The Sunday Oregonian., March 01, 1908, Magazine Section, Page 8, Image 52

THE SUNDAY. OREGOXIAN, PORTLAND, MARCH ' 1, 1908.
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TOG KIAOAH
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EI?ILIL
frank Carpenter Writes
of a Nation of Stock Raisers an
Warriors Who Drink Blood
BY KRASK O. CARPENTER.
IN the heart of the East African
Highlands, as far south 'of the
Medlterannean Sea as New York Is
distant from Deliver, and as far west
of the Indian Ocean as Pittsburg Is
west of the Atlantic. I am writing for
my American readers. I am In the
Great Rift valley, a mighty trough,,
which runs almost north and south
through this part of the continent. It
begins at the Zambesi and traces of it
are still to be found In Palestine. It is
supposed to be formed by the earth
half folding up after a mighty volcanic
, eruption, which left the craters of
Kilimanjaro, Kenla and Elgon. mouth
ing the clouds at 'altitudes of from
14.000 to 20.000 feet.
This great valley narrows and wid
ens, it rises and falls, and it has many
treat lakes. Broadly speaking, all the
great lakes of East Africa are In It or
In Its spurs. North of here are Lakes
Baringo and Rudolf, and still further
north in Abyssinia Is Lake Tsana, the
source of the Blue Nile. As I write
I am looking on Lake Nalvasha, a
beautiful sheet of blue water over
which white cranes are flying. I can
see zebras and antelopes feeding not
far from the water: and with my glass
can watch the ugly black heads of
three hippopotami, bobbing - up and
down like giant Ashing corks upon the
surface. The snores here are swampy,
and are lined with masses of reeds.
Just back of them the ground rises
Into rich pastures, which are protectej
from sportsmen by the reservations al
lotted to the Uganda railway and fair
ly swarm with big game.
A Future Slock Country.
The weather here is delightful. We
Ire so near the equator that one can, al
most straddle it, but the altitude Is such
that blankets are needed at night, and
It IB never excessively hot during the day.
Nalvasha Is a little higher up in the
air than the top of Mount Washington,
and the climate of the whole Rift val
ley Is said to be suited for white men.
This matter is being tested by settlers.
Large tracts of land have been taken
up in different places, not far from the
railroad, and there are many English
who are going into stock-raising. Right
roar the lake the government of British
East Africa has started an experimental
farm, and there are large ranches in the
immediate vicinity. There are no tsetse
flies here, and the zebras, which one
aces by the hundreds In almost any ride
over the valley, are an evidence' that
horses will thrive. There arealso many
ostriches, and in time we may have
ostrich farming here as they have, in
South Africa. The average - height' of
the valley Is something itke.liuoo 'feet,
and the grass is said to be luxuriant
everywhere.
The Land or tile Masai.
This Is one of the strongholds of the
Masai race, who have always been1 noted
as warriors and stook raisers. I see
them about Nalvasha. and not a few
Mill carry spears and shields. The have
many little towns nearby,' and their set
tlements are scattered, throughout the
Rift valley. They live in huts about four
foet high, six feet wide and nine feet
long. The huts look like great bake ov
ens. They are made of branches, woven
together and plastered with mud. Some
times they are smeared over with cow
dung, and that material often forms the
floors. When It rains, skins are laid
over the roofs to protect them. The
houses are usually buitt in a circle about
an Ihelosure. In which the catt'e are kept
t night. The sheep and goats are al
lowed to run In and out the houses.' Some
of the towns have fences of thorns
round them to keep out the wild beasts.
These Masai are a fierce-looking peo
jle. The men are tall and straight, and
they walk as though they owned the
earth. When they have their war paint
on they, use a decoration of ostrich
feathers which surrounds their faces, and
Ik supposed tp carry terror to the souH
of their enemies. The men are usuall
bare to the waist, and not infrequentlj
have a bullock hide wrapped arount
them.
Masai Women.
