Chapter IV: Part 4

These Pygmies live in low oval huts, with doors two or three feet high. The houses are arranged in a circle about an open cleared space, in which the chief’s house stands. About one hundred yards from the village, along every path that leads to it, is a little guard house, only big enough for two Pygmies. These are guard houses and toll stations, and all strangers who pass must pay toll. The Pygmies are usually on good terms with their big neighbors, and both are useful to the other. The little people sell their ivory, skins, honey, and poison to their neighbors, or trade them for vegetable food. The Pygmies, keen and watchful, are good pickets for the others, and often warn them of danger from approaching enemies.

XXVI.
BUSHMEN AND HOTTENTOTS.

Far to the south in Africa, in and about the Desert of Kalahari, live the Bushmen. They are somewhat like the Pygmies. They are little—full-grown men being from four feet to four feet six inches in stature. They are of a yellow-brown color; their hair is black and kinky, but appears to grow in little tufts with bare spaces between; the jaws project and the lips are thick; they wrinkle early. They are quick and lively in movements, and are bold hunters.

Little bands of them wander from place to place, without any fixed home. They build no houses. Usually they live in holes among the rocks; at most, they build rude, temporary shelters. They live chiefly on game, which they kill with the bow and arrow, or sometimes with the spear. They sometimes trail an animal a long distance, and when they overtake and kill it, stop at the spot to eat it. They are wonderful at following the trail of either animals or men, and see signs of their having passed which a white man would never notice. They get a hard living; they gather seeds and roots, fruits and gums; they hunt the honey of wild bees; they catch lizards and snakes. They are so fond of the white grubs, or pupæ of ants—which we usually, but wrongly, call ants’ eggs—that the Boers, living near the little people, call them “Bushmen’s rice.” They also eat the huge eggs of the ostrich, and make water vessels out of the empty shells.

Their bows are small and their arrows are hardly more than a foot in length; the points of bone, stone, or iron are poisoned, and are so attached to the shaft that they separate and remain in the wound. The spear and darts which they use are also small and have poisoned tips. In the quivers with their arrows they carry a little sharpening stone for grinding the points and a brush for applying the poison. For digging roots the Bushmen use a pointed stick, which is weighted with a stone ring. These few simple weapons and tools are all that these poor people possess, except a few wooden dishes and a smoking pipe, which is said to be owned by a whole family or band.

Livingstone says that their arrow poison comes from a sort of caterpillar or grub, which they crush and dip the arrow tip into. They always clean their nails carefully after handling the poison, as it causes damage if it comes into contact with any scratch or cut. The pain caused by the poison is so great as almost to make the man who has been wounded crazy. When a lion has been struck with one of these poisoned arrows he roars terribly and bites and tears the ground and trees. To cure a person who has been bitten they use an ointment made of the crushed caterpillar mixed with grease. They believe that the caterpillar is hungry for grease; when it does not find fat in a person it kills him; when they supply it the fat it wants, it does no harm. It is said that this caterpillar is sacred and that they pray to it, asking it to give them plenty of game when they are hunting.

These little people are fond of music and drawing. Their finest musical instrument is a _gora_. This is a hunter’s bow, with a ring on the bow string. By sliding this ring they change the note which it gives when twanged. The twang of a bowstring is not a very loud sound; to increase it a gourd is hung to the lower end of the bow. All over the country of the Bushmen cliffs and the walls of caves are covered with their pictures, which represent animals, birds, and men; hunting scenes and battles are also represented. These pictures are sometimes just pecked out in the rock; sometimes they are painted; sometimes they are first pecked out and then filled with color. The colors most used in these pictures are red, yellow, and black.

The negroid Kaffirs and the Hottentots who live near the poor Bushmen hate them and harm them. Meeting them on the road, they sometimes kill them without pity. In 1804 a Kaffir who went to Cape Town on business found a Bushman boy eleven years old working as a servant in the government building. He killed the little fellow with a spear. This, of course, was long ago, but it shows how the Kaffirs despise the Bushmen.

The Hottentots live near the Bushmen and are a mixture between them and the negroids. They are taller than the Bushmen, but have much the same yellowish brown skin color and the same sort of hair. Their language, too, is much like that of the Bushmen. In both languages there are some strange sounds, hard for white men to pronounce, called “clicks.” These sounds come in the middle of words, and are called “clicks” because they sound something like the sound made in driving horses. Among the Bushmen there are nine different sounds of this kind; the Hottentots have only four.

The Hottentots are cattle-raisers, but do not cultivate plants. They gather wild fruits and dig roots. They move with their herds from one pasture to another; their settlements are called _kraals_. Their huts are dome-shaped and consist of a light framework of poles over which mattings are hung. When they move it takes only a few minutes to take the houses to pieces and pack them on to their cattle. The huts are always set up in a circle, enclosing a clear space where the cattle are herded.

Both men and women of the Hottentots wear fur caps, and it is considered indecent for a woman to be seen with her head bare. Hottentot clothing consists of leather aprons and cloaks. Hottentots rarely kill their cattle, which they keep for milk rather than for meat.

They are quite warlike, and each tribe has a leader. They honor brave warriors. They are gay in disposition and like to say sharp and funny things about each other; this often leads to quarrels and fights. When a man is angry with another, he takes a handful of dust and offers it to him; if the offender is willing to fight, he seizes the hand and scatters the dust on the ground; if he refuses to fight, the angry man throws the dust upon him to show that he is a coward. In fighting to settle quarrels, they kick and club each other and even use spears.

