(
Many Changes Have Taken
i
'". '-V
X
- V"''' '
w ,,A rri
A NATIVES
(CopTTlfM, 190S, by Frank O. Carpenter.)
' ui.iW4Tnian.Hii OnrreaDond-
v 1 ence of The Bfo.y-Stand wtth
r I me In the public aquare of Bu-
lawayo in irnnt tu lud urunii
tatue of Cecil Rhodee and take
a look at the chaneea that
are uan on in ni,n.i. to .r. in
...
eight of the hill upon which
th. nn-
torlous African vrnt Th.n.ia h.d hi.
kras.1. and within an hour's walk of the
crocodile pool Into which ' he threw, tied
hand and foot, any of hie subjects who had
offended him. The pool waa full ef man
eating reptiles and the criminals thus exe
cuted needed no burial.
All around us lies the Bulawayo of 1908,
the chief city of Rhodetria and the biggest
South African settlement above the Trans
vaal. The ground la flat and the wide
streets extend out on every side. The place
was plannud by Jameson, the explorer, and
he made every roadway broad enough so
that a bullock cart of sixteen span could
turn around In It
Th buildings are comparatively low and
the width of the streets makes them look
lower. The most of the stores are ef one
and two stories. They are built of stone
and brick. Ae few are of granite, but th
chief building material Is a red sandstone
from quarries nearby. On one side of us
ls th Orand hotel, which covers half an
acre. It Is lighted by electricity generated
by a light plant operated by water falls
nearby, and It has all the modern Improv
merits, a little farther over 1 th. Bula-
wayo club, a bungalow-shaped structure of
one story with wide verandas about It We
have friend In th city and they have put
us up there for one day free of cost, notl-
fylng ue that the charge for three days will
be 12.80, and that all we drink will be at
dub rates.
Towa ef Clubs.
Bulawayo Is a town of club.. It has
several social organisations, a cricket club,
tennis club and a race track which I
two miles around. The town has now five
or six thousand people and Its cltlsens need Gothard stations, and were deciphered!
other exercise than being chased by a na- Curiously enough, these long distance mes
tlve black with a spear In Ml hand. sages arrive more frequently when the
Over there at the right Is a public library weather Is unsettled or stormy, and chiefly
which has more than 5,000 volumes, and In the early hours of the morning. On
down the main street Is an exoellent mu- one or two occasion It has happened that
earn showing the mineral and agricultural while two Swiss stations were unable to
resource of the territory, wtth Its wild establish wireless communication with each
beasts and birds snd all sort cf thing other "unsolicited" messages were received
concerning the native. There are four from abroad.
Masonic lodge, seven churches, a mua'.cal it.
and dramatical society, a chamber of mines.
drill halls and markets. The Unmi .
large and the windows well dressed. There
are three targe banking corporations, a
chaSnber of commerce, several newspapers
and all the accompaniments of a thriving
cnmmunlty.
The ae.d value of te town runs up
Into the millions, and with the fle-elop-
ment of Rhodesia, It will eventually he a
considerable city. In planning It abundint
room has been allowed for growth; all the
land within four miles of the boundaries
ha bean reserved s. a commonage, upon
wblcti the town cow can pasture free of
charge, but which cannot be sold as farms.
It Is upon this ground that the cricket,
bicycle and foot ball parks lie, and there
are held the races and other amusements.
Rhodesia's Wonderful Progress.
This gives one some Idea of how Rho
desia Is progressing. It 1 oharged that
th development ha been comparatively
low. It Is not so when en remembers
that this whole territory ls only two
decade, from absolute savagery. Twenty
year ego neither life nor property was
anywhere safe, and the country waa
owned by negro tribes which were war
ring with one another. Today order I
everywhere krt and the native, have
been reduoed to peaceful subjects. Th.
country ha. now something like 2.6Vo mile.
of railroad, and ln southern Rhodesia
stone there are more than 2,04 miles of
wagon roads. In Mstabeleland and Mash
onalaiM something like fl.OUO.OiiO acres
have been surveyed by the govern-
inent, and ln addition there ls a large
amount of lend which has been surveyed
by private owners. All along the railroad
towns hav. sprung up ln which are gov-
erument offices, bank, churches, hotels,
schools and publlo libraries. There ls a
fin. hospital here at Bulawayo arxl other,
at "a'lsbury, Umtall, Victoria and Oewelo.