I wish 1 could show you some o
the Masai women. They are as vain
as peacocks and are loaded with jew
elry. Some of them have great rings
of brass wire colled around the nec.k
In concentric circles, wire after wire
being used until the, whole extends ou,t
as far as file shoulders. They have
brass w ire woven about their arms
from tne wrists to the elbows, and
from the eloows to the shoulders, and
;also great coils of similar wire fas
tened by strings to the lobes of their
ears. Aside from this they wear but
little. A cloth wrapped around - the
body and falling to the knees or be
low them is about their only clothing.
Sometimes this cloth is fastened over
the . shoulders, sometimes under the
arms, and sometimes about the waist,
leaving the breasts bare.
These Masai are by no means pure
negroes. They belong to fhe Bantu
race, and their skins are dark brown.
Their noses are often straight and their
lips-not very thick. As to their hair, I
can't tell you whether it is woolly or
not. The women shave it close to the
sna'ip, using razors of tron or glass,
and they polish their heads with grease
so that they- fairly shine In the sun. I
uiiderntand they pull out the hair from
all parts of their bodies and that even
the babies are shaved. Many of the
men carry about tweezers of iron to
pull the hairs from their chins, cheeks
and nostrils, and they keep them
selves shaved until they are old enough
to be warriors. This comes along about
the time they reach manhood. They
then let the bair of their heads grow
and plait it into pigtails. A cOmmon
way of wearing these pigtails is down
over, the' forehead. It Is often soaked
with oil and red clay In connection
wtth, a similar anolrrting of the rest
of the body. The warrior often wears
a lion'S head and mane in addition to
the' circle of ostrich feathers 'about the
face. His arms are a sword and club.
He has a spear, with a very long blade,
and an oval shield bearing figures
which indicate his clan.
Queer Customs of Marriage.
'These people buy their wives. Girls are
looked upon as merchantable commodi
ties and are paid for In goats and cattle.
After the cattle are h.anded over the girl
goes to her husband, and she may not
come back to her" father's house alone
thereafter, but must -always have her
husband with her. A Masai can have as
many wives as he can pay for. and if he
is rich he has a' hut for each one. If not,
he may keep two or three in one hut. The
first wife is always considered the chief
wife, and is supposed to boss the estab
lishment, although' the favorite some
times supersedes her.
Such marriages, however, are not- sup
posed to take place until the Masai be
comes an elder that is, uutil he reaches
the age -of about 37 or 30. This is after
his warrior days are over and he is ready
to siettle down, as it were. The warriors
and the young girls of the tribe live to
gether up to that time In a separate es
tablishment apart from the rest, of the
people: "'
In order to marry a warrior-had tosask
permission of the eldors of the tribe. If
this is driven . he straightway buys his
wife, and if she la a fine-looking girl she
will cost him two cows, two bullocks, two
sheep and some goat skins. This money
goes to the nearest relative of the woman
he has selected, who may lower the price
if he -will. Divorces may be had for lazi
ness 'and bad temper on the part of the
wife; and in fuch cases a part of the mar
riage fee is sometimes returned. Widows
cannot marry again. If her husband dies
the woman goes back to her mother; or
to her brother. If her mother is dead.
" .The. Old Women Do the Work.
As far as I- can learn these Masai
girls have a soft snap. They are re
quired to do nothing until they are
married. Before that they play with,
the warriors, spending their time in
dancing and singing and loafing about.
The unmarried girl often does not do
her own Cooking. This condition con
tinues for a long time after marriage
and up until all the babies of the fam
ily are fairly well grown. As soon as
that is accomplished, lowever. the
hard-working period begins. Almost
all of the hard labor of the tribe Is
done by the older women. They col
lect the firewood. They build the mud
houses and gather the cow manure
with which their walls are smeared.
When . the' villages are moved from
place to place' these withered dames
take the parts of the donkeys and bul
locks in carrying the burdens. They
erect the new huts and they are, as a
rule, mere hewers of wood and drawers
of water.
A Nation of Stockraisers.
