'9 . J ^_On. , ,, ; — y ^ ^ fC^ 6€^tXI>. ( V- G <- /• < , t_ ./ SURVIVALS OF DWARF RACES IN THE NEW WORLD. Hy H. G. F1 a LI burton, Q. C. ; I). C. t,. ; MEDALLIST OF NINTH OKIKNTAL CONUHKSS {18'.»1); K. K. li.S. F. K. 8. NOKTIIKKV A NTIQ., (OI'KMI A(i KN ; COR. MKM. S(K\ KEI>I- VIAI.K UK (JEOfJH., CAIIU); (•ANAI>IAN INST.; AM) ui;o(.ii{. so<;., ijsiioN. fFrom the 1'kucki;i)i.\(;s ok tiik Amkhican A.s.sociation for the Al)> ANCKMK.NT OF SriE.NCK, Vol.. .VI.III, 18!»4.| .!■-: :-^r~.-„,rt^^-, i i ...iuaJI Survivals of Dwarf Racks in the New World. By U. G. Ualiburton. It may be well to explain tlmt tlie word Pi/f/iDi/ is merely a nickname for a dwarf. The old English form of it is like that in use among the Arabs, " a T/iumh," i. ed my paper on " Dwarfs and Dwarf VVorsliip," read before the Ninth Congress of Orientalists (1891). The Congress awarded the author of the paper a medal. Professor Sayce, one of the most eminent Orientalists of the age, wrote sub- sequently, " Your name will be henceforth attached to tlie discovery of dwarf AiUrihlMiaiMM 4 SKCTION ir. rnceg in North Africii, us Sfhwcinfiirtli's lias litiii to tlmf of tin- andgtone rocks of Xortli Central Africa, wluii tlie Sahara was a fertile plateau." A year later tlie eoiicltisions come to in my paper witi- unexpectedly verifletl by an n fortiore ttt^nmcnX, based on tlie discovery not oidy of a dwarf tribe residing in the high ranges of the Atlas almost in Kiglit of Morocco City, but also of a pygmy race far to the north of .Morocco, in the Kastcrn Pyrenees and other localities in Spain. Thif" fact was also for a liini- disimted hy a writer in the Academy, but no one now questions it. Mr. Dsivid MacUitchie, the well-known authority on the Ainos and the little "underground people," and builders of .so-called " l-'airy mounds," " I'icts Houses," etc., in North Britain, was induced in May last hy me to visit the Kastern l'yreiu>es, and his iiccount of the little people that he saw there will soon appear. In .May also I succeeded, after a two years' search, in procuring a paper in Spanish by Professor Miguel Moray ta giving a very clear and precise account of the Pygmies of the Val de Hibas, who, he says, are looked on by their Catalan neighbors as belonging to a distinct race, and arc called by them "foieifiners," or " wonders " { Jhiomeiius), as well as Xaiios or Sunns. lie say.s that they have Mongolian or Tartar eyes, square flat faces, and flat broad noses, and are from 4 ft. to 4 ft. )S in. in height. A majority of tlieu), when they reach 24 years of age, suft'er >' im (joilre, and are called Creiins, but Cretinism does not attack their larger neighbors, who for many centuries have lived near them. Cretinism, in the Pyrenees and the Alj)s, it seems to me, is niriid in its character, and is not a disease, liut a si/miilom of decadence in a moribund race of dwarfs, who in the recesses of mountains are slow ly going through the process of di/ititj out through failing vitality, just as many centuries ago their race must have died out on the plains of Flurope and Asia. This can, I think, be easily accounted for by the fact that everywhere dwarf AM III:i>I'(>I.im;V. F> rAces are liorii liiiuterc, anil ilierefuru tti-»U culors, wlm, wljt'ii ilt'|irivt'il of tlieir niitritioiii food by being driven from tiieir Imiitin;; ki'diiikIs, in liiiif \i>^v tluir siiporaliuniliint vitality and a|;iiity, and die out, just as jilaiiiM iind liccs do wlieii tlie soil no lont{er Hiipplies tlietn with proper iiutriiiKiit J now turn to tlie siibject of tlie xurvival of an ciirlv liwnrf riici' in llie New World, \vlii(di from like caliges may have also died out iii'iirly everywhere. The iiativeH of Ilispaniola told the compainons of ColiiniliiiM that the firxt created race were dwarfs, who were feeble ami ilied out, and licciinic CemiH or guardian spiritN. In 1888, only a few months after