Carrie Chapman Catt - Diaries, Europe, South Africa, August 2 - November 15, 1911 (Box 1, Folder 1)

danger and losses in case of accident. A factory for making the boxes in which the dynamite is shipped was supplied by American machinery entirely and this of so simple a character that each one was operated by a Native. When we expressed surprise that such trusty work was given them the Superintendent replied that they did it more satisfactorily than white men for when once shown how to do a thing, they would keep at it for a hundred years, without once thinking of doing it in a different way, but the white man's mind wandered and while it was absent, things happened. The sulphuric acid house was once filled with big and complicated machinery which inspired reverence for man's inventive ability. All over the grounds narrow tracks were laid and on these small cars similar to those seen in mines were being propelled by Natives, two to each car. These cars held the completed dynamite. In one house under an earth fort like cover the storage is accommoted. The great dread is lightning which is very common all over S. Africa and destructive. In another house Natives were rolling the dynamite into sticks or tubes. It was in the form of dough and is the form used in the mines, a stronger substance then [than] dynamite itself which is a powder.

The Superintendent's name was Mr. Cullen. The factory provides all the dynamite used in S. Africa and exports some. That means a very large amount as the mines consume a great deal. On the return home we visited a building to be used as a miner's phthisis hospital. It was beautiful and ought to prove alluring to the afflicted. We then learned that the fine dry dust in the gold mines of Johannesburg produce unfailingly a disease called miner's phthisis. If left alone it often leads to tuberculosis and would end life in any case in a short time. The next day came the public meeting and I tried to do nothing else. We had a crowded hall of representative people. The Doctor had gone to Heidelburg to speak to a Congress of Dutch women and I therefore spoke alone. Mrs. Krause presided.

The next day we went to the Country Club for lunch with Dr. and Mrs. Irvine, the good friends we had made on the Saxon. We were treated to "buck cutlets" and pawpaw for dessert. This was our first and we did not care for it much, [.] The Club was a delightful place with many trees and the first real stretch of green lawn we had seen. After lunch we went in the Doctor's motor to the Crown gold mine where he is in charge of the sick. We were shown the upper or surface workings of the mine. It bears little comparison with the pan washing processes of earlier days. Buildings covering vast extents of ground are filled with machinery for the crushing and washing of the ore. We were shown around by the Manager, Mr. Warrener, an American. This one mine produces 250 thousand pounds of gold per month, the net profit being about 100,000 pounds per month and this is only one of many mines in this City. 2000 white men and 12000 Kaffirs are employed. After seeing the assaying and other operations we were taken to the Compound where the Kaffirs are kept. They work in relays so some thousands are present in the compound at any one time. The chief interest centered on the cook house where they get their food. In all other compounds visited the Kaffirs provide their own food, but here it is provided for them. Very large kettles whish [which] would hold several gallons were placed in rows and supplied with steam for cooking the contents. Overhead a carrier was connected with a big bin of corn meal or "mealie meal" and tavelled [travelled] on a trolly [trolley] over the kettles. It automatically poured the meal into the kettle. One row of big kettles was filled with meal poridge [porridge], one with rice poridge [porridge] and one with meat stew. Kaffirs passed in close procession along one side of the building which was provided with a wall only about 4 ft high and an open space above on the inside and Kaffirs filled their basins with meal or rice porridge and added a dipper of stew.

[on left side of page in pencil]: All employees wear red coats or suits, so that they will not [quit] to change them. When work is over bits of explosive might stick to them and produce mishaps

