started out in a gale in the direction of the Burma coast. The boat, which had both sail and oars, proved seaworthy, and after seven days of heavy weather they were dashed upon the rocks of the Tenasserim coast, and the boat wrecked. All escaped with their lives, and eventually reached the Siamese border, where they were apprehended by local authorities and returned to the prison. had come upon a dozen convicts working in the forests with an overseer. Two of the convicts had been killed with the deadly arrows of the savages, and a posse of fifty native policemen had been sent out to find the Jarawas and the convicts who were missing. As a result, conditions in the islands were very unsettled. One thing favorable to my trip into the interior, however, was the fact that a na This digression must suffice as indicative tive chief had recently died, and the war of the character and environment of the so-called civilized beings who unwillingly share the Andaman Islands with the aborigines, who, while savage and consistently inhuman in their treatment of strangers, are nevertheless free from heinous crimes toward one another, and, at least beneath their skins, are not so black as they are sometimes painted. On landing at Port Blair, it was learned that two convicts had been murdered by one of their fellows and that a short time before a party of head-hunting Jarawas riors, or most of them, were away in the northern part of the islands attending the feasts and dances in celebration of the election of a new leader. This, coupled with the fact that native policemen were still searching the forests for the band of marauders which had attacked the convicts, left the southern section more or less free from head-hunters, and I resolved to proceed inland without delay, taking with me Subodha, Kumali the Hindu snake-charmer, Maladive and Lacadive boatmen, and the Hindu bearers. As we skirted the coast, I witnessed a lively scene, for we came upon a large party of savages who were out fishing. Their method is peculiar. They stand up in their dugouts and, balancing nicely, spear the fish and shoot turtles as they lazily float on the surface. They are expert fishermen, and present a weird appearance, their black bodies, utterly devoid of clothing, shining in the sun. They use the turtle oil to lubricate their bodies, which gives them a shine that glistens. As the party were so-called friendly Andamanese and near the settlement, we were in no danger from them, and they continued to aim their spears and arrows at the fish, although they were curious and somewhat exercised over our presence. The first stop was nearly opposite Hopetown landing, some distance from civilization as represented by the prison, and at the point where the government has erected a structure called the Andamanese Home. This is only a rudely built shelter at the edge of the jungle, built by the colonial authorities for the purpose of coaxing The the more friendly natives to acquire the ways of civilization. As inducements, clay pipes, tobacco, biscuits, and beads are left at the base of trees near the shelter. natives come in from the jungle periodically and take everything they can find. The laziest remain several days, then with the treasured pipes and trinkets return to their fastnesses and their old tricks. After the supply of tobacco is exhausted, they smoke dried trepang, a fish found clinging to the rocks, which appears to be a cross between a sea-slug and a jellyfish. Trepang has slight narcotic properties which produces an effect not unlike opium. Despite the nature of the country, news travels fast in the islands, and the fact that a searching-party was out probably was responsible for the large number of savages in and about the government shelter at the time of our visit, the natives doubtless considering themselves more secure when near the settlement than in the jungle. At any rate, we found a large party in the vicinity. As our boat grounded on the stony beach, crowds of the little blacks, men, women, and children, came running down to look at us. They were almost all of them entirely naked, the men carrying bows and arrows. All were tattooed and elaborately scarified, and some of them, mostly women, were bedaubed with clay and red ocher in designs representing the veins of trees. They presented a fierce and warlike appearance, and were totally unlike any aborigines I had ever seen. The Andamanese are an interesting race to ethnologists. They are probably one of the most ancient of races remaining on the earth and stand close to the primitive human type. As such, they are of great ethnological importance, probably preserving in their persons and customs, owing to an indefinite period of complete isolation, characteristics of the oldest races. They have been called dwarfs and pygmies, but without truth. In stature they are small, the average height of the men being 4 feet 1034 inches, the women 4 feet 74 inches, but their figures as a rule are symmetrical and graceful. While among the darkest of savages, the Andamanese are not absolutely black. The hair, which varies from sooty black to yellowish brown, is woolly, and is known as of the "peppercorn" type; and when kept short, it resembles nothing so much as a worn-out blacking-brush, as it grows in little knobs, with bare spaces between. The hair of the women is worn off about the top of the head in most cases, and some of the men have affected a parting of the hair in the center by rubbing the head with a stone until the hair wears away. About the waists of some of the party that crowded about the boat were girdles of dry leaves and seaweed, ornamented with beads, and at the back were appendages formed by a large bunch of leaves. Approaching what seemed to be the head-man, I pointed to the cocoanuts my Maladives were throwing out of the boat, at the same time exhibiting tobacco and clay pipes. The sight of these things acted like a charm, and broad grins, showing rows of beautiful, white teeth, replaced the suspicious glances. As one of my native boatmen acted as interpreter, I soon established myself on a friendly footing, and when I had him request a dance, they quickly formed themselves in line. At |
0 Apžvalgos Atsiliepimai nepatvirtinti, bet Google ieško netikro turinio ir jį šalina, jei jis aptinkamas Rašyti apžvalgą |