my hearing; of the Atlas dwarfs, I was lolil by the governor of St. Helena of a CMiinese-iooking little race tliat invaded Uritish lloiidnras in 18^2. I snlLseqiientlv tried in vain to net some further information as to them, until I asked a (iuateinalian general, with whom I crossed the Atlantic, if he knew anythin<{ aliout tliem. lie informed me that lie had commandeil an expedition against thiin ; that they were I'aj;ans, and very savage, and would neither give nor accept quarter, and tiiat in consequence of the danger of keeping them prisoiurs, they were alway.s siiot when captured by bis men; that they were from four feet to four feet si. \ inches in height, had human siacrifices, and useil poisoned arrows, and blowpipes. A point of special interest relating to them deserves mention ; — There seem.'* everywhere to be an hereditary aptitude for plaiting, or weaving units, etc , in dwarf races, such as the Anrlaman Islan provinco of (leronu, mid nut fur fron) tiio diiitrict and tlic head watcrM of tlie Gnronno. Tlic acene of tliis niytli is supposed liy Konie ancient writers to liave l>een in tlie enstern I'yrenees. After my nimtemallan informant readied Europe I endeavored in vain to (jet further information from liim. Last year, liowever, on making inquiries as to tiieoo dwarfs at tlie Colonial ofWce, I was told of a gentleman named Mr. niancaneaux, who liail liveil anuintf them, and who afterwards wrote me a long letter giving me much inlbrnintion, but, unfortunately, when I witilied to get further details, I found lie had returned to his home in the interior of liritish Honduras. He said that he had heard of the expedition of my Guatemalian informant, but that he believed that the origin of the trouble had been in promising the savages too much, and performing too little. He gave them a very hi ,i character, and said that there need be no difficulty with them so long as they are justly and truthfully dealt with. He described the height of the Mayagan as " for the most part five feet and under," but he did not specify the exact height of the Lacoutou, though he 8p()ke of them as "of the same stamp." As my Guatemalian informant described the Lacoutou as from four feet to four feet six, and Sir William Flower says that a race that does not exceed five feet three inches in height may be classed as a dwarf race, and as apparently none of these people are larger than the Andaman Islanders or the Bushmen, there can be no question that they are true dwarfs. The Mayagan, so called from their having come from the Maya country, Yucatan, cultivate the soil and use firearms, but the warlike Lacoutou, of whom the Guatemalian general spoke, use only poisoned arrows and blowpipes. They are also called Masewal. [A dwarf tribe of the Kalahari Desert, South Africa, ANTIIIU)I'I>I.()(1V, 7 ii called Miisitirar.] They are redder in complexion than the Mayftgan. Mr. Biancancaux lays that all tiie tribei that he ha» aeon are more or leit mixed with the blood of the Lacoutou, who are of the iame stamp as thti Mayagan. They live near the dividing lino between (iuatomala, Yucatan, and Britiih Honduras. Like otlier dwarf race*, they have a prominent abdomen, and have eyes resembling those of the Chinese, a peculiarity which is observ - able in nearly ail dwarf races. They have, too, a knowledge of plants, and of the healing art, which also is a part of the traditionary lore of pygmy races. Tlie incantations and dances of tlie Cinghalese Veddiilis (called " Devi I dancers") are almost precisely the same as those practised by Soutli African dwarfs. Are M. de Charnay's " Lacondon " of Yucatan, wliom he describi'S as of medium heiglit, tlio same as tlie Lacoutou of British Honduras » I'eriiaps Mr. Blancaneaux's " Lacoutou " sliould have been read " Laconton." Tlie description of them, liowever, by the Gutttemaliiin General has been indi- rectly confirmed, in more than one particular, by tlie account given by Mrs. Le Plonfji'on, in lier " I'p and down Yucatan," of the capture by wood- cutters, "near the frontier of British Honduras," of a very small dwarf woman, (oddly enough) described by thtMU as "wearing a large hat." In the hope of getting a sight of her tribesmen, the woodcutters sent her back to them witli i)re8ent8. "The buildings on the Eastern coast, and on the Islands of Mujeres and Cozumela give evidence of habitation liy a diminutive race. 