MA!tCtI ^6, 1904. 
FOREST . AND STHEAM. 
249 
as so many had been hoarded and hidden by the 
natives, for the purpose of purchasing cows. A queer 
instance of this habit once occurred with my gang, in 
order to thoroughly understand which it will be neces- 
sary to give a rough description of a Zulu hut. To 
construct one, a lot of poles are cut and planted in a 
circle. The tops are then drawn in and lashed to- 
gether, forming a dome-like framework, which is 
thatched with grass, leaving an opening at the summit 
for the escape of the smoke, and another at the side 
to serve as a door, which is so low that it is requisite 
to go down on the hands and knees in order to make 
an entrance. By some carelessness the hut of my gang 
caught on fire and burnt like a tinder. So soon as the 
complete structure was reduced to ashes, there was an 
instantaneous rush of its occupants, who commenced 
digging at sundry spots and quickly unearthed their 
store of half sovereigns, which had been buried for 
safety. 
So soon as a young Zulu collects enough cows to 
purchase a wife, he hunts around until he finds a dani- 
sel whose father is willing to sell, provided the price is 
satisfactory. After the sale has been concluded, there 
is a carousal entitled "dancing in," after which the 
husband leaves his child wife in the care of her parents, 
while he seeks some occupation by which he can 
accumulate enough bovine currency to make a second 
purchase, which renders him affluent, as his two wives 
will release him from all labor. Henceforth his sole 
solicitude is that a majority of his progeny will be 
females, which in the due course of time are parted 
with at the highest market price, thereby increasing his 
herd, which is looked after by his male children, who 
continue in this service until they are old enough to get 
employment elsewhere and gain enough coin to pur- 
chase cows and follow in the footsteps of their provi- 
dent father. 
During my residence in Natal, the supply of damsels 
became so scant that their price ran so high as to pre- 
vent the young men from investing. Whereupon the 
Commissioner of Native Affairs conceived a scheme, by 
which he relieved the ill-feelings of the young men and 
created a source of revenue for the colony. He got 
the Colonial Parliament to pass a law which fixed a 
limit on the price of damsels, except those of chiefs, 
and every man who wished to secure a helpmate was 
forced to go to the nearest magistrate, who would 
issue a marriage license for a named fee, which went to 
increase the Colonial revenue. It proved to be im- 
mensely popular with the young men, who were a 
majority of the native population, and also with the 
colonists, who ignored the justification of polygamy, 
in order to lessen their taxation. Just after the bill was 
passed I reached Ladysmith on my way up into the 
interior on the day appointed by the Commissioner to 
proclaim the law to the natives. He was received by an 
enormous crowd, the younger portion of which con- 
tinuously shouted his praises. Previous to marriage 
a Zulu wears his hair au naturel; but after wedlock 
the crown of the head is shaved and the hair imme- 
diately surrounding the circlet is colored white, while 
the balance is interlaced and arranged into various 
kiiiks, plaits, etc., which are kept in order by the 
use of a very singular pillow. It is made of a piece of 
wood hewn out in the shape of a plank, about fourteen 
inches in length by six in width, which is carved with 
various designs, and the upper edge consists of two 
concavities for the purpose of supporting the neck, 
thus allowing the knotted portion of the hair to pro- 
ject beyond, and I often wondered how one could en- 
joy a refreshing slumber with such an uncomfortable 
rest for the head. 
The first requisite for one, on his arrival among the 
Zulus, is to acquire a smattering of the language, which 
is highly sonorous and pleasing. The commencement 
is usually made with what is colonially termed as 
kitchen Kaffir, of which the following is an example. 
Soon after arising in the morning I would call out to 
my body servant, "January, cook kettle." A short time 
afterward I would be addressed as follows: "Kettle 
cookeelee, M'kos," which, freely translated, means "the 
kettle is boiling Boss." It is wonderful how quickly 
the children of the colonists acquire a knowledge_ of 
the Zulu language, which is attributable to their being 
cared for by Zulu boys, as the females are not allowed 
to enter into service. During my residence in Durban I 
never saw a native female servant. Among the Boers 
I noticed a small number, but comparatively few, and 
they were of the tribe known as Fingoes. 
