IN THE PYGMIES COUNTRY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LIV, 19 March 1921, Page 10

IN THE PYGMIES COUNTRY

TI.MIL' RACK GROWING LAKGER I fxglish dia.uy The following arc extracts from tin- diary of Mr -Sydney Fairbairn. who recently returned lo London after traversing I he breadth of the African continent, from the west coa-t at (he mouth of the Congo to llie e;tst const at Aiombasa. Mi' Tairbairn began hi.s six months' trip at Matadi. went by train to Kinshasa, travelled thence tin the Congo by river steamer to Stanleyville. ic! raced his steps down th" river to Bumba, and branched up the Ifimbiii ftiver to r.uta. From there he and his companions inarched through the forest country of the Belgian Congo and ihr uplands of Central Africa Lo Fort Portal, in L'ganda. The extracts given, below refer to this walk of many hundred miles through country inhabited bv pygmies and cannibals. The diarist was chielly engaged in elephant hunliug. December :>.!■ H>lt>- "J- stayed out. later than 1 had .meant to. and, coming back through the forest in Ui<* dark wa- one of the most !o\eh tilings I have ever done, [t was 'iust like fairyland at night, million:- of fireflies flitting in and out of the tree trunks. Everything ;i-ppea'.'erl fantastic and unreal, and one experienced the most gorgeous ,ciikc of content men j and personal uul earthly detaciiment. -liksl; like, a shoit visit, to Another world, .vhere everything was mystery and one was only 100 delighted fo leave everything unsolved and exactly as if was. My idea, of Heaven and complete rest. To-morrow is Christmas Day. Oa-sf year 1 was in Cologne, in a very different climate and .state of mind too. I!u( the Wuuiy thing is .lial 1 am weaving exactly the same clothes, though they, or some of them, have slightly altered in ippearance to suit the change, in -;]ima(e. Christmas Day.- -An excellent day altogether. Last night we had snapdragon sifter dinner, -which hugely impressed the natives, "The big white, chiefs eating liquid tiro. This also happened with our Christmas ruddiug. December W.- At. Gayi(o's \ il'age. Day spent in elephant pal ner willi Gayilo. who displays a errihle proclivity for cigarettes, which is most unfortunate, as _ I have by no means too many Iclt. What has been a mystery up to date has just been explained to me. 1. had noticed that when ever Jayito was with us hits entourage, •if natives clapped their hands at apparently irrelevant jimes and things However', it turns out that this is an ancient rite, which is •arried out whenever the Hig drinks, and lasts until ho :as finished drinking. XATI.YF HAIR-DKFSBJ.NG January I. 15)20. -Up early and off on the march. The country is .•hanging fast. One sees bilks and many clearings in the forest., arid ■.vii.ii tliii-s the natives are also showing a, difference. They still wear the fibre loincloth, but (heir 'mives and ornaments are much

liner, and the women do their hair in one or two ways; either in a semi circle from ear to car, plaited into .spikes and sticking up or else massed together and scraped back info a complete circle at. llie back oi tl:/.' head, giving the ■ef'.ecf of a straw hat thrown well back or a halo having slipped from the horizontal to the perpendicular. Chief Liugi, a very tine and unassuming man. gave \u> generous presents. He was suffering from sciatica, so G gave him some aspirin, which cheered him up greatly. -January IS.---A really terrible thing happened. We had been so long away from our headquarters camp thai we had run out. of

smokevs ; so we got some native tobacco -horrible stuff- -and rolled it in corncob leaves, and the result was one of the worst things 1 have ever experienced. We also had some native beer, made out of a funny little, plant, not unlike sorrel, and tasting very much of bitter malt. We got some real palm wine on the road, deliciotw stuff, something like glorified ginger beer.