These Masai do no farming.. They
are a nation of stock raisers and own
herds of cattle, sheep and goats, which
they drive about from pasture to pas
ture. The cattle are of the humped
variety like the sacred cows of India,
many of them being fat, sleek and fine
looking. Some of the animals are
branded, and not a few have rude bells
of iron in order that they may be
traced if they stray. The most of the
cattle are patched by half-naked boys,
who drive them about with sticks from
place to place. Every morning and
evening the cows are brought into the
villages to be milked, and nearly every
town of mud huts has its cowhouse.
The women do the milking. This is
contrary to' the custom in some parts
of Africa, where It is thought the cows
will go dry If any female touches
them. The milk Is caught in gourds
which are afterward cleaned with
handfuls of burnt grass. The calves
are hrought alongside their mothers
at milking time, and the cows will not
lot down their milk without they are
present. If a calf dies it is skinned
and stuffed with straw and then placed
under the cow's 'nose for milking.' The
people always drink their milk fresh,
but this method of cleaning the gourds
gives it a smoky flavor.
They Drink Blood.
The Masai are blood drinkers. Their
country has practically no salt, and I am
told that they keep-in health by blood
drinktng. They consume all the blood of
the animals they kill and sometimes bleed
their cattle in the neck and then tie up
the wounds so that they grow well again.
Sometimes a su-ap is tied around an an
imal's throat and an arrow is shot into
the jugular vein. As the blood gushes
forth it is caught in gourds and drunken
warm.
The people eat but few vegetables and
they do no farming whatever. Their
cooking Is usualyl done In pots of burnt
clay, varying from eight to 30 inches in
height. The larger pots are not placed
over the fire, but at the side of it, and are
turned around, now and then, in order
that they may be evenly heated. . . '
Talk With Sidney I- Hinde.
The most of my information about these
Masai comes from Captain Sidney Lang
ford Hinde. the famous explorer and lion'
hunter. He is now subcommissloner of
this colony and I met him at Mombasa
on my way here. Captain Hinde was born
in Canada not far from Niagara Falls.
He received an excellent medical educa-
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tion In Germany and England, but began
his life 'as a captain in the Belgian colo
nial service. During his 'stay there he
explored the upper Lualaba and other
rivers, and wrote a book entitled "The
Fall of the Congo Arabs." About ten
years' or so ago he came over into British
East Africa and took part in the subjuga
tion of this country for the English.- He
lived with the Masai and other natives
and made a study of them. When I met
him he was acting as governor of British
East Africa, in the absence of the chief,
and his home was one of the official resi
dences, a beautiful cottage outside Mom-
basa on the rocks overlooking the Indian
Ocean. The house is decorated with the
trophies secured by Mr. Hinde' and his
wife during their stay in Africa. Upon
the floors are the skins of lions and leo
pards, on the walls are the heads of gi
raffes, antelope, gnu and of other big
game, and there are native spears and
weapons of every kind standing about. A
large number of the skins are from ani
mals shot by Mrs. Hinde. She has herself
killed several lions, no end of antelopes
and zebras, and one huge rhinoceros.
In my talk with Mr. Hinde, he told me
much about the Masai, saying that they
were now quiet and are becoming semi
civilized. They are paying the annual J
hut taxes of about three rupees each, to
the government. Three rupees means $1
American. It Beems but little until one
remembers that it takes a native about a
month to earn that much, when it be
comes a great deal.
About Mount Kenia.
' A great part of Mr. Hlnde's work
has been near Mount Kenla, in a coun
try which he says Is phenomenally
rich. He tells me that the Uganda rail
way goes through some of the poorest
land in British East Africa and that
the Kenia territory has great possi
bilities. He predicts that the railroad
which "is now to be built from Nairobi
to Fort Hall, under the shadow of
Moiinf Kenia. will pay from the start,
and that Kenia will eventually be cov
ered with rich farms. Said he:
"When Mrs. Hinde and I first came
Into the province the country was in
the same condition it had been for
ages. We found that it contained about
a million people, who lived in little
villages, each containing about ten
huts or so. There were no great chiefs.
