Evening star., 1901-10-10

grow wild about them; they had women to
do all that was necessary, why should
they work? The engineers found that even
in districts where famine prevailed they
could get practically no help from the
natives
They are odd folk these natives of Ugan-
da, no less in their ideas than in costume
This generally consists of breech-clout
and a short cloak dangling down their
backs, while from the Sits of their ears
depend all sorts of queer and ponderous
things, including empty cans and jam pots
OF all the tribes with whom the builders
of the railway have come in contact Lone
are queerer than the Nasal. They disdain
fruit as food, and live entirely on meat,
while their only drinks are milk and blood
Their king is a crafty old character who
keeps the upper hand of them partly
through shrewdness and partly by work
Ing on their superstitions. Every once in
while he publicly takes copiouS dose of
certain drug which the natives call royal
medicine, and believe would kill any one
else. The only effect which it has on the
king, however, is to throw him into
trance, in which he makes startling COM
munications regarding both future events
and what is happening in distant parts of
the country. This he is able to do ny
maintaining. unknown to his people, a cur
prisingly perfect secret service of runners,
who scour his domain from end to end.
Thus when the king announces In his
trance that any enemy is approa ching from
the west and the warriors go forth to meet
him. the fact that the foe is discovered
just where the king foretold he wonld be
naturally impreSses them not little.
Odd Ideas of Justice.
In dealing with the natives the Indian
code is generally used, and the native in
depreciation of some of its phrases are oc-
casionally startling Four men had killed
another and when made prisoners readily
admitted guilt Through a technicality,
q nnniShel From
this unexpected acquittal they made their
own deduction. THE white mans law re-
uuires one life for one life. We four killed
one Therefore we cannot be punished"
Whereupon still another observed: There
must always be one life taken for one life
If one man kills four other men, he cannot
be punished
Apparently you never can tell how ma
tive is going to take you. In Uganda a
white bishop died and through courtesy the
nearest native king was invited to his fu-
neral He talked over the invitation with
his head men and all agreed that it could
mean only one thing-tne king was to be
buried with the churchman in order that
when the bishop reached the heavenly
realms he could produce the king as con-
vert. The king, in spite of his terror, felt
that this was perfectly natural thlng Tor
the bishops countrymen to demand and
so he appeared at the funeral with his
teeth chattering. When it was all over, 1t
is a question whether his relief at being
still above STOuHU was DIS SIcdl do Ills sui
prise thereat and he returned to his equal
ly astonished subjects shaking his head
and declaring that there was no under
standing the white mans ways.
1t was because the natives refused to
help in building the Uganda road that the
British government brought practically all
the working force from India. These men,
who number about 10000. are capable of
standing the suns rays and work cheer
fully and hard sixteen hours day for lit
tie more than a handful of rice. 1t would
be difficult to describe the aspect of the
work more graphically than Sir Harry
Johnston, commissioner for Uganda Il
wonder" he says in one of his reports. "if
the Importance of one aspect of this rail-
way construction has been realized! It
means the driving Of a wedge of India two
miles broad right across East Africa, from
Mombaza to the Victoria Nyanza Fifteen
thousand coolies some hundreds of Indian
clerks draughtsmen, mechanics, surveyors
and policemen are implanting the use of
the Hindustani language are carrying the
Indian penal code, Indian postal system
Indian coinage. Indian clothing right across
these wastes, deserts, forests and swamps
tenanted hitherto by wild, naked savages
and wild beasts"
In Natures Zoo.
There is no lack of wild beasts in Uganda
even now and a ride over the part of the
line now in operation is like travelling
through a2 immense zoo. Antelopes,