i Our buys tell us ihat, ilie mt- | lives about here are very bad men and thai a. short time ago they murdered a. Belgian official. _ The typo of native lias altered. They 'arc apt to be quarrelsome, and arc all almond pviml. They also have a curious way of binding up their | very young children's l-.ca.ds, which 'produces an attenuated .diape oi jthe back of the head. A( Kuni.'in-j dani there was a completely whit"' !native- a horrible sight. | | January -25.- Before we left i Jiungu a gun bearer, by name Wa.ndi. who has been nu excel-] , lent bov. came to me with an ! idiotic tale of being recalled bv 'the (jovemmciU by torn torn _ I" Bambili. because his sister had I bom killing game. This was vx- ! plained on looking at his book, |\\lkmi 1 found he Had had advanjces eouivalent to two montlKs' pay. ; .January :',0.---\Vc are now well in ,tfic cannibal country, but one sees 'no trace at all except the sharpened teeth, which I believe mcahc- ! eating natives affect, so -that in itself signifies very little. J. he natives and Belgian olhcials tell W. that the pygmies are almost impossible to see, ace wilder than iOkapi. and will shoot arrows at luk. and that that is about the j only evidence of their proximity >e' are likely to meet with. j February 5. - The local rat trap lis an amusiuo device -a large ! round piece of burnt clay, looking (very much like the bottom of some ■ large jug, which is propped up with 'a piece of .stick, to which is attached .some form of bait, which ! the rat nibbles, thereby upsetting !the balance of the piei-s of clay, , which falls upon Imn, either kilt ling him or holding him captive. I ,have not seen one vat. caught as I'Vebvuarv s.-- A tremendous dance took place last night, the I women singing a, lovely eastern i chant, which reminded one _ of ! E"\ypt and for a short time Plotted out the prosaic ganshness 'of this country. The moon last ! night was quite au extraordinary, ! shape anything but round. I Kobruarv 1.- There seems to be. a. Uood deaf of illicit distilling round | about this part., for Osmani j brought us four bottles of native Lac; out! what stuff! If you 'spill a drop ami put a match to if, it Tairlv bursts into flame. ! AMONG THE PYGMIES

February 1J. —_B—— — has had an interesting time since he left us, ha\ing struck the judge of the Wamba district, who was doiiig his circuit, and with whom he !i\ed a few days on the fat of the land. Also he <>aw some pygmies uninteresting to a. degree, being just like small negroes with hairy legs ami arms. This judge, told him that the pygmies are deteriorating in that they are growing bigger, and he puts this- down to the fact that they are in many cases giving up their wild life in lixj forest and taking to living in Muall communities in clearings, which I hey make and cultivate just like the ordinary native. He -saw these pygmies when the judge was there, for they had come in with cases to bo settled. February 127.-D -and i have been having the most delicious dish lately- a roast chicken stuffed with ground-up monkey-nuts. Must remember to have this in Engbaid. February 28. Just- after dinner last night avc heard there were |-vgmic*> in the neighbourhood, so decided to stay here to-(hv. This. morning we spent- in having brides, ui salt offered to the pygmies by I'liu-tom-i to induce tho:u to come in and show themselves, which four of them did about 10.1.10 a m. Certainly hairier than the ordinary native, and much smaller ami beautifully made. In the face ihev arc quite gnom-'o-i. We gave tlcin salt and a h.l of elcth wh 'i lu-y were fearfully delighted, and l.:i-/e promised to lo'urn this evenin-/ \\\{h their friends and women f '.k to d;uu;e for ys. T'ney were terrified of us at lirsi. 1 look one )iv the arm to place him m a ;.:ood position for D to photo;;aph a-ud found him to be Ambling like a leaf. /Jut after ill ev hud got their tbe.y jij.-.-anu: as happy :««'! at their ease a-, sandboys. The camera, terntied and then interested them enormously when we h.a 1 . ...\pla-in-r»{ it: functions to mem. but i

don't think they believe I it. | February -Jb.- We have had sm ( c>-gv of pvgmics. They turned upi hi "force and spent a happy alter-) v. n , with us D- - got .some c .sclent photograph* ';"" v,,; uaw tlicin uativo banana uecr to, chink. They danced and uainNV.l,, \i-rv much "the same as :!io urm-j i;arv native dance, but. iheir sinsii.n;- was quite unique, more HUe j-ii'.iinc or an organ m t;io <«>■- ti.nce' than anything else 1. have heard, and also they bad diituyenl ••/pes of dances, hunting and love n.ostlv. The average height is nx more'than lift 9in, I fivjuld r.iid manv are considerably suml er. Sov„e have the large head oi W dwarf, and others are pertc-jt rrniature men and women, though ~„,. could not «-all the latter atna.Mive. Thev are invariably mas-,-ive. to a degree, with tiny feetHiul not beautiful bodies like the men. . . To-morrow we ate going to their