There are cottage hospital. In other towns.
The poital service ha. been extend, d
until It now reaches .very part of the
country, malls being sent by. runners to
the borders of Lak- Tanganyika. In
southern Rhodesia there are seventeen
money order offices, and during th. past
year something like 1.W00 0 lettei. anl
post cards were sent to other parts ot
Bouln Africa, while 6u0.d. went over the
seas. The poatoffice revenues last year
were tn th. neighborhood of (100.000. More
ovtr, southern Rhodesia has now post office
tarings banks, and hsr deposits ln them
already exceed (300,000.
As to Ulsgraphs, the rates are cheaper
ber. than In the United State, and on
oaa send mess to all the settled pans
xf Via ''r
j ? .'f- ' ...
-,c,i ,';vv-vL. ;:
CORNCRIB.
of the country. Ther arc about ninety
telegraph office opened, and the tele-
Braph wire In use la almoat long enough
t0 'cach through the earth at the eeuator.
"
reoelved and dlaratched, and the revenue
trorn the telejrapha an telephone approx-
maiea uw,uw. ai io me rauroaa service,
"
auoui mat in me iuiure. ii
ls Mt new country, and one can
trav"1 her Xm0Bt " comfortably as at
home.
How Lobencalav Ruled.
Indeed, It Is hard to realise that It ls
now only fifteen years since this was
the capital of the Matabeles. I rode out
today to the government house, which
stands on the very site of the great but
In which Lobengula lived and ruled. It
1 reached by a wide drive shaded by
trees, which were planted at the dlreo-
What is
Wireless Attractions."
HRIuE wireless stations estab
lished In th. Alp. by th. Swiss
government catch a great num
ber of long distance messages
T
not Intended for them. The
stations are on the Righl and
"t Oothard summits and at Dallly, above
St Maurice. According to an official re-
port Just published, the authorities spent
fcCMU during the last year on experiment
with wireless telegraphy across the moun-
tin and the results were most satiafac-
tory.
One unexpected result was the practical
proof that the Alp i em gtea: "i ttractl in"
to th. wireless messages dispatched from
stations ln other and distant parts of
Europe. For Instance, marconlgrams from
steamers ln Cornwall and on the Baltic
ooast have reached th nirhi at
Photographing Sound.
At a recent sitting of the French Aeail.
my Sciences, some communications of
"n oePtional Interest were made. M.
Po'ncare read a note from M. Jean Bee-
1,,rr'l on th nature of positive elec-
trlcity and the existence of positive eleo-
t,'n According to this statement, one
charged with posluve electricity ha b-n
'oun1 ,n Crookes tube. The Importance
of thl" o'cov.r.y lie. ln th. fact that It
constitutes a fresh contribution te the
Problem of the constitution of matter.
m striking particulars are given ln
" Vv "7 ueorge ana uustav Uu-
aet ot their success in photographing
sounds. The photographs taken by their
proceis are so clear that the most deli-
cute peculiarities of the voice, such as
loping.
and even breathing, are proJuced
wlth the greatest distinctness. The MM.
Laudet have been studying this subject
for nearly three years, and have been In
duced to give the present aocount of their
success owing to th. recent communica
tion on th. same subject by M. Levaux
Charbonnel. notice ot which appeared in
last week's Bclentlflo News. L'nlike M.
Devaux Charbonnel' method where re
course Is bad to electrical reproduction
of the sound waves. MM. Lsudet have em
ployed a purely mechanical and clireoi
means for securing the desired record.
'rh WM- LauJet also made the somewhat
o"noing statement that they are cap
awe or expressing sounds with' excep
tional Intensity by the discharge of ex
plosives. They anticipate, for instance,
that before long they will be able to
create a rcket capable of crying "Vive
la Kepublique!" and a danger signal for
on railway track which will shout
"Arretes!"
