The Mounted Police of Natal - H P Holt

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1913 edition. Excerpt: ... chapter xxii at the back of beyond A Lonelier life than that led by a member of the Natal Police away on some out-station in the far north of Zululand, perhaps a couple of hundred miles off the nearest railway, it would be difficult to imagine; and yet it has some indefinable attraction for the men. Just as the call of the East gnaws eternally at the soul of a wanderer who, having once passed into the magic at the other side of the Suez Canal, has returned to hum-drum old England, so the lonely life in Zululand grips those who have once grown accustomed to its peculiar charm. A man may be stationed for eight or ten years at a place like Ubombo, which is 150 miles from the railway, or Ingwavuma, which is even more remote, with only a few kafir kraals in the district, and still be contented, although his only white neighbours consist of a magistrate and a store-keeper. At such places there is usually a sergeant in charge of the station, and he may have one, or possibly three European policemen to associate with. Speak to him of the Strand and Regent Street and a curious look comes into his eyes. He is living his life in the wilds, with little else than Zulus and snakes for companions, and is missing, year after year, all the good things that wonderful London has in its storecupboard. He is human, and when you remind him of these things he will tell you with a touch of pathos, 8 Police Camp At Gwaliweni, On The Border Of Swaziland. Only one white family lives within 30 miles of the place, which is six days' ride from the railway. To /ace /. s8. the charm of solitude 229 which he would not like you to see, that he really would like to go home again for a while, " because thing