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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 9, 1908)
THE SUNDAY OREGOXTATf, FORTLAXD, AUGUST 9, 1003 v 11 JUL? 1 1 JOSafRN 1 , su.jukJ mmm, mmm metcmsJ?2-- BT FRANK G. CARPENTER. - STAND with me In the public square of Bulawayo in front of the bronze statue of Cecil Rhode, and take a look at the changes that are going- on In Rhodesia. We are in sight of a hill upon which the notorious Afri can tyrant Lobengula had his kraal, and within an hour's walk of the croco dile pool into which he threw, tied hand and foot, any of his subjects who had offended him. The pool was full f man-eating reptiles, and the crim inals thus executed needed no burial. Bulawayo In 1 908. All around us lies the Bulawayo of 1808, the chief city of Rhodesia, and the biggest South African settlement above the Transvaal. The ground is flat, and the wide streets extend out on every side. The place was planned by Jameson, the explorer, and he made very roadway broad enough so that bullock cart of sixteen span could turn around in It. The buildings are comparatively low, and the width of the street makes - them look lower. The most of the tores are of one and two stories. They are built of stone and brick. A few are of granite, but the chief building material Is a red sandstone from quar ries nearby. On one side of us is the Grand Hotel, which covers half an acre. It is lighted by electricity gen erated by a light plant operated by water falls near by, and it has all the modern Improvements. A little farther over is the Bulawayo Club, a bungalow-shaped structure of one story with wide verandas about it. We have friends in the city and they have put us up there for one day free of cost, notifying us that the charge for thiee days will be 12.60. and that all we drink will be at club rates. Bulawayo is a town of clubs. It has several social organizations, a cricket club, a tennis club and a race track, which I two miles around. The town haa now five or six thousand people, and its citizens need other exercise than being chased by a native black with a spear in his hand. Over there at the right Is a public library which has more than 5000 vol umes, and down the main street is an excellent museum showing the mineral and agricultural resources of the terri tory, with its wild beasts and birds and all sorts of things concerning the natives. There are four Masonic lodges, even churches, a musical and dramati cal society, a chamber of mines, drill halls, and markets. The stores are large and the windows well dressed. There are three large banking corpora tion, a chamber of commerce, several newspapers, and all the accompani ments of a thriving community. Th, value of the town runs up into the millions, and with the de-1 velopment of Rhodesia, It will, eventu ally be a considerable city. In plan ning It abundant room has been al lowed for growth; all the land within four miles of the boundaries has been reserved as commonage, upon which the town cows can pasture free of charge, but which cannot be sold as farms. It is upon this ground that the cricket, bicycle and football parks lie, and there are held the races and other amusements. Rhodesia's Wonderful Progress. This gives one some idea of how Rho desia is progressing. It la charged by the development has been comparatively slow. It is not so when one remembers that this whole territory ia only two dec ades from absolute savagery. Twenty years ago neither life nor property was anywhere safe, and the country was owned by negro tribes which were war ring with one another. Today order is everywhere kept, and the natives have been reduced to peaceful subject. The country has now something like 2000 miles of railroads, and in Southern Rho desia alone there are more than 3000 miles of wagon roads. In Matabeleland and MashonaUnd something like 21.0u0.000 acres have been surveyed by the govern ment, and in addition there is a large amount of land which has been surveyed by private owners. All along the railroad towns have sprung up in which are gov ernment offices, banks, churches, hotels, schools and public libraries. There is a fine hospital here at Bulawayo and others at Salisbury, Urn tali, Victoria and Gwelo. - There are cottage hospitals la other towns. The postal s-rvice has been extended until it now readies every part of the . country, mails being sent by runners, to the borders of Lake Tanganyika. In . Southern Rhodesia there are 17 money or der office, and during the past year something like a million and a half letters and post cards were cent to other parts of South Africa, while a half million went over the seas. The postoffice revenues last year were in the neighborhood of $100,000. Moreover. Southern Rhodesia has now postoffice savings banks, and her deposits in them already exceed $300,000. As to telegraphs, the rates are cheaper here than in the United States, and ono can send messages to all the settled parts of the country. There are about 80 tele graph offices opened, and the telegraph