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Show A PYGMY CAMP. How the Dwarf, of th Orat African Forest For-est Build and Live. Their villages, situated under the impervious im-pervious foliage of tho largest clump of trvee to be fonnd near the locality where they propose camping, struck us as being comfuioable, snug aud neat. I have seen niuety two huts in one of those villages, urrangxl in a circle of about fifty yards in diameter. The pygmy camps are generally gen-erally found at the crossways, where two or more pat lis intersect, and are from two to throe miles distant from agricultural settlements. Onr anxieties always lessened less-ened on meeting them, for the more paths we found the more we were assured as-sured of food and the roads improved. Sometimes these forest villages were planted midway between parallel lines of settlements. A short walk from our camp through the woods, north or south, would ta ke us to plantations largo enough to supply a regiment with food. One timo we came to a group of dwarf villages vil-lages whence a broad path nix feet wide communicated with another group three miles distant. This road was a revelation. revela-tion. It informed us that tho tribe was more than usually powerful; that it was well established! that the chief possessed power, and was permitted to exercise it. Outside of the great kingdom of Uganda we had not seen in Africa a cut road longer thim half a mile. The huts in every pygmy camp were of a tortoise back figure. The doorways were not more than three feet high, and were placed at the ends, one being for daily use, and the other, which fronted the bush, for escape. Those for constant convenience looked out on the circular common and pointed to the center, where stood the tribal chief's hut. as though the duty of every household was to watch over the safety of him who ruled the community. We rarely found a hut higher than four feet six inches. Iu length they varied va-ried from seven to ten feet, while the width would be from four aud a half feet to seveu. In what appeared to bo old established es-tablished camps we found rough cots constructed, which were raised a few inches above the ground, after tho style of our own forest couches. Several layers lay-ers of phryniura leaves make a luxurious bed. Henry M. Stanley in Scribuer's. |