The Hottentots have many songs and prayers which they repeat to, or about, their sacred beings. Among their stories are some about the rabbit and his adventures. They worship the stars which we call the Pleiades. When these stars rise for the first time in the year, the people greet them. Mothers take their babies in their arms and teach them to stretch out their little hands toward the friendly stars. They then have a dance and sing a song in honor of one of their gods. There is a large insect called the _mantis_, which, when it stands still, raises its long front legs into a curious position; the Hottentots think that it is praying. When a praying mantis appears in a kraal every one is pleased, as they think it brings good luck. No one thinks of killing it, and they make an offering to it.

When a Hottentot man goes hunting, his wife kindles a fire at home and does nothing while he is gone but carefully tend it. They believe if she lets it go out that he will fail in his hunting. Hottentot conjurers are thought to be great snake charmers. It is said that they can hiss in such a way that all the snakes in the district will be attracted to them. So much are these conjurers feared that every one wears some object about him to protect himself against their power.

XXVII.
MALAYS.

The Malays live in the Malay Peninsula, on the great islands near it,—Sumatra, Borneo, and Java,—and on a host of lesser islands in that part of the world. They also form part of the population of the great island, Madagascar, lying east of Africa.

They are short, with brown skin, dark eyes, straight and coarse black hair, and broad, round heads. Their forms are slight and graceful. They are active and gay, quick and intelligent; they are easily offended, do not readily forgive injuries, and are often deceitful and treacherous.

The Malays are believed to have come from the continent of Asia not more than three thousand years ago.

They are fairly industrious in working their fields, the most important crop from which is rice. They have other crops, however, and also raise many fruits. They use the buffalo as a help in field work and for drawing carts. Those Malays who live near the coast fish, and use both fresh and salted fish for food. They are good sailors, making journeys by water to China, Australia and other islands. They are shrewd in trading. Formerly, many Malays were bold pirates, as indeed in some parts they still are.

Malay houses are usually built of boards, are rectangular in form, and have a two-pitched roof. They are almost everywhere, set up on posts quite high above ground, and must be reached by means of ladders.

The Malays are great chewers of betel nut. A piece of the nut is mixed with a little lime, placed in a leaf, and chewed. It colors the saliva red and stains the teeth a brownish black. So used are the Malays to these stained teeth that they no longer admire white teeth. Of a man whose teeth are not stained with betel they will say, “he has teeth like a dog,” and seem to consider it a disgrace. They even chip off or file away the enamel on the front of the teeth of children so that they may become sooner blackened.

All Malays like amusement; even the most civilized celebrate many festivals. Animal fights and theatrical performances are favorites. Almost every man among the Malays keeps a fighting cock of which he is proud and fond; while he works in his field, the bird is tied by a cord to a stake near him, and he stops now and again to stroke and pet him. Cock-fights take place frequently, but the birds are not allowed—as in Mexico—to kill each other. The bull-fights in the Malay region are also much less cruel than those of Mexico and Spain. In these countries the bull is made to fight against a trained company of human fighters; among the Malays he fights another animal of his own kind. The Malay buffalo-tiger fight is famous. A buffalo and tiger are placed in a pen together and then excited until they attack each other. The buffalo is quite frequently the victor. Most curious, however, is the battle between crickets. The contest between these insects is watched with great interest and excitement by the Malays. It occurs also in Japan.

Malays delight in dances and the theatre. At the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago there was a complete Javanese village. It contained a dance house where dances were given to the sound of the strange gongs and other musical instruments of the Javan people. The dancing was by girls who were gayly dressed in velvet, silk, and satin with gold and silver tinsel. They wore curious gilt helmets. They did not dance with their feet, but kept time to the music by graceful movements of the arms, hands, head, and eyes. In the same building they gave plays, in which the players wore small and curious masks of wood. In other plays, somewhat like our Punch and Judy, puppets were moved and played the parts. The Javanese also have shadow plays, where jointed human figures, cut from cardboard, are moved by sticks and their shadows are thrown upon a screen.

“Running amuck” is fearfully common among Malays. Suddenly a man, on the street or in some public place, becomes insane with a desire to kill. Seizing a weapon, he starts down a street filled with people and strikes right and left at every one as he runs. The police hurry after the murderer and are usually compelled to kill him before his dreadful work can be stopped. The Malays are really a nervous and excitable people; it is said that frequently a steady look at a person will throw him into a trance or hypnotized state.

Of the various weapons used by the Malays the _kris_ seems to be the favorite. In Java this was often a remarkable object. A kris is a short sword or dagger with a fine steel blade which ends in a point, and the sides of which are wavy instead of straight. Probably they think of this as a stinging serpent; anyway the handle is frequently in the form of a serpent’s head. Sometimes this handle is finely carved and often it is set with gems. Some that belonged to the old Javan princes were a mass of precious stones. The sheath for the kris might be plain, but it might also be decorated with carvings or encrusted with jewels.

Strangest of the Malays are the Dyaks of Borneo and the Battaks of Sumatra. Both are a little larger and have longer heads than the Javanese. The Dyaks are great “head-hunters.” No man is respected until he has brought in a head as a trophy. Usually only the skull is kept; sometimes this will be engraved with patterns or stained with coloring matter; sometimes designs are cut in the bone and foil is set in the patterns. The Battaks are industrious and have made progress in many ways. They have a system of writing. Inscriptions are usually carved upon staves of bamboo; they also have books made of strips of palm or other vegetable substances. The Battaks are among the most dreadful of cannibals.

XXVIII.
THE PEOPLES OF THE PHILIPPINES.

The Philippine Islands lie northeast from the great Malay Islands. The group extends for one thousand miles and includes almost two thousand islands of sizes from barren rock masses too small for use up to the great Island of Luzon, which is about the size of Ohio. All together the islands have an area equal to that of New York and the New England States united. It is uncertain how large a population occupy the islands, but it is probably between seven and eight million.

