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Pygmies of Western Africa.

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Pyle, Thomas

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The existence of pygmy races of human beings in Africa has often been asserted, and many circumstances less easily credible than their diminutive size have been reported. Du Chaillu has recently discovered the actual existence of a pygmy race, but of whom the diminutive size is the only remarkable characteristic. He found them in the mountainous country on the east of the southern great branch of the Ogobai. They are called Obongos, and live in the midst of negro tribes of ordinary stature. They showed extreme timidity on being visited by a white man. In stature they are only about four feet and a half. They subsist chiefly on animal food, but partly also on the roots, berries, and nuts which they find in the forests. In their mental calibre, these pygmies vary as greatly as ordinary races. Hence there is no settled theory as to their religious tendency, some of them comprehending their religious need, while others seem to be almost void of any religious consciousness. (See PRE-ADAMITES); (See RELIGION).