Civilisation : Its Cause and Cure 



where there were at least 1,500 head of cattle, besides sheep 

 and goats, and the chief brought me a fine fat bull-calf — 

 which settled the nervous question of food for two days. . , . 

 The rambling village with its groups of figures and long lines 

 of home-coming cattle, dimly seen in the smoke of a hundred 

 fires as I approached at sunset, was very picturesque." 



The Pigmies : from Cape to Cairo, pp. 144 and 161. 



" The pigmies have no settled villages, nor do they 

 cultivate anything. They live the life of the brute in 

 the forests, perpetually wandering in search of honey or 

 in pursuit of elephant ; v/hen they succeed in killing 

 anything, they throw up a few grass shelters and remain 

 there till all the meat is either eaten or dried. They 

 depend upon the other natives for the necessary grain, 

 which they either steal or barter for elephant meat or honey. 

 All their knives, spearheads and arrow-heads they likewise 

 purchase from other people, but they make their own 

 bows and arrows. So well are these made that they are 

 held in great esteem by the surrounding people." . . . 

 " An hour later I met an elderly pigmy in the forest and 

 managed to induce him to talk. He was a splendid little 

 fellow, full of self-confidence, and gave me most concise 

 information, stating that the white man with many belong- 

 ings had passed near by two days before, and had then gone 

 down to the lake-shore, where he was camped at that 

 moment. These people must have a wonderful code of 

 signs and signals, as despite their isolated and nomadic 

 existence they always know exactly what is happening 

 everywhere. He was a typical pigmy as found on the 

 volcanoes — squat, gnarled, proud, and easy of carriage. 

 His beard hung down over his chest, and his thighs and 

 chest were covered with wiry hair. He carried the usual 

 pigmy bow made of two pieces of cane spliced together 



274 