2 68 3 That evening there were people to dinner at the house. On Friday the Mayoress lunched the suffragists and ourselves at the Carlton. Very stupid but a good lunch. I got home as soon as possible to get a bit of rest before dressing for the evening in preparation for the long ride to Benoni where I was due to speak that evening. We drove in a motor for an hour or more and came to the smart little gold mining town. We held a meeting in a small theater which was packed, the mayor presiding. When I returned to the house, the Krauses had not yet returned from the theater where they had gone. They had told me that they would not come into the house as they slept in a little house in the back yard. I was instructed to go to the kitchen and get some hot milk which I would find on the stove. I took a bath and then went after the milk. I found some bread and so had a good lunch. I felt like a very self confident robber in a kitchen where I had never been before. Just then the Krauses came in and we had a little chat. On Saturday morning I went shopping all the morning and in the afternoon, we all went to Mrs. Bosky's an American who lives in a beautiful house called Onder Keepjes. we were there to attend a reception by the Martha Washington club in our honor. It was a beautiful company of well dressed Americans, all young and well kept. The Pres ident is Mrs. Warrener, whose husband is the Manager of the Crown Mine, and who is the daughter of an artist who painted the portrait of Miss Anthony in Washington. The name begins with G. but I never could remember it. I had met her in the U. S. A. I made a little speech. That evening there was the public reception. These were always dull affairs. The Doctor and I both made speeches. On Sunday I lunched with Miss Lawrence and Miss Earl at their school and got back in time to meet the Executive Committee of the Enfranchisement League who had been invited for tea. After they had gone we had some supper and then Mrs. Brandt came. I had had a letter to her. She was without exception the most charming woman I met in S. Africa. She told me of her experiences as a volunteer nurse in the concentration camp at Irene near Pretoria. She examined each woman who came in and the record was put down in her diary. Nearly all saw their homes burned with all the contents before coming to the camp. Not one child under five years of age in any camp remained alive. She finally kept her records with lemon juice so that if her book was found no one could read it as the juice made no mark, but the writing could be brought out with sun or a hot iron. She is now writing up her experiences. She was the secretary of the secret service committee in Pretoria and when the members were all arrested and put in prison she organised a new one composed of women. Directly a spy came in and asked for a secret time table by which the armoured trains loaded with soldiers and ammunition were leaving Cape Town and coming up into the Transvaal. She had never known there was such a thi ng but she got it with the result that the Boers made continual successful raids upon these trains. It was glorious to hear her tell her stories of heroism. She is a sis ter of Mrs. Henry Clute, of the Alphen Wine farm. Mrs. Boersma never lets us forget our visit to that place as she always drinks Alphen wine. Mr. Brandt called for his wife after his church was out and I found him very pleasant. I had enjoyed the evening tremendously as the "stemning" of the Swedes was good. On Monday I went shopping again and took lunch at the Carlton with the girls and got home at four o'clock. Then I packed, got my things off, had an early dinner and the Krauses saw me to the train where Miss Cameron met me. Many people came to see us off. As the Reform Club had presented me with a huge bouquet at the reception the Enfranchis ment League gave me a bigger one at the train. A few things I have omitted. One Morning Mrs. Krause took me for a drive We went along the avenue where the finest dwel lings are and they are surely monuments which wealth alone could erect. The road led through a beautiful silent pine forest, which would be delightful with its paths and carriage roads leading off in every direction, in any case but when one is reminded that every tree was planted there, it becomes a wonder. The place is called Saxonwald.

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I had a letter given me by a lady in London to an Indian, Mr. Gahndi [Gandhi] in Johannesburg. I found that an Indian couldn't call on a lady at a hotel but Mr. Krause arranged a meet ing at his office at 11 o'clock on the last Monday. I sat waiting some time when a nice young girl, a Russian Jewess, whom I had met and knew as Mr. Gandhi's secretary, entered She told me that he had come to fill the engagement but the elevator would not take him up. I promptly told her I would call on him if she would guide me. She did and I went (Miss Cameron was with me) into a side street and found him in a small building. He is a practicing lawyer and I found his outer room filled with Indians. He is very black and not particularly superior in appearance. He has been in prison because he would not sign a registration paper which is made compulsory to all Indians.

Is the social ostracism suffered by the Indians due to the color of their skin; their poverty; the kind of labor they do; or what? That I cannot answer. The S. African world does not distinguish between the educated and uneducated, that is certain.

On the first evening of my stay in Johannesburg Miss Cameron and I dined at the German Club with Mr. and Mrs. Gonsaulus the American Consul all being the guests of the Krauses. On Saturday night before the reception we all dined with them at the Carl ton. More could have been put into the time assigned to Johannesburg, but if that had been the case I should have been a dead reformer.

As it is I have omitted to mention necessary letters of acceptance or declina tion and callers of which there were several. I was much pleased with the City. There had been rain and the country was green. The streets were asphalted and the buildings were modern and fine. The people are prosperous and wealth is already dictating terms to South African politics.

I should mention that during the week I had purchased a dress and had it made. The style was early Victorian. We met a lady, Mrs. Curtis, from California who told us she was going on our steamer and informed us that it had been changed to the Avondale Castle. Miss Cameron and I paid a visit to the Manager of the Union Castle Line accompanied by the American Consul who introduced us. We gave the gentleman a very uncomfortable half hour and he was undoubtedly releived [relieved] when we departed. We took away little satisfaction.