Each village was independent, and al
most constantly at war with the neigh
boring villages. The cltfzens of one
settlement knew nothing of those of
the other settlements about. A man
dared not venture more than ten miles
from his home, and he had little knowl
edge of the country outside that ra
dius. There were no roads whatever
excepting trails which wound this way
and that over the land. The only meet
ing places were at the markets, which
were held at certain fixed points on
certain days of the week or month. It
is a rule throughout Africa that war
fare and fighting must be suspended on
market days, and no one dares bring
arms to a market or fight there. If
he. should engage In fighting and be
killed his relatives cannot claim blood
money.
"When we took possession of the
Kenla province,." Captain Hinde went
on, "we had to fight our w'ay in. As
soon as we had subdued the people we
made them- work at making roads as
a penalty for their ' Insurrection. W
connected all the villages by roadways
and gave each town so much to take
care of. As a result we now have in
that province alone 400 miles of good
wagon roads, each 10 feet in width.
We have also made it the law that
every road shall be considered as hav
ing all the rights of a market place.
This means that no native can assault
another while walking upon them and
that all feuds must be burled when
traveling over the roads. Many of
these roads connect villages which
were formerly at war with each other,
and the result is that they become
peaceful and that the citizens can now
travel safely from one town to another.
They, are really changing their -natures
and are going through a process
of travel-education. As I have already
said, live years ago they never left
home. Now thousands of them travel
over our roads down to the seacoast,
and we have something like 1S00 na
tives of Kenia here at Mombasa."
Evolving a Civilization.
4
These remarks of Captain -Hinde show
how John Bull Is gradually evolving a
civilization in these African wilds. The
Masai are about the most intelligent of
the natives, and there are millions about
here who are much farther down on the
scale of barbarism than they. As I shall
show In other letters, -some go absolutely
naked, and some are still as far back in
the arts of civilization as were the people
of the stone and iron ages. It is only a
few years since slavery was common and(
cannibalism was more or less carried on.
Then Justice was unknown and life of
no account.
The British are now gradually changing
all these conditions. The (Masai now
knowns that he dares not assault his
neighbor and he is gradually becoming a
decent citizen. Both he and his fellowa;
of other tribes are beginning to under
stand the value of labor. The Masai will
not dig. but they are paid for herding
stock, and some of the other tribes are
doing actual work on the farms and on
the railroad. They are (beginning to have
wants, and . as these increase they will
work to supply them. Many of those who
formerly went naked now want more or;
less clothing. Cotton goods are becoming
popular, and. strange to say, the Ameri
can white cotton sheeting brings the
highest of prices among the natives. It
outsells the Indian and English goods and
in some places it even' passes for money.
Another article from America that is in
great demand here is coal oil. The na
tives buy it to light their huts, and the
big chiefs almost universally own one or
more kerosene lamps. Other foreign ar
ticles much desired are umbrellas, knives
and hardware of various kinds. A system
of East Indian stores Is going up through
out the country to supply the natives.
The Hindoo traders carry their goods
everywhere, and in years to come a new
people will take the places of the savages
of the past.
As it is now the missionaries are doing
considerable both here and in the coun
tries about the great lakes. The most of
such work is now In the hands of the
English, but at Kijabe, within a few
miles of Lake Nalvasha, there is an- in
dustrial mission school run toy American
Quakers, and that same denomination
has another industrial settlement In the
Kavirondo country, near Lake Victoria.
Nalvasha. British East Africa.
EARLIEST STEAMBOATING ON HUDSON
Rise and Development of the Great Agency in Our Industrial and Commercial Development.
wr RECENT addition to the Grafton
y Historical Series is entitled "Old
steamboat Days on the Hudson
River," and is b'y David Lear Buck
man, of Brooklyn. Mr. Buckman has
gathered his material from many
sources, and from it has compiled a his
torical monograph of exceptional in
terest and value, says the Brooklyn
Eagle. The story of Fulton's early
ventures and the success which at
tended them, of course, has been told
more than once or twice; it is an event
of major Importance in the history of
the industrial and commercial develop
ment not only of the United States, but
of the whole world. The employment
of steam as a motive power, as demon
strated by Fulton, marked a new epoch
in the .history of the modern world.
