i6: 



PYGMIES AND PAPUANS 



' quarter of the height of the man himself, it gives him 

 ' a most extraordinary appearance. Every man carries 

 ' a bow and arrows in his hand and a plaited fibre bag of 



* quite elaborate design slung on his back. Two men 

 ' wore necklaces of very rough scraps of shell and one 

 ' had a strip of fur round his head. Two others wore on 



* their heads curious helmet-like hats of grass ornamented 

 ' with feathers. 



" One man had a diminutive axe made of a piece of 

 ' soft iron about three inches long, set in a handle like 

 ' those of the stone axes. They must have some bigger 

 ' axes, as they have cut down some very large trees and 



* the marks on the stumps look as if they had been made 



* with fairly sharp instruments. The clearing altogether 

 ' is very considerable, probably fifty acres or more. 

 ' The ground is covered with ihe sweet-potato plant, and 

 ' in many places ' taro ' has been carefully picked out. 

 ' They have a few coarse-looking bananas, some of which 

 ' they offered to us. 



"Their voices are rather high-pitched and one of 

 ' them, who met us first and called several of the others 

 ' to come and see us, ended his calls with a very curious 

 ' shrill jodelling note. When we came away we offered 

 ' them cloth and beads to come with us and show us a 

 ' better way, but they were either too frightened or too 

 ' lazy to do so. We got back to camp after ten hours' 

 ' hard going, drenched with rain and covered with 

 ' leeches, but well-pleased with the success of the day." * 



That was the last that we saw for a long time of the 

 Tapiro pygmies, for it was evident that the Kapare River 

 * Extract from diar}', i2tli March 1910. A.F.RAV. 



