Africa Speaks, Part 1 (1930)

[Music] the actual starting place of the expedition in Africa is the little village of arasa which swelters in Equatorial heat on the mud flat of the niga river and we are already over 10,000 m away from home adventurous missionaries Ivory Traders and elephant Hunters have used this town as a jumping off Place many times before us and signs of civilization are apparent life is not a game of bridge and an afternoon of tea for the ladies of Africa they are too busy pounding rice for the next meal yet there are light spots in this dark land here is a beauty parlor she doesn't hasn't put in permanent waves she's paid for trying to take them out anyway she's trying to take out something and here is the original tailor of two suits for the price of one flame while he weaves a pair of trousers on his ancient foot power loom his customer in the background waits in his other suit this little group of elephant tusks is worth over $10,000 and each pair represent the death of a 4 ton animal here we Charter an oldtime wood burning Stern wheeler which will carry the Expedition approximately 500 Mi up the niga river from that point we will travel by truck and the foot Safari will carry the supplies hundreds of gallons of gasoline and oil for the truck must be transported and deposited at convenient points along our proposed route in this manner or on the backs of our native quarters we engage most of the town's population at 25 cents a day to chop wood for the boat and gather drift logs from along the river banks in their primitive canoes which are hollowed out of a single tree the foot Safari of 200 natives are chosen from various tribes and the immense amount of necessary supplies are divided into small loads which they can carry on their backs far in advance of the truck and sound equipment the fact that each tribe speaks a different language lessens the possibility of them all striking or quitting the Expedition at one time how would you like to carry 60 lbs on your head 20 M A Day In torturous heat finally the entire Expedition is loaded onto the steamship which will carry us up to Niger and Into the Heart of the Dark Continent then we will begin our great Tre across equatorial Africa where man is the prey of animals and animals the prey of man Africa the unknown the crossing of the Shari River presented the problem until we found a Trader with a small portable motor attached to a robo our own men fashioned a flimsy raft of three Dugout canoes which didn't look very safe but was better than nothing at all so we put the truck on and took the chance of walking back if anything happened in Midstream goodbye everybody however many trips landed everything safely and on the other side we met some Lonesome Frenchmen who treated us to wine and a very fine dinner they were surprised to find that we had come all the way from the West Coast by motor at last we arrive on the edge of the great URI Forest in which elephants the largest of all animals and pygmies the smallest of men are found the trail of the elephant is easy to follow for they trample down everything in their [Music] way larger in size but comparable in bulk to the Rhino elephants differ greatly in brains they are the wisest of all African animals and rhinos are the most stupid their sight is very bad but their scent and hearing are highly developed making them most dangerous animals to approach a family like this are very loyal comrades they have been known to carry a wounded pal away from danger supporting his immense body between them at the risk of their own lives the African elephant unlike his Indian namesake has never been successfully trained for the use of man until recent years Ivory Hunters penetrated the haunts of the elephant for centuries killing millions of these Majestic mammoths and taking away nothing but their tusks we had been unable to find a route through the dense forest to the pygmy Village so we seized this opportunity to bribe our away with salt which necessity of life is very difficult for them to obtain boy kuah haa Kua kah haa here are they love it like a child loves candy it's very scarce in the forest chumby mingi he says he'll take us to the pigy clearing if we bring plenty of salt we better bring plenty of water something tells me he's going to be plenty thirsty finally our little guide brought us to a clearing in the center of the deep iuri forest and hundreds of pygmies came from all directions to greet us the average height is a little over 4T and they rarely weigh more than 75 lb but they are well proportioned and comparatively strong this is the smallest tribe of people in the world they live in plans of 20 or 30 a few miles apart and a representative of each family receives the [Music] [Music] salt the clan leaders are in turn ruled by a great King who occupies his throne Through Blood succession just like the crowned heads of Europe he is honoring Us by coming in from the depths of his Forest Capital we wanted to pay our respects to his majesty there but the darkness in the interior makes photography impossible and the King graciously offered to come to us in the clearing he is comparatively young and both he and his subjects show character and intelligence in this they differ from most of the other African tribes besides supplying music for the dance these great tum tums boom out messages in a code similar to our telegraphy everybody dances in pigmy land and their chanting while not particularly harmonious has a fast Rhythm that makes the feat want to do things these are the Original Hot Dogs the P be and practice companion at marriage for centuries long before judge Lindsay was ever heard of if a marriage doesn't take after a Year's try out they start all over again with a new wife no one is allowed more than one wife at a time except the king he gets to for safety sake to ensure a son and Future King these are the Queens they are very modest and shy when the king is around according to scientists who have made a study of the past history of this race the pygmy is not really a negro and their faces certainly show a great similarity to nearly every other nationality in the [Music] world less than 2,000 of this particular tribe are known to exist and until our visit no one ever knew the proper tribal name which is e IFI e here is an unusual fact this peculiar style of wrestling is exactly the same as a very popular sport in Japan called rice wrestling and here we find it in the center of Africa 10,000 M