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, 
w^oolly 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 strophanthusy most probably hispidus or komhcy not grains. 
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unless the arrow point is withdrawn very quickly and the wound 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- 