wire in use is almost long enough to reach through the earth at the equator Last year about 200.000 telegrams were re ceived and dispatched, and the revenuv from the telegraphs and telephones ap proximated $100,000. As to the railroad service, I will speak about that in the fu ture. It is excellent for a new country, and one can travel here almost as com fortably as at home. How Lobengula Ruled. Indeed, it Is hard to realize that it is now only 15 years since this was the cap ital of Matabeles'. I rode out today to the government houBe, which stands on the very site of the great hut in which Loben gula lived and ruled. It is reached by a wide drive shaded by trees, which wer planted at the direction of Cecil Rhodes. It Is on a hill, and in the grounds is tbs very tree under which this savage Afri can kinjc sat upon his blscult-box throne and gave forth his decrees of life and - death. Some of his numerous family still live, and I have a photograph before ma , of his favorite daughter. She measures 6 feet 11 inches from her bare yellow heels to her shaved black crown, and Is fully as ? ' m i ij A n' mi a ABzr - 'rctsrer " . ' Iff 31' B WTocl'1"1- I,, - Ljjij- " -, ,,n ihiibiiwii i i nim"rT1 lusty as the old tyrant was irihlsprime,W - r , - 1 There are many men here who knew Lo- , j - ' - t - 4 1 r bengula. He was enormous. He stood j JsfK&JW It 1 ' - I six feet tall and weighed about 300 SF, 1 - , I pounds. He was so fat that when he J - 1 I I squatted on his biscuit box his Mesh hung f ; - 5. ' tSj 'I down in folds over his hips, and when he -vr- i' f zA ' ' ' ' ' ' 1 walked his elephantine frame rolled from .... ;f , , . . n side to side. He had bulging bloodshot 4 rT r . ' ' , - . I eyes, thick lips and was the personifies,- 3 j 4 iA ' - - ' - - " i I tlon of cruelty. Stanley describes him as J (j A"" . 1 v " : one of the bloodthirstiest of African fll , s'&jfe ' i -VsVkW . . lusty as the old tyrant was in his prime. There are many men here who knew Lo bengula. He was enormous. He stood six feet tall and weighed about 300 pounds. He was so fat that when he squatted on his biscuit box his Mesh hung down in folds over his hips, and when he walked his elephantine frame rolled from side to side. He had bulging bloodshot eyes, thick lips and was the personifica tion of cruelty. Stanley describes him as one of the bloodthirstiest of African kings, and Frank Thompson, of Natal, who negotiated the mining rights of Ma ehonaland of him for $500 a month, gives an Incident of how he treated a native warrior who had drunk some of his beer. It was at the time of a great dance and Lobengula's women were bringing thn beer to him. This man snatched a gourd and took a sip. The offense was reported to the king and the criminal was dragged before him. As he stood there Lobengula looked at him and said: "V'ou drank the King's beer. That nose of yours is guilty. It smelt the beer. Let It be cut off." And with that the executioner cut oft the man's nose. The King then said: "Those eyes of yours'saw the beer. They are a temp tation to you. They are guilty. They should be put out." And with that the executioner did the gouging. "You have now heard with your ears that it Is not allowed to drink the King's beer. Your ears are of no good to you and they shall be cut off." After this the man was beaten within an inch of his life, and he dragged himself away and died. Stories of Lobengula. I understand that Lobengula was fond of beer. He was accustomed to make his white visitors drink with him, and every one who called was expected to take three cans of beer and to eat three plates of grilled beef. The cans each held a gallon and they were served between the plates. The King would not drink champagne, and he gave all tnat was presented to him to ills wives, of .whom he had a large rftimber. Lobengula was supposed to own all the country. He had vast herds of cattle. He had control of the mines, and every one was subject to him. Af ter his death the natives surrendered, and since tnen - they have been com paratively quiet, except for the revolt of 1S96, whlcli was causd by the witch doctors. Lobengula himself claimed to be a witch doctor, lie said he could make rain, and he did this by cooking; a. kind of devil's broth of crocodile livers, snake skins, frog toes and hip popotamus fat. As the steam of this compound went up he petitioned the god to open the clouds and the rain was supposed to fall. Speaking of ralnmaking, shortly af ter the statue of Rhodes was erected in Bulawayo there was a drouth, and the natives believed that the lack of rain came because Rhodes' head was uncovered, saying that the spirits would not offend the great man in that way. They Believe In Witchcraft. All of these South African natives believe in witchcraft, and every tribe has its witch doctors. In coming here 1 traveled for one day with the chief native commissioner of Rhodesia, a man who iias charge of all the negroes of Mashonaland. - He tells me that the Mashonas have trials by ordeals to de tect wltcr.es. One of the