away the idea of the thing is the first one who is is thrown off his feet is the loser they make everything that they use and the jungle furnishes them with food here they are constructing arrows the shafts are made from the hearts of palm trees which are strong light and durable look at these beautiful teeth a dentist in Africa would have a great chance to starve to death they mine and smelt their iron which they mold into arrow heads the big Savage in the center is the official poison mixer for the whole tribe he actually stands only 5 ft 10 in but the difference in height is so noticeable that he looks like a giant beside them this man belongs to another tribe and is maintained by the pygmies for one purpose he mixes the poison then they dip their arrows into it and put the blame on him for whatever they kill their own content is clear because the force of the arrow will not cause them but the poison does that's their way of escaping responsibility Dar clever these pigmies the large Mound with the little house on it in the background is a great anthill this is where we lived while here they shoot very accurately but depend more on the poison and then the [Applause] fort these tiny people kill a huge elephant with these small arrows but it takes 3 or 4 days for the poison to take effect after the elephant is hit they follow him through the dense jungle until he dies if a golfer had this Perfection of motion there wouldn't be anything but Champions notice how he always keeps his eye on the Target and he follows through with almost continuous action yes they have some bananas you can tell by their fat [Applause] tummies darn those native never mind it makes a great scene it is very difficult for one who has never been in Africa to realize the vast amount of wild animals that live in this wonderful country many different kinds are always to be seen but it is very hard to get close enough to photograph them any unusual noise on the the Bel makes every bird and Beast Scurry for shelter great hornbill stalks suddenly lift their 50 lbs into the air like a squadron of airlanes taking off inquisitive monkeys comparatively safe in the Treetops chatter incessantly and the plane becomes alive with sounds of every description a cheetah slinks off uttering his odd birdlike call unusual and rare baby fered foxes run for their Dugout where they huddle close together and cry plaintively in fear for their lives even a herd of ostriches Glide by the huge pads on their feet muffle the sound and they make great speed in their springy strutting manner it's like mother nature holds a grudge against the zebra its glaring stripes make it an outstanding Target for beasts of prey in search of food almost powerless when attacked by a lion but oh boy they kick and bite viciously when bothered by other animals zebras in zoos over here rarely make any kind of a sound but this shrill bark is common both day and night in Africa the spite patterns are like human fingerprints no two are found alike they are often found Grazing In company with a herd of topi which are similar to a large American deer these two widely separated species often fight together against their common enemy The Lion The ripples across the picture in the background are heat waves for it is 130 in the shade and we never found much of that not the least bit camera conscious just the born actor his relations are running out on him I don't know whether he's calling his mother or his father but I guess he wants his mama though Lions kill hundreds of thousands for food each year the zebra survives and increases in number and their pounding hoofs in Mad Stampede can be heard on all the bels of Africa the original rubber neck you can't get close to a giraffe without him seeing you but their curiosity is stronger than their fear and often they'll stand 100 yard away and gaze steadily down at you they are natural born reachers they will drink every day if near water but they can get along without it for weeks at a time thereby making a monkey out of the camel a full grown giraffe is the tallest animal on the face of the Earth often standing nearly 16 ft High Hunters rarely kill these harmless monsters but the natives often do for the hide makes a bullwhip 30 ft long without a break [Music] rant but these two lions are stuck with food and lazy they're just looking for a shady place to snooze but Mr giraffe doesn't trust them he just remembers a very important business engagement Elsewhere for such awkward bodies they can make great speed sometimes traveling as fast as 40 m an hour our microphone registers only the hoofbeats for giraffes having no vocal cords cannot utter a sound they're just naturally dumb but not quite as dumb as the Yul who first saw one in a circus and said there ain't no such animal here is a marvelous chance to study their peculiar rocking horse gallop all four feet are never off the ground at one time they were once called camel leopards due to their leopard spots and their unusual ability to go without water the hug legs long neck and sloping back make the giraffe appear clumsy but notice how the head remains level while the neck takes up the bumps like a shock absorber they could run clear across the picture with a glass of water between their horns and NS full of drop once on the way these great Runners are hard to stop and they have often hung themselves on the telegraph wires of the new railroad which has been started from the Indian Ocean Coast the little youngsters keep up with the old folks even leading a time here is a sure enough neck and neck race with the little fellow trying to hit on behind if you only had sent he' grab that tail flamingos by the Millions each bird stands nearly 4T high and weighs about 30 PB but the flesh is odorous and unfit to eat it looks like the Parade of the Wooden [Applause] Soldiers that [Applause] Thum they appear to be floating but in reality they are walking in deep mud under a foot or so of shallow water Mr and Mrs Flamingo are inhaling their daily bread the lake is full of soda and contains some invisible form of life on which they feed by scooping it into their tremendous beak they have a soft pink plumage with the wing tips are vivid red and we are sorry that our equipment does not include a natural color camera it is an amazing sight to watch A Flock numbering hundreds of thousands suddenly lift themselves into the air so thick that they hide the Sun and cast a huge Shadow over the lake but after traveling a short