The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1888-07-27
zULUS AND THEIR COWS.
How the South African NIilhs-Cattle as
Participants I'm Dances.


Participants I'm Dances.
The Zulu is never silent when milking;
not for one single instant does he cease
uttering the most peculiar sounds ever
inflicted upon mortal ears--screams,
yells, shouts, whistles and tender pianis-
simo murmurs of admiration succeeding
one another as the flow of milk increases
or diminiskes, this practice having the
curious result Of compelling any white
farmer who buys Zulu cattle for his
farm to have q native to milk them,
as they will neither stand still nor
give their milk freely without the
usual tactical concert, of which
no European has ever been able to
produce even q colorado imitation.
Whistling is also a great item in driving
cattle or calling them from distance,
and the noise Zulu can make with his
lips alone is incredible and half deafens
any one who stands near him. Thus,
when the oxen attached to prairie
wagon are outspanned and have roamed
away in search of water or fresher herb
age Zulu driver will stand on the
wagon seat and give whistle that will
call them anywhere within a mile and
bring them trooping to the camp, where
q white man would have had to ride
round and drive them in. Sometimes
the natives use artificial appliances,
which are not put into the mouth as
ours are, but are held to the bottom lip
as we hold key when trying to clear it.
When a chief possesses many oxen he
is frequently very fastidious about them,
and gathers them together in herds nearly
all of one color, red or black being the
favorite hue. Cattle are trained to take
part in the tribal dances and reviews.
These all have the skin cut into strips and
are without horns. These dances are
organized by placing the participants in
sections, three men and two oxen, which
then dance in companies, each with their
attendant oxen in turn approaching the
chief. This they do by themselves, and
it is surprising to see the perfection of
their training, as, Notwithstanding the
yells, shouts and frenzied gestures of the
men, they never break ranks or run, and,
knowing their place, go right to it.
The Zulus manage their herds with
great skill, and the animals appear to
perfectly understand the meaning of
every separate whistle and call. This
noisy system Of driving cattle was
source of great difficulty to the English
soldiers who were detailed to recover cat
tie stolen from white settlers farm.
Such .f the cattle as had been Zulu bred
would utterly demoralize the remainder
of the herd, and the soldiers, not under
standing and utterly incapable Of pro-
ducing the necessary cries, would find
the cattle quite manageable without
them. The COW is the unit of the Zulu
currency, eight cows making one woman,
just as 100 cents make 81, and most of
the tribal wars that have devastated
southern Africa have been caused by the
desire of one chief to steal the cattle of
another.
The great ambition of Zulu is to own
as many cows as possible and so become
q savage millionaire, eating beef and
drinking sour milk every day and buy
ing wives at eight to fourteen COWS each,
according to the fluctuations of the mar
ket, using the hides or the cattle to make
all kinds of useful things, lubricating
himself with fat to his hearts desire,
and decorating his person with their
flowing tails. The more cattle he has
the greater man he is.-W. p. Pond in
brakes Magazine.