I arrived in Johannesburg October the second and left with Miss Cameron on the following Monday the ninth. We had been warned that the journey was one which made "ladies sea sick" but we were not prepared for the rocking, reeling, drunken train. As we were accustomed to all conditions of travel, we did not get sick but found the experience fatiging [fatiguing]. The reason for the rocking motion was that we passed over a mountainous count[illegible] nets and that we must descend from the 6000 feet of Joburg [Johannesburg] to the sea level and the train took a circitous [circuitious] route to accomplish the feat. The guage of all S. African roads is narrow. We had no complaint to offer in regard to the nature of the train motion since we passed through the most beautiful scenery we had seen in S.A. In the distance were mountains covered with snow and all about us beautiful mountains covered with fresh grreen [green]. At last we had come to a country where the rain had fallen and the grass had followed. The hills were wrinkled and picturesque rather than grand. On every little ledge was a Kaffir village, usually very small. Evidently the people had scattered to better enable them to find grazing for their cattle. The huts were now of a different variety looking like the old fashioned beehive and brown in color. The day was delightful and the night comfortable. We arrived at one o'clock having had our lunch in the dining car. The town of Maritzburg could be seen for an hour and a half before we reached it. It lies in a valley and we had to weave in and out among the hills always getting lower and lower until at last we pulled into the station. Our Hotel was a square built about a court, tiled and uncovered. It was comfortable and we spent the afternoon receiving callers taking tea etc. The evening was spent with callers also. On Wednesday, we made an excursion which we had long anticipated. Accompanied by Mrs. Walsh and Mr Beverly, an interpreter we took the train

at 8.30 and travelled about a half hour. We then walked over the hills about a mile and a half to the Kraal of the ChiefZ(Laduna) who lives in a small village but who presides over the affairs of all the little villages we had seen. The interpreter found him a bit grumpy but finally succeeded in getting him in a more hospitable mood and we were recieved. He was clad in his every day clothes which consisted of a nice square of sheep skin hanging from his waist and which always seen to turn under him when he sat like a nice comfy rug should do. In front he wore a bunch of tails which when he sat fell between his legs. The upper part of his body was covered by a white man's under shirt, neither neat nor clean.

After a time he invited us into a hut which was probably his Mother's. It had an extra large entrance door and by stooping we could enter. Usually one must crawl. An old woman lay upon her stomach on a rush mat with a blanket over her. Three young women sat crosslegged in a row and were decked in their Sunday best. Neck and wrists and ankles were decorated with many strings of beads. The hair was wonderfully dressed and a skirt and "moutche" were wrapped about the middle. The legs from the knee down and from the navel up were exposed. These young women had come from a neighboring village to pay the chief a visit and had brought him a present of freshly brewed beer.

After looking about a bit we went out and were escorted to the Chief's own tent. It had two doors opposite each other, an evident concession to the white man's ideas. It like the other was beautifully constructed. Small trees stripped of braches [branches] abd [and] twigs are woven together in a most expert way to form the bee hive. The crossing of two trees is always tied with bark to make it secure. The men do the work of the framework of the house two standing outside and two standing inside the hut. When the frame is completed, women add the thatch. The floors of thse [these] huts all over Africa are made of the hills of the white ants and are equal in hardness and smoothness to the best asphalt. In the middle between the supporting poles is the fireplace. A carefully lowered space surrounded by a rim something like a platter in shape is prepared for the fire. There is no escape for the smoke and the timbers are blackened by it. At one side of the round room another rim or division was made and behind it was the family collection of pottery bowls for water, straw woven strainers for beer, kettles etc. The family beds consist of mats or skins upon which they lie with a wood block for a pillow and blankets for cover. The whole is rolled up and put one side during the day. The hut was in perfect order, and clean as the small brooms made of brush could make it. The smooth perfect making of the floor and fireplace, the exact and artistic design of the center place filled us with wonder for the completed whole was a genuine work of art. In the Chief's own hut there were three chairs setting in a row. They were of a common kind we were invited to occupy them with pride of ownership very manifest. We were glad to sit for the walk over the hills had been very trying in the tropical sun. I had had to beg the party to stop several times to allow me to cool off. Now in these tents or huts we found the air delightfully cool. I had supposed them to be very hot since they are always exposed to the sun. The chief invited us to partake of his newly presented beer. This was a great honor and we accepted. The men only pour the beer and in many tribes perhaps all, the men alone drank it altho [although] the women brewed it. The chief went out and brought in a woman with a pan of fresh water. Then he washed a strainer and two calabashes. Into one he poured the foamy top of the beer and into the other he poured the good beer. All was done with the greatest cleanliness, ceremony and deliberation. When all was ready he lifted the calabash to his own mouth and took a good swig. The interpreter told us this was to show us that all was safe. He then offered it to the man as such human creatures are the superiors of all females as all the world knows. He however motioned that we were to drink it first. It was then passed to me. Carefully getting my eye focused on the side of the calabash the Chief had not drunk from I lifted it to my lips and took so small a sip that the Chief laughed. The others being beer drinkers drank more to his liking. Afterwards I was able to get a photo of the chief drinking beer and I am sure it was out of the same calabash (a calabash is a gourd. They grow to an enormous size and the largest ones must hold a gallon. In these the beer is kept. Those holding about a quart are used for drinking.

