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HoME XI has some pretty relevant stuff. To sum up, the Petty-Dwarves were hunted because, as mentioned upthread, they attacked Elves by stealth in the night or when they caught them out alone somewhere. A note does indeed suggest that they were at first thought to be some especially cunning animal, then later believed to be related to Orcs. An important distinction is that the Elves "did not at first recognize them as Incarnates." That is, running around upright with clothes on does not necessarily mean you've got a soul (as the German soccer team amply demonstrate... haha! I jest! Don't kill me, Esty!).
Later, when the Elves met the real Dwarves, grokked that they were Incarnates, and then realized that the Petty-Dwarves were related to them (and therefore incarnate), they stoppped hunting them and even eventually traded with them.
EDIT: Snap, Raynor beat me by two minutes and a direct quotation. I'll let mine stand anyway to see if my leetle jokie lures Esty to the thread.
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