Tungsten Unss,
Tungsten, or Wolfram, la a metal d!s
coveJ ln 1721 and named from the Swedish
-xung (Heavy) and "stem ' (stone). It Is
not found native but occurs as tungatate
of Iron and manganese ln the mineral
wolframite," and aa the calcium tungi
state. The pur. metal, which was pro
duced only a few i.ionihs ago in th We
trio furnace, ls a bright sleel gray, a bar
and brittle crystalline substance. It is ala?
used to Increase the temper and tneacttj
of steel for hard tool. The fusing poinl
of tungsten is higher than any other metal,
which enables It to oparate at the very
high efficiency obtained In the tungsten
lamp.
Tungsten lamps sre made on the same
principle as the common incandescent
"'" "" oui a
11nient u lo""''. looped several times
- ... -. ; .' ,. r
tlon of CeoU Rhode. It 1 on a hill,
and In the ground 1 the very tree under
which this savage African king cat upon
his biscuit-box throne and gave forth hi
decree of life and death. Some of hi
numerous family still live, and I have a
photograph before me of hi favorite
daughter. She measure I feet 11 Inche
from her bar yellow heel to her shaved
black crown, and Is fully as lusty a the
old tyrant waa In his prime. There are
many men here who knew Lobengula. He
was enormous. He stood feet tall and
weighed about 800 pounds. He waa so
fat that when he squatted on his biscuit
box his flesh hung down in folds over'
his hips, and when he walked his ele
phantine frame rolled from side to side.
He had bulging blood-shot eyea, thick lip
and waa the personification of cruelty.
Stanley describes him aa one of the
bloodthlrstiest of African kings, and
Frank Thomnson of Na.ta.1. who nesrotlated
the mining rlxhts of Mashonaland of him
for $500 a month, gives an Incident of
how he treated a native warrior who had
drunk some of his beer. It was at th
time of a great dance and Lobengula's
women were bringing the beer to him.
This man snatched a gourd and took a
sip. The offense waa reported to the king,
and the criminal was dragged before him.
As he stood there Lobengula looked at
him and said:
"You drank the king's beer. That nose
of yours ls guilty. It smelt the beer.
Going: On
In the glass bulb and anchored at both
ends. dlate towns and villages. Such a system
It ls not alone because the tungsten gives security in cas. of storm. It not bo
lamps give a better quality of light than Ing likely that the whole area covered
other artificial lllumlnant that It takes would be under the same stress at the same
first place in the lighting world. But this
new lamp Is the perfection of economy
snd will give three times as much light aa
the ordinary electric light for the same
inount of money.
The ordinary incandescent light consumes
88 watts of electricity per candle-power,
The new tungen lamp consumes only 1.2
watta or less than a third. This means
that wlth tn "me amunt r Illumination
ln8 elec,rl 01U8 reaucoa iwu-
thlrd?' Tna r tlleB,a lamp,! w aB0";
nou" ana lncy wur equ".y " ...
on direct or alternating current
Every effort ln the laboratories of the'
electrical Industry is bunt toward economy
for botb producer and consumer. The lat
est development In electric light which
will save two-thirds of all the electric light
bills, la but another long step in the right
direction.
Canada Using; Niagara Power.
The largest and most complete system for ton road, near Chicago, going at a speed
electric transmission ever attempted, say. of fifty miles an hour the other day, ran
Popular' Mechanics, and the only public past a block signal which stood at "dan
system In the world which is provincial In ' ger," and was automatically brought to a
size, will soon Inaugurate a new era in the
history of the province of Ontario. After
eight years of struggle, difficulty and agl-
tatlon the hydro electric commission of
that province has at last succeeded ln put-
ting through its gigantic project of fur-
rldhlng government power to all the cities,
towns and villages In central Ontario from
the Inexhaustible power of Niagara Fall,
The first contract with the commission was
signed by Toronto, and calls for 10.000
horse-power, the first supply to be deliv-
frod to that city in December, 19u9. Among
other cities that signed cuntracts are Lou-
don, Hamilton. St. Thomas. Woodstock,
Guelph, Borlin, Stratford. Preston, Gait and
lngersoll. Toronto will pay 118.10 per horse-
power per year, and 8t. Thomas JJ6.60 per
year. The price the other cities will pay
ranges between these figures, according to
distance from source of supply and amount
of power contracted for. As soon as the
lines feeding these cities are completed a
line will be run to Windsor, 47 miles from
the falls.