Dr. Blumentritt, an Austrian who has studied the Philippine peoples for many years, says that fifty-one different languages are spoken among them. He thinks that the peoples have come at various times to the islands from various places. He believes that the first people here were the negritos and that they once occupied the whole region. Perhaps three thousand years ago Malay tribes, a good deal like the Dyaks of Borneo, crowded in upon the unfortunate little natives, seizing their land and driving them into the mountains of the interior and to the more remote parts of the coast. Later, from eighteen hundred to fourteen hundred years ago, other Malays crowded in, but this time they were more like those of Java. Much later, only about five hundred years ago, a third lot of Malays, bold and hardy seamen, began a movement into the islands. But just then the Spaniards discovered the Philippines and checked these pirates before they had gained much of a foothold. Blumentritt speaks of these invasions of Malays as the first, second, and third Malay migrations.

The negritos, or old population, are a little people much like the Mincopies of the Andaman Islands. They are short, black skinned, and crinkly haired. They do not live to be old, but a person of thirty or forty looks as if much older. They build no true houses; in bad weather they put up rude shelters. They are wanderers and have no agriculture; they make no pottery; they wear but little clothing; some scar or tattoo; they are fond of ornaments. Their chief weapon is the bow and arrow, though they also have spears. They are skilful in throwing stones. They make fire by friction, sawing one sharp piece of bamboo across another. If a negrito dies, his fellows believe he was bewitched by some Tagal or other Malay, and will not be satisfied until one has been killed in revenge. When two negritos wish to swear friendship, they cut their arms and each sucks blood from the other; they thus become of one blood and are like brothers. They used to send messages by knotting grass which either had a meaning itself or helped the person who carried it to remember what he had been told. There are now perhaps twenty thousand negritos and they live mostly on the larger islands—Luzon, Mindanao, and Negros.

Many tribes in the Philippines represent the first Malay invasion. They are much alike in life and character; all are bold and cruel; most of them are head-hunters. They depend, in part, on agriculture, and have settled villages which are usually in the mountains or forests. The Igorrotes are a good example of them. They live in North Luzon. Both men and women tattoo; they gild their teeth and are fond of ornaments. The men go armed with spears, bows and arrows, and knives. Their peculiar weapon, however, is a hatchet-knife called _ligua_; the thin broad blade, set like that of a hatchet, has a concave cutting edge which runs into a long point above. The houses of the Igorrotes are large, rectangular, and raised on piles. These people are good agriculturists, tending their fields—which they irrigate—with care. The girls of the village are in charge of an old woman, and they all live and sleep together in one special house; this is unlike the other houses of the village and is not set up on posts. The Igorrotes have much respect for the souls of their ancestors. In each village there is a sacred tree in which they believe these souls abide. Though industrious and settled the Igorrotes are dreadful head-hunters. They organize war-parties to attack neighboring tribes for victims. The party shown in the picture were on such an errand. Only a few days after the photograph was taken they fell upon a Tingian village, killed thirty-nine persons, and carried away twenty-five heads as trophies.

The Tagals, one of the tribes of the second invasion, are the most important of the Philippine peoples. They industriously work their fields and raise rice, yams, maize, and several fleshy-root plants. Of fruits they cultivate mangoes, bananas, pineapples, cocoanuts, and others. Of industrial plants they produce manila hemp, cotton, indigo, and tobacco. Many of these plants they have only had since the coming of the Spaniards. They have long had domestic animals, among them the buffalo, pig, dog, hens, and ducks. The Tagals have towns of considerable size, with well-built houses perched on posts. They are well dressed in good cloth woven by the women. They are fond of gain and good traders. They are active in body and mind. They delight in poetry, and it is said “boys on the street will improvise by the yard.” The Tagals write their language with an alphabet which was probably brought from India _long_ ago. They formerly wrote on bamboo or on the bark of certain trees. The Tagals are passionately fond of cock-fighting. Every one chews betel nut.

As to the third migration, it failed to reach the great island of Luzon. The immigrants were Mohammedan Malays from Borneo. They were sea-rovers and pirates. They gained possession of the Sulu Islands, the farthest to the southwest of the Philippines, and had landed on Mindanao when the arrival of the Spaniards put an end to their movements. They are usually called _Moros_ or Moors, from their religion. They are polygamous and keep slaves. Their ruler is called the Sultan of Sulu.

Such are the people of the Philippines: at least fifty-one tribes, speaking as many different languages. But there are also many foreigners there: thousands of Japanese and Chinese; descendants of American Indians, brought by the old Spaniards from Mexico and Peru; Spaniards and other whites. And lastly there are all sorts of _mestizos_, or mixed persons, produced by the intermarriage of all these so many different stocks—native and foreign.

XXIX.
MELANESIANS.

Several great groups of people occupy the vast island world of the Pacific. We have already spoken of the Malays. In Australia live many tribes differing in language and customs. They are mostly dark brown with bushy or curly hair. They are savages in culture. South of Australia, in Van Diemen’s Land, or Tasmania, there formerly lived a dark brown people, not tall in stature, with peculiar features and long curly hair; they are now all gone. North of Australia, in Papua or New Guinea, are many tribes with curious and interesting arts and customs. The real Papuans are dark brown in color and have woolly hair, which, like that of the Bushmen, _seems_ to grow in tufts with bare spaces between. They are of medium stature. The islands to the east and south of Australia and New Guinea are occupied by black, woolly-haired tribes, who are called Melanesians, and who are related to the Papuans. Among them are the natives of Fiji, New Britain, New Ireland, and the Solomon Islands.

The Fijians of fifty years ago will well represent the Melanesians. Thomas Williams, _Fiji and the Fijians_, will give us our facts.

