496 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXIII. No. 587. 



institutions, and as South Africa is under- 

 going a period of financial depression the 

 present does not seem a favorable oppor- 

 tunity for asking for increased expendi- 

 ture ; but the need of collecting is so press- 

 ing that it should be undertaken immedi- 

 ately, even if the specimens can not now be 

 exhibited. 



The native departments of various 

 colonies and of Rhodesia took a great deal 

 of trouble to assemble natives for the in- 

 spection of members of the section and it 

 is due to their thoughtful efforts on our be- 

 half that we were able to examine, measure 

 and photograph representatives of many 

 vof the tribes of South Africa. Prison au- 

 thorities also gave lis facilities and by these 

 means Bushmen, Hottentots and represen- 

 tatives of various Bantu-speaking peoples 

 were studied. The compound managers at 

 several mines likewise gave special oppor- 

 tunities for the examination of native 

 laborers and our hearty thanks are due to 

 all these gentlemen for their kindness. 



The managers of the large sugar factory 

 at Mount Edgecombe, near Durban, enter- 

 tained a large party and organized a series 

 of native dances on a very large scale. A 

 similar treat was two days later provided 

 by the Natal government at Henley, near 

 Pietermaritzburg, where some 2,000 or more 

 natives danced war and other dances for 

 our delectation. These were very remark- 

 able performances ; many old residents had 

 ■never seen the like and it is improbable 

 that they will ever be repeated on a similar 

 scale. At Henley the opportunity was 

 taken to celebrate the marriage of Mhlola, 

 the young hereditary chief of the Inadi 

 tribe of Zulus, to a young woman whom 

 he had selected to become his chief wife 

 and mother of his principal heir. The 

 ceremony was very lengthy, but it was most 

 interesting ; the lobolo, or bride-dowry, con- 

 sisted of ten head of cattle. An elaborate 

 dance of a large number of representatives 



of various tribes was organized by the au- 

 thorities of the Village Main Reef Mine at 

 Johannesburg. 



Small parties of those specially inter- 

 ested, by private arrangement, made visits 

 to several Zulu kraals in Natal and had an 

 opportunity of seeing the native at home. 

 Much insight into the life of the natives 

 was obtained, which will enable us to study 

 the literature on these people with in- 

 creased appreciation. The Rhodesian gov- 

 ernment gave us similar facilities, and it 

 was owing to its generosity and to the kind- 

 ness of several officials that we were able 

 to make long excursions from Salisbury and 

 Umtali to visit Mashona and other kraals. 

 These villages" differ very considerably 

 from those of the Zulus, as the Middle 

 Bantu people of South Africa belong to a 

 different stock from the Eastern or Zulu- 

 Xosa stock; and a comparison between the 

 two types was very instructive. Small col- 

 lections were made at these kraals and 

 many photographs were taken. Informa- 

 tion was also obtained on special points 

 from the elder men, with the assistance of 

 the government official who accompanied 

 us. On a rapid excursion of this kind very 

 little real work can be accomplished, but 

 general impressions were gained and pre- 

 vious accounts verified, and thus great bene- 

 fit accrued to the visitors. 



The voyage home was not without its, 

 valuable lessons. In Portuguese East Af- 

 rica we witnessed a barbaric dance in the 

 middle of one night, and at Beira, Mozam- 

 bique, and Mombasa we visited three types 

 of coast towns and saw various types of 

 natives. Finally we finished off with a day 

 or two in Egypt and noted the medley of 

 races in Cairo— a veritable ethnological 

 kaleidoscope. 



Our extensive, though rapid, tour through 

 and around Africa enabled us to see samples 

 of nearly all the races and of many of the 



