Omaha daily bee., 1900-02-04
SOUTH AFRlCA'S BLACK PERIL
Possible Uprising of the Natives Considered
by William Astor 0hanler.
CHARACTER OF THE TRIBES EXPLAINED
PcIief Expressed that There VIII
ENentunIIy Re n Great south
African Republic whether the
Beers Win or Not.

African Republtc "hc'hcr inc
Beers Win or Not
Ever since the Spanish American wal
William Astor Chanler, now a representatiY
in congress, whose article on the danger o
an uprising Of blacks in South Africa Il
presented herewith, has been known chiefly
by reason Of his military services in Cuba
Before tn, war, however, his most i'm
portant achievements we're in the nature OF
South African exploration.
MIR. Chanler is not more than SO now; al
%, a year after graduating from Harvard
he conceived the notion Of adding his name
10 the list OF ira velers in the Dark Continent
IIayinr plenty of money, inherited through
his mother, who was an Aston, he had nc
dinculty in organizing an adequate expedi-
ton. and. this accomplished, he set out on
a journey which extended through Masaland
and penetrated the region surrounding Mt
Killma Marc. Mr.. Chanler did more hunt
ing than exploring, properly termed, while
in the vicinity of Killma Marc, however,
bu. soon afterward organized an expedition
In c"nnection with Lieutenant Won Hohnel
Of , Austrian army tan experienced AZ
ri.an travelcr) and this party plunged boldly
into the African wilderness with the pur-
pose OF exploring the river Nianan, which
flows into lake Victoria Nyanza, and of
solving the problems presented by Lake
Stephanie and the Juba river.
The party started out late in 1892; for
months nothing was heard from it, and it
was feared that misfortune had overtaken
its members. Sometime in the following
year, however, word was received that while
many of it's native members and a large
portion of its pack animals had died, the
white members wera alive not far from Mt.
Zenia, a few miles north of the equator.
Mr.. Chanler was in good health. the ad-
vices ran, but Lieutenant Won Hohnel was
suffering from hurts inflicted by a charging
rhinoceros. The lieutenant soon afterward
returned to civilization, but Mr.. Chanler
remained until late in 1894 or 1898, visiting
Capetown and other parts OF South Africa
before sailing for home He is therefore
abundantly qualified to write about the
blacks of the Transvaai and the British
South African colonies.
In order to thoroughly bring before the
mind of the American the nature Of the
blacks inhabiting South Africa it should be
stated that they are utterly different from
the negroes in this country. These come
from West Africa, where life is made easy by
nature and where in consequence the in
IA bitants arc less prone to effort and less
accustomed to either mental or physical
cxertion. The native of East Africa, from
Egypt to the Cape. living under conditions
which produce in him those qualities of ac-
tivity and mental stamina which are sup
posed to characterize the northern races of
Europe, might well be styled the Anglo
Saxon OF Africa.
First, on account of its nearness to Asia,
and, secondly, on account of it's mineral
wealth, exploited from the time of Solomon,
East Africa has been the prey of those
powerful and warlike nations inhabiting
Arabia, Asia Minor and India. From con-
tact with these peoples and from constant
struggles with them the warlike disposition
OF the East African has been developed to a
formidable degree. Also undoubtedly those
forms of tribal government which exist have
become moulded to a great extent by the
same influence.
Down to almost the immediate present
there has been a constant movement of the
Nilotic tribes southwark. The zulus undoubt-
eddy came from somewhere near the head
waters of the Nile. The Matabeles followed
them and the Masais, who afterward fol-
lowed them. all came from the same source.
The characteristics of these tribes are
somewhat similar to what those of the Huns,
Visigoths and Vandals must have been-viz.:
eager to join in war, organized to an extent
which is surprising and capable at the bid
ding OF some leader of breaking up their
local ties and moving in one mass in some
given direction. The only limit to their
movement has been the southern limit OF the
African continent. Having wandered as far
south as they could go they were forced to
settle, losing their nomadic instinct, but de-
v~eloping their love of home and retaining to
reinforce this new factor their warlike ma
ture.
Three Formidable Tribes.
The three most formidable tribes in South
Africa today are the Basutos, the Swazis and
the Matabeles. OF these the Basutos are un-
doubtedly the most powerful, possessing, as
they do, an organization of sufficient strength
to enable them to resist advances under
taken both by the British and the Dutch.
They inhabit IA mountainous region almost
inaccessible to a modern army. They are
said to be capable of placing in the field 40
600 mounted warriors. To do this they
must have at least 60, 900 or 1000 horses.
They are armed principally with spears,
but a large number have rifles. The head
chief of the tribe is named Letheroda,
There are several other chiefs, but his power
is practically primal. Although supposed to
be a part of the British, these people are
practically independent.
mentioned a little while back that the
Basutos possessed a large number of horses.
Horsefiesh is at the present moment, per
haps, the most valuable property in South
Africa, for II is there that the rinderpest and
the tsetse fly destroy equine life. The horses
born and bred mere are altogether less
likely to be bothered by the rinderpest or
the fly than those which have been imported
from a different climate and have been ac-
customed to living under entirely different
conditions. The Dutch have, so far as we
can see, plenty of horses, The English show
a startling lack of them. We read the other
day in the papers that of the thousands of
mules sent to South Africa from this country