north of the Equator, and towards the 32 deg. of east longitude, that the Rev.
Fr. Leon des Avanchers has found the Wa-Berrikimos or Cincalles, whose
stature is about four feet four inches. The information gathered by M.
D'Abbadie places towards the 6 deg. of north latitude the Mallas or
Maze-Malleas, with a stature of five feet. Everything indicates that there
exist, at the south of the Galla country, different negro tribes of small
stature. It seems difficult to me not to associate them with the Pigmies
of Pomponius Mela. Only they have retreated farther south. Probably this
change had already taken place at the time when the Roman geographer wrote;
it is, therefore, comprehensible that he may have regarded them as having
disappeared."

Tyson (p. 29) quotes the following passage from Photius:--"That Nonnosus
sailing from Pharsa, when he came to the farthermost of the islands, a
thing very strange to be heard of happened to him; for he lighted on some
(animals) in shape and appearance like men, but little of stature, and of
a black colour, and thick covered with hair all over their bodies. The
women, who were of the same stature, followed the men. They were all
naked, only the elder of them, both men and women, covered their privy
parts with a small skin. They seemed not at all fierce or wild; they had a
human voice, but their dialect was altogether unknown to everybody that
lived about them, much more to those that were with Nonnosus. They lived
upon sea-oysters and fish that were cast out of the sea upon the island.
They had no courage for seeing our men; they were frighted, as we are at
the sight of the greatest wild beast." It is not easy to identify this
race with any existing tribe of Pigmies, but the hairiness of their
bodies, and above all their method of clothing themselves, leave no doubt
that in this account we have a genuine story of some group of
small-statured blacks.

From the foregoing account it will be seen that it is possible with more
or less accuracy and certainty to identify most of those races which,
described by the older writers, had been rejected by their successors.
Time has brought their revenge to Aristotle and Pliny by showing that they
were right, where Tyson, and even Buffon, were wrong.

III.

The little people of story and legend have a much wider area of
distribution than those of real life, and it is the object of this section
to give some idea of their localities and dwelli