The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1888-08-02
THE DARK ZULU AND HIS COWS.
Cattle In Parkway south
Africa-Riding an OK.

The love that Zulu has for his cat
tie causes him to ornament them in
many ways, some of which entail con-
siderable suffering upon the animals,
which, however, he regards from a
philosophic point of view, and does not
allow it to interfere with his love for
them. He trims their ears into all
shapes, the favOrite pattern being that
of leaf with deeply serratcd edge.
He gathers up lunches of the skin upon
the head. ties a string tightly around
them and SO forms a number of pro-
jecting knobs of various sizes and
shapes. He cuts strips of hide from
the head and face letting them hang
down as lappets, and also cuts the
dewlaps and makes fringe. With the
others he leaves the skin intact and
lavishes all his art upon the horns. He
will cause one horn to project forward
and another backward; he will train
one upright and the other to the
ground. Sometimes he observes a
rough kind of symmetry, and has both
horns bent with their points nearly
touching the shoulders, or trains them
with the tips meeting over the head
like an arch, OF under the neck like a
collar, or turned around the eyes like
spectacles. The most singular effect is
produced where the horns of a young
OK are trained to lie fat upon the skull
until the points meet in the middle of
the head, when they are manipulated
so as to make them coalesce and grow
upward like the horn of the unicorn.
In other cases the horns will be split
at the points, growing with diyerging
segments, like the outstretched fingers
of hand.
The animals are taken in hand as
soon as the horns show through the skin,
and small vertical incisions are made
in them with a spear, so as to divide
them; these are allowed to grow again,
and then are still further divided until
the requisite end Is attained. The bent
ones they cut Commencing an inch or
so below the point, which must not be
injured) a small part of its thickness,
and bent in contrary direction, and
after much delicate manipulation and
care it will describe a curve in the re-
quired direction. In fact the detail
and patience required would weary
any one but a Kaffir, who takes the
same pride in his work that an artist
bestows upon his ideal in stone or ON
canvas.
The average weight of the Zulu OK is
about four hundred pounds. The flesh
is seldom eaten, the average diet being
sour milk and mealies made into por-
ridge. The milk is never taken fresh,
being considered indigestible; conse-
quently, three milk jars are necessary
to the convenience of the native-the
first one for sweet milk, the second for
sour milk, and the third for ''amasi," +"
which resembles clotted cream and is
the residuum of the sour milk after the
water fluid is poured off. The whites
dislike ''amasi" when first tried, but
soon acquire the taste for it and then
prefer it to milk in any other form.
There being no horses until they
were introduced by the white settlers,
the oxen are used for equestrian pur-
poses and also as beasts of burden.
The natives as a rule contrive to ride
the oxen barebacked, balancing them
selves upon the sharp, ridged back and
guiding their steed by means of a
string tied to the stick and passed
through the nostrils. They are not
good riders. and jog awkwardly along,
their arms jerking about in most un-
graceful manner; but, as the OK seldom
moves beyond walk, it does not
matter so much, and but little harm is
done by fall, owing to the horns be-
ing trained in the manner described.
There are several cases on record
where man riding an OK with un-
trained horns has met with a tumble,
and falling forward, has been impaled
or gored by the horns in their natural
state.-Drdke's Magazine.