tests is heat ing a stone red hot and making the accused lick it with his tongue. If he is guilty his tongue will blister. If not, ho i innocent. Another test is by certain medicines. If the medicines make the man sick or cause his death he is supposed to be a witch. If not, he is allowed to go free. A third test, used especially for thieves. Is to drop a stone in a pot of boiling water. The accused must take this out with his bare hand, and if the hand shows no sign of scalding; the man is cleared. I ehonaland of him for $300 a month, gives I III 1 H ' " f. jWS an incident of how he treated a native If xV" ""X 1 II l . jT " ? - V X V , , . , J SSsJs! I : . . v. ; tft&&r- ' ! W f if ill mlmm' i ,l Pj&c r 41- -LOBENGULA'S rAVO&iri7 If his hand burns rie is adjudged a thief and punishment follows. The na tives believe In the Justice of these tests and submit to them. A white trader of the Zambesi told me that he missed a shirt not long ago and ac cused his native servant of stealing it. The boy said ho was innocent, and the trader believed him. The next day the boy came In with his hand ter ribly scalded and conressed his guilt. In his cooking he had overturned a pot of hot water upon himself and he superstitlously thought that the burn ing occurred on account of his theft. Katen by Ants. "One of the punishments decreed by the witch doctors in some regions is that the witch must be eaten by ants. This is done by taking the accused man out into the wilds, smearing hira with honey, and tying him to a tree. The honey attracts the ants and they complete their work by biting the flesh from the bones. Another punishment is laying red hot stones on the bare stomachs of the guilty ones, and among some of the tribes Instances are known in which the witches have been roasted over slow fires. I understand that the witch doctors are by far the most important mem bers of the tribes. They are . supposed to be divinely appointed and especial ly authorized to use magic for the good of the tribe. Every witch doctor AVGJF&; has to undergo a course of training before he can practice, and he must exhibit certain idosyncracies which prove him fitted for his Job. He falls into trances and pretends to have seen spirits. He has a special head dress of fur and feathers and has charms of many kinds about his neck. He must be able to -handle poisonous snakes. He must be a sleight-of-hand performer and able to make the peo ple belreve he has miraculous powers. As a rule he kills more than he cures, but this does not seem to affect his reputation. A Talk With a Native Commissioner. The government has white officers who watch out for the interests of the natives. I talked with one of these, a Mr. Taber er. who has been managing the negroes for many years. He tells me that the whites are now respected and that the natives are better off than they were in the days of Lobengula. So far, compara tively little of the country has been taken up by white settlers, and they plant their corn and graze their cattle about where they please. They li-e in little kraals or villages ranging in size from 20 to 100 huts each, and their corn fields are scat tered over the country outside the vil lages. They gather their crops at har vest time, and store them in little grana ries made of mud. thatched with straw. Such a granary is about as big around as a hogshead and four or five feet In height. It is raised upon stones and is entered by a hole near the roof, the hole being stopped up when the corn is put in. and opened from time to time as the grain is needed. These granaries are often built on the tops of high rocks such as are found throughout Rhodesia. This aids in keeping out the damp and vermin. Wives Sold for Cnttle. The native commissioner tells me that marriage among these negroes is largely a matter of bargain and sale. The groom pays the bride's father a certain sum for his daughter. The usual price for the strong and good-looking girl Is four cows, or if she be the daughter of a chief she may bring as much as five or six. It. used to be that girls were often betrothed and bought when they were babies, the grooms paying a part of the purchase price at that time and the rest by Installments. In such cases the fathers agreed to rear the girls. This practice has been stopped by the government, as It resulted in many an old man possess ing several very young wves; and also as the girls frequently fell in love with young men, and the strife between their old prospective husbands and the young lovers, whom they wanted as husbands, was great. As It is now, a girl must be of a cer tain age before she can be sold. In some tribes she Is married at 13, and in others she must be 17 before she is ready for wedding. I suppose that 14 or 15 might be put as the average age of marriage among- the Matabeles. The native women are gradually ac quiring more rights under the rule of the white men. In the past they had but few that their husbands were bound to respect, but today the government grants divorces on the ground of