THE SUNDAY OREGOXTATf, FORTLAXD, AUGUST 9, 1003
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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
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