Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-06-04

answered but carried II anu on stdtc OcCd-
sions, when I wanted to paralyze a sultan,
wore it. The savage eye is as impressible as the
eye Of civilized man, and when arrayed myself
in that white satin dress and all my laces and
Jewels found that all walls and hostilities fell
down. / carried that white satin dress for
about the same reason that Stanley carried a
rife, and it was quite as effective without being
30 terrible.
/ asked her how she could venture to go alone
into the heart of Africa among savages, even
behind the abatis of white satin petticoat.
''Ihey were not savages TO me" she said. Il
had no white person with me; nobody but 13S
black men and half as many black women. In
all that 1000 miles Of exploration never re-
ceived one insult nor saw one indecent action"
.'NO insubordination!'
'Never but once. At the foot OF Mount hll-
manjaro eight of my guard refused to obey my
orders to move on. The Sultan Of Zanzibar,
on swearing them in. had given to me the right
to kill any man who disobeyed, and 1 had to
enforce my authority.
inquired il she did that in the traditional
manner of her sex
She laughed and said: 'sNo. sir did not cry,
Two of the men yielded and obeyed my order.
The other six we're marshaled before me and
aimed a rifle at the leader and ordered. Fall In
One-two,' and he sullenly fell into the column.
The same policy brought each one to subrnis-
siOn-"
asked her If she would actually have killed
them.
Il wouldr' she said. and her very blue eyes
flashed like an arc light. Il would have shot
them in their tracks, one by one, without
finching. 1t was either authority or death for
me, don't you see?"
NO Such WORD As LOVE.
sit seemed tome" remarked, THAT Stanley
had told us very little about the women and
children of Africa-of love, family life,
marriage. manners, fun, games. Would she
speak Of them?''
yes" she said. ''but Iove'-there is no such
word in the languages of the savages whom 1
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 a large or little g. They
have no idea of immortality whatever. and of
course no word to express il.
''Now 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 oath.
When they give way TO anger they must get
their satisfaction out of You are a pig You
are toad You are goatp You are q jun
gle man. This is the extreme of their hngual
affronts. Sometimes they fight, but they
haven't anything TO swear by. differing in this
from Mark Twain's Captain who, you remem-
Der, 'wove a ghttering streak of profanity
through his garrulous fabric that was refresh
ing TO a spirit weary of the dull neutralities of
undecorated speech
The etiquette of morals under the equator is
curious When a caravan goes through the
country and pitches tents for the night a man
comes out of it and whistles. whereupon the
women of the better Glass withdraw and retire
ont Of sight, while the DECEASED or disreputable
women come forth in their gay apparel They
are dressed in stamped cotton, like bandannas."
asked What was apparently needed most by
the savages among whom she travelled
'Sawsh' she said. mo, not Bibles. or hymn
books, or missionaries, or school books or
schools but saws and axes and augers-means
Of working easily in wood Ten thousand dol
lars worth Of tools and ten carpenters would
60 good ways toward civiizing all the wild
men between Zanzibar and kilimanjaro. Saws
are what they need and l am going back there
when get my book, From Sultan to sultan
10 press, and shall carry a cart load of saws
CHILDREN OF AFRICA.
African children have been very little talked
about and asked Mrs French-Sheldon if she
could tell me something.
Yes, am glad to" she said. "Africa under
the equator is the childrens paradise. In all
those months, among the children every day.
never saw a child struck, and heard child cry
only twice while IN the dark continent. Up to
the age OF six or eight children go naked as
they were born; after that they wear small
piece of cloth leather. and are little men
and women learning to be bread winners.
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 bows
TO swim and run and to use the bow and arrow
expertly. There il a definite division of labor
between the sexes; the men kill game. do the
fighting, make the weapons Cfundss) and fabri-
cate the womens ornaments. while the women
work the gardens and plantations, tend the
herds and build the dracean hedge.
FULL DRESS.
"The married woman dresses simply in some
animals skin drawn around her shoulder, the
unmarried woman in . fig-leaf apron. Girls are
often married at ten; at fifteen they are old
maids. After the age Of six they are children
no longer.
II saw pretty comedy in front Of nv tent
on Lake Chala one morning. A boy of about
six was playing with little girl Of five or So, in
the stately, serious fashion of the equatorial
tots He walked around facing her and -four
ishing his wooden spear. and he said to her in a
loud and boastful voice: See When shall be
el moran "a WARRIOR and thou en- ditto "a belle
shall conquer many and wear the bearded COW
lar and thou shalt be my wife, ave? Thou shalt
have more beads than all Of Endella's wives
ave! have spoken. Now, walk thou with me
and show my fellows h0 sultana ought to
look And the two midgets went circling POM
pously round about
ABOUT playthings?' 1 said. .'Have these
children no plaything?'
Hardly anything that can strictly be called
playthings- carried out q lot of dolls and they
would not play with them. They broke them
up 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 my poor flyers full of arrows car
ned some mechanical chickens that could hop a
little ways and peep. But these got me a repu-
tstion for witchcraft and came near breaking up
my caravan- IL had had photograph along
should probably have been burnt as a devil.
IL IL dangerous to srife with the intelligence of
| the African
Among the souvenirs which the explorer has
brought home with her is the great basket or
pelanquin In which she was carried half Of the
way by men In this. one night, she was at
lacked by q huge snake. whereupon. she adj
mits, she screamed" after the manner OF
woman, and one of the attendants came with a
club and killed it.
MARRIAGE AND FREEDOM.
81 judge from what you say that women have
considerable freedom in Africa"
When i asked this question Mrs French-Shel
don leaned back on the sofa and laughed laughed
till her very blue eyes half closed and he,
sutumn-leaf hair quivered and her pink slipper,
tvinkled.
"The desire for freedom seems to be largel,
. matter Of fashion" she said. Every mar
ried woman in Central Africa wears lily-shaped
Iron bells on her wrists and ankles 30 that he,
husband can always find where she is-some
What hike the sheep in focks on the common
Polygamy thrives IT Africa, and every Wit,