The undertaking, which ls now Bearing
culmination, la a glgantio one, furnishing,
as it will, the power to light cities, run
electric railway and drive the heavy ma
chinery of hundred of manufacturing con
cerns. The nucleus of the system is, of
course, at Niagara Falls, where the hydro-'
electric commission will purchase power
from the Ontario Power company. Taking
it directly from the generators of that com
pany at 12,000 volts, the current will pass
to the step-up transformer owned by the
hydro-electric commission, and from that
point until It Is delivered to the cities,
towns and villages of Ontario It will be
absolutely owned and controlled by the
commission. The transformer will step the
current up to llo.OuO volts, the highest volt
age in the world at which power la trans
mitted. The main transmission line will run from
Niagara Falls to Hamilton. This line will
consist of two heavy circuits on one line
of towers, each circuit consisting of three
cables. The cables will be strung ln a tri
angular form, nine feet apart The Insu
lators will be the largest and most power
ful In the world. From Niagara Falls to
Hamilton each circuit will have a carrying
fapacity of 40,000 horse-power; Consequently
the line will have a total carrying capacity
of gu.OuO horse-power, with a possiblity of
an overload to 130.000 horse-power. The
lowers will be sixty feet high and about
luO feet apart, set In a concrete base.
The main InterswUching station for the
province will be in the Dundas valley, near
Jltuuiuon. rom Uus point tbe transmission
line will (una an Immense lo.p, taking In
THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: AUGUST
Place in Africa Since Lobengula's Time
MAIN STREET OF BULAWATO IN 190S.
Let It be cut off." And with that the
executioner cut off the man's nose.
The king then said: "Those eyea ot
your saw the beer. They are a tempta
tion to you. They are guilty. They should
be put out" And with that the execu
tioner did the gouging.
"You have now heard with your ear
that It is not allowed to drink the king's
beer. Tour ear. axe of no good to you.
and they shall be cut off." After thla
the man was beaten within an Inch of his
life and he dragged himself away and
died.
Stories ( IyObensrnl.
I understand that Lobengula was fond
of beer. He was accustomed to make
nla whit vl.ltnra nVlnlc with him. .nri
everyone who called was expected to take
. - a
V!:" J 1. Ji. " !
pmiw ui suiieu inik i ii win imu
w.i - -.11 k
th. Th- kin. nt
ri champagne, and be gave all that
was presented to him to his wives, of
whom he had a large number
Lobengula was auppo.ed to "own all the
country. He had vast herds of cattle
He had control of the mines, and every-
one was subject to him. After his death
the natlv.. surrendered, and since then
they hav. been comparatively quiet, ex-
cept for th. revolt of 1196. which was
caused by the witch doctors. Lobengula
himself claimed to b. a witch doctor. H.
. 1 i ..
in the
the oitle. above mentioned and all tnterme.
time. In cas. of a breakdown on one side
of the loop the ourrent could be switched
around the other way, thus leaving only a
short portion of the line out of commis-
slon. The area to be covered is divided
into eight districts, and in each one of
these a transformer will step the current
down from 110,000 volts to 12,000 volts to be
transmitted along low tension wire to the
places In the district
Th, provlnce of Ontario ha throughout
history suffered from th. serious handl-
cap of having no discovered coal within Its
borders. In leas than eighteen months the
gTeat central part of the province will bid
farewell forever to dependence upon coal
as sourc. of power. Th. project will cost
the province ,600,000. Ontario baa an area
of 220,000 square mile.
Kleetrlo Safety Device. Tested.
