6 5 - 3 



THE POPULAR SCIEXCE MONTHLY. 



THE AFRICAN PYGMIES. 



By A. WER>~EE. 



"V"~OT the least interesting of the discoveries made by Mr. Stan- 

 -^ ley on his latest expedition is that of the Wambatti — the 

 : tribe living between the upper Arnhwimi and the Xepoko. 

 It has long been a well-known fact that the Pygmies of Homer. 

 Herodotus, and Ktesias — those of whom Pliny speaks as " dwell- 

 ing among the marshes where the Xile rises " * — are something 

 more than mere mythical beings : and almost every exploration 

 of any importance undertaken of late years has thrown fresh 



light on the existence of a primitive African race, of whom the 

 Wambatti, Akkas, Obongo, Watwa, and Bushmen are, in all 

 probability, scattered fragment-. 



A glance at the accompanying rough map will show how 

 numerous are the tribes — usually designated dwarfs or pygmies — 

 whose marked resemblance to each other, and marked difference 

 from the people among whom thev are scattered, are recognized 



* Hli: Nat, vi, 35. 



