Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1879-10-23
MISC LLAN { Us.
a KAFFIR WEDDING.

lent a kaffir marriage, and "was surprised
to see what really pleasing faces many OF
the women had, and how tastefully their
rather meagre ~toilettes were arranged
Their toilettes were, indeed, .smeagre," but
she adds that "the modesty and uncon-
~sclousDess with which they were worn could
not nave been surpassed by that of the most
artless White-frocked debutante that ever
blushed in a drawing-room at home" Mrs.
Hutchinson continues:
"The wedding was a kraal about two
miles from the camp. Shall I ever forget
that drive, as we jolted over stones and
shaved ant hills, and bumped in and out
OF holes, the mules all the time going t,tull
gallop, till we really expected that the cart
would turn over with us every moment
AS we approached the kraal our
ears were greeted by the shrieks, yells and
,howls Of the wedding party, and on sur
mounting q ridge Of ground we came upon
"a company all in $ full fig,' practicing one
OF their dances. The men wore large plumes
OF black feathers, which covered their heads
and hung down over their shoulders. Uhey
F AAAA oSGlCd WlUH@COWIlluG anu car
ried sticks, which they waived ID brandished
IN q very Warlike manner They were con-
1lnually IN motion, stamping, granting and
shouting, and at last fell into a kind OF pro-
.%cession, which moved on toward the kraal.
dancing all the way. Every now and then
some warrior, more than usually excited.
would burst from the ranks and bound. with
ahigh-stepping action, several yards in adj
vance. tie would then stop, and with queer
antics and strange gyrations, would 90
through the motions. OF killing his. antago-
nlsts, continuing them amidst the plaudits
OF his companions till they caught him up.
When he would fall in, only to be succeeded
by an excited. rival ,.eager to equal if to out
do him. The two sisters Of the bride. ele-
gantly attired in a few rows of green, white
and pink beads, accompanied this ioyial
crew, shrieking and racing about as il pos
ssessed. The father OF the bride was there
too, distinguishable from the other braves
by the extra length Of his tail Of feathers.
which hung from the top of his head and
reached all down his back. AS this inter
estlng company proceeded they were met
ny women In pairs, all dressed () alike in
the same alarming simplicity, who ran to
meet them, screaming at the top of their
voices aud making a most peculiar trcmu-
lolls shrill noise which reminded me more Of
! neighings' than anything else. These fell
slnto the ranks, as did a large. company Of
young girls and children, who all rushed to
meet the procession, yelling rs. loud as they
could and appearing to be quite mad with
excitement. The whole body then advanced
at q majestic sort of pace, all taking one step
forward at the same moment, raising their
shields, giving a stamp and a yell, and so
on tlll they got to y SORT of parade ground
IN front of thelkraal, Where they drew up in
line two or three deep, and continued the
stamping and shouting, waving of arms, po-
,sitioning and all the other maneuyres. ac-
'comnanNing themselves with Il song, which
consisted in the perpetual reiteration 0 ftlree
notes in a minor key. / have ascertained
that this tune is the same one which is used
by them on all similar occasions. The bride.
surrounded by a whole bevy Of sisters and
friends, knelt on the mat fac
ing the dancers, and held Il shield and
knife in her hand. ucr dress consisted Of
beads arranged with great taste, and her
hair was deliberately got up with the brass
wire and palm oil OF the period. But what
us the most was the biase, con-
temptuous expression of her countenance.
which was evidently the highest mode for !
katlir brides to assume !
r
Rosa BoNHEUR has, just presented 70 the !
g%oyernlnent a life-sized painting of |
= lion. which is TO be placed in the Madrid :
Gallery, despite the rule prohibiting the ex- !