distance in a beautiful cloud of sluttering wings they settle again on the surface and continue their feeding never seeming to want to go over the top of the chasm and into the world Beyond at Sunset the lake is the reality of an artist dream a golden sun Fades to a lovely pink in natural harmony with the color of the flamingo that Wing their way in Vivid circles but always within spite of the lake which is their home in life and their grave in Death Watch The Fish trying to gain the upper Waters so they can spawn in the place where they were born oh how would you like to have that baby on your hook 50 miles below the falls the Nile spreads out into a flat virgin wooded Valley unusual trees such as this got the shores and in the interior a short distance are almost impassible Papyrus swamps it is here that the famous petsy fly which causes sleeping sickness breathes and the far Fame white rhinoceros makes his home here he is the square lip or so-called White Rhino he is much larger than the common black variety and less than 200 are known to exist gosh that's a big one what do you think you weigh oh about three times jeez all buck and no brains Charming fellow he'd like to make friends with you in his own way thick skinned and bad tempered this most weird Survivor of prehistoric animals is rapidly becoming extinct the horns are not bones but consist of thickly compressed hair which is valued at three times the price of ivory because it is shipped to China where it is considered the greatest of all medicine cure all certainly are innocent in our magic [Music] wagon [Music] I think it's the first truck they I've ever seen they're going to put a Dan on for us inside the wall let's get the camera down there the story of the ubangis is as strange and tragic as any in the history of races a few hundred years ago these women women were far Fame for their beauty now they are the most horrible in all Africa and so made by their own hands the duckbill women apparently happy yet they buy with each other for bigger and better lips what won't a woman anywhere do to be in style the lip is pierced when the girl is a baby and it is stretched year after year wider and wider around a circle of wood like the hoop around a barrel this strange practice unlike any other curiosity in the world is done only by the women of the tribe and necessity was the mother of the invention years ago when slaves were bought and sold all over the world Arab slave Traders swooped down on the tribe at every chance and carried away the wives and daughters to the slave market at timbuk 2 and zanbar where they were sold to the highest [Music] bidder the tribe diminished so rapidly that the Chief scheme to make them fightful instead of beautiful to keep the slave Traders from taking them away so they split their lips in childhood and insert wooden discs first the size of a button and as the women grow older the size of the disc is increased until some of them carry circles 10 in in diameter this strange this figment fightful duas is considered great Beauty to the ubangis and these women are the social leaders of the tribe the older the women the larger the discs and the higher her social standing here is the queen of the saucers the red Rouge lips of our women are just as curious to the ubangis as their beaks are to us with the passing of slavery this custom so long established is now being tapoo by the French government but ugliness is still a virtue and even now the prettiest daughters slash their cheeks to win the favor of the warrior these little girls mature very early and are often married before they are 10 they are mothers when some of our youngsters are in the third grade by the way the little fellow in the foreground is still single when he grows up the last of the duck bills will be gone and he will find that it was just an old ubangi custom women without scars or big lips haven't much value and the father sells them for whatever he can get here is the young man with a pet hyena who is on his way to make a trade for a wife but the ladies don't care much for the hyena so he returns home for his only other possession of value a trained arabu stalk now the stalk is playing hard to [Applause] get a plug of tobacco or a package of cigarettes will buy the best looking girl in the village and the boy wants his choice but the father gets rid of the biggest eater first anyway the boy isn't particular he's saving up to buy one with a nice big saucer hip I mean lip so this girl will do in the meantime without much ceremony he sends her out to rustle up something to eat and settles down for a little rest this is also an old you bangi custom I am p a l l a Impala the most graceful of all the Antelope family they always TR Trav in herds of aund or more through a parklike country I'll make him show some action be careful don't hit him I won't when frightened they jump much like a kangaroo but infinitely more graceful the natives call this the dance of the Impala but we call it the dance of the leaping leeners look at that baby jump if you notice folks the one without a hat is a distant relative to the Mexican jumping beam No Authority seems to know why the Impalas jump it's just another of those unexplainable mysteries of African animal life when they stop no amount of outside interference can startop them again sometimes they jump backwards to keep the dust out of their eyes they almost seem to have wings as they literally glide through space their live bodies sail through the air for as much as 40 ft in a single jump and 12 to 15 ft high but sometimes higher in the spring they jump higher on their mother's side than they do on their father's side here's a great job for a cowboy breaking in one of these things it's probably something they ate last night there goes three of them up together lions eat very few Impalas because the Impalas keep him on the jump and the lion goes crazy trying to catch up of all the strange animals to be found in Africa none is funnier than the wilderbeast or new GN that famous African antelope from the rear they look like a horse from the front like a buffalo they act like a cow and make a noise like a lion all of which means that something went wrong somewhere with their Shaggy Ms and heavy Fork quers they remind one of the American buffalo but only had a distance for they are much smaller they always roam through fairly open country and great herds and when the sun is in back of them their white beards make them visible for [Music] miles