The Fijian hair-dressing was striking. Each chief had a special hair-dresser, who frequently spent several hours a day in arranging his master’s hair. The hairs were trained to stand out from the head so as to form a great mass that might be trimmed into curious shapes. This smooth, soft, solid, cushion-like mass of hair was stained with colors—jet black naturally, it might be blue-black, ashy white, or shades of red. The whole mass of hair, except a band in front, might be black, while _that_ was white; sometimes the hair behind was twisted into cords ending with tassels; one man had a knot of fiery red hair on the crown while the rest of his head was shaved; sometimes the hair mass measured four feet or more in circumference. Such grand hair-dressing would be ruined by lying down with the head on the ground—so the Fijians had a wooden head-rest or pillow, which was set under the neck and held the head up, off the ground.

Men wore a long sash of bark cloth, which was anywhere from three to one hundred yards long. This was passed between the legs and wound around the waist any number of times; if it were long and the man wanted to present a _fine_ appearance it was folded several times up against the upper part of his body; the ends were allowed to trail behind. The men wore a turban of the same material, but fine and gauzy; from four to six feet long, it was wrapped around the head, several times if need be; if the hair mass was large, however, it would go little more than once. Women wore little but a fringed waist band, which hung to the knees.

Like the Polynesians, from whom they probably learned it, the Fijians used much _kava_, a drink which produces a stupefied or intoxicated condition. The preparation of kava for the king was a great occasion. The great kava bowl, made of wood carefully polished, was placed upon the ground. The guests seated themselves around it. A number of young men took pieces of the root from which the drink was to be made and chewed them well in their mouths; they stacked up the pellets in the dish; water was poured in until the bowl was nearly full and the balls of chewed root were well stirred about and squeezed in it. Then a man, especially trained to the work, strained them out with a bunch of fibre, in which, by twisting, he squeezed the pellets until no more juice or water ran out. The liquid was now ready for drinking. Prayer and song had accompanied the making of the kava. The king, receiving a cupful from a servant, spilled a little to the gods, and then drank. The others then drank in their order. It was a high honor to drink next after the king.

The Fijians carved neat bowls and other vessels from wood. The kava bowls, though usually plain, were carefully cut and beautifully polished. The Fijians—almost alone of Pacific Islanders—made pottery; the vessels were in various strange though rather graceful forms, and were somewhat glazed. They made remarkable war clubs of fine, heavy, dark woods which varied much in form, were decorated with carving, and were handsomely polished. Fijians were not good sailors, but they made better canoes than some of those made by Polynesians, who _were_ bold sailors. It is said that the Tongans (Polynesians) gave up their own style of canoe to adopt that of the Fijians. The canoes were, like those of many of the Pacific Islands, double canoes; two canoes of the same shape and size were placed side by side—with some little space between—and united by a platform of boards; one sail was sometimes hoisted; paddles were used for sculling and a great steering oar was employed. A much larger book than this would be needed for describing all the craft used on the water by Malayans, Melanesians, and Polynesians. The Fijians enjoyed music and had two or three kinds of drums, sticks that were beaten together, pan-pipes, a bamboo jew’s-harp, a conch-shell trumpet, and a little flute that was blown by the nose.

The Fijians were a polite people—that is, they had rules about greetings, behavior, and the treatment of superiors. One curious rule was that a servant or inferior, in case his master fell or got into some ridiculous position, must also fall or place himself in a similar ridiculous position. Afterward it was expected that he would be rewarded for his politeness. Mr. Williams tells us an incident that illustrates this practice:—

“One day I came to a long bridge formed of a single cocoanut tree, which was thrown across a rapid stream, the opposite bank of which was two or three feet lower, so that the declivity was too steep to be comfortable. The pole was also wet and slippery, and thus my crossing safely was very doubtful. Just as I commenced the experiment a heathen said, with much animation, ‘To-day I shall have a musket.’ I had, however, just then to heed my steps more than his words, and so succeeded in reaching the other side safely. When I asked him why he spoke of a musket, the man replied, ‘I felt certain you would fall in attempting to go over, and I should have fallen after you; and, as the bridge is high, the water rapid, and you a gentleman, you would not have thought of giving me less than a musket.’”

The _tabu_ is one of the most curious habits of Pacific Islanders. Though it occurred in Fiji, it was Polynesian, rather than Melanesian. Tabu was forbidding persons to touch, or use, or make some object. Chiefs and priests set most of the tabus, but lesser people might sometimes do so. A man might tabu all the cocoanuts in a district, setting up some sign or mark to show that he had done so; no one might thereafter touch a nut there until the tabu had been removed. A chief might tabu a man’s working; he could not do work of any kind until the chief removed the tabu. A chief might tabu the building of canoes by the people of a certain village; the people thenceforth would need to secure canoes from others. Thousands of tabus were set, and they made much trouble and inconvenience. The man who broke a tabu was punished, sometimes by death.

The Fijians were dreadful cannibals. England governed Fiji for many years, and it was believed that the practice had disappeared. A few old men were considered almost as curiosities because they had eaten flesh of men and were called “the last of the cannibals.” Then suddenly in 1889 the old custom broke out again. A party of Fijians killed some victims and ate them in a cave. A party in pursuit found evidence of the dreadful feast. Among these were some of the curious wooden forks used because it was not proper that the flesh should be touched with the fingers!

XXX.
POLYNESIANS.

The Pacific Islands lying east from the Melanesian Islands, beginning with New Zealand and stretching to Easter Island, were occupied by Polynesians. The best known of their island groups were New Zealand, the Society Islands, Samoa, and the Hawaiian Islands. These islands are either volcanic islands or coral islands, and the natural animal and vegetable life occurring on them is less varied than on the great islands lying nearer to the Asiatic or Australian continents.

