The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1877-03-16

ed it back to its original settlers. In all
these emigrations of the Dutch some have
remained behind, so that they are to be
found all over South Africa, often con-
siderably Anglicised.
"Within the last seven years the Orange
Free State Republic has developed rich
diamond fields, but the advantage accru-
ing to the country from this has been
less than the disadvantage; for it has only
brought in a hungry crowd of fortune
seekers, who have made their money and
turned their backs with contempt on the
country which gave it. 1t is an astonish-
ing fact that the diamond fields have
yielded e12,000,0O0 sterling worth of dia-
monds, and yet the world scarcely knows
that diamonds are found in South Africa.
The South African republic has developed
gold fields which give fair prospect of be-
ing rich and lasting. These gold fields were
opened in 1878; at present there are
about four hundred miners at work there.
The labor for the white man is compar-
atively easy, native labor being cheap
and obtainable. The only tax levied on
the miner is one of a dollar and quarter
a month; this licenses him to possess
claim-ground on which to live. Wood
and water are abundant. The English
government have retained the diamond
fields, giving to the Orange Free State
SOC, 900 as a compensation, and grant of
els, 900 in aid of railway.
"In their homes they are very hOspi-
table. Their bearing is very independ-
ent, and they are so thoroughly above
toadyism as to be able to treat all men
alike without fear or favor. They are very
fond Of music and dancing, and many of
them play with good taste on the violin and
concertina. In appearance the men are
mostly big, with square, massive frames.
They are slow and easy-going, and do
not often display much activity, except in
driving their oxteams, when they jump
on and off and about their wagons in a
wonderful manner, cracking the whip
and shouting to the oxen. The Dutch
are proverbially slow, and yet it is aston
ishing how much work they get through.
They smoke continually and grow their
own tobacco. They are very temperate,
though they sometimes indulge in a
brandy they make from the peach. In
the winter many of them spend much
time hurting the wild game. Their
principal object is the skins, which form
quite an article of export from the re-
public. They dry as much of the flesh
as they care for, and the rest is left as
food for the vultures. Many of the Boer
men prove themselves to be clear-headed
politicians, but they are not intolerant,
and are very decided in their ideas Of
justice. Recent measures have been in-
troduced for the establishment of schools
among them, and the services of some of
the most learned professors in Holland
have been secured. The tolerance shown
to all religious denominations is one of
the best evidences of the progressive
spirit of the republic.
1T is only fair to say that the Boer
has just regard to the native as human
being, but otherwise regards him as the
inferior of the white man. According to
Boer law, no native can possess land in
the republic, but is permitted to settle
almost anywhere by payment of a small
tax. Tribes subject to the republic
live on lands allotted to them, are sub
ject to their own chiefs and have their
own laws, and live as uninterfered with
as though there were no white men near.
There is no labor law, as has been stated,
enforcing them to work, and the tax levied
on them is merely nominal one. can
assure you, however, that any sympathy
that you bestow on the natives is thrown
away; they are so really happy and con-
tented that you would be more inclined
to envy them; they live with great sim
plicity; they are burdened with no more
clothing than mucha, which encircles
the loins. Their bed consists of mat
laid on the hard floor, with a piece of
wood for a pillow and blanket of skin
to cover them. Their diet is entirely a
vegetable one. Polygamy is practiced
by all native tribes. They generally buy
"A woman, paying to her father the price
in cows. This price ranges from ten to
thirty cows a woman, fine looking girls
being the most costly. Before a girl is
married she is not allowed to work hard
or over-exert herself, as this would lesson
her value in the matrimonial market,
but after marriage she must hoe the
ground aud plant corn, aud fetch wood
and water and cook, and perform such
other labor as their customs dictate. -
N. y. World.
THE NORTuwEsT pAssAcE-A Swod-