'Tradition among tliu Indians refers frequently to tlie Aluxob (pygmies), and they ascribe all the monuments to them."' (See Proc. of American Antiq. Socy., Ap. 24th, 1874, p. 71.) The " Illustrated American " (N. Y.), of Sept. 22, 1894, announces tliat that enterprising paper is about to send a party to explore tliose curious ruins on the Andes known as "the city of tlie Pygmies." - _,^^^tt^tti^ ^^^^p* SKCIIO.N II. Mr. A. H. Gatcliett, in liis " Etlinographic Sketch oftlie Klamatli rooplc " (con- tributions to N. A. Etlinology, Smithsonian Institution, vol. II. p. 1, xcix.) says: " Miraculous dwarfs are mentioneil uiuUr the name of Nalmias, whose footprints, as small as a child's, are sometimes seen on tlie snow-clad slopes of the Cascade Mountains. Hut the dwarfish creatures who make them can only he seen by those who are initiated into the mysteries of witchcraft, and who by such spirit- like beings are inspired with a superior knowledge, especially in their treatment of diseases." " Another dwarf genius, about four feet high, lived on Williams River. The Klamath appear to know certain sjtirifs of diminutive size, hut the characteristics of such are not distinct enough to permit identification with the fairies, Erdmiinnchen, or Kiibciroi, of European mythology." These, however, I ha- "Shown were originally dwarfs. The oldest and most venerable institutions of antiquity were "the mysteries of the Cabiri," and the oldest God of Egypt, the Creator, Ptah, was a dwarf, and is called "the lievealer." It cannot be a mere coincidence that at Uxmal, only a few hundred miles from the region to this day inhabited by the dwarf Lacoutou, and Mnyag.'in, we find that one of the finest specimens of American arcliitecture is called "the House of the Dwarf." The legend connected with tlie building carries us back to the Egyptian dwarf God Ptah, for in it we are told of a dwarf Deity, who was born of an egg. Ptah, however, gives "the egg of creation" to Knum, who out of it fashions the world. All this points to the existence of a dwarf race in early ages in the New World, who were objects of veneration, as was the case in the Old World. This view is confirmed by numerous representations of dwarfs recently brought to light by the explorations conducted by the Peabody Museum. One of these is so remarkable that it is deserving of note. The face is square and broad and fiat. The eyes are Mongolian ; the cheeks bulge out so that they are more prominent than the nose, which is uroad and flat. The resemblance of this dwarf to the Nanos described by Professor Morayta can hardly be acci- A\TIfl!(>POI. and liiT (jraiiilcliildreii wtTc Niinos, iKine cf wliicii iiiiicli cxci't'dcMl tour fia-t in height, wliik' .several 'vcre li'ss tlian thai. Ai iliat time one of lior (jrand- dau^flitcrs, (inly three feet ten and a half inches hij,'li, was jilayiiiji with children at the door of my hotel, and lookeil like a child of eitjht years of age, thotinh she was over fourteen, anil therefore a woman, for children at twelve or thirteen years of age marry in that country. She died in May last, and 1 was tolil 'hat she had not grown any taller since I had seen her in IH'.ll. In Spain they have the same ptirase that we find in Morocco for klicks, — "eat- ing words." 