The Polynesians present a fine type. They are often tall and well built; their skins, though brown, are frequently light; the features are regular and the faces handsome. They are quick and intelligent, think and reason well, take new ideas readily, and are fond of beauty. They were barbarians, but had made so much progress that they were at the border-line of civilization. Living in a mass of islands that presented few natural resources, they had made the most of everything nature gave them.

Many Polynesian tribes tattoo. Elaborate patterns are pricked into the skin, with lines of needles set side by side and dipped in color. The New Zealanders tattooed their faces with curious curved-line patterns, each line had its proper place, and the patterns probably had a meaning. The Marquesas Islanders covered their bodies with elaborate and graceful patterns. The process was painful and only a small space was done at one time; the whole work required years.

Polynesian dress differed somewhat with the region. In New Zealand fine, soft, and flexible robes and blankets were woven of the native flax. In Hawaii the king and chiefs had wonderful feather cloaks which hung to the knees or even to the ankles. The little feathers of which these were composed were red and yellow; a garment composed only of yellow feathers could be worn only by the king; when both colors of feathers were used, they were arranged in diamond-shaped or other ornamental forms, with spots and lines of dark purple or black feathers. Besides the cloaks, there were tippets of feathers, which were generally worn by lower chiefs, who had not, or might not have, feather cloaks. In these feather garments the dress was made of a sort of netted foundation, into which these bright feathers were worked. Chiefs also had wonderful helmets of wickerwork which were covered with feathers. The helmet might be simple, just fitting the head, or large, ridged, or crested, and rising high above the head. In some islands the clothing consisted of a fringed girdle hanging from the waist to the knees.

But everywhere in Polynesia the common dress was made of _tapa_. This was a kind of paper or cloth beaten out of the bark of certain trees. The bark was removed from the tree and soaked in water; it was laid upon a large piece of wood and beaten with a sort of club or mallet. This was made of hard wood and was round at one end for being taken in the hand; the remainder was squared, and the four faces were either smooth or ribbed by longitudinal grooves. By this beating the wood was separated into its fibres, and these were mashed together into a sheet of firm paper or cloth. This tapa differs with the tree from the bark of which it is made. Some is thin and dark brown; that from the bark of the breadfruit tree is fawn-colored; that from the paper-mulberry, best and finest of all, is beautifully white. The women were so expert at beating tapa that single strips, four yards wide and two hundred yards long, were beaten. Such cloth might be left plain, or it might be stained with colors, or it might be stamped with patterns. Wooden blocks or strips of bamboo were carved with designs which were smeared with color and stamped on the cloth; sometimes ferns were laid in coloring matter, then the form transferred to the tapa.

The two chief food supplies in Polynesia were breadfruit and cocoanuts; yams (much like sweet potatoes) and bananas were plenty. A favorite food in places is _poi_, a sort of gruel or pudding made from the root of _taro_. It was not eaten with a spoon, but the finger was dipped into it and stirred around to get a good load of the sticky stuff on it, when it was stuck into the mouth and sucked clean. Fish were much eaten, though not all kinds nor at all times.

The Polynesian oven was a hole, three or four feet across, and a foot deep, dug in the ground. The bottom was lined with stones, which were covered with dry leaves, upon which a brisk fire was built. When the stones were red-hot, the dust and ashes were brushed out of the oven, and the potatoes, yams, and taro, or the pigs, dogs, fish, and birds were wrapped in leaves, and laid upon the hot stones. When all the food to be cooked had been neatly placed, leaves were laid above them, and hot stones on these. All was then covered in with leaves and earth, and left until thoroughly baked through.

Many of the strange peoples we have considered are filthy; Polynesians were unusually cleanly, and bathed frequently. In some islands surf bathing was the chief sport. Every traveller to Hawaii has described the practice. Babies were taken into the sea by their mothers within two or three days of their birth, and could swim as soon as they could walk. Old and young, men and women, bathe in the surf, and the heavier the waves the greater the sport. The surf-bathing board was five or six feet long, and a foot wide; it was carefully polished. Taking his board and pushing it before him, the man swam far out to sea, diving under the billows as he met them. When far enough out, he lay himself on the end of the board and waited for a great wave. When it came, he poised himself on its very crest, and paddling with hands and feet rode in upon it almost to the shore.

The Polynesians were warriors, and their battles were cruel and bloody. They rarely ventured into battle until their gods, through their priests, promised them success. To prepare themselves for war they practised in warlike arts. Thus they slung stones at marks, threw javelins, and wrestled. It is said that, in slinging, they were able to strike a small stick at fifty yards’ distance, four times out of five. In their javelin practice, the man at whom the weapon was thrown often caught it and hurled it back; some were so skilled that they “would allow six men to throw their javelins at them, which they would either catch and return on their assailants, or so dextrously turn aside that they fell harmless to the ground.” In going to war, a chief summoned all his friends and subordinates. When they had gathered, the gods—especially the war gods—were brought out to assist and encourage them. During the battle there was great noise and confusion; effort was made to kill the great chiefs of the enemy, so that their followers might be discouraged. Many were killed. Survivors fled to some fortress, or the mountains, or found safety in one of the curious “places of refuge,” within whose sacred precincts no harm could be done them.

For weapons, the Hawaiians had spears of great length, javelins, clubs which were used both for thrusting and striking, a hard wood dagger, and slings often made of human hair. On the Kingsmill Islands the natives made weapons, in many shapes or sizes, of wooden shafts, along the sides of which great numbers of sharks’ teeth were securely lashed. These weapons were used both for thrusting and striking, and were fearful things on naked bodies. In those same islands, and on account of these shark-tooth weapons, the natives had curious protective clothing or armor of cocoanut fibre.

