The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-07-23
GERMANY'S WAR ].
WITH NATIVES
1T is DUE TO THE GREED OF THE
TRADERS.
Story of the Condition that Confronts
the Germans in the "Protectorate"
Declared by Prince Bismarck in
1SSS-What the Natives Are Like
In That Country.
BROOKLYN Eagle


Out of German Southwest Africa
have come for the past year stories
of blOodshed, torture and cruelty.
There has been meager news of little
German garrisons cut off by natives;
of dead soldiers being horribly mutt
lated; of prisoners being buried alive
and Of families disappearing over
night only to be traced later to the
camps of some savage Hottentots or
Bushmen. Speeches have been made
in the reichstag and credits for mil
lions of dollars have been voted to
carry on the little war that is being
waged against the natives. But the
war has continued for nearly twenty
years and the only result of sending
machine guns and troops to the front
has been to arouse the blacks who
possess the up-country districts be-
hind Walfish bay to greater exertions
and bloodier deeds.
+ For now comes the news of the
rising of the HereroS. tribe that
can put in the field at least 10000
fighting men, most of them we'll armed
with breech-loading guns, and all of
them of the best fighting stock that
Africa has ever produced, Is not to
be despised. Enemies Of the German
monarchy, such as Herr Bebel, have
freely said in the reichstag that right
and justice lie with the native own
ers of the soil and not with the Ger
man invaders. The stake for which
the emperor is fighting is hardly worth
! the shedding of blood, for the most
part of the land, especially that on
the seacoast, is barren and unproduc-
tive. It is only toward the north that
the country assumes a genuinely pros
porous condition, for it is in the north
that the Hereros live with their herds
| of cattle and their farms. 2, r
Even Gross Windhoek, the capital
| Of the colony, has been threatened by
| the rising Of the Hereros, and more
| than one sharp engagement has been
fought with the swarm Of blacks that
have poured down from the interior
Southwest German Africa are identi-
cal with those that confronted the
British in Matebeleland or the settlers
in America after the Indians had been
reused to hatred of the paleface.
Before 1883 the colony was a sort
population of 100000 natives, q
sprinkling Of English, German and
Dutch traders, hunters and stock
! raisers. The traders did thriving
business with the natives, as will be
seen later on, and the hunters paic
we'll for guides to take them to the
interior after big game. There wa!
a bit of supervision from Cape Town
but not much. as it is a far call from
| Walfish Bay to Table Mountain b,
sea, and a much longer and more
| dangerous route by land.
In 1888 Luderitz, a German, pur.
chased a concession in the south from
a Hottentot chieftain, and Prince Bis
marck declared a protectorate ovel
the whole territory between Cape Col
ony and Angola. The German f1as
was hoisted in 1884. From that day
to this the land has been an almos
constant care, expense and burden tt
to be sure, have been incessant, anc
the curious spectacle of one of thu
most highly cultivated military pow
ers of the world, unable to cope will
! the lowest tribes of uncultivated say
ages has been constantly before tn,
world.
The 100000 square miles of land o
. the colony is taken UP by humble
of tribes that differ in character, cul
tivation and intelligence very widely
Besides the halfcaste tribes called tn
Bustards, there are the Hereros
Ovampos, Damaras, Hottentots am
, Bushmen. 1t is constantly descend
ing scale as one passes from tn
; northern limits of the colony to tn
southern. The Hereros, Ovampos an.
Damaras of the north are almos
identical with the Zulus, Basutos an
Cape Kaffirs, and are intelligent high
ly cultivated up to a certain point, an
Germans have planned expedition
against these three tribes, but eac
year the expeditions have been post
Y poned on account Of the difficultie
that the authorities were experiencin
with the Hottentots and the Bushmer
and each year has added to the fam
/, of hatred that the high caste native
t have felt for the German invaders.
Toward the southern end of tn
colony are the Hottentots <and tn
Bushmen. Theirs are most rudimer
( tary weapons. Bows and arrows, tn
latter poisoned, are the familia
2 weapons; the spear and assegai ar
/ rarely used, as these two weapons re
E quire considerable courage an
! strength. But tho the Bushmen an
4 Hottentots use bows and arrows, the
have been the thorn In the side {
0 Germany, and it is these two tribe
0 THAT have kept alive the almost cor
5 slant warfare in that section of A.
RIGA. Lazy, treacherous, thievish an
0 untruthful. they are most unsatisfat
0 tory neighbors. Their language is
: series of clicks and gurgles. Their il
r telligence is so low that they came
j. count more than five. Above that the
lcall any number "a great many" The