XAi'ixi'. SL'ri'.KS'ii riox ix ris ki-llaiiox 'k > 



CRIME. 



l-5v lion. Insiico C"i-:rii. (lowi'i.: Iack.sox. 



A well-know n writer recc'ntl\- remarked that " every kind 

 of knowledge ean be gauged by tlie rule of niatheiuatieal ealeu- 

 lation. .save only the knowledge of human nature. The Creator 

 lias kept that .secret to Himself. . . ." 



If this be true in reference to ourselves, who speak tin- 

 same language, observe the same customs and conventions, and 

 whose lives generally are regulated more or less in conformitv 

 with the same ideals and the same standard of living, it nuist 

 apply a fortiori to any attempt to fathom the intricacies of human 

 nature in a peo])le of a different speech, and whose ideas and 

 modes oi life are widely separated from our own. .\nd the 

 greater the study the greater is the realization of the (Htftcultio. 

 surprising and unexpected, which confront the student of Native 

 character at every turn. This may possibly be the reason win- 

 some who have had uni(pie oj^portunities for pursuing this study, 

 and who have acc[uired a fund of information in regard to Zulu 

 suj^erstitions. customs and beliefs, which others, less fortunate, 

 can never obtain, have yet passed from our ken, leaving no 

 written record of the fruit of their labours. It is to tlie tourist 

 who spends a few months in South .Vfrica that we look for an 

 assured and comprehensive review of Native life in all its varia- 

 tions ; the real student too often keeps silence. 



Perhaps the most fascinating and certainly one of the most 

 difficult of the many problems interwoven in the study of the 

 South African Native is that which has reference to his super- 

 stitions and beliefs. He guards his secrets well, and little can 

 be learned in ordinary conversation with him. He will listen, 

 and ]3erhaps give a j)olite assent to what is said, ncjt necessarily 

 in confirmation of its truth; but hardly, if at all, can he be I'cr- 

 suaded to throw enlightenment upon one of the most ])otent 

 factors in his being — his belief in the supernatural. Yet {h\> 

 belief pervades his whole system, regulating his conduct and 

 subconsciously shaping his most trivial actions ; it is an ingrained 

 and vital force ever present in his mind, and e\er putting him 

 ujMm his guard. Not lightly, indeed, is such a subject to be 

 discussed; the verv anxiet}' of the (juestioner to know scimething 

 of it is sufficient to arouse distrust. 



Occasionally may be gained the confidence of an old man. 

 versed in the eccentricities of the European, and indulgent to- 

 wards his curiosity, who, with a little j^ersuasive diplomacy 

 will be induced to satisfy perhaps a fractional part ot 

 that curiosity. Something, too, may be gleaned by oI)ser- 

 vation, by a study in compari.sons, by noting the conduct of 

 various natives under circumstances of a similar nature. Certain 

 surface truths can be ac(|uired and accejited as such ; evidence on 

 points more obscure may tend to establish their reliability; and 



