THE PYGMIES OK THE GREAT CONGO FOREST. 



487 



TWO rVl'KS Ol' DWARFS. 



The Coiig'o pygmies' appear , to be cli\ isihle into two types, acc-ording- 

 to my own observations' and to tliosi^ of })i*eceding travelers — one with 

 a reddish or 3^ellowish-brown skin and a tendenev to red in the head 

 hair, and the other a blaek-skinned type with entirely black head haii". 

 It is possible that the original type of dwai'f had a dii'ty l)rown skin, 

 and a tendency to red ])oth in the body and head hair, and that this 

 t^'pe mingled anciently with th(> tirst true negro invaders of the forest — 

 a people with decidedly 1)lack skins — and produced a black type of 

 dwarf, which now seems to exist conjointly with tlie red or yellow 

 P3"gmy; that is to say, in the same 

 family of pygmies there may be 

 both types. In stature, perhaps, 

 the black type tends to be slightly 

 taller than the other. The tallest 

 specimen of pygmy measured l)y me 

 or b}' ni}' assistants was about 5 

 feet in height; but the average alti- 

 tude for men was -i feet 7 inches, 

 and for women 4: feet "2 inches. 

 Several of the men measured b\^ 

 me wen^ only 4 feet 2 inches in 

 height. One adult woman was just 

 under 4 feet. There are two fea- 

 tures which markedly' distinguish 

 these dwarfs from other negroes — 

 the shape of the nose and the long- 

 upper lip. The nose has a very low 

 bfidge, and is exceedingly broad. 

 The upper lip, besides being long 

 and prognathous, is not so much 

 everted as in the ordinary negro. 

 The chin is ver}^ weak and receding. 

 The neck is short, and the head 

 is sunk rather l)etween the shoul- 

 ders, though not so markedly as in 

 the ape-like types referred to in the lirst part of this article. The legs 

 are short in proportion to the bod}^ though they are usually sturdy 

 little limbs. The feet are rather large, and nmch inclined to turn in, 

 with the big toes pointing inward when they are l)rought together in a 

 standing attitude. Hair on the face is present in many of the dwarfs. 

 Some of the dwarfs have distinctly long beards, l)ut 1 have myself seen 

 only one with a beard of (> inches in length. Belgians and Ai'abs who 

 have traveled through the Congo forests have, however, assured me 

 that the}^ haVe met dwarfs at times who possessed l)eards of consider- 



iMeasuring the height of .ijiNgin}. TheEnglish- 

 iiian is 5 feet 11 iiirhes; the pygmy, 4 feet 6 

 inches. 



