The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1908-08-05

ca, but he has seen white men of
: the Transvaal and of the Portuguese
colony of Lorenzo Marques, and he
has heard the story of how his father
came among his mothers people to
trade and married the daughter of
the king favOrite wife. His inter
est in the white people with whom
he has come in contact has led him
to learn their language and he has
picked up fair knowledge of Eng
lish, Dutch and Portuguese from
traders and missionaries who have
visited his secluded little empire. In
physical appearance he can not be
distinguished from thousands of 9TH
er kaffirs of his tribe, but his whole
personality is a curious example of
the survival of the fittest, racially-
the white blood seeking to dominate
the black and succeeding.
A Tribe of Kaffirs.
King YbOrshi belongs to that tribe
of Kaffirs known to the Beers as
boschj esmen, neighbors of the BUYS
hatt1rs, but much more cunning.
cruel and difficult of approach bv
white men than any other tribes of
| d.
distinguished from the other Kafir
tribes by their small stature and
more regular features, and are sup
posed to be sort of anthropologica
link between the Kaffirs OF South
Africa and the Pygmies of Central
, Africa. They are cannibals by GUS
tom, indeed, boschjesman is the
Boer synonym for cannibal, but like
other African Cannibal tribes they
are gradually giving up the practice
OF eating human flesh The articles
or apparel that are given them by
white people are always put on in
the most impossible way and worn
in the most absurd places. Accord
ing to bOsChjesman fashions the
place for pair of cuffs is on the
ankles, and no Kaffir of this tribe
can be persuaded that they should
| be worn anywhere else. Only the
king is permitted to wear a silk hat
This ultracivilized headgear is the
! badge of royalty and when adorned
with circlet of human skulls be-
comes the royal diadem of Aysbo-
mia. No other man in the kingdom
| can wear hat of any sort, but the
men may, if they choose, cut the
crown out of any hat, except a silk
hat, and decorate their head with
the brim. AS a rule the women
dress less than the men. That is,
they wear fewer clothes.
Queer Family Affection.
The people of the kingdom of Ays-
bonia are very loyal to their fami-
lies and have a queer sort of family
affection. The desire of every man
IS to have daughters, for daughters
represent money to him, and the
richer he is the more wives he can
have, and therefore the more he is
honored and respected by his neigh
bOrs. The wife who gives her hus-
band the most daughters is therefore
the favOrite wife, and all the other
wives must work for her and be as
her servants. The Kaffir man is
| proud of his sons, especially if they
are strong and cunning fighters
(brave they can not be called, but
he entertains a real affection for his
daughters, an affection which ex-
tends to the man to whom he sells
them in marriage. The more sons
in-law a man has the greater his in
tluence in the tribe.
These people are clean in their
manner of living. Their kraals are
well built and fairly neat, and there
is always a place provided for bath
ing. Most of them take at least one
bath week, and some battle every
day. They have a habit of rubbing
their bodies with an ill-smelling oil
Immediately after the bath, which to
European ideas does away with all
the benefits of the bath The odOr Of
this oil, combined with the natural
odor of the African, is usually more
than the nose of a white man can
stand except at long range, and the
longer the better. They are scrup-
ulously neat in their cooking, and
take the greatest pains in prepar-
ing all the food that is to be cooked
If it were not for their natural dis
like for work this quality would
make them excellent servants. Their
native dishes of fruit and vegeta-
bles are rather good to the taste, be-
ing well cooked and very highly sea-
soned. The meat, however, is SIM
ply impossible to any but an African
palate The animal is killed and
hung for from five days to a week
and is not considered fit to eat until
it has begun to spoil.
Such is the kingdom which King
Yborshi is trying to sell that he may
obtain money enough to go out into
the world and find out for himself
all about the lives of the white men.
concerning which he knows so little
and in which he is so interested.
AMERICUS GETS FIRST BALE.
J One Was Sold at is Cents, and Other