30 THE PIGMIES. 



number, nine distinct tribes having eacb its own king or chief. ( x ) 

 At the time of Schweinfurth's visit, these people were, partially 

 at least, under the authority of Moummeri, one of Mouxza's vas- 

 sals, who came to pay homage to his suzerain at the head of a 

 perfect regiment of these small Negroes, so that the European 

 traveller was able to see, at the same time, several hundreds of 

 these dwarf warriors. ( 2 ) 



In exchange for one of his dogs, Schweinfurth obtained from 

 Motjnza. one of the Akkas of whom he had made a portrait ( 3 ) 

 He iutendecl bringing him over to Europe, but the unfortunate 

 Nsevoue died of dysentery at Berber, South of Khartoum. His 

 skeleton may perhaps one day be found by some traveller and 

 brought to some Museum where it will furnish to science the 

 anatomical indications which are still wanting concerning these 

 people. 



The only records we have as yet, with respect to the Akkas, 

 proceed from the examination of living subjects, and are very few 

 in number. The notes and measurements taken by Schweinfurth 

 were burnt in the unlucky fire which destroyed the fruit of three 

 years' arduous work and toil, and it was anything but easy to make 

 up, even partially, for such a loss. However, M. Marno had the 



(i) Schweinfurth, Au cceur deVAfriqvc, p. 110. This journey is one 

 of the most remarkable among those which have so rapidly increased our 

 knowledge of Central Africa. It lasted from the beginning of July, 1S68, 

 to the early part of November, 1871, and the greater part of it was made in 

 countries entirely unexplored up to that time by Europeans. The traveller 

 had gathered splendid collections of all kinds and had taken numerous obser- 

 vations, notes, drawings, maps, etc. Nearly all of these scientific trea- 

 sures were mrfortunately destroyed by fire. We can.weU imagine the grief 

 of the savant thus reduced to relate his travels from memory. His work 

 is none the less most valuable on account of the information obtained about 

 regions which until then were utterly unknown. 



(2) Schweinfurth, Au cceur deVAfrique, p. 115. 



(3) Id. p. 64. Schweinfurth has given a full height portrait of another 

 Akka called Bombi. {Id. p. 121). 



Since Mounza has learnt the value attached to Akkas, as objects of curiosity, 

 he occasionally gives them as presents to the ivory merchants who visit him 

 every year. This is how one of these individuals arrived at Khartoum ; he 

 had been sent to the Governor of the Soudan by Emin-Bey ( Doctor 

 S( 'HNiTZOR ). M. VOSSION, the French Vice-Consul, gave a brief descrip- 

 tion of him in a letter to which I will refer hereafter. 



