Charlevoix county herald., 1908-10-03


scene of a very remarkable battle. On
account of the sulphurous smells from
numerous hot springs and the weird
electrical discharges, visible at night
between its ironstone cliffs and pin
nacles, the kloof itself was originally
known as Satan's Firebox. But later
when, in the war with the Macatees,
upwards Of 100 women and children,
holly pursued by regiment Of Kafirs,
fled screaming through the kloof, the
name was significantly changed to
Petticoat pass.
But, although the pass was usually
interesting, its inhabitants were vastly
more So Between the southern gate
way at Steelpoort and its northern out
let, near Leydenburg, a wonderfully
intelligent race of balloons has lived
for centuries high up among the iron
clad precipices. In course of time the
white hunter came along with his
deadly rifle and occasionally picked
one of them off the rocks, just for the
fun Of the thing and when the Kafirs
took a notion TO poison them for the
sake of their teeth, then the balloons
in Petticoat pass were driven to de-
fend themselves. In word, they be-
gan to throw stones. So long as the
wagons and the horsemen kept NOV
ing all was well, but when they loi-
tered or stopped the whirring OF peb-
bles through the air, and occasionally
the appearance of enormous powders
cut loose from the crags above and
shot down through the air like can
non balls, never failed to remind the
,oiterers that they were trespassers.
In their intercourse with the out
side world the balloons made no dis
tinction between black and white until
one day an event took place that prac-
tically closed the pass to the black
races forever.
At the Steelpoort end Of the pass
the Kafirs began to encroach. They
built huts and planted gardens on the
fertile slopes near the portal. With
angry demonstrations the balloons pro-
tested, but the Kafirs were Indifferent
to the clamor. But when the sugar
cane ripened the balloons in the night
time swooped down from the crags
and helped themselves to what they
considered their rishtful share Of the
harvest. whereupon the Kafirs. who
thoroughly Understood the peculiari-
ties of baboon nature, played upon
them villainous trick.
One day. in plain sight of their
enemies, who were watching them
from the heights above, the Kafrs
brought a number OF large calabashes
filled with a poisonous liquid and
placed them in row in one of the
gardens. Then they went through the
form Of pretending to wash their
faces with the stuff, after which they
left the calabashes in the gardens and
departed. Watching their opportunity,
the balloons came down to investigate
the business and, being unable to re
strain their hereditary impulse TO i'm
itate the proceedings Of others, they
forthwith washed their faces in the
poison and scampered away again. In
u SIOIl llllt Tue NCIlOlll DCSdu w WI N,
the flesh fell from their faces, and
finally a number of them died in great
agony.
For many days afterwards travellers
through the kloof reported an ex-
traordinary state OF affairs. There
was much excitement and jabbering
and much pitiful crying and calling to
each other from cliff to cliff But
when the period of mourning was over
the balloons settled down to business
the business of war. The prepare
tions they made for hostilities with the
Kaf1rs were astonishing. Balloons
were summoned from far and near,
and the population in the kloof was
soon doubled. They divided them
selves into companies under leaders.
They worked like beavers, and before
long huge cairns of stones appeared at
intervals along the route, and at
places where the crags rose almost
perpendicularly from the roadway
great powders were rolled to the edge
OF the precipices, and even lodges
were undermined and made ready 10
slide down and overwhelm the in
vaders.
From the day when these arrange
ments were completed the balloons
paid no attention whatever to white
men. and after two or three unfor-
tunate Kafirs had been stoned to death
and torn to pieces the black race gave
Petticoat pass an extremely wide
berth. Consequently, the spider-like
watchers up in their Businesses had a
long time to wait, but the whirligig OF
time brings about it's opportunities for
revenge, even to balloons.
Just outside the Steelpoort end OF
the pass Max Pincus, German trader
conducted a small store for the &C.
commodation of travellers. On the
day the balloons were poisoned, Max
was riding through the kloof, and
came across a little boy baboon
whose face was terribly burned by the
action of the acid. The little fellow