Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 July 1885 — A Curious People. [ARTICLE]

A Curious People.

In Sumatra there is a very singular race called the Kubus, who are too shy to mix with the other races of the island, and dwell in the recesses of the forests. They are looked on as inferiors by the Malays, and thought to be little better than< beasts. Such is tbeir shyness that they will never willingly face a stranger. Their trade with the Malayans is consequently carried on in a strange manner. The trader announces his arrival by beating a gong, and then retires from the place of rendezvous. The Kubus approach, put tbeir forest treasures on the ground, beat a gong and retreat. The trader returns and lays bis commodities down in quantities sufficiently, as lie thinks, for the purchase of the goods on sale. Then he retires, and the Kubus reappear and consider the bargain. Anti so, after more withdrawals and approaches and gong beating, the respective parties come to an understanding, and carry off independently tbeir bargains. The Kubus in their wild state do not bury their dead. They live on snakes, grubs, fruits, and the flesh of any deer or pigs they can slay. They are skillful spearsmen, and throw stones with marvelous accuracy. They know of no state after death. In some physical respects they assimilate closely to the anthropoid apes.