A train on the main Una of the Burllng-
run stop l.ioo leet beyond. While the test
was being made a score of the foremost
operating men of the United States, repre
senting railroads from coast to coast, either
rode on the train or watched from the side
of the track the operation of the new auto
matic dlvlce for stopping trains when the
engine crew have disregarded the warn
ing signal. Th experiment was conducted
for the benefit of the Joint committee of
the American Railway association, of
which F. C. Rice of the Burlington is
chairman. The Joint committee ls made up
of members of the train rules and safety
device committee of the association.
Shortly before the experiment was tried
the operating men sat in a room in the
Burlington company's Aurora quarters and
listened attentively while the most com'
plex train orderr known were transmitted
a distance of 118 miles, received, repeated
and "O. K.'d" by telephone Instead of tele
graph. Within a short time the board of
control, appointed by the Interstate Com
merce commission under an act of con
gress for making an investigation of block
signaling and safety devises, will be given
a similar experience. Regarding the opera
tion, or as It Is technically called, the
"despatching of trains" by telephone, all
the operating men were enthusiastic With
"e accord they declared that the day of
the telegraph for use ln the railway service
ls rapidly passing.
The dispatcher at Aurora transmitted
"reverse movement" orders, which require
great care and exactness, to the agents
at Neponset, 100 miles distant; Kewanee,
ninety-five miles; Oalva, J 04 miles; Al
ton, 110 miles; Oneida, 114 miles, snd
Watago, 111 mile. away. Th. volume over
the circuit waa such that the order were
as distinctly heard as though the operators
were ln the tame room with the dis
patcher. With respect to the automatic stopping
of train where signals hav been disobeyed
the railway experts were not so certain.
Although cautious tn approving such radi
cal departure tn operation, they all agreed
that a decided step ln advance had been
made In the direction of absolutely pre
venting collision, of any kind between
trains on a single or a double track. With
this character of railway wrecks ellm'n ited.
fataltles on American railways would be
reduced by a very large percentage. The
new device operates the block signal and
when that ls at ' danger a spring ls set
which opens a valv. on the locomotive and
sets the air brakes. After several testa at
varying speed, which were made at ISola,
Just west of the city limits, th. operating
man adiaiUeu that trains ula successfully
9, 1903.
said he could make rain, and he did this
by oooklng a kind of devil's broth of
crocodile livers, snake arklns, frog toes
and hippopotamus fat As the steam of
this compound went up he petitioned the
gods to open the clouds and the rain was
supposed to fall.
Speaking of ralnmaklng, shortly after the
t.tii ft PIiaai mimm rntaA In tlitln w. v
th drouth , fc
,. .... ... ,,.' , . w.,..
IV VA we vasv eMe, w a wwanw wv. m .tw
Rhodes' head was uncovered, laying that
th spirits would not offend the great man
In that way.
They Believe ta Witchcraft.
All of these South African natives be
lieve In witchcraft and every tribe has
doctors. In coming here I trav-
nled for one dav with the chief native
commissioner of Rhodesia, a man who has
"7 V. .. ...
eharae of all the negroes oi aanonaiana.
He tells me that the Mashonaa hare trials
r ordeals to detect witches. One of the
- .... - .
tests ls nesting a sione rea noi ana man-
Ing the accused lick It with hi tongue,
anility his tongue will blister. If
not he is Innocent Another test Is by
certain medicines. If the medicines make
the man .lck or cause his death he ls sup-
PO.d to be a witch. If not. he ls allowed
to free. A third test, used especially for
thieves, is to drop a stone In a pot of boll-
Ing water. The accused must take this
out with hi. bar. hand, and If th. hand
i
Field of Electricity
be stopped even when
the engineer waa
using his steam. The train which was
used consisted of an engine and three
h aa w nin flnrf wa. In nhnrffA of Mr. Rice.
The first experiment waa at a speed of
about twenty miles an hour, when the
hen the
train was stopped within 100 feet of the
signal. Then the train backed down to
get a two-mile start and was under full
headway when the signal was passed,
Those on the train felt no Jar or discomfort
wnen ine emergency appucwou u.
wa made by the sudden opening of the
air valve. The emergency application Is
the most sudden and violent application of
li- m. " -
. 1 .. . K . . m.m K. .... in . In.
