THE PIGMIES. 97 



We may, accordingly, infer that the black men seen by the 

 JNasamons were real negroes, and certainly had woolly hair. 

 Travellers have, however, neglected to mention the latter peculiarity. 

 Their silence on the subject justifies, as may be seen, the way in 

 which I have interpreted the same omission respecting the Asiatic 

 negro dwarfs. 



Therefore, whether it is a question of country, streams, animals 

 or men, everything is accurate in the account so far given by 

 the Greek historian. What motive, moreover, could we have for 

 doubting the information he gives us about the race discovered by 

 the JNasamons ? None whatever. And even if our present expe- 

 rience had not confirmed his report, we might still have accepted 

 it as true. But modern discoveries have further confirmed the 

 intelligence handed down to us by Herodotus, at least as far as 

 the existence of such a race is concerned. 



It is otherwise with regard to its geographical position. We 

 saw that the locality is marked out in a well defined part of the 

 river. In fact, the most northerly station of the western Pigmies, 

 discovered to this day, is situated in the interior of ISenegambia, 

 towards 10° of north latitude and 14° west longitude, that is to 

 say, about 8 degrees further south and 10 degrees further west 

 than the spot where the JNasamons were captured by the little 

 men. (*) We consequently find here again 4 a propos of Western 

 Africa, the same difference between tradition and modern discovery, 

 which we have already pointed out with regard to Upper Egypt 

 and India. The dwarf race once more seems to be further away 

 from us than it was at the time of the Greeks. 



In the two preceding cases, we were able to impute this discre- 

 pancy to an incomplete knowledge which had led to diminishing 

 the true distances, but in the present instance such a supposition 

 is inadmissible. Considering the correctness of the account given 

 by Herodotus and its accordance with material facts of an un- 

 varying nature, we must admit, either that the dwarf race, seen 



( i ) Mollien — Voyage dans VInUHeur de VAfrique aux Soiirces du Senegal 

 etde la Senegamuie — made in 1818. Paris, 1822, vol. II, p. 256. I will state 

 with precision further on, the geographical localities inhabited by these email 

 races lately examined. 



