200 In the Heart of Africa 



He declared himself prepared to put us into touch with them, 

 and, as a matter of fact, five of the tribe made their appearance 

 on the following morning. As it was our first meeting with this 

 exceedingly singular race, and their first meeting with white men, 

 we regarded each other with undivided interest. 



I have already described the general characteristics of the 

 pygmies, their dimensions, appearance, etc., when discussing 

 the Batwa of the Bugoie forest, but will now supplement the 

 information. One of their most striking features is their ex- 

 tremely fair skin, and, apart from their diminutiveness, makes 

 them stand out conspicuously from the Bugoie Batwa. The 

 pygmies are compact and strong in build ; are very muscular ; 

 have round heads and short, curly hair. Big, intelligent eyes 

 gaze out from good-humoured faces, in which the broad nose- 

 base is typical. Their clothing consists of an apron of grey, 

 woolly beaten bark, which is obtained from the supa tree, and 

 fastened round the loins with a belt of grass cord. Sometimes 

 we saw belts made from the hide of the okapi (a giraffe-like 

 ruminant). 



The weapons of the Wambutti consist of a bow and arrow 

 and a short spear. According to their uses, whether for war or 

 for hunting purposes, they are made of iron and wood respec- 

 tively. The men forge or carve them themselves, and the arrows 

 are all tipped with vegetable poison. From researches made by 

 Dr. Max Krause, of the Berlin Hydro-Therapeutic Institute, it 

 appears that the poison in these arrows is derived from a species 

 of stropkanthus, most probably hispidus or kombe, not gratus. 

 After removing the poisonous coating for the purpose of investi- 

 gation, it was found that the arrow was notched about three 

 centimetres from the point, so as to favour its breaking off in 

 the wound. The poison works rapidly, and is fatal in its effect 

 unless the arrow point is withdrawn very quickly and the wound 

 sucked dry. Big game always succumb to its effects ; death 

 follows more or less swiftly, according to the particular position 

 of the wound. 



The women are most forbidding in their ugliness, and re- 