-tallatlon of the device on a single tracg
'"en " w "n coming rem op-
Poslte directions will automatically be
orougni io iuu utiU
b,y collide. The mechanism which oper
th "'Kn1 nd ,
,t0D ,uoh that th P"8"1" of trains over
the rails automatically stores the electricity
for the .peratlon of the entire device.
-4-
Train Orders by Telephone.
Exhaustive test, of the teh phone as a
medium of transmitting train orders have
been conducted on the Burlington system
during th last three n.onths, and the re
sults are regarded aa highly satlsfaotory.
Th result of th. teat are thus summar
ized: 1 n.h. .l..)inn. 1 . f n at . mnA mnre
flexible, th. dispatcher being able to get
far more detailed Information as to what
each train 1 doing, even, when occasion
reaulres, talking directly with the con-
ductor or engineer.
t Much time Is saved In the transmls-
slon of orders. The dispatcher copies the
order tn his book a he talk. Is off. thus
gauging or rather reducing hi speed of
conversation to his ability to write It down,
as well a the ability of operators to do
so. Then when the operator repeats the
message he does so a. rapidly a he can
talk, much faster than is possible by tele-
graph. Verbal repetition of the train order
gives a perfect check, it is claimed, against
mistake, and the written order ls pre
served as- ln the case of telepraph mes
sages. 3. It ls far easier to secure competent
telephone operators than telegrapher.
4. Anybody can answer a telephone, an
Important Item in case of an accident to
the regular operator, heretofore always a
telegrapher.
. The telephone broaden, the field from
which train dispatchers may be secured;
now it Is limited to telegraphers. The tele
phone also opens an avenue to better em
plyoyment for employs Injured In railway
sorvlce, few of whom ln the past have been
able to learn telegraphy.
6. The telephone works even better in
bad weather M an good Just the reverse of
the telegraph. If tver there ls a time when
good service is necessary It Is when the
weather is wet and foggy.
7. There is no exasperating not to say
dangerous Interference with the dispatch-
er's effort by reason of the relay ln some
way office being out of adjustment and
the inattentive operator making no effort
to see whether this is the case or not.
The telephone ls always in proper adjust
ment. 2. With the telephone It Is possible to
arrange apparatus, for instance, in the
superintendent's office, so that he cn at
any time listen to the actual work of dis
patchers and operators, ar.d thus check up
any tendency to slackness.
A th results of these tests the Chicago
Inter Ocean report that the telephone will
be substituted tor the telegraph over the
entire Burlington sysum. The Installation
Is now practically completed from Chlrajo
to the Missouri river. The St. Paul road
commenced inat
ailing th telephone ys-
The Rock Island system
tem last week.
purpose to commence at once to equip Its miles. The fare was (i2(, or about 12 Increasing in number under th. rule of aba -Illinois
and Kansas d1 vision with th tele- cents a mile, which was not considered whlre men, and that they as better a i
phone. Th. New Tork Central bow ha.
Us own teleobeoe a,st(a trum bar. t Mew
mi I"" -), 1 ) r'j ' .-
. ' - ... ' ' ,M
hi jS '
if
A MATABELE WITCH DOCTOR.
shows no sign of scalding the man 1. In th. flesh from th. bones.
cleared. If hi hand burns he la adjudged Another punishment Is laying red-hot
a thief and punishment follows. The na- stones on the bare stomachs of the guilty
tlves believe In the Justice of these tests onra. and among some of the tribe, ln-
and submit to them. A whit, trader of stances are known ln whloh the witches
the Zambesi told me that he missed a hav. been roasted over slow tires.
shirt not long ago and accused his native I understand that the witch doctors ar
servant of stealing It The boy said he
. . .
was innocent, ana xne traaer Deneva mm.
The next day the boy came In with his
hand terribly scalded and confessed his
.... . . . . . i i. a
guire. in rus oooaiu as uu
a pot of hot water upon himself and he
supersUtlously thought that the burning
eccurr.d on account of his theft
One ef th. punishments decreed by the
witch doctors In some regions ls that the
witch must be eaten by ants. This la done
by taking the accused man out Into the
wilds, smearing him with honey, and tying
him to a tree. The honey attracts the
ants and they complete their work by bit-
s
Tork for all messages except train orders,
and the service will be extended to them.
