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Bringing the Congo to Broadway
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By B. F. WILSON
Ax uiuisiial pliasc of the nuitioti picture inilustry reoeiilly came to light with the return of Dr. Leonanl John \'aiiilenbergh from an eleven months' trip thru Central Africa.
( )n the twenty-fourth of September, 1919, Dr. Vandenliergh logc-tlicr with a camera-man, an assi.stant, and Dr. Cieorge I'., Shattuck, embarked from New York to Xaplcs, From there, the party journeyed to -Mombasa, on the east coast of .\frica, continuing on to .Mbert Nyanza, I-ake Kioga, and following the Nile to Alexandria. This small body of men brought back sufticient ilata to confirm uni|nestionably the report of the (jxistence of a race of pygmies, known as the Mambuti,
"W'e encountered many dilHcuhies in locating this trilie," said Dr. X'andenbergh, "for they are a most timid people. Xone of them exceed four feet in height, and their customs and mode of living are perhaps the most unusual I have ever encountered in my nine years of missionary work in the wilds of .\frica."
W'e were seated in the offices of the Famous Players-La.sky Corporation. .\t first impression. Dr. X'andenbergh resembles a banker, or doctor, yet the deeji-set eyes and the bronzed skin bearing witness of long months of exposure to burning rays of tropic suits.
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places him as one who 'has seen wide spaces, and lived in strange coimtries.
"You see, 1 had originally planned this trip solely for the purpose of gathering material for a coast to coast lecture-tour in connection with niv missionary work. I have for nine years lived witli these people, who are s<j pathetically untouched by the hand nf civilization. I wished to arouse the interest of .America, and to get her help for the.se ignorant children. Mr. Jesse Lasky heard of my projected trip and most generously offered to finance it if I would take a camera-inan along and jirocure some motion pictures. .\lso my missionary work is to receive a certain percentage of the returns from the pictures when they are released as a s])ecial feature.
"It was thru the friendshij) with some of the White l'"athers, wlio live so simply and work .so earnestly on their apparently tliankless tasks, that I managed to finally locate the Mambuti. As I have said before, they are a very timorous little peojile and, upon the first inkling of our approach, they fled, leaving the villages quite emi>ty. However, they were coaxed back thru intermediaries, and finally became quite friendly, jjosing for pictures and dancing for us. I lived in one of their villages for some weeks, making a thoro investigation of their habits, their daily life, their customs. I found that they existed on ro<lents. caterpillars, and other similar focKl. and that their chief sport was { Continued on payi' 102)
Two strange tribes of Africa are the Mambuti, a race of pygmies, and the Masai people, who are giants in stature. Dr. Vandenbergh confirms the report of their existence in his recent trip to AfricaTop, a White Father with two of the pygmies; center. Dr. Vandenbergh; bottom, two Congo belles in gala attire
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