The Diamond Mines of South Africa 



349 



Zebras 



the more industrious prefer the certainty 

 of wholesome food and steady pay to the 

 shifting to any other occupation that is 

 open to them or to return to their old 

 savage life. 



The ordinary dress of the natives in the 

 compound is a woolen shirt, trousers, and 

 shoes. They rarely wear any under- 

 clothing, and when at work in the mines 

 a pair of jagged trousers, a blanket, or 

 old breech cloth will often be their only 

 covering. Occasional visitors to the mine 

 are startled by the native disregard for 

 cover ; but the natives are commonly 

 alert to pass the word "umfas" (woman) 

 from one to another when a lady visitor 

 is seen in the mines, and then the native 

 workers on the level ahead scramble for 

 cover or hiding. 



When any injuries happen to the men 

 from accidents in the mines, the suffering 

 natives show remarkable fortitude in 

 bearing pain and enduring the necessary 



surgical operations. Their blood is warm 

 and pure, and cuts in their flesh, or 

 bruises, heal very rapidly. They suffer 

 most from diseases of the lungs, espe- 

 cially phthisis and pneumonia, which are 

 common maladies of the native tribes 

 outside of the mines as well as within 

 the compounds. They can readily obtain 

 fresh vegetables and fruit, but the com- 

 mon choice of food, such as mealie meal 

 and meat, exposes them to attacks of 

 scurvy. 



ATTEMPTS TO STEAL, THE DIAMONDS 



No corporal punishment of the natives 

 by white employers is allowed. If a boy 

 is unruly he may be placed in a room by 

 himself until he can be taken to jail and 

 charged with whatever offense he has 

 committed. The most common offense 

 is petty thieving. 



There can be no doubt that the covert 

 purloining of diamonds would be a fre- 