' Before the building of the railway from Durban to 
Pietermaritzburg and Pretoria, the mails were carried 
by Zulus, who tramped in various directions through- 
out the colony. They would start from Durban about 
sunset with the bags on their shoulders, and arrive in 
Pietermaritzburg, between fifty and sixty miles, before 
daylight the next morning, there being but one re- 
lay on the route, and I have frequently seen them lying 
asleep in the portico of the post-office with the mail 
bags serving as pillows. 
The milk supply of Durban was brought in by Zulu 
boys, perfectly naked, with the bottles slung around 
their necks. They usually stopped in front of my 
shanty on the outskirts in order to put on coarse 
colonial shirts, as there was a municipal ordinance 
forbidding the entrance of a naked Kaffir into the cor- 
porate limits. A Zulu girl wears no clothing until she 
becomes a wife living with her husband, when a rough 
skirt of calf's skin serves as a petticoat in the remote 
districts, while those in the neighborhood of the colon- 
ial stores turn out in the same style of dress made of 
cheap cotton goods. The women are forbidden to 
touch a cow, consequently the operation of milking is 
performed by the men, which is about all the labor 
they do. 
In one of my trips into the Zulu country I had 
crossed the Natal boundary but a short distance, when 
I encountered a novel idea in the shape of baskets, 
which held liquids. They were woven from a species 
of rush, and when not in use, were placed in running 
streams, so as to keep the material from which they were 
made well swollen. Some of them were quite large 
and used for the purpose of brewing a native beer from 
Jv*ffir corn, which I imagined was a variety of sor- 
ghum, from its close resemblance to that plant. The 
beer was strongly intoxicating, and I frequently met 
parties of natives under its influence. 
A Zulu is proud, warlike, superstitious and indolent, 
but when one once gains their confidence, he can cer- 
tainly trust to their faithfulness, as was frequently 
proved by me, during my stay among them. Their 
warlike qualities have been frequently proved. One of 
the first instance of this was when the Boers crossed 
the Drakensberg Mountains and attempted to settle in 
Natal. They were surprised and slaughtered by the 
Zulus at a place known as Weenen (Weeping), which 
I visited. The entire party, some 600 in number, in- 
cluding women and children, were massacred. Since, 
several desperate wars have taken place between them 
and the English colonists, in the last of which the 
Prince Napoleon, only son of Louis Napoleon, was 
killed in a surprise. In Natal no Zulu is allowed to 
have a gun, and they are all armed with their native 
weapons, namely the knob-kerrie, or club, and assegai, 
or spear. The knob-kerrie is usually made of heavy 
wood, and occasionally of the horn of the white rhi- 
noceros, a species that is fast becoming, if it is not 
already, extinct. I have one in my possession which 
was obtained in exchange for tobacco, that I prize very 
highly, as I doubt if there is a duplicate of it in this 
country. I have seen a Zulu boy throw a small wooden 
one whirling and cut down a quail in full flight. The 
assegai is a rather light spear, which is thrown with 
surprising force and accuracy. Several times did I 
see one hurled and transfix a grinning Vervet monkey 
CA'er fifty feet distant. From my experience with them 
I would say that the Zulus are vainglorious, supersti- 
tious and indolent; but if one gains their confidence, 
they are wonderfully honest and faithful. On 
my departure from Natal, my body servant, January, 
wished to accompany me, but as there was a 
colonial law forcing every one who carried a Zulu to 
foreign parts to give security for a safe return, I was 
compelled to leave him behind. 
Frank J. Thompson. 
It Just Happened So. 
n.— That the Goll was There. 
An interesting illustration of the excellent marks- 
manship of Unale Sam's men behind the guns, as de- 
veloped during the recent inspection trip of the naval 
committeemen on the United States ship Dolphin, has 
just come to light. Representative Roberts, of Massa- 
chusetts, was of the party. Approaching Gunner's 
Mate Spoer, of the ship, Mr. Roberts offered him $l 
to hit a seagull. Spoer took a 40-pound 6-millimeter 
Colt's automatic gun, and after a trial shot he popped 
a seagull on the fly at 400 yards. One of the Repre- 
sentatives was firm in his declaration that the shot was 
an accidental one, whereupon Spoer shot another gull 
at 350yds. The crowd of astonished witnesses to the 
feat finally came to the conclusion that Spoer was the 
crack shot of the ship. This Spoer modestly dis- 
claimed, saying, "We've a shipload of 'em, sir." Spoer 
got his dollar. — Washington Star, 
in. — That the Shark was There. 
