Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-06-05
CHILDREN OF AFRICA.
Mrs. French-Sheldon Gossips on q
New Phase of Her Experience.
DO NOT CARE FOR PLAYTHINGS.
Broke Up Her Dolls and Shot Holes in the
Kites She Brought.
SHE ENTHUSEs A WRITER TO POETRY
WRITTEN FOR THE DISPATCH!

of love, family life, marriage, manners, nun,
games-would she speak Of them?
Eyes," she said, ''but 1ove'-there is no
such word in the languages Of the savages
whom saw. They have words for like,
for pleasure for husband wife and
friend but none for love No word for
love and none for 'God,' whether spelt
with large or little g. They have no
idea of Immortality whatever, and Of course
no word to express it.
"Now, do you see what follows from the
fact that they have no God? Why, Of
course, they have no oaths. One may travel
among them for months, as did, without
ever hearing an oath. When they give way
to anger they must get their satisfaction
out OF You are pigp You are toad!'
You are a goatr You are junglemanP
This is the extreme of their lingual affronts.
Sometimes they fight, but they haven't any
thing to swear by, differing in this from
Mark Twain's captain, who, you remember,
'wove q glittering streak of profanity
through his garrulous fabric that was re-
freshing to spirit weary Of the dull neu-
tralities of undecorated speech
Africa Needs . Lot Of Saws.
Iasked what was apparently needed most
bv the savages among whom she travelled.
f'Sawsp she said. "No, not Bibles or hymn
books or missionaries, school books or
schools, but saws and axes and augurs-
means of working easily in wood. Ten
thousand dollars worth of tools and ten
carpenters would go good way toward
civilizing all the wild men between Zanzibar
and Kilmaniaro. Saws are what they need,
and am going back there some time and I
shall carry CARLOAD of saws"
African children have been very little
toll ohouk ood osEad Mrc Frapch.
Sheldon if she could tell me something.
eyes, am glad to-" she said. "Africa
under the equator Is the children's para
disc. In all those months, among children
every day, never saw child struck, and I
heard child cry only twice while in the
Dark Continent. Up to the age of or 8
children go a4naked as they were born;
after that they wear small piece of cloth
or leather, and are little men and women,
learning to be bread winnera There are,
of course, no schools; but the young ones
early begin to learn-learn to work; the
girls to sew in their rude way, and the boys
to swim, and to run, and to use the low and
arrow expertly.
Different Work for Each sex.
''There is definite division of labor be-
tween the sexes; the men kill game. do the
fighting, make the weapons, (fundas), and
fabricate the women's ornaments, while the
women work the gardens and plantations,
tend the herds, and build the dracean hedge
of canes The married woman dresses
simply in some animals skin drawn round
her shoulders; the unmarried woman in a fig
leaf apron Girls are often married at 10;
at Is they are old maids. After the age Of
they are children no longer.
81 saw q pretty comedy in front of my
tent on Lake Chala one morning A boy of
about 6 was playing with little girl of 5
or so in the stately, serious fashion OF the
equatorial tots He walked around facing
her, and fourishing his wooden spear, and
he said to her in loud and boastful voice:
'Seel When I shall be el moran "a war
rior) and thou en- ditto "a belle) shall con-
quer many and wear the bearded collar,
and thou shall be my wife, aye? Thou
shalt have more beads than all OF Endella's
wives, aye? I have spoken! Now, walk
thou with me, and show my fellows how
sultana ought to look' and the tso midgets
went circling pompously round about"
Don't pprecia.e Dolls and Kites.
"Ahout playthings?" said, "have these
children ne plaything?"
"Hardly anything that can strictly be
called playthings carried out lot of
dolls and they would not play with them.
They broke them up. l carried some fine
Japanese kites in the shape of birds and
fishes, but, instead of being amused by
them, the little boys drew their bows and
shot nv poor fiers full Of arrows. car
ried some mechanical chickens that could
hop little ways and peep. But these got
me a reputation for witchcraft, ana came
near breaking up my caravan. II had had
a phonograph along, should probably been
burnt as witch. 1t is dangerous to trife
with the intelligence of the African.
81 Judge from what you say that women
have considerable freedom in Arica?"
When | asked this question Mr.. Sheldon
leaned back on the sofa and laughed
laughed till her very blue eyes half closed,
and her autumn-leaf hair quivered, and her
pink slippers twinkled.
''The desire for freedom seems to be
largely q matter Of fashion," she said.
"Every married woman in Central Africa
wears 1ily-shaped iron bells on her wrists
and ankles, SO that her husband can always
find where she is-somewhat like the sheep
in focks on the common.
The " Women Favor Polysamy
"Polygamy thrives in Africa, and every
wife seems to be glad Of it. For, as the
wives have to do the farmwork, they are
always glad when their mutual husband
brings another wife to divide the labor.
They receive her with enthusiasm when she
to her and feed her with |
has hut of her own-a boma-and it is
verify her castle. Her husband never enters
till he has knocked and called out 'hodi?'
(may come in?) and received the answer
'kariboor (welcome.) The equatorial peo-
pie are very polite.
cat every new village I came to in that
tour of 1000 miles 1 advanced alone and
held up in my hands bunch of grass-the
signal of peace-and was received with |
friendly salutationa They are very cour-
.eous to each other, too. If they meet |
hundred times day they exchange the |
ah, kwahari'-(how de dog. When q
nan wants wife he first buys her from her !
parents, and then hunts the fleeing girl into |
he woods and captures her. 1t is the uni
7ersal fashion for her to run away when he |
zones after her"
Was Going to Shoot Some Men.
ssNo insubordination in your command?"
asked.
'.Never but once. At the foot of Mount
eight Of my guard refused to
hey my orders to move on. The Sultan OF
in swearing them in, had given
o me the right to kill any man who dis
'beyed, and I had to enforce my authority"
I inquired if she did that in the tradi-
ional manner of her sex. She laughed and
aid: ''No, sir; did not eryl Two OF the
nen Welded. The other six were mar
hailed before me and aimed a rifle at the
eader and ordered Fall in! one, two,' and
le fell into the column. The same policy
brought each one to submission"
1 asked her If she would actually have
,illed them.
II wouldp" she said, and her very blue
yes flashed IKE an arc light. "I would
lxvs shot them in their tracks, one by one,
rittsout finching. 1t was either authority
r deasS for me. don't you see2"