Naturally, such a momentous event has
been fully chronicled by historians and
Mr. Buckman, while giving due prom
inence to the event, has not under
taken to add anything new to the nar
rative of the Clermont's first voyage.
He recounts it as the beginning of the
history he chronicles, but the principal
interest and importance of his book is
due to his account of the subsequent
development of steam navigation,
which followed Fulton's successful experiment-
This is a branch of the sub
ject that has been overlooked by his
torians, who have given-a very brief
account of the subsequent evolution of
traffic on the Hudson.
While everyone is familiar with the
facts of Fulton's experiment and suc
cess, we fancy not many people know
about the long. fight that was made to
break the monopoly which was granted
to Fulton, and his principal backer.
Robert R. Livingstone, Chancellor of
the State of New York. Fulton'e wife
was Harriet Livingston, a relative of
the Chancellor, and It was the latter's
belief in Fulton and his Invention
which induced him to become Fulton's
financial backer. The name Clermont,
given to the first steamboat, was the
name of Livingston's country seat on
the Hudson, in Columbia County. Ful
ton died in 1815, and his relationship
with the Livingston family led to his
interment In the Livingston family
vault in Trinity churchyard. New York
City, where his dust now reposes. Ful
ton and the Chancellor obtained an en
actment from the State Legislature,
giving them the exclusive right to the
navigation of all boats by steam, on
the waters of .the state, for 20 years,
on condition that they should produce
a boat of not less than 20 tons burden,
which would move with and against
the current of the Hudson at a rate of
not less than four miles an hour. In
his report' of the Clermont's first voy
age. Fulton lays emphasis on the fact
that the Clermont traveled at a rate
of nearly five miles an hour. That fact
meant much to him and to the Chan
cellor; it secured to them the monopoly
granted by the State Legislature.
Of course, as soon as the feasibility of
steam as a motive power was fully dem
onstrated, there were numbers of people
ready to put money into such enterprises,
but the monopoly stood in the way. It
was not until 1820 that the fight which the
monopoly had provoked, and In which the
state of New Jersey had taken a promi
nent part, was finally joined In the courts.
The attack upon this vested privilege was
led by Daniel Webster, who appeared as
the leading counsel for the interests at
tacking the monopoly, an attack in which
Commodore Vanderbllt, then in his prime,
and deeply interested in steamboating,
was largely interested. The Fulton-Livingston
monopoly had employed their
privilege in the issuing of licenses to
steamboats to navigate the waters of the
state, and it was a fight between a New
Jersey citizen named Gibbons, who was
master of a steamboat on a line in which
Commodore Vanderbllt was interested,
plying between New York and New Jer
sey, and one Ogden, a former Governor of
New Jersey, who held a Fulton-Livingston
license for the same privilege. The
suit went first before the Supreme Court
of New Jersey, and was decided in Gib
bon's favor, and was then carried to the
United States Supreme Court, and it waa
before that tribunal that Daniel Web
ster, then in the zenith of his fame, ap
peared as counsel for the interests which
Vanderbilt represented. It was -the cause
celebre of that day. Other states had
granted similar monopolies as to their
waters. Connecticut, New Hampshire and
Tennessee among them. Webster attacked
the grants on the broad ground of their
.unconstitutionality, and in his contention
was supported by the famous William
Wirt, of Virginia, Attorney General of
the United States. The counsel for the
monopoly were Oakley and Emmett, the
latter having been Fulton's personal
counsel and friend for many years! The
United States Supreme Court decided
against the monopoly. Chief Justice John
Marshall writing the opinion. The break
ing of the monopoly was followed by a
great increase in the steamboat industry.
Mr. Buckman devotes a chapter to this
interesting industrial and legal battle. The
decision of the court was of immense im
portance to the future business and devel
opment of the country.
