Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1883-04-04
Communism IN Afcicn.


The traveller, coming fresh from Eu-
rope into Damaralend. is struck by the
complete comniunistic freedom with
which every man appcopriatcs the land
and its natural products. Roads have
been worn through he.tiiicaets by foot
men alra the heavy Ox-wagon, and the
chief villages are connected by u Kind
oi highway, but no one is obliged to
keep the roads il he does not want to.
They are of no more significance than
the zc3ra or r!inUceros tracks which
lcdto the drinking places before man
appeared in tue country. and there is
no reason why tho Traveller should not
make a new road at pleasure. The
pasturage is free for tho teamstcrs
hungry cattle, the wood for the fire
needed to cook his supper. II a stray
spark sets The grass Oil fire., nd, $uiA5
thinks Of complaining: il huntcrc6Rlt
!:1its devastation among the game, tic
native may grUmble at the waste, but
he will not imagine that his rights are
:respsssed upon. or venture to inter-
fere with the proceedings. Tie game
is as muci, the strange busters as his
If one sees q spot that p!cases him he is
at liberty 10 settle upon it, and build
himself a house there. II any objection
is made to the stranger, nothing worse
happens than that something unreason-
able is demanded Of him, IN the s:tfnc
way that people in otlcr parts Of the
world are not ashamed to overreach
strangers: this is, not, SO easily done,
however, II the intruder is native osga.
member OF the same tribe; and even n
stranger. ii he ...oas not allow hi!.iiself to
be scared awav ts 3. .ast permitted to
remain .:.ntiis,urbcd. Whoever. settles
expect that other persons, finding It
well supplied with water and pasturage
will bring their herds there too; and it
i the practice Of the Hcrcro, when they
wish to get rid Of an unwelcornc neigh
bor, Notwithstanding their communism,
to bring up SO many herds and establish
so many catile-rangcs about his house
that he becomes disgusted with tho
frequent intrusions, aud is obliged TO
go away from the exhausted tract
Some OF the Hercro chiefs havarecently
begun to drive single settlers away by
force, but they are actua;ed by Interior
political views. The people are not dis
posed to grudge stranger the particu-
lar spot OF land he occupies, but they
wish to drive foreigners out Of the
country altogether. An incident from
Dsmara history viii help to illustrate
the extent to Which this sense OF Conl-.
mnn;sm goes. When the Hercros had
succeeded. after nine years Of warfare,
in shakin.. OF the domination Of the Ma
1 lxnI IL
been subjected. the Namaqua Chief. Jaa.
Afr.kaner, asked the missionaries to
help him make apcace with them. Tho
missionaries proposed that tho two.
parties should fix boundary between
themselves, which they would both re-
slsect. Goth refused to do this. They
were ready to make peace. they said.
and keep it, but they would have the
land, over which they had sonyht so
hard, in common. TIE llcrcto ciicf.
Kamahererp. declared ,rspeatcslly that
Jan might live in any paAt of the land
he chose after the pcaec. and that he
should exp.sct . fair proportion OF his
own pcopie to lie allowed to hive in Jan ,
<land. The peace contracted. on these
terms lasted fully ten yeArs.--F FcpHf0r
Science afonsAiy.gs Al ~
N Eauig estimates the specific ~.
J nssye bf green wood constituents .stsl-
hws: lianl green wo.,d. iiber stun. I'll;
water, 247; and ai A1e4 ntt green
wood. hber ,stnE. ~; ayAtcr. SJo, and
mir. 005. Al ceftaiJe AaIowASAof watss,
ynryinr from 7 to per cent. IN ALI y
ine rStlsslsin. aha iiber. sad. allowing thas
dtOtft Utfs-tflird only ivittss saAss q NE