The Pensacola journal., 1920-02-22
THE Way OF
THE Wild
STRANGE STORY TOLD BY ST.
GEORGES, WHO VISITED THE
BUSHMEN OF AFRICA.
Az MhIIRERT G GEORGES

n
Today il must be a very difficult
thing TO find some of the original
Bushmen in their natural wild state.
Thirteen years ago when 1 visited
that portion of Africa it was already
said that the only specimens We're
those kept in the larger cities for the
purpose of chronological and histori-
cal study. Nevertheless. l had the
luck to run across a small bunch of
them.
A big party of us were camping up
on the Drakensberg mountains. After
several days of loafing around at the
camp. l became rather bored, and fit
ting myself out for a several days
journey, l started to explore.
MY first sight of one of these Bush
men was early one morning when I
came upon two Kaffirs cruelty NAL
treating one of these little meu. 1t is
probable that if this fracas had been
taking place between three ordinary
natives | would never have thought Of
, interfering. but recognizing Bush
man as the third party 1 determined to
see what it was all about.
But when the two refused to pay
any attention to me when / bade
them stop, my pride as a white man
was aroused by this disregard of my
command and 1 turned so vigorously
| from words to. action that very shortly
they were in flight, and I was left
alone with the spoils of the fight. In
J a way it was lucky that the Bushman
| had so been beaten that he was al
most too weak to move, else he would
surely have run away and I would
! have had my trouble for nothing. As
it was. while he was getting his breath
back l tried him in all the languages
| of English, Dutch and Kaffir words,
and with these managed to converse
| a little and strike up a sort of aC-
quaintance. With difficulty 1 persuad-
| ed him that in coming into my hands
| he had not fallen from the frying pan
| into the fire, and that he was per-
/ fectly free on the condition that he
! lead me to his people and arrange for
me to stay with them a short while.
! While l stayed with them / saw
many interesting things. 1 watched
one, disguised in the skin of an ami
NAL, stalk and shot with a poisoned
arrow small antelope This was
brought to the cave and every one pre-
pared to feast.
Then in the evening. since they
could not tell me tales. their Ian
guage being a collection of burrs and
/ clicks and gutturals that sounded like
animal talk and makes it impossible
] for a European to speak, they enter
tanned me with mimicking, finding a
strange delight in my approval of
| their performance.
| When l decided to go back, my first
| little friend offered to guide me part
! of the way. So we started. my guide
tcarrying his bow and wearing his ar
rows in his hair leading and main
| tanning n straight line in n way that
/ kept me perpetually wondering. Sud
denly he stopped and bade me hide in
| the bush and remain still. This l did,
and waited to see what would happen.
! The Bushman had disappeared and
| { was trying to locate him, when I
noticed two natives coming along the
path. and recognized them as the two
| bullies OF the day or two before. Then
/ heard a whistling sound and one
| dropped with n flint-headed arrow in
his breast. The other started to run
| away, but too late. Even as he Sprang
| the second arrow reached him. For a
! few moments they writhed on the
ground as the awful poison did its
/ work, and then they lay still. Then
| my guide emerged from his hiding
| place, beclloning me to follow. He
never even planced at the fallen men
as he passed. for to him the incident
was closed. This is the way of the
wild.