Many Polynesians were cannibals: some of them dreadful cannibals. Their eating of human flesh was often connected with their religion. They had many gods, whom they represented by idols. The Hawaiian war god is an example. His idol was an image four or five feet high; the upper part was of wickerwork covered with red feathers; the hideous face was supplied with a great mouth with triple rows of dog’s or shark’s teeth; the eyes were of shell, and upon the head was a helmet crested with long tresses of human hair.

XXXI.
CONCLUSION.

We have spoken of many Strange Peoples. We have gone around the world in our search. But after all we have examined but a small part. Remember that there are fifty-one peoples at least in the Philippines alone. We have not examined the Australians, or the unfortunate Tasmanians, or the many tribes of Siberia, or the sixty native populations of India. We have omitted great nations like the southeast Asians,—Siamese, Burmese, Annamese. In fact there are many times more Strange Peoples in the world whom we have _not_ examined, than whom we have. But we have examined enough, I hope, to learn that they are interesting and deserve our acquaintance and our sympathy.

There are few unknown peoples left. Travellers have gone to almost all parts of the world. The spots which represent absolutely unexplored regions on our maps are now neither large nor numerous. There are many peoples about whom we know little, but there are not many who are actually unknown. Those that may be discovered hereafter will be interesting, but they are not likely to be very different from those now known.

Many of the Strange Peoples are becoming less “strange” every year. Old customs and peculiar practices are dying out in every part of the world. Travellers, missionaries, and merchants from white men’s lands are taking our ideas, our tools, our weapons, our dress, our learning, our religion, and our vices to the remotest parts of the world. Some of the Strange Peoples here described have already lost most of their old customs. The Polynesians and Fijians have little of the old life which we have described. Many American Indian tribes have changed less. Some populations have still changed little. But a tribe must indeed be remote and difficult of access to actually escape our touch absolutely. Usually the change is _not_ improvement. Other people more quickly adopt our vices than our virtues. Many tribes have become drunken, diseased, and depraved through the white man’s influence. It is rare, indeed, that a lower people gains in happiness or virtue by contact with “higher civilization.”

Many of the Strange Peoples will disappear. The Tasmanians were killed off almost like so many animals by the English. American Indian tribes have suffered almost as badly at our hands. Many tribes have gone; others are going. The Lipans were once a fairly numerous tribe. In 1892 I saw all who were left in the United States—four women and one man; six months later I saw them again—the man was dead and only four women remained. The Tonkaways are dying out at the rate of one-third each eight years. The Polynesians, strong, handsome, active, and happy as they were when James Cook visited their islands little more than one hundred years ago, have dwindled, and fifty years more may blot them from the earth. Not all American Indian tribes are dying out; it is possible too that Polynesian decline began before Cook’s travels. But it is certain that on the whole the changes brought by the newcomers sealed the doom of the Indian and Polynesian.

There have always been movements of peoples from place to place. We have seen the Malays pouring three great masses of immigrants into the Philippines. There are white peoples in Asia; there are yellow peoples in Europe. Recently plenty of whites and of blacks have poured into America. Such movements contain some danger. The fair whites will probably never be able to live in the tropical lands. A certain sort of skin, hair, nose, breathing apparatus, is necessary for men who are to live and prosper in low, hot, marshy parts of Africa. For Germans to try to _colonize_ equatorial Africa is probably a fatal blunder. So far as we know the dark whites—Spaniards, Italians, south Frenchmen—make better tropical colonizers than we do; but even they are not successful. The negro is a bad colonizer, he hardly holds his own even in our Southern states. Of all the peoples of the globe the Chinese seem to be the best able to colonize differing countries. He seems to go to hot lands and cold lands, to small islands and to great continents, but flourishes everywhere. So true is this that some writers have urged that Africa be opened up for settlement to the crowded millions of the old empire. For most peoples, however, migration, if they _must_ migrate, is best along the lines of latitude into lands as much like the old home as possible. Many Scandinavians live to-day happily where Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan join; and they may be expected to prosper there, for land and water, soil and products, scenery and climate, are there much what they were in the fatherland.

LIST OF BOOKS REGARDING STRANGE PEOPLES.

This list makes no pretension to completeness; a few only of the many books of the kind are mentioned. Those with a prefixed asterisk will be useful to teachers; those without will interest children; those followed by an asterisk have directly contributed to this book in reading matter or illustration.

ARNOLD: Japonica.*

BATCHELLER: The Ainu of Japan.*

BRAMHALL: The Wee Ones of Japan.*

*BRINTON: Races and Peoples.

DU CHAILLU: The Land of the Dwarfs.*

*DENIKER: The Races of Man.

DOOLITTLE: Social Life of the Chinese.*

ELLIS: Polynesian Researches.*

FIELDE: A Corner of Cathay.

HEARN: Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan.

HUC: Travels in Tartary, Thibet, and China.*

*KEANE: Ethnology.

*KEANE: Man; Past and Present.

LANE: The Modern Egyptians.

LEONOWENS: The English Governess at the Siamese Court.

*LOWELL: Chosön.*

*LUBBOCK: Origin of Civilization.

*LUMMIS: The Land of Poco Tiempo.*

MARSHALL: Phrenologist among the Todas.*

*MEYER: Album von Philippinen-Typen.*

MILN: Little Folk of Many Lands.*

NANSEN: Eskimo Life.

*PESCHEL: The Races of Man.

DE QUATREFAGES: The Pygmies.

*RATZEL: History of Mankind.

*RATZEL: Völkerkunde.*

*RÉCLUS: Primitive Folk.

ROCKHILL: The Land of the Lamas.

SCHWEINFURTH: The Heart of Africa.*

SMITH: Chinese Characteristics.

