The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-11-05

THE SALT LAKE
betide them If the required labor is not
Forthcoming on demand.
think it may be safely asserted thai
England's action with reference to the
slave question was the foundation OF
the Beers inveterate dislike to every
thing EngliSh-except English money
This dislike has been augmented since
the early days. which l have briefly
alluded to, by Engiands action in en-
deavoring to raise the moral and men
tai status Of the South African ma
! tive; by sending missionaries among
the various tribes and by educating the
natives in public schools. This is a mode
| of procedure so utterly repugnant 10
the average Boer mind that he cannot
hear the subject discussed without
! eyincing the most intolerant spleen.
His attitude on this point is precisely
that of some southern planters before
| the civil war. What Teach a mig
ger to read. Teach him to write, Allie
machtig. Let me hear no more of such
English nonsenser'
| 1t is a notable fact that during all
the years in which the South African
Dutchmen have been in close contact
/ with the numerous native tribes exist
| ing in that section of the globe they
have never. as a body. as far as
know, made the slightest attempt to
alleviate the domestic or improve the
mental condition of their dusky neigh
bors ard dependents. / am not now ar
guiTsg as to whether the Beers method
Of ruling the African native is the most
judicious or not. 1 merely state the
fact: A Boer can no more accept the
humanitarian idea that the k3f1ir is
his equal in any given particular than
he can imagine his OK desiring to be
lifted in the sociological scale.
There are, I admit. some rare and
isolated exceptions to this general rule,
but the individual Beers efforts TO en-
tighten his native servants are spas
modic and usually futile; this may be
principally due to the fact that he
stands considerably in need of enlight-
eminent himself. Perhaps the reader
will pardon me for relating little per-
sonal experience in this connection:
An Americans Experience.
I happened to spend the night at a
Transvaal Beers house a few years
ago and my host and became exceed
ingly friendly, chiefly because he had
not seen a newspaper for a year or two.
and l furnished him with news enough
to fill Sunday edition of The Herald.
When retiring time came. and retiring
Beers house, my host informed me
that he didn't altogether agree with
his neighbors' views regarding the
treatment of the natives; while it was
undoubtedly necessary to- keep a firm
hand on them and also, at times. es-
sential to distribute personal chastise-
ment, he thought by taking them in
hand early enough you could make ex
emplary citizens out of them; that he
had now in his employ young Hotten-
tot. whom he was bringing up exactly
as he would one of his own children,
and that if / cared to witness ii, he
would give me a practical Illustration
of his method. I expressed myself
overjoyed ard awaited developments.
The Boer then called his four children
and the Hottentot into the room where
he and his wife and I were seated. The
first performance was the singing of a
hymn out of a WELL thumbed "Psalmen
en- Gezangen" (psalms and songs)
book The lady of the house-a typical
Dutch ''vrouw." with superintendent
adipose tissue-whose countenance
showed complacent confidence in her
husbands ability, sat on a low stool,
ables, while the children. including the
much-taught Hottentot, stood in a row
before the Boer. who, assuming a mag
isterial air, read out the words of the
hymn. The singing was unique. The
Dutchman had some idea of tune and
kept fairly close to the notes of the mu-
sic, while his wife droned an accompa-
niment which would have gone indiffer-
emily we'll with anything. The children,
on the contrary, appeared each to have
a different fayorite tune which they.
beloved out with great gusto. in def
ance alike of man and music. while
Hendrick (the HottentoO. with pain
fully bored look on his homely face |
simply threw his head back and howl !
ed. There were --n verses to that |
hymn and 1 am sadly afraid that my |
thoughts were not in harmony with the I
inspired words by the time the last
verse was ended.
Angels and Enelishmen
Next followed a series IF questions |
and answers from a Dutch catechism. /
The children had evidently been labor
ously drilled and, owing to the pres
.nce of a stranger. were on their met
tie, so everything went pleasantly
enough until it came to Hendricks
turn to answer the question put to him.
His question was: Who prevented
Abraham from offering Isaac as a sac
-ifice?" The answer was obviously,
An angel" or, as the Boer would say,
'Engel." Hendrick, however, was so
lopelessly dull that no amount of
conveyed the proper answer
% his limited intellect. The Boer was
getting madden and madden, but re-
strained himself admirably. After eX-
every sort of indirect prompt
ng to assist the Hottentot, he said,
hree or four times, Eng" Eng"
the association of sound or
he presence of an English visitor en-
ightened Hendrick or not. will perhaps
lever be known. but, anyhow, an illu-
flash of intelligence lit up his
title twinkling eyes and he yelled out,
apturously, 'Engelsman"' English
nan.) This was too much for my host.
'he idea of any accused Englshman
laying anything to do with any char
.cter in his beloved Bible stirred his
is wrath and kicked the unfortunate
Iottentot out of doors. 7 etired.
The Beers favorite inf ie-Iient of cor
ection, whether for oxe- or Kaffirs, is
he formidable ''sjambok.'' This is a
eavy whip made out of a rhinoceros
L hippopotamus hide. thick at the base
nd tapering gradually to q fine. sup ..
lie point. 1t is usually made from the
ack of hippopotamus. that being
lie thickest part of the animals hide.
considerable pains are taken in prepar- /
lg the Sjambok for Use. care having
} be exercised in avoiding making il i
rittle. They are made into various 6
myths and thicknesses. according TO c
ne purposes they are needed for. In /
ne or two recent dispatches from the
ransvaai we have been told that the S
oers "black-snaked' some British ref '
gees out of town, where they (the ref /
gees We're enGeavoring to purchase t
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