The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1907-09-11
by Neldt and kopjjc."

Nearly | 0. years ago MesSrs. Henry
Holt & Co. of this city issued an
American edition of two small vol
umes of South African tales, "Kaffir
Stories and The White Hecatomb,"
which were received with delight by
the American reviewers. They were
sombre, tragic tales, all of them, UNI
mistakably transcripts from real ma
tive life powerful, and with the
promise in them, recognized by more
than one critic, of the coming of
South African Kipling" But the
American public, in one of its unac-
countable moments of blindness, pas
sed them by with Indifference. The
author, Mr.. William Charles Scully,
scored an American ''succes
d'estime," and his American publish
ers pocketed their loss. Both books
are still obtainable, it is yet possible
to make the acquaintance of a writer
handling powerful material with ade-
quate strength. One of his stories,
THE Quest of the Copper once
read, will never be forgotten.
These remarks are called forth by
the publication, in England, of
third volume of stories by Mr.. Scully,
~
by Veldt and Kopje." as it is called,
is being received by the English lite.
rary press with all the admiration
that was bestowed upon his earlier
books There is a division of opin-
ion as to the quality of his literary
gifts, but none as to the striking eff
fects he produces. His knowledge of
the native appears to be beyond a
ip nj :, lat he
thor chiefly deals here as heretofore,
and from whom he again draws his
best material.
The opening story, "The Lepers,"
holds it's place of honor by right of
excellence. A Kaffir village is in
dulging in one of it's periodical beer
drinks when the government order
arrives that the lepers in the COM
pany are TO be removed to distant
place, there to live in strictly guard
ed segregation. A young KafIir of
heroic mould, in whom the first
signs of the disease have just begun
to manifest themselves, makes him
self the spokesman of his fellow-un-
fortunates, and demands of the mag
istrate that they be shot by the po-
lice in preference to the living death
allotted to them. His speech, we
are given to understand, is typical of
the dignity of native oratory:
I'VE, men and women who are
dead, though living, come to our ia
Their, the government, to ask for
little thing. God, whom the white
man has taught us to know, smote us
with this sickness which has filled
our bones with water for marrow,
and caused our quick flesh to rot
slowly, like dead wood We acknowl-
edge that it is only right we should
be separated from other men, so that
we may not give the disease to those
who are clean, but We cannot dwell
apart from our kindred, our cattle
and the fields wherein our fathers
saw the corn growing when they
were little children-therefore We
wish to die now. this day. Then will
the sickness die with us, and our
father, the government, will not be
put to any further trouble on our ac-
count. What we ask of the white
chief, our magistrate, is this: that he
now, before the sun has begun to
fall, send hither his policemen with
rifles, and bid them shoot us skilfully
so that we may suffer little PAIN
Then turning to his companions
who had heard him in silence, he adj
ded-'My brothers and sisters-chil-
dren of my father-tell our chief if
| have spoken the right word An
eager murmur of assent followed.
Yes, our chief, he has spoken the
one word which is in all our hearts:
XIII us here, but send us not to
dwell apart from our homes and orr
kindred
1T was some little time before the
magistrate was able to command his
feelings sufficiently to admit his
speaking. When they saw that he
was about to reply his miserable
hearers lent forward with every APP
pearance of the keenest interest. In
his heart he knew that what the poor