'I'hat klicks are not caused hy any physical defect is clear from the fact that the old woman, who was hroufilit up in Ihe mountains of Murcia, lias these klicks, while her little dausliler anil grandchildren, wiio have heen brought up at a seaport, Malaga, with onlinary Spanish children, have no trace of them. The belief of the Klninatli people in the existence nf rnysterioiis dwarfs in the Cascade liange, and the occurrence of klicks in the language of a Northwest tribe described in tlie Smithsonian " fontriliutions to N. A. I'^thnology," lead us to su.spect that this tribe has inherited dwarf blood, or has resided in the vicinity of a dwarf klick-using people at some iieriod of its existence. Of course, if klicks only exist in Norlii ami Soutli Africa and S[)aiii, in the Old World, and yet arc foimd in a part of the Xi'w World in comu'ction with a dwarf race or its offshoots, it might point to an I'',astern origin tor the latter. But that klicks are not known to exist elsewhere is not the slightest evidence that tliey may not really exist, for nothing is more remarkable in the history of scientific investigation than the ignoiunce of even competent observers as to wayside truths tliat have not been sought for by them, or brought to their notice. Now that attention has been drawn to dwarf klicks, U is probable that they will be found in many ancient dialects, and especially in the Languages of the dwarfish tribes tluit are foimd in Norlhe.istern Asia.' 1 Tliis conjecture, siuco this [laiH-T vina rcail, li.i.s liwii sitigiiliirlj- loutimicj I>r. Fran/, Mnaz 14 M:t riKN II. Are klicks of dwarf origin, and entitled to be eiilled "Dwarf klieks ? " Ilui for my linving adopted this assumption, I should never have known that my large-sized Moufjolian looking Spanish informant was a half-breed The name Nahnius for tiie legendary ilwarfs of the Cascade Mountains is no doubt a corruption of the Spanish Nmio (feni. Numi). tells nie he has uoticed klicks In the speedi of tlic Chinooks aud the W'esteru Eskiiiiu. Another informant has heard them among the Miiynx ; iind a Hindoo 8ayR that he was greatly surprised at hunring tlie odd sound produced by klicks in the speech of a dwarf tribe in the Punjaub. -- K. 0. II. f ; i I, N o y L. At the meeting of the Ainericaii Assuciiitioii at Hrooklyii, the Pre.si(Ient, Dr. Hriiiton^ stuted that lie knew ut' no existing dwurf races, and aid not believe in their existence. Ou Oct. 15, 189i, a few weeks after this, the correspondent in Mexico of the " Chicago Tribune " casually referred to the various race!< to be seen in the streets of the City of Mexico, among which he included, — " Indians from tlie hills, and queer little dwarflali savaxes clad in two coarse woollen garments, who have their Ilotteiitot-like habitations within the gatea of the city, living in their huts of adobe, in suttlHuients uften found behind respectable blocks of houses, . . . those strange dwarf people, who glide in and out of the crowd like gnomes." Mr. A. Glaspell, an American who has had business in the City of Mexico, says that he saw crowds of these dwarfs, about four feet high, who had come in from the country on the 12th of December to attend the great national feast of "the .Mother of the Gods," now the jiesta of " Our Lady of Guadalupe." Like tiie moribund IVnnus of the Val de Ilibas, and for the same causes as are described on tiie second page of my paper, those dwarfs that live within the walls of the city must show a tendency to degenerate into imbeciles, and to ilie out througii inanition and lack of vitality. .Mr. MacUitchie, referring to Dr. Briiitun's statement, says, " Foxe, in IGGl, discovered an island cemetery in the northwest corner of Hudson's Bay, in which ' the longest corpses were not over four feet long ; ' where. upon Foxe says, ' They seem to be people of small stature. God send me better for my adventure.' " (See " The Academy," London, Jai;. 12, 1895.) K. G. Halibcrtox. February, 1895. m