TWELVE MEN IN ONE.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17420, 3 April 1922, Page 11

TWELVE MEN IN ONE.

Across the utretdh, of quivering veld in South Africa, in the heat of a summer day, you see in the distance a littlo blurred object. Occasionally the top of it 6eems to become disconnected- fromj the lower half and to hang trembling' in space. This is a trick that heat and distance play with a corrugated.iron building ou the veld. The littlo blurred object is a police camp, and it will take you two hours of riding fhrough the 6unny eilenoe to reach it. It is painted brown and yellow, and above the door in white letters is the one word "Police. There are generally two policemen at this isolated spot —ono Dutch and one. English. A discriminating Government has put the two races together here, knowing that each will leam something from the other. One man is out on patrol. The other, Smith, greets you, and his "boy" sees to your horse. There is no need for an introduction. For this little building and its two occupants are responsible for the law and order of a district that measures over sixty miles from end to end. The man himself is a marvel. Born in Borne quiet little English village, he has become r>art and parcel of the veld, full of all tue cunning of tiho veld-dweller, and able to talk Dutch and a smattering of Kaffir. . He is a dozen men in oy&. He ia groom and saddler, escort to nis Excellency the Governor-General when necessary, and detective. He is also collector of poll tax and issuer of permits, passes, and licenses; registrar of births and veterinary surgeon, mounted trooper, and foot policeman, and, if necessary, his own cook, and a useful centre-forward in the local football team. A busy day in his camp life is interesting. A farmer has counted his eheep and finds 19 missing. He can't remember exactly when ho counted them before, but he Uhinks it was about a week ago. Nineteen sheep missing for a week, and P.C. Smith has to find them. Farmer B has had some trouble with a native and wants him arrested; two natives on trek with five sheep and a cow want their passes initialled, and "His the Baas any medidiue for one of the sheep which is sick?" There are rumours of a "beer drink" being given in the village location, and the email police force there will have to be reinforced by one man from this camp. Then Brown sends over from a distant farm to report an outbreak of anthrax, and Broivn's faxni must at ones be put in quarantine. Our policeman "patrols" hie district on horseback for two days on end, calling at every farm, and asking at each one whether there fire any complaints. (And once a month in the darkness and tlhc silence of the night he does his long round of "night patrol." And his prestige is mich that I have known P.G. Smith collar as many as 15 "passlcss" natives in one kraal at midnight and march them off 20 miles to the camp on his own. A good fellow is the veld poMceman.— L. FTemming in London "Daily Mail."