STANLEY: In Darkest Africa.*

*TURNER: Samoa.

*TYLOR: Anthropology.*

*VERNEAU: Les Races Humaines.*

WALLACE: The Malay Archipelago.

WARD: India and the Hindoos.*

WILLIAMS: Fiji and the Fijians.*

------------------------------------------------------------------------

ADVERTISEMENTS

╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ AMERICAN INDIANS ║ ║ ║ ║ BY FREDERICK STARR, PH.D., ║ ║ ║ ║ _Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Chicago_. ║ ║ ║ ║ Cloth. 240 Pages. Fully Illustrated. Price, 45 Cents. ║ ║ ║ ║ D. C. HEATH & CO., Publishers, ║ ║ BOSTON. NEW YORK. CHICAGO. ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

=W. N. Hailman=, _Supt. of Schools, Dayton, O., formerly U. S. Commissioner of Indian Schools_: The book is beyond question the most attractive and conscientious presentation of the subject I have met.

=M. V. O’Shea=, _School of Education, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis._: I am glad to say that I regard Starr’s “American Indians” as one of the most appropriate books for grammar grade reading that I have seen.

=Richard E. Dodge=, _Prof. in Teacher’s College, Columbia Univ._, in “The Journal of School Geography”: The name of the author is a sufficient guarantee as to the accuracy and value of the little book whose title is noted above. We have long needed a well-written and true account of the much misused and misunderstood American Indians, and more especially an account that would appeal to the young, and give them different impressions from those gathered from nursery tales, school primers or Cooper’s stories. The book is attractive in general appearance, in typography, and illustration, and is well divided into thirty-three short chapters, each devoted to a pertinent topic. It deals with all the aspects of Indian life, as is shown by the following selected chapter headings—Houses, Dress, the Baby and Child, War, Hunting and Fishing, Picture Writing, Money, Medicine Men and Secret Societies, Dances and Ceremonials, The Algonquins, the Six Nations, the Creeks, the Cherokees, The Pueblos, Totem Posts, The Aztecs, etc. The author has made good use of authorities and includes notes concerning each author quoted. The book shows that great care has been expended in selecting and organizing materials, and is authoritative. It should receive a hearty welcome, and be used not only in schools, but in homes, as a book for boys and girls, or as a book for a parent to use in selecting true facts for family talks and conferences. Two valuable maps are included in the text, and are both very pertinent.

=Journal of Education, Boston, Mass.=: The book is interesting and instructive throughout, and should be read widely in school and out.

=The American, Philadelphia, Pa.=: This book, prepared especially for younger people, is a careful, interesting history of the chief tribes of North American Indians, their peculiarities and ways of life. The picture drawn is good and highly instructive.

=Tribune, Chicago, Ill.=: Professor Starr is already a recognized authority on Indian lore, having a personal acquaintance with some thirty tribes, from Alaska to Yucatan. His book condenses into 240 pages the main facts gathered by students and explorers among the red men since the discovery of America. One cannot read many pages without feeling that the author is deeply in sympathy with the people of whom he is writing.

Supplementary Reading

_A Classified List for all Grades._

GRADE I. Bass’s The Beginner’s Reader .25
Badlam’s Primer .25
Fuller’s Illustrated Primer .25
Griel’s Glimpses of Nature for Little Folks .30
Heart of Oak Readers, Book I .25
Regal’s Lessons for Little Readers .35

GRADE II. Warren’s From September to June with Nature .35
Badlam’s First Reader .30
Bass’s Stories of Plant Life .25
Heart of Oak Readers, Book I .25
Snedden’s Docas, the Indian Boy .35
Wright’s Seaside and Wayside Nature, Readers No. 1 .25

GRADE III. Heart of Oak Readers, Book II .35
Pratt’s America’s Story, Beginner’s Book .35
Wright’s Seaside and Wayside Nature Readers, No. 2 .35
Miller’s My Saturday Bird Class .25
Firth’s Stories of Old Greece .30
Bass’s Stories of Animal life .35
Spear’s Leaves and Flowers .25

GRADE IV. Bass’s Stories of Pioneer Life .40
Brown’s Alice and Tom .40
Grinnell’s Our Feathered Friends .30
Heart of Oak Readers, Book III .45
Pratt’s America’s Story—Discoverers and Explorers .40
Wright’s Seaside and Wayside Nature Readers, No. 3 .45
GRADE V. Bull’s Fridtjof Nansen .30
Grinnell’s Our Feathered Friends .30
Heart of Oak Readers, Book III .45
Pratt’s America’s Story—The Earlier Colonies .00
Kupfer’s Stories of Long Ago .35

GRADE VI. Starr’s Strange Peoples .40
Bull’s Fridtjof Nansen .30
Heart of Oak Readers, Book IV .50
Pratt’s America’s Story—The Colonial Period .00
Dole’s The Young Citizen .45

GRADE VII. Starr’s American Indians .45
Penniman’s School Poetry Book .30
Pratt’s America’s Story—The Revolution and the Republic .00
Eckstorm’s The Bird Book .60
Heart of Oak Readers, Book IV .50
Wright’s Seaside and Wayside Nature Readers, No. 4 .50

GRADES VIII _and_ IX. Heart of Oak Readers, Book V .55
Heart of Oak Readers, Book VI .60
Dole’s The American Citizen .80
Shaler’s First Book in Geology (boards) .40
Goldsmith’s Vicar of Wakefield .50
Addison’s Sir Roger de Coverley .35

_Descriptive circulars sent free on request._

Elementary Mathematics

=Atwood’s Complete Graded Arithmetic.= Presents a carefully graded
course, to begin with the fourth year and continue through the
eighth year. Part I, 30 cts.; Part II, 65 cts.