Calcium Carbide.
"ura"" ""J"":
Numerous factories In France
e 111 t-" v
by hydro-electric agency, some of them
being situated ln the Alpine territory and
ome of them ln the Pyrenees. The Uulller
patents for the manufacture of this ub-
v. vun i...iiu n.n.mnAH tn Km
o yM therefore all these
work compeiled t(J py royilltle. to
th( prletorg ef thege patents, and the
oTelgn carbJc imported
. . v. iTi
v,,... lr.k.im ft 1 (WA .nri from
th8nceforth thft fnch elctro-cliemical
...,,. ,, be no ,oner protected
aBalnt foreign products, which can be
manufactured at a much lower rate In
cerUln countries where hydro-electrlo
energy Is. relatively, very cheap. The
p,,.,,,,, industry u thu exposed to serious
menace, and Mr. Oulllaln, the president
of th. Union of Bleotrlcal Syndicates,
recently called the attantlon of M. Cruppl,
the minister of commerce, to the matter.
Th. minister replied that a good case haj
been made out for affording protection to
th. natlv. manufacture of calcium carbide
by th. imposition of a suitable duly on
Import. From this statement It may ba
lnferred that the Introduction of foreign
carbides Into France will soon be con-
JJ-
Before the Advent of Electricity.
jj,, wigwam Indians who came out to
)cnvel. from Tamraany Hall traveling on
flve Byecai trains, grouched a good dual
,.,., hi.ilin. .. inumv i.nt
u kneW nothlng about the meaning of
,uc'h tn, compared wlta the trlb-
ulaL1ons of our old pioneer.
The modern pilgrim is fat and pudgy
from luxurious living, while the eld boy
was as lean as Caasius and as hungry as
a cayote. In the sixtle. It cost mart for
meals between the Missouri river and Dtn-
ver tnan jB now charged for railroad fare
and meals added. The run to Denver ls
now made In something like fifteen
hours, as against six days ln the stage
coach period. At one time the fare from
the river to Denver was S 17f, while now
It 1 only $15. The quickest time ever
made by stag between Atchison acd Den
ver was four and a half days.
Btn Holllday, owner of the line, once
travelel by special coaches from l'lacer-
yllle, Cal., to the Missouri. 2,000 miles, In
twelve days and two hours, beating the
regular daily schedule by five days. This
feat cost Holllday (20.000, but It was
a great advertisement for hU line. The
stages, when crowded, carried fifteen per.
sons, beside, quantities of mall and express.,
One of the coaches used on the Over
land line 1 now ln the Smlthsonlun In
stitution at Washington and two or three
of them still linger ln Denver as relics
of the splendiferous post. After leaving
this route they were operated on the
Deadwood line, and were several times
captured by Indians and outlaw. Once,
when captured by outlaws, one of the
coaches carried (80.000 in gold. In this
attack three guards were killed.
Buffalo Hill heard that the old coach
had been abandoned and went after It
using It for years In his Wild West .how.
In London it carried the Prince of
Wales, and all the notables of Buropo ex
amined it with Interest. On the Fourth
of July, 18iii, this famous old coach wa
exhibited with the Wild Wubt show at
Concord, N. H . where It waa mado The
owner and employes of the stage coach
factory gave the historic old stage a
greut ileal of'aitentlon, and ln the paiude
it bore the sign: "lke( Hunt. Again
18l." There were 1(2 stations on the
old Overland line, from the river to Cal-
Ifornla, the longest In existence 1.212
exoee.lv. ln those
and rarto.
dots. Uavw vi.s
m
U H bhJ i 1
by far the most Important members ot
... ...v n-v ... .nnn..4 v.
i"- i.."--. -
vlnely appointed and especially authoriaoa
to use niagio for the good of the tribe.
r.irrrv wltnh rirtntrtr hni tt it ti H frvn m.