infidelity and cruelty, and a woman may bring her husband into court. Among the various tribes of South Africa divorces are fre quent. There are some in which a wo man can be divorced if she takes milk out of the family supply without asking her husband, and some in which infidel ity is punished bydeath. In such a case the husband can demand back the cattle he paid for his wife, or if he cannot get the cattle he can claim all the children as his possession. As a rule most of the natives think quite as much of their cattle as their wives. The natives are bad farmers and they National View, of Public Roads Why Should Entire Cot of Construction and Maintenance Fall on the Farmer? BY R. M. BRERETON, C. E. N the consideration and discussion of the making and maintenance of the public highways in annual state con vention there naturally arises diversity of opinion among the delegates in re gard to method of construction, annual maintenance and cost of good roads per mile. Each delegate is apt to view such matters from his own local horizon and conditions. It should be borne in mind that the costs of making and maintaining public highways depend upon topography, climatic conditions throughout the year, quality and length of haulage of the available stone or gravel materials, and the amount of traffic on the roads. The latter Item is subject to considerable in creasement with the advent of railroad communication and increase In popula tion. Hence the cost per mile of making and maintaining good public roads throughout the state can never be esti mated upon an average basis per mile. Good roads, such as the traveling public now cry for in these days of fast travel, must be good throughout the year, as tne . nublic users must not be stalled in mud In winter nor choked with dust in Sum mer. Both of these evils arise from the use of unsuitable surface material and defective drainage. In order to accomplish practical and desirable results and to assist in the re moval of existing injustice to tltf farming community, the good roaite convention should view the making and maintaining of all public roads from a National stand point. Public highways are as much a National service as is education throuch the common schools of the state. They should be fully as much a state and Congress concern as are the maintenance of law and order, of navigable rivers and harbors, forest reserves, irrigation works, and state militia, and insane asylums. Public highways which form Inter-oounty and interstate lines of communication cannot In equity be made and maintained In the good condition the public demand at the sole expense of individual landowners, limited districts, or sparsely populated counties. Tom, Dick and Harry start from Portland In their wagon, buggy or automobile, on business or pleasure in tent, on a trip Into California via Salem. Roseburg, Grants Pass, Medford. and Yreka. Or thoy may go into Nevada via Albany, Prinevllle. Burns and Winne mucca; or they may go east Into Idaho via Baker City, Hunting-ton and Boise; or they may go north Into either Eastern or Western Washington. In like manner any other Tom, Dick and Harry from any of those states can enter and travel on the public roads of Oregon. As these are merely the users of the public roads and contribute nothing to the cost of main tenance, why should the several districts and counties maintain, at their ratepay ers' sole expense, good roads for their oc casional use of them? The above argu do not form a good labor supply. In raising their own crops they do no plow ing. They merely hne the ground over and drop the corn. The crop is weeded once or twice and then allowed to ripen. Nothing is known about fertilization, and, as the soil is virgin, this is not neces sary as yet. The negroes are largely used to work in the mines of Rhodesia, and there is a demand for them in those of the Transvaal. The whites of this country object to their transportation on the ground that they are needed for th local development and for the building of railroads both in Southern Rhodesia and in the lands farther north. I understand that the natives have been Increasing in number under the rule of the white men, and that they are better off than ever before. Bulawayo. July 12. ment explains the National view that should be taken 'about public roads. Serv ices used by all should be supplied at the cost of all. The Port of Portland maintains a nav igable channel in the Willamette and Columbia Rivers from Portland to the ocean and Congress contributes to the same object above and below Portland and elsewhere by annual grants expended under Government control. The Govern ment uses the public roads for the strv ices of its Postal, Military and Reclama tion Departments, but It contributes not a cent towards their maintenance; It pays for its use of the railroads. The present system of making and maintaining the public roads of the state forms a most unjust and invidious burden upon the pockets of the farmers and rural commu nity. I have had a wide and extensive