The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-01-03

! break the republic in two nights.
/ "Aud the native religion
"Ihat's pretty The lis!5 aye l,.nt in
! 'gregory-bH5h' until they a1r seventeen and
| the boys in the 'dcvil-bu~h' nntI ilcy are
! eighteen. The boy wears q earzc cap which lie
! removes under no consideration uutii he leaves
the bush In that he is taught that his honor,
virtue and life depend, and u the
cap is removed all this is lost. The girls wear
a charm around her neck and this
answers precisely TO the caps worn by the
boys. The young people are remarkably
chaste. They wear no clothing, and mingle
freely, but only where the natives have come
in contact with the civilized are ever found in
stances Of unchsatity. The natives also arc
truthful, honest and intelligent. The
Neys are the most powerful native tribes, and
formed have ever seen. Some Of the women
are remarkably pretty | never saw a dwarf
nor an idiot among them. They believe in a
hereafter, and in q supreme being called
'Cumbah.' But 'Cumbah' has a wife and
children, and is very much like god Of Ro-
man or Greek antiquity. He is very much
like a mortal, and much more ineligible TO
them than Great Spirit who has Son but 10
wife, and the Holy Ghost is something they
can't conceive The idea Of three persons in
ono is the same way. Then take into cousid-
Grafton the cheating and brutaliiyof tho civil
lied people, and you cannot wonder that they
prefer their own religion"
"PoygamiStS2 '
ooh, yes; it is different from the Utah po-
lygamv, and much pretticr. When a man
dies his wives arc taken by his brother A
young woman has no choice whatever as to
the man she shall marry. WITH the young
fellow it Is different. His parents choose his
first wife for him She remains the head
wife ever after. The parents are very careful,
and the son never thinks Of Directing. The
male parent, Of course, has most to say about
the sons marriage, but the mother is also al
lowed voice They together make choice. BY
wishes to marry, and she tells the father
After the choice is made they bargain for the
girl. The first payment, if the bargain is
made, is a string Of beads. This Cliuches the
bargain. It * a sort Of instaIlmcnt sale, as it
were. Divorce? No, the natives have no d.
vOrce. The civilized people have The pres
ident has been three times divorced. 1t is
terrible common amongst the civilized"
"What about Woman's pOsiion9'
woman is a kind OF property. They have
no vote though am sure they would govern
better Than the men. They arc more ntclli-
gent Well they live 10 an almost incredible
age. II is very common, indeed, to find per
sons considerably over one hundred years old.
Mary Newport? The reason Mary Newport
came to be so prominent is this. When ever
there is popular huc-and-cry- there is
frenzy Of any kind the women are invariably
leaders. Amount TO much? Indeed they do.
Why, two of the presidents have been killed
by the populace, not assassinated, but actually
mobbed."
What about the climate"
"Wct six months, dry six months J have
seen it rain for two weeks without stopping
ten minutes aggregate stop in tho whole time
1t pours, too, when it does rain"
Tell me something about tho native mar
riage ceremony"
That's queer thing The boy, you remcm-
Der, leaves the 'dcvil-bush' at cighiccn. The
girl is brought in and placed on Il mat He is
brought in blindfodcd The bandapc. or Shin
beck is removed from his eyes, he sees his fu-
ture wife, smiles. and is led out. Then the
celebrations fcastng, and dancing begins
There is no further ceremony. Now when a
chiefs son marrics chiefs daughter the Ger
omony takes two weeks instead OF a few min
utcs The parties meet midway between the
two homes no matter what the distance The
womans foot is not allowed to touch the
ground Skins and cloths are spread before
her taken MP after she has passed, and again
spread IN her path"
"Wcll. what sort of provision does the youncr
fellow make before he takes a wife,"
ono man can have a wife unless he can pro
vide for her. Avilage is built in a circle. and
all the houses are one. The roofsa are matched
together Not only the houses but everything
else is in common AS long as one Kooulan
has rice, his Tribe has rice. The ground in the
center is the dance ground, and the village
dances nj every sunset TIe nlaoucs aya the
bugga- bugeas,' or white ants led by a oueen.
Then there arc the drivers with
their generals, colonies, captains ana
puyatcs. all of different sizes. and
having different degrees of authority. They
are the scavengcrS. Just \ou spill palm oil or
let your floor get filthy. and here they come
by millions of millions. They surround
house. forming a ring eighteen inches thick,
all matted and mtorlockcd SO that if Won nut a
cane under the ring and lit it, it would nor
break, but would rise like n rubber belt for
ten feet ON each side. Iou can tc}l WHAT'S in
Your house when they come. After the ring
has been formed. some lizard spies them. 10
PUSHES franticalv about. convinces himself
that they are really drivers and
he drops to the door. and does NOT
attempt to escape, and offers no
resistance. Then Won SEQ lizards ser,,cnts
scorpions bv the hundred. All drop The
drivers eat everything but cold. silver and
iron. They take a table leo, for cNlrnrla. cat
the center, leaving the she'll. II thoy han
oVnv. you miobt susnect ,,otli,,u;,til ,o,,
leaned against the side of the hons, or n,,.I,ed
little tcap-a she'll
NV hat makes Il wealthy natiyc''
- Bfas> kettles and women. old IooglasS
- ,nl'l o. iuo MOO p'9l''' ana me wealth.
yemen and mos, i1'.., l'nt,i"st ''''' '''''''
"What are The relaiious ol l,bori, T., This