Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-07-12
MARRIAGE AMONG ZULUs.
Men Who Can Buy Half a Dozen
Wives Certain to Have Them.


Every grown-up native of Zulu
land, who has the twelve oxen neces-
sary to buy them, has six wives" said
Victor E. Nelson Of San Francisco, to
a Washington Post reporter. Mr.. Mel
son fought with the Beers against the
British twenty years ago, and after
ward spent three years in trading with
the Zulus. This experience followed
his service as member Of the body
guard Of King Oscar of Sweden. Com
ing to America later, Mr.. Nelson be-
came a prosperous merchant, and a
few years ago was made United States
consul at Bergen, Norway.
YES" he continued, Everybody is
much married in Zululand, which oc-
cupies an area about the size of Cali
fornia, and sustains about 100000
population. When the women are
about twelve years Of age they are
purchased as wives at two oxen
apiece. There is no ceremony and no
minister; the man who Is charmed by
the beauty of the maiden pays the
price and gets the wife. OF course,
not every man has more than one
wife; only the more prosperous men
and the chiefs are able to maintain
six Race suicide Is unknown and
each wife has several children.
I'm that country there are no laws
and no judges. Primitive methods
and customs prevail, and the highest
authority is the local chief. The peo-
pie live near to nature. The dress Of
the men is confined to girdle about
the waist, and that Of the women Is
not noticeable. Physically they are fine
specimens Of manhood and woman
hood, having much the same charac-
istics as the native Hawaiians.
"They worship the sun and snakes,
and it Is a peculiar fact that the
snakes seem to reciprocate this Kindly
feeling on the part of the black peo-
pie, for they have never been known
to bite them. When 1 killed a boa
constructor once 1t cost me several
bags of tobacco to square myself with
local chief. Whenever a native
kills a lion or a leopard he has to cut
off the head and tail and present them
to the chief Of the tribe. This enables
every tribal potentate to have several
lion heads as head dresses. The food
is mostly confined to game and maize.
Funerals are long-drawn-out journeys,
numerously accompanied, over the
land to a far away place. I once met
one in the moonlight. The train of
mourners were singing, in deep mu-
sical tones, and the body was being
borne in a blanket between two
sticks.
1.-The Zulus like to kill white men
by way of revenge for the way they
were treated when they first met the
English. I did not have very much
trouble, because they threw bottles in
the air and found I usually hit them,
and because I wore a bracelet given
me by a local chief. But I once saved
the life Of young Englishman whom
I found defending himself against
nine Zulus armed with assegais. Rush
ing in on my horse, felled the chief,
though not before gaining scar In
the forehead which 1 carry to this
day, and helped to kill and drive of
the others. The Englishman was COW
cred with blood, but We rode all that
night until we reached the clearing
where his parents resided. Those
three years were stirring ones and
were full of adventure. I do not re-
gret any one of them I had in that
time Of my youth"