At each halting place since arriving in Bechuanaland, we have been made
aware how quickly the Englishman's generous disposition serves to teach
natives to become beggars. Italy, Switzerland, Egypt, have thus
suffered great harm. From Taungs to Palachwe, crowds of stalwart and
able-bodied natives of both sexes have flocked around the kitchen-car to
beg for bread, meat, and kitchen refuse. It is a novel and amusing
sight at present, but in the course of time I fancy this practice of
patronising beggars will make a callous and offensive breed that will
not easily be put off with words.
At Shashi River, 5 p.m., the three special trains lay close together,
because of the difficult gradient leading out of the bed of the river.
While the engines assisted the trains up the steep, I came across an
impromptu presentation of an address by the Mayor of Cape Town to Mr
Logan, the caterer of the excursion parties. According to what was
said, we were all made to believe that we could not have been better
served had the first European caterer undertaken the provisioning, to
which no one could make objection, and a duly signed testimonial to that
effect was presented to that gentleman. The scene, however, seemed odd
at unknown Shashi, and strongly illustrated a racial characteristic for
speech-making and presentation of testimonials.