Bredin, Bruce 
August 26, 1955 
Ifr, and Itra. Broca Bredin 
Oraeinrilla, Delaware 
Dear Bruce and Mrs. Bredin s 
Pretty auch the seme old story‘,-behind hand again with ay prtaiaes. 
However, I did get the bits of Congo handicraft into the exj>ressHan*s 
hands for delivery to ym using the Greenville address. As I have said 
b#f<M*e, there IsnH much of it, but it is in a seasure raiainlscent and 
raprasantative. The enclosed photo shom what there is in the box and 
carton sent this morning. Two of the vmm mats, a piece of bark cloth 
(rathar crude looking) for a back drop, and a bow are in the paper wrapped 
eartonj tee other things are in the two foot square box. 
The bark cloth, woven mats, bow and arrows iR»re obtained in Paulis, 
presumably made by the Mangbetus, The wooden dnnsser (to the right), the 
face plaque (center), and the Ivojy huntsmen are frcxs Leopoldville. The 
wooden image to the left— I take it to be a vcaaan — is frm Starilifjrville, 
and the circular seat in the middle is from a native village naar Kutwanga, 
The ftgxa*es, wood and ivory, cost about Ii50 francs (#9 #00) each. The 
arrows about 2 francs apiece, the bow 1*5, the bark cloth and mats about 
130 and the face plaque 110 francs. The ivcary figurines and drummer, 
though started home from Leopoldville, April 15, were soiaetow terribly 
delayed. fb«y landed here tee very same day that the freight shiimient 
from Bntebbe via Mairobl did. 
Dr, Krieg«p, our curator of ethnology, was such taken these objects. 
He has nothing quite like the bark cloth. This he thought a little unusual 
because of the straped decorations, he said with indigo, along the lateral 
strips. These rosettes show faintly in the photograph. i#ien I picked up 
these things, I felt crowded, for space in our boxes. but now that I am 
back, I wish I»d gotten more. Sc does Dr. Irleger, for w© have so little 
of African handicraft in our collections, I turned over to him another 
bow and five arrows that the py^iles bad made. They ?ire so smaller in 
sise than the Paulis ones. The pygmy arrows had no metal points and 
carried a patch of poisonous material just behind the sharply pointed 
wooden tip. This is a wise precaution, -an accidental scratch would work 
no harmf the poison Is not released into a wound unless the arrow penetrates 
both skin and flesh. 
