Free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1888-1908, 1900-03-17
THE BLACK MENACE.
NATIVES A FACTOR IN TRANS
VAAL WAR.
Thousands of South African Blacks
Restless Under England's Iron Hand,
MaF Rise at any Moment-Ten Natives
for Every White Settler.


for Every White Settler.
The South African black is born
fighter. The passion for bloodshed is
born in him. After centuries of inter
tribal wars he takes but lightly to the
ways Of peace.
England saw this when her redcoats-
first stepped on African soil. She
learned it a second time when she at
tempted to make herself the mofder
OF South African destinies. Those rest
less black hordes that swarmed 7.00O.-
900 strong over the hills and valleys
and plains south of the Zambesi have
had to be held down with an iron hand.
When once that great iron hand was
relaxed, the kopJes and kraals of South
Africa have been STEPPED IN blood. So
the mailed fingers were frightened on
the throat of the native The native
writhed and struggled under that steely
pressure, but the hand proved stronger
than the throat it held, and Zulu and
Swat and Tonga and Basuto and
Gaika flung away their assagai and
war club and skunk back to their vii
lagos with protestations OF peace on
their lips, but eternal enmity in their
hearts.
Today the great iron hand has other
work to do. All its strength is demand
ed in the struggle Of white against
white. The vital question at such a
time is, will the blacks take advantages
of this war between the Britishers and
the burghers? Will they seize the op-
~,
sion for bioodshed? Will the natives
Of Africa once more take up arms and,
because Of the preoccupation or the
impotency of their old-time white mas
tiers, who hitherto have held them
down, deluge the lower half of the dark
continent in blood and turn the hands
Of the clock of civilization back a cen
fury or two by the savageries and
atrocities which would be sure to fol-
low?
That trouble may come is not alto
gether improbable. There have been
many symptoms and not few actual
occurrences to show that such a con-
tingency is far from remote The
burghers of the Transvaal and the
Kafirs have already had a clash of
arms. The Basutos have also applied
to the English authorities for permis-
sion to 90 on the warDath and wipe
out in their own enthusiastically saw
age way certain old scores they hold
against the Beers.
These same Basutos hate their neigh
bors, the Zulus, almost as much as they
hate the Beers. Nothing could ever
make a Zulu and a Basuto fight side
by side. The Zulu, on the other hand;
remembers cruel trouncing or two
Great Britain gave him not so many
years ago. 1t is true he abominates the
Boer even more than he dislikes the
English, but against the English and
the Basutos combined he would be glad
enough to join forces with the Trans
wall burgher.
But there are other blacks in South
Africa than the Zulus and Basutos.
Today there dwell below the Zambesi
river between 100000 and 100000
dusBy skinned aborigines. To hold
these in check there are altogether
some 100000 whites. In the TransvaaI
there are three blacks to every white
In Natal there are eight blacks to every
white man. Taking all Of South Africa
into consideration, there are at least
ten dark-skinned natives for every
white settler.
1t can easily be seen how the atti-
tude of these different black races is
one of the most important factors.
apart from the actual denouement of
the present struggle between the Brit
Usher and the Boer, which have to be
taken into oOnSiderof fou in South fri
ca. It can be easily understood, too.
that the blacks are anxious to take
hand in any fighting that may be COM
ing along. 1t is merely a question
as to whether their fear of the we'll
remembered iron hand Of the English
or their dormant instincts for blood
shed and savagery will get the mas
terV