Some of the trees growing here bud and bloom twice a year. These interesting changes do not take place in the same way that nature does her work in the colder climates—by the leaves falling off in the fall of the year and the buds coming in the spring. With these trees the old leaf remains until forced off the limb by the new bud. About six weeks' time is required for nature to change from the old to the new. During this period new buds bulge from the tips of the limbs, when the old leaf will fall to the ground. This change is gradually progressing, until sections of the tree offer a clean, fresh, bright, green-leafed appearance, while on other parts the dull-green, dust-soiled leaf offers a striking contrast. Between the months of February and March and August and September the new leaf replaces the old.
There is really little timber in South Africa, as the trees grow low and are of a spreading character. Naturally, the shade cast by them is much wider than that afforded by high trees. Where brush grows, it is found to be a dense thicket or jungle, in which monkeys disport themselves at will, and is often the home of the python also, a reptile frequently seen along the Natal coast. Shooting monkeys in the brush is a common amusement.
Outside the city are banana plantations, and sometimes patches of corn and pumpkins. In order to prevent crops from being partly eaten by monkeys, laborers are out in the fields at daylight setting traps to catch the "missing links" or shooting them. The monkeys are very destructive to crops growing in fields bordered by bushy land. A monkey's gluttony often renders his cunning of no avail, and for that trait he becomes an easy prey. Calabashes grow everywhere in South Africa, and it is by this vegetable the monkey is generally trapped. The calabash is dug out, or partly so, and cornmeal, calabash seeds and other monkey edibles are put inside and then made fast. A small hole, just large enough for a monkey to wriggle his supple fingers in and contracted paw through, is made in the vegetable. When no one is about, the monkey makes a start for the calabash trap and is soon eager to find out what is inside. He then begins working his paw through the opening, and when he has reached the cornmeal, seeds and other bait he grabs a handful. It is then that his gluttony proves his downfall. The opening that admitted his empty paw is too small to allow his clenched fist to be withdrawn, so he pulls and tugs for hours to get his paw through the hole, but will not let go of the food even while being put to death by his captors.
"Are there any automobiles in South Africa?" asked a friend in a letter. Perhaps others will ask a similar question concerning the presence of other modern appliances in a far-off part of the world. One will not meet with elevated railroads, tunnels under wide rivers, underground railway systems, or buildings from twenty to fifty stories in height, for the reason that the cities of South Africa are not large enough to require these modern public utilities; but one will meet with modern electric light systems, telephone, telegraph and wireless telegraphy systems, automobiles, motorcycles, motor trucks, most up-to-date fire-fighting apparatus, modern farm machinery, typesetting machines, web presses—all the modern machinery and appliances with which cities of the same size in the North are equipped will be found in the cities of the far Southland.
White drill clothes are worn by two-thirds of the men of Durban; also white shoes and a white, light-weight helmet. A suit costs from $2.50 to $6, and a wardrobe contains from three to half a dozen. In addition to the drill, a majority of mechanics and clerks can vary their apparel by wearing woolen, flannel and even evening-dress suits. Women also generally adhere to white clothes and often a helmet similar to the style worn by men, together with white shoes, white hand-bag, and white parasol.
The standard of intelligence of the people is high. A majority in the coast cities are from the United Kingdom. Scotch and English are the more numerous, the Irish and Welsh being less in evidence. Among a group of men, the colonials (white persons born in South Africa of British parents) are nearly always in the minority.
It is only in very small towns in South Africa where a public library would not be open to all who wished to take advantage of its benefits. Durban is well supplied with public schools, a technical school open for both day and night classes; Y. M. C. A., Y. W. C. A. institutions, splendid library, art gallery, museum; is thickly spired and turreted with good church buildings; and, for recreation, there is a promenade, fringed with beautiful palms and shady trees, with seats under them, for a mile on one side, and the bay on the other; parks and sports grounds scattered throughout the city; a botanical garden and a zoological park. All these institutions of education, religion and recreation are to be found 10,000 miles from America, on the fringe of "Darkest Africa."
In order that the reader may clearly distinguish between white and black, a note of the distinctive terms in use here might not be out of place. A "native" is a kafir or negro; a "colonial" is one born in South Africa of white parents, generally applied to English-speaking people; Dutch means a Boer, and Boer means Dutch; the word "Africander" also means Dutch. But for all whites—Dutch, colonial, and foreign-born—the word "European" is used to designate the white from the black. The word "white" is seldom used. Indian coolie, or Indian, is a native of India, or of Indian parentage. "Colored" means a person of Malay and white blood. Half-castes are of negro and white blood. A "boy" means a kafir servant or a laborer. A native servant 40 years of age would be called a "boy."
House servants in South Africa are native boys, and Indian women and girls are often employed as nurses. Occasionally one sees a native woman looking after children; but the native boy—the "umfaan," as he is called in the Zulu language—from 10 to 18 years of age, is the standby as a house servant in the Province of Natal. The houseboy wears clothes that denote his occupation, and generally presents a neat appearance. His wage varies from $2 to $5 a month. Most of the umfaans make good servants, particularly the Zulu boys. Unlike his American brother, he is an early riser.
"Umfaan peril—protection for the children"—is the light in which a great many of the Europeans see their dependency on the umfaan as the servant. While Indian women and some native women look after the children, more umfaans will be seen wheeling baby carriages than black maids. Such a thing as a European servant is almost unheard of in South Africa. So, how to have the children looked after by other than black male servants is a burning question in the province. Conventions are held regularly at the instance of women's children protection societies, leagues and similar organizations, at which the ablest minds of the country deal with the "umfaan peril." But no solution has yet been found to check the degradation that follows in the wake of such a system of taking care of children. Men and women who have made a study of the "peril," and who are familiar with customs, are loth to place all the blame for undesirable conditions on the native, nevertheless. A large number of native girls are not allowed by their parents to come to the cities or towns as servants. While they live in the kraal on the veld no concern is felt for the future of the girls; but so soon as they leave the native hut to go into service in the towns their future is in doubt. So, with no native girls to be had as servants, the umfaan's services for the present are indispensable.