The Dickinson press., 1890-04-19

uay, however, went to the bars OF the
window place and held out cup of milk
and some fruit to her. She looked at it
for long while, then crept up moan
ing, took the milk from my hand ana
drank it greedily, and afterwards ate the
fruit From that time forward she took
food readily enough, but only if would
feed hrr But must tell you of the
dreadful end of Hendrix. From lie
day that we captured Hendrika the
whole place began to swarm with ba-
boons which were evidently employed in
watching the kraals. One day Hendrix
went out towards the hills alone to
gather some medicine. He did not come
back again, so next day search was
made. By big rock which can show
you they found his scattered and broken
bones, the fragments Of his assegai and
four dead baboons They had set upon
him and torn him to pieces.
My father was very much frightened
at this, but still he would not let Hen.
drika so, because he said that she was
human, and that it was our duty to re
claim her. And so we did-to certain
extent, at least. After the murder of
Hendrix the balloons vanished from the
neighborhood, and have only returned
quite recently, SO at length we ventured
to let Hendrika out. By this time she
had grown very fond of ME; still on the
first opportunity she ran away. But in
the evening she returned again. She
had been seeking the balloons, and could
not find them. Shortly afterwards she
began to speak-I taught her-and from
that time she has loved me so that she
will not leave me. think it would kill
her if went away from her. She
watches me all day, and at night sleeps
on the floor of my hut. Once, too, she
saved my life when l was swept down
the river in flood; but she is jealous, and
hates everybody else. Look how she is
glaring at you now because am talking
to you'll"
looked. Hendrika was tramping
along with the child in her arms and
staring at me in most sinister fashion
out of the corners of her eyes.
While was rejecting on the baboon
woman's strange story, and thinking
that she was an exceedingly awkward
customer, the path took a sudden turn.
"Lookl" said Stella, "there is our
house. Is it not beautiful"
1t was beautiful indeed. Here on the
western side of the great peak bay had
been formed in the mountain, which
might have measured eight hundred ora
thousand yards across by thrce-quarters
of mile in depth. At the back of the
indentation the sheer cliff rose to the
height of several hundred feet, and be-
hind it and above it the great Babyan
peak lowered up towards the heavens.
The space of ground, embraced thus in
+ the arms of the mountain, as it were,
was laid out, us though by the cunning
hand of man, in three terraces that rose
one above the other. To the right and
left of the topmost terrace were chasms
in the cliff, and from each chasm fell a
waterfall, from no great height, indeed,
but of considerable volume. These two
streams flowed away on either side of
the inclosed space, one toward the north,
and the other, the course of which we
had been following, round the base of the
mountain. At each terrace they made
cascade, SO that the traveller approaching
had a view of eight waterfalls at once.
Along the edge of the stream to our left
were placed Kaffir kraals, built in order
ly groups with verandas, after the Ba-
sutu fashion, and very large part of the
entire space of land was under cultiva-
ton. All of this l noted at once, as well
as the extraordinary richness and depth
of the soil, which for many ages past had
been washed down from the mountain
heights. Then following the line of an
excellent wagon road, on which we now
found ourselves, that wound up from
terrace to terrace, my eye lit upon the
crowning wonder of the scene. For in
the center of the topmost platform or
terrace, which may have inclosed eight
or ten acres of ground, and almost sur
rounded by groves of orange trees,
cleaned buildings of which had never
seen the like. There were three groups
of them, one in the middle and one on
either side, and little to the rear; but,
as l afterwards discovered, the plan of
all was the same. In the center was all
edifice constructed like an ordinary Zulu
hut-that is to say, in the shape of
beehive, only it was five times the size
of any hut ever saw, and built of
blocks of hewn white marble, fitted to-
gether with extraordinary knowledge of
the principles and properties of arch
building, and with so much accuracy
and finish that it was often difficult to
find the fronts of the massive blocks.
From this center hut ran three covered
passages, leading to other buildings of
an exactly similar character, only small
er, and each whole block was inclosed
by marble wall about four feet in
height.
Of course we were as yet too far off to
see all these details, but the general out
line l saw at once, and it astonished me
considerably. Even old Indaba-zimbi,
whom the baboon woman had been un-
able to move, deigned to show wonder.
"Ohl" he said, "this is place of mar
vels. Who ever saw kraals built of white
stone?'
Stella watched our faces with an ex-
preston of intense amusement, but said
nothing.
''Did your father build those kraalsy"
gasped at length.
"My fatherl no, of course not" she
answered. "How would it have been
possible for one white man to do so, or
to have made this road? He found them
as you see."
"Who built them, then2" said again.
II do not know. My father thinks
that they are very ancient, for the peo-
pie who live here now do not know how
to lay one stone upon another, and these
huts are SO wonderfully constructed
that, though they must have stood for
ages, not stone of them had fallen.
But can show you the quarry where
the marble was cut; it is close by, and
behind it is the entrance to an ancient
mine, which my father thinks was
silver mine. Perhaps the people who
worked the mine built the marble huts.
The world is old, and no doubt plenty of