ZULUS IN FRANCE

Thames Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 18357, 2 June 1917, Page 5

ZULUS IN FRANCE

CET'E'WAYO'S NEPHEW. I" I do not think tha^ I have eve.r • been so impressed! with, a. sens© of why the iAliias are bound to win tlie war than I was today. It was the sight of a double line of South African 'natives Ikied, up for ■me to see in one of the many camp® which wa'e already occupied by the South African Native Labour Corps t» in various parts of the war area.. In the ranks of this motionless array, standing rigidly to attention, ■ were splendid-looking Zulus, sturdy \ Basutos from the Noirthem Trans- ' vaal, and deep^.chested Pondo®. Willing volunteers, every one of them, who have exchanged their sunny luxuriance for the brtter cheerlessness of this particularly severe winter an order to do their "bit." The officer who conducted., mm round tfoeiir compound was a gentleman di'Stinguiished in current iSouth I African history. He called three, I men out of the ranks: one a nephew of Cetewayo, another a son of Diniieulu, the third named Dwa-1 lama. I desired' liiim to ask Dwalana whether -there, was any massage he would like to send to South Africa. His reply, interpreted, was that he and his comrades were pround to be with the igireat, army of the Empire in France; that they were well 1 cared for and happy,. and that ajjiuhough the weather had been such as they had never dreamed of before, yet, j thanks to plenty of igood food', wa,rm ' clothes, diiy huts wiith bisn fires, and a igenerous supply of blankets,' they i were gettiing 1 throaigh. it quite well. These natives wear a blue serge uniifioran not dissimilar from that of i the Royal Marines, with blue cloaks, ! cowboy hats {frequently ■ adorned i accordinigi to taste), ammunition i boot®, and puttees. Their daily I rations ooncsist of l|lb mealie meal, \ whrch is m-ade into a very porridi<?ei, j |lb of bread, lib of meat, coffee, • and 'salt. Twice a week they get lib', of vegetables per head, and tobacco and cigarettes are issued. There ,is a. dry canteen in eveiy compound. The scheme is another of General Botha's igireat services to thie Em- ! pire. The .success of the step has, a been so great and so unqualified 3 tliait the War Ofßice iss asking for it •■ to. be expanded many-fold beyoaid j the original limit. One result of enormous value jj should be the : setting 1 free of a great I number of white labour and parnia--5 nent base men for othei* work. | The natives are segregated upon very much tlie same plain a;s in the South African mi:nihg compounds. Eveiy effort is made to amuse them ; they are naturally great singiei1 ®, and are encouraged to sset up smoking concerts. About) '25 per cent, of them speak English, and the rest ishow great kieennesis to learn to read and write our language. The employment consists of every kind of general military labouir. The discipline is excellent, the police and sentries being all natives who are uni armed. —Renter's Special. , \ -.»_. .—