=Badlam’s Aids to Number.= Teacher’s edition—First series, Nos. 1 to
10, 40 cts.; Second series, Nos. 10 to 20, 40 cts. Pupil’s
edition—First series, 25 cts.; Second series, 25 cts.

=Branson’s Methods in Teaching Arithmetic.= 15 cts.

=Hanus’s Geometry in the Grammar Schools.= An essay, with outline of
work for the last three years of the grammar school. 25 cts.

=Howland’s Drill Cards.= For middle grades in arithmetic. Each, 3
cts.; per hundred, $2.40.

=Hunt’s Geometry for Grammar Schools.= The definitions and elementary
concepts are to be taught concretely, by much measuring, and by the
making of models and diagrams by the pupils. 30 cts.

=Pierce’s Review Number Cards.= Two cards, for second and third year
pupils. Each, 3 cts.; per hundred, $2.40.

=Safford’s Mathematical Teaching.= A monograph, with applications. 25
cts.

=Sloane’s Practical Lessons in Fractions.= 25 cts. Set of six fraction
cards, for pupils to cut. 10 cts.

=Sutton and Kimbrough’s Pupils’ Series of Arithmetics.= Lower Book,
for primary and intermediate grades, 35 cts. Higher Book, 65 cts.

=The New Arithmetic.= By 300 teachers. Little theory and much
practice. An excellent review book. 65 cts.

=Walsh’s Arithmetics.= On the “spiral advancement” plan, and perfectly
graded. Special features of this series are its division into
half-yearly chapters instead of the arrangement by topics; the great
number and variety of the problems; the use of the equation in
solution of arithmetical problems; and the introduction of the
elements of algebra and geometry. Its use shortens and enriches the
course in common school mathematics. In two series:—

_Three Book Series_—Elementary, 30 cts.; Intermediate, 35 cts.;
Higher, 65 cts.
_Two Book Series_—Primary, 30 cts.; Grammar school, 65 cts.

=Walsh’s Algebra and Geometry for Grammar Grades.= Three chapters from
Walsh’s Arithmetic printed separately. 15 cts.

=White’s Two Years with Numbers.= For second and third year classes.
35 cts.

=White’s Junior Arithmetic.= For fourth and fifth years. 45 cts.

=White’s Senior Arithmetic.= 65 cts.

_For advanced works see our list of books in Mathematics._

Drawing and Manual Training.

=Thompson’s New Short Course in Drawing.= A practical, well-balanced
system, based on correct principles. Can be taught by the ordinary
teacher and learned by the ordinary pupil. Books I-IV, 6 × 9 inches,
per dozen, $1.20. Books V-VIII, 9 × 12 inches, per dozen, $1.75.
Manual to Books I-IV, 40 cts. Manual to Books V-VIII, 40 cts.
Two-Book Course: Book A, per dozen, $1.20; Book B, per dozen, $1.75;
Manual, 40 cts.

=Thompson’s Æsthetic Series of Drawing.= This series includes the
study of Historical Ornament and Decorative Design. Book I treats of
Egyptian art; Book II, Greek; Book III, Roman; Book IV, Byzantine;
Book V, Moorish; Book VI, Gothic. Per dozen, $1.50. Manual, 60
cents.

=Thompson’s Educational and Industrial Drawing.=

Primary Free-Hand Series (Nos. 1–4). Each No., per doz., $1.00.
Manual, 40 cts.
Advanced Free-Hand Series (Nos. 5–8). Each No., per doz., $1.50.
Model and Object Series (Nos. 1–3). Each No., per doz., $1.75.
Manual, 35 cts.
Mechanical Series (Nos. 1–6). Each No., per doz., $2.00. Manual, 75
cts.

=Thompson’s Manual Training No. 1.= Clay modeling, stick laying, paper
folding, color and construction of geometrical solids. Illus. 66 pp.
25 cts.

=Thompson’s Manual Training No. 2.= Mechanical drawing, clay
modelling, color, wood carving. Illus. 70 pp. 25 cts.

=Thompson’s Drawing Tablets.= Four Tablets, with drawing exercises and
practice paper, for use in the earlier grades. Each No., per doz.,
$1.20.

=Drawing Models.= Individual sets and class sets of models are made to
accompany several of the different series in the Thompson Drawing
Courses. Descriptive circulars free on request.

=Anthony’s Mechanical Drawing.= 98 pages of text, and 32 folding
plates. $1.50.

=Anthony’s Machine Drawing.= 65 pages of text, and 18 folding plates.
$1.50.

=Anthony’s Essentials of Gearing.= 84 pages of text, and 15 folding
plates, $1.50.

=Daniels’s Freehand Lettering.= 34 pages of text, and 13 folding
plates. 75 cts.

=Johnson’s Lessons in Needlework.= Gives, with illustrations, full
directions for work during six grades. 117 pages. Square 8vo. Cloth,
$1.00. Boards, 60 cts.

=Lunt’s Brushwork for Kindergarten and Primary Schools.= Eighteen
lesson cards in colors, with teacher’s pamphlet, in envelope. 25
cts.

=Seidel’s Industrial Instruction= (Smith). A refutation of all
objections raised against industrial instruction. 170 pages. 90
cents.

=Waldo’s Descriptive Geometry.= A large number of problems
systematically arranged, with suggestions. 85 pages. 80 cents.

=Whitaker’s How to use Woodworking Tools.= Lessons in the uses of the
hammer, knife, plane, rule, square, gauge, chisel, saw and auger.
104 pages. 60 cents.

=Woodward’s Manual Training School.= Its aims, methods and results;
with detailed courses of instruction in shop-work. Illustrated. 374
pages. Octavo. $2.00.

_Sent postpaid by mail on receipt of price._

America’s Story for America’s Children