Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-08-11

temptuous observation about the chief ex-
ecutive of the South African republic. An
inG.scretion of this sort occasioned a tu-
multuOus scene in the pavilion last Friday.
Three Engii$hmen stopped before the statue
and INDUCED in more or less quiet meFri-
ment at the expense of the plaster patri-
arch overhead From the looks of the per-
sons standing about 1t seemed safe to
sumo that none understood English. This
was a mistake. mddle-aged, very dark,
Sranish-looking man wasn't by any means
the Spaniard he appeared. One of the Brit
ishers contributed to the mirth of his COM
panons by remarking that when Roberts
caught Kruger nc was going to send him to
the London zoo as a rare specimen of the
famous South African whiskered goat.
Here the quet-looking Spaniard bounded
toward the British trio.
''fe gapin apes, he roared. "doan We
know the difference 'twixt goat and a uni
corn? Ye we'll oughter. by this time for he
has prodded yer ould lion till the poor haste
has nayther SinSe stringth ems to git
out o Africa. Goat. is it? And at yer zoo!
It's not yer zoo where Dom Paul IL go in
Lunnum. Give i'm bit more time he'll
be Twin at yer Buckin ham palace. An
fer whuskers. yer bald-faced Chamber
lain II be matched all over with 'em ter
hide his blush o shame whin Paul Kruger
gets through BORN holes through yer Brit
ish empire. Now, git
The Engiishmen, believing themselves in
the moral majority, We're disposed to resent
the Irishmans language. but the latter
TO the crowd ABOUT ard explained in
very good French that three English in
suffers of liberty We're "heaping obloquy'
upon the Boer president. For Il couple of
minutes it looked as if a tripartte Iynching
were imminent, but a party of Transvaal
employees restored peace by ejecting the
discordant visitor, who hurried away to q
less dangerous part of the grounds.
One Of these employes-the uniformed at
tendant who acts as sort of bodyguard to
| the Kruger statues appropriate adj
Junct to the South African exhibition, for
| he is Boer soldier who fought and was
wounded al Spion Kop. On account of ..is
| especial bravery that day, and to recuper-
ate from his wounds, he was given a fur
| Tough and sent off to Paris
| A Relic of Mnjuba Hill.
Near the fower-embowered pedestal sur
mounted by Dom Pauls statue is an inter-
| esting relic of an earlier war in the Trans
| vaal. 1t is quaint old cannon made out
| of the iron tires of ox-wagons, and fig
ured with mighty effect at Majuba Hill in
| 1889. Another odd exhibit is a reproduc-
| ton Of one of the famous ox-wagons in
which BOer families trek from place to
| place in their vast country Grouped near
| by. in the forms of pyramids. are the giant
I bones or skins of giraffes, appropriateness,
i lions and crocodiles killed by the earliest
| settlers among the Dutch emigrants.
The railing of the gallery overhead is
| hung with furs. such the Beers use In
| their homes; with kaffir and Zulu asse-
| gals and war implements and with the
| skins of mammoth pythons. On the upper
| floor is an Interesting collection of land
scape illustrating the grand scenery of that
| rugged country, and a series of compare
| tive photographs, showing Pretoria, Jo-
| hannesburg and the other Transvaal cities
| as they appear today. when contraSted
| with their condition only ten years ago.
| Here are also found many Kaffir relics
! demonstrating the development of that
race from savagery under the influence of
the Boer neighborship. Among these OBJ
, jects is one styled "a kaftir piano. which
! proves the truth of what has often been
said Of that black race. that they possess
| an incomprehensible appreciation Of the
| harmony Of sweet sounds" 1t is a crude
! arrangement of carved blocks OF wood
strung on cords. behind which, serving the
purpose of i sounding board, a series
| of calabashes and earthen jugs The mu-
| stefan strikes each block with a mufied
hammer. and the white man is astounded
| to learn that the notes are arranged with
absolute precision, just like civilized
| musical gamut.
| No Luxury in This.
| The Boer farm house Is an exact repro
! ducton Of such domiciles are to be found
scattered all South Africa 1t is
| long. square. one-story structure, of brown
| native stone, hewed In rough blocks and
| surmounted by a peaked roof of thatch.
| The floors on the level of the land out
side, but are laid in a species of peak
| which keeps them dry. The house is crude
| comfortless. and with no attempt at in
| terror decoration The rooms are large and
| lighted and ventilated by high windows. too
| FAR removed from the ground 1t would
| seem. for wild animal to enter yet beside
| each bed stands muSket in case of sudden
need A couple of coarse sheets and fur
| ~ hide constitute the only bedclothes. The
| houses for the cattle. in appearance much
| the same as the Beers home, stand nearby
| On the wall Of the Boer farm house is
| Frenchman picture and. like Kruger's
| statue. it, too. is always decorated with
flowers 1t represents Colonel Vilevois-
| Maremu. who was killed some months ago
| while lighting the side of the Beers
! Every day some admirer adds a new
/ wreath. but the most conspicuous of all
| these days Is one from which floats a red