

of these have leaves as large as the one under consideration. The S. Icaja, Baill. (S. M’Boundou, of Heckel) is known to be used in the Gaboon as an arrow-poison, and by the Pigmies. “In the Hanbury Herbarium there is a specimen of this plant, and on seeing Surgeon Parke's leaf I at once recognized the strong resemblance to this which it possessed. On showing the Hanbury specimen to Surgeon Parke he pointed out the acuminate apex of the leaf as having particularly attracted his attention in the growing plant, and expressed assurance -» to their identity.” The Author’s Observation on Poisons. All these details given by Dr. Parke as to the appearance and structure of the plant agree entirely with my own observations. We differ, however, in one important respect. The poison is obtained not from the bark, but from the root of the plant, which is scraped to obtain the ingredient; .and although I cannot say anything about the poisonous property of the stem, I can assert that the natives invariably use the root, and never, to my knowledge,. the green bark. The root, of course, is solid throughout, while green stem 1« hollow; and I was fortunately able to bring back tHth me several specimens of it. with a view to going deeper into the matter. The wood is hard, yellow, and'fibrous; the root, when first pulled up is of a bright red hue, the stem abtfre ground being green. It is from this red coating that the poison is obtained; the

stem is scraped, and the poison made after the manner described by Dr. Parke. Skillful Hunters and Fishermen. \ Fully occupied in hunting,' Pigmies do not cultivate the soil, and for this reason, among othefs, as is the case with the Eskimo, they stand low in the scale of civilization. Skillful trappers and hunters, they can kill even elephants with their little bows and arrows, blinding the animal first by shooting at his eyes. Once he is blind, they never leave him till he falls. They are remarkably clever fishermen. With a morsel of meat tied to a piece of string, and without the aid of a hook, they will succeed in landing heavy fish, while less-skilled fishermen, with hooks and lines, may not be able to secure one. < Pigmies do no work' of any sort or kind, purchasing their arrow-heads, knives and spears from the neighboring tribes in exchange for meat, or for women whom they have seized in the bush. No Tribal Organizations. Each village has a chief, but there are no gradations of rank among the people. Every man fights for his own chief, and has no knowledge of combination, only fighting when necessity demands it. When they attack strangers in the bush they keep so close that nothing is seen of them except their arrows, but in the open they are very plucky. Owning no territory, and having nothing to make war for op their own account, they squat among this tribe or that, according to convenience, but they show no particular attachment to any one spot, wandering wee Ishmaelites as they are! Na-

live chiefs often try to get hold of Pigmy boys, whom they adopt, and who become a sort of body-guard to them, and spies on their own people. My Nomadic Servant. A striking instance of their disregard for home and its memories was afforded when I had occasion to revisit the birthplace of my pigmy boy as I returned througfi the Mabode country. He was with me at the time, but as we approached the village (they were still on the same encampment ground, or very near it), he showed not the least pleasure at the sight of , the place. It might have been his first visit to the district to judge by the absence of any display of emotion, or outward sign that the settlement had once been the scene of his daily life. However, as he had served me very well, apart from the natural laziness of his kind, I thought I might do him a good turn by offering him freedom to return to his people. To my surprise he besought me to tell him what wrong he had done, to be discharged like this. I explained that, so far from having done wrong, he had pleased me so if be liked he might go back to his own people. He looked at me for a mom- ■ ent -in..... bewilderment; then he threw' up his head with a proud gesture and walked away, thus intimating that he had not a very high opinion of the manner in which I proposed to reward faithful service. I called him back: “You may stay if you like,” I said; “but bear in mind that you may go if you like, and that if you don’t go now

tt may he Impossible to do so later, even if you wi*h:” "f “But I don't want to go,” he protested. 1 accepted this, and be went out A few minutes later he returned. Evidently he had thought me angry with him, and it puzzled him to lit a causfe for this, and so, in default of satisfactory explanation, he thought it best to propitiate me. Offers to Sell Own Parents. “I’ll tell you what I’ll do,” he said. “If you will lend me five soldiers I'll place two there and two over there (indicating positions), and I’ll go over there with the other. Then I’ll call my father and mother into the ring, and we will capture them and bring them to you.*! I think he was disappointed that I did not accept this curious proposition, which shed a clear light on his ideas of' the fifth commandment. Quarrelsome and Irritable. While I was staying at Nigangara station, Du Brency came in to spend a few days. He also had a Pigmy boy in his service, being content like myself to suffer the troubles he caused for the sake of having such a good servant. But two Pigmies in the same station were productive of more excitement than was pleasant. At first they regarded one another shyly, not to say with suspicion, and would have nothing to do with each other. From severe neutrality it came to defensive hostility, and before long to open warfare. Both were vindictive little wretches, never so happy as when quarreling. As it was policy to be on good terms with the soldiers and “food servants,” they reserved their spite for their own kind, and were at one another’s throats all day long, and on the most trivial grounds. One would get a little more food than the other; there would be sufficient reason for a fight, and they would race each other in bolting their bananas in order to get in the first blow; but fighting was always subservient t'o feeding. When they had battered each other's little heads with their puny fists, ri fjoussa, or perhaps a white office!-? ‘would come out to see what the 'diri was about, and would separate the' combatants. “Well, why should he have more food than I had?” would be the proud explanation. “After all he’s only a Pigmy! ” This ' with great scorn and the necessary vows of vengeance from the victim of outraged dignity. They had po objection to being scolded in genuine anger, and took a rating manfully; but. to be treated as children, or, worst of all, to be laughed at, was more than thejr would stand. Treacherous and Vengeful. A soldier was looking on amusrittly at one of their mimic battles one afternoon in the drill yard; the cause of war was a battered helmet that one of us had discarded. My Pigmy had it on, and was defending his nine points of the law against his fellow Pigmy. The shldier made a jeering comment on my boy, who left his own quarrel and without a moment’s hesitation threw half a brick at the head if the soldier with aU the force of which his little arm and big rage were capable. It would have hurt the Hdussa more if it had hit him on the as it was, it merely stunned hita. Then the young rascal resumed his defense of the helmet.

Pigmies Have Giant Appetites. One of the most astonishing characteristics of these strange people is their abnormal appetite for all sorts of food. Bananas are their chief delight. A Pigmy, I have no hesitation in saying, eats as a rule .twice as much as will suffice a full-grown man. He will take a stalk containing about 60 bananas, seat himself and eat them all at a meal—besides other food. Then he will lie and groan throughout the night, until morning comes, he is ready to repeat the operation. A consequent and characteristic feature of his race is the distended abdomen; but, that considered, it. is difficult to imagine where he manages to stow the enormous quantity of food he can consume at a meal. Occasionally, when I have expressed surprise (when, for instance, he has surpassed even himself) he has- assumed an uninterested air, as though the matter were merely the most commonplace occurrence in the world, and the question one to be waived. “Yes,” he has said carelessly; “there were a few bananas there on a bunch, and I ate them. 1 suppose that is what they were there for. There’s nothing to be surprised about. I should like some more if there are any to be had.” (Copyright, by JBenJ> B. Hampton.)

SKILLFUL AND HUNTERS, THEY CAN KILL ELEPHANTS WITH THEIR LITTLE BOWS AND ARROWS.