village. Their chief, Afokoso, is coming to call for us and take us there, a wonderful and perhaps unique experience for a white man. D took a photo of me with King Afokoso and his. Queen, j Quite the most, extraordinary day; [ have ever spent, watching those little elfish men awl women danc-J ing. I don't suppose I shall ever see such a thing again. It was a v. underfill bit of luck getting so many together. Like the four this mornintc. they were all terrified at first, but the banana, beer and mudry presents of cloth and It very soon put them rather more than. :il their ease Am looking forward to seeing their village tomorrow enormously. J February :J!l. 1 don't knowi whether J should date to-day Feb-, runry L»9 or March I. Have a, suspicion if is Leap year._ However, j this can all be put right later. | G am wrong, it is February 20.) | This afternoon we walked over, to the pygmy village. Not really l a village', m- they lived scattered all over the forest in bunches of I two or three houses. Beautiful hi tie hous/'s or shelters, about lit. (.iin high, and made of twigs and leaves. A thoroughly infer

esl.ing afternoon. The pygmies erawled in ami on! of their shelters just like animals. To day moro than yesterday one realised how rea'ly finy they arc. They told us some or them were out in iho forest trying to get skins of animals to give us. Poor little people, it is the only thing they '.a. o to give. The m.voes call (hem Ticky-Ticky, hw\ the .Iv'L'ian mime is Rafois. The :ie-;;oes were just as interested, to sec. them as uc were. No woude-.' people do not see (heir houses in I lie forest, for they arc made under bushy trees, and we passed many this afternoon without seeirg Lu. .u un tit Un pygmies stopped !lii - "- 10 (• i.:ie> ~s much bghtev m cdor than the ordinary native, and is distinctly of a gnomish appearance. To-day wo saw one running, a streak of "!'hh lightum...

March I. - Last night, after 1 had iii::.-!ied writing. Ihe pygmies iurno» up and danced for u> by the I.jiit )f a log lire. Qui'c different froiu anything T. have ever seen, and leaving the. kind of impression that a favourite .Russian ballet leaves, only magnified, and more keenly active on one's receptive move's. When they left, which rhey die' 1 quite suddenly, almost while still dancing, \) ■nd 1 fell back in our chairs with a sigh of satisfaction and exhaustion,

Their dance depicted every kind of p:i.;sum, desire, and appetite, all danced al the same time by different, gnocs, yet each dancing that vhich lie felt most with a wmiicrful blending t< /ether, .-ill rxv.i': M'inr. to make one whole dii,:- -i was move <■.[ n dream tli.in c.:r;-il,ie.: else, 'uu( lh"T Mi.'in..'. unearthly jodling find organ combined sound made it all the mere unreal. When they had gone and we looked at the empty fire neither of us could easily believe thai thirty to forty delirious pygnur-; ,iad been dancing i'-.ere kr>s Shan a minute before. V wonc! r I'ul fairy tale, and during that dance we both lived in fairyland. They, before they started dancing said' they wanted to come back and bring more of their people to see us, ami so we decided to stay mu here to-day.

The-- arrived early tins morning, and have been singing—glorious and satisfying crude sounds—and dancing all day. and now they have gone we feel very sad indee J. They gave us two arrows each and :i curious fcaLher thing thai goes rmun! like an aeroplane propc'ler when one moves. Evev since ■. ri-«p marvellous little me i ,ind women came we have stolen many marches into fairyland. Tomorrow we must go. It has been a delightful, dreamy, lotus-eating life here the last few days, but dreams must always end. Africa has shown me one wonderful thing, which has made the whole trip mnrr than worth while.-the Times.

"MOUK THAN PLEASED WITH DRINKO TREATMENT." "I Kavo my husband all the Dnnko Powders, find 1 am pleased to «ay he lias not touched u. drop of strong drink for si\ weeks Tam more* Mum pleased, fur mv husband was » very heavy drinker. I shall recommend Dnnko to Jinvoni" I know." So writes "A.-L." from Auckland. Jh-inko euro is undouhtedlv a permanent cure. Cases have boon shown where in on hying and working in bad environment with sonio tenmtations have had no desire for .stron- drink at nil. Drinku can bo "iveu sccrotlv. Write for Free .Book\v\. to Uily Manager. Drinko Proprietary, 212 A.M., Lainbtun Quay, Wellington.