Mr. Buckman traces the growth of the
business on the" Hudson closely, instanc
ing the new craft that were rebuilt from
time to time, and recalling names that
are famous in the history of the river.
The boiler of the Clermont was made of
copper, and. all the best boats built after
her, followed this example, for iron boilers
were too liable to burst. The use of cop
per made the boilers very costly, the boil
ers of the Kent, one3f the' earlier boats
weighing 60.C00 pounds, and being worth
nearly one-third the, cost of the boat. It
was not until 1830 that tubular boilers
were introduced1, the Novelty being the
first to use a boiler of that construction,
and It was not until nearly ,ten years later
that the use of anthracite coal as fuel
was introduced. Before that cordwood
was the fuel. The use of coal cut the fuel
expense in half.
Mr. Buckman recalls the names ot
many of the old boats names well
known to those whose memories ot
Hudson River travel run back to the
middle of the last century. He thinks
the oldest boat now on the river is thi
Norwich, still in use on tire upper
river as a towboat. and employed often
in breaking up the ice in the early
season, by reason of the strength of her
engines and hull. In construction she
belongs to a vanished type, having
what was called a "steeple" engine,
operating a horizontal crossbeam, up
and down. Instead of a walking beam.
This was the type of the old Fulton
boats. The Norwich was built in 1836.
Mr. Buckman also recalls the names
of many -of the men famous in the
steamboating business 60 and 60 years
ago, either as masters of craft or as
owners and capitalists. One of the most
famous of these owners and builders in
the old days was Isaac Newton, a
Rensselaer County man, who was 1
years old when the first steamboat,
trip was made up the Hudson, and re
tained a vivid recollection of the event
until his death- He established the tow
boat business on the Hudson, and
constructed some of the famous boats
of the early days, whose elegance se
cured for the Hudson River passen
ger craft the name of floating palaces.
He caused to be built nearly 100 steam-,
boats, ocean steamers and barges. New
ton was over 63 when he died in New
York. Then there were Daniel Drew,
Dean Richmond. Chauncey Vibbard,
Erastua Corning, Captain A. P. St. John
and many others whose names are In
dissolubly connected with the history
and development of steamboat naviga
tion on the Hudson. A chapter is given
to the old river captains, many of
them men . of rare individuality and
force of character. He does not neglect
the tragic side of the story, but recalls
some of the famous disasters of th
river, when boats have burned or sunk
and lives lost. The burning of the
Henry Clay on July 28, 1852. at River-
dale, when 60 lives were lost, was per
haps the most notable of the river tra
gedies. One of the lost was Miss Haw
thorne, a sister of Nathaniel Haw-;
thorne, the novelist. Our author also
recalls the fact that when the Swal
low, on her way from Albany to New
York, on the evening of April 7, 1845,
ran on the rocks nearly opposite Hud-,
son (known to this day as the Swal
low rocks) and became a total wreck,
about 15 lives were lost. Mr. Buck
man's father, Ira Buckman, purchased
the wreck, broke it up and from the
material constructed a fine two-story
house, at Valatie, N. Y., on the old
Post road. It is still standing, and Is
known as the Swallow house.
Racing between the boats of rival (
lines was a frequent occurrence In the :
old days, and was the cause of many
accidents. The Swallow disaster was ;
undoubtedly due to that cause. Finally,:
public opinion compelled legislation
against the practice.
Mr. Buckman also describes the .
growth of barge travel, a populai j
method of transportation in the mid- j
die decades of the 19th century, and
has something to say about "fast time"
on the river. The present status of
the business, together with some ac
connt of the magnificent boat of the
river lines of today are not forgotten.
Mr. Buckman tells his story with the
directness and fullness of 'one who
not only is complete master of his sub
ject, but Is deeply interested in it. He
tells his story well and with an unflag
ging Interest. He has given his readers
& volume of unusual intet-est and value.
The shrinkage of wood from loss of ,
moisture has been found by the United !
tates forest service to range from 7 to 26 I
per cent of the dry volume in different
species.