The Russellville Democrat., 1888-08-16
SOME ZULU CUSTOMS.
The Ruling Ambition of the Average
 South African Savage.

The Ruling Ambition of the Average
 south African Savage.
 The Zulu is never silent when milk ing; not for one single instant does he cease uttering the most peculiar sounds ever inflicted upon mortal ears screams, yells, shouts, whistles and tender pianissimo murmurs of admira- tion succeeding one another as the flow of milk increases or diminishes, this practice having the curious result of competing any white farmer who buys Zulu cattle for his farm to have nar tive to milk them, as they will neither stand still nor give their milk freely without the usual lacteal concert, of which no European has ever been able to produce even a colorable imitation Whistling is also great item in driv' ing cattle, or calling them from dis tance, and the noise Zulu can make with his lips alone is incredible. and half deafens any one who stands neal him. Thus, when the oxen attached and have roamed away in search of water, or fresher herbage, Zulu driver will stand upon the wagon seat and give whistle that will call them anywhere within a mile, and bring them trooping to the camp, where a white man would have to ride round and drive them in Sometimes the native uses artificial appliances, which are not put into tho mouth as ours arc, but are held to the bottom lip as we hold key when trying to clear it.
 When chief possesses many oxen he is frequently very fastidious about them and gathers them together in herds of nearly all 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 as described later, and are without horns. These dances are organized by placing the participants in sections, three men and two oxen, which then dance in compa~ nies, each with their attendant oxen in turn approaching the chief, the oxen turning off into kraal and then forming into line extending from the chief. This they do by themselves, and 1t is surprising to see the perfec- tion of their training, as, notwith- standing 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 cattle stolen from white settlers farm. Such of the cattle as had been Zulu bred would utterly demoralize the remainder of the herd, and the sol diers, not understanding. and utterly incapable of producing the necessary cries, would find the cattle quite un- manageable without them. The COW is the unit of the Zulu currency, eight cows making one woman, just as one hundred cents make one dollar, and most of the tribal wars that have de- vastated Southern Africa have been caused by the desire of one chief to steal the cattle of another.
 The great ambition of a Zulu is to own as many cows as possible, and so become savage millionaire; eating beef and drinking sour milk every day and buying wives at eight to fourteen cows each, according to the fluctua- tions of the market, using the hides of 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. Drdke's Magazine