The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-04-13
KAFFIRS
As
Servants.
Picture Of Domestic Conditions II
South Africa.

@l-AAL sLAAALas
New York Tribune)
A vivid picture Of domestic conditions
10 South Africa was given yesterday to
Tribune representative by Mrs. A. A.
Blow. She WIS the originator Of the
-dea Of the hospital ship Maine. the gift
of Americans in England to the Brit
ish troops in South africa. Her nus
band was manager of a mine in South
Africa, and Mrs. Sow lived there for
several years In recalling the domes-
tic problem as it exists in that region,
she said;
Most Of the work is done by KAT
FRS, who, Ike the southern negroes in
slavery times, are called boys. no
matter what their age may be. When
The KafIir boys come from the kraals
no one ever uses their native names
As soon az they are brought in contact
with the whites they take a white
nsIae. This produces results which are
not lacking in elements of humor
Among the house toys Knife Fork
and Spoon We're common names. Ia
BILE Chair Carriage Watch and
Matchbox were other names that I
had IN the house at various times. Ny
butler rejOiCed in the stately appella-
ion of New one 1t was when the
slang phrase That's a new one on me
was prevailing.
One " my house boys took the util-
itariar. name o. Ham an Eggs. The
kafflrs are very fond of rice, when
they learn 20 c at il among the whites,
and our stable boy thought he had
found the incest name in the world in
Rice. But the kafirs have the same
difficulty as the Chinese in pronounc-
ing the letter s. and so poor Rice al
Nfr.rT n g
the mine they would take Pick and
Shovel and all such expressions in
common use One day the wife IF one
OF the carpenters sent down to the
compound for = boy 20 do her kitchen
work. The boy heard one expression
in frequent use at the mine. IT had
struck him as euphonious and pleas
ing. and SC, when she asked him his
name, he calmly replied Dam Fool
why I cane call sou that said
she. Mortified. I viii call you Joseph
The hoy few into a rage. He said
Dam Fool was a mOoChlie gum "a
nice narie,' and shat If he could not
have tina name ne would not work
for her. He was so stubborn about It
that she either had 10 use the name or
send him hacis to the compound.
Eventually she kept him, and she told
-AtN -sftlH 10 " 60 q fFANNA - AANA -NN-E-Leae
sometimes TO have a kitchen boy ar
swering to just that name.
We had ten kafhrs in the house,
but never could quite bring myself to
eat kaffir cooking, 1t was apt TO be
weird. We had an English housekeep-
er who did the cooking. But one time
7 took her down to johannesburg for a
weeks vacation, and Candle who was
her chief assistant, took charge of the
cuisine in her absence. All the boys
were fond of Mr.. Blow, and Candle was
very anxious TO serve him properly.
One night he brought in a baked Gus
tard for dessert. He had seen the cook
prepare il, and had followed the exam
pie with anxious care. When Mr.. Blow
tasted it he thought for a moment he
was in the clutches of a nightmare.
Just 70 see what the boy could have
done to it, he followed the subject up,
and It ,ranspired that Candle had fla
vOred the custard with Worcestershire
sauce instead Of vanilla. They were of
the same color, and the simple child
of the kTaal could go no further in MS
philosophy. Poor Candle was quite
crestfallen.
The prices of ordinary necessities
were frightful," went on the speaker.
I'VE had to pay from S1.s5 TO S1.75
dozen fer eggs. / Kept a hundred hens
myself, which helped to solve thar
problem, and many others diG the
same. More than half the eggs in the
country are brought from the Madeira
islands. The boats used TO come from
there just laden with them. Milk is al
ways sold by the bottle. One never
speaks in that country of buying a
quart Of milk II is always, Go get
bottle Of milk and it Is usually deliy-
cred in IA old ciaret bottle. IL cost
from IS TO @ cents q quart, and il
wasn't cry good when you got it.
Most of our butter came from HOl-
land in tins. and cost 80 cents for -
pound tin, In johannesburg no one
every thought of drinking any but bot
tied water. We bought soda water
hundred bottles at a t;--fe. But UP at
the mine we did drink little natural
water after IL had been boiled, filtered
annfaI