We remained until about noon at the kraal. After the beer drinking and the Chief taking a second and liberal portion, his tongue was limbered as is the habit with beer of all lands and he confided in the interpreter that he was about to be married. It would be the fifth time but alas one had died so he would have only four! He hoped to take another next year. A new hut was being constructed and it was for the new wife. we bought some necklaces from women in the Kraal who took them off their necks. We then distributed sixpences and tikkies (as the three cent piece is called) to the children who suddenly increased in numbers at an astonishing rate and left us quite bankrupt. We retraced our journey over the hot hills and at the station turned off into a beautiful garden filled with a wonderful variety of strange trees, and plants. It was a mass of rich color for most of them were in the spring blossoming. Acacias of endless variety were in blossom azalias in great trees were as thickly covered with blossoms as the little ones forced in the hot houses which we get at Christmas time. Here was located a Girls High School and the principal Mrs Colepepper had invited us to lunch. It was a private and successful school. In the garden we saw our first pawpaw tree. Later I became most enthusiastec [enthusiastic] over this fruit - a sort of old fashioned muskmelon which grows on a tree. It is too perishable to export. It is eaten with lemon juice and sugar and has a delicate flavor all its own. I should add that its particular home is Durban where the hotel treats us to them three times a day. We arrived home late in the afternoon desperately tired and rested as best we could before dressing in our best for the reception that evening. Here I made a speech and was bored as I always am at such affrirs [affairs]. In this case I had the opportunity of boring others. On Thursday morning we sallied forth at an early hour after photographs and I bought two dozen. We then went to Lady Mackenzies for morning tea. We found her with her hat on, as that fool notion has reached S.A. Later we visited the Museum. Miss Cameron lunched with Lady Steel who has married and come to S.A. but I dared not do so much, and rested at the hotel. At four there was a tea out of town about a mile. The lady, Mrs. Davis, the wife of a publisher, sent her carriage for me and sent me home. She had a beautiful big home and the drawing room was of elegant size with a platform at one end. I never saw a room anywhere which I envied more. In the evening we had our public meeting. We left Maritsburg early the next morning arriving in Durbanabout one o'clock. The usual committee met us. Never did they fail to do this and to see us off. We went at once to our hotel where for 15 shillings inclusive we had most delightful rooms facing the sea. This was Friday Oct. 13th. After lunch and a little cleaning up we went to a meeting of the Club (suffrage) When that was over the president Mrs. Ayers took me to a shop where she recommended a dressmaker. She was willong [willing] to do the work but the material must be purchased in the shop, so I arranged to have two simple frocks of muslin made. I had to do some skirmishing about to collect all my baggage. I had forwarded all of my trunks except the wardrobe from Cape Town and our chairs came on too. I has sent a case of books by the boat I came on and another case of books from Pt. Elizabeth. A hat box came on from Pretoria. My thinnest summer things were in these trunks. The evening was spent in unpacking such as I had received. On Saturday I went to see another dressmaker in order to get the material made which I had bought in Johannesburg. I succeeded and left the muslin for two more dresses. We met the ladies of the suffrage club for morning tea at a restaurant and it was a curious sight to see crowds of men and women gathered at this hour for their precious cup. Then we went shopping, getting back to the hotel at I [1?] for lunch. I unpacked further in the afternoon and Mrs. Ayers and Mrs. Behr took tea with me at four and I was occupied with callers until dinner. It was good to get to bed early. On Sunday I worked more with my things and went with Miss Cameron to Mrs. Kerr Cross for tea at four. She received us out of doors. We found Dr. Jacobs, Mrs. Boessma and some delegates had arrived at the hotel. Again I went to bed early, but first I trimmed a new hat I had bought. On Monday the convention began and I was present every minute to advise when necessary. We met from eleven to one and from 2.30 to 5. In the evening was the