prac tical experience in all matters concerning public highways and bridnes in the con struction, maintenance and costs thereof. For six years I had the general super vision over 50u0 miles of the public high ways of Norfolk, England's largest agri cultural county; containing 2000 square miles of farm lands in 700 parishes and a population of 450.000. These roads were maintained by the several parishes and urban sanitary authorities through a highway rate levied on the rent of land and houses. The road supervisors num bered over 1CO0; they were annually elect ed by the principal ratepayers. They had to render yearly statements of amounts received from the rate and of the expenditure. These accounts were subject to audit by the Justices of the Peace and by the Government District Auditor. I had the opportunity of Judg ing of, criticising and disallowing unlaw ful Items of expenditure In these numer ous separate accounts by being appoint ed one of the Government Auditors dur ing the period of my County Surveyor ship. The county bridges and road ap proaches and county buildings of every kind in construction and maintenance were under my supervision. At another period I was chairman of the public roads committee In the Sutherland and Rosshlre Counties of Scotland. Pre vious to the advent of the railway age in Norfolk the annual repulrs to the publio roads averaged $100,000. After the Intro duction of the railways this annual cost Increased to i00,00. There were 360 miles of public roads in the county made and maintained by the Turnpike Road Trusts. The tolls collected from the public users of these roads averaged $75,000 a year, or at the rate of $206 per mile. The Intro duction of the railways throughout the county caused the diversion of the trafflo from the turnpike roads on to the parish roads, which became feeders to the rail way stations. The turnpike system was then abandoned, and the additional cost In maintaining the parish roads was thrown on the ratepayers. Later Parlia ment created a new Highway Act (1S7S) which enabled the county highway au thority to make main roads of most of the paiish roads, and to pay one-half the co.t of maintenance thereof to the parish out of tiie county treasury, upon the County Surveyor's certificate of approval of the maintenance. The maintenance of good road surface throughout the year Involves t lie provi sion of a larse amount of good material. A macadamized road 20 feet wide has a surface area of 11.7:2 square yards, nearly two and a half acres, per mile. A surfaes casing of broken stone or gravel on this area', two Inches In thickness, requires K-l cubic yards of stone, weighing from km) to 300 tons. The cost of such materia! dis tributed and consolidated In the road sur face will not average less than $2 per cubic yard. During the past IS years I have traveled throughout the length and breadth of this state along the roads known as stags and postal lines. I estimate the total a(t grcKata length of these exceeds 3ono miles. Many of these are inlercoiinty and soma are interstate highways. .The cost of Im proving there to the present public esti mation of the standard of good roads throughout the. year with a macadamized surface of only 10 feet in width would not be less than $300,000. Besides the cost of making and main taining the public roads, the farming community have to bear the cost of the construction, reconstruction and annual repairs of all the publio road bridges and culverts. During the past 25 years (he total cost of these has been a severe drain upon every county treasury. The only way to secure the good roads desired by the public, and at the same time to remove the present unjust burden on the agricultural community. Is through the Legislature at Salem, and the persuaKive activity of our Senators and Representatives at Washington. It I-, reasonable to assume that Congress will listen; because the same unjust and Invidious system of making and main taining the public roads and bridges pre vails throughout the Union. The present Reclamation Service owes Its origin to the efforts of the Senators and Represen tatives of California and Nevada In Con press some 30 years ago. In support of my general proposition and plans of Irriga tion. Congress recognized that this was a National service and one which re quired Government control. Congress also recognized the railroad enterprise to and along this Coast as a National service, and so donated large grants of the public lands to these corporations. Congress also recognized the adoption and maintenance of public school educa tion as a National service, and so doiiited two sections In every township to the state for such purpose. What are railroads and navigable water ways but public highways? They form the main arterial system of the country's Internal communications. So, likewise, the public roads form the vein system of the same. What is necessary and rea sonable for the construction and mainte nance of the artery Is especially so for the veins. Woodstock, August L 4 J t 4 4
