Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-04

yellow Hottentot girl; but the Zulu takes
in the towns, the place filed in Northern
countries by the serving maid. He Is the
housemaid, nursemaid, errand boy, a good
cook and fair coachman. To take care
of the baby is, however, the chief pleas
ure of his existence. When he reaches
this acme of confidence his life is one
series of capacious smiles. 1t Is an anus
Ing sight to see small children in Joubert
Park, carefully tricked out in white sun
bonnets and Anery, attended by some stall
wart Zulu of six feet and more. who, a.
most uncouth in the clothes, or, rather,
half-clothes of civilization, stalks proudly
along, almost overcome by sense of his
Importance, wheeling the go-cart or hold
ing the tiny hand in his enormous, ebony
fist
The Zulus, the great warrior race of
South Africa, are the most honest and
moral, precisely because they have been
the least Influenced by Caucasian civiliza-
ton, which has provd by no means an I'M
mixed blessing to the negro. 1t Is an un-
fortunate fact, paralleled in other regions
of the world, that while the raw native Is,
In every case, honest and moral, sober,
faithful and trustworthy, no sooner does
he come under the influence of civilization
than he becomes drunken, shiftless and
thieving, and assumes all those we'll
known characteristics Of the coast ne
groes of the Southern States. The mis-
sionaries are, perhaps enormously, blamed
for this state of affairs. 1t is a sad COM
mentary on the action of the good people
of Christian lands, who contribute their
doles for the spreading Of Christianity
among the natives, to say that in no por-
ton of South Africa where the raw" ma
tive can be obtained will an employer &C
cept the services of a Christian negro in
any fduciary capacity. The mission sta
lions, too are VIGOROUSLY centers of con-
produce, anxious to dispose Of them and
to return auctioneers holding forth with
the ingenious patter Of their tribe the
world over, trying to dispose of second
hand furniture or worn-out horses"
which they vainly guarantee to be salt
ed"-that Is, immune against horse sick
ness There are Syrian women, with
shawls across their faces, Offering laces
to the inspection Of the voluble vrouws
who have accompanied their husbands
upon their journey, to take charge OF
the receipts, in fear that Hans, or Jan,
or Paulus may happen to fall in with
jolly companions; and, passing deftly
among these, are the native attendants,
leading horses to water, or herding oxen
One OF the most picturesque sights in
johannesburg is the Zulu 'rickshaw boy"
one Of whom is shown In the accompany
ing illustration. These "boys"-grown
men, In fact-have tramped hundreds of
miles northward from their kraals on the
southeast coast of the continent to seek
work In the CITY of Gold Yet, 80 firmly
bound are they to their tribal chiefs that
q call to arms, as In the recent Zulu re-
bellion, will send them hurrying In hot
haste homeward to enroll in their regi-
ments 1t is difficult to Identify in their
smiling faces the descendants Of the fierce
warriors who made the Zulu name
nightmare throughout South Africa for
nearly century. They hire their rick
shaws from the owners, paying at the rate
of about three shillings or 10 cents, a
day, and receiving all their earnings. The
'rickshaw is In general request In johann
nesburg, being cheap, comfortable and just
adaptable to two persons sitting rather
closely together. Hence it plays leading
part III DfllHluB dDOul anu 10
reuuisitioned in dozens on moonlit nights
In winter, when the band Is scheduled to
play at the Wanderers Club grounds and
the sitting heat and dust storms are null
lifted by a brisk canter through the empty
streets. The Zulu 'rickshaw boy would
consider himself dishonored In the eyes
Of his brethren II he did not attire him |
self in garments Of an esthetic value. The
specimen shown In the illustration appears |
to have combined the horns of the Evil |
One with the wings Of the seraphim. 1t
Is probable, however, that this combina-
ton possesses some weird, secret symbol |
ism Of its own known only to the wearer. |
AS he flies swiftly along the road toward |
his destination, uttering an occasional
whoop OF salutation to a passing comrade, |
or shout of warning to pedestrians, his
chocolate skin glistens with perspiration
and the copperbanglets round his knees
and ankles glitter In the moonlight. He
does not stop-usually-unt he has de-
posted his fare, tilted down the vehicle
and assisted the lady to alight; then, mop
ping his brow, he holds out his right hand |
for his legal fare. and his left-instinctfVe |
hackman that he is-for his extra DO |
seIla."
The Zulu Is one Of the mainstays Of the |
housewife in South Africa. The maid Of J