E. Baero, master of the bark Margharita, has answered 
the petition of damages filed by Juan Martinez. 
In his petition for damages Martinez said that he 
sailed from Pisagua, Chili, July 21, on the bark Mar- 
gharita, bound for Savannah. During a storm, while 
the bark was some miles off the coast of the Falkland 
Islands, he was ordered aloft to reef a sail. When he 
reached the yard arm and started to perform the 
hazardous job the yard arm gave way, and he was 
plunged into the sea. As he sank a shark or some 
other sea monster bit one of his legs off. He was 
rescued from the water almost dead from loss of blood 
and the severe shock to his nervous system. 
Martinez claims that his fall into the sea was in the 
discharge of his duty, and was caused by the insecure 
manner in which the yard arm was fastened, which was 
the fault of the ship owners. 
It is in the narrative of Martinez that the real horror 
of such an ordeal as he went through is truly de- 
picted. He can scarcely speak English, but in his de- 
scription one not at all familiar with the Spanish lan- 
guage can supply with imagination what some of his 
excited sentences mean. Martinez hobbles about on 
his crutch. "I never want to go to sea in a sailing 
vessel again," he said. "I shall never forget that night," 
and then he related the story: 
"We were sailing off the coast of the Falkland Islands 
somewhere, when a heavy gale ^struck us," he said. "I 
was ordered to go aloft and reef a sail. The masts 
were whipping about like reeds, and it was all that I 
could do to keep from being snapped into the water. 
When I reached the yard arm and prepared to reef 
the flapping sail, I felt something give way, and down 
I went. I seemed to have fallen a mile before I struck 
the water. As I felt the sea close above me, and I 
went down and down into the waters, which were even 
darker than the night itself, I gave up all hope of life. 
"As I was rising to the surface again, I felt a power- 
ful pressure on my leg. Quick as a flash I drew my 
knees up to me, putting one against the head of the 
monster in an endeavor to break his hold. This seemed 
to infuriate him, and he commenced shaking me as a 
bull-terrier would a rat. I had no instrument that 
would be effective against such a powerful monster, but 
in sheer desperation I pulled out a small pocket-knife 
that I had and made an effort to strike with it, I was 
strangling, and my strength was fast leaving me. I 
began to lose consciousness, and I could feel the bone 
in my leg being crushed. I felt something give way as 
I neared the surface, but neveE Had an idea that my leg 
was gone. As I rose to the top, I saw a light up 
above, and I knew that I was at the side of the bark. I 
called as loudly as I could, and was finally hauled 
aboard , where I lost consciousness. When I came to, 
my leg was missing, and they told me that I was in that 
condition when they fished me out of the water." — 
Savannah (Ga.) News. 
— # — - 
Kadiak Grizzlies Again. 
For the benefit of anyone who may possibly want to go 
to Kadiak Island for the giant bears that have made the 
island famous, let me say that the simplest way to get 
there is to take a cannery steamer from San Francisco to 
Karluk Beach, on the Shellikoff, or west shore of Kadiak 
Island. From there take another cannery steamer to 
the cannery at Uyak Bay. Be sure to finish out your 
outfit here, for beyond Uyak Bay there are neither stores, 
roads, horses, conveyances, or even human beings, and 
the only houses to be met with, if they can be called 
bouses, are two deserted barabaras of the natives, one 
at the end of the trail to Karluk River, and the other at 
the foot of Karluk Lake. From the cannery at Uyak 
Bay you go in open boat to the head of the bay, and 
from there is a portage over a pretty blind trail to the 
barabara just alluded to on Karluk River. From 
this point you follow up the river to its source at Karluk 
Lake, and I venture to say that you will not be there 
long, if it is the right season, before you make the 
acquaintance of some of the giant Kadiak grizzlies, and 
when you see them I think you will admit that they are 
the largest grizzlies you ever S3,w. 
