The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-01-11

PhlIadelphld, Jan. Ill never shall
forget the names my Kaffir boys took"
said a western woman, who kept house
several years in South Africa, where
her husband was manager of a mine.
When the Kaffir boys come from the
kraals no one ever uses their native
names. AS soon as they are brought
in contact with the whites they take a
white name.
This produces results which are
not lacking in humor. Among the
house boys Knife. Fork. and Spoon
were common names. Table. Chairs,
Watch Carriage and Matchbox were
other names that I had in the house at
various times. My butler rejoiced in
the stately appellation of New One. 1t
was when the slang phrase, That's a
new one on me- was going about.
"One of my house boys took the utili
tartan name of Ham and Eggs. The
Kaffirs are very fond of rice when they
learn to eat it among the whites, and
our stable boy thought he had found
the incest name in the world in Rice.
But the Kaffirs have the same diff
Guilty as the Chinese In pronouncins
the letter r, so poor Rice always call
ed himself Lice.
"One day the wife OF one of the car
penters sent down to the compond for
a new kitchen boy. The boy had
heard one expression in frequent use
at the mine. 1t struck him as eupho-
NOUS and pleasing, and when she ask
ed him what his name was he calmly
replied Dam Fool
"'Why, I can't call you that said
she, Mortified; I'll call you Joseph
He Liked Dam FooP
'"The boy flew into rage. He said
Dam Fool was a mmachlie gum
nice name, and if he could not have
the name he would not work for her.
He was so stubborn about it that she
had either to use the name or to send
him back to the compound. Eventu-
ally she kept him, and she told me that
it was relief to her feelings some
times to have a kitchen boy answering
to that name.
THE kaffirs are very initiative and
will cook dish exactly as they have
been taught. But never could quite
bring myself to eat Kaffir cooking. 1t
is apt to be weird.
Il had an English housekeeper who
did the cooking. Once she went
down to johannesburg for weeks
vacation and her head assistant, Can
die, was promoted to the position of
chef One night for dinner he
brought in a dessert Of baked custard.
It looked perfectly conventional, but
when I tasted it I thought for mo-
ment that was in the clutches of
nightmare.
at transpired that Candle had fla
vored the pudding with Worcester
shire sauce instead of vanilla. They
were of the same color, and the simple
child of nature could go no further in
his philosophy. Poor Candle was
quite crestfallen at our reception of
the DISH
All the Hired Girls Squaws.
Carson City, the capital of Nevada,
is probably the only city in the coun-
try where the hired girl is squaw.
To the Carson City housewife every
Indian man is Jim and every Indian
woman is Sally. Neither Jim nor Sal
ly can ever be depended on to work
regularly, but as other help is scarce
and high priced the occasional SER
vices which they deign to render are
always welcome.
When Sally wants to work she al
ways opens the kitchen door without
the Formally of a knock and says,
"Mahaylie (woman), you want work
done?" Or simply, me heap hogadi,"
which means that she is hungry and
wants to work for a meal.
An eastern woman is apt to be
frightened the first time this happens
or the first time she looks up and
sees a bucks swarthy face pressed
against the outside of the window, but
she soon learns that Jim and Sally are
quite tame.
Make Fine Baskets.
Sometimes Sally comes shivering to
the door in winter with a baby under
her blanket. She is heap cold' and
wants to toast herself and the queer
little morsel of humanity on her back
at the kitchen fire. Sometimes Sally
will bring an armful of baskets to sell
at the door and then the eastern
woman rejoices exceedingly, for she
knows that she can pick up for few
cents baskets that she would have to
pay dollars for in the Carson stores.
The housewife likes to get Piute
Sally to work for her if possible, for
she is cleaner. more Industrious and