Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1906-10-25

hooting of an occasional owl. the al
most human notes of a jackai or the
penetrating and monotonOus refrain OF
Kafir intent upon letting the world
know of his existence, besides the
creaking OF the wagon and screeching
of the driver. I CHANGED at dusk on
one occasion to ask for hospitality at a
Boer farmhouse in Rhodesia. The
family of 10. as I afterward learned.
had just returned from a trek to a
farm house by, bringing with them sew
eral guests The head of the family.
man of some so years, with flow
ing beard, appeared at the door.
Noticing that was wet to the skin,
he said in deep, husky voice, with
broken accent, you are welcome,
stranger"
/ was given change of clothing
and subsequently sat down to supper
at long table constructed from pack
ing cases and spread with tablecloth,
once white, but which showed the inn
print OF time. The meal concluded, a
napkin was produced, and starting
with our elderly host was passed
down the entire line. A black boy
took charge of the soiled dishes, the
table was removed to one side and the
mud floor Of the rooms cleared Tor
dancing. Two concertinas, or &C.
cordions, furnished the music and
mad Waiting ensued. Afterward a
game of bagatelle was enjoyed by the
young people
The house was built of poles and
thatch and covered with mud. 1t
could boast of but two rooms There
was but a single sleeping room, so sar-
dine fashion we were packed in a row
on the floor, IL deep, with our host in
the center. Three of the guests oc-
cupied the only bed in the house. The
condition seemed desperate on our
floor bunk when the head of the house
gave signal, 'Pindula,' a Kaffir word.
meaning turn around, whereupon the
whole line Topped over for change
of position. woke up to listen to the
last croak before dawn of bullfrog.
The room was soon astir, and after in
dulging in cup of thick coffee
tramped over the farm in company
with our host.
An interesting sight was dozen
newly Matched ostrich chicks which
had a couple of days before been cap
tured on the veldt in their wild state.
These birds, it has been claimed, de.
velop with even greater rapidity and
produce feathers of superior quality
to the domesticated ostrich. Even
more wonderful did it seem to see the
largest of the South African wild
duck-the eland-inspanned to a cart.
They had been taken into captivity
when young and in the course of a
few weeks had become tractable. A
small tame zebra came running up to
us with not the least sign OF fear and
puckered up his face.
A cattle disease, the African coast
aOfSi, FCAy cAAiildT " lcAdS FEVER,
had swept through the country in 1901
and the number of cows was con-
spicuously small. A patch of Boer to.
bacco looked promising and grove of
young orange and lemon trees was
one of the special features of the
farm. We plodded through a large
field of corn, or "mealies," as the
South African would say, and one of
potatoes, where the weeds were in
places up to our knees and there was
a general air of neglect. BY this
time we were thoroughly wet with the
heavy dew. The big barn was lack
ing here and what little machinery
there was to be seen was left where
1t had last been used.
There is generally ready market
for almost all classes of produce, but
especially In the northern provinces
of South Africa are exorbitant rail-
way tariffs prohibitive as large ex-
port trade with the other colonies.
Considering the excellent agricultural
possibilities, there is surprisingly
large amount of foodstuffs imported
into the country.--Kansas City Star.