The "carry" or portage from the bay to the river is 
covered in some places waist deep with toondra or 
Siberian mossj ' usually watersoaked, and there are miry 
spots on the trail almost knee deep, so you must take 
your high rubber boots along, and of course you must 
have guides and baidarkas besides your regular white 
man's outfit. Be sure to take plenty of blankets along, 
too, for one morning in the middle of August we found 
ice half an inch thick in our coffee pot that had stood 
outside of the tent over night. 
Once at Karluk Lake, all you have to do to find your 
bears is to sit in your baidarka with your rifles and let 
your Aleut guides paddle you quietly around the shores 
of the lake. If it is in August and your experience is 
like ours, you will not only soon see grizzlies, but you 
will have an opportunity to shoot at them in perfect 
safety from your boat, or if you prefer the excitement of 
a land encounter you can take a grizzly trail and follow it 
up on' land ; but I may remark here, that if it is ever 
true that "discretion is the better part of valor," it is when 
one is on the trail of a Kadiak "big bear." I will only 
add that if any one goes to hunt these bears at Karluk 
Lake, he should go in August when the salmon are 
spawning in the shallow water along the shores of the 
lake, for that is the time when the bears congregate about 
the lake. At other seasons of the years they are probably 
scattered indiscriminately over the island, and it is only 
a matter of chance whether you see one on the lake or 
anywhere else. 
I have called these bears "grizzlies" because they are 
commonly known by that name, but I am aware that 
some naturalists disting;uish them from Ursus horribilis, 
though as far as I can see they look as much like the 
regulation grizzly as two peas look alike, except that the 
Kadiak variety is on a bigger scale than the ordinary 
grizzly. Livingston Stone. 
Do Bears Destroy Game? 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Sooner or later, in the discussion on bear protec- 
tion now going on in your columns, the question was 
bound to come: "Do bears play any appreciable part in 
the destruction of our large game?" The casual reader 
will answer, "Of course they do." Then the question 
follows, "Is that the result of general hearsay, or of 
fairly reliable observation?" 
In your last issue, one of your correspondents, who 
undoubtedly knows well his own ground, calls down the 
law on Bruin on account^ of his game-killing proclivi- 
ties, maintaining that he is responsible for large num- 
bers of moose, caribou and deer that disappear an- 
nually. Two or three interesting incidents of Bruin's 
carrying away deer are mentioned; but in each case the 
supposition seems to be that the bear appropriated 
game which had already been shot, rather than that 
which he had himself hunted and killed. Undoubtedly 
your correspondent has other cases in mind which the 
writer and many other naturalists would be glad to 
hear. So, in the interests of Bruin and of natural his- 
tory, this article is written, in the hope that some of 
your readers may be enough interested in the subject 
to send their own observations. 
It is generally held, I think, in more or less definite 
fashion among hunters, that Bruin is a game-killer; but 
it is astonishing how hard it is to find first-hand evi- 
dence on the subject. Whether this be, as your cor- 
respondent suggests, because Bruin is a sly dog and 
conceals his depredations, or because he is really inno- 
cent of the charge, is an open question. Personally, I 
have known one or two cases where bears have un- 
doubtedly killed fawns and calves, but in no case am I 
at all certain whether this were an accidental affair, a 
bit of Bruin's good luck, or the result of deliberate 
hunting. I have found where bears have pounced upon 
wounded or helpless animals and by killing them have 
saved the poor brutes from a slower death. No credit 
to the bear, of course, but it might influence our point 
of view and call down the law on the hunter. And I 
have known of cases where a hunter, returning for 
his game, found it missing, and Bruin was the ultimate 
winner. But I have not yet found a genuine case of a 
bear stalking a free deer, a moose or caribou, and get- 
ting his game. Once, possibly, I came near it, in sur- 
prising a big black bear that was lying in wait in some 
bushes at a narrow opening between two barrens. A 
herd of caribou were going that way, to pass from one 
barren to the other, and it is possible that Bruin was 
watching there to catch one. 
/,/The difficulty in the case seems to be that a bear's 
odor is so strong that a man— to say nothing of the 
sensitive nose of a deer — can often detect him even 
when he is lying to leeward. The strong, doggy smell 
