Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-08-09

able the company will make the holder an
offer to float his claims and give him one-
| half the yender's interests. If, however,
the holder receives a better offer for fota-
tion he may accept it, and must then give
the company one-half the vender's interests
No licenses are to be paid until the claims
are worked, and then the amounts are small
An alluyial claim is 100 feet square, and the
holder has all the gold he gets, but pays a
license of e1 per month.
The history of Mashonaland Is wrapped in
the deepest of mysteries. That the country
has had q history worthy of being made
known to the world of to-day may be seen
from the evidences which show that a very
large area was extensively worked for gold
BY an unknown people who have left us
traces by which they may be identified The
old workings (perhaps the term ancient may
be used) as they are to-day consist both of
shaft and cuttings of various kinds. The
shafts are sometimes 40 or more feet deep,
with tunnels of unknown lengths. The walls
of some of these have fallen in, and others
have large trees growing in them which
show that they were made very long time
ago. On the surface of the ground about
the openings of many shafts lay tons of
broken quartz which carries good amount
of gold; again at the openings of others no
loose quartz is to be seen, yet the work done
below the surface shows that immense guam
titles have been excavated and conveyed to
some distant spot presumably for crushing.
THE WONDERFUL OLD RUINS.
Another fact which tends to still more
mystity the history of Mashonaland is the
character of the ruins of buildings. There
are a number of these in various parts of the
country, but the most perfect and interest
ing are those called the Zimbali ruins to be
seen about latitude 200 15', land longitude
80 30' E. A very considerable area is
covered by the entire ruins, but those of
two buildings are in better state of pre-
servation than the others.
One of these is situated on a high and
bold granite hill and is built of granite
hewn into blocks somewhat larger than
bricks put together without mortar. The
walls as they now stand are 80 feet high,
over 10 feet in thickness at the base and
several less at the top. This building as
well as the other was similar in form and
seems from its position and construction to
be a fort. There are few slabs of granite
protruding from the walls in places contain
ing rough zig gag ornaments. The other
and larger building stands several hundred
feet below on rising ground. The walls
of this building are also of granite, the
same height and thickness of those just de-
scribed. For about third of its circum-
ference there is a row of plain ornamental
figures at the top.
A TOWER OF SOLID GRANITE.
This builning was $50 yards in diameter
and had but one or two entrances. Walls
running in different directions stand inside,
but the thick bush which has grown up
within makes it impossible to learn any
thing definite of the sizes and shapes of the
enclosures made by these inner walls The
most curious part of the whole building is
that of the tower, which stands near the
outside wall. 1t is constructed of the same
material as the building. This tower is cyl
feet, but after that height tapers, and as it
stands is truncated cone. Its diameter at
the base is 10 feet There is no entrance to.