. 7 , . J . T.
course of training before he can . praotloo.
nd he must exhibit oertaln Idesyncracle.
iWeh prove him fitted for hU lob. He
aUs Into trance, and pretends to have see
Plrlts. lie has a special headdress of fur
and feather, and i has , f n'
kinds about l.U neck. lis must b. able to
bandta poisonous sne He m-ost be.
sleight-of-hand performer and able tomak.
the people bulieve he inhacuiou.
powers. As a rule he Kills more than b.
cures, but this does not seem to affeot
his reputation.
Talk with m Native Commission.
The government has white officers, wha
watoh out for the Interests ot the native
I talked with one of these, a Mr. Taberur
who has been managing the negroes for
many years. He tells me that the waltaa
are now respected and that the natives are,
better off than they were ln th. days of
Lobengula. So far. comparatively little of
. ..
th country has been taken up by White
settlers, and they plant their corn and.
graie their cattle about where they please,
They live ln little kraals or villages, rang-
In. in sis from twentv trt 100 huts eaoh.
and their cornfield, air. scattered over the
country outside the village.. They gath.r
their crops at harvest time, and store thera
In little granaries made of mud. thatched
i,k ... . ,.n.r i k,.. ..
hl arming aa hnsah.1,1 mriA fml. ir fl,.
feet ln height It Is raised upon stones
and ls entered by a hole near the roof, thu
hole being stopped up when the corn ls put
in, and opened from time to time as the
Kraln Is needed. These granaries as often
built on the tope of high rooks suoh ss are
found throughout Rhodesia, This aids is.
keeping out the damp and th. vermin.
s
Wives tola for CMtls.
The natlv. commissioner tells mo that
marriage among these negroes Is 1 arret
a rr alter of bargain and sale. The groom
pay. the bride' father a certain sum for
hS daughter. Th. usual price for a strong;
an(j a;ood-looklng girl Is four cow, or 11
she be the daughter of a chief she may
bring as much as five or six. It used to
be that girls were often betrothed and
bought when they were babies, the groom
paying a part of the purchase price at
that time and the lest by Installments. In
such caes the fathers agreed to rear th.
girls. This practice has been stopped by
th rnment. " It resulted In many aq
oIa P-tag stveral very young
wives; and also as th girls frequently fell
" lov 5"" Inen an tb ,trtf
between their old prospective husbands and
th young lovers, whom they wanted as
husbands, was great
A It I now, a girl mvst bo Of certain
age before .he can be sold. In some tribes
she ls married at 13, and tn ethers she
must be 17 before she ls ready for wedding,
I suppose that or If might be put as the
average age of marriage among the Mata
beles.
The native women are gradually acquis.
Ing mora rights under the rule of the whit
men. In the past they hud but few that
their husband, were bound te respect, bat
today the government groat) divorces on
tna sreund ef infidelity and cruelty, and
woman may bring her busbund Into court
Among the various tribes of Bouth Africa
divorces are frequent There are some In
which a woman can be dtvoroed If she
takes milk eut ef the family supply wtth.
out asking bjtr husband, and some la
which Infidelity Is punished by death. Ia
such a case the husband can demand bacl
the cattle he paid for his wife, or If he
cannot get the cattle he can claim all the
children a hi possession. As a rule most
of the natives think quite as much of Utela
cattle as their wives.
Poor Luour Sspplys '
The natives are bad farmera and they do
not form a good labor supply. In ralstnsj
their own crops they do no plowing. They
merely hoe the ground over and drop th.
corn. The crop Is weeded onoe or twice
snd then allowed to ripen. Nothing la
known about fertilisation, and, as th. soil
is virgin, this ls not necessary as yet Tb.
negn,es are largely used to work la the
m1" 01 Knoa,',,' na lnr demon
,or """" ln lhoM of tn Transvaal Th.
n't "f tl" oountrlr object to their trans-
I"iatlon on the ground that they ar.
needed for the local development and to4
building of railroads, both la souther
Rhodesia and ln the land farther north, )
1 understand that the natives hav beat J
tbaa .vat befuru.
Q2dUH0tfZ3QV i
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